Interlude: Yu Yanhua feels suspicious

Interlude: Yu Yanhua feels suspicious

With her life spanning several centuries, Yu Yanhua had grown adept at concealing her disgust for what was sprawled beneath her.

She had long held a strong aversion towards mortal cities, and if it weren't for the majority of the Sect's Elders insisting on stationing alchemists in them, she would have gladly abstained from ever setting foot in one again. The Elders' wastefulness of precious resources had irked her greatly, but alas, it was a battle she could not fight.

To a cultivator, a city was a cesspool of negative energy and distractions, a place where the weak and ignorant were held back by their limitations. The mortals below were trapped in their own small world, consumed by their selfish desires and blind to the greater mysteries of the universe.

However, upon attaining the rank of Elder herself, she gained a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the Sect's decision to station its members in the mortal cities. It was something necessary for the existence of their Sect.

Yu Yanhua felt someone give her a warning by targeting their intent toward her. She scoffed as she glared at the extravagant palace in the center that towered over the city. Still, she hid her growing disgust to stop the aura emanating from her body and affecting the mortals.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

While the Prince that protected Xuanjing City was in the Nascent Soul Realm, he was still far weaker than her, but the monsters in the Imperial Family were not to be trifled with. There was a reason that her Sect was happy to show goodwill toward the mortals.

Yu Yanhua’s form flickered and appeared before the Jade Healing Clinic. She didn’t dawdle and entered, seeing Li Xinyue talking to a young mortal she was familiar with.

“Elder Yu!” Li Xinyue exclaimed, moving to welcome her with a deep bow.

“Little Yue,” Yu Yanhua greeted as she kept her eyes on the fidgeting mortal, “Are you still determined to waste your potential, Li Jie?”

“I have displeased you, Elder Yu!” Li Jie dropped to the floor and knelt before her.

“What a disappointment,” Yu Yanhua sneered and flicked her fingers, picking Li Jie up and throwing him out of the clinic without warning.

Li Xinyue stiffened briefly before relaxing when she saw Li Jie was unharmed. He was able to dust himself off before walking away, though he seemed more despondent than before.

“Stupid boy,” Yu Yanhua muttered, “Huang Jingyi gets his successor, but mine refuses to cultivate.”

Li Xinyue pretended she didn’t hear anything and stayed mute, waiting to be addressed, which happened soon enough.

“Yes, I would say that is not good,” Yu Yanhua confirmed drily, “I already made plans to avoid the Grand Elder’s detection, but I need you to tell me how you found Wei Liang before I go through with it.”

Huang Jingyi didn’t hesitate to let Yu Yanhua know what Wei Liang had told him and the investigation he followed that with. He even went to where Wang Xiaoling told him she had met Wei Liang, and he let Yu Yanhua know that too.

“Hmm,” Yu Yanhua crossed her arms as she thought over what Huang Jingyi told her, “I’ll see if I can find something you missed. For some reason, that cultivator didn’t take Wei Liang with him even though he went through the effort to save him. It’s... suspicious, at the least.”

“I agree, Sister Yanhua.”

Yu Yanhua raised an eyebrow at Huang Jingyi’s passiveness and added, “Then I hope you also agree to host Wei Liang in Xuanjing City for the foreseeable future. The Grand Elder would never visit this place.”

To her surprise, Huang Jingyi didn’t happily agree. “Is there something wrong? This is the safest way to keep Wei Liang hidden.”

“Sister Yanhua, I would be happy to, but Yue’er has told me some matters that make me reluctant.”

Yu Yanhua became impatient when he didn’t continue and prodded, “And?”

“I think Wei Liang is taking to my disciple too well.”

She exhaled slowly, reminding herself that Huang Jingyi was no longer that Junior Brother that needed a firm hand teaching him. She resolved that the best way to deal with this was to ignore it completely.

“As I said, Wei Liang will return to Xuanjing City soon. I have given him a choice to stay in the Outer Court, as regulations require me to, but he won’t be able to stay for long even if he chooses the Outer Court.”

Huang Jingyi sighed and nodded in acceptance after Yu Yanhua spoke to him in a frigid tone.

“And Huang Jingyi, Li Xinyue might tie Wei Liang to the Sect if your words are true. Do not interfere with them.”

Huang Jingyi’s robes fluttered slightly when Yu Yanhua disappeared. He sighed again before taking a first sip of the tea he had made and grimaced at the lack of heat. As he cleared the table, he comforted himself that Wei Liang was still young and nothing would happen for years, if it ever did.