"Where's the difference?"
"Our master used to be serious and taciturn. Now, not only does he smile often, but he even joked with me just now!"
Yan Qi patted Yan Liu on the shoulder, cast a meaningful look at the study, then looked up at the sky. "Do you know that foolishness is contagious?"
"Foolishness? You mean the prince?"
Yan Qi immediately covered Yan Liu's mouth. "Don't talk nonsense. It's something that can only be understood, not spoken of."
Yan Liu nodded obediently. "Okay, I got it. I won't dare to talk nonsense."
Meanwhile, in the palace.
After Feng Yunshu successfully entered the main hall, she tried to sense Xiaoling's presence again. Soon, she located one of the side halls. She could feel that Xiaoling was underground in this side hall.
However, after she circled around, she couldn't find any entrance to the basement. This really stumped Feng Yunshu.
Just then, the familiar voice rang in her mind again: "Master, master, the mechanism for the basement is the vase on the table. Turn it clockwise three times and then counter - clockwise three times, and it can be opened."
Feng Yunshu quickly found the vase according to what Xiaoling said and turned it as instructed. Sure enough, after the last turn, one of the walls moved, revealing a mysterious door.
At first, Feng Yunshu felt that everything was going too smoothly and worried that there might be an ambush waiting for her. But even after she walked into the basement, she didn't find any signs of an ambush.
The whole basement was very large. Relying on her connection with Xiaoling, Feng Yunshu turned left and right. Finally, she looked up and saw the cage where Xiaoling was locked!
At this moment, Feng Yunshu was so excited that she was on the verge of tears!
"Xiaoling!"
Feng Yunshu took a few quick steps forward, eager to rescue Xiaoling immediately.
As she got closer, she saw Xiaoling lying listlessly in the cage with her head drooping. Hearing Feng Yunshu's voice, Xiaoling suddenly perked up like she had been injected with adrenaline and rushed forward.
But she was bounced back by the cage and almost got injured. Feng Yunshu was extremely worried. "Xiaoling, how are you? What's wrong with this cage?"
Xiaoling looked at Feng Yunshu pitifully and then looked up, signaling Feng Yunshu to look up.
Feng Yunshu looked up along Xiaoling's line of sight and only then noticed that there was a bronze mirror hanging right above the cage. The mirror looked ancient with simple patterns and had been around for a long time. Most importantly, Feng Yunshu could feel the spiritual energy emanating from the mirror.
This was a magical artifact, and a very powerful one at that.
Feng Yunshu took a closer look and almost dropped her jaw in surprise.
No wonder the mirror looked familiar to her. It was the magical artifact that her master had bestowed upon her when she was cultivating with her master in her previous life!
How could she be so sure? Because Feng Yunshu saw two crooked characters like earthworms engraved on the right side of the mirror: Yun Xi.
That's right, Yun Xi was her name in her previous life.
How did my precious artifact from my previous life end up here? Feng Yunshu didn't have time to think deeply and could only quickly figure out how to get the mirror down.
Actually, this was a demon - detecting mirror. The powerful spiritual energy inside could deter all kinds of non - human spirits, demons, and evil spirits. She had to take the mirror down. But there was no ladder or table around to climb on, and the ceiling was very high.
Feng Yunshu took out the rope she had used before and planned to climb up to the ceiling to get the mirror using the same method she had used to come down.
This was her precious artifact, so she naturally couldn't damage it. Moreover, she was in an unfamiliar place without any spiritual energy, so having a powerful magical artifact to ward off evil would be great.
For all these reasons, Feng Yunshu rolled up her sleeves and was about to continue her task. Xiaoling in the cage was confused after noticing what she was doing.
"Master, what are you doing? This is your magical artifact. Why don't you just take it back? Why do you have to climb up?"
Feng Yunshu felt like crying after hearing this.
"Do I look like someone with magical powers now? If I did, do you think I would be in such a sorry state?"
Xiaoling quickly understood. "That's why. That day in the main hall, you seemed different and were restricted everywhere. It was so unlike you. It turns out you lost your spiritual energy."
Thinking of what happened that night, Feng Yunshu still felt annoyed. As she struggled to climb up, she said, "It's so infuriating. A thunderbolt not only sent me to this unfamiliar place but also gave me a new body..."
And she also got a sickly old - fox husband. Feng Yunshu didn't want to continue for the time being, afraid that she would couldn't help but complain about that old fox.
"Xiaoling, what about you? How did you end up here? I thought I would never see you again."
Xiaoling's big red eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she couldn't help but choke with sobs.
"Master, you suddenly disappeared. Xiaoling searched for you for a long, long time but couldn't find you anywhere. One day, the master had a dream and told me that you were here. So I searched for a way everywhere. During thunderstorms, I would stay under big trees. Then one day, a huge thunderbolt struck, and I came here too."
After hearing what Xiaoling said, Feng Yunshu felt a surge of emotion, and her nose turned sour with gratitude.
"Xiaoling, you're so loyal! It's worth it that I've taken you to eat big fish and meat all these years..."
Just as she said this, Feng Yunshu grabbed the mirror, but suddenly her hand slipped, and she quickly slid down. Feng Yunshu was so scared that her heart was pounding.
In the blink of an eye, she grabbed the rope beside her randomly, but she was still sliding down quickly. The rope swayed, and she hit the wall hard. Her head was buzzing.
"Master?!"
After Feng Yunshu took down the mirror, Xiaoling finally regained her freedom.
Seeing that Feng Yunshu was about to fall, Xiaoling quickly rushed out of the cage and leaped into the air. She used her back to catch Feng Yunshu's falling body and then landed steadily.
Fortunately, it was a scary but harmless encounter, and they landed safely. However, Feng Yunshu's palm was cut open with a bloody wound due to the friction with the rope, and there was also a big bump on her forehead.
Feng Yunshu took a moment to recover. After coming to her senses, she didn't dare to waste any time. Worried about being discovered by the guards, she quickly left with Xiaoling.
However, a human and a fox were too conspicuous. It wasn't easy for them to leave without being noticed.
"Xiaoling, do you still have any spiritual energy? I've lost all my spiritual energy. I'm basically useless."
Feng Yunshu felt like crying.
Xiaoling looked embarrassed. "I still have some spiritual energy, but there's a restriction on me. I can only use my spiritual energy a limited number of times, and its range is also limited..."
"Okay, can you make the two of us invisible now so that we can leave here smoothly?"
Xiaoling nodded after hearing this. "I can do this. No problem."
Then the flame on Xiaoling's forehead lit up, and she began to release her spiritual energy. As the spiritual energy was released, Feng Yunshu could see her body gradually becoming invisible with her own eyes.
"Good job, Xiaoling! Let's go!"
Xiaoling was originally a spiritual beast with the attribute of being a mount. Soon, she enlarged herself and carried Feng Yunshu on her back, quickly leaving the palace.