Chapter 1037 — The Mystery of the Snatched Cat

Emperor Yanxiu was struck speechless, and could not help shaking her head. "Before my sister Yun Chuxiu, saying a thing like that is enough to get your head cut off.

" She did not know Yun Chuxiu's true identity, but she could guess that Yun Chuxiu must be one of the power-holders in the Heavenly Court. On that day, when the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge had connected Jingping with the Heavenly Court, it was Yun Chuxiu who had walked out of the bridge. To be able to authorize the building of a Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge in the Heavenly Court, she had to be a person of overwhelming influence.

That was also why, when Yun Chuxiu had proposed that they become sworn sisters, she had agreed at once. She was a clever woman, and knowing that Yun Chuxiu enjoyed extraordinary status in the Heavenly Court, she knew she had to agree no matter what Yun Chuxiu's aim might be.

This was the key to Jingping's survival. In fact, the reason Jingping had been able to establish a connection with the Zaofu Palace was also because of this relationship with Yun Chuxiu.

Watching Lian Huahun, Yun Chuxiu, and the others approach, Shen Mu let his spiritual sense ripple and sent a telepathic voice: "Yun Chuxiu is Madam Yuanmu, the younger sister of Her Majesty the Empress.

Lian Huahun is Her Majesty the Empress.

" Emperor Yanxiu was secretly alarmed but betrayed none of it.

"Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, can we use the rift between the Empress and Madam Yuanmu to keep Jingping safe? " "It can be done, but you must mind the heat.

Those two women are at each other's throats until death, yet they drift together and apart by turns. Do not draw too near, nor too far.

" With that, Shen Mu laughed heartily and moved forward to greet Yun Chuxiu and Lian Huahun, but in his heart he groaned, "I handed Yun Chuxiu over to the Primordial Earth Mother—will she kick up a fuss about that? " Yet Yun Chuxiu did not mention the matter at all.

She took his arm and quickly recounted the five girls' swearing of sisterhood, laughing, "If I die, my four sisters will have to be buried alongside me. Don't you think so, Shen Lang? " The corner of Shen Mu's eye twitched.

Yun Chuxiu was threatening him: if he made another move against her, she would kill Ling Yuxiu, Gongsun Yan, and the others. To her, it would be only the loss of a body born of Creation—neither pain nor itch. But to Shen Mu, the loss would be no small matter.

Ling Yuxiu was the heir to Emperor Yanfeng's reforms and the mainstay of present-day Jingping. Unlike Emperor Yanfeng, she could more readily take things up and let them go.

Because she was a woman, the Heavenly Court neither guarded against her nor took her seriously. She could lower her stance, go to the Heavenly Court and the Zaofu Palace to negotiate, and with her polished social skill she could mediate between Jingping and the Heavenly Court, keeping Jingping from becoming a thorn in the Heavenly Court's eye.

Emperor Yanfeng had been a mighty sovereign, but in a situation like the one Ling Yuxiu faced, he could not have done better—he would only have made it worse. At the very least, Emperor Yanfeng could never have sworn sisterhood with the Empress and Madam Yuanmu.

As for Gongsun Yan, she was the Little Primordial Earth Mother guarding Jingping, with immense potential, and she absolutely could not be lost. "Better to leave Jingping soon. The longer I stay, the greater the danger to Jingping.

" Shen Mu calmed his mind and chatted idly with the girls for a while. As the sky darkened, he yawned, claimed to be tired, and returned to his room to rest.

At midnight, Emperor Yanxiu came to visit.

The monarch and his subject sat knee to knee in talk through the night, until the rooster crowed and Emperor Yanxiu rose to leave.

Outside, stars glittered in the sky, and the emperor returned to her palace wrapped in their light. Shen Mu sat silently for a moment, then smiled.

"Daoist friend, it is cold and damp outside. Why not come in and warm yourself?

My door is not locked. " The door gave a faint creak, and a white cat squeezed through the gap. Sitting upright before Shen Mu, it spoke with a man's voice, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, you stole the Heavenly Emperor's treasure.

You may have fooled the ten Heavenly Venerables, but you cannot fool me. Hand over that half of the eggshell.

Once I take it, I will leave and will not harm you. " Shen Mu asked curiously, "Does the Celestial Consort Yan know you are here? " The white cat said, "Of course she knows. I am here on behalf of the Heavenly Venerable Yan to retrieve the thing. We are now no more than three feet apart.

At this distance, killing you would be as easy as turning over my palm.

I could cut your throat with a claw, slay your primordial spirit, without alarming anyone, and then calmly take the treasure. Or you could give me the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell and keep our goodwill intact. Once I have the item, I will turn and leave. " Shen Mu smiled. "I have only heard the Celestial Consort call you Little Seven. May I know your name, Daoist friend?

" The white cat flicked its tail, and its cat face was utterly serious.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu, do you mean to delay? I have already observed the whole of Jingping's capital. There is no one here who can match me; only that one called Yan'er might put up a fight, but she is no opponent either. Even if you summoned friends, I could kill them all. But before that, you would already be dead. " Shen Mu said nonchalantly, "Do you know that two women in this courtyard are Heavenly Venerables?

" The fur on the white cat's tail bristled, and it crouched low, letting out a menacing growl.

Yet it was not threatening Shen Mu—it was shuddering uncontrollably at the news that two women here were Heavenly Venerables.

Shen Mu smiled slightly. "To have slipped in right under the eyes of two Heavenly Venerables—you really are loyal to the Celestial Consort Yan.

But the Primordial Realm has more than two Heavenly Venerables; the Heavenly Venerable Xiao is also there, watching covetously. Take the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell out of Jingping's capital, and you will die right away. Do you believe me? " The white cat's pupils narrowed to slits, and he said hoarsely, "You are lying to me!

" Shen Mu said calmly, "Yun Chuxiu is Madam Yuanmu, and Lian Huahun is Her Majesty the Empress.

Why would I deceive you? The Heavenly Emperor's eggshell is right in the vertical eye of my brow. If you don't believe me, I will gouge out this eye and give it to you. Then you can see whether you can leave Jingping alive.

" He actually gouged out the eye from his brow and held it out before the white cat!

The white cat stared at the eye in his palm, slowly raising a paw, hesitating. Just then, a rooster crowed, and the sky gradually brightened.

The white cat ground his fangs, snatched up the eye, and turned to leave.

Shen Mu smiled. The vertical eye was still in his brow—it had not been gouged out.

What the white cat had taken was merely an eye conjured by his spiritual contemplation. The white cat slipped out of Shen Mu's room, glanced around, saw that no one was near, then leaped onto the wall and raced along its top, bounding toward the outskirts of the capital.

At the same time, Yun Chuxiu, her hair tied in a pair of ponytails, quietly slipped out of the door and followed behind the white cat. The cat seemed to sense something and abruptly turned its head, but Yun Chuxiu had been swallowed by an abyss, and the cat saw nothing. Yun Chuxiu quietly followed the white cat out of Jingping's capital.

Yet she too seemed to sense someone behind her; she whirled around, but did not see anyone trailing her. She rolled her eyes for a moment, then continued after the white cat.

A flower bloomed in the air, and Lian Huahun sat in the flower, silently watching the woman and the cat leave the city.