Zhao Shuning left.
The Changkong Academy seemed empty again.
Yan Ruyu also left the high pavilion.
No one knew where she had gone.
It was said that when Zhao Shuning left, she returned a jade flute to Yan Ruyu.
When Zhao Shuning left the high pavilion,
her heart was filled with indescribable sorrow.
Seeing Feng Buran in pain, her own heart was no less than a sieve full of holes.
However,
she could not back down.
Zhao Shuning had stayed in the Changkong Academy for far too long.
She had thought that she would get better and spend the rest of her life there.
Her master had never told her how much longer she could live, but with her current extremely high level of spiritual power and mental strength, how could she not know the state of her own body?
A sound came from the Qiankun bag.
Zhao Shuning frowned slightly and slowly opened it.
The giant beast in the bag suddenly poked its head out and appeared in front of Zhao Shuning.
It was Hundun.
How did it end up here?
"You're the new master the Emperor picked for me?"
Zhao Shuning frowned.
"I heard you're Luo Qiu. Fine. I almost lost to you a few years ago, and now that you have the Emperor backing you, I'll reluctantly accept you."
Zhao Shuning didn't move.
Hundun frowned.
Its huge face looked a bit ferocious.
"What? You don't want me?"
"You're Luo Qiu's contracted divine beast."
"You are Luo Qiu. Don't try to deceive me. Although I've been in the Nether Valley of the Mysterious Realm for a long time, I still recognize you."
Zhao Shuning said, "What are you doing out?"
"Now that you're my master, I won't let you walk all the way to the Hailing Kingdom. Come on up."
Zhao Shuning looked around, didn't stand on ceremony, and climbed onto Hundun's back.
She turned back.
Glanced at the high pavilion.
Smiled.
She knew.
Her master was still worried about her. Clearly, they had agreed that Hundun would be given to Luo Qiu after she became a ninth - level spiritual pharmacist, but her master had given this divine beast to her in advance for fear that she would have to endure a long journey.
Master, let me take a chance.
Maybe, we'll still have a future.
Zhao Shuning sat on Hundun's back.
Hundun spread its heavy wings and flew towards the horizon.
"Master, when will you find time to sign a contract with me?"
Zhao Shuning didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Now that you've left him and no one can restrain you, why don't you run away?"
"I'd like to, but that Bai Ze is really annoying. Where can I run to?"
"You're afraid of Xiaobai?"
"Not exactly afraid, but I can't afford to underestimate it."
Zhao Shuning smiled.
It was really a miracle that Hundun had been with her master for so long without being influenced by her master's icy personality.
"Actually, Xiaobai is extremely capable and the king of all beasts. It's nothing to be ashamed of if you're afraid of it."
"I've lived for so many years. How could I be afraid of it? It's just that the Emperor is a bit intimidating—"
As it spoke,
Hundun's voice became less and less confident.
Zhao Shuning gave a soft laugh but didn't continue this topic.
"Why aren't you talking? Am I jolting you too much?"
"No."
"Actually, you'll be my master sooner or later. If you have any requests for me, you can just say so. We'll have a long time to get along in the future."
A long time?
Not really.
After being trained by her master for these years, Hundun was indeed very different from before.
However, Zhao Shuning wasn't Luo Qiu.
She already had a contracted divine beast, the phoenix. Although she couldn't sense the phoenix yet, she would eventually sign a contract with it in a few years. So, she couldn't sign a contract with a second divine beast without permission.
"You're not talking again."
Hundun's tone was a bit disappointed.
Over the years, although it had been in the Mysterious Realm, it had listened to Bai Ze talk about the outside world every day.
It knew.
One day, it would have a master of its own.
Bai Ze said that its master was Luo Qiu, who was the disciple of Emperor Yan Ruyu. She was the most famous woman in the entire Dongze Wilderness besides Yan Ruyu.
Hundun had seen her.
She had tried to restrain it single - handedly.
Hundun thought that if its future master was her, it wouldn't be so bad.
So,
in Hundun's heart,
it had already regarded the woman it met in the deep valley as its master.
When they met again, although it was a bit hasty, when it received the Emperor's order, Hundun was actually quite willing.
After Hundun said that, Zhao Shuning didn't say a single word all the way.
It wasn't until they were almost in the territory of the Hailing Kingdom.
Days had passed.
To avoid scaring the common people by Hundun's appearance, Zhao Shuning asked Hundun to return to the Qiankun bag before entering the city.
Then she changed her clothes and entered the capital of the Hailing Kingdom alone.
The streets were bustling with carriages and people.
The cries of peddlers never ceased.
Zhao Shuning walked through the streets.
It was still as prosperous as ever.
It seemed that nothing had changed because of the accident that happened to the young prince of the prince's mansion.
Not long after,
a huge carriage galloped down the street.
It was going so fast that it almost hit a three - year - old boy with a bunch of candied haws in front of it.
Seeing the three - year - old boy with the candied haws, Zhao Shuning instantly thought of the young Ye Xingchen.
However,
Zhao Shuning reacted faster than the carriage.
Before the horse's hooves landed, she quickly picked up the little boy.
The carriage stopped because of this incident.
There were curses coming from inside, but the owner of the carriage didn't get out. Instead, it continued to gallop towards the prince's mansion.
People on the street pointed at the carriage and talked non - stop.
"Whose carriage is this? It's so gorgeous."
"Judging from the decoration, it doesn't seem to be a carriage from our Hailing Kingdom."
"You're right. Haven't you heard? There seems to be something wrong with the prince's mansion recently. Princess Wu Xuan of the Tianli Kingdom has always been infatuated with the young prince. Now she's rushing to the prince's mansion. I wonder what exactly happened to the prince's mansion."
Only then did Zhao Shuning understand.
It seemed that Xia Yan had kept the fact that Xia Qingyan was in a coma a well - guarded secret. Apart from the alchemists who had treated Xia Qingyan, few people knew about it.
This was a normal thing to do.
She walked to the prince's mansion on foot. The once - vibrant mansion now looked so gray and lifeless.
Zhao Shuning paused for a moment.
Then she appeared inside the mansion.
She had never been to the mansion before, so she could only rely on her intuition to find where Xia Qingyan lived.
"The young prince was such a cheerful person. Now that he's been lying in bed for so long, the mansion feels so strange without his voice."
"Have you seen the young prince?"
Two maids shook their heads in unison.
"How can we enter the Nianqing Pavilion?"
Hearing this, Zhao Shuning now knew that the place where Xia Qingyan lived was called the Nianqing Pavilion.
It should be easy to find it if she just asked someone.