Chapter 712

Chapter 712: Golden Chrysanthemum Suspended Flowers

As the sky gradually brightened, the sun slowly rose from the east, illuminating the world once again.

Li Yincheng felt as if he had just woken up from an extremely long dream, one in which he had died in an accident.

Sparse bird chirps could be heard, and his body seemed to be covered by a soft blanket. He slowly opened his eyes, sorting through his blurry memories, then looked around.

Where is this?

It looked somewhat unfamiliar, but seemed to be a place where humans gathered. It was relatively quiet all around, with only occasional voices coming from far away.

He slowly sat up, looking at his hands and body, which were already wrapped in bandages, no longer causing him much pain. No wonder he could sleep well, but who had saved him? Could what he saw last night really not have been a dream? But such a scene was too fantastical, making it hard to believe.

Thus, he sat quietly on the bed. After a long while, the creaking sound of a door opening could be heard, and a little girl walked in, seeing him sitting up.

“Oh, you’re awake.” The girl had blue hair, fair skin, clearly a child of the Chi clan.

“Yes, may I ask where this is?” Li Yincheng looked at the girl.

“This is the secluded valley in the Ximu Mountains. As for the exact name, I don’t know either; everyone around here just calls it that.” The girl pressed her chin with her finger, pondering her response.

“So why am I here?” Li Yincheng wanted to understand the situation further, but the girl seemed to know what he was about to ask and answered first.

“I know. Last night, you were rescued by Lady Jialan, along with a man and a woman. They are now lying in the next room.”

“Afterward, Lady Jialan used herbs and spells to treat you, then asked me and others to look after you. That’s how it is.”

So they are near the shrine, Li Yincheng thought to himself, then tried to get out of bed to walk around and take a look.

“Be careful, your wounds haven’t fully healed yet,” the girl hurriedly came over to stop Li Yincheng.

“It’s fine, I’m used to this kind of injury. Thank you for taking care of me. My name is Li Yincheng.” He refused the girl’s help and stood up leaning against the wall.

Seeing that this person indeed had some mobility, the little girl felt relieved.

“My name is Cai Wei. Currently, I help my mother and the shrine with some tasks.” The little girl introduced herself, then watched Li Yincheng slowly walk out.

“You should go slower,” Cai Wei followed behind, walking out of the house with Li Yincheng.

When Li Yincheng stepped out of the small courtyard on the hillside, the vast and bustling scenery of the secluded valley came into view. Everywhere there were members of the Chi clan walking around, bustling but rarely quarreling, trading various items. Some were discussing techniques and practicing martial arts, preparing for future battles.

Seeing this, Li Yincheng felt surprised. This was different from the silent valley he had seen before, so he carefully observed the scene from the hillside.

—

In the shrine, there was a tranquil atmosphere.

Grandmother Ge Luo knelt in the main hall, listening to Lolan Hill recount the events she learned at Zhaoye Palace yesterday.

“Unexpectedly, so many things happened, and the Jade Sword also died there…” Grandmother Ge Luo’s words carried a sense of sorrow and regret.

“Do you know the Real Person Jade Sword?” Li Yincheng asked.

“Yes, we were familiar acquaintances,” Grandmother Ge Luo sighed, then said to Lolan Hill, “This time, you’ve been through a lot. Let me handle the rest. Speaking of which, your training will soon end, and this place is no longer suitable for staying.”

Although Lolan Hill staying would be a great help, considering the increasingly dangerous situation ahead, it would be a pity and regret if this important disciple of the Xiangyu Sect were to die here.

“Though the Xiangyu Sect and Zhaoye Palace were one entity hundreds of years ago, they are no longer as close now. If you went to Zhaoye Palace for rescue, you might not immediately meet the key figures,” Grandmother Ge Luo slowly explained.

“Therefore, it’s better to return to the Xiangyu Sect first. It’s safer and more secure that way,” she wanted this young lady to leave this dangerous place.

“But—” Lolan Hill began to protest when urgent footsteps sounded from outside, then someone pushed open the curtain at the front of the shrine and entered.

“Hold on, miss,” Cai Wei’s anxious voice came from behind.

Lolan Hill turned around and saw a woman with unhealed injuries enter. She wore a green coat over her body, underneath which was a brightly colored yellow garment.

“Excuse me, are you the shrine’s priestess?” The woman looked at Grandmother Ge Luo, who was dressed in black ceremonial robes in the center.

“That’s right, I am. May I ask, who are you, miss?” Grandmother Ge Luo could tell that this woman was not part of the Chi clan in these mountains.

“I come from Luo Capital, sent by the secret order of the Xuanhua Mansion to investigate the situation in the Ximu Mountains.”

The woman slowly approached and stopped in the main hall, explaining her origins. However, when she carefully examined Grandmother Ge Luo, her brows furrowed slightly.

“Are you really the host priestess of this shrine?” she asked again.

“Indeed,” Grandmother Ge Luo nodded again.

“You are too impolite,” Cai Wei, panting, ran in from behind.

Upon hearing this woman’s inquiry, he became somewhat angry.

“The Lady Ge Luo has been serving as a shrine maiden in the shrine for over sixty years, pacifying and mediating the Dragon Veins. Who in these mountains doesn’t know her name?” Ca Wei explained.

“Is that so? But you are not of the Chi clan,” the woman said slowly, looking at Old Lady Ge Luo’s face. Her voice carried confusion and doubt.

The Dragon Veins in the mountains at dusk were mostly polluted and uncontrollable. It was extremely difficult to harmonize them, and over time, one could be corroded by the power of the Nine Netherworlds. Anyone would think it was a bad profession. Generally, it would suffice if the Chi clan handled it internally, but Old Lady Ge Luo is not of the Chi clan. Why should she waste her prime years here?

“Aah, this…” Upon hearing this, Ca Wei turned around in surprise, looking at Old Lady Ge Luo. She had never considered this issue before; it was subconscious that Old Lady Ge Luo was also of the Chi clan.

“People have their own thoughts and choices. This isn’t anything unusual,” Old Lady Ge Luo said calmly.

“From Luo Capital to here, did you come with any specific purpose? Perhaps I can offer some assistance,” Old Lady Ge Luo asked again about the woman’s intentions.

This woman knew that now wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters. She began to recount, “It all started like this…”

She then recounted her origins, originally from the Jinzhan Xuanhua Mansion of the House of Plantagenet. The institution’s predecessor was once the personal guards of the founding monarch of the House of Plantagenet, primarily responsible for intelligence gathering. After the establishment of the dynasty, it became the imperial supervisory body.

This time, she came because of a secret report suggesting that the governor of Xiyou Prefecture might be concealing the chaos under his jurisdiction, which could be seen as deception towards the emperor. Not finding any substantial evidence in Xiyou Prefecture, she heard rumors of some abnormalities in the Dusk Mountains nearby. It was a case of hitting a secondary target.

“So that’s how it is.” Old Lady Ge Luo nodded.

“What do you plan to do now? You must be aware of the dangers in the Dusk Mountains,” Old Lady Ge Luo asked.

After some contemplation, the woman replied, “Although I was prepared for this trip, I didn’t expect it to be such a major event. However, as a member of the Jinzhan Xuanhua Mansion, participating is not out of line.”

She recalled the history she saw in the mansion, narrating slowly, “After the Chi Kingdom’s defeat, Lady Red Phoenix led numerous immortals to deal with the aftermath. However, the Dragon Vein Caverns here were already chaotic and could not be completely cured. Later, they called upon disciples from the Xiangyu Sect, the Taiyin Palace, and the Xuanhua Mansion to assist in handling the situation.”

“The Taiyin Palace laid down seals in the depths of the Netherworld, aligning with the moon in the night sky to suppress and seal the fragmented caverns.”

“The Xuanhua Mansion sent shrine maidens and priests to cut off the Dragon Veins connecting neighboring prefectures to prevent the spread of dark energy.”

“The Xiangyu Sect left disciples of the Netherworld to patrol the mountainous area to prevent outsiders from destroying the seals and to suppress the few demons that overflowed.”

“Unfortunately, more than three hundred years ago, the Taiyin Palace participated in the succession struggle and, due to losing the fight, its faction was dissolved, and its disciples scattered. Among the books were taken over by the Xuanhua Mansion. The disciples left by the Xiangyu Sect formed their own sect, becoming the Condensed Purple Night Illumination Palace.”

“Although we don’t see the Condensed Purple Night Illumination Palace’s disciples anymore, our intervention in this matter is part of our mission and not an overreach.”

After listening to her explanation, Lolan Hill finally spoke up.

“However, the current state of the Condensed Purple Night Illumination Palace may not be as agreed upon,” she mentioned what she saw at the base yesterday.

Hearing this, the woman was very surprised, not expecting such intense internal strife within a major sect.

“This matter may not be something we can resolve in a short time,” she quickly pondered the situation.

“The nearest is Xiyou Prefecture. We can seek help there first. Sending someone to the Condensed Purple Night Illumination Palace would take more than half a month, and returning would take another month. That’s too late,” she shared her thoughts, estimating based on her speed.

Lolan Hill looked at the woman carefully and asked, “Do you have any method to get Governor Lord to send troops?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she nodded confidently. As a supervisory body overseeing officials, which official wouldn’t fear her?

“Alright.” Although Lolan Hill felt that the Governor Lord was not easy to handle, she didn’t want to cause trouble now.

Seeing the two people in the main hall analyzing, Old Lady Ge Luo nodded slightly and then took out a piece of silk cloth from a drawer, writing quickly.

“I will write down the current situation. Could you please deliver this letter for me?” After finishing, she rolled it up and handed it to the two.

“Sure.” Lolan Hill didn’t mind running this errand. However, the woman in the main hall seemed to have other ideas.

“Could I spend half a day touring the valley before returning?” As a member of the Xuanhua Mansion, she couldn’t fully rely on others’ descriptions and needed to personally investigate.

“Of course, it’s already a bother to ask the Imperial Envoy,” Old Lady Ge Luo responded.

“Then I’ll disturb you.”

“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Bu Muyin, from the Bu Family in Luo Capital.”

Old Lady Ge Luo nodded thoughtfully, and the woman temporarily left the shrine.

Cai Wei had no choice but to follow along.

After watching her walk away, Granny Ge Luo slowly spoke up.

“No wonder she’s so concerned; she’s actually a descendant of the Bu family.”

“The Bu family?” Loran Hill asked curiously.

“The Bu family is one of the six famous families in Luo Capital. One of their ancestors was the empress of the founding emperor. Although they have experienced ups and downs over the years, they have gradually stabilized. While they can’t influence the politics now, their reputation still lingers among the people,” Granny Ge Luo explained.

“Who are the other six families then?” The young lady showed some interest.

“Hehe, I only know a little about this, as I’ve been living in the valley for many years. I’ve only heard their names. The six famous families in Luo Capital are ‘Bu’, ‘Lian’, ‘Zhao’, ‘Ye’, ‘Bi’, and ‘Bu’. But don’t take these families too seriously, Jialan. There are many talented people in the world today, and these families are only famous because of their past illustrious members. You don’t need to worship them too much,” Granny Ge Luo carefully explained to Loran Hill.

“Nowadays, the dynasty recruits talents from all over the country, not just through the monopoly of these families. It’s been over three hundred years since that revivalist emperor reformed the system, curbing the power of these families and even some major sects. As a result, these families and the major sects were separated. By the way, the Moon Sacrifice Taiyin Palace also disappeared during this transformation.”

“Still, these families are descendants of meritorious ancestors, and it wouldn’t be right to completely eliminate them, which would dampen the spirits of old friends. After seeing that they no longer cause trouble, the dynasty gradually restored peace and stopped treating them as enemies.”

While Loran Hill was asking Granny Ge Luo about some positions and institutions within the dynasty, Bu Moxin was quickly surveying the area inside the secluded valley.

She had been rescued by Loran Hill last night, and her spirit had been easily handled, so she didn’t suffer any external injuries and could move around freely now.

Seeing the members of the Chi clan bustling about, trading and conversing, she seemed very interested, but due to the urgency of the situation, she turned to the girl beside her and asked, “Cai Wei, is the valley usually this lively?”

“No, no, no. This is actually quite rare. After all, there aren’t many places in the Yama Mountain where black millet can be grown. If everyone gathers here, we’d probably all starve,” the girl hurriedly waved her hands.

“Starve? How could that happen?” Moxin looked incredulous. The young lady who grew up in Luo Capital with fine clothes and food found it hard to understand that such large-scale famine could occur within the dynasty.

“It’s like this,” Cai Wei’s voice was somewhat low.

“Moxin, you’re from outside, right? What kind of life do people outside live?”

“Well, this…” Although Moxin knew what life was like outside, she didn’t know how to explain it to the girl, as many things were unfamiliar to her.

“…What is fish, Moxin?” Moxin started gesturing and describing.

“Wow, so beautiful, with shiny shells,” Cai Wei’s eyes sparkled with amazement.

“No, not the shell, it’s the scales, small pieces overlapping each other,” Moxin had to explain again. She noticed that although there were many people in the valley, the variety of goods was extremely limited, only a few items in constant circulation.

Black millet, black flax, simple metal tools, and barely any color except black.

“Do you always live like this?” Looking at the emaciated figures along the road, the woman from Luo Capital finally felt a sense of pity.

“Yes, we always live like this,” Cai Wei replied matter-of-factly.

“But isn’t this too pitiful?” She looked at the dry, unpalatable, and hard black millet cake, feeling her cheeks ache after chewing.

“Why do you say it’s pitiful? Actually, Cai Wei thinks this is normal,” the little girl looked puzzled.

“Hmm,” Moxin was speechless, unsure how to express herself and whether she should.

“Um, I’m full. Thank you, little Cai Wei. Next time, I’ll bring you some good snacks. How about the goldfish cakes from Luo Capital’s autumn moon lantern festival?”

“Even though I don’t know what they look like, thank you, Moxin,” Cai Wei nodded with a smile.

Looking at the innocent and pure smile on the girl’s face, Bu Moxin suddenly felt a sense of responsibility and mission descending upon her. Perhaps this was why she abandoned her comfortable life and joined the Jinzhan Xuanhua Mansion.

“Then let’s say goodbye for now. I need to go back and find some help,” Bu Moxin finally stopped her inspection in the valley.

“Okay,” Cai Wei thought it was just a casual remark.

“Let’s agree on that.”

As the sun rose to the zenith, some sunlight shone into the secluded valley. Finally, Bu Moxin waved goodbye to Cai Wei and headed towards the shrine.

Thank you to the following readers for their support:

Wao Wugou, Focused Staring

Xingkong and Miracles, Close by but Hard to Hold, Bookworm Dadadudu, A Thousand Dreams

Hehehehe, Starry Melody, Sassy Fat Fox, Fish Not Good to Eat, Reader 20210801135729804, Nameless Oath, Natural Dumb Hair, Only Waiting for Xian, Bishop Liliana, Eternal Night Lord, You Ji, Sassy Fat Fox, Only Love Lu Nai

Thank you very much.