The Daoist Seal Chapter 21

The Old Spinster's Jade Pendant

G.o.ds! Jiang Xiaofan swore at Heaven. I didn't do this on purpose! How was I supposed to know that there was a girl in the spring? If I knew, then I'd…. Um, I would…. probably not go near there?

Jiang Xiang wasn't sure of himself, but then he grew indignant as he thought about it more. That girl was otherworldly beautiful; therefore, even a morally adamant man like him was enticed by her. It was no wonder why people used to say that "Becoming an amorous ghost is worth it if it means being able to die under a peony."[1]

"Argh! Ptooey!"

He ground his teeth and repeatedly muttered, "Form is emptiness."[2] What was currently at stake was escaping for his life. That girl behind me is beautiful, for sure. There's nothing to nitpick about but f.u.c.k! She's too scary! Her cultivation level is at least at Phantom Saint.

How could he afford to offend someone at that level? If he was caught, his life would probably have been over.

Sounds of *zaa zaa* resonated throughout the area. Disaster struck as snow flurried down and the atmosphere grew frigid. The trees and plants, once full of spiritual qi, were currently covered in layers of frost, which then shattered into ice chips.

The air above his head chilled. Without any further thinking, he dove into the cl.u.s.ter of rocks before him. With a radiant flash of the bra.s.s piece, his qi was instantly concealed.

Behind him was another piercing cry, frightening Jiang Xiaofan so much that he held his breath.

Jiang Xiaofan had always snarked at the saying, "There must be injustice when snow falls in June." Snow is a natural phenomenon. What the h.e.l.l does it have to do with injustice?!

However, he now faithfully believed it. He really had been wronged! What he faced was even more deplorable than what Dou E[3] had gone through.

Standing by the side of the spring, the girl had already dressed. She was tall and lithe, just like a water lily. She had fair skin, translucent like jade, and possessed an ethereal demeanor. However, her expression was icy with an obvious hint of anger.

The girl was shocked that she had lost trace of Jiang Xiaofan's aura. Her cultivation was at the eighth heaven of Phantom Saint. How could she have lost track of a Micro Realm cultivator and especially under her own nose?! It baffled her as to how she was unable to sense any presence of his qi.

Even so, the girl didn't leave immediately. Fury raged inside her, and not long after, a radiating ice sword formed in her hand. She hacked at her surroundings. Gra.s.s flew everywhere, and trees were severed. It seemed as if she would stop at nothing in order to find Jiang Xiaofan.

Jiang Xiaofan grew even more nervous. The girl was not far away from where he was hiding. He wondered if he should go out and apologize to her, but the moment he peeped through a small crack in the rock and saw her stone-cold expression, he immediately rejected the thought.

Wherever the girl walked, the "goose marked its territory."[4] Whatever appeared in her sight could not escape fate, and they were instantly destroyed.

Staring at the ice sword inching closer, cold beads of sweat formed on Jiang Xiaofan's forehead. He inwardly prayed to every single G.o.d and Buddha out there, even the Virgin Mary, for his safety.

He didn't know whether it was his sincerity that had touched the G.o.ds and Buddhas, or the Virgin Mary who had bestowed upon him her grace. A familiar, melodic voice from afar echoed into this quiet, little place.

"Sister Bingxin, what's wrong? What happened here?"

It was Ye Yuanxue, and behind her was Ye Qiuyu. The two of them looked perplexed as they surveyed the environment.

Upon hearing her sweet voice and seeing her, tears welled up in Jiang Xiaofan's eyes and streamed down his face. He suddenly remembered a verse by Brother Qiji. "Among the thousands of others, I search for her presence everywhere time and time again. I suddenly turn around and see her underneath the stillness of the dim lights."[5]

"Xiao Xue'er!"

Before the girl could open her mouth, Jiang Xiaofan jumped out, charged ahead, and stopped in front of Ye Yuanxue. If Ye Qiuyu wasn't here, he would give Ye Yuanxue a bear hug and then tell her of his woes. This time, he had greatly suffered from this terrible misfortune.

"You lecher!"

The scene this time was a different one. Without time for Ye Yuanxue and Ye Qiuyu to respond, the enraged Bingxin sliced at Jiang Xiaofan with her ice sword. In an instant, the temperature of the surroundings dropped several more degrees.

The power of a Phantom Saint cultivator was no joke; it was very terrifying. In fact, if not for the peerless techniques in the Buddhist Sutra, Jiang Xiaofan would've already been cleaved in half by her strike.

Bingxin and Ye Qiuyu were astonished. They had never imagined that Jiang Xiaofan's agility would be this fast.

Even though Bingxin hadn't used her full strength, her cultivation level, nevertheless, was at Phantom Saint. With her capabilities, she could easily overpower a mere Micro Realm cultivator. Yet, Jiang Xiaofan was able to dodge her attack!

However, once they saw where Jiang Xiaofan had landed after dodging, their expressions drastically changed, especially Ye Yuanxue's. She gazed at Jiang Xiaofan with a certain deep feeling etched in her eyes. As for Bingxin, she glared at Jiang Xiaofan with disdain.

"Look here. It's just a misunderstanding. A really big misunderstanding!"

He blushed after realizing where he had dodged to. He cleared his throat and walked out from behind Ye Yuanxue. Currently, he really felt like dying. d.a.m.n it! I'm a man! How could I cower behind a girl?!

Heaven didn't pity him. Jiang Xiaofan now felt he had been even more wronged. He only wanted to dodge the ice sword. Out of instinct, he didn't think about the direction that he was dodging towards. Once he had stopped and realized where he was, he was already behind Ye Yuanxue.

"Sister Bingxin, why do you call Perverted Wolf a lecher?" asked Ye Yuanxue as she eyed Jiang Xiaofan.

Jiang Xiaofan really wanted to vomit blood and roll his eyes. Is there even a difference between perverted wolf and lecher? Still, he pondered. Alright, fine. Lecher seems to be one step worse than a perverted wolf.

Bingxin's face darkened as she narrowed her eyes at Jiang Xiaofan. Because Ye Yuanxue had asked, she couldn't help but think of the incident from earlier. Bingxin's delicate face flushed crimson, and she bit down on her lips. Her grip on the ice sword tightened.

"Bingxin, what's wrong?" Ye Yuanxue softly asked her.

"Nothing!"

Bingxin clenched her jaw. Her expression had completely frosted over. She looked at Jiang Xiaofan with murder in her eyes. How could she tell Ye Qiuyu that Jiang Xiaofan had seen her exposed body? It was too shameful!

Jiang Xiaofan was giddy with joy. This was exactly what he had wagered on. He had guessed that Bingxin wouldn't disclose what had happened, and this was also the reason why he had dared to reveal himself. He wasn't dumb. After all, he had just seen a genius Phantom Saint female cultivator naked. She would definitely be livid from shame and wish upon him a grisly death.

At the same time, Jiang Xiaofan also knew that a genius such as herself wouldn't willingly mention such a shameful incident to her peers. In addition, it seemed as if Bingxin and the Ye sisters were on good terms and almost like best friends. Therefore, she wouldn't make a move on him in front of them. After all, he and the Ye sisters had a friendly relations.h.i.+p.

To his expectations, Jiang Xiaofan had bet correctly!

Ye Qiuyu eyed Bingxin suspiciously and then looked at Jiang Xiaofan. She asked, "Why are you here?"

After speaking, Ye Qiuyu then thought of another matter. The gaze in her eyes was strange. She examined him from head to toe. "The one who ate the legendary gall of an immortal wouldn't be you, right?"

"Er…."

Jiang Xiaofan knew what Ye Qiuyu was referring to. Embarra.s.sed, he blushed. He was left with no choice but to recall the entire ordeal.

Ye Qiuyu was speechless. She poked Ye Yuanxue's forehead and admonished her, "You! What a ruckus! How can the Heavenly Maiden Peak allow a man to enter its grounds? I can't believe that you told Jiang Gongzi to meet up with you at the House of Yiya!"

"Hehe, I forgot."

In front of her elder sister, Ye Yuanxue acted meekly. Feeling awkward, she playfully stuck out her tongue. She hadn't given much thought to it when she told Jiang Xiaofan to come to find her.

The Heavenly Maiden Peak had always forbidden men from entering. This was the rule laid down by the peak's first-generation leader. Without the permission of the leader, even someone with the status of an elder could not step on the grounds of the Heavenly Maiden Peak. Otherwise, they would lose their precious member and be expelled from the Emperor's Heaven Sect.

Due to what Ye Qiuyu had said, Jiang Xiaofan was again drenched in cold. s.h.i.+t! This is the thing that I need for proliferating future generations! He peered down at his crotch and subconsciously held his legs tightly.

f.u.c.k! The first-generation leader had to be a wicked witch! If not that, then she had to be a thousand-year-old spinster, and one whom men abhorred.

Jiang Xiaofan mercilessly cursed at her. He thought to himself that from now on, he would never come in contact with anything that was related to that old spinster. Wherever she had walked, he would not step foot on, or else he would be forever ill-fated.

Of course, the girls didn't know what thoughts were currently running through Jiang Xiaofan's mind. Ye Yuanxue giggled as she looked at him, and occasionally tugged his earlobe and pulled his hair as if it was very entertaining. Bingxin maintained her frosty expression while repeatedly clutching her ice sword and loosening the hold in her hands. On the other hand, Ye Qiuyu furrowed her brows, seemingly contemplating something.

Ye Qiuyu's status among the Heavenly Maiden Peak's disciples was unusual. She was the only core disciple on the peak. Her cultivation was extremely formidable, and her innate talent was extraordinary. As a result, she was greatly valued by the leader of the peak.

Because of his relations.h.i.+p with her sister in addition to him giving her several stalks of Immortal Spirit Root, Ye Qiuyu had to help Jiang Xiaofan out of this predicament.

With discretion, Ye Qiuyu took out a jade pendant and handed it to Jiang Xiaofan. In a serious tone, she remarked, "Please take good care of this jade pendant. Carry it with you at all times, and you will be able to freely enter and exit the Heavenly Maiden Peak. The other sisters will no longer trouble you."

The jade pendant was a white nephrite with a slight, dark-yellow hue. Jiang Xiaofan placed it in his pocket and continuously thanked her.

Watching Ye Qiuyu take out the jade pendant, Bingxin's expression changed from stone-cold to bewilderment for a brief moment, but she soon recovered her icy temperament.

Jiang Xiaofan walked with Ye Yuanxue side by side as the four of them headed to the House of Yiya. The Heavenly Maiden Peak's disciples were still relentlessly searching for the intruder who had eaten the legendary gall of an immortal. Consequently, Ye Qiuyu had to take charge and resolve the issue by explaining meticulously to the disciples.

Following along, Jiang Xiaofan pulled out his jade pendant and waved it in front of the numerous disciples. He didn't know what this thing exactly was, so he felt more or less perturbed.

"That's the…."

They were stupefied as they looked at the object in his hand with widened eyes.

"Why didn't you take it out before?!"

One of the girls asked him and warily looked at Jiang Xiaofan.

Jiang Xiaofan glanced back at her. He remembered that the one asking him was one of the two girls at the base of the mountain from yesterday. Immediately, he felt too embarra.s.sed at the situation, so he replied, "Um, I forgot. Everyone, I am deeply sorry. Heh…. Heh heh…."

Since the person before her displayed decent manners and was holding the token, all the girls snorted *hmph*, curtsied to Ye Qiuyu, and dispersed. Among them was the middle-aged Realm of Dust female whom Jiang Xiaofan had seen earlier.

This surprised him. Ye Qiuyu's status as a core disciple was indeed special!

"Oh yeah, s.h.i.+jie, next time when I come to the Heavenly Maiden Peak, you girls won't stop me, right?"

Jiang Xiaofan was somewhat worried. He needed confirmation, so he asked the female disciple who was standing guard beside the gate.

"You're holding the first-generation leader's token! Who will dare to stop you?!" Disgruntled, she turned to leave.

Jiang Xiaofan was stunned. Afterward, the feeling of wanting to curse again welled up inside him. It took him great effort to not throw the pendant away. Previously, he had unforgivingly questioned the intentions of the peak's first-generation leader, and now to his dismay, he was using that old spinster's token as a lifesaver!

Editor: Vis

Footnotes

^ rough translation of a verse from a Yuan Dynasty song (醉西施) ^ Heart Sutra ^ A Yuan Dynasty play about how Dou E, a child bride turned widow, had been framed by a corrupt official for actions perpetrated by a rejected suitor. She was executed, and there were three prophecies to justify her innocence: raining blood, June snowstorm, and a three-year drought. ^ When a goose flies over an area, it honks to let others know that it has pa.s.sed by this area. ^ rough translation of a poem (青玉案·元夕) by Xin Qiji, a Southern Song Dynasty poet and military leader