Chapter 7 Three Questions from the Mirror of Unity: Couple 3 - I can make a wish upon you...

As the moon rose and the night grew still, Mingyan walked ahead carrying a lantern. Mingying's hair had been freshly combed, and her jade pendants tinkled softly, their pearls swaying and their jade ornaments moving in harmony with the golden rings dangling from Xiao Jingze's waist.

The two stepped through the temple gate, and Feng Yi and Ming Yan looked at each other. Ming Yan nodded almost imperceptibly.

Mingying held the red ribbon, touched the ring on her hand, and wasn't too nervous. She even smiled at Xiao Jingze, whose lips curled slightly, but whose eyes were very indifferent.

Feng Yi straightened his ceremonial hat, cleared his throat, and sang: "First bow to Heaven and Earth—"

Mingyan placed her hand on the hilt of the sword, tensing her nerves.

A cold wind swept through the forest, causing the leaves to sway and the shadows to dance, but the Mirror of Love did not appear.

Xiao Jingze's eyebrows twitched slightly. Mingying nudged him and said softly, "You haven't bowed yet."

Xiao Jingze glanced at her, bowed slightly, and after the ceremony, the two turned to the statue of the Immortal Venerable.

Feng Yi mouthed to Xiao Jingze, "Shall we continue?"

Could it be that the Heart-to-Heart Mirror is so intelligent that it can even tell they are fake?

Xiao Jingze said calmly, "Continue."

Feng Yi continued to be a dutiful master of ceremonies: "Second bow to the parents—"

The people of Liuzhou gilded the statue of the deity. Mingying looked at her; the statue had a kind and benevolent face and probably wouldn't hold her past offenses against her. So she bowed earnestly.

The two were not moving in sync. Mingyan curled her lip in disgust and glanced around the temple. The Heart-to-Heart Mirror had not yet appeared.

Feng Yi was uneasy because the Tongxin Mirror feared the statue of the Immortal Venerable and dared not cause trouble here.

Seeing that no one spoke, he took a breath and shouted loudly, "Husband and wife bow to each other—"

Mingying turned around, and the two looked at each other. The candlelight was dim, and at this distance, Xiao Jingze could even see a faint halo of light surrounding her face.

Mingying felt his gaze was strange, paused for a moment, and then bowed. Xiao Jingze moved at the same time, and their foreheads met. Mingying covered her head and got up. Before she could speak, ripples appeared on the blue bricks, and the Mirror of Unity suddenly rose into the air in the center of the temple. The mirror reflected on the two of them: "My name is the Mirror of Unity."

It's here!

The two turned their gazes to the center. Ming Yan instantly drew her sword, the sword light as fast as a shooting star, containing immense force. Just as the sword energy was about to touch the bronze mirror, the mirror surface suddenly rippled, and an almost identical emerald green sword energy reflected out from the mirror, heading straight for Ming Yan's left shoulder!

Her heart skipped a beat, and she spun back quickly, raising her sword to block the attack, her face grim.

Feng Yi stared blankly at the talisman in his hand. As a talisman cultivator, he was not good at fighting. How could the Heart-to-Heart Mirror have this function? How was he supposed to fight it?

Mingyan's gaze darkened slightly, and Tongxinjing stopped retaliating, like a good-natured old man: "Three words to distinguish truth from falsehood."

Mingying held the ring, gazing at the figure slowly approaching her in the mirror.

The Mirror of Love stood before the two: "Whom do you love?"

Mingying pondered this question deeply yesterday, but there were too many people she wanted to talk to, and she didn't know if Tongxinjing could accept her somewhat vague answer: "The people of the Ming clan, the people of Yunchuan, and all living beings."

Xiao Jingze's answer was also very broad: "Closest relatives."

Mingying glanced at him curiously, thinking, "Didn't they say he didn't have a good relationship with the Xiao family?"

Xiao Jingze noticed her gaze, his smile vanished, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

Mingying withdrew her gaze, and the Heart-to-Heart Mirror circled around the two of them once: "What is it that you feel ashamed of?"

Xiao Jingze scoffed lightly: "No shame whatsoever."

Mingying looked at him with admiration; she had never seen anyone so shameless, but...

She sighed, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "The shame I feel is hard to express in words."

The Mirror of Unity lit up and slowly circled the newlyweds, asking its final question.

What is it that you fear?

Mingying replied decisively, "I have nothing to fear."

Xiao Jingze raised his eyelids and replied in the same way, "I have nothing to fear."

The Mirror of Unity stopped moving, and its light shone brightly, rushing straight towards Xiao Jingze's face with a fierce aura!

Xiao Jingze opened his palm and activated his magic weapon. The mirror box appeared in his hand. The Heart-to-Heart Mirror was briefly suppressed by the runes inside the box after it collided with it. Mingying reacted quickly and rushed forward. Her ring transformed into the other half of the mirror box. Facing the golden light, she closed the violently trembling box. The patterns on both sides of the box echoed and connected to form sealing runes. The Heart-to-Heart Mirror thrashed left and right inside the box, emitting a sharp shriek.

Mingying frowned and turned her head back a little. Feng Yi jumped over and stuck the talisman on the mirror box. Seeing that it was still shaking, he stuck a few more on, wrapping the box tightly.

Mingyan walked over, stared at the crazed Tongxinjing, and pinned it hard to the ground with the hilt of her sword.

The Heart-to-Heart Mirror finally fell silent. Feng Yi was dumbfounded. He picked it up from the ground, and it was now as docile as an ordinary mirror box.

"What should we do with this magical artifact?"

Xiao Jingze tossed the golden ring, which transformed into a world of near and far. He caught the compass and casually replied, "Send it to the Immortal Venerable Elder and let her handle it."

Mingying rubbed her ears and leaned closer curiously: "Can you send it directly to the Immortal Venerable?"

She had heard that mortals and ordinary cultivators couldn't even find the way to the Celestial Venerable's Xuanji Palace. If she could just send things there, that would be so convenient!

Xiao Jingze could tell from her expression what she was up to: "The other compass is with the current imperial advisor, and the one made of Kunshan lightning-struck wood is in the Xuanji Palace."

In short, no way.

Mingying touched her nose and left with regret.

The mirror box disappeared from everyone's sight, and Xiao Jingze threw out the Myriad Manifestations Return to Nothingness, which cracked open a door in the void.

Mingying poked her head out: "How long can this door stay open? I have a question for Miss Chen."

"Half a quarter of an hour."

Mingying jumped out and rushed inside, shouting, "I'll be right out!"

The Void of All Things is composed of stars, and the black mist contains unknown emotions and resentments. When Mingying walked in, she felt a sense of emptiness and despair. She calmed herself down and saw no one else except herself.

Where is Miss Chen?

Mingying ran around in the huge space, wondering if Xiao Jingze had delivered her to the wrong place.

Chen Li sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, the black mist obscuring her red wedding dress. She heard a familiar voice calling her name and hesitantly stood up.

She stepped out of the black mist, and Mingying immediately spotted the red figure. She waved and ran towards her.

They met in the void of black mist, like overlapping rays of light on the horizon. Mingying smiled and called her name again: "Ali".

——

Ah Li didn't know her parents or her name; in New South Wales, she was a little beggar whom everyone hated. When she fainted from hunger in the chicken coop, a kind couple gave her a bread and a bowl of soup. She wolfed it down and pointed to the fence leaning against her, asking, "What's this?"

From then on, she gave herself a name and even asked the old scholar who wrote letters at the street corner. The old scholar said that the name was appropriate, as the body is like a fence, not afraid of cold or heat, but will fall when the wind blows and be covered by broken branches.

When Xinzhou was flooded, the monks of the Yunchuan Ming clan came to help with the disaster relief. A-Li was pulled up by a pair of strong hands. After the flood receded, they did not leave. They sat on the ground and chatted, saying that they missed the Lantern Festival procession and could not make a wish to the goddess this year.

A-Li has slept in several temples dedicated to immortals, offering a little food each time. Unfortunately, she is still a little beggar. If she were the goddess worshipped by all these cultivators, would her wishes be more effective?

So she asked, "Is it true that wishes made to the goddess are effective?"

A young monk smiled and said, "The goddess grants every wish. Last year I wished that my parents would allow me to go out and gain experience, and this year I'm standing right here."

Ah Li was very tempted. She took the stone she had treasured for many years and asked the goddess for a wish.

When she finally arrived in Yunchuan after a long journey, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the streets were as bright as day. The sacrificial procession had ended, and everyone's face was filled with happy smiles. Holding the stone, she was at a loss and asked an old man who was dressed in tattered clothes like her, "Has the goddess finished making her wish?"

The old man, beaming with joy, replied, "It's over, it's over! We can eat tomorrow!"

A-Li's nose tingled with emotion. She had worked so hard, wearing out several pairs of straw sandals, without making a mistake. She was just a little bit away from fulfilling her wish.

She watched the old man's departing figure with envy, comforting herself in her heart that there was still a year left, and that the monks said the sacrificial procession was held every year.

But she was very hungry.

A-Li walked down the street and curled up in front of a brightly lit door, her head feeling dizzy.

There were two people talking inside the room.

"Miss Ming, you can't save them all like this."

A childlike yet resolute voice replied, "I am a goddess, I can save them all."

Another voice shook its head and sighed, and the two parted on bad terms. Mingying pushed open the door and saw A-Li with her eyes half open.

Ah Li's eyes were almost closed. All she could see was a girl with wide eyes, her hair adorned with many sparkling hairpins, her loose clothes sparkling, ribbons fluttering in the air, her figure slender, her skin fair, and a dot of vermilion between her eyebrows. She was as beautiful as a celestial being.

Mingying helped her up and turned around to call out, "Aunt Ming, Aunt Ming!"

The next day, Ah Li woke up in bed, ate the best meal she had ever had, and saw the most beautiful girl in the world.

Holding the bowl, she asked blankly, "Are you a goddess?"

Mingying nodded.

A-Li took a stone from her sleeve and placed it in front of her, looking nervous: "Goddess, may I...may I make a wish upon you?"

Mingying happily accepted the stone: "No problem, what's your wish?"

Ah Li thought for a long time. She had several wishes, but she didn't know which one to make first.

Mingying suggested to her, "You can say them all at once, and your wishes can come true little by little."

A-Li's eyes lit up: "I...I want to be able to eat my fill every day, wear nice clothes, not be chased by dogs, and not be beaten or scolded by others."

Mingying tilted her head and thought for a while: "Sure, are there any other wishes?"

Other wishes?

A-Li pursed her lips and decided to make an even bigger wish: "I want to be like Miss Jin, with my own shop, many people following me, and a perfect husband who listens to me every day."

Mingying laughed: "I've remembered it all, but if you want to realize your wish, you need to work as a helper in Mingshanfang first. Old Master Zhou is still short of an accountant."

A-Li scratched her head: "But I don't know how to do accounting."

Mingying blinked: "It's okay, you'll learn it in the future. It's a prophecy from the goddess."

Years later, A-Li held the goddess's hand, crying and laughing at the same time: "Goddess, Goddess, I have finally seen you again."

Mingying's eyelashes fluttered, and she replied with a smile, "You can still call me Miss Ming."

She looked at Chen Li's face: "I haven't been of any help, and you are now..."

Chen Li smiled wryly and said, "As Miss Ming knows, I can no longer be the original eldest daughter of the Chen family in Suzhou."

She closed her eyes: "The real eldest daughter of the Chen family is buried in the Chen family ancestral cemetery, together with her parents."