591: Chapter 591 Awakening, Ye Jianwei's Changes

After leaving the System space, Qin Wangchuan's consciousness arrived in a place of darkness.

He did not know how much time had passed.

From the depths of the darkness, a strain of zither music suddenly drifted over.

The zither music was initially very far away, very faint, as if it existed yet did not.

Yet it was like a thread, pulling him, little by little, drawing him closer.

Closer and closer.

Clearer and clearer.

The next instant.

Qin Wangchuan suddenly opened his eyes!

Before his eyes was a dome flowing with faint starlight, countless points of light flickering and drifting, shining eternally.

Outside the window, the daylight belonging to the Immortal Court filtered in, shining upon the warm jade walls, reflecting the Dao patterns on the walls so they were faintly visible, transforming the Spiritual Qi into strands of clear radiance that silently seeped into his limbs and bones.

On the floor paved with jade, spiritual patterns wound and flowed beneath his feet.

Everything was in its familiar state.

He had returned.

After a dream of a hundred years, he had finally returned.

The zither music came from the courtyard outside the room.

It was leisurely and melodious, clearly audible.

In a moment, the zither music suddenly paused and came to an abrupt halt.

It seemed to have sensed the movement inside the room.

A moment later, light, slow footsteps approached from afar. A figure in plain white walked in from outside the door, went to the bedside, and respectfully bowed her head.

It was Ye Jianwei.

She wore a plain white immortal dress, her long, pitch-black hair draped to her waist, and a piece of white silk covered those unseen eyes.

Although she was a Blind Girl, her features were born with an ethereal beauty; standing there quietly, she was like a painting.

It was as if no matter how much time passed, as long as he opened his eyes, she would always be here.

"Young Master, you are awake."

Her voice was very soft, and there was no excess expression on her face, just as usual.

This calmness unexpectedly put Qin Wangchuan at ease.

What he feared most was that while a hundred years had passed in the trial, a hundred years had also passed in the Immortal Court outside.

He propped himself up to sit, leaned against the head of the bed, and asked casually.

"How long have I slept?"

"Replying to Young Master, five months and ten days."

"Five months..."

It was much shorter than he had expected.

Qin Wangchuan lifted the quilt, and Ye Jianwei came forward to drape his outer robe over him and fasten his belt, her movements light and slow.

Once he was dressed, he got out of bed. The moment his feet touched the ground, his first feeling was a sense of discomfort throughout his body.

Compared to the Mortal vessel in the trial, this body was currently filled with power that was almost overflowing.

Fortunately, this power was originally his.

After taking just a few steps, that slight unfamiliarity vanished without a trace.

He paced to the window and sat down, waving his hand to signal Ye Jianwei to come closer.

"In the days I was away, what has happened?"

Ye Jianwei sat below him and slowly recounted the events inside and outside the Immortal Court over the past five months, one by one.

The first matter was about Li Qingluan.

"Not long after Young Master went into seclusion, Young Miss Qingluan also went into seclusion. It's just that her seclusion... the commotion is a bit large."

According to her, above the place where Li Qingluan was in seclusion, a huge blue flower cocoon was currently suspended. She was sealed inside it.

Around the flower cocoon, dense golden Sword Seals locked the sky, and a giant sword hung above it, descending slowly. The tip of the sword was only a few zhang away from the flower cocoon. Yet, it was this short distance that seemed to have been falling for a long time without ever reaching it.

"It is said that when that sword falls, it will be the day Young Miss Qingluan emerges from seclusion."

"Because of this, the entire Li family has even entered a state of battle readiness."

Qin Wangchuan held his teacup, listening quietly, and only gave a faint hum. Although he did not know what Legacy Li Qingluan had obtained, since she was in the Li family, there was nothing to worry about.

"Chu Wujiu and the others have been here a few times." Ye Jianwei continued, "Hearing that Young Master had not yet emerged from seclusion, they didn't stay long; they sat for a bit and then left."

"Also."

"The Central Province Dynasty is not peaceful either. I heard the old Emperor intends to abdicate, and the princes and princesses below, for the position of crown successor, have long been competing openly and secretly, causing many conflicts. It is still in chaos right now."

"These past few months, in order to seek an audience with Young Master, the invitations submitted by various parties are almost piling up on the desk."

"That Your Highness Jiang Xuanli comes every few days."

"She doesn't mention seeking an audience with Young Master, but only looks for this servant to drink tea, listen to the zither, and occasionally, spar a few moves."

Speaking of this, the corners of Ye Jianwei's lips curled imperceptibly.

Although she could not see, her heart was clearer than anyone else's. That noble eldest princess, beating around the bush and going to so much trouble, was not aiming at her, a servant girl. Clearly, it was still for Young Master.

It was just that she hid those thoughts deep down and never dared to truly speak them out loud even once.

Ye Jianwei chattered on, completely unaware. Since just now, Qin Wangchuan's gaze had been fixed on her.

In those eyes that were usually calm and waveless, something indescribable began to condense, little by little.

He did not interrupt, just listened quietly, letting her finish sentence by sentence. Until her voice faded, he slowly spoke, singling out those two words.

"Servant?"

This form of address, he was hearing it for the first time.

Being pointed out like this, Ye Jianwei was stunned.

For a moment, she did not understand why Young Master was fixating on these two words.

This was only natural. To her, these five months passed day by day, and that self-reference changing from "I" to "Servant" happened silently, and she herself was completely unaware.

But to him, it was not like that. His little servant girl had suddenly changed how she referred to herself.

Qin Wangchuan tapped his fingers on the edge of the table, not too lightly or too heavily, and spoke.

"In the days I was away, did someone bully you?"

"Or... did someone say something?"

The expression on her face did not change much.

But her heart, covered under the white silk, was both sour and warm.

The sour part was that, as the only servant of the God Child and also an outsider, those idle gossips had actually never stopped.

In the past, when Young Master was around, Ye Jianwei felt secure, and no matter how ugly the words were, they couldn't enter her heart. But once Young Master went into seclusion, she felt like she had lost her backbone, and those words drilled into her heart one by one, causing her to let her imagination run wild.

The warm part was that Young Master had just woken up, and the first thing he cared about was actually her insignificant grievances.

This sentiment rushed straight to her heart, and Ye Jianwei's eyes suddenly grew hot, almost shedding tears. But in the end, she swallowed all her grievances back. She said nothing. She just lowered her head, her voice low.

"...But... I am, after all, Young Master's servant."

This remark sounded like an excuse, yet also like resignation.

Qin Wangchuan looked at her quietly for a while.

Then, his body leaned forward slightly, his breath so close it almost brushed against her forehead hair.

He reached out a hand to hold her chin and lifted it gently. Using the light leaking in through the window lattice, he carefully scrutinized the young girl's face.

His fingertips applied slight pressure, tilting that exquisite face to the left, then turning it to the right. Although Ye Jianwei was puzzled, she did not move the whole time, letting him handle her. It was just that her cheeks, covered by the white silk, still uncontrollably turned red, little by little. Her breathing was also quietly held.

After a long while, Qin Wangchuan nodded with satisfaction.

Hmm, her complexion was normal.

His gaze slid down naturally; her chest was still full, perhaps even fuller? Further down, her waist was narrower than he remembered, more slender, making the parts above and below appear even more prominent.

He took a couple more looks, confirming that Ye Jianwei had not only not lost weight, but was instead fuller and more alluring than before his seclusion. Everything was fine.

"Hmm."

He withdrew his fingers, the lingering warmth on his fingertips cooling down in the air. His tone was very flat.

"It's good that you are fine."

He paused, then spoke again.

"Do you remember what I told you before?"

Ye Jianwei's eyelashes fluttered slightly.

"When you encounter trouble, you must not always think of running away." Qin Wangchuan said, word by word, "If someone gossips, then pay them back. Whoever has a long tongue, pull it out for me."

"After all, you are my person."

These words were not spoken loudly, and there was no fluctuation in his tone. But falling into Ye Jianwei's heart, it was like a warm current.

She lowered her head. The corners of her eyes, covered by the white silk, quietly became wet.

"...This servant will remember."

This time, that word "servant" was sweet.

After the tenderness, Qin Wangchuan led the conversation back to serious matters.

"What about the Foreign Lands? Are there any movements?"

"Young Master is wise." Ye Jianwei said softly, "Recently, there have been constant small movements from the Foreign Lands. It's just that I don't know if... some scheme is hidden behind them."

Hearing this, Qin Wangchuan's gaze sank slightly. The Foreign Lands had always been restless, and added to that was that person, Xuan Ye. These seemingly sporadic probes were likely not without foundation.

Having said all this, Ye Jianwei paused. Actually, there was one last matter. It was about the Ye family. It seemed there had been some changes on Ye Lingchuan's side recently.

But this thought turned in her heart, and in the end, she suppressed it. That was, after all, Ye Lingchuan's family business and had nothing to do with her Young Master; why bother speaking an extra word about it?

Therefore, she did not speak.

The two of them, in a disjointed manner, recounted the events of the past few months, covering them generally.

When they were done talking, Qin Wangchuan stood up and began to give orders:

"Pass the order to the forging room to fire up the furnaces immediately."

He paused, then added:

"Also, report it upwards; I want to see the Old Ancestor."