Chapter 0: The Path of Legend
“Qishuang, listen to me, that’s actually because…”
“You like me?” Little Shuang’er playfully tilted her head and answered directly.
Qin Gou touched his nose somewhat embarrassed, then became serious and said, “Wench, if you ask for the fundamental reason, then of course it’s because I like you.” Old Qin certainly liked Qishuang, he couldn’t like her any more than that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have always tried so hard to put them on equal footing, once getting stuck in a rut thinking that a teacher-student romance was unfair to her.
“This is what Qishuang has always wanted to hear!” Ye Qishuang’s smile was radiant and beautiful, but the moving blush on her cheeks had not faded. After all, in this short period, whenever she looked at Qin Gou, she couldn’t help but think of the specific scenes during their dual cultivation… Even if she forcibly tried to switch her thoughts to, ‘Today is an important day of reunion after a long separation. I’ve silently recited ‘Hurry up and distinguish the occasion, no lecherous master!’ a hundred times!’ it seemed to be of no avail.
At this moment, as if hearing familiar voices, Qiu Qianyue, Yan Qiaoyun, and others also walked out of the hall.
Upon seeing Ye Qishuang’s cute and blushing appearance, Qiu Qianyue exclaimed, “Why is Second Senior Sister suddenly blushing so much? Could it be that you also received a letter allowing you to kiss Master?”
“Cough.”
Qin Gou’s face twitched, and he glared at the impudent wench, “Don’t talk nonsense!”
“What letter are you talking about?”
Ye Qishuang was stunned for a moment, then seized the opportunity to respectfully extend her small hands towards Qin Gou, her smile carrying a hint of playful spirit, “Master really has one? Qishuang wants one too, where’s mine?”
The moment this was said, it was truly hard not to make Qin Gou recall Little Shuang’er’s soft, cute, and coquettish girlhood.
At the same time, as expected, he also heard the jealous wench next to him blurt out her taunts, “Second Senior Sister is so sweet, such a charming and irresistible beauty. No need to trouble Master, I can gladly take her place and kiss you enough!”
“Qiu! Qian! Yue!”
The jealous wench was immediately chased by Qishuang, leaping all over the room.
Qin Gou, however, laughed even more heartily. These two girls, whenever they met, were bound to get into a fight, their deep sisterly affection, no matter when or where, was indeed as always.
…
Not long after, Zhao Xinting returned.
“I knew it. To have the main hall suddenly so noisy must be because Little Shuang’er and Qian Yue got together again.”
Zhao Xinting chuckled, then looked at Qin Gou and said, “Master, with this, besides Chengying, our Celestial Master Pavilion lineage, which is still within the Human Realm, all those who could rush here in a short time have arrived.”
“What?”
Qin Gou showed a look of confusion.
Regarding Kong Ling in this world, Qin Gou had heard from A’Yuan that the wench, due to her guilt about her identity, was still in the Abyss. Thus, Qin Gou had already planned to personally go and see her. But could Mu Man’er and Banwei now also be unable to appear for some reason?
“Xinting, where are your ‘Fifth Junior Sister’ Mu Man’er and ‘Sixth’ Ao Banwei?” Qin Gou immediately asked. In this world, A’Yuan had not transformed into the fifth disciple of Arc-Moon Mountain before Mu Man’er.
“I also guessed Master would have this question.”
Zhao Xinting nodded, “It’s just that I don’t know how much Master currently understands about Banwei. Do you know her other identity?”
“Banwei is one of the several Little Saint Monarchs who possess the Residual Soul/Emotion Fragment of the Nine Saint Monarch.”
“Exactly. And a long time ago, after the Nine Saint Monarch revived, Man’er traveled with her. Xinting also doesn’t know where they went.” As she spoke, Zhao Xinting took out a square jade box from her Nas ring, “However, the Saint Monarch left this behind when she departed, saying that only a Master who has recovered their past memories can open it. Xinting only left just now, partly to retrieve this item. Master, would you like to try?”
“Let me see.”
Qin Gou took the jade box. Ordinary methods clearly could not open it, so he immediately infused a thread of Spiritual power.
“Who is it?”
A clear and pleasant voice sounded through some kind of spirit array carved on the jade box, sounding very much like Little White Dragon’s tone, but with a bit more arrogance and freedom.
“It’s me, Qin Gou.”
However, after Qin Gou replied, the jade box showed no further reaction.
“It seems like I need to give a precise answer? Xinting, did you yourselves try to open this jade box?” Qin Gou thought for a moment and asked.
“In front of Senior Nine Deaths, Xinting did try a few times, but no matter what I said, the item showed no change.”
Qin Gou nodded slightly and infused Spiritual power again.
“Who is it?”
“The Saint Monarch’s head disciple, Qin Gou.”
Still no use, causing Zhao Xinting beside him to show a look of surprise, “Master, you…”
“You don’t know?” Qin Gou chuckled, “As for Master, I did receive quite a bit of care from the Saint Monarch back then.”
With that said, Qin Gou tried again.
“The one who has come is the Saint Monarch’s Dao Companion.”
“Master, so…” Little Zhao was even more astonished.
“Cough, before, it was only me who was surprised incessantly.”
However, Qin Gou’s answer still failed to move the cold jade box, forcing him to add another sentence, “It’s your Little White Dragon’s Master.” This, too, was not accurate.
“Allow me to think carefully again.”
Qin Gou felt that every answer he gave was actually correct. The problem probably lay in Luo Wei Ban’s sentence, ‘Only those who have recovered their past memories can open it.’ Therefore, the truly correct answer was likely something that both Qin Gou and Luo Wei Ban themselves would remember vividly and find hard to forget. And her somewhat strange way of asking, ‘Who is it?’, was probably some kind of hint.
Suddenly, a timid, petite figure appeared in Qin Gou’s mind. That ‘Fear’ little wench, one of the several Residual Souls, had personally told him the dialogue between the Nine Saint Monarch and Qin Gou when they first met.
The Saint Monarch asked, “Who is it?”
Qin Gou immediately infused Spiritual power into the jade box, and with a ‘let’s try and see’ attitude, he said with a don’t know whether to laugh or cry expression, “I am your father!”
The next second.
On the jade box, finally, a layer of snow-white radiance, as if representing ‘correct answer’, rippled.
Qin Gou’s face twitched, and he exclaimed, “God, it actually is this?!” Of course, such a tricky and bizarre answer, in the eyes of the Nine Saint Monarch back then, was probably only something Qin Gou, who had truly recovered his memory, could respond to.
“Mas-, Master.”
Beside him, Zhao Xinting, who had witnessed the entire process, was dumbfounded, feeling like she had lost her mind.
From the Saint Monarch’s disciple, to her Dao Companion, and then becoming her Master by seizing the host’s role, and finally even becoming the Saint Monarch’s father! One could only say that it was indeed worthy of being Xinting’s Esteemed Master! What a truly brilliant, tumultuous, and legendary path this was?!
