There were so many people here. Did she have to look for Dianyü one by one?
Yaohua bit her lower lip, desperately holding back her tears.
She sniffled back to the palace and tugged at Chongming's sleeve with a pout.
"Master, why didn't you stop me?"
"Some things won't make one turn back until they hit a brick wall," Chongming wiped away her tears. "I understand your desire to save people."
The tears that had just stopped now flowed down in a rush onto Chongming's hand.
"Master, can you continue to figure out where Dianzhu is?"
Chongming shook his head. "The aura of Dianzhu on the bead has faded. I can't track her down."
"What about Uncle Qihua? They are father and daughter. There must be some connection through blood, right?"
Yaohua's face was streaked with tears. Her casual words made Chongming's expression change slightly.
"How did you come up with this idea?" Chongming squatted down, lifted her little head, and stared seriously into her eyes.
Looking into her master's eyes, Yaohua was at a loss for words.
Her master was so good - looking that she didn't dare to look directly at him. But as soon as she tilted her head, her master straightened it for her.
"No one taught me."
She thought back. There was nothing wrong with what she had said. Why was her master so serious?
Chongming stared at her, as if trying to tell if she was telling the truth.
"Don't ever have such thoughts of harming others in the future."
"Not even a tiny bit of blood?"
Yaohua didn't understand. Sometimes when her finger was cut, it would hurt a bit, but after it healed, it was all right. Just asking Uncle Qihua for a tiny bit of blood. Was that not allowed either?
"If you want to use the blood of living beings to find someone," Chongming's tone softened a bit. "A tiny bit of blood is not enough. You have to drain all the blood to barely find the person."
So that's why her master was angry.
Yaohua bit her finger. "I won't mention this again."
"Not just this matter. Once it involves similar things, you can only borrow objects, not people. Do you remember?"
"I remember."
Seeing that she agreed, Chongming returned to his chair. "Dianzhu won't appear in the city for no reason. If we stay here, she will show up."
"Then, master, what about Sister Dianyü?"
"Tomorrow, I'll send her to the Celestial Realm on the pretext that a celestial official is taking in an apprentice."
"Thank you, master!"
Chongming tapped her on the forehead. "Don't be too happy too soon."
The next day, when Qihua and his wife learned that Chongming was going to send Dianyü to the Celestial Realm, they were both overjoyed and worried. However, their worry soon overshadowed their joy.
"Thank you, God, for your kindness, but Yu'er's temperament... is really not suitable for the Celestial Realm," the clan leader's wife said with regret in her eyes. Yaohua almost began to suspect that it was because of the seal.
"The Celestial Realm is always inclusive. Madam, you don't have to worry about this," Chongming said.
"Yu'er is now only thinking about that heartless man. How can she focus on cultivation?" The clan leader's wife waved her hand. "Thank you, God, for your kind intention, but let's forget about this."
Yaohua rested her chin on her hand and looked at them. "Why don't we just ask Sister Dianyü herself? As long as she doesn't think about the Grand Elder anymore, she can go."
The clan leader's wife thought for a while, and the frown on her face disappeared. "That's a good idea. You're really smart, little girl."
It wasn't the first time Yaohua had been praised. She held her master's sleeve and smiled obediently.
What puzzled her was that the clan leader's wife seemed to hope that Dianyü would go to the Celestial Realm with her master, but why did Dianyü say they had selfish motives?
Was the clan leader's wife just pretending?
While she was in a daze, her master had already walked a long way with Qihua and his wife. Yaohua quickly followed.
When they arrived at Dianyü's palace, the clan leader's wife told Sanyue to invite Dianyü out.
Yaohua saw the beaded curtain in the inner room being lifted by a lotus - root - like arm. Dianyü stepped out gracefully.
Although her face was pale, it was much better than yesterday. Seeing her like this, the clan leader's wife was in a better mood.
"Yu'er, are you willing to forget that heartless man and follow God Chongming to the Celestial Realm for cultivation?"
Dianyü didn't even look at her. She just bowed to Chongming and smiled at Yaohua.
The clan leader's wife was sad, but she quickly composed herself, which greatly surprised Yaohua.
Yaohua smiled at Dianyü, hoping that Dianyü still remembered what she had said yesterday.
"I'm willing."
Dianyü's response made Yaohua breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that her efforts were not in vain.
Since Dianyü had agreed to Chongming's proposal, the restriction outside the palace should be removed.
But Qihua hesitated. "God, why don't we keep this restriction?"
Chongming didn't say a word. He just glanced at him.
"All right, then let it be as you say," Qihua said with a worried face. Since he couldn't disobey Chongming, he had to remove all the restrictions.
As soon as the restriction was lifted, Yaohua saw Dianyü's eyes light up.
"I have something to say. God, please listen," Qihua said.
Chongming nodded. "Clan leader, please speak."
He glanced at Yaohua. Yaohua immediately understood. She walked to Dianyü's side and whispered, "Sister Dianyü, let's go pay respects to Brother - in - law together."
Thinking of the past, the joy on Dianyü's face immediately disappeared. She nodded. "Thank you."
Zexin's tomb was in the ancestral land of the Pheasant Clan. Without the clan leader's permission, Yaohua couldn't go in. She could only wait outside.
Dianyü walked into the cemetery. It took a long time before she came out with tear - filled eyes.
"Sister, don't cry. Now that you're free, you can come and visit whenever you want."
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up and saw the clan leader's wife leading some people hurrying over. As soon as they saw them, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "You're still here. That's great."
Yaohua suddenly felt like laughing.
When she and her master first came here, Qihua couldn't wait to drive them away. Now he was worried that she would run away.
"Auntie, don't worry. We're still waiting for master. How could we leave casually?"
After hearing this reassurance, the lady didn't seem relieved. Instead, she forced a bitter smile. "If only..."
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and carefully glanced at Dianyü. "You're right, Yaohua. It's too cold here. Why don't you come back to the palace with me? There are a lot of snacks prepared in the palace. You'll surely like them."
This was an invitation to go back. Yaohua wasn't polite. "Thank you, auntie."
If the lady hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have felt cold. Now she felt her toes were curled up from the cold.
When they got back to the palace, her master was already sitting in the upper seat, drinking tea. Qihua was standing beside him. The worry on his face hadn't completely disappeared. When he saw them coming, he forced a smile.
As soon as Yaohua came in, she rushed towards her master.
"Master, I'm so cold."
Chongming took out a small cape and wrapped it around her. "After going out, don't you know to add more clothes?"
"I forgot! I wanted to play with Sister Dianyü."
Chongming tied a bow for her lovingly, stroked her head, and said, "Don't go too far when you go out to play. Master will be worried if he can't find you."
Her master was usually reserved. Why did he specifically give this reminder today?