Chapter 76 Are you two actually together?
The old ancestor was determined to die.
—I knew your magic was bad, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.
Other immortals and venerable beings can transform themselves or others into whatever they want with a wave of their sleeves, or even just with a thought. Unlike you, who have to go through so much trouble to transform yourself.
The disciples bowed their heads in unison, only daring to grumble inwardly.
Therefore, it was naturally impossible for Duan Jiuyou to handle the matter of exchanging the wolf cubs.
Liantang remained silent for a moment, then offered another idea: "Then we can only try to find a celestial servant from the Diligent Governance Hall to exchange for him. The Emperor is busy with state affairs and can't stay by the wolf cub's side all day. As long as the celestial servant who takes care of the Wild Lord is willing to help..."
"Which immortal servant would risk his head to exchange for the imperial territory for you?" Duan Jiuyou interrupted Liantang's nonsense, thinking to himself, "Are these ridiculous ideas really conceived with a brain?"
She was irritable and waved them out, but felt annoyed after they left.
She had never thought that magic was important when she was cultivating. She was born with an invulnerable body, so why should she memorize these difficult mental techniques and incantations?
Her master had been patiently and earnestly teaching her every time they met, but she wouldn't listen to a single word. Only now, facing difficulties, does she realize how precious her master's nagging words were.
...
The rain fell from dawn until dusk, and the disciples paced back and forth outside the hall.
The ancestor hasn't made a move yet; I wonder if he's gotten too anxious?
Liantang quietly went in to check and found that the old ancestor was asleep.
She had the blanket tucked under her, and judging from her posture, she must have been sitting on the bed and felt sleepy. The sound of the rain was so soothing that she fell asleep, so she just collapsed onto the bed.
"How can I sleep at this crucial moment?"
"Is the Ancestor no longer planning to save the Lord of the Wasteland?"
"The old ancestor is really carefree; seven or eight hours have passed already."
The disciples chattered anxiously. Only Liantang realized that the patriarch was waiting for the Lord of the Wasteland to come out of his predicament.
He knew she was not skilled in magic and would find it difficult to accomplish anything under these circumstances. He always had a backup plan, and if she couldn't restrain herself and acted impulsively, it would disrupt his plans.
This reflects the Ancestor's trust in the Wilderness Lord, and also the Wilderness Lord's understanding of the Ancestor.
Dijiang did not disappoint Duan Jiuyou.
At the third watch of the night, someone knocked on Duan Jiuyou's window. Duan Jiuyou sat up abruptly.
Actually, she hadn't fallen asleep at all. Lying in bed, a nerve remained in her mind, taut and alert, just waiting for this moment to arrive.
"The Lord of the Wilderness sent me to fetch the wolf cub."
Duan Jiuyou opened the window, his lighthearted expression suddenly turning serious as he stared at the familiar face outside and said, "You?"
The person who came to pick up the wolf cub was Liu Shi, the Grand Celestial Official in charge of Bai Yanxing's residence and travel.
Duan Jiuyou had seen this person many times in the Hall of Diligent Governance. He was originally a close relative and bodyguard of Bai Yanxing, so he should not be an inside agent of the Wilderness Clan.
Seeing that she was suspicious, Liu Shi revealed his true form in front of Duan Jiuyou. It was an older face, older than Liu Shi himself, with more outstanding appearance and a taller stature.
The Heavenly Ascension system was strictly hierarchical, and all Heavenly Officials and retainers gave off a submissive and humble "servile" air. The man before them was completely different; he possessed the air of a "master" and a cold and austere feeling unique to the Great Wilderness Clan.
He said to Duan Jiuyou, "I am Xue Ciyi, the maternal uncle of Emperor Dijiang. This is a token he asked me to give to you."
He then handed Duan Jiuyou a jade pendant with a beast-face design. The quality was average, and the carving was not very fine.
This was something Duan Jiuyou casually bought and gave to Dijiang when they were in the Tenth Realm.
She often bought him things, but he would usually just glance at them and throw them away, never paying them any attention. Only this jade pendant was accepted by him.
Duan Jiuyou only learned much later that it was Emperor Jiang's birthday that day, and he regarded the jade pendant as a birthday gift.
When Duan Jiuyou found out, he wanted to take the jade pendant back and replace it with a decent one, but Duan Jiuyou refused, saying that she would always regret it and never forget that the first birthday gift she gave him was a broken jade pendant.
It's not actually that bad! It's sold on the street, after all. Who would buy it if it were really broken? It's just that the jade quality is indeed poor, the texture is rough, and there are some impurities.
But Dijiang has such a troublesome personality; if things aren't good, he'll accept them, but if things aren't good, he'll make you remember how badly you treated me.
Duan Jiuyou held the jade pendant in his hand, but he did not completely let his guard down.
A look of annoyance crossed Xue Ciyi's eyes, and he pulled out several more items from his sleeve: "These are the Wilderness Clan's token, the official seal, my nephew's imperial seal, my sister's phoenix seal..."
Each time he said something, he tossed it into Duan Jiuyou's hand.
These were also things that Di Jiang asked him to bring over for Duan Jiuyou to see.
Xue Ciyi was originally unwilling to bring this thing. Given his decisive nature, if Duan Jiuyou didn't believe him, he could have just snatched the wolf cub directly. Why bother with all this trouble?
However, Di Jiang said that if this were the case, Duan Jiuyou would definitely take action, and then he wouldn't even be able to leave Dixi Mountain, which led to the current situation.
In the blink of an eye, Duan Jiuyou had gathered a large pile of official seals and tokens of various sizes. She actually picked them up one by one to check them. She had seen the Desolate Clan Emperor's Decree before, and had asked Di Jiang to take it out for a look during a casual chat. This was the first time she had seen the official seals. The Phoenix Seal was quite old and belonged to Di Jiang's mother.
After checking everything, she returned it all to Xue Ciyi and asked, "How is he doing with Bai Yanxing?"
Xue Ciyi said, "He was already very upset when he arrived. The immortal servants put him on the table to accompany Bai Yanxing in reviewing memorials. He said that Bai Yanxing's handwriting was ugly and not as good as his own, and that he was too indecisive and far inferior to him."
"That's really something he would say," Duan Jiuyou nodded, then asked, "Bai Yanxing didn't see through anything, did he?"
"The Desolate Clan is the number one in the Heavenly Realm of magic. What ability could a mere Ascended Dragon Clan member possibly have to see through the changes?"
Xue Ciyi spoke arrogantly and looked contemptuous.
This is probably a consistent "tradition" of their barbarian tribe: they look down on everyone except themselves.
Duan Jiuyou didn't want to spoil Xue Ciyi's mood, and since he needed Xue Ciyi's help to exchange for Dijiang, he took out the wolf cub and praised, "Indeed, but this exchange still needs to be handled with caution. Bai Yanxing is suspicious, and taking the wolf cub away this time is a test. Dijiang is weak and should not use magic. We must not make any mistakes at this time."
Xue Ciyi swept away the wolf cub with a flourish of his sleeve, replying to Duan Jiuyou's admonition with only four words: "You're so slow!"
Duan Jiuyou remained easygoing and agreeable: "Then I'll have to trouble you."
Whether Dijiang can return smoothly depends on Xue Ciyi. Even though Duan Jiuyou felt that Xue Ciyi was too impolite, he still treated him with great courtesy.
Xue Ciyi took the wolf cub but didn't leave immediately. Instead, he asked unexpectedly, "Have you really taken a liking to my nephew?"
Duan Jiuyou hadn't expected the other party to have such a whimsical way of thinking. He paused for a moment before asking, "Did Di Jiang send you to ask that question?"
Xue Ciyi said, "No, he never talks to me about these things. I only know that you seem to care about him a lot, and he seems to care about you a lot too. Take this jade pendant, for example. Anyone who dares to give him such a piece of junk would be beaten to death on the spot. In the human realm, jade pendants are tokens of love. You two wouldn't have already gotten married in the Ten Realms, would you?"
Duan Jiuyou was speechless and corrected Xue Ciyi, saying, "I really bought this jade pendant because it was cheap."
Xue Ciyi seemed not to hear her and continued, “You have a good eye. That boy is a romantic like his father. Unlike other races, our Desolate Clan does not have the concept of concubines. We only marry one immortal partner in our lifetime and are loyal to our love. If one of us dies, we will never marry again.”
After saying this, he looked Duan Jiuyou up and down: "My nephew is good-looking, although his temperament is a bit bad. With more discipline in the future, he will eventually be able to meet your expectations."
Duan Jiuyou found the story increasingly absurd. Just as he was about to explain after the man finished speaking, Xue Ciyi had already vanished, carrying the wolf cub away.
Looking at the dark sky, Duan Jiuyou felt that Xue Ciyi probably had some mental problems, and he was also worried about whether he could successfully exchange for the imperial territory.
...
Xue Ciyi returned to the Emperor's Palace at the third watch of the night.
This is where Bai Yanxing stayed. There is a main hall in the center, with two side halls on the left and right. The left hall was used to summon court officials at night and handle important government affairs.
The Right Palace was originally used for dining with the empress and concubines to pass the time, but since he had not yet married, it was left unused.
When Siji came before, he had Siji stay in the right hall. Now that Siji has been replaced, the young wolf has taken his place here.
In the stillness of the night, the celestial maids and servants who served him had long since fallen asleep. Xue Ciyi, now transformed back into Liu Shi, pushed open the door of the side hall and strolled in leisurely.
The palace was pitch black, with only a sparse, bluish moonlight filtering through the latticed windows. Curtains hung at the four corners of the bed, vaguely revealing human figures. Emperor Jiang, who was sleeping on the bed, had opened his eyes as soon as Xue Ciyi entered the room.
"Did you bring the wolf cubs?"
Xue Ciyi pulled back the tent flap and threw in a stone the size of his palm. The stone rolled onto the bed and transformed into a fluffy wolf cub.
Today's accident, in the end, was all because of this little thing. Xue Ciyi said worriedly, "You can't hit it now. After you leave, it will stay here in your place. If it gets injured and that kid surnamed Bai notices, I won't be able to explain myself."
Di Jiang snorted an "hmm" through his nose, then turned his gaze to the wolf cub.
Its gaze toward him remained disrespectful, even tinged with smugness.
Instead of being angry, Di Jiang laughed, and with a flick of his long finger, easily grabbed the wolf cub by the throat. The wolf cub gasped for breath and immediately tried to scratch with its claws, but as soon as it extended its claws, it was repelled by the azure spiritual energy emanating from Di Jiang's hand.
He pinched it, not giving it a chance to breathe. It panicked and couldn't make a sound. It could only struggle to bring its two paws together and keep bowing.
"...Your Majesty." Xue Ciyi was worried that Di Jiang might actually strangle the wolf cub. His nephew was petty and held grudges. It was also the wolf cub's fault for being so reckless and provoking him!
The wolf cub bowed countless times before Emperor Jiang loosened his grip. The little wolf fell back onto the bed, panting heavily with its tongue lolling out, no longer daring to provoke this living devil.
Instead of holding a grudge, Di Jiang grabbed it and stroked its fur.
Of all the battles he had won, only today's defeat of those wolf cubs had given him the greatest satisfaction.
While teasing the wolf cub, he asked Xue about the meaning of the words.
Was Jiuyou asleep when you arrived?
Xue Ciyi recalled, "She must have been asleep. There were no lamps lit in the hall, but when I knocked on the window from the outside, she immediately got up. I guess she was worried about me and hadn't been able to relax."
Di Jiang nodded, then heard Xue Ciyi ask, "Are you two actually together?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com