Chapter 52 Those who impersonated others and those who didn't worship this statue will be burned to ashes! ...

Inside the inn, the aroma of incense filled the air, creating a subtle fragrance that permeated the room.

Shen Lixia got pen, ink, and letter paper from the first floor and handed them to Qiao Yanshen. Then she pulled up a chair and sat down.

She watched as Qiao Yanshen picked up his pen to write a reply, then reached out and took Yan Xueya's letter from the side, and began to read it a second time.

The letter stated that unusual events had recently occurred in Shen Yuan's secret realm, but the specifics were still unclear, and instructed them to be extra cautious upon arrival. Furthermore—

"This is your second time leaving the sect, so you should be used to it by now. However, it would be even better if you could write to me in your spare time to update me on your situation, so I can be sure you're alright. From the Three Regions southwards, the difference between day and night temperatures is extreme, and if you're not careful, you might catch a slight cold. Also..."

Before she could finish reading, she couldn't help but mutter, "Master cares about us so much... just like a mother."

The handwriting was sharp, yet it conveyed a soft warmth, which lightened their mood considerably. Compared to their first mission, they were much more at ease this time, no longer feeling as uncertain as before, because they had someone to rely on and someone to write to.

A snow-white bird perched beside the desk. After reading the letter, Shen Lixia put it down and reached out to stroke its feathers. The feathers still carried a hint of coolness, which dispelled the summer heat and felt very comfortable to touch.

She didn't know where to look, and after looking around, she saw that there was no luggage in the room, only steaming tea. So she finally looked at Qiao Yanshen.

The woman's long hair cascaded over her shoulders, smooth and jet black, like ink on paper, revealing a refined and graceful beauty upon closer inspection. The subtle patterns on her white robes became clearer as she approached, their faint sheen shimmering in lines that changed with the angle, outlining the shape of ripples in water. Her grip on the pen was just right, two fingers supporting the shaft, her forearm providing support, her gaze following the strokes of the brush. Her wispy bangs swayed, partially obscuring a small patch of tranquil blue beneath.

Her handwriting was exquisite, slender and graceful, each stroke ending like a delicate leaf, completed in one fluid motion. Shen Lixia was captivated, forgetting everything else she was doing. Her usual distractions vanished, replaced by a single, focused gaze as she watched Qiao Yanshen write, "May all be well, no need to worry." She watched as a stray strand of hair playfully fell, obscuring her vision, before she paused, gently tucking it behind her ear. A moment later, she repeated the gesture with a hint of resignation. When she finished her greeting and wrote about her recent situation, a slight smile played on her lips, but her brow furrowed, causing her eyes to narrow slightly, creating a smile that was both troubled and happy.

"Li Xia?"

Coming to his senses, the boy, who had already been called twice, subconsciously raised his hand, pressing the back of his hand against the faint warmth on his cheek, and quickly replied, "What's wrong?"

Qiao Yanshen's smile softened even more. He assumed that Shen Lixia was just lost in thought as usual, so he put down his pen, leaned over, and gently tapped the tip of her nose. He said softly, "Is there anything you want to say to your master? I'll write it down. The current situation has been summarized. You can also check it to make sure I haven't missed anything important."

The boy was enveloped by the light, refreshing scent, and his heart raced with panic. He nearly stammered, "Oh, what I wanted to say! Senior Sister must have written many words of concern as well, so I... I wish Master happiness every day..."

She blinked, but instead of pulling away, she shifted her chair closer to Qiao Yanshen, resting her chin on his shoulder as he picked up his pen to continue writing. Cool, soft strands of hair brushed against her cheeks, seemingly trying to diminish the faint blush on her face.

Anyway, my senior sister said that if it were her, there was no need to worry too much.

While maintaining this intimacy with a clear conscience, Shen Lixia carefully read the contents of the paper.

As she expected, the greetings and updates were already perfectly written and needed no further additions. From the moment they met, Qiao Yanshen had demonstrated extraordinary proficiency in this area. The letter's formal tone and standard format, matching his slender handwriting, would surely please anyone who read it.

Just as Qiao Yanshen was about to write down the phrase "Happy Every Day," which was clearly from her side, Shen Lixia had a flash of inspiration and reached out to stop her pen.

Their hair gently brushed against each other, making Qiao Yanshen feel a little itchy. That familiar and strange feeling came over her again, causing her hand to tremble slightly. She accidentally dropped a dot of ink into the blank line, which quickly spread, just like the unstoppable warmth brought by the boy when he was close to her.

"Oops, I accidentally got it dirty. Looks like I'll have to get a new sheet of paper and rewrite it..."

"It's alright! Senior Sister, hand me the pen."

The pen was handed to Shen Lixia, and Qiao Yanshen moved his chair aside, resting his chin on his hand as he watched her.

The boy's golden eyes gleamed with interest. His hand moved swiftly, not writing, but drawing a round ball, then casually adding dots of ink at the beginning and end... A plump titmouse appeared on the paper, its tail feathers slender yet long, like an enlarged comma, only with the end flaring outwards. The smudged stroke became the bird's eye, its edge perfectly framed by blank space, giving it a lively appearance. After finishing the titmouse, Shen Lixia pondered for a moment, then added a small rabbit surrounded by flowing water beside it.

She wrote her wish for happiness every day in the speech bubble beneath her doodle, creating a simple cartoon.

As Qiao Yanshen watched her scribble, he noticed that although Shen Lixia's writing was somewhat crooked due to her unfamiliarity with the soft brush, her strokes were vigorous and rounded. He suddenly felt as if he had been gently touched, like the soft tip of the brush and the delicate tail feathers, not falling on the paper, but inadvertently brushing over a certain place in her heart.

The clear sound of the pen being put down dispelled the strange feeling. Shen Lixia picked up the letter, read it carefully, and nodded, saying, "I think there's no problem. How does Senior Sister feel?"

"You can mail it now." Qiao Yanshen's gaze lingered on the signature at the end of the letter. Thinking that her hand had written his name, he unconsciously pursed his lips, his fingers gently twisting together before releasing them a moment later.

It's immediately obvious that it's the work of two different people. With such contrasting styles, even the Master would find it interesting if he accepted it.

After the messenger left with the letter, a knock sounded at the door, and Shen Lixia got up to open it.

A woman with black hair and a blue dress stood outside the door. Behind her sunglasses were a pair of eyes that squinted like a fox's when she smiled. Her hands were behind her back, and the word "mercenary" was practically written all over her face.

"Fellow Daoists, it's been a long time. Have you rested well? Let's catch up."

After what had happened before, Shen Lixia understood the personality of the person in front of her. She knew that her love of money did not conflict with her principles, and unconsciously regarded her as someone she could befriend. So she stepped aside and joked, "Catch up? I'm afraid there's something important going on. That's when I usually see you."

Simmons smiled and said, "That's right. Fellow Daoist Li Xia always seems to guess my intentions right away, or perhaps I should say see through them? It's quite a coincidence."

When the others came in, the two noticed that she was carrying a chair, which seemed odd, but it was in line with Simmons' usual style, and they couldn't help but smile at each other.

Simmons placed a chair next to the table and sat down, gesturing for the two to sit closer. He then adjusted his sunglasses, his playful expression vanishing as he said seriously, "Fellow Daoists, I believe you were not invited to the Southern Kingdom. This place is experiencing a situation similar to that of Kuizhou, and it seems to be even more severe."

Qiao Yanshen took the teacup as well, conjured some ice in his hand, and added it to the cup one by one. The group sat around the small table, consciously lowering their voices. Shen Lixia originally wanted to use spiritual power to transmit her thoughts, but seeing that Xi Mengsi's aura was unclear, and not knowing whether she had cultivation or not, she gave up the idea.

This person is shrouded in mystery, both big and small, and is more like a martial arts practitioner than a Buddhist disciple. She is the kind of person that novels love to write about—someone who keeps a low profile. Shen Lixia wouldn't be surprised if one day she said she was a descendant of the South China Sea merfolk.

From the person in front of them, the two gained a general understanding of the current situation in the South.

Since men seized power in the South, they adopted methods similar to those of Quebec. The South's vast territory, unlike any single state, was naturally more extreme and cruel. With this corruption, women's lives became increasingly difficult, resulting in a severe imbalance in the population. The royal family, oblivious to the severity of the situation and showing no remorse, instead resorted to crooked means, abducting women from foreign lands to solve this acute problem. Simmons did not initially come for this reason, but upon discovering the situation, she began to plan, at least to ensure the safe return of these people who did not belong here to their homeland.

The decline of the Southern Kingdom naturally aroused much discontent. Facing increasingly dire circumstances, the women of the city joined forces with the remaining power of their former queen, deciding to develop a rebel army to fight against these flesh-eating parasites. The royal family exerted strict control, but ultimately could not prevent the flames from igniting, buried beneath the increasingly crumbling walls of the Southern Kingdom, waiting for the opportunity to overthrow it all.

This inn harbored members of the rebel army, who were responsible for receiving and caring for women in difficult circumstances or from foreign lands.

"I'm really curious, why is it that Fellow Daoist Xi is always able to sense the clues in these strange places and find the key to breaking the formation?" Shen Lixia raised her eyebrows and stared at Xi Mengsi's dark eyes when she heard this.

Simmons revealed that familiar, mysterious smile, "A person naturally needs to have some skills to survive in this world."

After answering, she seemed to think of something and frowned, saying, "This place is not far from the capital; we can get there in half a day. However, our strength is not yet mature, so we cannot act rashly... But I have also noticed something unusual."

The tea in his hand was icy cold, which actually lessened its bitterness and made it especially refreshing in the summer heat. Simmons took a sip of tea and continued talking.

"I learned by chance that the god worshipped here is none other than the Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Symbols, also known as the Lingguang Divine Lord. However, starting more than a decade ago, the people above suddenly began to blur some parts of the faith, changing the Lingguang Divine Lord from a goddess statue to a male god statue. They also said that the Divine Lord appeared in the emperor's dream, saying that he did not like others calling him by this title, so he changed it to 'Immortal Immortal Lord'. They said that by borrowing the story of the phoenix's rebirth, it was also to bless the people so that they could survive the great calamity and live as long as the heavens."

Shen Lixia's blood pressure rose higher and higher as she listened, and she felt her hands getting hotter and hotter. She thought it was due to her emotions, but unexpectedly, Qiao Yanshen reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

Wait a moment.

She was startled, finally realizing that this wasn't her own heat rising, but rather a divine fire burning fiercely, grinding through her meridians. The anger surged within her, and Shen Lixia carefully sensed the information, naturally uttering a phrase:

"shameless!"

Their faces are thicker than city walls! Any man in this country who has never worshipped this statue will be burned to ashes!

The wisp of remnant soul that had been sleeping in the divine fire seemed to be awakened by anger, and it cursed in a strange and indistinct voice in her sea of ​​consciousness.

Shen Lixia awkwardly touched her nose, about to explain, when Qiao Yanshen gently took her fingers under the table and stroked them softly. Familiar, cool spiritual energy flowed over like water, entering her meridians and probing towards the divine fire, carefully and gently enveloping it.

For some reason, Shen Lixia sensed a trace of... perhaps it should be called indulgence, or perhaps soothing emotion from this spiritual power.

To put it more bluntly, it was to appease the divine fire that was currently pounding wildly within her meridians.

The anger subsided somewhat, and the stinging sensation faded. The divine fire, perhaps extinguished, seemed to have lost its temper, becoming quiet and still.

Simmons, standing next to her, wasn't startled by her insult. Instead, she chimed in, "Yes, she's shameless, she deserves to die!"

The boy sighed softly and turned to grip Qiao Yanshen's hand tightly. This time, his mind was clear, and he could even feel the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy flowing through the other's hand. His senses were magnified several times over. He tried to make his hand appear more natural, but he stopped when he accidentally brushed against the other's knuckles.

Finally, she could only mutter a small complaint to the divine fire in her heart: "Stupid."

Simmons cleared his throat, and after finishing his rant, he said with a solemn expression, "However, things are fine so far, but there is a rumor circulating in the market that makes this 'Immortal Lord' seem sinister."

The two people sitting opposite her exchanged a glance, and recalling their previous encounter, they immediately had a guess, and their hearts sank.

"Rumor has it that within a year of the change of the idol and its name, all the prisoners in the royal prison vanished. It's said that executions are carried out in the autumn, but that year, they didn't even wait until autumn..."

Just as I expected.

"After that, people began to disappear from time to time in the country... and the royal guards also grew stronger day by day."

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Author's note: There should be more later!

Currently, several storylines are running in parallel. I'll see if I can indicate which storyline it is before each chapter for easier categorization. A friend said this arc is somewhat similar to Quebec, but I think the core is quite different, though they both deal with the same main theme... namely, the unfair rewriting of history by the author.

I'm really bad at writing plots...TAT Feel free to share any opinions!