Banished Immortal Descends to the Mortal World

Chapter 16: Banished Immortal Descends to the Mortal World

The Duke of Wei's Estate.

Many local servants had been left behind in Gongzhou City to look after the old residence, but a large number of maids and household staff were still following them to the capital. These days had been incredibly busy, with countless items packed into boxes and stored in the side hall.

By rights, they should have left long ago and proceeded to the capital to take up the post of Minister of the Imperial Treasury. However, Li Guoyuan seemed to be waiting for something, and they had been delayed.

In the small building in the backyard, within her boudoir, Li Rong'er was wearing a purple silk dress and looked rather furtive.

She had closed the door tightly. Seeing that she was alone, the young lady took a book from behind the screen and hid in front of the brazier behind the screen to read it.

The book was titled "Romance of the Sword Immortal."

Li Rong'er had certainly heard some rumors circulating in the marketplace, most of which originated from this novel written by someone named Hong Yuan.

At first, Li Rong'er had been quite annoyed, but she couldn't resist her curiosity about what kind of book it was.

The charcoal in the brazier crackled, making soft popping sounds.

The room was utterly silent, save for the slightly heavy sound of breathing.

"This Hong Yuan person is so unreasonable. This novel is full of fabricated nonsense. Aren't they afraid of punishment from the immortals?" Li Rong'er's face was flushed red, unsure if it was the heat from the brazier making her feel feverish or the content of the novel being too risqué.

Yet, for some reason, Li Rong'er found she couldn't put it down.

The more she read, the more her imagination took flight, as if the scenes in the novel were truly appearing in her dreams.

Just then, there was a sudden commotion outside, startling Li Rong'er, who jumped to her feet, her face flushed with embarrassment as she hid the book behind her back.

However, she immediately realized that the commotion was unusually loud.

"I am a celestial being, a banished immortal descended to the mortal world."

"Let me sing a song, my clear whistle reaching the clouds."

"..."

"After a few pages of governance and insight, worldly affairs are truly fleeting clouds."

"..."

A soft singing voice, like wind sweeping across the land, passed over the entire Gongzhou City.

Everyone in Gongzhou City, from top to bottom, could hear these verses.

Li Rong'er cautiously pushed open the window of the small building and looked outside.

The sound wasn't coming from outside the window, nor from within the city, but from the heavens above.

Li Rong'er looked up at the clouds, and suddenly a figure came to mind, a figure she had heard the most about in Gongzhou City recently.

"It's that immortal."

Then she heard earth-shattering exclamations from outside, along with the sound of mountains and seas of prostrations and worship. Gongzhou City seemed to be experiencing another momentous event.

Throwing on a fur cloak, Li Rong'er hurried downstairs.

"Miss! Miss! Where are you going?" a maid immediately spotted Li Rong'er in the garden corridor.

"Didn't you hear that voice? I'm going to the gate to take a look."

At the main gate of the Duke of Wei's Estate, on the main street.

Traffic was heavy, and the crowd was immense.

This was the east side of the city, but at this moment, countless people were rushing towards the north, all for the chance to glimpse the immortal's face and bask in their divine aura.

Watching the entire city vying to prostrate themselves and hail the immortal, Li Rong'er's cherry lips parted slightly, her beautiful eyes completely filled with shock.

The servants and maids in the large courtyard had also gathered together. At this time, many people had rushed in through the back door, shouting as they ran.

"It's the immortal, the immortal flew away!" a servant exclaimed, gesticulating wildly and speaking incoherently.

"I heard someone say that the divine donkey, treading on fire, carried the immortal up into the sky."

Another maid said proudly, "I was there at the time, I saw it all. It was the person from the Martial Rites Division who has been coming to our estate recently, wanting to invite the immortal to the capital to be the Imperial Preceptor."

"But the immortal didn't even glance at him. The divine donkey carried the immortal and flew out of Gongzhou City."

A companion nearby lamented with great regret, "I was supposed to go shopping on the street today, but that girl Xiao Yun snatched it from me. If I had gone, I could have seen the immortal."

The people in the courtyard immediately descended into chaos: "I heard that immortal is incredibly good-looking, like someone who walked out of a painting."

"That's an immortal, how could they not be good-looking?"

"Was that voice from the clouds truly spoken by an immortal?"

"Of course. Besides an immortal, who else would dare to recite such poetry?"

"Yun'er, tell us, what did that immortal actually look like? Besides Miss, you're the only one here who has seen the immortal."

Li Rong'er was just across the courtyard wall and could hear everything clearly through the lattice window.

"I am a celestial being, a banished immortal descended to the mortal world."

The young lady murmured to herself, recalling the person's appearance, "Perhaps, he truly came down from the heavens, not a person of this mortal world."

In the main hall, sounds of scolding and cursing could be heard. It was evident that the Duke of Wei, Li Guoyuan, was in a furious rage, having already smashed several valuable porcelain pieces.

Li Guoyuan was extremely disappointed that Zhongxing Du had managed to mess up such a simple matter.

"You don't need to come with me to the capital this time," Li Guoyuan said as he sat down, offering tea as a gesture of dismissal.

Zhongxing Du trembled all over. This was equivalent to his hard work and climb to his current position being reduced to nothing overnight.

Once you've tasted power and enjoyed wealth and glory, you can't go back to the precarious days of the past.

Unwillingly, Zhongxing Du stepped forward and said, "Duke Li, you were the one who told me to handle this! You were the one who sent me!"

"I served you diligently, and I even risked my life against Young Master Silver Flower. Even if I didn't earn merit, I at least endured hardship!"

The Duke of Wei slammed his teacup to the floor, rattling everything. "I told you to go and check on them, and I repeatedly warned you not to be disrespectful. Instead, you resorted to underhanded tactics?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Or that the immortals can't see through your tricks?"

"Get out!"

Zhongxing Du left in disgrace.

The next day, the Duke of Wei's entire family headed to the capital. A long convoy of carriages boarded a ship at the pier, traveling by water before switching to land.

As they passed through West Gate Street, a strong scent of osmanthus suddenly filled the air.

Li Rong'er lifted the curtain. Her hair ornaments jingled as she revealed her beautifully made-up face, the floral appliqué between her brows exuding an air of grace and nobility.

She looked at the osmanthus trees blooming on both sides of the main road, and at the newly rebuilt Yinglai Inn.

The innkeeper stood in front of the entrance, happily clutching the money bag left by the immortal and shouting.

"From now on, this place won't be called Yinglai Inn."

"It's called the Immortal Welcoming Inn!"

Outside the city, at the Ten-Mile Pavilion.

Lu Canghai, carrying a bundle on his back, held his straw hat in one hand and his sword in the other, sharing a farewell banquet with the Sword Saint Xu Bayuan at the pavilion.

Xu Bayuan, with his disciple by his side, raised a cup of fine wine.

"I didn't expect that just after Great Immortal Kongchen left, Brother Canghai would be leaving too."

Lu Canghai's eyes were piercingly bright, with an added sharpness and a righteous hatred for evil.

"I once told the immortal that I came to Gongzhou to kill those who deserved to die and to right the wrongs of the world."

"I didn't expect to be unable to personally kill Young Master Silver Flower. Instead, I was saved multiple times by Great Immortal Kongchen, and even bestowed with the Life-Reviving Immortal Pill and the Flying Immortal Sword Technique. I am truly ashamed."

"Only by eradicating all the evil that deserves to die in this world and by righting all the injustices can I be worthy of the immortal's gifts."

Xu Bayuan nodded. "An immortal's bearing is beyond what you or I can comprehend."

After draining their cups, the two men clasped their hands in farewell.

On the ancient path of the long pavilion, the silhouette of a swordsman disappeared into the setting sun.

The story of Gongzhou City began in winter and ended in winter.

It was like a return to tranquility after a period of prosperity, or perhaps more like the opening act of a new chapter.