Chapter 262: After Falling off the Horse (Part Three)
After some inner reflection, Qiao Wan gathered her courage and politely said, "Thank you all for your concern, but I'm currently unwell and unable to host everyone here. How about this? In a few days, there will be a banquet on the mountain, and I will meet with all of you, my taoist friends, then."
Everyone immediately understood the young lady's gentle refusal and eagerly exclaimed, "That's okay!"
"Taoist Friend Qiao, please take care of yourself! We will go back now."
"Yes!" the young boys and girls smiled in understanding. "Just meeting Taoist Friend Qiao is enough for us to be content! We will wait for you!"
The gatekeeper's disciple, shocked by what he witnessed, watched as these unruly disciples from different schools happily scattered like this?
As they left, they continued to talk about each other.
"I saw it myself, I never expected Taoist Friend Qiao to be such a young and beautiful lady."
These daring folks have their reasons for being so bold.
Just two days ago, Demon Emperor Jia Yin personally stepped forward and timely ended the engagement, saying that the marriage contract was just a convenient arrangement for Qiao Wan. And Qiao Wan is his good friend.
If anyone else said this, people might not believe it. But who is the Demon Emperor? The fact that he is willing to marry is already a very unbelievable thing, don't you think?!
As soon as Jia Yin spoke, everyone in the cultivation world suddenly understood.
With these words, the minds of various sects and factions instantly became active. Regardless of the relationship between Qiao Wan and Jia Yin, as long as they can marry the one who rules the sect, it's like holding onto the Demon Emperor's leg. For a time, various marriage contracts flew towards Qiao Wan's residence.
After everyone dispersed, disciples from various sects looked at each other.
- How about we also disperse?? I really don't have the courage, qaq
- Let's disperse, let's disperse! We can talk about it later! We can delay for a few days!
A group of young boys and girls who were not afraid of the demon realm looked at a delicate girl standing nearby and blushed. Then they ran away in embarrassment.
Finally, the entrance to the cave became quiet, and only Qiao Wan and a few secret disciples guarding the gate remained.
Just as Qiao Wan was starting to relax and turn around to go inside, she suddenly heard a gentle voice behind her.
She turned around and was surprised to see Mrs. Cen?!
Qiao Wan was taken aback.
Mrs. Cen walked up to her, looked her up and down with a serious expression, and softly asked, "Xin Yi, how are you feeling? Are you feeling better?"
For the past few days, it was always Mrs. Cen and Gao Lanzhi who took care of her. Mrs. Cen knew best about Qiao Wan's condition.
The consequences of forcefully using the Evil Sword Book to surpass one's limits is that even now, Qiao Wan's body is still overflowing with spiritual energy. Present-day Qiao Wan is like a balloon filled with energy, just one step away from bursting. After countless days and nights, she and Meng Guangze have temporarily suppressed this excessive energy with the help of Kunshan's medical practitioners.
Once Mrs. Cen entered the cave, Meng Guangze's solidified consciousness returned to Qiao Wan's mind, carefully adjusting to the situation.
Gan Nan quickly approached and poured tea for Mrs. Cen.
Today, Mrs. Cen came to visit Qiao Wan accompanied by a group of medical practitioners to discuss possible solutions.
The solution proposed by the medical practitioners is for Qiao Wan to rest for a period of time while they help regulate the spiritual energy within her body.
However, due to the excessive and complex mixture of spiritual energy and demonic energy within Qiao Wan's body, no one can say for certain how long this period of time will be, whether it will be six months, a year, or even several years.
After speaking, Mrs. Cen looked up to check on Qiao Wan's condition and asked, "Xin Yi, what do you think?"
Qiao Wan tightly held the teacup in front of her and without hesitation, replied, "I will obey Mrs. Cen's decision."
Mrs. Cen was momentarily speechless.
Although monks don't care about age, Qiao Wan was still just a young girl. Throughout the journey, she had endured so much suffering and hardships, which Mrs. Cen could see and felt a hint of sympathy for her.
The woman calmly looked at her, smiled softly, and the faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes gathered. She gently embraced Qiao Wan, and some silver strands of hair fell in front of her black hair.
It was a result of her previous efforts to heal Qiao Wan.
"Don't be afraid, once you fall asleep, the pain will go away," Mrs. Cen's voice was soft and gentle. She affectionately touched the girl's head and continued, "Once the spiritual energy is fully circulated, Xin Yi, after reaching the infant stage, your cultivation realm might even advance further."
The infant stage was a conservative estimate by Mrs. Cen and Gao Lanzhi.
Qiao Wan had an extraordinary spiritual power that was comparable to that of a divine period, but she didn't know where it came from. After exploring for a long time, they could only conclude that the spiritual energy she had previously lost was actually hidden in her dantian. Through diligent practice, this accumulated spiritual energy unexpectedly reached the power of the divine period.
However, they didn't know why all of a sudden it gushed in.
In summary, receiving treatment to guide the spiritual power was an absolutely beneficial and harmless solution.
Knowing the condition of her own body, it was best for Qiao Wan to obediently receive treatment.
After thinking for a moment, Qiao Wan asked, "Mrs. Cen, when should we start?"
Mrs. Cen looked up and gently stared at her, saying, "You can start whenever you want."
That's good.
Qiao Wan breathed a sigh of relief. Before that, she still had many things to attend to.
After Mrs. Cen left the cave, she went straight to Xixia Peak.
But unexpectedly, she encountered someone unexpected halfway there.
Ever since the brief encounter on the battlefield, Xiu Quan's heart started pounding, and his loyal dog, Big Yellow, was very troubled.
It's not right to be interested in someone else's wife and try to win her over, but he remembered the woman's carefulness and patience when she helped him heal.
For the past few days, the young man, who had been silently waiting near Xixia Peak, kept his distance. But when he heard that Mrs. Cen had gone to find Qiao Wan, he couldn't help himself and hurriedly came here. Sure enough, he intercepted the woman halfway.
In fact, he was a powerful general of the monster clan who had fought alongside Jia Yin for many years. The young man had a broad frame and strong limbs. When he stood silently, he exuded a cold and capable aura. But when he smiled, his pointed canine teeth slightly destroyed that elegant image.
Unconsciously, the young man took a step forward and asked seriously, "Did Mrs. Cen go to see Miss Qiao?"
"Taoist friend Xiu."
Mrs. Cen stood still for a moment, lifted her eyelashes and looked, unable to help but smile.
The sunlight fell on the woman, her dark hair hanging behind her waist. Her voice was gentle, and her smile was warm and friendly.
This smile almost dazzled Xiu Quan's eyes.
The young man suddenly felt a little uneasy and pressed his lips tightly.
His nose was very sensitive, able to track enemy movements from dozens of miles away on the battlefield. But now, this overly sensitive nose had become a torment.
He could smell a faint bitter medicine scent on the woman, perhaps from walking a long way and sweating a little, which made the scent of medicine even stronger.
He really wanted to ask her, Mrs. Cen, is Cen Xiangnan treating you well? Do you still like Cen Xiangnan? Would you consider me?
But he couldn't say it out loud.
Xiu Quan silently stared at the woman in front of him.
Mrs. Cen and the female cultivators from the demon clan that he had seen were different, not like Qiao Wan. Speaking to her suddenly... well, it would be impolite.
The big yellow dog's ears drooped down, showing a bit of shyness. His eyes glanced at the woman's pale chiffon sleeve, revealing a snowy white wrist with a large golden bracelet. It looked a bit dazzling, with the gold and white colors.
The young man swallowed hard and quickly looked away.
Mrs. Cen, on the other hand, gently smiled and took a closer look at the young man's expression, asking kindly, "Has my taoist friend just returned from duty?"
"Uh... yes... um."
The young man stood in front of Mrs. Cen, his whole body tense like a tightly pulled string, trying hard to prevent his tail from wagging behind him.
There was no way to hide his tail! A dog's nature is to happily draw circles in the air uncontrollably!
Facing Mrs. Cen's gaze, her eyes looked at him as if he were a child.
Who would have thought that this "child" had ideas of how to bring her back to the demon clan by wagging his tail.
This made the young demon general's face blush again, reflecting on himself with deep regret, feeling ashamed.
"I... I'll accompany Mrs. Cen."
Finally, Xiu Quan took an uncomfortable step forward and awkwardly said.
Will she refuse?
He couldn't help but wonder.
Fortunately, Mrs. Cen smiled and didn't reject his kindness, or perhaps she didn't notice his subtle attempt.
Xiu Quan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Along the way, he dared not be presumptuous, only looking at the woman's aging face, lost in thought about the silver strands at her temples.
Xiu Quan noticed that Mrs. Cen felt embarrassed about her aging and tucked the silver strands on the side of her cheek behind her head. He quickly looked away and sped up his steps.
They continued walking until they reached Xixia Peak, where the young man finally stopped.
"Thank you, taoist friend," Mrs. Cen said, bowing politely.
Just as Xiu Quan was about to say something, a figure emerged from the clinic.
He paused for a moment.
It was Mr. Cen Xiangnan.
The young man's tail, which was not very dignified, quietly drooped down and nestled between his legs. He nodded slightly at Mrs. Cen and quickly walked away.
Inside the cave.
Qiao Wan was sitting at a table, going through the invitations one by one.
As Mrs. Cen had mentioned, her injuries required her to rest for a while, so the schedule for the upcoming days became even more important.
Qiao Wan needed to meet someone, and she didn't have time to waste, so she had to quickly make a schedule.
Gan Nan couldn't help but be slightly distracted as he watched the girl sit here, focused on reading the invitation cards.
Qiao Wan combined with Lu Cixian, and using the Evil Sword Book, she was no longer just a disciple of Yuqing Spiritual Master Zhou Yan who took shortcuts. Mu Xiaoxiao is the younger martial sister of Lu Pihan.
Now, Qiao Wan is a friend of Demon Emperor Jia Yin, the head of Buping College. She is the one who can really stir up the situation in the cultivation world and attract the attention of various parties.
And a few days later, at the banquet, everyone's attention will surely be on Qiao Wan, observing who she gets close to, distances herself from, who she wants to cooperate with, and even who she wants to seek revenge on.
Her actions will become the focus of the entire cultivation world.
