When they arrived at Lihuo City, the city gate was under strict inspection. Seeing Li Qinglin leading the way back, the city guards all knelt and saluted, their expressions very serious.
The once bustling Lihuo City was now extremely subdued, with white flags everywhere and soldiers checking pedestrians. People hurried past, not daring to speak loudly.
The death of a crown prince was a very serious political event, enough to send shockwaves throughout the capital.
Qin Yi suddenly felt relieved that Li Qinglin wasn’t in the capital when the incident happened. The princess could testify that they were in the mountains and had no way to control things from afar. Otherwise, he would be the prime suspect right now, and that would be a big problem.
No one was so reckless as to try to assassinate their brother and then run off to the mountains for several days without checking in. If the assassination failed, they wouldn’t even bother to clean up the mess and hide the clues? No one would be that foolish, especially not someone as meticulous as Li Qinglin. So, at this moment, Li Qinglin had no suspicion against him and was naturally going to become the crown prince.
The first thing the Li siblings did upon entering the city wasn’t to settle Qin Yi but to head straight for the palace. Li Qinglin handed Qin Yi a waist token and apologetically said, “Sorry, Brother Qin, my sister and I must enter the palace immediately and can’t delay. Please take this waist token to my residence; you will surely be treated as a distinguished guest. My foolish brother has been neglectful, please forgive me.”
Qin Yi understood and accepted the waist token, smiling, “No problem, you two go ahead.”
Watching the Li siblings leave with serious expressions toward the palace, Qin Yi sighed and decided to stroll around the city.
Although he understood their situation, he didn’t want to go to their place with the waist token. It felt awkward. He thought it would be better to wait for Li Qinglin to return home before visiting. For now, he would explore the city, enjoy the sights, and maybe take a look at what the National Master’s Changsheng Temple was like.
Changsheng Temple was easy to find. Just asking a passerby would get you directions, and they would point you there with reverence and admiration. In fact, the temple wasn’t far from the palace; it was right at the fork where Qin Yi and the Li siblings parted ways. To the left was the palace, and to the right was the temple. Looking up, he could see the temple’s tall platform, with smoke curling up from incense.
That was the Ascending to Immortality Platform, built on a high hill, nine stories tall, making it the tallest building in Lihuo City.
It was even taller than the palace.
Qin Yi was surprised to find that the National Master had a good reputation among the people.
“The National Master is a true immortal. Last month, my wife was possessed, and a talisman from Changsheng Temple cured her…”
“Changsheng Temple’s divination is the most accurate. I wanted to go out to do business, so I went to ask for guidance. The priest at Changsheng Temple told me to come back in three days. What happened? On the third day, my wife knocked over the candle holder and almost drowned, but I managed to put it out in time. Who else but a living immortal could do that?”
“I heard that last month, when the Western barbarians invaded, it was the National Master who cast a spell on the platform, causing them to be sick for days, allowing General Xie to win.”
Qin Yi shook his head as he walked slowly. It was one thing to praise the National Master, but to attribute military victories to him was absurd. No wonder Li Qinglin despised the National Master so much.
Standing in front of Changsheng Temple, Qin Yi looked up. The stone steps leading to the hall were ninety-nine levels high, bustling with people bowing in prayer. The somber atmosphere in the city due to the crown prince's death seemed to have no effect here.
The soldiers on patrol wouldn’t come this way; occasionally, a group would pass by, bowing respectfully as they went.
“This country seems to care more about gods than about the people,” Qin Yi murmured. “I understand even more why Li Qinglin wants to deal with the National Master.”
Liu Su said, “Changsheng does exist. Li Qinglin is limited by his perspective and is biased.”
Qin Yi replied with a hum. According to his understanding of Chinese history, the National Master was undoubtedly a fraud, and Li Qinglin was a loyal man. But in this world, where the method of immortality truly existed, it became a matter of opposing sides rather than just right and wrong. For Qin Yi, whether based on his historical perspective or personal feelings, he naturally stood with Li Qinglin.
Just as he was about to ascend the steps to see the main hall, he suddenly slowed down.
A female Taoist priest slowly walked out of the temple, coming straight toward Qin Yi.
Qin Yi could swear he had never seen such a beautiful Taoist priestess before, not even in anime or game cutscenes!
She stood quietly in the middle of the stone steps, her exquisite face unmatched, her expression calm and serene. Her clear eyes sparkled like water. Even though she was in a crowded place, Qin Yi felt as if everything around him faded away, leaving only her standing alone in the world.
In fact, aside from Qin Yi, almost no one else seemed to notice her, as if she wasn’t even there.
She wasn’t wearing the usual plain blue robes of a disciple, but a beautifully embroidered garment with hexagrams, a plain base color with sky blue patterns. The breeze lifted the hem of her robe, revealing simple white inner pants and matching boots. This outfit seemed to belong to a mid-level Taoist priestess, and paired with her flawless figure and demeanor, it gave off a sense of a fashion show. Her hair was neatly tied in a bun with a Taoist scarf draped over it, and her sleeves flowed like clouds, enhancing her ethereal presence.
In her hand, she held a long sword, not a duster. This pure and otherworldly aura also revealed a hint of heroism.
Qin Yi suddenly felt that the term “fairy” was meant to describe someone like her.
Liu Su’s cold voice echoed in his mind: “What’s wrong? Have you forgotten about the corpse bugs upon seeing such beauty?”
Qin Yi’s heart tightened, and he stopped staring at her, quickening his pace.
But the Taoist priestess stood directly in front of him, looking as if she had something to say.
Qin Yi glanced around and then back at her steady gaze, confirming that she was indeed looking for him. Why was this ethereal-looking priestess, who he didn’t know at all, suddenly approaching him? Alarm bells rang in his mind, and images of the corpse bug bursting out flashed in his thoughts. He took a step to the side, intending to pass her by.
The priestess raised her hand to gently stop him: “Young master, please wait.”
Is she really sticking to me? If I say there’s nothing wrong, no one would believe it! Qin Yi felt a chill run down his spine, instinctively stepping back half a step and pushing her hand away with a serious expression: “Fairy, please respect yourself.”
Liu Su sighed softly, silently counting: one.
The priestess frowned slightly, perhaps she never expected to hear such words. But she quickly focused and got straight to the point: “Is the iron handle visible on your bag your weapon?”
Qin Yi’s words, which would have been an insult to others, seemed to have no effect on her. She continued speaking as if nothing had happened, showing remarkable composure.
However, her question made Qin Yi’s heart tighten even more, and his sense of caution skyrocketed.
If she was trying to trap him, it was one thing, but did she sense something from the club? No matter how bad Liu Su was, he absolutely wouldn’t allow anyone to exorcise it. He had to think of a way to bluff his way through…
The priestess didn’t understand Qin Yi’s strange wariness and continued, “I can sense a trace of demonic energy on it. It seems you recently used it to eliminate a demon, perhaps… a spider?”
Qin Yi finally let out a breath, cold sweat covering his forehead.
As long as she didn’t sense Liu Su, that was good.
But this priestess was indeed sharp; she could even tell about the spider demon he had dealt with a few days ago. Unlike Liu Su, who couldn’t even sense the demonic energy when the corpse bug was right in front of them.
Feeling relieved, he finally spoke: “Yes, I encountered a spider demon harming people and eliminated it with a friend.”
The priestess nodded, her voice still cool: “Since you have eliminated demons, why are you mingling with Prince Qinglin?”
“Hmm?” Qin Yi frowned, “What do you mean? I eliminated the spider demon together with Li Qinglin and his sister.”
The priestess looked seriously into Qin Yi’s eyes, as if trying to discern his truth.
Qin Yi suddenly felt uncomfortable under her gaze.
He couldn’t quite describe this look or the tone that seemed to be questioning him, even though she was just asking a question…
It wasn’t indifference or arrogance; it was just calm. But this calm wasn’t like a refreshing spring; it felt more like the Milky Way in the night sky—beautiful yet distant, making you feel like you could only look up at it.
It was similar to how one might look at ants? You see them, but you have no thoughts about them. At most, you might notice an ant carrying something and think to yourself how diligent it is, then just walk past.
Maybe out of some dark curiosity, you might even step on one.
That’s about the feeling it gave off. Wait, this feeling was oddly familiar, like someone he knew…
Liu Su?
Liu Su’s wickedness probably stemmed from this distance. It had said before that there was no point in getting hung up on the rules of the mortal world; it wasn’t evil by nature but rather a perspective from a different dimension looking down on all beings.
What they called composure was just distance.
Qin Yi decided to ask back: “Are you a disciple of the National Master?”
He thought that if she was with the National Master, it would be normal for her to have a bias against Li Qinglin. In the eyes of everyone at Changsheng Temple, Li Qinglin couldn’t possibly be a good person.
The priestess shook her head: “I am Minghe, just a wandering Taoist residing here, not a disciple of Donghua. You don’t need to call me fairy; just call me Daozhang.”
Minghe was beautiful yet unattainable, and Qin Yi immediately thought of a line of poetry that seemed to be written just for her.
(End of Chapter)