Chapter 111: Radiant Seton (Part 3): Unable to Bear Part 2

“….” Mu Qian Tan witnessed this miracle of bolting upright and parted her lips slightly. She patted the girl’s face twice. “Let go. I’m just going for a casual stroll.”

Qin He noticed clear palm prints on both of Shang Shan’s cheeks and roughly understood what had happened after they left last night. To avoid her getting hit again, she hurriedly pried her off with all her strength before the woman got angry. “Immortal, go handle your business. I’ll watch her.”

Mu Qian Tan nodded and flicked her skirt hem as she slipped away first.

A bunch of maids stood outside. She followed them to have a simple breakfast—bread, eggs, a few slices of beef, and milk. After eating, she wandered casually around the palace, visiting parts according to fragments from the original book, getting a feel for the layout of the lair of the story’s biggest boss.

The White Serpent Fu Clan’s main industries involved alchemy and masterful forging techniques. Behind the Radiant Palace stretched the Source Mist Mountains for thousands of li—a massive super mine. Though incredibly rich in deposits, the poor environment made mining extremely difficult, and the areas controllable by current manpower were very limited. Even so, the output was enough for the Fu Clan and all of Seton City to live affluent lives. Such luxury had its reasons.

The most important place in the entire Radiant Palace was in the back mountains. As a visitor touring the grounds, and with maids behind her who were nominally serving but actually surveilling her, Mu Qian Tan naturally couldn’t go take a look. She could only wander in some less critical areas.

Walking, stopping, resting—a whole morning passed, and she hadn’t even covered half of this enormous palace. After grabbing something casual to eat, she stood in an open-air yellow stone corridor overlooking the mountains and unexpectedly spotted, on a distant snow mountain, Fu Li and Jiang Zhouyao sitting on the back of a massive white bear, strolling down toward the base at a leisurely shopping pace.

From afar, Fu Li could be seen gesturing proudly to introduce the surroundings, while Jiang Zhouyao was a serene red dot who barely moved.

Mu Qian Tan found it somewhat amusing. If it were her, she would have long pressed this shameless little bastard into the snow.

After resting a bit, she headed back the way she came, to the area near the Radiant Palace’s main gate. She found a high spot to look down. The entire palace was built on the mountainside. In front of the towering gates was a platform connected to a bridge below, and on the bridge, White Armored Soldiers could faintly be seen guarding it. Seton City lay in half the mountain’s embrace.

The back mountains were desolate dead peaks with no one around, while the front was a vast ravine connected by a bridge. To enter the Radiant Palace, one first had to pass through Seton City, cross the heavily guarded bridge over the ravine, ascend the platform, use what was like an elevator to reach the gates, then face the thick, sturdy doors and high walls.

These layers of checkpoints and defenses firmly enclosed the Radiant Palace in the mountains. No wonder the White Serpent Fu Clan could rank among the Five Great Immortal Gate Families while remaining so mysterious, leaking not a single scrap of information. Because apart from invitees, hardly anyone could get in!

Mu Qian Tan watched the distant snowy ravine below for a while and asked the maid, “Fu Li’s causing a ruckus with people at home—doesn’t your clan head care? Or is she not around?”

The maid didn’t answer directly. “The Young Clan Head has always been playful by nature. The clan head knows about it.”

Mu Qian Tan withdrew her gaze, acknowledged with an “Mm,” wandered around until she had seen most of it, then returned to her room. Neither Shang Shan nor Qin He was there—probably out playing. She lay on the bed to rest, rolled up her pant leg to check her calf. It was a bit better than last night, just some bruising left. It would fade in a couple days.

She rubbed in some essential oil a few more times and vaguely estimated that this Stupid Dragon’s strength had grown a lot since last year. They hadn’t even reached the side quest to temper her physique yet, and it was already like this. It was hard to imagine what it would be like later.

After finishing with her leg, she began cultivating to restore her energy. When she opened her eyes again, it was already getting dark outside. Someone knocked on the door. “Immortal, the Young Clan Head invites you to the barbecue banquet.”

Another banquet, and greasy barbecue at that—she wasn’t very keen. But thinking of the upcoming plot, which was so entertaining, Mu Qian Tan still wanted to join the fun. She agreed, went out, and followed the maid to another banquet hall.

This one was several times smaller than last night’s, but far more exquisite. It was still a semicircular tiered setup, surrounded by square pillars carved with white serpents. In the center sat a grill, flames roaring below while large chunks of bloody meat sizzled and spat oil above. Opposite were three rows of white-robed singing girls, stroking their hearts as they chanted ethereal melodies.

Down below stood a crowd of maids holding meat platters. As Mu Qian Tan passed them, she ran into the two little ones returning at that moment.

Shang Shan wore a wide-brimmed woven hat on her head, with a bulging bundle wrapped on her back containing something square and rectangular—judging from the squeezed outline, a pile of books. She lay on Qin He’s back, one hand steadying herself on her shoulder, the other clutching a skewer of meat. She wasn’t fully awake but still shoved the skewer into Qin He’s mouth. “Eat.”

“Wait, wait, okay.” Qin He carried her and couldn’t free her hands to hold her back, so she bit into the skewer. “I’ll eat it. You stop moving.”

Noticing the woman’s gaze, she said a bit embarrassed, “We were playing in Seton, played all day and got tired, so I had to carry her back.”

Mu Qian Tan nodded and led the two of them up. Fu Li and Jiang Zhouyao had probably just arrived as well. They sat by the furnace fire and greeted the group when they saw them approaching. The sturdy white bear they had shared that afternoon sat outside the hall, armored in several places while it sharpened its sharp claws.

Fu Li raised her hand, and a servant immortal maid poured their wine full. “We didn’t have enough fun yesterday. Let’s continue today.”

Mu Qian Tan sat down across from her. Someone had already neatly stacked four or five pieces of meat glazed evenly with sauce on her plate, along with ice cubes and side dishes placed nearby. Qin He walked to a wider spot nearby and carefully helped her down, settling her steadily. Shang Shan remained oblivious. She rolled over and sank into the expensive red velvet, still gripping that skewer in her hand.

Afraid she would poke herself, Qin He took the skewer away and placed it on the plate before sitting down beside Jiang Zhouyao. Fu Li said, “Feng Ling Immortal, have we truly never met before?”

Jiang Zhouyao’s expression remained calm. “This one has never come to Radiant Palace before.”

Fu Li said, “That’s true. I haven’t gone out either. But it’s so strange—I felt you were very familiar the first time I saw you last year. It was like we’d met somewhere before.”

This pickup line, outdated by eight hundred years, sounded awkward no matter how it was heard. Mu Qian Tan turned her face away. Her gaze swept over the table full of meats and dishes, the dazzling luxurious pavilion pillars, and the giant white bear outside that towered a full head taller than the pavilion itself. Finally, she was drawn by the singing and settled on the three rows of white-clothed singers opposite them.

They all had black hair and black eyes, probably not from the Fu Clan, but they were also quite attractive, dressed in fine clothes. Yet the lead singer at the very front stood out jarringly—a woman in tattered rags, shackles on her feet, kneeling on the ground as she sang. Fine wounds marked her face.

Her long hair was slightly disheveled, her gaze weary, her lips bruised purple. The tattered skirt she had worn who knew how long offered no protection against the cold wind, leaving her skin a deathly pale, as if frozen solid. This only accentuated her frail features. Her extremely emaciated frame made it clear she had endured long-term torment and was on the verge of collapse.

Even so, her voice remained round and soaring—the strongest thread holding the chorus together.

Iron chains locked her feet, making her look like a criminal. Yet here she was at a banquet prepared for guests, kneeling and singing—and singing well. For a moment, it was impossible to define her status.

Qin He also noticed the woman and saw her shivering uncontrollably from the cold. A hint of intolerance showed on her face. She very much wanted to ask what was going on, but Fu Li was chattering nonstop about the clan’s history with Seton City. Unable to interject, she held back for now.

Mu Qian Tan watched silently for a while. The woman noticed her gaze and gave a faint smile. Then her eyes drifted to the plate of meat on Mu Qian Tan’s table, staring fixedly. Clear longing filled her eyes—even her throat bobbed visibly. Who knew how long it had been since she last ate.

It wasn’t polite to meddle in someone else’s household affairs without knowing her status, but Qin He couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to get up to bring her some food.

Just then, in her extremely weakened state, the woman sang a wrong note. The note shouldn’t have stood out in the chorus and passed in a flash—most people wouldn’t even notice. But Fu Li caught it precisely. Or rather, she had been waiting for this exact moment, for the instant the woman erred.

The golden-haired girl who had been chatting and laughing one moment had her face change drastically the next. She kicked over the side table beside her, grabbed the woman’s collar, yanked her up, and snarled viciously, “You dare sing wrong in front of noble guests? Do you not want your cheap life anymore?”