A Shocking Dream

"Big brother, are you talking about the Imperial Palace's autumn hunt? I was there, too. It was purely coincidental that my uncle-shi saved you." Yuanyuan's eyes seemed to carry a strange meaning as she spoke, making it hard to tell whether she was bringing it up intentionally or not. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, Qin Ruoyu seized on the conversation and asked, "How could you actually enter the hunting grounds? That was a royal event..." Qin Ruoyu deliberately left the question unfinished, hoping Yuanyuan would reveal their purpose for going there.

Yuanyuan did not shy away from the question and said frankly, "What's the big deal? Every part of your palace, including the capital, is a piece of cake for my great-uncle master."

"So, your great-uncle often goes to the palace? Or the capital? Why did you go to the hunting ground that day?" Qin Ruoyu asked further, his curiosity growing stronger.

"For the Immortal Brother. We're here." As the two spoke, they had unknowingly reached the kitchen. Yuanyuan finished her words and went inside to find something to eat. Outside, Qin Ruoyu was in deep confusion. Lin Bingshuang had been to the capital so many times, so she must know everything about the Emperor's uncle. So, was the Immortal Brother the Emperor's uncle? Qin Ruoyu pondered this question over and over, the mystery in his heart growing ever larger.

"Big brother, come and eat." Yuanyuan took the food outside one by one and placed it on the table one by one. Qin Ruoyu watched her busy figure, and kept recalling what she had just said in his mind. Lin Bingshuang often went in and out of the palace and the capital, but the spies in the entire capital did not find her. She knew that the emperor's uncle missed her, and she even hid in the dark to observe his every move. Why? Qin Ruoyu suddenly realized that what she said that day and the jade pendant were to let him know that she was still alive. Only when he saw it with his own eyes would the emperor's uncle believe it. It seems that this time, it will not take too much effort to let Lin Bingshuang come forward. Qin Ruoyu thought so, and a surge of joy unconsciously surged in his heart. Looking at the vegetarian food in front of him, he actually had an appetite. He picked up the bowl and chopsticks and started to eat.

"Big brother, is it delicious? I'm worried that you're used to eating delicacies from land and sea and can't eat these." Yuanyuan walked out of the house and asked when she saw Qin Ruoyu eating with relish.

"How could that be?" Qin Ruoyu, as the Crown Prince, enjoyed the most delicious food in the palace. But after three days without a single grain of rice, he no longer cared about the food; as long as he could fill his stomach, he was content. Wait... Qin Ruoyu suddenly realized what was happening and looked at Yuanyuan with a puzzled look. "Did your sister make all this?" he asked, gesturing with his chopsticks to the dishes on the table.

"Yes."

Qin Ruoyu was quite happy when he heard this. But he didn't expect Yuanyuan's next sentence to interrupt his fantasy. "We all take turns cooking here. Big brother, you happened to encounter the meal cooked by my sister. If it was cooked by another senior sister, it wouldn't be as delicious." Qin Ruoyu was stunned. It turned out that he was overthinking it. However, it was not bad to be able to eat the meal she cooked.

Wait, Qin Ruoyu, what's going on with you? Why would you do this for a woman... Just as Qin Ruoyu's thoughts were flying and his mind was wandering, the sound of bells ringing came from not far away. He asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it must be those traitors looking for a fight again." Yuanyuan said, her expression furious, occasionally looking off into the distance. As an outsider, Qin Ruoyu was filled with doubts about their sect's affairs, but he didn't dare to ask too many questions. He saw that Yuanyuan wanted to go and see what was going on, so he said, "Xiaoyuan, tell me where your great-grandmaster is, and I'll go find her myself. If you have something important to do, go ahead."

"No, my sister told me not to leave you alone in the mountains. You're unfamiliar with the place, what if you take the wrong path?"

"Do they often come here to cause trouble?" Qin Ruoyu could tell from Yuanyuan's eyes that those people must not be good people.

"Not often. They used to be disciples of the Su Nu sect. In the past, our place was not called the Su Nu sect, but the Wu Nian sect. Later, my great-grandmaster's disciple, my uncle-grandmaster Mingyuan, broke away from the Wu Nian sect and established the Gui Yuan sect, taking most of the disciples with him. Now, those who come to cause trouble are the disciples of the Gui Yuan sect. Seeing that he had established his own sect, my great-grandmaster changed the name to the Su Nu sect. Since then, the Su Nu sect no longer accepts male disciples. The current leader of the Gui Yuan sect still has to call my great-grandmaster of the Su Nu sect "uncle-grandmaster". Ever since my great-grandmaster passed away, the Gui Yuan sect wanted to steal the Su Nu sect's inner skills, but was defeated by my great-grandmaster. After that, they didn't change their ways and still came to provoke. So my great-grandmaster and my uncle-grandmaster Mingyuan had a duel, and whoever won would get the inner skills." Yuanyuan said, pouring a glass of water and drinking it.

Qin Ruoyu looked at her with interest, his eyes full of anticipation, wanting to hear her continue.

"Later, our great-grandmaster defeated our great-grandmaster Mingyuan, and the Guiyuan Sect never dared to provoke us again. Ever since our great-grandmaster went into seclusion over a year ago, they somehow knew about it, and so the Guiyuan Sect's eldest disciple, Gu Liangze, would come up the mountain every now and then to cause trouble. As the Sect Leader, Master naturally couldn't tolerate this, so we started fighting him. But Gu Liangze was good at talking, but not so good at martial arts. When he couldn't defeat Master, he would just rant and ramble, which always made Master very angry."

Lin Bingshuang was actually in seclusion? Qin Ruoyu's heart tightened. Wouldn't that mean he wouldn't be able to see her this time? This couldn't happen. If she didn't show up, what would the emperor's uncle do? He was filled with anxiety, constantly thinking of various solutions in his mind. He was worried about his uncle's situation and was annoyed that his trip might have been in vain. His mood became increasingly heavy.

Yuanyuan saw Qin Ruoyu finished eating and stood up to walk out. Qin Ruoyu thought she was going somewhere and hurried to follow. But as they walked, Yuanyuan led him to an attic. They climbed the stairs to the highest point of the attic. Qin Ruoyu stood at the railing and looked around, stunned. From here, he could see the buildings of their entire sect. It was surprising to see that their buildings were spread out along several hills. No wonder it felt like a long walk to find Lin Bingshuang that day.

"Big brother, look, that's the main hall and training ground of our Su Nu sect." Yuanyuan pointed to a place not far away, motioning Qin Ruoyu to look over there. Qin Ruoyu looked in the direction she pointed. There were no less than a hundred people, both men and women, standing on the training ground a few hundred meters away.

"Follow me," Yuanyuan said as she walked down the stairs, and Qin Ruoyu hurried to follow. They turned left and right and entered a room. Through the paper window of the room, they could clearly see the situation on the training ground.

"My sister and I are not allowed to appear in the training grounds, so sometimes my sister and I come here to peek."

Qin Ruoyu glimpsed the Guiyuan Sect disciples through the window paper. Each one had a stern look in their eyes, a solemn expression on their faces. Only the white-robed man in the lead, holding a folding fan, smiled at the Su Nu Sect disciples. He occasionally flirted with them, his gaze unscrupulously sizing up the female disciples. The female disciples, on the other hand, remained calm, seemingly accustomed to his actions. Gu Liangze's behavior disgusted Qin Ruoyu to the core. As a man, he truly wanted to rush forward and give him a beating.

"Senior sister, why don't you come out? Haven't we seen each other for so long that you're too old and ugly to dare to come out and see people? I think this is a better approach. All of your disciples are extremely beautiful. You might as well step down and choose one of them. Don't occupy that position all the time." Sure enough, Gu Liangze was merciless as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Since you call me Senior Sister, shouldn't you behave like a junior disciple? We in the Su Nu Sect treat others with courtesy, unlike you, the Gui Yuan Sect, who are so rude. If it weren't for the fact that we are from the same sect, you would have died a thousand times over." As she finished speaking, the hall door opened, and a woman in red emerged. She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, with an oval face, delicate features, and a tall stature. Her black hair was as black as ink, and her skin was as white as cream. She stood there quietly, expressionless, yet her powerful aura was palpable to everyone present.

"Big brother, look! She's our master, the current head of the Su Nu sect." Yuanyuan pointed at the woman in red at the door. Qin Ruoyu didn't respond, but a flicker of astonishment flashed in his eyes. He admired her beauty endlessly, but in his opinion, she still couldn't compare to Kankan. Seeing Du Yingmeng emerge, Gu Liangze suppressed his smile, put away his folding fan, and bowed to Du Yingmeng.

"Master, you're polite." Then, all the Guiyuan disciples bowed to Du Yingmeng. Just as they'd said this, Gu Liangze suddenly became so serious, a slap in the face. Du Yingmeng had already seen through his tricks and said, "Junior brother, you're behaving so properly today. If you hadn't kept that look of drooling over my disciples, I'd have suspected you were possessed. Don't come to me for no reason. If you have something to say, just say it. Being secretive isn't the Guiyuan style." Everyone was shocked. Du Yingmeng, usually reserved, was now speaking so shockingly. Could it be that she had been tolerating Gu Liangze's actions until now?

"Master, you're being so strange today," Yuanyuan said, looking at Du Yingmeng with confusion. Qin Ruoyu didn't know Du Yingmeng's past behavior, and in his opinion, Du Yingmeng was simply fighting back. As the leader, she allowed others to bully her. If she didn't fight back, wouldn't the others in her sect have to endure Gu Liangze's displeasure?

"Look at what you said, senior sister. I am just concerned about you. Have you noticed that various groups of people have gathered at the foot of the mountain and are looking for the intersection leading up the mountain?" For many years, the martial arts world has been very suspicious of the Su Nu sect and has been constantly searching for various intersections at the foot of the mountain.

"I already know about this matter, so you don't need to worry about it."