Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 21

Picking up half a salted duck egg, Yue Tingxi habitually scooped out both the yolk and the white and poured them over her bowl of plain congee, shaping them into a small mound.

As she tasted the congee, the long-missed familiar salty fragrance stirred her memories—this time, memories of Luo Yansha.

Every Dragon Boat Festival, aside from the large meat dumplings and realgar wine, Luo Yansha would also give her salted duck eggs. She would always remind Yue Tingxi to eat yellow croaker, yellow eel, and yellow plums—these foods collectively referred to as the “Five Yellows of the Human Realm.”

Time had passed so quickly. Unknowingly, the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, which explained why the Qin family had also prepared salted duck eggs.

“Do you have something on your mind?” The young Miss Qin suddenly asked.

“I just suddenly remembered that I promised Sha Sha to visit her around the Dragon Boat Festival,” Yue Tingxi came back to her senses, taking a few sips of congee before continuing, “In previous years, I would always bring fresh fruit and mugwort from the mountains as an exchange for her dumplings and wine. But now, it’s inconvenient for me to return to Xi Mountain…”

“Perhaps now is exactly the right time to go back to the mountain,” Qin Suoliu interjected. “Lan Chaoyao won’t be leaving for the time being, and there are no surveilling cultivators or magical artifacts around Qin Manor or near Xi Mountain. If you’re worried about being discovered, I can tell everyone in the Qin household that you are entering seclusion. You only need to transform into a small snake and hide in my sleeve. That way, anyone who inquires will assume you never left Qin Manor.”

Yue Tingxi froze at the suggestion.

The proposal was undeniably tempting. After all, one reason she hadn’t returned to Xi Mountain before was her wariness of Lan Chaoyao—based on the previous timeline and the contents of the Book of World Affairs, this person had been after her. If she returned without dealing with him first, it could bring disaster upon the mountain’s.

The other reason was that she had already decided to ally with Miss Qin to kill Lan Chaoyao as soon as possible. To do so, she needed immediate updates on his situation and that of her allies, and to adjust her plans accordingly. But the mountain’s protective barrier would block the communication beads’ signals. Even if she returned, she wouldn’t stay long; she would complete her business quickly and then remain at Qin Manor, waiting for the right moment.

After much internal debate, she decided to share her concerns with Qin Suoliu.

“No need to worry. Before we leave, I’ll leave some gray moths at Qin Manor. Their communication method is different from the beads and won’t be blocked by Xi Mountain’s barrier,” Qin Suoliu explained. “I’ve also prepared plenty of teleportation talismans landing at Qin Manor. Whenever you wish, you can depart immediately.”

Yue Tingxi had never expected Miss Qin to plan so meticulously.

One by one, her remaining worries were dispelled. Soon, she nodded in agreement with a small smile in her voice: “Thank you for the trouble, Suoliu.”

Seeing her genuinely smile so naturally, Qin Suoliu also lifted the corners of her lips.

From now on, everything would be handled by Miss Qin.

Yue Tingxi only needed to stay in Miss Qin’s sleeping quarters while she arranged the household matters, informed her mother and elders, and then set up the so-called “seclusion barrier to prevent disturbances to honored guests.”

Once the barrier was in place, Yue Tingxi would transform into a small black snake, hang from Miss Qin’s left wrist while holding her tail tip in her mouth, and allow Miss Qin to use the gray moths to magically transform her into a black jade bracelet.

She didn’t know exactly what Miss Qin had told her family. Even as they left, she could still hear Qin Yinguang happily saying to Qin Suoliu, “I want to eat the Hantao peaches and Baisha loquats from Xi Mountain!”

Yue Tingxi was infected by the young girl’s joy and remembered that Hantao peaches and loquats were indeed seasonal fruits gathered by the in the mountain to sell at the Linlang Pavilion.

It seemed the Qin family had purchased quite a lot before, otherwise the little girl wouldn’t be so fixated on them.

Since she would likely remain at Qin Manor until her mission was complete, she planned to negotiate with the great who owned the orchard in the mountains to pick extra fruits for the Qin family.

Because this trip would take them to the mountain, Qin Suoliu did not ride the previous ostentatious flying carriage but summoned the flying leaf talisman Yue Tingxi had given her the night before. She sat cross-legged on it and sent it floating into the air.

“This leaf looks a bit aged,” Qin Suoliu said while patting it as they flew out of Qin Manor. “You used it to enter the city when you went shopping, right?”

Yue Tingxi thought, “A bit aged? So what?” She proudly replied, “Yes, I refined this flying talisman myself. About sixty years ago, there was a large patch of celestial taro leaves in the pond of the Qingyu Mountain people. I liked them and asked to have them. Using spiritual energy, I nurtured it for ten years, and it became this durable talisman.”

As she hid as a bracelet under Miss Qin’s sleeve, Yue Tingxi could only watch Qin Suoliu gently caress the leaf talisman, genuinely praising,

“Very good. Strong and steady. The process of refining it must have been full of anticipation and joy.”

Yue Tingxi’s thoughts were carried back to the years she had carefully nurtured and refined the celestial taro leaf.

Once her familiar spiritual energy had covered her whole body, she suddenly realized, reminding herself, “Ahead is the protective barrier of Xi Mountain! I can sense it!”

After more than five years, she had finally returned to her long-separated homeland.

Qin Suoliu then guided the flying leaf talisman to land on the mountain path ahead.

But as soon as it touched the ground, emerald vines suddenly shot up from all directions, blocking the path!

Even in her hidden form under the sleeve, Yue Tingxi immediately sensed the familiar and immense spiritual pressure.

She released her tail tip, slithered along Qin Suoliu’s arm, and revealed her enormous black-tailed snake form, shielding Miss Qin and keeping the vines at bay.

“Qingyu Mountain resident! It’s me!” Since they were already in Xi Mountain, she boldly shouted. “This is my human friend!”

Qin Suoliu also looked up. The dense black mass of vines retreated at her voice. Though no one was visible, a clear female voice sounded in the next moment:

“Meet me at the old place.”

Yue Tingxi was about to reply “Okay,” but froze—she couldn’t remember where the “old place” was, just like the day at Luo Yansha’s shop. Her memories from the previous life, erased by the traumatic events, hadn’t fully resurfaced.

However, the Qingyu Mountain resident had helped her gather spiritual energy to be born and gave her name. They were incredibly familiar. So she asked directly,

“Why can’t you just say it here?”

“Of course I can, I just don’t trust this person,” the Qingyu Mountain resident replied calmly. “Her soul is as filthy as that leader of the Qing-something Sect from last time! If it weren’t for their entanglement with you, I wouldn’t allow them to set foot in Xi Mountain at all!”

Hearing this, Qin Suoliu maintained a neutral expression, but her heart stirred.

Twenty years ago, she had already heard Yue Tingxi speak of the abilities of this Qingyu Mountain elder.

It was said that the Qingyu Mountain resident was a spirit jade that had existed since the mountain first formed. One of the first beings to gain consciousness and transform into a, she had named every young born from gathered spiritual energy. To the of Xi Mountain, she was the closest to a deity and their nominal “ancestor.”

In her previous life, Yue Tingxi’s body and mind had truly been filthy—falling to evil ways, devouring wreaking havoc in the human realm, betraying those who saved her, and even personally killing this elder.

She had thought that as long as she didn’t speak of it, she could hide it forever. But hearing Qingyu Mountain’s words… it seemed the elder had already seen through her past.

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