After only ten days of not seeing him, Bu Ting had become as thin as a stick. The wind blew against his clothes, reminding Jiu Hui of the idiom “one’s body cannot bear the clothes”.
“Miss Jiu Hui.” Bu Ting’s face was pale. He looked at Jiu Hui quietly and nodded at her.
“Immortal Venerable Bu,” Jiu Hui bowed in greeting.
Zhi You didn’t move. He couldn’t even be bothered to look at Bu Ting.
Bu Ting coughed lightly and said, “When Nan Feng was in Taolin City, he relied on you two for care.”
“The people of Taolin City all like Nan Feng and Shiyi, so they don’t need to be taken care of.” Jiu Hui turned sideways and stepped back. “Immortal Venerable, you must be looking for Nan Feng. I won’t bother you any longer.”
Bu Ting didn’t stop them. He watched as Jiu Hui and Zhi You walked past him side by side, and suddenly asked, “Miss Jiu Hui, why did you think of using the Qi of Extreme Evil from the Demon Clan to deal with Chi Quan back then?”
Jiu Hui turned her head, her face full of bewilderment and incomprehension. “Wasn’t it said that we would give it a try? You and the other seniors didn’t refuse.”
“As for how I came up with it…” Jiu Hui glanced at Bu Ting with her little eyes. “Immortal Venerable usually doesn’t read storybooks, right?”
Bu Ting’s eyebrows twitched slightly.carpreads.pages.dev
“If the Immortal Venerable enjoys reading novels, you should know that it’s popular in novels to fight poison with poison.” Mentioning novels, Jiu Hui spoke excitedly, “As the saying goes, ‘A wicked person will always meet their match.’ When dealing with a great demon, of course any method can be tried.”
“Miss Jiu Hui doesn’t like yaos very much?”
“Humans and yaos are different, of course I hate yaos who do evil.” Jiu Hui seemed to think of something, and immediately reflected on it, quickly apologizing, “Immortal Venerable, this junior didn’t mean to say that all yaos are bad, please forgive me.”
Forgive?
Bu Ting vaguely felt that Jiu Hui’s words were strange, and he said calmly, “Everyone kills evil yaos. You hate evil as if it were your enemy. Why do you say that?”
“Didn’t the Immortal Venerable go with Mu Qi…”
“Jiu Hui.” Zhi You spoke calmly, interrupting Jiu Hui’s unfinished words. “The fabricated stories in the market’s storybooks should not be uttered recklessly before an Immortal Venerable.”
“This junior was being disrespectful.” Jiu Hui looked like she had made a mistake. “Please forgive this junior, Immortal Venerable. This junior will take her leave.”
Jiu Hui pulled Zhi You away with a guilty look on her face, as if she was afraid that Bu Ting would continue to question them.
Once they had run far away, Jiu Hui slowed her pace with a smile, reaching out to high-five Zhi You. “Zhi You, you played along so well just now. I don’t believe he won’t be curious after hearing all that.”
Lowering his head to glance at his palm, Zhi You loosely clenched his five fingers. “Where do we go now?”
“Of course, I’m going to find a good seat and get ready to eat.” Jiu Hui put her hands behind her back, in a very good mood. When she turned around, her skirt fluttered like a blooming red plum. “My master and the others must have already gone.”
Watching Jiu Hui walking ahead, Zhi You quickened his pace and caught up with her.
-—–
As noon approached, the warm winter sun hung high in the sky. Jiu Hui sat in a chair and said to Zhi You, “It’s been gloomy for days, but the sun is finally out today.”
“This is what is meant by destiny.” Jin Qingqiu came over with a pot of dew wine, intending to squeeze in and sit next to Jiu Hui, but when he noticed Zhi You’s gaze, he paused and turned to sit next to Zhi You instead.
“Young Master Jin, why have you come here?” Jiu Hui pointed in the direction of the Ten Great Sects. “As the young master of a sect, you represent the entire Yuzhen Sect. It’s not appropriate for you to come here and sit.”
“The banquet hasn’t officially started yet. Out of the ten sect representatives, only Fellow Daoist Pingling Yao and I are young. And she doesn’t like to talk to me.” Jin Qingqiu filled the cups of Zhi You and Jiu Hui with dew wine. “I saw you two enter the hall alone just now. Did you go to see Immortal Nan Feng?”
Jiu Hui nodded. “What? Do you also have something to give to Nan Feng in private?”
“Hey!” Jin Qingqiu interrupted Jiu Hui. “Immortal Nan Feng is a serious and upright person. I’m a carefree and unrestrained man. We’re not the same kind of people.”
As they spoke, he saw the group from Wenxing School enter the hall and asked Jiu Hui, “Your Wangshu Pavilion is adjacent to Wenxing School. Do you recognize that young lady?”
“Are you talking about big sister Yu Luan?” Jiu Hui reached out to peel the spirit fruit on the table, glancing at Jin Qingqiu as she said, “I met big sister Yu Luan in Wenxian City. She’s only two years older than me. Don’t even think about being an old cow eating tender grass.”
When he heard the words, “old cow eating tender grass,” Zhi You’s hand shook, and he looked down at his palm with his eyelids lowered.
“I’m not that kind of person. Moreover, the person who can make my heart flutter…” Jin Qingqiu sighed and continued, “On my way to find you and Zhi You this morning, I met that Miss Yu Luan. Seeing that she looked flustered, I paid a little more attention to her.”
Jiu Hui looked up and gave Yu Luan another glance. Yu Luan was usually calm and collected, so why was she in such a hurry at Jiutian Sect?
Seemingly sensing Jiu Hui’s gaze, Yu Luan smiled at her from across the crowd before taking a seat behind her master.
Jin Qingqiu lingered by Jiu Hui’s side for a while longer. Only when all the Elders of the Jiutian Sect were present did he hurriedly make his way through the crowd and return to the Yuzhen Sect’s position.
Boom.
As the drums began to beat, Nan Feng, dressed in the auspicious robes of the sect master, walked into the grand hall under the gaze of the crowd. Behind him followed four Elders, each carrying a tray with the sect master’s token, crown, and other items.
After paying homage to the heavens, earth, and the ancestors, an Elder stepped forward to adorn Nan Feng with jade ornaments, a purse, and other items.
An elder originally wanted to take the jade pendant from Nan Feng’s waist, but the second elder reached out to stop him, pressed the jade pendant for him, and took the elder to the side.
Everyone thought Bu Ting would not show up, but unexpectedly, he appeared at the crucial moment, wearing a brocade robe.
Anyone could see that he was still badly injured. He walked slowly up to the high platform, step by step, and with both hands, he picked up the Sect Master’s jade crown and placed it on Nan Feng’s head.
“Back then, my master never personally placed this crown upon my head.” Bu Ting helped Nan Feng stand up. “You are different from me. I will always be your support.”
“Master!” Nan Feng’s eyes turned red.
“Good boy.” Bu Ting did not look at the many guests. He patted Nan Feng’s shoulder. “The Jiutian Sect will be in your hands from now on.”
He coughed a few times, suppressing the blood that had surged to his throat, and turned to face the crowd. “Nan Feng is still young. I ask that all fellow Daoists look after him in the future.”
“Immortal Venerable, your words are too serious.”
Everyone returned the greeting. Even though rumors were flying outside, no one dared to embarrass Bu Ting in person.
Bu Ting had no intention of staying any longer. His face was pale, and amidst the clamor of the crowd, he refused everyone’s support and strode out of the main hall.
[Although he had schemed a lot, he still has some true feelings for Nan Feng.]
Jiu Hui sighed at Zhi You, but once a person fell into stubbornness and madness, it was difficult to get out.
Not long after the banquet began, the Sect Master and Elders of the Wenxing School left discreetly with a few disciples, and only reappeared half an hour later.
The Sect Master of Wenxing School had a worried expression on his face. Even when the other sect masters spoke to him, he seemed absent-minded.
“Guess what happened?”
After three rounds of drinks, some of the guests were already drunk. Jin Qingqiu took the opportunity to slip over to Jiu Hui’s side and whispered to them, “The Sect Master and Elders of Wenxing School have gone to Immortal Venerable Bu’s courtyard.”
Jiu Hui and Zhi You put down their chopsticks. The disciples of Wangshu Pavilion next to them pretended to eat, but in fact, they pricked up their ears.
“The Sect Master and Elders of the Wenxing School calculated for Immortal Venerable Bu and said that his opportunity was hard to come by, and that Immortal Venerable Bu’s injury might not be healed.”
“Could it be that today is the day that Immortal Venerable Bu’s injuries will heal?” Jiu Hui became interested. “Why is it that the opportunity is hard to come by?”
“Luck changes rapidly, and every link is connected. If one link breaks, the next one won’t be the same.” Jin Qingqiu scoffed, “If I were from the Jiutian Sect, why would I seek any opportunities? I’d go straight to Fuguang Mountain and plead guilty. I’d do whatever it takes to satisfy the Immortal Lord.”
“But his disposition and strategy remain unchanged. How can the Immortal Lord be satisfied?” Jiu Hui immediately retorted, “The Immortal Lord has lived in seclusion on Fuguang Mountain his entire life, never involving himself in the grudges of the three clans. He shouldn’t have been bothered with this matter in the first place.”
Although Jin Qingqiu enjoyed watching the excitement, his mood was still a bit complicated when Lord Fuguang was mentioned: “Back then, my father said that we should find a way to replace the Immortal Cauldrons to suppress the luck. In the end, other than Immortal Venerable Qiu Hua, no one dared to take the risk.”
“Immortal Lord Fuguang has been imprisoned on Fuguang Mountain for five hundred and six years. Are we going to keep him there for another five hundred years?” Jin Qingqiu’s tone was subtle. “Ordinary people may not know about this, but should cultivators continue to turn a blind eye?”
Jiu Hui placed a peeled orange in Jin Qingqiu’s palm. “Well said!”
“The orange you peeled yourself, I can’t bear to eat it.” Jin Qingqiu held the orange up to his eyes: “I want to…”
A beautiful hand reached out and took the orange from his palm.
Jin Qingqiu looked back at Zhi You, who had taken his orange. Zhi You stuffed the orange into his own mouth and put another peeled orange back into his hand.
Jin Qingqiu：“……”
Fellow Daoist Zhi You, you truly have no regard for etiquette.
Jin Qingqiu put the orange back on the fruit plate with a huff and coughed dryly. “Fellow Daoist Nan Feng has succeeded to the throne. I think he should be able to agree with my idea.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the sound of a crane suddenly came from outside. Everyone looked up and saw an immortal crane flying into the hall. In its mouth was a gift box with the symbol of Fuguang Mountain on it.
Fuguang Mountain?
Everyone put down their chopsticks, stood up, and bowed their hands in salute.
The crane landed in front of Nan Feng. Nan Feng reached out and took the gift box from the crane’s beak.
After Nan Feng accepted the gift box, the crane ate a few spirit fruits in front of him and spread its wings to fly out of the hall.
The Elders of the Jiutian Sect were thrilled. They had all thought that the Immortal Lord had grown tired of their Jiutian Sect, but they never expected that he would send them a gift.
Others thought more about it. Immortal Lord Fuguang punished Bu Ting and was unwilling to heal him, but he was willing to give a congratulatory gift to the next Sect Master of Jiutian Sect. Didn’t this show the world that he was disgusted with Bu Ting, but not the entire Jiutian Sect?
“Many thanks to Immortal Lord Fuguang.” The Jiutian Sect members bowed respectfully in the direction of Fuguang Mountain and solemnly opened the gift box.
Inside the gift box was a Nine-Lotus Jade Crown. The entire crown emitted a faint, ethereal glow, indicating its extraordinary nature.
“This… This is an immortal crown personally refined by the Immortal Lord.” The Second Elder held the crown in his trembling hands. “Sect Master, this is an immortal crown personally refined by the Immortal Lord. You must put it on quickly. You cannot disappoint the Immortal Lord’s intentions.”
This crown was the Immortal Lord’s tolerance for their Jiutian Sect. With this crown, no one would say that the Jiutian Sect was disrespectful to the Immortal Lord. How could he not be excited?
Flanked by several Elders, the Sect Master’s crown that Bu Ting had personally placed on Nan Feng was removed and replaced it with a jade crown personally refined by Lord Fuguang.
The merriments within the hall seemed to have spread throughout the entire Jiutian Sect.
-—–
Bu Ting finished reading the storybook in his hand, the protagonist of which was named “Mu Qi”. Upon hearing the boy servant say that Fuguang Mountain had sent a jade crown personally crafted by the Immortal Lord to the new sect master as a gift, he suddenly chuckled.
“The Immortal Lord who has lived in seclusion on Fuguang Mountain for many years, why does he now have seven emotions and six desires?” He crushed the storybook in his hand, holding onto the windowsill as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Immortal Venerable, are you alright?”
Bu Ting turned around and looked at the person who had arrived. “Are you… a disciple of the Wenxing School?”
“Junior Yu Luan, greetings to Immortal Venerable.”
A murderous intent flashed in Yu Luan’s eyes, but then it disappeared. “I’m here to retrieve something that was lost.”
She bent down to pick up the purse that had fallen under the chair at some point. “Junior will take her leave.”
Bu Ting smelled a faint scent of medicinal pills and asked, “I wonder what the result of your sect master’s divination is…”
“Does the Immortal Venerable not know?” Yu Luan clutched the purse tightly, smiling coldly. “There are countless threads of fate in life, red for auspiciousness, black for misfortune. The Immortal Venerable’s path ahead is bleak, so how could the Sect Master tell you the truth?”
“Then why are you telling me?” Bu Ting sized up the woman before him, noticing her hostility towards him.
“Fifteen years ago, this junior had the honor of meeting the Immortal Venerable once. Naturally, I cannot bear to see the Immortal Venerable being deceived.” Yu Luan lowered her eyelids. “The Immortal Venerable is a transcendent figure. Even if the path ahead is bleak, I believe you will not fear it, is that correct?”
“Huh?” Jiu Hui poked her head out from the courtyard entrance. “Is big sister Yu Luan here too?”
Author’s Note
Zhi Youyou: Ever since I joined Wangshu Pavilion, I’ve been keeping a close eye on things. What crown could be better than the one I made myself?
Little Garlic Chive: Excuse me, can I watch the excitement?