"Call me 'Miss,' can't you?" Pei Ruxue glared at him, her voice filled with anger.
"Uh, Miss Pei," Mo Qi felt changing his address was no big deal. As long as she was happy, he wouldn't mind calling her sister, "Then why are you following me? Do you want to kill me, or like last time, seduce me?"
Pei Ruxue's face instantly flushed. She was a master to many cultivators, usually held in high regard and worshipped. How had she ever been so directly insulted? But it was true that she had been the one following him. If they were to argue the point, she would likely be in the wrong. Fine, she wouldn't bother with him.
"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory," Pei Ruxue cursed softly and turned to leave.
Mo Qi flashed forward, blocking her path. "Miss Pei, shouldn't you give me an explanation before you go?"
Pei Ruxue flickered away rapidly, soon disappearing from Mo Qi's sight. "You're still too green to compete with me in movement techniques."
Mo Qi silently swallowed a Flash Shift Pill. Using his Heavenly Eye, he locked onto Pei Ruxue's position, and with a few flashes, reappeared before her. Pei Ruxue refused to admit defeat and once again fled at top speed, only to be caught by Mo Qi. Finally, Pei Ruxue leaned against a tree, panting, a bit dejected. "What exactly do you want?"
Mo Qi had forgotten the main issue. He grinned playfully, "I think this is quite fun. How about you keep running?"
Pei Ruxue rolled her eyes at him. "Who's playing with you? I was just passing by and happened to run into you."
Mo Qi said, "It's quite a coincidence that I could run into you even inside a mountain cave."
Pei Ruxue's pretty face reddened slightly, unsure how to explain. After a pause, she mumbled, "Yes, I did want to kill you."
"If you wanted to kill me, why didn't you act? Just tell me the truth. There's nothing to be ashamed of," Mo Qi pressed aggressively.
Pei Ruxue felt her thoughts had been seen through, her face grew even redder, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.
"You want to go to the Northern Territory, but you don't dare to travel alone. You're afraid of encountering demonic cultivators like Blood Daoist again and want to travel with me, right?" Mo Qi stated with confidence.
How "clever," Pei Ruxue thought disdainfully. But at least she had found a way out, so she immediately said, "Yes, it's quite embarrassing, especially since I have so many disciples."
As if touched by his own cleverness, Mo Qi's eyes shone brightly. He thought, "Although she has many disciples, she's still a woman, too delicate and timid." Then, he added nonchalantly, "You can follow me if you want, but I might stay for a few days when I pass through the Caiyun Kingdom. Then... perhaps you can follow me first, and decide later whether to continue following me."
Mo Qi didn't realize that, silently, the situation had shifted from "traveling together" to "following me." However, Pei Ruxue found it particularly grating.
"I don't want to..." Pei Ruxue was about to refuse. Mo Qi had already started walking forward. "You don't want others to know, right? It's fine, I won't tell anyone else. It's just you and me, heaven and earth know."
Seeing his shameless demeanor, Pei Ruxue wished she could slap him twice.
She thought for a moment, then, for some reason, she followed him.
In the Caiyun Kingdom, in front of the royal palace, stood a young man of sixteen or seventeen. He insisted on entering the palace to see the King of Caiyun. The guards initially thought he was a madman and tried to drive him away. However, the madman refused to leave, persistently demanding to see the King. Was the King someone an ordinary citizen could just meet?
The young man claimed he was the驸马 (fù mǎ - consort), not an ordinary citizen.
"How dare you!" the guard captain roared. "You scoundrel, impersonating the consort at the palace gates! You must be tired of living. Guards, seize him!"
Several guards surrounded him and easily apprehended the young man. He was quickly bound and prepared to be taken to the yamen. The captain thought for a moment; it was too much trouble. It would be better to execute him on the spot. After all, he had the authority to kill those who trespassed into the palace. Even if this one hadn't, it didn't matter; he was in charge here.
The captain waved his hand, signaling for the young man to be beheaded and then dragged away to be fed to the dogs.
The guards were quite accustomed to such matters. One of them raised his saber and swung it at the young man's neck. With a clang, the saber seemed to strike steel, sparks flying. It rebounded, leaving a nick on the blade. The ropes binding the young man snapped automatically and fell to the ground. "Monster!" everyone exclaimed in shock, backing away, weapons in hand, warily eyeing the young man.
That's right, the young man was Mo Qi.
He had originally intended to sneak into the palace directly. However, he didn't know where the King was or how to find him, so he decided to enter through the palace gates and have the guards directly escort him to the King.
To his surprise, these people were uncooperative and looked down on him with disdain. He was annoyed by this, so he claimed to be the consort, hoping to intimidate them. Unexpectedly, not only did it fail to scare them, but it directly provoked them to attack.
He figured if all else failed, he would have to randomly grab someone and coerce them into taking him to the King.
"I just want to see the King, is that so difficult?" Mo Qi said with a troubled frown.
His words were spoken neither hastily nor slowly, but they sent a chill down the spines of those around him. An invisible pressure descended, making everyone feel as if disaster was imminent.
Just then, a questioning voice rang out, "What's going on? Who's causing trouble here?"
A group of people, surrounding a person clad in a sable-lined satin robe and luxurious brocade attire, approached. The speaker was the richly dressed individual.
"Greetings, Second Prince," everyone knelt.
Mo Qi glanced back at his future brother-in-law, then shifted his gaze elsewhere.
Second Prince Zhen Gui glanced at Mo Qi, thinking this person was surely seeking death. He had seen the guards with their weapons drawn, seemingly targeting this individual from the start. Then, he saw everyone paying respects to him, yet this person remained unmoved, displaying an air of spoiled arrogance. He must be tired of living, he thought.
"What happened?" Zhen Gui raised his hand, signaling everyone to rise, and then looked at the captain.
The captain stood up and pointed at Mo Qi. "Reporting to Your Highness, this madman claimed he wanted to see His Majesty. His Majesty did not summon him, so we attempted to stop him."
Zhen Gui turned and looked at a deep-eyed old man. "Master..."
This old man was named Zhao Huayun. He was a rogue cultivator from the Nine Divine Realms. One night, while observing the stars, he noticed an anomaly with the Ziwei Star. After some calculation, he realized that the karmic affinity between the Second Prince of Caiyun Kingdom and his disciple had arrived. Thus, he traveled to the Caiyun Kingdom overnight and accepted Zhen Gui as his disciple.
The King, Zhen Cang, had a lingering shadow from cultivators and was initially unwilling. However, seeing Zhen Gui's eager agreement, and fearing the wrath of a cultivator, which mortals like himself could not afford to offend, he reluctantly agreed.
He only forbade Zhao Huayun from entering the palace, allowing him to teach Zhen Gui immortal arts from outside. But ever since Zhen Gui became his disciple, he often brought Zhao Huayun into the palace, and the guards dared not stop them.
At this moment, Zhao Huayun stared at Mo Qi for a while. No matter how he looked at him, he seemed like an immature youngster. He quietly whispered into Zhen Gui's ear, "He has some cultivation, but likely only a superficial understanding. No need to worry."
The captain continued, "And this madman said..." He suddenly stopped speaking.
Zhen Gui glanced at him. "Speak freely."
"He said he is the consort," the captain said, gathering his courage.
Zhen Gui looked at Mo Qi again and suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears streamed from his eyes. "He really is a madman."
Mo Qi ignored his sarcastic laughter and secretly observed Zhao Huayun. A mere sweep of his divine sense told him everything he needed to know: the man was only a beginner cultivator, at the fifth or sixth stage of Spirit Condensation. He then scanned Zhen Gui and discovered that he hadn't even successfully condensed his spirit yet. It seemed this master was just here to freeload.
Zhen Gui finally stopped laughing, wiping away his tears. "May I ask which of my sisters is fortunate enough to be your wife?" He found this teasing quite amusing.
Mo Qi took out the jade pendant that Zhen Zhen had left him. "We are not yet husband and wife, merely an agreement."
Zhen Gui immediately recognized the jade pendant as Zhen Zhen's. Zhen Zhen was his full sister, and their bond was naturally extraordinary. Furthermore, women posed no threat to royal power, which made their relationship quite stable.
Seeing the jade pendant, tears immediately welled up in his eyes. In his opinion, his sister had always been exceptionally proud. How could she possibly fancy this ordinary-looking fellow? There was only one possibility: his sister had already met a tragic end at this man's hands, and he had snatched the jade pendant.
"You beast, return my royal sister's life!" Zhen Gui roared and lunged at Mo Qi.
Mo Qi did not dodge. He brought out both his palms, and a continuous stream of palm shadows formed, almost creating a rainbow around Zhen Gui. After a series of sharp sounds, Zhen Gui was stunned. The blows to his body, while not exactly painful, felt invigorating, yet there was also a dull ache.
"You, what are you doing?" Zhen Gui stood there, bewildered. Zhao Huayun and the guards were also at a loss. They could tell that if this person had intended to harm the prince, he could have killed him twenty times over. His speed was too great for anyone to react. Fortunately, this person had no intention of killing him.
Mo Qi stood with his hands behind his back, his figure seeming to grow taller. He recited a mental cultivation technique and said, "Follow this technique to cultivate, and you will awaken your divine sense." As if hypnotized, Zhen Gui involuntarily followed his words. "I'll try it when I get back."
Mo Qi looked into his eyes and handed him a Spirit Nurturing Pill. "Take this and try it immediately, right here." To everyone's astonishment, Zhen Gui took the pill without hesitation and sat down cross-legged. Everyone was dumbfounded. The dignified prince was sitting on the roadside?
Zhao Huayun immediately sensed something was wrong. His sharp, sword-like gaze fixed on Mo Qi. "Monster, what sorcery have you used? Release your control over the Prince immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite."
Mo Qi didn't even glance at him, his eyes fixed on Zhen Gui.
"Flying sword!" Zhao Huayun shouted, pointing his finger. A beam of sword light shot out, directly at Mo Qi's face. Mo Qi remained unfazed. He extended his right index and middle fingers, lightly pinching the flying sword and holding it steady.
"Here you go!" Mo Qi shouted softly, flicking his wrist. The beam of light flashed and disappeared. Immediately, Zhao Huayun let out a scream. His right index and middle fingers had been cleanly severed, blood gushing out.
Mo Qi continued to look at Zhen Gui, but he warned Zhao Huayun, "This time it's your fingers. If I catch you scamming and deceiving again, I'll cut off your head."
Zhao Huayun immediately realized he had encountered a tough opponent. A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. Without even stopping the bleeding, he scurried away in disgrace.
Only then did Mo Qi focus his entire being on Zhen Gui. At this moment, he had to simultaneously deploy the Soul Suppressing Technique and the Heavenly Eye, while also circulating spiritual energy to assist Zhen Gui's soul sea. It was extremely taxing. However, all these efforts were merely auxiliary. The key factor in awakening divine sense still lay with Zhen Gui himself. But Mo Qi had confidence in him, and more importantly, confidence in his own pills. Thus, even after an hour, two hours... he did not give up.
More and more people began to gather at the palace gates – royalty, dignitaries, commoners... People pointed and murmured amongst themselves.
"Who is that? Why is the Prince sitting on the ground?"
"The Prince seems to be doing it willingly, not like he's being coerced. It looks like he's cultivating."
"But why isn't he cultivating at home? Why is he cultivating on the roadside?"
After several hours, Zhen Gui felt a surge of mystical energy break through. A warm current flowed ceaselessly within him, and he immediately knew that his divine sense had awakened.
Before, he asked his master every day when his divine sense would awaken. His master always said, "Tomorrow." But countless tomorrows passed, and his divine sense remained dormant, unmoving. He had almost despaired.
He kept his master by his side simply as an additional reliance. Sometimes, deep down, he wondered if this master had been deceiving him all along.