Chapter 56
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Baozhu held Li Zhi's hand tightly. Recalling the last day of her past life, she whispered, "I really am gone..."
Seeing that Li Zhi had only heard this one sentence before looking down blankly and becoming lost and dejected, she quickly finished speaking the rest of her words in one breath.
"But I only walked to Pagoda Mountain, and somehow, it seemed there was a powerful monster or mortal there, and I was captured."
"You were arrested...and then what?" Li Zhi asked.
“Then I died.” Baozhu smiled nonchalantly, reaching out to gently touch Li Zhi’s cheek. “You see, I wasn’t avoiding you, nor did I intentionally make you sad. I just died.”
Li Zhi froze on the spot. He remained silent for a moment, then slowly looked at Baozhu with his bloodshot eyes.
His pupils trembled uncontrollably as he stared intently at the living jewel before him and whispered, "Who hurt you?"
"I couldn't tell who the person was, but I heard him say something like, 'We're just missing one of my men, so I'm walking right into their trap,'" Baozhu said casually.
After she finished speaking, Li Zhi's face showed a look of regret.
“I didn’t know you were dead.” He slowly loosened his grip and released Baozhu. “Baozhu, after you left in my previous life, I sometimes resented you for being so cruel.”
"I'm sorry," Baozhu apologized dejectedly.
“But I shouldn’t resent you. Rather than die, I would prefer that you have truly left me.” Li Zhi stared at her without moving for a moment. “You should be living happily somewhere I can’t find you.”
“You weren’t happy during the years you were with me, so I should blame myself for keeping you and not giving you the life you wanted.”
He smiled at Baozhu and sighed, "I'm the one who should apologize."
Baozhu had never seen Li Zhi like this before. He was backing away, which terrified her. Where was Li Zhi going to back to?
Baozhu rushed forward and hugged him. She buried her head in Li Zhi's chest and whispered, "How can you say that I'm not happy?"
“My heart starts pounding whenever I see you again after being apart from you for even a short while.” Baozhu choked back tears, holding Li Zhi tightly and refusing to let go. “I have never regretted being your wife all those years.”
"But are you still willing?"
"Throughout this life, I have tried my best to change things, but I still don't want to face this moment."
Li Zhi reached out and removed the heavy restraints in the room. His face was pale, and he smiled at Baozhu, saying, "I once forced a little fox who had never seen how big the world was to stay by my side. If she knew how high the mountains are and how long the rivers are, how vast the sky is and how wide the earth is, would she still look back at me?"
"Could such a despicable mortal possibly gain her favor?"
Baozhu raised her head, looked deeply into Li Zhi's eyes, and said softly, "I no longer wish to be a mortal's wife. I will no longer be anyone's appendage."
"But the mountains are high and the rivers are long, the sky is vast and the land is wide, I want to go and see it with you."
"Li Zhi, the fox demon before you has no name. She comes from the mountains and fields. She is not clever, is ignorant of the ways of the world, and has always lived aimlessly without direction. Are you willing to stay with her forever?"
Baozhu burst into tears and murmured, "Are you willing?"
Li Zhi did not answer, but only smiled briefly. Then he bent down and reverently kissed the nameless fox demon.
He silently expressed all the love he had suppressed in his heart to the fox demon as their lips met.
Baozhu hugged Li Zhi tightly, her tears falling uncontrollably, each drop tasting their own.
The kiss was bitter, salty, a whispered confession from two souls to their beloved.
Neither of them was any wiser, and for two lifetimes in a row, they were trapped in their own self-righteousness, desperately searching for the true meaning of love.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Zhi reluctantly pulled away from Baozhu's lips. He pressed his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling in his ears, and murmured, "...I'm willing."
Confused and infatuated, Baozhu didn't hear clearly. She reached out and tightly wrapped her arms around Li Zhi's neck, standing on tiptoe to nibble at his bright red earlobe. The fox demon asked in a daze, "What did you say?"
"I said," Li Zhi said, unable to contain himself, as he hugged Baozhu tightly and spoke with difficulty, "I am willing to stay with you forever."
"How can we kiss first and then talk about it later?" Baozhu rubbed Li Zhi's earlobe with dissatisfaction, glaring at him fiercely. "Some people are really full of malice, they're so bad."
Li Zhi chuckled deeply, his gaze sweeping over Baozhu's lips as he offered her a suggestion: "In that case, you should punish him."
Baozhu retorted, "I think he's really enjoying himself."
That's true, but those who deserve punishment should be punished.
Baozhu bit Li Zhi's lip and mumbled, "Why don't we eat him?"
Poor Li Zhi, having committed great sins in two lifetimes, fell helplessly into the fox demon's trap and was thus devoured by the Great King of Treasure Pearl, almost losing his virginity.
Of course, during this time he also tried to clear his name to King Baozhu, to ease the king's appetite, to stop him from eating so hastily, and to leave him a whole body to go out and meet people.
But the king still retained a sliver of his sanity, fearing that he might become too excited and lose control, accidentally draining Li Zhi dry, and thus reluctantly refused his offerings.
How could Li Zhi disobey her? He had no choice but to reluctantly sign a pledge, promising to cultivate himself diligently from now on, hoping to prove his innocence as soon as possible and win the king's favor.
Even so, it caused them to inexplicably lose a night.
The next morning, Li Zhi opened his eyes as usual when the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Since arriving in the capital, after separating from Baozhu and moving into the official residence alone, waking up too early in the quiet surroundings has been the time of day that Li Zhi dislikes the most.
But today was different. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard the most familiar breathing sound.
Li Zhi turned his head and saw that the sleeping Baozhu was hugging him with both her arms and legs, and resting her head on his shoulder, making him unable to move at all.
He couldn't help but smile, but then the pain at the corner of his mouth made him belatedly realize that King Baozhu had been too fierce last night, and his lip had been bitten.
Li Zhi gently reached out and touched the wound, finding the area somewhat ambiguous.
He could already imagine the expression on Zhang He's face when he saw him at the yamen today.
It would be interesting, but Li Zhi didn't care.
Perhaps because Li Zhi's movements were a bit too forceful, Baozhu next to him suddenly twitched, as if she was about to wake up. He quickly reached out and gently stroked Baozhu's back from top to bottom, very lightly and slowly.
Sure enough, neither of the two treasures could withstand Li Zhi's move. In no time, they nestled comfortably in his arms and fell asleep again.
In his previous life, whenever Li Zhi had to go to court early and didn't want to wake Baozhu, he would gently comfort her like this.
Baozhu always fell asleep again, never once getting up early as she had promised to see Li Zhi off.
She always blamed herself for not getting up, and blamed the maid for not waking her up, but never suspected that Li Zhi was behind it.
Li Zhi smiled again, recalling his conversation with Baozhu the previous night.
Leaving aside Baozhu's motives for leaving him, Li Zhi recalled what she had said about her mysterious death.
Baozhu arrived at Pagoda Mountain, where she was captured by unidentified people. After hearing a sentence, she lost her mind and died there.
Then she returned to her previous life.
What Li Zhi didn't have time to say last night was that he didn't return to the past because of death. He had been searching for the precious pearl in the world for two years. One night, he closed his eyes and woke up to find himself in Fuxia Village.
When he first woke up, he was still confused about the situation and was just waiting for the moment to see Baozhu.
He realized something was wrong when he discovered he could see resentment; his body was now filled with tiny, previously unseen things.
Thinking of his miraculous recovery after that night, Li Zhi realized that this must be a gift from the precious pearl he brought from his previous life, because his body no longer had any discomfort, which was why it had become apparent.
When Li Zhi saw Baozhu again, he sensed something stirring within him. Baozhu's expression told him that he was not the only one who had been given a second chance.
In that instant, he felt fear. When Baozhu realized this, and discovered that he was the Li Zhi who had disappointed her twenty years later, would she leave him as she had in the previous life?
So even though Li Zhi thought Baozhu had sensed it, he still pretended not to know anything and used the same opening line they used when they first met to test Baozhu.
Li Zhi knew that Baozhu was simple-minded and would definitely point out anything wrong with him on the spot if she noticed anything amiss.
But Baozhu didn't notice.
Until last night.
Li Zhi guessed that this was because the divine soul had stayed in his body for too long and had almost become one with him. Therefore, Baozhu was only aware of this after being injured and recovered repeatedly along the way and his demonic power had greatly increased.
As he continued to ponder, the pearl in his arms seemed to be dreaming of something, and suddenly smacked its lips for a while.
Li Zhi looked down at her carefree sleeping face and felt a strong sense of crisis.
Who killed Baozhu in her previous life? Why?
Is this matter related to Li Zhi?
As Li Zhi pondered this, he got up without disturbing Baozhu.
After tidying himself up, he went to the street and bought some cakes, which he placed in the main room before heading towards the Yiren Temple government office in the east of the city.
After walking only a short distance, Li Zhi ran into Zhang He, who was also on his way to the yamen. Zhang He frowned, leaned close to Li Zhi, ignored the wound on his mouth, and whispered, "Xiao Pei sent me a message last night."
Li Zhi raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it?"
"Just as Ji Ren showed signs of softening his stance, he disappeared from prison."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi paused in his tracks and asked, "This news?"
“It must have come from her aunt, Protector Pei. You know, she was already a protector, one of the Three Absolutes and Four Venerables, and she still let Ji Ren die right under her nose. Who could have such great ability? Which commander? Which protector? It couldn’t have been the Imperial Preceptor who did it himself, could it?” Zhang He said worriedly.
"No matter who it is, this is beyond our control," Li Zhi said.
He frowned, took a few steps, and then asked, "How is Master Pei?"
“What else can we do but stay home and be with our parents, fulfilling our filial duties?” Zhang He sighed repeatedly when Pei Xuanji was mentioned. “We’ve been in the capital for so long, and we’ve never seen little Pei in the government offices. I’m afraid that after bowing to her family this time, she may never be able to become a Taoist priest again.”
“Master Pei is a man of unwavering character, so of course he will continue,” Li Zhi said confidently.
"She's a noblewoman from a general's family, and her sister was once a concubine. She could be an empress if she wanted to. If I were her family, I wouldn't want her out in the wind and sun, risking her life at any moment." Zhang He rambled on, saying things like "becoming an empress."
Li Zhi looked at Zhang He helplessly and threatened, "Stop talking nonsense, or I will tell Master Pei what you said right now."
After saying that, he took out a paper crane from his satchel and made a gesture as if he was about to write something on it.
"No, no, no, Lao Zhang just keeps his mouth shut. I apologize to Xiao Pei."
Zhang He hurriedly tried to snatch the item from Li Zhi's hand. After a brief struggle, Zhang He suddenly noticed the wound on Li Zhi's lip, stopped what he was doing, and glared at him, saying, "Well, you heartless bastard, you've done something to betray Baozhu!"
Li Zhi smiled slightly, glanced at him, and said, "I won't be having dinner with you today."
"What! You're going to accompany your mistress! I'm going to tell Baozhu right now!"
“Baozhu is currently in my official residence, which is convenient.”
"What! You bastard Li Zhi, so you were waiting for me here all along!"
The two argued and bickered as they entered the government office together.
Today, the capital was peaceful and there were no cases requiring the Celestial Masters to go on missions. Li Zhi and Zhang He led their respective patrol routes and began their day of idly passing the time.
Baozhu, who was in the official residence, had also woken up by this time. She had stayed in bed for a long time, rolling around on Li Zhi's small bed with a smile. She was extremely happy as soon as she woke up.
After rolling around and making a complete mess of Li Zhi's bedding, Baozhu finally jumped off the bed, satisfied, and pondered what she should do today.
She had just parted ways with Sai Xue and Xiao Man yesterday, and didn't want to go play with them right now.
Granny Mouse said she would handle the mess caused by the abacus herself and would definitely manage it perfectly, so Baozhu wouldn't need to worry about it.
Li Zhi went to the yamen for his shift and would return in the evening.
After thinking it over, Baozhu realized that she hadn't seen Pei Xuanji since arriving in the capital. Pei Qi's home was in the capital, and she wondered how she was doing.
She wanted to go and play with Pei Qi.
Without hesitation, Baozhu immediately took out the paper crane that Li Zhi had given her, wrote a letter, and wanted to send it to Pei Xuanji.
Baozhu blew a breath of demonic energy at the folded paper crane, and the paper crane flapped its wings and disappeared into the air.
A short while later, another paper crane appeared in front of Baozhu. She quickly reached out and let the paper crane land in her hand.
The paper crane transformed into a letter, a reply from Pei Xuanji, which Baozhu read aloud.
"Baozhu, I'm busy lately and probably can't play with you. I'll contact you as soon as I have time. Pei Qi."
After reading the letter, Baozhu felt a little disappointed and murmured, "What is Pei Qi busy with? Doesn't he have any free time at all?"
Pei Xuanji, who was being thought of by her companions, was currently in her small courtyard in the General's Mansion in the capital, sitting opposite her two younger sisters and chatting casually.
She had changed into the most fashionable clothes among noble ladies, and her usually simple hairstyle had been transformed into the most trendy look by her skillful maids. The hair ornaments swaying slightly in her hair sparkled with the light of rubies.
With a thin layer of powder on her round face, Pei Xuanji looks completely different now, exuding an air of nobility. If she went out, her companions probably wouldn't recognize her.
Pei Qi's two younger sisters, who are her half-sisters, dress and behave in the same way as her, and are even more refined than Pei Xuanji, who just returned from outside.
The three sisters hadn't seen each other for a long time. The younger sisters kept talking about jewelry and cosmetics, nothing more than the things they did every day in their boudoirs. Pei Qi was bored and could only force herself to stay awake and deal with them.
After chatting about needlework for a while, a paper crane suddenly appeared in front of them, hovering in the air, which startled the two younger sisters.
Pei Xuanji was overjoyed. While comforting her younger sisters, she reached out and took the paper crane.
She looked down and saw a letter from Baozhu, with two lines written in crooked handwriting, asking if they could play together.
Pei Xuanji smiled and was about to get paper and pen to reply to Baozhu when her two younger sisters exchanged a glance. The older one asked in confusion, "Third sister, who sent the letter? Why are you so happy? Is it a man?"
Pei Xuanji was taken aback, then shook her head and said, "It's not a man, it's a friend I met outside."
The younger sisters' confusion deepened. The youngest said, "Auntie is already looking for a husband for us, and Mother is probably worried a lot about you, Sister. Does she mean we'll have to go out again after returning to the capital?"
Pei Xuanji's two younger sisters were born to the same mother and had reached marriageable age. Because a concubine had once been born into the family, their aunt wanted to put a lot of effort into their daughters' marriages, determined to marry them into good families. It's likely that she had been nagging her daughters a lot lately, which is why they said those words.
At this moment, Pei Xuanji finally understood why her two younger sisters had spent so much time in her room today. They must have received a task from their mother to persuade her.
Her longing to reunite with Baozhu vanished the moment she realized her mother's thoughts. Pei Xuanji hurriedly replied to Baozhu, remained silent for a moment, and then looked up at her two younger sisters and said, "Since I came back, I haven't visited my eldest sister yet. Would you like to come with me?"
The two younger sisters were taken aback, then looked flustered and shook their heads, saying, "Auntie has other matters to attend to, so we won't go."
Pei Xuanji smiled and didn't force them, saying, "Alright, then I'll go by myself."
However, as soon as the topic turned to her older sister, Pei Xuanji's two younger sisters immediately took their leave, looking as if they were afraid of being dragged along by her.
Pei Xuanji sighed, changed into riding clothes, and said to the maids in the courtyard, "I'm going to Pagoda Mountain to visit my elder sister."
The maids looked at each other, and the boldest one stepped forward to advise her, "Miss, if you're going out, shouldn't you tell Madam first?"
"Then you should go and tell my mother." Pei Xuanji didn't stop, went to the stable, mounted her horse, and galloped out of the city.
At the foot of Pagoda Mountain, there is a Taoist temple.
There was only one female Taoist priest inside, who was Pei Xuanji's elder sister who had once been a concubine.
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