Misty Rain of the Old Times

In the ethereal fairy's vision, she saw rolling dark clouds sweeping in from the distant horizon under the moonlight, obscuring the sky and the moon. In an instant, the wind rose, clouds surged, and torrential rain poured down. Lightning flashed through the clouds, illuminating the night sky, as if to tear the heavens apart. Thunder rumbled, and the whole world seemed to tremble with the thunder.

She wasn't an ignorant person, but this scene truly startled her. After all, looking around, the night sky was cloudless in all directions, and such a thing only happened in that one direction. It was too abrupt, like a drop of thick ink on a white sheet of paper, extremely conspicuous, as if a strange phenomenon had appeared in the sky.

However, based on her experience and knowledge, after a brief look, she quickly determined that it was not a normal natural phenomenon, but a man-made one!
She was certain it was man-made rather than natural because no matter how much the scene resembled a sudden downpour, the clouds lacked the oppressive power of heaven and earth, and while the thunder and lightning were powerful, they didn't carry the aura of destruction that real heavenly thunder possessed.

To put it bluntly, the scene made her instinctively feel a lack of awe in the face of the true power of heaven and earth. Moreover, she clearly sensed the aura of true energy in the thunder, lightning, and gale. Based on this alone, she concluded that it was not a natural phenomenon but a human act. It was clearly a powerful expert of the same level indulging in his own methods under the cover of night.

This alone deeply moved her, and she couldn't help but ask herself if she could do all of this.

The answer is no. It's not that she's underestimating herself, but that she genuinely can't do it. If she forced herself to do it, she might be able to get close, but she would never be able to match or even surpass him, let alone sustain it. It would only make her a laughingstock.

However, this does not mean that she will feel awe or inferiority. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. The scene was indeed grand, but it was mostly just for show. If she were to take action, she was confident that she could crush it all!
'Who exactly is doing all this? Is it a blatant display of power? Ridiculous! What's the point? It might look impressive, but the drain on their strength is immense. After such an attack, how much power will they have left? Could they be targeting me?'

Looking at the beautiful fairy in that direction with a cold smile, I muttered to myself, even filled with disdain. She's even better at pretending than me. I just use a halo to hide myself so that people can't see me clearly. Who are you trying to impress with this show? To make yourself look so capable?
Her mind raced as she tried to figure out who was behind all this. In her mind, those old guys from Jing Kingdom wouldn't be so bored, and it was unlikely that a grandmaster from another country would do it; otherwise, the Jing Kingdom's court would have intervened long ago.

'Could it be Chen Xuan, the one who bullied my disciple? It must be. Only a young lad would be so bored. He probably already knew I was coming and was deliberately trying to intimidate me like this. Ha, laughable. Young man, so arrogant, thinking he can scare me like this?'

The Fairy of the Misty Clouds quickly realized that she had seen through the truth and that Chen Xuan was definitely targeting her. However, she was not entirely confident because with her cultivation level, she could not see through the specific situation in the rolling clouds. Even when she used her true essence and mental will to look at the clouds, it was as if the clouds had vanished into thin air.

It would be a miracle if she could see through it. That wasn't normal fog; it was fog gathered by a fog array. The array had a mysterious effect on visual perception. Now that Chen Xuan had set up four large fog arrays at the same time, how could she possibly see through them at a glance?

Her already combative nature was piqued, and her eyes burned with fighting spirit. She felt an irresistible urge to rush over and have a big fight, but she managed to restrain herself.

Because the grand spectacle was directed towards her, it was clearly Chen Xuan provoking her. He was building up his strength, and if she didn't even have this much composure and fell into his rhythm, she would lose the first round.

Furthermore, she glanced at Yan Quan, who was now walking in circles on his own without her interference, and assumed that this was also Chen Xuan's way of showing off to him. At this moment, she realized that her disciple's unusual behavior was Chen Xuan's doing; otherwise, he would not have attacked her. In other words, it was as if Chen Xuan was mocking her, saying, "You should deal with Yan Quan's matter first. If you can't even solve your disciple's problem, don't come here to embarrass yourself."

It's true that Fairy Piaomiao's thoughts are hard to fathom. Perhaps all women are like that, especially an old baby like her. Anyway, that's what she thinks right now: Chen Xuan has arranged this in advance to deliberately target her.

'This little boy may not know much about his abilities, but he's certainly got a whole bunch of tricks up his sleeve. Since that's the case, then so be it. I'll play along for a bit and shut down any excuses you might have for bullying him.'

With a cold laugh in her heart, Fairy Piaomiao temporarily withdrew her gaze, but still kept her eyes on that direction. She caught up with Yan Quan's pace again, thinking to herself, "I'll see what you did to my disciple. After I've easily dealt with you, let's see what right you have to be arrogant in front of me."

Yan Quan continued to mechanically walk around Yang County, but he was suffering in silence. After several days without sleep, food, or water, he was extremely weak and exhausted, but he just couldn't control his legs.

"Master, why did you actually come? With your personality, what if you become infatuated with Chen Xuan? What if you end up like He Hongyi? How will our Qingyang Sect face anyone in the martial world after that? No, with your personality, Master, you'll only be more clingy than He Hongyi. And that Tian guy, did I tell you to send a message to the sect? If things develop as I expect, I'll deal with you first afterwards. And Master, you shouldn't have come. I'll be free in half a day. It wasn't my intention to attack you just now; I really couldn't control myself. I don't know what Chen Xuan did to me. I would have attacked anyone who tried to stop me..." Yan Quan was on the verge of tears.

Arriving at Yan Quan's side to examine him, the Fairy of the Misty Clouds did not rashly intervene after Yan Quan's previous actions. She carefully observed him from head to toe, and even sent a wisp of true essence into Yan Quan's body from a distance to investigate. It was just an investigation, not an attempt to stop him, and it did not provoke any resistance from Yan Quan.

A moment later, a strange light flashed in the eyes of the ethereal fairy, and she almost frowned, but with her confidence, she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Under her observation, Yan Quan was neither poisoned nor controlled by special martial arts techniques. He appeared perfectly normal, as if his actions were voluntary.

This very normalcy is the biggest abnormality, yet she couldn't immediately discern what methods Chen Xuan had used against Yan Quan.

'Interesting. It seems that Chen Xuan, despite his great reputation, is not just a fame-seeker. If so, it must be an influence on his mind. Coincidentally, I am quite skilled in this area. How laughable this little brat is! Watch how I easily break through his defenses.'

With a flicker of thought, Fairy Piaomiao slightly withdrew her disdain for Chen Xuan's laughable actions. She pointed a finger at Yan Quan's brow from a distance, and a pure white light flashed in her beautiful eyes. If one looked closely, one would find that at that moment, it seemed as if a lotus flower capable of purifying everything bloomed in her eyes.

"My good disciple, why don't you wake up quickly?" she said in a clear voice, which sounded like a great bell to Yan Quan, and his thoughts and consciousness seemed to be cleansed and made completely clear.

Withdrawing his finger, the ethereal figure, still shrouded in an aura of indistinct beauty even before his disciple, turned calmly to the approaching storm clouds and lightning, saying indifferently, "My dear disciple, tell me what happened. I asked you to find a legitimate reason to test him, how did you end up like this? In any case, you are my disciple, and you cannot be bullied for nothing."

However, after she finished speaking, she did not receive a reply from Yan Quan. He continued to walk forward mechanically as before, passing by Fairy Piaomiao, without any change from the previous situation.

Because Yan Quan's mind was clear from beginning to end, he knew what he was doing, but he just couldn't stop, so the Fairy Piaomiao's wake-up call to him was completely useless.

She was absolutely certain that Chen Xuan had tampered with her disciple's mind, but what did that mean? It meant that Chen Xuan's methods in the realm of the mind had surpassed hers!

Seeing this ethereal figure's currently nonchalant demeanor, he stiffened almost imperceptibly, nearly losing his composure. He couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, embarrassment, and mild rage—a moment commonly known as being caught off guard.

'Fine, fine, you do have some skill, but in front of me you're still like a three-year-old child wielding a sword.' As the imposing scene approached, Piaomiao's eyes turned serious, and she sneered inwardly.

She turned gracefully, stepped forward, and raised her hand to stop Yan Quan with her overwhelming cultivation. Looking into his eyes, a pure white light shone from them, and two lotus phantoms, seemingly purifying everything, bloomed and spun. Her clear voice spoke again: "If your heart is like a lotus, untouched by dust, observe my heart and you will find peace in the spiritual mirror. Awaken!" No one could disturb Yan Quan's circling; anyone who did would be attacked by him. But in front of his master, the Fairy of the Misty Clouds, he didn't even have the right to make a move.

His mind was clear; he understood that his master was helping him break free from control and was taking it seriously. He was moved, but he also knew very well that it was useless. Once his master released the suppression, he would continue to walk in circles. However, he couldn't even speak until the three-day circling task was over.

He then blinked, as if to say, "Master, I am quite awake now."

Seeing the ethereal fairy with a hazy halo around her, she smiled slightly behind her veil and released her suppression of Yan Quan. She thought to herself that Chen Xuan was only capable of this much. She thought he was something special, but he was easily defeated when he was a little serious. It seems that he is nothing special.

She clearly misunderstood.

After she released her control over Yan Quan, a hint of guilt and helplessness flashed in Yan Quan's eyes, but he continued to walk forward mechanically.

The fairy's smile froze. Even though no one could see clearly, she could clearly feel her cheeks burning.

Completely unable to hold on any longer, she was secretly annoyed. Then she gently patted Yan Quan's shoulder, and Yan Quan closed his eyes and collapsed into unconsciousness.

She clapped her hands nonchalantly, turned to look at the raging wind and rain that was almost overhead, and snorted coldly to herself. She thought to herself, "Although the process was a bit convoluted, I've dealt with the methods you used on my disciple. What's there to be proud of? What kind of skill is it to bully my disciple? Let me teach you a lesson."

The moment these thoughts flashed through her mind, she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye that even though her disciple had fallen into a coma, his body was still standing up and walking forward as if sleepwalking.

Looking at the torrential rain and rolling dark clouds, the ethereal fairy smiled calmly under the halo of light. The wind was unusually noisy tonight.

With a flick of his finger, a wisp of true energy entered Yan Quan's body, causing all his joints to shatter, his muscles and bones to become so weak that he couldn't stand up, and he couldn't move a single finger, completely losing his ability to move.

'See, in the end, I still ended your control over my disciple, didn't I?' she thought to herself, ignoring the facts.

Her behavior wasn't just opportunistic; it was clearly a case of sore loser flipping the table.

Meanwhile, the peaceful night was shattered by a violent storm with thunder and lightning. People who were already fast asleep were awakened and, after a moment of surprise, realized what was happening. Many rushed out of their homes without even putting on their clothes and shoes.

Faced with torrential rain, thunder, and lightning, countless people not only did not panic but instead looked up to the sky and cheered, laughing and crying at the same time, basking in the downpour and letting themselves be soaked to the bone.

"Haha, it's raining! It's finally raining!"

"Thank God! There's hope! The crops are saved! They can survive!"

"Please, please, God, keep raining, the more the better!"

"Husband, hurry! In the fields, quickly go and stop the flood! Don't let this hard-won rain run away!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go right now. Where's the hoe?"

"Shoes, put on your shoes and raincoat."

"Who cares about all that now?"

"Ding ding ding... Folks, wake up! Wake up! You damned bastards, do you even care about living? Still sleeping? Heaven has mercy, it's raining! Hurry to the fields..."

A heavy rainstorm awakened the entire Yang County. Countless people rushed out of their homes, banging drums and gongs as they spread the news. People cried, shouted, and laughed as they braved the downpour to rush to the fields, even in the dead of night, because the crops in the fields were their lifeline.

This rain is a good thing, it saves us.

In Peach Blossom Abode, the little princess, already fast asleep on the second floor, was awakened by the sound of thunder and rain. Realizing what was happening, she smiled sweetly, put on a coat, got up, opened the window, and let the damp wind blow into the room. Looking at the torrential rain pouring down under the flickering night sky, she murmured sincerely, "Father, your daughter has married the best man in the world. He may be ordinary, he doesn't need to prove himself to anyone, but he is better than anyone else. Your daughter is almost unworthy of him."

"Oh, it really rained! Master didn't lie to me that day. He's truly a master; he can predict the future!" came the excited voice of a little girl from next door.

Then Xia Mei's voice came with concern: "Your Highness, please go back to your room and rest. Don't catch a cold."

...(End of chapter)