Seeing Shen Gui's stiff expression, Qingluan burst out laughing. "All right, I was teasing you. Since you don't want to pledge yourself to Empress Nuwa, I won't force you. But don't blame me for not warning you beforehand—Empress Nuwa and Great Sage Fuxi are siblings, and their dwellings are together. Even if you join Great Sage Fuxi's ranks, you still won't be able to avoid having contact with Empress Nuwa."
Strictly speaking, the entire Heavenly Demon City was actually managed by Fuxi. Nuwa merely held the title.
Therefore, if Shen Gui joined Heavenly Demon City, there was no need for him to say anything—he would ultimately end up under Fuxi's command.
But did he think that meant he would escape Nuwa's clutches?
Then he was far too naive.
If Nuwa had no subordinates, where had all those cultivators she had toyed with in the past come from?
Naturally, they were Fuxi's subordinates.
However, Qingluan did not say any of this. She was afraid of scaring this Small Turtle away.
Hearing Qingluan say this, Shen Gui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was not afraid of contact. After all, how could he understand Nuwa without interacting with her?
As long as he did not fall headfirst into a pit right away, it was fine.
That was right. To Shen Gui, joining Nuwa was no different from stepping into a bottomless abyss.
Nuwa and Fuxi had been born on Mount Buzhou, so naturally, both their dwellings were also located on Mount Buzhou.
Following behind Qingluan, Shen Gui soon arrived at a secluded valley within Mount Buzhou.
Qingluan deftly opened several restrictions, and the two entered the valley.
Deep within the valley, a woman dressed in palace robes was sprawled over a stone table, doing who knew what.
Apparently hearing their footsteps, Shen Gui heard the woman howl, "Qing'er, you're finally back! I'm starving! Little Jin isn't here either. Hurry up and pick some fruit for me to eat, or I'm going to starve to death!"
As she spoke, the woman raised her head to look at Qingluan.
Then she froze.
Shen Gui froze as well.
What the hell was this?
How could there be such a goofball beside Empress Nuwa?
And judging from her tone, she seemed quite familiar with Qingluan. She was probably someone close to Nuwa.
Qingluan stood there dumbly as well, unsure what to say for a moment.
In the end, Shen Gui was the one who broke the silence.
"Fellow Daoist Qing Luan, this elder sister should also be one of Empress Nuwa's people, right? Could Fellow Daoist Qing Luan introduce her to me?"
"Well..."
Qingluan glanced at Shen Gui, then secretly peeked at the palace-robed woman. Her expression was somewhat evasive.
Meanwhile, the palace-robed woman had already sat up, her face stern and imposing, with not a trace of her previous goofiness remaining.
"Fellow Daoist Qing Luan, what is wrong?"
After asking that, Shen Gui noticed Qingluan sneaking glances at the palace-robed woman and suddenly understood. "Fellow Daoist Qing Luan, you and this elder sister need not worry. If I join Great Sage Fuxi's ranks, then the three of us will be family. When I see Empress Nuwa and Great Sage Fuxi in the future, I definitely won't mention what happened today."
Although he still did not know who the palace-robed woman was, she surely did not want Nuwa to learn that there was a goofball among her subordinates, right?
Then he heard the palace-robed woman finally speak. "Qing'er, who is he?"
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, yet incomparably icy, making Shen Gui shudder.
Then he saw Qingluan bow to the palace-robed woman. "In reply to Your Empress, this is a fellow Daoist Qing'er encountered. Because he admires the good deeds of Your Empress and Great Sage Fuxi, he wishes to join Great Sage Fuxi."
Hearing how Qingluan addressed the palace-robed woman, Shen Gui was completely dumbfounded.
He looked at Qingluan and saw her awkward expression and evasive gaze. "This is Empress Nuwa."
At once, the last trace of luck in Shen Gui's heart vanished.
He looked lifelessly at Nuwa's icy face. This would definitely get him silenced, right?
And he had kept calling her elder sister just now. Who could have guessed that Nuwa was such a goofball?
A bitter smile appeared on Shen Gui's lips as he obediently bowed to Nuwa. "Vast Desolation Wanderer Shen Gui pays respects to Empress Nuwa." It was not that he did not want to run—the question was, could he?
Looking at Shen Gui bowing to her, Nuwa was beyond frustrated.
She was in her own dwelling, and she had sensed Qingluan's aura, so she had not paid much attention to anything else. Who would have thought Qingluan would bring someone in? Ahhhhh!
And this guy had seen everything!
Although she had played some pranks on some of her brother's subordinates before, at least no one had discovered them. Before others, she had always been the revered Empress Nuwa.
But this time, her goofball behavior had been seen in full!
What should she do? This was so troubling. Should she just silence him?
With all sorts of messy thoughts running through her mind, Nuwa glared resentfully at Qingluan, who could not help secretly laughing nearby.
And she still had the nerve to laugh?
Just wait and see how this Empress dealt with her later!
However, she first needed to figure out how to deal with this fellow.
After lightly coughing, Nuwa looked at Shen Gui with a solemn expression.
Still, after being seen like that, pretending to be imposing now made her feel a little guilty.
Even so, Nuwa spoke with full authority. "What did you see just now?"
Before you continue