Yuan Zhong was laughing heartily in the pond, splashing water everywhere, not at all embarrassed by the situation. The maids on the shore panicked, trying to pull him out, but he was having too much fun. Anyone who came near was met with a splash, soaking them to the skin.
Several new maids, having never seen such a spectacle, were terrified. One, almost in tears, rushed to find Tan Yin, grabbing her sleeve and sobbing, “Sister, what should we do? If the other immortals see this, will we be thrown out?”
Tan Yin, too, was a bit flustered. Truthfully, the most mischievous person she had ever encountered wasn’t even half as troublesome as the Grand Monk. She didn’t know what to do either, but she comforted the distressed maids, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
She walked to the edge of the pond, carefully staying away from the water, and respectfully said, “Your Highness, the Grand Monk, please come out. What if you choke on water?”
Before she could finish her sentence, Yuan Zhong splashed a handful of water directly at her, soaking half of her body. Grinning, he tilted his head playfully at her from the water, his eyes full of mischief. “Little Ji, it’s so hot—why don’t you come down for a swim?”
...Little Ji? What kind of nickname was that? The maids were indignant at how unrefined the Grand Monk was behaving.
Water dripped from Tan Yin’s chin onto her clothes, but she didn’t bother wiping it off. She moved a little closer, crouched down, and extended her hand. “Your Highness, grab my hand, I’ll help pull you out.”
Yuan Zhong sighed. “How about this—you come down, and then I’ll come up.”
Tan Yin didn’t move, stubbornly holding out her hand. His endless antics were starting to irritate her.
Yuan Zhong made a funny face at her and laughed. “Come on! Or do you want to see me perform a face-changing trick?”
With a swipe of his hand across his face, his appearance changed instantly. Although still unremarkable, it was completely different from the previous face. He swiped again, and another face appeared. He swapped through over a dozen different faces, each more ordinary than the last, leaving the maids and even Tan Yin dumbfounded—how many masks was he wearing?
“Little Ji, do you want to see my real face?” Yuan Zhong asked, clearly enjoying himself, splashing around in the pond. Though his features were plain, an inexplicable allure seemed to emanate from him as he smiled up at her.
He added, “If you come down, I’ll show you.”
Before Tan Yin could react, the other maids were already buzzing with excitement. None of them had ever seen the Grand Monk’s true face. Every newcomer to the mountain was fooled by his many masks. Some had even asked other immortals, including Tang Hua, what the Grand Monk really looked like, but even Tang Hua had no idea. No one on this vast mountain had ever seen his true face. He protected his appearance with the utmost secrecy.
Seeing that Tan Yin still wasn’t moving, Yuan Zhong sighed again. “Fine, I’ll take off my mask. I bet once you see my face, you won’t be so stubborn.”
The maids held their breath as he raised his hand, slowly peeling off a thin layer from his chin. He was deliberately making a show of it, removing the mask at an excruciatingly slow pace. First, his chin appeared, smooth and flawless. Then his lips, his nose—each feature was beautiful. But as the maids marveled, they began to feel a strange sense of familiarity.
With a dramatic flourish, Yuan Zhong ripped off the entire mask, letting the sunlight fall directly on his face. For a moment, the entire garden seemed to lose its brilliance in comparison. The maids were stunned, covering their mouths in shock, and for a long time, no one spoke.
Touching his chin, Yuan Zhong smiled and asked, “So, how does my face look?”
One of the younger maids, still dazed, tugged on the sleeve of the girl next to her and whispered, “Isn’t that... Lord Tang Hua’s face?”
Yuan Zhong’s sharp ears caught the comment, and he snorted. “Let me tell you a secret—Tang Hua copied this face from me.”
The maids, seeing how cheeky he was and how playful his actions were, began to lose their fear of him. One bold maid spoke up, “Yeah, right! Like we’d believe that!”
Yuan Zhong burst into laughter. With a quick rub of his face, he swapped back to a nondescript, ordinary look. He winked at the maids, “The face of the Grand Monk is a priceless treasure, far too rare for little girls like you to see.”
Despite his teasing, the maids found his playful nature endearing. His masked face only added to the mystery, and they grew fond of him. Before long, no one wanted to leave. There he was in the water, and here they were on the shore, all laughing and chatting together. It became quite a lively scene.
Tan Yin squatted by the pond for a long time, but he still didn’t come out. Eventually, she simply sat down, silently waiting for the mischievous Grand Monk to tire of his games and come out on his own.
While he chatted and joked with the young maids, Yuan Zhong kept a watchful eye on Tan Yin. She was still half-soaked, with a few strands of hair sticking to her cheek. Hidden in the shadow of the trees, she seemed quiet and lonely.
The day after Tan Yin arrived at the Hexagonal Hall, a full report on her life had landed in Yuan Zhong’s hands. The Youhu clan had survived for nearly ten thousand years, and without a healthy sense of caution, they would have long been destroyed.
But no matter how deeply they looked, there wasn’t a single suspicious thing about her. Born in Yuan City, orphaned at a young age, raised by her uncle and aunt, who passed away earlier this year, leaving her to come to the mountain. Every detail of her family, even her ancestors, had been thoroughly investigated—there were no inconsistencies. She truly was an ordinary girl from an ordinary family.
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