Chapter 189: The Zither Music Never Ceases, the Dream Finally Awakens

Thus, Lingxiang wrote a letter and requested a few people from Shangqing Zhenren.

When Shangqing Zhenren read the Paper Crane Letter, he could not help but feel a splitting headache; the letter spoke of dilapidated dwellings, of living in a cold house with no one to answer, and also claimed that while the other Elders had disciples everywhere, she alone was lonely and helpless—in short, it was utterly miserable.

But upon turning to the second page, he saw the names of several people written there, stating she wished to take them away for a few days to amuse herself, and if he did not agree, she would come to make a scene at Wuji Hall.

To speak so recklessly was truly a disgrace to the Daoist Sect, yet Lingxiang had always acted without restraint; if things did not go her way, she might truly turn Wuji Hall upside down.

Fortunately, Shangqing Zhenren knew Lingxiang's character well and understood that these words were merely out of resentment regarding the Linglong affair, and she simply wanted to irritate her Sect Leader senior brother; with Qianyuan Zhenren there to persuade him, he eventually granted her request.

When Lingxiang received the letter, she was actually slightly surprised; could it be that the old man Shangqing had been so angered by her over the years that his heart had truly become as still as stagnant water and as calm as an ancient well?

Looking at Qianyuan Zhenren, who had come in person to deliver the message with a smile on his face, she calculated deeply in her heart—that he had specifically ordered the old man to deliver the message was suspicious; the old fellow before her was also an old fox with a mind full of twists and turns, so she had to be on guard.

"So the old man agreed just like that?" Lingxiang asked, seemingly intentional or otherwise.

Qianyuan Zhenren did not answer, but merely flicked his robe sleeves, and a pot of hot tea appeared on the table; he sat down leisurely, took a Tea Cup, poured for himself, and began to drink slowly. But Bai Wuchang would certainly not appear without reason; he must have had his own plans.

The reason why she was still being kept in mind by the Demon Lord was likely because Lingxiang had used a Life-Prolonging Pill at the Taishang Sect, which they had discovered.

Lingxiang naturally understood the stakes, which was why she requested Shoucheng from Qianyuan Zhenren to go with her.

Shoucheng practiced the Earth-Hidden Earth-Escaping Method and was skilled in concealment and the Earth Escaping Technique; his attainments were extraordinary, and he could take Lingxiang and Rendong with him to Zhulin Guan.

As for why Lingxiang wanted to bring Rendong, it was because she wanted to take him to meet Zhuzhang Laoren.

The three of them, relying on Shoucheng's Earth Escaping Technique, traveled and rested by turns, and within a day, they arrived at the Ancient Bamboo Forest in Xianglin.

The Ancient Bamboo Forest was where the Daoist temple of Zhuzhang Laoren was located, and it was set with eighty-eight layers of Array Formation; ordinary people could not step inside at all, and while those with Daoist attainments could advance a little, they could not penetrate deep within.

As for this Zhuzhang Laoren, he was a strange person; he had cultivated for several hundred years, yet he had always lived alone in this Ancient Bamboo Forest and had never come out.

And Lingxiang and the bamboo staff were actually Ajin!

"Why are you here?" Lingxiang asked, ignoring the soreness in her nose: "Could it be that Lady Qiao..."

Ajin was also somewhat surprised; he had just transformed into human form and wanted to find someone to ask for directions, and he never expected to run into Lingxiang at the Yuanqing Sect; it was truly a coincidence.

"My Lady ordered me to follow Wuyang from now on, so I came to Yuanqing to look for him, but I got a bit lost."

Lingxiang burst into laughter upon hearing this; if Ajin in this state met her senior brothers, it would be fine, as they were knowledgeable and knew his origins, but if some disciples saw him, they would surely mistake him for a demon and beat him away, if only for those golden eyes of his.

"Since the Lady sent you here, how is the matter of the guards at the City Lord Mansion arranged?" Lingxiang asked.

"Alv is there; although his cultivation is not high, he does have some small tricks."

Alv? That yellow weasel? Lingxiang was a bit skeptical, but if Ajin trusted it, then there should be no major problem.

"In that case, you had better transform into your cat form; I will take you to find Wuyang," Lingxiang said with a smile.

Lingxiang was willing to help, and Ajin naturally could not ask for more; the cat form was even more comfortable for him.

Lingxiang took him straight to Langhuan Pavilion; Elder Donghui was somewhat surprised to see her return so soon, but he was startled when he saw the black cat in her arms and hurried forward to ask, but Lingxiang slipped past like the wind, saying only that she was in a hurry.

It was indeed an urgent matter; such a person had come to the sect, yet no one knew!

Lingxiang ran to the Strange Tales Section, searched for a while, grabbed a book, and left in a hurry, leaving Elder Donghui stunned for a long time before he hurriedly gave a few instructions to his disciples and rushed toward Wuji Hall.

Ajin was also extremely surprised; he had been promised to be taken to find Wuyang, but this young girl had run to the place of books in a great rush; he had thought Wuyang would be there, but he did not expect her to just flip through the bamboo slips for a long time and run out again; although he was confused, he was currently being held by Lingxiang and it was inconvenient to transform into human form to ask.

Lingxiang was naturally not without—it was actually Ajin!

"Why are you here?" Lingxiang asked, ignoring the soreness in her nose: "Could it be that Lady Qiao..."

Ajin was also somewhat surprised; he had just transformed into human form and wanted to find someone to ask for directions, and he never expected to run into Lingxiang at the Yuanqing Sect; it was truly a coincidence.

"My Lady ordered me to follow Wuyang from now on, so I came to Yuanqing to look for him, but I got a bit lost."

Lingxiang burst into laughter upon hearing this; if Ajin in this state met her senior brothers, it would be fine, as they were knowledgeable and knew his origins, but if some disciples saw him, they would surely mistake him for a demon and beat him away, if only for those golden eyes of his.

"Since the Lady sent you here, how is the matter of the guards at the City Lord Mansion arranged?" Lingxiang asked.

"Alv is there; although his cultivation is not high, he does have some small tricks."

Alv? That yellow weasel? Lingxiang was a bit skeptical, but if Ajin trusted it, then there should be no major problem.

"In that case, you had better transform into your cat form; I will take you to find Wuyang," Lingxiang said with a smile.

Lingxiang was willing to help, and Ajin naturally could not ask for more; the cat form was even more comfortable for him.

Lingxiang took him straight to Langhuan Pavilion; Elder Donghui was somewhat surprised to see her return so soon, but he was startled when he saw the black cat in her arms and hurried forward to ask, but Lingxiang slipped past like the wind, saying only that she was in a hurry.

It was indeed an urgent matter; such a person had come to the sect, yet no one knew!

Lingxiang ran to the Strange Tales Section, searched for a while, grabbed a book, and left in a hurry, leaving Elder Donghui stunned for a long time before he hurriedly gave a few instructions to his disciples and rushed toward Wuji Hall. No, Lingxiang tore off another lantern riddle slip, which read: "Round when drawing, square when writing, short in winter, long in summer."

Such a simple lantern riddle was surely meant to fool children; Lingxiang curled her lips and then wrote the answer on the back of the slip.

The person in charge of the lanterns took it, checked it against the riddle, and shouted loudly: "The Luanfeng Lantern riddle is solved! Five coins as a prize!"

Five coins! Lingxiang had not expected that such a simple riddle could have a prize of five silver coins. Taking the small silver pieces handed over by the lantern keeper, Lingxiang felt a surge of excitement in her heart—it was not in vain that she had spent the whole night solving lantern riddles; she had finally seen money!

Just at this moment, gongs suddenly sounded in the West Pavilion by the Guyang River, and the crowd hurried toward the pavilion; it seemed they were about to announce the lantern riddle with the biggest prize of the night.

Where there was a big prize, there would naturally be a large crowd, and before long, the area outside the pavilion was packed three layers deep. This time, the lantern riddle was for a Wolong Lantern; the lantern was made quite lifelike, but no riddle slip was visible.

Just as the crowd was confused, they saw the person beating the gong take two scrolls from his bosom and hang one of them up, which was still covered by a piece of silk cloth.

"Everyone, please listen to me; the riddle for this Wolong Lantern is a couplet. The first line is a riddle written personally by the City Lord. If you wish to win the grand prize, you must write the second line on this other silk scroll; not only must the riddle match, but the answer must also correspond." As he spoke, he spread the empty gold-threaded silk scroll on a small table.

Such a lantern riddle was quite rare; the crowd was just waiting for the lantern keeper to reveal the riddle, but they heard the person beating the gong say again: "The prize for this lantern riddle is a 'Prisoner Ox Listening to the Wind-Blowing Rain'; this zither is a dowry item of the City Lord's wife, and today it is specially brought out as a prize." As he spoke, he lifted the silk cloth behind him.

The riddle had not yet been revealed, but the prize had been shown to everyone first; it seemed the City Lord was very confident in this riddle. However, the crowd's thoughts were not on this; they were all attracted by the Prisoner Ox zither on the stage.

That ancient zither was in the style of a Fuxi zither; the brown face of the zither revealed a red hue through the deer-horn frost ash, and it had ox-hair cracks; one look and it was clearly no ordinary object. Yet what was even more unusual was that a Prisoner Ox was carved at the head of the zither, lying prone, eyes closed and listening quietly, looking incredibly lifelike.

Even if a layman saw this zither, even if they did not use it to play, if they sold it to someone who understood zithers, they would surely obtain a considerable amount of wealth.

And Lingxiang's gaze was also captured by this zither, not because of its value, but because there were wisps of Spirit Qi lingering on it.

This was an Ancient Dharma Artifact!

Only an Ancient Dharma Artifact could store spirit! Under a large banyan tree, a little girl sat squatting in tattered clothes, and not far away, there were several children in coarse hemp clothes, pointing at the little girl under the banyan tree and singing incessantly:

"Little beggar, little beggar, no one wants you, no one loves you, thrown under the tree to feed the wolves and jackals, eating chaff and drinking thin gruel, digging for wild vegetables!"

The little girl curled her body under the tree roots, holding her head and looking miserable, her face dirty and looking extremely pitiful.

Just as everyone was intoxicated by the marvelousness of the zither, that person beating the gong—so, it was said to be selecting a weapon, but in reality, it was the weapon selecting the person.

Most things within Xuancang Cave are spiritual objects; a Strange Scripture Array is laid outside the cave, one reason being to prevent unscrupulous people from stealing the divine weapons, and the other to nourish the spirits of the divine weapons within, preventing the spirits of these magical artifacts and divine weapons from extinguishing.

The person then covered it with silk cloth and subsequently said: "You have all seen the lantern riddle; now listen as I finish stating the rules. This riddle can only be attempted once. Regardless of who it is, once the brush touches the paper, there is no going back. If the answer is correct, the zither shall be presented; if it is incorrect, then this zither must be invited back to the City Lord Mansion. I hope those who come on stage to solve the riddle will think and deliberate carefully, lest they lose their own path or cut off another's opportunity."

After the gong-striker finished speaking, the lamp-tender unveiled the cloth from the hanging scroll, and it was seen written upon it: "A white snake crosses the river, a red sun atop its head."

Once the riddle was revealed, everyone off-stage was troubled.

Ajin was also extremely surprised; it was agreed that she would take him to find Wuyang, but this little girl was running toward the place where books were stored as if in a great hurry. He had thought Wuyang would be there, but he did not expect her to just flip through bamboo slips for half a day and then run back out. Although he was puzzled, he was currently being held by Lingxiang, so it was inconvenient to transform into human form to ask.

Lingxiang was naturally not looking for a book for no reason; it was just that seeing Ajin transform into a cat earlier reminded her of some things. She thought that since she was going to seek Zhao Wuyang, she would bring the "Records of Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas" she had read long ago for him to take a good look at.

Qianyuan Zhenren was just teaching Zhao Wuyang Stepping on the Big Dipper when a young Daoist acolyte sought him out and whispered two sentences in his ear. He only instructed Wuyang to slowly comprehend it and not to be in a rush, then left in a hurry, leaving him alone there, confused and bewildered.

Seeing his senior brother leading Lingxiang to find him, Zhao Wuyang was full of surprise. Hadn't Fucang Elder already taken Long Qige and Xinyi Dage as disciples? Why was she coming to find him again? Could it be that he had done something that made her keep him in mind? When he saw the cat she was holding in her arms, he was immediately startled—could that in her arms be Ajin?!

Looking closely again, it was indeed Ajin without a doubt. The gold bell tied to the cat's neck with a blue ribbon was what his mother had put on it; he had even taken it off to play with when he was little, and on it...

... looking for a book, but it was just that seeing Ajin transform into a cat earlier reminded her of some things. She thought that since she was going to seek Zhao Wuyang, she would bring the "Records of Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas" she had read long ago for him to take a good look at.

Qianyuan Zhenren was just teaching Zhao Wuyang Stepping on the Big Dipper when a young Daoist acolyte sought him out and whispered two sentences in his ear. He only instructed Wuyang to slowly comprehend it and not to be in a rush, then left in a hurry, leaving him alone there, confused and bewildered.

Seeing his senior brother leading Lingxiang to find him, Zhao Wuyang was full of surprise. Hadn't Fucang Elder already taken Long Qige and Xinyi Dage as disciples? Why was she coming to find him again? Could it be that he had done something that made her keep him in mind? When he saw the cat she was holding in her arms, he was immediately startled—could that in her arms be Ajin?!

Looking closely again, it was indeed Ajin without a doubt. The gold bell tied to the cat's neck with a blue ribbon was what his mother had put on it; he had even taken it off to play with when he was little, and on it...

That the old man knew it was also quite a coincidence.

A few years ago, Lingxiang accidentally obtained a prescription from the pages of a medical book left by Tumi Xianzi, but the prescription was a fragment. It looked as if it had been deliberately torn, with only the medicinal ingredients of the first half, and one of the ingredients was the Heavenly Bamboo Flower.

However, the Heavenly Bamboo Flower mentioned in the prescription was not the common bamboo flower of the Arrow Bamboo that blooms every forty years, but the Heavenly Fennel Bamboo in this Ancient Bamboo Forest.

This kind of bamboo sprouts in forty years, takes root in forty years, and then grows into Cloud-Reaching Bamboo in twenty years. After becoming a mature bamboo, it will bloom and bear rice in about ten years.

Reasonably speaking, bamboo rice is both a fine food to satisfy hunger and a superior medicinal ingredient, but what this prescription required was the flower of the Heavenly Fennel Bamboo.

People of the world all say that bamboo blooming is an omen of misfortune. Since this prescription is named "Returning to Heaven," how could it use such an object as a pill ingredient? Lingxiang was also extremely puzzled, which is why she entered the Ancient Bamboo Forest alone.

At that time, she had not yet refined the Life-Prolonging Pill and was only about eleven years old, so she went behind the backs of the various Elders of the sect...

Lingxiang could not see through the thoughts of Qianyuan Zhenren. She thought to herself, this old man doesn't even speak, yet he sits in her room drinking tea; what is his intention?

But her expression remained calm, and she actually followed Qianyuan Zhenren in drinking tea.

After one cup of tea, Lingxiang sighed inwardly—truly, having profound cultivation means people will fawn over you; even the tea he drinks is much more mellow and fragrant than that of her Qingwei Peak.

Perhaps feeling pained by the good tea, or perhaps because it was getting late and there were things to do, Qianyuan Zhenren finally opened his mouth:

"Little Junior Sister has become increasingly patient these days."

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang smiled lightly: "There is nothing to do in the mountains, and I am in this state, and you have all granted my request, so what else is there to be anxious about?"

What a joke; the one with something to do is clearly you, this old man, yet you insist on putting on an act and drinking tea. Since there is good tea offered, why should she be polite?

"I see that there are a few people on your list whose aptitude is passable; could it be that you want to take them in?" Qianyuan Zhenren raised his cup to drink tea, the tea mist swirling and obscuring his eyes.