Halfway through the spring day, a fine drizzle hazed the ***Black Star*** Sect's peaks for hundreds of miles.
On **Moon Spring Peak**, spring bamboo shoots spread in all directions, and green bamboo stalks that grew three inches a day launched upward without restraint. The breeze brought back the scent of grass and trees from the depths of the bamboo forest and also fluttered the purple robe of a handsome young man.
*Snap~~ Snap~~*
Ye Anping held an oil-paper umbrella and stood in front of the bamboo forest, looking solemnly at the path leading inside.
At the end of the trail was Si Xuanji's summer residence on the **Moon Spring Peak**.
After living in this world for so long, this was the first time that Ye Anping felt the terror of the unknown.
He had no idea whether this road was a road of no return.
But he couldn't postpone meeting Si Xuanji any longer. Even if he avoided her for a while, he couldn't avoid her forever. Moreover, if she felt that he was avoiding her, she would make him suffer for sure.
When most people felt aggrieved, they just cried.
But if she felt aggrieved, the sky might just come crashing down.
"Sigh -- I hope I can still come out in one piece."
Ye Anping sighed softly, held up his umbrella, and walked into the bamboo forest with his head held high as if going to his own execution.
The forest was filled with birdsong and bamboo fragrance.
Following the road stone and guided by the stone lamps, Ye Anping soon arrived at the gate of a small cottage.
Normally, this bamboo forest should be a maze under Si Xuanji's control, and without her permission, he couldn't have come in and out from anywhere. Since he could come in, it meant that she probably knew that he was coming.
*Dong Dong---*
Ye Anping put away the umbrella, pulled the door knocker, and organized his speech in his mind to make sure Si Xuanji wouldn't get upset later.
The mahogany door opened from the inside, and Qiu Shuirou slowly moved sideways, poking out her face. "Master Ye?"
"Yes." Ye Anping cupped his hands and said, "Sister Qiu, please forgive me for disturbing you with my presence. I came here to return the jade pendant that Miss Xuanji lent me last time. I wonder if she is available now?
Seeing Ye Anping's well-behaved and polite demeanor, Qiu Shuirou sighed, paused, then suddenly put on a face as if she had seen her savior. She quickly stepped forward to grab Ye Anping's hands. "Master Ye, you have come at the right time."
?
Ye Anping was dumbfounded. What the hell? Why was she suddenly so excited, and even put her hands on his chest...
He concluded that Si Xuanji probably set a trap for him again.
As for what kind of trap it was, he didn't know yet, but there was definitely a trick somewhere.
But even if he knew there was a trap, there was nothing he could do. If he didn't enter the trap, that old loli would be angry, and he did not know how she might retaliate against him. Sometimes, if people acted too smart, they were asking for trouble.
Ye Anping paused and pretended to be surprised. "Sister Qiu, what happened?"
"Well, you see, Young Miss followed her sister and sneaked out of the ***Black Star*** Sect a few days ago and went in the direction of the **Central Region**. Master Ye, can you go after them and bring them back? It seems that there is a lot of trouble happening recently in the **Central Region**, and I am worried that the two of them will encounter danger..."
Hearing this, Ye Anping immediately understood Si Xuanji's intention.
She wanted to lure him to the **Central Region**.
In the game, Feng Yu Die originally didn't want to go to the **Central Region**, and Si Xuanji was the one who tricked her and Xiao Yunluo into going there.
Probably because the person Si Xuanji was trying to trick into going to the **Central Region** this time was him, the method she used was different, but the result should be the same.
Ye Anping felt a little weary but played accordingly and asked, "Why don't we go to the Elders or Immortal Matriarch for this matter?"
Qiu Shuirou replied with a helpless look. "It is not convenient to tell the Elders and the Matriarch about this matter. It will cause panic throughout the sect, which is not good. The young ladies have reached the age where they want to go outside and have some fun. The Matriarch has always been very strict and does not allow them to leave the sect without permission. Maybe they felt suffocated in the ***Black Star*** Sect for a long time and wanted to go out for some fresh air, right?"
This sounded half false, half true... Ye Anping pursed his lips and continued to ask, "How long have they been gone?"
"About three months."
"The **Central Region** is so big, how am I going to find them?"
"Don't worry about that."
Qiu Shuirou took out an item that she had prepared from the storage bag and gave it to Ye Anping. It was a small bell with the words, '*All Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix*' engraved on it.
"Master Ye, this is a *Mandarin Duck Bell*; the other one is on Young Miss. If the bell rings, it means that Young Miss is near you."
Ye Anping picked up the *'Mandarine Duck Bell'* and stared at it speechlessly.
Wasn't this the *Heavenly Return Bell* in the game?
She actually lied to him that this was a *Mandarin Duck Bell*. What she named so romantically was actually a 'GPS locator'. As long as he had this thing with him, Si Xuanji could accurately pinpoint his location no matter where he was.
*Jingle jingle~~*
Ye Anping flicked the bell lightly and thought that being watched by Si Xuanji could be a good thing.
This way, he also had an extra trump card in his hand.
Besides, if Si Xuanji really wanted to peep, he couldn't stop her no matter what he tried. Rather than being secretly watched by her, it was better to act knowing that he was being watched so that he could use that to his advantage.
"Sigh--"
With a sigh, Ye Anping put the bell into his storage bag and cupped his hands. "I'll go look for them in a few days."
"Thank you for your trouble, Master Ye."
There was a slight apology in Qiu Shuirou's eyes, as if she was ashamed of helping Si Xuanji deceive this pure and innocent young man. After a pause, she pulled a slightly larger box out of her storage bag and said, "Miss left this for you."
"What is it?"
"On your seventeenth birthday last year, Young Miss personally sewed a set of clothes for you, Master Ye. She wanted to give them to you, but unfortunately, you were in the **Southern Region** at the time, so she has kept them until now."
Ye Anping was a little surprised. He vaguely remembered that Si Xuanji's needlework skills in the game were really bad, so what kind of ghostly appearance could the clothes she made for him have?
He opened the box and took a look. Inside was a set of valuable men's robes embroidered with gold threads and adorned with carved high-level spirit stones. But after one glance, Ye Anping saw the collar. On it, there was a thin string of *"Guichun Pavilion Etiquette"* embroidered.
Hand sewed my ass!
Ye Anping did not expose it. Instead, he cupped his hands with a smile, and he even complimented, "When I see Miss Xuanji, I will express my gratitude to her. Miss Xuanji is really good at needlework, and this outfit is really exquisite."
Qiu Shuirou really didn't want to deceive Ye Anping anymore, but she had to obey her master's orders. There was a trace of embarrassment on her face as she replied stiffly, "... I'm glad Young Master Ye likes it."
"Well, I'll take my leave now. I'll go look for Miss Xuanji and Young Lady Xiao in a few days."
"Master Ye, take care~"
Qiu Shuirou closed the door with a smile on her face, leaned her back against the door, covered her chest, and exhaled gently, muttering to herself, "The Matriarch wants the old cow to eat young grass, how can I become an accomplice? Master Ye looks so innocent and young; it is quite uncomfortable to lie to him. And if the Matriarch accidentally uncovers her identity and Master Ye finds out about it, will he live with a psychological shadow forever?... Being teased and played with like this by an old woman who is thousands of years old... How could this be?"
