Zhao Layue held White Ghost in her bosom, following Jing Jiu into the palace.
The palace hall was large but empty. Its floor was made of the green jade, which had many complicated patterns created by unknown methods, exuding colorful glows and faint energy of the formation.
The Green Stone Formation was surrounded by a platform half-man-sized height, which was also made of the green jade. The platform's surface was quite smooth, on which many jade bottles of various sizes and shapes were placed.
Zhao Layue guessed that the materials in the jade bottles needed the thunder energy to nourish, and after a certain time period they would be sent to Shiyue Peak to be made into all kinds of magic pills.
Under the normal circumstances, she would check out the labels on those jade bottles, like what Jing Jiu was doing, but at the moment she focused her full attention on her bosom.
She had told Jing Jiu that she was quite vicious, and everybody knew that she was very brave, but at the moment, she was rather nervous.
Though the white cat in her bosom didn't make any move, she felt as if she were holding a huge mountain, and also as if holding a waft of smoke.
It would be more accurate to say that she felt as if she were holding a shrine of the Great Grandmaster of the Green Mountain.
Her arms were stiff, and her steps were heavy. "What are we doing here?" she asked Jing Jiu.
White Ghost opened his eyes and shot her a glance, thinking that the disciples and masters of the Green Mountain were getting worse one generation after another; she looked smart, but how could she be so stupid to ask such a question?
"Now that we are going to take him away, we must bring the Thunder-Soul Woods with us as well."
Having said that, Jing Jiu walked to the center of the green jade floor.
The Green Stone Formation perceived the movement, and was activated automatically. The floor budged a bit and a stone stand rose up from the floor.
A few ceramic plates were placed on the stone stand, and a couple of burned black objects were on the plates. From the lines on these objects, one could tell that they were most likely wooden.
These were the most precious treasures of the Green Mountain, the Thunder-Soul Woods.
The Thunder-Soul Wood used to be the core of an ancient tree at the bottom of the Big Whirlpool, where it had been soaked in the sea water for many years and pressed by the powerful whirlpool for many years. Later, it was brought back to the Green Mountain by the swordsmen in the Heaven Arrival State, to receive the energy of thunder and lightning on the top of Bihu Peak. It took five hundred years to become the rumored Thunder-Soul Wood.
Even though the Green Mountain Sect had a history of ten thousand years, the number of wood pieces was still quite small. A few of them had been lost, and two of them had been stolen twenty some years ago. By now only six pieces were left, and one of them was not ready yet and had to stay to keep on receiving the energy from the thunders.
After Jing Jiu put the five pieces of Thunder-Soul Wood away safely, he turned around and saw Zhao Layue hold the cat with stiff arms, as if she were facing a formidable foe; he couldn't help but laugh out, saying, "Relax. You can rub him. He likes it."
Zhao Layue said nervously, "I've never raised a cat before, so I don't know how to rub him."
"Just do it the way I've rubbed your head," said Jing Jiu.
Zhao Layue was taken aback at first, but soon she recalled the feeling she had when being rubbed. Then, she put her hand on the back of White Ghost carefully, and started caressing him.
Along with her strokes, White Ghost slowly closed his eyes, uttering a deep snoring noise.
Zhao Layue felt uneasy about the noise, and she asked Jing Jiu with her eyes if this noise was the sign of getting angry.
Jing Jiu said, "He is very comfortable right now."
Chen Youtian received the report from the disciples that Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue had already left by riding their swords. "What did they do?" he asked.
The disciple replied with an embarrassed expression, "We couldn't keep up with them, so we don't know where they went."
Chen Youtian furrowed his eyebrows as he asked, "Is there any change around the peak?"
Shaking his head, the disciple answered, "No."
Chen Youtian felt it odd, thinking that one of them had just come back from the snowland, and the other had just broken through the Free Travel State; so what did they intend to do on Bihu Peak under such circumstances?
Even if the sceneries of lake and mountains were quite beautiful here, why did they come and leave in such a hurry?
He couldn't think it through; and he also sensed he had missed something, feeling dejected.
The Thoughtless Sword landed on the top of the peak, and the twilight became less colorful by comparison.
Gu Qing and Yuan Qü were astonished to see the white cat in Zhao Layue's bosom, wondering where their two masters found this pet.
There were many special and peculiar birds and animals on the Green Mountains, but they seldom saw the common pets like the cats and dogs here.
Yuan Qü was curious and approached the cat, since the white cat looked lovely with his eyes closed; so he was about to reach out his hand to touch him.
Jing Jiu shot him a look.
Yuan Qü felt as if his hand had been stung by a needle, and pulled his hand away as quickly as possible, but he misunderstood Jing Jiu's intent.
It was Gu Qing who discovered the problem, because Zhao Layue held the cat in a stiff nammer, and her countenance showed anxiety, as if she were facing a powerful foe.
If this were a common family cat, how could the cat make her so nervous?
Zhao Layue carried the cat to the manor cave.
Gu Qing asked uneasily, "Master, what is going on?"
"Don't tell anybody," Jing Jiu claimed.
By now, Yuan Qü knew that this white cat wasn't an ordinary cat, so he swore abruptly that he wouldn't.
Then, Jing Jiu told them about the true identity of the white cat.
Gu Qing was shocked speechless, and Yuan Qü pressed his hand tightly over his own mouth to prevent screaming.
Their two masters had brought the Master Principal Guard back home!
If the masters of the Green Mountain knew about this, they would be in big trouble.
Gu Qing had thought of this, his expression changing a bit, and then he ran toward the manor cave.
Yuan Qü had also realized the danger, rushing to the same place with a shout.
The bloody scene didn't happen in the deep end of the manor cave, as they had expected.
Yet, the scene was kind of bizarre at the moment.
Zhao Layue stood by the bed, with her eyes opening wide.
The white cat was crouching on the bed, his eyes closed, in the sound sleep.
Somehow, the snow beetle bug "Cold Cicada" climbed onto the cat's head, and lay there trembling, as if it would be scared to death.
Cold Cicada didn't dare hold onto the cat's hair, looking very stiff, and soon it slid down like a stone.
The white cat reached out his hairy paw to catch it and put it back on his head, without even opening his eyes.
What did this mean? Did the white cat want to use the small monster of the Snowy Kingdom as a butterfly pin on his head?
"Would Master Principal Guard feel cold when sleeping on the cold-jade bed?"
"The coldness isn't a problem, but the bed is kind of hard."
"You're right. Should we make a nest for him?"
"The most important thing is what Master Principal Guard eats."
Yuan Qü was still in shock, his voice shaking, and even Gu Qing felt uneasy
They of course had heard of the Principal Guards of the Green Mountain, but they had never seen the rumored divine animals of the Green Mountain in person. And it seemed that they were to live with one of them.
Moreover, the most mysterious and terrifying White Ghost in the rumor was actually a cat.
This was way beyond their imagination.
"Master, are you sure you're not mistaken?" Gu Qing asked Jing Jiu because he wasn't so sure.
Jing Jiu said, "No mistake. You can call him Liu Ada."
Gu Qing and Yuan Qü eyed each other, thinking that there was no way they would address the Master Principal Guard by this name.
Besides, where did this name Liu Ada, sounding quite inelegant, come from?
"Master White Ghost isn't a ghost at all, but a cat. Then, Master Dark Phoenix isn't a phoenix, right?" Yuan Qü asked reflexively.
Jing Jiu answered, "He is a rooster."
Hearing this name, Zhao Layue recalled the small green bamboo board, her countenance changing a bit, wondering whether Jing Jiu called him the "Devil Rooster".
Yuan Qü couldn't believe what he had just heard, and he had a hard time speaking for a while
Gu Qing asked, "Does Master Round Turtle also have a different body?"
"Oh, he is indeed an old turtle," said Jing Jiu.