“Quack, quack, quack! Little girl, you’ve finally reached Foundation Establishment!
Come on, this lord will take you out to play.”
Gu Ningyun shot up from the bed, rubbing her eyes.
A large fat duck hopped in through the window, standing proudly before her.
Its round duck eyes swiveled, peering at her askance.
All of Gu Ningyun’s anxiety and jumbled thoughts flew out the window.
She exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Fat Duck!!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Gu Ningyun knew she’d messed up.
Sure enough, the fat duck whipped its head around, its eyes wide as if in disbelief.
Even its quacking stopped. It squawked loudly, “Little girl, what did you just call this lord?! Fat Duck?!”
Gu Ningyun offered a sheepish smile, all other thoughts completely vanishing.
She dared not speak, but the fat duck stared fixedly at her.
Two pairs of round eyes met. Gu Ningyun couldn't bear it and lightly coughed, “Se-Senior.”
The fat duck didn't react. Gu Ningyun fumbled in her storage ring and pulled out a stack of food boxes.
These were Blue Lake Scallops she had cooked and saved specifically for the fat duck earlier.
She thought the delicious taste might appeal to it.
Indeed, the moment the food boxes appeared, the fat duck’s eyes twitched uncontrollably, its gaze shifting slightly toward her hand.
Gu Ningyun shoved the food boxes over, forcing a smile. “These were specially prepared for you by your junior, Senior.”
The fat duck’s accusing gaze softened a little.
It hugged the food boxes with its wings, waddling around her bed, occasionally casting a disappointed look that made Gu Ningyun feel increasingly guilty.
Unable to resist, she made a string of promises to cook all sorts of delicious food for it once she recovered. Only then did the fat duck let out a "slurp," smack its beak, and return to stand before her, craning its neck to look at her.
This was the first time she had met the fat duck in so many years since the New Disciple Competition, and she was truly happy.
She smiled and asked, “Senior, how did you know I was here?”
Previously, the fat duck had given her a feather, telling her to use it to summon it after she reached Foundation Establishment.
However, after reaching Foundation Establishment, one thing after another happened, including the unexpected incident with the singing, so she hadn't had a chance to use it.
The fat duck put away the food boxes, extended a wing forward, and from its tip, a blue identity jade token popped out—Xiaoyao Immortal Sect | Inner Sect | Governing Peak | Linchuan.
This identity, this name...
Gu Ningyun vaguely recalled that First Senior Brother had mentioned to her that the First Senior Sister of Governing Peak had an auspicious beast Pixiu with whom she had signed an equal contract, named Linchuan.
If one encountered anything requiring luck, they could go to Governing Peak to seek some.
This auspicious beast was actually Senior Fat Duck!
The fat duck let out a "quack" and smiled. “Little girl, shouldn’t you change how you address me?”
“Senior Brother Linchuan,” Gu Ningyun said readily, yet she didn't forget her previous question and asked it again.
The fat duck didn't answer her. It grabbed her belt with its beak, lifted her, and placed her on its back. “Come on, Senior Brother will take you out to play.”
How was it supposed to answer?
Was it supposed to tell her that half a year ago, it had eaten the only Five-Senses Mysterious Ginseng that Ximu Peak had specially transplanted from Dingyuanzhou?
That forced Chanxi to travel all the way to Dingyuanzhou to dig up ginseng to repay a debt, cleaning up its mess.
After digging up the ginseng, she then had to deal with the accumulated sect affairs.
Because of this incident, Chanxi had confined it, making it run errands behind the Sect Leader's hall.
For freedom, it had been craning its neck every day, looking for an opportunity.
The injury to the seas of consciousness of Gu Ningyun and the other four progeny disciples was a serious matter.
The moment they stepped onto Alchemy Peak, the news of their injuries reached Governing Peak, arriving in the hands of Governing Peak’s First Senior Sister, Chanxi.
As Chanxi’s personal chief errand-runner, it naturally received the news at the same time.
Its heart had been in a panic at the time, and only after seeing that they could be cured and even benefit from the misfortune did it breathe a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, a light bulb went off in its mind: an opportunity, an opportunity! Wasn’t this its chance for freedom?
It carried the jade slip sent from Alchemy Peak and threw a tantrum. “The little girl is injured and her sea of consciousness is sealed! As her best friend, how can this lord not go see her?!
The little girl is also your junior sister. You heartless woman, can you really bear to leave her all alone?”
Chanxi, utterly annoyed, finally released it.
Such embarrassing matters shouldn't be told to the little girl; it wouldn't do to ruin its image in her heart.
The fat duck’s eyes swiveled, and fearing Gu Ningyun would ask again, it was about to flap its wings with her on its back.
“Hey, wait!”
Gu Ningyun struggled off the fat duck’s back and, in a few strides, ran to the head of another bed, picking up Wen Xuan’s hairband.
Wen Xuan had forgotten her hairband in her haste. It carried her scent, so it shouldn't be left lying around.
She would keep it for now and return it when its owner came back.
Just as she was about to put the hairband into her storage ring, her fingertips felt that its texture was a bit off.
She rubbed it for a moment, then turned the hairband over to examine it closely.
One seam didn't seem right; why were the array patterns on it broken?
She drew a wisp of Wind Blade to her fingertip and slashed at the broken seam.
If the array patterns were intact, such a small Wind Blade naturally wouldn't be able to cut through it.
But precisely at the hairband’s seam, she managed to cut the stitching.
“As expected, there’s a problem.”
Her finger ran along the seam, pulling out a soft strip of cloth with a line of text written on it—Jue Sheng, demon cultivator.
The events under the sea flashed through her mind, and Gu Ningyun immediately realized.
This hairband was a message Wen Xuan had specially left for her.
Had they gone to the Jun and Mu families to investigate the Puppet Thousand-Machine City matter?
After obtaining the inheritance token, they had mentioned splitting into two groups to investigate the matter, some returning to their families and others checking the Book Peak library.
The arrival of people from the Jun and Mu families was also quite timely.
Or perhaps they had other considerations.
Gu Ningyun clutched the paper strip, recalling Martial Aunt Yi Shu’s words—
“But no cultivator has ever encountered singing as powerful or as aggressive as what you experienced.”
The great demon’s remnant thoughts came from ancient times, and the Puppet Thousand-Machine City had an antique aura, not seeming to be from the last thousand or even ten thousand years.
Could it be that Wen Xuan and the others suspected a connection between the two?
Besides this token, the five of them didn't have any other special qualities, did they?
Seeing her standing there dumbfounded, the fat duck nudged her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Gu Ningyun put away the hairband and cloth strip, shaking her head. “My friends and I originally agreed to split into two groups to investigate some matters.
Now they have already left the sect to investigate. If I could go to the library to check as well, it would speed things up.”
The fat duck patiently waited for her to finish, then firmly rejected her idea. “You can’t use your divine sense. Don’t even think about it.”
It put Gu Ningyun back on its back, flapped its wings, and leaped out the window.
Gu Ningyun almost hit her head on the window frame and quickly hugged its neck, lying flat. “Senior Brother, where are you taking me?”
Once out of the room, the fat duck spread its wings.
Using an adult human as a reference, the entire duck transformed from half a person’s height to a full person’s height.
Its back was broad, and its down soft, making it much more spacious and comfortable to sit on, with no more worries about falling off.
Gu Ningyun already knew that the duck’s appearance was merely a transformation, so she wasn’t surprised to see it grow larger.
However, this posture didn’t seem like it was going somewhere nearby.
She grew a little anxious. “I don’t have the means of self-preservation right now, so it’s not good to run around, Senior Brother.”
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