Chapter 13, the prophecy—what's wrong? Is she afraid I'll bully her?

"Senior Brother Pei." The disciple from Xingxiang Hall bowed upon seeing the newcomer. She accepted the name tag from Pei Wenjing and wrote her name in the register.

She placed her hand on the shelf beside her and asked as usual, "Does Senior Brother want to burn incense?" Even though she had been on duty in the incense hall for many years, she knew how that person would answer.

Sure enough, Pei Wenjing casually waved his hand and hung the name tag back on his waist: "No, I'm not sincere."

The disciples of Xingxiang Hall couldn't help but glance at him. Pei Wenjing was probably the only one who would dare admit to being insincere in front of the gods on Xingxiang Hall's territory.

Pei Wenjing asked, "I'm looking for Xu Qiubai, where is he?"

"In the First Hall," a disciple of the Incense Offering Hall pointed to the top of the steps.

“Alright, I’ll go find him.” Pei Wenjing turned and left. The Kunlun disciple behind him took his place, handed over his name tag, and accepted three incense sticks.

As the disciples of Xingxiang Hall distributed the incense in their hands, they couldn't help but look at Pei Wenjing's back again and shook their heads.

So many years have passed, and the eldest brother still hasn't found his own path...

The incense at Xingxiang Hall is constantly burning, and almost all Kunlun disciples come here. Even if they have not inherited the Taoist magic of Tianxiang Niangniang, they will still come here to ask for divination and pray for blessings.

Xingxiang Hall is located on a mountain within the inner sect of Kunlun. Outer sect disciples cannot set foot there, but they will ask an inner sect disciple they know to come to Xingxiang Hall to ask for divination and pray for blessings, seeking an answer from the Heavenly Fragrance Goddess.

As Pei Wenjing passed the third hall halfway up the mountain, he saw that the long incense burner was filled with incense sticks, and the white smoke shrouded the steps, blurring the bluestone slabs under his feet, making him feel as if he were in the clouds.

The person standing in front of the incense burner closed their eyes and muttered incantations.

The incense in front of him had already burned down to almost nothing, but he was still unwilling to leave, as if he felt that the three sticks of incense had not yet burned to the end, and that the Heavenly Incense Goddess's answer would still change.

Everyone was bowing their heads in devout prayer.

Looking at this scene, Pei Wenjing suddenly felt that cultivators and mortals were no different.

He had visited Xingxiang Hall when he was a child. At that time, he rejected the Taoist teachings of the Kunlun Immortal Lord. The elders wanted him to try other halls so that he could find his own faith.

Even if he can't find it, perhaps other deities will appear and pass on their Taoist magic to him.

The moment he knelt before the statue, he wasn't thinking of the god above him, but of the people beside him. His thoughts drifted, observing the crowd with a detached air, wondering what they were asking for and why they were so devout.

He looked up and met the eyes of the statue, which was also looking at him, as if seeing through the arrogance beneath his body.

At that moment, Pei Wenjing knew that he probably couldn't believe in gods.

He is not sincere and cannot inherit their teachings.

Pei Wenjing walked up the long staircase to the first hall.

The First Hall is located on the mountaintop, and few people come here except for the disciples of the Incense Offering Hall. The First Hall is quiet, with a white mist hanging in the air, unlike the Third Hall.

The third hall is filled with the smoke of the mortal world, while the first hall is shrouded in the mist of the heavenly palace on the cloud.

At the hour of Si (9-11 AM), the bright sunlight shone into the hall, casting beams of golden light upon the statue of the deity.

There were no other disciples of the Incense Offering Hall in the first hall, only Xu Qiubai. He stood in front of the statue of the Heavenly Incense Goddess, looking at the incense on the altar.

Pei Wenjing asked him, "Have you packed your bags? If you have, come down the mountain with me." Xu Qiubai rarely goes down the mountain to experience the world, and Elder Xu entrusted him to take care of him, so he had to keep a close eye on him.

Xu Qiubai did not answer him, but said to himself, "Look at the smoke from this incense, doesn't it look like a rope?"

The ropes twisted and stretched upwards, seemingly about to ascend to the clouds.

Incense is the common currency of the three realms. Only by burning incense can one communicate with the gods, and through incense, the gods can hear the voices of mortals.

Even the disciples of the Incense Hall, even those who have inherited the Daoist arts, still need to rely on incense to communicate with the gods.

This incense is a rope, or a ladder, connecting the mortal realm with other worlds.

Pei Wenjing looked into Xu Qiubai's deep, well-like eyes and bowed to him: "Your Majesty has descended to the mortal realm. Is there something you wish to say?"

“You used to not respond when I spoke to you, but after a few years, you’ve changed a lot.”

Xu Qiubai's voice changed tone, and Pei Wenjing knew that it was the Heavenly Fragrance Goddess manifesting herself, speaking to him through Xu Qiubai's body.

Pei Wenjing lowered his head and smiled: "After all, you've grown up, you have to restrain yourself a bit." He knew that you don't have to believe in gods, but you must respect them.

“I see that your fate has changed,” said the Heavenly Fragrance Goddess.

Pei Wenjing's heart skipped a beat. If nothing major had happened, the Heavenly Fragrance Empress wouldn't have come to speak to him personally: "Has it gotten better or worse?"

"Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise; a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise."

He understood; good and bad are relative, and both are merely subjective judgments. Saying it or not made little difference.

Pei Wenjing thought for a moment and asked, "Then what should I pay attention to?"

"You will die because of a person from Penglai."

She said.

Pei Wenjing narrowed his eyes.

People from Penglai?

"Who is that person from Penglai?"

He pressed for an answer, but the next moment, Xu Qiubai's eyes cleared again. He stared at Pei Wenjing for a while before speaking, "Senior brother, what were you saying just now?"

"It's nothing," Pei Wenjing said casually. "The Empress just descended to the mortal realm to chat with me."

He would die because of a Penglai person. It was not said how or when he would die. He thought it would take several years for this to happen. After all, Penglai was just a legendary sect that had been in seclusion for many years and had no communication with the outside world.

Unexpectedly, he encountered the legendary "person from Penglai" so soon.

Pei Wenjing stared at Shen Cangyu's back in the distance. He thought to himself, "I want to see how this person is going to deal with me."

If she dares to kill him, he'll take care of her first.

"Senior brother, why did you send Cang Yu to Kunlun?" Xu Qiubai asked in a low voice.

"What did you call her?" Pei Wenjing glanced at him sideways.

"Chen Cangyu," Xu Qiubai quickly corrected himself.

Pei Wenjing sneered, "You heartless ingrate, you only know how to side with outsiders."

Xu Qiubai didn't dare to speak, but he still stood between him and Shen Cangyu.

"What? Are you afraid I'll bully her?" Pei Wenjing raised an eyebrow as he looked at his posture.

Xu Qiubai's intuition told him that Pei Wenjing was hostile to Shen Cangyu. His intuition was usually very accurate, but he didn't understand where this intuition came from.

He knew Pei Wenjing was a reasonable person and wouldn't target someone without reason. But he also knew that Shen Cangyu was a good person; after all, she had helped him many times. She had many opportunities to leave, but she still risked danger time and time again to stay and help him.

He must repay this kindness.

Xu Qiubai felt there must be some misunderstanding between them, and he wanted to help them clear it up.

"Don't worry," Pei Wenjing smiled as he watched Shen Cangyu's retreating figure, "I'm a good person, why would I bully her?"

A note from the author: