Su Qing hadn't been away for long, only a few days in total. So, not many important things could have happened during these few days, apart from the Queen Mother's matter; everything else was trivial.
At least, Su Qing considered them trivial.
As for whether any disasters had occurred in the world? That was naturally a negative.
Perhaps there were some… but they simply didn't know. However, not knowing was no different from there being none, as they couldn't do anything about what they didn't know.
Su Qing felt slightly disappointed by this.
"Indeed, I can't rely solely on this method to develop my Incense Power; it's too unstable… I need to consider other approaches."
Su Qing quietly listened to Liu Xixi's words, while pondering how to optimize her Incense Power collection process.
Time passed little by little.
Su Qing finished listening to Liu Xixi's report, but merely listened. Even Su Qing herself wasn't sure how much she remembered afterward. But that wasn't important, as nothing particularly crucial had been said. Anything even slightly important, Su Qing had still noted down.
"Hmm, I understand now. Thank you for telling me all this," Su Qing nodded, saying to Liu Xixi.
Liu Xixi shook her head and replied, "This is merely my duty; there's nothing to praise. So, what are Yuanjun's plans next?"
Su Qing stroked her chin, saying, "Hmm, let me think… First, I'll deal with the accumulated official business, and then I'll go visit the Queen Mother!"
The accumulated official business still needed to be handled, no matter what. After all, even though she had a reliable assistant official, she couldn't delegate everything to her. Crucially, even if Su Qing wanted to, that stubborn person wouldn't handle matters that required Su Qing's personal attention, even if it wasn't strictly necessary for her to appear in person.
So, these matters still needed to be handled by her, one way or another. Since they had to be dealt with eventually, why not finish them now, while not too much had piled up? Besides, some things couldn't be delayed indefinitely.
Liu Xixi had no objections to Su Qing's answer; she simply nodded and calmly said, "When does Yuanjun plan to start?"
"I'll go after I finish this cup of tea," Su Qing mused, smiling. She was the type of person who, once she made a plan, would act on it as soon as possible. If she didn't, it was either because she was too busy or simply too lazy to move.
Liu Xixi naturally had no objections to this, so she nodded and accompanied Su Qing as she finished her tea. And once Su Qing had finished, she didn't break her word, rising to deal with official business with Liu Xixi.
Today… was another busy day.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Although Su Qing had been away for a few days, the accumulated work was still the usual, relatively simple tasks… merely requiring a bit of thought.
Time flew by quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was already time to head to Kunlun Mountain to meet the Queen Mother.
Early in the morning, after breakfast, Su Qing set off. Today, she didn't go out of her way to greet Liu Xixi. After all, Liu Xixi knew she was leaving today, and yesterday Su Qing had already said she didn't need to be seen off. So, Su Qing had no need to wait for Liu Xixi and simply departed, saving quite a bit of effort.
On the Somersault Cloud, Su Qing was still curious about why the Queen Mother had invited her as a guest this time. But after pondering for so long, Su Qing still hadn't found any useful answers. In the end, Su Qing, as expected, simply gave up and stopped thinking about it. After all, she would be at Kunlun Mountain soon. Wouldn't it be easier to just ask the Queen Mother when they met?
The Somersault Cloud was incredibly fast; in no time, she had arrived near Kunlun Mountain. Su Qing stood on the cloud, gazing at the Kunlun Mountain range. Even though she had seen it once before, she couldn't help but feel awestruck. It was a pity she wasn't a poet and couldn't conjure up a few decent lines of verse. After much thought, she could only exclaim, "It truly lives up to its name as the foremost divine mountain of Daoism…"
After marveling for a moment, Su Qing collected herself and didn't forget the main purpose of her visit. She lowered the cloud and descended into Kunlun Mountain. She then passed through a formation and arrived outside the gate of a palace.
"Who goes there? State your name!"
As soon as Su Qing arrived, she was stopped by several Heavenly Soldiers who demanded her identity. Su Qing heard this and wasn't surprised, nor did she get angry. Firstly, this was the Heavenly Soldiers' job; they were merely doing their duty. Secondly, it was just a matter of stating her name; to get furious over it would be rather petty.
"Su Qing."
Su Qing replied calmly and simply: "I was invited by Senior Queen Mother."
The Heavenly Soldiers were all stunned when they heard Su Qing's name. They quickly moved aside, bowed to Su Qing, and said, "We were blind not to recognize Bi Ling Yuanjun and nearly offended you. Please forgive us, Yuanjun."
Su Qing waved her hand indifferently and said, "It's fine, this is just your job; there's nothing to blame you for. However, may I enter now?"
"Since it is Bi Ling Yuanjun, and you are here by the Lady's invitation, we naturally wouldn't dare to hinder you!" The Heavenly Soldiers quickly said with forced smiles. "Yuanjun, please enter… the Lady is at the Jade Pool."
Su Qing nodded, then remembered something and asked, "By the way, besides me, has the Lady invited anyone else today?"
The Heavenly Soldiers looked at each other, then all shook their heads, saying, "There is no one else today; only Yuanjun has come to Kunlun as a guest." However, to be safe, the Heavenly Soldiers added, "At least, we have not received news of any other guests besides Yuanjun, so if there are no unforeseen circumstances, it is indeed just Yuanjun."
Su Qing was momentarily stunned to hear this, and her confusion deepened. Since she was the only one, it meant the Queen Mother hadn't invited her for a banquet, but for something else. So, Su Qing was very curious about what it could be. However, Su Qing didn't dwell on it; after all, she would be meeting the person soon, and further speculation was pointless.
Su Qing nodded at the Heavenly Soldiers, a faint smile on her face, and said, "Is that so? Then I understand."
With that, Su Qing entered the palace and headed towards the Jade Pool.
This wasn't Su Qing's first time here. She had once accompanied Taishang Laojun here for a meal and met the Queen Mother, but at that time, Su Qing had little interaction with her, only a brief introduction through Taishang Laojun. And after that, Su Qing had never returned to Kunlun Mountain to seek out the Queen Mother. After all, Su Qing wasn't familiar with her; why bother her for no reason?
Su Qing's mind wandered. Unconsciously, she had already reached the Jade Pool. As soon as Su Qing arrived, a very dignified female voice echoed in her ears.
"You're here?"
Without needing to think, Su Qing knew whose voice it was. Su Qing looked in the direction of the voice.
She saw a woman sitting under a tree not far away. The woman was dressed in luxurious attire, adorned with various beautiful and extravagant gold and jade ornaments, looking like a noble lady. No, to be precise, she looked like a Queen in a mortal kingdom. Dignified, noble, and beautiful. As for who this woman was? Naturally, it was none other than the esteemed Queen Mother.
Su Qing looked at the Queen Mother, bowed to her, and said, "This junior, Su Qing, greets Queen Mother. This junior arrived late; please forgive me, Lady."
The Queen Mother nodded, then waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "Not late at all; you're actually quite early."
When the Queen Mother spoke, there was no special sound effect, but when Su Qing heard it, a majestic echo always resonated in her mind, and her words conveyed an undeniable authority.
"Come and sit, no need to be so formal," the Queen Mother continued before Su Qing could speak.
Upon hearing this, Su Qing hesitated a little, unsure of the Queen Mother's true intentions. However, she ultimately obeyed and walked over to sit down. After all, it was an elder's instruction; not complying would be disrespectful. "Thank you, Queen Mother," Su Qing bowed to the Queen Mother and expressed her gratitude. This thanks, besides thanking her for the seat, was also for not mentioning her tardiness.
The Queen Mother nodded slightly when Su Qing sat down, then pushed a cup of tea in front of Su Qing. She spoke calmly, "This is Kunlun Spiritual Tea; you should like it."
Su Qing pursed her lips, smiled, took the teacup, and thanked her again. Then, she fell silent. Not knowing what to say, she could only stare at the teacup in silence. The Queen Mother at this moment was like a somewhat unfamiliar but stern grandmother. She seemed approachable, like a grandmother one could joke with, yet her inherent majesty instinctively made juniors feel reserved, not daring to speak carelessly.
Originally, Su Qing had already thought about what to ask when she came, but at this moment, she found herself momentarily tongue-tied. Even Su Qing herself didn't know how to begin.
Beside her, the Queen Mother seemed to notice Su Qing's awkward silence. So, she spoke softly, "Do you know why I invited you here as a guest this time?"
Su Qing breathed a sigh of relief when the Queen Mother took the initiative to start the conversation. With the Queen Mother initiating, she no longer had to worry about how to begin. Facing the Queen Mother's question, Su Qing naturally shook her head.
She said, "This junior does not know… please enlighten me, Senior."
The Queen Mother wasn't surprised by her answer; after all, she hadn't stated the reason for the invitation in the invitation itself. "This time, I invited you over not only because I suddenly wanted to have tea and chat with you, but also because someone asked me to convey some important things to you. That's why I invited you," the Queen Mother said, taking a sip of tea, her tone calm yet still full of majesty.
Su Qing's mind couldn't quite process it after hearing this; she felt rather bewildered. Just for this? Such a simple reason? Wasn't this reason a bit too casual?
Just as Su Qing's thoughts were running wild, the Queen Mother spoke appropriately, saying, "No need to be surprised. I don't need many reasons to invite someone as a guest. Even if there were no reason at all, I could still invite you. Moreover, this time I do have reasons and causes for inviting you. Even if these reasons and causes sound a bit casual, they are still reasons. Furthermore, what I have to tell you is indeed very important, not a joke. Lastly, this is not mind-reading; I can simply guess most of your thoughts."
Su Qing: "…"
Actually… Su Qing felt that even if the Queen Mother truly possessed mind-reading abilities, Su Qing wouldn't find it particularly strange. But were her thoughts really that easy to guess?
Su Qing didn't know; she simply nodded and said, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for telling me this…"
"Thank you? What is there to thank? Don't thank me for everything…" The Queen Mother shook her head and said, "However, if you truly want to thank me, then just enjoy this tea with me."
Su Qing naturally nodded and said, "This junior understands…"
"Hmm." The Queen Mother didn't say much more, simply refilling her own tea.
"By the way, Senior… who asked you to convey those words to me?" Su Qing asked after a moment of silence, feeling that constantly waiting for the Queen Mother to initiate conversation was somewhat impolite. So, she picked something she was curious about and asked.
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother chuckled and shook her head, saying, "He said he didn't want me to tell you who he was… so I can't tell you."
Su Qing's mouth twitched. Well, it was most likely her master who had asked. Although Su Qing already had the answer in her heart, she still nodded and said, "This junior understands. If Senior cannot say, then so be it! It's just that this junior is curious, what exactly is it that Senior wants to tell me?"
"No rush. Before that, I have a question for you," the Queen Mother didn't go straight to the main topic but diverted to another matter. She asked, "Who is the Queen Mother?"
Su Qing was momentarily stunned by this strange question. Not because the question was too difficult, but because it was simply too odd. The Queen Mother was the Queen Mother; this was common knowledge. Yet, for the Queen Mother to ask her this question made her feel exceptionally strange.
After a moment of silence, Su Qing replied, "Isn't the Queen Mother you, Senior? Why do you ask this question?"
Upon hearing this answer… the Queen Mother chuckled and shook her head.
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