To be honest, I was truly stunned. Weren't we just supposed to be siblings? This kind of action was bound to cause misunderstandings, wasn't it?
"Yes, I'm not an outsider. He's my elder brother, a sworn brother just now..." I explained to the Golden Flower Cult Leader. Although my words were a bit meager, I still didn't want to cause any trouble for him.
Gu Yuan tightly pinched my hand. It hurt so much that I wanted to shake it off violently, but he just wouldn't let go.
I glared fiercely at Gu Yuan, signaling him to let go of me immediately. He wore a smile on his lips and seemed eager to pull me into his arms.
The Golden Flower Cult Leader, as an upper celestial in charge of the troops of the spirit - medium immortals, surely had a wealth of experience. She just didn't want to expose the truth.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this old one has sent the five types of immortals, namely the fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake, and rat immortals, to the mortal world to search for the snake scale you are looking for, but so far, there has been no result."
So she had been helping Gu Yuan look for the lost snake scale.
This explained that Gu Yuan had never suspected that Chi Yu had stolen the snake scale. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked the Golden Flower Cult Leader to search for it, nor would he have protected her so much today.
"Search again. If this thing is stolen, the world might be in chaos."
The Golden Flower Cult Leader received the order. She dropped a white chess piece and said, "Maybe it's just that the one involved can't see clearly."
Saying this, she got up to leave. Her steps were a bit unsteady, as if she was injured.
"You're injured?" I quickly stepped forward to support her.
"It's okay. It's an old injury. This old one has an impertinent request. I wonder if Your Highness the Crown Prince can help?"
"Just speak your mind." Gu Yuan also stood up and said.
"The great - great - granddaughter of Lord Hu San has recently contracted a strange illness. The Hu family is at their wits' end. Lord Hu San has heard that Lord Liu San of the Liu Immortal family is a medical immortal who can cure all diseases."
"So Lord Hu San begged the head of the Liu Immortal family, Lord Liu San, to save his great - great - granddaughter. However, Lord Liu San eloped with a flower demon a hundred years ago and has been missing ever since."
"The reason why this wasn't made public was to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation and causing trouble for the Liu family. Now that the Hu family is asking the Liu family for help, Lord Liu San doesn't want the family disgrace to be exposed. If he flat - out refuses, it will make Lord Hu San lose face. Moreover, the Hu family is known for holding grudges, and it will be even harder to get along with them in the future. So Lord Liu San had no choice but to agree and then think of a long - term plan."
"Seeing Your Highness today, this old one suddenly had this idea. I hope Your Highness can come up with a way to save the great - great - granddaughter of the Hu family while also muddling through."
"Are you suggesting that I impersonate Lord Liu San?" Gu Yuan picked up a black chess piece and placed it on the stone chessboard. He had already understood the hidden meaning in her words.
"Your Highness is truly wise. That's exactly the idea. It's said that Lord Liu San is extremely powerful and has a handsome appearance. He is known as the most handsome man in the Three Realms. However, he has a quirky personality and is rarely seen. You are quite similar to Lord Liu San. You rarely show up, and there are only a handful of people in the celestial realm who have seen you. Moreover, your appearance and abilities are by no means inferior to Lord Liu San's. If you are willing to step in and help, it will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort."
The Golden Flower Cult Leader's face showed sincerity. She must have been worried about the matters between the two great families for many days before coming up with this method.
"So this is how you got the title of Lord Liu San?" I stood beside Gu Yuan, my face showing surprise.
Seeing me smiling happily, she immediately replied to the Golden Flower Cult Leader, "Go back and report. I'll go see Lord Liu San tomorrow."
The Golden Flower Cult Leader received the order and finally burst into a hearty laugh. She also promised Gu Yuan that she would surely mobilize all the trustworthy spirit - medium immortals to secretly search for the whereabouts of the snake scale.
It was only after the Golden Flower Cult Leader left that I realized that the great - great - granddaughter of the Hu family was none other than Hu Qingluan. Back then, wasn't it Gu Yuan who went to save Hu Qingluan in the name of Lord Liu San and then got engaged to her in a muddle - headed way?
"Gu Yuan, you'd better not go. The great - great - granddaughter of the Hu family is not a good person." I quickly stepped forward and complained about all of Hu Qingluan's green - tea behaviors.
But he had already agreed. A crown prince's word was surely as good as gold, and he couldn't go back on his promise.
"You'll go with me to the mortal world tomorrow to see what strange illness she has contracted. Even the Hu and Liu families are at their wits' end."
I nodded helplessly in agreement. However, Gu Yuan still seemed to be worried about the matter of the snake scale.
I knew what he was troubled about. I sat on the stone bench, propping my chin with both hands and said, "It would be great if there were cameras here. Then we could see who exactly came into contact with the snake scale that day."
"What's a camera?"
"It's something that can replay what happened at that time."
"I've already checked. In the past hundred years, only you came out of there. No one else went in or out at all. It was only a few days ago when my mother went to check on the snake scale that she found it had disappeared without a trace."
Gu Yuan also seemed to be very headache. After all, he was still young and not as steady and "scheming" as when I first met him.
"Is the snake scale really lost?" I looked at Gu Yuan's good - looking face and didn't want to look away for a moment.
Seeing me staring at him all the time, he reached out and pinched my nose, signaling that I was asking a redundant question.
"They say that magical artifacts have spirits and can sense their owners. If it was lost, it's impossible not to feel it. If the snake scale was lost when I showed up, and your mother didn't notice it for nearly a hundred years, that's too unreasonable."
After hearing my analysis, Gu Yuan thought what I said made a lot of sense. How could he have overlooked this point?
He quickly reached out and untied the seal on his palm, seemingly detecting the aura of the snake scale.
"Can you also detect the aura of the snake scale?"
"I can only detect it roughly. That's the snake scale from the body of the Goddess Nuwa. How could it be easily detected? However, I can still sense a faint aura. There is indeed the aura of the snake scale in the celestial realm, but after these days, my mother has ransacked the entire celestial realm and still hasn't found its whereabouts."
"Don't worry. We'll find it sooner or later. It's just a snake scale the size of a silver plate." I patted my chest confidently and assured him.
"You still say you didn't take it. How do you know so much in detail?"
Oh no. How could I have blurted it out? Now I really couldn't defend myself.
"I... I... I..." I really didn't know how to explain.
Gu Yuan also propped his chin with both hands and stared into my eyes. There was a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"You don't seem to be Chi Yu. Who are you?"
I slapped the table. Finally, I felt relieved. He finally realized that I wasn't Chi Yu.
"I'm Chi Yu, but this Chi Yu is not that Chi Yu. We have the same soul but different physical bodies. Do you understand? I really don't know if Chi Yu stole the snake scale. I just came here in a daze."
Gu Yuan pursed his lips. He seemed to understand but also seemed not to. However, he was willing to believe me.
"Let me tell you. My name is Lan Chi Yu. My previous life was indeed Miss Chi Yu. We'll meet again in 2022..."
Before I could finish my words, another person walked over from beside the waterfall.
When Gu Yuan saw him, a rare, bright smile appeared on his face. That feeling was truly wonderful.
I followed the direction of his gaze and looked towards the waterfall. I couldn't help but be greatly surprised.