Minglong

Chapter 384 Returning to Hometown
In the warm spring of March, the morning sun shone on the banks of the Huaijiang River, where flowers bloomed in vibrant colors.

The ship sailed forward in the spring breeze, and Coal Ball squatted on the roof, gazing at the mountains and rivers he had once traveled with Ah Huan.

Inside the cabin at the stern, several pieces of clothing lay scattered outside the curtains.

Xie Jinhuan lay on the pillow, his fingers intertwined with the bespectacled woman's. Wanyi, who had secretly come over that night, was initially confused, but when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that it was dawn, she came back to her senses.
"Hurry up, Zisu is about to knock on the door. I need to go back and get ready. Zisu and I will pick you up at Xishui Port at noon..."

"No need for such a fuss, I can go back by myself."

"Even Princess Qingmo is going, how could I not go? Hurry, hurry, hurry... Ah~ slow down..."

Caught off guard, Lin Wanyi quickly covered her lips to suppress her laughter, glancing at the inside of her mouth out of the corner of her eye.

Nangong Ye lay on his side with his back to the two of them, seemingly asleep without making a sound. Even just his back gave off an ethereal feeling, as if he were untouched by worldly affairs. However, the slight blush on his ears betrayed the worldly nature hidden beneath his icy exterior.

Seeing that Nangong Xianzi hadn't yet recovered from the trauma of her social death, Lin Wanyi didn't bother to invite her to a team battle. After finishing her training, she quietly got up and ran behind the screen to wash up, lest her master come back and say that she was so focused on reckless driving that she didn't know how to wash and maintain her car...

Xie Jinhuan was covered in sweat and obviously needed to wash up, but before getting up, he first shook his shoulders:

"Tuotuo?"

After his death in the last incident, Nangong Ye was too ashamed to face anyone. He intended to never do anything immoral again and to wait until he confessed to his master before deciding what to do next.

But it's easy to avoid seeing people, but it's incredibly difficult to do nothing.

There was nothing else to do on the ship, and every night she would become restless and unable to concentrate. She wanted to sleep but always felt that something was missing.

That wouldn't be bad enough, but the vixen was even more inhuman. Seeing her hiding in her room, abstaining from all pleasure, she took advantage of the situation and ate all by herself, even deliberately saying things to provoke her, such as:
"You dare to do it but not admit it, you brought this on yourself, and now you're the one taking your anger out on me..."

"Unlike me, I only feel sorry for my husband..."

……

Nangong Ye wasn't one to be bullied, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he stormed into the house and beat up the shrewish woman, and then, as he beat her, things got really saccharine...

At this moment, the lingering effects dissipated, and he entered a state of enlightenment. Nangong Ye only hated himself for falling so low, lacking even this little bit of self-control. Seeing that the culprit still dared to come closer, he bumped him with his shoulder:
"Do not touch me."

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan felt that he hadn't managed to make Tuotuo happy, so he tried to coax his wife with all sorts of tricks and pleading.

?

Nangong Ye wanted to put on a distant and unapproachable act and ignore her, but he couldn't suppress the blush on his face. He could only pull up the thin blanket to cover his flushed cheeks and remain silent, offering no emotional value whatsoever...

Xie Jinhuan wasn't surprised. He knew that Bing Tuozi's lack of refusal meant agreement, so he didn't stand on ceremony any longer and silently started drinking his breakfast milk...
-
Soon after, it became bright daylight.

Nangong Ye changed into a black and white Taoist robe, carrying a sword on his back and a jade crown on his head. He was untouched by worldly dust from head to toe, like a hermit immortal walking among rivers and lakes.

After glancing at the riverbank, Nangong Ye gritted his teeth, suppressed his anger and shame, and flew away towards Zihui Mountain in the north of Danzhou.

Xie Jinhuan stood with one hand behind his back at the edge of the deck, watching them go. His white robe fluttered in the wind, and his deep eyes held a hint of melancholy, as if he were concerned about the fate of the world.

After all, once Tuotuo leaves, we won't see each other again until the afternoon. As the saying goes, a day apart feels like three autumns, so this half-day apart feels like half an autumn...

Just as they were reluctant to part, a noise came from behind.

Jingle bell bell~
Xie Jinhuan turned around and saw Sister Guo walking out of the ship's deck. She was dressed in a Hu woman's outfit, with a loose red skirt and a veil with gold ornaments. As she walked, the bells on her waist made a light sound full of exotic charm.

And an unidentified, plump black chicken...

Oh right, this is his personal maid; she's gained weight so much I almost didn't recognize her...

"Gooji!"

Coal Ball, perched on the shoulder, spotted the white-robed man on the deck, its eyes narrowed, and it leaped into the air with a flying kick, followed by a swipe of its large wing on the man's head, the meaning of which was probably:

You're still alive?

Do you know how Birdie has been these past few days...?

……

Empress Dowager Guo's reaction to the coal briquettes was not surprising at all.

After all, since leaving Yanbo City, Ye Ci's daughter has been hiding in her room in seclusion, meditating and hasn't left the house since.

As for Xie Jinhuan, she would disappear into the room of the two maids and then vanish. Bu Yuehua, at least, would occasionally pop up to greet her master. But there was no such thing as Gao Laomo's disciple, who was spitting out saliva from beginning to end.

With no one to keep him company, Coal Ball naturally had to come to her for food and drinks, and sadly gained a lot of weight.

Xie Jinhuan knew he had neglected Coal Ball these past few days, so he picked it up, rubbed it to comfort it, and said with a smile:
"Sister Guo, you've worked hard these past few days. I thought Yanbo City would come to snatch the immortal artifact halfway, but I didn't expect to return so smoothly." "Shang Lianbi only has the path to immortality in his eyes, so it's understandable that he doesn't easily take risks. However, we still need to be careful in the future, as his opportunities won't be so easy to obtain."

"clear."

Empress Dowager Guo walked up and glanced in the direction Nangong Ye had left:

"We're already close to the border of Jingzhao Prefecture. Lu Wuzhen will be here in no time. Yanbo City shouldn't make a move. I'll also go to Zihui Mountain to take a look. I've passed by it often over the years, but I'm afraid of being discovered by Qixia Zhenren, so I haven't gone down there yet."

"Uh……"

Xie Jinhuan was a little nervous when he heard this. After all, the White-Haired Fairy had gone to Northern Zhou and emptied Sister Guo's pockets. Now that the attack and defense were different, Sister Guo would probably have to add a mustache to the portrait of the White-Haired Fairy...

Empress Dowager Guo, seeing Xie Jinhuan hesitate to speak, was waiting for a response when a divine oracle suddenly sounded in her ear:

"He thought going to Zihui Mountain was boring and wanted to go back to your room and flirt with you."

?

Empress Dowager Guo blinked her exotic, blue eyes and gave Xie Jinhuan a brief scrutiny:
"Do you want to go back to your room and dance?"

"Ok?"

Xie Jinhuan certainly didn't mean it that way at first, but since A Piao put it that way, it wasn't out of the question:

"I'm fine with anything. It's boring to revisit old haunts alone, how about I go with Sister Guo? We can also visit the Demon-Suppressing Tomb of the Immortal Qixia..."

Empress Dowager Guo shook her head and gestured to the boatman: "You should go and coax Ye'er. You haven't even sorted out the matters of the principal wife and concubines. How can you expect the young lady to stay at your house? We'll talk about the dancing tonight. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he disappeared from the bow of the ship.

Xie Jinhuan was genuinely worried that Sister Guo would go and draw a mustache for the White-Haired Fairy and pour boiling water on the White-Haired Fairy's money tree.

But he really couldn't keep up with the Valkyrie right now, so for the moment he could only watch her go from afar, holding a lump of coal...
-
Meanwhile, outside Danyang City.

A merchant ship flying the flag of "Crescent Moon Manor" slowly docked at the pier outside the city.

The ship was full of medicinal herbs that the Southern Frontier Witch Alliance was transporting to the Crescent Moon Manor. Relying on the prestigious title of "Mistress of the Marquis of Danyang," the merchant ship was not subject to any sects or checkpoints from the moment it entered the pass to the capital. Even the officials from the Danyang County government personally went up to the ship owner to curry favor with her.

Below the merchant ship, neat rows of wooden crates filled the cabin.

He Can, cloaked and carrying two large wooden crates, walked out. Looking up at the familiar Danyang countryside, it was as if he had returned to the very beginning of his nightmare. He sighed softly:

"People believe in 'returning to one's roots,' so do you think they're planning to have me and my master buried together, which is why they brought me here to revisit this place?"

"I'm guessing so..."

Zhang Chu was dressed similarly, carrying two large wooden boxes and walking behind. To avoid being recognized by acquaintances, he didn't even dare to raise his head.

After the failed ambush on Xie Jinhuan in Bai Zhang Ze, Zhang Chu and He Can lost Mo Yuan's trust and were handed over to the sect's people for safekeeping.

As it turned out, Mo Yuan never returned, and the two of them were knocked unconscious. When they woke up again, they were at the headquarters of the Underworld God Cult.

Zhang Chu had been a member of the sect for many years, but this was his first time making a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Underworld. He thought he would be promoted, receive a raise, and be given important responsibilities, but he was knocked unconscious again. When he woke up, he was on a merchant ship of the Southern Border Shipping Company, where he became a low-level, unregistered rat.

Zhang Chu didn't know what the higher-ups in the sect meant, so he could only follow their instructions. But as he walked along, he realized that something was wrong!

After wandering around in circles, how did they end up back in Jingzhao Prefecture? Isn't this just walking right into a trap?
Zhang Chu disembarked from the boat carrying a box of medicinal herbs, not daring to say a word. Only after loading more than ten carriages did he sit in one and act as the driver, looking at his superior sitting beside him:
"Boss, what are we planning to do this time? Kill the emperor or dig up the corpse of our ancestor?"

The man leading the group, draped in the distinctive black and green cloak of the Gu Poison Sect, was no more than 1.4 meters tall and looked like a young apprentice, but his face was quite mature, with shifty eyes and two rat-like whiskers. He casually replied, holding a riding whip in his hand:

"The sect has its own plans, so don't ask any more questions."

He Can, having already transcended the fear of death, leaned against the carriage, admiring Jiang Ye, who had once been hunted down by Xie Laomo, and asked:

"You guys really don't believe in evil spirits. It hasn't been long, and you've already set up the Luojing branch again. How many heads are you planning to send to Old Demon Xie this time?"

Zitong held up two fingers.

Zhang Chu's pupils contracted:
"two hundred?"

"two."

"Two... huh?"

(End of this chapter)