Chapter 101: An Exclusive Interview (End of Book 1)
"Xiaoyu'er, come here."
After bidding farewell to Wen Yulong, Chu Liang approached Liu Xiaoyu'er with a bright smile on his face.
"Eh?" The little girl blinked and asked, "Big Brother Chu Liang, what do you need?"
This was the usual scene on the Silver Sword Peak: Liu Xiaoyu'er called Di Nufeng her older sister and Chu Liang her big brother. In turn, Chu Liang referred to Di Nufeng as an Esteemed Teacher. They each used their preferred terms without much thought for the other's.
"It's the usual request. I'm here to seek your blessing," Chu Liang replied.
Liu Xiaoyu'er tilted her head, finding Chu Liang's behavior a little strange.
Why did he ask for blessings so often? Does he need three hundred and sixty-five blessings a year?
Nonetheless, the kind little girl closed her eyes and silently wished him success.
Seeing that Liu Xiaoyu'er had closed her eyes, Chu Liang set his mind to unbox the reward.
As his divine consciousness entered the White Pagoda, he witnessed a scene completely different from usual. Each kill occupied its own cage, and the White Pagoda was presently filled to the brim with venomous bees. The cages extended in a direction that couldn't be discerned at a glance.
The most conspicuous among them was the queen bee, which had a much bigger shadow than the other bees.
Despite being the same type of demonic creatures, the stronger ones would result in the unboxing of a different kind of reward.
Chu Liang first came to the outside of the queen bee's cage and decisively pressed the "refine" button.
Boom!
A light flashed, and a ball of radiance floated out.
Chu Liang caught it in his hands and realized that he was holding a round, white object that looked like an egg.
[Mysterious Beast Egg: Nurture this with foundational qi. When the spirit beast breaks out of its shell, it will recognize its master and become a primordial spirit pet.]
"Spirit beast?"
This surprised Chu Liang quite a bit.
The White Pagoda can create living things?
The so-called spirit beast was actually a "monster" among demons. They were the kind of monsters that possessed powerful strength but had no need to take on a human form. The distinction between actual spirit beasts and demons that had yet to take on a human form was always ambiguous, leading to frequent confusion between the two.
Many ordinary spirit pets existed on Mount Shu. However, hand-raised spirit pets were relatively rare.
To have a hand-raised spirit beast, one would have to first obtain a living spirit beast egg and hatch it. Upon breaking out of its shell, the spirit beast would recognize its master. In terms of temperament and intimacy, hand-raised spirit pets were generally better than those parent-raised.
Whether this spirit pet was powerful or not would be a completely different story. Nonetheless, the existence of this spirit pet was a rather novel concept to Chu Liang. He might have no need for this egg, but he wouldn't mind having one.
He wondered what kind of pet he would hope to get.
The image of Senior Sister Jiang flashed in his mind, and Chu Liang quickly shook his head, dismissing those impractical thoughts.
He then looked up and casually pressed the "refine" button next to him.
Boom—
The phantom of a venomous bee was refined, and another jar of fruit tea appeared in his hand.
However, Chu Liang noticed that the appearance color of this jar of fruit tea was slightly different. Huh? He took another sip, and indeed, the taste of this jar of fruit tea was different from before!
A new flavor?
Chu Liang pressed a few more times in succession and found that the next several jars of fruit tea looked different and all tasted different.
But these jars of fruit tea were clearly the same before...
Chu Liang pondered for a moment. Could this be the charm of the koi?
With her blessing, he was able to unveil a whole new flavor of fruit tea?
"Are we done?" Liu Xiaoyu'er asked softly.
The little girl sensed that Chu Liang had closed his eyes. Then, she heard his breathing becoming quicker and thought it was odd.
"Okay, I'll treat you to something delicious later," Chu Liang quickly thanked her and slipped back into his own wooden cabin.
Back in his wooden cabin, Chu Liang took out the small white beast egg. Its shell was crystal clear, revealing the golden substance inside.
He tried to slowly infuse his foundational qi into it, and immediately felt a warm sensation and some subtle movement. It was as if the spirit beast was responding to his offering.
Hmm...
No wonder hand-raised spirit pets become more intimate with their masters. It seems that it is already showing its spiritual nature. By continuously incubating it with my foundational qi, it might naturally think of me as its mother?
Does this mean I have become a mom...
While he was lost in thought, a strange laugh echoed from outside: "Hehehehe!"
He recognized the laughter instantly.
Chu Liang put the beast egg away and went out to greet Lin Bei, who looked very excited.
"Chu Liang! We're about to become famous!" Lin Bei shouted, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. "People from the Celestial Pivot Pavilion are here to see us!"
...
Whenever a major event occurred, as long as conditions allowed, disciples of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion would conduct exclusive interviews with the parties involved, ensuring that the information reported by the Seven Stars Gazette was more accurate.
However, these interviews don't happen every time. For instance, the last time Chu Liang and Yun Chaoxian were featured in the Seven Stars Gazette, no one came to interview Chu Liang.
The exclusive interview this time likely took place due to the significant nature of the incident at South Gate City.
While they were on the way, Lin Bei appeared extremely excited.
For most cultivators from immortal sects, being featured in the Seven Stars Gazette was indeed a great joy.
However, Chu Liang remained very calm.
He held a skeptical attitude toward the relationship between the Celestial Pivot Pavilion and his own esteemed teacher. [1]
And so, Chu Liang felt slightly concerned.
Soon, they crossed the sea of clouds and arrived at the Heaven-Reaching Peak. In a quiet room within one of the towering pavilions, the representative from the Celestial Pivot Pavilion was waiting.
However, there was another person present.
Both Chu Liang and Lin Bei were somewhat surprised to see her.
The disciple of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion was sitting there, her hair tied in twin ponytails. She possessed a petite figure with a youthful face that seemed to be around sixteen or seventeen. Whenever she smiled, her eyes would squint in a cute manner.
She was chatting affectionately with a lady next to her. The lady wore a form-fitting long dress and was draped in a thin veil jacket. Her hair was casually tied in a coiled bun, and the untie long strands of hair flowed gently, exuding an indescribable elegance.
That lady turned out to be Jiang Yuebai.
"Our two young heroes from the Mount Shu Sect have arrived," the disciple of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion announced, standing up and introducing herself first. "I am Zhang Xiaohan, a disciple of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion's Wind-Catching Hall. Today, I've come specifically to discuss the matter of your visit to South Gate City. I'm considered a new member of the Wind-Catching Hall. With limited experience, I hope the two of you will share your insight."
"No problem! No problem!" After the introductions, Lin Bei patted his chest and said, "We disciples of the Mount Shu Sect are the most amicable people. We also hope that Junior Sister Zhang will be lenient and write favorably of us in the report."
The Wind-Catching Hall, a branch of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, oversaw the publication of the Seven Stars Gazette. This monthly periodical was produced by the hall, and its disciples often journeyed across the continent of the nine provinces, conducting interviews and gathering a plethora of information.
If there were a hit list in the cultivation world, the head of the Wind-Catching Hall, Zhou Yijian, would undoubtedly be at the top. Over the decades, countless people, both openly and covertly, sought his demise.
Chu Liang looked at Jiang Yuebai, wondering how she ended up here.
Jiang Yuebai smiled back at him.
Zhang Xiaohan seemed to notice Chu Liang's gaze. She sat down, held Jiang Yuebai's hand, and said with a smile, "I've known Elder Sister Jiang for a while. I happened to have some matters to discuss with her this time, so I brought her along. You two won't feel nervous with her here, right?"
"I can't help but feel nervous..." Lin Bei answered, "Senior Sister Jiang is the goddess of Mount Shu. It's usually very rare for us junior disciples to see her."
As he spoke, he cast a glance at Chu Liang beside him.
He then realized that Chu Liang had already taken his seat and faced Jiang Yuebai with remarkable calmness.
Damn! He is acting so natural!
Lin Bei couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Jiang Yuebai glanced at Zhang Xiaohan and said softly, "Let's get the interview started. Ask them the questions first. It shouldn't be a problem with me here listening, right?"
"Of course not..." Zhang Xiaohan smiled, then turned to the two and asked, "First of all, I'd like to know, what was the purpose of your visit to South Gate City?"
"It was naturally because of a demon-slaying mission," Lin Bei replied firmly. "As you know, we disciples of Mount Shu always see it as our duty to eliminate demons and uphold justice."
"But according to our investigation, you two quickly completed the demon-slaying mission. Yet, you stayed in South Gate City for a few more days. Were you waiting for the performance of Miss Xue from South Melody Conservatory?" Zhang Xiaohan asked.
It seemed as though this girl had already been to South Gate City, and she knew quite a lot about the situation.
Chu Liang was about to nod when Lin Bei shook his head and said, "Absolutely not. We were helping a confused girl who had lost her sister. It was during the process of assisting her in finding her sister that we learned about the sinister crimes of the House of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess."
"Wow, you two are indeed righteous and kind," Zhang Xiaohan praised with a smile before posing another question, "But we heard that you had quite a bit of interaction with Miss Xue. Rumors are spreading in South Gate City that your initial conflict with Lord Xia was due to jealousy, as you were also competing for Miss Xue's affection..."
Lin Bei was surprised as he asked, "Is that true?"
Chu Liang emphatically waved his hand and said, "Absolutely not!"
Jiang Yuebai, who sat opposite, revealed a subtle smile.
Zhang Xiaohan's gaze shifted between the two as she mentioned, "I heard from the servants of that mansion that a handsome young hero also visited Miss Xue. With the doors closed, one of you chatted with her while she played the qin for you..."
Lin Bei was surprised again as he exclaimed, "I didn't!"
Who would think you did... Chu Liang couldn't help but remark internally.
At the same time, he felt a bit of a headache. What kind of information was this disciple of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion trying to inquire about? Instead of asking about the process of fighting against evil and their mental state during the incident, they were fixated on this gossip news.
And... she was asking these questions in front of Senior Sister Jiang.
Feeling the weight of every gaze upon him, Chu Liang knew that there was no escape. He let out a quiet sigh and said, "I did visit Miss Xue to listen to her qin performance, but that's all it was. There was no intimate conversation... Please disregard those baseless rumors."
"Oh?" Zhang Xiaohan's eyes sparkled, as if she had unraveled something pivotal. Excitement laced her voice as she inquired, "So, with the doors closed, all you did was enjoy her qin performance. There was no intimate conversation?"
"Yes." Chu Liang nodded.
"So, Young Hero Chu was able to capture Miss Xue's thoughts from the music. Words were unnecessary.. In the harmonization of melodies, a connection was formed..." Zhang Xiaohan murmured.
"Absolutely not..." Chu Liang interjected, putting an end to her unfounded speculations. "Miss Xue only played the qin for me once. Just that once. Don't make wild speculations."
"Nonsense!" Lin Bei retorted, "She clearly played the qin for you several times!"
"The second time was to save my life..." Chu Liang explained.
"Oh?" Zhang Xiaohan, seeming to have caught onto something, asked eagerly, "Miss Xue saved Young Hero Chu's life? Hmm... The debt of gratitude owed to a beautiful person[2]."
Wait a minute.
Isn't this phrase used in a different context?!
Chu Liang found himself at a loss for words. As he pondered how to articulate his thoughts, his gaze shifted to Jiang Yuebai, seated across from him. She exuded an ethereal beauty and her eyes sparkled with a charming smile.
1. In chapter 62, it was mentioned that whenever Chu Liang's teacher, Di Nufeng, was featured on the Seven Stars Gazette, it was for something bad. Chu Liang couldn't help but suspect that Di Nufeng had enemies within the Celestial Pivot Pavilion. ☜
2. The phrase is 美人恩重 and usually this is used when a beautiful person confesses her affection to you and you have no choice but to reject her. However, you are grateful that you have received the love of such a beautiful person. Something I will never experience in my lifetime. ☜
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