Chapter 526: The Scent of Osmanthus Flowers

Xu Qing remained silent, understanding the source of Kong Xianglong's despondency and bleakness. Previously, in the Restricted Area for Immortals, Xu Qing had experienced similar feelings after hearing his Master's analysis: whether it was the Palace Lord, the Prefect, or even the entire Feng Hai County, they were all essentially pawns.

The Palace Lord had clearly known all of this before his death in battle. Yet, he had wielded the sword for humanity with unwavering resolve throughout his arduous life. Therefore, he had no regrets about dying for humanity. His only concerns were his home, his loved ones, and his subordinates. So, after inferring certain things, he used his own death to save Feng Hai County as much as possible, without disrupting the overall situation.

"As long as Feng Hai's mountains and rivers remain, why should I begrudge this head?" Xu Qing had recalled this sentence many times; it encapsulated the Palace Lord's resolute determination before his death. Indeed, after the Palace Lord's death, the Seventh Prince's army arrived, smoothly resolved everything, and became a hero of humanity. Kong Xianglong also understood these facts, which led to his complex emotions and silence. Ultimately, his choice was similar to his grandfather's. He chose to bless this human war, hoping for a great victory. In that case, his grandfather's sacrifice would be even more worthwhile.

As soon as the Captain uttered a remark, Master looked up, his eyes showing some perturbation. Master took a breath, having a suspicion. He immediately took out a semi-transparent mask, a concealment immortal artifact, from his storage bag, respectfully placed it aside, and bowed. The direction the Captain had bowed towards remained unchanged.

The Captain smiled, stepped forward, picked up the mask, and directly put it into his mouth. With a swallow, he gulped it down. After burping, he winked at Master. After Grandpa Yi finished speaking, the mask floated back to the ground, motionless. Xie Fa was suspicious; his previously turbulent emotions were suppressed by the Captain's actions. He looked towards the corner.

"Doubt me? You don't know the Palace Lord at all."

"Junior Brother, knowing the old man as I do, I believe he's probably right beside us."

"Haha, Xie Fa, I didn't actually see you, old man. I just sensed an extra wisp of aura here. You know how sensitive I am to these things."

The Captain's gaze sharpened. "Junior Brother, I have a plan! I can only pull out my trump card!"

"Junior Brother, let me tell you a secret. Do you know why I'm so enthusiastic about helping female cultivators deal with too many gifts? It's because some years ago, an old man you don't know—I know who it is, but I won't say—anyway, that old man went to give a gift to a female cultivator. After giving it, in the middle of the night, he actually took me to retrieve the gifts..."

"Shut up! I'm trying to escape!" A furious roar, seemingly filled with exasperation, emanated from the semi-transparent mask, before the Captain could finish.

The Captain looked absolutely certain, but as time passed, the sky outside changed from dawn to noon, then to dusk. The mask still showed no changes, and there was no sign of the Palace Lord arriving, nor had they received any voice transmissions. The process was agonizing. Master was incredibly worried, and the Captain's face beside him was also filled with solemnity, vaguely revealing a hint of ferocity.

Master lowered his head, remaining silent, his face devoid of any expression. The Captain sighed. He knew some things that the Palace Lord had told him, so he could guess the turmoil in Master's heart at this moment. Thus, he silently stayed by his side. Then they waited for a while, but saw no change in the mask. So they looked at each other.

Until a night passed and the morning of the seventh day arrived, the mask stirred slightly, floating up from the ground. To Xie Fa and the Captain's relief, Grandpa Yi's hoarse voice emerged from within. "Finally escaped! Didn't we just take a thorn? Is it really necessary to search like this?"

"The old man can still give these instructions and is lively, which means he's fine." The Captain also felt emotional. He didn't lie to Xie Fa. He truly believed the Palace Lord was fine.

"Palace Lord, you scared this disciple to death! I was so worried about your safety that I had no choice but to resort to this. Now that I know you're fine, I'm relieved."

"Hmm... don't come back too quickly, or you'll give yourselves away and be noticed. How about this: return in a month. By then, I'll have almost finished refining it."

"A month from now, when you return to Blood Eye, you must speak with Immortal Zixuan."

"For now, that's it. I need to find a place for secluded cultivation. We'll talk again when I return to Blood Eye."

Master's expression instantly turned solemn, and the Captain's face also changed. He immediately fell silent. All of them couldn't help but feel worried, waiting in silence.

Master shook his head.

"Senior Brother, aren't you overthinking it...?" Xie Fa hesitated, looking at the Captain.

"Junior Brother, do you still have the mask the Palace Lord gave you?" Master asked.

Master's thoughts surfaced, recalling a sigh echoing in his mind before the Time Bottle was integrated. After a while, he closed his eyes, about to meditate and stabilize his cultivation. But soon, he opened his eyes, taking out the plain pill bottle given by Kong Xianglong from his storage bag.

Now, after the intensity, Master remembered this matter. Although he didn't think much of it, out of caution, he still opened the pill bottle, held it to his nose, and sniffed, wanting to identify the herbs. "There are many kinds of herbal scents..." Master mused, taking a few more sniffs and carefully distinguishing them in order to find that familiar scent.

Earlier, in the deep pit, when the Captain swallowed the plain pill, the medicinal aroma emanating from it was mixed with other scents. Master had felt something was off, as if he had smelled it somewhere before. This scent was extremely potent. If Master had acquired a divine body, he wouldn't have been able to detect it. Only with his current physical body could he vaguely discern it.

A faint celestial thunder echoed in Master's mind. To confirm he hadn't misidentified the scent, he simply crushed a plain pill and placed its powder before his nose, carefully distinguishing the aroma. "This is... the scent of osmanthus?" he murmured.

Having said that, under Master's watchful eye, the Captain cleared his throat and spoke loudly. "Junior Brother, why do you think Xie Fa hasn't arrived yet?"

Initially, the Captain had just wanted to find a topic of conversation, but as he spoke, his eyes widened, and he vaguely felt what he was saying made a lot of sense. So, he took a breath, suddenly stood up, and went to investigate. After a while, Xie Fa stood stunned, the medicinal ash falling from his fingers.

"No!" Xie Fa's mind was greatly stirred. He found the source of the anomaly. Years ago, when he was on a mission, he had held this empty wish box in his hand. But later, when Xie Fa was told the truth, he didn't examine it in detail.

"This is the scent that was in the empty wish box..." Master recalled carefully, becoming increasingly certain. "Xie Fa's judgment isn't wrong, but there's more to this... I've seen that white jade hand before!"

In the Restricted Area for Immortals, Xu Qing had seen the appearance of those two white jade hands, one large and one small. The large white jade hand was obtained by the Palace Lord from studying divine test subjects. As for the small white jade hand, its owner was self-evident. Billions of people have eaten it! And the plain pill, over the years, had become an almost essential item for cultivators and mortals throughout the entire Prefecture City!

"Senior Brother, regarding the Palace Lord..." Xie Fa pondered, looking at the Captain.

As dawn broke inside and Master remained silent, the Captain coughed and spoke loudly. "The scent of osmanthus!" At this moment, the scent emanating from the box was identical to the scent within the plain pill: osmanthus!

"Palace Lord, Palace Lord, come out! I see you!" The Captain excitedly bowed towards a corner. The scent of osmanthus became increasingly clear. But no matter how the Captain bowed, everything there remained as usual.

The Captain looked at the mask and fiercely gritted his teeth. "Finally escaped! Didn't we just take a thorn? Is it really necessary to search like this?"

"Don't worry. The Palace Lord isn't as good as me at grand endeavors, but when it comes to escaping... I've never seen anyone more skilled than me. Think about it, who studies divine test subjects containing the power of time and can still comprehend concealment techniques?"

"Trust me, little Ah Qing, the Palace Lord just loves peeking. When you weren't in the sect before, I experienced it very deeply. I suspect the Palace Lord might have been waiting for us in this Sword Pavilion all along, or can perceive us through some method."

"Also, I can't be distracted during this period, so don't cause any trouble. And that mask, Elder Brother, swallow it and use your stomach to hide its aura!" The Captain also looked solemn, clasping his fists and bowing. Master immediately looked. After the Captain took it out, his eyes lit up. He instinctively licked his lips and grinned at Master.

With that, the Captain impatiently left, heading straight for the Prefectural Executive Palace. On the way, he took out a peach, bit into it, then raised his hand to look at the eye that had grown in his palm. Using it as a mirror, he checked his appearance. After confirming he still looked so excellent, the Captain's eyes lit up, and his speed increased.

"Little Ah Qing, I'm leaving first. Little Peach wants to find me." The Captain didn't speak the entire way. Only after returning to Sword Pavilion, where they sat cross-legged, did the Captain pat Xu Qing's shoulder. The Captain remained silent. Master's expression was peculiar. The Captain's eyes showed surprise. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly looked at Master.

Xu Qing sighed softly, silently leaving the place with the Captain and heading to Sword Pavilion.

Watching the Captain's retreating figure, Master's eyes showed a hint of blessing. He then withdrew his gaze, looking at the empty Sword Pavilion. The inner turmoil caused by the Candlelight matter had now subsided into calm.