Chapter 123: The Langhuan Pavilion: Deceptive Appearances

"What did you say? Missing without a trace?" Qianyuan Zhenren was greatly shocked. How could a perfectly healthy person just go missing without a trace?!

"That is exactly the case. At the time, this disciple and Junior Brother Guanxu were only focused on that thief. When we turned back to look, the courtyard was completely empty," Hanwu said with a bow.

Guanxu also bowed in a salute and said, "There is another suspicious matter. At the time, Senior Brother Hanwu and I clearly saw that child throw the Horned Beetle in his hand onto Huiwu's face. But when we caught Huiwu, there was nothing there at all, leaving only Huiwu alone, hissing and clawing at the air."

Upon hearing this, Qianyuan Zhenren looked toward Shangqing Zhenren, who was sitting with his eyes closed.

"This child must be proficient in hallucinatory witchcraft. Since Lingxiang brought him back, why not call Lingxiang over to ask clearly? If he is a member of the Daoist Sect, then so be it. Senior Brother, what do you think..."

Shangqing Zhenren only kept his eyes closed and did not speak. For a moment, Qianyuan Zhenren did not know what to do...

This Lingxiang is always causing trouble; I hope she hasn't brought back some kind of disaster!

Today was a bright and sunny day. It was rare for Lingxiang to wake up early. Although spring was almost here, it was still extremely cold outside, but fortunately, she had the Fire Spirit Bead to keep her company.

Long Qi and the other two were practicing martial arts in the courtyard. Lingxiang sat on the railing of the veranda watching, but her thoughts had drifted elsewhere.

Even from her perspective, she could see the flaws in the "Entwining Dragon Sword Technique" that Long Qi was practicing. It must be missing something. If he kept practicing according to this Sword Manual, after a long time, something would likely go wrong. It would be better to find him something else to replace it for now, and then plan for the future.

She didn't need to worry too much about Xin Yi. With his intelligence, he shouldn't encounter any difficult problems in Daoist arts. It seemed he had learned most of the skills of his Lu Family. However, since it was Martial Dao cultivation, she still had to find a way to search for a suitable witchcraft for him to practice. As for his Daoist heart, he would have to explore that himself.

Rendong was a bit more troublesome. Although Lingxiang intended to blaze a new trail for him, cultivation could not be rushed. Furthermore, not everyone could be as lucky as Zhuzhang Laoren, who grasped the Dao opportunity in an instant. Since it was something that could be met but not sought, it was better to let nature take its course. But for now, she should first find him a fan technique manual. The way he wielded his fan, even the dancing girls in the Qinlou brothels were more pleasing to the eye than him...

Just as she was thinking about these things, she suddenly smelled the scent of vinegar. Turning her head to look, she saw Xiaobai standing to the side with a smile, holding a plate of cold-dressed bamboo shoots in his hand.

Lingxiang immediately lost the heart to think; her eyes were filled only with the plate of bamboo shoots in his hand.

Long Qi had originally seen Lingxiang watching him practice his sword and thought about showing off his prowess, but he didn't expect her to go chasing after that old fox. Suddenly, a sour feeling surged in his stomach, and he didn't even want to practice his sword anymore.

After a bout of chasing, Xiaobai led Lingxiang to the stone table in the courtyard and gave her the plate of cold-dressed bamboo shoots.

Lingxiang loved bamboo shoots immensely, especially the tips, which were the crispest and most tender.

"Giving people vinegar-marinated things early in the morning!" Long Qi said, walking to the side and sitting down.

"Naturally, one cannot just eat this," Xiaobai said, and as if performing a magic trick, he produced a bowl of Cloud Mica Porridge from behind his back. "Clear porridge paired with bamboo shoot dishes, fragrant and delicious. Eating it this way will make one feel refreshed!"

Lingxiang was even more delighted to see the porridge. Xiaobai smiled and placed it on the stone table, then handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Long Qi only felt his stomach churning uncomfortably. Even when Xin Yi called him to eat, he had no heart to respond.

Donghui Zhenren had been invited to Wuji Hall today for a meeting. There was only a young Daoist acolyte squatting in front of Langhuan Pavilion, not knowing what he was playing with. Seeing Lingxiang lead the three of them over, he hurriedly stepped forward and performed a Daoist salute.

"Little Muchen, I spoke with your master a few days ago. Today I am bringing these Junior Brothers of yours to select cultivation techniques."

Upon hearing this, Muchen hurriedly took a box from his bosom, selected four pieces of Talisman Paper, and handed them to Lingxiang.

"Junior Aunt, the person behind you is not a member of the sect. According to the rules, he cannot enter Langhuan Pavilion. If he is your guest, Junior Aunt, please let him wait outside. The sect rules are strict; please do not make things difficult for me!"

This Junior Aunt was a famous troublemaker in the sect. Muchen's words were spoken with a hint of a sob, which made Xiaobai, standing to the side, almost laugh out loud.

"Fine, fine. It's just selecting some suitable techniques. You all go ahead; I will wait outside."

Xiaobai said, and he sat down on a chair of his own accord, even instructing Muchen to bring a pot of good tea.

Long Qi had been feeling depressed since the morning, but now that this old fox was refused entry, he suddenly felt a great sense of joy in his heart and almost hummed a little tune.

You old fox, you have your day too!

From the outside, this Langhuan Pavilion did not look very large; even the restaurants in town had more grandeur. But as soon as the three of them entered, they discovered that there was a vast world within.

The pavilion was filled with carved beams and painted pillars, deep cabinets, and long corridors. Looking at it, it seemed to have no end. Even the ceiling seemed to have been cast with witchcraft, with all kinds of paper scrolls and bamboo slips hanging from it. And the shelves on the side were like towering old trees, filled with green-skinned paper books, with a cloud ladder next to each shelf.

With this arrangement, how could it be called just a pavilion? It would not be an exaggeration to call it a palace.

And besides being shocked by the magnificence of this book pavilion, what surprised Long Qi even more was Lingxiang.

He had heard from Maidong that Lingxiang had read all the books in this Langhuan Pavilion. But she had only just reached the age of fifteen; how could she have managed to read all the books in the entire Langhuan Pavilion?

While everyone was wondering, Lingxiang walked inside on her own, instructing them to look around as they pleased, and if they found any techniques they liked, they could take them to study.

Xiaobai was drinking tea comfortably outside. That cynical and irreverent manner was truly out of place, making Muchen, who was watching from the side, unable to stop glancing and clicking his tongue.

Truly, birds of a feather flock together. This behavior was exactly the same as that Ninth Junior Aunt.

But Xiaobai didn't care at all. He didn't know where he got a plate of fruit and started eating it himself. Although Muchen was like a little adult, he was still a child after all. Seeing the fruit in his hand, he couldn't help but drool—it was colorful and looked truly delicious.

"What? Just a moment ago you looked down on me, but now that there's a plate of fruit, you've lost your momentum?" Xiaobai smacked his lips and laughed.

Muchen's face turned red upon hearing this, and then he turned his head away.

"Who said I wanted to eat? I don't want to eat at all!"

Xiaobai laughed, picked up a piece of sticky rice cake, shook it toward Muchen, and said, "Who said you wanted to eat? Whoever said it, I'll beat them for you. Such a fragrant sticky rice fruit, you don't want to eat it at all!" Saying this, he stuffed the sticky rice cake into his mouth in one bite, kept smacking his lips, and kept calling it delicious and fragrant.

Muchen heard this and felt like his heart was being clawed at, but he still kept his back to Xiaobai, acting as if he were sulking, and did not speak. Only his ears twitched from time to time, as if by listening to the sound, he could taste the flavor.

Seeing him like this, Xiaobai laughed even more happily—he was quite a stubborn little bone.

Just as he thought Muchen was very amusing, he heard a chime of bells. Turning his head to look, at the corner, a black cat was staring at him without blinking!

After a long while without hearing any movement from Xiaobai, Muchen couldn't help but turn his head to look. But there was no longer a shadow of a person in front of the table; only a cup of tea and a plate of pastries were placed on the table, as if inviting him to come over and taste them.