Chapter 0: Is It Him? (Bonus Chapter)
“But, Palace Lord, aren’t you a Stone Maiden Spiritual Physique? Since you cannot have marital bliss with Celestial Master, how can you make him your cauldron?” Yi Chengying asked softly and cautiously.
Ye Qishuang was not angered by this matter. She merely nodded lightly and said, “You are absolutely right. I indeed cannot easily make a man my cauldron like ordinary disciples. However, I can set up a Blood Oath Great Array and lure him into a trap, forcibly establishing a bloodline connection with Master!”
“No, how can that be? Setting up the forbidden Blood Oath Great Array will surely gravely injure your vitality and cause your cultivation to plummet!” Yi Chengying exclaimed in panic.
A dismissive smile played on Ye Qishuang’s lips. Her captivatingly beautiful eyes were filled with fervent light. “So what? What does it matter! Master’s cultivation is heaven-shattering. Even if it’s just an External Incarnation, his realm will inevitably be high. After becoming my cauldron and establishing a bloodline connection with me, we will undoubtedly complement each other through Yin and Yang when meditating together. This will compensate for my depleted vitality! This time, I must have him stay by my side, making him miss me madly when we are apart for even a single day!”
…
“Silence. No clamoring.”
Gu Caihe stood with her hands behind her back, her eyes sweeping over the male disciples. She spoke with a soft voice, delivering stern words: “This is the Mystic Maiden Raksha Palace, not the small sects you were accustomed to before. Here, you are no longer chief disciples or young masters. You are absolutely forbidden to do as you please as you did before. No one is allowed to stir up trouble in the Mystic Maiden Raksha Palace. Remember what I, this young woman, have said today. It may be hard to hear, but these are golden words. This is my protection for all of you.”
Qin Gou stood idly in the crowd. Gu Caihe seemed to be secretly plotting to keep him here forever as a cauldron. However, Qin Gou’s true goal was even more astonishing: he intended to devour the entire Mystic Maiden Raksha Palace.
Speaking of which, just a moment ago, Qin Gou had coincidentally met Wu Qi. That wench was now cold to him in every possible way, no longer possessing her previous warmth and charm. It was probably because in her memory, she had ‘consorted’ with him for a night, yet hadn’t had even a single hair of her essence extracted. She was a demoness skilled in Dual Cultivation, yet she had been played for nothing and gained no benefits. She was so angry she cried.
“This young woman has suddenly learned that Palace Lord Ye is in a good mood today and wishes to personally meet all you young talents. She is already on her way.”
Gu Caihe’s words made Qin Gou suddenly look up. He hadn’t expected to meet Ye Qishuang so soon after arriving at the Mystic Maiden Raksha Palace. How was she doing now? Was she still as beautiful as before? Had she gained weight or lost weight? Did she still dislike eating vegetables like before? Did she need a cup of warm milk every night to fall asleep? Did she knit him a scarf every year, even though she, in the Dharma Aspect Realm, didn’t need it at all?
Qin Gou knew nothing else. He only knew that his heart was about to leap out of his chest. He desperately wanted to see her again, the little life that had grown up in his arms.
“Remember, you must not be rude or offend Palace Lord Ye, or death will be your best release. Also, all of you, lower your heads now. Palace Lord Ye dislikes people staring at her face incessantly the most.” Gu Caihe said with a serious and vigilant expression, speaking from the bottom of her heart. “I know you will all be very unwilling. After all, Palace Lord Ye’s beauty is beyond compare, an undeniable fact known to all in the Cultivation World. But is it worth losing your life just to catch a glimpse of a beauty?”
Upon hearing this, all the male disciples lowered their heads. Qin Gou, not wanting to stand out too much, followed suit for the time being.
After half a cup of tea, the beauty arrived like the wind, gracefully and elegantly.
“Palace Lord.” Gu Caihe said with sincere reverence.
Ye Qishuang lightly nodded her head. She glanced at the crowd of male disciples with their heads bowed and submissive expressions. Her first sentence was, “Why are you all looking down? All of you, lift your heads and look at me!”
“Ah?” Gu Caihe’s small mouth opened in a dumbfounded expression. What was Palace Lord Ye up to today?
Qin Gou looked up at Ye Qishuang with tenderness in his eyes.
Many male disciples around them gasped at her celestial and jade-like beauty. Some even secretly pinched their own thighs to calm themselves down, fearing they might do something outrageous in a fit of impulse.
But in Qin Gou’s eyes, she was still her.
The girl who turned back with a pure and genuine smile, her small face red in the snow, offering him warm tea, her red sleeves adding fragrance.
Time seemed to have stopped on her. Only her once innocent and lively bright eyes seemed to hold many stories now, deep and mellow like aged wine, even more flavorful.
However, Ye Qishuang did not linger here for long. She didn’t even say another word to the male disciples. In a flash, she gracefully departed, her silk-like feet treading on the ground.
“The timing is perfect. Master is probably among that batch of male disciples. But I can’t see through his disguise at all. Truly worthy of being Master,” Ye Qishuang said to Yi Chengying beside her as she walked. “Where is Little Hammer? Have her come see me immediately. In the entire Mystic Maiden Palace, only her Eye-type Spirit Tool might be able to reveal Master’s true form.”
Yi Chengying said with a wry smile, “Palace Lord, have you forgotten? Sister Cuiyan was dispatched to the Great Liang Dynasty a few days ago to win over the Empress of Great Liang.”
“Then contact her quickly and have her return.” Ye Qishuang frowned. She extended her small hand and said, “Give me the roster of those male disciples’ backgrounds to review.”
“Yes.” Yi Chengying handed the roster, which she had just obtained from Gu Caihe, to Ye Qishuang.
“No, this isn’t him, and it can’t be him…”
“Damn it.”
Ye Qishuang’s Divine Sense was extremely strong. She read ten lines at a glance and finished reviewing the roster in the blink of an eye. She returned it to Yi Chengying and said, “These are all damned disciples of Demonic Sects. Master has always been as noble as a flower in an empty valley, with lofty aspirations and a pure heart. He despises scumbags of evil cults the most. How could he personally enter the Demonic Path?!”
Yi Chengying, looking at the roster with a mixture of amusement and distress, wished she could interject, “Our Mystic Maiden Raksha Palace is Genuinely a great Demonic Cult, so what good could the sects we associate with be?”
Suddenly, Yi Chengying pointed to a name and exclaimed, “Palace Lord, look at this person. Among them, only he is not a true disciple of an evil sect, but rather mixed in as a menial laborer for someone else! Little Chair believes this person is most likely Celestial Master. He must have controlled that Seed Demon Sacred Cult disciple beforehand and forced him to lend a helping hand.”
Ye Qishuang snatched the roster and examined it carefully. Bright radiance shone from her fair eyes. She muttered with half-belief, “Could it really be him? Chen Keshua?!”
