There was no response.
The man in black hesitated slightly, then bowed and said, "...Young Master?"
From within the woods, a young man's voice rang out: "How's your practice of the Nine Forms of the Lotus God coming along?"
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148
The man in black said, "Thanks to your blessing, young master, everything went very smoothly."
A mist shrouded the cherry blossom grove, obscuring only the faint silhouette of a tall, slender man and his long, flowing hair. Though his hair was exceptionally long and beautiful, his clothing was remarkably light and form-fitting, without any sloppiness. If he were merely standing there, many young women would likely be filled with fantasies at the sight of him. However, while this "young master's" voice was melodious, it lacked emotion and his tone was flat.
"The next sect is the Jade Dart Sect."
"Jade Dart Sect? Ying Qingwei is an old stubborn man, I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade him."
"You know how to do it."
The man in black paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."
"To be completed within three days."
"yes."
"The person I told you about at the beginning must die this June."
"June?" The man in black was slightly flustered. "Before June, I didn't know if I could use my martial arts..."
"I'm talking about June. It can't be May, and it can't be July."
"Yes, yes," the man in black replied repeatedly. After a long pause, he asked again, "Does the young master have any further instructions?"
No one answered.
"Young Master?" The man in black took two steps forward. "Young Master?"
There was still no reply.
Just as the man in black was about to leave, a woman's voice came from behind him: "Father, no, Mother, what are you doing?"
"Young master was here just now."
"Then what?"
"Let me kill someone in June."
"who?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Who is it? I can't even tell them?"
"No." The man in black turned to look at the woman. "But I'm not sure. My internal energy hasn't been properly adjusted yet, and I don't know if something will go wrong."
"You'd better think this through. Could it be that the young master wants you both to suffer heavy losses? Since he can modify the manual to make Yuan Shuangshuang and Xia Qingmei go into qi deviation and then make them kill each other, it's hard to say what will happen to you."
"No, given his status, he can only operate in the shadows. If I die, he can't do anything. Besides, so far, I'm certain that the 'Nine Forms of the Lotus God' in my possession is genuine."
What exactly is his purpose?
“I don’t know. I’ve never been able to figure out what he wants or what he plans to do. Wait…” the man in black lowered his voice, “He told me to make my move in June. June… could it be because…”
"Why?"
The man in black squinted: "It's nothing."
Chong Xuezhi and Shangguan Tou's wedding was thrown into chaos. According to Yuan Shuangshuang, there was likely a traitor within Chonghuo Palace. The two entered their bridal chamber, barely having time for intimacy, and immediately began discussing how to extract information from Elder Yuchi upon their return.
From the next day onwards, news of what happened at the wedding quickly spread.
Led by the Wudang Sect, the leaders and disciples of various sects discovered the "Nine Forms of the Lotus God" manual in the Xueyan Sect. While everyone was discussing what to do with this secret manual, Feng Cheng proposed returning it to Chonghuo Palace. Initially, no one agreed, but Feng Cheng argued that this manual was only a copy, and Chonghuo Palace undoubtedly possessed the original "Nine Forms of the Lotus God." Therefore, returning it to them would have no impact on them. On the contrary, entrusting it to any sect for safekeeping could potentially cause unforeseen complications; destroying it would be an open act of defiance against Chonghuo Palace and could further enrage them.
Therefore, the secret manual returned to Xuezhi's hands.
When Xuezhi received the "Nine Forms of the Lotus Goddess," Feng Zi happened to be present. Feng Zi leaned over and tilted her head to look at it: "This handwriting doesn't look like it was written by the sect leader, nor does it look like it was written by Xia Qingmei."
"Who does it look like?"
"I don't know. But their handwriting is very delicate, not this incisive."
Xuezhi gripped the secret manual tightly in her hand.
She knew things weren't that simple. The only clues were Feng Cheng, Man Feiyue, and Elder Yuchi. But Feng Cheng was too good at putting on a show, and Man Feiyue's personality was unpredictable and difficult to investigate, so there was nothing she could do.
So they had no choice but to seek help from Elder Yuchi.
Xuezhi and Shangguan Tou began their journey towards Chonghuo Palace.
Soon, the Snow Swallow Sect was sealed off by the major sects. After the so-called truth was discovered, people believed that the "Lotus Wing" incident had been resolved, and the uneasy mood in the martial arts world gradually subsided.
However, on the very day Xuezhi returned to Chonghuo Palace, she heard the news of Ying Qing's death, the leader of the Jade Dart Sect. It was discovered that a low-ranking member of the sect had poisoned him, and the details of the poisoning were not investigated. But soon after, the Jade Dart Sect appointed a new leader.
It was originally no small matter, but it was overlooked because the turmoil in the world had quelled people's laziness.
Xuezhi returned to Chonghuo Palace, summoned Mu Yuan and the four guardians to the main hall of Chaoxue Tower, then served them a cup of hot tea and waited quietly.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Elder Yuchi entered, lifting the corner of his robe:
"What are your orders, Palace Master?"
In front of these seasoned veterans, Xuezhi still felt somewhat insecure. She buried her head under the teacup lid and sighed, so softly she could barely hear it herself:
"Elder, you should know why I called you here today."
"Is the Palace Master referring to the marriage with Valley Master Shangguan?"
“No.” Xuezhi put down her teacup, looked him straight in the eye, and smiled. “There’s no need for me to spell it out if we both know it.”
Elder Yuchi looked at the ground, his expression unchanged: "This old man is ignorant, please explain clearly, Palace Master."
Xuezhi put down her teacup and said seriously, "Yuchi, are you pretending to be confused?"
Elder Yuchi hesitated for a moment, then said, "This old man truly does not know."
“Tridacna,” Xuezhi clapped her hands and said, “Bring the thing here.”
Tridacna responded and moved a box from the corner of the wall.
None of those present knew what she was up to. Elder Yuchi rubbed his hands together nervously.
"Among the four elders, your seniority is second only to Yuwen. I recently heard that you have been working day and night on palace affairs and have even fallen ill." Xuezhi smiled again, stood up, and opened the box. "The clothes here were brought to you by Valley Master Shangguan and me when we passed through Luoyang."
Elder Yuchi looked up in astonishment at Xuezhi.
It was a young and exquisite face, as spirited as the young Palace Master Zhen, and as beautiful as the teenage Palace Master Lian. After three generations of Palace Masters of Chonghuo Palace, the passage of time, and countless dark entanglements in the martial arts world, she spoke to him like a dutiful granddaughter. Elder Yuchi was overwhelmed with emotion, and his weathered eyes turned red.
"Palace Master, I'm sorry. But, there are so many things..."
“There’s no need to say anything,” Xuezhi interrupted him with a smile. “I think the elder has his reasons for everything he does. Besides, you’ve been in Chonghuo Palace for over fifty years, serving three generations, from my grandfather to my father, and then to me. Your affection for Chonghuo Palace far surpasses that of anyone else here. Seeing that you’re ill, I originally wanted to give you more money, but that would be too vulgar. So I made some clothes, hoping you’ll recover soon and become a pillar of our Chonghuo Palace again.” With that, she draped the clothes over his shoulders.
Elder Yuchi, clutching the hem of his robe, his eyes blurred with tears, could only nod repeatedly.
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A few days later, Feng Zi and Feng She visited Chonghuo Palace. They stayed for almost a month. Xue Zhi knew why she didn't want to leave and had subtly hinted at it to Mu Yuan, but Mu Yuan seemed like an ice sculpture—beautiful on the outside, but cold inside and out. So, over the month, Feng Zi spoke to him less than ten times. However, she didn't mind much, because every time she came to Chonghuo Palace, she could see Lin Yuhuang. She called Lin Yuhuang "Second Father" more warmly than Xue Zhi, and said Lin Yuhuang was much more fun than her own father. So the father and daughter went hiking and caught sparrows every day, making Xue Zhi jealous several times and demanding that Lin Yuhuang choose Feng Zi or her. To make matters worse, everyone present, whether it was Feng She, Mu Yuan, or the protectors, all spoke up for Feng Zi, except for Shangguan Tou. Especially Feng She; ever since his fall and injury outside Xuantian Hongling Temple, the scar on his nose hadn't disappeared, making him seem even more rebellious and irritating.
But when he saw Xuezhi acting spoiled and Lin Yuhuang affectionately rubbing her head, he would often look at her with a mixture of curiosity and envy. He even asked Xuezhi privately if all fathers were like that. Xuezhi couldn't bear to answer when she thought about his background, so she changed the subject.
Another ten days or so passed.
Early summer.
As the clothes became thinner, Xuezhi's pregnancy could no longer be hidden and had to be made public. Lin Yuhuang was thrilled upon hearing the news, patting Shangguan Tou heavily on the shoulder and saying, "Kid, you're quick! And you're pregnant so soon!" She then added excitedly, "It's only been a short time, and your belly is already so big! Maybe it's twins!" Shangguan Tou cleared his throat, then cleared it again, twisted his neck, cleared his throat again, and then said nothing more.
Every time Shangguan Tou and Xuezhi saw Lin Yuhuang's bright, innocent, childlike smile, they simply couldn't bring themselves to tell him that the baby was about to be born. So, the two of them used the excuse of returning to Luoyang to visit Shangguan Tou's maternal grandfather to leave Chonghuo Palace, and also sent Feng She and Feng Zi away.
Back in Luoyang, Xuezhi visited Fu Jingran, who was indeed very happy. However, the many girls' glances at Shangguan Tou caused Xuezhi to erupt several times, each time punching, kicking, and hitting him, threatening him never to look at other women again, or she would gouge out his eyes. Shangguan Tou was terrified by these violent words, hiding at home every day, afraid to go out, and complaining to Xuezhi about her pregnancy.
Not long after, Xuezhi and Shangguan Tou had their first argument since their marriage. When it came to naming their child, they both agreed on "Wei" if it was a girl. But if it was a boy, a disagreement arose—Shangguan Tou preferred "Xian," while Xuezhi preferred "Shi." So, they often called out different names to each other while talking to the baby's belly. What frustrated Shangguan Tou most was Xuezhi's insistence that the child take the surname Chong. He said there was no reason for a child to take its mother's surname, and Xuezhi retorted that it was her child and why shouldn't it take her surname? They even argued about this during meals.
Although she was living a very comfortable life and the baby's birth was approaching, Xuezhi still hadn't forgotten many unresolved issues. She also carried the two secret manuals written by Chonglian with her and had Shangguan Tou read them to her every day. Despite her limited mobility, she would use her hands to demonstrate the movements of the moves and ponder their mysteries.
Unfortunately, after pondering it for a long time, I still don't know anything.
Before we knew it, it was already May.
Xuezhi slipped while out shopping. This slip caused her baby to be born prematurely.
Xuezhi spent the entire afternoon amidst heart-wrenching screams. Shangguan Tou, his nerves taut and face pale, paced back and forth in front of the door at least a thousand times.
Finally, after hearing the baby's innocent cries from inside, he very unceremoniously grabbed the servant's hand and shook it vigorously a few times: "The baby is born! I'm a father! I'm a father!"
Then, the midwife shouted from inside, "It's a boy!"
Shangguan Tou rushed over: "Xian'er, Father is here!"
But after a while, when Xuezhi opened her eyes, she still didn't forget to reclaim her rights: "Where's Shi'er? I haven't seen him yet..."
"You two, stop arguing." Fu Yuelan, holding the child, walked to the bedside. "Xian'er and Shi'er are both here."
Xuezhi was stunned for a moment, looking at Shangguan Tou who was already laughing so hard he couldn't see his eyes, and for the first time she felt that her second father-in-law had a beautiful mouth that could bring bad luck.
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Of course, when Second Uncle heard that his daughter had given birth to twins, his excitement was no less than Shangguan Tou's. He even specially carried Chong Lian's memorial tablet all the way to Chang'an, taking turns holding the children for Chong Lian to see.
At the same time, at the Xuantian Hongling Temple.
Library.
"What are you doing?"
When Man Feiyue's voice rang out, Feng She, who was flipping through the confidential documents in his hand, also trembled.
In the soft yellow candlelight, Man Feiyue's pale blue face seemed to float in mid-air. Feng She stood in the darkness, crumpling the document into a ball and carrying it behind his back.