Chapter 384 The Expert’s Hint, Missed Opportunity
Li Nianfan looked at the empty Flat Peach Garden and then he looked at Ziye and Cheng Yi. He suddenly had an idea. He asked without thinking, “Did that monkey steal peaches here?”
Cheng Yi was stumped at first. Then, she smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”
Li Nianfan continued to ask, “He targeted you all?”
Ziye scrunched her nose in response. “Hmph, that monkey’s too naughty. We were freshly transformed back then. Otherwise, how could we be easily defeated by him?”
Li Nianfan asked what everyone was thinking about, “Did he do anything else once he targeted you all?”
“Anything else?” Cheng Yi thought about it. She shook her head and replied, “What’s more important than eating the Flat Peaches?”
Ziye also shook her head. “Nothing else, I assume.”
Li Nianfan did not change his facial expression. He nodded understandingly. “True, nothing’s more important than eating peaches.” “Brother, brother.”
Suddenly, Dragin tugged on Li Nianfan. She looked up at Li Nianfan and said coyly, “I know how to revive the stone statues!”
Ziye and Cheng Yi jolted. They asked excitedly, “What is it?”
Dragin and Nanan raised their hands at the same time. They made a fuss and said, “Be a being of light!”
Smack!
Li Nianfan felt embarrassed. He smacked Dragin and Nanan on their heads. “Shut up, little brats. What nonsense, read the room.”
He hurriedly chuckled awkwardly. He apologized to Ziye and Cheng Yi, “Lady Cheng, Lady Zi, sorry about that. These two have been watching too much television. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
He decided to make Nanan and Dragin watch less television when they get back. They were becoming foolish from that.
Nanan and Dragin rubbed on their heads and pouted. They mumbled, “It’s true though. As long as we believe, we can become a being of light, too.”
Li Nianfan smiled coldly. “Ha, I believe that there will be no more television to watch when you go back!”
Cheng Yi looked serious. She asked excitedly, “That… Mr. Li, what’s the meaning of ‘become a being of light’?”
‘Can this situation be joked about?’
Li Nianfan truly did not know how to explain. He could only reply, “Cough, it’s nothing. Don’t mind it, Lady Cheng. Um… It’s getting late, we should go back now.”
Cheng Yi and Ziye looked disappointed. However, they noticed that the expert did not want to tell them more, so they did not dare to question it. They said, “It’s late. How about my Seventh Sister and I prepare a palace for you? Stay the night, Mr. Li.”
Li Nianfan shook his head and saluted, “No thanks. I won’t be disturbing you all. Farewell.”
“Safe journey, Mr. Li. Come again next time.”
Cheng Yi and Ziye watched Li Nianfan leave. They could not calm down.
Especially Cheng Yi. She was holding on to The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting tightly. Her voice was shaky as she said excitedly, “Seventh Sister, wait for me here. I’ll go and try to see if I can bring the Jade Emperor and the Empress back.”
She instantly leaped and was gone with the wind.
Somewhere in outer space.
Cheng Yi quickly walked in with ripples following behind her.
Tap tap!
She could not maintain her gracefulness anymore. She breathed fast and walked quickly.
The Empress and the Jade Emperor were in a good mood that day. They did not fight either. They walked together like a lovely couple. The Empress scolded, “Cheng, why the rush? Didn’t I tell you that you have to be mindful of who you are? You have to be poised and graceful. What’s the use of rushing?”
“You’re right, Empress.”
Cheng Yi nodded. Then, she could not wait to ask, “Empress, if I have The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting. Am I able to get you out of here?”
“The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting?”
The Empress was stumped at first. Then, she said, “That painting is the essence of how the prehistoric world looked like. If we do have the painting, it would help us escape. However… the realm’s broken and I’m afraid this painting no longer exists.”
The Jade Emperor also nodded. He said, “Yeah, Cheng. I know you’re always trying to help us escape, just like your Seventh Sister. You were always hopeful, too, but…it’s too hard. This is beyond all of us, so stop trying and let it be.”
The Jade Emperor and the Empress were greater cultivators than the Seventh Princess. Hence, they knew how serious the catastrophe was. They could see it, they could feel the despair and fear. Sometimes, giving up was a relief. It would be nice if they kept giving up. He paused. Then, he added, “Remember to bring more of those chives next time. The Empress and I are stuck here. It’s nice that we finally have something we like to eat.”
Cheng Yi took out the painting scroll in her hand and said, “But… I think I have The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting in my hand.”
The Empress and the Jade Emperor ridiculed her and shook their heads at the same time. “Impossible. You thought wrong.”
‘No wonder the girl was in such a rush just now, she recognized the wrong treasure. The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting is too eldritch. Even if it still exists, how could it possibly end up in your hands?’
However, they watched Cheng Yi open the painting scroll slowly. They were bewildered at the same time. Their facial expressions and their gazes froze in place.
“Let me see, let me see!” They rushed to take the painting scroll. They did not dare to caress the painting as they inspected it without blinking.
They felt the pulse of the painting scroll and that overflowing mysterious aura. The Jade Emperor and the Empress felt their hearts race. The Empress said with a shivering voice, “The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting! It’s The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting!”
They were stuck at the same place every day. They looked at the same view for years. It would be a lie to say they did not wish to leave.
The appearance of The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting was way too valuable to them. It was their ticket for survival!
The Empress looked at Cheng Yi with disbelief. She asked in shock, “Cheng, honestly, where… did you get this painting?”
Cheng Yi smiled and replied, “I got it from the expert.”
“No wonder… The expert gave it to you,” nodded the Jade Emperor. Then, he asked in disbelief, “He was willing to give this treasure to you?”
Cheng Yi pursed her lips. She said weakly, “Actually… The painting’s just a normal painting in the eyes of the expert, and it was already damaged. It lost its power. The expert retouched it by painting on it and fixed the painting.” “What?!”
The Jade Emperor and the Empress almost jumped. They had their jaws on the floor as they gasped. “This is just a normal painting to the expert?”
“The expert painted on The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting?”
They stood in place. They were baffled. They felt like their minds were buzzing and they had entered a whole new world.
‘So… He can do that.’
“An expert, an ultimate expert!” The Jade Emperor widened his eyes in extreme shock. He was surprised, respectful, and nervous all at the same time. He said in a trembling voice, “I can confirm it. He can do such an incredible task, he must be someone on the same level as Pangu!”
The Empress asked, “Did you give the Flat Peach seed and the Yellow Plum seed to the expert?”
Cheng Yi nodded. “I did. I heard from Seventh Sister that the expert seems to be pleased.” The Empress instantly smiled. “Great, the expert must have felt our sincerity so he was willing to give us The Land of Mountains and Rivers Painting. He’s helping us to escape.”
“It must be. It most probably is.”
The Jade Emperor nodded in agreement and said with sentimentality, “The expert played around in the realm for joy. He was willing to help us all because he was in a good mood. It’s greatly beneficial to us! You have to know, I was just a kid sitting next to the Buddha back then. To put it nicely, the pawns close to the expert are more valuable than me, the Jade Emperor!”
The Jade Emperor and the Empress looked at each other. They looked excited and anxious. They knew how great it was to be close to the bigshot. They could not calm down.
“That’s the bigshot who surpassed the Buddha, and as powerful as Lord Pangu!’
“You and Zi did a nice job for befriending such a bigshot. Nicely done!”
The Empress took a deep breath. Then, she said with seriousness, “What else did the expert tell you? Tell us everything in detail so we can provide better services for the expert!”
Cheng Yi immediately started the story. “So, the expert suddenly wanted to visit today, so he followed Seventh Sister to the Heavenly Palace…”
ea
The Jade Emperor and the Empress had their ears up. They listened attentively. They did not dare to miss a word.
When they heard about the automatic reboot of the Heavenly Palace to welcome the expert, they were not surprised. They nodded. Seems like the Heavenly Palace isn’t stupid, quite observant.’
However, when they heard about how the expert complimented the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor suddenly frowned. He sighed and said, “Cheng, you didn’t handle this properly.”
Cheng Yi jolted. “What is it?”
The Jade Emperor said, “The expert likes to travel around the three realms, so you have to give the expert a palace. You also should’ve given him the most majestic one with the best location. You failed to give it to him… Sigh.”
Cheng Yi said with regret, “I wanted to but I was rejected by the expert.”
“You still didn’t understand what the expert meant by that!”
The Jade Emperor shook his head. Then, he said, “How did the expert reject you? He said he wasn’t worthy. That meant he wasn’t an Immortal yet. Was the hint not obvious enough? We have to give him a title before we can give him a palace!”
The Empress was intrigued. “Do you mean we have to give the expert a job?”
“Careful of your words, careful of your words! What were you thinking? How can I be the Jade Emperor if the expert works here? Are you trying to kill me?!” The Jade Emperor went pale in an instant. He hurriedly said, “We can’t give him a job. Since the expert’s a Deluxe Merit Saint, we can give him the official title of the Deluxe Merit Saint. Once we give him a respectable title, we could’ve given him a worthy palace, right?”