Chapter 21: Is This Girl Really Not Out of Her Mind?

“She’s… she’s broken through!” Baili Song’s heart pounded wildly—there was indeed some arcane secret hidden within this grilled fish.

Eight cups of water, two days of grilled fish, and she advanced from the Second to the Third Realm of Dao Transformation!

Heavens above, this is madness!

In a single instant, Baili Song’s composure dissolved. With trembling hands, he hurriedly peeled away the charred skin of the grilled fish and took a ravenous bite.

Delicious! He swore he had never tasted anything so exquisite in his life.

The Dao itself!

Then, Baili Song sensed it: the very essence of the Dao was infused within the flesh.

Heavens! He was on the verge of shouting aloud in shock. The fish cooked by this reclusive master contained the Dao’s profound mysteries!

Chomp.

His table manners were ten times worse than Mu Wanqing’s, devouring the entire fish in one go.

“Uh…”

Chen Changsheng and his daughter sat there, mouths agape, utterly dumbfounded. Was this real? Was this old man truly the Sect Master of Cloudsky Sect, or just a beggar who hadn’t eaten in days?

“Ah!” Baili Song exclaimed, suddenly regaining his senses. He quickly wiped his mouth and gave an embarrassed laugh. “Young Master Chen, the fish you grilled was simply too delicious. I couldn’t restrain myself—I beg your pardon.”

“Senior Baili, you flatter me,” Chen Changsheng replied with a faint smile.

Yet inwardly, he sighed. Cultivators in this world were unfailingly refined in other matters, but when it came to eating, their manners left much to be desired. They seemed to have no concept of propriety at table.

Once sated, Mu Wanqing recalled the matter of Tu Wuchang. Glancing furtively around, she asked Chen Changsheng in a quiet voice, “Young Master Chen, um, has anyone come to trouble you lately?”

At this, Baili Song’s expression grew solemn as well, his gaze fixed intently on Chen Changsheng.

“Miss Mu, you’re still worried about Tuoba Ye, aren’t you?” Chen Changsheng smiled gently and shook his head. “Thank you for your concern. Although Tuoba Ye did appear in Qingshui Town, he vanished as mysteriously as he came, and did not come here. Before you arrived, I was making a necklace for Die’er, and was not disturbed by anyone.”

Beside him, Chen Die’er thought to herself, That villain Tuoba Ye has already been destroyed by me. He’ll never appear in this world again, so how could he trouble Father or me? Still, this Sister Mu seems to care an awful lot about Father… She’s so beautiful, too—they really do make a good pair!

Mu Wanqing and Baili Song exchanged glances, their expressions growing increasingly odd. Tu Wuchang had definitely come up the mountain, yet hadn’t stopped here. Could he have lost his way? Impossible. The spiritual energy in this area was so dense, it would have been easy to locate this place. Even if Tu Wuchang had been blind, he could have followed the surge of spiritual power straight here.

Then where had Tu Wuchang gone? And with the Blood Demon Ancestor’s soul attached to him, he was supposed to be immortal.

For a moment, both Mu Wanqing and Baili Song were utterly perplexed.

“Miss Mu, Senior Baili, I assure you, I was indeed making a necklace for Die’er earlier and was not disturbed by anyone,” Chen Changsheng said, taking out the necklace he had just crafted. Dangling from its end was a delicate little wooden puppet. “This is the necklace I just finished. If you don’t believe me, touch it—it’s still warm.”

Mu Wanqing took the necklace, finding it indeed still warm to the touch—clearly freshly made.

“If Young Master Chen wasn’t disturbed, then I am relieved,” she said, returning the necklace, though inwardly her confusion only deepened. Where on earth had that fiend Tu Wuchang gone?

“I’m right here!” bellowed the Blood Demon Ancestor from within the little wooden puppet. “My host was destroyed right here, and now I’m sealed inside this thing—argh, I’m furious!”

Alas, the powerful seal not only trapped him, but also muffled his voice, so not a word reached the outside world.

Chen Changsheng took back the necklace and glanced at the little puppet dangling from it, feeling somewhat puzzled. He couldn’t fathom how this little wooden object had appeared here so suddenly. If it had been a gift from someone, why deliver such a thing and leave without a word?

“Die’er, let Father put this necklace on you,” he said, fastening it around her neck and surveying her with approval. “It suits you perfectly.”

“Thank you, Father!” Chen Die’er beamed with delight.

Watching the father and daughter, Mu Wanqing’s lips parted as if to speak, and at last she summoned her courage and said softly, “Young Master Chen, you once gifted me a calligraphy of the character ‘Sword,’ and another of ‘Longevity’ to use as a tribute to the Sect Master. I am willing to serve as your personal maid to repay your kindness.”

She had decided earlier that, if the character ‘Sword’ could help her save the Cloudsky Sect, she would do whatever it took to repay Chen Changsheng—even if it meant becoming his servant.

Chen Changsheng was taken aback and waved his hands in haste. “Miss Mu, there’s no need for such formality. They were only two characters I wrote on a whim.”

She wished to serve as his maid simply because he’d gifted her two words? Was she out of her mind?

Baili Song, standing aside, felt a storm raging in his heart. The characters for ‘Sword’ and ‘Longevity’ truly came from Chen Changsheng’s hand, and he had written them so casually. As expected of a reclusive master! This was terrifying.

“But Young Master Chen, your calligraphy is a treasure beyond price. Such a precious gift, and you gave it so freely—I must repay you,” Mu Wanqing insisted, unable to mention that the character ‘Sword’ had enabled her to defeat Tu Wuchang, nor that the character ‘Longevity’ had extended Baili Song’s life by a thousand years. She could only refer to them as priceless works.

Another attempt at flattery? Girl, your skills in that department still need work, thought Chen Changsheng, half amused, half exasperated. He shook his head and said, “Miss Mu, you truly overstate things. They were just two words I wrote casually—there’s no need to call them treasures.”

He knew his calligraphy was decent, at least according to the system’s standards, but calling it a peerless treasure was going too far.

Seeing that he would not accept her as a personal maid, Mu Wanqing could only sigh inwardly and nod. “Very well…”

Shortly thereafter, Mu Wanqing and Baili Song took their leave.

As they descended the mountain, Baili Song sighed, “A single cup of water and a grilled fish bestowed upon me a fortune beyond imagination. I feel as though I am on the verge of a breakthrough. That such a reclusive master should hide away here is truly incredible—had I not seen it myself, I would never have believed it.”

He glanced at Mu Wanqing, a trace of reproach in his tone. “Wanqing, if only you had hinted a bit more clearly before, so I too could have had eight cups of water and two fish—how wonderful that would have been.”