Chapter 3 Thousand-Mile Candle and Everlasting Flame: What kind of mystery has she been instilling in you all...?

Feng Yi bought a sugar painting shaped like a jade rabbit on the street. As he walked, he mumbled to the person in front of him, "What's going on with this magical artifact? The academy actually sent Ming Yan from the Thousand Machines Pavilion over here."

Xiao Jingze glanced at him: "Have you investigated the situation thoroughly?"

"The origin of that Love Mirror is quite mysterious. Legend has it that it was a token of love between a princess of an ancient kingdom and her junior brother. However, there are too many rumors about this princess of an ancient kingdom, and it is hard to tell what is true and what is false. —Hey, Brother Xiao, look, why does that carriage in the sky look a bit familiar?"

Xiao Jingze paused, then sneered in the direction he was pointing. It did look familiar; wasn't this the one he had just lent out a few days ago? The goddess of the Ming family had said she would use it to retrieve the Heavenly Fire from the Shen family.

The Purple Cloud Chariot landed, and Mingyan put it away. Mingying swayed, her stomach churning violently, and she vomited while leaning against a tree trunk.

Mingyan stood a little further away with a look of disdain, and noticed two other people standing opposite her at the edge of the woods. Feng Yi arrived just in time to witness this awkward scene. After a few moments of silence in the woods, he leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Miss Ming, who is this?"

Mingyan recognized the person and briefly introduced her: "Mingying, you've been traveling with me these past few days."

A member of the Ming clan? Feng Yi glanced at Xiao Jingze's expressionless face. A mortal without spiritual power in the Ming clan... isn't that Xiao Jingze's fiancée?! And she's even using Xiao Jingze's magical artifact!

Mingying felt dizzy and lightheaded from vomiting, her eyes filled with tears. She sniffed, wiped her face with a handkerchief, and staggered over to Mingyan, only to find two more people in the woods.

Seeing her pitiful look, Xiao Jingze chuckled meaningfully.

Mingying had prepared herself mentally on the way, so she wasn't embarrassed at this moment. She smiled at him and said, "Young Master Xiao."

She turned to look at Feng Yi: "Young Master Feng."

Feng Yi straightened up and solemnly returned the greeting: "Goddess."

Upon hearing this, the other two laughed.

Feng Yi looked up in confusion, and Ming Ying touched her nose: "Young Master Feng, you can just call me Ming Ying."

Feng Yi glanced at Xiao Jingze again. Was it inappropriate for him to call Xiao Jingze's fiancée by her name? But there were two Miss Mings here. He was racking his brains when suddenly a brilliant idea struck him: "Miss Ming."

Very good, that's a polite and appropriate way to address him, he's truly a genius.

Hearing the affectionate address, Mingying couldn't help but feel a bit of goodwill towards him: "I've always heard that the disciples of Yinxuan Pavilion are clear-minded and composed. Meeting you today, Young Master Feng, I can confirm that you truly have an extraordinary demeanor."

Feng Yi straightened his chest and waved his hand, replying, "I dare not accept such praise."

Mingyan interrupted their small talk: "Alright, alright, let's find a place to sit down and discuss this."

Xiao Jingze turned and left. Feng Yi followed him and sighed, "This goddess of the Ming family is completely different from what I imagined. What a pity."

Feng Yi took out the token and booked four rooms for the four of them. Ming Ying was about to say something when Xiao Jingze smiled slightly: "As long as the goddess is responsible for enlightening the world, there will be people to serve her."

Mingying gave him a strange look, thinking that he might have misunderstood her, so she explained, "It's not that I don't want to go to the Shen family, it's just that I never leave Yunchuan, so I just stopped by to take a look. I won't bother you."

Xiao Jingze glanced at her: "Feng Yi is a cultivator trained by the Jin family. This place is a property of the Jin family. You can check in directly with your token."

Mingyan interrupted again: "When are we going to start talking about serious matters?"

Feng Yi ran over: "Now is fine."

He moved a little closer and whispered, "The two engaged couples have just met, let them talk more."

Mingyan held her breath, looking at the only person on the field who was unaware of the situation. Her expression changed repeatedly before she finally chose to ignore him and turned to leave.

Seeing that none of the three paid him any attention, Feng Yi scratched his head and sat down anyway. Ming Ying happened to be sitting opposite him and even smiled at him.

Xiao Jingze rested one hand on his forehead and toyed with his teacup in the other: "Tell them what's going on."

Feng Yi cleared his throat and began to explain: "A magical artifact has been causing trouble in Liuzhou City. Normally, magical artifacts made by cultivators are inanimate objects that require spiritual power to activate. But magical artifacts are different. They have accumulated the spiritual power of heaven and earth for a long time and have developed their own consciousness. There are only a handful of magical artifacts in the world, and most of them are just decorations in the Celestial Venerable's Xuanji Palace—but I digress. In short, the emergence of this magical artifact in Liuzhou City is very strange, and there may be some things we don't know."

After he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone was still staring at him: "Is there a problem?"

As the only mortal, Mingying asked earnestly, "What is the name of this magical artifact? What harm has it caused? Where is it located? Who does it affect? ​​How do I find it? How do I subdue it? I don't know much about any of these things."

Xiao Jingze chuckled softly.

Feng Yi slapped his forehead: "I forgot to mention, this magical artifact is called the Heart-to-Heart Mirror. It suddenly appears during weddings and asks the newlyweds three questions. If they answer all the questions truthfully, they will be safe. If they answer falsely or not at all, the Heart-to-Heart Mirror will devour their soul, turning them into a drooling idiot. Apart from that, it doesn't seem to have any effect on ordinary people. Brother Xiao's item-finding compass can't detect its location either."

Mingyan frowned: "Then we can only inquire whether anyone is getting married recently and try to subdue it at the wedding. But since the magical artifact is causing trouble, will anyone in the city be getting married?"

Feng Yi stroked his chin: "Probably. If all the answers are true, then there will be no problem. When mortals fall in love and get married, they always want their partner to be devoted to them and to have nothing to hide. The Heart-to-Heart Mirror can be used as a gamble."

Xiao Jingze said lazily, "This magical artifact just happens to provide them with a way to prove their sincerity. If they were to actually subdue it, some people might be dissatisfied. I think this is quite good. If they are afraid to answer, then there is no need for them to get married."

Mingying turned to look at him: "Then we should still try to win him over. What if what he is hiding is something that is painful for him? What if what he is lying about is for the sake of others? In the public eye, it is better to keep some things in the dark."

Xiao Jingze raised an eyebrow: "The goddess seems to have gained some insight."

Mingying met his gaze: "What's more, there are couples like us who are complete strangers but still want to get married."

Xiao Jingze's eyes flickered slightly, but he remained silent.

"Speaking of which..." Feng Yi looked left and right, and seeing that all three of them were looking at him, his voice suddenly became soft: "Aren't you hungry?"

Mingyan's lips twitched. She still couldn't understand why Xiao Jingze could become such a close friend with this person.

Xiao Jingze's expression remained unchanged: "Then let's eat first."

While beckoning the waiter to take their order, Feng Yi strongly recommended, "Miss Ming, you must try Jin's signature dishes. The steamed Wuchang fish is absolutely the best in the world."

Mingyan realized something and looked at Mingying.

Mingying smiled and explained, "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Young Master Feng, as I cannot eat meat."

Xiao Jingze glanced at her. Did the goddess of the Ming family have to be a vegetarian? It's a wonder she's grown up like this.

Feng Yi exclaimed "Ah!" and then looked at Ming Yan.

Mingying had no choice but to explain again: "It's not that the Ming family has any taboos, it's just that I have a physical condition. Eating meat will cause me to break out in rashes and have difficulty breathing."

Feng Yi looked at her with pity and comforted her, "The Jin family also has many vegetarian dishes that taste very good. Miss Ming can try them too."

Seeing his unreliable appearance, Mingyan reminded him, "If you're going to use oil, it has to be rapeseed oil. Regular oil won't work, and pots that have been exposed to other oils won't work either."

Aunt Ming usually takes care of Mingying's meals, and she puts a lot of effort into making even the simplest snacks. In a moment of impulse, she let Mingying come along, completely forgetting that Mingying has many health problems.

Feng Yi was at his wit's end: "How about this, I'll find the cook, and Miss Ming can talk to her."

Mingying looked apologetic: "No need to trouble yourself, you can eat first. I'll find the kitchen myself."

Feng Yi led her to the kitchen, and Xiao Jingze stared at the tea and suddenly said, "Is this how the Ming family serves a goddess who can only live for thirty years?"

Mingyan subconsciously retorted, "It's not about serving, it's just a difference in habits. It's not a difficult problem to solve in the Ming family."

She realized something was wrong only after she finished speaking. Why did she refute Xiao Jingze because of Mingying?

Xiao Jingze took a sip of tea and put it down. It was a fortunate thing for that mortal to be born into the Ming family.

A glint flashed in his eyes: "Are you really willing to accept this, Miss Ming?"

Ming Yan's scalp tingled, and she looked wary: "What does Young Master Xiao mean?"

Xiao Jingze opened his folding fan and smiled: "What I mean is, what kind of bewitching potion did she give you, making you willingly worship her as a goddess?"

Ming Yan carefully considered her words before replying, "Aside from the Lantern Festival's procession of gods, no one in the Ming family regards her as a goddess. She only has ten years left to live, so whether or not she is a goddess doesn't make any difference."

"Is that so?"

Mingyan was restless. Seeing that Xiao Jingze did not ask any further questions, she stood up casually and said, "I'll go see how Mingying is."

Just then, Feng Yi came out of the kitchen: "Do you need to prepare it yourself too?"

He really wanted to recommend Kim's signature dishes to the two of them!

Ming Yan was caught in a dilemma: "...I'll go take a look."

Mingying chatted and laughed with the cook: "So this is how lychee paste is made. Auntie is really skillful."

The cook patted her on the back with a cheerful smile: "Auntie can make even more, but you won't be able to taste it all!"

"That's fine, let them eat it, I can just smell the aroma."

Mingyan watched the two of them enjoying themselves, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Mingying spotted her and waved to her, saying, "Mingyan, come and try the lychee paste made by Aunt Sun."

Before she could say anything, she honestly took a step forward, took the spoon Mingying handed her, and scooped up a mouthful.

Mingying's eyes sparkled: "How does it taste?"

Mingyan suspected there was something wrong with her sense of taste, wondering why the food tasted bland and even a little bitter to her.

Seeing that both of them were staring at her, Mingyan still reluctantly praised, "Very good."

Mingying's lips curled up slightly, while Mingyan suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Mingying leaned against her and laughed: "Hahahaha, I made that. Aunt Sun said it tasted awful, hahahaha... cough cough cough..."

Mingying laughed too hard and then coughed violently, looking like she couldn't breathe.

As the two women supported the sickly man, all of Mingyan's emotions vanished. She could only think that this scourge of a man was probably only going to live for another thirty years, and that he had only himself to blame.

Mingying came out of the kitchen with her food, occasionally chuckling. Mingyan remained expressionless, Xiao Jingze gave a cold snort, and only Feng Yi was puzzled: "What's going on?"

Mingying smiled and turned her gaze to the girl who had been sitting in her original seat: "And who is this?"

Chen Li had been watching Ming Ying. Upon seeing this, she stood up and bowed, saying, "My name is Chen Li. I will be holding my wedding in two days. I humbly request the help of all cultivators to subdue the Heart-to-Heart Mirror."