Chapter 44044 Proposing to Marry

Chapter 44

"Has the issue of the rebellion been resolved?" Ying Ji asked with concern.

"It's all resolved!" Kou Yuze rushed to Yingji. His face was filled with joy at seeing her, yet also with guilt. "Last time, the military situation was truly urgent, and I had to return immediately."

Yingji smiled understandingly and nodded. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, "I know. Military intelligence is important. You have the responsibility of serving a nation, so you should return immediately."

Yingji gently stroked Kou Yuze's shoulder and brushed away a piece of fallen leaf.

Seeing that Yingji had no intention of blaming him, Kou Yuze felt relieved. He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately handed a paper bag from his sleeve to Yingji.

"The shop on Changxing Street roasts candied chestnuts. Your favorite one!"

Yingji smelled the delicate fragrance of the candied chestnuts. She smiled sweetly and took the paper package. Her palms were warm. The candied chestnuts were warmed by Kou Yuze's spiritual power and were still warm.

Kou Yuze thought for a moment and said, "I'm going to the Soul-Exterminating Well right now and give it my all one last time. After I'm done there, I'll go see the Emperor of Lingyu Nation... When I'm done..."

Yingji smiled softly: "I'll wait for you."

Kou Yuze couldn't miss the time at the Soul-Destroying Well and he really couldn't delay any longer. He walked out in a hurry, but after walking a distance he couldn't help but look back.

Yingji was sitting at the stone table, peeling candied chestnuts.

She was slender, sitting upright and gracefully. The gentle breeze blew her red gauze skirt, and the light gauze seemed to gently brush against Kou Yuze's heart, making his heart tremble.

Kou Yuze's eyes dimmed involuntarily, and he regretted again sending her to Chaoxi.

But I will never let her go again. Kou Yuze secretly made up his mind and turned to go to the Soul-Extinguishing Well.

Yingji only peeled two candied chestnuts and ate them. After Kou Yuze walked away, she stopped eating as she no longer needed to perform for him.

She thought about it, found a stove, and warmed the candied chestnuts on it.

Then Yingji went to Ling Jiayan's residence. Ling Jiayan was not there, but he had instructed the palace servants to give Yingji a few volumes of books when she arrived.

Yingji took the book and went back immediately.

She unexpectedly ran into her elder sister Xuan Ji. Since Xuan Ji had come to cause trouble once after the death of Venerable Di Fu, Ying Ji had not seen her again.

Xuan Ji looked down at Ying Ji and curled up the corners of her mouth to reveal a sarcastic sneer.

Yingji just glanced at her, treating her as a stranger, and ignored her, returning to her residence with the book in her arms.

After returning home, Yingji immediately began to read these volumes. These volumes were all related to talismans, and they were books that she was very interested in and needed.

After watching for a long time, she got tired and hungry, so she ate something.

Ying Ji took out the tattered ancient forbidden book from the Qiankun bag, and her expression gradually became serious.

She opened the ancient book again, still remembering the hope that ignited in her heart when she found this book in despair.

During this period, she was busy learning and practicing talismans, and stayed with Kong Fan all day, so she had no chance to find the nine items needed to refine the demon spirit.

It was only when she met Kou Yuze today that she took out this ancient book again.

The nine items needed to refine the demon spirit are the wasteland-clearing stone, the ten thousand peaks lotus, the blood relative's heart, the snake girl's scale, the blazing fire jade, the Haoqing falcon, the beautiful flame water, the poisonous spider fruit, and the bodhi pill.

Of these nine items, she already has the first four.

This fifth item, the Blazing Jade, was in Kou Yuze's possession. This was why she had always sought to get close to him. The Blazing Jade, passed down through generations of the Beicang royal family, would be given by Kou Yuze to his queen.

Although she hasn't gotten it yet, Yingji feels that it is not impossible to trick the Fiery Jade from Kou Yuze.

She lowered her gaze to look at the remaining four items she needed.

She had heard of the Haoqing Falcon, the Liyan Water, and the Poison Spider Fruit. They were all in dangerous places, making them extremely difficult to obtain. But despite the difficulties, at least there were clues.

However, Ying Ji had never heard of the ninth item, the Bodhi Pill. She had consulted some ancient books and asked some venerables, but she still couldn't find out what it was or where it was.

Anyway, she couldn't go looking for these things for the time being, so Ying Ji put the ancient book back into the Qiankun bag and started reading the book on talismans again.

She read intently, occasionally taking out talisman paper and practicing tracing according to the book. She treasured her spirit pens and didn't want to waste them, so she only used the most ordinary paper and pen to practice.

Time flies.

·

Kong Fan finished repairing the Soul-Exterminating Well. He opened his eyes and looked at Kou Yuze, who was sitting not far from him.

Kou Yuze also opened his eyes the next moment. He looked over, smiled friendly, then stood up and walked to Kong Fan.

"You've worked hard taking care of her these days." Kou Yuze said, "Does Master Kongfan still keep his word?"

Kong Fan did not answer, but asked first: "Have you seen her?"

"I've seen you before."

Kong Fan lowered his eyelids and was silent for a moment before he said, "I said that her coming and going is entirely up to her."

Kou Yuze smiled broadly, raising his palms in a strange Buddhist gesture. "Thank you for your help!"

His attendants were looking at this side from a distance. Kou Yuze hurriedly said goodbye to Kong Fan, strode over and whispered a few words, then hurried towards the Lingyu Kingdom Palace.

Kong Fan watched him walk away before turning around.

Kong Fan returned to the courtyard in the evening glow and saw Ying Ji's slender figure sitting under a tree, reading. She was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even notice the sky getting dark.

"Then I won't go. I'll read a book at home and wait for you to come back."

She actually reads at home.

Kong Fan did not disturb her. He sat on the ground not far away, closing his eyes and reciting the scriptures. After he finished reciting the long scriptures silently, he opened his eyes and saw Ying Ji still sitting there concentrating on reading.

It's already dark.

Kong Fan stretched out his hand and a lamp slowly fell on the stone table.

Suddenly, a cluster of light illuminated the darkness before her eyes, making Yingji stunned for a moment. She turned around abruptly and looked at Kong Fan, a smile on her lips: "You're back?"

Kong Fan smiled and nodded, saying softly, "Continue reading your book."

Yingji was reading the key point. She smiled and nodded at Kongfan, then turned back to read.

She lowered her head to read a book, Kong Fan looked at her, looking at her focused profile.

She would stay on one page for a long time, or quickly scan several pages, or suddenly flip forward to find a page, and smile when she found what she was looking for.

Beside her, pieces of paper covered with talismans were piled up in a mess. A gust of wind blew, gently blowing up a few of the top pieces.

Kong Fan reached out to take one of the practice runes, letting it fall into his palm. Glancing at the runes drawn in ordinary ink on the paper, Kong Fan returned his gaze to Ying Ji.

She is the most gorgeous flower, blooming in dangerous places, but she has the toughest vines, fearless of heat and cold, growing freely.

Yingji finally solved her puzzle in the book, and she felt relieved. She put the book down and then heard a subtle noise.

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw Kong Fan peeling the last candied chestnut.

He didn't turn around, knowing Yingji's gaze. He said, "It's still a little warm."

He placed the last candied chestnut into the white plate with his slender jade fingers, and placed a plate of peeled candied chestnuts in front of Yingji.

Only then did Yingji realize that the crescent moon was hanging high in the sky, midnight had passed, and hunger had already caught up with her.

She picked up a candied chestnut and handed it to Kong Fan, smiling with a natural raise of the corner of her eye: "But, this is what I saved for you."

Kong Fan took the one she handed him and ate it, without eating the rest.

Yingji ate the peeled candied chestnuts while looking up at the starry sky.

Kong Fan followed her gaze, looking at the stars in the sky. In the Canxing Pavilion, he had spent a century studying astrology, and had already seen these stars in the sky countless times. These stars, which had seemed so dull and lifeless to him, seemed to this night to be brighter and gentler.

His gaze slowly shifted and fell on Yingji's eyebrows again.

He wanted to ask Yingji whether she had agreed to let Kou Yuze go with him, but in the end he didn't say a word.

Suddenly, fireworks burst into life, one bunch after another, blooming in the night sky, lighting up the night like day.

"Why would someone set off fireworks? It's not a festival, is it?" Ying Ji looked at the fireworks in the sky in confusion, and in a trance she seemed to see the fireworks that Kong Fan had set off for her.

Ying Ji was startled and immediately looked at Kong Fan. He was also watching the fireworks, his expression gentle and normal.

Not him.

When Yingji realized that it wasn't him who made the fireworks, she suddenly felt a little down and lost interest in the dazzling fireworks. She was just about to go back to her room to sleep when she saw Kongfan's expression change slightly.

She followed Kong Fan's gaze and looked back at the fireworks blooming in the night sky, and actually saw her own name.

All the brilliant fireworks gradually became a backdrop, and the two words "A Ying" were written over and over again in the center of all the fireworks in the night sky. From nothing to something, just as it was about to dissipate, it bloomed again.

"Aying——"

Kou Yuze's voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Yingji subconsciously looked at Kongfan, and Kongfan also looked at her at the same time.

Their eyes met.

After a moment, Kong Fan looked away first.

Outside the courtyard gate, Kou Yuze called out again.

Yingji withdrew her gaze, stood up and walked out.

Kong Fan half-closed his eyelids and fiddled with the Buddhist beads again and again, without looking at Yingji's departing back.

Yingji opened the gate and saw Kou Yuze standing in the lush garden outside the gate, holding a sparkling phoenix crown in his hand.

Yingji walked towards him step by step with a gentle smile on her lips.

As Kou Yuze watched Yingji gradually approach him, scenes from the past flashed before his eyes. Those past events had stirred his heart, and had made him want to marry his beloved today, regardless of all obstacles.

"Aying, please forgive me for letting you go. Please forgive my mistakes. Give me another chance, and I will never abandon you again." Kou Yuze looked at Ying Ji affectionately, holding the phoenix crown to Ying Ji with both hands, and said loudly: "Aying, marry me and be my queen! We will never be apart again!"

Yingji stared at the phoenix crown brought by Kou Yuze and the blazing jade inlaid on the phoenix crown.

Unable to suppress her excitement, she slowly raised her hand, suppressing the slight trembling of her fingertips, and gently stroked the blood-red blazing jade, whispering, "How beautiful."

"Aying, did you agree?" Kou Yuze asked nervously.

"Of course." Yingji gently stroked the Fiery Jade with her fingertips, and it was almost impossible to suppress the desire in her eyes.

"I will never abandon you again and I will never let you down!" Kou Yuze hugged Yingji excitedly.

The feeling of confinement pulled Yingji back to her senses. Disgust instantly grew in her heart, but she still did not push Kou Yuze away, and looked ahead calmly.

The gate was open, and Kong Fan could see the scene outside. He watched Ying Ji being held in Kou Yuze's arms, and saw Ying Ji's docility and unwillingness to refuse.

The moonlight, which is always gray and dull, is so bright tonight, illuminating the hugging figures of Yingji and Kou Yuze blindly.

Kong Fan fiddled with the Buddhist beads with his fingertips, but finally stopped.

She was always free. No one, not even he, could interfere with her decision to go or stay.

Kong Fan closed his eyes and stopped looking.

A Bodhi leaf slowly floated down and landed on his shoulder.

"You hurt me." Yingji suddenly spoke.

Kou Yuze was stunned and quickly let go of Yingji, saying awkwardly, "It's my fault. I didn't pay attention to the strength and hugged her too tightly."

Yingji smiled and shook her head gently, her expression still gentle. She turned back and looked inside through the courtyard door that she had deliberately left open.

There was no one under the ginkgo tree in the courtyard, only a bodhi leaf slowly falling.

Not seeing Kong Fan, Yingji curled up the corners of her mouth into an almost imperceptible self-deprecating smile.

What is she expecting?

So stupid.

He had said long ago that all living beings should be pitied and saved. Every living being, every blade of grass and every tree, the wind in the mountains and the clouds in the sky are all living beings.

She was no different from the stranger who fainted on the side of the road.