Chapter 51

A few days later, Yu Tao arrived at Yaochi.

Contrary to her imagination of an open, elegant flower pool, Yaochi turned out to be a solemn and ancient palace with white walls and columns, pavilions, and towers. The divine attendants all wore immaculate white robes, untainted by any dust, giving them an exceptionally sacred appearance.

Disguised as a maid, Yu Tao followed behind Zhu Mingyu. Lu Qingyu had helped her alter her appearance into an ordinary face—one that would be ignored by a crowd. In order to avoid standing out, Lu Qingyu also brought a maid along, and the two of them respectfully lowered their heads as they walked behind.

Upon seeing the Zhu and Lu families, the divine attendants appeared quite troubled. In recent years, Yaochi had been in decline, making it difficult to offend the rising Zhu and Lu families.

Reluctantly, one of the attendants spoke up, “Honored guests, I’m terribly sorry, but this month, the palace has forbidden any outsiders from entering. Perhaps you could come again next month?”

Zhu Mingyu frowned slightly. “But we’ve already arrived. Has something happened? Why are we suddenly not allowed to enter?”

The two divine attendants exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. “It’s for the succession ceremony of the new goddess. In order to prevent any troublemakers from causing chaos, a ban has been imposed. We hope you’ll understand.”

Yu Tao let out a quiet sigh of relief. As expected.

After Hua Lian had said those words, Yu Tao had thought that Yaochi would send someone to find her. She was wondering how to respond, but to her surprise, no one came after three or four days.

Yu Tao became a little worried, wondering if something had happened. However, Zhu Mingyu wasn’t surprised when she heard this. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing. Perhaps they’ve already found a new successor, so they’re too busy to bother with you.”

With the new goddess in place, Yu Tao felt at ease. Now she didn’t have to worry about being taken as the goddess herself. She secretly poked Zhu Mingyu’s finger.

Zhu Mingyu understood and said, “I’ll discuss it with my companions, and we’ll inform you shortly.”

The group walked to a place far from the divine attendants, and Yu Tao said, “Classmate Zhu—ah, Mingyu, I’m not in a hurry about my mother’s matter. Let’s come back next month.”

The two of them had no objections, and Lu Qingyu smiled. “In that case, shall we visit Jinling in the Central Plains this month?”

Zhu Mingyu nodded. “I remember there’s also the Flower God Festival there. I think it’s happening this month.”

After saying that, they agreed. The group returned to the attendants and Zhu Mingyu nodded. “I’ve discussed this with my companions, and since Yaochi is holding such an important succession ceremony, we won’t disturb you any longer.”

But the two divine attendants suddenly changed their attitude. They no longer appeared troubled and smiled. “Just now, the Palace Lord sent a message, personally inviting the two of you to attend the new goddess’ succession ceremony as honored guests. During the ceremony, you can also undergo the baptism.”

Zhu Mingyu and Lu Qingyu were both taken aback. The Palace Lord of Yaochi?

The Palace Lord of Yaochi was rarely seen in public, having secluded herself in the palace for centuries. It was even rumored that she had passed away decades ago, and her daughter Bai Yinyin’s wedding ceremony had been held without her appearance. Many people speculated that the Palace Lord had already ascended to immortality, and that Yaochi had kept the news hidden to avoid declining.

With the Palace Lord’s invitation, they naturally could not refuse. It would be seen as disrespectful, and as juniors, neither Zhu Mingyu nor Lu Qingyu dared to disregard such a gesture.

The attendants led them inside and arranged a place for them, where they would undergo a seven-day baptism.

“The baptismal pool is in the back hall. There will be someone to serve you during the ceremony.”

The divine attendants kept Yu Tao and the maid behind, nodding slightly. “Apologies, but Yaochi is not a place that can be casually entered. Before the two of you finish your baptism, you can rest in the Liyue Residence. Also, the palace has heightened security recently. The patrol attendants will act immediately if they see any suspicious individuals. For your safety, please refrain from wandering outside.”

Yu Tao nodded lightly. “Understood.”

Zhu Mingyu and Lu Qingyu were led by the divine attendants to the baptismal area. Outside the Liyue Residence, several divine attendants stood guard, making it clear that leaving during the day was impossible. Yu Tao stayed inside, waiting for an opportunity.

The maid Lu Qingyu had brought was one of her trusted confidants. She knew about the plan and stayed in the room next to Yu Tao’s. She would help her escape later that night.

Yu Tao sat alone in the room, her eyes scanning the surroundings. The room was decorated in a very solemn and meticulous style, everything in perfect order.

She couldn’t help but feel that Yaochi was truly different from what she had expected. Before arriving, she had imagined a beautiful, natural open flower pool with stunning scenery, where divine birds and animals roamed freely. Instead, it turned out to be a place so serious that she hadn’t dared to breathe freely, a sacred palace that was the complete opposite of her expectations.

At least now there was a new goddess. If she had to stay here for long, she certainly wouldn’t be able to endure it.

Yu Tao leaned on the table, lost in thought, and took out the Liuli mirror to light it up.

At the top was a message from her Shishu, Lin Lin, sent the day before.

【Disciple Yu, I’ve figured it out!】

【After experimenting, I flew back and forth about two hundred times, and the conclusion is: there’s a 50% chance the bear is black, and a 50% chance it’s brown! Is this your answer?】

Yu Tao was shocked. That had just been a random question she threw out, and there was actually an answer?

Before she could process it, another message came in from her Shishu, Qiu Chao.

【Disciple Yu, you need to tell him he’s right. I can’t take it anymore.】

Only then did Yu Tao realize that Lin Lin’s experiments had involved flying two hundred times, and the bears he saw falling were actually ones that Qiu Chao had caught and tossed.

【Only that fool would take a question like this seriously and fly two hundred times. Forget about me, those two bears were so exhausted, they collapsed on the ground and didn’t want to move anymore.】

Yu Tao couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Well, no wonder the probability was 50/50, they must have caught two bears and dragged them around.”

Looking at the messages in the mirror, Yu Tao’s eyes curled up slightly. It was actually nice to have someone who would accompany her in doing such seemingly silly things without any reason.

With that thought, Yu Tao scrolled down, and she saw her conversation with her Little Senior Brother. The last message was when she had asked him when he would return. They hadn’t exchanged any messages since then.

After a brief pause, Yu Tao hesitated, poking the screen several times, but after much deliberation, she still didn’t send him a message.

… It’s more respectful to discuss this in person.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Yu Tao responded, “Come in.”

The door opened, and a slightly older divine attendant entered. With a gentle expression, she opened a food box and placed plate after plate of snacks on the table.

“These are special pastries and tea from Yaochi, made with hibiscus flowers as the filling. You may try them.”

Yu Tao, remembering that she was currently disguised as a maid, nodded slightly. “Thank you. My lady has gone to the baptismal pool and has not yet returned. I will relay the message to her once she comes back.”

“The baptismal pool doesn’t lack food,” the divine attendant smiled. “These are for you. Please don’t refuse.”

After speaking, the divine attendant left without lingering, closing the door behind her.

Yu Tao couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. Were the divine attendants in Yaochi this considerate to their maids?

However, she still didn’t dare eat the food. She left it untouched. Having been cautious since childhood, she wasn’t the type to eat things others gave her without thinking.

During the day, divine attendants stood guard outside the door, but after nightfall, Yu Tao seized the opportunity. As Lu Qingyu’s maid distracted the guards, Yu Tao sneaked out, heading in the general direction of the Star-picking Cliff, which, according to Lu Qingyu, was in the remote west.

She had learned that her mother lived at the Star-picking Cliff from Su Chengfeng. However, she had rejected his offer outright and hadn’t told him she was coming to Yaochi.

As she moved further west, the number of divine attendants decreased, and she gradually walked out of the palace’s boundaries. No longer needing to dodge the patrolling attendants, Yu Tao let out a quiet sigh, finally relaxing as she made her way toward the Star-picking Cliff.

“Hey, do you think a person can really come back to life after they die?”

“Well, I’ve heard of a technique that supposedly revives the dead. It can bring the body back to life, but the soul is already gone. The person who returns is just a puppet.”

Yu Tao, passing by two young divine attendants guarding the gate, suddenly overheard their conversation.

She didn’t pay much attention, thinking of quietly slipping away, but the attendants continued speaking.

“What do you think of Goddess Liuli? She died a few years ago, and suddenly she came back. I don’t know, it feels so… scary.”

“I think so too… And she’s only been back for two days, but she’s already busy with the succession ceremony. It’s so strange.”

“Quiet! The matters of the goddess are not for us to discuss. All you need to know is that after the ceremony in a few days, she will be the only goddess of Yaochi.”

A slightly older divine attendant walked by, her expression serious as she scolded the younger ones.

Yu Tao froze for a moment. Wait…

Su Liuli… revived?