"Alright, Master! No problem, Master!" Chef nodded obediently. He pretended like he did not know anything. He turned around and looked outside at the person who was still chatting happily with Chan Ji. Then, he turned back to glance at Shen Ying, who was just in front of him. For some reason, he flushed.
Suddenly, he pulled her over and planted a kiss on her lips in a flash. Then, he put distance between them again. His face turned a much deeper shade of red. He pressed his fingers to his own lips. She tasted like osmanthus cakes. She was indeed so sweet!
( ̄『̄)
Shen Ying: "..." Could he be more serious about kissing her? Did he think they were still playing games?
"Che-"
"Master, I have to go and cook now!" Before she could say a word, Chef turned around and left the room, his face still flushed red. He walked so quickly that he tripped on the door frame. As he fell, he knocked into Fatty, who was just entering the room. Both of them collapsed onto the ground and hurriedly got back to their feet. Chef turned and left without turning back.
"Lady Shen, Fellow Daoist Chef is..." Fatty, who was now bleeding from his nose, pinched his nose bridge and sat down on the ground, confused.
Shen Ying sighed. "He has meat to eat, but he insists on drinking soup made from the meat instead. Do you think he's retarded?"
"Huh huh huh?" Fatty was even more confused now. Since when was Lady Shen so cryptic when she spoke?
—————
Lonemoon and the rest had been flying for a full three days before they finally made it through the Southern Land and arrived at the Uncrooked Sea. Chan Ji was right. There was indeed strong winds blowing atop the sea, and yin Qi was thick above the sea. Ordinary dharmic equipment would not make it through the sea successfully.
"Fellow Daoist Lonemoon..." Chan Ji pulled out his lotus stage and was just about to remind the group of the dangers associated with being out at the Uncrooked Sea.
However, Lonemoon steered the spirit boat straight into the area. The moment they entered the Uncrooked Sea, a transparent defensive array appeared around the spirit boat, surrounding it so as to block out the strong winds and rich yin Qi. Not a single breeze could be felt inside the boat.
"What were you saying?" Lonemoon turned back to look at Chan Ji.
"No... Nothing." Once again, Chan Ji kept his lotus stage back into his storage bag. For the second time, he felt shame wash over him.
The spirit boat floated over the Uncrooked Sea for two whole days before the group arrived at Hao Ran Court. From afar, they could see a golden light glowing in the middle of the sea. The dark Uncrooked Sea seemed to be split apart by that golden light. A tall mountain peak floated above the sea. Atop the mountain, there were countless golden temples. Faintly, they could make out that each of them were glowing golden as well. It was almost as if there was a huge lighthouse in the middle of the sea that was exceptionally eye-catching.
As they got closer to the mountain, they realized that the temples themselves were not golden. However, they were surrounded by a sort of Buddhist glow that made them appear golden.
"Fellow Daoists, we have arrived." Chan Ji smiled kindly.
It was then that Lonemoon steered the spirit boat toward the golden glow, stopping on a field of one of the huge temples. The moment they landed, they heard Buddhist chanting. Compared to other sect's sect masters, Chan Ji was relatively low key. Outside the temple, only two Buddhist cultivators stood guard.
Chan Ji walked forward to chat with the two disciples. A moment later, he approached Lonemoon anxiously and said, "Something has happened within the sect. Your subordinate is going to get it settled. Fellow Daoists, you have had a long, hard journey. Please get some rest in the living room. I will come back later to bring you all around Hao Ran Court. How does that sound?"
"Since you have urgent matters to tend to, please go ahead. Don't worry about us," Lonemoon responded politely as he nodded.
It was only then that Chan Ji turned to his two disciples and gave instructions to them to lead the group inside to the living room. Lonemoon studied the two disciples and found that their cultivation levels were not high. They looked like they had just formed their Golden Core Even their bone age did not seem that high. Yet, they already had a golden glow that surrounded their entire body. Lonemoon guessed that if they were allowed to cultivate right here in the Court Lord's territory, the quality of their bodies must be quite good.
"Fellow Daoists, are you disciples of Court Lord Chan Ji?" Lonemoon asked.
The two of them paused and turned to look at him. A moment later, they respectfully answered, "Responding to Supremacy – we are just ordinary disciples in charge of guarding this mountain in Hao Ran Court. We are not the Court Lord's disciples."
"Oh?" Lonemoon narrowed his eyes. "I've studied your body types – they're quite good. And you say you're just ordinary disciples. Hao Ran Court really is something else – each of your disciples is so outstanding."
"Supremacy, you are flattering us," the disciples dismissed Lonemoon's praises humbly and bowed toward him. Their eyes, however, displayed more warmth than they did before. There was also a hint of pride in their eyes. It was almost as if they had expected Lonemoon to say something along those lines.
"Dear guests, we have arrived at the living room." The two disciples stopped outside a sparkling clean yard. The cultivator on the left retrieved a prohibition token from within his robes and hung it by the yard gates. The yard gates opened up and revealed a relatively small tower within. "Distinguished guests, please enter. We will not disturb your slumber."
"Thank you for leading the way, Fellow Daoists."
"This was the least we could do," the disciples responded, bowing once again before turning to leave.
Lonemoon and the others walked into the living room and realized that from the inside, it looked exceptionally big. The inside looked even bigger than the outside. There was a yard outside the living room, and a small pond. There was also a small forest beside the pond, and a pavilion located within it Opposite from them stood a three-level wooden tower, which looked especially well-furnished.
Rich spirit Qi engulfed them as they surveyed the inside. It was no wonder this place was sealed off. The yard alone was filled with rich spirit Qi. It was better than most cultivation grounds elsewhere.
"It looks like we're going to be staying here for awhile," Lonemoon said to the group. "There are quite a lot of rooms here. The first floor will be reserved for Chef to cook. We will stay on the second floor. Shen Ying, you can look for a room on the third floor."
"Why?" She did not want to climb all the way to the third floor.
Lonemoon rolled his eyes. "Given the way you snore, you could take the entire building down. Of course we should be as far away from you as possible. If you don't take the top-most floor, who would?"
"Ah, that's so troublesome!" Why must she be on the third floor?
"Shut up!" Lonemoon glared at her. After pondering for a moment, he added, "At the very most, I could set up a transportation array that connects the first floor with the third."
"Oh." If there was going to be a lift, he should have said so earlier!
"Let's go – we'll go in and settle down first." Lonemoon walked toward the tower. Chef followed suit and took his cooking utensils out of his bag. He only walked a couple of steps when he realized that Shen Ying was not moving. "What are you doing?"
"Father Niu, what is that?" She pointed at the pond in the yard.
Lonemoon glanced at it and said, "It's a lotus flower! But in a place like that, I guess it's a spirit lotus."
"Oh..." Shen Ying replied. "It doesn't seem like there are any rabbits here to keep the pond clean."
"Nonsense. The one at the Southern Land was a spirit river. What's more, they are growing some plants in this pond. Of course this pond will not be as clear as the river in the Southern Land," Lonemoon explained. Seeing that she was still not moving, he reached out and dragged her along. "I can only set up the transportation array later. This time, you have to climb up!"