Chapter 200, Chapter 199: Notebook
Having exhausted himself, and with the tide receding under the moonlight in the Summer Palace, Yan Shi began to ponder a serious question.
How can we get rid of all those people above and behind her?
She felt she couldn't stand up very well.
Countless eyes fell on her, keeping her silent as she maintained her kneeling posture.
At least the pose is good-looking and cool.
After a moment of silence, Yan Shi suddenly heard hurried footsteps.
The soles of his shoes clattered across the bluestone slabs, then stopped behind her just as he was about to approach her.
Yan Shi heard a faint voice calling her: "Lan Lan?"
Her voice was trembling with tears.
Yan Shi: ?
She mustered some more strength and turned her head to look.
Lin Cai stood at the entrance of Chongming Hall, her face pale, and the ends of her bright orange hair seemed to have turned white, making her look dull.
She was holding something in her right palm, and brilliant light leaked out from between her fingers.
Yan Shi tilted his head: "Good evening."
Lin Cai stared at her intently for a while before saying, "Good evening."
She looked at the snow-covered ground behind Yan Shi and stammered, "The moon is especially beautiful tonight."
It's "da da da" again.
Lin Cai ran to Yan Shi's side and knelt down, her knees hitting the floor tiles hard.
Only when he got closer to Yan did he notice that Lin Cai had tear stains on her face.
"What's wrong?" Yan Shi asked.
Lin Cai: "It's nothing. I'm just afraid that I'll be late again." As she spoke, she lowered her head and, using the movement, pressed her tightly clenched right hand close to Yan Shi's chest.
Yan Shi: ?
She didn't see clearly what Lin Cai was holding in her palm, only that it was a shiny ball. Lin Cai pressed it directly against her left breast.
The light merged into Yan Shi's body and quickly disappeared.
The next moment, Yan Shi felt a warm sensation emanating from where the light had disappeared, slowly spreading throughout his body.
The body, which had been somewhat exhausted, and the arms, which had been numb from the cold of the Undead Halberd, warmed up.
The sense of touch in my fingertips slowly returned, and my body was no longer stiff.
At the same time, Yan Shi felt that the surroundings had become brighter.
The spirit seemed to be materialized; she could see various points of light from the spirits moving about in the air, brushing against her and eagerly trying to reach her fingertips.
Lin Cai observed Yan Shi's complexion and, seeing that it had returned to normal, breathed a sigh of relief and knelt on his lap: "...That's good." She felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders.
Yan Shi suddenly guessed what Lin Cai was holding.
Lin Cai, as the protagonist of the comic, possesses one of the biggest cheat abilities: the Heart of Light.
One of the powers of the spirits is the ability to bring the dead back to life and to be compatible with all spirit attributes.
Regardless of how she acquired it, it is Lin Cai's most precious possession.
Lin Cai has slowly stood up from the ground.
Yan Shi noticed that her fingertips were trembling.
"Teacher Yanlan." Lin Cai forced a smile, then tried her best to put on a big, unchanging smile. "I won't bother you any longer."
She looked intently into Yan Shi's eyes: "...Goodnight."
After saying that, Lin Cai turned around and, without waiting for Yan Shi's reply, started clapping away.
She retraced her steps and left.
Yan Shi lowered his eyes and touched his chest with his left hand.
My heart is beating regularly.
She slowly picked up the necromantic halberd beside her, held it between her fingers, then stood up and looked up: "What explanation do you want for what you just asked for?" Yan Shi's tone was very calm.
Changming remained silent, raised his hand, and performed a very standard half-bow. Then he stood up and shook his head slightly: "That's all."
The Summer Palace was completely silent.
"Hmm?" Yan Shi raised an eyebrow. "Not any more?"
"But now I want an explanation from you." With that, she leaped onto the roof tiles of Chongming Hall, her legs dangling in the air, and called out from afar, "Lu Jian!"
After the summer palace was cleansed by the moon tide, the bronze statues at the entrance naturally no longer blocked the way.
Just then, the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs' Execution Division quickly entered the scene. From his vantage point, Yan Shi could see teams of execution personnel marching briskly towards different halls of the Summer Palace.
Hearing the sound, Lu Jian hurried over from the courtyard gate.
“Lu Jian.” Yan Shi sat tall and looked down at her, asking, “What are the contents of the ‘Peace Protection Ordinance’ that the Bureau of Foreign Affairs spearheaded in signing?”
Lu Jian: "Hmm?" She was a little surprised. "This regulation is very thick. To be specific, there are probably more than 800 articles."
Yan Shi: "I'm asking about beings from the Inner World who, without the approval of the Bureau of Otherworldly Affairs, broke through the World Barrier and entered the Outer World without authorization, and used their spirits to threaten the lives of beings from the Outer World."
Changming's expression changed slightly.
Lu Jian pondered for a moment: "Illegally crossing the world, damaging the world barrier, and endangering the public security of the surface world involve quite a few regulations. If he is convicted of multiple crimes, he will probably have to serve his life in prison in the void."
"Oh?" Yan Shi laughed, lazily looking up: "Did you hear that? Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
"Although Director Yan isn't here, I can help the Enforcement Division of the Bureau of Extraordinary Management to carry out the procedures according to regulations."
Changming: ...
She first turned her head and said to the people behind her, "Go back." Then she landed in the air and walked to Lu Jian's side, "I represent my tribe to negotiate with the Bureau of Foreign Affairs."
Lu Jian bowed somewhat awkwardly, clearly recognizing Changming: "Venerable Changming."
Changming nodded: "Yes. I'll go back with you."
Yan Shi shrugged, then looked at Lin Xuya.
To be honest, she hadn't even realized that Lin Xuya had entered the Heavenly Fate Platform and was standing in front of her wearing the same sacrificial robes that Kirina had worn before.
I feel uncomfortable and something feels off.
Lin Xuya's expression was also complicated at this moment. She bit her lip, stood there, and remained silent.
It is clear that although Lin Xuya herself has some prejudice against Yan Lan, what happened at the Summer Palace tonight was not caused by Yan Lan.
On the contrary, Yan Lan purified the entire Summer Palace even though Yan Ju was not present.
Even without a deep understanding of the ability system in the Otherworld, one can still sense the scale of this undertaking.
Seeing Yan Shi looking at her, Lin Xuya suddenly opened the door to the Heavenly Fate Platform behind her, stepped inside, and then disappeared into mid-air.
Yan Shi: ...
never mind.
She decided to go to Tianmingtai again after returning home to find Lin Xuya.
It seems like everything has been resolved.
Yan Shi stretched and looked toward the window of the library.
The desk by the window was now empty.
Empress Xuan and Sheng Chunqiu have both left, leaving behind only a chaotic game of chess.
The executive branch began clearing away the wreckage inside the Summer Palace.
Yan Shi jumped down from under the eaves and walked briskly home, intending to buy some late-night snacks on the way. He hadn't gone more than a few steps when Lu Jian called out to him.
Lu Jian: "Yanlan."
"What's wrong?" Yan Shi turned to look at her, somewhat puzzled.
Lu Jian stared at her intently for a few seconds with a complicated expression, then said, "It's nothing."
Yan Shi: "Huh?"
Lu Jian then changed the subject: "Do you know where Director Yan is?"
Yan Shi: ...
Right in front of you.
She couldn't answer like that, so she could only shrug: "I don't know. But I can't come anyway."
Lu Jian looked troubled: "Then could you try to contact her?" As she spoke, she flipped her screen over to show Yan Shi, "There's a lot going on at the bureau tonight. We haven't been able to get in touch with Director Yan."
On the screen, a row of red dial-up numbers remained unanswered. On the Bureau of Foreign Affairs' internal communication system, a page of green messages scrolled by, all showing as unread.
Lu Jian: The helplessness of working people.jpg
Yan Shi: ...
This is what happens when your phone is on silent.
I haven't heard a single message.
“Or,” Lu Jian continued, “if Director Yan can’t come, could you go and check on her first?”
Yan Shi: ...
She remained somewhat dazed even after sitting down in her familiar director's office.
Gui Gemu saw her following Lu Jian up, and his eyes were full of understanding.
Yan Shi, now using the identity that should be Yan Lan, entered the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.
Upon entering the main building, the facial recognition system at the entrance gate displayed:
[WARNING!! Unregistered Personnel]
Lu Jian casually swiped her own director's access card and took Yan Shi upstairs.
Yan Shi leaned back in his office chair: "If you do this, won't your bureau chief question you tomorrow?"
“Anyway, you’re her sister.” Lu Jian looked down, her fingers busy on her phone. “Besides, Director Yan wants to see you, doesn’t she?”
She fiddled with the documents for a few more seconds, then looked up and said, "Yanlan, I've sent you some urgent documents that need immediate attention. Please pass this on to Director Yan."
"Venerable Changming is waiting downstairs, and there are a lot of urgent matters at the bureau tonight. I'll be going now. See you later." With that, she walked towards the door while making a phone call.
The door closed.
Yan Shi sighed, put his hands forward, and slumped onto the table.
"No, why do I still have to process documents after get off work?" she muttered. "Shouldn't civil servants work from 9 to 6 with no overtime...?"
Autism.jpg
And how did Lu Jian manage to get her to work overtime?!
She slumped for a moment, then slowly pulled out her phone, ready to read the long string of messages Lu Jian had sent her. At the very top of the notification bar was the trending topic on Weibo.
[I'm in Beijing, inland, but I can see the sea.]
Yan Shi: ...
Everything went black before her eyes.
It seemed that Lu Jian was in a hurry to deal with some urgent matter.
Given the scale of these paranormal events in the real world, coupled with the recent breaches in the world barrier, it's easy to imagine that the information department was extremely busy.
Yan Shi was just working overtime, but Lu Jian truly treated his workplace like home.
Feeling guilty, Yan Shi turned on his computer, intending to look at some documents. Just as he opened the document, there was a knock on the door.
Yan Shi: "Go in."
"Excuse me." It was a cool male voice.
Yan Shi looked up and saw Empress Xuan push open the door and walk in.
"How did you get up here?" Yan Shi asked.
While Empress Xuan lived for a long time, she was certainly not a current employee of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, and could not enter the Director-General's office as if it were her own.
Where does the General Administration's security manifest itself?
"This is the capital," Empress Xuan said. "It was also the capital of the previous dynasty. I am the Empress, and I have the authority to enter any place."
Yan Shi: ...
"So what's the matter?" she asked directly.
Empress Xuan approached the desk, looked down at Yan Shi, and said, "I've come to give you something."
Yan Shi: "What is that?"
Empress Xuan took a box from her sleeve and placed it on the desk: "This is something I'm temporarily keeping for Director Shan, as per my agreement with her."
“The next director of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs will be appointed after her. But before Director Yan, the terms of the current directors were all too short.” He spoke coldly, “I haven’t even met them before they resigned again.”
"Please give this to your sister."
Yan Shi's gaze fell on the box that Empress Xuan had taken out. The box was made of some kind of expensive wood, and a jade was inlaid in the center of the lid.
"I have completed the task entrusted to me by my old friend, and I will be leaving now." Empress Xuan nodded slightly, and then, without lingering any longer, pushed open the door and left the office.
They came suddenly and left just as quickly.
The box left by Grandma?
After Empress Xuan closed the door and left, Yan Shi stopped paying attention to him and curiously pulled the box over.
It's quite heavy, and the lid is a simple snap that opens with a push, without any locking mechanism.
To Ling Yanshi's surprise, there was nothing fancy inside, just a book.
How to Deceive and Gain Power
Such a blunt and straightforward book title.
Yan Shi silently took the book out of the box.
Although the box was heavy, the book itself wasn't very thick; it was simply flipped through, and there were even blank pages at the back.
This is not actually a book, but a notebook.
Opening the notebook to the first page, I saw a few familiar lines of notes.
"Humanity's power comes from faith."
We believe in gods, and the gods share a portion of their power with us;
We pursue our convictions, and powerful willpower gives us strength.
The authority of gods derives from the faith of living beings. So, as humans, if we are worshipped by countless beings, could we possess authority that transcends the laws of nature?
On the ground was a line of even larger characters, written in a vigorous and elegant style.
"Yes, that's possible. But the faith needed doesn't come from a city or a territory, but from much more."
Countless living beings in the land we inhabit.
Author's Note: No angst, the plot will begin its wrap-up soon. There are two more side stories to come, the next chapter will be a manga chapter.
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