Chapter 623 – The Lotus Falls (1/2)
In the Marquis of Ruyi’s estate, Si Qing stood on a thirty-meter-tall terrace, holding a cup of alcohol in one hand while resting the other hand on the railing, gazing into the distance.
Soaring Dragon ships levitated in the air, shooting over from the horizon as streaks of light.
At the entrance to the estate, there was an immense flow of people, all cultivators from various places in the Ruyi commandery. They had come to congratulate him on becoming the Marquis of Ruyi and to partake or spectate the upcoming Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures.
Si Qing looked back and let out a long laugh with his jackal-like voice. “Thank you all for gathering here! Si Qing will drink a toast of respect!” He drank all of the alcohol in his cup.
A banquet had already been arranged on the terrace, with many cultivators seated. There were men and women, ascetic and secular cultivators. Every single one of them possessed an extraordinary bearing. There were both cultivators from the academy and cultivators from sects. To be seated there, there was only a single standard, which was they had to be Golden Core cultivators who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation.
Gu Yanying was also among them. She lifted up her cup and smiled. Si Bao ignored Si Qing and sat with her, asking about Qian Rongzhi, “How is she doing? Is she taking part in the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures?”
Everyone raised their cups, congratulating Si Qing once again.
Only then did Gu Yanying answer Si Bao. “Her? She’s currently cultivating!”
At this very moment, Qian Rongzhi rowed a skiff, causing ripples among the sea of flowers in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind. The refreshing breeze in the air had the flowers bob up and down, permeating with fragrance. It seemed like paradise.
However, her face was not relaxed at all. As her gaze searched through the sea of flowers, she utterly cursed Gu Yanying inside.
All of this was because of what Gu Yanying had said before she left. “I want to drink lotus seed soup!”
As a result, Qian Rongzhi was forced to search through the sea of flowers. Originally, it was an extremely easy task with the lotus flowers that spanned as far as the eye could see, but the climate of this space had always been maintained to resemble spring or summer. Lotus flowers frequently bloomed but basically never withered away. Meanwhile, lotus seeds were things that only ripened after the lotus flowers had withered and fallen away during autumn or winter.
And, the sea of flowers was part-real, part-illusionary. Sometimes, when she saw a lotus flower, she would extend her hand over, only to find nothing. As a matter of fact, she could not even fly through the air and search with her soul sense. She was forced to row the boat and look for them slowly.
She basically seemed like she was intentionally using her as amusement, wanting to trap her here for the rest of her life as a slave and prevent her from rising up. If that were the case, she had to find a way to get out of here as soon as possible.
However, what Gu Yanying said in the end dismissed this thought of hers. “During the past few days, your behaviour has been satisfactory, so let’s just say this is your last test. If you can complete this task, then I’ll teach you the Illustrations of Naraka. If you can’t, then I’ll expel you, and you’ll be free to go wherever you want!”
As a result, all Qian Rongzhi could do was be patient and continue searching. Her mind gradually settled down, and the heavy smell of flowers seemed to pervade her body. The hell snake fell into a slumber again, no longer gleefully feasting on her pain.
She truly did not feel pain anymore. Not only the pain from the hell snake, but all of her worries, fury, envy, and hatred had settled down too. She had virtually already forgotten living in this world was such a relaxing and joyful matter.
She stood at the front of the boat in frustration and gazed back. The Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind had already vanished. She had already become completely lost in the sea of flowers.