Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

If you ask someone to repackage the gifts he opened, the difference in packaging between the two gifts will be huge, making them unacceptable as gifts!

It's a pity those gifts were opened; they lacked the sophistication that gift wrapping brings. I'll just give them away as casual little gifts when I have the chance.

This time, let the system pack all the unopened blue blind boxes into one package and send it over later to win over the Zhen family's first filial piety!

Chapter Thirty-Four: This elder seems to have some issues with me!

Choosing a time early in the morning, Chu Mingkong changed into some less flamboyant clothes and went to the outer city to get a shave and have some morning tea.

After his master went into hiding, Chu Mingkong became too lazy to groom himself. His stubble, which hadn't been tidied up for several days, had grown back like leeks.

Today he was going to meet his elders and his sister. Chu Mingkong didn't plan to get along well with Princess Yongzhen, but he couldn't be careless about etiquette in front of his elders, so he had to dress properly.

From afar, he spotted the traveling merchant who had been relentlessly using him as a topic of conversation. The merchant was drinking tea when he met Chu Mingkong's gaze. After paying the bill, he took off running, perhaps to spread rumors about him again.

This is a good person!

The stall chosen by the traveling merchant should be fine, Chu Mingkong sat down next to the spot he had just left.

"Young man, just get me one breakfast, the best-selling one. How's the shaving service next door?"

"It's good. Don't be fooled by the fact that the shaving master is old. His hands don't shake. He often puts a hot towel on his face and makes shaving with the razor blade feel comfortable."

The breakfast stall owner was a young man, who looked to be under twenty. After serving breakfast to Chu Mingkong, he practiced his swordsmanship in the open space next to him, and sometimes he would sit cross-legged and exhale, circulating his spiritual energy through his body.

Chu Mingkong watched for a while, and one of his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed in a strange way.

This young master's swordsmanship is very similar to that of Nightblade, but it's only superficial. The real combat techniques are not like that. No matter how much he practices, he can only improve his physical fitness.

As for the beginner breathing technique he used, it was very similar to the one Zuo Qiuchi had used before. There are many breathing techniques from various schools, but that didn't prevent Chu Mingkong from recognizing their similarities.

"What's your name, young master? Where did you learn this breathing technique? It sounds like something a friend of mine often uses. Are you perhaps from the same hometown as my friend?" he asked casually.

The young monk holding the wooden knife, after a simple breathing exercise, had his face flushed red, like red-hot coals in a furnace.

"Just call me Xiao Hu. This breathing technique was given to me yesterday by a fairy-like girl who came to my place for a cup of tea. Seeing my clumsy attempt, she gave me some pointers. I... still don't quite grasp the essentials, but I've benefited a lot."

Indeed, there wasn't much guidance. Judging from the spiritual energy attributes of your breathing, you are more compatible with water spiritual energy, so Zuo Qiuchi couldn't teach you much.

However, she was here yesterday, so it seems she hasn't gone far!

I never expected to find out about Zuo Qiuchi just by going out for a walk.

"Your swordsmanship looks like that of the Nightblade Division?" Chu Mingkong asked, eating a meat-filled sesame seed cake.

"Yes, the Nightblade Division does recruit disciples, right? A couple of years ago, my mother saved up money for me and paid a hundred taels of silver to send me in. Unfortunately, I wasn't good enough, and in the end, I didn't learn anything and didn't get a stable job. I can only do some small business here."

A hundred taels of silver... You've probably been scammed. Spending a little money at one of those minor sects to buy a fragmented sword technique manual would be better than the fancy moves you're practicing now.

As for swordsmanship, Chu Mingkong knew a little bit, so he might as well consider it payment for providing information about Zuo Qiuchi.

He left a few pieces of silver, went next door to get a shave, and then left.

When Master Hu saw that it was almost noon, he counted the silver and found that the generous young master had turned a piece of silver into a bamboo slip with a knife technique printed on it.

------------

After tidying himself up, Chu Mingkong only hoped that the rumors spread about him in the past few days would not affect his image in the eyes of Princess Yongzhen's mother.

Last night, the light was dim, and I didn't get a good look at the courtyard. I was too busy watching the brocade beaker trembling. While waiting for the report, he looked around the small courtyard. It was so quiet that it didn't seem like a woman's place. There were only a few clusters of flowers and a few bamboo plants in the corner.

Clean and elegant, but very deserted.

Without encountering any obstacles, he was quickly led into the hall by an old nanny, where he saw a beautiful young woman with a full figure and a noble demeanor. She was wearing a black palace dress, simple yet elegant, revealing her graceful neck and clear collarbone, her skin as white and tender as snow, bathed in moonlight.

Her clothing was minimalist, omitting any glittering jewelry, and her makeup was simple, yet it couldn't hide her stunning beauty.

It's unclear whether the Empress's noble position fostered this air of nobility, or whether such qualities were a necessary quality for anyone who could become the head of the harem.

Chu Mingkong had only vaguely seen a similar temperament in Doctor Baili.

Upon meeting this elder, Chu Mingkong knew that he was determined to befriend Princess Yongzhen!

Even if Princess Yongzhen's temper was fiercer than Shangguan Rong's and more unbearable than Zhang Yiyi's, he didn't have a single complaint!

He quickly bowed and said, "This junior, Chu Mingkong, has come today to greet Princess Yongzhen and Madam Zhen, and to present a small gift to Madam Zhen to express my filial piety and concern!"

Zhen was originally the Empress Dowager, but she was deposed. When Chu Mingkong came, he hesitated about how to address her properly. He considered calling her "Auntie" to show his affection, but he was afraid that being too enthusiastic would backfire, so he kept it to himself.

The woman, whose beauty rivaled that of a young woman, looked at Chu Mingkong without showing any satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Chu Mingkong was somewhat unsure of the situation.

The attitude was so-so. Princess Yongzhen didn't come out to see me either; only her mother came out. Could it be that this was to let Madam Zhen observe me?

Madam Zhen had the old nanny accept the gift and place it in the inner room, a look of approval appearing on her beautiful, fair face.

"Thank you for your kindness. Yongzhen is unwell and it will be inconvenient for her to meet with Mingkong for the next week, so I will be representing her today... Mingkong, do you have any gifts that you would like me to pass on?"

"Your Majesty? How come you refer to yourself the same way as your daughter?"

However, it's also possible that he harbored resentment after being deposed back then and was unwilling to accept it, so it's best to just pretend he didn't hear it.

But this conversation is weird. It feels like they're waiting for me to hand over my gift so they can kick me out!

Chu Mingkong didn't think it was because he cared about the small gift; it was just like "serving tea to see the guest off," wanting him to leave quickly. If it were back in the Zhang family, he would have been eager to receive this treatment, but now that Madam Zhen has shown up, do you think I would let you get away?

Even if I have to lick you, I'll still scrape a layer of filial piety off you!

He walked over to Madam Zhen, took over the waiter's duties, poured her a cup of hot tea, then returned to his seat to fill his own cup, and remained firmly seated, refusing to leave.

"I have only prepared a gift for Madam Zhen to express my filial piety. I have not yet prepared a gift for Princess Yongzhen. I am not familiar with Princess Yongzhen's preferences and temperament, so I do not want to give her a gift casually and offend her. I am afraid that Madam Zhen will also blame me because she loves her daughter."

Ah, that's interesting. When Yongzhen's soul hears this, it seems like Chu Mingkong values ​​my mother more than me.

Chu Mingkong then began asking Madam Zhen about Yongzhen's preferences, inquiring about this and that, and always adding, "So, Madam Zhen, what do you like?" Madam Zhen had been trying to find an opportunity for him to leave today and come back another day, but Chu Mingkong kept bringing up topics one after another, as if he couldn't understand her intention to send him away.

Having no other choice, Madam Zhen had to reopen his wounds: "Mingkong, what is the Abyss? I am very curious about it, but I have never had the chance to know anything about it."

Chu Mingkong paused, wondering why he was being asked this, but still said:

"Mingkong also does not know what the Abyss is. Madam Zhen can regard it as a natural domain, a natural barrier. The barrier is filled with extremely yin power, and ordinary people cannot survive in it."

Initially, the Abyss was indeed just a deep abyss emerging from a crack in the earth, but that was in the past. Now, the Abyss no longer specifically refers to that abyss; wherever the extreme Yin power spreads, that is the Abyss.

However, the extreme abyss is also divided into levels. In places where the extreme yin energy is very shallow, it is still possible to come into contact with it, but it will cause illness if you stay there for a long time. Generally, feng shui masters call such places "bad feng shui". In places where the yin energy is slightly stronger, all life will be destroyed, and even the most tenacious grass cannot survive.

However, it seems that the Abyss can evolve. More than 20 years ago, the plants in the Abyss no longer simply died, but began to have aggressiveness and became active, extremely Yin "dead" things.

In recent years, livestock and even magical beasts have been discovered to have survived the corruption of the Abyss, but have lost all reason and become extremely ferocious. Xiling still lacks a unified explanation for these creatures. Within the bodies of these Abyss-corrupted beasts, a ** (likely referring to a specific type of explosive or powerful entity) condenses; the more powerful the Abyss beast, the larger the **.

Chu Mingkong was blown up by this thing, and it also caused a large area of ​​Xiling to be filled with the extreme Yin energy emitted after the explosion, which would take at least five or six years to dissipate.

By the way, there are already cases of people surviving the invasion of the Abyss.

That's him.

Chu Mingkong didn't know if his heart would turn into a ** in the future.

Madam Zhen had only intended to prick his wound and make him leave knowingly, but she did not expect to hear so many things about the Abyss that she had never heard before.

"I've learned something new. That 'Abyss' crevice is in Xiling. Why did your lineage, all the way up to your ancestors, insist on staying there? Your grandfather must have had a choice. Before your father, the King of Xiling, disappeared, did he leave you any instructions?"

Madam, your topic is starting to touch on sensitive issues!

Could it be that the royal family wants Madam Zhen to probe for information from me?

Should I do what Jin Yu did and slap Madam Zhen? No, I'm getting impulsive again. It's just a guess, not certain yet. It might just be Madam Zhen's curiosity.

"It's funny to say, but I vaguely remember when I was a child, my grandfather appeared to me in a dream and said, 'Mingkong, why don't you take your bucket and run away? It's not your fault. Our ancestral home is not here. I was just being stubborn back then.'"

Madam Zhen was speechless. She wasn't sure if Chu Mingkong was joking or serious.

Seeing her silence, Chu Mingkong became very suspicious. She had been here for so long, and not only had she not shown any filial piety, but Yongzhen, who was fine last night, had suddenly fallen ill.

It's almost mid-month, and Baili Mi should be arriving soon. In a couple of days, we'll extract some of her corrupted filial piety and then bring her over to have Yongzhen examine her.

Both are elegant and mature beauties; it would be good to let her meet Madam Zhen and see who has a more mature and elder-like presence.

“Madam Zhen, I am feeling a little tired today, so I will take my leave now. I will visit you again another day. That small gift is my token of my appreciation, and I hope you will like it.”

Chapter Thirty-Five: I Am Your Destiny

Yunhai Taoist Temple, on the outskirts of the capital.

This Taoist temple is located on a precipitous peak outside the capital city. The peak soars into the clouds and is covered in snow all year round. Birds do not fly over it, but occasionally one can see cranes perched on it.

Inside the Taoist temple, a woman in a graceful white dress sat opposite a woman in a full-figured Taoist robe.

The woman in the Taoist robe had her eyes covered with white silk cloth, but this did not affect the smoothness of her tea-making movements at all.

Zuo Qiuchi watched as she poured the tea water from waking up the tea leaves onto the crystal-clear jade flute and said, "This jade flute is your treasure, isn't it? You just wash it with dirty water from waking up the tea leaves, don't you think it's dirty to play with it?"

"The water used to awaken the tea is not dirty. This immortal tea leaves take thirty years to grow. What is washed away is the sediment that has accumulated on the body during the waiting process. The bitterness of these sediments affects the taste of the tea, but it is the polishing that the utensils need to accumulate."

"Alright, enough with the formalities. For me, honing skills is done in the competition, not in the process of bathing the sword. I'm here today only to know one thing."

The stunningly beautiful Taoist nun's jade-like fingers rested on the rim of the teacup, tracing a circle around it. Her glistening fingertips, stained with the pale color of tea, were even more beautiful than the jade teacup itself.

"please say."

"Do you think my little bastard disciple Chu Mingkong has any connection with your Dao Sect? He once told me that if he were to join the Dao Sect in the future, he would definitely take the Daoist name 'Daoist Juejuezi'."

The nun took a sip of tea and shook her head slightly: "I don't think so. Judging from his name, Mingkong, meaning enlightenment and emptiness, seems to be closer to the Buddhist path."

She knew Zuo Qiuchi's purpose in coming—to find a dual cultivation vessel for Chu Mingkong to heal his injuries—so she naturally pushed the Buddhist sect into the fold.

Go away to those nuns, don't bother us.

This was the first time Zuo Qiuchi had heard of such a meaning in Chu Mingkong's name. When he went to find that female bodhisattva another day, he used this explanation to introduce Chu Mingkong.

She stopped being hypocritical and spoke frankly:

"Your lineage of talisman practitioners obtained a rare ancient dual cultivation manual many years ago. I heard that someone mastered it, right? Daoist Nongyu, tell me who it was, or is that person you, Yun Nongyu?"

To truly master the Dual Cultivation Technique, two people must work together. When Zuo Qiuchi talks about mastering it, he means that one's aptitude is suitable and one can already operate the technique relatively perfectly. The Dual Cultivation Technique has the lowest threshold, but the effects vary from person to person.

Some people can make great progress in cultivation and become successful overnight, while others just do it for fun.

"Such secrets are not convenient to reveal. Why don't you go to my sect's sacred land to find that cultivation method, and then you, the Giant Sword Immortal, can personally heal your disciple's injuries?"

Zuo Qiuchi looked at her strangely, thinking of Chu Mingkong's recent reputation and his outrageous act of asking Gu Jungui to give her a thin gauze dress. This little bastard is up to no good.