CHAPTER 488: 0297 YUN QIAN’S PRAISE (2-IN-1)

Warm fire pans were lit around.

Yun Qian sat there, with snacks and pastries specially prepared for her by the Rowing Maiden in front of her.

She picked up a piece of lotus seed cake, removed the fruit garnishes, and placed it in her mouth.

Hmm.

The taste was not bad.

Though it couldn’t compare to the pastries carrying her husband’s scent, since it was a pastry from Beisang City, Xu Chang’an had certified it as delicious.

Opposite Yun Qian, the maiden sat on a stool, holding her face in admiration as she gazed at Yun Qian, her little legs swinging beneath the table.

Ms. Yun is truly beautiful.

Eating pastries naturally required her to remove her veil, so she could fully appreciate the stunning impression Miss Yun gave her.

The maiden fiddled with her long hair by her ear, her cheeks hot, and even the tips of her ears unintentionally flushed red.

She felt that Ms. Yun was like the iced drink she had tasted in the Flower Moon Building during summer.

The taste was so refreshing in the heat, it was beyond words to describe its beauty.

Such a wonderful moment seemed to be frozen in time... she smiled foolishly.

Until.

Yun Qian put down the pastry, picked up a silk handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and looked out the window.

The Inner Realm set by Zhu Pingniang enveloped and confined the entire Beisang City, yet it was not a literal stop in time, but in such silence, saying time had stopped wasn’t wrong.

Yun Qian certainly wasn’t affected, she still wanted to eat her pastries.

The Rowing Maiden beside Yun Qian naturally wasn’t affected either, and the maiden, still enthralled by Yun Qian’s beauty, followed her gaze outside, finally realizing something was amiss.

"Why has the sky gone dark?!" The maiden was stunned, quickly running to the window to look outside.

Immediately, her mouth formed an ’O’ shape, her eyes quivering lightly.

The once bright sky had completely darkened, and the pedestrians, boats on the street, were all frozen. Every person, building, even the surface of the lake, was covered in a layer of black and white flowing light, as if the whole world was draped in a silken cloth, showing only outlines.

The Rowing Maiden raised her head, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Beisang City’s proud clear sky was now divided into countless small squares by intersecting lines, clearly, the entire sky had turned into...

A chessboard?!?!!!

"What on earth is happening?" the maiden’s eyes widened: "Why is everyone not moving?"

And then, why was nothing happening in their room?

The maiden turned back, seeing Yun Qian had already withdrawn her gaze and continued to eat her fruit.

"..."

Miss Yun was unconcerned; the Inner Realm was none of her business.

Truly none of Miss Yun’s business.

Ordinary people couldn’t see this, but because Yun Qian was beside her, the maiden also benefited, able to see reality.

Miss Zhu wasn’t trying to bully Xu Chang’an, Yun Qian had seen such tests many times.

In her eyes, the Inner Realm painstakingly created by Zhu Pingniang was no different from her previous soul-stirring tune.

Like comparing the light of a firefly to the Great Sun, both were "not bright" in Yun Qian’s eyes, so thinking she would be upset by Zhu Pingniang testing Xu Chang’an would be misunderstanding her.

Picking up a pastry, Yun Qian looked at the girl staring blankly at her by the window, blinked, and asked: "What’s wrong?"

"Ms. Yun, aren’t you afraid?" the Rowing Maiden stumbled through her words.

"Should I be afraid?" Yun Qian tilted her head, as if thoughtful.

"Not that you should be afraid..." the Rowing Maiden came over, not daring to look outside, shrinking her head as she spoke: "This is the first time I’ve seen such a thing."

Were it not for Ms. Yun being by her side, were it not for her calm demeanor providing a sense of security, she might have already fainted from fear; how could she stand so firmly?

"Ah, right." Her eyes lit up: "I almost forgot, you went to the Immortal Sect with the young master, do you know what happened in our city?"

Such a scene, as if the sky was falling, could only be crafted by a powerful Immortal Sect.

She really did ask the right person.

With Miss Yun’s nature, when she slightly favors someone, she will answer their questions—no matter what they may be.

Yun Qian swallowed the pastry and said: "It’s that Miss Zhu."

"...Eh?!"

Hearing Yun Qian’s words, the Rowing Maiden exclaimed, then covered her mouth, her eyes filled with incredulity.

"Miss, Miss Zhu... Is Miss Zhu from such a powerful Immortal Sect?!!"

You see, though most girls in Flower Moon Building knew Zhu Pingniang had links with the Immortal Sect, none had thought she was that powerful...

Really powerful people wouldn’t run a brothel.

But this move of using the world as a chessboard utterly shocked the maiden.

This spectacle, only the Immortals spoken of in storytellers’ tales could manage, yet Ms. Zhu could as well?

The Rowing Maiden’s worldview had a massive rift torn in it.

"It’s really Ms. Zhu..." she widened her eyes.

"Yes." Yun Qian nodded, saying: "In this place, she still possesses some skills."

After speaking, Yun Qian continued to eat pastry.

"...The ladies, the ladies usually make fun of Ms. Zhu, yet, yet..." The Rowing Maiden covered her ears: "I, I heard nothing."

"Make fun?" Yun Qian looked at her.

"The aunties in the building like to tease Ms. Zhu."

Seeing Yun Qian looking over, the maiden hid nothing and directly said: "They say she’s flat-chested, so they call her Pingniang."