Chapter 63
Lin Jichen stared at the portrait for a long time. The man in the portrait was young and handsome, with an air of otherworldly elegance. No matter how he looked at it, he felt that he should have seen him before, or knew him well, but he couldn't recall such a person at all.
When Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou arrived, they saw Lin Jichen walking back and forth in front of the portrait hanging on the wall, tilting his head at various angles.
"Senior Sister Lin, what happened to your neck?" Shi Yunzhou stood next to Lin Jichen, tilting his head to look at the portrait with her.
She had long since stopped caring about Shi Yunzhou's teasing. The more she cared, the more enthusiastic Shi Yunzhou became. In order to give herself some peace and quiet, it wouldn't hurt to endure it.
"Don't you think the person in the portrait looks familiar? It feels like someone you know, but I've never seen this face before."
Zhou Xuan stepped forward and looked at the portrait. Just as Lin Jichen had said, the person in the portrait looked very familiar, but he couldn't find a match for the face in his memory.
Shi Yunzhou didn't have that feeling, but judging from his senior brother's expression, he probably did...
"You feel the same way?" Shi Yunzhou asked, pointing to Lin Jichen beside him.
"It does look familiar."
Shi Yunzhou watched as the two men examined the painting from all angles, seemingly mesmerized. He then advised, "Now that we have the portrait, we won't have to worry about not being able to find the person. In a few days, when we return to Tianyu Mountain, we can ask everyone to help us think of someone."
Zhou Xuanzhi stepped back to Shi Yunzhou's side, sat down like him, and poured himself a cup of tea. He simply held the tea in his hand and turned to look at the portrait.
It seems I can't let go of this anytime soon.
"Can you be sure what looks familiar?" Shi Yunzhou asked, puzzled, seeing that both of them looked like this.
"I can't quite put my finger on it," Lin Jichen said, sitting down beside him. "I don't know what's familiar about him, but I just feel like I've seen him before."
"Your feeling is quite abstract. Did you see it in a dream?"
Lin Jichen glanced at the person sitting next to him, "Why don't you ask Senior Brother Zhou if he also saw it in his dream?"
Zhou Xuanzhi, who was drinking tea to the side, was quite helpless.
“This person does look familiar. I don’t think I saw him in my dream. Let’s ask everyone when we get back to Tianyu Mountain in a few days!” Zhou Xuanzhi gestured to Shi Yunzhou with his eyes to shut up.
Watching the two men communicating with their eyes, Lin Jichen couldn't help but sigh, "These are true brothers."
The room was quiet for a while before Shi Yunzhou spoke, "We would like to invite Young Master Mu to listen to a story with us. I wonder if Senior Sister Lin would be interested?"
Lin Jichen dared not utter those two words, but suddenly remembered the story he had heard at the inn where he stayed in Shi Yunzhou. "Interested."
Because of the wide range of her facial expressions, Shi Yunzhou couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of you, Senior Sister Lin."
If you were to ask who on Tianyu Mountain is the most flexible and adaptable, Lin Jichen would definitely be on the list. Over the years, the two have had countless verbal battles, and he has witnessed firsthand how quickly Lin Jichen can change his tune.
"What should we do about Miss Gu?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked.
“Stay in the Exorcism Division. Those young ladies from noble families in the Exorcism Division haven’t left yet. Miss Gu has been with them these past few days.” The female disciples of the Exorcism Division naturally took on the task of protecting her. In the words of the Exorcism Division: Gu Qingci is a guest, and Lin Jichen is an invited guest. How can it be reasonable for a guest to protect another guest?
Lin Jichen guessed that they also wanted to know something from Gu Qingci.
It wasn't difficult to lure Murong Jing out.
The inn had been entirely booked by Shi Yunzhou, and the only guests sitting in the hall were Shi Yunzhou and his entourage, while the storyteller on the stage began to tell his tale.
At first, the story didn't move Murong Jing much, and he even felt a little impatient.
While drinking his tea, Shi Yunzhou secretly observed Murong Jing's expression.
Zhou Xuanzhi and Lin Jichen sat at another table. Looking at the people beside him, Lin Jichen lowered his voice and asked, "Are you sure this Murong Jing can tell us?"
“Su Liyue seems approachable, but in reality, she treats everyone the same, keeping everyone at arm’s length.” Zhou Xuanzhi glanced at Murong Jing and continued, “In comparison, this Young Master Mu is a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and he will tell us. Besides, there is no secret in this matter.”
Because these two were more powerful than Murong Jing and had used some tricks, Murong Jing could hear what the two people next to him were saying, but he couldn't make out the content.
Lowering his voice was because he didn't want others to hear; eavesdropping is not gentlemanly behavior, and he wasn't particularly curious either. Although he was also curious about why these people would be so kind as to invite him to the teahouse to hear some stories.
The storyteller hadn't expected the story to attract the attention of several cultivators. However, the people of the capital should all know the second half of the story; he had only added the first half, which he had heard from someone else before.
As he spoke, he glanced at the expressions of the few people in the audience; none of them seemed interested in the story. Oh well, considering the money they were paying him, a mere storyteller had no right to think about such things.
The story was long, and when the storyteller took a break, Murong Jing was really puzzled. He asked, "Did you all invite me here really just to hear a story?"
"certainly."
“I don’t think I’m that familiar with any of you.” He stood up to leave, but Shi Yunzhou pressed him back into his seat, saying, “You’ll definitely find this story interesting.”
Seeing Shi Yunzhou speaking to him with an unquestionable expression, Murong Jing reluctantly sat back down. Lin Jichen beside him wasn't paying attention to him, while Zhou Xuanzhi kept his eyes fixed on Shi Yunzhou. Zhou Xuanzhi was probably the only person in the world who could keep an eye on Shi Yunzhou.
According to past practice, Zhou Xuanzhi should have stood up to stop Shi Yunzhou's behavior today, but he didn't.
Since we're already here, why not listen to a story?
After the master returned, Murong Jing listened attentively to the story he was telling. At first, he was a little drowsy, but as the plot moved into the capital, Murong Jing's expression became somewhat unnatural.
These stories are about the catastrophe that happened in the capital city hundreds of years ago. The current Demon Lord Chonghua was corrupted by demonic possession in the capital city.
After the story was finished, the man left, and several people surrounded him.
"Is this demon lord the Demon Lord Chonghua?" Lin Jichen asked first.
Looking at the way these people looked now, he sighed and replied, "Yes, you sent me out because of this story?"
This story is known even to three-year-olds in the capital, so why would anyone want to know it?
"We want to ask who that female immortal is?"
The storyteller just said that the female immortal came from Tianyu Mountain, but the disciples of Tianyu Mountain didn't seem to know about this. "Didn't the storyteller just mention a female disciple from Tianyu Mountain?"
"Hehe, if we were from Tianyu Mountain, why would we be asking you?" Shi Yunzhou couldn't help but retort with his sharp tongue.
Looking at the group of people, Murong Jing was genuinely puzzled. He asked, "What exactly do you want to ask?"
“We thought you would know the identity of this female immortal. Considering that the Demon Clan has made a move, if we knew who this female immortal is, we might be able to restrain Chonghua,” Lin Jichen explained.
"Didn't the elders of Tianyu Mountain tell you this?"
Lin Jichen said earnestly, "We only learned after arriving in the capital that Chonghua had fallen into demonic possession during the examination, and none of our Tianyu Mountain disciples have ever come to the capital. Out of caution, we did ask around, but we're still not entirely sure if this woman even exists."
"There are many versions of this story, but they all include the existence of this woman. Some say she is a female immortal, some say she is a female demon, and some say she is just an ordinary mortal woman, but the version from the Exorcism Bureau really doesn't include this female immortal," Murong Jing explained earnestly.
"If this woman really existed, then the great battle seven hundred years ago wouldn't have been so tragic."
Murong Jing's words left the three of them speechless for a long time.
Zhou Xuanzhi quickly accepted the reality. He nodded and said, "We were overthinking it. When we heard this story before, we always felt that this woman was a real person."
"I'm sorry to have called you out at this hour." Zhou Xuanzhi's apology caught Murong Jing off guard.
He hadn't known these people well and genuinely didn't understand their personalities. "Is this really what you're after?"
"Really." Shi Yunzhou said somewhat impatiently.
Lin Jichen said, "Actually, I didn't have to come today, but I had my own selfish reasons."
Upon hearing this, Shi Yunzhou looked at Lin Jichen with amusement, thinking, "I never thought Senior Sister Lin would have such a day."
She paid no attention to the way the people around her were looking at her, and said, "It's about Miss Gu. She's probably not very safe right now."
"What do you mean by that?" Murong Jing asked anxiously.
"We met Miss Gu in Yunzhou City. She was kidnapped to Guancheng and was mistaken by the demons imprisoned there for Junior Martial Aunt, Shi Wanqing. Just as they were about to kill her, her silver bracelet saved her and brought her out of Guancheng to Yunzhou. Actually, it wasn't very safe in Yunzhou either, and we were also chased."
“So what I’m trying to say is that there are still mysteries surrounding Miss Gu that we don’t know about, and she’s not safe right now. I’d like to ask you to find someone to protect her,” Lin Jichen said.
"The bracelet on her wrist?"
Zhou Xuanzhi continued, "That bracelet contains my master's spiritual energy. Although we don't know why it's like this, please protect it. We will find out when we return to Tianyu Mountain."
Hearing this, Murong Jing visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you have any leads?"
“There are some clues, but we can only find out when we get back.” Zhou Xuanzhi could vaguely sense that Murong Jing’s attitude towards Gu Qingci was not so simple, so he continued, “We will let you know when we have any leads.”
The capital city has returned to its usual hustle and bustle in the last few days. Murong Jing looked at the crowds coming and going on the street and felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen.
“Miss Gu, I don’t know… what kind of identity or excuse to use to protect her.”
“We don’t need your help to find out what’s trying to harm her. Whether you send people or let her continue living in the Exorcism Division, you must ensure her safety.” Lin Jichen said, “I have a feeling that she is one of the demons’ targets.”
Otherwise, there's no way to explain why a princess from the capital was inexplicably thrown into Guancheng. Nor can it explain why someone wanted to kill her in Yunzhou City. There must be something going on; the demons won't let her go so easily.
Are you so sure?
Lin Jichen nodded.
Seeing Lin Jichen's unwavering resolve, Murong Jing clenched his fist as if he had made up his mind. He said, "Please rest assured, I will do my best to protect Miss Gu, and I will also ask Senior Sister Su to stay by her side."
"I'd like to ask you for another favor," Shi Yunzhou said.
"Please speak." Shi Yunzhou's serious demeanor made Murong Jing somewhat uncomfortable.
"Fang Xiashen's matter should be resolved. Could you please send her into reincarnation?" Shi Yunzhou said with a guilty look, "I made a deal with her before, and I will send her into reincarnation afterward."
Murong Jing looked at Shi Yunzhou in confusion, only to hear him say, "It's about my master. You should know about Jianye Town and have heard of the Kuleizi."
“Okay, I will.” Murong Jing nodded in agreement.
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