"What misfortune would I have?"
"Think about it. If the Monarch hadn't died, the Empress, the Female Emperor, the Azure Sea Reclining Wave Empress, and the World-Honored Empress would surely all be by his side. Senior Martial Sister, although your aptitude is excellent and you possess great fortune...
If you were to compete with those Empresses for the Monarch's affection, I'm afraid...
You'd die a miserable death..."
"You little brat, when did I ever say I wanted to compete with them for the Monarch!"
"Ah! Even if those Empresses weren't by the Monarch's side, it wouldn't be easy either. The number of women in the world infatuated with the Monarch is beyond counting. Senior Martial Sister, how many rivals would you have to defeat to win the Monarch's heart!"
"Does your mouth ever say anything nice, you little brat?"
"Yes, it does!" Qinglian said playfully. "Think about it. Back when the Monarch was still a youth, he was always picking Wuse petals under our Wuse Mountain and was even saved by our master once. He almost joined our Wuse Mountain. If the Monarch had truly become a disciple of our Wuse Mountain back then, how wonderful would that have been? After waiting four or five hundred years, you, Senior Martial Sister, would have been born, and perhaps you could have been with the Monarch..."
Qinglian's words caused Qing Xi to fall into a reverie. If the Monarch had truly taken Wuse Mountain as his master back then, perhaps she really could have been with the Monarch...
Just as she was fantasizing, her junior sister Qinglian's voice came again: "Senior Martial Sister, don't daydream. I just thought it over carefully again. Even if the Monarch had truly joined our Wuse Mountain back then, it probably wouldn't have been your turn...
There's still our master. With her temperament, she would have definitely struck first. Once the Monarch grew up, well...
You know what I mean."
"I think our master must have deeply regretted that the Monarch didn't join Wuse Mountain back then?"
"Regret? More than just regret!" Qinglian said. "She regretted it so much her guts turned green! Master always says that if she had insisted on taking the Monarch as her disciple back then, the Elders of Wuse Mountain couldn't have done anything about it. What a pity!
Our master was still an innocent young maiden back then and didn't dare defy the wishes of the Wuse Mountain Elders. What a tremendous shame!
Such a tremendous shame! If the Monarch had truly become our master's disciple back then, he would have become our Senior Brother! Ah!
What a wonderful thing that would have been! How enviable!"
Looking at her fantasizing junior sister, Qing Xi shook her head helplessly. She knew that if the Monarch had joined Wuse Mountain back then, there would never have been the later generation overlord, Chixiao Sovereign, who dominated the world and shook the heavens and earth during the ancient era.
Just as she was sighing with emotion, a voice sounded.
"Ah! My dear martial niece! I finally found you!"
The one who appeared was an old man dressed in simple cloth robes, seemingly somewhat unkempt. Qing Xi and Qinglian looked up and saw it was actually Uncle Jin Zhong.
"Uncle, it's so late. What brings you to find me?"
"Dear martial niece!" Old Jin Zhong walked over, his face mournful. "This time, you must help your uncle get revenge!"
"Revenge? What revenge?"
"Your uncle gambled at chess and lost everything down to his last thread!"
"Uncle! You must be joking." Junior Sister Qinglian laughed. "When have you ever lost at gambling chess? Not just in our Wuse Mountain, but throughout the entire Great Northwest, who among those who love to gamble chess hasn't been beaten by you, old man!"
Jin Zhong was one of the famous Eighteen Swords of Wuse Mountain and a disciple of Cangsong, the chess master among the Nine Solitaries. His chess skills were naturally exceptional, and his reputation spread far and wide across the Great Northwest frontier. However, he had one flaw: he loved to gamble. Just as Qinglian said, many in the Great Northwest had lost to Jin Zhong, so few dared to gamble chess with him anymore.
"Little Qinglian, your uncle isn't joking this time. I really lost everything down to my last thread this time." Jin Zhong said, taking out his storage pouch to show them.
Qing Xi and Qinglian looked and were both greatly shocked. They both knew Uncle Jin Zhong's storage pouch always contained many Spirit Treasure resources, but now it held only a few worthless items.
"Uncle, I remember you had Upper Mystic Grade Spirit Treasures and a Five-Color Crystal Ore. You even showed them to me last time..."
"Lost! All lost! Three Upper Mystic Grade Spirit Treasures, one Five-Color Crystal Ore, and a pile of precious resources!"
Qing Xi and Qinglian couldn't believe their ears. They had thought Jin Zhong was joking earlier, but now it seemed he wasn't. Could it be true? Did Uncle really lose so many Spirit Treasures?
Those were three Upper Mystic Grade Spirit Treasures! The value of each was comparable to a spirit vein! And the Five-Color Crystal Ore...
Heavens! This was utterly insane!
"Uncle, if Grand-Uncle finds out you lost so much, he'll definitely skin you alive!"
"That's exactly why I need Qing Xi to step in and help me win it back! Otherwise, your Grand-Uncle will definitely beat me to death this time!"
This was true. Both Qing Xi and Qinglian knew Grand-Uncle Cangsong's temper. If he really found out, Uncle Jin Zhong would either be beaten to death or crippled. Last time, just because of Jin Zhong's chess gambling, Grand-Uncle flew into a rage and trapped Jin Zhong in a formation as punishment for a full three years.
"Uncle, who did you gamble chess with?" Qing Xi was very clear about Jin Zhong's chess skills. She couldn't imagine who in the Great Northwest could make Uncle Jin Zhong lose so miserably.
"Don't mention it. It's too embarrassing. Your uncle has played with eagles all his life, never expecting to get pecked by a little brat this time."
"A little brat?" Qing Xi's heart stirred, as if realizing something. "Uncle, you didn't gamble chess with one of those Reincarnation experts, did you?"
"Dear martial niece, although your uncle is a bit muddle-headed, I'm not stupid enough to gamble chess with those Reincarnation great masters!" Remembering that Golden Core cultivation youth, Jin Zhong felt a surge of anger. "Who knows where that kid popped out from. Old Bai and I were playing chess, and he said he wanted to play a few rounds too. I was idle anyway, so I played a few rounds with him. And then...
Who would have thought that kid's chess skills were so high? He made me lose several rounds in a row, and each loss was utterly baffling."
"If the other party isn't a Reincarnation expert and is young, how could he have such high chess skills?" Qinglian wondered. "Could he be like Senior Martial Sister, possessing a high natural talent for chess? If that's the case, he should be quite famous. Uncle, don't you know his identity?"
"I don't! I've never seen that kid before. Very unfamiliar face. Probably not from our Great Northwest, otherwise I couldn't possibly not know him. He said he came to participate in the Wuse Flower Festival."
Qinglian persuaded, "Senior Martial Sister, just help Uncle win it back. Otherwise, Uncle will be in a terrible state..."
Qing Xi pondered for a moment. "Alright. Let's go, Uncle. I'll accompany you to take a look."