This Is Awkward

As Shen Gui appeared outside the stone house, its door silently opened.

At the same time, a voice came from within.

"Please come in, Fellow Daoist."

Seeing this, Shen Gui did not hesitate and walked straight into the stone house.

The furnishings inside were simple: only a stone table, several stone stools, and a stone bed.

When Shen Gui entered, a woman in azure robes sat on the stone bed, watching him.

"You must be Fellow Daoist Qing Luan?"

With a faint smile, Shen Gui casually sat down on a stone stool and spoke calmly.

As for the fact that Qingluan was a woman, Shen Gui was not surprised in the slightest.

After all, Qingluan was Nuwa's mount, not Fuxi's.

Though even if she had been Fuxi's mount, there did not seem to be anything wrong with that.

Ahem.

Seeing Shen Gui sit down so casually, Qingluan frowned, but she said nothing about it. Instead, she went straight to the point. "Earlier, Fellow Daoist said you had news concerning Empress and Great Sage Fuxi and wished to speak with me. What is it? You may say it now. I hope Fellow Daoist was not deceiving me. Though I am merely a Golden Immortal under Empress's command, I am not so easily bullied."

Since Shen Gui had already seen her true form, Qingluan no longer used that false voice whose gender could not be distinguished. Her actual voice was rather clear and pleasant.

Hearing this, Shen Gui smiled openly. "Why would I lie about such a matter?"

Qingluan nodded. "In that case, please speak, Fellow Daoist."

"It is like this." Shen Gui coughed, feeling slightly guilty.

Strictly speaking, what he had done was somewhat underhanded.

Still, despite his guilt, he continued. "Since breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm, I have traveled the Primordial Wilderness in search of opportunities. I have also heard of the many powers throughout the Primordial Wilderness. Whether the Demon Country, the Immortal Court, or the Palace of the Demon Master, each is a colossal force."

"Yet Di Jun and Tai Yi founded the Demon Country, East King Gong founded the Immortal Court, and Kunpeng founded the Palace of the Demon Master, all more or less for the sake of contending for supremacy. Only Empress Nuwa and Great Sage Fuxi founded Heavenly Demon City to shelter all living beings, without any intention of vying for dominance over the Primordial Wilderness."

After a pause, Shen Gui looked at Qingluan, who was completely confused and had no idea what he was trying to say. Somewhat awkwardly, he continued, "I have long admired Empress Nuwa and Great Sage Fuxi for this righteous deed. I have always wished to join Great Sage Fuxi, but had no way to do so. By a fortunate coincidence, I learned that Fellow Daoist Qing Luan is an immortal maiden under Empress Nuwa, so I came to visit in hopes that Fellow Daoist might introduce me."

By the time Shen Gui finished speaking, Qingluan's face had already darkened.

"So the matter concerning Empress and Great Sage Fuxi that you spoke of was this?"

Shen Gui nodded awkwardly. "I did not lie, did I? This truly does concern Empress Nuwa and Great Sage Fuxi."

Hearing Shen Gui emphasize that he had not lied, Qingluan's face darkened even further.

Though she felt she had been thoroughly duped, strictly speaking, Shen Gui had not actually lied. She had merely misunderstood.

Still, no matter how one put it, she felt an overwhelming urge to beat the man before her to death.

Yet Shen Gui kept saying that he admired Nuwa and Fuxi and had come from afar to join them. Though she was full of anger, she had nowhere to vent it.

However, as the saying went, if you wanted to find fault, there was no fault you could not find.

After struggling with herself for a while, Qingluan suddenly seized upon a point.

Glaring at Shen Gui, Qingluan said, "You keep claiming to admire Empress and Great Sage Fuxi, but why do you only speak of joining Great Sage Fuxi and never mention Empress? Could it be that you look down on Empress?" Never mind whether it was true or not—she would slap a huge accusation on him first.

What Qingluan did not know was that the troublemaking remark she had made on purpose truly struck Shen Gui's weak spot.

When Qingluan asked this, Shen Gui's scalp immediately went numb.

There was no way he could admit it. He would never admit it, not even if beaten to death.

Looking down on Nuwa?

If he really said that, with his current little body, dying ten times would not be nearly enough.

"Fellow Daoist Qing Luan, you jest. How could I possibly harbor such thoughts? Empress Nuwa and Great Sage Fuxi are brother and sister. Since that is so, whom I join should make no difference, should it?"

Yet although Shen Gui spoke with apparent sincerity and every word sounded earnest, Qingluan, guided by some mysterious intuition, always felt that he did not mean what he said.

"In that case, Empress happens to be short of hands lately. Why not work for Empress instead? Empress and Great Sage Fuxi are brother and sister, after all. It makes no difference which side you work for."

"This..." Shen Gui was dumbfounded.

This was getting awkward.

Seeing Shen Gui's reaction, Qingluan froze as well. "I only said it casually. You do not actually have some issue with Empress, do you?"

The two stared wide-eyed at each other, both speechless.

In the end, Shen Gui was the first to react.

His figure shifted, and a flash of earthen-yellow light passed by. Shen Gui vanished from the stone house.

Qingluan blanked for a moment, then recovered as well. Turning into a streak of azure light, she instantly shot out of the stone house. "Stop! Do not run! Explain yourself first!"