Yuan Ji was now sighing heavily as he looked with great reluctant at Fairy Ye Chengxi and Shangguan Yan.
"Yan'Er, Chengxi. I'll be away for a little while." He had finally taken the courage to announce to them.
Both Shangguan Yan and Fairy Ye Chengxi were both started as they took a step back. They had not expected for this to happen.
Yuan Ji saw their shocked look, he tried to lighten the mood by making a joke, "I'm not trying to run away. In fact, I will be back even before the six months are up."
Fairy Ye Chengxi returned an gentle smile, "We know that Brother Yuan Ji will never run away and to abandon us to the swords of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. But may we know the reasons why you will be away?"
Yuan Ji began to sigh heavily again as he turned his back around to look at the full moon. "I need to find Xia Jiaqing first. At least before I die, I must find her at all costs. I owe her something (an apology) and she owes me something (an explanation)."
He did not dare to tell the two maidens about the apology and the explanation because he did not want them to know that he was really Ji Yuan their old master.
Shangguan Yan nodded lightly, "I hope that she is fine. Yan'Er owes my current happiness to her."
"Brother Yuan Ji, do you know where to look for her?" Fairy Ye Chengxi asked him curiously before she quickly added. "Can we go with you?"
Yuan Ji said, "No, you can't go with me. As a matter of fact, I need the two of you to lie to everyone that I am in quiet seclusion to prepare for the upcoming duel."
"As for her whereabouts…" Yuan Ji hesitated for a while before he replied. "I know there are two persons that can give me a clue."
Shangguan Yan asked curiously, "Who are the two persons?"
Yuan Ji replied, "Sacred Maiden Xue Qianxue and the Dark Mistress Ling Feiyue."
Shangguan Yan and Fairy Ye Chengxi were gasping at the same time.
Fairy Ye Chengxi smiled weakly, "One is the Sacred Maiden of the Celestial Orthodox Sect who belongs to one of the seven major orthodox clans and the other is the Dark Mistress of the Spirit Blue Moon Sect from one of the five major unorthodox clans. It is going to quite difficult for you to even seek an audience with any one of them."
Then with a deep soft sigh, she added. "Moreover, we can't be sure if Xue Qianxue has a hand in her disappearance. What if she decides to take this opportunity to silence you?"
Shangguan Yan nodded quickly, "Also, the Xue Qianxue's Celestial Orthodox Sect is off-limits to men. Although from time to time they do entertain the male cultivators but they are always the leaders or important figures of the celestial fraternity."
Then her gentle eyes began to shift as she said weakly, "As for Ling Feiyue's Spirit Blue Moon Sect, it is an enemy of the majority of the orthodox celestial clans. It is unwise to for any orthodox cultivator to pay a visit there."
"I have thought of that already." Yuan Ji said lightly as he gave them an assuring smile. "Trust me, I have a plan already."
Shangguan Yan was startled, "May Big Brother shares with your Yan'Er this plan of yours?"
Even Fairy Ye Chengxi was looking at Yuan Ji with a perplexed look. Although the Emperor Hall Sect was quite well-known in the celestial fraternity but it was mostly due to the renown of Palace Mistress Xia Jiaqing as one of the great beauties of the celestial fraternity and not because it was due to the might of the Emperor Hall Sect.
It was because in the eyes of the seven major orthodox clans and the five major unorthodox clans, the Emperor Hall Sect was actually only a puny sect of no consequences. After all, each of the seven major orthodox clans could easily field a hundred over golden celestials.
In short, these twelve celestial clans were literally the superpowers of the celestial fraternity.
Yuan Ji suddenly had a mischievous smile, "You know. The night is so short and I will be leaving before the first ray of dawn…"
Shangguan Yan looked away with a flustered look as she interrupted him with a shy smile, "You're thinking of that, am I right?"
Even Fairy Ye Chengxi was averting her eyes shyly and she was gasping softly.
Yuan Ji put on a straight face as he said lightly, "This plan of mine is best whispered behind the closed doors of the bed chamber. In this way, nothing will get leak. But if it does get leak out, I know that it is the two of you."
Fairy Ye Chengxi chuckled softly, "You're too shameless. If your plan gets leak out, you will still need to guess which one of us is the leaker…"
All of a sudden Yuan Ji had grabbed her with his right arm and he was grabbing Shangguan Yan with his left arm.
"It doesn't matter to me. You're both my consorts. The two of you will share the blame together."
"Let me go, you shameless flower thief…"
"You are a beast of a man…"
"I am so wrong about you…"
"He is an absolute beast. Sister, I hope that today you've finally seen his true colors…"
"Why are our fates so miserable?"
Yuan Ji did not care for what they were saying and he continued to carry them until he had thrown them on the soft bed. He knew that they were just doing a shy feeble protest and were not serious about stopping him or they would have resisted already.
"This beast of a man will show you how beastie I am tonight." Yuan Ji laughed lightly.
And he was already starting to strip them and had thrown aside their clothing piece by piece to the ground.
He chuckled softly, "Two innocent maidens have now fallen into my hands. You can run but you can't hide. No, you can't run without your clothes on and you can't hide from my eyes either."
Then with a gentle smile, he said. "The two heavenly flowers of my heart is bidding me farewell, comforting my sorrows and my silent tears…"
"You're too beastie…"
"Shameless…"
"He is speaking like a real lecherous flower thief…"
"I didn't know that a lecherous flower thief can also recite poems. This is the first time that I've ever heard of this…"
"I feel that the one that are in tears are actually us and not him. This poem sounds so wrong…"
Yuan Ji laughed as he took off his robe hastily, "I am coming! And I will slap your butt cheeks hard!"
"He…is coming…"
"This fake flower thief seems to be taking his time…"
"Maybe it is his first time…"
"I'm losing interest, sister…"
"Same here…"
Yuan Ji frowned lightly and he doubled his speed of stripping before he jumped on the bed.
There were screaming sounds and the jerking of the bed as the three of them battled together.
"let go of me, you beast…"
"I will scream for help if you don't let go of me…"
"Somebody help…"
Hours later…
Yuan Ji was now holding onto Shangguan Yan and Fairy Ye Chengxi.
"So what is your plan?" Fairy Ye Chengxi said him quietly. "Don't give me the only good plan is no plan stuff."
Shangguan Yan nodded lightly, "We are not allowing you to leave unless you truly have a plan."
Yuan Ji sighed softly before he said slowly, "Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue will surely allow me into their presence. It is because my plan is to make them fight against each other."
Shangguan Yan was startled, "Why will they fight with each other? They're enemies?"
"Do they even know each other in the very first place?" Fairy Ye Chengxi asked curiously.
Yuan Ji nodded, "I happen to know that they have a feud with each other and I'm thinking that I can actually make use of it to enter into an audience with them."
Shangguan Yan shook her head with a weak smile, "You're lying. They won't just see you because you know that they have a feud with each other."
Yuan Ji returned a gentle look at Shangguan Yan. Although his Yan'Er was weaker than his Chengxi but she was the smarter of the two. When he was around her, he had to ensure that he did not leave behind any clues for her to identify himself as her old master.
"I have something that they both wanted badly. I can make use of that." Yuan Ji said.
"What is it?" Shangguan Yan asked curiously.
"Secret."
Shangguan Yan, Fairy Ye Chengxi: …
"Tell us?"
"Secret."
"Our Brother Yuan Ji is so bad. He tricks us into bed and he still refuses to tell us anything."
"That's right! Shameless!"
"Don't be so mean and give us a little clue?"
"Say whatever you like. Your mind games don't work on me…"
"We're not letting you go unless you tell us…"
"Right Sister…"
Finally with a soft sigh, Yuan Ji quickly cooked up with an excuse. "Xia Jiaqing is the key. If I tell them that I know her real name then I can bait them."
Fairy Ye Chengxi asked curiously, "Xia Jiaqing's real name?"
Yuan Ji nodded, "She is only using a fake name. Nothing is known about her past before she becomes the Palace Mistress of the Emperor Hall Sect."
Shangguan Yan was gasping, "Then who is she?"
Yuan Ji smiled bitterly, "Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue may know the answer. The real problem is, how do I get them to willingly share with me the truth?"
In his mind he had worked out some loose details; Ling Feiyue was the more likely of the two to know the real Xia Jiajia. It was because they were in each other company. As for Xue Qianxue, she had a feud with Xia Jiajia and may know her equally well too. After all no one understand their enemies more than anyone else.
It was also very likely that Xia Jiajia was a high level cultivation expert from one of the five major unorthodox clans. If she was not, it was hard to explain why she was in Ling Feiyue's company and why they were both planning a scheme together against Xue Qianxue?
Yuan Ji saw that the two maidens were now giving him a sentimental look and he was startled.
He could only apologize silently in his heart to them. "I can only tell you the half-truths for now. Even I have no answers for the time being. I don't even know if my plan is a good one or not."
Unknown to him, Fairy Ye Chengxi was quietly observing his every little nuance. Although she may not be as smart and decisive as her sister Shangguan Yan but she knew all the subtle emotions of her old master.
She knew that he was not telling the whole truths and she was only pretending to believe him. From his subtle expressions, she knew that he was actually anxious in his heart.
She quietly lifted her fingers to gently touch his shoulder and was secretly delighted. Although their unison was short but these few days were the happiest day of her life. She had dream of their unison for a long, long time.
What made her happy as well was that even her sister Shangguan Yan had found solace in Yuan Ji. Toward her sister, she had always felt a terrible guilt in her heart. It was because her sister had sacrificed her happiness in order to protect her and the Orthodox Sword Sect. There was no way she could make it up for her.
Although they were very close sisters but she did not dare to tell her that Yuan Ji was actually Ji Yuan her old master. She was really afraid that her sister would not be able to handle the shock too well.
She inhaled slowly as a drop of tear dripped down her cheek, reciting silently. "The two heavenly flowers of my heart is bidding me farewell, comforting my sorrows and my silent tears." This may possibly be the last poem that her old master would dedicate to her.
Shangguan Yan was also quietly reciting the short poem. Even though she had teased her Brother Yuan Ji about it but she was actually remembering it in her heart and was saddened by it.
She muttered silently, "Do you know that your Yan'Er already knows who you are? I didn't tell you because I don't want a master-disciple relationship with you. Actually, Chengxi isn't the only one that has idolized you secretly. If Chengxi can protect your Orthodox Sword Sect for you, so can I."
This was something that she had never disclosed to her Sister Chengxi. It was because she could tell that her sister's eyes were always following her old master.
"Sister, I hope that you will be able to forget about our old master now. Because our Big Brother Yuan Ji is actually our Old Master Ji Yuan…" That was the reason why she was eager to pair off Yuan Ji with her sister. Luckily, her sister did not seem to have much of an objection. Maybe it was due to the fact that Yuan Ji was quite dashing and moreover he had helped her sister on many occasions.