She is Jianxiu

Chapter 1443 Old Talisman

Si Queyi couldn't figure out her background and didn't know what to do. He could only look around and force a smile, nodding and saying, "It's just a small favor, nothing to mention."

Then he raised his sleeves and invited Zhao Chun to sit down in the room. The maidservant beside him was quite perceptive and recognized that this was the proper etiquette for entertaining guests, so she led Yuezhu to a side room to prepare tea.

With the two of them gone, only Zhao Chun and Si Queyi remained in the main hall. The latter's expression tightened, and he couldn't help but adopt a formal sitting posture, asking with a hint of doubt, "Miss Zhao Chun?"

Zhao Chun understood immediately and replied, "My surname is Zhao."

“Miss Zhao.” Si Queyi’s expression suddenly relaxed considerably. He was used to judging others through the lens of the Qianming Realm, and upon hearing that Zhao Chun had a surname, he immediately formed a calculation, concluding that she was not of slave origin and was certainly no ordinary person in that small grotto-heaven. Therefore, after a moment’s consideration, he introduced himself: “This is the main residence of the Si Que clan in Mianzhou City, Sichuan Province. I am a member of this clan, and my name is Yi.”

"So you are Miss Sique." Zhao Chun bowed slightly and said frankly, "I came from elsewhere and was fortunate to be rescued by you and given a place to stay. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely repay this great kindness."

As she spoke, Zhao Chun had her own thoughts on Si Queyi's performance earlier.

For example, the other party was particularly concerned about their surname, and when protecting their family, they first mentioned the name of the Sique clan. Similarly, the maid Yuezhu, who taught them to read, never mentioned having a surname. This suggests that things like surnames and clans are extremely important, at least within the Sichuan-West region.

When the Sique clan was mentioned, Sique Yi's face showed a sense of pride and satisfaction, which shows that this clan had considerable influence in the local area and was likely a powerful family like the Taiyuan Six Clans.

As a powerful clan, it's impossible for Zhao Chun not to be familiar with the local traditions. If he wants to understand this realm, starting with the Sique clan is a good strategy.

Therefore, he could try to win over the woman in front of him and offer her some benefits so that she would willingly accept him, which would be a way of repaying the kindness of taking him in.

Upon hearing these polite words, Si Queyi immediately waved his hand and said earnestly, "There's no need to repay your kindness. If people from the Lesser Heaven were to discover your identities in the Qianming Realm, your fate would certainly not be good. Now that you've awakened and learned the local language, you should be free to choose whether to stay or leave. However, I must remind you that someone like you, without any literary background, would find it difficult to establish yourself outside. It's best not to act impulsively."

She also said that when she brought Zhao Chun into the city and into the mansion, she arranged for him to be a tutor. If Zhao Chun was willing to stay in this capacity, as long as he was careful, the chances of him being exposed were not high.

Since there was this path to take, Zhao Chun readily agreed. She kept pondering the words "small grotto heaven," "Qianming realm heaven," and "cultural lineage" in her mind. She was also extremely curious and couldn't help but want to learn more about this world and see what this other lineage was really like.

However, Si Queyi had reservations and was quite hesitant about this, saying, "Miss Zhao, the Sichuan-Western Road where my Si Que clan is based, and the Jinlai Kingdom, which governs the thirteen roads above, both practice the most orthodox teachings of the sages. However, each family and clan has different understandings, and the scriptures they pass down are also very different. Currently, within our clan, we read the 'Ren Zang Jing' and interpret the 'Pan Luo Shu'. If you read these scriptures and classics and are inspired by them, you will eventually be considered a member of my Si Que clan."

Seeing Zhao Chun frown, he knew she was reluctant, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, advising, "I see that Miss Zhao has excellent comprehension and can read books in a short time. I think that enlightening your literary talent will not be difficult for you. If you are really interested, you might as well study at an academy. In my Jinlai Kingdom, there is the Gushe Academy, established by the sage, which is one of the four great academies. It adheres to the principle of education for all and does not consider people's background when accepting students."

This was the second time Si Queyi had mentioned the sage. Judging from her tone, it seemed that all the literary traditions in the world led to the teachings of the sage. If this was the lineage of the local people, then the sage was very likely to be a being like the Lord of the Dao.

The sage may be the master of the realm.

Then, when the time is right, we can go and explore the Gushe Academy established by the sage.

However, given the current situation, he hasn't yet figured out what the "cultural lineage" Si Queyi mentioned is, and he only has a superficial understanding of its traditions and systems. His Divine Transformation cultivation seems sufficient, but he doesn't know if he will encounter even more powerful figures in the academy, so he can't rush things.

Let's make sure that the Gushe Academy won't pose a threat to us first!

Zhao Chun nodded secretly, got up and said a few words to Si Queyi, then planned to stay at the Si Que family's main residence for a while under the guise of being a tutor.

Upon returning to the side room, he suddenly remembered something. He immediately reached into his sleeve and pulled out a talisman about half the size of his palm, long and slender, but whose material was unidentifiable.

It was only after learning the script of the Qianming Realm that Zhao Chun suddenly remembered that she seemed to have seen similar characters before, and the source of the characters was a talisman obtained from the root of the demon seed when she removed the demon seed in the Lower Yin Realm!
I didn't recognize the characters before, but now, at a glance, I can immediately understand their meaning.

The talisman had two sides. One side read "Student's Order," and the other side had four characters that, coincidentally, were the four large characters "Gushe Academy"!
"It's actually an identity token."

Zhao Chun gently stroked its surface with her fingertips. Apart from a few uneven spots, she felt only a cool, smooth texture. She remembered that in the memories of the owner of this talisman, the other party had come to the Three Thousand Worlds to spread demonic seeds and find a place for his people to live after being encouraged by Huan Yuan.

However, Huan Yuan only used it. Once he saw that the Demon Seed technique would be broken by the Xuanmen Daoist cultivators, he immediately discarded this pawn without any hesitation.

But what Zhao Chun was concerned about was whether Huan Yuan had also studied at the Gu She Academy back then.

He has an alias called Hu Ming. If he goes to the academy in the future, he can inquire about this name.

After all, Huan Yuan's original intention in vying for the Three Thousand Worlds was to become the master of the Realm Heaven. If he had previously used the Gu She Academy to get close to the Sage, it would be understandable.

"In that case, I must be even more cautious. What if that sage is on the side of Huan Yuan and is unwilling to help my Xuanmen Daoist cultivators..."

Zhao Chun's concerns were not unfounded. Back when Huan Yuan broke through the boundary, there was a strange and powerful demon following behind him. Although it was no match for the Taiyi Relic Sword, even cultivators at the Origin Realm dared not delve into the specific origins of this demon.

If we can uncover the operational details of Huan Yuan in this place, we will surely be able to understand the true secrets of this realm.

Zhao Chun sighed, then her eyes flashed, and she put the talisman into her palm and put it away. A moment later, the door was pushed open halfway, and Yue Zhu squeezed in, winking at Zhao Chun and saying, "Our young lady arrived late, so the courtyard she was assigned isn't big. Lu Zhu and Hua Ying will be staying in the east wing, so I'll be staying in the west wing with you from now on."

Zhao Chun smiled and sighed that she was now living under someone else's roof and had no relatives or friends. She didn't care about this anymore. As for Yuezhu, she was still young and couldn't hide her feelings. She said that she was coming to live with her, but it was probably because Si Queyi didn't trust her, an outsider, so he sent a spy.

Unfortunately, with Zhao Chun's cultivation level, as long as she doesn't encounter someone comparable to a Void Realm expert, she can come and go as she pleases, and no one can stop her.

Si Queyi and her maid Yuezhu were similar in that they had strong spiritual souls but weak physical bodies. They were probably only at the Condensation of Yuan realm, so it was not surprising that their perspectives were limited.

Moon Pearl picked up the bundle and took out a table, a bookshelf, and a row of neatly arranged writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. It could be said that the bundle itself contained some kind of magical power, capable of holding things several times its own size.

However, unlike the hidden world in the sleeves of Taoist cultivators, which can be controlled at will, it is just a bundle or cloth bag, which is ultimately inconvenient.

Seeing Zhao Chun staring at her hands for a long time, she was about to say something when Zhao Chun waved her hand and released a futon. She sat cross-legged on the spot, placed her hands flat on her knees, closed her eyes as if asleep, and gradually subsided her breathing to an unfathomable degree.

Yuezhu found it intriguing and came closer, saying, "So you also have a treasure pouch, sewn onto your body? This one was given to me by the young lady, and Luzhu and Huaying each have one. Ah, Luzhu, you saw it, Huaying wasn't here just now. She went to collect the lessons for the young lady. You don't know, but it was Huaying who picked you up last night."

Boys of this age generally find everything interesting, and once they start talking, they can't stop: "After we get our textbooks back, we each have to copy one. The clan doesn't provide for study companions. There are small classes on the third day and big classes on the tenth day. Girls from collateral branches can only bring one study companion at a time, and even the study companion isn't allowed to go to the big classes."

"I made a promise with Dewdrop and Flower Shadow that we would take turns attending class, one time each, no more and no less."

She wrinkled her nose, somewhat gloating, and said, "Don't even think about it. The girl said you're from out of town, so she absolutely can't take you to the clan school."

Zhao Chun did not react, but simply sat down and regulated her true energy. Yue Zhu, unable to find any enjoyment, also sat down listlessly, repeating over and over about how hard it was to attend class and how difficult the scriptures were to understand. It wasn't until night, when the white moon hung in the sky and Yue Zhu was fast asleep, that Zhao Chun suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the sleeping person.

"Although I have embarked on cultivation, I still need plenty of sleep to replenish my energy... Is it because my cultivation level is not deep enough?"

After thinking it over, a wisp of divine sense passed through the door and, taking advantage of the pale moonlight, wandered around the Sique clan's main residence like ripples.

About half an incense stick later, Zhao Chun withdrew her divine sense and said thoughtfully, "It's just as I thought. There are no great beings in this Sique clan. Although there is a woman whose divine soul is exceptionally strong, far surpassing others, it is only comparable to external manifestation."

Since they pose no threat, we can make good use of them.