Mu Yunjin felt as if she had been in a long dream. In the dream, she was always surrounded by something red, but no matter how many times she tried to see clearly what it was, she could never make it out.
“Mmm…” Mu Yunjin moaned in her sleep, slowly opening her eyes.
The pain throughout her body made her wince involuntarily. She reached up to clutch her ribs, feeling as if several bones had been broken, causing stabbing pain with every movement.
“You troublesome girl, you’re awake?”
A familiar voice reached her ears. Mu Yunjin frowned and looked toward the sound to see Daoist Fengxuan sitting nearby, gazing at her.
“Old man, why are you here?” Mu Yunjin tried to prop herself up but found she had no strength, only causing herself more pain that made her grimace.
Looking around, she realized she was lying in an abandoned temple on a pile of straw that emitted a moldy smell.
“Were you beaten stupid? Lost your memory?” Daoist Fengxuan teased, then stood and approached to check her pulse.
Mu Yunjin was startled, suddenly remembering what had happened that night on Qingfeng Mountain. She recalled being at death’s door when someone rescued her. Could it have been Daoist Fengxuan?
…
…
With this thought, she cast a questioning glance at Daoist Fengxuan.
“What are you looking at? If your master hadn’t saved you, which deity did you expect to descend from heaven to rescue you?” Daoist Fengxuan glared at Mu Yunjin, then sat back down.
Mu Yunjin continued looking at Daoist Fengxuan and took a breath. “How did you happen to be there? Who was that old Daoist who injured me?”
“So many questions right after waking up!” Daoist Fengxuan said, displeased, then added, “I overestimated you. I thought after learning a few moves from the Xuanling True Scripture, you could at least defend yourself for a few rounds. Who knew you’d be so helpless, like a lamb waiting for slaughter.”
“I truly regret taking such a useless disciple. You’ve completely disgraced me, Fengxuan.”
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin’s mouth twitched a few times. She felt like she might cough up blood at any moment and glared at Daoist Fengxuan with extreme displeasure. To her surprise, Daoist Fengxuan shook his head, pointed at her, and raised his chin provocatively. “You don’t like what I’m saying? Why don’t you get up and hit me!”
“But, hahaha, you foolish girl, you’ve had three ribs broken this time. You truly deserve it! Now your master has something to laugh about after meals!”
“You old coot, are you my master?” Mu Yunjin gritted her teeth, painfully grabbed a handful of straw, and threw it at the laughing Daoist Fengxuan.
The straw fell harmlessly on Daoist Fengxuan. He casually picked up a piece, played with it, and then broke it in his hands.
After a while, Daoist Fengxuan sighed languidly, “Girl, it’s not entirely your fault that you couldn’t defeat that person. Even if your master fought him, I could only manage a draw.”
“Who was that person?” Mu Yunjin keenly caught a hint of information in his words.
Daoist Fengxuan raised an eyebrow. “Foolish girl, haven’t you guessed yet?”
“Daoist Qiuye, one of the three great masters in the world?” Mu Yunjin voiced her suspicion, looking at Daoist Fengxuan for confirmation.
Daoist Fengxuan nodded slowly, pursing his lips. “Correct, it was him.”
Learning that the person was Daoist Qiuye, Mu Yunjin felt somewhat relieved. After all, he was one of the three greatest masters in the world, so it wasn’t surprising that she couldn’t defeat him.
But still…
“Isn’t he Qin Muyue’s master? Creating floods in Qingzhou by praying for rain—Qin Muyue must have known about this, right?” Mu Yunjin asked thoughtfully.
At this, Daoist Fengxuan snorted with a laugh and coolly replied, “Worry about others’ business later. First, be concerned about your situation!”
“Where are we now? Chu…” Mu Yunjin started, then pressed her lips together and asked again, “Where are we?”
Daoist Fengxuan glanced at her.
“That youngster Chu Li seems to have mobilized all his secret guards to search for you. Quite the grand operation.”
“I didn’t ask about that. I asked where we are now!” Mu Yunjin felt embarrassed at having her thoughts read so easily and responded angrily.
“Your face is written all over with wanting to know Chu Li’s whereabouts.”
“You old codger, are you trying to anger me to death…”
“You stupid girl, better if you died. Then I could pretend I never took such a useless disciple!”
“Get out! When you die, don’t expect me to prepare a coffin for you!”
“What a poisonous tongue!”
……
“Deputy Commander Qin truly is the reincarnation of the fire phoenix! The Daoist master just said that someone with deep virtue in their previous life would be blessed with celestial powers in this life!”
“Everyone, come quickly, pay respects to Deputy Commander Qin and share in the auspicious energy.”
Qin Muyue was now surrounded by a crowd of commoners. After Daoist Qiuye had used illusion techniques to summon the fire phoenix, he had quietly disappeared into the crowd.
In a corner nearby, Chu Li stood with a rigid posture, his thin lips pressed tightly together, his brows slightly furrowed. The scene of the fire phoenix emerging from Qin Muyue’s back had just fallen into his view.
Ding Xian stood beside Chu Li, still somewhat incredulous. He spoke softly to Chu Li, “Your Highness, the timing matches. When the fire phoenix appeared last night, Miss Qin was not among our traveling party.”
“What of Mu Yunjin’s whereabouts?” Chu Li asked, sweeping a displeased glance at Ding Xian. His tone seemed impatient, mixed with anger.
Ding Xian was startled, not expecting Chu Li to show no interest in the fire phoenix matter. He lowered his face and carefully replied, “Still under investigation.”
Hearing there was still no news, the coldness in Chu Li’s eyes deepened, emitting a chilling mist. “You stay here. This prince will go to Zhangzhou City.”
As Chu Li finished speaking, his body emanated an icy aura. For the first time in his life, he wanted to keep someone by his side forever. Even if she ran to the ends of the earth, he would bring her back!
Damn this disobedient, troublesome woman.
“Zhangzhou City?” Ding Xian was surprised, then immediately realized and lowered his voice, “Is Your Highness going to Phoenix Pavilion?”
By the time he finished speaking, Chu Li had already walked far away.
……
Mu Yunjin lay on the straw pile in the abandoned temple for a full three days. These three days were pure torture for her.
“Troublesome girl, don’t move! Your master just transferred true qi to heal your bone injuries. Stay still!” Daoist Fengxuan withdrew his true qi, his face somewhat pale as he sat to the side.
Mu Yunjin glanced at Daoist Fengxuan, noticing his poor complexion. She pressed her lips together and awkwardly looked away.
Although this old man was somewhat poisonous in his speech, for the past three days, he had been exhausting his internal energy and true qi to help heal her wounds. Each time required considerable energy—it seemed his heart was quite kind.
Mu Yunjin’s originally fractured ribs had been fully mended under Daoist Fengxuan’s healing true qi, but the wound from Daoist Qiuye’s palm strike had penetrated her heart and lungs and wasn’t so easily treated.
During these days, Mu Yunjin often felt dizzy, with blood occasionally surging upward, causing her to cough up several mouthfuls of blood.
After resting for two more days, Mu Yunjin could barely support herself to get up and move around, but with each step, she had to clutch her ribs to somewhat reduce the pain.
Mu Yunjin walked out of the abandoned temple and looked at her surroundings. Only then did she realize she had been in Qingzhou all along, but the abandoned temple seemed to have a formation set up, preventing others from approaching.
“What, thinking of finding Chu Li?” Daoist Fengxuan walked to the temple entrance and glanced at Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin sighed softly, leaning against the wall to support her body. She smiled faintly, “That day, he left with Qin Muyue.”
“So?” How could Daoist Fengxuan not see the emotions in Mu Yunjin’s eyes when she mentioned Chu Li?
He had known Chu Li for a considerable time and was aware of some secrets Chu Li carried. As for this girl Mu Yunjin, before taking her as a disciple, he had naturally recognized her extraordinary talent.
But if these two were to unite because of feelings, he wondered if their future would bring happiness or sorrow.
“Nothing. When my wounds are sufficiently healed, Master, please take me back to Xinyao City! I want to leave this place…” Mu Yunjin said quietly.
“No courage!” Daoist Fengxuan glanced at Mu Yunjin. “Do you know that Chu Li has cast a vast net to find you?”
“These past few days, if your master hadn’t set up a formation at the temple entrance, you would have been taken back by his secret guards long ago! He cares for you this much, yet you want to secretly leave without a word?”
Mu Yunjin’s heart stirred, her eyes downcast. Daoist Fengxuan’s words undeniably moved her. She recalled Chu Li’s smile that night when they were together, and she couldn’t help but fall into deep thought about what position she held in Chu Li’s heart.
“Sigh.” Daoist Fengxuan sighed again. “Let me secretly tell you something, girl.”
“The frontier tribes causing trouble was a false scenario fabricated by Qiuye. Chu Li went to the border with Qin Muyue to find the truth about the Qingzhou flood, using her in the process.”
Mu Yunjin stiffened, looking at Daoist Fengxuan with furrowed brows. Her eyes revealed thousands of thoughts, but she remained silent.
“Don’t believe me?” Daoist Fengxuan laughed. “Your master has been lurking in Qingzhou for days. Nothing escapes my eyes.”
“Chu Li was afraid your curiosity would lead you to investigate those frontier tribes, potentially bringing trouble, so he took on the task himself. Little did he know that you, impulsive girl, would run about everywhere the moment he left…”
“And get injured like this. You truly deserve it!”
Mu Yunjin’s body stiffened as she leaned against the wall, slowly lowering her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm.
Though she wasn’t sure if Daoist Fengxuan’s words could be trusted, they went straight to her heart. Countless sparks seemed to burst from her heart, and Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but touch her chest, silently repeating Chu Li’s name in her mind.
If Chu Li asked her that night’s question again, she would not answer that she needed to consider it.
……
As night fell, while Daoist Fengxuan was out searching for food, Mu Yunjin wrapped herself in a black cloak that Daoist Fengxuan had brought, quietly left the temple door, and made her way toward the residence.
Along the way, Mu Yunjin kept herself tightly wrapped in the black robe, fearful of being discovered. But as her body had not fully recovered, she moved extremely slowly.
Halfway there, she encountered several passersby. Perhaps because Qingzhou’s weather had returned to normal, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, animatedly chatting together.
“Deputy Commander Qin, having the phoenix celestial spirit body, is truly incredible.”
“Yes, it’s amazing that such a wonderful thing could happen. But look, since Deputy Commander Qin came to our Qingzhou, it stopped raining. Isn’t that an auspicious sign!”
“From that perspective, I truly think Deputy Commander Qin and Prince Ning would make a perfect match! They grew up together, so their feelings must be good, right?”
“Indeed, I heard that Deputy Commander Qin was originally intended to be Prince Ning’s principal wife, but the current Princess Ning seized the opportunity and got ahead.”
“That’s not a problem. Princess Ning has a bad reputation. Prince Ning can divorce her at any time and marry Deputy Commander Qin.”
Mu Yunjin stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the women who were chatting as they walked away. Her heart, which had just been mended, seemed to be torn into pieces again in an instant.
However, upon hearing the words “phoenix celestial spirit,” Mu Yunjin vaguely saw a fire-red phoenix appear before her eyes…