Lu Mingyuan finished reading the hexagram and fell into deep thought.
'Conflict among the Three Religions, a chaos of dragons.'
'A conflict within the Daoist Sect, drawing much attention.'
'I never would have guessed. She really is one of the Daoist Disciples. Just what kind of mess has she gotten herself into?'
'It's actually related to the conflict of the Three Religions. This person came from Changle Palace… did something happen at the banquet?'
With just this little bit of a clue, it was very difficult for Lu Mingyuan to figure it out.
At least the hexagram's information made one thing clear: this woman was very important.
Zi Yun knelt down and felt around the green-robed woman's waist, finding a Jade Pendant. It was engraved with a black-and-white Yin-Yang Fish, and on the back were the two words "Celestial Master." She handed it to Lu Mingyuan.
"A Token from the Celestial Master's Mansion."
Lu Mingyuan also knelt down, took it and sized it up for a few moments before reaching a conclusion.
He had read through geographical atlases and had a considerable understanding of the powers in this world.
The Celestial Master's Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain, as the number one power in the Daoist Sect, had a resounding reputation. It was written at the very top of the power rankings; it was impossible for him not to have come across it.
The Daoist Sect's influence was widely distributed in this world, far surpassing the Buddhist Sect. Compared to the more unified Buddhist Heaven, the Daoist Sect's forces were more scattered and received mixed reviews.
Daoist Techniques are good, but there are always people who use them to do bad things.
Thus, there existed many practitioners of the Demon Dao and Evil Dao, who had become vessels enslaved by Demon Barriers, scattered throughout the Central Plains World.
Fortunately, the orthodox Daoist Sect forces formed the Dao Alliance to jointly resist such occurrences. The Celestial Master's Mansion, as its leader, had twelve branch Daoist Academies internally, from which Qi Cultivators frequently emerged. Externally, it was served by thirty-six Sects, slaying demons and exorcising evil, holding a Transcendent status.
All in all, this identity Jade Token from the Celestial Master's Mansion was worth a great deal.
"Judging by this Daoist Nun's age and appearance, she can't be a nobody in the Celestial Master's Mansion. We should be able to trace her origins."
Lu Mingyuan hung the Token back on her and turned to give Zi Yun a quiet order:
"Carry her into the house."
"Yes."
Zi Yun hoisted the green-robed woman onto her back and walked toward the house.
Lu Mingyuan turned his head and glanced at the bloodstains in the snow. With his palm facing up, he shot out a blast of fiery red Martial Arts Qi, completely evaporating the blood until nothing remained.
Only then did he enter the house.
Qingzhu Hall, which originally had no particular scent, was instantly filled with the thick smell of blood after the green-robed woman was brought inside. Blood was faintly seeping from her lower abdomen.
"Do you know how to treat injuries?"
Lu Mingyuan looked at Zi Yun, his expression impassive.
Other than knowing how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he was completely clueless about saving people.
Zi Yun nodded. "Of course. I was taught in the palace. First, we should change this young lady into some clean clothes, then fetch a few herbs to replenish her qi and blood. Once the bleeding stops, she'll be fine. She's a Cultivator herself, so she can recover slowly afterward."
Lu Mingyuan's face darkened as he asked, "What if she wakes up? Will I find a sword at my throat?"
Hearing this, Zi Yun was taken aback and hesitated. "That... probably won't happen, right? You're her savior, Your Highness. How could there be such an ungrateful person in the world?"
Lu Mingyuan remained silent.
He turned his back to them.
"Change her."
...
The cold wind rustled the dim yellow palace lanterns, but the sky above Qingzhu Hall was anything but calm.
Sword Cultivators flew across the sky, and dozens of streams of Divine Sense swept through the Imperial Palace. The sounds of the Imperial Guard's footsteps and shouts were everywhere.
Only within Qingzhu Hall was there the quiet burning of charcoal.
"Mmmph—"
A faint, almost inaudible murmur came from the bed in the hall.
Yun Qinghe opened her weary eyes. Her Sea of Consciousness was in a daze. She felt a comfortable warmth around her. Before her was a ceiling carved with a coiling dragon holding a pearl. An indescribable weakness wracked her entire body.
The very first thing she did was pull a teardrop-shaped, blood-red piece of Glazed Jade from her sleeve. It emitted a faint halo of light.
Seeing the jade was still there, she couldn't help but sigh in relief. Her cold eyes scanned her surroundings.
SPARKS CRACKLED in the brazier in the center of the hall. The lamplight, small as a bean, illuminated the entire space.
By the lamplight, she could see a tall man standing before the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore clean, white jade-like robes, and his long black hair was tied up by a tall crown. He looked pampered and well-cared-for, yet his silhouette seemed utterly desolate.
She remembered him. He was the man with the blade she had seen on the Great Snowfield before she lost consciousness.
Yun Qinghe glanced at the new palace dress she was wearing and, after only a moment's thought, understood what had happened.
But soon, a splitting headache forced her back onto the bed.
The mental shock from the Confucian True Words was too great, especially since they came from a Great Scholar. She wouldn't be able to recover from it anytime soon.
"You're awake?"
Lu Mingyuan noticed the movement on the bed and turned his head, speaking calmly. There was a hint of vigilance in his eyes, and he did not approach.
Seeing this, Zi Yun hurried forward to explain, "It was my master, His Highness, who saved you. I was the one who changed your clothes. We didn't take any of your things, you can check for yourself. Also, the clothes are mine. Please don't misunderstand, miss..."
Yun Qinghe interrupted with a calm gaze, "I am not an unreasonable person."
Zi Yun wasn't annoyed at being cut off and smiled. "That's good, that's good."
She closed her eyes and focused for a moment, silently reciting a Taoist Technique. Color gradually returned to her face, and her qi and blood flowed more smoothly. After her Heart Spirit had calmed, she fell silent for a while before looking at Lu Mingyuan by the window and asking:
"I was going to kill you. Why did you save me?"
Lu Mingyuan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and gave a casual, dismissive reply, "Because you're good-looking."
'I can't very well say it was because of my divination, can I?'
Yun Qinghe struggled to sit up in bed. Her snow-white hair cascaded like a waterfall. Her fingers clutched the quilt, and a pair of long legs, smooth as suet jade, were exposed to the air. Her delicate profile was serious as she said:
"Do you know what I have done? If this is exposed, you will surely be implicated in a crime punishable by the execution of your nine relations."
Lu Mingyuan gave a smirk that wasn't quite a smile. "Execute my nine relations? I don't care. Go ahead. I'm bored here anyway. If I die, I die."
Hearing the man's nonchalant reply, Yun Qinghe's willow-like brows furrowed.
She didn't know why he spoke with such arrogance, unafraid of life or death.
"So, what did you do?"
Lu Mingyuan asked, his curiosity piqued.
Yun Qinghe's eyes flickered, and a murderous intent flashed and vanished. "I nearly killed your Great Yan's Fifth Prince."
Lu Mingyuan nodded with great interest and muttered to himself, "Why didn't you finish the job?"
Yun Qinghe's hearing was sharp. She heard his words but didn't wonder why he wasn't surprised. Instead, she assumed he was questioning her skills and a flash of regret appeared in her eyes. "I was just a hair's breadth away..."
Then she looked at Lu Mingyuan, her face calm and composed. "Fortunately, you saved me. Otherwise, without the protection of the Thousand Mechanism Blood Divine Jade, you would have quickly been locked onto by a Taoist Master's Divine Sense and torn to pieces."
The first half of her sentence was spoken calmly, but the second half was filled with a deep-seated fear of a certain existence.
After observing her with Recognizing People and confirming she wasn't lying, Lu Mingyuan had a slight realization.
'No wonder. There was so much commotion in the sky, but they never found their way to me.'
'So this Daoist Nun has something on her that can shield her from the Celestial Secret.'
'As expected of a disciple from the Daoist Sect. So many Treasures.'
'She's powerful, alright. She's laid out exactly what happened, clearing up my doubts and saving me the trouble of asking.'
'It's because she's so strong that she's not worried at all that I could harm her.'
'That's the confidence that comes with power.'
'Even if she let me strike her, I wouldn't be able to break through the Golden Light of her Protective Talisman.'
"I need to enter seclusion here to recuperate from my injuries. Let me borrow your humble abode. If I can leave in the future, you will be handsomely rewarded."
After checking her injuries, Yun Qinghe calmly met Lu Mingyuan's gaze and said:
"Let me be clear beforehand. My name is Yun Qinghe. The 'Yun' from Yunxiao."
Lu Mingyuan nodded lightly, committing the name to memory, and replied with a faint smile:
"Hello. My name is Lu Mingyuan, the Sixth Prince of Great Yan."
...