Chapter 297: Long Bath
It had to be the longest bath in history ever recorded. Not even Mingshen knew what to say, and anything they thought about would sound like a tall tale. Noble Consort Liu stared at the three kids and sighed heavily. Thankfully, the royal couple were busy today.
Three days. Their bath had taken three days, and all the water in the tub had evaporated. Yet, the best excuse they could come up with was accidentally taking a nap during the bath.
"You have to be joking," she glared at them. "My sworn sister told me you were the brightest of all three. How can you come up with such an obvious excuse?"
Mingshen deadpanned.
"Then what would you like me to say, Noble Consort Liu? That my younger brother faced a sudden tribulation to become an Enlightened Core cultivator right after my younger sister collapsed from absorbing negative energy into herself, causing a system overload that we had to save her from? Please enlighten me."
After a short glaring contest, Liu Guiya was the first to break eye contact with a long and deep sigh. The truth was even more absurd than the lie. She should be congratulating Yihao for becoming an Enlightened Core cultivator. However, the timing was simply too unfortunate.
"I see that Yihao was not the only one who benefited from the tribulation," she gave them the side eye. "Both of you seem better than before as well."
Anji hid her face behind her hands and blushed. Mingshen grinned cheekily in contrast.
"Jealous now? It’s not every day that someone with Extreme Yang transcends. Thanks to the abundant Yang energy, my sister and I have fully recovered in just three days. Aren’t you glad for the silver lining? Imagine having to fight the demonic sect with two sickly people. By buying three days, we’re now a stronger unit for the war. Shouldn’t you be grateful it happened?"
Unable to refute the logic, Noble Consort Liu only huffed in anger.
"If I were still the Heavenly Phoenix Sect Leader, I would have spanked you to teach you how to respect your elders," she glared at the seventeen-year-old. "It seems like the only one who was taught manners well is Anji."
Neither Yihao nor Mingshen seemed repentant or guilty at that claim. It was true. Anji had always been the most well-mannered child. No wonder she was so lovable wherever she went.
As it were, Liu Guiya could tell Yihao’s foundation in the Enlightened Core stage was hastily formed and required several more months to fully stabilise. Three days were long for an ordinary context. For her role as the Noble Consort, they surely knew how to put her on the spot.
Yet, as a cultivator, Liu Guiya wanted them to take more time to stabilise that new cultivation base. Delaying the stabilisation period was risky for the cultivator. The Enlightened Core body moved very differently from the Solid Core body, but Yihao returned to business after only three days.
It was difficult to scold these children in earnest when they were trying their best. She could overlook Mingshen’s testiness. After all, he was only looking out for his younger siblings’ interests.
"You’re lucky I already sold a more believable story to their Majesties," Liu Guiya grumbled.
Truthfully, she was thankful for that timely tribulation. If not for the incident, she would have taken much longer to recover her cultivation strength and reserves. Even with that much excess Yang energy, Liu Guiya was only able to recover up to seventy percent of her previous strength. For a newly awakened Enlightened Core cultivator to be able to restore thirty percent of a Heavenly Core cultivator’s reserves, Zhao Yihao was probably more formidable than Bai Dajin was at the same stage. If Liu Guiya were still part of the murim world, she would have snatched this rare Extreme Yang prodigy first and raised him to learn the Heavenly Phoenix’s arts that were very suited for him. Even Liu Yanxia struggled to master the Soul Purification Fire arts. But if it were Zhao Yihao, he might succeed with ease due to his natural constitution.
"In whichever case, congratulations on awakening as a true cultivator. However, as we do not have time to stabilise your new foundation, I advise you to use only half your strength for everything you do, unless it is a matter of life and death. It takes months to years for an Enlightened Core cultivator to get used to their new abilities. However, we are at war. Time is a luxury we cannot afford."
Nodding with seriousness, they dived straight into business.
According to the Noble Consort, Anji’s new detection ruby pendant helped Liu Guiya to identify the source of corruption within the imperial palace. In just three days, she narrowed down to the palace with the largest number of brainwashing hairpins.
"With the lead, I had Sect Leader Hong continue investigating, and we caught the seller of these hairpins. Unfortunately, they were under a spell oath and died when they tried to reveal information about the source. We don’t think they were a cultivator or knew anything about the curse. They were most likely mortals bought with money and a victim of a curse they did not even know about."
Mingshen was unsurprised to learn about the unfortunate dead end of the lead. If anything, he expected just as much. Unlike him, Hong Nian Niang and Liu Guiya were too direct in their methods. It was why they eventually left information gathering in his hands.
"No matter," he explained. "I’ll get my contacts to track the lead. More importantly, have you tried locating the source of the Emperor’s curse? Anji mentioned it had to be something he came into contact with regularly in private. Nobody else seemed affected."
Shaking her head, Noble Consort Liu frowned. She had already visited the Emperor’s bedroom, private study and secret archive library. There was no place in this forbidden city that she did not have access to. If she found the cursed item, she would have suffered from poisoning first. Yet, she remained fine.
"I must have overlooked something," she sighed. "I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help."
In just three days, so much had been accomplished. Anji could not help but marvel at Liu Guiya’s competence. If she were still the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Phoenix Sect, the Rainbow Alliance would have a very powerful ally in this drawn-out war on the frontline.
"We will find it eventually," Anji promised. "It’s a good thing the Emperor is fully free of the strange energy. Although I have no idea what it really is, we should be able to narrow down the locations by asking for the Emperor’s routine and schedule."
Anji had a good point, and Liu Guiya could not help but compare her with Mingshen. They were both equally bright but opted for different methods to achieve what they wanted.
"I’ll get the Emperor’s schedule and routine for the past few months. Is there anything else I can do to help? The Empress has already given you a special access pass that you can show to go anywhere you want to in the Imperial Palace."
Surprised by the speed at which things worked in the Imperial Palace, Anji shook her head. It was more than enough. However, there was still one thing she was curious about.
"Do you know anything about the dragon sleeping in the palace and the four mythical beast guardians?"
Here, Liu Guiya paused. Was she serious?
"You know that was mostly a myth created by the previous emperors to appease the commonfolk, right?"
Of course, Liu Guiya would think so. However, Anji knew better.
The silence worked better than any answer, and Liu Guiya pursed her lips. The Mystical Qilin Sect had many secrets, and this must be one of them.
"I understand," she sighed. "I’ll talk to the Empress and Emperor to see if they know anything about it."
Smiling with her eyes, Anji thanked Liu Guiya. In the meantime, she had work to do. And the first thing was to inspect the Forbidden City with a detailed map.
