Chapter 10: Spring Dream Without a Trace

Qi Xuansu hadn't slept so deeply and comfortably for a long time.

He had a long and beautiful dream. There were no dark mountains, no strange shadows, and no things that made him confused.

There was only a journey, with long grass and flying warblers, the sun was bright, the east wind was strong, and it was the season of pear blossoms.

The white brocade was fragrant without patterns, and the jade trees and buds were piled with snow.

On both sides of the road were pear blossoms in full bloom, mixed with gorgeous peach blossoms, and the faces of people and peach blossoms were red.

The two walked in no hurry, and didn't care where they were going, they just walked together.

It seemed that they would walk until the end of time.

But suddenly, the wind and clouds changed suddenly, and a line of darkness quickly spread from the end of the sky. The dark clouds pressed down the city, the wind and rain fell, and the violent wind and rain swept down countless peach and pear blossoms.

Between sleep and wakefulness, Qi Xuansu vaguely heard a lot of thunder, wind, and rain.

Although the sound of rain is good for falling asleep, Qi Xuansu still woke up slowly from a good sleep amid the rumbling thunder and fierce rain.

The first thing that caught his eye was the white gauze curtain.

Then he found himself lying on an eight-step bed, which was similar to a small square house, with curtains on three sides, leaving only one side for entry and exit.

Qi Xuansu was stunned for a moment, and soon recalled that he and Zhang Yuelu said they had a long talk last night, but in fact they were drinking together. In the end, no one could resist the aftereffects of "drunkenness and dreaming of death", and they passed out together.

But he remembered that they should have been on a bench at that time.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu turned his head and looked outside the bed.

This was obviously a bedroom, so there were no bookshelves, desks, etc., nor tables and chairs for entertaining guests. Instead, there was a matching dressing table and a black ebony carved lattice cabinet, as well as a small round table and two embroidered cushions, and a set of purple clay tea sets on the table. Then there was a small room separated by a screen, on which were written mountains, rivers, plants, and poems by Taoist masters.

At this time, a woman was sitting in front of the dressing table, with her long black hair still loose and unrestrained, with her back facing Qi Xuansu.

This woman was none other than Zhang Yuelu.

Judging from the situation, it was probably Zhang Yuelu who moved Qi Xuansu from the bench outside to the bed. After all, Zhang Yuelu was only one step away from the heavenly realm, and he sobered up earlier.

Zhang Yuelu was staring at himself in the mirror, and when he heard a voice from behind, he turned his head and looked at Qi Xuansu: "Tianyuan, you're awake."

Qi Xuansu said "hmm" in a low voice and asked: "How long have I slept?"

Zhang Yuelu glanced at his pocket watch and replied: "About six hours."

Qi Xuansu sat up and found that in addition to his shoes, his outer robe had also been taken off, leaving only his inner clothes.

As for why Qi Xuansu had to wear two pieces of inner and outer clothes in the hot summer weather, it can only be said that after reaching the stage of returning to the true nature, he was no longer afraid of the heat.

It is said that the gods are immune to cold and heat, but the changes brought about by realm cultivation are not sudden changes that are as fast as thunder and lightning, but gradual accumulation. The return to the true stage has already achieved some divine powers. As long as it is not extreme weather that can kill people, ordinary changes in temperature are nothing.

This is like two people drinking "drunk and dreaming". In name, it is a wine that only gods can drink, but they can also drink it in the return to the true stage, but they get drunk faster and take longer to sober up.

In addition, the atmosphere of Taoism is like this. The influence of the five generations of great masters has continued to this day. People in Taoism always have to be dignified and even meticulous.

Qi Xuansu sighed, "It's worthy of the name 'drunkenness and dreaming death'. I haven't slept so comfortably in a long time. How about you? How long did you sleep?"

Zhang Yuelu turned around and faced Qi Xuansu, saying with a straight face, "About four hours. You made me miss the deputy hall master's meeting today."

Qi Xuansu was stunned and said cautiously, "Doesn't that mean that our affairs have been made public?"

Zhang Yuelu stared at Qi Xuansu and said, "Why do I feel that you are a little happy?"

"Really?" Qi Xuansu looked innocent.

Zhang Yuelu still stared at him.

Just when Qi Xuansu was feeling a little uneasy, Zhang Yuelu suddenly smiled: "There is no deputy hall master meeting. The day before yesterday, Master Lei had already explained that these days we will mainly look at the case files separately."

Speaking of this, Zhang Yuelu suddenly reacted: "Master Lei didn't tell you in advance, did he?"

Qi Xuansu would never admit it, and waved his hand and said: "Who am I? How can I be qualified to let Master Lei spend time on me? It should be just a coincidence."

Zhang Yuelu also felt that Qi Xuansu was unlikely to have such a big face, so he didn't pursue it further. He turned around and picked up the comb and said: "Don't bother me."

Qi Xuansu got up from the bed, put on his shoes, put on a middle coat, pushed open a window, and the strong wind outside immediately blew in with heavy humidity.

The summer weather is like a child's face, changing at any time. The moonlight was fine last night, but today it was pouring rain, with wind, rain and thunder, and the sound was fierce.

Zhang Yuelu was about to comb her hair when the strong wind blew her hair into a mess, immediately covering her face. She couldn't help but say, "Tianyuan, you want to go against me, right?"

Qi Xuansu quickly closed the window, looked around, saw her outer robe and belt hanging on the screen, and went behind the screen.

When Qi Xuansu came out from behind the screen again, she had already put on her outer robe and was tying her belt. Zhang Yuelu also simply tied her loose black hair into a bun and prepared to pin it with a hairpin. After all, she was not a married woman, so there was no need to use a complicated bun, and it was relatively simple to take care of.

Just then, Mu Jin pushed the door open and saw the scene in front of her. She was stunned.

Because Zhang Yuelu has been living alone, she often stayed up all night in the past few days. Even if she was tired, she would just take a short nap on the chair. Therefore, as Zhang Yuelu's personal secretary, Mu Jin also took the responsibility of taking care of Zhang Yuelu's daily life and could enter and leave Zhang Yuelu's residence freely.

Mu Jin came to Zhang Yuelu's residence as usual today, entered the outer room, and found that Zhang Yuelu was not here, so she went into the inner room again.

As a result, she saw this scene.

Qi Xuansu was tying a belt and Zhang Yuelu was combing her hair.

No matter how you look at it, it looks like the two had just woken up.

If the two were husband and wife, it would be fine, but the key is that they are not husband and wife.

And Qi Xuansu did spend the night here and did just wake up.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were also stunned. They were still immersed in the joy of reunion after a long separation. They were relaxed, and with the cover of heavy rain, they did not notice Mu Jin's arrival.

The air was filled with awkwardness.

Mu Jin looked at Zhang Yuelu holding the hairpin, and then looked at Qi Xuansu who was pressing his belt, and murmured: "I thought I saw it wrong, but it turned out to be true."

Qi Xuansu reacted, hurriedly tied his belt, and coughed lightly: "Long time no see."

Mu Jin couldn't help asking: "You, are you a human or a ghost?"

"Of course I'm a human." Qi Xuansu said, "I'm not dead, I'm back now."

Mu Jin took a step back and almost hit the door: "Then, then you last night..."

Qi Xuansu didn't know how to answer.

He didn't care much about how others looked at him, and he didn't have much reputation, but he couldn't help but consider Zhang Yuelu's reputation. If it spread out, it would be a bit like a done deal for him, and he wouldn't lose anything. But what he wanted was to marry Zhang Yuelu in an upright manner, and he disdained to be tied to Zhang Yuelu through such a despicable means. In addition, there are many people who dislike Zhang Yuelu now. If someone makes a big fuss about this matter, it will be very detrimental to Zhang Yuelu's future.

After all, the Taoist atmosphere tends to be conservative, and the relationship between men and women is a double-edged sword in the Taoist sect, and it can hurt oneself if you are not careful.

Zhang Yuelu also reacted, although he was shocked, he was not confused, and he had the style of a general. He inserted the hairpin in his hand and said calmly: "Tianyuan has been away for nearly half a year, and many things have happened during this period, so we had a long talk all night."

Mu Jin's face was full of disbelief.

Talking all night, and the result was talking about bed?

I had long thought that he was such a Qi Xuansu, but I didn't expect you to be such a Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu secretly regretted that if he had known, he would not let Qi Xuansu sleep in bed. Even if she didn't want to let Qi Xuansu sleep on the bench, why did she help him take off his outer robe and belt? With his warrior physique, would he be tired if he slept with his clothes on all night?

She thought nothing had happened between them and she had a clear conscience, but now it seems that people's words are scary.

Miscalculated.

Zhang Yuelu had to change the subject: "What's the matter?"

Mu Jin took a deep breath to calm down, then took out a formal letter and handed it to Zhang Yuelu, saying: "A letter from the head of the hall."