Chapter 845: Woman in the Painting

Qi Xiayu glared fiercely at Qin Mu. Qin Mu smiled helplessly as the girl beside him brought another peach to his mouth, leaving him no choice but to continue eating.

Seeing his predicament, Qi Xiayu was unsure whether to be angry or amused. Keeping a straight face, she said, "Stop eating! They are Azure Larks, gifted to my teacher by the Southern Emperor. They love serving people, but their constant attendance can be incredibly annoying. They usually feed little birds by holding food in their beaks, so they're treating you like a chick. And they have no restraint; be careful, they might stuff you to death!"

Qin Mu suddenly understood why the girls were so insistent on feeding him.

"Have you been fed mouth-to-mouth by them, Sister Qi?" Qin Mu's expression was peculiar as he imagined the girls feeding Qi Xiayu. He couldn't help but ask.

Qi Xiayu's face flushed slightly. "When I was little, they did... Hmph! Are you still eating? Get up quickly!"

The girl named Yan'er chuckled, "Young Master Qin, we can also bite a peach and feed it to you, or even feed you tea."

Qin Mu's mind reeled; the scene was too enticing, and just thinking about it made his body feel warm. He was no longer the innocent youth he once was. Having read "Scandalous Tales of the Capital" during his time with the Imperial Preceptor, he knew a thing or two about romantic affairs, and such a scene made him lose his composure.

The young man hurriedly stood up and declared, "No more drinking! No more eating! Thank you, ladies, for your care! Sister Qi..."

"Don't call me sister; we're not close!"

Qi Xiayu's face darkened. She turned away with a flick of her sleeve, her vibrant robes, like phoenix feathers, momentarily blocking Qin Mu's view. As she walked towards the front hall, she sneered, "Master, why did you bring this scoundrel here? Your Peach Forest is so intricate; even I find it hard to enter without your zither music to guide me. You clearly let him in!"

Qin Mu wiped his mouth and followed her into the front hall.

The woman behind the screen shook her head. "How could I have let him in? It was the Celestial Venerable, being meddlesome, who hung a star in the sky to guide him, thereby breaking my Peach Forest spell. I just extinguished that star of the Celestial Venerable to prevent him from peering around."

Qi Xiayu commented, "The Celestial Venerable can barely protect himself, yet he's still so restless."

Yan'er and the other girls brought over jade tables and meditation cushions, inviting Qin Mu to sit down. Qin Mu sat upright, ignoring the peaches peeled by the lovely girls and the tea brought to his lips.

Yan'er took a sip of tea, then brought her lips close to his cheek, looking at him expectantly.

"Monk Mingxin once gave me a 'Multi-Heart Sutra' that allows one to remain undisturbed even amidst temptation. How did it go again?" The young man's mind was racing; he felt his Dao heart was severely challenged. His thoughts were filled with red lips, leaving no room for Buddhist scriptures.

Qin Mu quickly distracted himself, thinking, "Just now Qi Xiayu said that Yan'er and the others are Azure Larks, gifted by the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird to the woman behind the screen. This means Sister Vermilion Bird and the woman behind the screen must have a deep friendship. A being capable of befriending Sister Vermilion Bird certainly wouldn't be inferior to her. Then the identity of the woman behind the screen is clear..."

The woman behind the screen motioned for Yan'er and the other girls to withdraw. "Yan'er and the others have troubled Young Master Qin," she said apologetically. "I see you're so flustered your forehead is sweating."

Qin Mu's forehead was indeed sweating, but as soon as Yan'er and the girls left, he recovered and was no longer flustered. He smiled, "I never expected the Red Emperor to be your disciple, Sister. The Red Emperor once hunted me down, so I'm relieved to be able to resolve our conflict this time."

A vein throbbed on Qi Xiayu's forehead as she sat not far away. She said, "Master, I wasn't hunting him down, but rather a heartless scoundrel. What's more, this man is as unreliable as that scoundrel, with a glib tongue. Master, don't believe him! He and that scoundrel caused a great disturbance in the twenty heavens of the Buddhist Realm. The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha used them to eliminate the forces planted by the Heavenly Court in the Buddhist Realm, and the Heavenly Court has long wanted to get rid of both of them. Now, the Heavenly Court has dispatched other powerful individuals to capture that scoundrel."

The woman behind the screen said, "Young Master Qin, Xiayu actually means no harm; don't blame her. Her experiences have been quite arduous. She wasn't highly regarded in the Phoenix Clan and was controlled by the Earth Mother. When the Earth Mother's son became the Heavenly Emperor of the Northern Emperor's Heavenly Court and specifically requested her to enter the palace for service, she had no choice but to defect to the Southern Emperor's Heavenly Court."

Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "Then, when the Southern Emperor's Heavenly Court fell, she defected to the Outer Heavenly Court," he said.

Qi Xiayu raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

The woman behind the screen smiled. "When Xiayu was little, the Southern Emperor recommended her to become my disciple. In truth, she is a shared disciple of both myself and the Southern Emperor. I prefer to remain aloof from worldly affairs, but the Southern Emperor and I are very close, and when she personally requested it, I found it hard to refuse, which is why I accepted her as a disciple. Young Master Qin, you need not be suspicious of Xiayu; most of what she does is at my instruction."

Qin Mu said, "Sister, you're secluded here, but your heart isn't. You still have thoughts and wish to influence the outside world through the Red Emperor. However, the Red Emperor has continuously betrayed: from the Earth Mother to the Northern Emperor, then from the Northern Emperor to the Southern Emperor, and then to the Outer Heavenly Court. In the Kaihuang era, she even betrayed Emperor King Buddha. Although it's difficult to speak ill of her in her presence, I find her actions quite contemptible in my heart."

Qi Xiayu said indifferently, "I don't care at all how you or anyone else views me. But that Li Youran fellow, he's a heartless and ungrateful scoundrel. To say I betrayed him is to twist the facts! He not only betrayed me but also Kaihuang, and then ran off to become a monk!"

Qin Mu frowned slightly. He indeed couldn't say much about Emperor King Buddha.

The woman behind the screen smiled. "Xiayu is indeed a bit too suspicious, but there's a reason for it. From both her perspective and Li Youran's, neither of them did anything wrong. Young Master Qin, you don't need to be so harsh on them."

Qin Mu sighed, saying forlornly, "I simply pity the members of the Heavenly Craftsmen Divine Race, trapped and left to die in the Ark of the Other Shore by the Heavenly Court, with only one child escaping. I pity this sole survivor who eventually became an old blacksmith, too afraid to reveal his identity, forced to cut out his own tongue, and willingly became mute." His expression was somber as he remembered the "Aba-Aba" old man from the village, his eyes feeling a bit sore and swollen.

The mute man was the most miserable person in the village, with the most tragic background and experiences, yet he had never cried, at least not in front of the villagers. He always smiled, half of his tongue visible in his mouth. Although he was very mischievous, always teasing Qin Mu, that was merely his childlike heart acting up beneath his aged exterior, just playing with Qin Mu. His gaze was always pure and clear, as if he was still that helpless child who emerged from the seals over countless bones of his kinsmen, alone amidst the dark Great Ruins, stumbling and groping through the dark forest, moving forward helplessly.

Qin Mu didn't believe Qi Xiayu and Emperor King Buddha were wrong, yet from the mute man's perspective, these two had erred profoundly—so much so that countless corpses of the Heavenly Craftsmen tribe lay buried beneath their feet!

Qin Mu composed himself. "Since Sister is unwilling to reveal herself, there's no benefit for me to stay here," he said. "I won't disturb your master-disciple reunion. An elder of mine, a god who carries a black dragon spear at his waist, mistakenly entered the Peach Forest. Please tell me where he is, Sister, so I can take him away."

"That god's eye abilities are quite extraordinary," the woman replied. The woman behind the screen smiled. "He actually broke through the outer barrier of the Peach Forest and entered its interior. I had to mobilize some of my magic to trap him. However, he is very clever. Just now, while I was using my zither music to guide Xiayu, he traveled through the zither music and has already reached this realm. If you go looking for him alone, I'm afraid you won't find him. I'll have Yan'er accompany you."

Qin Mu thanked her, stood up, and said, "Sister, you are secluded here, but the outside world is in turmoil. Perhaps you have a thousand reasons to stay out of it, but I have only one reason to actively throw myself into the fray."

The woman behind the screen tilted her head, her suspended pearl earrings swaying slightly.

Qin Mu smiled. "I cannot bear for my people to be treated as mere prey, to be seen as ignorant folk, for them to die in ignorance," he declared. "I disdain the Buddhist concept of emptiness and the Daoist principle of non-action. I must do something to uphold my conscience, even if it means sacrificing this body, sacrificing this life. I will not hesitate; it is my bounden duty!" He bowed deeply to the ground, then stood up and said in a deep voice, "Today I could not meet you in your true form, Sister. I don't know if we will ever meet again someday; perhaps when you think of me, I will have long been dead in battle. Farewell."

He turned and walked out of the hall.

The woman behind the screen suddenly said, "Wait a moment!"

Qin Mu stopped. The woman called Qi Xiayu, who came behind the screen. After the woman whispered some instructions, Qi Xiayu stepped out from behind the screen and came before Qin Mu, holding a scroll with both hands.

The woman behind the screen said, "Young Master Qin, please accept this item. Don't open it yet; open it after you leave the Peach Forest."

Qin Mu felt doubtful but took the scroll and walked out of the palace.

Outside the hall, the girl named Yan'er was waiting for him, holding a red lantern and smiling cheerfully. "Young Master, please follow me," she said.

Qin Mu returned a smile. Yan'er, appearing from nowhere, produced a grape and intended to feed him. Qin Mu quickly shook his head, "Sister Yan'er, I'm full, truly full!"

Yan'er's face fell, and she walked away dejectedly, holding her lantern.

Unable to bear her sadness, Qin Mu opened his mouth. Yan'er brightened immediately and swiftly placed the grape into his mouth. The grape was very sweet, though it also had a slight astringent taste. However, the next moment, a peach appeared in Yan'er's hand. Qin Mu, with a darkened expression, silently took a bite of the peach brought to his mouth.

Inside the hall, the luminous pearls still shone brightly, but master and disciple remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, Qi Xiayu asked, "Master, why did you not see him?"

The woman behind the screen was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly. "Now that I am crippled, why should I see him? He took my painting; in the future, he will naturally understand why he had this encounter today. This meeting in the Peach Forest was merely a chance encounter, a coincidence. He never considered what the Heavenly Alliance he founded would become. The Heavenly Alliance of yesteryear has long since changed beyond recognition..."

Qin Mu followed Yan'er, keeping his mouth tightly shut, firmly refusing to be fed again. No matter how frustrated the girl looked, he would not accept; even when she mimicked mouth-to-mouth feeding, he remained resolute, refusing to succumb to temptation. Yan'er had no choice but to puff up her cheeks and ignore him.

Finally, deep within the Peach Forest, Qin Mu found the blind man wandering aimlessly. The blind man was startled and suspicious of his arrival, asking repeatedly. Qin Mu recounted his experiences in the palace, then said, "Blind Grandpa, you've been trapped here for almost a month. The Peach Forest's owner won't see you, so let's just leave."

The blind man said, "I can't find a way out."

"No problem, Elder, I know the way." Yan'er looked at him, smiling cheerfully, her eyes bright. She took out a bright red peach and asked, "Elder, would you like a peach?"

The blind man thanked her, but then saw the girl bring the peach to his mouth. He couldn't help but wonder, "Why is this girl so attentive?"

Qin Mu sighed in relief, thinking, "Blind Grandpa will endure it on this journey. It's fortunate to have Blind Grandpa around; it saves me trouble."

By the time Yan'er led them out of the Peach Forest, the sky outside was already bright. The blind man's belly was swollen and distended from being fed by the girl; he truly couldn't eat anymore. However, Yan'er was so enthusiastic, even making gestures as if to feed him mouth-to-mouth, which he couldn't bear. He had no choice but to snatch the food and devour it quickly, becoming so full that veins throbbed on his forehead.

As Qin Mu stepped out of the Peach Forest, he immediately unrolled the scroll and unfurled the painting. A ray of sunlight spilled from the east, illuminating the painting. It depicted a woman standing under the moonlight, serene yet melancholic. This painting was Qin Mu's own handiwork.

Qin Mu rolled up the painting, silently tucked it into his Taotie bag, and looked back at the Peach Forest. "Moon Celestial Venerable, we shall meet again."

Yan'er flitted around in the Peach Forest, then suddenly transformed into an Azure Lark and soared away. A moment later, the Azure Lark flew back to Qin Mu and the blind man, landing and transforming back into Yan'er. With a mournful face, she wailed, "I can't go back! Her Ladyship doesn't want me anymore!"

Qin Mu chuckled, "Since that's the case, Sister Yan'er, why don't you come with us to the mortal world for a while?"

Yan'er's eyes lit up, and with a flip of her hand, she produced a peach.

The blind man immediately fled in a panic, running far away and calling out, "Mu'er, I can't take any more! You enjoy it slowly!"