Chao Yangzi was rebuffed but did not get angry. In the days since finding their Honored Master, their Honored Master had spoken to him only a few times, leaving him anxious. Hearing her slightly chiding tone, he suddenly felt relieved.
Chao Yangzi selected a waterway from his memories and led the way. Ju Yin followed, with the Dragon God holding the little white fox behind her, Ji Wuye close behind, followed by Qu Biyao, Tu Yue, the young Wangyou, A You, the water spider couple, and finally the four men: Feng Chu, Qi Mo, Ji Chenmu, and Chao Xiangzi at the very end. Since they were going upstream, the waterway varied in width and narrowness, making it impossible for small boats or wooden skiffs to navigate. Some stretches of water were even parallel to the cave ceiling, requiring them to swim. Fortunately, everyone knew how to swim, so they encountered no trouble.
On the way here, the others had been in their spatial realm, but now it was inconvenient to enter. It was only then they realized how difficult this waterway was. It twisted and turned for a full two hours. Among those present, Qu Biyao and Tu Yue had the lowest cultivation levels. Everyone else had cultivation above the Nascent Soul stage, allowing them to maintain a consistent pace. By this point, Tu Yue and Qu Biyao were thoroughly worn out. This group was simply monstrous. Even the young girl Wangyou, whose cultivation level was indiscernible, was stronger than them. In the end, the Dragon God secretly entered Ju Yin's spatial realm without anyone noticing. As they were about to exit Dushan, the Dragon God Uncle still needed to enter the spatial realm to evade the heavenly laws of the Tianchen Continent.
"Honored Master, we are about to leave the Dushan area!" Chao Yangzi suddenly transmitted to Ju Yin.
"Good, I know," Ju Yin said after a moment of contemplation. She moved beside Qu Biyao and Tu Yue.
"Miss Qu, Young Master Tu, after this waterway, exiting the deep pool will bring us to the Dushan area. This is where we part ways; until we meet again!" Before the two could react, Ju Yin created a small barrier and pushed them into another waterway.
When Qu Biyao and Tu Yue finally reacted, they had fallen into a deep pool and were carried downstream. The barrier protected them from the impact of the current.
A quarter of an hour later, as they surfaced from the water, they found themselves in a river channel downstream from Motu Water, a hundred miles from the source.
"Cousin, are we out?" Qu Biyao was still a bit dazed. The abrupt parting had left her no time to thank Fairy Ye for treating her cousin.
"Yaoyao, we are out. This is the downstream of Motu Water. Look, we even came to this river channel when we were little!" Tu Yue immediately surveyed their surroundings. Seeing the familiar scenery, he was immensely relieved. They were truly out. Tu Yue thought of something and took out a communication talisman from his storage ring. His people were still waiting at their original location; he had to send a message quickly.
After Ju Yin sent Qu Biyao and Tu Yue away, she also breathed a sigh of relief. Upon exiting through another exit, they immediately entered the spatial realm.
"Fairy, you've finally returned." Steward Zhu of the spatial realm saw Ju Yin and her companions appear and let out a sigh of relief. During this time, they had no idea what was happening outside and were very worried. To prevent Qu Biyao and Tu Yue from noticing, Ju Yin had not contacted Steward Zhu for two to three days. For Steward Zhu, with the different flow of time in the spatial realm, nearly a month had passed.
"Steward Zhu, I apologize for making you worry. Bring out some delicious food; I'm starving!" Ju Yin and her companions were accustomed to three meals a day. It was already evening outside, and they were ravenously hungry.
"Yes, yes, I'll bring it right up," Madam Zhu replied earnestly. Accustomed to the liveliness, she had lost her spirits without seeing the fairies for a month. She quickly went to the kitchen to prepare food. Steward Zhu and Zhu An also went to help with smiles.
Chao Xiangzi, who had entered briefly last time, had not had a chance to look around. Now, he wanted to explore.
"Honored Master, I'd like to look around."
"Go ahead, look wherever you please," Ju Yin waved her hand.
"Come, come, Qingyin, I'll take you around. My small building is just ahead. How about it? There are still several empty ones; you can choose a place too. These were all built by the Honored Master for us Seven Star Guards," Feng Chu said flirtatiously, slinging an arm around Chao Xiangzi's shoulders in a smug tone.
"Honored Master, can I choose as well?" Chao Xiangzi was a bit surprised.
"Of course, first come, first served, choose whatever you like!" Ju Yin's gaze was calm. She had long since let go of the matter concerning A You. Only Qingyin still harbored resentment!
"Yes, Honored Master!" Chao Xiangzi suddenly broke into a wide smile. It turned out the Honored Master had never truly held it against him. Even the small building prepared had a spot for him!
"Wait for me, I need to go back and sleep for three days and three nights too!" Ji Chenmu chased after Feng Chu and the other. His residence was next to Feng Chu's small building. He and Young Master Feng Chu had such a good relationship that it stemmed from their proximity, a revolutionary friendship! Since recognizing his brother, several more small buildings had been built in the spatial realm, all designed according to personal preferences.
"You pig, sleeping for so long? Truly the Honored Master's brother, you all love sleeping so much!" Feng Chu's voice came back teasingly.
"Hey, when did I say my sister was a pig? I was talking about you, why are you yelling so loudly?" Feng Chu seemed to stuff Ji Chenmu's mouth, and only muffled sounds could be heard from afar.
"It's so nice, it's become lively again as soon as you returned!" Steward Zhu watched the people bickering in the distance with a smile.
"Come, Old Zhu, have a couple of drinks with me. This is good wine I just managed to get from Little Ju Yin," the Dragon God said, placing his darling daughter in her room before appearing on the rooftop.
"Lord Dragon God, is it that ten-thousand-year-old ginseng wine that Fairy treasures the most?" Steward Zhu was overjoyed. He had also been craving that wine for a long time.
"Of course, come, come, drinking alone is boring. I'll share a couple of cups with you," the Dragon God landed gracefully in the pavilion in the courtyard.
"How about three cups? My cultivation has increased, so I can handle three cups now!" Steward Zhu bargained verbally, but his body obediently moved forward.
Ju Yin looked speechlessly at the two discussing her spiritual wine in front of her. Next time she got something good, she would have to hide it more carefully.
Chao Yangzi looked at Lord Dragon God and Steward Zhu in the distance with envy in his eyes. He could smell the wine too; he wanted to drink it!
"Here, for you. This is the last pot." Ju Yin took out a purple bamboo pot weighing about a pound. It was indeed not much left. This spiritual wine had excellent medicinal effects and a long-lasting taste. It was brewed using modern Chinese distillation methods and had a very high alcohol content, the same as Chinese Wuliangye. Drinking it not only increased cultivation but could almost bring the dead back to life. This was brewed with the upgraded spiritual spring. People here had never encountered such potent spiritual wine. As soon as it was brewed, it almost made Uncle Long and Steward Zhu drool.
"Since you're giving it to me, I'll reluctantly accept it," Chao Yangzi coughed dryly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Ju Yin rolled her eyes, truly a stubborn mule!
"Don't make it difficult, you don't want it?" Ju Yin made a move to take it back.
Chao Yangzi immediately put it away. How could he let her take it back? His craving for wine had been awakened.
"Cough! Cough! Sister~~" Ji Wuye appeared behind them at some point.
Ju Yin...
She was too careless. How could she forget that her brother was also a wine lover...