Ji Hongye would rather give up her reputation and bear a tainted name than let Yu Yi down.
This resolve moved Yu Yi and also filled her with concern.
‘She went this far? What kind of history does she have with the original host to make her so persistent?’
Unfortunately, Yu Yi couldn’t easily recall more of her past memories with Ji Hongye in such a short time.
Perhaps only after an in-depth exchange in the future would she be able to retrieve those scattered memory fragments.
“Hehe, Master, did you bring back something good?”
Huang Doudou stared greedily at Yu Yi’s bulging pocket, her eyes sparkling as if seeing gold.
“You have the sharpest eyes.”
Yu Yi shot Huang Doudou a look and let out a resigned chuckle.
“I did bring you all some gifts, but you’ll have to wait until everyone’s here, okay?”
Yu Yi just looked around and noticed someone was missing.
“Where’s Ganxue?” she asked.
“Uh… well, not sure.”
“I didn’t see her either.”
Huang Doudou and Chi Ming answered.
Yu Yi found it strange.
Yun Ganxue was an obedient and sensible child. Yu Yi had told her to stay in Among the Colorful Clouds and wait for her return, so she shouldn’t have wandered off.
Just as Yu Yi was wondering where Yun Ganxue had gone, a familiar voice came from behind the group.
“Big Sister… I’m right here.”
Turning around, they saw Yun Ganxue emerge from some corner and greet them shyly.
“Qianxue, where did you go?” Yu Yi asked.
“Mm… I went to the city.”
Yun Qianxue answered nervously.
“I just suddenly felt like taking a stroll in the city. No other intentions, okay?”
Upon hearing this, Yu Yi narrowed her eyes slightly.
‘Oh boy, isn’t this a classic case of “protesting too much”?’
‘Ganxue really doesn’t know how to lie at all.’
Although Yun Qianxue was clearly hiding something from Yu Yi, Yu Yi didn’t intend to press further.
‘Everyone has their freedom, and it’s normal to have privacy.’
‘Besides, Ganxue is so honest and sensible. She couldn’t possibly be secretly plotting something, thinking about how to scheme against me, right?’
Yu Yi thought silently.
Yu Yi had been proven wrong several times now.
At first, she thought Ye Qingluan was a good disciple who hadn’t conspired with Su Cheng, but later she almost got trapped in the Tree House and couldn’t escape.
At first, she thought Lan Ling’er was a caring little comforter, but later she was obsessed with Dual Cultivation with Yu Yi and even burst through her bottleneck out of sheer determination.
Although Yu Yi didn’t care too much about being proven wrong like this.
But as the saying goes, it never happens more than thrice.
If she was proven wrong a third time, it would be too much of a loss of face.
She firmly believed that the honest and sensible Yun Qianxue would not let her down.
“Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s begin.”
As she said this, Yu Yi took out the ten dazzling, small, exquisite Soul Essences from her pocket.
When the disciples saw them, they had varied expressions, but all were pleasantly surprised.
Ji Hongye said with some surprise:
“Yu Mei, did you take all the Soul Essences produced by His Majesty’s golden-crowned cranes?”
“I’m afraid… His Majesty won’t accept this.”
“That’s not something I need to worry about.”
Yu Yi shrugged.
“Just now, the ten golden-crowned cranes lined up and presented the Soul Essences to me. Since they were so sincere, how could I refuse?”
Some people enter the palace and serve the Yan Emperor for life just for the chance to gain His Majesty’s favor and obtain one of these Soul Essences.
All cultivators, in their lives, will more or less encounter bottlenecks that are hard to break through.
But by absorbing this Soul Essence, not only can they break through the bottleneck, but they can even directly increase their own limits!
Yet at this moment, the Soul Essences that countless people craved were like ordinary candies, rewarded by Yu Yi to her disciples.
“Thank you, Master!”
The disciples knelt down and thanked her.
“This… do I get one too?”
Yun Ganxue looked at the Soul Essence in her palm and said somewhat blankly.
“Of course.”
Yu Yi smiled faintly, reached out, and gently stroked Yun Ganxue’s hair.
“Qianxue is already an indispensable part of Among the Colorful Clouds, isn’t she?”
“Big Sister…”
Yun Ganxue blushed, holding the Soul Essence tightly in her palm as if guarding a precious treasure.
“Alright, all of you go now.” Yu Yi waved her hand.
“Yes, Master!”
The disciples bowed to Yu Yi once more and then dispersed.
They each needed to find a quiet place alone and slowly absorb the hundred-year essence within the Soul Essence.
“So, Senior, how about we catch up as we agreed earlier?”
Yu Yi then turned to Ji Hongye and said.
But in her line of sight, Ji Hongye was nowhere to be seen.
Yu Yi slowly lowered her gaze and saw that Ji Hongye had indeed turned back into her loli form.
They looked at each other in silence.
“Yu Mei, does this form of mine… trouble you?”
Although Yu Yi had seen her loli form many times, Ji Hongye still asked diffidently.
“Not at all! Although I do miss Senior’s original form, the current Senior is also very cute.”
Yu Yi smiled and replied.
“Cute… well…”
Ji Hongye’s expression turned complicated upon hearing that.
“No one has ever said that about me before…”
“Was it me the first time?”
Yu Yi chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and asked back:
“Does Senior not like being described that way?”
“If it’s Yu Mei… then it’s fine.”
Ji Hongye rubbed her forehead.
“But if Ruohan or Mingyan said it, I’d be a bit troubled.”
In Ji Hongye’s view, Ji Ruohan and Liu Mingyan were juniors among juniors. Being called cute by those little ones was indeed hard to accept.
Although Ji Hongye regarded Yu Yi as a younger sister, who could say that an older sister couldn’t be called cute by her younger sister?
But Yu Yi was the most special one.
“Senior, is there any place you’d like to go?” Yu Yi asked.
“I… don’t really have a particular place in mind.”
Ji Hongye replied.
“As long as I can be with Yu Mei, even just sitting under a tree and feeling the ordinary breeze would be pleasant.”
“I see…”
Yu Yi pondered for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“Then, Senior, leave everything to me.”
After saying this, Yu Yi took Ji Hongye’s small hand and walked out of Among the Colorful Clouds.
Central Divine Land.
***
In the Grand Yan Imperial Palace, Anhuang Palace.
A woman clad in light armor knelt prostrate and said with deep remorse:
“Your servant is incompetent and failed to stop those thieves who took all the Soul Essences produced by the golden-crowned cranes! I beg Your Majesty to forgive my sin!”
This woman was the Imperial Guard Commander, Xu Sichen.
She was full of remorse for her earlier dereliction of duty in letting Yu Yi and the others escape.
Those “masters” being able to restore the Cloud-Hiding Forest as before and heal the golden-crowned cranes was naturally for the best.
But the reward promised by the Yan Emperor was not all of the golden-crowned cranes’ Soul Essences!
“Your servant plans to notify the palace painters to create portraits of those thieves and distribute them to all prefectures, determined to capture them!”
Xu Sichen said earnestly, looking as if she wanted to make up for her mistake.
However, she heard an unexpected reply.
“Since those ten Soul Essences have fallen into her hands, it is Heaven’s will. You don’t need to notify the painters. They are not qualified to use their brushes to outline her aura and temperament.”
The figure behind the screen had a seductive and slender silhouette.
After undressing, a pair of snow-white flawless bare feet emerged from behind the screen.
Xu Sichen dared not lift her head, her vision only catching sight of those delicate bare feet.
The ten toes were slender as jade, the plump nails stained bright red with henna, looking seductive and alluring yet not losing their nobility.
Then, a cold, ethereal voice sounded:
“Although I care not that the ten Soul Essences fell into her hands, you were ultimately ineffective in your duty and must be punished.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!”
Xu Sichen kowtowed again.
This punishment was far lighter than a sentence.
“Sichen, you have never bathed me before, have you?”
“Your servant… never has.”
Xu Sichen replied, feeling both nervous and uneasy.
‘Why did she suddenly bring up bathing?’
‘What does Her Majesty… intend to punish me with?’
Xu Sichen dared not ask, nor dared to look up to see the other’s expression.
She knelt silently, waiting for the next order.
“Since it’s the first time, we’ll start with the simplest part.”
“The simplest part… What is it?”
Just as Xu Sichen grew more nervous and confused,
a delicate jade foot lifted slightly and extended in front of her.
The gorgeous Empress spoke faintly, uttering only a single word:
“Lick.”
The illness hasn’t gotten better yet.
Although it took four hours to barely write this chapter, there’s no way I’m missing an update.
Due to the pandemic, the author’s area is about to be locked down, making it inconvenient to go to the hospital for IV fluids.
I’ll take my medicine on time and try to recover quickly to give everyone extra updates.
Thank you all for your concern.