Chapter 28 The Thousand-Year-Old Pearl Cannot Be Found 4 You Are a Fake

The three of them hurried along the directions indicated by the Thousand Machine Guide, and soon arrived at a desolate slope. Mingying jumped down from the guqin and saw that many people were buried there, with many tombstones standing there, and the air was cold and desolate.

At the foot of the slope stood a new grave, the yellow earth still damp. Atu knelt before the grave, his face streaked with tears, motionless, like a stone statue guarding this place.

Xiao Jingze put away the golden ring, quickly scanned his surroundings, and fixed his gaze on him. The child now looked completely different from before, and the scene was truly strange.

Mingying stepped forward and looked around. All she could see were yellow earth and bones. She composed herself and glanced back at Xiao Jingze's expression: "The Thousand-Search Pearl doesn't seem to have any effect on me. Have you seen anything?"

Xiao Jingze slowly shook his head. Could it be that they were wrong, and the Thousand-Seeking Pearl was not actually in Atu's hands?

A-Tu remained kneeling before the grave, oblivious to their approach. Xiao Jingze frowned, then pulled A-Tu's hand up; there were knife marks on the bracelet.

He had done some things for the Ministry of Justice before, but this thing in the child's hand was just a bluff. Xiao Jingze tapped it with his fingertip to remove it, and seeing nothing unusual, he put it back into his ring. He stared at the other's dazed eyes and asked, "What did you see?"

Atu was in a daze, muttering to himself, "Gone, Grandma turned into a copper coin, the copper coin is gone, gone..."

Mingying, who was squatting to the side, moved a little closer to him upon seeing this: "What?"

Lu Qianhe looked expressionlessly at the three people gathered below, her tone icy: "He's gone mad."

No sooner had he finished speaking than A-Tu suddenly sprang up and pounced on Ming-Ying like a trapped beast!

Mingying fell backward, bracing herself with her hands and spinning to the side. At the same time, Xiao Jingze threw out the golden ring in his hand to stop him. A'tu was unable to stop in time and crashed into the golden ring, fainting on the spot.

Everything happened extremely fast. Xiao Jingze, with a stern face, picked him up and shook him. Ming Ying paused, stood up, dusted off her hands, and leaned over to ask, "What do we do now? Can people affected by the Thousand Seeking Pearl recover?"

Lü Qianhe said, "It's difficult. The longer people spend with Qianxunzhu, the more confused they become."

Mingying pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "But he's been alive and well for so many days, which shows his strong will. Maybe he can..."

A sharp sound rang out in the distance, and crimson fireworks exploded in the night sky. The three of them looked up at the same time. Mingying's eyes flickered slightly: "The fire signal... The Thousand-Seeking Pearl is not in A'Tu's hands, it's with Mingyan and the others."

Mingying grabbed Lü Qianhe's sleeve: "Elder Lü, we..."

Lü Qianhe nodded knowingly, stepped onto the back of the zither, picked up one in each hand, and sped off toward the direction of the fire.

——

Feng Yi wandered around in the woods, seemingly a little lost. He was afraid to wander off, so he anxiously looked up at the sky, trying to mentally prepare himself. He was actually a little afraid of heights, and wondered why no one had come yet.

A streak of purple light flashed across the sky. Feng Yi examined the talisman for a moment, then jumped up in surprise: "It's Elder Lü!"

Lu Qianhe landed with the two of them. Ming Ying had just stood still when she saw Feng Yi waving and running towards them. She looked puzzled and asked, "Where's Ming Yan?"

Feng Yi rushed up and said, "Did you encounter Qianxunzhu? Miss Ming suddenly flew off in that direction on her sword!"

Mingying looked in the direction he pointed, her expression slightly hardening. She turned around and bowed to Lü Qianhe, saying, "Elder Lü, this matter is urgent, and I would like to trouble you to take me with you."

Lu Qianhe hadn't put her guqin away yet, but simply nodded slightly. Xiao Jingze took out a compass and said succinctly, "Locate it first."

Mingying reached into her sleeve and found only a slingshot—she didn't seem to have any of Mingyan's things, but to find someone using a compass, one needed something that carried the other person's scent.

After spinning around in place, Mingying suddenly took off her veil: "This veil was previously kept in Mingyan's bracelet, it will definitely work."

Xiao Jingze threw the child he was carrying in his other hand at Feng Yi: "Keep an eye on him."

Feng Yi hurriedly took it, and Xiao Jingze infused it with spiritual power. The compass needle began to rotate, eventually stopping in the opposite direction.

Why is the result different from the direction Feng Yi pointed? Mingying was about to look up and ask when Feng Yi, holding the child, frantically waved his hands: "Believe it, believe it, don't listen to what I said!"

Lu Qianhe, standing on the guqin, was about to pick up the two people and rush in that direction when Xiao Jingze took two steps back, the golden bell in his hand transforming into an umbrella. He raised the umbrella and smiled, "I'll sit here."

Feng Yi placed a sedative talisman on A Tu's forehead and waved to the others, saying, "You all must be careful!"

Watching the figures disappear into the woods, he let out a long sigh, sat down against a tree, patted Atu on the back, and suddenly realized: Wait, in this situation... it seems he himself is in danger too!

——

The guqin soared through the air. Mingying stood on its back, head bowed, searching. The night grew deeper, and finding someone was no easy task. She pursed her lips, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart. Her gaze swept across the cliff edge, and Mingying narrowed her eyes: "There."

A dark red figure was walking towards the edge of the cliff. She cupped her hands to her mouth and called out, "Mingyan, Mingyan!"

Mingyan didn't react, perhaps because the wind was too strong and the distance was too far to hear. Mingying turned her head to look beside her, her expression startled: "...Elder Lü?"

Lu Qianhe's eyes widened, and she suddenly slowed down. The guqin swayed in the air. Mingying grabbed her hem and saw Xiao Jingze's unpredictable expression. She knew something was wrong and grabbed Lu Qianhe's collar, shaking her vigorously: "Elder Lu, wake up!"

Lu Qianhe seemed to wake from a dream and turned to look at her. Mingying raised her head with a serious expression: "It's an illusion, quickly play the tune!"

Lü Qianhe nodded stiffly, finally shifting her gaze from the distance. She sat cross-legged, placed the guqin horizontally on her lap, and began to pluck the strings in the air with her eyes closed.

The zither music suddenly began, rapid and intense, like a swirling sandstorm, pearls falling onto a jade plate. Mingying, however, tumbled off the overturned zither back, plummeting downwards: "Xiao Jingze, Xiao Jingze!"

Hearing the sound, Xiao Jingze lowered his eyes and glanced at her. The golden bells jingled in the wind, and his sleeves fluttered. He caught her in mid-air with his umbrella.

The music grew increasingly intense. Mingying grabbed his collar with one hand and pointed at the red figure with the other: "Stop Mingyan quickly!"

Xiao Jingze looked at the other "Mingying" sitting on the edge of the cliff, smiling and waving at him. He closed his eyes, opened them, and placed her on the ground: "I can see illusions. This song has no effect at all. Let's wait..."

The music grew more urgent, like ten thousand horses galloping, shattering the floating sand. Mingying released her grip and raced towards the cliff: "I can't wait!"

Xiao Jingze spun his umbrella to catch the wind, and Ming Ying rode the wind forward, rushing over and embracing Ming Yan just a few steps from the edge of the cliff. With a "clang," the music stopped.

Mingyan was tugged by someone and turned to look at her: "Mingying?"

Mingying nodded breathlessly, "Yes, yes, it's me. That's the edge of a cliff. Don't go any further."

Mingyan turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Two Mingyings?"

Mingying glanced in the direction she was looking, but still couldn't see anything. She explained earnestly, "That's fake. I'm the real one. Remember we came here to find the Thousand-Seeking Pearl? That's an illusion created by the Thousand-Seeking Pearl."

Mingyan frowned: "What are you talking about now?"

Seeing that she had really become a fool, Mingying sighed and said with a smile, "Do you remember when you were a child, you secretly hid in a tree to avoid going to school because of a fool in the academy? Actually, I happened to wake up that day and was drinking medicine outside the window when I saw you sneaking around climbing my loquat tree."

Mingyan's eyes cleared a bit, and her face flushed red as she was about to get angry. Mingying took the opportunity to pull her a little further away from the edge of the cliff: "Don't get excited, I haven't finished yet. Don't you want to know why he could only go around you after that? Because I wrote a letter and had someone secretly put him in a sack... We had a friendly chat. Aunt Qin didn't tell you that I did it, did she? That fake Mingying wouldn't know either."

As expected, Mingyan became even angrier. She pried her hand away and gritted her teeth: "No one in Zhanfeng Pavilion can beat me. I was able to beat him to a pulp just because I didn't want to bother with an idiot... Who asked you to make decisions on your own!"

Mingying pulled her back, patted her on the shoulder, and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, sister, I didn't have time to tell you before I lay back down."

Mingyan softened her stance a little, snorted, and followed her back. "Fake Mingying," however, said fearfully, "Sister, I'm about to fall..."

Mingyan stopped and glanced back irritably: "Wait a minute, she's about to fall. I'll save her first, and you two can confront each other later."

Mingying grabbed her wrist tightly and held her back: "No, Mingyan, I still have many secrets I haven't told you. Don't you want to know? She won't fall. If you go any further, you will fall. She is an illusion created by Qianxunzhu. Don't believe her."

Mingyan brushed her hand away and pushed her down, crossing her arms with a confident look: "Mingying wouldn't stand by and watch someone die, you're a fake."

Mingying: ? ? ?

She froze, rarely at a loss for words, especially not in front of Mingyan. Mingying blinked, staring at the "Mingying" in front of her, still unable to see anything. Why couldn't she see anything?

Seeing that Mingyan was determined to save her, Mingying held her forehead and looked left and right. Since Mingyan was not conscious at the moment, she picked up a tree branch and planned to knock her unconscious.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Mingyan swiftly grabbed the branch and glanced at her sideways: "You still want to hurt me? Don't you even know how to pretend properly, you fake!"

Mingying looked helpless and tried to persuade her gently: "...Why don't you have her come over, and we can confront each other? Isn't Mingying the one who listens to you the most?"

Mingyan thought for a moment: That's right.

She looked towards the edge of the cliff: "Come here. This fake one says you're fake. Show her what the real Mingying is like."

Mingying smiled and said, "Yes, yes, the environment here isn't very nice. Let's find a better place to sit down and chat."

The other end of the branch was still in her hand, and Mingying took the opportunity to pull her back a little.

"Fake Mingying" said to Mingyan, "Sister, my feet hurt so much, I can't walk anymore."

Mingyan rolled her eyes: "You want me to bring you here?"

"Fake Mingying" nodded expectantly. Mingying grabbed the tree branch and was pulled towards the edge of the cliff by Mingyan.

If this continues, the two of them will fall. Mingying let go of her hand, covered her forehead and pretended to cry: "Waaah, sister, my head is so dizzy, it seems really bad, please help me to rest over there."

Sure enough, Mingyan stopped, looked at her and hesitated for a moment. Just as she was about to help her to the tree, she put her hand down and said coldly, "No, you're fake. I figured it out just now."

Seeing Mingyan about to walk towards the cliff edge, Mingying closed her eyes briefly, then suddenly ran past her, her sleeve brushing against Mingyan's shoulder, creating a gentle breeze. Mingying's gaze was deep; if the Thousand-Search Pearl could reveal a person's thoughts and feelings, how could she not see it!

A self-deprecating smile curved her lips. The Thousand-Seeking Pearl, like the Heavenly Fire, was a legendary treasure of dragons. Everything she encountered was stimulating her desires.

A wish is simply a packaged desire. The Thousand-Search Pearl amplifies the yearning in one's heart; seeing it is seeing one's own desire. Mingyan's wish, for example, has never changed since childhood. She does not want to be an appendage of the goddess, but rather to become a powerful being capable of saving even the goddess.

Mingying paused at the edge of the cliff. A goddess shouldn't have desires, right? She made her first wish, and as a result, she fell seriously ill and Yunchuan was afflicted with an epidemic. Her second wish was also to fall seriously ill and for the Shen family to decline. So what about now?

Mingyan walked towards her, and a radiant dragon pearl appeared in Mingying's pupils. She reached out, grasped it, and swallowed it.

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Author's note: I never expected that the classic, melodramatic three-person plot of the short drama would be played out by just Mingyan and Mingying.

The indecisive male protagonist? =Ming Yan

The wrongly accused female lead? =Ming Ying

Green tea villainous female supporting character? = Illusion

I'm starting to doubt if I wrote this myself. Everyone in this instance seems a bit off, probably due to the influence of the Thousand-Seeking Pearl (I'm sure of it).