Clouds and Moon Shadow

“But I heard that the Nanzhao people have entered the pass, and we…” Gu Qingyue was a little embarrassed. She looked back at the inn. To be honest, she was a little curious about what the middle-aged man wanted to see her about, but given the current situation, she probably couldn’t go to see him.

"Our sect leader says he has a way to evade the Nanzhao people, and he would be grateful if the young doctor would do him the honor," the panda-eyed boy said firmly.

"Really?" Gu Qingyue raised an eyebrow.

"Please," the panda-eyed boy nodded firmly and raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Gu Qingyue hesitated for only a moment before following him away.

Stepping back into the courtyard, it was spotless; you couldn't tell there had been a fierce battle there the night before.

At the entrance to the main house, the injured man from that night and the two teenagers stood straight, their eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement upon seeing Gu Qingyue arrive.

Gu Qingyue got angry again. What was she doing?

As soon as I stepped onto the steps, I saw three people raising their hands in a neat and orderly bow.

"Thank you, doctor, for saving our sect leader!" the three said in unison.

"No need to thank me, I'm a doctor, it's my duty," Gu Qingyue said, sensing the sincerity of the three people, and raised her hand to offer a helping hand.

After saying that, he suddenly thought of the man who broke into the room last night. Could it be that they were talking about this?

"Please come in quickly," the panda-eyed boy hurriedly stepped forward and invited Gu Qingyue into the house.

Once inside, she went around the screen and saw the middle-aged man, who had been weak the night before, leaning against the headboard, looking at her with a gentle expression. His gaze was... well, kind.

"You can go down now," the middle-aged man waved his hand.

After the others left and closed the door, Gu Qingyue walked towards the bed.

She reached out and pressed on his wrist pulse. After about half a cup of tea, Gu Qingyue's brows relaxed. It seemed that the patient had been taking his medicine properly and was recovering well.

"Please sit down," the middle-aged man said, raising his hand.

Gu Qingyue didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the stool by the bed. She carefully examined the man's complexion. Although he was still a little weak, he had improved considerably, which put her at ease.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Gu Qingyue came out of the house. She floated past the few boys, past Doctor Zhang of Huichuntang, and finally came to her senses at the entrance of Rongjia Xiaoxi Inn.

What should she do? A master unexpectedly offered to take her as his apprentice and teach her internal energy cultivation techniques.

The group of boys who ran out from the back room passed by again, leaving Gu Qingyue with only one sentence: Pack your things and wait for me, before closing the door.

A moment later, she raised a hand and pinched her thigh, hissing in pain before she finally came to her senses.

She never imagined that the middle-aged man she saved was the sect leader of Willow Leaf Manor, and also the senior disciple of Fengyun Sect, the number one sect in the martial arts world thirty years ago. After the upheaval in Fengyun Sect, he went into seclusion in Willow Leaf Manor, fulfilling his master's last wish to find a disciple who could inherit the sect's mental cultivation techniques and martial arts. He has remained unmarried to this day.

Until a month ago, he took his entourage and three disciples from the Dharma Protector Hall to visit friends in Jiangnan.

When he returned to Willow Leaf Manor, he discovered that the manor had been massacred by the Nanzhao secret guards, with more than sixty disciples dead, more than twenty disciples missing, and he was being hunted down by Nanzhao spies. He had barely escaped with his life.

Just when he was feeling disheartened because he couldn't fulfill his master's last wish, he happened to see Gu Qingyue.

She still remembers the question she asked Master Liu back then: "Why me? I have no foundation in internal energy cultivation, nor have I ever practiced any martial arts from any sect."

At that time, Sect Leader Liu was very determined, saying, "It's fate; you're the one."

Gu Qingyue was dumbfounded.

"Over the years, our manor has had countless disciples, but none of them have mastered the Wuxuan Token. I myself have only reached the eighth level, and none of my disciples have surpassed the eighth level. My master said that this technique can only be mastered to perfection by those with wisdom. I have been searching for it for many years."

Gu Qingyue was even more puzzled: "Sect Leader Liu, how did you know I have the potential for enlightenment?"

Master Liu: "A feeling."

Gu Qingyue choked.

“You have a unique aura. Although you haven’t mastered internal strength, your physical skills are not weak, and you also have superb medical skills. Putting aside whether you have a divine physician as your teacher, the fact that you have such talent at such a young age shows that you are exceptionally intelligent and have the potential to achieve this.”

Gu Qingyue: Actually, I feel a little guilty. Right now, I am myself, yet I am not myself.

However, she has a photographic memory, sharp hearing and eyesight, and a magical healing aura since childhood. Perhaps she has some kind of innate wisdom?

So, she has a mentor now!

Lying in bed, thinking it over and over, Gu Qingyue still felt that she was incredibly lucky. Yesterday she was worried about where to learn internal energy cultivation techniques, and today the opportunity came knocking on her door.

However, Gu Qingyue suddenly sat up in bed.

The Nanzhao people who were chasing after Master Liu were a huge problem!

Master Liu said that the reason why the Nanzhao Kingdom massacred Liuye Manor was because their disciples discovered that Nanzhao spies had captured many children from the Great Chu Kingdom near Meigu Mountain and were preparing to sneak them out of the border through the mountains.

When they rushed to the rescue, they discovered that Pan Shisan of the Great Chu Kingdom and numerous spies from the Nanzhao Kingdom were involved. Although they managed to save the children after a fierce battle, the manor was still massacred by the Nanzhao secret guards who followed. According to the last words of a seriously wounded disciple, those people might have been under the command of the Nanzhao Grand Shaman.

When Master Liu and his group went to investigate, they were discovered and hunted down by spies from Nanzhao. Outnumbered and with Liu Yuan poisoned and seriously injured while saving several disciples, they had no choice but to hide in Liquan County.

A surge of anger welled up in Gu Qingyue's heart. Nearly a hundred lives had been lost at the hands of the traitors of Great Chu and the southern barbarians.

Her anger was not because she cared about the Great Chu, but because she revered innocent lives.

Although the Nanzhao people are cruel and shameless, the most shameless of all are the people of the Great Chu themselves, who deserve to die!

Suddenly, she remembered what she heard from the patrolling guards when she went to Pan Shisan's villa outside the city at night. They said that Master Pan had left in a hurry. Judging from the time, it was probably when the incident happened at Willow Leaf Manor.

If she had known, she would have gone to track her down; perhaps she could have saved another life.

She hurriedly packed her luggage, and for safety's sake, she still had to lead the innkeeper's people to hide in the secret passage that Master Liu had mentioned.

Five days later.

The county government posted a notice saying that the Nanzhao people outside the city had been annihilated by the garrison of Liquan Pass, and that everyone should not panic and should continue their normal lives. Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and return to the inn.

Coincidentally, the manager of Liufang Pavilion, whom they had met a few times, also entered the room at the same time.

Since their first meeting, Gu Qingyue had only visited Liufang Pavilion once in the past few months. Since she did not obtain any useful information and was busy with other matters, she did not go again.

Unexpectedly, Manager Zhang came to visit today. Gu Qingyue's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that there was news?

As soon as Manager Zhang sat down in the private room, he lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Young Master Gu, someone came to inquire about the jade pendant yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyue couldn't help but stand up abruptly, almost knocking over the tea table in front of her.

"Don't get excited, don't get excited. That person said he would pay a high price if we find this jade pendant," Manager Zhang waved his hand and spoke up at the right moment.

Gu Qingyue looked at the shopkeeper in front of her with suspicion.

"However, he has one condition: he needs to see you in person before we can discuss the price." After saying this, Manager Zhang winked, indicating that he was a sensible person.

Gu Qingyue found it somewhat amusing; the manager of this Golden Pavilion was no ordinary person.

"Is it the same person from before?" Gu Qingyue calmed herself down and sat down.