Xuan Yi approached with a smile, her voice sweet: “I saw the senior martial brothers conversing so happily that I dared not disturb you. Senior Martial Brother Gu Ting, Senior Martial Sister Fu Luo, my respects.”

These two celestial deities were indeed of Fucang’s faction—they nodded with indifference, not even glancing at her once.

Tai Yao smiled faintly: “So you already know them? I was just about to make introductions.”

Xuan Yi nodded: “After all, I am now a disciple under Teacher’s tutelage. I naturally must understand the identities of my senior martial brothers and sisters. After all, in the future we will all be colleagues, and treating each other with sincerity is proper.”

“This princess’s words—Gu Ting dares not agree.”

Gu Ting Shenjun suddenly became serious and turned around. He was of medium build, wearing a plain blue robe that was clean and forthright. Unlike the current trend of casual informality, his long hair was meticulously bound up without a single strand out of place, appearing somewhat rigid. However, his standing posture was upright and imposing, and his every gesture and movement naturally possessed an elegant and upright bearing—originally the kind of appearance that would make people feel immediate warmth toward him. Unfortunately, his face now bore rejection as he looked at Xuan Yi with some severity.

“My Flower Emperor Yao Clan has never had any grievances with the Zhuyin Clan. However, Princess, you first threw your handkerchief into the cloud pool, then attempted to lay hands on the Posuo peony. Such jokes would have been tolerable, but why did you also speak disrespectfully to Fucang? Wild words and slander first, provocation before the hall afterward—such an overbearing manner shows not half a trace of deity clan bearing. Today you speak of treating each other with sincerity—do you not feel ashamed?”

Xuan Yi shook her head: “I do not.”

“Absurd!” Gu Ting’s brows furrowed tightly. “Even though Teacher has already accepted you as a disciple, I still believe the Zhuyin Clan princess’s temperament is probably incompatible with Mingxing Hall. The princess speaks of treating each other with sincerity, yet should not treat colleagues with such an arrogant old face. If the princess still insists on this, you will probably disappoint Zhongshan Dijun’s priceless dragon scale treasure.”

Oh, meaning that if everyone disliked her, she wouldn’t be able to stay more than a few days?

“I’ve already selected a courtyard for you.” Gu Ting Shenjun led Fucang away, turning to leave. “It’s an elegant and refined place. You’re bound to like it.”

As soon as he left, the other celestial deities in the hall immediately followed. Only Tai Yao inquired warmly: “Will little junior martial sister come along?”

Xuan Yi replied with a smile: “Please proceed first, senior martial brothers. Xuan Yi will arrive shortly.”

It was said that because Baize Dijun believed in the natural way of one giving birth to two, two giving birth to three, and three giving birth to all things, the thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three palace halls among the myriad divine halls perfectly matched the number three.

Even more ingenious was that within these thirty-some thousand palace halls, the smaller hall buildings also secretly conformed to the number three. For instance, Baize Dijun’s Mingxing Hall had three hundred courtyards. With so many courtyards, disciples under his tutelage could naturally freely select whichever courtyard they liked to use.

Xuan Yi followed the guiding immortal child, walking past at least ten courtyards that looked quite good. Seeing that the immortal child had no intention of stopping at all, she spoke up to ask: “Immortal child, are the courtyards not selected by the disciples themselves?”

The guiding immortal child appeared somewhat awkward: “Princess, the Dijun specifically instructed us the day before yesterday that the princess’s courtyard would be designated by the Dijun. It seems the Dijun has his own arrangements.”

Only her?

Xuan Yi said nothing more, quietly following behind him, advancing along the gravel path blooming with purple sun flowers.

Instead, the guiding immortal child couldn’t stop chattering: “The princess’s courtyard is in the northwest direction, called Tongjing Hall. It’s a quiet place. Once the princess stays there for a while, you’ll definitely come to like it.”

Tongjing Hall—the name of the main hall that once belonged to the exterminated Tongshan Clan. Was Baize Dijun doing this deliberately? Xuan Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The guiding immortal child was completely oblivious, still excitedly saying: “In years past, when Wangshu Shennu was still a disciple under the Dijun’s tutelage, she always wanted this courtyard precisely because it’s especially quiet, yet the Dijun never could bear to let her live here!”

Very well, perhaps it truly was a good place. Tongjing Hall sounded like an imposing name—by all rights there should be an actual “palace hall” with gardens, ponds, and groves of paulownia trees.

Therefore, when the guiding immortal child pushed open the courtyard gate, Xuan Yi was stunned by the scene inside.

This was the smallest possible… tiled house? Two half-old, half-new dilapidated tiled rooms, the ground full of withered yellow dry grass, a thin paulownia tree planted on the east side, a few dispirited patches of wild flowers on the west side—even the lowest-ranking divine servants in her household had never lived in such a place.

Wangshu Shennu wanted to live here? Was he lying to ghosts?

The guiding immortal child saw her silently push open the room door and hurriedly followed on his short little legs, introducing enthusiastically: “Princess, this room is the study. The bedroom is the adjacent room. Daily meals will be provided by us on schedule—the princess needn’t worry. Every day the Dijun begins teaching at the hour of chen and ends at the hour of wei, in Hede Hall due west. Princess, if you follow the purple sun flowers, you’ll see it very quickly. If the princess feels tired and wants to relax, as long as the Dijun isn’t teaching, you may freely enter and leave Mingxing Hall, or you can go to the garden on the south side. The Dijun’s disciples all like to rest and chat there—the princess will definitely like it too…”

Before he finished speaking, he saw Xuan Yi touch the half-old tables and chairs, then touch the crude moon window, and finally look at the corner-missing bookshelf that held only a few books. Her eyes slowly reddened.

The guiding immortal child immediately became somewhat flustered, saying urgently: “Princess? Are you perhaps homesick? This place… once you get used to living here, you’ll definitely come to like it!”

Xuan Yi gazed at him with tears in her eyes: “…Is there food? I want freshly roasted Jiujiu Guiyuan tea—the kind with tea leaves an inch long. And I want agate white jade cakes, the kind without bean skins in the filling.”

…So she was hungry! And her demands were so high!

The kind immortal child immediately went out to find food for the noble Zhuyin Clan princess. With great difficulty, he gathered together the food items she wanted. Upon returning to the courtyard, this time it was his turn to be stunned.

The simple and crude courtyard was entirely buried under extremely thick ice and snow. The graceful and elegant Zhuyin Clan princess had rebuilt two brand new and imposing ice halls on the ice layer, and was now sitting calmly and leisurely in an ice chair, pinching out a flower from white snow.

Seeing the immortal child’s face turn green, she smiled faintly and gently placed the snow-pinched flower in the small pocket on his chest: “Thank you. Here, you can play with this.”

The princess’s breath was like orchids.

The immortal child was somewhat flustered: “Princess… you like this… this won’t do…”

How could she arbitrarily change one of Mingxing Hall’s three hundred courtyards into this appearance!

Xuan Yi’s expression was innocent: “I added a bit of ice and snow. Is that not allowed?”

This was adding “a bit” of ice and snow?!

“When the Dijun sees this, I’m afraid he’ll blame the princess.” The immortal child brought out Baize Dijun to frighten her.

“When Teacher blames me, I’ll change it back.”

Xuan Yi leisurely poured a cup of tea and took a light sip. Good tea, good tea—truly freshly roasted one-inch-long Jiujiu Guiyuan tea. She took another bite of agate white jade cake. Fragrant and soft—indeed authentic agate white jade cake without bean skins.

A sip of tea, a bite of cake, then surveying her surroundings—a world full of ice and snow—Xuan Yi suddenly felt that coming out to take a teacher was quite a pleasant matter.

“By the way, I don’t like the name Tongjing Hall.” She seemed to remember something, looking toward the plaque hanging on the ice and snow hall’s entrance. “I’ve changed the name. From today on, this courtyard will be called Ice and Snow Hall.”

The immortal child sighed and stamped his feet. Just as he was racking his brains trying to persuade her, he suddenly felt the ice surface beneath his feet shake violently, nearly causing him to tumble head over heels. Immediately after, he saw a bright firelight shoot up from beneath the ice layer, forcibly breaking open a huge hole in the extremely thick ice layer.

After the firelight rose several zhang high, it slowly fell back to the ice surface, condensing into a human figure. A light sighing sound rang out—an unfamiliar male voice: “Who sealed this place in ice? I was nearly suffocated.”

This voice was extremely pleasant—soft and warm, like a bowl of hot, sweet, and richly fragrant red bean osmanthus wine-fermented rice balls on a freezing cold day.

After speaking, the deity transformed from firelight turned around, curiously gazing at the surrounding ice and snow world.