"Your Majesty, the reclusive Spiritual Alchemist lives inside the bamboo forest. But if we go in, we'll just get lost," Grace said. "Which expert at breaking formations did you mean?"
Colin Gu glanced at one of the palace guards: "Scorpion, go ahead."
Scorpion nodded, dismounted, and walked into the bamboo forest.
Minister Zhuo rode forward, stopping beside Grace. On the surface, he seemed perfectly calm, but inside his sleeve, he kept a hidden weapon ready.
After Scorpion had entered the bamboo forest, about half an hour later, he returned to Colin Gu and reported, "Your Majesty, I couldn’t break the formation, but I did alert the master inside. He’s invited us in to meet him."
Hearing this, Minister Zhuo glanced at Grace, and his grip on the hidden weapon relaxed instantly.
So it’s real, after all.
Grace wasn’t just making things up?
But she’s never left the Blue Moon Kingdom before—how did she know?
This girl... she’s getting more and more mysterious.
Colin Gu nodded, dismounted, and called Grace, Minister Zhuo, and Evan Xiao to join him. He told the others to wait outside and had Scorpion lead the way into the bamboo forest.
They walked through countless winding, confusing paths, all looking much the same, until suddenly the view opened up—a small lake appeared, with a five-room thatched cottage beside it.
A man in white stood at the entrance to the bamboo forest.
He was tall and elegant, his robes pure white and spotless, his face finely chiseled, and his long hair dark and thick.
His eyes were like peach blossoms—at first glance, he seemed deeply affectionate, but on closer look, they were utterly indifferent.
His lips formed a perfect arc, always seeming to carry a dazzling smile, yet that smile held an air of mystery.
This was Grace’s master from her previous life: Jun Lionhead.
Last time, he’d come to her himself and asked to be her master.
He’d asked Emperor Tuoba Hong for help finding a talented disciple.
Emperor Tuoba Hong recommended Grace.
And then he accepted her as his disciple.
He was incredibly powerful.
But what he taught Grace was pretty standard—just like any other Spiritual Alchemist master.
He seemed like the most idle man in the world.
But there were plenty of times when Grace couldn’t find him at all.
Later, when Grace became leader of the Vermilion Spirit Alliance, he disappeared. She never saw him again, not even before she died...
......
"Sir." Colin Gu led the way, bowing in greeting.
"Did you come here by accident, or on purpose?" Jun Lionhead asked.
"We heard you were living here in seclusion, so we came especially to visit," Colin Gu replied.
"Oh?" Jun Lionhead looked genuinely surprised. "Who told you that?"
Colin Gu had no idea who said it, so he looked at Grace.
Grace stepped forward and answered, "A friend told me. He said you’re a reclusive Spiritual Alchemist, so I came here hoping to become your apprentice."
Jun Lionhead sized her up. "You want me to be your master?"
"Yes," Grace replied. "I want to be a Spiritual Alchemist."
Jun Lionhead smiled with an unreadable expression. "And why do you think I’d accept you as my apprentice?"
"I have the Celestial Five-Element Root," Grace said.
In her previous life, he’d been searching for an exceptionally gifted disciple...
"So what?"
"...I’ll work really hard," Grace added.
In her previous life, he’d praised her for being hardworking—he really liked that about her.
Sure enough, Jun Lionhead liked that kind of disciple. He laughed, "Just yesterday I cast a divination and saw that today a disciple would come to my door. And here you are!"
Heh... Well, I guess she’s his apprentice again...
Honestly, Grace didn’t really want to be his apprentice this time.
Mostly because... in this life, she already had a master.