"Your Majesty, Martial Emperor!"
Xu Changfeng and the others were all stunned.
What was going on today?
Why had even His Majesty the Martial Emperor come?
Dongfang Su stepped out of the dragon carriage, with Guyue following behind him.
Seeing so many people here, Dongfang Su was actually a little bewildered too.
"Sect Master Xu?"
Dongfang Su looked first at Xu Changfeng.
As the master of one of the three great sects, Xu Changfeng naturally knew Dongfang Su.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Xu Changfeng bowed in salute.
Dongfang Su then looked at Chu Yanyu.
"You... aren't you that girl from the Prince Who Pacifies the West's household?"
Chu Yanyu immediately bowed.
"Chu Yanyu pays her respects to Your Majesty the Martial Emperor."
Dongfang Su smiled.
"So you really are Chu Tianchuan's daughter. You were only five or six the last time I saw you. In the blink of an eye, you've grown so much."
Dongfang Su then looked at Bai Suyi beside her.
"And who is this?"
"She is my good friend Bai Suyi, a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect."
Bai Suyi respectfully bowed to Dongfang Su.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Martial Emperor."
Dongfang Su nodded. She was merely a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect, so he paid her little mind.
Turning to Xu Changfeng, Dongfang Su looked puzzled.
"What brings you here, Sect Master Xu?"
Xu Changfeng did not conceal anything.
"I came to pay my respects to an expert in the mountain."
Dongfang Su froze.
"You came to pay your respects to the expert too?"
Xu Changfeng nodded, then looked at Dongfang Su in some surprise.
"You too, Your Majesty?"
Dongfang Su murmured an assent.
Chu Yanyu was a little bewildered too.
"Then the expert we've come to visit should be the same person, right?"
Xu Changfeng and Dongfang Su wore strange expressions.
If there was no second expert in this mountain...
Then the expert all of them wanted to visit should be the same person.
But this was far too much of a coincidence.
Why had they all happened to come today?
"Let's go. Since we've met, let's visit that expert together."
Dongfang Su spoke with a smile.
"That would be excellent."
"It is my honor to accompany Your Majesty."
Naturally, neither Xu Changfeng nor Chu Yanyu objected.
The three parties joined together and headed up the mountain.
Before they reached the summit, they caught a fragrance from afar.
"That smells so good!"
Xu Jing'er sniffed and spoke with a look of surprise.
"Achoo!"
Bai Suyi, however, sneezed.
Chu Yanyu's delicate brows knitted slightly.
"There's a hint of spice in this fragrance. How strange."
"We'll know once we go and look."
With that, Dongfang Su quickened his pace.
Soon, the group arrived outside Ye Qingyun's courtyard.
At that moment, Ye Qingyun was sitting beside a large pot.
Firewood burned beneath it, and its contents bubbled away.
Wafts of spicy fragrance drifted from that very pot.
Ye Qingyun was staring intently into it, his face full of excitement and anticipation.
A bald rabbit and a large, lazy golden-haired dog were lying at Ye Qingyun's feet, seemingly waiting for something delicious.
Woof!
Seeing visitors arrive, the big golden-haired dog merely gave a perfunctory bark to alert his slow-witted master.
Only then did Ye Qingyun raise his head and see the people outside his courtyard.
"Good grief, why did so many people show up all at once?"
The sight of so many people outside startled Ye Qingyun so badly that he nearly dropped the bowl and chopsticks in his hands.
Fortunately, there were familiar faces among them, and Ye Qingyun soon calmed down.
Dongfang Su, Xu Changfeng, and Bai Suyi, however, were not so composed.
The three of them stared at Ye Qingyun, looking him up and down.
No matter how they looked at him, he did not resemble an expert beyond the mortal world.
Moreover, there were no fluctuations of cultivation from him whatsoever.
He was purely and simply a mortal.
Looking at his surroundings, he seemed every bit a farmer in the mountains.
How could he possibly be the unfathomable expert beyond the mortal world they had spoken of?
"Young master, this is my good friend Bai Suyi. She is a disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect."
Chu Yanyu hurriedly introduced her to Ye Qingyun.
Bai Suyi dipped slightly in greeting to Ye Qingyun.
"Greetings, young master."
Ye Qingyun looked Bai Suyi over.
Not bad. Another little beauty.
"Brother Ye, this is our master, Xu Changfeng, sect master of the Mystic Sword Sect!"
Li Chenyuan spoke as well.
Ye Qingyun's eyes immediately lit up.
The sect master of the Mystic Sword Sect?
A big shot!
I'd better get on his good side. If I run into any trouble in the Heavenly Martial Dynasty later, dropping this sect master's name would probably be very useful.
"So you're Sect Master Xu. Forgive my lack of courtesy!"
Ye Qingyun cupped his fists in salute.
Xu Changfeng returned the salute. "You're far too courteous, sir."
Guyue, standing nearby, could no longer hold back.
"Brother Ye, this is His Majesty the Martial Emperor!"
Dongfang Su could not help straightening up.
He was an emperor, after all. He could hardly let his presence fall short of a mere sect master like Xu Changfeng.
Martial Emperor Dongfang Su?
Ye Qingyun's expression grew even more astonished.
Why had even the emperor come to my place?
What's going on?
Still, since the emperor's here, I definitely have to treat him well.
If I can cling tightly to the emperor's thigh in the future, won't I reach the pinnacle of life in no time?
"So you're His Majesty the Martial Emperor. I've truly been discourteous!"
Ye Qingyun bowed.
"No matter. I came here precisely to pay you a visit."
Dongfang Su spoke with a smile.
Ye Yun scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
Am I really this famous now?
Even big shots like a sect master and His Majesty the Emperor have to come visit me in person.
Heh heh!
Thinking about it really does make me a little proud.
"Father, the rabbit demon is right there!"
Xu Jing'er pointed at the bald rabbit in the courtyard and spoke quietly to Xu Changfeng.
Xu Changfeng focused his gaze on it, and his expression darkened.
"It really is that vile beast!"
A trace of killing intent appeared in Xu Changfeng's eyes.
The rabbit demon had killed disciples of the Mystic Sword Sect, which was why Li Chenyuan and the other two had pursued it all the way to Floating Cloud Mountain.
However, Xu Changfeng did not act.
He would see how things stood first.
"You're all guests. I happen to be making hot pot, and it's mealtime anyway. Come have some!"
Ye Qingyun warmly invited them.
Chu Yanyu immediately grew excited.
The last time she had eaten grapes here, her cultivation had soared, and she had never stopped thinking about it.
But what was hot pot?
"Er, what is hot pot?"
Dongfang Su was a little curious too.
Ye Qingyun paused.
"You've never had hot pot, Your Majesty?"
Dongfang Su shook his head.
Never mind eating it-this was his first time even hearing the term "hot pot."
Ye Qingyun looked at Dongfang Su with some sympathy.
"So even the emperor of this world isn't doing all that well. He doesn't even get to eat hot pot. How miserable."
The way Ye Qingyun looked at him left Dongfang Su unsure whether to laugh or cry.
He's making me, the mighty Martial Emperor, seem like someone who's never seen the world.
"Come on over, everyone. Hot pot is livelier with more people."
Ye Qingyun brought everyone into the courtyard.
They gathered around the large pot, looking at the bubbling, boiling hot pot inside, all wearing bewildered expressions.
"This thing looks so strange."
"What on earth is cooking in there? It's a complete jumble."
"But it does smell quite good."
They all chattered over one another.
Just then, however, a look of shock appeared on Bai Suyi's face.
She sniffed the fragrance from the pot and felt warmth spread throughout her body.
A warm current was even surging within her.
In particular, the hidden injury she had suffered as a child was actually showing signs of healing.
"This... could this so-called hot pot completely heal my hidden injury?"
Bai Suyi was utterly astonished.