Before they could say much more, Chen Qingqiu's expression suddenly tightened, and she looked outside. “My master is here. You should go back first.”
The person beside her vanished in an instant. When Chen Qingqiu turned her head, she saw her attempting to climb out the window. Startled, she quickly stopped her, “No need to climb out the window! Just go through the front door!”
How did this child manage to climb out of windows so smoothly?
It was as if she did it like a thief all the time.
Song Yao was indeed used to climbing through windows. She silently climbed back in and said, “Right, right, of course.”
She pocketed a bunch of grapes and walked out. Just as she stepped out of the hall, she ran straight into Feng Qing and her entourage.
Sect Master Feng was dressed in dark gold brocade embroidered with luan bird patterns. Her hair was adorned with glittering pearls and emeralds, and she exuded a noble and awe-inspiring aura. Behind her followed a grand procession of over a hundred attendants.
Each attendant held various gold, silver, and jade treasures in their hands, their dazzling luster exceptionally brilliant.
As they came face-to-face, Song Yao calmly looked up, gave Feng Qing a faint nod, and kept her leisurely pace, strolling past the side of the procession.
Seeing her so calm, Feng Qing could not help but knit her narrow brows. Her dark gaze landed on Song Yao's back as she spoke displeasurably to her personal attendant, “As expected of disciples from the Nine Saints Hall. Despite their young age, they are each prouder than the last.”
The older ones were all favored children of heaven who had achieved great success, so that was somewhat understandable.
But this little sprout was merely at the Golden Core stage, yet she was also so arrogant.
However, she seemed to have heard rumors a few days ago that this girl had refined a pill that even the Mingdan Pavilion wanted.
The Mingdan Pavilion had extremely high standards. Even a pill that won first place in the Alchemist Tournament might not catch their eye.
Yet now, a young girl had actually gained their favor.
She clicked her tongue, feeling even more annoyed. “How does Fusheng have such good luck? Each personal disciple he takes in is more talented than the last.”
The attendant lowered his head and replied respectfully, “Hall Master Fu didn't even show up today, only sending a few personal disciples. It must be as you guessed, Sect Master—he is severely injured, and the Nine Saints Hall is no longer as glorious as it once was. There is no need for you to worry about them.”
Hearing this, Feng Qing's expression softened slightly. “That is true. But... why was she coming out of Qingqiu's room?”
The attendant pondered. “There are many guests today, and the young cultivators from various sects all want to catch a glimpse of the Saintess. The Saintess is generous and invited those guests who climbed over the walls in for a cup of tea. Miss Lin was likely one of them.”
Feng Qing was slightly surprised. “Doesn't Qingqiu hate socializing the most?”
The attendant smiled. “Perhaps because she is about to marry, the Saintess is feeling happy.”
Feng Qing frowned but did not delve deeper. “Whether she is happy or not doesn't matter. This marriage alliance must not go wrong. Let's go in.”
...
With no one to guide her, Song Yao wandered around for several turns but still couldn't find where the guest rooms were.
Just as she was about to grab a Beiyao Sect disciple to ask, a sudden clamor arose not far away.
She turned her steps and immediately followed the noise to see what the commotion was about.
The lakeside pavilion was surrounded by cultivators, packed so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through. Every face was filled with gossip.
Song Yao was not tall and couldn't see over them. As she stood on her tiptoes to peer inside, a kind soul up in a tree offered her half a spot. “Come, come, watch from up here.”
Song Yao squeezed her way up. “Thank you. What's going on?”
The kind soul gave her a simple explanation. “I heard the mermen are demanding an explanation from the Nine Saints Hall. I don't know the specifics either; I just got here myself.”
Song Yao: “...”
The mermen and the Nine Saints Hall.
Why was the drama about her?
She looked over, and sure enough, she saw Zhu Zhao and Jiang Jin surrounded in the very center of the crowd.
Opposite them stood several beautiful, androgynous mermen. Their misty light-gauze robes fluttered in the wind, and their eyes were filled with moisture as they spoke in mournful voices, “Our merman tribe only commits to one person in a lifetime. Only when we have chosen our final destination will we cut off our heart-protecting scale to gift them. This scale is the most precious treasure of our tribe.”
“Some time ago, Song Yao forcibly took our young prince's heart-protecting scale and has yet to return it. As a famous and grand sect, the Nine Saints Hall must give our tribe an explanation.”
As soon as those words fell, the surrounding onlookers could not help but whisper among themselves.
The kind soul next to her said with righteous indignation, “To actually steal someone's heart-protecting scale... this Sword Demon is truly outrageous!”
Song Yao, who had just handed him a few grapes to eat, was so annoyed that she snatched them back from his palm. “Who said she stole it? What if Song Yao had her reasons, or what if the mermen attacked first?”
The kind soul disagreed. “Even if she had her reasons, she shouldn't have stolen someone's token of love!”
Song Yao: “What if she didn't know it was a token of love?”
The kind soul: “Hiss, well, you have a point. Wait, why are you constantly defending the Sword Demon?”
Song Yao: “I'm just speaking objectively...”
While they were bickering, Zhu Zhao seemed to sense something and looked over, her gaze passing straight through the crowd to lock onto Song Yao.
Song Yao's voice cut off instantly, and she silently shut her mouth.
Something was wrong.
Zhu Zhao's gaze was truly off.
It felt as if it carried a trace of chilling intent to kill.
She had definitely recognized her.
She wouldn't hand her over to the mermen right now, would she?
Just as she was hesitating whether to run away, an elderly man stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over. “I've heard that unless a heart-protecting scale is gifted voluntarily, it loses its effect within a month and turns into a normal scale, and the merman will regrow a new one. Since the young prince's scale was stolen, so much time has passed that he should have recovered by now, right?”
Song Yao immediately breathed a sigh of relief and nudged the kind soul next to her. “See, see? Taking a scale is actually no big deal...”
She paused halfway through her sentence.
Wait.
What was with the expressions on those mermen's faces?
What did that mean?
The scene fell silent for a moment. The leading merman's expression remained grave. “Our young prince has indeed admired Song Yao for a long time. However, because the feeling wasn't mutual, he hesitated to give her his heart-protecting scale. Who would have thought Song Yao would come and snatch it herself? It's bad enough that she stole it, but she has no intention of taking responsibility for our prince, nor will she return the scale!”
Song Yao: “...”
This was the biggest slander in the world.
If that young prince really liked her, why would he ambush her and cause her night-luminescent pearl to fall into the sea?
If her night-luminescent pearl hadn't fallen into the sea, why would she have plucked his heart-protecting scale?
As she was thinking, the merman shed tears again. “That day, our young prince found the largest night-luminescent pearl in the world and wanted to give it to Song Yao to express his feelings. Who knew Song Yao would immediately provoke him upon meeting, saying his pearl was nothing special and that the Nine Saints Hall had larger ones? She even brought out two Eastern Sea Pearls. Are those two things even comparable? Our prince's attendants couldn't bear the insult and argued back, but she accused our prince of being a sore loser.”
“Two clam spirits tried to stand up for the prince and tripped her, but she turned around and snatched our prince's heart-protecting scale! How could such a thing happen in this world?!”
“Even now, our prince is still making a scene, demanding to go to the Earth Realm to find Song Yao! Shouldn't the Nine Saints Hall take responsibility?!”
Rate on N.U.
