I Am Loaded with Passive Skills

Chapter 3410: Chapter 1693: The Heavenly Sky and Distant Sun Mismatch the Daughter’s Shadow, Swallows and Warblers Among Flowers Inquire the Zither Servant_3

Is there truly no one who wants to get off their butt, climb a bit higher, and shed the title of “maid”?

Yuegong Hui froze awkwardly in place, not knowing for a long time how to respond.

“If Young Master Li isn’t here, why not go find the family head!”

In the end, it was the maids of Tingyu Pavilion who couldn’t bear the silence. Qianqian offered a suggestion.

The voice felt as if it came from beyond the heavens, ethereal and melodious, completely unlike the voices of the maids here. It was as if a fairy from the sky, out of pity for Hui’s predicament, had softly spoken.

“Today’s matter will not be pursued further. Let’s treat it as if nothing happened—I, this old man, swear it!” Yuegong Hui exhaled deeply. Understanding the maids’ concerns, he pretended not to know who had made the suggestion and, with a muffled voice, replied to the air, “The senior family head is also in Death Seclusion.”

“Then wait, I guess.”

“If waiting were an option, would I still be asking… Ahem. Then I, this old man, shall wait a bit more patiently.”

“Why not just select another Shadow then?”

Wow…

Who gave that suggestion? Who!

Yuegong Hui nearly lost his composure, wanting to drag out the speaker and beat them to death.

But after a second thought, with the senior family head and the young family head absent, and the current Shadow compromised, wasn’t selecting a new Shadow to manage affairs actually a decent proposal?

On deeper reflection, one could discern how the maids had incisively pointed out the fundamental flaw underlying the current mess in the Cold Palace Emperor Realm:

Two generations relying on the same Shadow!

If there had been two Shadows, this situation would never have occurred.

Even if the new Shadow ran into trouble, with the senior family head and young family head in Death Seclusion, there would still be an old Shadow locked in place, just in case.

Damn it, these maids do have some brains…

Indeed, selecting a new Shadow ought to be put on the agenda. Lately, the winds have not been favorable, and troubles keep arising…

Yuegong Hui spoke seriously to the air, “Time is up. Both the senior family head and the young family head are in Death Seclusion. Even if we were to select a new Shadow, they would still need to pass the final test, which fundamentally creates a deadlock.”

The maids continued their tasks, heads bowed, chests tucked in. Even after hearing this, they remained silent.

Say something!

Give more suggestions!

They’re all excellent suggestions, and there will be rewards for everyone soon after!

Yuegong Hui waited for a while, but still, no one spoke. He then pulled out eighteen spirit gems and placed them on the ground, deciding that after he left, the maids could collect them themselves, avoiding the awkwardness of distributing rewards.

But after a glance…

This looks too improper. How could one simply throw rewards on the ground? It’s like rewarding Spiritual Cultivators of Shengshen Continent!

After reconsidering, Yuegong Hui retrieved the spirit gems.

The maids glanced up at him briefly, which startled Yuegong Hui. He hurriedly waved his hands, “No, that’s not it…”

He then placed the spirit gems into individual spatial rings and laid them on the ground instead, as a gesture of respect and to signify paying for wisdom.

Still a bit shabby!

After some thought, Yuegong Hui pulled out his cherished small Holy Ant Wood table, which he and an old friend often used for drinking sessions.

He placed the table in front of the “No Trespassing” sign, then arranged the spatial rings neatly on top, making it seem more proper.

It looked a bit like he was sending Young Master Li off on a journey… Yuegong Hui suddenly snapped back to reality, shook his head, and looked at the maids expectantly:

“Any more suggestions?”

The maids stole glances at the overly formal small table, then bowed their heads again. After a long moment, someone fearfully murmured:

“This won’t work, that won’t work either…”

“No solution, then.”

Wow…

At that moment, Yuegong Hui felt an almost unbearable urge to pick up the small table and smash the eighteen rings into the foreheads of the maids.

But he suppressed the twitching of his lips and quietly continued waiting without saying a word.

They were the brains of Tingyu Pavilion; surely they could come up with something useful!

“If a new Shadow can’t be selected, choose the old Shadow instead,” a kindhearted fairy finally suggested.

But her words were clouded in mystery. For a moment, Yuegong Hui couldn’t wrap his head around it. “What old Shadow?”

The old Shadow was Ah Si.

The only person remotely connected to the old Shadow was Young Master Li, who had previously been Shadow.

Further back…

There’s no one!

The previous Shadows had long since been buried and passed on their semi-saint person status; who could possibly qualify as being older?

The Cold Palace Emperor Realm wasn’t like the other four families. It hadn’t selected a Shadow in centuries, and Yuegong Hui was close to forgetting what the procedure even looked like… He furrowed his brow and repeated, “What old Shadow?”

Fairy: “Think about it.”

Think?

Were these maids out of their minds?

A Shadow isn’t something that can be conjured out of thin air just by thinking about it!

Could this old man wish a new Shadow into existence to take charge?

“Oh no!”

Just then, a maid looked at the sky, slapped her forehead, and exclaimed regretfully, “It’s time! Young Master Li still hasn’t come out. I nearly forgot I need to deliver food to Sister Nü for him.”

Thump, thump, thump.

With that, she ran off quickly.

Boom!

Yuegong Hui stood as if struck by lightning, his entire body trembling, staring at the retreating figure of the maid in speechless disbelief.

You, you all…

No, could it be…

Defying the Heavenly Gang!

It’s simply Defying the Heavenly Gang!

Just for the sake of someone like Ah Si, must this old man go and beg that sinner to be released from the Cold Prison to oversee affairs?

If so, wouldn’t this old man become another sinner himself?

“I’m going to see Sister Nü too. Wait for me, Sister Dai’er!”

“Young Master Li and Sister Nü get along so well. I want to listen to her play the zither too—her music is heavenly.”

“Yes, yes, with Young Master Li absent, entertaining Sister Nü is our mission! Otherwise, he’ll be mad at us!”

“Sister Nü is so beautiful. Sister Nü is a fairy.”

“Speaking of which, whenever Young Master Li encounters a tough problem, doesn’t he also go seek Sister Nü’s advice?”

The flock of maids, chattering and laughing, left in droves.

The half that remained stayed with their heads bowed, fingers fiddling with their skirts, eyes on the ground, playing with stones. They seemed completely uninterested in the spatial rings or spirit gems, nor in the small Holy Ant Wood table.

How unruly…

Utterly unruly…

Yuegong Hui struggled to calm himself.

But the more he calmed down, the more he realized how terrifying it was to think about the current problems in detail!

Ah Si’s death wasn’t the real issue.

What mattered was that his mind held too many secrets. He was the Shadow. If those secrets were exposed…

Even if they were lost, there was always the possibility that someday, somewhere, someone on Shengshen Continent would recover them.

After all, where semi-saint person status is lost, that place becomes the center of the world, and someone always finds it.

A Sealing Saint opportunity, no less!

“If this isn’t handled properly, the Cold Palace Emperor Realm will face significant problems.”

“Their suggestions weren’t wrong. It was me, oversimplifying the issue, taking things for granted—me being the fool.”

“I’ll have to ask—I really have to ask!”

“But…”

But that’s Yue Gongnu!

The “Saint Servant” of the Cold Palace Emperor Realm, who should have been executed, or at the very least exiled…

But due to various unspeakable reasons, Yue Gongnu survived, imprisoned for life in the Cold Prison.

Her very name had become a taboo. Only the maids of Tingyu Pavilion dared to speak it so bluntly.

“Yue Gongnu… Miss…”

Yuegong Hui completely lost himself in thought, his mind awash with long-buried memories that had been forcibly unearthed. The honorific he hadn’t used in decades now slipped from his lips unbidden.

The maids glanced up in astonishment.

They dared to refer to her this way because Young Master Li indulged them.

But thirty years in the Cold Palace Emperor Realm—no one had the gall to openly call her that.

“No, I didn’t mean…”

Yuegong Hui snapped out of it, his old face turning pale as he waved his hands frantically.

The maids lowered their heads again as if they hadn’t heard a thing.

They were all smart enough to feign selective deafness—a vital spiritual technique in navigating the world.

Yuegong Hui’s right eyelid twitched uncontrollably. Pressing on it, he realized this was no place to linger.

“Stay here and wait for Young Master Li. As soon as there’s any news, send someone to report it to me.”

“I nearly forgot—there’s still some matters to handle over at the Guardian Spirit Hall. Carry on with your tasks…”

Yuegong Hui, flustered and barely coherent, hastily finished his words and disappeared into the sky with a swish.

Suspended in the void.

The void was empty.

Yuegong Hui’s heart felt even more hollow and numb.

“Should I ask?”

“Ask that sinner, Yue Gongnu…”

He abruptly raised his gaze to the sky.

Somehow, he felt an intangible eye watching him from beyond the heavens.

But when he scanned with his saint’s will, there was nothing.

How strange.

Lately, why has he been prone to such illusions?

Ever since Young Master Li returned, troubles in the Cold Palace Emperor Realm seemed to have increased…

Choosing to dismiss the oddities, Yuegong Hui forced his thoughts back to the main issue:

“It’s just consulting her, or borrowing her guidance to venture into the barren mountain to meet Young Master Li, without actually releasing her from the Cold Prison.”

“She’s so compassionate; she’ll surely agree, right?”

“This way, Young Master Li won’t be upset, and everything in the Cold Prison will remain as it is…”

This should work, right?

Yes, it should be fine.