Chapter 30: Another Interpretation of "The Goddess Has No Such Heart"

The night was dark when Mingyan saw her suddenly stop and asked impatiently, "What are you dawdling about again—"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly grabbed her arm, her mind blank for a moment: "You...you...you..."

As the Thousand Machines Guidance was flashing wildly, Xiao Jingze snapped a tree branch, sealed her meridians and stopped the bleeding, and said with a very ugly expression: "It's an array."

Mingyan suddenly realized with a start that the head pierced by the tree branch was a formation targeting the Thousand-Seeking Pearl! She hadn't noticed it at all back then, but only a few of them knew about it. Who else was involved behind the scenes?

But there was no time to worry about that now. She decisively drew her sword, but Mingying reached out and pressed it back down: "Don't worry, I'm awake. Cutting your hand hurts a lot. Don't draw the life-extending talisman anymore, it's useless now."

Mingyan's mind was a complete mess: "What?"

Mingying smiled and said, "Oh, you don't know yet, I don't have a heart."

Seeing her seemingly unharmed expression, and then looking at the wound in her chest pierced by a tree branch, from which spiritual energy slowly dissipated, Mingyan felt the whole situation become increasingly eerie: "You... are you Mingying?"

Mingying laughed again: "I am Mingying. My heart was probably discarded after I was born. There is a substitute inside, which is used to transmit spiritual energy to prolong my life."

She coughed a few times, then gently wiped her eyes, touched her face, and said, "Don't worry, I won't die now, but next time Mother won't let me out no matter what..."

Golden threads filled her wounds. Mingying looked down and saw Xiao Jingze put the Thousand Machine Guidance on her hand, pouring spiritual power into the Purple Cloud Chariot. His gaze was deep: "I will send you back to the Ming family."

Mingyan, supporting Mingying, suddenly turned her head, her eyes red-rimmed: "What do you know?"

The Purple Cloud Chariot emitted golden light, and Xiao Jingze carried Ming Ying onto it: "Why don't you ask the Ming family what they did before?"

Mingying lay on the soft cushion, holding Mingyan's hand, and suddenly had a whimsical idea: "Why don't I not go back to the Ming family? You can just leave me here. There are so many people on the mountain, it's quite lively."

Mingyan paused, a bad feeling creeping into her heart, and asked incredulously, "Are you crazy?"

Mingying smiled and then started coughing violently again, her lips turning ashen and pale: "I was just kidding, don't keep such a long face."

"You've lived in Yunchuan for so long, don't say such nonsensical things!"

"Mingyan, do you want to know why I've lived so long?"

Mingyan didn't want to know, staring into her eyes: "No matter what you say, you have at least ten years left."

Mingying looked at the birds flying quickly past the window and said to herself, "Mingyan, you clearly guessed it. I'm not blind or deaf, but it's never easy to save the life of a dying person."

"That's my own choice! You're not allowed to think about it anymore. I promised Madam Shen I would bring you back. If you die on the way, it will implicate me, you know?"

Mingying chuckled softly: "Mingyan, I am just a mortal. Mortals don't live long, let alone someone like me who was never meant to survive. I'm not worth you doing this for."

Mingyan hurriedly retorted, "But you are not just an ordinary mortal, you are also my—our Ming clan's goddess."

"Mingyan, even without the Goddess, everyone can manage on their own, right?"

Mingyan bit her lower lip hard, while Mingying lowered her eyelids and yawned: "It's very late, I should go to sleep."

Mingyan shook her: "Wait—Mingying, Mingying!"

——

The moon was high in the sky, a crescent moon hanging like a hook, its pale light casting only a faint glow on the stone steps. The gates of the Ming Mansion were wide open, and more than thirty people stood in the courtyard, their expressions solemn and silent. Xiao Jingze leaped down from the carriage carrying Ming Ying, and Shen Ci gently took her, her fingers trembling slightly. Ming Ying had already closed her eyes and stopped breathing; it was terrifying.

Mingyan followed the two men into the courtyard without stopping. She paused when she looked up. She had never seen such a grand scene before. Her heart sank. She slowly walked to her father's side and followed his gaze to the center.

The Imperial Advisor wore a high jade crown, her white hair hanging down to her waist, radiating a soft glow in the night. She looked over calmly, and Ming Yan pursed her lips. It was one of her prophecies that had cemented Ming Ying's position as a goddess.

Xiao Qingyi gently touched Mingying's wound, and the golden thread retreated back into the Thousand Machine Guide, restoring the bloody hole to its original state. She said calmly, "There is hope."

The head of the Ming family, his eyes red and barely able to stand, cried out, "It's good that there's hope, it's good that there's hope..."

He bowed again and said, "The Ming family is deeply grateful for the past kindness of the Imperial Preceptor. These thirty people are willing to obey the Imperial Preceptor's orders, only asking to save Manman's life."

Everyone bowed and said in unison, "We beg the Imperial Preceptor to intervene and save Miss Ming's life."

Xiao Qingyi waved her hand slightly: "She needs to nourish her heart."

Shen Ci felt uneasy: "What does this mean? The Mountain and River Bell was forged from the Dragon's Heart, how could it shatter so easily? Could it be that person? But how could this be..."

Xiao Qingyi remained silent, turning her gaze to the side: "If she can be saved, she lives; if not, she dies."

Xiao Jingze suddenly clenched the blood-stained ring, his eyes churning with emotion, but the corners of his lips curled up: "What exactly happened back then? Why did she have no heart?"

Xiao Qingyi's expression remained unchanged: "The Mountain and River Bell was originally a heirloom of the Xiao family. She died at birth, so I replaced her heart and used spiritual power to ring the bell, and she started to have a heartbeat."

Xiao Jingze remained motionless, then chuckled softly: "With the Mountain and River Bell shattered and spiritual energy unable to flow, she can only wait to die, is that right?"

Xiao Qingyi nodded calmly: "That's right. Yunchuan is located in the heart of the dragon's territory, so it's the safest place to transfer spiritual energy."

Mingyan stepped forward and asked, "What about the life-extending talisman? It's different from an array; it doesn't require a magical artifact as a medium."

Mingyi pulled her back, pointed at her nose, and whispered, "When did you..."

Xiao Qingyi said, "The life-extending talisman created by Mingqi with the power of his bloodline requires the person to be alive."

No heartbeat means dead.

The Ming family head said, "How to repair it, and what is needed, please tell me, Grand Preceptor."

Xiao Qingyi raised her hand: "I have frozen her. I will choose a blood relative, infuse them with gold water, and then dissect their heart to repair it."

Upon hearing this, the Ming family head resolutely refused: "Such evil magic is absolutely unacceptable!"

Xiao Qingyi didn't speak. Shen Ci touched Mingying's face and said, "If there's no other way, then take my heart."

"Aci, don't be confused! Your heart is my heart. But if we really use this method, how will you face Manman when she wakes up!"

Xiao Qingyi looked at them quietly and said slowly, "Heaven has said that when a goddess encounters calamity, she is in danger when she meets water, but will be able to pass through it when she finds water."

The Ming family head asked, "What is the explanation for this?"

Xiao Jingze's gaze flickered slightly, and he suddenly looked up. Xiao Qingyi met his eyes: "He is another interpretation."

——

Mingying's hair was spread out on the pillow. Because she had just taken her braids off, it still had a slight curl, making her look like a beautiful dream.

Xiao Jingze stood by the bed and asked in a low voice, "Is this the origin of that marriage contract?"

He curled his lips into a smile: "The Ming family needed me to help the goddess overcome her tribulation. I expected it to be a grand and dramatic event, but it turned out to be just mending her heart."

Xiao Qingyi said, "This is destiny."

Xiao Jingze sneered. What a coincidence! He was the only artifact cultivator in the Xiao family. Back then, he stubbornly ran away from Zhanfeng Pavilion to Shengong Pavilion, recognizing the original spiritual essence of all things. He could create all the phenomena of the universe in his palm and had handled countless magical artifacts. He never paid any attention to the rules of the Heavenly Dao. But now he was being told that his choices were all ordained by Heaven.

"Ha, fate. What if I insist on not obeying?"

Xiao Qingyi didn't take it to heart: "Since it is destiny, you will surely obey."

Xiao Jingze clenched his fist, then slowly released it, and burst into laughter, rubbing his forehead. Xiao Qingyi looked up and saw the shadow of another person in him, causing her to frown slightly.

Xiao Jingze quickly wiped the smile off his face, his expression turning cold: "What do I need to do?"

Xiao Qingyi shook her head: "Only you know the answer."

Xiao Jingze twitched the corner of his mouth, too lazy to bother with such a mystical riddle, and said in a very casual tone: "I understand. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come. I will take care of this place."

Xiao Qingyi didn't say much. The gauze curtains were blown by the wind, leaving only the two people in the room. Xiao Jingze turned his head to look at the person on the bed, his expression unreadable.

He raised his hand and brushed the candle wick, extinguishing the flame instantly and plunging the room into darkness, leaving only a wisp of white smoke.

"How ridiculous! If I am your solution, then you are my tribulation?"

Xiao Jingze looked down at the person who was sleeping soundly and muttered to himself, "They really put me and you together without a care in the world, but they don't know how much I used to resent you."

——

Ten years ago, during the grand Yunchuan Festival, the Lantern Festival, and the birthday of the goddess, the streets were brightly lit. Xiao Jingze stumbled into the bustling city and went against the flow alone.

He stared at the wooden beads in his palm, then casually tossed them aside. The beads clattered onto the float. Just as he was about to leave, a delicate floral fragrance wafted past his nose. He instinctively stopped and turned back as if possessed.

At the brightest point of the lanterns, the crowd cheered and thronged around the goddess. On the float, all the city's lights fell upon her, casting a soft halo around her silhouette. Her long shawl and ribbons fluttered in the wind behind her, dazzling yet blinding, a sight both blissful and hateful.

He stood in the shadows under the eaves, his heart churning with bitterness and resentment, his eyes blazing with jealousy—why was she so favored by fate, so easily gaining everyone's approval and affection, effortlessly achieving a glory unattainable by any cultivator, as if it were a gift casually bestowed upon her by the heavens? As the light faded, he gazed at the desolate street, suddenly realizing the passage of time. He scoffed softly, turning and walking forward without looking back. If a mortal could become a god, what did he have to fear?

Everyone knows he is extremely talented, but they don't know about his stubbornness ten years ago. If it weren't for that...

Xiao Jingze glanced at the bulging sachet beside him, poured out the wooden beads inside, clasped his hands together, and crushed them into powder. The powder spilled out from between his fingers and fell to the ground with a soft patter: "I forgive you."

After saying that, he curled his lips into a smile: "But you haven't done anything to wrong me, so how can you forgive me? Ten years ago, I saw you in your prime, but when I think about it carefully, we are both outcasts in our own kind, and neither of us has an easier life than the other."

Xiao Jingze stared at her sleeping face for a while. The Thousand Machines Meridian was the dragon's meridian. Last time she was in a deep sleep, he came to visit her and found that he could resonate with her heart. He knew that something was amiss and originally wanted to investigate in secret, but this heart was not the same as that heart. There are three heirlooms of the Xiao family. Two of them have already recognized him as their master, but he had never seen the Mountain and River Bell since he was a child. Who knew that it was given away as a betrothal gift.

He pondered quietly. The Mountain and River Bell was used on the battlefield in ancient times. It was as large as mountains and rivers. If it was to be used to repair the heart, one would have to see its original form. He began by using the Thousand Machines Guidance to deduce and form a command, and the golden thread connected to it: "Enter the heart."

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Author's note: Mingying used to be sleep-deprived and sickly but very lively. In fact, she was about to die. However, this is a fantasy world. Lying in bed is like shutting down, and when she is fully charged (spiritual power), she comes back to life.