Sheji's escape technique was somewhat special. It was neither riding on clouds nor escaping into the earth. It was like a faint light mist that quickly moved away from the mountains. She looked back frequently while checking her knuckles.
The female cultivator who suddenly showed up must have a connection with Sun Yiqiu. She Ji didn't want to cause any trouble, so she chose to retreat temporarily, but she was reluctant to give up Sun Yiqiu.
In a canyon in the misty mountains, there is She Ji's cave hidden, which is also a small secret place. With an unhappy look on her face, she hurried back here on a light of escape.
The outside of the canyon is shrouded in fog, but inside the canyon there are birds singing, flowers blooming, bridges and flowing water, making it look like a fairyland in a different world.
Mr. Gao was playing chess with an old man under a tree. The old man was the first to notice She Ji's return. He looked up and smiled at the flying spiritual light.
"My Lady She is back? Why can't I see your ideal husband?"
Mr. Gao also turned around and looked behind him, and saw Sheji landed and walked towards him step by step, with the words "bad mood" written all over her face.
Logically speaking, a wisp of Sun Yiqiu's consciousness should come back with She Ji, allowing him to linger in the secret realm in his "dream". With the company of a beautiful woman in this spiritual place, coupled with the good times and beautiful scenery, he will definitely be able to quickly establish feelings with She Ji. As long as he promises to marry her, half of the matter will be settled.
The method they use is very gentle and they are willing to spend more time on it. By then, some relationships between men and women will appear in the books of the underworld, let alone any harm to people.
But now that only Sheji came back, something must have gone wrong.
"My lady, was there any accident on the road?"
Mr. Gao stopped playing chess and quickly stood up to ask.
Sheji didn't vent her anger on him, but just spoke with some displeasure.
"Today, a mysterious female cultivator suddenly came. She seemed to have a past with Mr. Sun's ancestors. She thought I was some evil demon who wanted to harm Mr. Sun. I wanted to fight her, but she was unwilling to let me go. I had no choice but to use her force to escape... With such an elder in his family, I'm afraid that my marriage with Mr. Sun will not be successful..."
She Ji sighed. During this period, she took Sun Yiqiu for a walk and chat every night. She was in a good mood all the time. Seeing Sun Yiqiu's embarrassed look, she couldn't help teasing him. She had already imagined what it would be like to be with him. Now she felt a little reluctant to leave.
"It's really not a good idea to make any more enemies!"
Mr. Gao seemed to be thinking about something, and after She Ji walked over, he suddenly spoke again.
"Your Majesty, please don't be pessimistic. From what you just said, you didn't fight with that female cultivator?"
"Well, I was afraid of hurting her and making it difficult for Master Sun to explain, so I deliberately restrained my magic power when I attacked."
"So, you mean there's no bad feelings? And you haven't been rude to Mr. Sun recently, right?"
Mr. Gao took two steps closer to confirm again.
Sheji blushed slightly.
"As for Young Master Sun, I did tease him a few times for fun, which was really fun, but I definitely didn't do anything to harm his vitality."
Mr. Gao calculated for a moment and nodded slightly.
"It's normal for a young man to be full of energy. Well, Madam, don't be upset for now. Let me think about it!"
She Ji stopped and waited for Mr. Gao to think. After thinking for a while, the latter returned to the chessboard and began to place pieces quickly. It was obviously a special way of divination. He played many games in a row before stopping.
"Um!"
"My lady, maybe this isn't such a bad thing..."
Mr. Gao was setting up the tenth game at this time. He looked up at She Ji only after the last piece in his hand fell.
"Your Majesty, you know that when I first set up the game for you and divined for you, nine out of ten times it was a dead end. After that, I slowly found a solution and the situation improved slightly. But today, it's a 50-50 chance..."
"My lady, how is the practice of that female cultivator?"
Sheji subconsciously used her left hand to gently stroke a knuckle of her right hand.
"Although I didn't feel any threat, now I think about it, I don't know how deep it is."
Mr. Gao nodded.
"My queen, Gao's opinion is that you can't give up on Mr. Sun. Not only that, you have to be even more devoted to him. If you can move the Sun family, maybe that female cultivator can also become a helper. By then, even if your queen can't break through, she may still be able to fight back!"
The old man also laughed.
"Mr. Gao is right. If you become relatives, you will have reasons to help each other!"
"That's exactly the point!"
She Ji's eyes lit up, and her mood immediately improved a lot. Compared with relying on good fortune to improve her cultivation, the help represented by the female cultivator was more clearly visible. Moreover, she wouldn't have to give up Sun Yiqiu. It was a great idea no matter how she thought about it!
"But how can I approach Mr. Sun? The original method is obviously not suitable..."
"That depends on your own methods. I dare not give you any advice this time."
Mr. Gao said this with profound meaning, and watched She Ji leave with a happy face.
After Sheji left, the old man sitting opposite her noticed something unusual.
"Mr. Gao, you..."
It turned out that the hand of Mr. Gao holding the chess piece had turned gray, and cracks were constantly appearing along the fingertips, like cracked brittle stone. Even his face was turning blue and white, with flashes of halo and his breath was not very stable.
After a long time, Mr. Gao finally stabilized his breathing. He tapped his shoulder several times with his left hand, and then gently stroked his right arm. The entire right arm gradually returned to its original state, but it seemed a little stiff.
"Don't tell the She Empress about this, to prevent her from being distracted. If this can be accomplished, all the disasters will vanish into thin air!"
Mr. Gao's usually calm face showed a hint of excitement about this matter. Looking at the position of the chessboard again, the black and white chess pieces had all turned to dust and disappeared with a gust of wind.
The old man's expression suddenly became interesting, various emotions flashed through his face, and finally he sighed.
"I am already this old. If I continue to serve my country peacefully for another 60 years, I will retire. Now, let alone the hard work, I might even get into some terrible trouble. Mr. Gao, please don't hurt me..."
"Hahaha, Mr. Gong, it's a blessing, not a disaster. If it's a disaster, you can't avoid it. Although you are a mountain god, you are destined to have a disaster, but it's shrouded in mist and it's hard to predict. If it's not with the queen, it may be a more dangerous place. Since you always say that you have let it go, why bother?"
The old man shook his head, stood up, hesitated in front of the chess table for a long time, and then sat down again.
"Forget it, let's play chess."
"Hahahaha, please let Mr. Gong take the lead!"
"You, is this a coincidence or did you plan for it? My queen is kindhearted by nature, don't harm her."
"Although Gao is not an upright person, he is not a mean person either. He sincerely wants to help Madam She."
The old man smiled and said nothing more. He placed his piece on the chessboard, and no one knew when a new piece would appear.
... ...
Zao Niang stayed in the mountains for a long time. Several days passed in a flash. She imagined many stories about scholars meeting beautiful fox spirits at night. When she opened her eyes, there was still a smile on her face.
"Ah..."
Zao Niang yawned, and as a mountain breeze blew up the red fallen leaves on the ground, she took a step forward and flew into the sky with the wind, flying towards the distant Ning'an County.
It was also night, and the weather was fine today. A half moon was hanging high in the starry sky, and the sky was sparkling, making it bright wherever you looked.
The breeze swayed with a swaying feeling, accompanying Zao Niang in the sky, passing through mountains and rivers, lakes, villages and cities. Every household was decorated with lights and there was a festive atmosphere everywhere. You could also see the flashing lanterns and the blooming fireworks... ... .
“Ahhh—”
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
There were no clouds or lightning in the sky, but there was a rumbling and mighty sound spreading in all directions, like a god beating a drum in the sky, or like a tiger roaring on top of a thousand blades.
The wind accompanied Zao Niang to fly far away, to Desheng Prefecture, to Ning'an County, and to the Niu Kui Mountains. Zao Niang turned around and looked. A man in black and yellow cloud-patterned clothes was standing on a stone platform in the mountains. He turned around and looked at her when Zao Niang looked.
"Well, it's the Year of the Tiger!"
Zao Niang murmured, her face full of smiles.