Guan Yue and his daughter, along with Yu Yi and her two disciples, arrived at the lowest massive floating stone.
Guan Ningning whistled, and the white cranes that had brought them up earlier quickly flew over to pick them up.
Just as they mounted the cranes and were about to take off, a series of shouts seemed to come from above.
“Stop right there—stop right there!”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Guan Yue turned around at the sound, and saw Xu Sichen leading a large group of guards, charging wildly down from the layers of floating stones. Xu Sichen in particular was flailing her arms and legs, scaring Guan Yue.
“Old Guan! Catch those three! They took all ten golden-crowned cranes’ soul essences!!!”
Xu Sichen’s wailing finally reached Guan Yue’s ears.
Guan Yue was shocked. He turned to look at Yu Yi and the other two, only to find them already taking off on the white cranes.
He quickly mounted a crane and gave chase, saying to Guan Ningning, “Ningning! Call those white cranes back!”
But just as Guan Yue flew into the air and Guan Ningning was about to speak, Yu Yi and her two disciples suddenly jumped off the white cranes.
They flipped upside down relative to Guan Yue, plummeting at high speed from this ten-thousand-foot height!
‘What do they mean by that?’
Yu Yi and the others’ suicidal behavior left Guan Yue momentarily stunned.
But when he saw what happened next, he realized he was still too young.
The moment Yu Yi and her two disciples plunged into the clouds, a surging windstorm swept across the sky.
Then, a flying chariot surrounded by wind burst through the clouds, appearing before Guan father and daughter, Xu Sichen, and the rest of the guards.
The Fengshen Litter carried Yu Yi and the other two, vanishing in an instant, leaving behind only a gust of wind that nearly blew everyone off the floating stone.
Sitting on the Fengshen Litter, Yu Yi smiled faintly at them, then drifted away with the wind.
When the wind died down, Guan father and daughter were dumbfounded, and Xu Sichen was too.
So that’s why they refused the Emperor’s reward—they were secretly pocketing ten soul essences and just running off!
On the Fengshen Litter.
Ye Qingluan looked back at the Cloud-Hidden Forest growing farther and farther away, a faint reluctance on her face.
“Qingluan, do you really like that place?”
Yu Yi’s warm palm covered the top of her head, gently stroking as she asked.
“I do,” Ye Qingluan answered honestly. “Though the gardening there isn’t great, the environment is… exactly what I’ve dreamed of.”
Suspended high in the sky, hidden amid the clouds.
Such a Cloud-Hidden Forest was like a paradise, undisturbed by others—exactly the place Ye Qingluan had always longed for.
“If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll build one for you too.”
Yu Yi used the classic trick for coaxing a child.
“Just building one… probably isn’t enough. I’d need Master to come along too.” Ye Qingluan indulged in a daydream on the spot.
“Greedy.”
Yu Yi tapped her on the head to sober her up a bit.
Good grief, not only did Ye Qingluan want a paradise, she was even thinking of taking Yu Yi captive as her mountain bride?
Greedy, truly too greedy!
Yu Yi then noticed that Blue Ling’er was sitting quietly beside her, not saying a word.
Given Blue Ling’er’s personality, she would have reacted a bit upon hearing Ye Qingluan’s greed at the very least.
But right now, she seemed preoccupied, as if nothing could get through to her.
“Ling’er?”
Yu Yi’s slender hand gently rested on Blue Ling’er’s.
Blue Ling’er shivered and snapped back to reality.
“Ma-Master, what’s wrong?”
“What are you thinking about?”
Blue Ling’er hesitated for a moment before answering, “Disciple was wondering… how Among the Colorful Clouds is doing now?”
Yu Yi could tell at a glance that this wasn’t what Blue Ling’er had been thinking about.
But she was also a bit concerned about the current situation at Among the Colorful Clouds.
The Tianji Pavilion was the Empire of Yan’s top intelligence agency. They would definitely discover something wrong in Yizhou faster than Huang Doudou.
If the Tianji Pavilion spread this information, the Orthodox Faction forces that were preparing to hold Among the Colorful Clouds accountable for the beast rampage would probably already be arriving.
***
Yizhou, Mingyue City.
Yun Qianxue walked alone down the street, seeming to have a clear destination in mind, her pace quite brisk.
After passing through a few alleys and turning a couple of corners, Yun Qianxue finally arrived at her destination—
A newly opened tailor shop.
The shop owner was a young woman in her early twenties, the very one known among the neighbors as the “Genius Tailor.”
This was Yun Qianxue’s first visit, and the shop owner’s first time seeing Yun Qianxue.
“Miss, you’re very beautiful. Are you here to buy new clothes?”
“Yes,” Yun Qianxue replied.
“Feel free to browse! If none of these catch your fancy, you can tell me your preferred style, and I can make a custom order?”
The shop owner enthusiastically promoted.
From the moment she first saw Yun Qianxue, she decided this was a wealthy young lady. Though she couldn’t immediately recall whether there really was a rich family in Mingyue City, it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that this was a “plump fish”—she couldn’t let her get away.
“You said you can do custom orders, right?”
Yun Qianxue’s expression suddenly turned serious, and she asked in a low voice.
“Of course! There’s nothing I can’t do, only what you can’t imagine! But well… since it’s custom, the price might be a bit higher than the regular styles?”
“It’s fine. Money is not an issue.”
The shop owner was overjoyed, planning to sell Yun Qianxue several pieces and make a good profit.
“So what kind of outfit would miss like to order?” she asked.
“Did that person from Among the Colorful Clouds come to you to order a special type of socks?”
Yun Qianxue didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly.
Like Blue Ling’er, Yun Qianxue had been captivated by Ji Hongye’s white silk legs, and had even fantasized about seeing Yu Yi in them.
She knew that pair of white silk socks was a gift Yu Yi had specially commissioned for Ji Hongye.
Though she wasn’t sure where Yu Yi had gotten the inspiration, Yun Qianxue was certain that Yu Yi must have commissioned them from a tailor in Mingyue City.
Because during the few times she had gone out, Yun Qianxue had been by Yu Yi’s side, and Yu Yi had never visited any tailor shop.
Therefore, it was only after returning to Among the Colorful Clouds that Yu Yi could have found time to come to Mingyue City and commission those socks from a tailor.
There weren’t many tailor shops in Mingyue City. After ruling out a few, Yun Qianxue quickly zeroed in on this last one.
“Hmm… Lord Yu did come to me to order a special pair of socks. Does miss want to order the same style?”
the shop owner asked.
So it seemed Yun Qianxue had found the right place.
“Yes, please make me one set in every color,” Yun Qianxue nodded in reply.
“Ahaha… every color?”
The shop owner was a bit confused.
Although she wanted to make more money off Yun Qianxue, one set in every color would be a huge quantity, and the price would naturally be substantial.
Even if Yun Qianxue were a wealthy young lady, she probably couldn’t pay it all at once, right?
“Are you sure, miss?” the shop owner confirmed. “The fabric colors I have in stock amount to—”
Before she could even say the specific number, Yun Qianxue cut her off.
“I’ll take them all.”
Yun Qianxue answered seriously, her eyes seeming to flicker with firelight.