## AST 280 – Marrying Both Ladies Together? Heavenly Palace’s Nine Halls

A majestic lady, standing aloof from the world; a beauty who transcends the world and whose beauty could bring the fall of countries and cities!

“Elder Fei!” From them, a tall young lady walked out.

“Go inform the two new disciples that there’s someone looking for them.” Elder Fei smiled and said.

The lady acknowledged, and dashed up the over a thousand stone steps. Her graceful figure appeared very coordinated when she was walking up the stone steps, looking wonderful. And it seemed like Elder Fei should be very well-known in the Heavenly Palace since Qing Shui noticed that many disciples were able to address him as Elde Fei.

Very soon, three people came down from the peak of the stone steps. It was the lady from earlier, Canghai Mingyue, as well as Huoyun Liu-Li. In but a moment, they appeared before Qing Shui and the others.

They stared at the three men!

“Mingyue, he is your father’s Master, and this is your father’s younger Martial Brother, Elder Fei.” Qing Shui felt helpless. He had initially promised Canghai Mingyue that he would not take out the Heavenly Palace’s Token, but he had not expected the old man to be able to sense the token he had given to Canghai.

“You are really my father’s Master? When is my father’s birthday?” Canghia Mingyue looked at this kind and amiable looking old man, unblinking.

“28th of March!”

“Where is my father’s birth mark?”

“On the sole of his left foot. It’s red, and the size of a grape. He was brought up by me, haha.” The old man looked at Canghai Mingyue, his smile becoming increasingly warm.

“Grandmaster, father said that you are Yueyue’s grandfather!” Recalling her dead parents, tears trickled down Canghai Mingyue’s face.

“Good child, don’t cry. You are Cang Wuya’s granddaughter now. Though Canghai is not my son by blood, he is closer to me than if he were a blood-related child. Child, this old man is already over 300 years old. I finally have a granddaughter like you, the one and only.” The old man was overjoyed.

“Grandfather, this is Liu-Li, she is my parents’ granddaughter!” Canghai Mingyue pulled Huoyun Liu-Li over.

“Child, in the future, you’ll be the same as Mingyue. You are wearing a veil, do you have an injury on your face?” Cang Wuya gently patted Huoyun Liu-Li on her head.

“Grandfather, my face has a scar caused by a blade.” Huoyun Liu-Li took off her veil, revealing that shocking scar.

Cang Wuya looked at Huoyun Liu-Li’s scar, his gaze not flickering while he kept up his gentle smile and said, “Liu-Li, I’ll think of something. Grandfather cannot guarantee to heal you, but there’s a medicinal pellet which can fully heal this kind of scar. It brings back one’s beauty and even makes one more beautiful than before. However, it’s a pity that no one can concoct it.”

“You are referring to the Beauty Pellet?” Qing Shui asked with sparkling eyes.

“Hmmm? Qing Shui, you’ve heard of it too?” Cang Wuya asked in surprise. Usually, only alchemists would know of them, and Cang Wuya was also considered a Xiantian alchemist.

“I’m short of the Beauty Fruit. If I have it, I should be able to work on creating the pellet soon.” Qing Shui said, feeling regretful.

“Haha, good, good. Seems like I won’t have to worry about Liu-Li’s problem. Liu-Li lass, old man here will guarantee that Qing Shui will definitely help you regain your beauty within three years. This old man feels very surprised that although you have a scar, it doesn’t seem to affect your beauty at all. You are still a beautiful lass.”

“I think so too. I feel that she’s prettier than before.” Qing Shui smiled gently and said.

Huoyun Liu-Li glared at Qing Shui charmingly.

“Let’s go to my place. We’ll all have a chat.” Cang Wuya chuckled and said to the others, his gentle tone was very soothing.

The few of them followed Cang Wuya to his living quarters, a small two-storey building. Each storey was about 200 square meters, and was quite spacious for just one person to live in.

The first level was the living room and the kitchen. Qing Shui saw the fully equipped kitchen and that it was fully stocked with vegetables and meat too. He curiously asked, “Old master cooks by himself?”

“Usually there’ll be people from the palace sending food here for every meal. But now that I’m old, my temper has turned weird and I prefer to cook for myself. So long as I cook, I will feel that the food is delicious.”

“Since everyone is here today, old master can stay to chat with Mingyue. I’ll cook something up for everyone. I also like to cook for myself.” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“Haha, alright. I didn’t think that Qing Shui would get along so well with this old man, but to let you cook…” The old man said hesitantly.

“Grandfather, let Qing Shui cook. His cooking is really good, definitely much better than food made by any chefs you’ve come across!” Canghai Mingyue smiled and said.

“Oh? Mmm, alright. Qing Shui isn’t an outsider anyway. After you get married to him, we’ll all be a family. No, wait, seems like I’m old and muddled. We’re already a family, a family!” Cang Wuya laughed heartily.

Qing Shui: “...”

Canghai Mingyue fell into a daze as she listened, and then she spoke shyly, “Grandfather, what are you talking about? Who wants to get married to him?”

Canghai Mingyue threw a glare towards Qing Shui, causing his heart to leap quickly. It was not because he was frightened, but more of because he was electrified by her rarely released “seductive” charms.

“Isn’t Qing Shui the husband your parents found for you?” Cang Wuya asked, surprised.

“Grandfather, father and mother had this intention… but…”

“Haha, lass is being embarrassed. Grandfather will make the decision for you. Qing Shui is very good. Grandfather has lived for 300 years, I can discriminate someone good from bad.”

Qing Shui had long since left for the kitchen, but he could still ear the conversation in the living room. Qing Shui did not know what to feel.

“Grandfather, it’s not like that. Qing Shui will be marrying Liu-Li.” Canghai Mingyue suddenly dragged Huoyun Liu-Li into the picture.

“Grandfather, Qing Shui is not mine. On our way here, Qing shui was even hugging Sister Mingyue, not even avoiding me at all while they were behaving intimately.” Huoyun Liu-Li did not give way, pushing the problem to Mingyue.

“Haha, seems like this chap is quite the flirt. Grandfather will make the decision for you. You two will both be married to him and continue being sisters. When you meet someone you like, you must be decisive and hold onto him.” Cang Wuya looked at the extremely embarrassed Canghai Mingyue and laughed loudly.

“Grandfather, stop laughing…”

At his age, there was nothing Cang Wuya could not see through. From the two lasses’ expression and words, he could sense the crux of the problem. Even if the two of them were given 20 years, they may not say that they want to be with Qing Shui. That was why the old man very naturally and directly gave them an answer which would make them panic and lead them to think through it.

At that moment, a heavenly smell came from the kitchen. It was a light smell which intruded into one’s heart, making one’s organs feel extremely comfortable. It was a wonderful feeling, as if one would start to float.

“So fragrant. To think that Qing Shui has such excellent cooking skills! It’s not an exaggeration to call it divinely. No wonder the two lasses are so attracted to him. He’s young, handsome, his level of cultivation is considered to be quite high amongst the youngsters, and has such fine culinary skills… To think that I’ve not been able to see through this young man.” Cang Wuya said, astonished.

The two ladies: “...”

In a while, Qing Shui brought out three vegetarian dishes and two meat dishes together with a pot of soup. It looked normal, but the fragrance it exuded made one feel that it had a charm to it.

“Smelling this fragrance, I can’t bear to eat it, and am even more fearful that I may die of hunger if I’m not able to eat it in the future.” Cang Wuya chuckled and said.

“Master is right. Just from smelling this fragrance alone, I feel that I won’t be able to eat what I had used to eat.” Fei Wuji looked at Qing Shui, then at Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li.

Qing Shui scratched his head and smiled. Every time there were elders around, he had the habit of scratching the back of his head instead of rubbing his nose. It looked very honest, making Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li think that he was very sly…

“Qing Shui, do you like Mingyue and Liu-Li?” Cang Wuya passed chopsticks to everyone and said casually, not sounding like he was asking a question.

“I do. I reckon that there’s no guys who wouldn’t…”

“You are quite an honest fellow. I like your honesty. Alright, let’s dig in. I’m assured now. Qing Shui, when you chase after my two granddaughters, you must put in more effort.”

The two ladies: “...”

Qing Shui smiled awkwardly and when he saw the two ladies looking in his direction, he quickly turned away, causing Cang Wuya and Fei Wuji to break into harmless laughter.

While eating, there were endless praises, even from Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li. All the talk was that Qing Shui’s cooking had gotten much better than before.

Qing Shui smiled “honestly” at the two ladies, causing the two of them to grit their teeth!\

This time around, Qing Shui used the defective ingredients he made himself, as well as condiments for making the meat dishes. It was a pity that they were defective. However, Qing Shui would also include medicinal herbs which had similar effects, and there was also a Multi-fragrant Fruit which had grown in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The fruit could be used in any food, could even be used to brew wine, used for anesthetic, or eaten raw.

When eaten, it would fill one’s mouth with a light refreshing fragrance like a mint’s!

“Master, you stay and chat with Mingyue and Liu-Li. I’ll bring Qing Shui to take a look at Starmoon Hall, and get him the Heavenly Palace’s clothes and items.” Fei Wuji rubbed his stomach in satisfaction before he stood up and said to Cang Wuya respectfully.

“Alright, go ahead!” Cang Wuya nodded and said.

Starmoon Hall was located to the north of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. Qing Shui followed two steps behind Fei Wuji and stood at his diagonal right as they walked!

“Elder Fei, now that I’m also with Heavenly Palace, can you briefly share with me the situation with the Heavenly Palace?” Qing Shui asked carefully.

“Haha, you can call me Martial Uncle! It works no matter how we look at it!”

“The Heavenly Palace has a long history. Major sects have their advantages but also their disadvantages. The Heavenly Palace’s nine halls have a lot of people and is very complicated. That’s why there’re so many strict regulations when choosing people. Even so, there’s not much use. Each of the halls in the Heavenly Palace represents a faction. Some of them are clan-based while others are sect-based.” Fei Wuji said with a hint of self-mockery.

“Elder Fei is saying that there are great contradictions in the Heavenly Palace?” Qing Shui asked, feeling that it was unbelievable.