Chapter 865: After the Long Journey, Safe All Along

The Thirteen Beauties of the Flower and Grass Pavilion all knew that Bai Yezi, lively and a bit unconventional, was the usual person in charge of the Half-Moon Residence. Whenever an issue arose, Bai Yezi alone could generally resolve it directly. However, in reality, even Bai Yezi addressed Hei Yezi as "Elder Sister" in their daily interactions. Consequently, the Thirteen Beauties were all aware of this. The true mastermind behind the Flower and Grass Pavilion was, in fact, Hei Yezi.

Hei Yezi had a cool and aloof demeanor; even though the Thirteen Beauties frequented the Flower and Grass Pavilion year-round, they rarely heard the true Grand Pavilion Master utter more than a few words. But at this moment, Bai Yezi's phrase, "The Storyteller's message has arrived," startled Hei Yezi, who had been lazily reclining on a hammock, causing her to suddenly spring to her feet.

"Withdraw," she commanded.

With a wave of her hand, everyone ceased their movements. Bai Yezi also rose, her gaze sweeping the room. Her slender, jade-like fingers gestured towards the others as she smiled, "Since Elder Sister has instructed you to withdraw, please leave first."

The Thirteen Beauties hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances, then promptly bowed and withdrew. They had never encountered such a situation. In years, it was the first time both Pavilion Masters had directly dismissed all of them. Typically, even for matters of the utmost importance, the two Pavilion Masters would keep at least one or two attendants, which meant the Thirteen Beauties had overheard a vast amount of crucial intelligence over the years. The knowledge they possessed could cause an immense sensation if revealed to the outside world. This had, in turn, irrevocably bound all thirteen of them to the Half-Moon Residence. Without the two Pavilion Masters, their meager cultivation made it impossible for them to survive in Half-Moon Bay. Thus, the Thirteen Beauties had never harbored thoughts of betrayal.

But now…

"What sort of matter could alarm even Pavilion Master Hei Yezi?" the Thirteen Beauties whispered among themselves as they departed.

"It's my first time seeing Pavilion Master Hei Yezi show an expression; she's truly stunning..." someone remarked, stars sparkling in their eyes. Living in a place where they saw no men, they had learned to appreciate beauty.

"The only reason they're not on the Beauty Ranking is that the two Pavilion Masters haven't listed themselves. Otherwise, they would absolutely meet the top ten standard, both in terms of face and figure."

"Yes, I agree," another chimed in.

"Hey, you all seem to be getting off-topic. Shouldn't we be discussing Pavilion Master Bai Yezi's phrase? 'The Storyteller's message has arrived…'" a less experienced girl interjected.

"Shhh!"

This time, all of the Thirteen Beauties were startled. Clutching their chests, they motioned for silence, explaining, "Since Pavilion Master Hei Yezi dismissed us, this matter is not to be discussed. You're new here; you need to understand the rules."

The woman who had spoken earlier appeared slightly stern and dared not speak out of turn again. The Thirteen Beauties fell silent in unison, quickening their steps as they rushed out of the Flower and Grass Pavilion as if fleeing, terrified of overhearing something they shouldn't if they lingered.

This time, Bai Yezi clearly took the incoming message very seriously. As soon as everyone had departed, she immediately activated the Flower and Grass Pavilion's protective spirit formation, which had remained dormant for over a decade. Then, she tilted her head, asking for guidance as she called out, "Elder Sister?"

Hei Yezi nodded slightly, her expression indifferent. "Go on, see what the Storyteller has to say. He wouldn't contact you without good reason. This time, it can only mean Big Brother is about to activate us."

Bai Yezi's expression flickered with excitement at the thought of Big Brother. "After all these years, Big Brother has finally remembered us! If he hadn't contacted us, I truly would have thought he'd forgotten both of us."

As she spoke, she removed a jade bracelet from her wrist and placed it on the table. Then, infusing it with spiritual energy and forming a hand seal, a spiritual light flickered on the bracelet. A human head materialized on its surface.

"My two little sisters, long time no see! How are you?" the Storyteller asked, tilting his head with a wide smile.

Bai Yezi puffed out her cheeks, placed her hands on her hips, and pointed indignantly at the light screen. "You can still think of contacting us?! For all these years, not a single message inquiring about our well-being. I thought you had forgotten both me and Elder Sister!"

The Storyteller offered an awkward smile. "Didn't Big Brother say not to disturb you unless it was a major matter?"

Bai Yezi's anger hadn't subsided, and she was about to speak again, but Hei Yezi gently restrained her.

"It seems you've forgotten something else?" Hei Yezi asked, her expression cold, as she gazed at the man on the light screen.

The Storyteller paused, then remembered. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I truly would have forgotten. It's been decades without contact. Thankfully, you reminded me. Let me think, how did that phrase go…"

"Three breaths of time," Hei Yezi stated, her beautiful eyes narrowing with a hint of sternness.

Bai Yezi also calmed down, her expression turning serious, and she, too, adopted an indifferent demeanor.

Seeing their reactions, the Storyteller pouted. "You two are truly unfeeling. At least greet me with 'Elder Sister' first, without any pleasantries…"

"Three," Hei Yezi began to count down.

"Alright, alright, alright!" The Storyteller quickly waved his hand, understanding that after so many years of intelligence work, they likely had an occupational hazard. His demeanor suddenly turned serious as he solemnly recited, "Swallows depart south, gatherings and partings are impermanent. As migrating geese pass by, may you journey in peace!"

With that single sentence, the Flower and Grass Pavilion instantly fell silent.

Hei Yezi's eyes and brows softened.

Bai Yezi's eyes immediately welled up, her brows arched, and large tears streamed down her face.

This sentence was Ba Zun'an's parting message at the final banquet of the Nine Seats of the Sacred Servants. After this phrase, the Nine Seats of the Sacred Servants scattered; some ventured to the Western, Northern, or Southern Regions, some to the Seven Severed Forbidden Zones, and some disappeared without a trace. Each carried their burdens forward, striving for that fleeting moment of glory when their ultimate goal would be achieved.

However, the hardships endured on this path were utterly incomprehensible to outsiders. For decades, except for those whose missions occasionally intersected, allowing their leaders to briefly meet, the vast majority of the Nine Seats of the Sacred Servants had never even met or exchanged a single word. Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi were prime examples of this isolation. The two were twin sisters, jointly holding the eighth seat among the Sacred Servants. Despite being the youngest, they were entrusted with extremely arduous intelligence work. The nature of their work further ensured they could not have much interaction with the outside world. Naturally, their connection with the other members of the Nine Seats of the Sacred Servants was essentially severed.

Now, hearing the Storyteller's solemn words, they felt like long-lost wanderers finally receiving their first message of greeting from family in decades. A profound warmth… The weight of these words, the warmth they conveyed, surpassed all the combined liveliness and bustling scenes of the Flower and Grass Pavilion over the past decades.

"Travel in peace..." Bai Yezi, her face drenched in tears, responded with a trembling voice.

"Travel in peace," Hei Yezi echoed, after a long silence spent quelling the surge of emotion in her heart.

On the other side of the light screen, the Storyteller silently lowered his head and softly said, "You two sisters have worked hard."

With a sudden sob, Bai Yezi couldn't control her emotions, crying out in distress like a little girl. Hei Yezi gently clasped her hand, her expression returning to composure, and then asked, "Storyteller, how can you prove you haven't been possessed or controlled by someone else?"

The Storyteller paused, his fleeting emotions instantly gone, and he said with a wry smile, "Oh, little Hei Yezi, why are you still so cold? Your sister is crying like this, and you still don't forget to question me? You've changed! You used to be… uh, it seems you haven't changed at all!"

Hei Yezi remained unmoved, merely gazing at him with a solemn expression.

The Storyteller sighed. "My main body is currently with Big Brother; we just entered Void Island. This message was sent by Big Brother at a great cost to my clone. You at the Half-Moon Residence have been gathering intelligence for so many years; surely, you've noticed the current developments in Eastern Heavenly King City, right?"

Hei Yezi was naturally aware of the situation in Eastern Heavenly King City, located in the Eastern Region. It could be said that wherever Ba Zun'an was, that region became the primary focus of the Half-Moon Residence's operations. When the Storyteller uttered the secret code, she had already believed his identity; her additional question was merely for further confirmation.

"Speak, does Big Brother have a mission for us? In decades, this is his first time officially activating the Half-Moon Residence," Hei Yezi inquired.

The Storyteller's expression turned serious. "A correction: it's not activating the Half-Moon Residence, but activating 'you'."

"Us?" Hei Yezi asked, surprised.

By now, Bai Yezi had also recovered from her emotional outburst, understanding the importance of the matter at hand and not daring to interrupt.

"Precisely, 'you'!" The Storyteller nodded emphatically. "Sacred Servant Xu Xiaoshou – I trust you have enough intelligence on him, so I won't go into too much detail. He is currently Big Brother's designated successor, but he's encountered a situation that requires your assistance to resolve."

Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. Even with all the intelligence they had gathered over the years, knowing that Big Brother had secretly attempted to cultivate many successors, it was like the eccentric old man; both had found it difficult to find a successor. After so many years, they only knew of one individual in the younger generation of Sacred Servants, Teardrop Trail, who had the potential to carry Big Brother's banner. Now, the Storyteller's news claimed that the next standard-bearer of the Sacred Servants was not Teardrop Trail, but Xu Xiaoshou!

"Xu Xiaoshou, the one who just recently emerged?" Bai Yezi exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't he the eccentric old man's disciple? How could they choose the same successor? Didn't they… break up long ago?"

Hei Yezi shot her a reproachful glance. Bai Yezi knew she had spoken out of turn and immediately recoiled.

The Storyteller chuckled at the scene. "Indeed, they did break up. But it's true that even though they went their separate ways, believing their paths diverged, they still coincidentally chose the same person. You can imagine just how exceptional this young man is."

Young man…

Bai Yezi's expression turned peculiar. "You've had contact with him?"

The Half-Moon Residence generally possessed intelligence on the Nine Seats of the Sacred Servants. However, they alone were largely unaware of the Storyteller's movements. This was because the Storyteller's external manifestation was incredibly elusive, frequently stirring up seemingly significant yet ultimately senseless trouble across all five regions. Expending so much effort to gather intelligence on the Storyteller sometimes only resulted in the same outcome as for the Sacred Divine Palace: utter frustration! Therefore, after exhausting their efforts in previous years, the Half-Moon Residence ceased concerning themselves with the Storyteller's whereabouts. Both Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi had been infuriated by him on numerous occasions.

The Storyteller nodded with a smile on the light screen. "Of course I've had contact with him. He's a very interesting person. You should also get to meet him in the future, and the time… will be very soon! He's fighting his way from the Eastern Region to the Southern Region, so you won't have to wait long. His growth is simply astonishingly fast!"

Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi exchanged glances and nodded. Xu Xiaoshou's growth rate was indeed rapid. However, across the Five Regions, there were far too many geniuses with even more terrifying growth rates and stranger methods of cultivation, like Ba Zun'an, Cen Qiaofu… Not to mention others, within the Sacred Servants alone, almost everyone in their youth was on par with or even surpassed Xu Xiaoshou. If the Storyteller hadn't brought it up, they wouldn't have paid much attention to Xu Xiaoshou. At most, they would have only given him a second glance because he was the eccentric old man's disciple.

"So, what is the matter?" Hei Yezi redirected the conversation to the main topic.

The Storyteller's expression turned serious. "Xu Xiaoshou is currently in the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range under a different identity, participating in the Royal City Trial. He has now provoked a Half-Saint, and you are needed to help resolve the situation."

The words were spoken lightly, but a synchronized gasp of shock echoed through the Flower and Grass Pavilion.

"A Half-Saint?!"

Not only was Bai Yezi startled, but even Hei Yezi's eyes widened in disbelief. A mere Master realm cultivator provoked a Half-Saint? What on earth?!

"You didn't hear wrong; it is a Half-Saint," the Storyteller added. "That person is in the Southern Region. Among our people who can be spared and are closest, it's just the two of you. Otherwise, Big Brother wouldn't have thought of you…"

"Hmm?" Bai Yezi's delicate eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh, a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue!" The Storyteller quickly corrected himself. "Big Brother does miss you. Let's get back to the main topic… the Blackheart Fruit Clan."

"Zang…" Bai Yezi instinctively uttered one syllable, then immediately clamped her mouth shut, covering her red lips with an innocent expression.

Hei Yezi couldn't help but shoot her another withering glance. After all these years of training, she was clearly a formidable leader in the eyes of outsiders. Yet, when she was with her own people, she reverted to a carefree young girl.

"Xiao Bai, you must be careful with your words!" The Storyteller was also startled, but didn't press the matter. "This time, Big Brother's mission is for you to personally take action… either recruit him to the Sacred Servants' side, or eliminate him."

"Eliminate him?" Bai Yezi's eyebrows twitched wildly. "Just the two of us? Are you insane!"

"No, I'm not," the Storyteller chuckled. "Take the 'Eight-Character Token' Big Brother gave you back then. Threats, intimidation, any means will work. You can even pretend you have a Saint Emperor backing you. Anyway, that Blackheart Fruit Clan individual wouldn't dare act recklessly. He achieved Half-Saint status too recently—only a few hundred years ago—and lacks sufficient foundation. Big Brother already tested him, and he understands the gravity of the situation."

"Pretend to be a Saint Emperor?" Bai Yezi was speechless. "What kind of ridiculous method is this? How could it possibly work?"

Seeing this unfold on the light screen, the Storyteller immediately sighed. "You should have met Xu Xiaoshou beforehand. After meeting him, you wouldn't think this way. Back then, when Big Brother and I first learned of his plan, we had the same expression as you, but now…" The Storyteller seemed to recall something peculiar, sighing helplessly. "In a few more years, who knows, the Northern Region of this continent might inexplicably gain another Half-Saint aristocratic family, with its patriarch named Xu Xiaoshou."

Hei Yezi remained silent. Bai Yezi remained silent.

Both fell silent, completely bewildered by what the Storyteller was saying. As for the First Tower in the Sky, being far away in the Southern Region, they hadn't paid much attention to its affairs. As for Xu Xiaoshou… If the Storyteller hadn't brought him up, who would have paid any mind to such a young junior, whose future growth was far from certain? Even Rao Yaoyao hadn't uncovered the connection between these two. The Half-Moon Residence, which wasn't particularly concerned to begin with, couldn't have known about their connection in advance. But now, having personally heard the Storyteller's evaluation of Xu Xiaoshou, both felt it was time to take that young man seriously.

Pretend to be a Saint Emperor? Could this absurd idea genuinely have been proposed by Xu Xiaoshou and even successfully put into practice?

After giving his instructions, the Storyteller didn't linger, abruptly ending the call. This left Hei Yezi and Bai Yezi staring at each other, having received a seemingly impossible mission.

"Who's going to pretend to be a Saint Emperor to intimidate a real Half-Saint?" Bai Yezi pouted, blinking her eyes and gesturing, "You?"

Hei Yezi's expression turned cold. "Do you think that's possible?"

Bai Yezi covered her mouth, chuckling. "It's possible! You're so aloof and have never shown your face in the outside world; maybe you could succeed."

"I'll smack you to death!" Hei Yezi raised her hand high, then gently lowered it, merely glaring at her sister before sighing. "Have someone send up Xu Xiaoshou's intelligence. We'll study some successful cases first, then decide how to proceed."

"Pretend to be a Saint Emperor?"

"Could this Storyteller really have been possessed…?"