The General’s Genius Daughter

Hua Qiyue obediently bowed her head, but she did not intend to apologize. “Master, I wish to see you earlier too. It’s all Yun Shimo’s fault!”

Tianpi again slapped Hua Qiyue’s head. “I warned you not to get close to him or trust him. Now you’ve been deceived by him and gone nearly mad! Don’t you realize how much of a mess you’ve made?”

Hua Qiyue bowed her head without saying a word.

She had long expected a severe scolding from Tianpi, but she didn’t care. It was a price she was willing to pay to return to this familiar world. Even as she was being scolded, she felt at home.

She had been deceived and cheated by Yun Shimo for so long, stealing the jade felt… right.

“Know you’re wrong? Hmm, keeping quiet? You think I will forgive you just because you keep quiet?” Tianpi slapped Hua Qiyue’s head again, like an elder chastising a youngster.

Hua Qiyue gave a wry smile. She knew that if she continued to keep quiet, he would just keep scolding her.

“Yes, Master… I know that I was wrong!”

“In the future, don’t believe that guy.” Tianpi complacently raised his brows.

“I won’t again.”

“So what are you doing by his side now? Looking for death?” Tianpi scolded again.

Hua Qiyue held her aching head and muttered in a quiet voice, “Master, it’s not up to me to decide. Tianci’s stomach has suddenly started to ache. Only Yun Shimo can refine the purple liquid to treat his illness.”

The hand swinging toward Hua Qiyue’s head froze in mid-swing. Tianpi seemed to remember something and stared curiously at Hua Qiyue. “Purplish liquid? Doesn’t the Yun Family own the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead?”

Hua Qiyue looked curiously at Tianpi. When Yun Shimo was explaining the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead, Tianpi must have overheard him from inside the green jade gourd.

“Master, can you hear voices from the outside world?”

“Yes, I can. But I’ve always… thought that they were my delusions. I didn’t pay attention to them.” Tianpi’s expression started to look somewhat unnatural. But he soon recovered.

“Has Master seen the bead?”

“Yes… I have. But I didn’t expect it to fall into the hands of the Yun Family,” Tianpi replied quietly. “Who is holding the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead now?”

“I heard that it is the Xuanyuan Family… but Yun Shimo didn’t say if Heavenly Saint Xuanyuan managed to seize the bead. He only said that his father, Yun Xuan, had perished. Only he and Madame Yun had escaped alive.” Hua Qiyue realized Yun Shimo had not mentioned the whereabouts of the bead.

She hadn’t thought to ask at the time, as no one in their group really cared about the bead or who currently possessed it.

Tianpi was no longer angry. His face was grim as he said, “Those purplish liquids might be the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead! But if the bead’s been refined into a liquid, its medicinal efficacy would halve… Yun Shimo is too smart a man to process the bead this way. What is the purple liquid, and why would Tianci have a stomachache? You must carefully investigate.”

Hua Qiyue was startled. “Master, you want to know who has that Purple Primordial Chaos Bead? You want it?”

“Of course! The Purple Primordial Chaos Bead can change a person’s constitution. Just a little of its powder can make someone’s physique many dozen times stronger than before. What’s so wondrous is that it can restore itself after you scrape an outer layer away.

“But there’s only one Purple Primordial Chaos Bead in the world. Because it can recreate itself, it’s a treasure coveted by every expert in the world. It’s more precious than even a divine weapon.”

Tianpi’s tone was indifferent, but the expression in his eyes was scorching.

Hua Qiyue’s heart missed a beat.

No wonder Yun Shimo left for the Changjing Kingdom. He had become Prince Nan because he had struck some sort of a deal with the Emperor?

What trump cards did the Emperor have to make Yun Shimo strike a deal with him? When Yu Shimo remained in Changjing Kingdom, why hadn’t any of those experts come after him?

“Qiyue, if you have the chance, grab that Purple Primordial Chaos Bead! You can’t be soft-hearted!”

Hua Qiyue was startled. She had grabbed the green jade because it was hers in the first place, but she had never thought about seizing the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead.

“Qiyue, the Bead is very beneficial. It’s even better than the world’s foremost pill. If you managed to lay your hands on it, it would be a great opportunity!” Tianpi said with great consideration. “Do you think the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead belongs to the Yun Family? 15,000 years ago, the Bead used to be a woman named Ziyan. She was a most renowned Qi Artist of the continent…”

Tianpi seemed lost in thought. The expression in his eyes turned somewhat melancholic.

When he regained his focus, he said, “You must surely seize it!”

Hua Qiyue felt quite helpless. She always tried to be righteous and forthright and was uncomfortable stealing other people’s things.

But Tianpi like had a good reason for asking this of her, like when he told her not to get close to Yun Shimo.

“Well, we have rarely met as master and disciple. So let’s talk about something else. Where did you spend your time in the last year?”

Hua Qiyue related her experience — how she searched madly for Tianci after his disappearance, entered Spirit Heaven City to cultivate, and lived together with Xuanji and the others for over a year.

The more Tianpi listened, the more unnatural his facial color turned.

“You’re a woman! How could you live with three men? If news of this spreads, it will ruin your reputation,” Tianpi said unhappily, furrowing his brows.

Hua Qiyue tittered. “Master, don’t worry. There’s still Ji Jing there. Besides, Ji Jing and I lived on the second floor. They stayed on another floor. We are all well behaved and nothing happened. If people want to gossip, let them!”

Tianpi stared at Hua Qiyue’s innocent, smiling face and sighed lightly. He said no more.

He had hoped that Hua Qiyue would bring him a flagon of good wine and a roast chicken. If she did not have roast chicken, some other meat would do too. Good wine with meat would be wonderful! Tianpi had not had that sort of meat for over a year, and he yearned for it.

But Tianpi still went tediously on, “In the future, you must watch Yun Shimo carefully — I’m not kidding. If you have the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead, you won’t need to stay by Yun Shimo’s side. You can make Tianci strong as well,” Tianpi said seriously.

Hua Qiyue nodded. To deal with him, she preferred to answer simply before speaking openly to prevent him from nagging.

“By the way, next time when you take your meal, leave a portion for me! And also some wine…” Tianpi started to squint at Hua Qiyue, not disguising his yearning for food.

“I understand. Next time I return, I will treat Master in a filial way!” Hua Qiyue smiled. As she spoke, she pulled out a few Ginsengs with Nine Souls to reward the Man-Hunting Insect.

Tianpi again yammered on about a whole lot of things. Finally, Hua Qiyue could stand it no more. She said that she would leave to bring him some wine. Tianpi released her robe sleeve joyously.

When Hua Qiyue came out, she thought that she could heave a sigh of relief. But the moment she opened her eyes, she discovered herself at the top of the mountain, looking into many pairs of bizarre eyes.

They were the eyes of Yun Shimo, Ji Feng, Xuanji, Huangfu Xuan, Ji Jing, and the hare edging close to Hua Qiyue.

“Sister Qiyue, you’ve finally appeared! Goodness me, you were in that green jade gourd! If Brother Yun hadn’t told us, we wouldn’t have known!” Ji Jing cried out loudly. Her voice brought Hua Qiyue to her senses.

It appeared Yun Shimo’s search for her had woken everyone up.

Everyone awkwardly scattered. After all, Hua Qiyue had suddenly appeared on the ground. They then started to crowd around her to see how she was.

Seeing Hua Qiyue tightly clenching the green jade gourd, Yun Shimo’s facial color was quite ghastly. “Qiyue, hand the green jade gourd to me at once.”

The hare also stared at Hua Qiyue and gave a gentle sigh. “That devil isn’t so easy to deal with. Don’t underestimate him, and don’t be bewitched by his exterior.”

Hua Qiyue glared at Yun Shimo. For some reason, her heart still believed in Tianpi. If it weren’t for him, she would not be who she was today. Without Tianpi, Hua Qiyue might perhaps still be in Hua’s Mansion, battling that wicked Second Madame and cunning Hua Mengshi.

And because of Tianpi, she had learned Qi Art, gaining access to more and more powerful techniques.

“Why must I hand it to you? The green jade gourd was given to me by Xuanji,” Hua Qiyue said with a half-smile. “My maidservant Lvxin bought it from Xuanji with many taels of silver, so this green jade gourd’s mine. Yun Shimo, do you still want to steal it again?”

Hua Qiyue’s smile was full of sarcasm, and Yun Shimo frowned. “I am not coveting the divine herbs inside your green jade gourd. I only feel that that devil might harm you one day.”

Hua Qiyue gave a hum of assent. She looked at the hare, and then at Yun Shimo.

Xuanji and the rest said nothing. This matter was too important. For the moment, they could not decide whether to stand on Yun Shimo’s side, or Hua Qiyue’s.

“It was you, the man-and-hare-team, who nearly killed me. Thanks to you two, I spent more than a year searching for Tianci, nearly going mad. If it weren’t for Xuanji and the others staying by my side, you’d probably see an insane Hua Qiyue now…” Hua Qiyue coldly remarked. She placed the green jade gourd into a pocket, no longer fastening it onto her waist.

Yun Shimo pursed his lips. A tinge of pain flitted across his inky eyes.

“Brother Xuanji, did you know that there’s space inside the green jade? Was that why you had given it to Qiyue?” Ji Feng could not understand. The world inside the green jade gourd was a wondrous, treasured place. There was abundant anima energy inside and it was full of divine herbs. Why didn’t Xuanji keep it for himself?