The listening stone continued its loop for nearly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before Nan Que’s people found and shattered it.

During this time, the entire Zhu Que State was forced to listen to the love and hatred between the Nan Que Young Master and Miss Jiang. Many knew about the Nan Que Young Master’s proposal to the Jiang family earlier, and even some sects and imperial capital nobles were aware of this marriage. They privately discussed the matter, with some waiting to attend the wedding celebration.

Who would have thought that such a drama would unfold today? Everyone felt that even before the wedding was held, Nan Que had already become quite lively.

*

Imperial Capital, Martial Supervisory Alliance, Rain-Listening Pavilion.

Atop the high mountains of the imperial capital, one could see the winding Dragon City. Fine, misty rain fell outside the eaves of the pavilion standing at the mountain peak. Three figures were either sitting or standing around a round table in the courtyard.

The pilgrims would gather periodically to discuss matters due to certain forces in the world.

Whoever initiated the gathering would determine the location.

This meeting was initiated by Shu Sheng, and the location was the Great Qian Imperial Capital.

With Shu Sheng guarding the imperial capital, it could be considered the safest place in the entire Great Qian.

It was said that since Shu Sheng broke through the boundary to become a pilgrim, no one had seen his true face. When appearing in public, he always wore a white mask with two bright red horizontal lines above the forehead, as if stained with blood.

The white mask had no facial features. It was said that if one stared at Shu Sheng’s mask for too long, they would see different faces within it, each stranger than the last, until their face would be devoured, becoming part of the mask.

In this world, only the current Great Qian Emperor knew Shu Sheng’s true appearance.

At the head of the round table sat the white-robed Shu Sheng, calmly brewing tea. Cui Yaocen looked carefully and realized that the tea set was identical to the one owned by Yumei, the leader of her Well Mansion. She casually asked, “Is this tea set from the south?”

Shu Sheng nodded and said, “The glazed purple clay tea sets from the south are exceptional. All the tea sets in the imperial palace are of this caliber.”

Sitting across from Cui Yaocen was a man in a plain green robe, holding a sword. Though he appeared extremely modest, several strands of silver hair could be seen on his head, giving him a somewhat decadent and aged appearance. Leaning against the chair back, he remarked with seeming indifference, “This is the business of the Wang Jiang Clan from Zhu Que State.”

Shu Sheng tilted his head toward Cui Yaocen, his voice as smooth as jade with a hint of a smile, saying, “In a short while, it will belong to Nan Que.”

Cui Yaocen asked impassively, “How so?”

Shu Sheng spoke as if chatting about everyday matters, “Hasn’t the Nan Que Young Master proposed to the young lady of the Jiang family? He must be very fond of Miss Jiang, and the wedding should not be far off.”

“Matters of the heart are unpredictable,” Cui Yaocen said blandly, raising her head to look at Ye Yuanqing of Tai Yi sitting across from her. “I heard recently that your daughter has publicly announced a martial arts competition to choose a husband. Young men from across the continent are rushing to Tai Yi, dreaming of becoming the son-in-law of the Tai Yi pilgrim.”

Ye Yuanqing replied without emotion, “There are plenty of rumors in the outside world. Why do you choose to listen to such nonsense?”

As the atmosphere between the two grew subtly tense, Shu Sheng turned his head toward the courtyard gate and said, “He’s here.”

A handsome youth with a blade of grass between his teeth, looking carefree and mischievous, was leisurely walking across the stone bridge outside the pavilion, leading a black stallion. His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he had moved from the stone bridge to the courtyard.

Yuan Lu, the only independent pilgrim on the Ancient Continent.

“Well, old friends, we meet again! I heard something interesting on my way here, let me share it with you all.” As Yuan Lu was tying his horse in the courtyard, he tossed a listening stone to the three people. “I preserved this for you to hear when I passed by the south!”

A voice that was difficult to identify as male or female echoed in the courtyard: “Young Master Cui, you can only choose one: the Seven Star Token or your fiancée.”

Cui Yaocen’s expression immediately changed, and she stood up abruptly.

Then came her brother’s gloomy voice: “Release her.”

Shu Sheng and Ye Yuanqing both looked toward her.

Jiang Ying’s voice, filled with anger and resentment: “Cui Yuanxi! You hurt me for her sake!”

With a slapping sound, everyone present could tell it was a forceful slap.

Yuan Lu laughed heartily, “Isn’t it amusing?”

Cui Yaocen glared at him angrily, “Yuan Lu!”

Yuan Lu immediately raised both hands and backed away repeatedly, saying, “Hey, hey, this wasn’t my doing! I already said I just happened to preserve it while passing through the south. Just this morning, everyone in Zhu Que State heard it!”

When Cui Yaocen left to meet with the pilgrims, she knew that those hiding in Nan Que would surely cause trouble in her absence. These people were mostly after the Boundless Mirror, so she hadn’t paid much attention.

Nan Que had seven mansion leaders guarding it, so such matters didn’t require her concern.

But she never imagined that while their supreme divine weapon remained safe, Nan Que’s reputation would be damaged!

After hearing Yuan Lu’s explanation, Cui Yaocen crushed the teacup in her hand and sat down with an unpleasant expression.

Ye Yuanqing looked at her thoughtfully and asked, “How did Bei Dou’s Seven Star Token end up in your possession?”

“Yes, indeed, and your Young Master had to choose between the Seven Star Token and his fiancée, and he chose the token! No wonder he got slapped,” Yuan Lu exclaimed, nodding and shaking his head as he slipped away from Cui Yaocen’s gaze to sit beside Ye Yuanqing. “I think your Nan Que wedding is in trouble. By the way, when is your daughter getting married?”

Ye Yuanqing replied without blinking, “That’s none of your business.”

Yuan Lu complained with feigned grievance, “What’s the matter! I didn’t say I wanted to go to Tai Yi to compete for your daughter’s hand and become your son-in-law. I’m just asking when the wedding is, so I can attend for a free meal. Is that not allowed?”

He gave a meaningful look to Shu Sheng, signaling him to criticize the Tai Yi pilgrim as the elder of the group.

Shu Sheng shook his head, and though his face couldn’t be seen, his helplessness was palpable.

Cui Yaocen said with a stern face, “I’m in a hurry to return, let’s discuss business first.”

Shu Sheng said, “The ruler of Wu Fang has not arrived yet.”

Yuan Lu raised his hand and said, “I know! I also passed by Wu Fang, and Xiang An’ge said he’s not coming.”

“Not coming?” Cui Yaocen’s forehead twitched, clearly displeased. “He’s becoming increasingly unruly!”

Ye Yuanqing shook his head and said, “He’s always been solitary, preferring to stay in Wu Fang with those substitute spirits. In the past, he would come because of Ming Li’s presence, but now he gives face to no one.”

Yuan Lu collapsed on the table, sighing, “Since Ming Li isn’t here, he won’t come either. I haven’t seen him for several years. I was hoping he’d give me some substitute spirits to play with.”

Shu Sheng also expressed some regret, saying, “What happened to Ming Li and Song Tianjiu is indeed unfortunate. We need to be vigilant to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

Cui Yaocen frowned, looking in the direction of Nan Que, not listening to this conversation at all.

Yuan Lu suddenly tilted his head, looking at Cui Yaocen and asking, “But I’m curious, why is Bei Dou’s Seven Star Token in Nan Que? After today, Bei Dou will surely know about this. I expect that old man from Bei Dou will come to talk to you before long.”

Cui Yaocen said indifferently, “If that’s the case, I’d also like to discuss with the old gentleman what it means for Bei Dou to secretly send people into Nan Que’s forbidden areas.”

Shu Sheng said in a somewhat conciliatory tone, “Bei Dou is currently in decline, in a phase of recovery. Let’s not add to their troubles. Let’s discuss the main business first.”

*

Great Qian, Bei Dou.

The listening stone incident in Zhu Que State was so spectacular that news quickly spread throughout the land, reaching even the farthest northern regions after sunrise.

Upon receiving the news, the seven mansion leaders of Bei Dou gradually arrived at the meeting hall of Tian Shu Palace.

The leaders of Tian Quan and Yu Heng had both died, and new leaders had not yet been appointed. Their senior disciples attended as representatives.

Tian Ji and Kai Yang had each lost an arm but sat at the council table with relatively calm expressions.

Tian Xuan’s leader, Qu Zhuyue, rested her chin on one hand, looking outside until she saw the Shining Light Mansion leader arrive.

Just as Dong Yeshou, the leader of Shining Light Mansion, entered the meeting hall, the Bei Dou Sect Leader, seated at the head, asked, “You didn’t bring Chen Zhou?”

“He’s not suitable,” Dong Yeshou sat down across from Qu Zhuyue. His eyes were calm and steady. Whether in the past or present, he was always the most composed and stable person in Bei Dou.

After becoming a pilgrim, Ming Li had perfectly inherited this trait from her father.

Hearing this, the Bei Dou Sect Leader nodded slightly, showing some appreciation, “It seems you already have a plan.”

Tian Ji’s leader looked at Dong Yeshou and said, “Based on the information Fu Yuan sent back, what do you plan to do?”

“Nan Que should be more anxious than we,” Dong Yeshou said. “Last night, four groups infiltrated Nan Que’s forbidden areas. If we take an aggressive stance now, Nan Que might threaten us using Fu Yuan and the others. From what I know, Cui Yaocen has already set her sights on them.”

“But if Qing Ying is truly not dead but trapped in Nan Que…” Liang Junxia, the senior disciple of Yu Heng Mansion, pondered, “After this incident, Nan Que will certainly be more cautious and might even kill to silence witnesses. If we miss the timing, it will be too late.”

“Based on my understanding of Cui Yaocen, if she could kill, she would have done so already. She wouldn’t have kept the person until now,” the Kai Yang leader leaned back against his chair, contemplating. “There must be some reason preventing her from taking action.”

Dong Yeshou held his teacup, saying without any emotional fluctuation, “Let’s protect our disciples in Zhu Que State first.”

No one objected.

Compared to Qing Ying, whose fate was uncertain, they indeed should prioritize protecting the other disciples who were still alive.

“When the Four Directions Trial comes, I’ll go…” Dong Yeshou had not finished speaking when Qu Zhuyue interrupted him, “I’ll go.”

He raised his eyelids slightly, and Qu Zhuyue smiled faintly, her gaze brooking no refusal: “Your wounds haven’t healed completely. We can’t let the Nan Que people see that, so I’ll go.”

Dong Yeshou paused for a moment, then said, “Have Tian Shu accompany you.”

Qu Zhuyue said with a smile, “Sending two mansion leaders to the Four Directions Trial will only give Nan Que more reason to laugh at us.”

Dong Yeshou seemed indifferent: “If possible, I would send everyone except myself.”

Kai Yang’s leader said, “That’s not entirely impractical.”

Qu Zhuyue glanced at him, and Kai Yang’s leader raised an eyebrow. Next to him, Tian Ji’s leader slightly raised his chin and said, “It’s not very appropriate to leave a bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled people to guard the home, is it?”

Qu Zhuyue smiled and said, “The old, weak, sick, and disabled should indeed stay home and guard it.”

The Bei Dou Sect Leader sighed, “You think I’m too old.”

The two senior disciples looked at each other and scratched their heads, wondering if they were the “weak” among the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Kai Yang’s leader raised his vessel arts-made iron claw and waved it: “An iron hand is still a hand. Don’t discriminate against vessel arts.”

Tian Ji’s leader also raised his hand and said, “Mine is made of cold jade, more valuable than his cold iron. I’ll go.”

Qu Zhuyue said to Kai Yang’s leader, “He’s the one discriminating.”

Kai Yang’s leader swung his claw toward Tian Ji’s leader, who dodged by bending down.

The Bei Dou Sect Leader watched and laughed, shaking his head and saying, “All of you go then. It’s time to bring this to a conclusion.”

Thus, the matter was decided.

The mansion leaders dispersed, with Dong Yeshou walking last, alongside Qu Zhuyue. The two walked in silence until they parted ways on different paths, then Qu Zhuyue stopped and looked back.

In the past, he had been surrounded by capable disciples, an obedient son, and a rebellious daughter, creating a lively atmosphere.

Now, he was alone.