Chapter 27 Zhao Chi Loses His Bargaining Chip
When Zhuang Jinfu came out of Shuiyue Hot Spring, she ran into Ling Shu and Zhao Chi talking in the courtyard. Ling Shu's words were powerful and resonant, striking her heart directly. She hid behind the moon gate, concealing her presence, and dared not go out. Later, she heard Ling Shu say, "Why don't I overturn this world?"
If those cultivators had heard these words, they would have been determined to kill Ling Shu. But the one who heard them was Zhuang Jinfu, a so-called guardian immortal. She relied on her cultivation to protect a realm. Her purpose in existence was to prevent natural disasters. As for how humans and demons clashed, she didn't care that much.
No matter how much chaos humans and demons wreak, the Shangqing Realm still exists. As long as the Shangqing Realm exists, she must fulfill the duties entrusted to her by the Heavenly Court.
Maintaining peace in the Shangqing Realm is the responsibility of Wang Lifu, the leader of the Immortal Alliance.
She was aware of Wang Lifu's selfish motives, but she wanted to keep Ling Shu and ensure her safety during her tenure so that she could continue to hold her position. Zhuang Jinfu also had her own selfish motives, which were purer and, to put it bluntly, quite rebellious. It could be said that Zhuang Jinfu was born to be at odds with Wang Lifu, which was one of the reasons she kept Ling Shu.
Zhuang Jinfu's plan to suppress Ling Shu was simple: First, he would not teach Ling Shu cultivation, causing her cultivation level to stop at the Foundation Establishment stage, preventing her from controlling her thousand-year-old demonic power for the rest of her life, and forcing her to rely on Zhuang Jinfu's immortal power to suppress the rampage of the demonic power. Second, he would imprison Ling Shu in Qingxi Mountain, forbidding her from going out or making friends, leaving her isolated and helpless, only able to beg for help from him and rely on him.
Only after Ling Shu and Zhao Chi left did Zhuang Jinfu dare to come out and return to the main hall to rest.
The next day, at dawn, someone knocked on the gate of Qingxi Mountain.
Li Chang, dressed in a delicate pink dress, arrived at the door carrying a gift box. Hai Gu went out to greet her, and when she came in, she found Qingxi Palace having breakfast.
Breakfast was still being set out. Zhuang Jinfu, dressed in an elegant apricot-colored dress, sat in the hall reading and drinking tea. Servants came and went. Li Chang entered and greeted him with a strong voice: "Immortal Venerable Qingxi, good morning!"
Zhuang Jinfu put down the book in his hand, picked up the overturned Jianzhan teacup, straightened it, and poured tea for her while asking, "You're here. Would you like some tea?"
Li Chang approached with a cheerful yet respectful air: "Drink! The tea here is the best, Immortal Venerable!" Li Chang sat down, made a loose fist with her fingers, and tapped it three times to perform the tea-tapping ceremony of a junior to an elder. Zhuang Jinfu nodded in response. Li Chang said with great interest: "My master recently acquired two Jian ware teacups, which are very beautiful. Knowing that I was coming, he specially brought them to me so that I could present them to you for your enjoyment."
"Binding neck?" Zhuang Jinfu looked up and asked.
“Yes! Let me open it and show you.” Li Chang opened the brocade box and faced Zhuang Jinfu.
Zhuang Jinfu picked up the cup with her slender fingers, held it up to the light, and let the sunlight shine into it. The glaze was colorful, and the oil-like crystals shone with a faint blue light. "Not bad, it's a top-quality cup."
Li Chang chuckled and said, "Imperial Venerable, I'm glad you like it." Then she picked up her teacup and sipped the sweet tea.
Ling Shu came in yawning and immediately saw Li Chang. "What brings you here?"
Li Chang stood up and smiled sweetly: "I came to see you!"
"Not going to school?" Ling Shu swung her arms to loosen her shoulders. Li Chang muttered, "You and Zhao Chi aren't here, who am I supposed to play with? I guess I won't go." Ling Shu noticed a cup of tea on the small table next to Li Chang, which Zhuang Jin Fu must have poured for her.
"Whether you go or not is up to you," Ling Shu then walked up to Zhuang Jinfu, pretending that nothing had happened last night. "Master, I also want to have some tea."
Zhuang Jinfu remained calm, showing no sign of caring about last night, and asked Li Chang, "Have you lit the cups yet?"
Li Chang glanced at Ling Shu and Zhuang Jinfu and said, "It's already been opened. My master said he was afraid you would find it troublesome, so he opened the cup for you. You can use it directly."
Zhuang Jinfu nodded, opened the brocade box with the lid on, took out another persimmon-red Jianzhan (a type of ancient Chinese teacup), poured a cup of tea, and gestured for Lingshu to drink.
Ling Shu could tell at a glance that this was a gift from Li Chang. Wasn't it disrespectful to hand it over to her in front of her?
After pouring the tea, Zhuang Jinfu noticed that Ling Shu hadn't picked it up to drink for a while, so he said, "Don't you want to drink it again?"
"Is it not appropriate for me to use this teacup...?" Ling Shu said.
Zhuang Jinfu didn't take it seriously and casually said, "The teacup Elder An Hong gave me is on a shelf in the storeroom. I have no use for it, so it's not a waste to let you use it. Drink it."
Ling Shu felt a sweet warmth in her heart. Zhuang Jinfu didn't treat her like a stranger; she was still his good disciple. Ling Shu said "Oh" and then picked up the cup to drink.
Hai Gu was busy serving the last spring rolls and setting the table when she saw the three people drinking tea. She said, "I say, Immortal Venerable, you really are something else. You've already had breakfast, why are you drinking so much tea? Drinking tea on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach. It's one thing for an adult to drink it, but you're setting a bad example for the children. You know children have weak stomachs. Miss Ling has just recovered from a serious illness, can't you take better care of her? Stop drinking and eat!"
Under Hai Gu's order, Zhuang Jinfu finally put down his teacup and retorted, "You won't die."
“Miss Ling and Miss Li are at the age where they are growing, what’s wrong with you taking care of the children?!” Hai Gu scolded her. Zhuang Jin Fu slowly walked over and retorted, “They’re almost twenty, they’re not children anymore.”
Hai Gu glanced at her unhappily, moved the crab-stuffed orange that Zhuang Jinfu liked away, moved the crystal shrimp dumplings in front of Ling Shu, and placed the water chestnut cake that Li Chang liked in front of her.
Zhuang Jinfu: ...
Ling Shu realized that Hai Gu was doing this on purpose, so she stood up to exchange the crab-stuffed orange for the dish. Just as her hand touched the plate, Hai Gu stopped her, saying, "Don't give her any! People who don't know how to cherish others don't deserve to eat!" Ling Shu reluctantly withdrew her hand. In Qingxi Mountain, important matters depended on Zhuang Jinfu, while minor matters depended on Hai Gu. Offending Hai Gu would mean no good food, so Ling Shu decided not to offend her. Eating was the most important thing.
Li Chang chuckled to herself. When Hai Gu sat down, she noticed two empty seats with bowls and chopsticks set out. Li Chang leaned close to Ling Shu's ear and asked, "Who's in the other seat?"
Li Chang knew that Zhao Chi was on Qingxi Mountain because she skipped class to ask Hai Gu why Ling Shu had lost her memory. Hai Gu said, "When Miss Ling went down the mountain to find her master, she encountered Miss Zhao who was being chased by debt collectors. Miss Zhao's family clashed with the creditors and unfortunately died. Miss Zhao couldn't possibly repay the huge debts her dead father had incurred. She was also a gambler and couldn't pay back the money, so she deserved to die young. The loan shark said he would sell Miss Zhao, but Miss Ling rescued her, and the Immortal Venerable took her back to Qingxi Mountain."
If people found out that the heretical cultivator was in Qingxi Mountain, it would be terrible. Ling Shu pretended to be stupid and said, "Ling Bao doesn't know who it is either."
"Why doesn't Zhao Chi come out for breakfast?" Li Chang asked. Hai Gu replied, "I don't know what's wrong with that child. He keeps saying that he is of low status and refuses to eat at the same table with us. He always hides in his room and eats by himself."
Li Chang immediately stood up and said innocently and kindly, "Then I'll go call her!"
She went out and asked a servant to lead the way. When she arrived at Zhao Chi's door, she knocked and said, "Zhao Chi! Come out and eat!"
"I haven't gotten up yet, you guys eat first." Zhao Chi, dressed neatly, sat down in the room.
Li Chang said, "You're talking nonsense. You get up to practice swordsmanship at dawn every day. How could you not be up by now?"
Zhao Chi: "I'm not hungry yet, you don't need to call me."
The light filtering through the latticework at the doorway made Li Chang's figure appear distinctly black. Then, the latch on the door was pulled open with magic, and a blinding light flooded in, causing Zhao Chi to shield his eyes with his hand.
Without checking, Li Chang came straight over, grabbed her and walked out: "Come on, you're the only one who hasn't come. Everyone's waiting for you."
She was pulled out of the house, and she didn't resist. She also hoped that someone would stubbornly pull her out of her dark room. After walking around the corner, she saw Ling Shu standing under the eaves, obviously waiting for her. "Sister Zhao, you've come."
Zhao Chi was somewhat speechless.
As Li Chang entered, she saw a woman in a bright red dress sitting in the previously empty seat. She had a graceful figure and a beautiful hairstyle.
"Firebird Fairy?!?" Li Chang was dumbfounded. The firebird waved to her, every move exuding charm.
"How do you know her?" Ling Shu keenly seized on this point.
Li Chang was not in the mood and blurted out, "I've seen it at home."
Fire Sparrow is an evil cultivator. Li Chang comes from the prestigious Li family. How could a family that prides itself on being upright allow evil cultivators to frequent its home? From the words of the deceased second young lady of the Li family, "We are just people who hang around in the underworld," it can be inferred that this second young lady of the Li family was not content with her status and had close ties with those evil cultivators. Judging from Li Qiaoyan's indifference to his second sister's death, the second young lady of the Li family must not be valued by the head of the family. Judging from her actions towards Ling Shu, she has done a lot of theft and crime in her daily life, or rather, she and Li Qiaoyan are not on the same side.
When Li Chang first met Ling Shu, she was angry with her. Li Chang once said, "You are the culprit who killed my aunt!" Li Chang's mother had a good relationship with the second young lady of the Li family, and the second young lady doted on Li Chang.
Another piece of information is that Wang Lifu valued Li Chang highly. Wang Lifu married a human woman, but required a fertility potion to conceive. However, female demons and humans can conceive without such a potion, and the recipe for the fertility potion was lost in the war. This means Wang Lifu could no longer have children; Ling Shu was his only daughter.
Ling Shu's existence threatens Li Chang's originally planned future position, so someone is willing to do anything to kill her, and this person is related to Li Chang.
Li Chang's background is simple; her father died in a shipwreck, and she was raised by only her mother.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Chi panicked. Looking at Ling Shu, he saw that she indeed had an excited look in her eyes, as if she had guessed his secret.
Zhao Chi has lost his bargaining chip.
Li Chang asked Zhao Chi to sit down, but she stood there motionless for a long time: "What's wrong with you? Are you too excited?"
Zhuang Jinfu said with an elegant and insightful look: "Zhao Chi, no one looks down on you, and no one wants to kick you out."
"Come here and sit down."
Zhao Chi felt somewhat relieved after hearing this. It was Zhuang Jinfu who was speaking; she didn't intend to kick her out. Zhao Chi took her seat, still looking absent-minded. Zhuang Jinfu picked up her chopsticks, and only then did the others begin to eat. Ling Shu picked up a steamed dumpling and put it in Zhao Chi's bowl.
Ling Shu smiled innocently and naively: "Sister Zhao, remember to come again next time after you've eaten this meal."
Zhao Chi felt a chill run down his spine.
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