CHAPTER 50: 50. MASTER AND SERVANT

Song Yan quickly determined his target.

At dusk, he intercepted the two women on their way back. Before he could speak, one of them volunteered, "Immortal Elder, whatever it is, find me, just don’t harm our young lady!"

Song Yan looked and saw that the woman had a slightly dark face, with a not too appealing mole on her cheek, and a tuft of short hair sprouting from its center.

The woman she referred to as young lady, however, had fair skin and a pristine face. Despite being a servant, her hair was intricately coiled and pinned with a wooden hairpin. Her appearance was exquisite and delicate, and while not curvy, she could still be described as a modest beauty.

The two women shared a room, it was evident that both the servant and the young lady had been captured together, and the servant was still loyally defending her mistress.

At this moment, the servant stepped forward and said, "Immortal Elder, if there is something, let it be me."

Song Yan raised his hand and placed it on the servant’s shoulder.

Logically, with such an annoying and unsightly servant blocking the way, anyone looking for a furnace would probably push her aside, and if short-tempered, would even shout "Get lost, ugly thing."

But Song Yan gently patted the servant’s shoulder and said, "Alright, it’s you, come with me."

Servant: ???

Young Lady: ???

The previously silent young lady suddenly stepped forward and mournfully said, "Huan’Er, you’ve been with me for years. I can’t let you take my place today. I... I’ll go myself."

The young lady suddenly moved in front of the servant, looked at Song Yan, and calmly said, "I’ll go with you."

Song Yan paused briefly, then smiled and said, "Forget it," before walking away.

The two women looked at each other, then quietly sighed in relief and quickly returned to the Suspended Room, pulling up the curtain.

As darkness fell, the woman dressed as a young lady showed a puzzled expression and said softly, "That person..."

The dark-faced servant made a "shh" gesture and then said, "Young lady has had a long day, let this servant massage your shoulders."

...

...

Night fell.

Blood-red Evil Qi spread with the mountain mist, gradually filling the massive space between the cliffs, and swallowed the Suspended Room atop the cliff.

In one of the Suspended Rooms.

The woman who had been dressed as a young lady during the day now sat vigilantly on the roof, her back against the door, and softly said, "Empress, the King of Wei didn’t say you escaped, only that you are bedridden in the back palace, convalescing."

"King of Wei? He’s not! He’s unworthy!"

The woman who had been dressed as a servant during the day now washed away the dust and wiped off the mole, looking extremely charming. Her fierce temperament was like a wild horse, yet she sighed, "He... changed. He was so talented and promising in his youth, guarding the frontier and counterattacking Great Jin.

But he killed Cao Shiyin on the street, then stooped to become a traitor, deceiving the Northern Land’s people, rearing humans for demons!

I misjudged, I wish I could kill him!

He needs the support of my maternal family, so naturally, he wouldn’t admit I ran away.

I tried to warn my family, but fate brought me here, captured by the Puppet Sect."

"It’s okay, Empress, I’ve already found out that due to the war, the entrances and exits of the marketplace at the foot of the mountain aren’t well-guarded...

If we take advantage of the day to go down the mountain to purchase goods, then sneak away at night, there is still hope.

By then... I’ll cover for you, you’ll definitely be able to escape.

During this time, I’ve secretly memorized the map outside, I’ll draw it for you to remember."

The two women cautiously talked through the night but were unaware of a figure nearby spreading his perception, silently listening.

The red mist passed by, ghosts brushing past yet ignoring that figure.

The figure had completely melted into this mournful ghostly mist.

This was Song Yan.

He heard the two women’s plan and silently shook his head.

Outside the marketplace, the canyon was long, the roads singular, and Evil Qi hovered, escaping by night was impossible... and there were secret sentries on the mountainside, with troops from Jin Dynasty waiting to deploy outside.

The Empress might go through immense hardship passing through the market but wouldn’t survive the next obstacle, ending up as nothing more than a mound of yellow earth, leaving only pitiful bleached bones.

As for this Empress’s identity, he had already understood.

The former Crown Prince of the South Tranquilizing King, later the Grand General, now the wife of the King of Wei, and current Empress of Great Wei — Fu Shirong.

During the day, she disguised herself as an ugly servant, while her bodyguard posed as the young lady, trying to avoid some calamities.

Song Yan lowered his head in thought.

These days, he also attempted to learn about the Northern Land situation.

But even Lu Haiyi and Shangguan Jian, who participated in combat, couldn’t clearly explain the Multi-tailed Fox Race, let alone others.

In wartime, what they did was merely oppose some small Demon Beasts.

Yet, the words "Multi-tailed Dragon Bo Cannibal Fox" inexplicably attracted Song Yan.

He was both fearful and eager to know more, even wondering if he could skin a fox to make Shadow Puppets, adding some power to his "Hundred Forms Demon Body."

And this... is there a better way than asking the person involved directly?

...

...

Before dawn.

Fu Shirong put on simple, ugly makeup, carefully sticking the mole, then lowered her head and followed the "young lady" out of the Suspended Room.

She had just stepped out when she noticed the "young lady" stopped walking.

Fu Shirong was about to inquire when she suddenly saw the figure of the man who blocked their way yesterday evening.

"Ordinary looking, secretly cunning"...

Fu Shirong gave this evaluation in her heart but took a deep breath and stepped forward, "Immortal Elder..."

This time, before she could speak, Song Yan said, "Both of you, come with me."

Fu Shirong: ???

Female Guard: ???

The two women wanted to say more, but Song Yan had already said, "Follow along."

Fu Shirong quietly clenched her fist, then released it.

The female guard took the initiative, saying, "Immortal elder, if there’s anything, I can accompany you."

She then continued, "Huan’Er, you help me finish today’s shadow puppet work, don’t delay the main task, now go!"

Song Yan interrupted, "I said, come together."

The two women turned pale.

From a height, Wang Susu supported her chin, giggling, "Interesting, there are still people who don’t want to follow. But it’s understandable, Brother Song’s face is really plain. If it’s... Lu Junior Brother, what are you doing?"

Next to her, Lu Haiyi was quickly jotting down notes, writing "Wang Susu says Brother Song is ugly"?

Seeing Wang Susu looking, he didn’t put away the notebook, lightly saying, "Show some respect to Brother Song, don’t badmouth him behind his back."

Wang Susu asked curiously, "Are you really the one who stopped Brother Song that day?"

Lu Haiyi replied, "No."

"No?"

"The Lu you knew that day is dead, the Lu here now is a reborn Lu."

"Hehe..." Wang Susu covered her mouth laughing, "Tear up the paper, or if things get messy, we’ll see who has a better relationship with Brother Song, you or I."

Lu Haiyi gave a sly smile, "Come on."

Wang Susu squinted at him, when she saw Shangguan Jian appear, she beamed and ran over, saying, "Shangguan Junior Brother is here too."

Shangguan Jian glanced at the two of them, that "deadpan face" also broke into a shady smile, stepping forward to reply, "Yes, Wang Senior Sister."

...

...

Song Yan, while talking to the two women, also heard the "three-person confrontation" not far away.

He felt quite emotional inside.

Indeed, there is controversy everywhere, but fortunately, he doesn’t need to get involved in it...

Elsewhere...

After a powerless commotion, Fu Shirong and the female guard reluctantly followed Song Yan away.

Once Song Yan left, the three eager to take a second sip of the soup impatiently walked into the Tannery Chores Room.

...

...

Golden sunlight slanted through the skylight of the Cave Mansion, casting a faint, serene light.

Profound Qi diffused from the stone, bringing a sense of calm to the heart.

Song Yan said "Forgive me," then directly administered Fanatic Fans powder to the two women.

The two women had extraordinary martial arts, especially Fu Shirong, whose power had already reached the level of the "Four Sparrows of Celestial Cloud City."

However, after a few breaths, they still couldn’t escape the clutches and were successfully drugged.

"Scoundrel!"

Fu Shirong shouted angrily, raising her hand elegantly, her two fingers like scissors, stabbing towards Song Yan’s neck.

The female guard also attacked from the other side, but only halfway through, she weakly withdrew her hand, a strange, dreamy thought swirling in her heart.

Song Yan didn’t display martial arts, only using rough power to dodge Fu Shirong’s attacks.

He ran, she chased.

One must say, the will of this Great Wei Empress is truly the strongest he’s ever witnessed, whether it was the Princess Consort of the South Suppressing King before, or the later Hua Linglong, none could endure as long as she.

This battle surprisingly lasted for nearly half an incense stick’s time.

Fu Shirong finally stopped, glaring hatefully at Song Yan, but she no longer attacked.

The Fanatic Fans powder crafted by cultivators ultimately overpowered her mortal will.

The two stared big eyes at small, while the female guard was already twisting her long legs, tearfully looking at Song Yan.

Song Yan pointed to the stone cave bedroom on the side, saying, "From now on, you will sleep there."

Fu Shirong gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing the itch in her heart, she dragged the female guard hastily into the cave.

...

...

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Fu Shirong and the female guard also confessed their identities.

It turned out Fu Shirong was indeed the Great Wei Empress, and also an important figure in the "Fu Clan Faction."

The "Fu Clan Faction" was a large family, bridging politics, business, and Jianghu, and wielded influence in both black and white realms, even housing loose cultivators within.

The female guard, named Fu Hongmian, though sharing the surname Fu, was vastly different from Fu Shirong in identity, status, talent, and power.

Song Yan then said, "If you want to escape from the market, that’s impossible. Outside lies a long serpent path in the gorge with Evil Qi and hidden sentries, and beyond that, Jin Dynasty’s army."

Fu Shirong looked at him, forcing out a cold voice, "Thank you, Song Lang, for the rescue anyway."

Song Yan asked, "I want to know about the Multi-tailed Dragon Bo Cannibal Fox, what’s happening in the Northern Land...?"

Fu Shirong remained silent.

Fu Hongmian, however, said, "Madam, Song Lang has actually been quite kind to us, just tell him."

Her willpower was weak, and newly influenced by the Fanatic Fans, over the few days, she had already completely succumbed. Though she was consciously clear it was wrong, she couldn’t help but constantly think about being intimate with Song Yan, and thus, at this moment, she found herself directly siding with him.