The Celestial Labyrinth: Love Across Ten Continents

Repair Artifact

Mu smiled helplessly again, turned to Ban and said, "Take off your shoes. The tower is very clean, don't let the mud get them dirty."

Ban quickly took off his muddy shoes, placed them on the windowsill together with his, and then floated in through the window.

There was a carpet on the ground, which felt strange when stepped on. Ban rubbed it with his feet and found that it was not made of animal fur, but probably made of silk from tree bark and leaves. There was a window not far away. In front of the window was a huge bronze tripod. A beautiful woman in her twenties, dressed in green, was leaning on the tripod and looking back at them.

"Mu, you are the most heartless person in the world. You had a great time in Taoyuan Mountain last time, but you didn't even invite me. You promised to see me at least once a year. What about now? How many years have we not seen each other?"

As soon as she saw Mu, she started to act coquettishly, stamping her feet and waving her hands, acting like a completely little girl.

Mu smiled and said, "If I don't look for you, won't you come to Qingyuan to look for me? Besides, I never said that we would meet at least once a year. Who did you make this promise with? It's not right to put it on me."

The woman pouted and said, "You have no conscience, and you still say that others are not decent. You have to report everything you go in and out of Qingyuan. Those people at the door have such a bad face, it's annoying to look at them. Why would I go there to get mad?"

As she spoke, she walked over and saw Ban looking at her with eyes rolling around. She couldn't help but laugh: "Your new disciple? Why did you think of taking a female disciple?" She deliberately emphasized the word "female disciple" and her smile didn't look very friendly. Ban couldn't help but shrink and looked at him innocently.

Mu gently pushed her over and said, "This is Ban. Go and meet Lord Yuyou Yuan."

Ban hurried over and knelt down and kowtowed: "Ban greets Yuyou Yuanjun." She is Yuanjun, and her status is not low. Yuanjun is a title specially given to female fairies. It is very rare to get the title of Yuanjun, which shows that this person must be powerful and should not be underestimated.

Yuyou Yuanjun smiled and helped her up. She didn't say any polite words like the other gods. She just said, "This child is very young. I'm afraid it will be difficult to teach her."

Mu smiled and said, "Fortunately, Ban works very hard."

Ban was immediately delighted. She was praised by her master! This was the first time her master praised her for her hard work.

Soon, a little boy in green clothes brought tea, which was fragrant. Yu You Yuanjun took a sip of tea and suddenly said, "You came to me on your own initiative, it must be bad news. What trouble did you get into this time?"

Mu's innocent expression immediately emerged, and he asked curiously, "How did you know?"

Yu You Yuan Jun's face turned green, and he glared at him fiercely, as if he wanted to throw tea on his face, and said angrily: "If you can't speak, you'd better say less! It's annoying to hear it!"

As expected, Mu shut up and lowered his head to drink tea.

Yuan Jun was struggling for a long time, and finally said unhappily: "I heard that the Shui Liuqin was broken by your good disciple. Did you come here this time to ask me to help you fix it?"

Mu nodded without hesitation: "Yes, you name a price."

Yuyou Yuanjun was also unequivocal: "Bring the Shui Liuqin to me first."

The two pieces of broken stones were spread out on the stone table. Yu You Yuanjun's eyes almost popped out: "It's already in this state, and you want me to repair it?"

Mu said calmly, "I know you have a way. No matter how much money it is, you are welcome. Just tell me."

Yu Youyuanjun had no choice but to hold the two pieces of gravel in her hands and look at them left and right. Suddenly, she saw dried blood on the surface of the piano. She couldn't help but scratch it twice with her fingernails, but it didn't come off. The blood seemed to have seeped in, which was very strange.

"Is this your blood? Did you break the Shuiliuqin?" She picked up the broken pieces of the qin and asked Ban seriously.

Ban nodded.

Yuyou Yuanjun turned to look at Mu and said with a smile: "Well, I want you to stay here for three months. If you can do it, I will definitely return you a Shui Liuqin. But it will take some time to fix it. I'm afraid your apprentice can't escape the first heavenly punishment, so you have to find a way to hide her."

Ban had sharp ears, and when she heard the word "heavenly punishment", she shuddered - it seemed that her master had not lied to her, there really was heavenly punishment!

Mu said calmly, "I will take care of the matter of the heavenly punishment. I'll trouble you to repair the Shui Liuqin. Can you fix it within three months?"

"That depends on your disciple." Yu You Yuanjun pointed at Ban, "She was the one who broke the artifact and stained the divine light with her blood. To repair the Shui Liuqin, we have to let her continue to nourish it with her blood. Put a bowl of blood every seven days to nourish the Shui Liuqin. After 49 days, the Shui Liuqin will be able to return to its original form. At this time, it does not need blood, but only the vitality of a living person. You must keep it by your side at all times and cannot throw it away. After five years, the Shui Liuqin will naturally return to its original state."

Five years! Ban was shocked again, and couldn't help but think of the three-tailed fox fairy who told her fortune in Bibo Town that the result would only be known in five years. Could this be what he was referring to?

Mu frowned and said, "That divine weapon will emit cold light to hurt people, I'm afraid we can't get close to it."

Yu You Yuanjun showed a look of "You are so cute" and said softly, "Silly, she used her flesh and blood to feed Shui Liuqin, how could the qin hurt her? You might as well worry about the heavenly punishment instead of worrying about this. Although the heavenly punishment falls once every five years, it takes five years for the artifact to be completely restored. This first heavenly punishment in the near future will definitely not be avoided."

Mu saw Ban's face was turning pale and blue, and she was obviously uneasy. She couldn't help but touch her head and said, "Don't be afraid. Master is here, you won't die."

Ban nodded silently, thinking of what he said about the punishment from heaven being that she would be struck by thunder, burned by fire from heaven, or drowned by water from the heavenly river. She felt that there was no need for fire from heaven to burn her, as long as there was thunder from heaven, she would be dead for sure, and it would be a painless death.

"Okay, let's stop here." Yuyou Yuanjun clapped her hands, and the children immediately came up to take the teacup away. She held the remains of the Shui Liuqin, walked to the bronze cauldron, and threw it in without worrying about causing any more cracks.

"Let's bleed her." She took out a sharp knife from her sleeve and waved towards Ban, looking relaxed, as if she was not going to bleed her but to help her comb her hair.

Ban trembled and stretched out an arm to her, only to feel a chill on her wrist. Before she could feel the pain, blood gushed out. Yu You Yuanjun held a white jade bowl in her hand and waited until the blood filled the bowl before she wiped her wound with her hand. The wound that was almost exposed to the bone was healed by her, without even a red mark.

She raised her hand and poured the blood in the bowl into the bronze tripod. As soon as the Shui Liuqin came into contact with Ban's blood, it immediately made a slight sound, and a faint light seeped out from the tripod.

"That's all for today." Yuyou Yuanjun clapped her hands, smiled and took Fangzhun's arm, saying angrily, "You asked me to help you repair the Shui Liuqin, and I've already done it. Now you have to stay with me, right?"

Mu didn't say anything, but turned to Ban and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Ban shook her head before she could react. She didn't even feel the pain! It was over in an instant. The immortal's magic was indeed powerful. She bowed to Yu You Yuanjun and was about to say something to thank him when she suddenly felt a buzzing in her head. For some reason, golden stars jumped in front of her eyes. She stumbled and was about to fall.

Mu held her shoulders and said softly, "How can you not feel uncomfortable after losing so much blood?"

He took out a glass bottle from his arms, poured two pills into her mouth, turned around and smiled at Yuyou Yuanjun kindly: "Sorry, Yuyou, my disciple is not feeling well, let me take her to the guest room to rest, and then I will accompany you."

Yu You Yuan Jun pouted and said, "It's not like anyone will die, why are you so nice to her... I've never seen you be so nice to me."

Mu smiled innocently and said, "She is my disciple. Could it be that Yu You also wants to be my disciple?"

"Go away!" Yu You Yuan Jun rolled his eyes at him, but still asked someone to lead the way, "Come here, send Master Mu and his disciples to the guest room, treat them well, and don't neglect them."

After that, she smiled sweetly at him again: "I'll set up the chessboard and wait for you at Longyao Pavilion, come over early."

Ban was sent to the guest room with a dizzy head, put on the bed, and covered with a quilt. She turned over and said something. Mu asked softly, "What does Ban want to say?"

She moved her toes, wanting to cry but unable to, "Master...my shoes...I only have those two shoes..."

Mu was both amused and confused: "...Don't worry, Master will bring the shoes for you."

Ban clutched the quilt and whispered, "Master, can I ask you a question?"

"What?" he asked softly.

"Is that heavenly punishment real?" Ban had been struggling with this question. "If the thunderbolt strikes me, I will die instantly, right? Then what's the point of repairing the Shui Liuqin?"

Mu touched her head and comforted her, "It's okay, it's just a small punishment from heaven, just think of it as an ant biting you, it won't hurt, don't think about it at all."

Who can regard heaven's punishment as an ant bite? Ban felt that this comfort had no effect at all, and he couldn't help wiping his sweat.

Mu stood up to leave, and suddenly heard her say, "Master, can I...can I ask another question?"

He laughed and said, "Of course, there is nothing that cannot be said to Master. Don't be so formal."

Ban thought for a long time, hesitating until he was almost sweating, but he couldn't help it. He raised his head and looked at him timidly, and whispered: "Yu You Yuanjun... could it be Master's Wife?"

Mu was stunned, stroking his chin and thinking for a moment, and finally shook his head: "No." After a pause, he concluded: "She is not pretty enough."

Ban was speechless. If Yu Youyuanjun wasn't pretty, then his standards were too high. What kind of beauty did he want?

"Master, are you planning to marry a mistress?" She asked innocently, carefully hiding the slight expectation in her heart.

Mu simply sat down and counted on his fingers: "Master's requirements for his mistress are actually very simple. First, she must be pretty. Someone like Yuyou is definitely not acceptable. Second, she must be obedient. She comes when I tell her to and leaves when I tell her to. Third, she must be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but not better than me. Fourth, she must be able to wash clothes and clean, and always keep the house spotless. Fifth, she must understand what I mean. She must be able to guess what I'm going to say after I say the first sentence, and she must know what I'm going to say even if I don't say anything. But she can't understand me too well, otherwise it's boring to get along like this. Six..."

Ban couldn't help but interrupt his chatter: "...Is this asking for simplicity?"

Mu continued to look at her with an innocent expression: "Isn't it simple?"

Now I finally understand why you are three hundred years old and still haven’t married...Ban made this conclusion in his heart.

Mu covered her with the quilt and whispered, "Go to bed early, you will feel better tomorrow morning." He touched Ban's hair, got up and left.

Suddenly, I heard her whisper from behind: "Master, what you just said, is it true?"

Mu turned around and saw that half of her face was buried in the quilt, with only a pair of dark eyes showing, staring at him steadily, like a puppy. He smiled and shook his head, saying, "Of course it's fake. How could I marry her if I didn't like her?"

Who do you like then? Ban wanted to ask, but she didn't dare. She just watched him push the door and walk out timidly. The words got stuck in her throat, and she couldn't swallow them or spit them out. She felt very uncomfortable.