Bai Qi's blue eyes widened in a bewildered expression, seemingly unable to understand why I had such a strong reaction.
"You know Man Yue too?"
"I don't, but Gu Yuan does."
"Is the snake immortal you mentioned Gu Yuan?" Bai Qi asked.
"Yes. And Gu Yuan seems to be very familiar with Man Yue. I'm eager to learn about Gu Yuan's past. This Man Yue must be the key person."
I stared at him intently, my eyes full of determination. "Can you take me to meet her?"
"Actually, you've already met her. The girl you saw holding the little white snake on the Yellow Spring Road last time was Man Yue."
No wonder Gu Yuan disappeared for a week after I returned from the Yellow Spring Road. He said he went to the Yellow Spring Road to meet an old acquaintance. Could this acquaintance be Man Yue?
"Since she's Man Yue, do I have to go to the Yellow Spring Road again if I want to meet her?"
This worried me a bit. After all, one couldn't go to the Yellow Spring Road with a physical body. One had to leave the body in the form of a soul. The Yellow Spring Road was extremely cold. Just thinking about it made me shiver.
"I'm afraid this will disappoint you. The Man Yue you saw on the Yellow Spring Road was just a fragment of her memory. In fact, she perished both physically and spiritually hundreds of years ago. She can never be found again."
"She... she's dead?" I opened my mouth in astonishment, finding it hard to believe.
"How did she die?" I continued to press.
Bai Qi lowered his eyes slightly, and a look of pity flashed across his somewhat childish face. It seemed to be a very tragic story.
It turned out that Man Yue was the princess of Tongzhou, a small border country, hundreds of years ago. To maintain the diplomatic relations between the two countries, she was engaged to the heir of the Daliang Kingdom. However, on the night of their wedding, a military coup took place in the Daliang Kingdom, and the heir was killed.
After the rebellion was quelled, the army of the Daliang Kingdom suspected it was a conspiracy of the Tongzhou Kingdom and planned to send troops to attack.
The reason why the Tongzhou Kingdom arranged the marriage alliance was to avoid war. Unexpectedly, things backfired. To prove her innocence, Princess Man Yue committed suicide by slitting her throat on the Taming Immortal Platform of the Daliang Kingdom.
It was said that after Man Yue's death, she perished both physically and spiritually. Only a wisp of her remaining memory lingered on the Yellow Spring Road. Bai Qi said she seemed to be waiting for someone, but he didn't know who it was.
After hearing Man Yue's story, a deep sense of sadness welled up in my heart, as if I had experienced all these things myself.
The scenes of the grand wedding and her slitting her throat with a sword were still vivid in my mind.
Bai Qi didn't mention what role Gu Yuan played in this story.
"Was there no mention of a flying snake swallowing the princess?" I asked further.
"I was far away in the borderlands resisting foreign invaders at that time, so I didn't know the specific situation in the palace. There doesn't seem to be any mention of a flying snake."
Bai Qi had explained clearly. Knowing that Man Yue was dead, didn't it mean that my clues were cut off?
"Do you think there's any relationship between Man Yue and me? Otherwise, why do we look so alike? Could I be Man Yue's reincarnation?"
Bai Qi reached out his hand and gently felt my forehead.
"I can indeed detect a faint trace of Man Yue's aura on you, but it's extremely weak. A person who has perished both physically and spiritually cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. It's impossible for her to be reincarnated."
Bai Qi's meaningful expression seemed to indicate that he didn't quite believe such a thing could happen.
"Once, a shaman said that my fate was forcefully changed against the will of heaven. Could it be related to this?"
Bai Qi's cute and innocent expression appeared again. He was really incredibly cute.
"I need to investigate this. Don't worry. I'll definitely help you find out the truth."
"Bai Qi, you're so powerful. Can you help me find out more about Gu Yuan's past? And why does he disappear on the 15th and 16th days of the lunar month? Since he's not going to meet Man Yue, where does he go?"
"Sure, no problem. I'll do whatever you ask." Bai Qi replied.
"Also, why does Gu Yuan take such good care of Hu Qingluan? This is also a very important question."
Bai Qi's eyes curved into a smile. He showed no sign of being troubled at all. He was simply a warm - hearted boy who would always respond to requests.
Just as we were getting to know each other better, He Bi called me.
He told me that Ji Xiang was in trouble and asked me to come back immediately.
I didn't dare to waste a single moment. Knowing that I was anxious, Bai Qi grabbed my shoulder. With a twist of his body, I appeared at the door of my own shrine.
He wasn't my shaman yet, so he left after sending me back to the shrine.
I didn't try to stop him. After all, I was very worried about Ji Xiang's safety.
I rushed into the shrine and saw Ji Xiang lying on a chair, groaning constantly.
He looked as if he didn't want to live anymore.
"Ji Xiang, are you okay? Where are you hurt? Let me take a look." I said worriedly as I examined him. I didn't notice anything unusual.
"Ji Xiang, you weren't beaten and got internal injuries, were you? Where's Gu Yuan? Should I ask him to take a look at you?"
As soon as Ji Xiang heard Gu Yuan's name, he groaned even louder.
"No, please don't. I'm sorry, Third Master. I couldn't even handle such a simple task as escorting the bead. I don't deserve to stay in the shrine anymore."
"Little Mistress, please expel me from the shrine. I'm so sorry, Third Master."
"You lost the bead?" My voice rose several octaves.
He Bi quickly grabbed my hand and told me not to be so loud. Third Master didn't know yet.
"I didn't want this to happen either. The bead was in my spirit - locking pouch all the way. But when I got back to the shrine, the pouch was gone. Wuwuwu..." Ji Xiang started to bang his head in a state of complete breakdown.
I couldn't stop him.
Just as Ji Xiang was on the verge of a complete breakdown, Gu Yuan returned to the shrine.
Seeing him come back, the three of us didn't dare to be slack anymore. Especially Ji Xiang, who immediately composed himself and stood up from the chair.
He looked just like a child who was about to be punished for making a mistake.
"What are you three doing?" Gu Yuan had no expression on his face. It was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
This kind of unfathomable mood was the most annoying.
"Third Master, I'm sorry..." Ji Xiang was about to tell Gu Yuan about losing the bead, but I interrupted him.
"Gu Yuan, it's my fault. I lost the bead on the way back."
"No..." Ji Xiang still wanted to explain.
I put my hands in my pockets and pretended to look apologetic. "I'm really sorry. I was too careless. I shouldn't have put that marble - like thing in my pocket. Who would have thought that there was a hole in my pocket?"
After saying that, I pulled hard at the lining of my pocket, tearing a small hole in it.
I lowered my head and showed the pocket to Gu Yuan.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have fought with Ji Xiang to hold the bead."
Gu Yuan looked at my pocket. His face was still as cold as ice. I didn't know whether he believed me or not.
Ji Xiang still wanted to say something, but I gave him a look and he stopped.
"Come in with me." Gu Yuan said coldly and strode towards the room.
Ji Xiang tried to hold me back, but I frowned at him and slapped his hand away.
"Go back to your shrine."
Then I quickly followed Gu Yuan into the room.
As soon as I opened the door and entered, Gu Yuan was standing in the middle of the living room. His whole body exuded a gloomy aura. He looked extremely angry.
His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. His eyes were as cold as ice, as if he wanted to freeze me on the spot.
I hadn't seen such an expression on his face for a long time.
My heart was pounding with anxiety as I waited for his punishment.