Qing Zhu fell into silence again, but this time it was relatively brief. After the short silence, he looked up at Feng Yunshu. "Thank you, Daoist nun, for your kind help. It's you who helped me get out of this obsession."
"Daoist nun, could you please give A Yun and me some private time? I'd like to say a proper goodbye to A Yun."
Feng Yunshu nodded quickly, picked up Xiaoling, and turned to leave the room.
When she stepped out, Feng Yunshu found that it had become extremely quiet outside. It was no longer the scene of singing and dancing with wanton music as before.
The several men who had been playing on the stage were still there, but they had stopped playing and were sitting still in the same position. The large brothel for talented courtesans seemed to be frozen in time, everything was still.
Actually, Feng Yunshu could hear what the people inside were saying, but perhaps she was afraid of being affected emotionally, so she didn't want to hear their conversation. She deliberately blocked out their voices.
"Master, are you thinking about Prince Helan?"
Xiaoling looked at Feng Yunshu's pensive expression and had a feeling in her heart.
Feng Yunshu quickly shook her head and denied, "No, there's no such thing! Who said I'm thinking about him? He was so heartless to leave me here alone. Why should I think about this jerk! Even if I do think about him, it's about how to settle the score with him after I find him!"
Xiaoling looked at her master's duplicitous behavior and couldn't help sighing. Her master had clearly fallen in love, but still refused to admit it.
However, the power of love was truly great. It could turn her carefree and useless master, who was once a cultivator, into a melancholy woman.
The mistress and the maid both fell into silence. Just then, the door behind them opened, and Qing Zhu walked out.
Hearing the footsteps, Feng Yunshu turned around. The Qing Zhu who walked out had his eyes slightly lowered, and his expression was visibly dejected. His tall figure exuded an indescribable sense of loneliness.
"Qing Zhu, have you said your goodbyes?" Looking at Qing Zhu like this, Feng Yunshu felt a bit uncomfortable.
Qing Zhu looked up at Feng Yunshu and nodded slightly. "I'll leave the rest to you. I'll step aside for a while. Thank you."
After saying that, Qing Zhu left with heavy but somewhat hasty steps.
Looking at his somewhat flustered back, Feng Yunshu seemed to hear his inner voice at this moment. He was probably afraid that if he stayed for one more second, he would not be able to resist changing his mind.
Not everyone has the courage to face separation, especially life - and - death separation.
Feng Yunshu watched Qing Zhu leave, then turned around and walked into the room.
Inside the room, only A Yun was floating in mid - air, making it seem a bit empty. Feng Yunshu could tell that A Yun's soul had become more transparent than before, as if it was about to dissipate.
"A Yun, are you ready?"
A Yun nodded. "Yes, please trouble you, Daoist nun."
Feng Yunshu walked to the table, opened a censer with a lit incense stick on it, and put some powder into it. After the powder was lit, a wisp of lingering green smoke rose.
Not long after, the Black and White Impermanence returned.
"Two of you, the matter has been settled. A Yun is willing to go to the Underworld with you to be reincarnated."
Saying that, Feng Yunshu took out a large stack of hell money from her bosom and stuffed it into the hands of the Black and White Impermanence. "Thank you for your understanding. This is just a little token of my appreciation. It's not much."
"So much... This, we actually didn't do much. How can we accept so much hell money from you... It's not appropriate..." The Black and White Impermanence tried to return most of the hell money to Feng Yunshu.
Feng Yunshu smiled and pushed it back. "To be honest with you two, I, Yun Xi, have another request. I hope you can convey it to the Young King of Hell."
"Oh? I wonder what request you, Fellow Daoist Yun Xi, have? Just say it."
"Please convey to the Young King of Hell that A Yun is my good friend. She has had a very hard life in this lifetime. I hope the Young King of Hell can let her be born into a good family in the next life, living a carefree and peaceful life."
The Black and White Impermanence looked at A Yun beside them, then nodded. "Okay, no problem. Since it's a request from Fellow Daoist Yun Xi, we will definitely convey your words!"
"Then I'll trouble you two!"
After giving the instructions, Feng Yunshu turned to look at A Yun with a gentle smile. "A Yun, now I, a mere mortal, am not convenient to go to the Underworld. I can only send you here. I've arranged everything. You just follow what they say after you go down."
A Yun looked at Feng Yunshu with tear - filled eyes, extremely grateful. "Daoist nun, you are really a living Bodhisattva! Thank you for your help to A Yun. If I have the chance to meet you again in the next life, I will surely show my gratitude!"
"Okay, I remember. You should go quickly. Don't miss the time, or your soul will completely dissipate."
"Daoist nun, I'm leaving. Thank you."
The Black and White Impermanence left with their extra income, feeling extremely happy. Their steps became even lighter.
After they left, only Feng Yunshu, Xiaoling, and the still - unconscious Ziyuan were left in the room.
Feng Yunshu couldn't tell what she was feeling. She just felt empty, and her heart also seemed a bit hollow. Suddenly, she didn't know what to do next.
"Xiaoling, that girl Ziyuan should have drunk some wine and been hypnotized, which is why she has been unconscious. Go and help her wake up."
Xiaoling nodded. "Okay, leave this to me!"
Saying that, Xiaoling quickly hopped to Ziyuan's side and released her spiritual energy to expel some of the alcohol and demonic energy from Ziyuan's body.
Feng Yunshu walked out of the private room. When she reached the main hall, she looked up and saw Qing Zhu standing under a beam of light in the middle. Under the illumination of the light, Feng Yunshu seemed to see a bruised but still straight and green bamboo, truly exuding an air of noble and cold elegance.
So what if it's a demon? So what if it's a human? Demons can also understand love.
Feng Yunshu knew that it must be extremely difficult for a demon to give its true heart, because the lifespan of a demon is much longer than that of a mortal. Even if they are together, they can only watch the face of their beloved gradually age, and finally have to endure the pain of their lover's death.
No one knows how many times a demon will experience such life - and - death separations in its long life, but Feng Yunshu understood one thing. Not all demons are heartless and cruel. There are quite a few affectionate demons like Qing Zhu.
"Qing Zhu." Feng Yunshu took a deep breath, then curved her lips into a brisk smile. "I have something I'd like to ask you for help with."
Hearing this, Qing Zhu looked up at her. The moment he saw Feng Yunshu's smile, Qing Zhu also curved his lips into a faint smile. "Daoist nun, just say it. Qing Zhu will surely do his best."
"Don't keep calling me Daoist nun. It sounds a bit strange. My name is Feng Yunshu. I'm the eldest daughter of the Feng family and also the princess of the Helan Prince's Mansion. You can just call me Yunshu from now on."
"Yunshu?"
Feng Yunshu smiled. "Qing Zhu, come back to the mansion with me. Let's keep each other company."
"Huh?" Qing Zhu was a bit surprised. Then he saw Feng Yunshu silently mouth a sentence. He quickly understood and then nodded with a smile. "Okay, I'll go back with you."
At this moment, Yan Liu, who was crouching on a big tree not far from the entrance of the brothel for talented courtesans, looked troubled. His facial features were almost scrunched up.
He had seen the princess walk into this brothel with his own eyes, and she had been inside for so long. Unfortunately, he couldn't get too close for fear of being discovered, so he could only wait anxiously for the princess to come out.
But what was the princess doing here? How could he explain this to the prince...