040. Persistence
"A favored princess will usually marry a prince or noble." Qing Ling looked at the mural depicting the princess' engagement. The scene in Dongli was not large, but the people who came to ask for marriage were very powerful. He said, "Dongli was destroyed by the Han Dynasty, and the people who came to ask for marriage were wearing clothes from the previous dynasty. Perhaps Dongli was defeated at this moment, and the princess, who was regarded as a treasure, had to marry far away."
Zhu Lezhi then asked: "What does that have to do with sacrifice?"
"It's just a guess." Qing Ling lowered his eyes. "You just said that the mountain where the princess was buried was considered auspicious at the time, and it was located on the dragon vein. Is it possible that... when the country was about to fall, King Dongli sacrificed his daughter, who was regarded as a good omen, here? What he sacrificed... was the dragon vein, the fate of the country. Therefore, the people knelt down to worship. They were not burying the princess, but praying for the gods to respond and continue the fate of the country."
Qing Ling turned around and looked at the coffin covered with spells. His eyes were still calm, but with a hint of inquiry.
"Counting from the time when the East Kingdom was destroyed, the evil spirit has been nurtured for 400 years. Maybe there is something extraordinary in it. But... if it is a sacrifice, why do we need to nurture the evil spirit?"
Qingling had seen the runes carved here before. They were from the scriptures passed down by the Qing family. Qingling felt that this tomb was not simple, especially since he had dreamed of Princess Dongli who was trapped here. In the dream, he actually only heard the voice but never saw the princess really leave the palace. Perhaps that dream did not mean that the princess was going to attack him, after all, she was still locked in the coffin. Perhaps it was just... some kind of omen.
It’s like an inexplicable feeling in the dark.
Qing Ling's gaze finally fell on Shang Changheng. The tombs were so similar, but the princess was treated better than Shang Changheng. She was suppressed here and a demon was raised. It seemed that she was being trained to be stronger. However, Shang Changheng's shabby tomb, the incomplete remains, and the walls full of formations and runes that suppressed and took away his luck made it seem like they were afraid that Shang Changheng would turn into a ferocious creature.
Their eyes met, Qing Ling looked at Shang Chang Heng and said calmly: "What are you still standing there for?"
"I'm afraid you'll feel sympathy." Shang Changheng responded in a half-hearted tone.
Qing Ling snorted, or sneered, "We still have to hurry."
The meaning is to urge him to act quickly.
Qing Ling did not have that much compassion. No matter how the princess died and who trapped her here, the Qing family might be involved, but there was no evidence to be found, so there was no need to care. However, someone had raised an evil spirit here that could only transform into a ghost. If this evil spirit escaped one day, Qing Ling, with his unlucky fate, might encounter it again. Now that the grave had been dug, it was better to solve the problem once and for all, otherwise Qing Ling would never be able to rest in peace.
Miao Yuan and Zhu Lezhi looked at each other. Why did the handsome young master sound so sinister when he spoke?
Shang Changheng walked forward, stretched out his hand and slapped the coffin hard. The coffin nails that nailed the coffin lid fell down with a crackling sound. Then he flipped the coffin over with his hand, and threw the coffin lid inside out, which fell heavily to the side.
Qingling took a look and found that the wood used was of good quality and it did not break even when it fell.
When several people gathered around and saw the real face of Princess Dongli, Qingling saw an unexpected yet reasonable scene. No matter how beautiful the princess was when she was alive, she was just a handful of bones at this moment. However, a bronze spike was nailed into the eerie skull.
“Life-Severing Awl.” Zhu Lezhi was the first to pronounce the name, somewhat surprised. “This thing has been lost for hundreds of years. The method of refining it is vicious, and its use is also vicious. No wonder… No wonder we have been here for so long, and even the coffin has been opened, but the princess has not reacted. She can’t move at all.”
The soul cannot be reincarnated and is trapped here while awake. Zhu Lezhi now believes that the princess was not given a grand funeral, but was sent to this tomb as a sacrifice in the name of good fortune.
"Stay away." Shang Changheng pushed Qingling back, raised his hand again, and pulled out the broken awl from the skull and threw it aside.
In an instant, the negative energy surged like boiling water, and the wronged souls that had been imprisoned for hundreds of years were freed, and sharp howls suddenly sounded.
"ah!!"
"It's so dark... so dark... let's all stay..."
"Everyone! Stay!"
The woman that Qingling had seen in his dream appeared above the coffin. She was wearing exquisite hairpins and rings, and gorgeous clothes. However, she was different from the one Qingling had seen before. Her face was covered in blood, which was flowing from the top of her head.
The wound on her head was only where the awl had pierced her head. She was killed by the awl piercing her head.
Qingling had never felt such strong resentment and evil spirit before. The princess named Lu was the first to cast a resentful gaze at him. Just when she was about to make a move, Shang Changheng was covered in black mist and rushed up in the blink of an eye.
Gongzhuling had long lost her humanity, and was the only evil spirit Qingling had ever seen who had the courage to fight Shang Changheng. Her lip balm-coated lips broke into a sinister smile, and her face was covered in blood, with hideous features.
"Stay... accompany me..." Gongzhuling's voice was shrill, as if she was crying, "It's so dark here..."
"Stay... guard the dragon vein..."
"Auspicious! Auspicious! You all are!"
Her words were incoherent, but her hatred was very real. The person here was no longer the Princess Dongli of her lifetime, but a fierce ghost who only remembered hatred.
Zhu Lezhi had a complicated expression on her face. She whispered, "No way, I really got it right..."
Miaoyuan held the rosary in both hands and chanted Buddhist scriptures in a low voice. Huge Buddhist beads engraved with scriptures gradually condensed around her body, shining with golden light. With a cold shout of "Go", the rosary immediately covered the Dongli Princess who was fighting with Shang Changheng. The rosary was extremely masculine and strong, and with the blessing of Buddhist scriptures, the Dongli Princess immediately let out a shrill and sharp roar, and her two pale hands with red nails tightly grasped the Buddhist beads tied around her neck.
"Everyone stay!!"
Shang Changheng stepped back a little, frowned and glanced at Miao Yuan fiercely, and said coldly: "Stay away and don't get in my way."
The rosary couldn't do anything to him, but even a needle prick would hurt. Even if the wound wasn't big, Shang Changheng was unwilling to touch the rosary.
Miao Yuan remained unmoved. His hands were forming a mudra and tightly grasping his rosary beads, but the scripture he was reciting changed, becoming calm and peaceful, like some kind of compassionate guidance.
Zhu Lezhi was surprised, "Rebirth Mantra, you want to save her? She has been raised into a fierce ghost."
"She hasn't committed any murder yet, so she's not an evil ghost." Miao Yuan's killing intent turned into compassion at this moment. He shook his head, glanced at Shang Changheng meaningfully, and said, "There's still a chance."
Even if it's just a glimmer of hope.
Zhu Lezhi glanced at Shang Changheng cautiously. This was the meal he had taken a fancy to and was about to be served on the table. Miao Yuan was clearly trying to snatch the food away from him.
Qingling also looked at Miaoyuan twice more because of his choice. After all, he had vowed that the evil ghost would definitely bring disaster to the world, and the evil spirit would not be eliminated and would not be reincarnated, so it had to be eliminated. But perhaps because of the example of Shang Changheng in front of him, Miaoyuan actually began to doubt the demon-killing and defense of the art he had learned since childhood. He believed that this princess who died unjustly had not harmed anyone, so she still had a chance to reincarnate.
The sutras that Miao Yuan recited became tangible golden Sanskrit sounds one after another, sinking into the princess's soul which was filled with resentment and evil spirit. But it was like a stone sinking into the sea. The princess, who was temporarily trapped by the rosary around her neck, screamed at the top of her lungs.
"No...no...Father, no!!!"
"Don't kill me! I don't want to...I don't want to sacrifice to the dragon vein!!"
“Father! It hurts…it hurts! It hurts so much!!”
She probably hasn't figured out the situation yet, or maybe she has lost her memory over the long years and only remembers the unwillingness and fear before she died. Today, after so many years, she pleads miserably to her father as if she were dying.
Zhu Lezhi also showed some reluctance. She stood beside Miao Yuan and stated her position silently. Then she smiled softly and helplessly and said, "After all... this is the first time we have seen a senior like this. What the monk said makes sense. After all, he hasn't harmed anyone yet, so... at least give him a chance."
Qing Ling didn't care. As long as the evil spirit was dealt with, it would be fine no matter whether it was eaten by Shang Changheng or sent away.
But Shang Changheng was not very happy. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at him fiercely.
"Chang Heng." Qing Ling said softly, "Let them try."
He shook his head at Shang Changheng.
"Comparing her to me." Shang Changheng sneered, "Idiot."
But he still retreated to Qingling.
Princess Dongli, who was bound in mid-air, struggled constantly, crying and laughing, with pleas and curses coming out of her mouth one after another, but her resentment did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, the golden rosary around her neck became increasingly dim.
"Ha ha ha ha…"
Princess Dongli smiled twistedly with blood all over her face, gritting her teeth.
“Auspicious sign from heaven…I am, a good omen! Auspicious sign!!”
“Why! Aaaaaaaah!!!”
The blood in the corners of her eyes looked like tears, which looked terrifying and pathetic in her smile. She wailed and questioned frantically and confusedly, but no one could answer her.
Miaoyuan sat cross-legged on the ground, chanting the Amitabha Sutra without stopping, but the beads on the rosary kept dimming, one by one.
Zhu Lezhi pursed his lips and suddenly pulled out a long whip from his waist. When he swung it, there was a crisp sound. He tied Princess Dongli's hands tightly. He couldn't help but cursed with red eyes: "Stop howling! Wake up! Your life is over, and it's time to enter the reincarnation! You have been wronged and you will have an explanation when you go down. Why bother, why bother!"
"It's useless." Qing Ling heard Shang Changheng whisper beside him.
Qing Ling frowned unconsciously. He thought he was cold, selfish and heartless, but he was still moved by Miao Yuan and Zhu Lezhi. So he looked at the person beside him, "How did you know?"
Shang Changheng's gaze swept across Qingling obscurely and deeply.
Of course he knew that he was the evil spirit, and that he was able to regain his sanity and clarity... just because he was lucky.
But this was his only luck.
"Because it's too late." Shang Changheng curled his lips indifferently, not knowing whether he was talking about Princess Dongli or himself, "From the moment your life was cut off, it was too late."
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