Chapter 38 What brings you here?
The old ancestor was determined to die.
"……oh?"
Duan Jiuyou lowered his eyes, concealing his shock, and stared at the peach blossom pastry in front of him, saying, "A weather demon can also make pastries? How truly talented! When did you capture him?"
Bai Yanxing said, "It's strange, really. The heavenly soldiers searched high and low for five days but couldn't find her. I never expected her to float to Longsheng Palace on her own. However, we couldn't get anything out of this child. She's confused, can't speak, and can't write. I couldn't bear to make things difficult for a child, so I left her in Longsheng Palace. She's kind-hearted and often helps out in the kitchen. She often puts some tea and snacks on my table. I remember you like peach blossom pastries, so I had her make these."
"Your mind is in turmoil?" Duan Jiuyou asked, puzzled. "Have you consulted a physician?"
Bai Yanxing said he had seen it: "They said the child was too young and had suddenly caused trouble, which upset him. They treated him for the symptoms and he has taken several doses of medicine, but it hasn't worked yet."
"In that case," Duan Jiuyou leaned back in his chair, sounding both annoyed and sighing, "we can only wait until she's sober before questioning her."
After speaking, he took a sip of tea from the table, seemingly feeling that he hadn't been of much help and was somewhat useless. He looked at Bai Yanxing and said, "My mind is simpler than others, and I can't see through some of the intricacies. I can't share the burden for Your Majesty, but if it comes to fighting, I do have the strength. At that time, I only need to send someone to Dixi Mountain to deliver the message, and I will do my best."
Duan Jiuyou had an incredibly sincere face, with innocent and pure eyes, devoid of any complex emotions.
Bai Yanxing chuckled at her gaze: "Aren't you courting death?"
Jiuyou pondered seriously and said, "Until I die, I will follow His Majesty's orders and not make a single trip to Flame Mountain..."
She brought up the old topic again because she was worried that Bai Yanxing had forgotten the reward he had given her.
Bai Yanxing met Duan Jiuyou's gaze and thought to himself: What can I do? She's just staring at me like that, looking rather pitiful. But she's not faking it at all. While others might see her as "pitiful," she's actually just desperately waiting for an answer.
"A gentleman's word is his bond." Bai Yanxing chuckled, as if soothing a young animal that might pounce at any moment. If he weren't worried that she would refuse, he would even want to pat her head a couple of times.
He promised her that he would definitely do it for her.
Now and in the future.
...
After leaving Longsheng Hall, Duan Jiuyou remained calm and composed until he sat back in his official sedan chair, at which point he let out a deep sigh.
The trip to Zhaozhao City left too many loose ends. If Siji hadn't been "sealed off," there would probably have been even more questions.
She had no experience in rebellion, her mind wasn't sharp enough, and she wasn't well-prepared. This sudden incident threw her into disarray.
She didn't believe that Xiao Siji had been scared into madness, and although Bai Yanxing didn't say it, he certainly didn't believe that answer either.
However, the person who sealed the Four Seasons' consciousness did not leave him any flaws or clues. The Immortal Physician could not find anything unusual, and Bai Yanxing could not see anything amiss either. After thinking about it, Duan Jiuyou could only think of the Emperor Jiang who could have done this!
But how did he discover the trouble in Zhaozhao City? And how did he meet Xiao Siji? Even she only learned the whole story after entering the court. Could it be that there are members of the Desolate Clan in the Heavenly Court?!
Duan Jiuyou was still processing these thoughts when, just as he stepped out of the official sedan chair, his disciple, who had come to greet him, informed him of another piece of news.
"Ancestor, a strange beast has come to our palace, and it's ferocious."
A strange beast came to the Earthly Rest Palace. It wandered around the palace, and the disciples thought it was a lost divine beast of some immortal. They kept asking it what was going on, but it ignored them all.
"It seemed to know the way, and after a quick stroll, it headed towards your palace. When we tried to stop it, it turned around and sent us flying several meters away."
Duan Jiuyou kept walking, listening to his disciples' reports. The disciples jogged alongside him, their moon-white robes covered in dirt from when they fell.
"It climbed directly onto your chaise longue, even carrying the blanket in its mouth, and covered itself with it. We stopped it again—"
"How big is this beast?" Duan Jiuyou stopped in his tracks, interrupting his disciple.
Although the couch in her palace was not small, it shouldn't be able to accommodate such a huge beast.
"Just..." The disciple looked embarrassed, opened his arms and then pulled them back a little, making a gesture about the size of a pillow, "Just this big."
Duan Jiuyou looked at him expressionlessly: "You call something this big a strange beast? And it's especially ferocious?"
“It’s really fierce!” the disciples said in unison, nodding vigorously. “It looks like a wolf, with silver-white fur. It’s not very big, but its eyes are terrifyingly cold, as if they could pierce through people’s hearts with a single glance.”
Wolf?
Duan Jiuyou already had an answer in his mind, but he hesitated again when he heard it was a wolf.
The disciple said, “We saw that it seemed tired, so we put some water and food in a porcelain basin and placed it on a square table not far from the bed. It glanced at it, raised its paw, and overturned it from a distance.”
"It has been sleeping in your bedchamber for a while now. It is not on guard against us. It has just set up a barrier so we cannot get close to it, but it has not harmed us."
Upon hearing this, Duan Jiuyou believed it was almost certainly true.
She lifted her skirt, removed the nine-beaded court hat from her head, and tossed it casually. A disciple caught it, and she rushed into the hall in a few steps.
Sure enough, a small silver-white wolf was lying on the soft couch where she usually slept. As soon as she stepped one foot into the inner hall, its eyes opened.
Seeing the way it lay on the soft pillow with its little paws tucked in, Duan Jiuyou almost immediately thought of someone who always lay loosely wherever they went. He felt a mix of emotions, turned around to stop the disciples behind him, left a message saying "Guard the gate" and closed the palace door.
The disciples, having received their instructions, dared not neglect them. Knowing that the visitor must be of great importance, they exchanged a knowing glance that said, "We must keep our mouths shut and not reveal a single word to outsiders." They then dispersed to various parts of Earthly Rest Mountain to promptly inform others should any outsiders visit.
Inside the bedchamber, the little wolf yawned, a hint of interest showing in his misty eyes.
Duan Jiuyou looked annoyed. In front of it, he removed his heavy court beads, took off his robe, went behind the screen to change into a light long skirt, and then plopped down on the small couch, saying with a mixture of surprise and anger, "Why are you here?"
The little wolf looked arrogant, with a hint of smugness on his face.
Duan Jiuyou examined it for a long time and then said, "Why is it a wolf? Even if you want to conceal your true form, you should resemble a white dog. In fact, your ears are dog ears. Wolf ears are more pointed and look more like a dog's..."
The wolf cub's eyes suddenly cooled.
He never felt there was anything wrong with the Hou clan's dog-like nature; it was only because Duan Jiuyou was always talking about dogs in front of him that he was so averse to anything related to dogs.
"Or should I turn back into my original form now and go for a walk outside?"
For some reason, as soon as Di Jiang's voice came out, Duan Jiuyou's tense nerves relaxed after a day of tension.
She had to admit that the moment she guessed he would appear in her palace, all her worries in the Longsheng Palace found a place to rest.
She could freely discuss the next steps with him without having to negotiate with anyone or pay attention to her word choice. At the same time, she felt conflicted, thinking that he shouldn't have come out, especially not here.
She looked at him and said, "You placed the seal on Four Seasons, didn't you?"
"Or did you do it?" Di Jiang's tone was as cold as ever, his face sullen.
"How did you meet Siji? And Liu Tianshi, where did she go? Why isn't her name on the list of artifacts to be returned to their places? Didn't she come out with Qi Xinghe? Let me tell you, Liu Tianshi is very dangerous now. Didn't we lose 20% of our spiritual power? Her and Xiao Siji, their memories, and the Forgetfulness Curse."
Duan Jiuyou was anxious and quick to speak. Di Jiang patted her hand and said, "Liu Tianshi is with Zhao Fengli at Linpei Mountain."
Duan Jiuyou looked at the wolf claw on the back of her hand, her expression even more complicated than before in Longsheng Palace. She said, "When can you turn back?"
He's like this, and she really gets distracted easily, and she really wants to hold his head and rub it for a while! She loves furry animals!
"This time, my spiritual energy was greatly depleted. I will only be able to transform back into human form after I recover."
Di Jiang was unaware that Duan Jiuyou had malicious intentions towards his furry body, so he withdrew his wolf claws and returned to the comfortable position of putting his hands in his pockets.
He said, "You're right. Both Siji and Liu Tianshi regained their memories through the power of merit. In order to be with Qi Xinghe, Liu Tianshi told him the truth. Qi Xinghe agreed to take Liu Tianshi away, but after being granted an official position, he poisoned Liu Tianshi's food to kill him."
"It turns out that he had long ago gotten involved with the fairy of the Jade Immortal Venerable's family, hoping to use her power to obtain a higher official position. Liu Tianshi escaped with his life on the verge of death and was rescued by Xiao Siji, who happened to be passing by. Liu Tianshi originally wanted to take Xiao Siji back to Zhao Fengli's side to expose Qi Xinghe's conspiracy, but Qi Xinghe beat Liu Tianshi to it and planted people in Zhao Fengli's camp. Liu Tianshi had nowhere else to go but to come to the Ten Realms to find you."
"At that time, she did not know that you had returned to the Heavenly Realm. She only knew that you and I lived in the Tenth Realm. She wanted to ask you and me for help, but she could not enter the Tenth Realm because of the Heavenly Sea Stone Gate. She was quite clever. She rammed the stone gate with her body. The disciple you left at the stone gate heard the sound and thought that you had returned. She accidentally let Liu Tianshi and Xiao Siji in."
Di Jiang paused here, and Duan Jiuyou, not understanding what he meant, was still waiting for him to continue, until Di Jiang said it himself: "I'm thirsty."
He talked for so long, but didn't drink a drop of water.
"Oh—" Duan Jiuyou put on his shoes and got off the bed.
It's not that she's oblivious; if this had happened in the past, she would have known he wanted water just from a subtle expression or his gaze falling on the teacup. But look at him now, with that wolfish face. Except for the change in his eyes, he has the same expression everywhere else.
Duan Jiuyou poured him a cup of tea, using his usual glass tea set. There was no place to put the tea set on the small couch, so Duan Jiuyou held it in one hand. Di Jiang shook his fur, stood up, and buried his head in the water.
Duan Jiuyou stared at his furry ears, wanting to grab a handful. But before she knew it, a hand had already grabbed one of Di Jiang's ears.
The two, one human and one wolf, were very close. Di Jiang looked up at her but did not stop her. After taking a few sips of his drink, he looked up again.
He smelled Bai Yanxing's scent on her.
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