Chapter 69
When Zhou Xuanzhi woke up, he found himself in his room on the back mountain. Seeing the familiar surroundings, he felt relieved.
Ming, carrying the medicine bowl, pushed open Zhou Xuanzhi's door and saw that Zhou Xuanzhi had already sat up. She smiled and said, "You're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
The external wounds on my body have stopped bleeding, and my spiritual energy can now circulate within my body. "I'm much better. How are Junior Sister Lin and Junior Brother Xiao?"
Mingmo almost burst out laughing when she heard about the two of them. She placed the medicine bowl in Zhou Xuanzhi's hands and said, "Don't worry about them!"
Xiao Mu is always driven by profit, and he must be making a fortune now. As for Lin Jichen, she's in a worse situation. After leaving Guancheng, she's looking for someone to repair her zither.
Zhou Xuanzhi stared at the bowl of dark, murky medicine. Ming Mo hadn't left yet; he must have been watching him take his medicine on time. Frowning, he downed the bowl in one gulp. It was good medicine, but it was too bitter; the bitterness made Zhou Xuanzhi shiver.
"You've been sleeping for three days now. It seems you've been working too hard lately. You should get some rest! Junior Sister Lin's zither has been repaired."
"As for Junior Brother Xiao, you don't need to worry about him at all. He's been having a great time these past two days." He's one of the few disciples of Tianyu Mountain who can open a Guancheng (a type of ancient Chinese city-building technique). Even most elders don't know how to open a Guancheng, so he's practically strutting around with pride. Besides, he's compiled information about Guanxiang Peak into a booklet and already sold it to the disciples who are about to enter the trial.
After hearing about the situation of the two, Zhou Xuanzhi breathed a sigh of relief, but Guan Xiangfeng's situation was very bad. "Guan Xiangfeng's condition is not good right now."
“Don’t worry about that. After you encountered that monster, your grandmaster uncle who was guarding the area also sensed that something was wrong. By the time he arrived, you had already reached Guancheng.” Mingmo explained, “The monster has been captured, but… it wasn’t a monster at all.”
What is it?
"The ferocious beast Qiongqi, I wonder how it got in there."
An ancient ferocious beast is actually at Guanxiang Peak, where the disciples of Tianyu Mountain are undergoing trials.
Seeing Zhou Xuanzhi's ashen face, Mingmo swallowed the words he wanted to say. Anyone would have reacted the same way; it was a miracle that those of them, with less than five hundred years of cultivation, could survive Qiongqi's attack.
Zhou Xuanzhi thought so too, and he said with a wry smile, "We're really lucky to be alive."
“Well… this Qiongqi is, after all, a ferocious beast from ancient times, and we can’t…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words “kill it.” “The elders’ idea is to send it into the Yak Mountain.”
The protective barrier on Yak Mountain is extremely thick; even ten Qiongqi combined could not break it in the slightest. Sending it here is the safest option.
Zhou Xuanzhi shook his head: "I didn't mean that, Senior Sister misunderstood. I'm really glad, if it were because of me that Junior Sister Lin and Junior Brother Xiao... I would really have no face to show anyone."
I went to Guanxiang Peak to investigate clues about that bracelet. It was all for my own selfish reasons. If these selfish reasons cause someone to die, I will really be letting down my master's teachings.
"Everyone is fine, so you don't need to blame yourself." Mingmo put away the medicine bowl and looked at Zhou Xuanzhi, saying, "You should rest well and not think too much these next two days."
The position of the Enforcement Elder of Huanhai has become vacant. The original person in this position was a supporter of Shi Yunzhou, and now Wei Maitong naturally wants to put his own person in it.
The list of candidates has been distributed, and the next step is for everyone to make recommendations during the morning assembly.
Wei Maitong was a middle-aged man of ordinary appearance, but his aura was undeniable. This was the unique charisma of those in high positions. Shi Yunzhou sat below Wei Maitong, his expression somewhat numb and impatient.
Today's court assembly was to recommend a new Elder of Law Enforcement, but as soon as one person was nominated, someone immediately objected. Those who knew the inside story were bewildered by the objectors. The person recommended was Wei Maitong's man, so why were the objectors also from Wei Maitong's group? Or was today's drama taking a different turn?
If this person isn't suitable, then let's move on to the next one. Thus, Wei Maitong's alternative was once again challenged. Those who knew a little about the situation continued to watch with amusement. This opponent was unbiased and perfectly neutral. If this weren't a court assembly, they would have really just been watching with amusement.
If one thing didn't work, and then another, the entire court assembly instantly descended into chaos. People were talking about this and that, and it didn't resemble a proper court assembly at all.
Wei Maitong listened to the commotion below, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant, but his tone remained unchanged: "Don't any of you have any candidates?"
This statement was met with complete silence.
If this weren't a court assembly, Shi Yunzhou would probably be laughing out loud. These candidates all have some conflicts with others, and none of them are truly his people. Some are neutral, and some are even Wei Maitong's men.
His role here was simple: to add fuel to the fire, and the fire really did burn as brightly as he had imagined. Wei Maitong glanced at Shi Yunzhou unintentionally, closed his eyes, and sighed almost imperceptibly.
Even Shi Yunzhou didn't have that much power to turn the entire court assembly upside down.
"Alright, since everyone is dissatisfied, let's make new recommendations. Just be careful not to recommend someone who betrays us!"
It may seem like a step backward, but the strong warning within it is something everyone can understand. They look at Shi Yunzhou sitting above, seemingly lost in thought as usual, and can't figure out what he's really thinking.
Their own people can't get promoted, but neither can Wei Maitong's people. It would be good if a neutral person got promoted. Most of the people in the Enforcement Hall were left behind by the previous elder, Zhang Yuan. It's not easy for them to survive the purge. Who knows who this person will ultimately side with?
High Priest Xiang Yi was unusually quiet today. In the past, he would always refute Wei Maitong's words during court assemblies. Today's attitude was completely different from usual, making it hard not to suspect that Xiang Yi had given up on Shi Yunzhou.
Shi Yunzhou seemed completely distracted, showing no interest in the court assembly whatsoever. He had returned from Tianyu Mountain, but his mind remained there; it was unclear why he had been brought back.
Wei Maitong felt that something was off today, and now he realized that it was because Xiang Yi hadn't said a word all day. He turned to look at Shi Yunzhou, who was still lost in thought, and for some reason, he felt that Shi Yunzhou had the idea of getting involved.
"What are Yunzhou's thoughts on the selection of the law enforcement elder?" Wei Maitong's voice rang out, stirring up the desire of some people to watch the show.
However, Shi Yunzhou remained in the same state as before, without even blinking.
Wei Maitong asked again, "Yunzhou, what are your thoughts on the selection of the Law Enforcement Elder?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Yunzhou immediately composed himself. He glanced down, then looked at Wei Maitong hesitantly and said, "This seems... to be a very important position. Perhaps you could consider it again?"
Wei Maitong looked at Shi Yunzhou for a long time and then smiled and said, "You should also pay more attention to the matter of Huanhai."
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right."
When Xiao Mu arrived, Zhou Xuanzhi was already out of bed drinking tea in the courtyard. He sat down opposite him, made himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and said, "Seeing you like this makes me feel relieved."
Xiao Mu's "business" has been booming these past few days. Zhou Xuanzhi laughed and said, "How come you have time to come here?"
Xiao Mu shook his finger, "You're wrong. Of course I'd come to visit my friend if he woke up."
"Then I should thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come see me?"
"It's good that you know. I hope you will cherish this friendship."
Zhou Xuanzhi shook his head at the shameless look on the face of the man opposite him. "How is Junior Sister Lin?" A few days ago, Senior Sister Ming said that she had someone repair her zither, but he didn't know how well it was repaired.
Speaking of Lin Jichen, Xiao Mu looked on with envy. Everyone's weapons were given to them by their master when they entered the sect. None of them had reached high positions yet, and they didn't have much money, so their weapons were basically still in the same condition as when they first entered the sect. Lin Jichen's zither strings had now been replaced with Heavenly Mountain Ice Silkworm Silk, which was not only sturdy but also upgraded her zither by a grade.
Thinking of this, Xiao Mu suppressed his envious expression, "Apart from her external injuries, everything else about her is fine."
After Xiao Mu left, Zhou Xuanzhi got up and strolled around the courtyard. He had been taking care of everything here for so many years. The spiritual plants were thriving, and some animals had even settled here.
The barrier is perfectly normal now; it seems the demon realm hasn't been this quiet since Master sealed it with his own body. Where did those demons in the capital come from?
Originally, I came down the mountain to find out about my master, but after I came down, things got bigger and bigger, and the clues became more and more complicated.
"What's there to worry about at such a young age?"
The voice came from behind him, and Zhou Xuanzhi turned around to see an unfamiliar figure. It was a man dressed in white, who looked quite young, but his hair and eyebrows were all white. As he looked down, Zhou Xuanzhi noticed an ancient jade pendant hanging at his waist.
"May I ask who you are?" Zhou Xuanzhi felt that this person looked somewhat familiar, but he did not recall ever seeing him before.
The man smiled, sat down at the table, and poured tea while saying, "Didn't you say you were looking for me?"
"You found it yourself? Could it be?" Zhou Xuanzhi suddenly asked excitedly, "So the person in the portrait is you?"
The man smiled and said, "Your master still has to call me 'uncle-master'."
Grandmaster Uncle? No wonder I had to go to Guanxiang Peak to find him; I had simply misunderstood. He wasn't within the barrier of Guanxiang Peak.
"Greetings, Grandmaster Uncle." Zhou Xuanzhi bowed.
"So you want to see me for something?"
Zhou Xuanzhi stood up and said, "There is something I would like to ask you."
"About your master?"
"yes."
The man looked at the scroll that Zhou Xuanzhi presented with both hands, shook his head and sighed, saying, "I have quite a lot of interaction with your master. If it weren't for this scroll, I really wouldn't know what to say."
It seems that my grandmaster already knows the origin of the painting.
"That was over two hundred years ago. Your master suddenly came to me and said that his two disciples had caused a great disaster. They had killed an immortal undergoing tribulation. At the time, I was thinking, are the disciples of Tianyu Mountain really that powerful now? They can kill an immortal! In the end, they indirectly caused the death of an infant." The man shook his head.
"That was because I was young and ignorant, and caused a great disaster. Fortunately, I was able to get help from my master." Zhou Xuanzhi lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"So, your master felt sorry for you and came to ask me what to do. I did a divination, and the divination said that the female immortal was not destined to have this calamity, but because of you, her reincarnation will also have a great calamity. So I asked your master to make arrangements in advance so that the female immortal can safely pass the calamity after her reincarnation, which can be considered a small compensation."
"So that bracelet is?"
The man nodded. "Yes, that bracelet was left by your master for the female immortal. Your master knew she was going to die soon, so she asked me to help her."
"Was that silver bracelet for us?"
"There is a part of her soul and consciousness inside. Her original intention has always been to eliminate demons, protect the righteous path, and safeguard all living beings. She left this part behind, so it can naturally protect the reincarnation of that female immortal." After saying so much, the man took a sip of tea and looked at Zhou Xuanzhi standing there.
It's all due to the bond between master and disciple. If Shi Wanqing hadn't suffered a shattered spiritual abode, she would probably still be fighting demons and protecting the righteous path in the mortal realm. But if Shi Wanqing were to take on disciples like this, would she accept Shi Yunzhou and Zhou Xuanzhi as her students? Probably not, and she wouldn't be traveling between the capital and Yunzhou.
Ultimately, it was all fate; it's just a pity about his junior apprentice.
Seeing Zhou Xuanzhi's slumped body, the man sighed and said, "You don't need to be like this. All of this was your master's own choice. Just remember your master's teachings, and if you can, continue the journey your master just embarked on!"
To vanquish demons and protect the righteous path, to safeguard all living beings? I think I could do that too, perhaps not as well as my master, but he is still young.
"yes."
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