“Yes?”
Jun Wu said unhurriedly, “Work hard, but do not force yourself.”
Xie Lian was startled by those words. A moment later, he smiled. “What is My Lord saying? I’m not forcing myself.”
Jun Wu patted Xie Lian’s shoulders. “Return to the Palace of Xianle to rest for now. I will send word to summon the Wind Master.”
Xie Lian blinked. “I don’t have enough merits, so no palace has been erected. The Palace of Xianle from the past has long since been torn down. So, what Palace of Xianle?”
“I have granted you a new one,” Jun Wu said. “You cannot possibly always cram yourself into that decrepit little shrine?”
Xie Lian left the Palace of Divine Might and was led to the Palace of Xianle by a junior official from Jun Wu’s palace.
This Palace of Xianle was very nearly an exact copy of the one he had in the past: glazed tiles with red walls, sumptuous and elegant. He stood outside the palace gates for a long time, but not a shred of desire to enter came to him. The Scrap Immortal was still best suited to a scrapped shrine, after all. A proud and glamorous heavenly palace like this wasn’t a place he could stay.
He loitered outside the entrance and waited for Lord Wind Master to come find him, but after a while, the one who appeared was unexpectedly not the lady cultivator in white Daoist robes but another white-clad cultivator.
This cultivator was in glowing spirits, with an air of transcendence fluttering about him. It was the one from the meeting at the Palace of Divine Might who had randomly fought with Pei Ming, Qingxuan.
He waved his whisk, a smile hanging from his lips. “Greetings, Your Highness!”
Xie Lian smiled back. “Greetings, fellow cultivator.”
Truthfully, he really wanted to ask who he was but thought it’d be rude. He was about to sneak a peek at his scroll to see which heavenly official was named Qingxuan when the person in question walked up to him and exclaimed, “Let’s go! Let’s go take a stroll down below.”
Xie Lian was taken aback. “My friend, I’m waiting for someone.”
Hearing this, the cultivator stuffed his whisk into the back collar of his outer robe and turned around in wonder. “Who else are you waiting for?”
“I’m waiting for Lord Wind Master,” Xie Lian replied.
The white-clad cultivator looked even more confused. “Aren’t I right here?”
“…” Xie Lian’s brows jumped. “You’re the Wind Master?”
The other flashed open his fan and started fanning. “I am the Wind Master; was there ever any doubt? Did you not know who I was?! Have you never heard my name: the Wind Master Qingxuan?!”
His tone was irrefutable and absolute, strong and confident, as if Xie Lian not knowing his name was an impossible thought to entertain. The folding fan had the word for wind, “feng,”1 written on the front, while the back had three flowing, inclining lines—the exact same fan that the lady cultivator in white had held!
Xie Lian suddenly recalled that Fu Yao had mentioned that some upper court heavenly officials, under special circumstances, had the ability to transform their appearance. While at Banyue, Nan Feng had also uttered an incomplete sentence:
“The Wind Master had always been…”
Had always been? Been what?
A man?!
After getting dragged for a few steps, Xie Lian still couldn’t fully process this information.
“Um…Lord Wind Master, you—you—you—why did you disguise yourself as a woman last time?!”
“What? Was I not beautiful?” the Wind Master asked.
“Yes? But…” Xie Lian was still confused.
“If I was beautiful, then there’s no but! As long as I look good!” The Wind Master smiled brightly. “Of course, it’s because I knew I’d look good that I was in disguise!”
Having said that, he looked like he’d suddenly come up with an idea and closed his fan. He gave Xie Lian a once-over with a calculating expression, then spoke after a moment.
“Speaking of which, don’t we need to go undercover for this mission to Ghost City?”
“…？？？” Xie Lian replied.
Chapter 13:
Entering Ghost City, the Crown Prince Chances Upon the Ghost King
MUCH ASHAMED, it wasn’t until four hours later that Xie Lian had the time to sneak a peek at his scroll to finally learn this Wind Master’s backstory.
The Five Elemental Masters of the Heavenly Realm used their titles in place of their surnames. For example, before the Earth Master ascended, his mortal name was Ming Yi. After ascension, he was addressed as “Earth Master Yi.” As for the Wind Master, his former name was Shi Qingxuan, but after ascension he was called “Wind Master Qingxuan.” Befitting of his title, his personality was like a breeze: he was sociable and generous, uncaring about petty details, and very popular in the heavens, as was apparent from him easily tossing out ten thousand merits in the communication array. But at the end of the day, as his older brother was the god who controlled mortal wealth, of course the Wind Master was generous and uncaring about petty details.