From stable boy to peerless immortal

Chapter 23 The fairy shouldn't need to be pulled...

The next day, early in the morning.

After feeding his own fire horse and two spirit horses, and finishing his other tasks, Shen Yuan arrived outside Qingchi Garden.

Qingchi Garden is one of the residences of Miss Hua Qinglian. The environment is quiet and elegant, but ordinary servants are not allowed to approach it.

Only a handful of people, including Shen Yuan, are allowed to come here.

After Shen Yuan knocked on the door, a short while later, a slender young woman with almond-shaped eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, and a charming appearance came out.

It was a silver bell.

"It's you!"

Upon seeing Shen Yuan, Yinling'er's eyes brightened slightly, seemingly with some joy, and she asked in a sweet voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Of course, I have important matters to report to Miss."

Meeting her bright, seemingly expressive eyes and charming face, Shen Yuan cupped his hands in greeting: "Please ask Sister Ling'er to inform her that this matter is related to the eldest son's family."

Yinling'er's eyes darkened slightly. She bit her lip and then nodded, "Then you wait here. I'll go and report to the young lady right away."

As she spoke, she swayed her hips slightly, her full, round buttocks bobbing as she turned to report, but Shen Yuan called out to her, "Sister, please wait."

"What's wrong?"

Yinling turned her head in confusion, only to see Shen Yuan handing over a small wooden box and smiling, "I've been busy feeding the horses and cultivating lately, so I haven't had time to go out. That's why I made this little thing myself. I hope you won't find it offensive, sister."

"This is... the gift you said you'd give me?"

Silver Bell was overjoyed, her eyes sparkling with delight and a touch of excitement.

"That's right."

Shen Yuan smiled.

Silver Bell couldn't wait to open it, and then she saw what was inside the wooden box.

This is a puppet, about the size of a palm, that looks exactly like a miniature version of the cartoon character Silver Bell.

With a big head, a round face, and a small body, and a silver bell hanging from its wrist, it doesn't look awkward or out of place at all. Instead, it looks playful, cute, and endearing.

Silver Bell's rosy, full lips parted slightly, as if in surprise, and she couldn't help but ask, "This wooden carving...is me?"

"My father was a carpenter, so I learned some wood carving skills from a young age."

Shen Yuan explained, "It's been a long time since I've done this, so my skills have inevitably become a bit rusty. I hope you won't mind, sister."

"No—I don't mind at all, in fact, I like it very much!"

Silver Bell held the wooden carving, turning it over and over. The more she looked at it, the more she felt that the puppet resembled herself, and she couldn't put it down.

She carefully placed the puppet in the wooden box. When she looked up, her gaze towards Shen Yuan changed slightly, and her tone softened as she said, "Wait a moment, I'll go and inform the young lady right away."

She turned to leave, but at that moment, the gates of Qingchi Garden slowly opened by themselves, and a soft yet refined voice rang in their ears:

"No need to announce your arrival, come in."

"It's Miss..."

Yinling'er suddenly realized what had happened, a blush spreading across her cheeks and earlobes. Knowing her young mistress had witnessed what had just occurred, she glared at Shen Yuan with a mixture of delight and reproach, then twisted her waist: "What are you standing there for? Come with me!"

"oh."

Shen Yuan obediently followed behind Yin Ling'er, admiring the beautiful scenery ahead, as full and ripe as peaches.

As he walked through a garden, he was captivated by the exotic flowers and plants that vied for attention, their fragrances enchanting. The ancient and peculiar rockery, with its exquisite arrangement, made Shen Yuan unable to resist turning his gaze away for a moment, lingering there, reluctant to leave.

Before long, the two arrived at a lake.

The lake is wide and the water is clear and green. Lush lotus leaves float on the surface, interspersed with pink lotus flowers as big as washbasins, which look particularly magical.

In the lake, schools of red-scaled carp swam to and fro.

These carp are plump, mostly three to five feet long, with bright red scales that shimmer with a beautiful luster, like water sprites, occasionally floating to the surface to peck at the falling lotus petals.

A very small number of carp can even grow to over ten feet long, with bodies as large as boats. As they shake their heads and wag their tails, the scales on their bodies gleam with a faint golden light.

In the pavilion in the lake, a tall and voluptuous figure wearing a light blue silk dress stood by the railing.

Even just a glimpse of her back exudes an elegant, noble, tranquil, and mysterious aura, making people only dare to admire her from afar!

"This young lady is truly beautiful... Her looks, figure, and even her temperament and charm are unparalleled in this world; she truly deserves to be called an extraordinary being!"

Upon witnessing this scene, a thought instinctively popped into Shen Yuan's mind:

"However, I have a question. Golden Core cultivators sustain themselves by consuming vital energy, thus their bodies are pure and free from impurities. So, those fairies and goddesses in the cultivation world probably don't need to defecate, right?"

Such a rebellious thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "This subordinate greets the young lady!"

Hua Qinglian turned around, revealing her fair and flawless face. Her eyes were deep and moist, and her gaze fell on Shen Yuan.

Almost instantly, he had a clear understanding of Shen Yuan's progress in cultivation.

"Mastering the Tendon Refining Technique..." A strange feeling arose in Hua Qinglian's heart.

As a true disciple of the Divine Water Palace, her knowledge and experience were naturally extraordinary, and she had seen countless cultivation geniuses.

Even with her refined mindset, she couldn't help but be somewhat surprised by the progress this young man had made in his cultivation.

All told, she had only passed on the "Dragon and Snake Treasure Record" to Shen Yuan for a mere half a month.

In just half a month, many people, let alone those who have just begun their practice, have already achieved a good understanding of the principles of cultivation.

However, Shen Yuan directly skipped two minor realms and entered the third stage of martial arts master—bone refining, which is quite absurd.

Whether it is martial arts cultivation or immortal cultivation, it requires a step-by-step accumulation process. In the initial stage, one also needs to consume spiritual rice, spiritual pills and other elixirs to strengthen the foundation and cultivate vitality.

However, Shen Yuan relied entirely on his own strength to reach this point quickly and steadily, without any hidden dangers.

This is enough to prove just how talented my subordinate is!

"What brings you here?"

Hua Qinglian's voice was cool and detached, like a refreshing breeze that brought peace to the mind.

However, Shen Yuan noticed that the young lady seemed to glance at the box containing the puppet in Yinling'er's hand.

"Reporting to Miss, I was just about to rest late last night when Steward Wu and Steward Huang from the main branch sneaked into my courtyard under cover of darkness..."

Shen Yuan didn't hide anything and began to tell the story of what happened last night.

Hua Qinglian remained calm, showing no change even after hearing that Steward Wu wanted to bribe Shen Yuan, possibly to target her.

She knew better than anyone else about the eldest son's targeting and secret schemes.

Because this was exactly what she had expected.

Even the fact that Hua Tiancheng, the former head of the second branch of the family, who was her father, was unexpectedly ambushed and killed, leading to the rapid decline of the second branch, while seemingly orchestrated by the demonic forces, actually had the shadow of the first branch behind it.

In comparison, the current targeting and suppression are nothing.

Her goal was to investigate this past event thoroughly.

This was also the main reason why she resolutely returned from her sect after she forged a first-grade golden core!