Chapter 164: Time Flies Like a Shuttle

The next day, Fengyi River.

The sky was bright. Nangong Ye, draped in a black skirt, sat cross-legged on the terrace with hands forming the Zi-Wu hand seal. Beside her, a small table held a wisp of burning incense.

Though her face was expressionless, cold as a transcendent old ancestor who had severed all emotion and desire, Nangong Ye's heart had never truly settled.

That brat will still come by later. The grievances between us are already cleared. Even if he pesters me relentlessly, I can't soften my heart and cross that line again…

But yesterday he came so early, and today it's almost noon — why hasn't he shown up yet…

Could it be that I was too cold yesterday and made the boy angry?

That shouldn't be. This Daoist just has a cold mouth, that's all…

Or did something happen?!

At this thought, Nangong Ye's stray thoughts vanished completely. She opened her eyes, looked toward the inner city, popped a veiled hat onto her head, leapt from the terrace, and raced at full speed to Wang Fu.

But strangely, Ling'er — whose confinement had already been lifted — wasn't in the West Residence, and Linghu Qingmo wasn't there either.

Only the Wang Shizi, whose elder sister wasn't home, had secretly slipped out of the Alchemist King's study, clutching a few scrolls of calligraphy and paintings, sneaking away…

Nangong Ye sensed something was wrong and sped to Imperial Physician Lin's residence.

The moment she arrived, she saw a ring of people gathered inside and outside Lin Fu's guest room.

Did something really happen to Xie Jinhuan?

The moment urgency flickered in Nangong Ye's eyes, she immediately sensed something was off again.

The Princess, dressed in a gorgeous hezi skirt, sat in the courtyard with a drawing board before her, brush in hand, painting a portrait of a handsome man.

Zisu, holding Meiqiu, stood nearby watching curiously:

"Aren't the eyes a bit too flirtatious? Young Master Xie is very proper…"

"Gu Ji?"

"Hmph~ you're still young. When you grow up a bit, you'll know what he's really like in private…"

……

Linghu Qingmo and Lin Fu's young lady stood in the corridor, conversing in low voices:

"What pill did Xie Jinhuan take? He needs to lie down for half a month…"

"The Vigorous Dragon Tiger Pill that Zisu refined — it's very powerful. You'll understand once Jinhuan wakes up…"

"Oh…"

Lin Fu's young lady folded her hands at her waist, her bearing gentle and refined. She seemed to be speaking softly and sweetly, but her eyes kept darting to the white jade bangle on Linghu Qingmo's left hand.

(→_→)!!

Linghu Qingmo seemed not to notice those sour little glances, nor did she cover the bangle — she just swayed it back and forth in front of the girl, her meaning probably:

You still think you're the only one in Brother Jinhuan's heart? Didn't expect I have one too, did you?

Feeling sour? Feeling sour? …

Then Lin Fu's young lady silently went inside. When she came back out, a peony hairpin had appeared in her hair…

……

Nangong Ye thought these two girls were truly childish, and at the same time began to worry.

From the conversation, it seemed Xie Jinhuan had taken an immortal pill refined from a Sixty-Year Lotus, and would need to be in closed-door cultivation for at least half a month to digest the medicinal properties.

Relying solely on Soft-Sister Powder to endure the Yang Poison is no easy feat…

This boy — couldn't he have given me a heads-up…

Can you even give a heads-up while asleep…

Pressed by the Yang Poison, Nangong Ye quietly tiptoed around the courtyard and came to the window at the back.

She found Xie Jinhuan lying with closed eyes on the bed, streams of qi flowing around his body. She slipped into the room, went to the bedside, and carefully examined him.

Meanwhile, the red-clothed ghost standing nearby had nothing but helplessness in her eyes, feeling that without her around, this household would probably fall apart.

Xie Jinhuan lay on the pillow, his consciousness already sunk into a chaotic state, but his divine soul was weak — the floating ghost was a different matter.

As her divine sense invaded the body, Ye Hongshang quickly gained partial control, and then:

Hoo-hoo~

Nangong Ye was examining him carefully when she noticed an icy qi suddenly appear in Xie Jinhuan's left hand. Like a long drought meeting sweet rain, she hurriedly clasped his palm, her eyes startled:

He knows I'm beside him?

Even with his divine sense sealed shut, he still remembered to channel qi to help me suppress the Yang Poison…

What kind of willpower must this take…

Am I really that good…

Though moved, Nangong Ye was also on edge. After all, her disciple was right outside the room — if anyone came in to check on him midway, she'd have to hide in the wardrobe and tough it out.

Fortunately, luck was on her side. The few girls outside, perhaps too embarrassed to cling to a man, didn't come in to disturb her, just chatting idly among themselves.

Nangong Ye felt the chill in her palm, beads of sweat on her cheek, but a more complicated look in her eyes. Perhaps feeling this boy was truly wreaking havoc on her Dao heart, she turned her gaze elsewhere, simply interlocking their fingers and quietly suppressing the Yang Poison.

After carefully staying like this for two quarter-hours, Nangong Ye sensed the peak had passed and the aftershocks could be held back by Soft-Sister Powder. She didn't dare linger — she carefully wiped the sweat from Xie Jinhuan's palm with a handkerchief, then dabbed his face, before slipping away.

And for the next several days, Nangong Ye's life became 'eat, sleep, suckle on Ah Huan,' roughly as follows:

August the twenty-ninth.

She snuck over to the Lin household again, and just like yesterday, sat by the bed, letting Xie Jinhuan help suppress the Yang Poison.

Today was a bit easier. Ling'er, of noble status, wasn't suited to staying at the Lin household and had already returned to Wang Fu.

Linghu Qingmo, as a disciple of the Danding Sect, had gone off to visit the pill room and drank the tea gifted by Great Immortal Zisu — after which she transformed into 'Sunny Cheerful Big Seeing Mo Mo':

"Miss Zisu, you…"

"Haha~ I just saw that Lord Linghu's sister seemed a bit cold, so I wanted to cheer you up…"

……

Although the Young Lady Lin was very worried, wiping Xie Jinhuan's face by the bed, she was pointed asleep by him.

Holding hands with a man, ten fingers interlocked, right in front of his red-dyed confidante, she inevitably felt a touch of guilt in her heart...

August thirtieth.

The Young Lady Lin fell asleep beside Xie Jinhuan yesterday; perhaps scolded by Seeing Mo Mo, she sat in the corridor with her arms crossed, pouting, her expression still somewhat suspicious, as if she felt something dirty nearby...

September first.

Today the atmosphere in Jingcheng was very solemn; the Qian Emperor issued an edict of self-condemnation and detailed the entire course of the "He Family Communing with Demons" case, along with rewards and punishments.

As a high-ranking official of Great Qian, she had known the outcome in advance, but she paid particular attention to Xie Jinhuan's rewards.

Because Xie Jinhuan was in "secluded retreat," the little eunuch from the palace went directly to Wang Fu, where the Princess Changning received the imperial decree on his behalf; the content of the decree was roughly:

Xie Jinhuan, spear-bearer of the Qinshi Prefecture in Danzhou, who slew Tai Shu Dan at Huai River, solved the dried corpse case in Wan'an County, beheaded Ye Shirong of Lie'an, and thwarted the He Family's plot to disrupt the nation of Hongzhang—his merit is magnificent, his will is awe-inspiring...

He is now promoted to Marquis of Danyang County, with a fief of one Battalion Commander, holding the Demon-Suppressing Order; if evil spirits cause chaos, he may slay first and report later, acting at his own discretion. Additionally, he is granted one mansion, ten qing of fields, and ten thousand strings of gold...

Great Qian has nine ranks of nobility; the County Marquis is the sixth rank, with an actual fief of three hundred and fifty households, hereditary but descending in rank, transmissible for four generations. It sounds not high, but above it are County Dukes, Commandery Dukes, State Dukes, Commandery Princes, and Non-royal Princes; in peaceful times, the County Marquis is already the limit a normal person can reach.

Moreover, the "Demon-Suppressing Order" is extremely powerful: slay first, report later, act at discretion. Simply put, the imperial court backs him; investigating anyone is legal. If Xie Jinhuan had a bad heart and called her an evil spirit, demanding a body search, her refusal would be illegal...

However, Xie Jinhuan is a gentleman of integrity; he certainly will not abuse his power.

Besides, ten qing of fields is roughly one thousand mu, plus a large mansion and ten thousand strings of money, enough to support a hundred people...

She knew Xie Jinhuan's family had been destroyed and he had lost his kin; now that he received the rewards he deserved, she was happy for him.

When Xie Jinhuan wakes up, he will surely be very surprised as well...

September second.

The pills refined by Zisu were indeed powerful; after four or five days in secluded retreat, Xie Jinhuan's skin had become a notch softer, and his breath was obviously longer and steadier...

Having received his rewards yesterday, the virtuous Princess Changning specifically organized a victory banquet, inviting Feiji, Yang Dabiao, and others to dine at the best restaurant on Changle Street; Seeing Mo Mo was crazily happy...

Also, she secretly ran over at night to take a peek and found the Young Lady Lin lying before Xie Jinhuan, like a young wife, secretly going "peck-peck"; she did not wish to eavesdrop, so she left...

September third.

Today was a very special day; more than seven hundred monks, drawn from temples across the northwest, moved into the small, originally abandoned and declining temple of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Monk Wuxin, leading dozens of disciples and sub-disciples, moved into the old temple on the western side of the Imperial City and renamed it "Guo Temple," overseeing Daxing County west of the central axis of Luoyang.

Lu Wu Zhen was instead assigned to oversee Wan'an County on the east, while the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was appointed as Wu Zheng, a disciple of the Twin Saints Ye Shrine.

That is the "arrogant" librarian from the Academy.

This person is a little disciple of the Ye Shrine; his "Blind Sword Technique" is feared by all who see it. Even Li Jing, having consumed a pill that skyrocketed his cultivation, dared not fight him head-on.

After all, Li Jing might be pretending to be foolish, but Wu Zheng is truly blind; even Wei Wu Yi could not guess who his next sword thrust would pierce!

Although his cultivation is not high, Wu Zheng has a grand background, wide connections, and knows how to feign ignorance; his role is to act as a peacemaker, using the prestige of Confucianism and Saint Ye to mediate conflicts between Daoism and Buddhism.

And the cultivation situation in Jingzhao Prefecture, on this very day, shifted from undercurrents surging to open, face-to-face confrontation!

September fourth.

The Zhang Sect held another meeting; as an elder, she sat in the Hall of Deliberation all morning, discussing nothing but the newly appointed Guo Temple, which was to remotely lead the Buddhist sects of the Central Plains and investigate problems within the various clans of the Danding Sect.

The Xuanhu Observatory had not sent anyone to the Mass Grave for two months to detect hidden ghosts; this was directly reported to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, which also exposed that Li Chi Mo had an affair with a widow boss from Dengzhou, visiting her overnight every few days.

Lu Wu Zhen, rarely, slammed the table in anger; had it not been for many sect masters intervening, he could have slapped Li Chi Mo out of the Hall of Deliberation.

Afterwards, Lu Wu Zhen solemnly warned all the sect masters present:

"Now the Central Plains is not a one-party rule of the Danding Sect; the most important thing for a sect is 'reputation'.

"Whether you keep mistresses or illegitimate children in private, this Daoist cannot control you.

"But if anyone cannot keep a secret and lets the matter blow up to the surface, causing public shame, do not blame this Daoist for forgetting past favors..."

If it were before, she would have been even colder than Lu Wu Zhen, but now the pressure is like a mountain.

After all, the illustrious head of Mount Zihui secretly helped a yellow-haired boy touch, and twice...

Or rather, the Daoist sect's number one beauty, cold as ice on the surface, is secretly the Marquis of Danyang's mistress, and even the master and disciple did it together...

If this matter gets out, she will have to sit at the same table as the Wu Sect's demoness...

When Xie Jinhuan wakes up, she must keep her distance...

September fifth.

The virtuous Princess Changning chose a mansion for Xie Jinhuan, near Wang Fu on Zheng'an Street, and even used funds from Wang Fu to furnish it and hire servants for Xie Jinhuan...

She thought Ling'er also had feelings for Xie Jinhuan; at noon, she went to the Lin Family as usual to absorb essence, but found Linghu Qingmo was somewhat anxious, sitting by the bed holding Xie Jinhuan's hand, her eyes glistening with longing.

Forced by necessity, she could only point-sleep her disciple as well; after eating dry and wiping clean, she felt this could not continue; she originally wanted to find the Immortal Zisu to ask if a method to detoxify had been found.

But she did not know Zisu after all and could not appear to ask; this matter would have to wait until Xie Jinhuan woke up.

Additionally, the situation in the palace seemed wrong.

The Qian Emperor's health was worsening day by day; he was already bedridden, the Crown Prince was handling court affairs on his behalf, and the ministers mostly wore expressions of sorrow...

September sixth.

The Prince of Dan came to Jingcheng and visited his elder brother in the palace, perhaps for the last time.

As the second in line to the throne of the Great Qian Empire, with the Emperor's dragon body unwell, staying in Jingcheng was highly taboo; the Prince of Dan arrived in the morning and left by noon, stopping only at Wang Fu in between, where he drew the python robe's belt and beat the heir apparent until he screamed in pain...

She came to Lin Fu as usual, but found Linghu Qingmo arguing with the Young Lady Lin:

"You say that about me, yet Miss Linghu accompanied you and fell asleep too..."

"I... I was careless yesterday. It seems Physician Lin sleeps every time."

"Hmph..."

She felt deeply guilty and quietly drew in the icy cold qi within the room...

The seventh day of the ninth month.

Several corpses died from the Demon Art of Yuan Snatching appeared again in Jingcheng Prefecture; it was unknown whether they were the work of the He clan's remnants or a demonic Taoist cultivator.

Because it happened in the territory under the Taoist sect's responsibility, Lu Wu Zhen was mocked by the bald monk, who asked if he wanted help.

As the Zhang Sect of the Danding Sect, Lu Wu Zhen previously had only the Emperor above him, second only to one and above ten thousand; now, being watched by the Buddhist sect with everything blown out of proportion, he was truly depressed.

But the imperial court wanted Taoism and Buddhism to govern together; this was the desired effect. Since one party could not keep an eye on Jingcheng Prefecture, they added a competitor; with pressure, subjective initiative would naturally arise...

The eighth day of the ninth month.

The weather in Jingcheng was sunny and pleasant; nothing strange happened.

She drew in the icy cold qi at noon as usual, hoping Xie Jinhuan would wake up soon; after all, secretly contacting a man while separated from her disciple by a door was truly immoral.

But when she came to visit Xie Jinhuan again that evening, she unexpectedly discovered:

Xie Jinhuan was actually gone!

Only Young Lady Lin remained lying on the bed, sleeping very sweetly...

?

Nangong Ye stood on the roof of Lin Fu, his eyes filled with confusion:

Where is he?

Could it be that even if you are halfway through seclusion, you can still go slay demons and destroy evil?

———

Begging for monthly tickets or2

(End of this chapter)