"I'm afraid that's not possible." Old Monarch waved his hands, "Our Heavenly Emperor abdicated and disappeared a long time ago. Even we can't see him, let alone you."

"Then who is the highest leader here, and can I meet him?" Yi Tianchou asked again.

"Well, in that case..." After thinking for a moment, Old Monarch said, "Alright, I will introduce you to him."

With that, he stood up and walked outside, followed by the others. Old Monarch looked up at the sky, without making a sound, a clear and melodious chirping sound resonated in the sky, echoing through the valley and even reaching beyond.

After a while, a clear chirping sound came from a high mountain in the distance. A large blue-green bird flapped its wings and flew down from the sky, heading straight towards Old Monarch.

"Hey, isn't this the same bird we saw outside earlier?" Lin Shiqi recognized the blue giant bird as the one that had attacked her before.

The blue giant bird also recognized Qin Yan and his group. It flapped its wings and extended its claws, rushing towards the crowd as if to attack them.

"Qingluan, behave!" Old Monarch shouted loudly at the blue bird. The bird retracted its wings and landed obediently next to Old Monarch.

Old Monarch took out a wide white cloth-like object from his body. He unfolded the white cloth in front of himself, and with a "puff," some parts of the white cloth caught fire. A gust of wind blew, extinguishing the flames on the white cloth, revealing several black marks resembling writing.

"Qingluan, take this and deliver it to the Queen Mother." Old Monarch rolled up the white cloth with writing on it and handed it to the blue giant bird. The bird picked up the rolled cloth with its mouth, flapped its wings, and flew back into the sky, heading towards a distant high mountain, soon disappearing from the sight of the people.

"Was that bird raised by you, Old Monarch?" Lin Shiqi asked.

Old Monarch replied, "No, that bird is called Qingluan. It's the beloved pet of our Queen Mother and also responsible for delivering messages to her."

"Queen Mother? Who is that?"

"The Queen Mother is the highest leader here. She possesses extremely powerful magic and profound wisdom. I will inform her about your arrival, and you can seek her advice on any matters."

"Does she know how to return to the human realm?"

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"Of course, if she is willing to help you, you can return to the human realm."

Lin Shiqi said, "Oh," and then her stomach growled. Old Monarch smiled and said, "You've traveled a long way to get here, you must be very hungry. The Queen Mother may take some time to respond, so let me take you for a meal now."

"Great, thank you, Old Monarch."

Old Monarch nodded and led Qin Yan and his group to a building in the town with many tables and chairs, resembling a restaurant. He instructed the staff inside to prepare food, and soon the meal was served. Qin Yan and his group sat down and began to eat.

Observing their worn-out clothes, Old Monarch took them to a clothing store in the town after the meal. He provided each of them with a clean set of clothes, shoes, and socks according to their sizes.

Holding the soft, ancient-style dress made of what seemed like silk, Lin Shiqi exclaimed happily, "After being here for so long, we finally have new clothes to wear. Is there any place to wash up around here?"

Old Monarch replied, "There is a public bathhouse for cleaning up. There are some large pools on the nearby mountain, but they are outside the valley and will take some time to get there."

Qin Yan saw that it was still early, so he said, "Tell us where that pool is. We'll go up the mountain to wash there."

Old Monarch informed Qin Yan and his group of the path up the mountain and the location of the pool. He also gave them some bathing supplies. Qin Yan, Lin Shiqi, and Dream Butterfly then carried their change of clothes, shoes, and socks and headed towards the entrance of the valley. The guard was still there, but this time he didn't stop them.

The three left the valley through a cave tunnel and found the path up the mountain as instructed by Old Monarch. They encountered some strange beasts along the way, but these creatures were not very strong, so Qin Yan and the others drove them away with force.

"Wow, there really is a huge pool here!" Lin Shiqi exclaimed excitedly. At that moment, the three of them were on a broad plateau halfway up the mountain. A mountain spring flowed straight down from a cliff above, landing on the plateau and forming a large pool of several dozen square meters.

"Wait here, I'll go check if there are any strange beasts around." Qin Yan wielded his trident spear and leaped around the mountain, surveying the surroundings. He soon returned to the clearing near the pool and said, "It's safe here. There are no strange beasts around."

"Then let's start washing. The water temperature is good. I haven't had a relaxing bath in a long time." Lin Shiqi couldn't wait to take off her tattered clothes and jumped into the pool, enjoying her bath. Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly stood still without moving. Seeing this, Lin Shiqi couldn't help but say, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to wash, Qin Yan, Dream Sister?"

Blushing slightly, Qin Yan said, "Lin Shiqi, you and Dream Butterfly wash here. I found another pool nearby, so I'll go wash there."

"Oh... okay, you go ahead." Lin Shiqi realized that it might be a bit awkward for Dream Butterfly and Qin Yan to bathe together.

"I'll go then. Lin Shiqi, make sure to look after Dream Butterfly. Call me if anything happens." With that, Qin Yan picked up his change of clothes and left alone. Soon, he arrived at another pool on the mountainside.

"Ah, it's been a while since I had a comfortable bath." Qin Yan placed his clothes, weapons, and other belongings by the pool, discarded his tattered clothes with a splash, and jumped into the pool to wash his body.

During these days, Qin Yan had been tired from traveling and frequently faced fierce attacks from strange beasts. He had been on edge, so it had been a long time since he had relaxed. After washing his body and hair, Qin Yan lay on the water's surface, closed his eyes, and finally allowed himself to relax.