Mingdan Pavilion

Zhu Zhao's gaze swept over coldly once more.

With two grapes stuffed in her mouth, Song Yao defiantly met her gaze, resigned to her fate as she leaned back against the tree trunk with her arms crossed.

How could they blame her for this?

It was the clam spirits' fault for tripping her in the first place.

The kind soul next to her clicked his tongue in wonder. “Looking at it this way, their young prince still has feelings for Song Yao even now. What a pity, what a pity. I should have gone to the Tianshu Sword Tournament back then to join in the fun and see what this Song Yao actually looks like to be able to charm their prince to this extent.”

Someone beneath the tree chimed in, “Her swordplay was incredibly elegant and fierce, swift and neat. From afar, she looked just like an immortal.”

The kind soul beside her nodded repeatedly in agreement. “No wonder the merman prince has kept her in his heart for so many years. If it were me, I probably wouldn't be able to forget her either.”

Hearing this made Song Yao feel quite pleased. She plucked a small bunch of grapes, intending to share them with the person below the tree.

Unexpectedly, the person below the tree suddenly shifted his tone, adding with a soft sigh, “It's just that her personality was truly mischievous and awful. She spent the entire tournament provoking people everywhere, flirting with one person after another. She even angered several seniors, almost getting her tournament qualification revoked.”

Song Yao immediately pulled her hand back.

People with no taste didn't deserve to eat grapes.

After going back and forth over there, Jiang Jin frowned and asked, “Then what do you want us to do?”

The leading mermaid spoke solemnly, “First and foremost, of course, is to return our prince's heart-protecting scale. Furthermore...”

She paused slightly, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness. “Our prince wishes to stay at Song Yao's former residence for a short period to ease the pain of his unrequited love.”

At this, the entire crowd fell somewhat silent.

The onlookers exchanged glances, whispering to themselves in their hearts.

How were these mermen demanding an explanation? They were clearly using it as an excuse to collect a romantic debt.

There was not a single sign of seeking revenge. Instead, the more they spoke, the more it seemed like this young prince was suffering from unrequited love, deeply obsessed.

And he even wanted to move into her house...

Was he not just acting spoiled?

Zhu Zhao's brow furrowed tightly, unable to make a decision for a long time.

Jiang Jin leaned in close to her and lowered his voice. “It is merely a temporary stay of a few days. It is not an unreasonable request. We might as well agree to it for now, lest the merman tribe harbor resentment toward us as well.”

Zhu Zhao still did not agree. Rubbing her brow, her clear voice rang out, “We do not know where the heart-protecting scale is at the moment, but we will certainly do our best to search for it. As for the temporary stay, please allow me to discuss it with the elders of our hall before giving you an answer.”

The leading mermaid nodded. “Then we shall await your sect's news. Do not disappoint our expectations.”

With that, she swept her sleeves, turned around, and departed gracefully with the rest of the mermen.

The farce had ended. The onlookers lost interest and dispersed in small groups, chatting as they went.

The kind soul who had spoken to her earlier did not move, looking at Song Yao curiously. “We've been chatting for so long, yet I still don't know which sect you belong to, little friend?”

Song Yao replied casually, “Nine Saints Hall, Lin Mu. Song Yao is my Third Senior Sister.”

The man immediately smiled in realization. “No wonder you were defending her just now. So you are one of her own.”

As he spoke, he politely raised his hand, his features warm and courteous. “Let us introduce ourselves. I am Huai An of the Mingdan Pavilion. If you have time in the future, why don't we...”

Before he could finish, Song Yao caught sight of Zhu Zhao walking over out of the corner of her eye. Without a second thought, she leaped down from the tree and waved her hand hastily. “I have things to do. We'll meet again if fate permits!”

She vanished in the blink of an eye.

Huai An's hand hovered in midair for a long moment before he pulled it back, a flicker of amused interest rising in his eyes.

A cultivator wearing the robes of the Mingdan Pavilion rushed over to his side and asked eagerly, “Pavilion Master, how is it? Did you reach an agreement? Does she have any intention of participating in the Alchemist Tournament, or joining the Mingdan Pavilion?”

Huai An slowly lowered his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. “No need to rush. There are still several days before the wedding. We should take it step by step so we don't scare her away.”

...

To avoid Zhu Zhao, Song Yao didn't dare return to her guest room for the entire afternoon, wandering aimlessly outside.

In the end, she spotted Ji Duchuan and, grasping onto him like a lifeline, followed him into his courtyard and found a rocking chair to lie down on.

The longer Ji Duchuan stayed inside his room, the more he felt something was off. When he stepped outside to check, he gasped in fright.

The little pill cultivator from the Nine Saints Hall was fast asleep under the tree, curled into a ball. Her breathing was extremely shallow, and her face was slightly pale, looking as if she had passed away.

To come sleep at his place without even saying hello—it was rather frightening.

Moreover, if the people from the Nine Saints Hall saw this and misunderstood that he had designs on a child of their sect, wouldn't that be disastrous?

He paced back and forth, attempting to wake her up.

But her quality of sleep was simply too good; she showed no sign of opening her eyes and even curled up tighter.

Having no other choice, he gave up, brought a blanket out from his room, and covered her with it.

Watching her sleep so sweetly, he shook his head helplessly. “For the sake of my good friendship with your Eldest Senior Brother, I'll let you behave willfully here a few times... but how can you sleep so much?”

He sat by the table reading a pill manual for a while as the sky gradually darkened.

Lights began to appear at the main hall; the ceremony was likely about to begin.

Turning his head and seeing that Song Yao was still asleep, Ji Duchuan couldn't help but reach out to check her pulse, wanting to see if her body had improved after taking the medicine from his prescription.

However, the more he checked, the tighter his brow furrowed.

Due to her missing soul, her body was still incredibly weak.

If she hadn't entered the path of cultivation, this child would probably have died young.

Furthermore, he was truly curious about what was sealed inside her body.

Though he couldn't see it clearly, he could faintly sense danger.

And...

It seemed that more than one thing was sealed.

Did the child know this herself?

As he fell into deep thought, a knock sounded at the door. A Beiyao Sect attendant spoke respectfully from outside, “Young Master Ji, it is time to go to the main hall.”

Ji Duchuan withdrew his hand. “Very well. No need to wait for me, I will head over on my own shortly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the person outside had walked away, Ji Duchuan nudged the rocking chair. “Junior Sister Lin, time to wake up.”

He nudged her for a good while, but the little pill cultivator showed no intention of waking, sleeping even more peacefully instead.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Pardon me.”

Then, he pulled her straight up from the rocking chair to sit upright.

This time, she woke up.

Sitting upright in the rocking chair, Song Yao looked around in confusion, then stared at him blankly. “Hello, Senior Ji.”

Ji Duchuan: “...”

She was polite enough now.

Yet she hadn't even thought to greet him earlier.

He responded gently, “Hello. We should head to the main hall. The Beiyao Sect's ceremony is about to begin. They've likely invited someone to perform a sword dance. If we don't go now, we'll be late.”

Song Yao woke up completely, threw off the blanket, and stood up.

The time she had agreed upon with Chen Qingqiu was after the sword dance, which should be in about an hour. Although she had enough time, she still had to find the location using her map, so she needed to head over early.

She rubbed her eyes as she walked out, not forgetting to tell Ji Duchuan, “Senior Ji, I'm heading back first. Please tell my Second Senior Sister that I'll be arriving a bit late!”

With great concern, Ji Duchuan followed her for a few steps. “Shouldn't you tidy up your hair first? And don't rub your eyes like that, it's not clean...”