Yun s.h.i.+mo stared at Hua Qiyue without an expression on his face. "Why are you looking for this sort of an organization?"

"I am looking for someone," Hua Qiyue replied blandly. Tianci immediately lifted up her hand. "Mother, I forgot to let you wear this!"

Tianci slipped the eclipse jade bracelet on Hua Qiyue's left wrist and started to nod proudly. "Hmm, hmm, not bad, not bad. Brother Feng has great taste."

Yun s.h.i.+mo heard him and his face darkened at once. "Remove the bracelet. It looks so ugly."

Tianci blinked. "Dad, how can you say that? It was I who made Brother Feng buy it!"

Yun s.h.i.+mo turned silent. He took out a sparkling pearl from his pocket. The pearl was scintillating, glittering each time in a different color.

It turned from red to green, from green to purple, from purple to yellow, and finally from yellow to white.

It was a Five-Colored Pearl. Tianci stared unblinkingly at it and he cried out cheerfully, "Dad, I want this pearl. I want it!"

"Very well. You know what to do, don't you?" Yun s.h.i.+mo remarked quietly. The young fellow blinked and quickly slipped the bracelet out of Hua Qiyue's hand with a grin. "Mom, this bracelet will attract evil beasts and spirit animals. Better let me keep it for you!"

Hua Qiyue did not know whether to smile or cry. This young fellow was forgetting his mother because of a pearl!

"Who did you say you are looking for?"

Yun s.h.i.+mo's wicked scheme had succeeded. He was now asking her quietly. His hands were free to peel a mandarin orange for Tianci.

Actually, such a trivial ch.o.r.e would be more suited for Lv Xin and Youshui. But Yun s.h.i.+mo preferred to do it himself. He liked to treat Tianci this way. One trivial action could reveal a man's heart.

"A very important person." Hua Qiyue thought for a while and asked, "Which organization is the best for searching out someone?"

Yun s.h.i.+mo gazed at Hua Qiyue's bright and clear eyes. He said quietly, "In Changjing Kingdom, the most famous organization for doing this is the Divine Eyes. The next is Thousand Ways."

Divine Eyes? Thousand Ways?

Hua Qiyue had never heard of these organizations before. Such advanced organizations would probably be reserved for the most powerful aristocrats?

This time, Hua Qiyue had made up her mind to get someone to search out Tianci's biological father. That sc.u.m... if she found out who he was, she would whip him dead and dry his body!

It was thanks to that man that Rong Qiyue suffered a tragic life.

Zhou Zhicheng was originally not a wicked man. But after that incident, he stepped closer and closer to the abyss. She was partly to blame for his later depravity.

But Rong Qiyue should not shoulder too much of the blame either. After all, if the man wasn't upright, he would reveal his true colors even if that incident did not happen.

Greed, selfishness, coldheartedness, brutality...

The traits of a man.

"Yun s.h.i.+mo, I hope that there'll be a solution to our problem in the cabin just now. I don't want to give myself away in such a dubious way." Hua Qiyue remembered. This man had pretended to be indifferent even after taking advantage of her. She could not put up with this!

Yun s.h.i.+mo's eyes gradually turned cold. Yet an inscrutable smile began to hover at the corner of his lips. "Hua Qiyue, didn't you make use of me too to escape? Murong Fuyi isn't such a easy person to deal with."

"Hey, Yun s.h.i.+mo! Don't pretend to be at the losing end after taking advantage of me. Don't make it sound like I'm pestering you, you crafty old fox!" Hua Qiyue lost her cool again.

Although Yun s.h.i.+mo's das.h.i.+ng demeanor was truly memorable, it would not work with Hua Qiyue.

Every time she met him, she felt like she had devoured gunpowder.

"Aren't you the one who's always pestering me? And Tianci has only one father, which is me. Isn't that right, Tianci?" A shrewd light flashed across Yun s.h.i.+mo's eyes as he said this quietly.

He wasn't really angry. Hua Qiyue's fury was like a boxer's punch landing on a bag of cotton wool. He wasn't retaliating at all.

Hua Qiyue was so angry that her teeth started to chatter. Yun s.h.i.+mo opened his mouth composedly. "No ordinary person can find the Divine Eyes organization. But I can pull strings and in a few days' time, someone will be at your door looking for you. Then, you can tell that person what you want."

Hua Qiyue was dumbfounded. "Is this man really so kind? Humph, I'll forgive him first. After all, getting angry will only kill my own cells."

"Mom, actually Dad's really nice to you. I've heard that there is plenty of taels of silver in Prince Nan's mansion. Of course, there are also lots of rare herbs and pills. Well, Dad, if we move there, will we have all the taels of silver?"

Tianci made this striking statement out of the blue. Hua Qiyue slapped gently on him. "Don't talk nonsense, Tianci. Your Mom has got more taels of silver than your Dad!"

"Is it true? Where, where?" Tianci was blinking. Hua Qiyue had been completely duped by Tianci. If the two of them moved to Prince Nan's mansion, it would surely mean that Hua Qiyue was marrying Prince Nan.

Hua Qiyue shook her head and sighed helplessly. It seemed that she must take a Long Red out for auction, otherwise... all the Qi Artists would be jealous of her.

With their increasing greed, they would attack her altogether. Then, she wouldn't be able to protect Tianci no matter how powerful she was.

—

In Prince Nan's mansion.

Yun s.h.i.+mo had just stepped into his mansion when an apprentice, Qingtong, hurried in. "Your Highness, there are strange movements in the tower."

Yun s.h.i.+mo narrowed his eyes, his face looking extraordinarily solemn.

Bingyi became somewhat worried. He asked in a whisper, "Your Highness, you've expended so much Spiritual Qi the last time and injured your meridians. Are you going in again...?"

"Never mind. I have my way to deal with it," Yun s.h.i.+mo replied indifferently. Then, he strode toward the tall tower. The night was tender, and the silver moon was beaming high in the sky. Silhouettes of flowers s.h.i.+vered everywhere. There was a flouris.h.i.+ng bustle everywhere within the mansion.

Yet what was really behind all this facade?

Yun s.h.i.+mo brought Bingyi and Qingtong quickly to the door of the tall tower. Myriad silhouettes of trees quivered in the wind. There were thousand-year-old trees at each side of the tower. Their leaves would fall each time the wind blew.

Yun s.h.i.+mo stood erect outside the flaming red door of the tall tower. m.u.f.fled noises emerged from within the tower. He quickly stretched out his hand and imprinted a complex palm print, engendering thousands of rays on that crimson door.

They heard a loud thud and the fiery red door slowly began to swing open.

Inside, there was complete darkness. Not a thing could be seen.

Bingyi and Qingtong stared at each other, their eyes full of shock. They had never stepped beyond this door every time they accompanied Yun s.h.i.+mo.

Neither Bingyi nor Qingtong knew what was inside.

When the door had cracked open slightly, a white shadow whizzed out rapidly into the tower. "Ha ha ha, I want to see what's inside this tall tower. Ha ha ha... I sense the power of a spirit..."

"Sun Moon Deity!" Bingyi bellowed loudly. Yun s.h.i.+mo's countenance sank immediately. "You two stay here!"

Before his voice had faded, his entire body had darted into the tower. It disappeared at once into the expanse of darkness.

Bingyi and Qingtong stood where they were, staring anxiously at the slowly closing door. Cold sweat covered their palms. Each time Yun s.h.i.+mo emerged from the tower, he would be badly injured. Although he would recover very quickly, they were still extremely worried.

Thud, thud, thud...

m.u.f.fled sounds emerged from the inside again.

—

Hua Qiyue and Tianci returned to their mansion. After their baths, they rested on the couch. Moonlight bathed the room, s.h.i.+ning in gently from the outside. It filtered through the carved latticed window, making exceptionally pretty patterns on the floor.

There was a light osmanthus scent in the air.

Hua Qiyue could not sleep at all.

Actually, at the moment when Prince Nan was looking for an excuse, she was quietly shocked but soon calmed down. Now, lying on the couch, she felt her heart surging with emotions. She could not still the pa.s.sion inside.

When he recklessly announced their private engagement, the Changlong Emperor did not say anything. This meant that he was not optimistic at all about their marriage.

And... was Yun s.h.i.+mo himself willing? Or was he merely sacrificing himself to get her off the hook? Why was she now suffering from insomnia?

Hua Qiyue touched the scented sachet beside her pillow. It gave off a calming fragrance, yet it still could not make her sleep.

Should she annul her engagement with him? When she asked him, a tinge of fury flickered across Yun s.h.i.+mo's eyes. If he got angry because of her rejection, maybe...

Hua Qiyue's heart was at sixes and sevens. She made up her mind to restrain her thoughts and not think any farther, or she might end up mad.

After one whole night of dealing with another person, Hua Qiyue's mind was feeling a little tired. She glanced at Tianci who was fast asleep and fell into a deep sleep herself.

The boy was getting maturer and maturer... It looked like she must find some opportunity... to let him sleep by himself...

Hua Qiyue did not sleep well. She felt hot and flushed. She dreamed about Tianpi again.

They had not seen each other for only two days. In her dream, Tianpi was shriveled and thin, almost like a desiccated corpse. His eyes were bulging and his cheeks sunken and hollow. He looked extremely ghastly.

He sat there, leaning against the thousand-year tree, looking completely enervated. His Spiritual Qi seemed to have been all drained away. Tianpi's pretty eyes, shaped slantingly like a phoenix's, were full of sorrow. He stared into Hua Qiyue's watery eyes. Then, he slowly shut his eyes.

"Master!" Hua Qiyue cried out in shock. She woke up in horror and touched the cold sweat on her forehead. The dream seemed so real.

Hua Qiyue had gone in in the past few days, but she did not find any change in Tianpi's body. She merely found him a little quieter than before.

"No. Better go in and take a look!" For some reason, Hua Qiyue was worried about Tianpi. Using her Divine Sense, she entered the green jade gourd.

In this Mysterious World, the sky and clouds were still blue. The temperature was neither too high nor too low and was very pleasant. Around her were divine herbs and rare plants, giving off lingering scents.

Casting her eyes far wide, she found the earth teeming with life. Myriad colors abound and many tall ancient trees were swaying in the wind. The place had the air of antiquity which had experienced countless vicissitudes, blowing in one's face.

Tianpi was leaning against an ancient tree, dozing. Hua Qiyue walked to his front. She found no irregularities on his body and felt relieved.

However, Tianpi's face was extremely pale. Hua Qiyue frowned and stretched out her hand to shake his shoulder. "Master, Master... wake up..."

"Ah... I haven't slept enough! Not enough! Hua Qiyue, are you looking for death?" Tianpi opened his eyes and saw at once Hua Qiyue's slightly worried eyes.

Hua Qiyue pouted. She was worried for him and had even not slept. But he was doing fine and blaming her. Had she known this, she wouldn't have come.

"Hey, why haven't you brought some wine and meat in here?" Tianpi saw Hua Qiyue's empty hands and was a little disappointed.

"Master, I just had a nightmare. I dreamed that your Spiritual Qi have all been sucked away and you died! I was so scared that I hurried in to see if it were true..." The corner of Hua Qiyue's mouth twitched. She was concerned about him and yet she put it in a way as if she were heartless.