Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 99 Little Fox, why did you catch a cold?

As they were talking, Xiao Li suddenly nudged Ye Shuyun with its head and whimpered twice, as if it were hinting at something.

Ye Shuyun understood immediately and took his leave, saying, "Now that the Immortal Peach has been delivered, I will not disturb Your Majesty any longer and will take my leave now!"

With that, he cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, and straddled Little Fox.

Xiao Li carried Ye Shuyun on her back, took a few steps in place, then turned around and lightly leaped up. After that, she walked as if on flat ground, gradually rising higher and higher until she returned to the clouds.

The emperor and his entourage watched as the man and the fox rode the clouds into the sky, disappearing into the distance.

Everyone was stunned by this scene and remained speechless for a long time. After a while, a minister suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty, this is an auspicious omen from heaven, a blessing from the gods. It should be announced to the world and everyone should celebrate!"

The courtiers echoed this sentiment.

"Indeed, Your Majesty! A gift of peaches from an immortal is truly an auspicious omen!"

"Indeed! If it weren't for Your Majesty's divinely ordained nature as a wise and benevolent ruler, how could you have received such a divine favor? A general amnesty should be granted!"

"Lord Wang is right!"

"Lord Li's opinion is truly insightful!"

For a moment, harmony reigned all around, and everyone wished they could praise this "gift of peaches" as an unprecedented and beautiful story, and also extol Murong Zhen as an unparalleled wise ruler surpassing even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

Even though Murong Zhen knew that these ministers were merely opportunists trying to flatter him, he couldn't help but feel somewhat smug.

Yes, throughout history, which emperor has ever received a gift from an immortal?

It must be because he already possesses the qualities of a wise ruler that he is able to obtain this divine favor!

Oh, right, I also need to keep in touch with my sixth sister more often… What's her name again? Ruyin? Ruxuan? Or Ruhui? I also need to get the Empress to show her more care and attention, and it would be best to find out her preferences. If she has any favorite young men, that would be even better. If not, choosing a few based on my sixth sister's tastes would also be fine…

"Alright, let's leave it at that for today. There's no need to discuss Heshilie's appointment as the commander of the Shuntian Army in Baozhou any further. Minister Baishan is to draft the transfer order. After court, you should all think carefully about the matter of building a temporary palace in Baozhou..."

As Murong Zhen spoke, he glanced meaningfully at the assembled officials a few times before turning to a guard standing solemnly by the door and saying, "You, come here and take a basket of Immortal Peaches with you to the Hall of Benevolent Governance!"

After speaking, he hurriedly left the front of the Da'an Hall.

The eunuchs waiting nearby hurriedly shouted, "Prepare the carriage for the Renzheng Hall—"

Many eunuchs and guards followed in single file, escorting Murong Zhen away.

"Ugh……"

Soon, a sigh suddenly rang out. An old minister who had previously vehemently denounced Mu Feng and called the "immortal" talk absurd looked even older. He hunched over and said in a hoarse voice, "Using talk of ghosts and gods to disrupt the court and the state will...bring chaos to the world..."

Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at each other, wanting to offer advice, but none dared to speak to this veteran minister who had served three dynasties.

The old minister ignored everyone else, removed his official hat, and left with faltering steps.

...At the same time, Zhang Chengdao was trying his best to control the little fox to fly.

In fact, his divine sense could only barely "hear" Ye Shuyun and Mu Feng's conversation, because at that time, one of them used spiritual power and the other used true qi, which made it relatively clear.

While Ye Shuyun was talking to Murong Zhen, Zhang Chengdao was completely lost. So he could only urge Xiaoli on by gently shaking its hind legs, and then let Xiaoli hint to Ye Shuyun so that she could return home as soon as possible.

Of course, this is mainly because Zhang Chengdao has just broken through to the Core Formation stage and his cultivation is limited. Even though the Golden Core in his body can continuously operate on its own and absorb the surrounding spiritual energy for its own use, it is still difficult to supply the terrifyingly energy-consuming Myriad Swords Return to Origin technique.

The simplified version won't work either.

Therefore, Zhang Chengdao had no choice but to urge Ye Shuyun and Xiaoli to leave shortly after putting them on the ground—if they didn't come back soon, he wouldn't have enough spiritual power to bring the person and the fox back!
At this moment, the little fox, who was flying in the sky, couldn't help but sneeze several times, almost knocking Ye Shuyun off.

It's so cold out there!
Although Xiao Li ate and drank well every day and ate all kinds of spiritual food as snacks, it was still just an ordinary fox. No matter how good its constitution was, it had its limits. The long-term low-temperature flight and the wind made it catch a cold!
Ye Shuyun touched Xiao Li's ears with some concern: "Xiao Li, are you feeling unwell?"

The little fox's ears twitched, but it didn't reply. Instead, it curled its fluffy tail around Ye Shuyun's leg and rubbed against it.

Although Ye Shuyun's eyes had recovered considerably, they still teared up when she looked directly at the sunlight for a long time. That's why she covered her eyes while flying in the sky, so she could only see a blurry shadow and couldn't see the tiny movement of Xiao Li's ears twitching.

However, he still felt the fluffy tail rubbing against him and understood that the little fox was comforting him.

So he gently patted the little fox's head again and said softly, "Don't worry, we'll be going back soon. If you're not feeling well, just go back to your master and have a bowl of kudzu root soup..."

As he spoke, he reached out and tried to shield Xiao Li's nose from the wind.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it felt like the return trip was much faster than the departure trip...

Soon, the man and the fox finally returned to White Stone Mountain, where they encountered a group of people sitting happily around a wooden table in the courtyard of the thatched hut.

When Chang Ping'an saw Ye Shuyun and Xiao Li "flying" down from the sky, he was startled. His eyes widened, and he stammered, "Master, Junior Brother, have you reached the Foundation Establishment stage? You can actually ride Xiao Li and fly in the sky?"

“This is Master’s doing,” Ye Shuyun said, removing the cloud-covered veil. “Master sent me to the capital and used his immortal power to make Little Fox carry me flying.”

Chang Ping'an then turned to look at Xiao Li, stammering even more: "I understand the principles, but... but why is Xiao Li so big!"

Upon hearing the words "Little Fox," Sandy, who was squatting on the table, immediately turned her head and saw a little fox the size of an ordinary tiger. Startled, she nervously hid behind Murong Ruyan.

Little Fox, oblivious to Sandy's presence, sneezed loudly, sending a giant snot bubble escaping from her nose.

"Little Tanuki caught a cold! Sigh, it's my fault, I forgot Little Tanuki isn't an Arctic fox, she can't stand the cold..."

Zhang Chengdao felt somewhat guilty and quickly took out a bowl of kudzu root soup from his backpack, urging Xiaoli to drink the medicine.

As Zhang Chengdao fed Xiaoli the medicine, he was filled with doubt.

Logically speaking, if Little Tanuki can survive in White Stone Mountain, then the temperature in the sky shouldn't be a problem—in winter, White Stone Mountain can be covered in snow up to your ankles! It might even be minus twenty degrees Celsius!

Damn it, I didn't have time again _(:з」∠)_
Dear readers of Qingtang, please allow me to explain. I was so happy about going up to Sanjiang, so I bragged about it to everyone and chatted non-stop, which compressed my writing time. Plus, two groups of guests came to my house (*)
Okay, actually it's all just excuses. I'm just a clueless newbie (*)
I'll stay up all night to finish tomorrow's code! This time, I promise there won't be any problems! Pow!

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(End of this chapter)