Chapter 366 Aunt, Indeed
Thousand Li of rolling clouds moved with the wind. Tianfeng Immortal City, located on one side of Nanke Snow Mountain in the Northern Region, ushered in a rare sunny day.
Inside the tall tower in the center of the city, a tall woman wearing a snow-white men’s python robe was sitting at a desk, reviewing the documents in her hand.
The woman’s eyes were bright and her demeanor was heroic. At first glance, she looked like a more effeminate man, but the embroidery on the chest of the python robe, which was distorted by her figure, clearly indicated her daughterly identity.
After finishing the document in her hand, Xu Mulan frowned and looked at the woman dressed as a young attendant beside her.
“Four girls, about twelve or thirteen years old, disappeared overnight from Wujia Town. The Snow-clothed Guard investigated for three days and couldn’t find any trace?”
“It snowed heavily a few days ago, covering up the footprints. Moreover, the perpetrator probably used some magical artifact to conceal their aura… This…”
Hearing this, Xu Mulan’s frown deepened. It had been several months since girls around ten years old had been disappearing from several villages and towns around Tianfeng Immortal City.
The Snow-clothed Guard had investigated for months. Apart from a few who were taken away by demonic beasts in the mountains, there was still no clue about the others.
If this case was not solved soon, it would likely cause panic.
Xu Mulan pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling at a loss and troubled.
The young attendant beside her was silent for a moment before asking, “Commander Xu, do you want to invite your sister to Tianfeng Immortal City to stay for a while? This thief specifically targets girls aged twelve to thirteen. I’m worried…”
Xu Mulan glared at her, “I can’t possibly bring all the girls aged twelve to thirteen within a hundred-Li radius to the Commander’s Mansion.”
“But… that is your sister, the commander of the Snow-clothed Guard…”
“Stop talking, or I’ll punish you!”
“Ah… Yes.”
Xu Mulan let out a heavy sigh and continued to look at the documents. Just then, there were two knocks at the door.
Bang bang—
“Come in.”
A Snow-clothed Guard pushed the door open and presented a jade slip to Xu Mulan’s desk with both hands, saying, “The head of the Liu family in Tianfeng Immortal City requests an audience with the Commander.”
“Liu family?”
Xu Mulan was slightly puzzled. She took the jade slip and scanned it with her spiritual sense.
Seeing Xu Mulan reading the jade slip, the Snow-clothed Guard who entered visibly flinched and took a step back, lowering his head.
The letter began with a lot of pleasantries, and then revealed its true purpose:
“…My son, who is seventeen this year, has heard that Commander Xu has a younger sister who is of the age to be adorned with a golden hairpin. Therefore, I wish to seek a good match for my son and hope Commander Xu will grant my wish.”
“…”
The next moment, with a “bang,” Xu Mulan threw the jade slip on the ground, shattering it into pieces that dissipated into spiritual light.
“Tell him! I’m not seeing him!”
“…Yes.”
The Snow-clothed Guard cupped his hands in a salute, shook his head helplessly, and left, closing the door.
After he left, Xu Mulan immediately pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed helplessly again.
“Sigh… What number is this this month?”
The young attendant beside her recalled and replied, “Reporting to the Commander, it’s the fifth time.”
“Sigh…”
Xu Mulan shook her head.
Half a year ago, after her sister Xu Xiyue turned twelve, cultivation families around Tianfeng Immortal City had been sending betrothal gifts to the Commander’s Mansion, proposing marriage to Xu Xiyue.
Some people were attracted by her sister’s beauty, while others, being great families, were trying to curry favor with her by targeting the “sister of the Snow-clothed Guard Commander.”
Although there were also some good men without any blemishes, Xu Xiyue would have a good life if she married them.
But!!!
Because her parents passed away after giving birth to her sister, she raised her sister alone. Therefore, to her, Xu Xiyue was everything.
Xu Mulan did not want to see her precious cabbage being snatched away by some rich kid!!
Xu Mulan’s brows immediately furrowed, and she glanced at the young attendant beside her, frightening her into paling and lowering her head.
“What… What is it? Commander Xu…”
“Help me draft a public announcement and post it on the city’s notice board.”
“What announcement?”
“If you want to marry my sister, you have to defeat me first!”
“Ah?”
The young attendant looked surprised. Most of those families were proposing marriage for their young masters, and those young masters were only at the Qi Refining Stage, at most at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
In other words, to marry Xu Xiyue, one had to defeat Xu Mulan, a cultivator at the late Core Formation Stage, with their Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation.
Unless Xu Mulan went easy on them, how could anyone possibly defeat her?
It’s not like any Core Formation Stage cultivator would be interested in her sister with spiritual roots, right?
“…Yes, I’ll go write it now.”
The young attendant bowed and turned to the table next to her to draft the announcement.
Xu Mulan let out a breath and continued to look at the case files of the missing children from Wujia Town.
A moment later, two knocks came from outside the door.
Bang bang—
“Come in.”
Another cultivator in white armor pushed the door open and walked to Xu Mulan’s long table, cupping his hands in a salute.
“Commander, there is a distinguished guest who wishes to see you.”
“What distinguished guest?”
“The Lord of the Chi Long Mansion.”
“Chi Long Mansion in the Western Regions?”
Xu Mulan frowned as she listened. After a moment of thought, she stood up, went to a bookshelf, and took out a map of the Western Regions, spreading it out to look.
She searched the map for a long time before finally finding the location of the Chi Long Mansion. She twisted her brows and asked, “It wouldn’t be another proposal to my Xu family, would it?”
?
The Snow-clothed Guard was stunned for a moment, wanting to speak but stopping. In the end, he didn’t say anything and continued, “Commander, I remember hearing that the old Lord of the Chi Long Mansion passed away several years ago. The current Chi Long Mansion is managed by his only daughter, who is only in her early twenties.”
“Twenty years old… Then her son would be at most five or six years old. Do they want to propose marriage for her son so early?”
The Snow-clothed Guard paused and couldn’t help but explain directly, “Commander… Um… What I mean is, Madam Li doesn’t have a son yet, and they traveled all this way… It’s really unnecessary…”
“Hiss— That’s right.” Xu Mulan nodded, only then realizing that she had become somewhat deranged by the recent proposals. “Then what is she here for?”
“Madam Li only said she wanted to see you and had something extremely important to tell you.”
“Extremely important… What important matter does the Chi Long Mansion from the Western Regions have to tell me? Why doesn’t she go to Han Yue City and come here?”
“I don’t know…”
Xu Mulan twisted her brows, thought for a moment, and then stood up. She made a sword finger and picked up a snow-white armor inlaid with feathers from the adjacent coat rack, putting it on and then hanging her sword.
“Since she came all this way, I can’t be rude. Where is she?”
“I’ve already invited her to the guest hall to wait.”
…
In the guest hall of the Commander’s Mansion.
Li Longling, wearing a fur-lined robe, sat in the guest seat, her jade hands fiddling with the lid of the teacup, gently caressing the steam rising from the fragrant tea. Fire Phoenix stood on her shoulder, looking around the hall with blazing eyes, as if to say, “Hmph! My master’s immortal mansion is not as luxurious as yours!”
Ye Anping, dressed as a white-clothed guard, with the Snow Jade Myriad Spirit Sword, wrapped in bandages, on his back, stood beside Li Longling, waiting for Xu Mulan’s arrival.
However, although he was dressed as a guard, his white clothes had been specially ordered from a tailor a few days ago. When worn, he looked like a righteous and sunny young immortal.
Li Longling looked at him through Fire Phoenix’s eyes and said, “Young Master Ye, wouldn’t it be better for you to reveal your identity as the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect? Isn’t the Commander of the Snow-clothed Guard Miss Xiyue’s sister?”
“The Hundred Lotus Sect is an unknown small sect even in the Western Regions. Its reputation in the Northern Region is not even as good as a small aristocratic family. This is better.”
“Then shouldn’t you prepare some gifts? Shouldn’t you try to please Commander Xu?”
“…We are not here to propose marriage. We are here to deal with the matter of demonic cultivators.”
“But won’t you propose marriage sooner or later?”
“…”
Ye Anping was a little helpless. He raised his hand and tapped her head.
Then, he was glared at by Fire Phoenix: You’re courting death, kid!! Try tapping me again?!
Li Longling rubbed the back of her head and laughed helplessly.
“Just kidding, I’m not that petty. I’m more curious now, what does Miss Xiyue look like? To make you so concerned.”
“Didn’t I say it before? She’s just an ordinary girl.”
“A thousand words are not as good as one meeting.”
“You will see her later, and I suspect you will be disappointed.”
“If Young Master Ye thinks I will be disappointed, then I will definitely not be disappointed.” Li Longling smiled playfully and said, “Speaking of which, Young Master Ye, you suddenly stopped when you were checking my meridians last time.”
Ye Anping paused. He had already sent Xiao Tian to deliver another message, so he said,
“…Let’s continue tonight.”
“Then I’ll remember that.”
They chatted casually for a while. Suddenly, there was a “clatter” of armor friction from outside the guest hall.
Fire Phoenix immediately turned its head to look, puffing out its chest to show off its magnificence.
Xu Mulan, accompanied by three late Foundation Establishment Snow-clothed Guards, stepped over the threshold. Her heroic, light red eyes swept over Ye Anping and Li Longling, then she walked to the main seat and sat down, spreading her hands. “I am the Commander of the Snow-clothed Guard of Tianfeng Immortal City, Xu Mulan.”
Li Longling quickly stood up, turned to face her, and cupped her hands in a salute. “Li Longling, Lord of the Chi Long Mansion. Thank you, Commander Xu, for taking time out of your busy schedule to see a junior.”
On the way, Xu Mulan had been briefly introduced to the Chi Long Mansion by some Snow-clothed Guards who knew about the Western Regions. She had learned in advance that Li Longling was a woman who was blind from birth.
But seeing her now, she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.
She had met many blind people, and they were all more or less timid when talking to people. However, Li Longling seemed no different from a normal person.
After a pause, Xu Mulan spread her hands. “I don’t like small talk. If Madam Li has something to say, please say it directly.”
“I wanted to inform Commander Xu. On the way here, we encountered quite a few demonic cultivators traveling in groups. Does Commander Xu know about this?”
“You encountered… demonic cultivators?” Xu Mulan’s eyes widened, and she asked, “Where?”
Li Longling was silent for a moment, then turned her head and nodded at Ye Anping.
Ye Anping took a step forward, made a sword finger, and took out several storage bags he had previously seized from the Foundation Establishment Stage demonic cultivators. He said, “Commander Xu, these storage bags were obtained from demonic cultivators. One of them also contains a map, marking the locations where we encountered the demonic cultivators. We believe that demonic cultivators have likely infiltrated the Northern Region, and in considerable numbers.”
Xu Mulan paused, casually took a storage bag, took a look, and then looked up at Ye Anping, her gaze falling on the sword on his back.
“Who are you?”
“I am Ye Anping, Madam Li’s personal guard.”
“I understand the situation and will send people to investigate. As for… the infiltration of demonic cultivators into the Northern Region, I will not provide an answer without concrete evidence. The Eastern Frontier of the Northern Region has a defense line built with the lives of the Snow-clothed Guard. If demonic cultivators have truly entered, I would have received news by now.”
The truth was that some of the Snow-clothed Guards in the Eastern Frontier of the Northern Region had already been swayed and bribed by demonic cultivators.
Of course, Ye Anping couldn’t reveal this, as it would only arouse Xu Mulan’s suspicion towards them.
As the saying goes, you don’t boil a frog all at once.
His and Li Longling’s main purpose for coming today was to leave a good first impression on Xu Mulan. After meeting her a few more times and helping her with a few small favors, they would gain her trust.
Ye Anping smiled.
“In any case, we came here to inform Commander Xu of this matter. Since we have finished speaking, we will take our leave now.”
“Commander Xu, farewell.”
Li Longling also stood up, cupped her hands in a salute, then picked up Fire Phoenix, and left with Ye Anping without looking back.
Xu Mulan, sitting in the main seat, watched the two leave. Her brows furrowed slightly, and then she turned to the other three Snow-clothed Guards who had entered the hall with her.
“What do you think?”
“Madam Li looks young and promising, and her actions are very steady. Despite being blind, she doesn’t seem blind at all. As for that guard… he’s so handsome.”
Another Snow-clothed Guard nodded in agreement.
“Yes, he’s such a handsome young man. Men from the Western Regions are all so moist, unlike our men here, whose skin is as dry as the Gobi Desert.”
“Yes, yes, I think he’s handsome too.”
Xu Mulan looked at the three of them doting, and her brows furrowed. She reprimanded, “I’m asking what you think about the matter of demonic cultivators!”
The three of them immediately shrank their heads and lowered them. “Ah… Forgive me, Commander… This… I think it might be true.”
“There’s no news from the Eastern Frontier,” Xu Mulan picked up the map Ye Anping had given her and glanced at it. “But they encountered demonic cultivators in both the west and south of the Northern Region…”
“Then could it be true that demonic cultivators have infiltrated the Northern Region? Should you use the ‘Snow Clothes’ to report directly to the Empress?”
“The ‘Snow Clothes’ are not something you can just use whenever you want!”
Xu Mulan frowned and scolded, “Without evidence to prove this matter, I will not send a letter to the Empress. First, send people to investigate the places marked on this map one by one!”
“…Yes!”
The three received the order, cupped their hands in a salute, and one by one, walked out of the hall.
After they also left, Xu Mulan lowered her head again to look at the map in her hand. She felt as if something major was about to happen, and her heart was hanging. She couldn’t help but mutter, “Hmm… He is indeed quite handsome, but only a little handsome.”
…
