Chapter 60: The Charm of That Kiss
Zhu Ge Mingyue stood beside Zhu Ge Fu Yun, looking at the crowd in the grand hall, and couldn't help but ask: "Who came? Why is everyone so excited?" For a moment, she didn't know what to call Zhu Ge Fu Yun. Calling him father was impossible, he wasn't her father, but he had always been protecting her in his own way. Not calling him father in front of others seemed inappropriate too. For a moment, Zhu Ge Mingyue was a bit conflicted. She would try to avoid calling him anything if possible.
"It's the president of the Summoner Association, Cang Wuyue," explained Zhuge Fu Yun. "He usually dislikes attending these banquets and doesn't like to socialize with people. His strength has already reached the peak of the Holy level. He is a high-ranking person who does not ask about worldly affairs."
Advancing from Sky level to Soul level is not difficult, but advancing from Soul level to Holy level is extremely challenging because it requires going through heavenly tribulation! The power of heavenly thunder is so great that if one cannot withstand it, their internal organs will shift, their blood vessels will rupture, and they will lose a layer of skin. Therefore, the gap between Soul level and Holy level is enormous.
The difference between the initial stage, middle stage, and peak stage of the Holy level is even more vast. So, three Holy-level cultivators at the initial stage may not necessarily be a match for one at the peak stage. That's why someone like Cang Wuyue is treated with great courtesy, even by the emperor himself.
At the entrance, the Emperor and Concubine Rou had already welcomed Cang Wuji in. All the fervent eyes were focused on Cang Wuji. Many summoners wanted to get some guidance from Cang Wuji, even if it was just a few words, that would be precious.
When Zhuge Mingyue saw the person who came in with the emperor and Rong Fei, she stared wide-eyed. What's going on? Did she see things wrongly? How could that lecherous old man appear here? The same lecherous old man who tried to force her to be his apprentice previously had changed into a luxurious silk attire today. However, the clothes were still too big for him, and they swayed with every step he took. Paired with his small eyes and those two brazenly curled whiskers, it made people feel lecherous at first glance.
"Who, who is that?" Zhuge Mingyue stuttered a little, she had a bad idea in her mind, no way, this despicable old man was the president of the Summoner Association? Was he the unworldly expert mentioned by Zhuge Fuyun?
"That's Cang Wuyue. I really didn't expect him to come back and attend the banquet today. But what's the reason for this?" Zhuge Fuyun was also confused, why would Cang Wuyue appear here.
Zhuge Mingyue thought back to that day's events with Cang Wu Ya, and his heart felt complicated. He really hadn't expected that this despicable old man would actually be the president of the Summoner Association! Could it truly be said that you can't judge a person by their appearance?
"Prime Minister Cang, you've come today, it truly delights me." The Emperor said with a smile.
"Today is the birthday of the third prince, I have prepared a small gift." Cang Wuyue also smiled, but seemed to be distracted, his two eyeballs were rolling around, searching for his target in the grand hall.
"Thank you so much, Master Cang." The Emperor also noticed that Cang Wu seemed to be distracted and hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Master Cang, what are you looking for?"
"Oh, I'm looking for someone." Cang Wu Ya said directly.
Looking for someone? The emperor was taken aback, what is Cang Wuyan looking for someone at the banquet?
"Oh, found it!" Cang Wu said excitedly, then dropped the emperor and went straight in one direction.
"Cang Hui Chang, who are you looking for?" The Emperor asked, following closely behind.
"Find me an apprentice." The elder Cang saw the one standing beside Zhuge Fu Yun, Zhuge Ming Yue. He smiled with curved eyebrows, haha, finally found him.
"Disciple? When did Master Cang have a disciple?" The Emperor and Consort Rou were both surprised, having never heard of Master Cang taking on an apprentice before. Although many people had wanted to become Master Cang's disciples, it seemed that he had never accepted any apprentices.
"En, today is received." Cang Wu Ya threw down the sentence and continued walking towards Zhuge Mingyue.
A loud clap of thunder on a clear day!
The words of Cang Wuji had this effect. The people around him all heard it, and then they all fell silent in an instant. Accepting a disciple? Is Cang Wuji accepting a disciple today? No mistake was made, Cang Wuji came to the banquet today to accept a disciple!
I'm taking disciples! I'm taking disciples!
This sentence is like an incantation, entwining everyone.
Scorching gazes almost drowned Cang Wu Ya, what kind of person had entered Cang Wu Ya's eyes and made him want to take them as his apprentice?
Now, with every step he takes, the people in front of him feel their heartbeats quicken. Many young men and women gaze at Cang Wu Ya with fervent eyes, wondering if it could be themselves. The excitement and anticipation turn into disappointment and jealousy as Cang Wu Ya passes by them.
Finally, Cang Wu stopped in front of Zhuge Mingyue, revealing his teeth with a sly smile: "Found you, huh? Girl, come with me! From now on, follow me, eat well and drink well. If anyone looks at you sideways, just hit them, I'll take responsibility. Can't beat 'em? Come back to me, I'll help you beat 'em up. How about it? Be my apprentice!"
These words are truly sharp as a knife and earth-shattering! The first part really sounds like the boss of a gang collecting his underlings, but the second part makes Zhuge Mingyue feel very touched. It seems that having a powerful and protective master to rely on isn't a bad thing at all.
"Hurry up and agree, you. Zhuge Fu Yun, hurry up and get your daughter to agree." Seeing that Zhuge Ming Yue was slow to respond, Cang Wu Jia became anxious and repeatedly urged Zhuge Fu Yun.
Zhuge Fu lowered his voice and said to Zhuge Mingyue, "Mingyue, it's not bad that Master Cang accepted you as a disciple. You can learn many things from him. Of course, Master Cang has many treasures, and he won't be stingy with his own disciples."
Zhuge Mingyue's eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly: "Master!"
"Ah!" Cang Wuyue's delighted eyes narrowed into a line, making Zhuge Mingyue get goosebumps with his warm and gentle tone. "Good disciple, come on, let's go back with Master. Master has many things to ask you, and also many things to teach you."
Cang Wu Ya didn't care that they were currently at a banquet, he was going to take away Zhuge Mingyue right now.
"What?" Zhuge Mingyue was taken aback, turned her head to look at Zhuge Fuyun. The banquet isn't over yet, is it? And there's also Old Man Cang Wuya, he just arrived and wants to leave? Isn't this being disrespectful to the Emperor?
"It's all right, Zhuge Mingyue. You can follow Cang Hui to go." The emperor walked up and expressed his indifference. It was a good thing that Cang Wu had accepted an apprentice. Teaching all his skills to Zhuge Mingyue would make his people strong, making the country strong, which would only bring benefits to him, not harm.
"Go ahead." Zhuge Fu Yun smiled slightly and said, "I heard that Elder Cang has many treasures."
"Mm." Zhuge Mingyue nodded in understanding, secretly smiling to herself. In fact, Zhuge Fuyun was quite cunning and humorous. Through their heart-to-heart conversation tonight, Zhuge Mingyue developed a strong liking for Zhuge Fuyun.
Cang Wuyue hastily came and took away Zhuge Mingyue with a swagger. Before leaving, Zhuge Mingyue turned back to look at Ling Feiyang who was watching her intently, she smiled back at him, and Ling Feiyang relaxed, smiling as he saw Zhuge Mingyue off. Zhuge Qinglian and the others, on the other hand, were filled with jealousy and hatred as they watched Zhuge Mingyue's retreating figure, their fists clenched so tightly that they turned white, their palms sweating coldly. Why did Cang Willing favor someone like Zhuge Mingyue? She was just a...
"Is she just a bastard, huh?" Suddenly, a voice sounded softly in her ear, so soft that only she could hear it. Zhuge Qinglian's face changed suddenly, and she turned her head abruptly to see Zhuge Fuyun looking at her with a calm expression.
"Father." Zhuge Qinglian lowered her head, shocked in her heart. How did Father know what she was thinking?
"Qinglian, why would I take in Mingyue as a disciple? It has nothing to do with her identity. Don't be blinded by superficial phenomena, but rather objectively find out the reason." Zhuge Fuyun stretched out his hand and gently stroked Zhuge Qinglian's head, "In my eyes, you are my excellent daughter, the one I am most proud of. You are also my only daughter, and I hope you can stand tall and see far. Don't be nearsighted, with effort, you will have your own achievements. Maybe you won't surpass others, but in your father's eyes, you are the best."
"Father..." Zhuge Qinglian's eyes became slightly moist, the first time she heard her father say so much, and also the first time she heard him say that she was his only daughter. So, it seemed that in Father's heart, he actually didn't acknowledge Zhuge Mingyue as his own. She herself was the only daughter he took pride in!
"Don't let me down, you have your own path to follow." Zhuge Fu Yun said in a soft voice.
"Yes, Father, I will...I will..." Zhuge Qinglian choked back a sob. For the first time, she felt her father's love and expectations. She was determined not to lose to Zhuge Mingyue and would definitely have her own achievements.
Zhuge Fuyun looked at Zhuge Qinglian's eyes, which gradually became firm and resolute. In this moment, he felt extremely relieved. For a long time, he had been suppressing himself. If Zhuge Mingyue hadn't asked those questions today, he might still be silent. He not only overlooked the harm that these things would cause to Zhuge Mingyue but also neglected his own daughter's feelings. In the future, perhaps everything will be fine. Zhuge Fuyun suddenly felt this way.
……
Cang Wuyue took Xue Yue to his exclusive carriage, laughing and saying: "Girl, you used to despise me for taking you as my apprentice, now you don't despise me anymore, hurry up and call me Master!"
"No." Zhuge Mingyue refused bluntly.
"What?!?" Cang Wuji shouted in a sharp voice, his tone almost blowing off the roof of the carriage.
"No meeting gift, why call?" Zhuge Mingyue wasn't stupid, and Zhuge Fu Yun's reminder was so obvious. If they didn't extort some good things from Cang Wu Jia, how could they be satisfied?
"Oh, that's it? Alright, I'll go find it for you right away. Let's go!" Cang Wuji heard that it was just this matter and he couldn't help but laugh. These were all small matters after all.
Then, Cang Wu Ya took Zhuge Mingyue directly back to the Summoner Association. As soon as they entered, someone came out to greet them. Cang Wu Ya said directly: "This is my apprentice, Zhuge Mingyue. Spread the word, and keep your eyes open from now on. Offending her is offending me." After finishing speaking, Cang Wu Ya ignored the person whose mouth was agape as if an egg could be stuffed in, and took Zhuge Mingyue upstairs.
Cang Wu Ya took Zhuge Mingyue upstairs to find a suitable treasure for her. Soon, they found one that suited Zhuge Mingyue.
"Wear this bracelet, the middle is made of moonstone, and the patterns around it are not just ordinary patterns, but a lost array. Can absorb the light of the sun and moon, at critical moments"
It can make you burst with spiritual power, and the summoned demon's strength will greatly increase. However, it can only be used once a month, so you must grasp the timing yourself." Cang Wu Ye handed a small, exquisite bracelet to Zhuge Mingyue, explaining in detail.
Zhuge Mingyue took it over and carefully observed the bracelet. The moon-white bracelet was small and delicate, with a snow-white four-leaf flower in the middle, surrounded by ancient floral patterns. When placed under light, the bracelet suddenly seemed to come alive, shining brightly and radiating a few shades of transparency. Zhuge Mingyue happily put on the bracelet, which immediately shrunk and fit snugly around her wrist. A cool sensation spread from her wrist.
"Thank you, Master." This time, Zhuge Mingyue called out the two words "Master" very decisively.
Cang Wu's originally small eyes turned into a slit when he smiled.
"Alright, good apprentice, come here, I have a lot to teach you. First of all, it's multiple summoning..." Cang Wu Ya said with a pleased expression, narrowing his small eyes.
"Multiple summoning, isn't it summoning multiple magical pets at the same time?" Zhuge Mingyue asked. She still remembered how excited Cang Wujiang was when he saw her summon two magical pets at the same time back then.
"Right. Can you summon two pairs now?" Cang Wu asked.
Zhuge Mingyue nodded: "It's Fei Yu and the storm." Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't call out Fei Yu's name because it was too embarrassing. This dead fat bird, why did he have to be called handsome?
"Have you ever tried summoning even more and stronger magical pets at the same time?" Cang Wu Jia asked, looking at Zhuge Mingyue.
“Th...” Zhuge Mingyue was speechless, and Cang Wuyue's words had struck a chord in her heart. Summoners can change their magical pets once for every level they upgrade, and as a high-level summoner, she should have had two chances to change her magical pets. If it were multiple summons, she should be able to summon another one. In fact, Zhuge Mingyue had tried before, wanting to summon three magical pets at the same time, but she had never succeeded. To summon again, she would have to give up either Fatutu or Huifeng, which was something she was unwilling to do, so she had never succeeded.
"You may have completed the double summon, but you're still far from multi-summon. A true multi-summon is one that can simultaneously summon multiple powerful magical creatures." Cang Wu's emotions were complex. The girl in front of him was self-taught and would surely learn multi-summoning. Meanwhile, he had spent years researching and still had nothing to show for it.
"Then teach me, Master, teach me!" Zhuge Mingyue's eyes lit up. If she could summon a powerful demon pet every time she leveled up, then later on, she would be leading an army of demon pets and could directly trample people. Just thinking about it made Zhuge Mingyue call out the words "Master" with extra affection and sweetness.
"Wait, you're still a senior summoner, you need to improve your strength and advance to a grand summoner. Once your spiritual power is strong enough, I'll teach you multiple summons. Multiple summons consume a lot of spiritual power." Cang Wu Ya's face lit up with joy when he was called "master" by that person, it could be said that this little girl was willing to call him master. He smiled brightly, stroking his two pointed whiskers and continued, "You're currently at the Tianfeng Academy? Hmm, I'll give Wen Yi that kid a heads up. You can go to the academy whenever you want. For now, stay here with me, I'll teach you how to cast spells silently."
"What's wrong?" Zhuge Mingyue repeated Cang Wuji's words in shock, the faint sense of loss in her heart immediately replaced by astonishment.
"Of course, it's self-evident. It means not reciting the incantation out loud, but rather thinking it in your mind and then summoning the demonic pet." Cang Wuji said with a pleased expression, "Think about it, at the moment when swords are drawn and bows are stretched, you secretly summon your demonic pet, and you'll gain the upper hand."
Zhuge Mingyue naturally knew what Mo Fa meant, no need for Cang Wu to explain it to her. Mo Fa was a very profound skill. One had to have extremely high strength and talent to learn it, she remembered Ling Feiyang mentioning that even in the Purple Cloud Academy, nobody could perform Mo Fa, despite having several Saint-level teachers, still nobody knew how to do it. So, this meant that the old man in front of her, oh no, was her own master who knew how?
"Master, can you?" Zhuge Mingyue asked intentionally.
"Of course I will!" Cang Wuji saw the distrustful gaze of his disciple and almost jumped up, "You should know that among all the summoners on the continent, only I can do it. As for those who are stronger than me... hmm, maybe there might be some."
"No nonsense, what's with all the questions? Now you need to focus on quickly improving your strength." Cang Wu Ya's face turned stern, "I'll have someone prepare a bedroom for you, from now on don't wander around without a reason. Visit the Association's library often, if there's something you don't understand ask me immediately. My personal notes I'll give you in a moment." Cang Wu Ya couldn't wait to have Zhu Ge Ming Yue jump through levels and quickly summon other demonic pets so he could teach Zhu Ge Ming Yue how to perform multiple summons.
"Got it." Zhuge Mingyue nodded, she also wanted to become stronger. Strong enough to protect herself and the people she cared about. Zhuge Fuyun's words had a huge impact on her. What kind of person was her mother, and why did she have to protect her in such a way? What kind of enemies would she face that were so powerful, making Zhuge Fuyun so cautious and compromising?
To know the reason, you must become stronger!
Afterwards, Zhuge Mingyue stayed in the Summoner Association and accepted Cang Wuji's guidance. It had to be admitted that Cang Wuji's previous notes were of great help to Zhuge Mingyue, especially on how to improve her spiritual power. The more Cang Wuji looked at Zhuge Mingyue, the more he liked her. Genius, this girl was indeed a genius, while others could only infer three points from one, she could infer four.
These days, Zhuge Mingyue has a clear feeling that she has reached a bottleneck and is about to make a breakthrough, but somehow it's always just out of reach.
Cang Wuyue seems to have gone out on some business and hasn't been at the association for days. Zhuge Mingyue summoned a hurricane and rode it to hurry to Tianfeng Academy. She wanted to ask Wen Yi if there was any way to help her break through.
As they rode the hurricane closer to Tianfeng Academy, Zhuge Mingyue found that the beast was getting restless again.
Zhuge Mingyue was taken aback, could it be him? Is he nearby?
"Go to Hou Shan!" A low and majestic voice echoed in the distance, with an unrefusable majesty.
"Is anyone there?" asked Zhuge Mingyue.
"Go quickly!" he bellowed in a short, low shout.
This time, before Zhuge Mingyue could speak, the hurricane under her feet suddenly burst into a frantic sprint, circling around Tianfeng Academy and rushing towards the back mountain.
"Am I the master, or is he?" Zhuge Mingyue angrily went to grab Feng's ear, Feng shook his ear but refused to stop. He couldn't afford to provoke him, so he obediently listened to his words and ran towards the back mountain.
When the hurricane stopped, Zhuge Mingyue found that this was where she had saved Jun Qianyao that day. Looking ahead, she saw a person standing on the other side of the small stream in front of her.
A head of raven-black hair, a white jade hairpin, the two formed a strong visual impact. The man stood with his back to her, and when he heard the sound, he slowly turned around. A black outfit, with silver thread embroidery on the hem, lightly swaying, in the sunlight it was like a sprinkle of stardust. His exquisite face made everything around him pale in comparison. He smiled slightly, and from those thin, sensual lips came out a sentence, his voice still making people's hearts skip a beat: "You're here."
It's just a light sentence, you came, but it seems like an old friend who hasn't seen each other for a long time.
"Was it you that night?" Zhuge Mingyue walked slowly past the whirlwind, and she and Jun Qiangyao faced each other across a small stream.
"Nature is me." Jun Qingyao chuckled lightly and his figure moved, with just a slight tap of his foot, he had already floated to Zuge Mingyue's side.
Zhuge Mingyue was at a loss for words for a moment.
"Walk with me?" Although Jun Qingyao was asking, his tone had an overbearing air that didn't allow for refusal. Moreover, after speaking, he directly walked forward by himself.
Zhuge Mingyue recalled the hurricane and followed Jun Qianyao from behind. Zhuge Mingyue looked at Jun Qianyao's straight back, and in her heart, she actually had many questions to ask. For example, who are you? Also, did you sign a blood oath with some ancient divine beast? And why did you appear in the imperial palace that night?
Jun Qiangyao walked forward, Zhuge Mingyue's heart was complicated, and she followed behind him. After a while, Jun Qiangyao suddenly stopped, and Zhuge Mingyue almost bumped into his back.
"How..." Zhuge Mingyue opened her mouth to ask, but raised her head and saw the vastness in front of her. It was only then that she realized they had already arrived at the end of the small stream, with a waterfall in front of them and a lake below. This small stream was just one of the tributaries flowing into the Purple Mirror Lake.
Zhuge Mingyue looked at the bottomless Purple Mirror Lake below and was somewhat puzzled as to what Jun Qianyao had come here to do.
Suddenly, Jun Qiangyao turned around and saw Zhuge Mingyue wanting to speak, but instead saw a charming smile on his handsome face. He pulled Zhuge Mingyue into his arms with one swift motion. Zhuge Mingyue was startled and tried to struggle free, but what happened next left her even more shocked.
He held her like this and fell from the waterfall.
A huge splash of water drowned out all other sounds.
Jun Yingyao tightly wrapped Zhuge Mingyue in his arms, and by Zhuge Mingyue's ear was the sound of water, as well as Jun Yingyao's heartbeat.
Splash! The two of them fell into the lake.
Surrounded by water, clear water...
Zhuge Mingyue opened her eyes and saw that pair of beautiful, captivating heterochromatic eyes staring at her.
A suffocating feeling filled the surroundings, Zhuge Mingyue wanted to push away Jun Qianyao and swim to the surface, but Jun Qianyao held her even tighter, then continued to dive down.
What does this guy want to do?
Want to kill yourself?
Will kindness be repaid with resentment?
Zhuge Mingyue held her breath, feeling that if she continued like this, she would suffocate. Her mind was getting more and more dizzy at this moment.
Suddenly, something soft touched her forehead.
Those are Jun Yingyao's lips!
He gently kissed Zhuge Mingyue's forehead.
Zhuge Mingyue was stunned, and in this instant, she suddenly felt a bright light in her mind. The spiritual space that had been stagnant, like the calm lake water, suddenly burst through the dam and found an outlet, surging forward. After what seemed like an eternity, everything returned to calmness, and the spiritual space became even more vast. If it was once a small clear pool, now it was a vast blue lake.
Breakthrough!
It actually broke through like this!
Zhuge Mingyue broke through from Senior Summoner to Grandmaster Summoner!
When Zhuge Mingyue came back to her senses, she found herself floating on the water's surface. Before her eyes were Jun Qingyao's pair of enchanting and unusual pupils with a hint of a smile.
"You..." Zhuge Mingyue stared at the person in front of her, somewhat dazed, "Thank you for helping me break through..."
"Help my own woman grow, why need to thank you?" Jun Qingyao lightly laughed and hugged Zhuge Mingyue, directly rising from the water surface and landing steadily on the shore with his toes.
"I'll come back to see you, take care of yourself." Jun Qiong Yao stood on the shore and let go of Zhuge Mingyue, stretched out his slender hand, pinched Zhuge Mingyue's chin, leaned in close to her ear, whispered these words, then withdrew his hand, walked past Zhuge Mingyue who was still in a daze, and disappeared into the forest.
Zhuge Mingyue didn't come back to her senses until half a moment later. She suddenly turned around and looked behind her, but the forest was quiet and still, where had Jun Qianyao's figure gone?
My heart is in disarray...
After a long time, Zhuge Mingyue finally came back to her senses, looked around and found that the area of Ziming Lake was too large. She was now in a place that seemed far from the academy, but if she could climb up from the waterfall, it wouldn't be far.
Soaked from head to toe, Zhuge Mingyue looked at her still dripping clothes and began to chant a spell, summoning out a parrot.
The parrot came out, stared with wide eyes, and chirped loudly: "Wow, master, your figure is indeed great, I said I wouldn't be wrong, your chest... Ahhh, it hurts so much, my feathers..."
"If you give me any more nonsense, I'll cut out your tongue." Zhuge Mingyue pinched the parrot's neck, "Now go to the dormitory and bring me a set of clothes."
The parrot's small eyes rolled around, but it was pinched on the neck by Zhuge Mingyue, so it couldn't speak.
"As soon as Zhuge Mingyue let go of him, he started wailing: 'But master, I can't carry the clothes on my back!'"
"At this time, Xuan Xuan is in the dormitory. You go find her and let her help you carry your clothes to the edge of the mountain cliff, then you can bring them down." Zhuge Mingyue ordered.
"Oh, okay." The parrot glanced at Zhuge Mingyue again before flapping its wings and flying away.
Zhuge Mingyue sat on a massive boulder by the lake, sensing her spiritual energy. She could now summon new magical creatures, but if she didn't learn how to perform multiple summons, she would have to give up either Fatuous Parrot or Stormwind, and she wouldn't abandon either of them. So, it was time to go find Master to learn about multiple summons. Zhuge Mingyue's heart began to anticipate what her new magical creature would be like.
Before long, the miserable cry of the fat parrot sounded. Zhuge Mingyue raised her head and saw that he was carrying a small package on his back with great effort, flapping his wings desperately, but he was so fat that he was descending in a straight line. Zhuge Mingyue quickly summoned a hurricane to catch the fat parrot.
The parrot brought a set of clothes, and Zhuge Mingyue directly summoned him back. Only then did he start changing clothes. After finishing, he was summoned out to fly up and tell Duanmuxun that he was fine and would return soon, telling her to go back to the dormitory and wait for him. She knew that silly girl must be waiting eagerly at the cliff.
The parrot was disappointed that it didn't get to see Zhuge Mingyue change clothes, and flew away with its head hung low. Zhuge Mingyue rode the hurricane back to the academy by a different route.
Arriving at the dormitory, Duanmu Xun was already standing at the entrance of the dormitory building, looking up and waiting. As soon as she saw Zhuge Mingyue appear, she excitedly rushed over. It had been many days since she last saw Zhuge Mingyue, so she naturally missed her very much.
"Xuan Xuan, have you been behaving yourself lately?" Zhuge Mingyue smiled and patted Du Mu Xuan's head.
"I'm not a kid anymore, sister." Du Mu Xuan pouted, dissatisfied with Zhuge Mingyue still speaking to her in a tone used to coax little kids.
"Haha, yes, we're not kids anymore." Zhuge Mingyue smiled, "Have you been keeping up with the recent lessons?"
"I've caught up, two days ago Xue Zihao accompanied me to the Archery Association for certification, and now I'm also a beginner archer," Duanmu Ruo said with glee, in fact her strength had almost reached intermediate level, but she thought that when it really happened, she would tell Zhuge Mingyue.
"Really? That's great." Zhuge Mingyue was indeed very happy. She had seen Tongmu Xuan's efforts.
"I will work hard to become stronger." Tanmu Xuan nodded vigorously, her tone more serious than ever before. When I become stronger, I'll have the qualifications to stand by your side, and I'll have the qualifications to be your guardian. These words, Tanmu Xuan didn't say out loud, but she repeated them to herself hundreds, thousands of times.
"Sister is leaving soon?" Duanmu Xun looked up and pitifully gazed at Zhuge Mingyue.
"Ah, let's go again tomorrow." Zhuge Mingyue looked at Du Mu Xuan's sparkling eyes and couldn't bear to leave immediately.
"That's great!" Du Mu Xuan was so happy that she almost jumped up.
At dinner time, Zhuge Mingyue and Duanmu Xun went downstairs together and saw Ling Feiyang waiting there. When Ling Feiyang saw Zhuge Mingyue, a smile appeared on his face.
"Brother Mingyue!" Ling Feiyang hadn't even spoken yet when Wan Xizhen hurriedly rushed over, "How did you come today?"
"Hmm, what's wrong, don't want me to come?" Zhuge Mingyue looked at Wan Qi Chen, who seemed to have lost some weight recently. But thinking of Wen Yi's devilish training, it didn't seem strange after all. The phrase "fat people are potential stocks" was indeed true, and Wan Qi Chen did look more handsome after losing some weight.
"Come on, Mingyue, let's eat." Ling Feiyang walked up with a smile, his eyes full of amusement. He hadn't expected Zhuge Mingyue to appear suddenly today either. From the end of the palace banquet until now, he hadn't seen Zhuge Mingyue at all.
Zhuge Mingyue looked at the people beside her and smiled, still feeling most relaxed when she was with her companions.
In such a relaxed situation, Zhuge Mingyue stayed in the academy for several more days. Anyway, Old Man Cangwu was not in the association either, so what's the point of going back so early?
Three days later, Zhuge Mingyue rode the hurricane to bid farewell to everyone and went to summon the Master Association.
She arrived at the association and was told that the president had returned and was in his study. She went straight to Cang Wu Ya's study as soon as she went upstairs.
She knocked on the door and went in, and Cang Wu found that she had been promoted.
"Has it reached the Earth level?" asked Cang Wu Ya with some excitement.
Zhuge Mingyue nodded.
"How did you get promoted? So fast!" Cang Wuyue actually only sighed that Zhuge Mingyue's promotion was very fast, but when Zhuge Mingyue heard this sentence, her ear tips flushed with a faint red. She thought of Jun Qianyao's gentle kiss.
"That's good, come on, I'll teach you the technique of multiple summoning." Cang Wu Jia didn't notice Zhuge Mingyue's embarrassment, but instead opened his locked drawer with excitement and took out an old notebook. "Take a look at this, ask me if you don't understand. I'll teach you multiple summoning now."
Zhuge Mingyue took over the ancient notebook and carefully put it away.
Then Cang Wu Ya began to explain to Zhuge Ming Yue...
After finishing speaking, Cang Wu Ya took out a letter from his drawer.
"There's a letter here, help me send it to a place, this letter is very urgent." Cang Wuyue said with a wave of the letter.
"I didn't see what's so urgent." Zhuge Mingyue muttered, if it was that urgent, why did he just slowly and calmly talk to me for so long?
"You'll be there in no time, riding the wind." Cang Wu said with a wave of his hand. He would never admit that sometimes he envied Zhuge Mingyue's mount, Feng Bao, which was incredibly fast.
"The hurricane doesn't eat chicken legs and won't go." Zhuge Mingyue didn't go to receive the message, but instead said slowly.
"Alright, alright, go buy it and put it on my tab." Cang Wu said weakly, this was the nth time he had been extorted, resulting in him now having a running tab at that store. From now on, whenever Zhuge Mingyue bought chicken legs, they would be charged to his account. And because the Summoner Association's president also bought chicken legs there, the store's business had improved by more than just a little bit.
"Haha, Master is really generous. By the way, where did you send it?" Zhuge Mingyue took over the letter and looked at the envelope, but it was blank.
"Qī Fèng Mountain, when you arrive, you'll see a stone tower at the top of the mountain. Just go in and find an old man named Xíng Línzhōu, and tell him I sent you." Cāng Wú Jiāo said.
"Qī Fèng Mountain, so far away!" Qī Fèng Mountain is located outside the northern part of the capital city, even farther than Tiān Fēng Academy. Who could this Xiāng Línzhōu be? A friend of Master's?
"Hurry up and go, just come back before dark. Remember, hand it to him personally, watch him finish reading the letter, and then come back and tell me about his reaction in detail." Cang Wu Jiao urged Zhuge Mingyue.
The master's behavior is really strange. Why did he have to watch the other person finish reading the letter and then tell him about that person's behavior? What exactly was written in this letter, anyway?
Zhuge Mingyue didn't know that as soon as she left the study, Cang Wuyue locked himself in his room and burst out laughing. He was now eagerly looking forward to seeing Xing Lanzhou's expression after reading the letter. This old thing, this time he would finally lose to him, wouldn't he?
As she walked down a crowded alley, a familiar enticing aroma wafted over, and Zhuge Mingyue raised an eyebrow. Up ahead, it seemed to be that busy pastry shop, chestnut cake...
"Go, Hurricane, let's go buy some food first." Zhuge Mingyue said to Hurricane.
"First buy chicken legs, then buy chestnut cake." The hurricane protested.
"Buy chestnut cake first!" Zhuge Mingyue was resolute and wouldn't give in.
"Buy chicken legs!" The hurricane also refused to move another step.
Just as the man and the leopard were struggling, a loud neigh of a horse suddenly came from the street on the other side. The sound of horseshoes was crisp and clear, and in just a few breaths, a majestic sorrel horse with a large body turned around the corner and galloped towards the crowd. The horse's eyes showed a look of panic and confusion, probably having been frightened out of its wits.
The crowded people on the small street saw that they were in a hurry to hide to one side, some vendors who set up stalls dodged and hid, and their stalls were knocked by the corner horse and flew everywhere, the lively main street suddenly became chaotic.
In the middle of the street, a little boy wearing a purple jacket stared blankly at the galloping horned horse rushing towards him, tightly grasping several silver coins, so shocked and frightened that he forgot to dodge.
A cry of alarm rose from the crowd as the little boy was about to be trampled under the horse's hooves. A whirlwind suddenly burst out of the crowd, like a lucky cloud passing by, and knocked the frenzied horned horse to the ground. The horned horse let out a few mournful cries, slowly got up, its eyes clearing, and looked fearfully at the Cloud Pattern Wind Leopard before turning around and running back in the direction it came from. The crowd, still shaken, finally calmed down and began to clean up the mess, of course not forgetting to curse the owner of the horned horse.
At this time, Zhuge Mingyue finally saw clearly that the little boy standing in the middle of the road was about four or five years old, with red lips and white teeth, carved jade, and a lovely little boy. At this time, the little boy was staring at her without blinking.
"Little brother, are you okay?" Zhuge Mingyue flipped over from the whirlwind and walked to the front of the little boy, asking with a smile. She really wanted to pinch the little boy's chubby face.
"Uh, I'm fine, thank you sister. Sister, you're so amazing." Little Zhengtai looked at Zhuge Mingyue and said seriously. Although he had just been frightened, there was not a hint of fear in his eyes, and his mental toughness far surpassed that of children of the same age. Looking at the Wind Leopard ridden by Zhuge Mingyue, Little Zhengtai's eyes showed surprise and admiration. What an amazing mount!
"Are you the only one who came out? Where are your elders? It's outrageous that they let you come out alone. It's too dangerous." Zhuge Mingyue thought that if she hadn't been there just now, this lovely little boy would have been trampled to death by horses, and suddenly felt dissatisfied with the little boy's family.
"I...". Xiao Zhengtai hesitated, not speaking anymore. He had sneaked out after all. "I'm here to buy food. I want to eat chestnut cake." Xiao Zhengtai tightly grasped a few silver coins in his hand and looked towards the store that sold chestnut cakes over there.
"I'll take you there." Zhuge Mingyue picked up Xiao Zhengtai and mounted the hurricane, gesturing for it to head towards the pastry shop.
Little Zhengta rode on the whirlwind, his face full of excitement, his small hands and feet didn't know where to put them. What a mighty steed! He had never ridden such a magnificent mount before.
Zhuge Mingyue sat on the back of the hurricane with a little boy, lining up at the end of the long chestnut cake queue. The people in front of Zhuge Mingyue were like sitting on pins and needles, and the hurricane's heavy breathing made the hair on their bodies stand on end.
"What a long line... Alas, hurricane, I don't know if the chicken legs will be sold out by the time we buy the chestnut cake. However, as people with morals, we can't cut in line." Sighed Zhuge Mingyue.
The typhoon is approaching and the chicken legs are sold out? How can this be?!
So, the hurricane started taking action. It blew air towards the neck of the person in front and nudged the back of that person with its mouth.
The person in front turned around with a nervous smile and squeezed out a smile that was even uglier than crying: "Miss, you go ahead and buy it first, I'm not in a hurry."
"It's nothing, I'll just queue up." Zhuge Mingyue waved her hand, indicating that she didn't mind.
You're fine, I'm the one who's busy! That person didn't care about that much and hastily retreated to the back. The hurricane-like person nodded in satisfaction, then repeated the same trick, blowing air at the person in front of them again. This person retreated... Again, the person in front of them retreated again. Then, people on the street saw this long queue changing order. If they had played the paper cup stacking game before, they would think it was a complete replica of that game. In the end, the person who was originally first in line ended up at the very back. When the hurricane came out, who dared to compete with him?
Thus, Zhuge Mingyue bought a lot of pastries as she wished, all packaged and stuffed into Xiao Zhengtai's arms. After walking to the side, Xiao Zhengtai handed over the silver coins in his hand to Zhuge Mingyue.
"This is a treat from your sister, you don't have to pay for it." Zhuge Mingyue looked at the cute little boy in front of her and really wanted to give his cheek a kiss, he was just too, too, too adorable.
"No way, Grandpa taught me that you don't accept rewards for nothing." Little Zhengtao shook his head very seriously.
"So, has your grandfather ever taught you that it's hard to refuse a generous offer?" Zhuge Mingyue looked at the serious little Zhengtai and finally couldn't help but stretch out her claws to pinch his face, haha, so soft!
"Uh..." Little Zhengtao hesitated, hesitant about whether to eat or not. His little nose scrunched up, looking very conflicted.
"How about this: this time sister treats you, next time you treat me, okay?" Zhuge Mingyue smiled and rubbed Xiao Zhengtai's hair.
"Alright! That's settled then, I'll treat you next time." Xiaozhengtao heard Zhuge Mingyue say this and excitedly nodded vigorously. This way, he could still see this beautiful and amazing sister again next time?
"Alright, it's settled." Zhuge Mingyue nodded, "Where is your home? I'll send you back, okay?"
"Sister, my name is Ling Ruiqi, what's yours?" Little Zhengtai wasn't stupid, since sister said that next time she would treat him to a meal, he had to ask her name clearly. But kids are kids after all, they only asked for the name but didn't know where she lived, so how could there be a next time for a meal?
"My name is Zhuge Mingyue." Zhuge Mingyue smiled, "Alright, where's your home? I'll send you back."
"It's just there." Little Masao pointed ahead, not far away.
"Good." Zhuge Mingyue urged the hurricane to rush over, and stopped in front of a large mansion, putting down Xiao Zhengtai.
"Sister, next time I'll treat you to a chestnut cake!" Little Zhengtai was very persistent about this promise.
"Alright, got it." Zhuge Mingyue looked at the little boy with a red face and nodded with a smile. "I still have something to do, I'll leave first."
"Uh-huh, see you later, sister." Little Zhengtai waved goodbye as he watched Zhuge Mingyue leave.
Zhuge Mingyue walked far away, and Xiao Zhēngtài reluctantly withdrew his gaze. As soon as he turned around, he heard a familiar voice.
"Xiao Qi, how did you sneak out to buy snacks again?" A loving yet authoritative voice sounded, and a middle-aged man with a strong physique stood behind the little boy. This person was the little boy's father, who had him in his middle age and naturally spoiled him dearly. However, this son was mischievous and always managed to slip away from his nanny to buy food on his own, leaving his father at his wit's end.
"Dad!" Little Zhengtao hastily turned around, hiding the chestnut cake behind his back. Seeing his father's stern face, he obediently took it out again.
"Eat if you want to eat, be a man, why so hesitant about eating something?" The middle-aged man scolded in a low voice, but his eyes revealed a warm smile.
Xiao Zhengtai saw his father like this, knowing that he was not angry, so he happily started eating, and said vaguely while eating: "Hmm, Dad is right, and this is not what I bought, it's my sister who invited me to eat."
"Sister?" The middle-aged man was somewhat puzzled, could it be that one of the women from their clan had been sold?
"It's that sister." Little Zhengtai pointed to the back of Zhuge Mingyue riding a wind leopard and leaving, saying proudly, "Sister's mount is fierce, it knocked that crazy horse flying with one blow."
"Oh?" The middle-aged man looked at Zhuge Mingyue's back, and it wasn't hard to see from his gaze that it wasn't some ordinary mount, but a genuine demonic beast, the Wind Leopard, and not just any ordinary Wind Leopard either.
Before Xiaozheng could explain, the middle-aged women who witnessed the situation just scolded: "How can you be a father? Luckily that girl helped out just now, otherwise your son would have been trampled to death by the mad horse. In the future, never let him run around alone again."
A middle-aged man awkwardly cupped his hands and asked, "What's going on?" after staring at the little boy.
"There was a mad horse rushing out, it was that sister who saved me." Little Zhengtai touched his head.
"Have you ever thanked others?" The middle-aged man asked with a sinking face.
"Thanks, and I also promised my sister that next time I'll treat her to a chestnut cake." Little Zhengtai said with a proud smile, waving the pastry in his hand.
"Alright? Do you know who she is?" The middle-aged man looked at his own precious son with some amusement. A five-year-old child, what does he know?
"My sister's name is Zhuge Mingyue, I've asked her already." Little Zhengtai was biting into a pastry, his eyes shining brightly with anticipation for the next time he could invite Zhuge Mingyue to have pastries.
"Zhuge Mingyue?" The middle-aged man was stunned, he had just returned to the capital not long ago and did not attend the last palace banquet, so he didn't know Zhuge Mingyue. He picked up Xiaozheng and let him ride on his neck, saying, "Next time, Daddy will help you make an appointment with your sister, okay? Don't sneak out by yourself again, or Mommy will be heartbroken if something happens to you. This time it was because of your sister's rescue, what about next time? If something happens next time, there won't be a way to invite your sister to eat pastries anymore."
Xiao Zhēngtā thought for a moment and made a decision: "Okay, then I won't sneak out from now on. From now on, Daddy will take me out to buy things."
"Good." The middle-aged man smiled slightly and muttered to himself, "Zhuge Mingyue, could he be from the Zhuge family?" However, I've never heard of such a person existing. Let's send someone to investigate first, he's a man who distinguishes between gratitude and resentment clearly, this life-saving favor must be repaid.
Outside the north gate of the capital, on the top of Qifeng Mountain, a four-story stone pagoda stands tall and eye-catching. Zhuge Mingyue threw all the remaining Osmanthus cake to the hurricane, this guy came without refusal, didn't even wait for Zhuge Mingyue's invitation, just happily biting the cake, his figure flashed and disappeared. Zhuge walked to the front of the tower and was stopped by a guard.
"I'm a disciple of Cang Wuyan, my master has a letter that I need to hand over to Old Master Xing Lanzhou in person... sir." Zhuge Mingyue was momentarily absent-minded and almost repeated the old man's words verbatim, luckily she changed her tone quickly.
The guard took the letter, looked at the seal on it, and led Zhuge Mingyue into the tower. They came to a room filled with books in disarray. Lowering his voice, he said, "The master is conducting an experiment upstairs, please wait for a moment. Also, don't move around randomly, or you will disturb the master and make him very angry." After saying this, he quietly walked out.
"Oh." Zhuge Mingyue responded in a low voice, found a place to sit down, and was somewhat puzzled. Could it be that Xing Linzhou was an alchemist? Otherwise, what kind of experiment would he be doing?
Zhuge Mingyue listlessly picked up a few books to flip through, only to discover that the types of books were extremely diverse, covering animals, plants, astronomy, divination, history, and humanities. It seemed that this Master Xing Linzhou was also a knowledgeable and talented person.
That guard stood at the door, occasionally poking his head in to glance up the stairs a few times, apparently afraid that Zhuge would run around and affect the master's experiment.
The dim light outside the window, however, made the inside of the stone tower seem even more depressing and oppressive. Zhuge Mingyue sat for a while before feeling annoyed, taking advantage of the guard's inattention, her figure flashed, silently climbing up to the second floor along the narrow stairs.
Silently pushing open a nearly completely sealed room, an old man with a messy beard was holding herbs in one hand and carefully adjusting the delicate stove with the other. On top of the stove was a crudely-shaped ceramic cauldron, inside which colorful liquids were boiling and bubbling. The old man's eyes were fixed intently on the liquid in the cauldron, not daring to blink even once.
Around the house, five or six men and women stretched their necks to watch the old man's movements. They seemed to be the old man's disciples, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.
It turned out to be an alchemy experiment, and this old man should be Xing Linzhou. Indeed, he was a famous alchemist. Zhuge Mingyue's eyes lit up, and she quietly closed the door, standing on tiptoes in the room, watching the old man's movements with great interest.
Everyone was focused on the alchemy furnace, and no one noticed her arrival.
The flame burned steadily, the five-colored liquid in the cauldron merged together, gradually presenting a clear azure color, and the old man with a beard stretched out his hand, about to throw the medicinal herbs into it.
"Don't!" Zhuge Mingyue couldn't help but shout. The old man was holding the medicinal herb that was precisely the Sunflower, and the liquid boiling in the Taoist cauldron, if she wasn't mistaken, should be a high-grade calming potion. Using sunflowers to brew a calming potion was feasible, but if no stabilizer was added, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Everyone was startled by her voice, the old man glared at her fiercely, and all the disciples also gave Zhuge Mingyue a fierce stare. If it weren't for fear of affecting Master's mood, Zhuge Mingyue would have been driven out of the door long ago.
"You just put it in like that, and it will explode." Zhuge Mingyue looked back at them with a hint of embarrassment, then said in a gentle voice.
"What do you know, little girl? Are you the alchemist or am I?" The old man with a goatee snorted disdainfully and threw the sunflower into the cauldron.
The boiling liquid suddenly calmed down, and a shallow golden color emerged from the azure, making it even clearer and more transparent, just like the vast and tranquil Highland Lake, which is so clear that it makes people feel refreshed and relaxed.
The whiskered old man looked at Zhuge Mingyue with a pleased expression, and the crowd of disciples also followed suit, casting contemptuous glances. The old man thought to himself that he would deal with this sudden intruder later, how rude, actually coming to disturb his experiment.
Just then, at the bottom of the clear liquid, a bright flame suddenly burst out. "Boom!" A loud noise, the originally calm liquid exploded, and a huge flame rose, illuminating everything in front of me with a fiery red glow.
Everyone was stunned, the old man with a beard still standing in place, his face dull and stupid, he glanced at his mouth, but didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His messy hair stood upright like it had been struck by lightning, emitting wisps of smoke, his face as black as if he had just been pulled out of a coal stove.
"Hahaha......" Zhuge Mingyue endured and endured again, but still couldn't hold back, bursting into loud laughter.
"Teacher, are you alright?" The disciples rushed over and supported the old man with concern.
"It's nothing, it's nothing." The old man sat down on the ground with a thud, wiped his face and said to his disciples in a serious tone, "You all saw that, alchemy experiments are extremely dangerous and can't withstand even a little disturbance, otherwise accidents may happen."
After hearing his words, those disciples glared at Zhuge Mingyue again, their eyes almost spewing fire. In their view, it was Zhuge Mingyue who had disrupted their teacher.
Zhuge Mingyue twitched the corner of her mouth. This dead old man, he clearly made a mistake with the medicine, but he wouldn't admit it and instead took the opportunity to lecture. These disciples were truly brain-dead fans, they thought their teacher was right even when she was wrong.
"Cut it out! What are you pretending to be!" Zhuge Mingyue was displeased and didn't care about seniority or age, "I already told you it would explode and you didn't believe me. Now you're still blaming others? Your skills aren't even good, why drag me down with you just to save face?"
"Hmph, saying my skills are not refined? Then you come try it." The old man's ears were quite sharp, and being spoken to like that by Zhuge Mingyue, he jumped up in anger. This suddenly appearing girl, did she know who he was?
The old man's disciples looked at Zhuge Mingyue with disdain and shock. Did she know who she was talking to? Their teacher, the number one alchemist in the country! Those rare and precious medicines could only be refined by their teacher. Those priceless or hard-to-find precious medicines were mostly made by their teacher. Which noble family didn't try to curry favor with their teacher? Now this girl, who looked like she was only fifteen or sixteen years old, dared to speak so presumptuously. They would just wait and see the good show, soon their teacher would definitely have her thrown out.
"I'm here just because I'm here." Zhuge Mingyue let out a cold snort, and also gave the crowd a disdainful look.
"Alright, I'd like to see what kind of cultivation method you have." The old man said with a huff, casually wiping his dark face.
Under the angry gaze of those disciples, Zhuge Mingyue put on a clean Taoist robe, lit the stove, poured in half a bucket of water first, and then said while arranging the herbs, "You all use this kind of water, it's strange if you don't fail."
"What's wrong with this water? This is the best mountain spring water. Even royalty can't get water as clean as this." The old man said indignantly.
"Hmph, mountain spring water? Do you know how many minerals are in this water, and how many plankton? Never mind, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. This time, we'll just make do, but next time, we must use purified water, like the kind from an air kettle, that's truly pure and free of impurities." said Zhuge Mingyue with a haughty tone.
What Zhuge Mingyue said was somewhat incomprehensible to the old man, but he felt that it seemed very powerful. Of course, this feeling he wouldn't express.
Next, Zhuge Mingyue put several herbs into the ceramic tripod in sequence, with the timing and rhythm exactly the same as the old man's. The liquid in that ceramic tripod boiled again, displaying a dazzling array of colors.
Seeing her dynamic movement so skilled, grasping the timing and temperature so perfectly, those disciples didn't dare to underestimate her anymore, all focusing their attention on the movements of her hands. Because even they didn't dare to do this experiment.
"Isn't this the same as what I've been doing?" The old man asked in puzzlement, as an alchemist, he had already immersed his heart and soul into alchemy at this moment, and had long thrown away the unpleasantness from earlier and his disdain for Zhuge Mingyue to the farthest reaches of the nine heavens.
"Wait, there's more." Zhuge Mingyue said, taking out a few stalks of herbs that seemed unrelated to the Ning Shen medicine formula. She measured out the quantities, carefully grinding them into powder before placing them on the edge of the stove to roast for a while. Once they were fully mixed together, she waited for the right moment and then poured everything into the ceramic pot. Finally, she tossed the sunflower into the furnace.
The liquid calmed down, and a faint golden color appeared in the azure, clear and without any impurities. Just like what the old man did earlier.
This time, with the lesson from just now, all the disciples quietly retreated a few steps back, only the old man still stared tightly at the bottom of the juice without fear.
A red light flashed, but this time there was no explosion. Instead, a full pot of liquid quickly contracted and finally condensed into a small bottle of medicine.
"It's done, it's really done." The old man delightedly put the medicine into a porcelain bottle and looked at Zhuge Mingyue with different eyes. Such a complex experiment, he had failed many times before, but the girl in front of him did it all at once!
"What's with the powder you just threw?" The old man came back to his senses and asked hastily.
"That's a stabilizer, it can increase the success rate of alchemy." Zhuge Mingyue replied calmly.
"Stabilizer..." The old man's eyes lit up. His disciples also widened their eyes, having never heard of such a medicine before.
"Alright, all of you get out, go do what you need to do, don't stay here and be a nuisance." The old man waved his hand and chased all the disciples out of the room. He had many questions to ask, but with the disciples around, he couldn't bring himself to lose face.
"Are you an alchemist too?" The old man asked Xue Ying with a smile after all the disciples had left.
Looking at his smile, Zhuge Mingyue suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. And also a bit of goosebumps.
"It's okay, oh right, I'm here to deliver a letter. You are Master Xing Linzhou, aren't you? I am Zhuge Mingyue, the disciple of Cang Wuya. My master wants me to hand this letter over to you personally." Zhuge Mingyue took out the letter and handed it over.
"You're a Summoner!" Xing Linzhou's face showed a hint of disappointment, and he secretly cursed in his heart, "Cang Wuyue, you idiot, such a great alchemy talent was actually dragged away by you to become a Summoner, what a waste of talent, what a tragedy!"
Xing Linzhou tore open the seal and looked at the contents of the letter, his anger growing as he gritted his teeth.
"You old monster, this time you're going to see how I compare to you. This is my new apprentice, don't underestimate her, she's a dual summoner. Just like those useless apprentices of yours, they'll never be able to catch up to her in their lifetime. By the way, my genius apprentice has already become an Earth Summoner, isn't that stronger than your useless apprentices? Are you angry? Haha, get angrier, get angrier, die from anger, you old monster! If you die from anger, I'll come to collect your corpse and prepare the best coffin for you!"
"Hmph!" Xing Linzhou slapped the letter heavily onto the table and sat down with a gloomy expression, silently cursing in his heart, "Old codger, what's there to be so smug about? It's just that you've taken on an Earth-level summoner as a disciple. What's so great about that? You dare say that all my disciples are useless, but put together they can't even compare to your one Earth-level summoner disciple? Double Summoning..."
Xing Linzhou picked up the letter again and looked at it once more, tentatively asking Zhuge Mingyue, "Can you dual summon?"
"Yes, what's wrong?" Zhuge Mingyue nodded.
"Then call it out and let me take a look, okay?" Xing Linzhou knew that Cang Wuyue was probably telling the truth, but he still couldn't help feeling a bit unwilling to give up without seeing for himself.
Then, Zhuge Mingyue easily summoned a hurricane and a parrot, and before the two could react, he recalled them again.
Xing Linzhou witnessed all of this and immediately felt disheartened. A Double Summoner, what does that mean? Not to mention the few useless apprentices he had taken in, even if he added a few more good ones, it would still be far from enough. This time, he was thoroughly defeated by that old codger. It seems that the old man's multiple summoning technique has found a successor.
"By the way, when did you learn that double summoning technique? How long did that old fellow, Cang Wu Ya teach you?" Xing Lin Zhou asked weakly.
"Double summoning, he didn't teach me, I originally knew how to do it." Zhuge Mingyue looked at Xing Lanzhou's face with changing expressions, that fierce and intimidating attitude made her feel uneasy in her heart, so she answered honestly.
"Haha, so you knew how to do it all along! I thought that undead guy was really something. Hahaha!" Xing Linzhou burst out laughing, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he asked, "Do you want to learn alchemy?"
"What's with the question?" Zhuge Mingyue looked at Xing Lanzhou, whose emotions were becoming increasingly unstable and was already on the verge of an outburst, and asked cautiously.
"I can take you as my apprentice and teach you the most powerful alchemy in the world." The old man said hastily.
"Not interested!" Zhuge Mingyue curled her lip, "And the most powerful alchemy, I think it's more like the most powerful explosive." Zhuge Mingyue thought that her current straight hair was pretty good and didn't want to change it to curly hair.
"Just an accident, an accident!" Xing Linzhou smiled awkwardly and emphasized strongly, then wiped his hair that had been standing upright and didn't want to fall down. He continued, "If you acknowledge me as your master, all the alchemy tools and materials here, whatever you want, just take it. If I don't have what you want, as long as you can say it out loud, I can also try my best to help you find it."
Listening to him, Zhuge Mingyue was slightly moved. Although this old man was a bit sloppy and his alchemy level didn't seem great, he had to admit that the medicinal materials he collected were astonishing in both variety and quality, even surpassing those of large merchant guilds by a notch.
However, due to doubts about Lao Tou's own strength and concerns for his own safety, Zhuge Mingyue did not rush to make a decision.
"Here, I'll give this to you first, let you see my true strength." Seeing Zhuge Mingyue's hesitation, Xing Lianzhou gritted his teeth and handed over the treasure he had been keeping at the bottom of the box.
"What is this?" Zhuge Mingyue looked at the bottle of almost completely transparent and empty medicine, curiously asked.
"This is a stealth potion, although it only lasts for three minutes, but it can completely hide your figure and breath. I'm not bragging, looking at the entire continent, this kind of potion has already disappeared. This is my treasured collection." Xing Lintian said with a complacent tone.
"Invisibility potion, three minutes!" Zhuge Mingyue suddenly became excited, her hands trembling. This is against the heavens, there's actually such an against-the-heavens medicine in this world!
Three minutes of stealth, for Zhuge Mingyue who had not practiced ancient body technique before, was not very useful. However, now that she has become more and more powerful in close combat after practicing the ancient body technique, with just these three minutes of stealth time, she can instantly transform into the world's most terrifying assassin, one hit kill absolutely no problem.
"How about it? Have you made up your mind now?" Xing Linzhou asked with a smile.
"Can this medicine still be refined?" Zhuge Mingyue asked anxiously.
"You think this medicine is a big deal? This is probably the only one left on this continent. The formula has been lost for a long time, and no one can refine it." Xing Linzhou stared at Zhuge Mingyue with a puffed up face, "This is my lifeblood! I'm giving you my life now, how about becoming my apprentice? I'll teach you all my formulas without reservation. And, with your talent, not learning alchemy would be a waste of heaven's gift!"
Zhuge Mingyue felt a little regretful and also somewhat enlightened. Yes, such a heaven-defying medicine, if there were many, it would be unbearable.
"But I already have a teacher, I don't know if he will agree." Zhuge Mingyue hastily tucked the invisibility potion into her bosom and gazed at Xing Lianzhou with a slanted glance. Whether or not to acknowledge him as her master was not important for now; in any case, even if someone were to hold a knife to her throat, she would never consider returning the potion. Would she spit out the braised pork she had already eaten?
"You're talking about that old codger Cang Wu Ya? Who cares, who says you can only worship one master? If that old codger dares to utter a word, I'll blow him up, and flatten his broken association into the ground!" The old man puffed out his chest and glared with his eyes, saying as he began rummaging through boxes, "I'm going to find explosives right now. That broken association of his should have been blown up long ago."
"Wait, don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive." Zhuge Mingyue hastily stopped him, afraid that he would really blow up the Summoner Association in a moment of confusion.
"Then are you willing to acknowledge me as your master?" Xing Linzhou asked eagerly.
"This..." Zhuge Mingyue hesitated for a moment.
Xing Linzhou took one look at Zhuge Mingyue's appearance and became anxious: "If you don't become my disciple, I'll fight that old man to the death!"
"Wait, wait. Actually, you can do it this way..." Zhuge Mingyue stopped the excited Xing Lanzhou. Zhuge Mingyue's method was actually very simple, she could see that the relationship between these two people was not ordinary, seemingly always in a competitive relationship. Then it was easy, just take on an apprentice and see who taught more fiercely.
Xing Linzhou heard this and slapped his thigh hard, thinking that this idea was great. He then spread out the letter paper and wrote a letter to Cang Wuya with a flourish.
"Right, you're called Zhuge Mingyue, aren't you? Where are you living now? Why don't you move here and live instead? There are plenty of rooms here. Let me tell you, alchemy isn't just about brewing a few bottles of medicine water, its greater uses are yet to come. Work hard, I'll make you the most powerful and terrifying alchemist in the world." It seems that Xing Lianzhou can't wait to teach Zhuge Mingyue alchemy.
"I'm still studying at Tianfeng Academy and live in the academy." Zhuge Mingyue said hastily. Letting her move here to live, she would either be bored to death or blown up.
"Is that the old man at your college? Alright, in a few days I'll move to your college too." Xing Linzhou stroked his beard thoughtfully and said. It seems that he and Yue Bohun were also old acquaintances.
"It's okay, teacher. I'll try to make more time to come and study from now on." Zhuge Mingyue secretly wiped away a cold sweat. Let him move to the academy? What if he accidentally flattened the only few teaching buildings in the academy?
"That's fine, I'll give you the letter to bring to that old man. He'll definitely ask you to go back and tell him my reaction after receiving the letter, don't worry, just tell him the truth. I'm actually quite curious to see his expression when he receives this letter, haha...". Xing Linzhou laughed loudly with his hands on his hips, then smugly tossed his head.
Zhuge Mingyue's face turned black. Why did she feel that everyone she had met recently was unreliable?
With a good letter, Zhuge Mingyue left the stone tower and rode the hurricane to hurry into the city. Just as he walked to the middle of the mountain, he heard a loud explosion from behind, and a wisp of blue smoke was rising from the tip of the tower. Zhuge Mingyue secretly congratulated himself for not moving to Tianfeng College, it was indeed a wise decision.
Back at the Summoner Association, Zhuge Mingyue knocked on the door of the study: "Master, I'm back. This is the reply."
Cang Wuya hummed a little tune, looking like he had gotten his wish, opened the reply letter, but after just one glance, his face changed drastically. Cang Wuya was so angry that his whole body shook, and with a few swift movements, he tore the letter to shreds. With his hands on his hips and his head thrown back, he cursed loudly, "This old thing dares to compete with me for an apprentice! Shameless, perverted! I curse him to have every experiment explode, I curse him to fail one hundred and one times out of a hundred experiments..."
Zhuge Mingyue's face turned red, this pose of leaning back and looking up at the sky is just like Xing Lanzhou. However, Zhuge Mingyue doesn't think that these two people have a bad relationship, on the contrary, their relationship should be very good. How to say it, it's like two children showing off their toys. Wait! This metaphor seems quite inappropriate, if these two are old children, then isn't he just their show-off toy? Ah pu pu!
"Master, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Zhuge Mingyue looked wisely at Cang Wuyue who was still spitting fire and preparing to flash away.
"What are you doing, aren't you supposed to be learning multi-summoning? Learn it now, learn it for me right away!" Cang Wu Ya glared at Zhuge Mingyue with a resentful tone, "You old thing, how dare you compare with me? This time I will definitely make you lose until you're convinced."
"Now? But didn't we just learn this this morning?" Zhuge Mingyue's smile froze on her lips, had she dug her own grave?
"What are you waiting for now? Don't you know that learning is endless? People can't be lazy, if they're a little lazy, they'll always be lazy. You're already the Earth Summoner, so you can summon another magical pet." Cang Wu said, scolding Zhuge Mingyue with flying spittle.
Zhuge Mingyue's back of the head is sweating... This time she also lifted a stone to hit her own foot.
It wasn't until the night had cooled down a bit that Zhuge Mingyue was finally released by Cang Wujiang.
So hungry...
This is now the only feeling of Zhuge Mingyue. The canteen of the association is nothing to say, the culinary skills of the big mom there really make people want to cry.
So, Zhuge Mingyue left the association and went to the night market to find food.
While searching for food, I ran into an acquaintance.
The soft moonlight spilled over every inch of the land in Beijing, and after eating a delicious meal, Zhuge Mingyue finally felt like she had come back to life. Then she bought some skewers of roasted meat and walked while eating, planning to buy some fruit later as a snack for her midnight meal.
"Zhuge Mingyue?" Suddenly, a familiar voice came over.
"Hmm?" Zhuge Mingyue turned around and saw Lin Yuhans' face full of smiles.
"What? Young Master Lin, is that really you? You've also come to the capital?" Zuo Ci Mingyue saw that it was Lin Yuhanshan and smiled as well.
"Yes, just the other day." Lin Yuhans was overjoyed to meet Zhuge Mingyue here. He already knew what had happened to Zhuge Mingyue after coming to the capital. Unexpectedly, he was taken in as a disciple by Cang Wuya. Who is Cang Wuya? The strongest summoner in the country, with a powerful background, even the emperor would give him three points of courtesy when seeing him. He had never taken on a disciple before, but made an exception for Zhuge Mingyue. It's easy to imagine Zhuge Mingyue's current status now. He wasn't wrong, Zhuge Mingyue, his future path will only get wider and farther. Not being content with the status quo, how could he remain unknown in Cangfeng City?
"Oh, has Young Master Lin eaten yet?" Zhuge Mingyue raised the meat skewer in her hand. She actually had a pretty good impression of Lin Yuhanshen. At first, she thought he was very cunning, but he kept his promise and risked helping her help the Wanqi family get through their difficulties, for which she was extremely grateful. So now she politely asked if he had eaten yet.
"I've already eaten, but if Miss Mingyue doesn't mind, how about we have a midnight snack together?" Lin Yuhansaid with a smile, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. "Right, this is the thousand gold of Liu Chengxiang, Miss Liu Yu. Miss Liu, this is..."
"I know, it's Zhuge Mingyue." A very sweet voice suddenly rang out.
It wasn't until then that Zhuge Mingyue noticed a beautifully dressed young girl standing beside Lin Yuhanshen. The girl was slightly raising her chin, looking at Zhuge Mingyue. Of course, she knew Zhuge Mingyue - after all, he had stolen the show at the palace banquet that day.
"Zhuge Mingyue, hello." Liu Yu didn't have the same disdainful gaze as others from the start. Her family education and manners were not bad. Even if she disliked someone, she wouldn't immediately show it. Moreover, with Lin Yuhans' presence beside her, whom she thought was okay, she would be even less likely to ruin her own image.
Zhuge Mingyue smiled slightly: "Miss Liu, hello." Zhuge Mingyue playfully glanced at Lin Yuhanshen, and Lin Yuhanshen's ears turned a little red. This Lin Yuhanshen is quite lucky with women, last time it was Wu Tingxuan, this time it's Liu Yu. It can be seen that Liu Yu seems to have a good impression of Lin Yuhanshen.
"Let's find a place to have some tea then." Lin Yuhanshan didn't want to miss the opportunity to get closer to Zhuge Mingyue, so he suggested.
"Let's go." Zhuge Mingyue didn't object either, after all it was still early now.
Lin Yuhans brought them to a elegant tea house, where there were also delicate artists playing musical instruments in the hall. Those who wanted to appreciate music could sit in the hall, and those who wanted quiet had elegant private rooms upstairs. Lin Yuhans brought them into a private room, and after the waiter served tea, he smiled and said: "Miss Mingyue, long time no see, how have you been?"
"It's all right." Zhuge Mingyue thought of the raging Cangwu Jiao and said reluctantly, "Master is pushing too hard, I'm a bit tired."
"How many people want to be the apprentice of the Celestial Master but can't, yet you seem reluctant, judging from Miss Mingyue's tone?" Lin Yuhansmile asked jokingly.
"Yeah, it was originally him who insisted on taking me as his apprentice." Zhuge Mingyue replied lazily, and then said, "However, I should be the one who benefited from this, right?"
What Zhuge Mingyue said was casual, but Lin Yuhanshen listened with a shocking heart. What kind of person is Zhuge Mingyue after all? She can actually make the president of the Summoner Association insist on accepting her as an apprentice.
Liu Yu's attention was clearly not on them, she saw the beautiful and dazzling earrings on Zhuge Mingyue's ears!
"Miss Zhuge, your earrings are very beautiful. I've never seen such a style before. Would you be willing to give them to me? The price is not a problem." Liu Yuyue couldn't help but speak up as she looked at the earrings more and more fondly.
By the way, how many of you have read my previous books? Today, the editor found me and asked for classic quotes from my book. I definitely don't remember them myself. If any of you think there are classic quotes, no matter which book they're from, can you leave a message in the comments below? And if you do, please also note which book it's from. Thank you, thanks everyone!