Chapter 26: The Brave Girl Who Goes Deep Into the Tiger's Den
Chapter 26: The Brave Girl Who Goes Deep Into the Tiger's Den
When we arrived at the hall of Yunding Tiangong, the atmosphere was completely different from the noisy style that the sisters and brothers from Dongxiuling liked. There was mist floating on the ground here, and the decoration style was grand, simple and elegant. The music coming from somewhere was quiet, soothing, leisurely and floating.
He Lingyun could also distinguish the instruments used in playing this music: they were chimes, dongxiao, and guqin.
Seeing that she was absorbed in listening, the mechanical man Jin Yaoer explained attentively, "This piece of music is 'Tianfu Music'. The music played in Yunding Palace is all pure music that bird-shaped monks like you like. Later, there will be 'Original Scenery of Hometown', 'Castle in the Sky', 'All I Think of Are the Stars', 'The Stars Are Out of Reach', 'Fantasy of Snow', 'Mark of Rain', 'Whisper in Autumn', 'Moonlight on the Waterside', 'Butterfly Lovers', 'Erquan Yingyue', 'Flowers in the South of the City Have Bloomed', 'Yearning Across Time and Space' and many other good songs. Please relax and enjoy the heavenly music."
The music was so beautiful that He Lingyun couldn't help but stop at the door of the hall for a long time and listened to all the song titles that Jin Yaoer reported.
She was so immersed in the wonderful music that she could hardly extricate herself. Every piece of music was of such high standard that "the music lingers in the ears for three days and the taste of meat lasts for three months". Every piece of music seemed to hit the softest part of her heart. Immersed in it, she felt moved and at peace. A faint sense of happiness spread, dispelling the haze in her heart for many days.
She suddenly woke up again, wiped away the tears that had flowed from the corners of her eyes, and couldn't help but sweat running down her neck. She asked the machine man in great surprise: "Are these songs all composed by Senior Brother Wen?"
"Oh, how is that possible? How could a vulgar and ugly guy like Sect Master Wen make such wonderful music? He must have plagiarized it."
The mechanical man laughed and waved his mechanical arm disdainfully, saying, "Fairy Crane, please don't make unfounded associations. It's such a beautiful day, it's disgusting to mention that ugly ghost. You should relax and enjoy the services of Yunding Palace."
He Lingyun breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, but he immediately realized something was wrong. This mechanical man was clearly created by Wen Rui, so why was he belittling his master?
She suddenly realized that whenever this mechanical man mentioned Wen Rui, he would mention the word "ugly" every three sentences, as if he was deliberately spreading certain information and secretly implanting stereotypes into other people's minds.
To be honest, according to He Lingyun's aesthetic taste, Senior Brother Wen, who has an ordinary appearance and is sloppy, is indeed a bit ugly, but not so ugly that he is disgusting to look at.
Besides, if you don’t have good looks, you can make up for it with talent.
Senior Brother Wen's good looks can completely make up for his shortcomings with his talent. If she had not been cheated before, now that she knows that Senior Brother Wen is so talented and has created so many touching and wonderful music, she will probably feel her heart fluttering and develop a hint of affection for him.
The female monk who transformed into a bird is naturally a beauty lover. After all, in nature, male birds rely on beautiful feathers to attract the opposite sex when seeking mates. This is the nature of the species.
Cranes have a natural affinity for modest young men, frail scholars, and vigorous old men. If these people have outstanding talents, it is normal for them to fall in love at first sight.
Except for some female demon cultivators who have transformed into ferocious beasts and prefer muscular men with eight-pack abs, the aesthetic tendencies of most female demon cultivators are similar to He Lingyun's.
When Wen Rui created this mechanical man, it would have been fine if he had not been praised, but he was actually intentionally or unintentionally disparaged and denied. There must be something wrong when things are abnormal, and there must be something fishy about this matter. The words of the mechanical man cannot be trusted!
It said that all the songs were plagiarized by Wen Rui. The library of Lishan Immortal Sect recorded almost all the musical scores since the beginning of the world. How come there was not a single song recorded in the book?
So, if we listen to its words the other way around, all the songs were actually composed by that unprepossessing Senior Brother Wen. But why would he let the mechanical man conceal the secrets and even denigrate them?
He Lingyun silently made another note on the investigation list in his mind and walked into the hall of Yunding Palace with a heavy heart. As expected, he saw many familiar figures in the hall. They were the junior sisters from Caiyun Peak.
The junior sisters were scattered around the hall, tasting the various delicacies placed on the jade tables, squinting their eyes to enjoy the soft and pleasant music. Some of them played chess in their spare time, while others played hydrangea, shuttlecock, and flower cards, all of them having a great time.
The delicacies on the jade table also opened He Lingyun's eyes. There were candied fruits, candies, almonds, walnuts and other unknown dried fruits, fried grains sprinkled with spices, and corn mixed with sesame oil, all of which were the favorite foods of birds.
In addition, there are many fresh fruits, such as apricots, plums, pears, and peaches. In addition to these fruits she has seen, there are some that look familiar but have never been seen before, such as the Artocarpus. The common Artocarpus is obviously very small and sour, but the Artocarpus here is large, plump and round. There are several types, yellow and soft, deep red and crisp, large and sweet, and so on, with different flavors.
For example, the yellow bananas have no banana seeds inside, only soft and sweet taste. There is a kind of red berry, which is dotted on the cream cake and tastes as sweet as honey. There is also the originally bitter desert water melon, which has not only grown several times larger, but also has a red flesh when cut open, and the taste is also juicy, sweet and delicious.
The mechanical man Jin Yaoer introduced at the right time: "What you tasted just now were 'bananas', 'strawberries' and 'watermelons'. Please try 'pineapples', 'dragon fruits' and 'hamamelis'. These are polyploid exotic fruits that have been cultivated for hundreds of years. They are only produced in the Jinling Sect's intelligent hydroponic farm. Although they are not spiritual fruits, they taste excellent."
The drinks provided by Genting Sky Palace are not the yellow wheat juice and clear liquor at wild parties, but various milk teas, milkshakes, fruit wines, and juices. They are soft on the palate and have a mellow aroma. They don’t taste like alcohol, but you will feel a little tipsy if you drink too much.
What is even more special is that there are roasted cicada pupae, bee pupae, bamboo worms, fried cicadas, grasshoppers, water beetles and other insect feasts on the jade table. The sisters from Caiyun Peak treat them as snacks, constantly picking up one or two and throwing them into their mouths, chewing them until they are crispy.
He Lingyun also paid special attention to the pastries and meals provided by Yunding Palace. The agency man Jin Yaoer introduced that there were walnut cakes, jellies, hazelnut chocolate, flower cakes, thousand-layer cakes, etc., but there was no egg yolk pie.
When asked why there is no egg yolk pie, Jin Yaoer also emphasized that the food selection of Tian Shang Ren Jian is very professional and strict, and they will never provide food that causes any discomfort to guests. In addition, she also reminded He Lingyun that there is actually no egg in the ingredients of egg yolk pie, just like there is no wife in wife cake and no husband and wife in husband and wife lung slices.
If she hadn't known that Heaven on Earth was a devil's den, He Lingyun would have lost control and become intoxicated, reluctant to leave. She could only force herself to be strong, resist the corruption of the land of pleasure, and restrain the urge to enjoy herself.
"Hey, isn't this Senior Sister He?" A junior sister saw He Lingyun and asked in surprise, "You didn't come here specially to capture us, did you?"
This sentence attracted the attention of all the birds in the hall. For a moment, He Lingyun became the focus. All the female bird cultivators stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
"No, it's not!" He Lingyun shook his head quickly and said, "I was too hasty. I made a rash conclusion without knowing the truth and pointed fingers at all the sisters. Today, I personally experienced that there is no evil here. Instead, it is a place to rest and relax."
She tried her best to look ashamed, and bowed to all the birds in the hall to apologize: "If Ling Yun has offended you before and made you sisters unhappy, please forgive me."
"It's okay, it seems to be a misunderstanding."
"Sure enough, Sister Crane is different from Sister Luan. I said she is not that kind of bird."
"I knew that if Sister He came in person once, she would definitely change her mind."
"Although I was really angry just now, Sister He has apologized, so Little Crow will forgive you."
"Come and play, Sister He..."
Birds are innocent by nature and don't have many of the complicated thoughts of humans. Seeing that she was willing to admit her mistakes and apologize, they all accepted her with smiles on their faces, pulled her into the flock, tasted delicious food together, and had fun together.
He Lingyun was in very complicated emotions. He was moved by these innocent and kind sisters, but he was also in pain and blamed himself for not being able to reveal Wen Rui's sinister intentions to them and having to watch them being deceived more deeply and sinking into the quagmire.
……
It's time to go home after the song ends. He Lingyun accompanied his fellow sisters to have some fun in Yunding Palace, and then went to experience the full massage and spa in Yaochi Bath City. Then he made an excuse to say goodbye and left the paradise on earth.
After walking out of the gate of Heaven and Earth, she did not fly back to Lishan Immortal Sect, but walked towards the Jinling Sect's cave residence nearby.
At the entrance of the Jinling Sect's cave, a grating of light swept across He Lingyun, and a male voice came from somewhere: "Fairy He has arrived. Please don't blame me for not welcoming you in person. I am Jarvis, the spiritual butler of the Jinling Sect. I heard that the sect master is busy with chores and cannot welcome you in person, so I will receive the fairy."
He Lingyun did not expect that Wen Rui would not come out to greet him personally this time when he came to Jinling Sect like last time. He was stunned and did not know how to respond to the butler who called himself Jarvis.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, the stiff male voice continued, "Fairy He, what is the purpose of coming to the Jinling Sect? If you want to buy our products, please enter the elevator. I will guide you to the self-service shopping hall."
He Lingyun quickly shook his head.
"If you want to sell feathers, blood, claws, eggs, or provide body organ tissue samples in exchange for spirit stones, please enter the elevator and I will guide the fairy to the sample collection station. Friendly reminder: In today's purchase list, bird egg samples have the highest price."
When she heard the word "bird eggs", He Lingyun's pretty face turned red and she shook her head vigorously.
"Can I, can I just go in and take a look?" she asked tentatively.
He Lingyun had previously secretly used the earth escape technique to try to sneak into the underground palace of the Jinling Sect. As expected, the defense array set up under the ground was countless times tighter than that of the Tianshang Renjian Sect. Not to mention that she was a mere Jindan cultivator, even if an immortal came, he might not be able to sneak in without triggering the alarm.
The mechanical voice said coldly: "Dear guest, I am very sorry. For security and confidentiality reasons, this sect is not open to the public. Only specific floors will be open after the visitor's purpose has been confirmed."
He Lingyun bit his lip and said resolutely: "Well, can I meet Senior Brother Wen Ruiwen?"
The mechanical voice paused and said, "The visitor's request exceeds the authority of the functional housekeeper. Please wait and transfer to manual service."
After that, he fell silent. After a while, a light screen suddenly opened above the entrance to Jinling Sect's cave, and Wen Rui's face with messy hair and wine stains on the corners of his mouth appeared on the screen.
His eyes met with the uneasy He Lingyun, and his expression was quite confused. He frowned and said, "Who is she? Jarvis, give me a hint, oh, Sister He."
Then, Wen Rui showed a look of sudden enlightenment: "Is it about renting the Demon-Protecting Sword?"
He waved his hands impatiently at He Lingyun, as if he was chasing a chicken: "Tsk, it's only been a short time, why are you in such a hurry! You can't pick up the sword until you reach the Return to Void Realm, right? Go back and check the rental agreement yourself. According to the agreement, I will not return it in advance. Go away..."
(End of this chapter)