Chapter 89: The Child of Fortune, Waiting by the Tree for Shen Yanzhou
Gu Ruoxi had been waiting before the corner tower for Shen Yanzhou.
She wore a long pink embroidered dress that outlined her graceful and shapely figure. Her soft chest was full, her hips perky, and her delicate, flower-like face was adorned by a small, fine nose. A faint breeze stirred, and she subconsciously tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear—an unintentional motion that added a touch more charm to her already alluring demeanor.
“Why hasn’t he come out yet?”
“When it’s time to head back, do I still have to send him off? What if he bullies me again in the carriage?”
She lightly stomped her foot, her mind swirling with all kinds of chaotic thoughts, and couldn’t help recalling Shen Yanzhou’s wicked hands.
Her maidenly innocence had been ruined by him.
She might never be able to marry after this…
“Ruoxi, so you’re here.”
Suddenly, a slightly surprised voice came from behind, interrupting Gu Ruoxi’s tangled thoughts.
She furrowed her delicate brows and turned around, only to see a young immortal officer smiling at her. His features were handsome and refined, his posture straight, and a jade flute hung from his waist, adding a hint of ethereal elegance.
Beside him stood several other immortal officers—both men and women—though all appeared to be somewhat older, around thirty or forty years of age.
“Ye Xingchen?”
Gu Ruoxi came to herself, her brows relaxing as she showed her usual soft and charming smile.
There were quite a few immortal officers within the Bureau of Immortal Inspection.
As long as one had a clean family background, a qualified cultivation realm, and passed the various examinations, one could be employed there.
However, officers of her age were rare. The threshold of the Seventh-Grade Foundation Establishment Realm in Daoist cultivation had stopped many people.
Even those with exceptional talent and innate roots in Daoist cultivation were generally still at the Eighth-Grade Talisman Drawing Realm at her age.
Compared to the Martial Path, the Daoist path required far longer to cultivate.
Among the young immortal officers in the Imperial Capital, besides those from great families like her, there were only a few others—each a true prodigy from the various prefectures of the Great Qian Dynasty.
The young man before her was one of them, from Fanzhou, currently in the Seventh-Grade Foundation Establishment Realm.
“I heard that next month, the Yunye Market in front of Yuntai Temple will open. Many disciples from immortal sects will go there to seek bargains. You can trade for Spirit-Nurturing Ganoderma and Green Reed Leaves, both essential for Core Formation. It’s much more convenient than exchanging with merits at the Bureau of Immortal Inspection.”
“I’ve already discussed it with a few friends—we plan to go together. Would you like to join us?”
Ye Xingchen seemed delighted that Gu Ruoxi called him by name. His smile brightened with warmth as he quickly explained his reason for coming, his eyes full of hopeful anticipation.
“Yuntai Temple?”
Gu Ruoxi was momentarily stunned. She had heard of that temple market on the outskirts of the capital, though she had never been there.
As for those marketplaces, she had never set foot in one.
Spirit-Nurturing Ganoderma, Green Reed Leaves, and such materials—she didn’t even need to exchange for them with merit. A single word to her family, and they would naturally procure them for her.
“I… I won’t go. I have a few things to handle recently.”
Gu Ruoxi looked slightly embarrassed. She didn’t lack any of those materials.
“I see…”
Ye Xingchen froze for a moment upon hearing that. After a brief thought, he persisted, asking again, “I haven’t seen you at the Bureau of Immortal Inspection lately, so I thought you were preparing for your breakthrough to the Sixth-Grade Core Formation Realm. I figured you might need those materials.”
“At Yunye Market, besides those materials, there are many talismans, demon beast hides, and pills too. Why not take the chance to relax? There have been quite a few cases in the capital lately, but one should balance work and rest.”
Under the young man’s expectant gaze, Gu Ruoxi felt even more awkward and uneasy.
How could she make him understand her refusal?
Ye Xingchen had invited her out several times before, all of which she had politely declined.
Since they were colleagues, she hadn’t rejected him too harshly—but could he really not see that she didn’t need those so-called breakthrough materials?
“Yes, Little Gu, the materials at Yunye Market are quite good. Much more convenient than using merit for exchange,”
“Little Ye even went out of his way to ask the market master for an extra quota for you. For his effort, why not agree to go?”
Just as Gu Ruoxi was wondering how to decline again—
A teasing voice came from behind Ye Xingchen. The several immortal officers standing with him were clearly aware of his feelings for Gu Ruoxi and were trying to help him along.
Ye Xingchen’s smile grew even more enthusiastic. His affection for Gu Ruoxi was no secret within the Bureau of Immortal Inspection.
He had heard that Gu Ruoxi had reached the peak of the Seventh-Grade Foundation Establishment Realm and was about to break through to the Sixth-Grade Core Formation Realm. He had specially prepared those materials for her—and, fearing rejection, had found an excuse involving the market…
“Ruoxi, just come along with me this once…”
Ye Xingchen gazed at Gu Ruoxi’s charming and enchanting face, full of hopeful yearning.
Under her long sleeves, Gu Ruoxi’s fair hands clenched slightly.
“She’s not going. She’s accompanying me.”
At that moment, a casual voice came from nearby, freezing Ye Xingchen in place in stunned disbelief.
Gu Ruoxi’s expression suddenly showed a trace of relief and quiet delight as she turned her head.
“Shen Yanzhou?”
Ye Xingchen turned toward the source of the voice.
From the corner tower behind Gu Ruoxi, a handsome man dressed in cloud-patterned white robes walked out slowly. Ye Xingchen immediately froze.
Of course he recognized this man—the once infamous wastrel who had stirred up the entire capital.
Of course, that was in the past. Now he was merely a false heir.
The few immortal officers who had joined Ye Xingchen also paused in surprise. They had only just returned to the Bureau of Immortal Inspection and hadn’t known Shen Yanzhou was there.
As an outsider, who had permitted him entry into such a heavily guarded place as the Bureau of Immortal Inspection?
“You know me?”
Shen Yanzhou looked at the young immortal officer, a bit surprised to find Gu Ruoxi being “bullied at the workplace.”
Her Third Grandfather was the Deputy Sacrificer of the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, and yet these people dared to pressure her so blatantly?
Gu Ruoxi also noticed the hint of surprise in Shen Yanzhou’s eyes. She pursed her lips and gave a “helpless” expression in response.
“What are you doing here?” Ye Xingchen asked, frowning.
Whether it was the former wastrel Shen Yanzhou or the now-famous martial prodigy before the Dragon-Tiger Institute, rumored to possess the “Power of the Dragon-Elephant,” Ye Xingchen felt nothing but disdain for him.
The former relied on his family background and acted recklessly, while the latter flaunted his strength with arrogance…
“The Deputy Sacrificer wished to see me. Why? Do you have a problem with that?” Shen Yanzhou said calmly.
Ye Xingchen froze.
Someone of the Deputy Sacrificer’s rank in the Bureau of Immortal Inspection was far beyond his reach.
The Deputy Sacrificer actually summoned Shen Yanzhou?
The expressions of the other immortal officers subtly shifted. The words they had been about to utter were all swallowed back down.
“The Deputy Sacrificer has asked Immortal Officer Gu to take me to the Treasury of a Hundred Treasures,” Shen Yanzhou said to Gu Ruoxi.
He lifted his hand, showing a token—not the White King Order, but the personal identity token of Gu Chengyun himself.
At the sight of this token, the few immortal officers, including Ye Xingchen, immediately fell silent, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Gu Ruoxi, too, was slightly surprised. She clearly hadn’t expected that her Third Grandfather would hand his personal identity token to Shen Yanzhou.
“My apologies, everyone. I’ll accompany Young Master Shen there first.”
She smiled politely at Ye Xingchen and the others.
Without waiting for their response, she tugged at Shen Yanzhou’s sleeve and led him away in another direction.
“Why?”
Watching them walk off together—their figures seeming so perfectly matched, like a pair of jade lovers—Ye Xingchen found the sight unbearable. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
The voices of the immortal officers behind him calling his name could no longer reach him.
Everything had been following his plan. Soon, he would have won Gu Ruoxi’s heart and become the Gu Family’s ideal son-in-law.
So why did Shen Yanzhou suddenly appear?
In the memories from his previous life, the moment Shen Yanzhou’s false heir identity had been exposed, he was supposed to have died miserably in the streets.
So why was he still alive and well now—lively, powerful, even a master of the Martial Path?
…
Along the blue-bricked avenue east of the corner tower—
Negative emotions from Ye Xingchen +13 +25 +28...
Shen Yanzhou walked beside Gu Ruoxi, a faint fragrance wafting from her.
He was quite surprised. Who would have thought that such an unremarkable little figure, not even high in cultivation, could provide him with so many negative emotions?
Could it be that this one was also a child of fortune?
But in the original plot, there had been no mention of such a person within the Bureau of Immortal Inspection.
Sensing Shen Yanzhou’s puzzlement, Gu Ruoxi lowered her voice and explained, “I didn’t want people in the Bureau of Immortal Inspection to think I got in through my family connections, so I’ve never mentioned my relationship with my Third Grandfather. Even my surname Gu—I said it was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with that Gu family…”
“So they really believed that?”
“For now, no one has brought it up again. I treat them all as colleagues. Only that Ye Xingchen occasionally tries to curry favor. At first, I thought he was nice, but later it started to bother me. He’s too deliberate about it. I think he rather likes me…”
“Yeah, I can tell. The thought of wanting to stop working hard and latch onto a rich woman is practically written on his face,” Shen Yanzhou said, nodding.
That kind of mindset and trick, he knew far too well—it was something he used to play at himself in his previous life.
Knowing full well the woman was wealthy, yet pretending not to know—making her think he was sincere, not after her money at all…
Gu Ruoxi was stunned, then glared at him in annoyance. “I’m not some rich woman! After joining the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, everything I achieved was through my own effort. Every case I’ve handled, I’ve solved myself—without relying on my family’s power.”
Shen Yanzhou laughed, imitating her tone, “I, Gu Ruoxi, owe my current position and cultivation entirely to my own hard work—nothing to do with my family at all.”
“……”
Gu Ruoxi restrained the urge to hit him. Sometimes, she truly found Shen Yanzhou’s personality insufferable.
Negative emotions from Gu Ruoxi +6 +6 +6...
As they conversed, Gu Ruoxi led Shen Yanzhou to the Treasury of a Hundred Treasures within the Bureau of Immortal Inspection.
It was a grand and majestic pavilion, with vermilion eaves and green tiles, standing to the north of the Bureau. A faint golden radiance enveloped it. It was guarded by an elderly immortal officer, and after Shen Yanzhou presented the Deputy Sacrificer’s identity token, he was allowed to enter directly.
“Senior, wake up…”
Shen Yanzhou roused Lin Qingcang. At this moment, he had to rely on Lin Qingcang’s discerning eye.
Half an hour later, he emerged fully satisfied.
Three treasures.
The first was a defensive soft armor, woven from Cold Nether Silkworm threads of Beiyu. It was of the Fourth Grade—light as silk, resistant to martial attacks from without, and guarding against divine or soul-based arts from within.
With higher skill in refining, it could even be reforged to approach the Third Grade.
Of the other two, one was a slightly worn stone jar, containing what looked like ashes.
Lin Qingcang told Shen Yanzhou it was an urn holding the cremated remains of a Confucian sub-saint who had died under a curse.
It seemed useless, but to a practitioner of the Shamanic Arts, it was a priceless treasure.
The last item was a grayish-black insect egg, long since lifeless, soaked in a white porcelain bottle. Lin Qingcang said it still contained a faint trace of vitality and might be revived.
As for what kind of insect it was, Lin Qingcang himself did not know—but even he could sense a faintly terrifying aura from it.
Without much hesitation, Shen Yanzhou took them all.
The guard immortal officer and Gu Ruoxi at the entrance of the Treasury were curious at first, wondering what he had chosen.
But once they saw the items, both were stunned for a long while.
They never imagined Shen Yanzhou would pick such things.
Apart from the soft armor, the other two were so bizarre they could only feel perplexed.
After leaving the Bureau of Immortal Inspection, Gu Ruoxi had learned her lesson this time—she did not personally escort Shen Yanzhou back to his residence. She feared that if they shared a carriage again, he would tease her.
Shen Yanzhou, however, was in no rush to return home.
That young man named Ye Xingchen intrigued him.
Aside from Qi Haoran and Shen Tian, this was the third person in the Seventh-Grade Realm capable of producing such a wealth of negative emotions for him.
“All right, I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“But next time we meet, you’ll have to give me half a month’s worth of antidote in advance.”
Gu Ruoxi didn’t know what medicine Shen Yanzhou was selling in his gourd, but since he instructed it, she could only agree—for the sake of the antidote.
Still, she harbored her own little schemes.
“No problem.”
Shen Yanzhou agreed without hesitation. As for the antidote—he could just use a sugar pellet to fool her. With that mind of hers, it would take her a long time to realize.
…
At Yuxian Pavilion, in a private room by the window—
Emperor Mingde and Wei Gong stood side by side, gazing out over the wide river and the bustling scene at the Dragon-Tiger Institute on Vermilion Bird Street.
It was already late afternoon, the sunset burning red and reflecting off the river’s surface with a warm golden shimmer.
“Shen Yanzhou hasn’t come by for quite some time,” the emperor said.
“Your Majesty, perhaps we should return to the palace,” Wei Gong replied.
He had never placed much hope in this business of ‘waiting by the tree for Shen Yanzhou.’ It was only that His Majesty had whimsically decided to wait here, claiming they would surely meet him.
And yet, they had waited an entire day.
Wei Gong doubted Shen Yanzhou would visit a place of pleasure like this anymore.
Hadn’t his former indulgence been just a cover?
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Emperor Mingde clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze deep as he looked out over the river, lost in thought.
Since His Majesty had spoken, Wei Gong could say no more.
He, too, found his thoughts drifting back—over twenty years ago—
To when His Majesty and Lady Qingshu had first met, right here by this riverside.
“Oh my, isn’t this Young Heir Shen? What a rare guest indeed…”
“What wind has brought you here today? The girls, especially Ningyu, have been missing you dearly!”
At that moment, the charming laughter of Ruan Niang from Yuxian Pavilion floated up from below the corridor.
Wei Gong froze in disbelief.
Emperor Mingde also turned sharply toward the door of the private room.