At night, Bei Tang Wenfeng hosted a banquet in Mu Yunjin’s Princess Imperial Palace. After leaving Tiansheng Continent several days ago, everyone finally sat together to enjoy a lively reunion dinner.
Mu Yunjin also came out of her room. By the time she arrived at the dining hall, soft cushions had already been placed on her chair.
Chu Li carefully helped Mu Yunjin sit down, afraid that any careless movement might aggravate the wounds on her body. After she was seated, he added another cushion at her waist.
Only after settling her comfortably did he sit down beside her with peace of mind.
Bei Tang Wenfeng had originally wanted Mu Yunjin and Chu Li to sit in the main seats, but after Mu Yunjin’s polite refusal, he and Jiang Qingxue took the main seats instead.
Nearby, Huang Yan and Hua Ying were arranged to sit together.
Qiqi and Lei Yan sat side by side.
The remaining two, Song Chun and Ding Xian, sat together, while National Preceptor An sat opposite Mu Yunjin and Chu Li.
Princess Jingyang and North Ming Country’s Second Prince Bei Qili were also invited.
…
…
“Today we can finally gather together for a meal. I would like to offer a toast to everyone!” Bei Tang Wenfeng raised his wine cup and gestured to everyone.
Mu Yunjin substituted tea for wine, raising her teacup and taking a sip of the clear water, with traces of sadness in her eyes.
If only her master and Fish Granny were still here for this reunion…
“Qingxue, did your father mention when he would come here after escorting Prince Yun back to South Court Country?” Bei Tang Wenfeng thought of Feng Cang and turned to look at Jiang Qingxue.
Since he had known Jiang Qingxue, she had always been alone, without father or mother. Now that she had found her father, he should properly meet him.
“I don’t know exactly. Father only said he would come in a few days, but I don’t know precisely how many days that means,” Jiang Qingxue sighed.
At this moment, Huang Yan frowned and couldn’t help interjecting, “Since Elder Feng Cang is Madam Qing’s father, then wouldn’t Elder Murong be Madam Qing’s…”
Before saying the word “mother,” Huang Yan sensed the awkward atmosphere and swallowed the second half of his sentence.
Jiang Qingxue had naturally thought about this matter already, but considering the current relationship between Feng Cang and Murong Rusu, she was somewhat troubled by it.
Mu Yunjin ate while listening to all this, furrowing her brow.
Indeed, Elder Feng Cang and Elder Murong had severed their relationship for decades. Now, suddenly, a daughter appeared, drawing these two people back together, which would likely cause many complications.
The most difficult position belonged to Jiang Qingxue, caught in the middle and unable to please either side.
Seeing that the dinner atmosphere had become somewhat delicate, Jiang Qingxue smiled slightly. “After some time, I’ll go to Pingfeng Cliff to pay respects to my mother. Whether she still wants to acknowledge me or not, I should at least go see her.”
“Mm, I’ll accompany you when the time comes,” Bei Tang Wenfeng said considerately.
Jiang Qingxue nodded.
“Tomorrow, I’ll also be setting off to return to South Court Country. After all, I hold the title of National Preceptor, and it doesn’t seem right to be away from South Court Country for so long,” National Preceptor An spoke casually from the side.
Now that almost all matters, big and small, had been taken care of, there wasn’t much left for him to do. For the remaining days, he would just guard South Court Country well.
“You’re leaving so soon?” Huang Yan frowned, looking at National Preceptor An.
National Preceptor An raised an eyebrow. “What, you’ll miss this old man?”
Huang Yan looked awkwardly at National Preceptor An, wanting to ask him to go together to find the Jade Moon Spring, but with Hua Ying present, he felt too embarrassed to speak up, since she hadn’t explicitly stated she wanted to drink from the Jade Moon Spring.
National Preceptor An naturally saw through Huang Yan’s little scheme and patted him on the shoulder. “Young man, while you’re still young, be bold in pursuing certain matters!”
“…” Huang Yan pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.
Qiqi laughed lightly and deliberately took Lei Yan’s arm beside her. “Brother Lei Yan, let’s go to Tiansheng Continent tomorrow, drink the water from Jade Moon Spring, and remove our beast spirit forms.”
“Alright.” Lei Yan lovingly patted Qiqi’s head.
Hearing this, Huang Yan instinctively glanced at Hua Ying.
But Hua Ying seemed not to have heard, continuing to eat the food in front of her.
Mu Yunjin and Chu Li took in all these little movements, and they exchanged glances, both with smiles in their eyes.
“Eat some more.” Chu Li personally ladled a bowl of soup for Mu Yunjin, placing it beside her hand and urging her to drink it.
Mu Yunjin curved her lips upward, picked up the soup spoon, and took a sip.
The affectionate display between these two made some people quite envious.
Second Prince Bei Qili, who hadn’t spoken until now, opened his mouth. “I heard that at the beginning of next month, the Ninth Princess of Western Yuan Country will marry the young general of the Qin family.”
“Hmm?” Mu Yunjin was slightly startled to hear this news.
After regaining her composure, she remembered that these two had indeed become engaged, but she had almost forgotten about it while being busy recently.
It was now mid-July, and the beginning of next month was about half a month away.
“Second Brother, you seem quite concerned about the Ninth Princess,” Jingyang teased. If Chu Qingyuan hadn’t requested to marry Qin Munan, she might have married into their North Ming Country.
How unfortunate, she still missed Qingyuan.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I just happened to hear this news today,” Bei Qili scolded Jingyang, his expression somewhat unnatural.
Jingyang pressed her lips into a smile without deliberately exposing him.
“Sigh, fortunately, the Qin family still has a sensible person like Qin Munan. If Qin Munan works hard to serve the country in the future, the reputation of the Qin family’s generations of loyalty might be somewhat restored,” Bei Tang Wenfeng sighed, feeling quite emotional about this once-renowned family across the entire Canghua Continent.
Hearing this, National Preceptor An stroked his beard, his expression playful. “I wonder what reaction that old villain Qin and Qin Muyue would have upon meeting their Qin family ancestors in the underworld.”
“If I were the Qin family ancestor, I would first find a way to throw these two into the eighteenth level of hell. The ancestors fought on the battlefield, exchanging their lives for the family’s glory, only to have it destroyed by these two villains. How infuriating!” Huang Yan agreed.
“Hahaha, that makes sense.”
The atmosphere in the dining hall immediately became more lively.
“Oh, right, there’s one thing I’ve always been curious about and haven’t figured out until now,” Ding Xian spoke up, his gaze passing over Hua Ying, Qiqi, and Lei Yan.
“What’s that?” Lei Yan, being closest, noticed Ding Xian’s look and asked.
Ding Xian grinned awkwardly and asked, “I’m just curious, how did you all come to have beast spirit forms?”
When this question was raised, Mu Yunjin, who was drinking soup, trembled slightly, spilling a little soup, but fortunately, the movement was small and wasn’t noticed by others.
But “others” didn’t include Chu Li.
Chu Li’s attention had always been on Mu Yunjin, and seeing her inappropriate reaction, he held her left hand under the table.
Feeling the warmth transmitted to her palm, Mu Yunjin composed herself and picked up a silk handkerchief to wipe her mouth.
“I don’t know why we are beast spirits. From the earliest memories, our ancestors have always been beast spirits,” Lei Yan seriously answered Ding Xian’s question.
Beside him, Qiqi pouted, frowning, looking somewhat unhappy. “I once heard my mother say that in the early days, when beast spirits were formed, we beast spirits were all regarded as monsters.”
“Those ancestors of the beast spirits were often ridiculed as neither-here-nor-there beings—neither human, nor god, nor demon, nor beast.”
“Later, those beast spirit ancestors, unable to bear the oppression and psychological inferiority, stayed in Phoenix Pavilion all day, waiting for the return of the Phoenix Pavilion master, saying that if the master returned, they could be released from their beast spirit forms.”
“But this wait lasted several hundred years, and it wasn’t until our generation was born that we finally waited for our master…”
After saying this, Qiqi raised her eyes and fixed her gaze on Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin lowered her eyelids. At this moment, her heart was full of shame.
It was all her fault back then for trusting her sister Cold Luan too much, which led her to often let Cold Luan watch over Phoenix Pavilion when she secretly went to the earthly realm.
In those days, the subordinates in Phoenix Pavilion were all people she had carefully trained, with high abilities and great loyalty to her, which naturally made Cold Luan feel wary and murderous.
Because Cold Luan was her biological sister, when the Phoenix Pavilion subordinates met Cold Luan, they were all very polite to her.
At first, it was fine, but after Cold Luan harbored evil intentions toward her, she gradually turned her attention to Phoenix Pavilion. When helping her watch over Phoenix Pavilion, day after day, she put secret poison in the drinking water of the Phoenix Pavilion clan members.
Before the final battle erupted, the subordinates of Phoenix Pavilion were originally supposed to help her, but when they used their true energy, their bodies all changed, transforming into half-human, half-beast forms.
Seeing this situation, Cold Luan sent people she had already arranged to report to the Heavenly Emperor, claiming that Phoenix Woman Fuhuan was raising a group of strange creatures in the heavenly realm, and had been disguising these creatures as celestial spirits all along, deceiving everyone, committing unforgivable sins…
Thus, after Fuhuan and Siqing’s souls were scattered, the subordinates of Phoenix Pavilion also became beast spirits, mocked and despised by everyone.
…
These things had remained in the deepest recesses of Mu Yunjin’s mind since she regained Fuhuan’s memories, unwilling to be recalled.
Now suddenly brought to light, Mu Yunjin was reminded of scene after scene from the past, her eyes downcast, hiding the deepest emotions within them.
“How could beast spirits like you be monsters? You’re so adorable!” Jiang Qingxue looked at Qiqi and smiled slightly.
Qiqi quickly nodded, cupping her cheeks. “Exactly! How could someone as cute as me be a monster? Besides, the water from Jade Moon Spring can remove our beast spirit forms!”
“Speaking of this, National Preceptor, how did you know that the water from Jade Moon Spring can remove beast spirit forms?” Huang Yan turned his head, raising an eyebrow to look at National Preceptor An.
National Preceptor An, seeing the wind suddenly blow in his direction, immediately felt uncomfortable and stood up, cupping his hands toward everyone. “I suddenly remembered that the day after tomorrow is Tenth Princess Jialan’s birthday. I need to rush back now to celebrate her birthday, otherwise, I wouldn’t be a proper National Preceptor. Everyone, I must take my leave!”
With that said, like a gust of wind, he swiftly used his lightness skill to fly out of the great hall.
The remaining people still eating had somewhat confused expressions.
What kind of secret was this that he had to run away so urgently?
“Could it be that the National Preceptor is a reincarnated immortal?” Qiqi’s mouth twitched, and after a long while, she could only come to this conclusion.
Chu Li sighed slightly, withdrew his gaze from the doorway, and put his arm around Mu Yunjin beside him. “You shouldn’t sit for too long now. Why don’t you go back to your room and lie down?”