The pegasus flew into the sky, flapping its wings lightly as it slowly disappeared from Xie Lianzhen’s sight.
Xie Lianzhen looked up, watching the pegasus turn into a black dot and disappear. But he kept looking at where Lu Mingshu disappeared even a long time.
He remained there until mist shrouded the Ming river, blurring his vision.
He looked down at this reflection in the water.
Xie Lianzhen’s features were well defined with shiny black eyes that contrasted with his smooth ivory skin. He had a face that even girls would envy and make everyone that saw him fall in love at first sight.
~Haish, there are always people that can’t be swayed with looks, and she’s one of them.~
“You’ve conceded defeat already?” He mumbled to his reflection in the water and shook his head. ” No wonder you can’t get her.”
If Lu Mingshu was still here, she would realize that the Xie Lianzhen now was the same one she saw in the greenhouse.
Soon, the sun set. Seeing the sky get darker, Xie Lianzhen stood up and packed his belongings. He let out a slight chuckle and left.
The speed of a snowy winged cloud treading horse was unbelievable. Little daze had just entered the spirit realm, yet it was already faster than most beasts.
On the tenth day, she could already see the nine jade mountain.
“What the heck is that?!” A disciple screamed, surprised by the beast flying mid-air above a mountain.
Snow-white and strong wings, paired along with a strong figure, the fat little daze was replaced with a strong one.
It stopped mid-air and howled, flapping its wings furiously.
This made Lu Mingshu burst out in laughter. “I have eyes, little daze! Good to see that you’re in shape now. But if you continue eating everything you see, you’ll become fat again.”
Not only the disciples had seen this scene. Inside the nine jade palace, a man saw Lyu Mingshu and pulled out his sword, using his sword energy to build a path up to the sky, towards Lu Mingshu.
“Nice to meet you, traveler. May I know why you are here at the nine jade palace?”
Hearing his voice, Lu Mingshu couldn’t help but smile. “Senior Uncle An, it’s been a while.”
It was An Tongchen. He was as young as ever, but he seemed more tired and weathered.
He squinted to look closer. When he saw Lu Mingshu, he stared at her, unable to believe what he saw. He blinked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, and his jaw dropped. “Mingshu?”
Even though six years had passed, Lu Mingshu still looked the same. Just that she had grown taller. It should be easy for him to identify her.
“Yes. Greetings, senior uncle An.”
An Tongchen glanced around, and after he made sure it was her, he clapped his hands together lightly and whispered. “Oh my god, thank god you’re okay!”
This made Lu Mingshu feel off. An Tongchen was extremely introverted and did not like to express his feelings openly. He did not speak much usually, and even if he was her senior, he usually spoke politely.
But the An Tongchen in front of her now was so agitated that he couldn’t stop smiling.
“Senior uncle An?”
Realizing that he was too agitated, An Tongchen coughed and led her down. “Let’s go inside first since you’re back.”
“Okay.”
They walked down together.
After six years, the disciples in the nine jade palace had changed. Most of them were unable to recognize Lu Mingshu and thought that she was a visitor. They looked at her, green with envy as she already had a snowy winged cloud treading horse, which was a precious beast mount as well as her ivory smooth skin that glowed under the light.
“Anybody know who she is? She looks so fair….”
“Did you see her mount? It’s so pretty!”
“I know, right!”
A disciple who knew better stepped up and rapped their heads. “Hey, mind your words. She is of higher cultivation than all of us. We should address her as senior aunt or sister.”
“Are you sure? She looks quite young, man….”
Hearing the commotion, an older disciple walked over. He stared at Lu Mingshu blankly before screaming. “What the fuck….senior sister Lu? She’s returned?”
He attracted the attention of the crowd as they then surrounded him. “Senior brother, do you know her? Who is she? Where is she from?:
“What do you mean by where is she from? She’s from our sect!” He raised his eyebrows. “Lu Mingshu, senior sister Lu, first place in the last Qilin festival!”
As soon as he said that, all the disciples understood. Back then, news about her spread through ancient China, and the nine jade palace saw rapid growth. Unfortunately….
“Ah, that senior sister Lu. But how could it be? She’s been missing for years.”
“Yeah, I heard that they were already dead. She vanished with that Alioth star-lord, right? Nevermind, it doesn’t matter, but the queen nearly flipped Bei Ming upside down back then.”
“I know right, the queen of Zhongzhou even sent assimilation realm fighters to track them down. If she was alive, they would have found her!”
“I heard that the seventh truth platform is even voting for a new Alioth star-lord now. If they were alive, was there a need for this?”
“Ah, shut up!” The senior disciple yelled in frustration. He watched Lu Mingshu compete in both the heavenly door competition as well as the Qilin Festival. Six years ago, he looked up to Lu Mingshu and her skills. Hearing the younger disciples talking about her being dead, he couldn’t help but get mad at them disrespecting his idol. “Who says that going missing means dying? It’s Bei Ming, mind you. What’s the big deal of getting lost there? Are you guys blind? Can’t you see that she’s alive still?”
The young disciples all quietened immediately.
“Oh? Who’s blind?” He heard a sneer from behind him.
The crowd looked up to see a twenty-year-old woman standing in front of them. If one didn’t look at her closely, they would think that she resembled Lu Mingshu. But when you look closer, she looked like Zhou Yinru and Zhou Minoru.
“Senior sister Fu.” The disciple who told the others to shut up stammers, looking at her with fear.
It was Fu Mingxi, and she was holding a whip, walking slowly towards him.
“Who are you calling senior sister, dear? Who does that bitch thinks she is? Is she anything other than a bitch?”
She spoke softly, but every word was dripping with malice.
After An Tongchen and Mingshu landed, he realized something was different.
He stared at her for a few seconds before looking shocked. “You broke through?”
“Only by chance. I was just lucky.” Lu Mingshu nodded.
“But you are only twenty-two….how is it possible?” An Tongchen stared at her, unable to speak. He clapped his hands and patted her happily. “Oh my god, that’s great. Your master would be ecstatic.”
No matter how dense someone was, they would have realized that An Tongchen was acting weird.
~He was a man of few words and always acted coldly. He always kept his cool no matter what happened. Why is he…~
“Senior Uncle An, you are injured?” She blurted out after squirting her eyes to take a better look.
An Tongchen smiled bitterly.
She looked around and felt the weird atmosphere. Lu Mingshu grabbed An Tongchen’s hand in worry. “What happened in the sect? What about Master? Is he okay?”
“Your master is fine.” An Tongchen sighed and continued walking. “Follow me first.”