Chapter Ninety-Three: Even Their Own Are Deceived!

Mo Qingli’s gaze turned obscure. Pressing her lips together, she said, “It was Chi Yushu who told me.”

Qu Yiqiu froze in surprise. “Then did Master come back so suddenly today because of Senior Brother Chi?”

Mo Qingli gave the faintest nod, then turned slightly toward Zhou Chen, as if unwilling to speak further about Chi Yushu.

“It was my fault for not doing enough, which nearly let Hong Bingyin bully all of you. That will not happen again.”

Qu Yiqiu stared blankly at Mo Qingli’s back, then smiled. “From now on, it will only ever be our turn to bully others! My master is a genius beyond compare, the child of fortune, the master of the Nine-Colored Deer!”

“And Yunjin still has to take first place in the sect competition!” Mu Yunjin said brightly, turning her head with a grin.

Mo Qingli smiled faintly. “Yunjin only needs to do her best. You are all tired today, so go back and rest. I will watch over things here.”

Qu Yiqiu beckoned to Mu Yunjin. “Let’s go back. Master is a Golden Core cultivator; with him keeping an eye on Junior Brother Zhou, nothing will go wrong.”

Mu Yunjin rose from the edge of the bed and trotted over to Qu Yiqiu’s side. “Mm, Master, we’re heading back now.”

Mo Qingli nodded with a smile.

Qu Yiqiu led Mu Yunjin away and returned to their respective cave dwellings.

As soon as Qu Yiqiu stepped inside her cave, she hurriedly set up several layers of restrictions to prevent any prying divine sense.

“Qian’er, come out,” Qu Yiqiu said, shaking the spirit-beast pouch. A brilliant wash of shimmering scales drifted out.

Qian’er landed on the floor and took human form, looking up at her with bright ice-blue eyes full of anticipation. “Benefactor, when can we go out and play?”

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to go out for a while,” Qu Yiqiu said with a frown and a helpless sigh.

“Huh? Why not?” Qian’er’s pale little face fell in disappointment.

Qu Yiqiu could only give a brief explanation. “Something has happened in the sect, and our Little Peace Peak has been targeted. If I take you out without permission, people may suspect your identity. By then, I won’t be able to protect you anymore.”

That was the truth.

Mo Qingli was too prominent. As his eldest disciple, she would inevitably draw a great deal of attention.

At such a crucial time, she had no way to avoid all those eyes and leave the Heavenly Evolution Sect safely.

Qian’er was simple-minded and did not doubt her, but the anticipation in her heart vanished at once, and her head drooped low.

For a moment, Qu Yiqiu was at a loss for words.

After a while, Qian’er suddenly lifted her head and blinked at her. “Then when will we be able to go out? Qian’er can wait!”

“At the very least, we’ll have to wait until the sect competition begins. Then I can take you out and move around. There should still be about two months,” Qu Yiqiu answered helplessly.

She wanted to send this merfolk princess back as soon as possible, too.

Merfolk lived much longer than humans. When Qian’er heard that she only had to wait about two months, she immediately brightened. “Really? Then in two months, Qian’er can go out and play with Benefactor!”

Qu Yiqiu paused slightly. This merfolk princess was surprisingly easy to talk to.

“As long as you can wait, there’s no problem. I’m going into seclusion for a while, and you can roam freely in my cave dwelling.”

Though she found it a bit inconvenient, Qu Yiqiu still decided to let her out for some fresh air.

After all, she was a living being with freedom; how could she be made to stay cooped up in that dark spirit-beast pouch every day?

Qian’er’s eyes shone with curiosity. Her gaze darted this way and that as she took in the humble cave dwelling with great novelty, and she answered cheerfully, “All right, Qian’er will be very good and won’t interfere with Benefactor’s cultivation!”

Qu Yiqiu smiled and nodded, quite pleased with how obedient she was.

She sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion and took out the ancient round box Wu Dingshan had handed her.

The seal on it had not been completely lifted; only a trace had been loosened.

That made her even more eager to know what lay inside. She wondered what kind of divine pill it might be.

After all, Wu Dingshan had said this was something his two children had come to retrieve. It certainly could not be ordinary.

Qian’er glanced over curiously, but did not pay it much mind.

Qu Yiqiu was not worried about being seen. In any case, she planned to feed Qian’er a Forgetfulness Pill later.

She appeared to study the formation patterns engraved on the round box with great seriousness, while in truth she was quietly conversing with Xiao Yan in her sea of consciousness.

“Xiao Yan, have you ever seen a sealing formation like this? Is there any way I can open it right now?”

Through Qu Yiqiu’s sea of consciousness, Xiao Yan examined the intricate patterns on the box and frowned. “No. I can’t open it. If Master knew formation-breaking arts, you would be able to open it. Otherwise, with Master’s current cultivation, there is no way you can decipher these profound patterns.”

“So that’s how it is… I don’t know the ways of formations at all…” Qu Yiqiu let her hand fall in disappointment and, as if giving up, tossed the round box onto the stone bed.

She had thought that with Xiao Yan’s help, it would take at most some time and effort to open the box and see the precious pill inside.

Now that she thought about it, she had relied too much on Xiao Yan’s power.

She herself had mastered very few skills, so it was only natural that this round box left her helpless.

“Benefactor, may I open this box and take a look at what’s inside?” Qian’er was sitting by the bed, and in the meantime had already opened and closed the box once.

Meeting Qu Yiqiu’s startled eyes, she stuck out her tongue in guilt. “I didn’t mean to look… I didn’t think it would open as soon as I touched it. I thought it was a box that couldn’t be opened…”

She really had not meant it. Seeing that even Benefactor could not open the round box, she had assumed it required a key… Wuwu… would Benefactor blame her?

Qu Yiqiu quickly composed herself and forced calm into her expression. “It’s fine. You can look at whatever is inside as you please. Just hand it back to me when you’re done!”

How had she forgotten? This merfolk princess possessed the Azure Demon Eye, which could break through all formations and restrictions.

Qian’er was still worrying and silently teary-eyed, but she had not expected her benefactor not to be angry at all. Instantly, she broke into a delighted smile. “Benefactor is so kind. Qian’er will return it to you right away!”

Happily, she opened the lid of the round box.

Qu Yiqiu stared without blinking.

Xiao Yan in her sea of consciousness also extended his senses in curiosity.

The round box opened completely, revealing a silver key before the two of them.

“Hm? Why did Benefactor lock the key inside a box?” Qian’er blinked in confusion and lifted the silver key to inspect it.

“A key?” Qu Yiqiu froze.

She clearly remembered Wu Dingshan saying that it was a pill.

That sly old fox had even deceived his own people.

Qu Yiqiu immediately understood. The pill had only been a lie Wu Dingshan had deliberately used to fool Jin Ningning.

Perhaps Qu Yiqiu’s gaze on the silver key was too fervent, for Qian’er grew too shy to keep holding it up and looked at her with innocent concern. “Benefactor, what does this key open?”

Qu Yiqiu took it reflexively, then shook her head. “I don’t know yet.”

Qian’er’s eyes widened. “Has Benefactor forgotten?”

Do human cultivators have such poor memories? She remembered that the memory of some fishfolk was bad, too.