That Monster

The fastest update to Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World!

The Transverse Rift Valley is said to stretch for thousands of miles, but in reality, it's just a super canyon. Even a great nation often has things it doesn't produce and needs to exchange with other countries. No matter how large a canyon is, it can't possibly have everything, so of course it won't have many things... Moreover, the rift valley produces many special heavenly materials and earthly treasures, while ordinary crops are extremely rare.

Not to mention plants, there are also some animals that don't exist. For example, Qin Yi has never seen lions or elephants in the Demon City.

Southern Li is a bit better in this respect. No matter how inconvenient the transportation is, there are still caravans coming and going, and many things from Daqian can be found here.

It seems... she really is just a mountain bandit. Things were alright in Southern Li, but Cheng Cheng she entered the outside world, in the Demon City where life and death were at her mercy, Chengcheng really was just a naive little fox who had never seen the world...

This is the fault of those from Humble Origins. They've been living among us for so long, and all they give her are books, stories, and even food. No wonder they don't get promoted.

Soon, Qin Yi and Xie Yuan stared blankly as Cheng Cheng hugged various fruits, her cheeks bulging and her face covered in jelly.

Those peach blossom eyes were so narrowed they were almost invisible.

"Qin Yi, eat this, it's delicious."

Looking at the fruit that Cheng Cheng playfully handed him, Qin Yi wiped his sweat. "Eat it, as long as you enjoy it. I'm a cultivator, I shouldn't be so gluttonous..."

"I'm also a cultivator... okay, it's different." Cheng Cheng ignored him, poured herself a glass of wine, and drank it by herself.

Qin Yi was both amused and exasperated. This was the first time he'd seen Cheng Cheng like this; he hadn't witnessed the scene where Cheng Cheng had fought with her own maids over fruit... It seemed everyone still lacked a certain understanding of her...

However, Demon Cultivator have it much easier; human cultivators face too many restrictions and limitations.

Xie Yuan wiped his sweat and asked Qin Yi in a low voice, "National Teacher, which mountain village did you come from? Isn't it a bit much that you've never even seen a persimmon before?"

The Snake Saliva Fruit they ate... Qin Yi couldn't explain, and sipped his wine, saying, "From a rather large mountain ravine..."

Xie Yuan exclaimed, "Wow, such a beautiful woman in this remote mountain village! The National Teacher truly has discerning eyes!"

Cheng Cheng, engrossed in her fruit, seemed oblivious, but then chimed in at just the right moment. "Yes, that's what outsiders think when they see Princess Southern Li."

Xie Yuan: "..."

Qin Yi almost spat out his drink.

Cheng Cheng ignored them again and continued eating by herself.

Wow, this orange is huge... How can an orange be this big?

Qin Yi glanced at her, unsure whether he should tell her it was a pomelo.

"Well, just ignore her and let her eat by herself." Qin Yi raised his glass in a toast. "I'd like to ask General Xie a thing or two about Wu Xian's recent situation?"

Xie Yuan's expression became even stranger. "Very good."

"What's with that expression?"

"Let me put it this way... I'd rather worry about the Grand Princess than about the Our King. The Grand Princess is straightforward and strong-willed, and might even suffer for it, while the Our King is clearly... clearly..."

"What?"

After hesitating for a while, Xie Yuan asked, "Have you ever seen a monster?"

"Pfft..." Cheng Cheng spat out a pomelo.

Qin Yi expressionlessly pulled out paper and pen, and quickly drew a pig-headed figure. "Like this?"

"Oh no!"

Qin Yi drew a completely bewildered snake. "Like this?"

"No!" Xie Yuan tossed aside the drawing paper. "The monster I'm talking about is the kind that combines both intelligence and beauty..."

"Pfft..." This time, Qin Yi spat out the wine.

I imagined most of the oddballs and freaks in the Rift Valley, or a bunch of Sand Sculpture represented by the people from the Eastern Palace, but I just couldn't relate to them. The only one I could probably relate to was sitting right next to me.

But at this Cheng Cheng, with her mouth full of fruit pieces, smiled radiantly and looked rather silly...

Xie Yuan angrily asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"My wife... never mind." Qin Yi rubbed his face. "This monster you're talking about, how smart is it?"

"It's not that she's smart or not, she's just the kind of person..."

"Are his eyes like mung beans?" Qin Yi rubbed his forehead. "Alright, General, I know you're not good at expressing yourself. I also know that Wu Xian's talent is exceptional and he's a genius. Just tell me some specific examples. A six-year-old child who can be Monstrous Fiends that you feel he's more reliable than Qing Jun is just too exaggerated."

Xie Yuan around, and Qin Yi waved his hand, setting up a soundproof barrier. "Speak, no one can hear you."

"The Crown Prince Daqian has been deposed." Xie Yuan lowered his voice.

"Hmm?" Qin Yi quickly recalled the fish-eyed man who had blocked his way at the palace gate. So what if he was crippled? What did it have to do with Wu Xian?

Xie Yuan added, "The Great Qian Dynasty has many skilled craftsmen. Their catapults and ballistae are far more powerful than those of our Southern Li, and they also have unique modified vehicles that facilitate transportation. Our King somehow obtained the blueprints and secretly sent them to us."

Qin Yi was somewhat astonished this time. A six-year-old child could do this? He must have been taught by the eunuchs around him.

"That alone isn't much," Xie Yuan. "When she gave the blueprints to our people, she deliberately let the Crown Prince see it."

"Intentionally?" Qin Yi was taken aback. "Isn't that courting death?"

Xie Yuan shook his head. "Of course, the Crown Prince quickly reported to the Emperor. At first, the Emperor didn't believe it, but later he also thought it might be the eunuchs who instigated it, so he sent people to arrest our people and bring them back. When they searched them, they found that it wasn't a diagram of military equipment at all, but just the recipe for making Hibiscus Osmanthus Cake..."

Qin Yi: "..."

"Of course, our Our King wouldn't stand for it! He threw a tantrum in the palace, crying and screaming, grabbing the Crown Prince's sleeve to hit him. Guess what happened?" Xie Yuan gestured. "The Crown Prince had two blueprints hidden in his sleeve, and they were torn off..."

Qin Yi's heart skipped a beat; this was formidable!

Xie Yuan, "As expected, the blueprints for military equipment were indeed on the Crown Prince. Although the Crown Prince loudly protested his innocence, stating that he had no motive to sell his own blueprints, he was ultimately imprisoned. Later, the Emperor's suspicions grew, and he always suspected that the Crown Prince was connected with some rebel army, so..."

As he spoke, he made a cutting gesture.

So it turns out they not only deposed the Crown Prince, but also killed him!

Qin Yi couldn't help but ask, "Then how do you know these aren't coincidences? Wu Xian's was osmanthus cake..."

Xie Yuan slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Of course I know! Because the military blueprints ended up in my hands later!"

Qin Yi gasped, and he and Cheng Cheng exchanged bewildered glances.

No wonder Xie Yuan said Li Wuxian was a monster. From the very beginning, there was something suspicious about "deliberately being seen by the Crown Prince." It was all a setup.

If everything is taught by someone, then even if she can act out a scene in the palace, she still needs to be able to act well on the spot. For a six-year-old to act like this, what else could she be but a monster?

Qin Yi could think of something more: the recipe for the Hibiscus Osmanthus Cake was very likely just a smokescreen. Li Wuxian had made some progress in her cultivation, so it wouldn't be a problem for her to use a simple smokescreen to fool mortals, as long as the Abbot of Hidden Dragon Temple, Lingxu, didn't expose her.

In other words, it was definitely not an accident. This deception was a deliberate act, intentional from beginning to end!

Qin Yi also became cautious and said in a low voice, "General, you must not say these words to anyone again."

"Of course, I only said it because it was you," Xie Yuan. "Telling the National Teacher this is actually to entrust him with a task: if you go to Dragon Abyss City..."

He hesitated for a moment, but Qin Yi understood. "You want me to see if she's possessed by something?"

No wonder he spoke of such a confidential matter so readily; it's because no one else could accomplish this important mission but Qin Yi.

"Hmm." Xie Yuan nodded, then leaned back in his chair as if to breathe a sigh of relief, shaking his head and laughing, "Now that we know there are immortals in the world, much of our experience is no longer valid. Half a lifetime of fighting has become like child's play. Sometimes, looking back, I really wish... No Immortals Under Heaven."

In front of the immortals, he said, "I would rather No Immortals Under Heaven." Although the old general had a smile on his face, Qin Yi could still see the unspeakable emotions behind it.

He sighed and said softly, "I'm sorry."

Xie Yuan quickly raised his cup in a toast and said, "What is there to apologize for? If it weren't for the National Teacher, we would have been reduced to dust long ago. I was just expressing my feelings, not speaking to the National Teacher."

Qin Yi shook his head. "Me too."

Immortals are not allowed to interfere with mortal affairs... This unwritten rule among cultivators, which I had once resisted, now seems to make sense.

But since it involves cause and effect, how can one avoid it?

No wonder Minghe, high in the sky, coldly observed the world, regarding all living beings as mere ants, unwilling to become a player in this drama. If Minghe, with her kind heart, acted this way, what about others?