All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 182: Meaning in the Painting

Feeling the dense earth vein energy converging on the golden cauldron, Huang Xueqing’s eyes widened, “Is this the legendary Earth Mother Golden Cauldron?”

“You guessed right. Using this to refine pills has excellent results,” Zhanyue smiled, finally feeling a sense of triumph, and letting this woman see some real power, hoping she would show more respect.

Huang Xueqing’s gaze couldn’t move away from the Earth Mother Golden Cauldron. As an alchemist, she knew well how formidable this object was.

“Um… Your Highness Divine Son, in the future, could I borrow this alchemy furnace to refine pills?” Huang Xueqing’s tone became more polite.

“Well, that depends on my mood. If I’m in a good mood, naturally I could agree,” Zhanyue said.

“Mood?” Huang Xueqing looked deeply at Zhanyue. “You’re not thinking of taking advantage of me, are you? I guess I didn’t misjudge you. Her Highness the Holy Maiden, Sister Baizhi, and that little Nangong Weilai are all rare beauties. You fellow, you’re not eyeing me too, are you?” Huang Xueqing’s blunt words made Zhanyue feel awkward, especially with Baizhi watching nearby.

“Uh…” Zhanyue was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing his reaction, Huang Xueqing laughed again, “A guy with desires but no courage. I’m not so easily moved. If you have the ability to cure my ailment, I might consider it. By the way, I do have something I need your help with. After the Heaven Book Trial ends, could you come to Green Crane Valley? Thinking about it, you seem to be the most suitable. After all, I know very few men, even fewer that I don’t dislike, who also have considerable strength and alchemy skills, and more importantly, who can be trusted. Thinking it over, only you are left. As long as you help me, Green Crane Valley won’t treat you poorly. We’ll help you find all the precious medicinal materials you need for alchemy.”

Seeing Huang Xueqing’s serious expression, Zhanyue knew she wasn’t joking about the latter part. Alchemy Daoist had also said to establish good relations with Green Crane Valley, so he wouldn’t have to worry about medicinal materials for pill refining in the future. Zhanyue nodded, “Let’s discuss the details after the trial ends.”

After seeing Huang Xueqing off, Baizhi inevitably started to question, her eyes fixed tightly on Zhanyue. “You really don’t have anything going on with her?”

“No…” Zhanyue answered.

Baizhi nodded. Zhanyue and Huang Xueqing’s relationship shouldn’t be deep, otherwise they wouldn’t talk like that, completely like a transaction. Her rival Holy Maiden Lixi was already hard enough to deal with, and now with the emergence of a top-tier threat like Huang Xueqing, Baizhi felt immense pressure. This guy, was he really that likable?

Meanwhile, after Huang Xueqing left Zhanyue’s courtyard, she encountered Yunyao in a nearby shaded path, that beautiful and freezing moving ice mountain.

“You… you just came from the Divine Son’s place?” Yunyao asked proactively.

Huang Xueqing nodded.

“You stayed there all night?” Yunyao hadn’t expected Huang Xueqing to come out after so long. She had been waiting for a long time.

“Don’t tell me you waited outside all night too,” Huang Xueqing said, exasperated. This woman was really persistent.

Yunyao nodded, “How did you get in?”

“Oh, so you waited all this time just to ask that. It’s simple. I told the guard I was the Divine Son’s woman. He believed it and didn’t dare stop me, so I went in,” Huang Xueqing said honestly, curiously observing Yunyao.

“This…” Yunyao was very troubled for a moment. “You’ve actually only known him for a short time too. This is some kind of scheme, right?”

Huang Xueqing nodded again.

Watching Yunyao’s retreating figure, Huang Xueqing showed a curious expression.

Soon after, that white silhouette appeared again outside Zhanyue’s courtyard gate. Yunyao had come for the third time.

“Yunyao requests to see His Highness the Divine Son,” Yunyao said to the guard.

The guard, looking at such a beautiful woman, although reluctant, still refused, saying His Highness the Divine Son had said not to see any outside guests.

“Well… I am… Are you really not letting me in?” Yunyao said wretchedly, many words she simply couldn’t say out loud.

However, the guard instantly understood! His eyes were full of gossip fire. His Highness the Divine Son was truly heavenly, with so many beautiful women having relationships with him. Since she was the Divine Son’s woman, of course he wouldn’t dare stop her. He wasn’t stupid.

The guard indeed opened the courtyard gate. Yunyao felt it was too embarrassing, lowering her head as she walked in, not forgetting to turn back and warn, “You can’t tell anyone about this! Otherwise~!”

The guard nodded repeatedly. How would he dare spread gossip about these people? That would be seeking death. These secrets were to be kept in his belly. Without this awareness, one couldn’t stand in this position.

After a while, seeing Yunyao walking towards him, Zhanyue was at his wits’ end. How did another one get in? Were these guards not taking his orders seriously?

“How did you get in?” Zhanyue asked, “Not the same as Huang Xueqing, right?”

Yunyao nodded, “Mm.”

“Ah~” Zhanyue sighed deeply, not expecting even an ice mountain like Yunyao to start learning how to lie. “Fine, Miss Yun, I know you’ve tried to see me many times. What exactly is it that makes you have to see me in person? You know, my identity is special. There are too many people who want to see me. I can’t possibly deal with them all, so I simply don’t see anyone.”

“I’m not blaming you,” Yunyao said calmly.

“Tell me, what’s the matter?” Zhanyue also replied calmly.

Yunyao was cold and direct, without any beating around the bush or exchanging pleasantries. She took out a painting, “Since you’re the Goddess’s disciple, you should have seen the Goddess’s appearance, right? Look, is the woman depicted in this painting the Goddess?”

Looking at the scroll in Yunyao’s hand, the painting showed a beautiful woman holding a sword charging towards a strange black mist. That woman could only be the Illumination Goddess, depicted vividly and accurately.

“This… where did you get this painting from?” Zhanyue was very curious. This painting seemed to depict a battle scene between his sister and some unknown creature. Who painted it?

“Is it really the Goddess?” Yunyao asked.

Zhanyue nodded.

Yunyao looked at Zhanyue with a complex expression, seeming to have something to say but then remembering something and not daring to speak. She left with a word of thanks and hurriedly departed.

“This… she just left?” Zhanyue was very puzzled. However, he recalled the painting he had just seen and felt very alarmed, because although the woman in the painting was beautiful, her face was pale, looking exhausted. “Am I overthinking? Since it’s a painting, it must be of past events. Even if sister encountered great danger, it’s all in the past.”

Yunyao, leaving Zhanyue’s courtyard, couldn’t calm her mood. “What should I do? How should I tell him?” Only Yunyao knew that the painting depicted not the past, but the future. As for how she obtained this painting, that was another secret tale.