Chapter 151: Meeting Again

Yingning had actually succeeded in overcoming her heavenly tribulation long ago...

The unexpected news, delivered so suddenly by Xiaoyi, filled Chen Jianchen with a mixture of joy and astonishment. He had been planning to offer his assistance, even bringing the guiding magic sword along to protect Yingning and help her banish her inner demons. Still, this outcome was even better; there was no need for him to intervene directly, and as long as Yingning was safe, nothing else mattered.

Unbeknownst to him, the little fox had quietly taken root in Chen Jianchen's heart, occupying a truly extraordinary and significant place.

The pack of wolves parted deferentially, not even making a sound, and simply allowed Chen Jianchen and Xiaoyi to pass.

"Xiaoyi, what about these wolves?"

Xiaoyi replied, "Young Master, Sister Yingning used her magic to summon them, mainly to deal with that damn general whose eyebrows grow all the way down to his lips."

Chen Jianchen let out a dry chuckle. "Eyebrows growing down to his lips?"

Xiaoyi grinned mischievously. "Indeed! What kind of grown man wears a mustache like that? It looks terrible. It's nothing like you, Young Master, with your clean-shaven face and peerless elegance."

Seizing the opportunity, the rat demon smoothly offered a flattery.

Chen Jianchen smiled. "I am still a youth, of course I don't grow facial hair yet."

Xiaoyi said, "Young Master will stay this young forever."

Chen Jianchen curled his lip. "You'd better talk about the wolves."

"That general came by once before, a while ago. Sister Yingning hadn't succeeded in her tribulation yet, so she had to take me and flee from Wusong Cave. That general was so awful! He used his weapon to trash the cave completely, even smashing the stone bed and stone bench."

Naturally, Jiang Yu had entered Wusong Cave without holding back in his search for clues and evidence. Since Yingning held deep affection for Wusong Cave, seeing her dwelling wrecked like that naturally broke her heart.

"Sister Yingning was quite annoyed. When she saw him riding up arrogantly on horseback again this time, she used her magic to summon all the wolves from the back mountain to teach him a bitter lesson... Well, just now, seeing that he still possessed a sense of duty and loyalty, refusing to cling cowardly to life and willing to help the Young Master block the wolves, Sister Yingning let him go. If he had abandoned the Young Master to his fate, hmph, she definitely would have had a few chunks of flesh torn off him."

Hearing this, Chen Jianchen felt deeply moved. Having been through so much, Yingning still retained a pure set of values—something truly precious and rare.

As they walked farther away, the wolf pack was no longer visible, replaced entirely by dense mountain forests. Chen Jianchen asked again, "Xiaoyi, is Yingning still inside Wusong Cave?"

Xiaoyi's voice turned somewhat melancholic. "Young Master, there is no Wusong Cave anymore. Sister Yingning sealed it off completely, saying she wanted to leave her master in peace."

The master Yingning spoke of was the Kunlun sorcerer "Yizhizhi Qiu". Though they had never met in person, since she inherited his Daoist legacy, the master-disciple bond was unalterable.

Chen Jianchen nodded, feeling that Yingning had done the right thing.

Xiaoyi continued, "Sister Yingning is right over there by the mountain spring. She said her hair was a bit dirty and she wanted to wash it clean before seeing the Young Master."

Chen Jianchen was rendered speechless. The little fox was making quite a grand production out of this. Yet, this was the first time she would meet him in her human form, so it was only natural that she felt a bit nervous and awkward.

For some reason, two lines of ancient poetry popped unbidden into Chen Jianchen's mind: *"Finished dressing, she softly asks her husband: Are these drawn eyebrows in fashion or not?"* This probably mirrored the little fox's mood right now. Not to mention her, even Chen Jianchen himself felt a burning, impatient excitement at this moment.

Following the narrow path for another dozen meters or so, the crisp and melodious sound of flowing water reached his ears, resembling the notes of a zither. Each droplet seemed to fall straight into a person's heart, washing away the dust of body and mind. Combined with the gentle mountain breeze drifting past, it was truly refreshing, making every single pore in his body relax.

Carried by the mountain breeze, soft laughter suddenly drifted over, faint and intermittent, indistinct yet ethereal and drifting.

Was that Yingning laughing?

Chen Jianchen quickened his pace.

After passing through a grove of maple trees, the sound of the mountain spring splashing and flowing became louder, bubbling and gurgling. However, the laughter in the wind had vanished.

At this moment, Xiaoyi, who had been perched on his shoulder, suddenly spoke up. "Young Master, you can go on ahead. Sister Yingning is right over there." With that, it hopped down.

Curious, Chen Jianchen asked, "Why aren't you coming with me?"

Xiaoyi flashed a knowing, mischievous grin. "Young Master, there are some sights you are allowed to see, but I am not. So, I'll just stay out here." With a flurry of hops, it scurried away.

Ah!

Chen Jianchen was taken aback.

What was that supposed to mean?!

He couldn't whether to laugh or cry. What did it mean by "sights only you are allowed to see"?

This rat demon—it was losing its innocence!

Yet Xiaoyi's words also served as a warning. Could it be that Yingning was taking a bath over there right now? If that were the case and he rushed in blindly, it would be a disaster. The little fox had attained human form now; she was no longer what she used to be. Propriety dictated that men and women should not touch, and if he stumbled upon some unsuitable scene, wouldn't that make him appear overly reckless and intrusive?

Wait, no. Yingning clearly knew he was coming, so why would she choose this moment to bathe?

Sigh, it seemed he was losing his innocence too.

At this thought, Chen Jianchen coughed awkwardly, lifted his feet, and continued forward. Rounding a low mountain hollow, the sound of the gurgling stream flooded his ears without obstruction. Ahead lay a vein of stream water cascading down a slope, forming a pool of mountain spring water at the bottom. The water was crystal clear to the bottom, bordered by lush green grass and clusters of nameless wildflowers blooming brightly.

There was water, grass, and flowers, but no sign of a person.

Wait, where was Yingning?

Chen Jianchen looked around, taking in the cool breeze and the chiming spring—a truly picturesque landscape of green hills and clear waters—yet he saw no trace of Yingning anywhere.

Bizarre!

Looking left and right and failing to find anyone, Chen Jianchen called out, "Yingning, Yingning, are you here?"

With a soft *snicker*, a laugh suddenly rang out from the maple grove on the right—a cute, endearing laugh tinged with a hint of shyness. Following the sound, Chen Jianchen saw the corner of a pristine white robe peeking out from behind a maple trunk, whiter than snow.

Good grief, she was hiding behind the tree playing hide-and-seek with him.

Speechless, Chen Jianchen walked over and said, "Yingning, I see you. Come out quickly and let the Young Master have a look."

The next moment, a figure indeed stepped out from behind the tree. Tall and slender, dressed entirely in pristine white, with her head slightly bowed, eyebrows as if painted, and features as delicate as a sketch, she stood there holding back a smile...

Wait, no, hold on. This was men's attire! With her hair bound in a topknot, she looked precisely like a dashing young gentleman. What kind of joke was this? He was completely unprepared for this development!

Chen Jianchen's mind reeled. He blinked rapidly and hurriedly rubbed his eyes, trying to find some familiar traits on Yingning. But before he could look closely, Yingning bit her lower lip gently and said, "Young Master, your gaze is burning like a thief's." With that, she finally couldn't help but burst into a giggle.

Her laughter sounded like the first chirping of an oriole, the quintessential laugh of a young maiden.

By this time, Chen Jianchen had noticed the twin peaks rising on her chest, allowing him to finally heave a sigh of relief. His eyes widened in disbelief as he thought: Who would have thought the little fox wasn't so innocent either, and had learned how to tease people...

Unable to contain her laughter, Yingning reached up and untied the ribbon binding her hair, letting her long locks cascade down like a waterfall all the way to her waist. Wasn't she just a breathtaking beauty now? Smiling brightly and possessing peerless elegance, she practically needed a plum blossom branch in her hand to complete the picture.

"Yingning greets the Young Master!"

Chen Jianchen gave a dry cough and asked curiously, "Yingning, why are you wearing men's clothes?"

Yingning giggled. "From now on, Yingning is the Young Master's personal pageboy! Of course I have to wear men's clothes; it's not convenient to move around in women's attire."

Chen Jianchen let out an "oh" and asked, "You said you want to be my personal pageboy?"

Yingning blinked her dark, sparkling eyes. "Could it be that the Young Master is unwilling?"

Chen Jianchen stammered, "Willing, I am willing, but this..."

Yingning said with utter seriousness, "As long as the Young Master is willing, that's enough... Actually, Yingning has always wanted to be your pageboy, Young Master. When going out, I could carry your book satchel and oil-paper umbrella; at home, I could help spread the paper and grind the ink, watch you write essays and calligraphy, or accompany you in your studies..."

As she spoke, seeing Chen Jianchen staring at her in a daze, her face flushed red and she asked, "What is wrong, Young Master? Did Yingning say something wrong?"

Chen Jianchen hurriedly shook his head. "No, I just happened to think of a line of poetry."

"What poetry? I forgot to mention earlier that Yingning loves listening to you recite poetry the most! The 'Song of Righteousness' and that poem 'The Journey of Life' that you wrote last time, I remember every single word clearly, without missing a single one."

Hearing this, Chen Jianchen coughed dryly again, desperately trying to tune his vocal cords to optimal condition before slowly and expressively reciting: *"A white-robed attendant holds the inkstone to offer paper and brush; with red sleeves adding fragrance, we accompany each other in reading."*

After reciting it, he broke out in a heavy sweat, feeling like some kind of literary youth "luring" an innocent maiden astray...

Yingning smiled brightly. "As long as the Young Master likes it."

"Young Master, what about me?!"

At that moment, Xiaoyi suddenly leaped out from a nearby patch of grass and came running frantically all the way over—this fellow had clearly been hiding nearby eavesdropping the whole time!

Furious, Chen Jianchen glared and said loudly, "Xiaoyi, you've come at just the right time. My household is currently lacking a floor sweeper, so you're the one."

Xiaoyi nearly jumped three feet into the air and wailed, "Young Master, I was wrong! Can you pick something else? Look, I'm really good at stealing oil and silver."

Suppressing the urge to kick it flying, Chen Jianchen put on a stern face and said, "No discussion."

Drooping its head, Xiaoyi aggrievedly muttered, "Alright then, sweeping floors it is. But Young Master, you'll have to specially make a broom for me to use, just like that special writing brush last time."

Yingning let out a giggle and said, "Xiaoyi, how can you sweep floors looking like that? You'd better obediently continue studying and writing with the Young Master."

Recalling the "tragic" educational environment of old under Chen Jianchen's willow switch, where studying made his throat hurt and writing made his hands cramp, the rat demon really did jump three feet into the air this time. "Young Master, you said with your own mouth that you wanted me to be the floor sweeper. No going back on your word!"

Chen Jianchen glanced at it and blinked. "Xiaoyi, do studying and sweeping floors conflict with each other?"

Thump!

The rat demon lost its balance and collapsed, its tail pointing upward and its four paws facing the sky.