On this day, Xuanqing Temple would open its doors wide to welcome talented individuals. Regardless of their background, as long as they were favored by a sect, they could join it to cultivate Taoism, engage in magical duels, and become true members of the Xuanmen world. Therefore, every year on this day, Xuanqing Mountain would be extremely lively, much like the common people celebrating the Spring Festival.
Of course, for the past few years, ever since the Crown Prince was being raised at Xuanqing Temple, the Metaphysics Grand Assembly had been cancelled, and even the previous sect trials had been held in the capital. Now that the Crown Prince had returned to the capital and the Metaphysics Grand Assembly was restarting, one could imagine how many people aspiring to the Tao this Xuanmen carnival would attract.
"This time, no matter what, I cannot let Mò Wàngchén succeed!" Thinking of his son who was still lying in bed, the only thing Lin Pingzhi felt was hatred.
"With you and me holding the line in the Xuanmen, there is no need to worry, but..." Chǔ Tiānmíng did not finish his sentence, but both knew that with Mò Wàngchén reaching his hand so far, he likely had no shortage of people placed within the palace as well. The most terrifying thing was... if the Yan Kingdom's court was also infiltrated by Lu Kingdom spies... then the Yan Kingdom was in danger! And the Emperor was already being bewitched by Mò Wàngchén...It seemed he would need to find an opportunity to bring Chǔ Yīyī to see these court officials; surely he would be able to hear more useful news then.
Lin Pingzhi originally wanted to discuss some details with Chǔ Tiānmíng but noticed that the other man's gaze was fixed on the pink rabbit lantern hanging from the window frame. He immediately understood; Chǔ Tiānmíng was likely missing his child. In the month since Chǔ Yīyī was born, the entire capital had circulated the news that Chǔ Tiānmíng had gone mad wanting a daughter. The reason was that whenever the Xuanmen sects sent gifts, if they were things used by little girls, Chǔ Tiānmíng would happily accept them, but if the gifts were for a boy, he would darken his face and show the guests the door. Thinking of this, Lin Pingzhi shook his head, "Sect Master, if it is destined to be yours, it will come; if it is not destined, do not force it. The Third Young Master's gender is already determined; do not mistake his preferences."
Chǔ Tiānmíng was stunned, knowing that Lin Pingzhi was worried that by raising Chǔ Yīyī as a girl, he would make the child truly believe they were a girl. But how could outsiders know that Chǔ Yīyī was originally a girl to begin with? Chǔ Tiānmíng did not explain much. Seeing that it was getting late, he said a few more words, hurriedly sent Lin Pingzhi away, and picked up the rabbit lantern to rush back to Wuyou Hall to hold his daughter.
Under the bright moonlight, the lights within the hall flickered, and the faint, giggling laughter of a child could be heard. Chǔ Tiānmíng's tense face involuntarily broke into a gentle smile as he pushed open the door and entered.
"Father!"
Chǔ Yīfàn and Chǔ Yījiè called out. When Chǔ Tiānmíng saw the two lanterns placed on the table, his smile faded.
"Pfft!" Rèn Rúyì could not help but laugh, teasing, "The three of you, father and sons, have such great chemistry; you all actually gifted Yīyī a rabbit lantern!"
Rèn Rúyì could not help but remember that day when the Chu Family sat in the garden with Yīyī soaking up the sun, and they saw a servant holding a pink rabbit lantern. Yīyī had said in her heart at that time: I want it! Rèn Rúyì had guessed that Chǔ Tiānmíng would bring out this gift on the day of the full month celebration. She just hadn't expected that her two sons would also understand Yīyī so well; it was truly blood being thicker than water and a meeting of minds.
Chǔ Tiānmíng felt his face heat up. He sternly pulled away the lanterns in Yīyī's left and right hands, set his own down, and said, "Yīyī, be good, the one Father bought is better!"
"Father!" Chǔ Yījiè said in dissatisfaction, "All three of us bought pink rabbit lanterns; why is yours better than mine and Big Brother's?"
"Because I am your father!" Chǔ Tiānmíng snapped.
It could be said that because Chǔ Tiānmíng was the Xuanmen Sect Master, he naturally possessed grace, but he also had some rough, worldly manners. The occasional gruff remark always made Rèn Rúyì's heart flutter. Chǔ Yījiè had anger but didn't dare to speak; his father was a "daughter slave," and he was still—what was it that his younger sister used to say? Right, he was a sister-con!
Who was better than whom?
"How did the matter go?" Chǔ Tiānmíng picked up Chǔ Yīyī and was immediately satisfied. Upon chatting about serious business, the Chu brothers all straightened their faces.
Chǔ Yīfàn said: "Father, as expected, not long after Qīngyuān's carriage left, it was being watched. The other party only returned to the city and snuck into the Mo Residence after confirming that Qīngyuān had successfully taken away Xiǎobùdiǎn (Little Dot). That person was skilled at concealment and had strange movement techniques; even I nearly lost track of them. It is highly likely they are remnants of the Lu Kingdom."
"Mò Wàngchén, does he truly intend to commit treason?!" Chǔ Yījiè spoke with anger in his voice, "I will go cut him down right now!"
Don't look at his age; he had spent a few months in the border defenses with the garrison and naturally knew the value of peace. Mò Wàngchén was a disciple of the Xuanmen and lived off the Yan Kingdom's salary, yet he harbored a desire to annihilate the country. Anyone would want to kill him as quickly as possible.
"Killing him is simple, but what about Yīyī's female identity? What about the Crown Prince? And what about the Lu Kingdom spies lurking in the Yan Kingdom?" Chǔ Yīfàn frowned and warned, "You behave with low profile in the army, and you must not let anything slip."
Chǔ Yījiè felt frustrated in his heart, but he also knew the seriousness of the situation. Dejectedly, he said, "I know. It's just that for this month, we sent people to search every part of the capital, and even probed the Mo Family's ancestral residence, but we didn't find the location of the Altar of Rituals... Father, do you think the Altar of Rituals could have been set up in the palace?"
Chǔ Yīfàn glanced at Chǔ Yījiè, "That is a possibility."
The Imperial Preceptor's Mansion was not an all-powerful existence, especially since their investigations had to be conducted with extreme caution and in secret. Their reach was not that long. The Yan Kingdom was so large, and there were many named towns; at this rate of searching, they would likely not finish in several years.
[Oh my, why is everyone so downcast at my full month party! As long as the event hasn't happened, there is still room for maneuvers...]
[Instead of worrying about me being a girl, you'd be better off worrying about my future sister-in-law!]
[When the Metaphysics Grand Assembly arrives, the eldest son of the Mo Family will "astound everyone." If he ends up bewitching my sister-in-law by then, what will we do?]
[No, when the time comes, even if I have to cry, make a scene, or threaten to hang myself, I must make Father take me to Xuanqing Mountain!]
[Huh? Why did everyone stop talking? What happened?]
Upon hearing this, the Chu family members immediately busied themselves with their own tasks, but they couldn't help but ponder: Why would Chǔ Yīyī say the Mo Family's eldest son would astound everyone at the assembly? Didn't Yīyī say before that the descendants of the Mo family were all idiots?
Chǔ Yījiè was the most impatient, and if Chǔ Yīfàn hadn't secretly given him a look, he would have long since rushed in front of Chǔ Yīyī to ask for details.
Next, Chǔ Tiānmíng took out the list found by Lin Pingzhi, and the Chu family discussed subsequent actions. Chǔ Yīyī wanted to listen, but her head felt dizzy with stars.
"Ha~"
She gave a soft yawn and fell asleep. In her dreams, she looked at her zeroed-out Merit panel and sighed helplessly.
She had to start accumulating Merit all over again. During this month, although she had accumulated over a thousand points of Merit, she had already discovered that while the methods used to accumulate Merit previously still worked, the efficacy was far worse than before. If she wanted to accumulate Merit quickly, she needed to think of new methods.
Personally go out and subdue demons and eliminate evil?
Chǔ Yīyī thought about her chubby little body and immediately gave up that method.
Better to learn to crawl before thinking about running...
...
At the same time, in the Mo Residence.
Within the extremely plain courtyard, a large Buddha was worshipped in the very center. As sandalwood incense swirled before the Buddha's altar, Mò Wàngchén, dressed in simple clothing, held his hands together in prayer, gazing at the Buddha statue with devotion.
"Bless the Yan Kingdom with peace and prosperity, bless the Emperor with eternal life, bless the Crown Prince with immunity from all diseases..."
After repeating the prayer nine times nine and eighty-one times, a drop of blood as black as ink flew from between his brows and merged into the Buddha statue.
"Master, Xiǎobùdiǎn (Little Dot) has successfully left the city and is already heading toward Saintess Mountain." A black shadow snuck into the courtyard silently, landed behind him, and reported in a low voice. It was Lu Shi, Mò Wàngchén's guard.