Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Along the way, the direct descendants of the Gong family, who had been trapped in the three-acre land within the palace gate for many years, were now staring with wide eyes and looking at the bustling town outside with curiosity.

There were shops on both sides of the street, people coming and going, and noises coming and going. There were hawkers carrying loads and shouting, children chasing and playing, and customers bargaining... All of this was so fresh and interesting to them who had lived in the palace for a long time.

Even Gong Ziyu, who often sneaked out of the palace to visit the Jiuchen Valley, could not help but be deeply attracted by the lively scene in front of him, which was completely different from the valley, and could not take his eyes away for a long time.

This was especially true for Gong Yuanzheng, who had always followed the rules and strictly observed the palace regulations. His clear and bright eyes stared through the gap in the car window at a peddler who was hawking his wares on the side of the road. The man was holding a bamboo basket full of goods and kept shouting, "Come and have a look! Fresh and delicious snacks!"

"What exactly are they selling in there?" Gong Yuanzheng couldn't resist his curiosity. He gently lifted a corner of the curtain and stuck his head out, wanting to see more clearly.

Zhuo Yixuan, who had been following the carriage silently, heard Gong Yuanzheng's question, smiled slightly, and replied: "If you want to eat, just ask the servant to buy you one."

As soon as Zhuo Yixuan finished speaking, he saw a clever servant quickly running towards the traveling merchant. After a while, he hurried back with a package of things.

"It's tofu pudding. Yuanzheng, come and try it." Zhuo Yixuan took the package handed over by the servant and opened it. A strong bean fragrance hit his nose. He reached out and touched the wall of the bowl to feel the temperature. He felt it was just right, and then handed it to Gong Yuanzheng in the car through the window.

Gong Yuanzheng thanked Zhuo Yixuan softly, then took the bowl of steaming tofu pudding with both hands and slowly placed it on the coffee table in the carriage. He turned his head to look at Zhuo Yichen who was sitting next to him, and said with a smile: "Brother Chen, let's try the tofu pudding together."

Although Zhuo Yichen lived in Tiandu, he was raised in the mansion by his family just like Gong Yuanzheng. Even when he was taken out of the mansion when he was young, most of the comments he heard were not very good.

Zhuo Yichen would have nightmares every time he went out and came home. Later, he simply stopped going out and felt good staying at home. Both the Zhuo Mansion and the Hua Mansion were much larger than the imperial palace, and the backyard was connected to the mountains.

Zhuo Yichen has not yet explored the entire back mountain of Zhuo Mansion, but he knows that there are all kinds of unintelligent little demons and ordinary beasts in it. In addition, there are many rare and precious herbs in some places. Grandpa Jiang always takes him to the back mountain, saying that there are forging equipment in it.

"Yuanzheng, when we get back to Tiandu, I'll take you to the back mountain of Zhuo's mansion. There are a lot of things there, like little monsters without intelligence, some peace-loving monsters, and common beasts like big insects." Zhuo Yichen refused Gong Yuanzheng's offer to share a bowl of tofu pudding with him.

"Is there a mountain behind the Zhuo Mansion?" This was the first time Gong Yuanzheng heard that there was a mansion in the mountain behind Tiandu City.

"Yes! The Zhuo family settled in Tiandu because their ancestors had a treasure and chose that place. Later, with the expansion from generation to generation, the Zhuo family has become as huge as it is today." Zhuo Yichen recalled the history of the Zhuo family's ancestors that his brother had told him.

"What treasure? Can I choose the place by myself?" Gong Yuanzheng was still young and didn't know the history of the palace gate. Gong Shangjiao had never mentioned it to him either.

"The Zhuo family is from the Bingyi tribe, and they are of the same clan as the former god Bingyi. However, no one knows where the ancestor of Bingyi went later. We only know that he left a treasure to the Zhuo family for safekeeping." Zhuo Yichen took out his sword - the Yunguang Sword.

“According to my father and brother, this Yunguang sword came out of the Bingyi tribe’s land when I was born. This Yunguang sword has killed many ancient monsters, and even the ancient extremely evil monster Yinglong died at its hands.” Zhuo Yichen felt that Yinglong was not the extremely evil monster that people said, but he could not explain why.

“I heard from my father about the origin of the Yunguang Sword. It was forged by Patriarch Bingyi’s best friend and given to him.” Zhuo Yichen stroked the Yunguang Sword.

Zhuo Yichen's eyes suddenly became empty. Gong Yuanzheng seemed to see something in his eyes. "The cloud sword is the bone, attached to the left arm, to protect you. The light sword is the horn, unstoppable, killing enemies for you. It can cut through flowing clouds and scatter faint light, so this sword is named "Cloud Light."

After saying that, Zhuo Yichen woke up with a shudder, "Did I lose consciousness again just now?"

Gong Yuanzheng looked at Zhuo Yichen who was sad, "Do you often feel this way?"

"Occasionally, but my father, brother and dad all said it was because of the Yunguang Sword. Maybe it has developed intelligence and thinks I am the ancestor of Bingyi." Zhuo Yichen shook his head, because the first time this happened to him was in the Hua Mansion.

At that time, Hua Yu showed it to him and asked his father and brother. After their investigation, it was possible that the Yunguang Sword had absorbed too much spiritual power in the Bingyi tribe's territory and had developed a tiny spiritual intelligence.

Gong Yuanzheng thought to himself that the truth was not as simple as what Brother Zhuo and the others described. However, since they wanted to conceal this matter, it must be inextricably linked to Zhuo Yichen, and this secret was probably quite complicated.

As time went by, the sky was gradually covered by night, and the town that they had originally planned to pass by had already been missed. In desperation, everyone had to choose to set up camp in this desolate wilderness to spend the night.

Zhuo Yichen, Gong Yuanzheng, Gong Zishang, Gong Ziyu and Gong Huanyu had never camped outdoors before. Only Zhuo Yixuan was used to this situation because he often had to go out to catch monsters.

"Xiaochen, Yuanzheng, I'm afraid we'll have to spend the night out in the wild tonight." Zhuo Yixuan looked at his two younger brothers with some apology.

"It's okay, brother! I've never slept in the wild since I was a child. Let's just treat it as a novel experience. Besides, when I join the Monster Hunting Bureau in the future, I'm sure I'll have such experiences. This is a good opportunity to adapt to the times in advance." Although Zhuo Yichen grew up in a wealthy family and was always loved, he showed an open-minded attitude of taking things as they come at this moment.

"Brother Xuan, it's okay for me." Gong Yuanzheng smiled and said softly. Although in the eyes of others, he has always been the young master who was pampered by everyone, but in fact, he has also experienced a difficult time, but it didn't last long.

Zhuo Yixuan looked at his two sensible brothers and felt touched. However, at the moment, he still had many important things to deal with, such as arranging a place for the group to stay tonight and planning the guards' night patrol duties, so he had no time to talk too much with his two brothers.

At the same time, Gong Huanyu, Gong Zishang and Gong Ziyu also learned that they would camp outdoors tonight. Unlike Gong Yuanzheng, Gong Zishang and Gong Ziyu showed great interest in this experience.

Especially Gong Ziyu, when he thought about being able to fall asleep under the vast night sky and feel the tranquility and mystery of nature, he jumped up and down with excitement like a little rabbit.

As time passed, night finally fell slowly. The mountains in the distance gradually became blurred, as if covered by a black veil. In the center of the camp, a blazing bonfire was jumping happily, illuminating the surroundings. Under the light of the fire, everyone's face was particularly clear, and the expressions of joy and expectation intertwined to form a unique picture.