Chapter 64: With Green Lotus, An Anomaly!

On the second day after arriving in the Imperial Capital, although the Jia Ma Imperial Family, the Mittel clan, and the Nalan clan had all begun taking action to win him over, Xiao Yan could not care less about such matters.

Xiao Yan, having just risen early in the morning, walked out of his room and saw the small figure of Green Lotus already waiting outside.

"Why, have you already found the place we are going to?" Xiao Yan smiled gently and stepped forward to habitually ruffle Green Lotus's little head.

"Young Master, be gentle, you'll mess it up." Green Lotus spoke with a touch of shyness.

"Eh." Once Green Lotus said this, Xiao Yan finally realized that today, Green Lotus had undoubtedly dressed up with great care.

Green Lotus was wearing a green classical long dress, with exquisite metal patterns decorating the collar; the lines ran from the collar across the chest and extended all the way to the hem, setting off a strong sense of three-dimensionality. Her delicate little hands were nervously clutching the hem of her skirt, and her lowered head kept turning upward, as if observing Xiao Yan's reaction.

"It looks very beautiful, Green Lotus. Did you choose this yourself?" Xiao Yan smiled slightly, giving Green Lotus an affirmative answer.

"Mm-hmm, when we were in Wu Tan City, Young Master gave Green Lotus quite a bit of money, and I bought this dress myself back then." Green Lotus nodded excitedly, telling him the origin of the dress.

Xiao Yan listened patiently as Green Lotus finished speaking; without realizing it, the two of them had been standing there for quite a while.

"Alright, alright, the sun is already hitting our backsides; if we don't head out now, today will be a wash." Xiao Yan said with a hint of a smile.

"Ah!" Green Lotus realized, and let out a startled cry like a little rabbit: "That, I'm sorry Young Master, let's go quickly!"

Turning around, Green Lotus took the lead to show the way.

"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded and said: "But we still have to wait a moment."

Hearing this, Green Lotus, who was walking in front, stopped and turned back to look at Xiao Yan with some confusion.

Xiao Yan was seen walking up gently and slowly taking Green Lotus's little hand, smiling as he said: "There are a lot of people in the Imperial Capital, we must be careful not to get separated."

"Mm." Green Lotus shyly lowered her head and gave a soft 'mm', feeling only sweetness in her heart.

"Then let's go, Young Master."

Saying this, the two of them walked out of the imperial palace together. However, near the exit, they encountered a purple-haired girl who had been waiting there for some time: Yao Yue.

The moment she saw Xiao Yan appear, Yao Yue could not help but reveal a brilliant smile. Although this smile froze for an instant upon seeing her hand held with Xiao Yan's and noticing the dress she had clearly dressed up in, Yao Yue quickly hid it and said: "What a coincidence, are you going out today too, Xiao Yan?"

Qing Lian was naturally a girl prone to shyness, and being seen by someone else at this moment made her feel incredibly embarrassed.

However, Xiao Yan's thick skin naturally would not care, and he replied quite naturally: "Mm. After all, I won't be staying in the Imperial Capital for long, and since I have time today, I'm taking my little sister out for a stroll."

So it's just his little sister. Yao Yue thought to herself. Although she knew Qing Lian was not Xiao Yan's real sister, as long as Xiao Yan defined it that way now, she could not be considered an urgent enemy—at the very least, she was nothing compared to that person from the Nalan family.

"Then how about—never mind, it's not easy for you siblings to come to the Imperial Capital, so I won't disturb you. However, if you encounter any trouble on the road, you can contact the guards directly; they will help you solve it." Yao Yue stepped aside and smiled.

"Then many thanks, Princess Yao Yue." Xiao Yan replied with a smile, and saying this, he led Qing Lian out of the imperial palace.

Is it just as a little sister? Looking at the back of the person holding her hand and moving forward, Qing Lian thought silently: Young Master Xiao Yan, Qing Lian is a very greedy girl!

On the other side, Yao Yue, who had let the two of them go, was quickly questioned by the maid beside her: "Oh my, Princess, how could you just let them go like that!"

"Mei'er! I just suddenly thought of a question." Yao Yue said, feeling both awkward and distressed: "This boy, how exactly should one pursue him!"

"Ah?"

On the other side, Qing Lian soon brought Xiao Yan to a street adjacent to the imperial palace.

Because it was right next to the imperial palace, it was not only crowded with people, but everything sold here was also precious items that ordinary people could not afford.

Although there would certainly be no problem with Xiao Yan's financial level, Qing Lian, who had suffered from a young age, never considered this a destination and was just passing through.

However, a girl's nature still caused her to be unknowingly attracted by a bracelet on the side of the road. Although Qing Lian continued walking forward as if nothing had happened, Xiao Yan still noticed.

Gently pulling Qing Lian back, he brought her to that stall.

This was a bracelet green throughout, with exquisite and elegant patterns surrounding a green gemstone in the center—it was actually a Tier 2 Magical Beast core! Xiao Yan sighed with emotion: As expected of the Imperial Capital, such a treasure could actually appear—

At a roadside stall!

"How much for this?" Xiao Yan asked the boss.

The roadside stall boss was clearly a shrewd person at a glance. He took a slight look at Qing Lian beside Xiao Yan and immediately wanted to ask for an exorbitant price, but suddenly felt a trace of a dangerous aura from Xiao Yan. Always cautious, he immediately dismissed the thought and said: "Eighty thousand gold coins."

Xiao Yan glanced at the green magical beast core, nodded, and handed over the money, "Take it."

"Many thanks for your patronage!"

"Young Master, this, this is too expensive." Although Qing Lian was covetous, she still said with some heartache.

"It's fine, I bought this for myself." Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"Ah?" Qing Lian blinked in surprise.

Dotingly pinching Qing Lian's little nose, Xiao Yan laughed: "But I'll have to trouble a certain little beauty to keep it safe for me."

"Young Master!" Qing Lian's face flushed red: "There are other people around! Let's hurry and go!"

"Alright, alright!" Xiao Yan said, then as he walked, he put the bracelet on the hand he was holding.

Although Qing Lian kept hurrying forward, her little eyes, which would look back from time to time, were sparkling; she was clearly very happy.

Soon, Qing Lian brought Xiao Yan to a street specializing in medicinal herbs.

"This is?" Xiao Yan looked at Qing Lian with some surprise: "You like this kind of place?"

"Mm." Qing Lian lowered her head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "Qing Lian is already very happy as long as I can go out with Young Master, so I hope Young Master can be happy too. I heard before that Young Master chatted very happily when buying herbs with Big Sister Little Medical Fairy, so—"

"But—" Xiao Yan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "You shouldn't understand these things."

"Ah!" Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Qing Lian's eyes widened abruptly, and she said in a panic: "Then, then shall we go to the next place?"

Seeing Qing Lian like this, just in case, Xiao Yan asked: "What other places are there next?" "This—originally we should have eaten first, but it's still early, so it should be the Jianghong Courtyard!" Qing Lian said nervously.

"Jianghong Courtyard?" Why does this name—Xiao Yan's expression was a bit strange: "Do you know what this place is for? Qing Lian?"

"This—I heard Big Sister Ya Fei say that this is the place young people in the Imperial Capital like to go to most, so, is there something wrong with this place? Young Master?" Qing Lian asked with some curiosity.

"No, it's nothing." This kind of thing was really hard to explain, and Xiao Yan could only muddle through it.

"Young Master, is it that Qing Lian didn't arrange it well?" Although Xiao Yan didn't say it explicitly, Qing Lian could still feel it, and asked with some sadness and self-reproach.

"No, Qing Lian arranged it very well, it's just that Young Master suddenly has somewhere else he wants to go." Xiao Yan gently touched Qing Lian's head, comforting her.

"Somewhere else?"

"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded.

"Where is it?" Qing Lian asked with some curiosity.

"Up there." Xiao Yan grinned, suddenly scooped Qing Lian up by her waist, spread his Purple Cloud Wings amidst the shocked gazes of those around, and soared into the sky, flying above the clouds in an instant!

"Ah!" The sudden movement and rapid ascent made Qing Lian close her eyes in fear, her hands clutching tightly onto Xiao Yan's clothes as she nestled entirely into his embrace.

When Qing Lian opened her eyes again, the two of them had already flown to a great height.

The clouds, within arm's reach, were like cotton, stretching from their sides to the distant horizon, gilded with a layer of golden radiance under the sunlight, which was breathtaking.

Because they were at such a high altitude, the air temperature was very low, to the point that the breath Qing Lian exhaled turned into white mist the moment it left her lips.

However, both of them were cultivators; the low temperature at high altitude did not make them feel cold, but instead brought a sense of refreshment.

Although she had ridden flying magical beasts before, she had always stayed inside a cabin at those times, so Qing Lian had never actually experienced a feeling like this, let alone while being held in Xiao Yan's arms.

"How is it? Do you like it?" Exhaling a puff of white mist, Xiao Yan lowered his head and asked the person in his arms.

"Mm." Qing Lian reached out to touch the nearby white clouds and replied softly.

"Then let's keep going!" Saying this, Xiao Yan took Qing Lian and dove headfirst into the clouds, roaming freely amidst the vast white expanse.

"Ah! Young Master!"

Sometimes leaping up from the cloud layer, sometimes diving down, sometimes swirling the mist into various shapes, and sometimes calmly watching it dissipate.

Although they were just simple clouds, as long as one relaxed their mind, one could find a unique kind of joy.

Time passed quickly, the setting sun gradually dipped below the horizon, giving the pristine white clouds a new color.

Xiao Yan mustered his remaining Dou Qi and carried Qing Lian toward the sun, enjoying the joy of the pursuit.

Suddenly, a strange feeling welled up in Xiao Yan's heart; it seemed as if something was attracting him.

Xiao Yan looked in the direction from which the strange sensation came, and a majestic, massive mountain range appeared before his eyes.

The mountain range coiled like a giant dragon upon the land north of the Imperial Capital, with towering peaks concealing heaven-soaring spiritual energy, and one could faintly see many buildings that were either grand or elegant.

"Misty Cloud Sect?" Xiao Yan guessed.

"Young Master, what's wrong?" Qing Lian noticed Xiao Yan's unusual behavior and asked with some concern.

"It's nothing, Qing Lian. It's getting late, let's head back." Shaking off the doubts in his heart, Xiao Yan replied.

"Mm."

Although she felt a bit disappointed, Qing Lian still nodded obediently.

Turning his head to glance at the mountain range gradually hiding in the night, Xiao Yan, filled with doubt, began his return.