Chapter 13
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Chapter 13: The Secret of the Golden Bead
“Sister Bai!” Yue Qianchou called out from this side of the bridge. The music from the pavilion abruptly stopped, and the white fox gracefully stood up, saying softly: “Brother Chou! You haven’t come to see me for several days!” If the knowledgeable elders of the Azure Light Sect saw the white fox like this, who knows what they would think.
Yue Qianchou lifted the bundle in his hand and smiled: “This time I’m afraid I’ll trouble sister. I plan to stay in the cave with sister for a month.”
The white fox frowned: “Why is that?”
“Master is going out for a month. Before leaving, he told me to find a secluded place to cultivate,” Yue Qianchou said, sitting in front of the pavilion. The white fox nodded and sat down, continuing to play the qin and sing softly. The former smiled, knowing she didn’t like to talk much, and said nothing more, taking out the Mysterious Heaven Technique from his bundle to study carefully.
After several days of cultivation, he already felt that the spiritual energy in the air could hardly help his cultivation much. He took out two spirit stones from his bundle and held them in his hands. As the Mysterious Heaven Technique operated, rich spiritual energy was slowly absorbed until the spirit stones in both hands became dim and lightless, while the true qi in his body immediately felt much more substantial. Yue Qianchou opened his eyes and looked at the stones in his hands with emotion. No wonder cultivators used these as currency—they really were good things! One high-grade stone could exchange for a hundred mid-grade ones, and one mid-grade could exchange for a hundred low-grade ones. Master had given him more than ten mid-grade spirit stones at once, worth over a thousand low-grade spirit stones.
The white fox was still playing the qin and singing softly beside his ears. After listening for several days, Yue Qianchou had initially found it enjoyable, but now felt his ears were about to develop calluses. He thought to himself: ‘Doesn’t Sister Bai get tired of singing the same song over and over?’ He threw the stones in his hand into the water pool, stood up, and called to the white fox: “Sister Bai!”
The white fox stopped, her peerless beauty that could captivate the world looking up with confusion: “Brother Chou! What’s wrong?” After speaking, her eyes glanced at a white shadow that flashed past the cave entrance, but she paid it no mind.
The white shadow at the cave entrance was none other than Qu Ping’er, who had been peeped at by Yue Qianchou that day. She had just entered the cave when she heard someone talking. After seeing clearly, she was shocked—she hadn’t expected that lecher to be talking with such a stunning beauty. She quickly hid to one side.
Yue Qianchou was considering whether to ask the white fox to change songs. With his cultivation level, he hadn’t noticed anyone at the cave entrance. He smiled sheepishly: “Sister Bai, why don’t you change to a different tune? I see you always singing the same song.”
The white fox’s cloud-like eyebrows furrowed slightly: “In my early years, I also collected famous pieces from renowned masters throughout the world. After that incident, no song could touch my heart anymore. Since hearing the song you taught me, I feel no other song can compare. Why should I change?”
Qu Ping’er, hiding at the cave entrance, trembled all over and murmured: “That song was actually composed by that lecher? How is this possible!”
“Sister Bai’s musical skills are unparalleled. How about this—I’ll compose another song for sister, and please set it to music. How does that sound?” Yue Qianchou asked.
The white fox’s eyes brightened slightly, and she nodded her jade head gently: “Brother Chou’s talent, sister has already experienced. If you can compose another piece, sister would be delighted!”
Yue Qianchou nodded and walked back and forth on the bridge with his hands behind his back, lowering his head in thought about which song to choose. It would be best if it could be accepted by the white fox, make her happy, and also provide some guidance. Otherwise, having a late-stage Tribulation Crossing expert hiding here was such a waste—she’d make perfect material for a gold-medal bodyguard!
His pacing and contemplative appearance filled the white fox’s eyes with anticipation, while Qu Ping’er, secretly watching from the cave entrance, was also full of curiosity, wondering what kind of masterpiece this unremarkable lecher could create.
“I’ve got it!” Yue Qianchou suddenly clapped his hands, his eyes rolling twice as he smiled: “The song will be called ‘Mandarin Duck and Butterfly Dream’!”
“Just from the name, it’s another good song. Sister will feast her ears again,” the white fox said softly.
Qu Ping’er at the cave entrance murmured: “Mandarin Duck and Butterfly Dream! What a beautiful name!”
Yue Qianchou walked back and forth twice with his hands behind his back, brewing his emotions slightly. He sighed and sang with a slightly hoarse voice: “Yesterday was like the eastward flowing water, leaving me far behind, impossible to retain. Today it troubles my heart, bringing much worry. Drawing a sword to cut water only makes it flow more; raising a cup to drown sorrows only deepens them. Tomorrow the clear wind will drift in all directions. Since ancient times, only new lovers laugh—who hears the old lovers cry? The two words ‘love’ are so painful. Should one seek clarity, or pretend to be confused? Knowing much or little, it’s hard to be satisfied. Like mandarin ducks and butterflies in an inappropriate era, yet who can escape the sorrows of this mortal world? In this flowery world, mandarin ducks and butterflies are already mad in the human realm—why struggle to reach the heavens? Better to sleep together tenderly…”
When the song ended, the white fox was already staring blankly in a daze.
Qu Ping’er at the cave entrance looked at that unremarkable lecher in disbelief, murmuring: “Every note touches the heartstrings. Someone who can compose such a beautiful song surely can’t have bad character. Could it be that I really wronged him last time?”
“Sister Bai! How do you find this song? Is it passable?” Yue Qianchou asked with some uncertainty.
The white fox gazed ahead with infatuated eyes and nodded. Her delicate jade fingers touched the qin strings and began to play. Her vermillion lips parted slightly, and the music accompanied by her singing flowed out like autumn water, stirring the listener’s melancholy. Those who heard it also sighed sadly.
After listening several times, Qu Ping’er secretly memorized the song and quietly returned. Yue Qianchou couldn’t help but admire the white fox’s musical talent—she could compose any song he sang with such flavor and appeal.
Looking at those opening and closing vermillion lips, he couldn’t help but think of the golden pill she had given him. Listening to the new song, after sitting cross-legged, the image of the golden bead rotating along a certain trajectory in his dantian’s true qi appeared in his mind. Yue Qianchou concentrated his spirit to observe, hoping to see what it was all about.
The golden bead’s surface was smooth and round. After examining it for a long time, he didn’t discover anything special. When a strand of divine consciousness locked onto the rotating golden bead, wanting to explore its internal structure, Yue Qianchou’s whole body shook, and he, who had been sitting in front of the pavilion, suddenly vanished.
The white fox in the pavilion stopped playing and singing, her beautiful eyes gazing at the place where Yue Qianchou had just been sitting cross-legged. Her brow furrowed slightly as a powerful divine consciousness spread out, searching everywhere. Within a radius of several hundred meters, she found no trace of anyone and let out a soft exclamation. She couldn’t imagine that with her current cultivation level, someone could still slip away right under her nose.
On an empty ground spanning several hundred meters, Yue Qianchou stood alone, looking around in bewilderment. The ground was desolate without a trace of life, and the edges of the clearing were immersed in purple, misty chaos.
“Where is this? How did I end up here?” Yue Qianchou muttered, shouting loudly: “Is anyone there? Is anyone here?” The surroundings were dead silent without a sound. He ran to the edge of the clearing where the chaos was, wanting to break through to see what was on the other side, but despite his efforts, he couldn’t cross over.
After struggling on the desolate ground for most of the day, Yue Qianchou was exhausted and gasping for breath. He lay on the ground pondering what was happening. He thought of the golden bead rotating in his dantian—he had released a strand of divine consciousness to investigate, and then this happened. Could this be the world inside the golden bead?
Thinking of this, Yue Qianchou jumped up suddenly, focusing his consciousness on his dantian to search for the golden bead. Apart from true qi, his dantian was empty—the golden bead was gone. He said in surprise: “Could this really be inside the golden bead?”
Gritting his teeth, he tried extending his divine consciousness outside his body. He didn’t know until he tried, and when he did, he was shocked. With his cultivation level, his divine consciousness could usually only circle within one or two meters outside his body, but here it could extend infinitely until it was blocked at the edge of the chaos.
Yue Qianchou was startled. This distance was something only someone with Core Formation stage cultivation could achieve. After retracting his divine consciousness, he suddenly felt that this several-hundred-meter clearing seemed to resonate with his heart—he could seemingly know what was in any location.
“Behind that small hill, there’s a black stone,” Yue Qianchou murmured. He ran over to look, and indeed there was. He tried several more times, and each was accurate, making him play with great delight.
During one accidental thought: “I want to go over there!” When he discovered that the terrain around him had changed, he was greatly shocked. After trying several more times, he discovered that here he could actually move at will. In other words, wherever he wanted to go in this place, he could go with just a thought. Gradually, Yue Qianchou discovered that in this small space, he had a feeling of controlling everything.
For some unknown reason, this space, which had originally been bright as daylight, gradually darkened. Yue Qianchou stood there alone, feeling somewhat like going mad. He couldn’t help but shout hysterically: “I want light! I want light!” Only then did he discover that he wasn’t a creator god here—whatever he wanted would appear.
“Am I going to be imprisoned here for life? But there’s not even anything to eat here. Won’t I starve to death… wuu wuu!” Yue Qianchou felt infinitely desolate in his heart. He sat down on the ground and began crying loudly, tears streaming down his face as he wailed: “I don’t want to die! Someone save me! I want to go back…”
“Brother Chou! What’s wrong with you?” The white fox’s gentle voice reached his ears. Yue Qianchou’s whole body shook as he wiped away his tears. His vision suddenly brightened—he was now sitting in the stone cave. He jumped up high and laughed wildly: “I finally got out! Nearly scared me to death! Haha!”
The white fox looked at Yue Qianchou, who was jumping around like he was going mad, and asked with furrowed brows: “Brother Chou! You suddenly disappeared and then suddenly appeared—what exactly are you doing? Sister is completely confused!”
Hearing the white fox’s words, Yue Qianchou finally awakened from his frenzied state. He waved his hand and smiled: “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I haven’t figured it out either. When I do figure it out, I’ll definitely tell Sister Bai first. I’m going to verify something now.” Under the former’s puzzled gaze, he ran toward the cave exit like a wisp of smoke.
“Hehe! I guessed right—it’s already dark outside!” Yue Qianchou laughed with extreme satisfaction.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. During these days, this madman Yue Qianchou had made the white fox lose all interest in playing the qin and singing. She saw him running in and out of the cave all day long, busy with great enthusiasm. Sometimes he’d bring in a pile of flowers and plants, other times he’d catch some birds and beasts. He’d run to the front of the pavilion and suddenly disappear, then suddenly reappear after varying lengths of time, his mouth smiling so widely it never seemed to close. The white fox couldn’t help but ask him several times what he was doing, but he always said “don’t worry, don’t worry.”
On this day, she had seen him disappear in front of the pavilion, and half a day later, she suddenly saw him holding a fragrant, steaming hot roasted chicken leg, gnawing on it with oil all over his mouth. The white fox couldn’t help herself and asked again: “Brother Chou! What exactly is going on?”
