Outside the Exquisite Pavilion, the sound of violent banging on the doors was incessant.
Cultivators surrounded the building, shouting “Release that girl!” as if they were about to tear the place down.
If not for the powerful Formation Arts protecting the Exquisite Pavilion, the drooling Cultivators would have likely rushed inside by now, brawling with each other to seize Jiang Ke’er.
Jiang Ke’er felt a bit uneasy. She really hadn’t intended to steal Ling Miaomiao’s spotlight.
“Thank you so much!”
However, after they retreated inside the Exquisite Pavilion, Ling Miaomiao hugged Jiang Ke’er with ecstatic joy, even lifting her up and spinning her in a circle!
Jiang Ke’er didn’t quite understand Ling Miaomiao’s reaction.
“I finally don’t have to carry the burden of being the Number One Beauty anymore! Now I can finally study Celestial Phenomena in peace!”
“Eh?”
“I know what you’re thinking. Did you think I was some woman of the night with no choice in her life?” Ling Miaomiao smiled faintly.
“Not at all! I’m the one who opened this Exquisite Pavilion. The first floor was originally a tea house for tasting tea, discussing the Dao, and listening to music. The second floor is my Celestial Phenomena research lab…”
“…”
“The reason I go out to play the zither and admire the moon on the fifteenth of every month isn’t to please those old men. This is the best spot in all of Shenzhou to observe the moon. Playing the zither is just a subconscious habit I have while I’m thinking… I do it to study the moon. It’s just that after a few months of research, people inexplicably started gathering to watch. The crowd kept growing until I was stuck with the title of the Top Oiran of the Divine Province. I don’t even know how the Exquisite Pavilion ended up being treated like a brothel,” Ling Miaomiao explained with a sigh of helplessness.
‘I seem to have stumbled upon something quite significant,’ Jiang Ke’er thought, left speechless.
“Let me tell you! Over the last few years, the Celestial Phenomena of Shenzhou have suddenly become incredibly interesting!” Ling Miaomiao acted as if she had been holding this in for far too long.
Completely ignoring the chaos outside, she began to ramble to Jiang Ke’er.
“First, several near-earth satellites appeared out of thin air in fixed positions in the sky. Then, those satellites were blown into fireworks by some unknown force… And just two days ago, I personally witnessed a Super Level purple comet smash right through a satellite! Not only that, but that satellite also crashed through the seven-layered canopy beyond Shenzhou! It landed somewhere near Jing City in the northern part of the Kingdom of Dasi!”
‘A purple comet? Could it be…?’
Jiang Ke’er touched the bell on her chest. It seemed she and Ling Miaomiao were truly fated to meet.
Ling Miaomiao grew more excited as she spoke.
“I’ve wanted to head toward Jing City to investigate for a while now, but those annoying pests are always blocking the Exquisite Pavilion. I couldn’t leave… Thanks to you, no one is obsessively staring at me anymore!”
“I… I see…”
Jiang Ke’er felt relieved. It seemed she hadn’t accidentally caused any harm.
“However, your situation is much more difficult than mine,” Ling Miaomiao’s brow suddenly furrowed.
“Little sister, you are too beautiful. That isn’t a good thing.”
The atmosphere turned heavy once again.
Against the backdrop of the hysterical banging on the doors outside, Ling Miaomiao sighed.
“When I was young, I thought beauty was a gift from the heavens… As I grew older, I realized it wasn’t a gift, but a curse.”
Jiang Ke’er didn’t know what to say.
“Fortunately, I was born into wealth. I have money, power, and a family that loves and spoils me, protecting me at all costs. That’s why I didn’t end up as a puppet or a slave… But you.”
Ling Miaomiao looked at Jiang Ke’er with heartache, hesitating over whether she should expose her to such cruel realities.
“Your existence is destined to be a tragedy. You really shouldn’t have left Qingliu Mountain.”
Ling Miaomiao was unexpectedly kind and warm-hearted.
Jiang Ke’er smiled and offered some comfort. “It’s okay. My Cultivation Base is decent; I can take care of myself.”
“No, you are as innocent as a blank sheet of paper. You have no idea how terrifying this world is,” Ling Miaomiao shook her head.
“You need a backer—a backer so ridiculously powerful that they can shield you and keep you away from danger, at least for a while.”
‘That’s exactly why I’m here,’ Jiang Ke’er thought to herself.
“You don’t need to worry, sister. I just want to go to the palace to find a friend of my Shifu. Once I find my Shifu, I’ll go back to Qingliu Mountain,” Jiang Ke’er said.
“Your Shifu…”
Ling Miaomiao felt another pang of pity looking at Jiang Ke’er’s expectant face.
According to Jiang Ke’er, her Shifu had left the mountain and hadn’t returned for a long time. It was likely they had already met with disaster.
Shenzhou was already full of hidden dangers, not to mention the terrifying Epidemic Poison from two days ago that had killed more than half of the high-level Cultivators in Shenzhou.
Many large Sects had fallen to third-rate status because of it, let alone powerful Scattered Cultivators. If they weren’t dead, who would feel safe leaving such a beautiful disciple alone in the mountains?
“I can take you to the outside of the Royal Palace,” Ling Miaomiao said. “But I can only help you that far.”
“That is more than enough. Thank you!” Jiang Ke’er said happily.
Sensing the madness of the Cultivators outside the Exquisite Pavilion, Ling Miaomiao sighed.
She truly couldn’t bear to let this young girl face those ugly faces driven by desire all on her own.
Yet she also knew that in a place like Shenzhou, a woman as beautiful as Jiang Ke’er would bring destruction to those around her.
If she kept Jiang Ke’er here any longer, the crazed Cultivators outside would tear the Exquisite Pavilion to pieces to get to her.
“Let’s go.” Ling Miaomiao led Jiang Ke’er into a secret passage beneath the Exquisite Pavilion.
The end of the passage led directly to the outer walls of the Royal Palace.
“Be wary of everyone—even those who look kind,” Ling Miaomiao said, lightly wiping the corner of her eye.
“It was my luck to meet you,” Jiang Ke’er said sincerely.
She didn’t want to deceive someone as kind as Ling Miaomiao, but for the sake of the Mission, she couldn’t be honest.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ke’er eventually left a Rune number for Ling Miaomiao.
“If you ever encounter danger, call this number. Someone will come to save you immediately.” Jiang Ke’er solemnly pressed the note into Ling Miaomiao’s hand.
“Sister, please believe me!”
“Alright, I believe you,” Ling Miaomiao smiled and waved goodbye to Jiang Ke’er.
Jiang Ke’er felt much more at ease after that.
“Mhm! Goodbye!”
Jiang Ke’er turned and walked resolutely toward the palace gates.
Meeting Ling Miaomiao was just an unexpected interlude.
Since the plan was to let things happen naturally and adapt to the situation, encountering strange circumstances was inevitable.
However, after several twists and turns, she had finally arrived.
The person she was looking for was named Tan Nian, an Imperial Guard Captain under Yu Wenhua Ji.
This man was greedy by nature and did indeed have a friend living in seclusion on Qingliu Mountain. That friend often bragged to him about having a beautiful female disciple.
It just so happened that the friend had died from the Epidemic Poison two days ago, which gave Jiang Ke’er the perfect opportunity to take her place!
‘Hehe… This time, I’ve prepared quite thoroughly. There’s no way my identity will be exposed!’
Jiang Ke’er was brimming with confidence.
“Reporting to His Majesty, there is an exquisite beauty standing outside the Palace City.
She says she is looking for Imperial Guard Captain Tan Nian…”
Something like this normally wouldn’t be reported to the Emperor, but the woman was simply too beautiful.
“Oh, she’s here.” Prince Hao of Qin whispered to himself, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
This show was clearly going to be very interesting.