The Embroideress Is Here Again

Although the Zixiao Palace was unparalleled in its luxury and was a Connate Spirit Treasure with astonishing defensive power, it was like a bottomless pit, swallowing massive amounts of supreme-grade spirit stones every second it operated.

Even though he had just extorted a massive fortune from Wu Lingxiao, Ye Xuan's miserly personality of only taking in and never giving out absolutely would not allow such extravagance and waste.

With a grand wave of his hand, the towering Zixiao Palace rapidly shrank, transforming into a streak of light that burrowed into his glabella.

Taking its place was a luxurious flying boat entirely crafted from ten-thousand-year-old agarwood, inlaid with countless mermaid tears and stardust sand.

This flying boat was named the Emperor's Ark, and it was also one of the good items stored within his Nine Dragons Sovereign Ring. Although not as domineering as the Zixiao Palace, it won out in comfort, extravagance, and saving spirit stones.

The interior of the flying boat was extremely luxurious.

At this moment, Ye Xuan was lying lazily on a soft couch covered in snow fox fur. Holding a cup of spirit wine, he looked through the porthole at the vast sea of clouds passing by below.

Ying'er knelt obediently to the side, peeling spirit fruits for him, her small face written full of worry.

"Master..."

Ying'er spoke cautiously, "This is the Southern Province. I heard that the Southern Province is the territory of the demonic Heavenly Fiend Sect. The people here kill without blinking and eat people without spitting out their bones. Master, although you are at the late Golden Core stage, Nascent Soul cultivators are everywhere here. Aren't we being a bit too high-profile?"

Hearing this, a playful smile curled the corners of Ye Xuan's mouth.

He reached out and gently pinched Ying'er's slightly chubby cheeks, laughing,

"Silly girl, being high-profile is exactly what we want."

"If we aren't high-profile, how can we lure the snake out of its hole? If we aren't high-profile, how can certain people logically and coincidentally run into us?"

Ying'er blinked her big eyes, her face blank. "Coincidentally run into us? Who would coincidentally run into us?"

Ye Xuan did not answer directly. Instead, he sat up, downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, and his eyes flashed with a fox-like gleam.

"Ying'er, I'll make a bet with you, do you believe it?"

"What bet?" Ying'er asked curiously.

Ye Xuan stretched out a finger, pointed at the vast wilderness below the flying boat, and said with certainty,

"Tomorrow, by tomorrow morning at the latest."

"There will be an extra embroidery maiden on our flying boat."

Upon hearing this, Ying'er shook her head like a rattle-drum, her face full of disbelief.

"An embroidery maiden? How is that possible!"

"Master, please stop joking. This is the Southern Province, the territory of demonic cultivators! Mortals can't survive here for more than three days. Where would an embroidery maiden come from in this deserted wilderness? Even if there were one, she would have long been caught by demonic cultivators to refine her soul."

"I don't believe it."

Looking at Ying'er's serious demeanor, Ye Xuan's smile deepened.

He rubbed Ying'er's head and looked faintly into the distance.

"You don't believe it? That's because you don't understand human nature, and you understand that crazy woman even less."

"If she doesn't come, she wouldn't be Wu Lingxiao."

Ye Xuan lay back down on the soft couch, closed his eyes, and a cold smirk of successful calculation hung on his lips.

"I bet she's probably down there arranging the script right now. After all... she's very accustomed to using these old routines from eight hundred years ago."

"Just wait and see, a good show is about to begin."

The next morning.

The sky in the Southern Province was always a hazy gray, permeated with an oppressive bloody hue.

The flying boat was flying smoothly.

Suddenly.

"Help!"

"Is anybody there! Help!"

An extremely shrill woman's cry for help, full of despair and helplessness, pierced through the clouds and clearly entered the flying boat.

Ye Xuan, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes.

He didn't have the slightest annoyance at being woken up; instead, he revealed an as expected smile.

He rolled out of bed, casually draped an outer robe over himself, and walked barefoot onto the deck.

Ying'er also ran out in a panic, "Master! It sounds like someone is crying for help down below!"

The two leaned over the railing and looked down.

On the wasteland below, a classic scene of evil thugs chasing a weak woman was playing out.

A woman wearing coarse linen clothing and carrying a small bundle was stumbling and running through a pile of rocks.

Her hair was disheveled, her face as pale as paper, and her clothes had been torn by thorns in several places, revealing the bloody skin underneath.

And behind her.

Seven or eight demonic cultivators wearing black robes and exuding a bloody aura were riding ferocious bone wolves, chasing her at a leisurely pace.

"Hehehe! Run! Keep running, little lady!"

"Tsk tsk, with this fair skin and tender meat, she'll be perfect to take back as a cultivation cauldron for the Patriarch!"

"Hahaha, let's see how much farther she can run!"

The demonic cultivators let out lewd, maniacal laughter. From time to time, they would shoot out a teasing stream of spiritual energy, deliberately making it explode at the woman's feet, terrifying her into screaming repeatedly, falling to the ground, and then having to get up and keep running.

"This..."

Ying'er was dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief.

"There really... really is a woman?"

"And looking at her attire... she really seems to be an embroidery maiden?"

Ying'er suddenly turned her head to look at her master, her eyes full of worship.

"Master! You are truly divine! How did you know there would be an embroidery maiden being hunted down?"

Ye Xuan leaned against the railing, watching the slightly exaggerated but emotionally spot-on performance below, and secretly commented in his heart:

Hmm, these few extras were well-chosen. They should be outer sect disciples of the Heavenly Fiend Sect; that sleazy attitude is their true nature showing.

As for Wu Lingxiao...

Ye Xuan's gaze fell on the embroidery maiden who had fallen to the ground.

After not seeing her for eight hundred years, her skills in playing the tragic victim have certainly improved.

This falling posture, this desperate look in her eyes, this perfectly applied battle-damage makeup...

Tsk tsk, it's really a pity she didn't go to the mortal realm to be an actress.

"Master! Are we going to save her?" Ying'er couldn't bear it. "She looks so pitiful."

"Save her. Of course we have to save her."

Ye Xuan straightened his collar, his face taking on a compassionate and righteous expression.

"Seeing injustice on the road and drawing one's sword to help is the duty of us cultivators."

"What's more..."

Ye Xuan's lips curled up slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Since the audience is already in place, how can the main character not make an appearance?"

Before his voice had even faded.

Ye Xuan's figure flashed, and like a great white roc, he leaped down from the flying boat!

In mid-air.

He drew out his Sun-Slaying Sword, and the spiritual energy of his late Golden Core stage erupted without reservation.

"Great Luo Limitless Sword Qi!!"

Boom!

Along with a clear and resonant shout.

The originally gloomy sky was instantly illuminated by ten thousand rays of dazzling golden light.

Countless streaks of golden sword qi, like the inverted flow of the Nine Heavens Milky Way, carried a mighty and righteous aura as they blasted down toward the demonic cultivators below with pinpoint accuracy!

"Who is it?"

The Heavenly Fiend Sect demonic cultivators below only felt their scalps tingle. Looking up, they saw a sky full of golden swords falling like rain.

"No!"

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!

There was no suspense whatsoever.

Under Ye Xuan's seemingly gorgeous sword qi, which in reality was just piled up using the power of money, the several Foundation Establishment stage demonic cultivators playing the role of thugs didn't even have time to scream before they were instantly pierced like hedgehogs, exploding into clouds of blood mist.

The smoke and dust scattered.

Ye Xuan, dressed entirely in white and completely spotless, slowly landed in front of the embroidery maiden.

He stood with his back to the sunlight, his posture as straight as a pine. The longsword in his hand pointed diagonally at the ground, its tip still dripping with non-existent blood.

At this moment.

His image was radiant and imposing, like a god descending to the mortal realm.

The embroideress, who had slumped to the ground, slowly raised her head.

Her face, though smeared with dust that could not hide its delicate beauty, was now written with blank shock.

But if you looked closely into the depths of her eyes.

There lay a deeply suppressed, almost maddening obsession and affection.

It was him...

It was really him...

Eight hundred years... my Consort Xuan... once again, you have stood in front of me to protect me.

Wu Lingxiao's heart beat wildly at this moment, threatening to burst from her chest.

Looking at the young man silhouetted against the light, she felt as if she had returned to the past.

Even if you hate me, even if you have forgotten me...

Your instinct is still to protect me.

Consort Xuan... I... have missed you so much.

Wu Lingxiao fought back the urge to throw herself at him and hug him, trying hard to control her facial expressions.

"Young... Young Master..."

Her voice trembled as tears instantly welled up in her eyes. Her pitiful appearance was enough to break any man's heart:

"Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life..."

Ye Xuan turned around, looking down at her from above.

Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar face, a cold sneer flickered across his lips.

"You must have been frightened, Miss."

Ye Xuan reached out his hand, revealing his signature, pure, and harmless smile.

This smile was as clean as a clear mountain spring, without a single trace of impurity.

"This is the territory of demonic cultivators, and it is extremely dangerous."

"Miss, you are all alone and have no cultivation to protect yourself. Why are you here?"

The embroideress looked at the hand extended before her, her heart filled with wild ecstasy.

She carefully placed her hand on his, feeling the long-lost warmth, her body trembling slightly.

"Sob, sob..."

Taking the opportunity, the embroideress began to cry, fabricating the script she had prepared long ago amidst her sobs:

"To answer the Young Master... I was originally an embroideress from a small cultivation family in the Eastern Continent, named Wu Ling..."

"A few days ago, a fiend from the Heavenly Fiend Sect passed by, took a fancy to my young lady, and wiped out my entire clan..."

"I managed to escape in the chaos... and wandered all the way here, homeless..."

"Sob, sob... If the Young Master had not saved me, I am afraid... I am afraid I would have been humiliated to death today..."

These words were spoken with tears and a flawless logic.

Ying'er, who was beside them, also flew down. Hearing this, her sympathy overflowed, and her eyes turned red. "So pitiful... The Heavenly Fiend Sect are truly beasts!"

Listening to this unoriginal story, Ye Xuan felt no ripples in his heart; he even wanted to laugh.

Keep making it up, just keep making it up.

Did you copy this story template from an eight-hundred-year-old script?

But outwardly, he showed a touch of sympathy and pity, letting out a long sigh:

"So you are also a person with a bitter fate."

"Since you are homeless..."

Ye Xuan parted his lips, once again revealing that pure, white-rabbit-like smile that left Wu Lingxiao completely defenseless:

"If you don't mind, Big Sister, you can come with me."

"I happen to need a helper. Since you are an embroideress, your skills must be quite good."

"If you follow me, at the very least, I won't let you be bullied by demonic cultivators again."

Hearing these words.

Wu Lingxiao felt as if countless fireworks had exploded in her mind.

It worked!

He took me in!

He called me Big Sister!

This familiar form of address, this familiar plot development!

Wu Lingxiao trembled with excitement. She quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously:

"Thank you, Young Master! Thank you for taking me in!"

"I am willing to work like a horse or an ox to repay the Young Master's life-saving grace!"

Ye Xuan quickly helped her up and said gently, "Please get up, Big Sister, there is no need for this. My name is Ye Xuan, and this is Ying'er. From now on, we are a family."

"A family..."

These words almost melted Wu Lingxiao's heart.

Looking at her moved appearance, Ye Xuan felt an indescribable sense of relief in his heart.

It's secured.

The strongest bodyguard in the world is now in place.

Even though she is a psychopath, and even though she is very dangerous.

But in this man-eating Southern Continent, what could be safer than carrying around a Half-Step True Immortal Empress?

As long as I don't court death, and as long as I string her along, what does the Heavenly Fiend Sect count for? Even if the Demonic Ancestor came, he would have to kneel before me and sing songs of conquest!

The Imperial Boat pierced through the clouds and mist, sailing smoothly in the sky above the Southern Continent.

Inside the flying boat, the atmosphere was bizarre yet harmonious.

Ye Xuan was still lounging lazily on the soft couch; however, the person serving him had changed from Ying'er to the newly arrived embroideress.

"Young Master, please have some tea."

With lowered eyes, Wu Lingxiao held an exquisitely crafted white jade teacup with both hands and offered it to Ye Xuan.

If one looked closely, they would notice her knuckles were slightly white, a sign that she was trying her utmost to control her strength.

One must know that what she usually held in her hands was either the imperial seal that controlled life and death, or the divine sword that could sever mountains and rivers. Now, making her serve tea and water was simply harder than asking her to single-handedly duel the Ten Great Demonic Venerables.

Don't shake, don't crush the cup, don't use spiritual energy to boil the tea...

Wu Lingxiao silently repeated "I am a mortal" three times in her heart before steadily bringing the teacup to Ye Xuan's lips.

Ye Xuan took the teacup but was in no rush to drink. Instead, he looked at her with a half-smile and sniffed lightly:

"The fragrance of this tea... is quite unique."

Wu Lingxiao's heart tightened.

Was she discovered? The water was Nine Heavens Jade Pool Water she had secretly taken from her storage ring, and the tea leaves were the Ancient Dao Comprehension Tea, which only produced half a kilogram every five thousand years.

To prevent Ye Xuan from noticing that the spiritual energy was too dense, she had specially used a secret technique to seal away ninety-nine percent of its spirituality.

"T-To answer the Young Master." Wu Lingxiao kept her head down, her voice as faint as a mosquito. "This is tea brewed using a rustic method from my hometown. If the Young Master cannot get used to it, I will go change it right away."

"It's fine."

A wicked smirk curled on the corner of Ye Xuan's mouth, and he tilted his head back, draining it in one gulp.

As the tea flowed down his throat, although there was no majestic spiritual energy, an indescribable, crisp sweetness instantly washed over his entire body, and even his divine soul felt a burst of clarity.

What a prodigal woman.

Ye Xuan cursed inwardly, but outwardly he showed an expression of enjoyment. He casually handed the empty cup back to Wu Lingxiao, his fingers accidentally brushing across the back of her hand.

Wu Lingxiao trembled all over and almost dropped the cup.

This momentary touch was like an electric current piercing through her soul.

He touched me...

Consort Xuan touched my hand...

Wu Lingxiao kept her head down, her cheeks instantly flushing red, all the way to the roots of her ears.

She bit her lip hard, desperately suppressing the urge to grab his hand in return, pin him down on the soft couch, and ravage him fiercely.

"Big Sister Ling'er, why is your face so red?"

Ying'er, who was standing nearby, leaned over curiously and reached out to check Wu Lingxiao's forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

A cold light flashed in Wu Lingxiao's eyes.

Take your filthy hands off.

An invisible, utterly terrifying imperial pressure leaked out from her body just a tiny bit at this moment.

Just a tiny bit.

Ying'er, who had originally wanted to touch her, suddenly felt a terror originating from the depths of her soul. The delicate embroideress before her instantly transformed into a primordial ferocious beast ready to devour people.

"Ah!"

Ying'er let out a startled cry in fright, retreating three steps in a row, her small face turning deathly pale.

Ye Xuan's eyelids twitched.

Oh no, this crazy woman is about to blow her cover.

He immediately sat up, pulled Ying'er over, and reprimanded her: "Ying'er, do not be rude. Miss Ling'er has just survived a terrible ordeal and is still very weak. Do not give her a hard time."

After saying that, he turned to look at Wu Lingxiao, his gaze so incredibly tender it seemed as if it could melt:

"Ling'er, if you are tired, go rest on the soft couch over there. There is no need for so many rules when you are with me."

Hearing Ye Xuan defend Ying'er, Wu Lingxiao was already boiling with intense jealousy. She had been just about ready to quietly and cleanly end Ying'er's life.

But the gentle tone in the second half of Ye Xuan's sentence instantly extinguished her fiery rage.

He is concerned about me.

He is afraid that I might overwork myself.

The hostility in Wu Lingxiao's heart dissipated in an instant. She nodded obediently: "Yes, thank you for your thoughtfulness, Young Master."

Watching Wu Lingxiao step aside, Ye Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back.

That was way too intense.

It was practically snatching teeth from a tiger's maw and dancing on a powder keg.

However...

Ye Xuan lay back down. Watching the clouds drift past the window, a playful smirk curled the corners of his lips.

This feeling of ordering around a supreme, high-and-mighty Empress like a lowly maid...

It felt really damn good.