Chapter 59 - 59: Fairy on the Lake, Invitation to Board the Boat
Spring had already returned. There was no wind or rain.
The next day, at dawn.
The warm sun had just risen.
An Le did not sleep the entire night, but he felt extremely energetic. His Spirit Refinement Shedding Mortality Realm made him energetic.
After painting for a night, he drew bamboo casually. He used the pride in the bamboo pole and the sharpness of the bamboo leaves to nourish the Sword Furnace between his eyebrows and gradually calm it down.
The commotion from yesterday had already ended, and An Le was not too affected. Luo Qingchen left Lin’an Prefecture with Zhu Shan’s corpse. Whether he was dead or alive had nothing to do with An Le, but he remembered Luo Qingchen’s promise.
After washing up, An Le changed into a green robe. Then, he wore the Ink Pool Sword and Green Mountain and left the courtyard.
After eating a bowl of beancurd at the entrance of the alley, he read and strolled towards West Lake as if he was used to it.
The spring breeze came, bringing with it the coldness of winter. When they walked to the lake, the fragrant grass was luxuriant and green.
The color of spring returned to West Lake, and the spring water was dyed green.
Along the way to Qingbo Street, there was a cultivation battle on the street yesterday. Now, the pedestrians were in a hurry and there were no traces left.
He was wearing a green robe with wide sleeves and two swords at his waist. Perhaps because of the Spirit Refinement Shedding Mortality, he became even more handsome. His eyebrows were deep as he walked on the long street, attracting the attention of passersby.
In the distance, an acquaintance walked over quickly. It was none other than the constable of the Black Office, Huang Xian.
“Young Master An.”
Huang Xian heaved a sigh of relief when he saw An Le.
“Last night, there was a dispute between cultivators at the entrance of Qingbo Street. The Young Master of Prime Minister Qin was even tortured by the former genius, Luo Qingchen… I was afraid that Young Master An would be implicated. From the looks of it, Young Master is very good.”
Huang Xian’s expression was clearly much more relaxed. He cupped his fists and smiled.
When An Le heard this, he could sense the concern in the other party’s words.
He cupped his fists and returned the greeting. “Thank you for your concern,
Constable Huang. Although it was slightly affected, it’s not a big deal.”
Huang Xian nodded. “Young Master An, the Spring Quarter Examination is imminent. During this period of time, the security in Lin’an Prefecture will be much stricter. Young Master Qin will restrain himself a little. Young Master, you can rest assured.”
“The Spring Quarter Examination is in half a month. I won’t disturb Young
Master An anymore. I hope Young Master An can do well in the Spring Quarter Examination and be ranked on the List A Scholar Rankings. You’ll get what you want!”
Huang Xian smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with An Le before leaving with his saber and heading to the Black Office to work.
An Le also smiled and walked past him, reading as he headed towards West Lake.
The Spring Quarter Examination was approaching, and the atmosphere in the entire Lin’an Prefecture was indeed very different. Among the pedestrians on the streets, there were more scholars studying.
The scholarly atmosphere in the entire ancient city became stronger.
He walked to the West Lake and took a stroll on the white jade dike. He bathed in the spring breeze and read to calm his mind. The Sword Furnace between his eyebrows slowly refined sword qi and sensed the essence of the world.
The West Lake’s blue waves rippled, and the flower boat gently rippled. The sound of the zither silk bamboo rose from it.
The scholars who had talked to An Le came again. When they saw An Le reading alone, they greeted him from afar. One of them even came to chat.
“Brother, you’ve come to the West Lake to admire the flowers again. You’re really leisurely and elegant.”
The person laughed and cupped his fists. “I’m a member of the Liu family of
Huating. My given name is Yue. It’s fate that we met. May I know your name?”
An Le smiled and cupped his fists. “My name is An Le. I’m from Chongzhou. Nice to meet you.”
When the scholar, Liu Yue, heard this, his expression was still fervent. He smiled and talked to An Le about the various charms of the girls on the flower boat.
Suddenly, exclamations came from the lakeside.
Everyone looked over and saw Fairy Yun Rou flying over West Lake on her sword and boarding the flower boat.
Fairy Yun Rou, whom he had not seen for a few days, finally appeared again. For a moment, the scholars and scholars by the lake were all excited.
“Brother, do you know how noble Fairy Yun Rou is on this West Lake Flower Boat? Fairy Yun Rou’s nobleness is definitely extraordinary. We can only see her beautiful figure. Even the top cultivator in Lin’an’s extremely luxurious Falling Flower Pavilion can’t compare to Fairy Yun Rou.”
“I heard that the force and benefactor behind Fairy Yun Rou are unfathomable!” Liu Yue said in a low voice.
When An Le heard this, he smiled and nodded, not surprised. He also extracted four wisps of Age Qi from Fairy Yun Rou, whom he had not seen for a few days.
After reaching Spirit Refinement Shedding Mortality, An Le’s absorption of Age Qi from a single target increased by another wisp. As for the number of daily targets, he did not try it for the time being. He could go to the Lin Residence later and try it on the many young masters.
Four wisps of Age Qi entered his account, and An Le was rather happy.
After obtaining Age Qi, An Le did not plan to stay long. He bade farewell to Liu Yue and planned to leave for the Lin Residence to work.
Scholar Liu Yue was stunned. He felt that this handsome brother in front of him was quite unique.
He left after taking a look at Fairy Yun Rou?
‘We’re scholars. How can one look be enough? Shouldn’t we take a few more glances?’
Suddenly, in the distance, Fairy Yun Rou stood on a flower boat with a veil on her face. Her gaze moved sideways and landed on An Le.
“Young Master, please wait.”
A faint voice came from the flower boat in the middle of the lake with the sound of the wind.
That was Fairy Yun Rou’s voice, it came with her mental power.
“My Miss said that her teacher had a good chat with Master An, so Miss asked me to ask if Master An is willing to get on the flower boat.”
The maidservant’s voice was like the cry of an oriole in an empty valley. Her words were like a song and were rather mellow.
An Le was stunned, so was Liu Yue. He immediately felt a numbing sensation on his scalp, not because of Fairy Yun Rou’s maidservant’s invitation, but because of the information revealed by the maidservant’s words.
Master… Master An?
The handsome young man beside him was Master An?
Rumor had it that Master An, who was good at painting ink bamboo, had the surname An, but he had never mentioned her name.
It turned out that Master An really had the same hobbies as scholars like them.
Ignoring the agitated Liu Yue, An Le frowned. “Did I have a good chat with
Fairy Yun Rou’s teacher?”
Who was Fairy Yun Rou’s teacher?
An Le really couldn’t remember who he had chatted with during this period of time. Could it be an old man from the Imperial Ancestral Temple?
Shaking his head, An Le looked up at Fairy Yun Rou, who was standing on the flower boat. The fairy’s face was covered by a veil, and her bright eyes were like the bright stars in the night sky.
Fairy Yun Rou nodded slightly and greeted An Le.
An Le took a light breath and cupped his fists. “Thank you for your invitation,
Miss Yun Rou, but I have something on today. I’ll visit another day.”
Rejected?!
Liu Yue, who was beside An Le, came back to his senses and was shocked. Fairy Yun Rou’s invitation was something that many scholars dreamed of.
However, the person who rejected him was Master An, who was now famous in half of Lin’an. That… was understandable.
On the flower boat, Fairy Yun Rou smiled peacefully as she transmitted her mental power into An Le’s ears amidst the wind.
“It’s fine. Yun Rou will wait for Master An. After all, Master An almost became my junior brother.”
When An Le heard this, he was stunned for a moment before his eyes lit up.
He had once rejected the Sixth Mountain Lord’s invitation to be the Mountain Guardian. He had also had a good chat with the Sixth Mountain Lord and had been given the Ink Pool Sword.
Could Fairy Yun Rou be the first Mountain Guardian of the Sixth Mountain Lord?!
An Le looked again and saw that Fairy Yun Rou had already entered the flower boat and was nowhere to be seen. As for his guess, he could only give up for no reason.
However, An Le’s first wisp of Age Qi was taken from Fairy Yun Rou, and the first wisp of Molten Gold Age Qi was also taken from Fairy Yun Rou.
He was indebted to Fairy Yun Rou in terms of karma. Since she had invited him, he would naturally pay her a visit when he was free.
However, he had to go to the Lin Residence to work today and did not apply for leave from Madam Hua, so he rejected the invitation.
An Le did not stay long by West Lake. He bade farewell to Liu Yue, who was beside him.
Liu Yue was flattered and hurriedly bowed in return.
An Le smiled and walked past the sea of people with Green Mountain and Ink Pool Sword by his waist.
When Liu Yue looked up, Master An, who was famous in Lin’an Prefecture, had already disappeared without a trace.
After a spring rain baptism, the spring scenery in Lin’an Residence was brand new.
The willows by the road were blowing in the wind. Flowers and branches extended out of the wall of the tall courtyard, blooming with the aura of spring.
An Le crossed Jing Street and arrived at the entrance of the Lin Residence. The maidservant, Liu Xiang, who had been waiting for a long time, opened the door.
“Young Master An.” Liu Xiang pursed her red lips and looked at An Le shyly.
She knew that An Le would come to the Lin Residence every day and would wait in front of the residence in advance to open the door for Young Master An. An Le smiled and thanked Miss Liu Xiang.
Miss Liu Xiang bowed and said, “A guest came to the residence today. First Madam specially instructed that if Young Master An comes, she would invite
Young Master to the Heavenly Wave Water Pavilion to meet the guest.”
When An Le heard this, a hint of surprise appeared on his face. He smiled and said, “Then please lead the way, Miss Liu Xiang.”
Liu Xiang covered her mouth and smiled. She led the way in the direction of the Heavenly Wave Water Pavilion.
After arriving at the Heavenly Wave Water Pavilion, Liu Xiang stopped. After An Le bowed, he stepped up and crossed the white jade stone bridge to arrive at the main hall of the Water Pavilion.
The main hall was extremely lively.
Sitting at the main seat was Madam Hua. Today, Madam Hua was wearing a purple gauze dress, and her black hair was spread out. She was chatting and laughing with a woman who was equally graceful and noble.
Below him sat a tall and sturdy figure with a straight back. An Le had seen him before. It was Ye Chong from the Ye family who had ascended the Sixth
Mountain that day.
Ye Chong, who was filled with vitality and bravery, seemed to have noticed An Le’s gaze and nodded slightly as he cupped his fists.
An Le bowed in return.
On the other side, Lin Qingyin and Lin Zhuifeng were talking to two beautiful figures. An Le looked over and saw that one of the beautiful figures was Ye
Wenxi, who had bathed in the spring rain and followed him up the mountain.
The other girl looked a little similar to Ye Wenxi, but she was more heroic and lively.
When Ye Wenxi saw An Le, she nodded dignifiedly.
At the main seat, Madam Hua, who was chatting happily with Madam Ye, looked at An Le.
She was stunned when he saw it. Shock and surprise appeared in her eyes.
The Sword Furnace between his brows released his mental power. This was a Spirit Refinement Shedding Mortality phenomenon.
When did this kid… breakthrough the Embryonic Breath Realm?!