Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 209 She Can't Be Found
High in the sky, the black whirlwind flapped its wings and flew towards the capital of the Central Plains Dynasty.

Chen Ye and Lan Yu sat on the back of Black Whirlwind.

This time, since there wasn't a rush to travel, Black Whirlwind didn't fly at full speed, but Lan Yu still said enviously, "This bird flies really fast."

"Don't you know how to fly on a sword?"

"It won't be that fast, nor can it fly that far. My benefactor, when are you planning to propose marriage to my master at the Qinghe Sword Sect?"

The topic jumped so abruptly that Chen Ye was startled.

After leaving the Qinghe Sword Sect, Lan Yu regained some of her mischievous and clever nature, and started speaking without any respect for others.

Chen Ye, however, showed no embarrassment whatsoever, and instead asked, "You asked your master about this, right? What did she say?"

Lan Yu looked surprised and quickly asked, "How did you know I asked Master?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "I figured it out. I've studied divination."

Lan Yu was no longer the clueless little girl she once was about cultivation. Hearing Chen Ye say that, she stuck out her tongue at him and said, "Liar! Who would bother with such trivial matters?"

Chen Ye hadn't calculated it, but he still teased Lan Yu, saying, "How can this be considered a small matter? Cultivation emphasizes Dharma, companions, wealth, and place. Besides the method of cultivation, the second is the Daoist companion."

Lan Yu retorted, "What kind of saying is that? My master never taught me this... But you're right, I did ask my master, and guess what she answered?"

Seeing the girl's smug look, Chen Ye casually replied, "I don't need to guess, your master must have said 'let nature take its course.'"

This time, Lan Yu was truly shocked, her eyes wide open.

"You didn't actually calculate that, did you?"

This was a question Lan Yu asked Su Chunyi in private; she had never told anyone about such a private topic.

Lan Yu looked like a dumbfounded kitten, which made Chen Ye laugh out loud. It turned out that raising an apprentice was so much fun.

"I was just kidding. How could I possibly care about such a trivial matter?"

Lan Yu pressed on, "Then how did you know what Master said?"

Chen Ye put away his smile and said to Lan Yu quite seriously, "Because Miss Su and I once sat down and discussed the Dao, we are confidants and Daoist partners."

"The so-called Daoist partner is one whose Dao comes before partner. In Miss Su's eyes, cultivation and demon-slaying are the most important things, and everything else can only be second. In my eyes, it is the same; cultivating for immortality is the most important thing."

"Those who cultivate themselves act according to their nature, letting things come and go naturally as conditions come and go."

These words sound irresponsible, but that's how Chen Ye and Su Chunyi are. After a long separation, the two would spend a day strolling arm in arm. But after the stroll, Su Chunyi still had to follow Zhang Qi to practice swordsmanship, while Chen Ye still had to go to the capital to find the cinnabar mine.

Therefore, Su Chunyi is the number one in the Tongxuan Realm, while Chen Ye is the number two.

Romantic love between a man and a woman will never be the most important thing in each other's hearts.

This is also what Chen Ye likes most about Su Chunyi; the two are truly in sync in this respect.

Lan Yu listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion. She had not been cultivating for very long and her cultivation level was not high. Her heart was still dominated by the seven emotions and six desires of a mortal.

However, this is also a good thing. Chen Ye prefers this kind of lively apprentice. If he had to replace him with someone who was lifeless, it would be too boring.

The two chatted idly about various gossips, even mentioning Zhang Qi's past romantic history.

It turns out that Zhang Qi had been married before, but his wife had not been able to cultivate to the Dao Integration Realm and had passed away a long time ago. Zhang Qi had no children, only the disciples and grand-disciples of the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Chen Ye really didn't know about these gossips.

However, not having children isn't necessarily a bad thing. The son of the world's number one swordsman must be under immense pressure. Coupled with the strict rules of the Qinghe Sword Sect, if the child's talent for swordsmanship is lacking, the pressure on him would be as heavy as Mount Tai.

The two chatted about random topics until they arrived in the capital.

This mortal capital was much quieter than I had imagined. There were few pedestrians on the road, and the light was bright, far less so than the banks of the Qinghe River.

Chen Ye asked Lan Yu, "What's the name of this capital city again?"

Lan Yu replied, "The capital city is called Wansong, which was chosen by the current emperor. I think it was called something like Yang before, but I'm young and can't remember clearly."

Chen Ye remembered that this dynasty was very short-lived, having been established for only about ten or twenty years.

Although there are many cultivators in this world, very few of them actually come into contact with ordinary people.

It's not that I'm unwilling, but that it's meaningless.

Apart from the Xuanji Dew that condenses Qi in the Sea of ​​Qi, the other rare and precious materials are not something that ordinary people can find. The Gangsha Stone that Princess Hongyu went to great lengths to obtain is sold by the kilogram in Hundred Seas Valley and is not even worth much.

Moreover, mortals have short lifespans; even an imperial dynasty might not last more than sixty years.

This is also why cultivators are too lazy to deal with mortal dynasties; why bother being a national advisor when you can tell they just want to eat people?

That demon was one of them; if he weren't after people, he wouldn't have been hiding in the palace causing trouble.

Chen Ye asked, "So, are we going to land directly in the palace to find the emperor?"

Lan Yu thought for a moment and realized that doing so seemed a bit against the rules. The Qinghe Sword Sect had never committed any offenses against mortals, so they couldn't just swagger around like that.

"According to the rules of mortals, we should send this letter to Fengtian Temple. It was through Fengtian Temple that the princess spread the news that the Qinghe Sword Sect was collecting young boys and girls."

Lan Yu's face darkened, as if she were recalling unpleasant memories. This was precisely why Su Chunyi wanted her to revisit the place; without confronting the past directly, she would ultimately be unable to let go.

Chen Ye then said, "Then we'll send the letter over, and then we can take a walk around Wansong City. The princess's cenotaph should also be in the capital, so we can go and pay our respects there."

Lan Yu nodded and pointed in a direction in the city.

"That is Fengtian Temple."

Looking down, Chen Ye saw not a temple, but a palace that occupied a considerable area.

Although Fengtian Temple is called a temple, it was also the office of the imperial court, and it looked quite grand.

Chen Ye waved the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, creating a cloud of mist.

This is just a rudimentary illusion technique I learned from Bai Yueguang. It's not good for fighting, but it's quite easy to fool mortals.

Under the cover of clouds and mist, the two landed in the imperial city.

Black Whirlwind reverted to its crow form and landed on Chen Ye's shoulder. Chen Ye then led Lan Yu toward Fengtian Temple.

The formal visit went without incident; a minor official from Fengtian Temple was waiting at the entrance, and upon seeing the letter Chen Ye handed over, he immediately became respectful.

The history of the Qinghe Sword Sect is much longer than that of this dynasty, so the letter sent by the Qinghe County Magistrate is naturally of utmost importance to Fengtian Temple.

After verifying their identities, they were invited inside to rest.

Chen Ye asked, "According to the procedure, when can I enter the palace to meet the Emperor?"

The clerk quickly replied, "It could be as short as ten days or as long as a month. You can stay in the city temporarily, as long as you leave your address. We will notify you immediately if we have any news."

Chen Ye asked in surprise, "Does it really take that long?"

Cultivators have long lifespans, but they can't waste them like this. The Yellow Springs Sect is so busy; he hasn't even properly entertained Monk Bu Mei yet. How could he possibly waste so many days in the imperial city?

The clerk quickly explained, "Please understand, Daoist Master. It is natural to wait a long time to meet the Emperor. This is already a special case. If officials outside the capital wanted to meet the Emperor, they would have to wait at least three years."

Chen Ye didn't want to make things difficult for this minor official, so he had no choice but to leave with Lan Yu.

This is also the troublesome thing about the righteous path. If Chen Ye were still a little devil, he could have just flown into the palace to find someone, and no one would care about these things.

But the right path requires following the rules. You can't just break the rules set by others because you're of higher status than ordinary people.

Just as Su Chunyi wouldn't directly arrest and torture the magistrate of Cui County, doing so would make him a demon.

Anyway, Chen Ye definitely won't wait here for a month. At worst, he can find the cinnabar mine first and then send other disciples of the Yellow Springs Sect to handle this matter.

After the letter was sent, Chen Ye said to Lan Yu, "Then let's go and pay our respects. Do you know where the princess's cenotaph is?"

“The princess was greatly favored by the emperor during her lifetime, and she should be buried in the imperial mausoleum now. I will lead the way.”

Lan Yu stopped chattering incessantly and simply led the way silently.

The imperial mausoleum was a sacred site, and outsiders were not allowed to enter. However, Lan Yu took out a waist token and waved it, and the guards made way for him.

It seems that even though Princess Hongyu has passed away, the things she left behind are still useful.

However, after walking around the imperial mausoleum several times, the two still did not see the cenotaph of Princess Hongyu.

Lan Yu asked in confusion, "That shouldn't be the case. Shouldn't the princess have a cenotaph? How come we can't find one?"

Chen Ye comforted him, "Don't worry, maybe they're buried somewhere else?"

"No, this is where the royal family is buried. If there isn't one here, there won't be anywhere else... How could this be? Doesn't the princess even deserve a cenotaph? How could the emperor be so heartless?!"

Lan Yu's eyes reddened with anxiety, and Chen Ye didn't know how to comfort her.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like this, because Princess Hongyu was ostensibly murdered, and as the emperor's most beloved princess, her burial should have been of exceptionally high standard.

Unless something unexpected happens here.

Lan Yu originally thought she had let go of the past, after all, the real princess's soul had dissipated, so what difference did it make if there was no cenotaph?

But for some reason, Lan Yu felt as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out, as if it were her own grave.

Lan Yu gripped Chen Ye's sleeve tightly and asked in a panic, "My benefactor, the princess's cenotaph can't be found. What should I do?"

Chen Ye suggested, "Perhaps we could ask around."

But Lan Yu seemed not to hear, and tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably.

Before Chen Ye could comfort her, Lan Yu burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

The little girl cried her heart out, sobbing, "I can't find her, I can't find her..."

Chen Ye sighed and gently stroked the little girl's head.

Graves for the dead are sometimes prepared for the living.

Once Lan Yu's sobs subsided, Chen Ye said to her, "If we can't find a cenotaph for the princess, let's build one for her. You are her only remaining family in the world."

(End of this chapter)