Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 32. Exploring the Mysterious
The next day, after a simple breakfast, the three of them set off for Yongcui County.

Song Chen sat on the imperial throne, riding his horse. Even at this moment, he felt an indescribable sense of pleasure.

He stood by the fire, quietly yet frantically pressing down, not daring to make a sound or cause any disturbance. He pursed his lips tightly, swallowing his words. The First Madam was truly very feminine. He felt like a cat that had been fed a mouthful of fish, and his heart was beating a little fast.

He understood perfectly what the First Madam meant.

He displayed great power, but Lady Qingyue's ability to control men was actually not strong. The First Madam decided to take matters into her own hands to ensure the marriage was secure and to make him more closely integrated with them.

The First Madam will never reveal this relationship.

Just as he had initially thought, the First Lady wanted to turn herself into a delicious dried fish so that he, the cat, could nibble on it when he was angry or furious, and so that he could calm down.

Not only that, the First Madam also discovered something last night.

At that moment, the First Madam's laughter could be heard from inside the carriage.

The First Madam was whispering in Qingyue's ear, using a voice that Song Chen couldn't hear without using his cultivation power. As she spoke, she looked at Song Chen and smiled.

Song Chen could feel the two women's gazes coming out of the carriage and landing on him.

He had to admit that the First Madam was a little vixen, and her methods were indeed far superior to those of Qingyue.

Even now, he really wanted to hear what the two women were talking about.

Because he has a guilty conscience.

He kept feeling that the First Madam was talking about what happened last night.

The first wife was telling her husband about what happened last night.

This kind of thing is enough to make a man feel guilty, even if it's just a marriage of convenience.

The two women's laughter was like cat's claws, scratching and scratching at his heart.

Finally, the First Madam smiled and said, "Second Master, we've thought about it, and we've decided to stick to the old ways. I'll still call you Xiao Song; it'll feel more natural that way. Otherwise, if I call you Second Master, Qingyue will also feel the same way, and you, as Second Master, probably don't really like us calling you that, do you?"

Song Chen understood that the First Madam had "seen through" him.

If he were a possessed old monster, he wouldn't show the nervousness and shyness he did last night when facing a woman.

Last night, by the campfire, with the shadows of the trees swaying, the First Lady pressed her face against his chest and clearly heard his infant-like heartbeat.

The cunning woman realized that he wasn't "Second Master" but "Little Song," and that he preferred the original atmosphere.

However, the First Madam was right.

He really dislikes rigid, formulaic relationships, and they're easy for others to notice.

“That’s right. Otherwise, if you call me Second Master, I’ll have to call you Second Madam or First Madam. That would be too formal,” Song Chen replied.

Qingyue, the young lady, didn't know what the First Madam had said. When she heard Song Chen say this, the "subtle unfamiliarity" that had appeared in her eyes yesterday faded a lot. She said, "Then you must be very strong, very talented, and have a very deep background, my husband."

When I saw you, you were a thin boy, lying in a bridge arch, expressionless as you watched the people passing by on the street outside. You would occasionally shake the bowl in front of you, making a few clinking sounds, and there was only one or two copper coins inside. You looked like an ordinary homeless person, but in fact you were a cultivator who had fallen from his cultivation level.

"Sigh, how old were you back then? This shows you were already quite formidable even as a child. I really don't know what kind of terrifying family raised such a prodigy, nor how horrific your enemies must be to have led you to this state."

The First Madam said, "Little Song is actually very pitiful. He was being watched by his enemies, and he almost died in the street. It is truly a special fate that he was able to come all the way here and become your husband."

Qingyue crossed her legs slightly, leaned forward, propped her elbows on her hands, and rested her chin on her hands, staring at Song Chen in a daze. She thought about how such a talented person must have been pampered and adored since childhood, but he had experienced setbacks that others could hardly imagine. She wondered how difficult it must have been for him to get to this point.

A pang of pity arose in her heart.

She wanted to treat her husband well, so she spoke to him less coldly in daily life.

She wanted her husband to return to his original position and avenge his great wrongs, but she was so weak, what could she do to help him?

"drive!!"

Song Chen raised the reins again.

He wasn't an omniscient and omnipotent god, so naturally he didn't know what the two women behind him were thinking.

He just felt that the atmosphere in the carriage behind him was a bit strange.

At this moment, Madam Qianxue's voice suddenly came: "Little Song, what is your strength really like? When we set off, I asked you, and you pretended that you were only at the Qi Gathering Realm 1." Song Chen replied: "Qi Gathering Realm 4."

Lady Qianxue, legs crossed, cradling the bear, said disbelievingly, "Then why did you finish it off with a single sword strike?"

Song Chen said, "It's a family secret technique."

Qingyue interrupted their conversation, saying with certainty, "Sister, it should be a secret technique."

I saw it yesterday too.

The spiritual energy emanating from the Xiang Gong Sword is extremely complex; I have never seen it in any of the spells cast by any of the Imperial City Temple masters.

My husband clearly cultivates the metal element, but yesterday I sensed fire, wood, water, and perhaps earth elemental energy. I... I don't know.

However, the Imperial City Temple has a strict rule: the Five Elements cannot be practiced interchangeably. Even if one wanted to, they couldn't, let alone succeed in cultivating them.

Upon hearing this, Lady Qianxue also showed a look of recollection, and then said, "My late husband did mention this. He said that a disciple in the inner sect once tried to practice other techniques, but ended up experiencing excruciating pain all over his body, as if his internal organs had been struck by lightning. So, Xiao Song's power must be a secret technique."

Qingyue's eyes showed admiration as she asked, "What kind of terrifying secret technique is it that allows my husband to kill an enemy with a single sword strike when they are at the same level?"

Song Chen felt something stuck in his throat.

But he couldn't explain it.

All I could do was nod repeatedly and say, "Yes, yes, you're all right."

Several days later.
A horse-drawn carriage entered Yongcui County. Before entering the county, the carriage had been slightly modified, giving it a more rustic local feel.

Subsequently, the man in the carriage purchased a house and, through a broker, hired maids and servants.

After getting used to it a little, the carriage left Yongcui County and arrived at farmland outside the county.

It was harvest season, and the fields were bustling with activity. Farmers moved back and forth between the fields, while horse-drawn carriages were parked under trees in the distance.

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing eyes peering out.

Lady Asahi watched the boy working in the fields quietly. In a short time, the boy's pampered, fat waist had shrunk a little, and his skin had been tanned slightly by the hot autumn sun.

The boy, holding a sickle, was doing farm work surrounded by a group of farmers, putting the harvested rice into baskets on an oxcart.

She lowered the carriage curtain and said, "I won't see you!"

Song Chen said, "Write a reply."

Lady Asahi nodded.

The next day
A letter with ink already dried was delivered to Que He.

The wheat in the fields is nearing the end of its harvest.

The carriage quietly stopped again under the tree.

The curtain was lifted.

Lady Qianxue noticed that the boy was much more lively today, and the worry between his brows had lessened.

She smiled.

With the miscellaneous tasks finished, Song Chen didn't linger. He and the Pei sisters split up into two groups.

The Pei sisters were responsible for gathering information from the capital, while he went to the outskirts of Yongcui City, to a place even further than the farmland.

The method of gathering qi in the "Yellow Springs Sutra" is called: Hiding Mountains and Rivers, Seeing a Hundred Ghosts.

The accompanying secret technique is called "Exploring the Mysterious".

Those who seek the hidden realm gather lonely souls and wandering ghosts, hoping to glimpse a wisp of the Yellow Springs.

The Yellow Springs, located at the Gate of Hell, are the realm of the dead and a forbidden place for the living.

He cultivated by drawing water from the Yellow Springs, hence the name "Yellow Springs Scripture". Originally, Song Chen needed ginger soup to warm his body, but thanks to Lord Liu, he now has the power of a fire-type cultivator at the fifth level of Qi gathering to support him, which allows him to cultivate even without the blood of demons.

(End of this chapter)