"Wanyue!"
Upon seeing the princess, Zhou Yingmo’s eyes lit up. She walked forward and took the other’s arm, her smile beaming, "I knew you would co."
Zhou Wanyue’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. She was quite surprised by Princess Yingmo’s sudden appearance, her willow-leaf-like eyebrows knitting with a hint of astonishnt and confusion, "Yingmo, how did you get here?"
Zhou Yingmo laughed brightly, "Of course, I’m here for the excitent."
She lowered her voice and whispered:
"I was actually here for a normal visit, planning to seek advice on so martial arts matters, but then I suddenly heard that a devil from Sky Demon Sect nad Jin Ao is coming to kill Su Shanke. How could I miss such an exciting event?"
Zhou Wanyue felt sowhat helpless.
This princess just loved to join in wherever there was excitent.
"Shangguan Yunjin, at your service, Princess Yingmo."
Dressed in a snow-white long robe, Shangguan Yunjin smiled warmly and greeted her with a graceful bow, the epito of elegance.
Zhou Yingmo responded with a smile and a nod of her head. She secretly gave the princess a thumbs up and praised softly, "Impressive, Wanyue. What tricks did you use to snatch up this gentleman artist?"
"Silly girl, don’t talk nonsense,"
Zhou Wanyue tapped the other’s forehead gently with her finger, her voice tinged with annoyance, "Things might get a little chaotic at the Su Family, so don’t wander around aimlessly."
"I know~"
Zhou Yingmo deliberately elongated her tone.
When the crowd learned that the graceful and handso man before them was Shangguan Yunjin, the famous ’Gentleman Artist’ from Wanshou Mountains and Rivers, their eyes lit up, and they all crowded around to introduce themselves.
Everyone hoped to befriend this reputed scholar of Confucianism and make a good connection.
Even Duo Ying and Hou Qi couldn’t resist, stepping forward to make conversation.
So who had earlier whispered sneering remarks about the dazzling Shangguan Yunjin, calling him a "pretty boy" and such, instantly changed their attitudes upon learning of his identity and eagerly approached to get acquainted.
Jiang Shouzhong watched and couldn’t help laughing.
It truly was as the saying goes: Dogs lick dogs, and people perform in front of people.
Seeing the girl still beside him, Jiang Shouzhong asked, "Why not go forward and chat with the so-called Gentleman Artist?"
"I don’t like painting, what’s there to talk about?"
Leng Jing wrinkled her little nose.
Perhaps it was her father’s escape from danger that relieved the girl of her worries, allowing her true nature to show, chattering nonstop the whole way.
Now she would talk about things following the rescue, then about matters of Tianqing Manor, and even began telling Jiang Shouzhong about the Book of Changes and the Eight Trigrams, proving to be quite the chatterbox and giving Jiang Shouzhong a headache.
He even entertained the thought of tying her up and stuffing a cloth in her mouth.
Taking advantage of a mont when the girl finally paused in her talking, Jiang Shouzhong remarked, "Horses’ hooves never stop, and neither does your mouth."
"Master Jiang?"
At that mont, the princess caught sight of Jiang Shouzhong not far away, her expression one of surprise.
She hadn’t expected to encounter him here.
"I have the honor of seeing the princess," Jiang Shouzhong said as he clasped his hands in a salute.
Zhou Wanyue’s lips curled into a slight smile as she asked softly, "Isn’t Qingchen here?"
Jiang Shouzhong shook his head lightly, "Lord Ran has official duties to tend to."
"What a pity."
The woman smiled faintly.
Jiang Shouzhong didn’t understand what her "pity" implied, nor was he inclined to continue the conversation. He was about to find an excuse to leave when Shangguan Yunjin approached and asked, "Who might this be?"
When the two n stood together, the others couldn’t help but be struck by their presence.
To their surprise, they found that Jiang Shouzhong’s deanor was in no way inferior to Shangguan Yunjin, and in terms of temperant, he even seed more distinguished. Compared to Shangguan Yunjin, who was like the first clear snow of winter, he had an added touch of masculinity.
Zhou Wanyue smiled and said, "Jiang Mo, the covert lantern of Liushan Division, Qingchen holds him in high regard."
The woman intentionally emphasized the words "Qingchen" and "regard."
Shangguan Yunjin, however, remained unfazed, his handso face still adorned with a gentle smile as he bowed to Jiang Shouzhong, "Shangguan Yunjin has had the good fortune to et Master Jiang."
Jiang Shouzhong nodded slightly, "Good fortune indeed."
"Oh co on, enough with these pleasantries..." Zhou Yingmo said with so impatience, "Let’s head to the hall. I heard they’re discussing how to deal with the fiend there, and it would be a sha to miss the excitent."
With those words, she linked arms with Leng Jing and headed toward the hall.
Shangguan Yunjin, who had wanted to chat more, could only smile helplessly and give up on the idea.
When the group arrived at the hall, there were already many guests gathered in clusters, arguing intensely, as if the world was turning upside down; so were even close to rolling up their sleeves to fight.
Jiang Shouzhong listened carefully and was amused.
The argunts varied; so debated whether to gang up on the great fiend if he ca, or to face him in a one-on-one combat.
Ganging up seed unbecoming of people who followed the righteous path.
Yet, should they lose in a duel, it would surely tarnish the reputation of the righteous.
Others were discussing whether Qu Hongling would appear, and if so, how to capture her.
So even began to argue over how to divide the spoils after storming into the Sky Demon Sect’s lair in the Ten Thousand Mountains.
The whole hall resembled a marketplace, each person putting on a bravado, their foreheads practically engraved with the words "I am brave."
Because of their special status, for the sake of thoroughness, the Su Family had specially arranged for the Commandery Princess and the royal princess to be seated in an isolated compartnt within the hall; Jiang Shouzhong and company were fortunate to benefit from this as well.
At that mont, Jiang Shouzhong suddenly rembered the young couple he had coincidentally t inside the cave while escorting Yelü Miaomiao.
The man was nad Su Junwen, and the woman Tan Shuangshuang.
Back then, Su Junwen was planning to flee to Fengcheng, but changed his mind due to sothing Jin Ao had said, and took the woman back to Qingzhou instead. He wondered how the couple was faring now.
Jiang Shouzhong was continuously contemplating how to escape.
After all, his purpose in infiltrating was to find the entrance to the underground palace.
——
Inside the inn.
The girl in the red dress stood quietly, her delicate and fair fingers guiding a slender sword nad "Feng Zhan" as it flew about like fireflies.
"Sect Master, are you sure we don’t need to assist Jin?"
Shen Shengyuan asked, frowning.
He had originally thought Jin Ao would take the opportunity to assassinate Su Shanke, but unexpectedly, the latter staged such an openly defiant gesture. Now with so many martial arts experts gathered at the Su Family’s place, stirring trouble could make it difficult to leave unscathed.
"Let him fuss. Jin Ao isn’t a fool; he can escape on his own," Qu Hongling said indifferently.
She opened the window, and the cold breeze brushed through the girl’s hair, soft and sanctifying her further.
Shen Shengyuan nodded, then asked, "Should we arrange for so of our people to be in the sanctuary tomorrow just in case Lord Ran intentionally sets a trap for you? One can never be too cautious."
Qu Hongling fell into a long silence.
Just as Shen Shengyuan thought she agreed with his plan and was about to arrange it, Qu Hongling smiled and said, "She won’t, I trust her."
Shen Shengyuan was montarily taken aback but then dropped the matter.
Qu Hongling lifted her hand, watching the continuously dancing little sword, and murmured:
"What a pity. If we could get our hands on the Dragon Slaying Sword, our odds of defeating a demon dragon would increase considerably. I wonder if Lord Ran will be able to secure the Dragon Slaying Sword."
——
Elsewhere, the Liushan Division.
A luxurious carriage slowly ca to a halt in front of the gate.
Jiang Yi stretched lazily, squinting her phoenix eyes as she surveyed the Liushan Division and said with a light laugh, "At last, we have arrived."
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