Chapter 613: Yique Yique Zhang Huan Yuan (Part 2)

In a peaceful and quiet water area, Seeing Pei Ye slowly descended while holding the somewhat withered black cat, and leaned under a large stone.

Since transforming into a cat shape, the black Chi had never been consumed to such a state.

Seeing Pei Ye gently stroked its ears. He was also almost exhausted, and there was not much true Qi left.

Cool and smooth water grass brushed against his cheeks. He tore off a cluster and wiped the blood congealed on his skin: "Are you okay?"

"Small injury." The black cat licked its drooping claws, which were stained with blood.

Seeing Pei Ye sat up cross-legged, barely sorting out the overloaded body: "You say, how can such a person have an enemy in the Great Ming Palace?"

The black cat licked its claws and didn't speak.

Yu Yu Sicheng was indeed like an iron wall.

It blocked their way forward too abruptly and forcefully, cutting off all clues extending to the depths.

Regarding this matter, Seeing Pei Ye originally intended to cut the Gordian knot. He didn't expect others not to know about his entry into the palace, nor was he prepared to play games of hiding, tracking, and scheming with those shadows in the palace walls.

Sometimes sneaking in alone really has to be like that, but now he was holding the Yan Inspection Order to investigate openly. It was difficult to do dark things with a bright candle, so it was better to do everything openly.

In this imperial palace where spiritual mystery and true Qi were forbidden, there were not many people or things that could stop him, and the support of the Princess Princess Jinyang was strong enough to get a truth.

Until he investigated Yu Yu Sicheng.

Just as he was not afraid of exposing his purpose, this purple-robed Grand Eunuch didn't seem to be afraid of being known that all this had to do with him. He lived in this palace so calmly, wiping away the sword edge pointing at him at will.

Literary fighting naturally couldn't overturn him, and he wasn't in the court. Martial fighting now seemed to have little hope.

Seeing Pei Ye looked ahead silently, thoughts constantly turning in his heart. Tiny fish groups tentatively swallowed the blood debris drifting from him.

At this moment, a gentle and smiling soft voice came from beside him: "If you don't drink this flower, you'll become deaf and blind again."

Seeing Pei Ye looked up in slight surprise, only to see that ethereal, faint shadow sitting sideways on the stone at a high place again, resting her hands on the stone surface and looking down at him.

Still neither had a face, let alone an expression, faint enough to melt into the spring scenery if blown by the wind.

Seeing Pei Ye raised his hand to look at his wrist, and the scale flower was indeed extremely faint.

"..." Seeing Pei Ye stood up supporting the stone wall and looked around, "Where is the flower?"

"Can't you smell it?"

Seeing Pei Ye raised his nose to probe, frowned, and shook his head. 【613-

The shadow seemed to be amused by him with a "pfft," but this laughter was also very faint, as if in another world. She jumped down and floated in the water: "Then follow me."

She swam very lightly and nimbly, like a graceful jellyfish. Seeing Pei Ye picked up the little cat and followed behind her, constantly weaving through the grass to find a path.

"Keep up quickly," she turned and called out lightly while swimming. "When the scale flower on your wrist is gone, it will be hard to find even if you want to later. You'll only be able to hold your nose and swim while smelling—we don't keep puppies in the water."

"..."

After passing two more high stones, this faint shadow finally stopped there, waving her vaguely defined sleeves at him.

At this moment, Seeing Pei Ye indeed began to feel his vision becoming increasingly dark and narrow, and his ears and body were becoming dull. This shadow also became dazed and faded along with it. She seemed to be saying something, but Seeing Pei Ye could no longer hear it clearly.

He struggled to swim forward, raised his hand, and grabbed that beautiful Luoshen Wood Peach on the stone. This time he didn't wait for it to react; he picked it and fed it into his mouth. The gray, faint shadow seemed startled, as if waving her hands at him.

In just two breaths, his vision turned from dark to bright, his five senses became clear, and his body became intimate with this stretch of water again.

The faint shadow in front of him re-condensed and appeared clearer. The membrane vanished, but what entered his ears was exactly half a silver-bell-like surprised laugh: "Oh my, why did you chew it!"

"What's wrong?" Seeing Pei Ye stopped at the last few petals in his mouth. "Isn't it what you said to drink?"

"It's not that I really wanted you to swallow it into your mouth. The Wood Peach is a spiritual object born of scales and water; it enters the body through the blood," the shadow stopped laughing. "But the effect is the same anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Only then did Seeing Pei Ye chew and swallow the few petals in his mouth, lowered his head to look at his wrist, and saw that the scale flower had grown back again.

"Apologies," he said apologetically. "I came in recklessly. If there are any rules here, please feel free to tell me; I will be careful."

"Hmm... actually, there are no rules, it's just that my flowers are so beautiful... forget it, just don't do anything bad." The shadow floated upward, sat on the stone top again, rested her hands on her sides, and dangled her calves together, looking at some unknown place.

She seemed to like this action very much, almost exactly resembling the Luoshen Wood Peach with its drifting ribbons.

"What counts as doing something bad?"

"Just like those people."

Seeing Pei Ye thought for a while. His injured and tired body made him lean against the stone: "Do you not like people coming in?"

The shadow raised her head and thought for a while: "Some people can come in, others cannot."

"Can I come in?"

The shadow smiled: "You can't either, it's just that I like you more."

"..."

"I see you don't seem to be able to beat that person."

"Yu Yu Sicheng?"

"Is that his name? Anyway, he beat you so miserably." The faint shadow tilted her head toward him, clearly without a face, yet seemingly carrying a smile.

It was indeed miserable. Right now, his whole body was aching from the inside out; that was the price of the youth's risky attempts. Seeing Pei Ye was still correcting his dislocated bones and sinews after the vibration, and looked up: "My name is Seeing Pei Ye. May I ask your name?"

"My name is..." The faint shadow looked up and thought for a while, but finally tilted her head. "I forgot."

"..."

"Names are for people to address each other, right?" The shadow didn't care much. "I live here alone, so I don't need a name. If anyone who sees me wants to address me, let them take whatever they want."

"Then, how should I address you?"

"I don't know either," the faint shadow looked at him with some interest. "What name do you plan to give me?"

Seeing Pei Ye was slightly stunned. He hadn't planned to give any name; that would be somewhat presumptuous. He was just asking... He thought for a while and said: "A name should be something you like. What do you like the most?"

"Hmm... I like everything," the faint shadow tilted her head. "Do you know? At the beginning, there was nothing here, dark and empty, only me and these flowers. Later, small grasses gradually grew, small fish were born, and some other things were moved here. Later on, maybe there will be small turtles and small crabs. Watching them multiply and grow up bit by bit, I am very happy..."

She looked up and said: "I like living here freely the most."

"Hmm..." Seeing Pei Ye thought silently for a while. "Since you like being friends with fish and shrimp, how about I call you 'Aiyu' (Love Fish)?"

The black cat interrupted calmly: "Wandering in lakes and seas, not stained by the dust of the shore, you can be called 'Wuyou' (No Worry) or 'Buxian' (No Envy)."

The faint shadow tapped her chin lightly: "But, I am not entirely without worries. Sometimes the small fish schools die, sometimes I get a bit bored, and sometimes, those people break in, which is quite annoying."

Seeing Pei Ye immediately said: "Then let's call you 'Luo Weiyou' (Slight Worry). How about 'Luo Luo Weiyou'? It sounds quite nice."

The black cat was silent.

The faint shadow tilted her head and smiled: "It sounds good, then I'll be called that. Thank you both for giving me a name."

"You can also give yourself one," Seeing Pei Ye wiped the residual blood on his forearm and smiled. "Take as many as you want, and then use whichever one you feel like using every day."

This suggestion was quite novel. The faint shadow thought about it with great interest, and then nodded solemnly.

Then she didn't speak. After being quiet for a while, she lowered her head to look at the cat and the youth, each licking their own wounds, and smiled: "If you want to beat him, you have to go east."

"Hmm?"

"There are some places in the Spirit Realm where small islands grow."

"Small islands?" Seeing Pei Ye stopped his movements.

"What is surrounded by water is an island," the faint shadow said. "Outside, when the earth rises, it's an island; here, it's the opposite. In some places, the water dries up, leaving behind a small island."

"..."

"However, you have to step into the Valley of Yique Yique Zhang Huan Yuan once more. Just now you stepped on the front side of the Mist Gauze; now, if you go from the back, that person won't be able to see you," the faint shadow said. "You have already ingested the Luoshen Wood Peach. Just follow the light spots you see after closing your eyes and swim upstream."

There were too many words in this sentence that Seeing Pei Ye didn't understand. He looked at the clear shadow sitting sideways on the stone in slight surprise: "Speak slowly. What is 'Mist Gauze'? What is 'Yique Yique Zhang Huan Yuan'... May I ask what place this actually is?"

"Hmm? You didn't know?" The faint shadow looked up. "Backing Yique, crossing Yique Zhang Huan Yuan, passing through the Tong Valley, ascending Jing Mountain, and going further forward, that is the Luo River. Twelve gauze ribbons drift into twelve clear streams, surrounding the center like a flower. Living beings without permission are not allowed to enter... This is the place where water spirits pay respects and avoid, and it is also the path to the Old Palace of Luoshen."

"Old Palace of Luoshen..." Seeing Pei Ye muttered twice. At this moment, he remembered the crazy Guo You, and also remembered the "Luo River Seeking Passage" in his mouth.

The faint shadow turned her head and smiled at him: "Alright, if I keep talking to you, your new Wood Peach will wither again. You should go first."

Before Seeing Pei Ye could answer, she leaped and dissipated into the water again, and even a trace of light and shadow could not be found.

Seeing Pei Ye tried to close his eyes according to her method. Sure enough, after a moment, a strange pulse emerged from his blood. In the dark vision, some faint blue light spots actually appeared, leading him in a psychedelic and beautiful way. It was as if by closing his eyes, he had truly entered a dream.

This was a very novel experience. It clearly wasn't vision, nor did it come from smell or hearing; it was more like, because they were both in the water, the message was delivered by the water.

The sense of direction in his mind seemed to start reversing again. He swam in the direction of the light spots, unable to touch the water grass wrapping around him, nor could he hit the craggy high stones.

Gradually, he felt himself climbing and descending again. He couldn't help but worry in his heart that he would suddenly face Yu Yu Sicheng's heavy spear. Now, their state could no longer withstand any exchange.

But this worry never came true. He swam quietly, and the whole world seemed to have only him and this dreamlike, secluded path. The bright halos on the road always represented a new Luoshen Wood Peach. He replenished the scale flower on his wrist there. He didn't know how long it had been, but when he swung his hand upward again, it suddenly became empty.

The forearm he reached out was heavy in a strange way. That should have been a very familiar feeling, but at this moment, it left Seeing Pei Ye heavily stunned.

Air.

When they first fell here, when they were being hunted by the Mermen, he and the black cat tried several times to find something. They tried to swim upward, trying to return to the water surface not far away, but it was always an endless water realm; they tried to go in one direction, but couldn't see the boundary.

They had once thought there was only endless water here.

Seeing Pei Ye floated to the water surface. The light shining through his eyelids made him open his eyes. The little cat was on his shoulder, and they were completely stunned.

In the bright and clear spring light, the warm breeze gently brushed his forehead and cheeks. On the pond surface in front of him, light white clouds drifted, and velvet ducks disturbed the water ripples. Looking further ahead, it was a small forest with a fragrant pavilion. Peach blossoms were reflected in the water, blooming like a painting.

It made Seeing Pei Ye feel as if he had dreamed back to the Xunfang Garden that night. He raised his hand to pick a pink petal from the water surface, watching the moist feeling soak into his palm, and the fragrance drifted into his nasal cavity.

The flower-like light sound rang in his ears again. Seeing Pei Ye turned his head, and that ethereal, faint shadow was lying on the water surface with her arms, exposing half her body just like him.

"Except for me, you are the first person to come here," she said.

"What place is this?"

"I don't know either," the faint shadow shook her head lightly.

"..."

"If you want to win against that person, go ashore and listen," she tilted her head to look at the youth, resting her chin and smiling. "Seeing Pei Ye, I'm very happy to meet you. I wish you smoothness."

Seeing Pei Ye did not speak. She dissipated in front of his eyes. He raised his hand to look, and the scale flower on his wrist had indeed completely disappeared.

Seeing Pei Ye dragged his heavy body ashore. It was indeed a scene of bright spring colors. He experienced the feeling of entering the Illusion Tower that night again. This was a garden that was not too big, with buds along the path, birds calling in the clear weather, and a grand and orderly layout... He lowered his head to look at the road under his feet; it was a neat and clean white, all paved with neatly cut marble stones.

This style was very familiar and unique. He had only become familiar with it in the past few days—this was the style within the walls of the Great Ming Palace.

It's just that the fish, birds, flowers, and trees here grew very freely. Peach branches extended out, flower strips spread and bloomed, unlike the outside where they were trimmed into a very orderly appearance.

This small forest was not very big. Seeing Pei Ye only walked a hundred steps before stopping.

He stood under the shade of the forest, looking at the warm spring grass in front of him. A luxurious figure in light clothes and a long skirt was sitting on the ground in front of a desk. Her upper garment was light green, with fine gold threads hooking the pattern of birds holding pearls, and her lower skirt was a reddish-gold, gradually dyed into a sandalwood color.

She rested her chin on her hand, flipping through an illustrated book on the desk, and between her fingers, she hooked and shook three hollow gold incense balls that should have been tied to her waist, like three round little bees.

Two people were kneeling respectfully in front of her desk. The one slightly behind had a straight back, while the one slightly in front was leaning forward slightly, as if discussing something with the woman.

Their figures were very faint, far inferior to the person seen in the Illusion Tower, only slightly better than the woman who had just dissipated.