Two days later, several of the old Taoists returned.
Accompanying them were a young woman with a placid expression, dressed in a turquoise, water-patterned pleated skirt, and a large, solemn-faced man in close-fitting attire.
"This young woman is the younger sister of the Green Water Pool’s Pond Master, Bi Yingying," Taoist Shen Hao introduced.
Bi Yingying and Mo Wei were also a little surprised when they saw Gu Zhao.
They had already been quite surprised to learn that Daluo Palace was ho to a group of Pure Mages, but seeing Gu Zhao made them even more so.
The ones who had annihilated the White Bone Cave and visited Green Water Pool—Taoist Yi Hong, Taoist Yan Song, and the others—were all venerable old Mages with graying hair and beards. Bi Yingying and Mo Wei had assud the master of Daluo Palace would be soone similar.
They never expected to et a young man who looked to be no older than his twenties.
The two could tell that Gu Zhao hadn’t reverted to a youthful appearance; he was simply young. In both his eyes and his aura, although he already had the bearing of a sect leader, the characteristic of youth was impossible to hide.
"Bi Yingying greets the Sect Leader." Bi Yingying perford a graceful curtsy.
"Please, rise." With a gentle gesture, Gu Zhao lifted Bi Yingying up from a distance. "There’s no need for such formality. Daluo Palace has quite a few female disciples, so feel free to visit them anyti."
’Not to ntion the most active mbers of the palace, Bai Ke and Hu Yufei, we also recently took in another rabbit fairy, He Cailian. Taoist Ming Chong says she’s extrely knowledgeable about all kinds of dicinal herbs and has been a great help in the Alchemy Hall.’
’The number of female fairies in the palace is really growing!’
’And speaking of female fairies, my mind goes to Li Qingshuang, the woman I spent a night with. She transford into a Cyan Bird and flew back to Jiangbei, saying she’d return as soon as she reported back to the Spirit Court.’
’It’s been almost half a year. Why isn’t she back yet?’
...
Bi Yingying was also a Spirit Monarch. Although she had a sowhat aloof personality, she couldn’t resist the lively natures of Bai Ke and Hu Yufei, and she quickly beca friends with the female fairies.
Then she t Zhuo Qingyan.
Zhuo Qingyan smiled at Taoist Shen Hao. "I had no idea your skill in painting was so profound, Martial Uncle. You must give more pointers in the future."
Taoist Shen Hao chuckled. "Your paintings are already superb, young lady. What need is there for this old Taoist to add his two cents?"
’Was she kidding? He might be old, but he wasn’t stupid. Every ti Zhuo Qingyan painted, she dragged Gu Zhao along with her. The two of them were always whispering sweet nothings and being all lovey-dovey. What was there for him to butt in on?’
Zhuo Qingyan pulled Bi Yingying aside. "I hear you enjoy painting as well. We should exchange pointers soti."
Bi Yingying’s eyes fell on a painting of a spring excursion hanging on a nearby wall. She realized that Zhuo Qingyan’s skill surpassed her own, and moreover, the style was exactly to her liking.
"Thank you," Bi Yingying replied. "Back at Green Water Pool, I had no one to discuss it with."
...
Setting aside Bi Yingying’s quick integration into Daluo Palace, the story returns to Gu Zhao, who once again led several of the old Taoists to the modern world to make phone calls.
Taoist Yi Hong was the Observatory Master of Changping Prefecture’s Daluo Temple. He wasn’t usually in Daluo Palace, so now that he was back, he naturally wanted to take the opportunity to contact his friends and relatives in the modern world.
He passed through the research hall, opened his phone, and saw that a number of ssages had popped up.
This was normal, so Taoist Yi Hong paid it no mind. Then, he saw a ssage from Taoist Yi Guan.
"Senior Brother, call back as soon as you see this!"
Taoist Yi Hong’s brow furrowed, and he dialed Taoist Yi Guan’s number. "Junior Brother, what happened?"
Holding his phone, Taoist Yi Guan glanced at the exquisitely crafted Purple Sandalwood Bracelet on his wrist. He hesitated for a mont, then decided to be direct. "Soone’s discovered the miraculous effects of the Golden Gang Bracelets. They want to invite you to Yandu."
In a monitoring room not far from White Cloud Temple, soone took off their headphones, unable to bear listening any longer.
A person next to them slapped their forehead. "I knew it."
They had originally wanted to ask Taoist Yi Guan to find an excuse to trick Taoist Yi Hong into coming to Yandu, then explain things clearly face-to-face. They absolutely ant no harm to Taoist Yi Hong.
But they hadn’t expected Taoist Yi Guan to go completely off-script and sell them out in the very first sentence.
Another person’s heart was beating wildly. They pressed the headphones to their ears and listened intently. "Let’s hear what Taoist Yi Hong has to say."
On the phone, Taoist Yi Hong was silent for a mont, then suddenly chuckled. "They didn’t tell you to be so direct, did they?"
Taoist Yi Guan nodded. "But I won’t lie to you."
Taoist Yi Guan and Taoist Yi Hong had been martial brothers for over half a century. Although one had cultivated Inner Breath True Qi and traveled extensively for years, while the other had limited talent and had stayed at the temple in quiet cultivation, their bond had never changed.
Regardless of whether the people who approached him had ill intentions towards Taoist Yi Hong, Taoist Yi Guan would never use deceit to lure Taoist Yi Hong to Yandu for questioning.
"They want to speak with you face-to-face, so as to not cause any misunderstandings." Taoist Yi Guan also put in a good word for them. "I believe them. It’s just that they don’t understand the relationship between you and . I feel that not hiding anything is the best way to show sincerity."
Then he heard Taoist Yi Hong laugh and say, "We’ve sent out so many Golden Gang Bracelets, and only now has an incident caused them to be discovered. This shows that our security has been pretty good!"
"Huh?" Taoist Yi Guan was taken aback.
Everyone in the monitoring room: ???
Having said that, Taoist Yi Hong then asked, "Do you know who was involved?"
Taoist Yi Guan shook his head. "I don’t know."
Taoist Yi Hong wasn’t concerned. "Have them call my number. I’ll talk to them."
"Okay." Taoist Yi Guan imdiately agreed.
Taoist Yi Hong hung up and turned to Gu Zhao, who had overheard the conversation. "We’ve been found out."
Gu Zhao nodded. "So the other shoe has finally dropped."
Taoist Yan Song chuckled. "I wonder whose friend or relative it was, and what kind of trouble they ran into."
"It’s either Yunyang or Ming Chong," said Taoist Ming Yu. "They have the most friends and relatives, and they also gave out the most Golden Gang Bracelets."
Gu Zhao pointed to himself. "And !"
The old Taoists sitting in the research hall’s pavilion all broke into laughter.
"It’s a sha Yunyang and Senior Brother Ming Chong aren’t here. Otherwise, we could have them call and ask," Taoist Qingyuan said earnestly.
The ones who had returned to Daluo Palace were the six old Taoists who had just visited Green Water Pool. The others were still out in the world, righting wrongs, and had not co back to the mountain with them.
"We don’t need them to call and ask," Taoist Yi Hong said with a chuckle. "Soone will be telling us soon enough."
Gu Zhao swept his Divine Thought through the area. "They haven’t installed anything in the research hall."
Taoist Ming Yu smiled. "It’s not like we’re enemies. If we were, they wouldn’t have had Taoist Yi Guan call his senior brother. They could have chosen a much stealthier and more reliable approach."
As soon as his voice faded, Taoist Yi Hong’s phone rang.
Taoist Yi Hong answered. "Hello?"
"Hello, Taoist Yi Hong." A middle-aged man’s voice ca from the phone. "It was Taoist Li Yunyang’s father who got into a car accident. That’s how we learned about the protective effect of the Golden Gang Bracelet."
Before Taoist Yi Hong could ask any more questions, the man added, "Mr. Li Chang’an is fine. In fact, it was the semi-trailer that ended up with a dent."
"No wonder." Taoist Yi Hong nodded with a smile. "What else do you know?"
The middle-aged man held nothing back. "Call the Wind and Summon the Rain! Soaring Clouds and Mist!"
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