Chapter 395 – The Lotus Seed is Ripening

Li Miaozhen is back? Or is it the inn boy knocking on the door?

Panicked, the princess wiped away her tears and cleared her throat, trying to keep her tone calm, “Who is it?”

A familiar, mellow voice came from outside the room door, pressed low, “It’s me, open the door.”

The princess rose with a flourish, her flat face surged with uncontrollable surprise and excitement, her beautiful eyes lit up, but then she whirled and sat back on the stool, turned her back, and said:

“Who are you, and why should I open the door to you if I don’t know you.”

“I’m your wild man from Daming Lake.” Xu Qi’an knocked on the door.

The princess spat, her willow eyebrows rose, and she reprimanded, “I don’t know you, so don’t bother me again. Otherwise, call the shopkeeper to come and drive people away.”

Her mind immediately recalled the play she had watched in the morning, the scholar did not capture the heart of the young lady right from the start. There was a scene in the play where the rich girl said, “If you really like me, wait outside the courtyard until the third night, and when I see you through the window, I’ll believe you”.

The scholar really waited until the third watch of the night, so the rich girl believed that he was true to herself.

The princess tried, “If you are sincere, stand at the door until the third night, and I will believe you.”

When she finished speaking, she somewhat expected Xu Qi’an’s reaction.

Of course, the Princess would not admit that she had any ambiguous entanglements with him, that is, he had promised to resettle himself, and she felt that he was certainly a lustful man, but not a true hero.

So believe him.

She and Xu Qi’an were innocent, not a man and woman in a drama who were privately married.

In the past few days, she had emphasized herself countless times that the relationship between the two parties was a jianghu hero a promise weighing a thousand words, definitely not a private relationship between a man and a woman.

Only then could she convince herself to get along with Xu Qi’an and accept his gifts. After all, she was a woman who had married, and how unpleasant it would be for her to elope with a wild man after that famous and insubstantial husband had just died.

“Nuts!”

The person outside the door cursed unmercifully and said without a word of humor, “Are you going to open the door or not.”

The Princess gambled, “Not open.”

He then said, “Since you like to stay at the inn, stay, I will come by regularly to help you pay for your room, so I won’t bother you, goodbye.”

The princess’s shoulders moved, subconsciously wanting to turn around, but held back.

She did so silently for a few moments, realizing that there was actually no movement outside the door for real, and finally couldn’t help but look back at the door, which was empty.

Wangfei heart sank, suddenly surged with unspeakable fear, got up and walked briskly to the door, opened the door to the room, looked around, the corridor is empty.

The Princess was so anxious that she ran across the long corridor, lifted the hem of her skirt, and descended the stairs, chasing after her out of the inn.

Then she saw a man with soft, plain features standing on the street outside the inn.

He looked after himself with a grin and said, “Let’s go!”

I don’t know why, but when she saw him, the crown princess removed all her reserve, put down all her grievances and irritations, and chose to go with him.

………….

Xu Qi’an bought a mansion in a lot not far away from the Xu Mansion, not close to it, which is a small courtyard, sitting north to south, with two compartments in the east and two compartments in the west.

“This mansion is an estate I purchased under an assumed name, no one will find out about it, and no one will recognize me in my current form, so you can live there without worry.”

Xu Qi’an took out the key and opened the courtyard door, saying, ”From now on, you’ll live here alone, your status is sensitive, so I can’t hire a maid or an old maidservant for you.

“So there are a lot of things you have to learn to do yourself, such as washing and cooking, and sweeping the courtyard. Of course, I’ll leave you some silver, and if you’re too tired to do these tasks, you can hire someone to do them. But if you can do it yourself, try to do it yourself.

“The inner city is well policed, needless to say, by day, and patrolled at night by night watchmen and imperial sword guards, so you can live in peace.”

The princess took the key he handed her and held it in her small hand without responding.

Xu Qi’an looked at her, hesitated, and said, “Why don’t I come over to stay every two days?”

The princess was taken aback, protecting her chest, “thump, thump, thump” back a few steps.

I’m not saying I want to sleep with you ah ……… Xu Qi An’s mouth twitched a little, explaining, “I can rest in the east room, or the west room.”

At those words, the princess fell silent.

She didn’t agree, but she didn’t refuse either, this mansion was bought by you, you have to live with me, then there is nothing I can do as a weak woman.

The Princess entered the house, wandered around, and found pots and pans, bedding and furniture, etc., all available, and all new.

There are even a few clothes in the closet that aren’t new or old.

“Whose are these clothes?” She was in a good mood, so her voice took on a bit of petulance.

“It’s my aunt’s, I thought that since you two have similar figures, you should be able to wear it.” Xu Qi’an’s voice came from outside.

“You’re making me wear someone else’s old clothes?” The princess was incredulous.

Xu Qi’an walked over and leaned against the door of the room, arms wrapped around his chest as he flirted and snickered, “There’s good silk satin in the cupboard under the bed, so you can make a few garments for yourself.”

The princess was speechless and shrugged her eyebrows, “I won’t ……..”

You still have a lot to learn, a canary that wants to fly to the free sky again must learn to be independent. Xu Qi’an hardened her heart, ignoring her lost little emotions, and beckoned:

“Go to the well and fetch a bucket of water up here and I’ll see how strong you are.”

The princess followed him out of the house with considerable interest, came to the well, and tried to draw water, but quickly shook her head, “It’s too heavy to lift.”

Xu Qi’an then replaced her with a compact wooden bucket, a bucket of water equivalent to half a face basin, and with this weight, Xu Lingyin was able to lift it.

The Princess lived up to her name and did bring it up.

“Ah, the bucket fell into the well.” Wangfei’s hand slipped and the bucket with the rope fell into the well, and she glanced innocently at Xu Qi’an.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m a victim?”

“How did I know it would fall down the well.”

“It shows that you don’t realize the mistake you’ve made, or, you’re attempting to pander with innocent looks in exchange for my forgiveness and tolerance.”

“I, I’m not the one who’s pampered.” The princess did not admit it and stomped her foot, “Then what to do.”

“At this time, you need a man.” Xu Qi’an opened the palm of his hand, his qi running, sucking the barrel up.

Need a man ………. The Princess indignantly retorted, “I’m a widow now, I don’t have a man.”

This topic wasn’t suitable to go deeper, at least not for them, so Xu Qi’an sidetracked and said, “There are books in the study that you can look at in your spare time and use to pass the time.”

Before the crown princess opened her mouth to refuse, Xu Qi’an added, “Don’t worry, it’s all just idle books and words.”

The princess nodded slightly, “Then I am interested.”

There was no hurry to read the book, she carried the large wooden basin from the house and fended for herself by carrying water from the well, then took out Aunt Xu Ningyan’s clothes and threw them into the large wooden basin in one go.

Awkwardly syringing garments.

Xu Qi’an sat on the edge of the well, took a piece of grass in his mouth, and watched as this former Zhenbei Crown Princess, the first beauty of Dafeng, sat on a small bench, carefully syringing her clothes.

Her sleeves lifted up, revealing two white and tender lotus root arms, and the Bodhi strings concealed her overwhelmingly beautiful face, but the temperament that flowed out inadvertently was always fascinating.

Her beauty is by no means limited to her appearance.

“When do you plan to leave the capital?” Mu Nanjia asked carelessly.

“How did you know I was leaving the capital.” Xu Qi’an asked rhetorically.

“Although I don’t get along with him much, I know more or less about his character, arrogant and conceited, he will never tolerate you. Not retaliating at this time is just that the time has not yet come, if you think he will stop there, you will die a miserable death.”

Mu Nan gardenia ruffled her forehead hair, hummed twice: “And also lustful, when I entered the palace, he saw me for the first time, people were frozen. At that time, I knew that even the emperor is no different from mere mortals.”

It s your face value that is too high ah Wangfei, not only does the emperor want to dominate your beauty, the rain god also wants to dominate your beauty ……… Xu Qi an spat out.

“Then when you leave the capital, can you take me with you?” She cautiously tried.

“Don’t bring it.” Xu Qi’an didn’t have the good sense to say.

Mu Nanjian let out an “oh” and lowered his head to continue scrubbing the clothes, Xu Qi’an tilted his head up and looked at the blue sky, then was splashed with dirty water mixed with foam.

The originator cackled with laughter.

Xu Qi’an glared at her viciously, and she wasn’t afraid, pinching her waist and lifting her chin provocatively.

Without realizing it, it was dusk, and Xu Qi’an and the crown princess had teamed up to make a table of food that could barely be swallowed.

After the evening meal, he tried, “Curfew’s up, so I, uh, I’m staying the night?”

The crown princess did not reply and cleaned up the dishes on her own.

“Hello?” Xu Qi’an shouted.

“You can stay if you like, what’s the point of asking me, I’m a weak woman, I can still kick you out?” She replied fiercely.

A full display of inescapable posturing.

…………

Jianzhou, a mountain resort by the mountains, with pavilions and small bridges.

The attic is well-built with a beautiful view of the rockery, gardens, and green trees dotting the landscape.

The inner courtyard of the mountain villa, there is a pool of cold air bubbling up, and in the pool grows a nine-color bud, red, orange, yellow, green, green, blue, purple, gold and white ……..

In the night, the Golden Lotus Taoist Master paced to the edge of the pool, Taoist robes pulped and white, flowery white hair messy, his gaze warm and bright, silently gazing at the buds in the pool.

This mountain villa is the property of a rich merchant in Jianzhou. Many years ago, that rich merchant fell into trouble and was chased by thieves, and happened to be saved by a Taoist priest from the Earth Sect.

As a token of appreciation, he entered this manor and gifted it to the Taoist priest.

Later on, the lodge became the secret stronghold of the Earth Sect’s Xiushan Sect and the headquarters of the Tiandi Association.

In the mountain villa, there were a total of thirty-six Earth Sect Daoist priests, and in addition to the Golden Lotus, there was also a White Lotus Daoist Master, a Fourth Grade powerhouse.

The rest of the disciples had varying levels of cultivation.

The Golden Lotus Taoist Leader led this part of the disciples to flee to this place, and has been developing obscenely, changing his Taoist robes and picking up a hoe, ostensibly a servant in the mountain villa, but in reality, a Taoist priest who endures insults and humiliations.

The choice of the stronghold here was well thought out, Jianzhou is the holy land of martial arts in Dafeng, and is the only continent with a “Martial Arts Alliance”.

The other twelve continents had many gangs, but they were like scattered sand. But the entire martial arts in the Sword State is a whole.

The one who ruled the rivers and lakes of Jianzhou was the Martial Arts Alliance.

It was an organization that even the local officials were polite and even the imperial court recognized its status. Of course, the Wulin League was not an evil organization that used its power to violate prohibitions.

On the contrary, the existence of the martial arts alliance has greatly improved the order of the jianghu in Jianzhou, making it a true jianghu matter jianghu now.

Daoist Master Golden Lotus chose this location for his stronghold because it was well-ordered and had a strong enough jianghu organization to effectively curb the infiltration of the Earth Sect’s demonic path.

At that moment, the pool water abruptly boiled, bubbles gurgled, and cold air rose up like smoke.

That nine color flower bud, suddenly came to life, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, gold and white …….. lit up in turn, the haze rising and falling, like breathing.

After the haze rose and fell dozens of times, the bud shook and rushed up a haze hundreds of feet high, illuminating the dark night. From dozens of miles away, anyone who looked up could see this magnificent haze.

“Every time the Nine-colored Golden Lotus is on the verge of ripening, it spews out a haze of light that can’t be concealed in any way.”

At this time, wearing a plain long skirt, do young woman dressed as a graceful woman, gracefully came, and Jinlian Taoist side by side, looking out into the night sky slowly dissipating the haze.

“The Black Lotus must have sensed it, it can’t be hidden… Patriarch, have you found a suitable helper?” The young woman said worriedly.

Daoist Master Golden Lotus smiled and asked rhetorically, “Who do you think, is a suitable helper?”

The young woman with the Dao name White Lotus softly said, “Naturally, it’s the head of the Human Sect Dao, Luo Yuheng.”

The Golden Lotus shook her head, “She is afraid of the Black Lotus’s karmic fire and will not make an enemy of him. The Nine-colored Golden Lotus isn’t enough to make her fight for her life, and I can’t give a reward that would make her heart flutter for the time being.”

Unless Xu Qi An is sent to her bed ……… Golden Lotus Taoist Master ventriloquized in his heart. However, Luo Yu Heng attached great importance to the candidate for the dual cultivation couple, and was currently unable to make up his mind, probably still examining Xu Qi’an.

The young woman, White Lotus, thought about it and saw that the Patriarch was calm and seemed to be quite certain, her willow eyebrows raised:

“Could it be that you want to send out members of the Heaven and Earth Society? But didn’t you say that you wouldn’t let their identities come to light before they grew up and before you were sure enough to eradicate the Black Lotus?”

“They have grown beyond my imagination.” Daolord Golden Lotus explained.

“Who are they?” White Lotus blinked her bright eyes with a bit of curiosity.

“You’ll know when they come to Jianzhou.” Daoist Master Golden Lotus sold a lie.

………..

An ancient Taoist temple somewhere in the distant Immortal Mountains.

In the quiet room, an oil lamp was set on a tabletop, and dark shadows seated on futons sat around the candlelight, their faces half tinted orange and half hidden in shadow.

Candlelight cast their silhouettes against the wall, and as the fire swayed, the figures twisted with it, like ghosts with teeth and claws.

“The nine-colored lotus seed is about to mature ……..”

A deep voice, coming from the void, echoed through the quiet room.

The dark shadows by the candlelight whispered, “Kill them all Golden Lotus and take back the Nine-Colored Lotus.”

“Capture White Lotus and take turns harvesting and draining her essence.”

“I’ve been craving White Lotus’ body for years ……..”

“It’s been a while since I’ve gone on a killing spree, can’t wait to feed on human blood ………”

“It’s a pain in the ass to have a martial arts alliance in Jianzhou, but that’s what makes it fun, heh heh heh heh ……..”

The words came through as a crash and the tone was eerie, like the devil was partying.

The deep voice once again resounded from the void, “It could also be a trap, that mysterious expert in Chuzhou is a companion of Golden Lotus, sitting and waiting for me to throw myself into the net.”

The whispers died away in an instant, and the shadows sitting around the candlelight seemed to scowl and curb their clamor.

The deep voice continued, “Spread the news, the Martial Arts Alliance of the Nine States will be interested. There is still half a month until the Nine-colored Golden Lotus matures, and the Jianghu experts from other states will surely be interested as well.”

Speaking of this, the deep voice jaggedly laughed strangely, “This also includes that Emperor of the Daebong.”

………..

In the east room, blowing out the candles, Xu Qi’an lay on the bed and was preparing to fall asleep.

Suddenly, a familiar palpitating sensation came over the room as someone sent a message through the shard.

He whirled around, sat up, relit the candle, and sat down on the edge of the table, pulling out pieces of the earth book to view the contents of the transmission:

[9: Gentlemen, in half a month, the nine-colored lotus seed will be ripe. Are you all ready?]

……….

PS: This chapter was slow to write.