Chapter 26 Birthday "I feel very happy."
Hua Xun stared blankly at the words on the talisman, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
The image of her carefully copying the characters stroke by stroke in that small courtyard in Dahe Village came to mind.
—She hadn't thought about these things for a long time.
Jin Huan's personality changed drastically. At certain moments, the familiar oppressive feeling brought by his gaze, and the occasional fear that arose in her heart, seemed to have a more perfect explanation in that instant.
“Miss Hua Xun?” Jin Huan turned around and called out.
Hua Xun suddenly snapped out of her daze, her hand instinctively clenching the talisman in her palm, tucking it into her sleeve, and forcing a smile: "What's wrong?"
Jin Huan looked at her innocently, a smile on his lips, but his eyes were extremely deep. He said something inexplicably: "Today is the Winter Solstice."
Hua Xun nodded in agreement: "I know."
Jin Huan's pupils flickered, as if he wanted to say something, but Hua Xun interrupted him: "We've arrived at your courtyard. You've had a hard day. Go back and rest now."
Jin Huan frowned, glanced at the courtyard not far away, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay."
Hua Xun stood frozen in place, her eyes fixed on Jin Huan as he walked further and further away from her...
The fear that rose in my chest gradually subsided.
But in the next instant, "Jin Huan" suddenly turned around: "Miss Hua Xun..."
Hua Xun's face paled, her body tensed, and she unconsciously took a small step back, a barely perceptible hint of caution flashing in her eyes.
Jin Huan was slightly taken aback, his gaze sweeping over her eyes and settling on her arm behind her back.
This is a gesture she often makes when she's on guard.
"Is there anything else?" Hua Xun asked, forcing a smile.
Jin Huan snapped out of his daze and shook his head: "It's nothing."
Hua Xun smiled and said, "Then I'll head back now."
After saying that, Hua Xun walked straight toward Tingxue Pavilion, walking faster and faster until she was almost jogging.
She only stopped walking when she reached a plum tree outside Tingxue Pavilion.
Thinking that she had just had a fight with the God a few days ago, and that the God must still be admiring the flowers in the courtyard, she sat down dejectedly on a stone bench under a plum tree.
Jin Huan is very likely Baili Sheng.
The idea suddenly became clear.
Hua Xun's mind was in even greater turmoil.
Why did Baili Sheng disguise himself as Jin Huan and come to the Chen family?
Why did you deliberately approach her?
Is he still worried about her and still wants to kill her?
Countless chaotic thoughts crowded into her mind, causing a turbulent upheaval within her consciousness.
Hua Xun suddenly regained consciousness when the Lingxi Gu began to churn violently due to discomfort.
If Baili Sheng really wanted to kill her, he would have done so when she and he went to Lingbao Pavilion alone today.
With his magical power, killing her wouldn't be a problem, let alone burying the entire city of Linqi alive.
Perhaps... he was just passing by and thought it was fun.
Or, to test whether she had publicized what happened during those ten years.
Thinking this way, Hua Xun gradually calmed down, thinking that since the Chen family's matter was almost over, as long as she pretended not to know, she could stay away from "Jin Huan" for the remaining days.
Hua Xun relaxed, let out a soft breath, and raised her head to get up.
The next moment, her movements stopped.
Beneath the moon gate of Tingxue Pavilion, the Divine Lord stood quietly, having stood there for an unknown amount of time.
It was late at night, and he was the only one shrouded in divine light and mist, shining as brightly as the moonlight.
Hua Xun's heart tightened again. She slowly stood up and asked softly, "My Lord, what are you doing here?"
"I saw that you had not returned home late at night, so I came to look for you." The deity's voice seemed to carry a gentle power that penetrated the very soul.
Hua Xun's breath hitched. Just one simple sentence brought tears to her eyes: "I'm going back now."
"Hmm," the deity said leisurely.
Hua Xun pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately lowered her head in frustration and quietly walked towards the courtyard.
Her room was on the outside, and we soon arrived at the door.
Hua Xun said softly, "I'm going back to my room now," and headed back inside.
"Are you still angry?" A gentle voice, tinged with hesitation, slowly sounded from behind.
Hua Xun suddenly stopped, paused for a few moments, then turned around: "Divine Lord?"
The deity gazed at her with a composed expression, and after a long while sighed softly: "What people bear on their bodies is not only their own karma, but also the bond between master and disciple, the distinction between relatives and friends, and the fate between husband and wife."
"Although Chen Changyan is a villain, a virtuous official will emerge from his descendants for four generations, protecting this place and ensuring its prosperity for decades."
"If Chen Changyan dies, his descendants will not be able to be born, and no one knows what the consequences will be for the people of this place a hundred years from now."
Hua Xun stared back at the Divine Lord in a daze.
Was the deity explaining something to her?
In fact, she had already known in her heart that the God was right in the past few days: everyone has their own destiny, and so do evil people.
But she just felt sad, both because the god knew everything but could only watch him suffer, and because she had fallen for a god who would never have any romantic feelings for her.
However, at this moment, she felt that her sadness seemed to have been invisibly eliminated by these words.
Hua Xun lowered her eyes and said softly, "I understand," adding, "I'm not actually angry."
"Hmm?" The deity seemed puzzled.
Hua Xun didn't know how to explain her sentimental and complicated thoughts that day. After a long silence, she said in a muffled voice, "Just pretend I was out of my mind that day."
Seeing that her brow had relaxed, the deity smiled gently and said, "In that case, go back to your room first."
Hua Xun did not move, but continued to look at the Divine Lord standing there. After a while, she said, "Divine Lord."
The deity looked at her with a smile.
Hua Xun walked down two stone steps and stopped in front of the Divine Lord, looking up at him: "Actually, the winter solstice is also my birthday. This year marks the 100th anniversary of my transformation into human form."
The deity lowered his eyes, not understanding his meaning.
Hua Xun felt a little nervous, but still boldly said, "In the human world, birthdays are a very important day."
The deity seemed to understand at first, and said with a peaceful smile, "Yes, all beings in the Three Realms need to celebrate their birthdays."
Hua Xun pursed her lips tightly: "My Lord, may I have a wish?"
The deity's expression softened, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Alright."
Hua Xun's eyes lit up, and she looked at him earnestly: "May I see the true form of the God-King, and have the complete God-King bless me with a happy birthday?"
The divine lord paused slightly, a rare occurrence, but a promise made by a god is never to be broken.
He nodded again.
Hua Xun stared intently at the deity before her, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Golden light gradually surrounded the deity, like stars gathering on his body in the vast night sky.
His previously concealed divine body gradually revealed itself at this moment. His white robes and black hair moved without wind, and his flawless face was like jade, shrouded in a hazy halo.
Hua Xun was stunned.
This was the God she knew, the complete and authentic one.
"My Lord, is that you?" she asked cautiously.
"It is I." The voice, as warm as jade, also carried a sacred echo.
Hua Xun's heart skipped a beat. She was about to say something when the Divine Lord swept his wide sleeves, and starlight flashed before her eyes once more.
The starlight condensed into the shape of a flower branch, gradually fading.
Peach blossoms are in bloom.
"The peach trees on White Mist Cliff have blossomed," the deity said slowly.
Hua Xun stared blankly as she held the peach blossom in her hand.
This was the first birthday gift she had ever received, and it was also the best birthday gift she had ever received.
“My Lord,” Hua Xun said, her eyes red, “you haven’t wished me a happy birthday yet.”
The deity opened his lips, his voice like a prophecy: "Ah Xun, may your birthday be peaceful and joyful."
The moment he finished speaking, his arms tightened.
Hua Xun hugged him tightly again: "My Lord, I feel so happy."
She thought she was content.
Her love didn't need a response from God; she just wanted to be by God's side forever.
Actually, she was lucky.
In the eternal life of the God-King, there is eternal solitude.
And in her finite life, she was able to stay forever by the side of the god she loved.
The deity lowered his eyes, gazing at the person in his arms, his smile gradually fading.
It was as if warm body temperature was flowing through the divine light into the eternally unchanging divine body.
The twinkling starlight rose into the sky and slowly dissipated.
Hua Xun felt the hazy halo around her gradually dissipate.
She looked up; the complete God-King had left, but the cloned God-King was still smiling at her.
"My Lord, is your birthday really the first day of the seventh month?"
Every year on this day, the human race would hold a grand celebration at the temple of the God, saying that they were celebrating the God's birthday.
The deity nodded: "Yes."
Hua Xun pursed her lips, lowered her eyes shyly, and asked, "Are you also... born from the union of your parents?"
The divine lord remained unmoved by the mention of this matter, his expression gentle: "The divine race is different from the Three Realms. Most gods are born from the union of Yin and Yang, and some are born from influence."
Hua Xun understood the meaning of "divine communion," since even among demons, there was a concept of divine communion, which could be used to influence and transform people...
Hua Xun asked, "Is the transformation like the legend that Fuxi's mother gave birth to Fuxi after stepping on a giant's footprint in Leize?"
The deity smiled slightly and said, "He does indeed bear some resemblance to the ancestral god."
"That deity..."
“I was born from the influence of the Mother Goddess when she saw the gates of hell open on the first day of the seventh month.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Xun couldn't help but sigh with disappointment: Even a god born so untouched by worldly desires must find love to be nothing more than a desecration.
She paused, as if remembering something: "Then can't humans be transformed through influence, can they only be created through the harmony of yin and yang?"
The deity looked down at her, making Hua Xun feel somewhat guilty. He sighed and replied, "When a deity has a thought, something comes from nothing, and thus can influence others. Although humans have hearts and souls, they are trapped by their physical bodies. Only when yin and yang are in harmony can they reproduce and thrive."
Hua Xun's eyes lit up.
"Are there any other questions?" the deity asked when he saw her silence.
Hua Xun shook his head, then nodded: "My Lord, I have found out the truth behind Chen Changyan's coma, and I also know where that spirit fox is hiding now."
"Can I retrieve Lord Luohe's Heavenly Soul?"
The deity gazed at her for a moment, then slightly raised his hand, and a magnificent lamp appeared in his palm: "This is the Soul Gathering Lamp. When you see the spirit fox, take out this lamp, and your celestial soul will return to its place."
Hua Xun nodded vigorously: "Thank you, Divine Lord."
*
Outside Tingxue Pavilion, in a secluded little pavilion in the distance.
Baili Sheng sat expressionlessly at the stone table in the courtyard, tapping his fingers on the surface.
The dark, demonic aura emanating from him enveloped the entire pavilion, yet his expression remained serene, even deathly still.
"Bai Lisheng, can you celebrate my birthday with me?" In the darkness, a dusty little demon carrying a medicine basket looked at him with a bright smile.
But in the blink of an eye, she turned around and threw herself into the arms of someone else, smiling and saying, "I feel very happy."
Baili Sheng sneered, stood up to leave, but then realized something and reached for his waist.
The talisman is gone.
Above it are the incantations he wrote in his own hand.
Almost instantly, he recalled Hua Xun's wary and cautious expression towards him an hour earlier.
Baili Sheng stood still, without moving.
"fraud."
After a long while, a soft whisper came.
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