Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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The person that the cub was taking Su Xi to see was a very famous wandering Taoist in the Yan Kingdom. He was born in Changchun Temple a hundred years ago and was said to be over a hundred years old. He had been received by the emperors of several countries and had left behind many legends about summoning back souls that had already entered the cycle of reincarnation.
This wandering Taoist had been traveling to various countries for the past ten years or so, and his whereabouts were nowhere to be found. Therefore, it took the cub several months to find him through General Zhenyuan.
The cub used to absolutely not believe in gods and ghosts, but after mistakenly believing her to be a ghost, he began to believe in this belief.
Although it was unknown whether the stories passed down by this wandering Taoist were true or false, many books in the Yan Kingdom about spirit summoning and life-giving were indeed compiled by him and his disciples.
Therefore, finding him was like finding a glimmer of hope, no matter what.
If no hope could be found from this wandering Taoist, then there was no way in the world to make Su Xi appear.
At this very moment, General Zhenyuan’s men were leading the wandering Taoist to Changchun Temple. They only needed to wait at Changchun Temple to meet the renowned wandering Taoist.
….
Watching from outside the screen, Su Xi saw the cub excitedly ordering people to prepare horses, eager to head to Changchun Temple. His expression was full of hope, and Su Xi felt a mix of emotions, unsure of what to do…
Make up an excuse, say you have something to do tonight and can’t go to Changchun Temple with him? Then stay offline for a few days and just happen to miss this wandering Taoist priest?
The moment the thought popped into Su Xi’s mind, she quickly rejected it. No, no, no, doing that would be too unfair to the cub, and too irresponsible.
Moreover, even if they didn’t meet this wandering Taoist this time, the cub will definitely find a way to take her to see him again next time.
…You can run away from this once and for all, but you can’t hide it forever.
Since sooner or later, the cub would find out that they were from two different worlds, that she could be with him until old age, but could never appear before him, then it was better to let him know tonight. Although he would be sad, Su Xi thought, he still had his own ambitions, and now he had his own friends, mentors, and allies; he would be alright.
….
Su Xi was filled with anxiety and hesitated for a long time before finally tugging at the cub’s left sleeve, indicating, “Okay, I’ll go with you.”
However, at that moment, perhaps because a new quest was about to be triggered by heading to Changchun Temple, a message popped up on the screen:
[Please accept Main Quest Ten (Intermediate): Find a respected official of at least the second rank in the imperial court for the protagonist and persuade him to stand behind the protagonist and support him in ascending the throne.]
Su Xi felt that this task was impossible to start. There were already a few high-ranking officials in the court who appreciated the cub, but the cub’s identity as a prince had not yet been revealed. No matter how much they appreciated the cub, they could not possibly support a son of a concubine from the Ning Wang’s Mansion to ascend the throne. That would turn into a plot to usurp the throne!
This task should theoretically be triggered only after the child regained his identity.
Just as she was thinking this, a notification popped up on the screen.
[Note: This task runs parallel to Main Quest Nine and is a subsidiary task of Main Quest Nine. The point reward is 8.]
So that’s how it was! Su Xi suddenly understood. In other words, while finding that Taoist nun at Changchun Temple and letting the little one know about his own background, they also needed to find an official of the second rank or above so that the little one’s identity as the Ninth Prince would also be known to that person!
So, the fact that this task has popped up now means that going to Changchun Temple tonight will trigger both Task Nine and Task Ten simultaneously?!
Su Xi was still immersed in the faint sadness of her son not being able to see her, but as soon as she received the task, she immediately became nervous.
At this moment, the cub was galloping towards Changchun Temple, glancing to his side every now and then with shining eyes, urging her to hurry and catch up. Su Xi tugged at his sleeve reassuringly, indicating that she was following, but in reality, she had already secretly switched the interface to another place.
There were many officials of the second rank or above in the imperial court, but currently, only three met the criteria for mission ten: after learning about the child’s background, they would start to consider supporting the child to rise to power.
Grand Commandant Yun, General Zhenyuan, Minister of War.
The official ranks of these three people were respectively the second rank, the first rank, and the second rank, which all met the requirements.
Su Xi first opened the General’s Mansion section and found that the protagonist was no longer there, but the General’s Mansion was still brightly lit. Many officials were drunk. General Zhenyuan was unusually happy and had also drunk a little more. He was currently drunkenly practicing his fist techniques. In this state, there was no way to take him to Changchun Temple, so she had to give up on him.
When the screen switched to General Zhenyuan, a message suddenly popped up on the screen:
“Congratulations on completing Mission 8 (1/2): Become the successor in the heart of General Zhenyuan and make initial military achievements in suppressing the rebellion in the north. The first part has been completed. You have received half the points reward +6.”
This suggested that, after these past few months, the cub had completely gained the appreciation and trust of General Zhenyuan.
General Zhenyuan had already made up his mind to take the cub to the northern border for training.
Su Xi was at a loss for words, unsure whether to be happy or worried. She was happy that the mission was halfway complete, the points had increased, and her son had achieved his wish of being promoted to the fourth rank. She was worried, however, that the mission might become increasingly difficult when they went to the northern border to quell the rebellion, and her son might inevitably get injured.
But there was no point in overthinking it; let’s focus on solving the current task first.
Next was Grand Commandant Yun. Su Xi switched the interface to the Grand Commandant’s Mansion— he wasn’t there.
He seems to have something to do tonight; he’s meeting with the Emperor at the palace.
Su Xi was a little anxious, fearing that something might happen to all three of them and they wouldn’t be able to complete the task. Fortunately, the Minister of War was sitting properly in his seat, advising another official next to him to drink less. He seemed to be sober.
He was the one.
Su Xi needed to find a way to get the Minister of War to Changchun Temple as soon as possible.
Seeing his little one already galloping along on horseback, reaching the gates of the capital, Su Xi felt a headache coming on. His little one was far too impatient! The Changchun Temple storyline was already over, and he still hadn’t managed to get the Minister of War there!
Wait, I’ve got it! Su Xi suddenly remembered the first person in the cub’s harem list, the daughter of the Minister of War, Han Yue. Now that she thought about it, no wonder Han Yue had a name; she was a key figure who could be put to good use.
Su Xi quickly switched the interface to the Ministry of War’s residence.
At this moment, it was already late at night, and Han Yue was asleep in her boudoir.
Su Xi had no choice but to exchange some hypnotic powder from the mall, sprinkle it in her room, then roll her up in the blanket, making an egg roll, and held it in her hand.
He then pushed open the window, deliberately making a very loud “bang” sound—
When the drowsy maids came to their senses, they found the room empty and the windows wide open.
A maidservant screamed, “Assassins! Miss has been kidnapped!”
Another maid rushed out of the courtyard to find a guard and said to him, “Where is the master? Hurry and go to the general’s mansion to tell the master that the young lady has been kidnapped by assassins!”
On the table, fluttering in the wind, was a drawing left by Su Xi, depicting Changchun Temple, with a pen pulled from the pen holder and placed on it.
This Minister of War was very clever; he must have understood that this meant he was to come alone, or else the hostage would be killed.
After doing all this, Su Xi slowly moved the interface little by little until she reached Changchun Temple, found an empty room belonging to a nun, and carefully placed the still unconscious daughter of the Minister of War, Han Yue, on the bed and covered her with a blanket.
She did it quietly, and Changchun Temple was very large, so no one noticed.
Su Xi breathed a sigh of relief. Next, she just had to wait for the cub and the Minister of War to arrive one after the other.
….
Changchun Temple was located on a mountain a few miles from the capital. The air was dry in the dead of autumn, and the mountain was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms. Dim lights could be seen in the distance from the mountain peaks, emanating from Changchun Temple, barely illuminating the bluestone steps along the mountain path, while the surroundings were deserted and quiet.
The cub only brought the messenger guard with him. Their horses could not go any further up the mountain, so the cub dismounted and had the guard tie both horses to a tree at the foot of the mountain.
He walked up the bluestone steps, his robes stirring up the withered yellow leaves on the steps.
His eyes were incredibly bright.
That night, only Su Xi, watching from outside the screen, knew that even though the cub had put in months of hard work, it was impossible to get any results in the end.
She felt a pang of sadness, but she still forced herself to watch as her son strode confidently and tirelessly climbed the mountain and arrived at Changchun Temple.
The wandering Taoist priest had not yet arrived.
However, two Taoist priests at Changchun Temple already knew about this matter. General Zhenyuan’s subordinates who had sent people to find them had informed them in advance, so they didn’t sleep at night and were still waiting at the temple gate to welcome them.
Upon seeing the child and the guards appear at the temple gate, their robes slightly frosty and chilly, they hurriedly bowed.
Su Xi, watching from outside the screen, was startled. It took her a while to realize that her son was now a fourth-rank official in the imperial court, so these Taoist priests naturally had to pay their respects.
…It’s really hard to believe that your own child has suddenly gained power.
“Please, Cavalry Commandant, go to the side hall to rest for a while. When the Dao Ancestor arrives, we will send someone to invite him,” one of the Daoists said.
Lu Huan was anxious and didn’t care about etiquette. He nodded and walked quickly toward the side hall. After a few steps, he turned to the two Taoist priests and the guards beside him and said, “You don’t need to come with me.”
If he comes along, he will no longer be able to speak with ghosts and spirits.
Lu Huan walked alone toward the side hall.
Previously, when Su Xi switched the interface to Changchun Temple alone, she couldn’t find the Taoist nun NPC who could trigger the truth about her past. But now, a dialog box with “…” kept popping up in the upper right corner of her screen.
Su Xi was thrilled and dragged the screen around, finally seeing two little figures in the backyard. One of them, an older woman, was holding a ruler and scolding the other, a middle-aged Taoist nun, who was sweeping the floor with a broom.
The pop-up conversation was—
“Don’t think that just because you were a maid in the palace, you’re superior to other Taoist nuns and can slack off. Let me tell you, don’t use knee pain as an excuse. If you don’t sweep properly, I’ll kick you out! Changchun Temple isn’t a place where you can just freeload!”
“You? You heard that the newly appointed Cavalry Commandant is coming tonight, and you’re already eagerly hoping to go out and meet him? What are you dreaming of? Do you want to curry favor with some high-ranking official?”
This dialogue was quite revealing. This Taoist nun used to be a maid in the palace, and she was desperately trying to see the cub tonight. It seemed that the cleaning nun mentioned in Mission Nine was her!
Su Xi hurried to the side hall, grabbed the little one’s sleeve, and gestured for him to come with her. Hurry, hurry, hurry.
The little one was anxiously waiting for the wandering Taoist priest to arrive and was pacing back and forth in the side hall. When he noticed that someone was tugging at his sleeve, he asked in confusion, “Where do you want to take me?”
Fortunately, the wandering Taoist priest hadn’t arrived yet. Su Xi thought to herself, “If he had, would my little one still have time to go to the backyard to get that Taoist nun?” Taking advantage of this opportunity, she quickly dragged her little one over!
So she pulled even harder.
Lu Huan’s robes were almost torn by her, which amused him. He said, “Okay, I’ll go with you. Don’t rush.”
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