After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

Qingzhu and the old Pill King reached an understanding, and Qingzhu immediately hurried across Pill City back to the Ye residence.

Only to find the lights in Ye Chenyan’s room already out. Apparently, those two had gone to sleep without a care in the world.

Refusing to give up, Qingzhu let out two calls from outside the window.

There was no response from inside.

If anything, they seemed to be sleeping quite peacefully.

Qingzhu: “...”

The lone bird stood beneath the bleak night sky, debating whether to smash through the window and peck the two of them senseless or leave it until tomorrow.

Just then, the door to the neighboring room opened, and a maid shuffled out, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Qingzhu tensed, ready to flap away, only for the little maid to mutter, “Knew it was you,” before turning and going back inside.

She emerged carrying a bucket of water in one hand and a plate of pastries in the other, setting both in front of him.

“Here. Young Master said the God of Wealth left these for you.”

Qingzhu: “...”

The maid snuck a look at him. “You really are strange. I thought you’d flown away. Young Master said you’d come back, and I didn’t believe him. But you actually did.”

She crouched down and studied him curiously before tentatively reaching out a hand.

“Good little bird. Let me pet you.”

Qingzhu took one long-legged step backward.

“Stingy!”

The maid snorted, left the pastries and bucket in the corridor, then brought out a straw basket.

“Here. Your nest.”

With that, she yawned and went back into her room.

Only then did Qingzhu poke his head over to inspect the food those two had left him.

It belatedly occurred to him that he was no longer an immortal who had long since abstained from ordinary food. He had been busy all day, and his stomach had been empty for ages.

So he pecked at a couple of pastries.

Once his hunger was dealt with, he fluttered up, stepped disdainfully into the straw basket, and grudgingly crouched down before closing his eyes to rest.

...

Early the next morning, Ye Chenyan opened his eyes to the relentless tap, tap, tap outside the window.

Wordlessly, he rolled out of bed, opened the window, and found himself staring straight into the waterbird’s eyes.

Qingzhu said, “Get up.”

Ye Chenyan rubbed his face. “Senior, the sun just came up. Qingtang isn’t even awake yet.”

Qingzhu’s expression remained blank. “He can’t move anyway. What difference does it make whether he’s awake? Just carry him.”

“Strap on your spear. We’re going with the old Pill King to the Daoist temple outside the city. That’s the exit.”

Ye Chenyan did not look surprised.

“So you found it.”

“Someone’s guarding it?”

“Yes.” Qingzhu nodded. “He has the Soul-Seizing Bell. We’ll pretend we found the old Pill King.”

Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bit risky.”

“Yes,” Qingzhu replied calmly. “Which is why we’re gambling.”

He looked up at him.

“If you two hadn’t slept so soundly last night, we could have discussed all this yesterday.”

“He wanted to wait up. Couldn’t make it,” Ye Chenyan said by way of excuse. “None of us are cultivators right now. We’ve only got ordinary mortal stamina.”

As he spoke, he turned around and lifted the God of Wealth statue out from under the covers.

Qingzhu fell silent for a moment.

“...You put the God of Wealth statue in bed with you? Aren’t you worried it’ll dig into you?”

“Nonsense.” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like I slept on top of him.”

Yu Qingtang was still half-asleep. He yawned.

“Huh? It’s morning already? Are we going to give Physician Sun the answer today?”

“Today we’re finding Celestial Master Jiang.” Qingzhu gave him a long look.

“Huh?” Yu Qingtang looked completely lost, as though he had missed an entire episode.

Ye Chenyan asked him, “Cold after coming out from under the covers? Want me to wrap you in something?”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

Brother Ye, I’m a God of Wealth statue. Could you stop treating me like a Barbie doll?

Qingzhu finally snapped.

“He is a God of Wealth statue.”

Ye Chenyan did not care.

“Not a real one.”

“Let’s go.”

He glanced back once and gave a soft laugh.

“I’ve been borrowing their son’s identity for a while. About time I gave it back.”

The group met Eldest Young Master Yu alone at the city gates.

Ye Chenyan looked him up and down.

The old Pill King smiled faintly.

“It has been a long time.”

“I never expected you and I would have this kind of fate. I almost ended up as your brother-in-law.”

Ye Chenyan immediately clarified, “Not almost. Nowhere close.”

The old Pill King laughed despite himself.

“And where is young friend Qingtang, the one Qingzhu told me about?”

Ye Chenyan raised the God of Wealth statue in his hands.

“Qingtang’s right here.”

Even the old Pill King, who had seen countless outsiders inside the Reincarnation Pill, fell silent.

Yu Qingtang had already accepted his current circumstances with remarkable speed and greeted him enthusiastically.

“Hello, Senior! What a coincidence! I was hanging on the wall in your house before!”

Old Pill King: “...”

He laughed helplessly and shook his head.

“And young friend Qingzhu?”

Yu Qingtang and Qingzhu were technically a generation apart, but from the old Pill King’s perspective, they were both juniors anyway. The distinction hardly mattered.

Ye Chenyan expertly opened the bamboo basket on his back, revealing the waterbird inside, tied up from head to toe.

“Here. This is Senior Qingzhu.”

The old Pill King’s eyes widened.

“What is the meaning of this? Why have you tied him up?”

“He asked us to.” Yu Qingtang sounded deeply emotional. “We were shocked too when we heard such a request.”

“Hmph.”

Qingzhu’s beak, at least, had not been tied shut.

He lifted his eyes.

“I said we were gambling. Naturally, I should put up the stake.”

“Tell him I’m the old Pill King. Once he takes out the Soul-Seizing Bell and thinks he’s finally gotten what he wanted, catch him off guard and attack.”

The old Pill King hesitated.

“Young friend Qingzhu, there is really no need—”

“Stop dragging this out.” Qingzhu cut him off. “I’m only doing this so we can get out. It’s not as though I’m going to die in your place.”

The old Pill King lowered his eyes and said nothing.

At last, he sighed.

The group casually left Pill City, chose a random direction, and simply walked straight ahead.

Sure enough, they eventually found themselves standing before an unnamed Daoist temple.

They had all been fully alert, yet the temple had still appeared before them without the slightest warning.

“What are you doing here?”

A middle-aged man sat outside the temple.

There was nothing memorable about his face. If not for the Eight Trigrams Daoist robe he wore, one could probably look straight at him and forget him a moment later.

He adopted the lofty air of an expert and swept his gaze across the group.

“If you encounter someone suffering from soul-loss sickness, take milder cases to Physician Sun first. If they’ve gone completely mad, then bring them to me.”

Ye Chenyan stared at him and got straight to the point.

“White Perilla. Omphalia.”

Celestial Master Jiang immediately sat up.

“You found him?”

Then he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Ye Chenyan.

“Why didn’t you tell Physician Sun? Why come tell me instead?”

“Same difference.” Ye Chenyan’s expression did not change. “I just don’t like him very much, so I came to you.”

“Unless the bond between you fellow disciples is so deep that you want to give him the credit?”

Celestial Master Jiang chuckled.

“You’re a clever one.”

“Fine. Tell me your answer.”

Ye Chenyan looked up.

“Iris.”

Celestial Master Jiang failed to hide his reaction.

Delight flashed across his face, and his gaze snapped onto Ye Chenyan.

“Who did you hear that from?”

“I brought him with me.”

Ye Chenyan patted the bamboo basket on his back.

Celestial Master Jiang straightened at once, instinctively examining the basket with a thoughtful expression.

“A basket that size... a child?”

“No.”

Ye Chenyan smoothly reached inside and hauled out a waterbird.

“It’s him.”

Celestial Master Jiang: “...”

He gave Ye Chenyan a suspicious look.

“You...”

Ye Chenyan patted the waterbird.

“Talk.”

The waterbird went, “Hmph.”

Ye Chenyan looked up.

“He turned into a waterfowl and kept appearing and disappearing around Pill City. That’s why you spent so long looking and still couldn’t find him.”

Celestial Master Jiang believed at least some of it. His expression turned strange.

“No wonder.”

He stepped forward and held out a hand.

“Give him to me.”

Ye Chenyan kept hold of the waterbird.

“You’ll let us leave?”

Celestial Master Jiang looked at him, then swept his gaze over Eldest Young Master Yu standing silently beside him.

“Normally, only one person is allowed out.”

“But...”

He reluctantly nodded.

“If the one you found is genuine, I suppose I can turn a blind eye.”

Ye Chenyan looked down at the waterbird, then covertly glanced at the temple behind Celestial Master Jiang, putting on a hesitant expression.

Celestial Master Jiang urged him.

“What other choice do you have besides trusting me?”

“Hurry up!”

Only then did Ye Chenyan hand him the bamboo basket.

After searching for so long, Celestial Master Jiang finally had a breakthrough, and even his movements carried a trace of impatience.

Ye Chenyan deliberately asked the obvious.

“Celestial Master, do you have some way to verify him?”

“Of course.”

Celestial Master Jiang chuckled and raised his head, a vicious gleam flashing in his eyes.

“But first, I’ll have to send all of you away.”

Ye Chenyan sensed something and yanked the old Pill King backward.

They narrowly avoided Celestial Master Jiang’s sudden attack, though a cut still opened across Ye Chenyan’s cheek.

He narrowed his eyes and touched the wound without saying anything.

“Not bad. At least you’re alert.” Celestial Master Jiang sneered.

A jagged longsword rested in his hand, faint spiritual energy rippling across it.

“But inside Pill City, you’re nothing more than a mortal. How do you expect to fight me?”

He abruptly raised the sword and slashed.

A wave of sword energy tore toward them.

Normally, with no spiritual power driving it and the strike relying only on the spiritual artifact itself, most cultivators would not even bother taking such an attack seriously.

But right now, everyone was mortal.

Anyone holding a spiritual artifact was practically invincible.

Fortunately, Ye Chenyan had one too.

The spear on his back dropped into his hand.

He swung it, shattered the incoming sword energy, then surged forward in a single stride.

Celestial Master Jiang had been certain victory was his—he had assumed Ye Chenyan was another cultivator they had captured and thrown inside, meaning any spiritual artifacts he carried should already have been confiscated.

He had never expected Ye Chenyan to be capable of fighting back.

Caught by surprise, he immediately lost the initiative.

Ye Chenyan traded several moves with him before the two separated, facing each other in front of the temple.

“No wonder they put you in charge of guarding this place.” Ye Chenyan looked thoughtful. “So you’re a sword cultivator.”

Even without spiritual power, Celestial Master Jiang’s swordsmanship was undeniably exquisite.

Judging purely by technique, most cultivators would probably not be his match.

Celestial Master Jiang narrowed his eyes.

“Who exactly are you?”

His gaze lingered uneasily on the spear in Ye Chenyan’s hand.

Spiritual artifacts could function inside the Reincarnation Pill, but without spiritual power nourishing them, most became sluggish and listless.

That spear, however, looked even more vicious than usual.

It was clearly no ordinary weapon.

No matter how careless the people outside had been, there was no chance they would knowingly let him bring such a murderous weapon inside!

The old Pill King watched their opponent warily and lowered his voice.

“We cannot fight him head-on. He still has—”

“I know.” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “But what can you do? Who knew he’d be shameless enough to attack us already?”

He flicked the spear in his hand.

“I’m telling you, this spear of mine has a terrible temper. And there’s nothing it hates more than being shoved into a storage ring.”

“It got dragged in here without even knowing what was happening, and it’s been holding a grudge ever since.”

He pointed the spear at Celestial Master Jiang.

“You’d better move. Otherwise, you’re going to end up flat on the ground.”

“Arrogant brat!” Celestial Master Jiang sneered and drew his longsword behind him. “You get your hands on some divine weapon and suddenly forget who you are.”

“Looks like you have no idea who makes the rules in Pill City!”

At last, he raised one hand.

Ching.

The moment the bell sounded, everyone froze.

For an instant, their consciousness went rigid.

Celestial Master Jiang held a small silver bell in one hand and wore the triumphant grin of a villain certain he had already won.

“Die!”

Yu Qingtang peered at the confrontation.

He did not think the demonic weapon would lose to something like the Soul-Seizing Bell.

But he was worried about something else entirely.

He was currently a God of Wealth statue.

How exactly was he supposed to offer incense at the temple?

Would it count if Ye Chenyan lit a stick for him?

As Yu Qingtang’s thoughts wandered, the entire temple—

No, the entire Pill City—

suddenly shook violently.

The old Pill King jerked his head up, his expression shifting.

“Someone outside is trying to open the Reincarnation Pill!”

“Impossible!” Celestial Master Jiang denied instinctively. “The Tianyuan Pill King said the pill cannot be broken open from outside. Anyone inside is completely safe!”

The old Pill King’s expression changed subtly.

“There is a way.”

“I simply never told him.”

“You?”

Celestial Master Jiang froze for a moment.

Then he suddenly laughed.

“Ha! So you’re the real—”

He abruptly raised the Soul-Seizing Bell.

Just as he was about to act, the old Pill King shouted a warning.

“Get down!”

Ye Chenyan did not bother playing tough and dropped immediately.

Even Qingzhu cooperated by rolling himself a fair distance away.

A deafening explosion rang out.

The object the old Pill King had thrown blasted a crater into the ground.

“Impossible—” Celestial Master Jiang’s face went dark. “You have no spiritual power. How did you refine a pill?”

The old Pill King remained perfectly calm.

“It wasn’t a pill.”

“It was gunpowder.”

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