After asking, Mu Yunjin perhaps felt she had been too direct. She flattened her mouth and, before Imperial Preceptor An could answer, asked another question, “You invited me alone, so you must know my identity. What did you mean by also inviting the Emperor’s Brother and the Second Prince of Eastern Lin?”
After asking this question, Mu Yunjin likewise felt it was perhaps too blunt.
Forget it, she couldn’t be bothered to beat around the bush with this old man.
Imperial Preceptor An stroked his chin, his eyes filled with deep amusement, beckoning to Mu Yunjin, “Girl, come in and sit first.”
Mu Yunjin followed Imperial Preceptor An into a pavilion in the garden. On the stone table in the pavilion was a chessboard, with black and white pieces at a deadlock.
“Do you play chess?” Imperial Preceptor An asked, raising an eyebrow toward Mu Yunjin after taking his seat.
Mu Yunjin folded her arms, bit her lip, and scrutinized Imperial Preceptor An before deliberately saying, “I only play flying chess…”
Hearing this, Imperial Preceptor An smiled slightly, putting down the black chess piece in his hand, “Are you testing this old man?”
“I wouldn’t dare. It’s just that I heard the Imperial Preceptor’s formation trapping the Southern Court’s Holy Maiden is identical to the formation set up by Abbot Kong Shi of the Western Yuan Kingdom. I’m just curious, after all, such exquisite formations are rare in this world.” Mu Yunjin took a sip of the tea that Imperial Preceptor An handed to her.
…
…
Hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, Imperial Preceptor An raised his eyebrows at her and pointed to the chessboard, “If you break this deadlock, this old man will tell you.”
“…” Mu Yunjin didn’t want to deal with this strange old man. She always felt he spoke in circles, which was exhausting. Now hearing him say to break this deadlock, her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the chessboard.
Then with a wave of her hand, she directly scrambled the black and white pieces on the chessboard. Several pieces fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
“Why be fixated on a deadlock? Aren’t you afraid of tying yourself in knots? Why not just start a new game?” Mu Yunjin said carelessly.
Imperial Preceptor An sighed helplessly, then suddenly chuckled lightly, “This personality indeed doesn’t fit a woman from the ancient inner chambers.”
Ancient…
Mu Yunjin caught these two words, her eyes brightening, her heart rejoicing, “You are Master Kong Shi?”
“Shake hands, my modern old friend.” Imperial Preceptor An said with a smile, extending a hand.
Mu Yunjin was somewhat excited. Something she had wondered about for a long time was finally verified. She used modern etiquette to shake hands with Imperial Preceptor An. In this other world, meeting someone of the same kind was such an amazing thing.
“Did you fake your death at the Water Cloud Temple?” Now knowing the person before her came from modern times, Mu Yunjin had fewer reservations.
Imperial Preceptor An nodded.
“So when did you travel to this place? Looking at your status, both as the abbot of Water Cloud Temple and the Imperial Preceptor of the Southern Court, you seem to be doing well. You must have been here for a very long time, right?” Mu Yunjin looked around. She had to admit, this Imperial Preceptor’s mansion was quite magnificent.
“More than fifty years.” Imperial Preceptor, An slowly spoke, with a tinge of melancholy in his words.
Mu Yunjin calculated the days and examined Imperial Preceptor An’s features, “You look only about fifty now. You didn’t transmigrate into a baby’s body, did you?”
Imperial Preceptor An pursed his lips, implicitly confirming.
“It’s really like that?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, then seemed to think of something, “By the way, what work did you do in modern times? How could you create infrared in such a backward era? You’re too amazing!”
“Researched physics.” Imperial Preceptor An saw she had opened up and answered all her questions.
Seeing Imperial Preceptor An’s answer matched what she thought, Mu Yunjin tilted her head and thought for a moment, feeling there was still something she had forgotten to ask.
Suddenly, Mu Yunjin remembered.
Examining Imperial Preceptor An thoroughly with a scrutinizing gaze, Mu Yunjin’s eyes carried a hint of caution, “The various traces you left at the Water Cloud Temple all seem to have anticipated that I would come to this other world. Why is that?”
Imperial Preceptor An looked at her, his eyes vacant, speaking in a particularly desolate voice, “I divined the heavenly mandate.”
“…”
Mu Yunjin was inwardly shocked, somewhat disbelieving that Imperial Preceptor An could be so formidable. After thinking for a while, she asked, “Can you remove the formation trapping Jiang Qingxue?”
“Reason?” Imperial Preceptor An raised an eyebrow.
“You should know.” Mu Yunjin answered glumly.
Imperial Preceptor An smiled, “But weren’t you planning to acknowledge this mother? Moreover, she essentially has no blood relation to you. You don’t need to go to the trouble of saving her.”
“Whether to acknowledge her is one thing, whether to save her is another. You wouldn’t refuse me this favor, would you?” Mu Yunjin spoke roguishly.
Imperial Preceptor An leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and spoke very lazily, “This old man remembers leaving a note for you in the Western Yuan Kingdom, telling you to seek clues to break the formation. You should be able to dissolve this formation yourself.”
Mentioning the clues to break the formation, Mu Yunjin sighed heavily.
“That Xuanling True Scripture was burned. Your first clue to break the formation is already unworkable.” Mu Yunjin said helplessly.
Hearing this, Imperial Preceptor An wasn’t surprised and teased, “You know how to waste good things. This was specially left for you, my old friend. The world is dangerous; you can’t do without some self-defense skills.”
“I didn’t want it to happen either.” Mu Yunjin sighed again, “After saying so much, will you give me this favor or not? Will you release the person?”
“What’s in it for me?” Imperial Preceptor An raised an eyebrow, “This old man is not a philanthropist. I still need to continue surviving in this other world. If I don’t receive some benefit, wouldn’t I be working for nothing?”
“What benefit do you want?” Mu Yunjin crossed her legs, feeling unsure whether this Imperial Preceptor An was friend or foe.
Imperial Preceptor An smiled, “You are now the Princess of Ning, doing quite well here. Think of the benefit to yourself. If this old man says it, it would show you lack sincerity.”
“It seems you don’t lack anything, do you?” Mu Yunjin was confused and annoyed. She tapped the stone table twice with her hand, “One word, will you break the formation or not?”
“Such a fierce little girl, not even putting the Imperial Preceptor in her eyes.” A familiar female voice came from the garden entrance.
Mu Yunjin looked toward the sound and saw the Consort Yue, who had appeared in the palace yesterday, now standing at the garden entrance, wearing a magnificent crimson brocade dress, beautiful and charming.
Consort Yue walked slowly towards the pavilion, glanced at the messy chessboard on the stone table with deep meaning in her eyes, then sat down nearby.
Mu Yunjin couldn’t fathom this Consort Yue. Seeing her arrive, she simply closed her mouth and didn’t speak.
“Girl, we can save Jiang Qingxue, but you must agree to one condition for us.” After sitting down, Consort Yue raised her phoenix eyes, her gaze falling on Mu Yunjin.
“What condition?” Mu Yunjin asked.
Consort Yue looked at Imperial Preceptor An, then smiled at Mu Yunjin, speaking with deep allure, “You go kill someone, a life for a life.”
“Kill whom?”
“The Crown Prince of Western Yuan, Chu Ye.” Consort Yue smiled lightly.
Mu Yunjin was inwardly surprised. Her gaze fell on Consort Yue with some wariness. Then, without answering her, she looked towards Imperial Preceptor An, “By the way, what were Chu Qing and Rong Min doing here earlier?”
“Each had their intentions, coming to request the Imperial Preceptor’s assistance.” Consort Yue answered for Imperial Preceptor An.
“What does that mean?” Mu Yunjin didn’t quite understand.
Consort Yue smiled lightly, her tone carrying disdain, “The Imperial Preceptor is the number one master in the world, and behind him is a huge force. These years, because the Imperial Preceptor has been assisting the Southern Court, no outsiders have dared to come and oppress it.”
“Chu Qing and Rong Min are people with wolfish ambitions. What else could they come here for?” Consort Yue said.
Mu Yunjin understood some of it but then laughed, “But why would they think the Imperial Preceptor would help them?”
“That’s the right question.” Consort Yue cast an admiring glance at Mu Yunjin, “The little girl is truly a sensible person.”
“You’ve confused me. I came today only to ask you to remove Jiang Qingxue’s formation, but you’ve been telling me a bunch of other things.” Mu Yunjin was frustrated, scratching her head.
Consort Yue was unconcerned, sitting upright in her chair, her eyes vacant, “Each generation has its talents. The prosperous scene of this Canghua Continent is about to be no more.”
“Everyone has their eye on the throne. The days of peace cannot last.”
“Young lady, this palace is telling you today, if you want to save Jiang Qingxue, you can, but you must promise this palace to go kill Chu Ye, otherwise…”
Mu Yunjin bit her lip, “You are from the Southern Court. Instead of asking me to kill the Southern Court’s Crown Prince, why ask me to kill the Western Yuan’s Crown Prince? What does that mean?”
“Is that Chu Qing’s intention?” Mu Yunjin added, recalling the earlier mention of Chu Qing.
“No need to say more, will you agree or not?” Consort Yue smiled coldly.
Mu Yunjin’s eyes held some deep doubt. She had no grudge against this Chu Ye ordinarily. To ask her to kill someone without reason seemed something she couldn’t do.
“What are you hesitating about? Don’t you think that if Chu Ye dies, your husband would very likely be the candidate for Crown Prince?” Consort Yue coaxed.
“If my husband becomes Crown Prince, wouldn’t he just be in your sights for assassination…” Mu Yunjin didn’t want this. She suddenly felt that this seemingly calm Southern Court concealed not small mysteries.
She was truly unlucky. The Western Yuan Kingdom already had a heap of problems, and now she had drawn in the Southern Court’s affairs.
On one side was Jiang Qingxue, on the other was Chu Ye…
“Imperial Preceptor, look at this. She’s been considering for so long, which shows this mother is not important, not even as important as an outsider.” Seeing Mu Yunjin thinking for a long time, Consort Yue spoke mockingly.
Mu Yunjin was provoked, raising her eyes to Imperial Preceptor An, “You said we’re old friends, so what do you mean by trapping my mother?”
“Also, if you ask me to kill Chu Ye, and it’s exposed, wouldn’t the dirty water splash on Chu Li? Are you people of the Southern Court looking to reap benefits without doing the work?” Mu Yunjin clenched her fists.
Consort Yue was also displeased, raising her eyes and saying coldly, “Which eye of yours saw that this palace wants to harm you?”
“Jiang Qingxue is already a criminal. If you want to rescue a criminal, you should at least pay some price. It can’t be that you just say release her and she gets released, right?”
Mu Yunjin was speechless, drank a few sips of water, and after finishing a cup, her throat felt much better. She had always hated being held hostage, and she hated helping people kill indiscriminately without distinguishing right from wrong. The two people before her, in short, made her very uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Mu Yunjin raised her eyes to Imperial Preceptor An, “Didn’t you say the Xuanling True Scripture could remove the formation? Then I’ll try it myself, no need to trouble you.”
“Good.” Imperial Preceptor An agreed with a smile.
Beside them, Consort Yue looked at Imperial Preceptor An, then at Mu Yunjin, muttering, “Overestimating herself.”