Chapter 101: An Exclusive Interview (End of Book 1)

Chapter 101: An Exclusive Interview (End of Book 1)

"Xiaoyu'er, come here."

After bidding farewell to Wen Yulong, Chu Liang approached Liu Xiaoyu'er with a bright smile on his face.

"Eh?" The little girl blinked and asked, "Big Brother Chu Liang, what do you need?"

This was the usual scene on the Silver Sword Peak: Liu Xiaoyu'er called Di Nufeng her older sister and Chu Liang her big brother. In turn, Chu Liang referred to Di Nufeng as an Esteemed Teacher. They each used their preferred terms without much thought for the other's.

"It's the usual request. I'm here to seek your blessing," Chu Liang replied.

Liu Xiaoyu'er tilted her head, finding Chu Liang's behavior a little strange. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Why did he ask for blessings so often? Does he need three hundred and sixty-five blessings a year?

Nonetheless, the kind little girl closed her eyes and silently wished him success.

Seeing that Liu Xiaoyu'er had closed her eyes, Chu Liang set his mind to unbox the reward.

As his divine consciousness entered the White Pagoda, he witnessed a scene completely different from usual. Each kill occupied its own cage, and the White Pagoda was presently filled to the brim with venomous bees. The cages extended in a direction that couldn't be discerned at a glance.

The most conspicuous among them was the queen bee, which had a much bigger shadow than the other bees.

Despite being the same type of demonic creatures, the stronger ones would result in the unboxing of a different kind of reward.

Chu Liang first came to the outside of the queen bee's cage and decisively pressed the "refine" button.

Boom!

A light flashed, and a ball of radiance floated out.

Chu Liang caught it in his hands and realized that he was holding a round, white object that looked like an egg.

[Mysterious Beast Egg: Nurture this with foundational qi. When the spirit beast breaks out of its shell, it will recognize its master and become a primordial spirit pet.]

"Spirit beast?"

This surprised Chu Liang quite a bit.

The White Pagoda can create living things?

The so-called spirit beast was actually a "monster" among demons. They were the kind of monsters that possessed powerful strength but had no need to take on a human form. The distinction between actual spirit beasts and demons that had yet to take on a human form was always ambiguous, leading to frequent confusion between the two.

Many ordinary spirit pets existed on Mount Shu. However, hand-raised spirit pets were relatively rare.

To have a hand-raised spirit beast, one would have to first obtain a living spirit beast egg and hatch it. Upon breaking out of its shell, the spirit beast would recognize its master. In terms of temperament and intimacy, hand-raised spirit pets were generally better than those parent-raised.

Whether this spirit pet was powerful or not would be a completely different story. Nonetheless, the existence of this spirit pet was a rather novel concept to Chu Liang. He might have no need for this egg, but he wouldn't mind having one.

He wondered what kind of pet he would hope to get.

The image of Senior Sister Jiang flashed in his mind, and Chu Liang quickly shook his head, dismissing those impractical thoughts.

He then looked up and casually pressed the "refine" button next to him.

Boom—

The phantom of a venomous bee was refined, and another jar of fruit tea appeared in his hand.

However, Chu Liang noticed that the appearance color of this jar of fruit tea was slightly different. Huh? He took another sip, and indeed, the taste of this jar of fruit tea was different from before!

A new flavor?

Chu Liang pressed a few more times in succession and found that the next several jars of fruit tea looked different and all tasted different.

But these jars of fruit tea were clearly the same before...

Chu Liang pondered for a moment. Could this be the charm of the koi?

Zhang Xiaohan seemed to notice Chu Liang's gaze. She sat down, held Jiang Yuebai's hand, and said with a smile, "I've known Elder Sister Jiang for a while. I happened to have some matters to discuss with her this time, so I brought her along. You two won't feel nervous with her here, right?"

"I can't help but feel nervous..." Lin Bei answered, "Senior Sister Jiang is the goddess of Mount Shu. It's usually very rare for us junior disciples to see her."

As he spoke, he cast a glance at Chu Liang beside him.

He then realized that Chu Liang had already taken his seat and faced Jiang Yuebai with remarkable calmness.

Damn! He is acting so natural!

Lin Bei couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Jiang Yuebai glanced at Zhang Xiaohan and said softly, "Let's get the interview started. Ask them the questions first. It shouldn't be a problem with me here listening, right?"

"Of course not..." Zhang Xiaohan smiled, then turned to the two and asked, "First of all, I'd like to know, what was the purpose of your visit to South Gate City?"

"It was naturally because of a demon-slaying mission," Lin Bei replied firmly. "As you know, we disciples of Mount Shu always see it as our duty to eliminate demons and uphold justice."

"But according to our investigation, you two quickly completed the demon-slaying mission. Yet, you stayed in South Gate City for a few more days. Were you waiting for the performance of Miss Xue from South Melody Conservatory?" Zhang Xiaohan asked.

It seemed as though this girl had already been to South Gate City, and she knew quite a lot about the situation.

Chu Liang was about to nod when Lin Bei shook his head and said, "Absolutely not. We were helping a confused girl who had lost her sister. It was during the process of assisting her in finding her sister that we learned about the sinister crimes of the House of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess."

"Wow, you two are indeed righteous and kind," Zhang Xiaohan praised with a smile before posing another question, "But we heard that you had quite a bit of interaction with Miss Xue. Rumors are spreading in South Gate City that your initial conflict with Lord Xia was due to jealousy, as you were also competing for Miss Xue's affection..."

Lin Bei was surprised as he asked, "Is that true?"

Chu Liang emphatically waved his hand and said, "Absolutely not!"

Jiang Yuebai, who sat opposite, revealed a subtle smile.

Zhang Xiaohan's gaze shifted between the two as she mentioned, "I heard from the servants of that mansion that a handsome young hero also visited Miss Xue. With the doors closed, one of you chatted with her while she played the qin for you..."

Lin Bei was surprised again as he exclaimed, "I didn't!"

Who would think you did... Chu Liang couldn't help but remark internally.

At the same time, he felt a bit of a headache. What kind of information was this disciple of the Celestial Pivot Pavilion trying to inquire about? Instead of asking about the process of fighting against evil and their mental state during the incident, they were fixated on this gossip news.

And... she was asking these questions in front of Senior Sister Jiang.

Feeling the weight of every gaze upon him, Chu Liang knew that there was no escape. He let out a quiet sigh and said, "I did visit Miss Xue to listen to her qin performance, but that's all it was. There was no intimate conversation... Please disregard those baseless rumors."

"Oh?" Zhang Xiaohan's eyes sparkled, as if she had unraveled something pivotal. Excitement laced her voice as she inquired, "So, with the doors closed, all you did was enjoy her qin performance. There was no intimate conversation?"

"Yes." Chu Liang nodded.

"So, Young Hero Chu was able to capture Miss Xue's thoughts from the music. Words were unnecessary.. In the harmonization of melodies, a connection was formed..." Zhang Xiaohan murmured.

"Absolutely not..." Chu Liang interjected, putting an end to her unfounded speculations. "Miss Xue only played the qin for me once. Just that once. Don't make wild speculations."

"Nonsense!" Lin Bei retorted, "She clearly played the qin for you several times!"

"The second time was to save my life..." Chu Liang explained.

"Oh?" Zhang Xiaohan, seeming to have caught onto something, asked eagerly, "Miss Xue saved Young Hero Chu's life? Hmm... The debt of gratitude owed to a beautiful person[2]."

Wait a minute.

Isn't this phrase used in a different context?!

Chu Liang found himself at a loss for words. As he pondered how to articulate his thoughts, his gaze shifted to Jiang Yuebai, seated across from him. She exuded an ethereal beauty and her eyes sparkled with a charming smile.

1. In chapter 62, it was mentioned that whenever Chu Liang's teacher, Di Nufeng, was featured on the Seven Stars Gazette, it was for something bad. Chu Liang couldn't help but suspect that Di Nufeng had enemies within the Celestial Pivot Pavilion. ☜

2. The phrase is 美人恩重 and usually this is used when a beautiful person confesses her affection to you and you have no choice but to reject her. However, you are grateful that you have received the love of such a beautiful person. Something I will never experience in my lifetime. ☜