Wen Yuxian also had no intention of lingering by the immortal pool. After all, her grandson wasn't much to look at.
She left with Abbess Guan Yun to catch up.
Yan Shouyi soaked in the immortal pool, feeling the heat within his body gradually subside and his consciousness gradually clear.
"Hoo..."
He let out a long breath, thinking that if this state lasted for another ten minutes, the love-silk gu should be completely purged.
Although the issue of the love-silk gu was resolved, Yan Shouyi's heart remained uneasy. He was still troubled by the Emei Lotus Formation.
The disappearance of the love-silk gu from the mountain would take at least seven days, meaning he absolutely could not leave the Flying Cloud Hall within these seven days.
Every extra second he wasted in Emei Mountain now could result in earth-shattering changes in the outside world.
He wasn't worried about the Research Association's companions not being able to get through this trial; after all, if the sky fell, his father Yan Chou would be there to bear it.
His only concern was Lin Zitong, who was pregnant.
He still needed to find a way to leave Emei Mountain as soon as possible.
Long Feicheng, soaking nearby, said leisurely, "The water in this pool is bone-chillingly cold. If we didn't have the love-silk gu in our bodies, we'd probably be frozen into popsicles by it."
Ye Tianyuan nodded, "Why would there be such a pool in the Flying Cloud Hall in the first place?"
This question reminded everyone. The Flying Cloud Hall was a mobile grand hall, which meant the water in this immortal pool was likely not running water.
If it wasn't running water, how could it be so clear to the bottom and still be bone-chillingly cold?
"Ah, thinking about it is useless!"
Long Feicheng habitually reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes, but they were wet and unsmokable, which made him depressed.
This environment was very similar to the massage parlors he frequented with Old Jin Wengqian. After a comfortable soak in a hot spring, they would go for a sauna, change into comfortable and loose clothing, and then head to a familiar room to request their usual masseuse.
However, this was the Flying Cloud Hall. There were no familiar masseuses, only familiar old nuns.
Long Feicheng also suddenly realized that he might have to spend three months on a mountain full of nuns. For Long Feicheng, who had always cherished freedom, this was worse than being killed!
"Brother Yan!"
Long Feicheng suddenly said with unusual determination, "We must find a way to get out of here!"
"Why are you suddenly so full of fighting spirit?" Yan Shouyi asked in surprise.
"Look at you, saying 'three days apart for a scholar is like three autumns'..."
"You mean 'A scholar, after three days' absence, should be regarded with new admiration' and 'One day apart feels like three autumns,' right?"
"...The meaning is about the same."
"The meaning is very different!"
"Ah, I didn't study much. Brother Yan, please don't bother with me!" Long Feicheng said habitually as he scrubbed himself, "We can't be trapped here for three months, or Li Genmiao's treacherous plan will succeed!"
Yan Shouyi sighed, "Do I need you to state the obvious? But regardless, we have to wait seven days for the love-silk gu to dissipate before we can leave the Flying Cloud Hall... It's possible that more dangers await us on Mount Emei."
At this moment, Ye Tianyuan sniffed and asked in surprise,
"Do you smell a strange fragrance?"
Prompted by Ye Tianyuan, everyone sniffed and indeed caught a faint, elegant aroma.
Before, there were too many women in the hall. Although the female disciples of the Emei sect did not wear perfume, their natural body fragrance was enough to disturb the senses. Therefore, it was only now that a few people noticed the existence of this clear fragrance.
Lele rubbed his bald head, then suddenly submerged his head into the water. After a moment, he surfaced again, pointing at the bottom of the pool and chattering something.
Even now, Lele was unaware of everything Qi Dongqiang and Huanhuan had done, still considering Yan Shouyi and the others as "teammates." And because Yan Shouyi and the others had rescued it from the Twelve Zodiacs, Lele still felt a little grateful to them.
Yan Shouyi noticed Lele's abnormality and asked, "Are you saying the fragrance comes from the bottom of the pool?"
Lele nodded.
The pool was not deep. Yan Shouyi submerged his head into the water and opened his eyes. He saw that at the bottom of the pool, there was a large piece of semi-transparent glass.
This glass was specially made. It could not be seen through from the surface of the water. Only by diving into the water could one see what was beneath the glass.
He saw that beneath the glass, a white lotus was growing. The entire lotus was submerged in the pool water. Above the lotus, a small lotus seedpod had formed, and at the roots, many lotus roots had already grown.
That fragrance was likely emitted by this lotus.
Yan Shouyi surfaced and described the lotus at the bottom of the immortal pool to the others. They suddenly remembered that Qi Dongqiang had seemed to mention "mysterious fragrance" when they were climbing the mountain.
Although Qi Dongqiang was full of lies, most of his lies were mixed with truth and falsehood. This meant that Qi Dongqiang had indeed smelled a strange fragrance, but other things related to the fragrance were likely fabricated by him.
What was the origin of this lotus?
Was the immortal pool formed because of the lotus, or did the lotus exist because of the immortal pool?
Regardless of the reason, it meant that this white lotus was unusual. Yan Shouyi planned to ask Abbess Guan Yun about it when he got out of the immortal pool later.
...
Mount Emei, halfway up the mountain.
At the end of a winding path was a deserted opera house that had been abandoned for who knew how many years.
The original red circular archway of the opera house was old and mottled, with most of the red paint having peeled off.
The ground was overgrown with weeds, and occasionally, poisonous snakes and rats would emerge.
It was now deep in the night, and such a deserted opera house was enough to be a filming location for a horror movie, as if a ferocious red-clothed vengeful spirit would appear from a corner at any moment.
Even more bizarrely, the two red lanterns at the entrance of the opera house suddenly lit up.
Immediately after, the sound of gongs and drums echoed from within the opera house, very noisy.
After a while, two rows of paper figures, less than a meter tall, emerged hopping and skipping from the opera house. Judging by the facial depictions, they resembled children.
They held white lanterns and stood on either side, like doormen welcoming guests.
Who were they welcoming?
In this desolate wilderness, in the dead of night, it was impossible for living people to come to the mountain to listen to opera. Could it be the dead?
Soon, the figures that appeared answered this question. Guests began to arrive from the foot of the mountain, all of them carrying white lanterns, in twos and threes, forming groups.
They were all living people—this was even stranger than if they were all dead.
What kind of people would come to a deserted opera house in the mountains in the middle of the night to listen to opera?
The guests' attire was also very peculiar: there were Taoist priests wearing robes, eminent monks in kasayas, and bosses in suits and ties.
They came from all walks of life, but not a single person was dressed like an ordinary citizen.
A paper doorman stepped out and shouted:
"The hour is almost upon us, please all honored guests enter the garden and take your seats... Once the hour arrives, the entrance to the opera house will be closed, and it will be too late for our honored guests to see our master!"