Chapter 387: Become Strange

“It’s so early; what’s going on?” Ye Wenxin looked at the Yin-Yang ghosts still lying on the bed. She had planned to wait until they recovered a bit before practicing some skills, but Gu Xiangsi and Wang Cuihua’s disturbance made it clear that she wouldn’t be able to continue.

“Didn’t you say we were leaving today, Sis? So we came to call you.” Ye Wenxin’s question confused Gu Xiangsi. Wanting to see if there were any other people hiding in the room, she stepped inside, and caught a floral fragrance.

The pleasant scent was intoxicating, almost as if it could numb one’s senses. Gu Xiangsi was momentarily dazed but quickly snapped out of it. She took a few steps toward the door and asked, “Sis, what kind of fragrance are you using? It smells a little unusual.”

Ye Wenxin was still tidying the bed when she casually replied, “It’s called ‘Ten Li of Peach Blossoms’.”

After hearing this unfamiliar term, Gu Xiangsi’s eyes showed some concern. “This scent is quite overpowering. I felt myself nearly becoming strange.”

Ye Wenxin couldn’t smell the fragrance at all, but guessed the peach blossom chains had emitted the smell after preying on the Yin-Yang Ghosts the previous day. She said, “This is a concoction I made myself to keep intruders out. You should go outside for a bit; if you inhale too much, it might affect your intelligence.”

This startled Gu Xiangsi, and she hurried back outside. However, the scent was still quite strong. Gu Xiangsi lifted her sleeve to sniff it lightly, and noticed that the fragrance had also stuck on her. She became worried that the effect might indeed cause her to lose her senses and asked anxiously, “What should I do now? The smell is still on me.”

Ye Wenxin, seeing that Gu Xiangsi had completely believed her explanation, smiled reassuringly. “It’s no big deal. As long as it’s not in a confined space, it won’t harm you much.” She then opened all the windows and made sure she hadn’t left anything behind in the room.

Once she had confirmed everything was in order, she left the room. Before she had walked a few steps, she encountered Hei Haowen, who had previously brought them to the Southern Dipper Temple. They exchanged pleasantries, and Hei Haowen, smiling at everyone, continued, “The abbess has an early morning lesson today and cannot see you off. Let me escort you to Yangzhou City.”

Ye Wenxin realized that Abbess Jiunan was being overly polite, but still gently declined Hei Haowen’s kind offer.

Hei Haowen didn’t insist. He touched his bald head and continued, “The abbess said that if you refuse, I should hand you this gift, Benefactor Wenxin.”

With that, Hei Haowen took out a bag of holding and handed it to Ye Wenxin. Naturally, Ye Wenxin didn’t expect anything too valuable. She took out the contents, and found it to be a neatly arranged stack of scriptures, seemingly hand-copied texts from the temple. Abbess Jiunan had given them to Ye Wenxin as a gift.

Since Ye Wenxin had developed a new hobby in reading, she thanked him and quickly bade farewell to Hei Haowen. She then boarded the Phoenix Fire and crossed the sea.

This time, the sea was no longer empty. It seemed that, after the Yin-Yang ghosts had injured it, the sea monster had appeared less frequently. Ye Wenxin also felt tired from the flight. After flying halfway, she landed them on a merchant ship and leisurely continued towards her destination…

As the weather grew increasingly cold, Ye Wenxin sat in the ship’s cabin with a few others, discussing the recent major events.

Since the fall of Yangzhou City, various immortal sects had come to aid, and the Golden Age Dynasty had even mobilized the Secret Guards, all in an effort to eliminate the Jiangshi King. However, despite their combined forces, they had been unable to defeat the Jiangshi King.

According to Celestial Master Zhong’s memories, the Jiangshi King was such an exceedingly difficult opponent, that even the One Short Sect’s highest-ranking priest couldn’t stand a chance against it. Celestial Master Zhong had also found it very challenging to deal with the Jiangshi King before, which meant this would be a prolonged battle.

That wasn’t the only news. While the immortal sect disciples were occupied with the crisis in Yangzhou City, significant upheavals had occurred on the demon sects’ side. Two of the Ten Great Demon Sects were wiped out overnight. Of course, the culprit was the Wind and Moon Palace.

After Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng’s disappearance, Liu Churan, who had become the new Palace Master, took on a huge mission. She had transformed the Wind and Moon Palace’s low-key style, and suddenly launched a frenzied campaign to annex the other demon sects.

“I heard it’s the Tower’s turn now. It seems the Ten Great Demon Sects will soon be reduced to just one.” An elderly man, dressed like a well-off merchant, said this with a deep, emotional tone. War had forced this merchant to leave his home, and it was in his search for a more peaceful refuge, that he had come across this inside story.

With conflicts between dynasties added to the mix, it was clear that there was no longer any peaceful place in the world. The people were suffering, unable to achieve the so-called golden age of peace.

Ye Wenxin listened in silence, and Gu Xiangsi, unwilling to speak to any man, remained relatively quiet as well. Under the current circumstances, only Wang Cuihua spoke more frequently, livening up the atmosphere.

During this time, Ye Wenxin also learned from Gu Xiangsi that Wang Cuihua had originally planned to frame her at the Southern Dipper Temple.

Wang Cuihua had originally planned to write a corny love letter to Abbess Jiunan, and get her to dislike Ye Wenxin. However, it backfired, and she accidentally wandered into the spider monsters’ lair, enduring several unforgettable days that left her with a lasting fear of the Southern Dipper Temple nuns.

Thanks to this experience, however, Wang Cuihua had abandoned her petty schemes. Although her attitude toward Ye Wenxin remained lukewarm, she grew very close to Gu Xiangsi, and the two women often shared secrets, excluding Ye Wenxin from their conversations.

Now, seeing that Ye Wenxin had picked up another book to read, Wang Cuihua chatted about men with Gu Xiangsi.

Gu Xiangsi smiled wryly; she had a poor impression of men, and hearing Wang Cuihua talking about them, she found herself even less interested. Meanwhile, the men across from them were clearly interested in her, but despite their attempts, nothing ever came of it.

Ye Wenxin observed all of this, feeling that the men’s attempts were like child’s play. On the contrary, what truly caught her attention was a woman in the distance, dressed in black robes.

It was impossible to discern the woman’s appearance, but her aura was overwhelmingly dark, evoking an instinctive sense of discomfort. She was subdued, and even concealed her cultivation level, making it difficult for Ye Wenxin to gauge her origins. However, Ye Wenxin felt an intense unease around her, like a predator sensing a shift in the food chain.

The woman’s gaze held no regard for anyone. Sometimes, Ye Wenxin would accidentally meet her eyes, only to see the chill in them. It was as if the woman were dead. Even the Yin-Yang ghosts felt some fear toward her, but the only thing they could confirm was that she was human, and not the Jiangshi King Ye Wenxin was familiar with.

As Ye Wenxin pondered this, it was as though the black-robed woman noticed her gaze. Those icy eyes swept over her again, sending a shiver down Ye Wenxin’s spine, prompting her to instinctively look away.

She couldn’t understand where this fear came from.

Was it the memories she had inherited from Celestial Master Zhong? Or had she encountered this woman during that time? Regardless, Ye Wenxin’s instincts warned her to avoid any involvement with this black-robed woman.

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Author: This time, Abbess Jiunan is just a filler character. Mm. The future is long, after all.