Chapter 209   Where is he?

Xuanji stared quietly at Hua Qiyue. “If you can’t untangle the knot in your heart, you won’t be able to calm down. Let me cast a divination lot for your heart.”

Hua Qiyue was relieved that he had agreed to divine her future, but she was also worried – what if the news was bad? After all, she did not know the reason why Yun Shimo had taken Tianci away. Could Tianci have had an accident?

Xuanji took out an Eight Trigrams Diagram from his Space Ring. Then, he took out a few crystals Hua Qiyue had not seen before and placed them on top of it. He then took out a very mysterious diagram. Hua Qiyue could not understand the strange symbols on it. Even though she had learned the rune, it was obviously quite different from the inscriptions on this diagram.

Xuanji took up a white crystal and placed it gently on the diagram. He spun it, and it spun for a while before slowly coming to rest.

It stopped on a spot with some strange textures resembling a seven-pointed star and a trap.

“How does it work?” Hua Qiyue asked anxiously. “I want to know where Tianci is.”

Xuanji glanced at the position of the white crystal, his brows knitting. He seemed to be recollecting something. Hua Qiyue did not dare disturb him.

After a while, Xuanji gazed meaningfully at Hua Qiyue and pointed at the white crystal. “Tianci is still alive, but he isn’t doing well. Yun Shimo has done something to his body... ”

Hua Qiyue’s face was ashen, her whole body starting to shiver.

“Don’t worry. I can’t foresee Tianci’s eventual fate, but his destiny’s not an ordinary one. And Princess Qianyang... is also very special. Tianci may return to you in two years’ time. But Yun Shimo, maybe not... ”

Hua Qiyue wrinkled her brows. Even Xuanji seemed quite unsure. This divination seemed to be not so easy.

“Whether Yun Shimo returns to you will depend entirely on Princess Qianyang.”

You mean... Yun Shimo is controlled by Princess Qianyang?”

“No, no... I don’t mean that.” Xuanji shook his head. “I can’t explain everything. If you try to track them down, you will never find them... but that’s enough. I can’t tell you too much.”

Hua Qiyue kept her emotions under control, but her heart was thumping wildly. “Does Yun Shimo have his reasons for taking Princess Qianyang and Tianci away?”

Xuanji glanced at the diagram and said quietly, “They are already man and wife.”

This sentence was overheard by Huangfu Xuan, who had just emerged from the cabin. His face color changed terribly. Staring at Hua Qiyue’s pale face, he hurried over in big strides.

But Xuanji had already calmly put away his divination tools. Huangfu Xuan gave him a hateful glare. “Qiyue, are you alright?”

Hua Qiyue felt her limbs turning cold, her heart slit by a knife. That single sentence was reverberating in her mind.

“They are already man and wife.”

How insulting was that? How painful?

Although Hua Qiyue hated Yun Shimo, at the bottom of her heart she felt that he must have his reasons. She only hated him for taking Tianci away. And now she knew that he was married.

Seeing Hua Qiyue totally stupefied, her eyes a sheet of pain, Huangfu Xuan raised his fist to hammer Xuanji. “You fraud, why do you keep telling Qiyue nonsense?”

Xuanji lightly grabbed Huangfu Xuan’s striking fist and easily shoved it away.

Huangfu Xuan felt his spiritual energy suddenly absorbed by Xuanji. He stood there, stunned, completely unable to strike again.

“You will know if I have been telling her nonsense,” Xuanji replied, getting up to walk outside.

Ji Feng and Ji Jing had both dashed in. They saw Hua Qiyue in a trance and immediately shook her shoulders. “Qiyue, wake up!” When this had no effect, he turned to Huangfu Xuan. “What happened?”

Still drained from the encounter with Xuanji, Huangfu Xuan muttered, “The priest has been telling her lies about Yun Shimo.”

Ji Jing yelled, “What?! Sister Qiyue! Master Xuanji likes you. That’s why he’s spewing nonsense. If you’re disappointed with Yun Shimo, he will have a chance!”

Hua Qiyue came back to her senses. When she saw her friends all staring at her worriedly, she felt quite guilty.

“I’m... fine, fine. He was indeed talking nonsense.” Hua Qiyue gave a bitter smile.

“Are you sure?” Ji Feng released his hand with a pang in his heart. It was clear he really wanted to hold Hua Qiyue in his arms.

Hua Qiyue nodded, returning to her usual indifferent expression as the pain in her eyes gradually dissipated.

“Sister Qiyue, the scenery here is quite wonderful. Why don’t we take a stroll?” Ji Jing said hurriedly, afraid that Hua Qiyue might brood again.

Hua Qiyue nodded. She was, indeed, feeling suffocated. So, in the company of her friends, she took a stroll around. Although it was night, Ji Feng had a luminous night pearl with him. It could illuminate the surroundings to quite a distance once he took it out.

There were many Qi Artists around the valley, all staying on their grounds to cultivate. A few saw these intruders and thought they were easy meat. They approached them aggressively to provoke a fight.

Ji Feng stepped forward and defeated the closest Qi Artist with no effort at all. After witnessing this, the other Qi Artists returned dejectedly to their camps and continued cultivating.

Out of eyesight of the group, Xuanji was sitting against a large rock. Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

A nearby voice said, “You spoke too much during the divination. Feeling the backlash?”

Xuanji turned his head in astonishment. A little hare was standing on the rock, staring at him coldly.

Xuanji calmly retracted his gaze, continuing to channel his Qi flow and cultivate.

“Have you really fallen for Hua Qiyue, like Ji Jing said? Is that why you deliberately upset her?”

Xuanji’s face flushed crimson. “Little hare, don’t talk nonsense! I am a Taoist priest and cannot fall in love!”

The hare gave a snort. “A Taoist priest can return to the laity, haven’t you heard? But seeing your backlash... I believe everything you’ve said is true!”

The little hare was quite worried. “That poor girl must be heartbroken. After all, Tianci and Yun Shimo are more precious to her than anything. To lose both of them at the same time...” It trailed off as though lost in thought, then leaped down to look for Hua Qiyue.

Xuanji sat there, sensing the vast anima energy of the heaven and the earth streaming into his body, but he felt no sense of joy at all.

He stared in a daze at the bright moon which had risen over his head. He recalled Ji Jing’s words, and his heart trembled. Hua Qiyue’s face, full of pain, resurfaced in his mind. His heart seemed to have been struck. He felt pain and... something else. Something he couldn’t put into words.

Xuanji furrowed his brows. He lay there, trying to forget Hua Qiyue’s face...

Meanwhile, Hua Qiyue strolled around the entire Spirit Heaven Mountain. They discovered many strange and rare herbs, but they only picked a few of the rarer ones. They didn’t have an alchemist with them, so picking more would be a waste. As it was, they could only take them outside for auction, in exchange for some silver taels.

After circling the mountain, the company was approached by a woman in purple and a man in white who were interested in making friends with Hua Qiyue, but she waved them away. She was in no mood for making friends.

The woman in purple said, “We are from the Duanmu Clan of Yuewu Kingdom and will not be dismissed so easily! Perhaps you should speak with us – I promise we are good friends to have.”

Ji Feng cocked his head at that. Duanmu Clan? While they had only recently arrived in Yuewu Kingdom Ji Feng had made sure to familiarize himself with the major clans.

“The Duanmu Clan is only second to the royalty. It comprises nearly 10,000 members, including the main family and their branches. It’s the most powerful of the five major clans here. I heard that its elder, Shishu, has surpassed the Great Completeness of Round Sun in his Qi Art. The Duanmu Clan is an upright clan, opposed to the Dark Sect.”

Hua Qiyue cast further glances at these two youths. They did look like a young master and daughter of a big clan and clearly did not know much about the ways of the world. Most people would not come forward to disturb Hua Qiyue, once they saw her unhappy face.

The woman in purple looked at Ji Feng for the first time, obviously impressed. “I didn’t expect this young master to know our lineage so well! I’m Duanmu Ningyue. This is my elder brother, Duanmu Lingfeng.”

When she noticed Hua Qiyue’s pale face, she wrinkled her brows.

Duanmu Lingfeng was a smart man. “Oh, the Princess looks quite poorly. Let us visit you another day!” He pulled at Duanmu Ningyue to leave.

Duanmu Ningyue felt unhappy to just leave. “Wait, brother.... we still don’t know where they’re cultivating!”

Her borther rolled his eyes at her. “Her Highness is a superior lady. She could only be staying in a place like the Ten Thousand Spirit Cave. Let’s go... we’ll visit her again when she’s feeling better!”

Duanmu Lingfeng pulled at Duanmu Ningyue to go.

“Sister Qiyue, we didn’t expect you to have new admirers so soon. It seems you’re famous!” Ji Jing said with a grin. Hua Qiyue pursed her lips. She did not want to continue this topic.

Ji Feng glared at Ji Jing. His sister had said too many wrong things. Now, even he felt quite uncomfortable with Hua Qiyue.

It was deep in the night. The company had returned to Ten Thousand Spirit Cave. Hua Qiyue lay on her couch, her ears still reverberating with Xuanji’s words.

But Xuanji did have a point. If she could not even face her past, what good would it do for her to go on living? Hua Qiyue could only wait for Tianci to return to her side. For some strange reason, she felt that Xuanji’s words were 80% true...

However, she could not believe everything. She had been lied to by Yun Shimo before and was now quite wary.

Hua Qiyue tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She looked inside the Space Ring for wine but found none. Unable to sleep, she sat up.

The little hare was on the table, sleeping soundly.

Hua Qiyue pushed open the window, leaping out nimbly. She came to a Bodhi Tree by the valley near the mountain and sat on a large rock bearing mysterious ancient engravings. She quietly began to enter her cultivation trance.

Under the Bodhi Tree, her black, youthful hair was rolling gently in the wind. Her lovely nose, rosy lips, and pale, skinny face slowly turned ruddy as the anima energy of the heaven and the earth crept into her body.

Not far away, a pair of eyes was staring intently at her, full of tender rage.