Chen Yuelin said vaguely as he ate the cinnamon cake, “Shizun, you should drink the soup too, this hibiscus and lotus seed soup should be drunk while it is hot, it is very warming.”
“En,” Qiu Yutong nodded absentmindedly, picked up the blue and white porcelain compote in front of him and took a small sip, “It’s good.”
Chen Yuelin watched him drink the soup and smiled, “Not bad, right? When I was at home, my mother used to make this soup for me in winter; after drinking, I had no need to fear the cold. I miss my mother so much.”
“Why don’t you go back this year?”
“When I left home, I swore in my heart that I would never return to my old house in Huai prefecture unless I made a name for myself outside. I don’t want to go back and look at the faces of my second mother and my concubine brother,” Chen Yuelin bristled. “My mother would only tell me to be patient, but she doesn’t know that for some people, the more tolerant you are, the more people will take advantage of you… Anyway, I just want to cultivate well and make a name for myself sooner rather than later. As soon as I have cultivation, I can set up my own business and get my mother out.”
Qiu Yutong nodded, “It turns out it’s like this, then you need to work hard.”
It was true that he didn’t understand much about the internal battles of these big families in the mortal realm, but he could understand the youngster’s desire to get ahead and let his mother enjoy her happiness.
While they were talking, the storyteller on the stage in the middle of the tavern tapped his bamboo board and said loudly, “Ladies and gentlemen, Peak Master Qiu of North Snow City, whom we talked about last time, killed his own devil apprentice in the Blood Prison Secret Realm and pushed him into the Cuiwei Cold Pool…”
Qiu Yutong’s hand shook so hard that the hot soup spilled out.
Chen Yuelin hurriedly took a snow-white towel and wiped his front lapel for him, “What’s wrong? Is it hot?”
“No, it’s nothing,” Qiu Yutong shook his head, his whole body a little distracted.
Chen Yuelin looked at the storyteller on the stage and seemed to understand why Qiu Yutong had such a strong reaction, so he said softly, “Shizun, I’m still here. It’s all in the past, don’t worry about it.”
Qiu Yutong’s mind was so dazed that he didn’t even notice what he was saying, and he just nodded his head randomly.
The expression of the man in the corner sunk heavily, and his wooden, burnt face showed no sign of happiness or anger, except for a slight movement of his jaw, as if he was grinding his teeth very lightly, trying to hold something back.
The storyteller on the stage continued to tell his story. Although this Qingshiqiao town wasn’t large, it was located at the foot of the Canglong Snow Mountain, so there were many cultivators travelling around.
“…What happened afterwards, as you must have heard, was that Peak Master Qiu was so righteous that he took out the devil core of the devil and returned to Canglong Snow Mountain on his Tianzhao Yunhai. He spent twenty years in seclusion on Feilai Peak and finally used the devil core to rebuild his dual cultivation body…”
“Why is this different from what I’ve heard?” A guest interrupted in a loud voice, “I heard that the devil core that Peak Master Qiu dug up was snatched away in the secret realm and Peak Master Qiu was seriously injured.”
“Yes, yes, it seems that it was snatched back by a great devil from the devil world!”
“That’s not right, I heard that it was snatched away by another cultivator…”
The storyteller shook his fan and smiled faintly, “Of course North Snow City would say that. This is the so-called an ordinary man is guiltless, and a precious item can bring trouble. There would be waves upon waves of people coming to steal the devil core. Although Lord Xie has a high level of cultivation, he has a lot of work to do, so how can he cope with it? If it wasn’t for the devil core, why would Peak Master Qiu have been in seclusion for 20 years for no reason at all? I heard that he finally came out of seclusion a while ago, and it seems that his immortal body is unharmed and uninjured, and he has even taken on a young disciple, the first-born young master of the Huainan Chen family.”
Hearing this, Chen Yuelin straightened his back and the corners of his mouth curled up a little, as if he was very happy to have been recognized as Qiu Yutong’s disciple.
Someone on the stage suddenly realized something, “I’ve also heard that Peak Master Qiu has taken on a disciple. It turns out it’s the young master of the Chen family in Huainan? That’s really good. The Chen family has been pure for many generations, so no devils would ever come out of it. Peak Master Qiu took on a devil disciple before, so he must be careful in choosing his disciple this time.”
“Yes, yes, it is said that the young master of the Chen family has very good qualifications, so he will definitely become Peak Master Qiu’s best disciple in the future.”
“I have a friend who is a guest in the Chen family. From him, I heard that that young master had a mutated spiritual root, which is rarely seen…”
“Sigh, previously Peak Master Qiu took in a sinful devil disciple, but this time he has finally chosen a good one.”
Chen Yuelin looked at Qiu Yutong with shining eyes, as if to say, quickly take me as a disciple, quickly take me as a disciple.
” Yuelin, don’t be like this…,” Qiu Yutong rubbed his brow with a headache.
As he listened to the people who were saying ‘devil’ and ‘sinful disciple’, he felt uncomfortable. He wanted to stand up and refute, but felt that if he did so, it would simply be inexplicable.
The man in the corner stared at them, his eyes cold.
“What’s the matter? Don’t want to hear the story?” Chen Yuelin looked cautiously at Qiu Yutong and then, after some thought, fished out a silver ingot and threw it on the stage, “Mr. Storyteller, I’m tired of hearing stories about Blood Prison Secret Realm, why don’t you tell a new story?”
The storyteller raised his hand and took the silver. His small eyes lighting up slightly, he immediately slapped the bamboo board, “Okay! Let’s not talk about Blood Prison Secret Realm. Guest, what do you think of the Immortal Alliance Conference?”
Chen Yuelin blinked, “The Immortal Alliance Conference? That’s fine.”
“As I said before, in the Blood Prison Secret Realm, Master Wu Chen died unexpectedly, Peak Master Qiu went into seclusion upon his return, Master Xie of North Snow City and Master Gui of Ascension Island were both very busy. Palace Master Lin of Yuqin Palace wasn’t interested in mundane affairs, so the Immortal Alliance Conference wasn’t held that year. The decree of the Leader of the Immortal Dao Alliance was temporarily in the hands of Master Qingci, the chief disciple of the Master Wu Chen. After the New Year, the Immortal Alliance Conference will be held again.”
“They are going to hold the Immortal Alliance Conference?” Qiu Yutong was slightly stunned.
That’s right, according to the date, the Immortal Alliance Conference would indeed be held next year. It was just that he had been so busy cultivating since he woke up that he hadn’t thought about it, and his senior brothers had never mentioned it either, probably because they didn’t want to disturb his cultivation.
Someone on the stage shouted, “Where will the Immortal Alliance Conference be held this year?”
The storyteller laughed and said, “Since the decree of the Leader of the Immortal Dao Alliance is still at Nanshan Temple, according to the rules of previous years, this year’s Immortal Alliance Conference will naturally be held at Nanshan Temple. I’ve heard that Master Qingci has already sent out invitations to all the great sects, so this Immortal Alliance Conference is likely to be very lively.”
The crowd couldn’t help but murmur, “I wonder who the Leader of the Immortal Dao Alliance will be this year?”
“It will be Island Master Gui, right? Or maybe Lord Xie?”
“Maybe Nanshan Temple?”
“I heard that the black market has already opened started a bet, and Island Master Gui is winning…”
“Cough, cough. Speaking of the Immortal Alliance Conference,” the storyteller snapped his bamboo board, drawing the attention of the crowd back. “You are unaware that in addition to the four major sects and many smaller sects, there is also a very special and uninvited guest coming to the Immortal Alliance Conference.”
“What uninvited guest?”
“Who is it?”
“Tell us, Mr. Storyteller, tell us, don’t keep us in suspense!”
“About this unexpected guest,” the storyteller paused, whetting the appetite of the crowd, before slowly saying, “I heard that the new Devil Emperor of the devil world has delivered a letter to Nanshan Temple.”
As soon as he said this, the restaurant exploded, “Someone from the devil world is coming?
“Hasn’t the devil world been in chaos for thousands of years? Where did this Devil Emperor come from?”
“The new Devil Emperor, who is that? Why haven’t I heard of him?”
“The Haotian Devil Emperor died long ago, ah, his only son, was also killed by Immortal Emperor Qing Heng… This Devil Emperor, he couldn’t be a fraudster, right?”
“Let’s not talk about this. Isn’t the Blood Prison Secret Realm already sealed?”
“Could it be that Blood Prison Secret Realm is open again?”
“What?! The Blood Prison Secret Realm is open?” Qiu Yutong jerked his head up, unable to stop his eyes from widening.
At this moment, Qiu Yutong didn’t care about the Immortal Alliance Conference or the new Devil Emperor, he only had one thing on his mind: the Blood Prison Secret Realm was open again, so did this mean he could he go in and look for his little disciple at the bottom of the Cuiwei Pond?
A man next to him laughed and said, “The Blood Prison Secret Realm is not open, but I heard that the new Devil Emperor has the power to open the gap between the Devil Realm and the Human Realm, so he can travel at will.”
“It’s like this,” Qiu Yutong muttered, very disappointed in his heart.
Qiu Yutong stopped paying attention to what the storyteller was saying. He just stared out of the window at the snow-covered branches of the trees.
Suddenly, Chen Yuelin exclaimed, “Hey, look out!”
Before Qiu Yutong could react, he smelt burnt fabric. He looked down hurriedly and was startled. He had been so distracted that he had knocked over the brass stove in his arms, and the Silver Thread Coals had fallen onto his knees!
He reached out to grab it, but the pain was so intense that he let out a cold breath. His body was made of fallen snow and hadn’t yet formed a core, so it was particularly sensitive to hot things. The good thing was that it was cold today and he was wearing a cotton robe, so his legs were fine, but the back of his left hand had been burned with a large blister from the Silver Thread Coals.
“Waiter, bring a basin of cool water over here!” Chen Yuelin said urgently.
At that moment, the man in the corner suddenly stood up and walked over at a brisk pace. He looked down at Qiu Yutong’s hand and pulled out a small jade porcelain box from his pocket, “Cold water won’t help, I have some ointment for treating burns here, use it first.”
His voice was hoarse and low, as if his throat had been injured in some way.
“Ointment for treating burns? Great!” Chen Yuelin cheered and was about to take it when the man ignored him and sat down beside Qiu Yutong. Squeezing Qiu Yutong’s wrist somewhat roughly, he frowned at the small and large blisters on the back of his snow-white hand.
“You are?” Qiu Yutong was slightly stunned, and before he could react, the other man had already scooped up a pale green transparent poultice and gently applied it, his slender fingers carefully rubbing it back and forth, afraid of hurting him.
The poultice was cold, with a faint fragrance, and was very pleasantly cool when applied to the red and burning blisters. Qiu Yutong looked down at the other man as he applied the ointment to his hand, slightly uncomfortable, “Uh, thank you.”
The man’s hands moved slightly, lifting his eyes to give him a look, “You’re welcome. What’s with the carelessness?”
“I was surprised when I heard that Blood Prison Secret Realm had reopened…” Qiu Yutong’s voice was involuntarily muffled when he said this, and he couldn’t continue.
“Why, are you afraid of Blood Prison Secret Realm reopening? Do you have enemies inside?”
“No,” Qiu Yutong shook his head, a sourness in his heart, but he didn’t want to continue explaining.
The man didn’t pursue the matter further, but looked down and applied the ointment carefully, then asked the waiter to bring over some clean cloth and wrapped it gently before saying, “There. Don’t get it wet for a few days.”
“Oh, thank you.” Feeling awkward, Qiu Yutong withdrew his hand quickly.
“You’ve already said thank you just now,” the man shifted his eyes, his cold gaze sweeping over the pile of big red New Year’s goods next to him slowly. His gaze paused on the rough carp flower lantern and a sneer appeared at the corners of his mouth, “What, you’ve bought a lot of New Year’s goods?”
Qiu Yutong nodded, “En, it’s New Year’s Eve.”
Speaking of New Year’s goods, Chen Yuelin couldn’t help but interject in a bragging manner, “I chose all these paper cuttings, couplets and pastries… and he likes them all.”
“Really?” The man glanced at Chen Yuelin expressionlessly, then turned his head to Qiu Yutong and sighed gently, seemingly in despair.
“What’s wrong?” Qiu Yutong wondered.
“It’s New Year’s Eve, and all the families are putting up couplets and paper cuttings. It’s quite nice… only unfortunately, I’m not lucky enough to do so.”
“Aren’t you going home?” Qiu Yutong couldn’t help but ask. For some reason, he felt some affinity with this man, so he wanted to chat with him more.
“I don’t have a home.” The man paused slightly then added lightly, “Once there was, and that man promised me that he would stay with me for the rest of my life… Later, he took all my things and left. By now, with this kind of family reunion, I don’t know where to go.”
“So it’s like this,” Qiu Yutong roughly understood that this man had met someone unlucky. His wife had run away with the family’s belongings, so he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy, “Aren’t you going to look for her?”
“Of course, I’m going to look for him,” the man stared at him and said, word for word. “And I’ll make him make it up to me.”
Qiu Yutong blinked, inexplicably getting a creepy feeling, but before he could figure out what was going on, the man suddenly added, “Young Master are you from around here?”
Qiu Yutong nodded, “Yes, why?”
The man stared into his eyes and slowly said, “I asked before and all the inns in this town are full. If it’s convenient for you, I wonder, if you… can take me in for two days?”
“You mean, you want to stay at my place? But my place…” Qiu Yutong was dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer.
This request sounded very abrupt, but Canglong Snow Mountain was remote and the town at the foot of the mountain was simple, so there weren’t many inns, and certain small families would take in passing merchants and charge a few coins for their accommodation, hence it didn’t seem strange that this man, not knowing his identity, would make this request.
“Why, is it possible that at Young Master’s, there is no extra room?”
“Uh, that’s not true,” Qiu Yutong said nervously. “It’s just that…”
Feilai Peak had always been sparsely populated, and there were indeed several empty rooms. Although he had never allowed a stranger to stay, this man had just helped him and he looked so pitiful… Qiu Yutong hesitated, in a bit of a quandary, not knowing how to refuse.
Chen Yuelin frowned deeply, “How can this be allowed? My Shizun doesn’t like strangers.”
