Chapter 300: Red Clouds Mask the Face, Arousing Suspicion

Youyuan Hall was quite lively; fists flew, feet kicked, and shouts and curses rang out—it was a scene of utter chaos.

Watching the men with their red faces and stiff necks, Lianqiao shook her head helplessly.

It seemed men were the same everywhere; her own brothers back home would often come to blows over the most trivial matters, and now, even here in the Daoist Sect, she still witnessed such scenes.

A few months ago, the sect sent a group of disciples down the mountain for training. Lianqiao had not intended to return home, but rather to travel the world and see the mountains and seas. However, Chengxin Zhenren's words about settling worldly ties before she left made her change her mind.

Indeed, she had grown up under the care of her father and mother; even if she was determined to devote herself to the Dao, she could not ignore her parents. Since her parents had raised her and she now had the heart to leave the mortal world, she should bid them a proper farewell; how could she act so self-indulgently?

Yet who would have thought that once she returned home, she would never be able to leave again.

Lianqiao's father's clan was surnamed Huang, a famous Exorcist Family within a radius of dozens of miles. Whenever the nearby villagers encountered anything evil, the first people they thought of were the Huangs, and sometimes, even nearby Daoist temples would come to pay them a visit.

Although the Huang family had a reputation, in reality, the family had long been in a state of decline.

Nowadays, Spirit Roots were scarce and spirit veins were thin, so most of the secret arts of the Exorcist Families in Chenjian could no longer be practiced. To ensure survival, the head of the Huang family pulled strings everywhere and sent his own daughter into the palace.

He had only intended to rely on having someone in the palace to bask in the Imperial Court's prestige, but he never expected his daughter to be so capable, winning the favor of the current Emperor and rising all the way to the position of Imperial Noble Consort.

With an Imperial Noble Consort in the family, the entire clan naturally rose in status, and the Huang family's prestige in the area became even more significant than before; even the local officials were quite sycophantic toward them.

After tasting the sweetness of power, the head of the Huang family became somewhat ungrateful, neglecting the moral principles that an Exorcist Family should follow and falling into the mire of worldly vanity.

However, his nephews and nieces were of mediocre talent; they could neither make a name for themselves in the world of exorcism nor possess the great talents of a scholar, leaving the Huang family's future bleak.

Fortunately, the Huang family had two daughters, and the younger one, Lianqiao, was even more beautiful than the eldest who had entered the palace.

Thus, the head of the Huang family thought to send this younger daughter into the palace as well, to solidify the family's position in the Imperial Court.

Lianqiao was naturally unwilling, but she could not defy her father. Fortunately, although her aptitude was average, she had learned some skills at Yuanqing and had even obtained a Spirit Treasure like the Mirror Flower Water Moon; with just a small display of witchcraft, she easily escaped.

As soon as she escaped, she traveled alone for a time, and after witnessing the vastness of the rivers and seas, she decided to return to Yuanqing.

She had been back at Yuanqing for some time now, and of the fellow disciples who had left at that time, only four or five had returned.

Although Yuanqing was a prestigious sect, female Daoists were few and far between, and after a martial arts selection, there were even fewer left.

Facing a group of men, Lianqiao naturally had nothing to say and could only practice on her own every day.

Fortunately, Banxia had returned a few days ago. The two had always been close, and now that they hadn't seen each other for a long time, they spent their days together like close friends in the mortal world, whispering endlessly about their private thoughts.

However, what Lianqiao found strange was that while Banxia had previously been somewhat disdainful of Liu Xia, after only two or three months of training, the two had become inexplicably much more harmonious.

This was not normal!

For instance, in the chaos at Youyuan Hall this time, Banxia had been peeking at the excitement, but Liu Xia had grabbed her and pulled her behind him, and she vaguely heard Liu Xia say, "Be careful, don't get hurt by those people." Banxia, in turn, did not show the same rejection toward Liu Xia as before; instead, a suspicious blush appeared on her face.

Hiss! This dead girl, could it be? Could it really be?

Hmph! They had agreed to devote themselves to the Dao together; what they said back then was louder than a rooster crowing, yet who would have thought it was nothing more than the breath of the five grains.

But compared to being angry, Lianqiao was more curious about how Liu Xia had managed to get through to such a dense girl like Banxia.

Hmm... unusual! Very unusual!

The more she thought about it, the more curious Lianqiao became. She carefully bypassed the chaos in the hall, quietly approached Banxia, and caught her off guard, pulling her out.

Banxia had been craning her neck to watch the excitement, but she was muddledly dragged out of the hall by a force. Only when she saw it was Lianqiao did she let out a sigh of relief.

"Why are you pulling me? I haven't seen enough yet!" Banxia said, lifting her leg to go back into the hall, but Lianqiao grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back again.

Lianqiao stared at Banxia without a word, her arms crossed in front of her chest, putting on the full airs of a young lady.

Banxia was from the countryside and had never seen Lianqiao like this; her momentum immediately faltered, and she shrank her neck, stammering, "You... what do you want to do..."

Seeing Banxia retreating step by step, a wicked smile appeared on Lianqiao's face. Only when she had forced Banxia into a corner did she speak in a low, deep voice.

"From now on, I won't believe a single word you say, unless you can give me a reasonable explanation." Lianqiao said, raising one hand to press against the door panel, blocking Banxia's path.

"Speak! When did you and that guy Liu Xia get together!"

She couldn't wait to know!

"Huh?" Hearing this, Banxia was stunned for a moment, then relaxed, "Just... this?"

"What do you mean 'just this'? Who was it that said something before we left? Something about some people being pretentious and incapable, something about being stubborn and inflexible—don't tell me those were all excuses?"

"This... that wasn't an excuse, it's just..." Banxia didn't know where to start.

On the day of the Qiqiao Festival, Liu Xia had poured out his heart to Banxia and revealed everything about what he had encountered when he was a child, which turned out to be exactly the same as what they had encountered in the Four Symbols Array in the Long Family's underground palace.

Lingxiang had once said that the dead are like this, and time is like water; the Xuanwu Array was a water-element Dharma Array, so perhaps it was because of that array that her past self had met the young Liu Xia, which was why the seed of seeking the Dao was planted in Liu Xia's heart.

"There is such a miraculous thing?" Lianqiao was shocked to hear this, but after a moment, she understood.

Daoist Techniques and Dharma Techniques were inherently strange in many ways; it was not surprising that such a strange phenomenon could occur in an ancient array guarding an underground palace.

"So that's why you don't hate him anymore?"

Banxia fidgeted for a long time before saying, "That's not it either. On the day of the Qiqiao Festival, he said... he said..."

"What did he say!" Seeing Banxia unable to get to the point, Lianqiao urged her impatiently.

"He said he was fond of me..." Banxia finished, covering her eyes.

"What?!" Lianqiao was shocked, her voice rising involuntarily. Fortunately, the arguing and fighting in the hall meant no one noticed. "He said he was fond of you, and you're acting all love-struck like this? You believe a man's words?"

Hearing this, Banxia parted her fingers to reveal her eyes, but still covered her face and said in a muffled voice, "At first I didn't believe it either, but... but..."

"But he bought me delicious food, and you know, one feels obligated after taking things..."

Lianqiao rolled her eyes and almost sighed to the heavens, cursing in her heart that Banxia was beyond saving, but just then, Lingxiang's voice came from behind.

"Oh~ so that's how it is. I was wondering what was different about you two after you returned; I didn't expect it to be this."