Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 309 - 46: I Didn’t Expect You All to Be Like This!
Wang Jiu now suddenly had a peculiar feeling.
Since he woke up in QingCyan Cloud City last May and signed the Master-Servant Contract with Shen Qingming, he had always been the master leading his mount around aimlessly, and had rarely enjoyed the treatment of being led by the mount.
Now, finally seeing his mount, Shen Erxiao, leading the way, Wang Jiu felt quite gratified.
"Ah, Ah Jiu, why are you walking so slowly? If you don’t hurry up, she will run away! Your Illusion Sword Technique is really troublesome, hurry up and change back to your true form and come with me!"
As she said this, Shen Qingming took the lead, relying on her small stature and incredible brute force, with True Essence exuding outward. She barreled through the crowded throngs as if she were in an uninhabited realm. The diners around Shen City only felt a gentle but irresistible force pushing against their waists and thighs, causing them to stagger half a step to the side, making way. Yet when they turned around, they saw only the faces of other diners looking equally bewildered and innocent, completely unaware of who had pushed them.
Wang Jiu was also happy to relax, being able to finally dissolve his Illusion Sword Technique, reverting back to his White Sword form and being carried on Shen Qingming’s back, truly charging towards the branch of the Qing Restaurant like a knight.
After about a tea’s time, the brash and courageous Shen Qingming finally broke through the encirclement, reaching the street corner north of Hundred Families Workshop.
"Is it here?"
Behind her, Wang Jiu pointed and said, "Earlier, Li Chaolu paused briefly here before turning inside and hasn’t come out since. Based on the map, this alley is a dead end, so we can assume she should be in this alley."
Shen Qingming was excited and said, "Haha, I finally caught someone in the act! Ah Jiu, no matter how cruel the events about to unfold, for example, if someone close to you suddenly betrays you, you must stay strong, okay?"
"Oh, don’t worry. If you need to dissolve the Master-Servant Contract and find another master, I will support you."
"..." Shen Qingming suddenly paused in her steps, then turned back, took down the White Sword, and looked at Wang Jiu with an iron-blue face.
"What did you say?"
Wang Jiu explained, "I remember last May, you strongly requested to dissolve the Master-Servant Contract with me, but at that time, I was out of energy and couldn’t cancel the signed contract. To forcibly execute it required several rare materials. Although those materials have never been obtained, with the accumulation of reconstructing the Sword World, I can now cancel the contract and return your freedom."
"..." Shen Qingming’s face turned even paler and her voice became trembling, "You’re planning to leave me, aren’t you?"
Wang Jiu said, "Yes, although I promised an old friend to take care of his descendants, and also promised Shen Yue’e to look after you. But now you have a relatively stable position in the Li Family, with the Immovable Tyrant Body basically on track. As long as you continue to cultivate step by step and keep awakening your dormant bloodline power, and with the Original Sword Essence compensating for the conflict between your Nine Dragon Sword Heart and Immovable Tyrant Body, your cultivation path is bright, and it’s okay even without my guidance."
"It’s not okay!" Shen Qingming paused, then loudly repeated, "It’s not okay! You can’t just leave like this!"
"Of course, considering that I’m still the chairman of Jiulinglu Company, I will transfer my duties before leaving."
"You’re not allowed to go!" Shen Qingming’s eyes had already turned red. "That contract, you’re not allowed to dissolve it! No matter what, you are always my Sword Spirit..."
Wang Jiu had to correct her, "According to the contract spirit, you are my mount, and I am your master."
"Master, then master! Anyway, the contract must not be dissolved, and you are not allowed to leave me!"
Wang Jiu thought for a moment, "If you insist, I don’t mind, but..."
"No buts!" Shen Qingming shook her head and stomped her foot, "Fine, don’t talk about this anymore! Li Chaolu is going to get away!"
With that, she quickly ran into the alley with Wang Jiu in tow.
The alley was deep, yet the young girl’s pace was swift. Within two steps, she reached the end of the alley, only to see a tall brick wall blocking the way, surrounded by old brick houses, with no trace of Li Chaolu.
"Where... where’s Li Chaolu?" said Shen Qingming, cautiously using her Divine Sense to perceive the True Essence fluctuations around her. "Weird, there are no traces of her at all, did she climb over the wall? Hmph, it’s all your fault, talking nonsense at the mouth of the alley, making me lose my chase!"
Wang Jiu said, "In truth, you chased too far yourself; she didn’t even reach this far."
"Impossible, this is just a straight alley, where was there a fork in the road?"
Wang Jiu then transformed back to his Sword Spirit True Form and pointed behind her, "There’s an Illusion Array over there, hiding something extraordinary."
"Why didn’t you say earlier!?"
"I didn’t expect that after cultivating with me for more than half a year, you still couldn’t see through such a simple Illusion Array. It seems I indeed need to guide you for a while longer."
Shen Qingming’s face turned slightly red, but she snorted, "Yeah, exactly, where does someone leave after teaching for just half a year?"
As they spoke, they had already arrived at the Illusion Array that Wang Jiu had pointed out.
On the surface, it was just a rough brick wall, uneven and dusty, but if you looked closely, you could indeed see something unusual.
"This technique of mimicking Spirit Veins’ operations, is it the Mountain and Sea Technique from Shen City?" Shen Qingming guessed, a bit uncertainly.
Wang Jiu said, "Indeed, it is derived from the Mountain and Sea Technique, but it has been highly simplified. The actual deceptive effect isn’t strong; it simply indicates that something in need of Illusion Technique concealment is here, basically guarding against gentlemen, not villains."
Saying so, he took the lead in playing the role of a villain.
Shen Qingming followed behind, directly stepping forward to crash into the wall.
After one step, there was no sharp pain from hitting the wall with the nose, but instead felt that the area ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious and quiet small courtyard. The moonlight poured like silver over the courtyard, and amidst it there was a pavilion, indeed a hidden paradise.
However, Li Chaolu’s figure was still nowhere to be seen.
Shen Qingming glanced around for a moment, locking her gaze on the pavilion: "Is this the teleportation point?"
"Yes, once you sit down, you will be automatically teleported to a designated location, it seems to be in the western district," Wang Jiu replied.
At that moment, Wang Jiu’s insight could directly penetrate the hidden immortal technique mechanisms within the pavilion and reverse deduce the teleportation location.
"It really is the western district... then why make such a detour, taking such a long route?" Shen Qingming was puzzled and confused but stepped into the pavilion without hesitation.
No response.
"What is going on?"
"To activate the teleportation array, you need..." Wang Jiu sighed.
Shen Qingming immediately blushed: "Ahh, I remembered, you need a command or a token, right? I just forgot for a moment, don’t say anymore!"
After speaking, she blinked and asked, even more embarrassed: "Then, do you know what the command and token are?"
Wang Jiu replied: "I can crack it, just wait a moment."
Then, Wang Jiu stood in the pavilion, pressed his hand on the pillar. Instantly, this exquisite building turned into a diagram of spirit vein flow in his sight. Numerous strands of thin True Essence slowly circulated here in a complex manner, forming a strict and meticulous pattern. In the center of the pattern was a gap that needed to be fitted with a specific design; only after perfectly filling the gap could the entire array be activated and the teleportation effect initiated.
Wang Jiu pondered for a while and found the design of this array to be quite exquisite but not robust. Most Cloud Flipping Realm cultivators should be able to violently crack it.
Therefore, Wang Jiu chose to crack it violently without hesitation. He gathered a mass of liquid Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy from the Sword World’s Spirit Gathering Array, concentrated it at the sword tip, and then gently dripped it onto the gap in the center of the array.
In an instant, the tiny gap was filled with Wang Jiu’s spiritual energy. Then, under Wang Jiu’s control, the mass of liquid spiritual energy rapidly morphed into various subtle forms at breathtaking speeds, touching the surrounding patterns, perceiving the entire array’s changes, and continuously changing towards a shape that would further activate the array.
After roughly three breaths, the liquid spiritual energy stopped transforming and solidified into three dragon-and-phoenix-character-like forms. Following the solidification of the spiritual energy, the entire array suddenly initiated.
Wang Jiu and Shen Qingming instantly changed location, from the secluded courtyard to the top floor of a bright and spacious restaurant.
Two maidens in red gracefully welcomed them with smiles.
"Welcome to this session of the Three Lives Stone High-end Book Club, please come inside, the event is about to begin soon."
Shen Qingming blinked in disbelief, and spoke to Wang Jiu through the mind passage.
"Three Lives Stone Book Club!? What the heck is this!"
Wang Jiu explained: "Three Lives Stone, a famous romance writer, true identity unknown. Currently, it’s generally speculated that they are from Shen City, with works that attract countless fans through vivid character portrayals and delicate emotional interactions..."
"I wasn’t asking about that! I was asking... why is there such a nonsensical event!?"
To be honest, before passing through the pavilion’s teleportation array, Shen Qingming was still enthusiastically guessing what was on the other side—Shen City Revolutionary Army’s base? Some underground black market auction? Or perhaps the War Elephant Uncovering Conference?
Yet the result is a nonsensical book club!? It’s really unbelievable, why make a bookworm gathering so mysterious?!
Yet soon, Shen Qingming understood why.
In the welcome speech by the two maidens, the word "high-end" was not casually added.
This book club takes place on the top floor of a high-class restaurant, which stands over twenty zhang tall and stands out prominently in the old district of the western city. Moreover, the top floor boasts flowers, trees, small bridges, and flowing water, resembling a stunning airborne garden.
In the courtyard, roughly forty to fifty people have already gathered, of various ages, each holding a signed hardcover book by Three Lives Stone, passionately forming groups of three to five discussing the novel’s plot. The lively scene contrasted with the elegant and tranquil atmosphere around them, akin to the dining streets of the Hundred Families Workshop.
With just a glance, Shen Qingming noticed a familiar silhouette.
Yet it wasn’t Li Chaolu, but instead...
"Sister Wanqing!? How come you’re here? And Shen Ying, both of you...?"
At that moment, Shen Qingming felt her brain was about to explode.
Why didn’t she encounter Li Chaolu, but ran into Li Wanqing instead?!
