Minghe

When they arrived at Lihuo City, the gates were under strict inspection. Seeing Li Qinglin return with a team, the city guards all dropped to one knee in salute, their expressions exceedingly grim.

Lihuo City, which should have been bustling and prosperous, was now steeped in extreme solemnity. White funeral banners hung everywhere, and soldiers were questioning passersby throughout the streets. Pedestrians hurried along, not daring to speak loudly.

The death of a Crown Prince was an immensely serious political incident for a nation, enough to set the entire capital on edge, where even the rustle of wind and cry of a crane seemed like danger.

Qin Yi suddenly felt fortunate that Li Qinglin had not been in the Capital City when it happened, and that the Princess could testify that they had been deep in the mountains with no means of pulling strings from afar. Otherwise, he would have been the prime suspect. As things stood, that was naturally no issue.

No one would be so reckless as to plot their brother's assassination, then run into the mountains for several days without even asking after it. What if the assassination failed? Would they not even make arrangements to clean up the mess and hide the clues? No one courted death like that, much less someone as meticulous as Li Qinglin. Thus, Li Qinglin was not under suspicion at the moment, and it followed as naturally as water flows downhill that he would become Crown Prince.

The first thing the Li Family Siblings did upon entering the city was not settle Qin Yi in, but rush straight for the royal palace. Li Qinglin merely gave Qin Yi a Waist Tag and said apologetically, "My apologies, Brother Qin. My sister and I must enter the palace at once and cannot delay. Take my Waist Tag to my residence, Brother Qin, and you will surely be treated as an honored guest. Your foolish elder brother has neglected you. Please forgive me."

Qin Yi was quite understanding. Taking the Waist Tag, he smiled. "Of course. Go and attend to your business."

Watching the Li Family Siblings head solemnly toward the palace, Qin Yi sighed and wandered off with the Waist Tag in hand.

Though he understood their situation, Qin Yi did not particularly want to show up at Li Qinglin's door alone with a Waist Tag. It felt awkward. It would be better to call after Li Qinglin returned home. For now, he might as well look around—both to see the sights of the Capital City and to take a look at what the National Teacher's Longevity Temple was like.

Longevity Temple was easy to find. Ask any passerby, and they would point the way with reverence and longing in their eyes. In fact, Longevity Temple was not far from the royal palace. At the fork where Qin Yi had parted from the Li Family Siblings, the palace lay to the left and the Daoist Temple to the right. Looking up, he could see the high platform atop the temple, incense smoke curling through the air.

That was the Ascension Platform. It had been built upon an already elevated hill, and its nine-tiered tower was the tallest structure in Lihuo City.

Even taller than the royal palace.

What surprised Qin Yi was that the National Teacher actually had an excellent reputation among the common people.

"The National Teacher? He's a true immortal! Last month, my wife was afflicted by some evil spirit. One bowl of talisman water from Longevity Temple cured her..."

"Longevity Temple's divinations are the most accurate. Once, I was going out to trade and went there for a reading. The Daoist told me to leave three days later. And what do you think happened? On the third day, my wife knocked over a candlestick and nearly started a fire. Good thing I was home and put it out right away. If that isn't a living immortal, then who is?"

"I heard that when the Western Wilderness Barbarians invaded last month, the National Teacher cast a spell from the platform and made them vomit and have diarrhea for days. Only then did General Xie win the battle."

Qin Yi shook his head as he walked slowly onward. The rest was one thing, but even the credit for resisting an Enemy State was being pinned on this sort of affair. The military would have to be furious enough for their lungs to explode. No wonder Li Qinglin, who coordinated troop deployments, loathed the National Teacher so intensely.

Standing before Longevity Temple, Qin Yi looked up. The stone stairs before the main hall alone numbered ninety-nine steps. The staircase was packed with people like woven cloth, all kneeling in devout prayer. The solemn atmosphere cast over the city by the Crown Prince's death seemed to have no effect here whatsoever.

Even the city patrols enforcing martial law did not come this way. The occasional unit that passed by merely offered a reverent salute before leaving.

"This kingdom has the air of ignoring the common people to ask after ghosts and gods," Qin Yi said softly. "I understand more and more why Li Qinglin wants to deal with the National Teacher."

Liusu said, "Immortality truly exists. Li Qinglin is constrained by the limits of his knowledge, and his view is biased as well."

Qin Yi gave an "Mm." By the historical worldview he had always known, the National Teacher was undoubtedly a fraud, while Li Qinglin was undoubtedly a loyal and righteous man. But in this world, where methods of immortality truly existed, it became a clash of positions rather than a simple matter of right and wrong. Of course, as far as Qin Yi was concerned, whether from his inherited historical outlook or his personal preferences, he naturally stood with Li Qinglin.

He was just about to climb the stairs and inspect the main hall when, after only a few steps, Qin Yi suddenly slowed down.

A Daoist Nun emerged slowly from the temple, walking straight toward him.

Qin Yi would have sworn he had never seen such a beautiful Daoist Nun in his life—not even in anime or game CGs!

She stood quietly in the middle of the stone stairs. Her exquisite face possessed incomparable, pure beauty; her expression was serene and tranquil, and her lovely eyes were clear as water. Though she stood amid the flowing crowds, Qin Yi somehow felt that everything around them had grown distant, leaving only her standing alone, apart from the world.

In fact, aside from Qin Yi, almost no one was looking at her, as though she was not there at all.

She was not wearing the plain blue Daoist robes of ordinary disciples seen on television. Her pale robes were embroidered with Eight Trigrams patterns, alternating with sky-blue hexagram lines. The breeze lifted the hem of her robe, revealing plain white inner trousers and Daoist boots beneath. This should have been the attire of a mid- to high-ranking Daoist, yet paired with her flawless figure and bearing, it suddenly carried the air of a fashion show. Her hair was neatly bound in a Daoist Nun's bun, with a Daoist Scarf draping down. Her sleeves floated like drifting clouds, making her seem even more detached from the mortal world.

She held a longsword upside down in one hand, not a fly-whisk. Amid that sacred, otherworldly air, there was a trace of heroic spirit.

Qin Yi suddenly felt that words like "Immortal Maiden" must have been invented for someone like her.

Liusu's cold voice transmission drilled into his soul. "What? Did the sight of beauty capable of toppling a city make you forget about the Corpse Worm Demon?"

Qin Yi's heart tightened. He stopped staring at her and quickened his pace.

But the Daoist Nun stopped directly in front of him, looking as though she had something to say.

Qin Yi looked to either side, then straight ahead into the Daoist Nun's gaze. He confirmed that she really was looking for him.

This Daoist Nun clearly looked detached from worldly affairs, and he had never met her before. Why had she suddenly come looking for him? Alarm bells rang wildly in Qin Yi's heart. The image of the Corpse Worm Demon bursting through skin churned over and over in his mind. He simply sidestepped, intending to brush past her.

The Daoist Nun raised a hand to lightly block him. "Young Master, please stay."

Damn it, she really latched onto me? No one would believe you had no ulterior motive! Qin Yi's hair stood on end. He instinctively stepped half a pace back and lightly pushed aside the hand blocking him. In a very solemn tone, he said, "Fairy, please behave yourself."

Liusu let out a long sigh and silently counted in her heart: Once.

The Daoist Nun frowned. Perhaps she had never imagined in her life that someone would say such a thing to her. Yet after that single frown, she went straight to the point. "The iron handle protruding from Young Master's pack—is that your weapon?"

Words that would have been an insult to anyone else seemed to brush past her like a breeze, leaving no impression at all. She simply said what she had intended to say, as though she possessed exceptional composure.

Yet her words made Qin Yi's heart clench even tighter, his vigilance multiplying tenfold.

Fine, if you want to set me up—but you opened by asking about the club? Could she have sensed the spirit inside the Wolf Tooth Club? No matter how awful Liusu is, I absolutely can't let someone subdue it as a demon. I have to find a way to fool her...

The Daoist Nun truly could not understand where Qin Yi's strange wariness came from, so she continued on her own. "I can faintly sense the blood and qi of a demon upon it. It seems that Young Master used this object to eliminate a demon not long ago. It appeared to be... a spider?"

Qin Yi finally let out a breath. His forehead was unexpectedly covered in cold sweat.

It was good that she had not noticed Liusu.

Still, this Daoist Nun really had some skill. She could even identify the Spider Demon he had beaten to death two days earlier. Unlike Liusu, that emperor of empty talk, who could not sense Demon Qi even with the Corpse Worm Demon standing right in front of it.

Qin Yi relaxed at last and answered, "I did indeed see a Spider Demon devouring people, and I eliminated it together with some friends."

The Daoist Nun nodded, her voice still cool and clear. "Since Young Master eliminates demons, why are you associating with Prince Qing Lin?"

"Hm?" Qin Yi frowned. "What do you mean by that? That Spider Demon was eliminated together with Li Qinglin and his sister."

The Daoist Nun looked earnestly into Qin Yi's eyes, seeming to judge whether he was telling the truth.

Qin Yi suddenly felt uncomfortable beneath that gaze.

He did not know how to describe this look, or that tone which was clearly asking a question yet somehow made one feel interrogated...

It was not indifference or arrogance. This was not coldness; it was simply calmness. Yet this calmness was not like a clear spring that put one at ease. It was more like the Milky Way in the night sky—beautiful, yet high and far away, something one could only look up at.

Perhaps it was much the same as when he looked at ants? He saw them, and that was all. He would not have any particular thoughts about them. At most, he might see an ant carrying something and remark, "Oh, how diligent," before walking past.

And if a malicious whim struck him, he might casually crush it beneath his foot.

That was roughly the feeling. Right, this feeling was actually somewhat familiar. It resembled someone...

Liusu?

Much of Liusu's sinister nature likely came from that same distance. It had said that the countless rules of the Mortal World were not worth taking so seriously. That was not inherent evil, but the feeling of looking down upon all living beings from a different dimension.

So-called composure was nothing more than distance.

Qin Yi simply asked in return, "Is Fairy a disciple of the National Teacher?"

He thought to himself that if she belonged to the National Teacher, it was perfectly natural for her to be prejudiced against Li Qinglin. In the eyes of every Longevity Temple disciple, Li Qinglin could not possibly be a good person.

The Daoist Nun shook her head. "This poor Daoist is Minghe, merely a wandering Daoist residing here temporarily, not a member of the Donghua Sect. And Young Master need not call me Fairy again. Daoist Priest will do."

The first thing that came to Qin Yi's mind was a line of poetry: the bright river could be gazed upon, but never drawn near.

It was practically written for her.