084. Homecoming
If Shang Changheng really died in battle, it could be considered a worthy death, but Qingling felt that this sacrifice against Shang Changheng was a long-planned one.
Shang Changheng, who should have been worried about this, did the opposite. He gently held Qing Ling's hand and whispered, "Don't think too much about it. When you get back to Lucheng, you can have a good rest for two days."
Just as he finished speaking, a drop of water fell on Qingling's cheek. A drizzle fell in the deep valley, and the flood season was about to arrive.
"It's raining." Shang Changheng looked up and said, "Go back quickly."
The gray mist rose again, and the drizzle was isolated outside the gray mist. Qingling whispered: "Your Yin Qi can also be used as an umbrella."
Shang Changheng smiled and said, "I never thought of using it this way before."
Qingling lowered his eyes and said nothing.
In his opinion, Shang Changheng was born at the wrong time and died in a strange way. Everything he had experienced now proved that Shang Changheng was murdered by someone. Both before and after his death, the thousand years of suppression under the Zhanlong Mountain, the Broken Life Cone and those densely packed talismans made him suffer. When he just came out of the grave, he was full of resentment.
Just looking at the fate of the Qing family, we know that once the evil spirit Shang Changheng takes action, anyone who has any connection with him will die.
So his current calmness is quite unreasonable.
Even his insistence on destroying his own body was odd.
Qing Ling could only think of one possibility, that is, Shang Changheng actually knew a lot of things, but just didn't want to tell him.
But now that things have come to this, why should Shang Changheng avoid him?
Qing Ling didn't understand and didn't ask. He heard the sound of rain outside getting faster and heavier. Suddenly, there was a loud thunder in the sky. He hurried to check Shang Changheng's face and saw that he was frowning slightly.
"Are you okay?" Qingling grabbed Shang Changheng's arm tightly, worry almost written on his face.
"It's okay." Shang Changheng lowered his eyes and looked at him, "Aren't you by my side?"
The already dark valley was now filled with a damp and fishy smell. The dark and gloomy place made Qingling almost breathless. He thought of Shang Changheng who had been buried at the foot of Zhanlong Mountain for a thousand years, in the lonely and deserted coffin. There was no light, no sound, and no one to talk to him. He could only look at his own decaying head and endure the pain of his body being burned by the raging fire.
A full thousand years.
I felt as if a huge rock weighing a thousand pounds was pressing on my chest.
"I'll accompany you." Qingling said in a low voice.
Shang Changheng was also slightly startled when he heard it, and then smiled, "What did you just say? Qingling, I didn't hear it clearly."
Qing Ling's voice became louder, and he said, "I will accompany you, Chang Heng."
Shang Changheng felt that Qingling would sometimes be like a very... gentle plant with vines. Normally, it would be quiet and not talkative, and would not like to move much. But when he was restless, it would stretch out its soft vine leaves and gently wrap around him. It was so weak, but it seemed to be protecting him.
"How can you say such words to an evil spirit?" Shang Changheng seemed to be amused. "You know what? If you say that, it means you agree. The evil spirit will haunt you for the rest of your life."
Qingling did not answer.
He was silent for a long time.
"Chang Heng." Qing Ling whispered, "I just thought about it, if I can really live like this for the rest of my life... it wouldn't be bad."
Shang Changheng's expression changed slightly.
"But you are a ghost, you will not age." Qing Ling said to himself and laughed again, "If you really stayed in the world of the living, you would watch me grow old little by little, my hair would turn gray, my skin would become wrinkled, and my waist would become hunched. Many, many years later, I would be an old man, and you would still be so young and vigorous."
Shang Changheng thought about the scene.
The elderly Qingling, with white hair, sits under the shade of a tree in the yard. The spring breeze is warm and the light is like falling gold. It is a picture of a peaceful and tranquil time.
He should have had such a peaceful life and ending. If it weren't for the Qing family and the evil spirit like him, Qing Ling would have been born in an ordinary family, would not have been rich in his life, would have lived a peaceful and stable life until old age, and perhaps would have married and had children, and would have had many children and grandchildren in his old age. When he recalled his life at that time, it would be as bland as warm water, dull but peaceful.
But now Qingling is destined not to have such a good ending.
"If I don't... take you away." Shang Changheng seemed unable to continue. He paused for a long time before asking softly, "Qingling, will you fall in love with someone else?"
It was Qing Ling who mentioned the separation. He felt sad again and was speechless. After pondering for a while, he whispered, "I don't know either, but if I have to like someone, then he must like me too, and he must be better than you. That's not that easy."
You can tell from his tone that he's not very happy, but the words he says are really confusing.
Otherwise, he should have sworn to the sky in front of Shang Changheng, promising that he would never fall in love with anyone else in this life, in order to make Shang Changheng spare his life. But Qingling said he didn't know. Shang Changheng lowered his eyes. Qingling was born in the month of Xinhai, when the weather was very cold, at the root of the year. He was nineteen years old at that time.
And now, Qingling is just a young man of eighteen years old.
When he first entered the world, he was ignorant and cautious. The only person he lived with day and night was an evil ghost, with whom he had experienced sexual pleasure. This evil ghost treated him a little better than others, and made him aware of his so-called great achievements in his lifetime. So the young boy was naturally moved.
So what? Qingling has lived to this day thanks to his luck, so it is only right for him to compensate him with the person. Shang Changheng thought so, but he could no longer convince himself to accept Qingling's love as a matter of course.
How despicable he was, taking Qingling for himself like this. No matter whether he wanted Qingling's life in the future, he would either die unwillingly or live without his beloved. No matter which path he took, it would not be a smooth journey for Qingling.
The two chatted from time to time. When they returned to the river bank, the sky, which already had little sunlight, became even gloomier as if it was late at night. Miao Yuan and Zhu Lezhi waited under the boat, each holding an umbrella. Zhu Lezhi was also carefully protecting his incense burner.
Whenever Lord Zhao asked her about it, she would say, "It hasn't been an incense stick of time yet." Fortunately, she was able to fool the ghosts.
Seeing Qing Ling and Shang Changheng coming back, Zhu Lezhi stood up holding the incense burner, so excited that tears welled up in his eyes, "You are finally back, are you all right? Is there something amazing in there too? I can even feel the aura of corpses on the shore, it's so scary."
"It's okay." Qing Ling said, "It has been sealed back by Chang Heng."
He looked at the ship again and frowned. There was no one on the ship anymore, and the ship had even become a shadow.
"Because of the thunder just now." Miao Yuan explained in a low voice, "It's good that they didn't disappear directly. Now this ship is unstable. If there are a few more thunders, I'm afraid they will just scatter and hide... If they continue like this, either their resentment will get out of control and turn into evil spirits, or they will not be able to hold on and their souls will fly away."
Zhu Lezhi hugged the incense burner and said, "We have to go back to Lucheng first. This rain is really not coming at the right time. It would be even worse if it was a few hours later."
"Let's get on board," Shang Changheng said, "before there's any thunder."
The rope ladder was still there, but Qingling was carried up by Shang Changheng. There was no one on the deck. When I got down to the cabin, I saw Lord Zhao pacing back and forth in the corridor.
"Hey, you're back." Lord Zhao came over quickly. "It's raining, it's raining. We can't leave. We can't leave."
He was almost mumbling to himself, his words were even panic-stricken, and his stiff face showed panic.
"The rain is still light." Qingling said, "It shouldn't have any impact."
Lord Zhao waved his hands repeatedly, his tone seemed to be filled with fear, "I can't leave, I can't leave, it's raining, I can't leave on a rainy day, I can't leave on a rainy day..."
Qingling noticed that he had been saying things like "it's raining", "you can't go on a rainy day", "I can't leave", and he never mentioned the thunder just now. Evil spirits are afraid of thunder, especially powerful evil spirits like Shang Changheng. The stronger they are, the greater the threat they face. The ghosts on this ship have not yet become evil spirits, so they shouldn't be scared like this by a few thunders.
Qingling felt that the problem was not the thunderstorm, but simply because of the "rain". Lord Zhao had no idea that he was dead, but he was so afraid of rainy days. The soldiers on the ship were nowhere to be seen, and they were probably hanging in the cargo hold again.
They are afraid of rainy days.
So Qingling quickly guessed that perhaps it was on a rainy day that the cargo ship that was on a diplomatic mission to another country encountered pirates. They must have had other ships following, even warships, but the one with Lord Zhao on board must have been the main ship. As a result, on that rainy day, all the people on the ship died at the hands of the pirates, and all the cargo was robbed.
From then on, the cargo ship on its diplomatic mission drifted on the sea for hundreds of years.
Qing Ling raised his hand, motioning Zhu Lezhi to hand over the unextinguished incense, then he walked closer to Lord Zhao holding the incense burner and said softly, "It's OK to leave, Lord Zhao. We actually saw it when we went to the cargo hold just now. The goods inside are not silk and porcelain."
Lord Zhao raised his head suddenly and exclaimed, "Impossible! Impossible, the goods are all there!"
"Of course it is." Qing Ling said in a gentle voice, "These are the things you brought back from the small country overseas. I have never seen them before. You should be returning home."
Lord Zhao was stunned for a moment. He covered his head with his hands. The chaotic memories made him unable to distinguish what was true and what was false. "We...we...go home..."
"Yes, we have to go home." Qing Ling's tone was slow and gentle, "Master Zhao, have you forgotten? You have been at sea for a long time, and you have already done what you should do. It doesn't matter if it rains, it won't stop you from going home. I can show you the way back, okay?"
Lord Zhao put down his hand, and when he looked up again, he had an expression that seemed to be crying but not crying. Ghosts don’t have tears. He trembled and said, “Is… is that so? It’s time to go home… It’s time to go home… Go home, go home…”
"Yes." Qing Ling said softly, "It's been a long time. It's time to go home."
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