Chapter 41 Realizing They Were Not From This World
As the vermilion gate of Longhua Temple slowly opened, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.
Li Bao'er was half-supported by Mu Cenlin as she got out of the sedan chair. Only that lonely pink sedan chair was parked on the bluestone road, with the curtains hanging low and the inside already empty.
"I want to see who this person is," Li Bao'er muttered, when Mu Cenlin suddenly pinched her fingertip.
When Bao'er turned around in confusion, she saw several monks coming towards her. They were all dressed in blue robes and had an air of serene indifference to the world.
"Greetings, Your Highness." The gray-robed monk clasped his hands in a gesture of respect. "The Grand Preceptor is preparing a sacrificial ceremony. Please follow me to the Zen monastery for tea."
Mu Cenlin nodded in acknowledgment and pulled Li Bao'er along.
As she walked through the dark corridor, Li Bao'er always felt like there were eyes glued to her back in the shadows.
She instinctively moved closer to Mu Cenlin, but then heard an old Buddhist chant.
"Please wait, female benefactor."
The white-browed abbot blocked the entrance to the Moon Cave. Suddenly, his withered, branch-like hand grabbed Li Bao'er's wrist. Mu Cenlin immediately turned his folding fan sideways, but the old monk lightly brushed it away.
"A soul returns to a foreign land, a life spanning two lifetimes." A golden light flashed in the abbot's cloudy eyes. "Your life is like a drifting duckweed, destined for a great calamity."
Li Bao'er's blood froze instantly; this old monk had actually seen through her being a time traveler!
"Meeting your destined partner before a life-or-death ordeal..." The abbot slipped a string of Buddhist prayer beads onto her wrist, giving Mu Cenlin a meaningful look, "Don't miss this chance for survival."
Even after the old monk had walked far away, Li Bao'er remained frozen in place, frantically calling out to 001 in her mind, "I've been seen through! Is metaphysics really true?"
001 was suddenly awakened from her sleep by a loud noise: "[This Master Xuanmi, the true abbot of Longhua Temple, he must have real skills!]"
Don't panic, he won't say much, and his identity won't be exposed.
While Li Bao'er was still struggling with 001, Mu Cenlin looked thoughtfully at the stiff-looking Li Bao'er.
What did that old monk just say? "The soul returns to a foreign land, the life crosses two lifetimes."
Could it be that Li Bao'er isn't from this world?! The thought sent a chill down Mu Cenlin's spine.
Feeling the increased strength in his grip, Bao'er snapped out of her daze. In a moment of quick thinking, she suddenly threw herself into his arms.
"I just heard the master say that I have met my soulmate. It seems that you are my soulmate?"
Mu Cenlin narrowed his eyes, watching the clumsy performance of the person in his arms with her eyelashes trembling wildly.
Just as he was about to expose her, he suddenly felt a familiar panic in his chest. He knew that Li Bao'er was hiding many things from him, but seeing her like this, he suddenly wanted to wait for her to tell him on her own initiative.
Taking the opportunity, Li Bao'er hugged his neck and said, "Your Highness~ So we're a match made in heaven. Has the auspicious date for our wedding been chosen?"
Mu Cenlin sneered and took Bao'er's hand in his. "Li Bao'er, your heart beats faster every time you lie."
Bao'er hurriedly covered her chest and looked at him with a strange expression, only to see him suddenly lean down and whisper in her ear, "However... I will allow you to continue acting. I will wait for the day you tell me on your own."
If what the old monk said was true, "The soul returns to a foreign land, and life crosses two lifetimes," this utterly absurd conjecture allowed Mu Cenlin to quickly find a strange rationale after his initial shock.
He was no ordinary, pedantic person; the unpredictable nature of the battlefield and his instincts in the face of life and death gave him an extraordinary capacity to accept things beyond reason.
If such an unheard-of and mysterious thing as the Symbiotic Gu exists, why can't the Soul of Another World exist?
Moreover, he had already sent his spies to thoroughly investigate, and there was absolutely no trace of this so-called "symbiotic Gu" in the Western Regions. There was absolutely no way Mu Yuan could have obtained this item and used it on the two of them. The arrival of this Gu was suspicious; if it came with her... then everything would make sense!
His thoughts raced, his sharp gaze scrutinizing the woman in his arms who clearly felt guilty.
When exactly did she come into this world? Was she the Li Bao'er who grew up in the Prime Minister's mansion from the very beginning? Or did she become who she is now after falling off a cliff and escaping death?
Where did Bao'er from Jinfo Temple go?
With these questions in mind, the two ventured deeper into the temple.
At three quarters past Chen hour, the guests arrived one after another.
Mu Cenlin was invited to a side hall by the abbot. Li Bao'er caught a glimpse of a young eunuch holding a bright yellow scroll and guessed that it was a secret imperial edict.
"Sister!" Li Yu ran over, clutching an oil paper package in her hand. "Quickly try this, it's freshly baked vegetarian ham from the vegetarian restaurant!"
She had just taken a bite when she heard a shrill, coquettish laugh: "Why is my sister dressed so plainly today?"
Li Yan walked over surrounded by noble ladies. The jade bracelet on her wrist gleamed eerily in the sunlight. That's right, this bracelet belonged to the owner of the sedan chair just now.
No wonder she looked familiar; it was Li Yan.
Li Bao'er glanced at her overly rosy lips and smiled faintly: "Second sister, it's one thing to steal your mother's lip rouge, but how dare you even wear something from a dead person?"
Li Yan's expression changed drastically. The bracelet on her wrist was indeed given to her by her grandmother this morning, who said it was a treasure passed down through generations of the Li family.
How can a family heirloom be described as something belonging to a dead person?!
It must be Li Bao'er's jealousy that she was favored by her grandmother, and that's why she made those wild remarks out of jealousy.
Li Yan said with a sneer, "Sister, are you just being a sour grapes?"
Before Li Bao'er could even speak, Li Yu instantly switched to battle mode: "Only you would dare to treasure a bracelet of this quality. My sister's bracelet could easily beat yours."
"How embarrassing! Sister, let's go sit down," Li Yu said, pulling Li Bao'er away.
The ruthlessness in Li Yan's eyes surged like waves. She knew that all the jewelry in Li Bao'er's possessions was of the highest quality. Wang Qingzhi had given all her precious things to Li Bao'er. Her uncle, Wang Zheng, had never married and had no children, and he had given all his assets to the two siblings. Yet they had gone too far!
But then, thinking about what was about to happen, Li Yan said provocatively, "Li Bao'er! You're only in the limelight now. The Grand Preceptor's real purpose in hosting this banquet today is to find someone who can help the Great Lin Kingdom's destiny."
Li Bao'er paused, but did not turn around. However, she had a premonition that Li Yan had a big move up her sleeve.
"The Imperial Advisor has arrived!"
Amidst the chanting, Fang Xu, dressed in white, slowly approached, her veil reaching the ground, but suddenly stopped as she passed Li Bao'er.
“This young lady…” his voice was like an icy spring flowing through moss, “Have we met before?”
Li Bao'er's heart skipped a beat, but she curtsied calmly and said, "Your Excellency, I had the honor of seeing you from afar at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the palace many years ago."
She deliberately spoke vaguely, after all, as the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family, it was perfectly normal for her to attend the palace banquet.
Fang Xu nodded slightly upon hearing this. His face was obscured by the veil, but he seemed to chuckle softly before turning and leaving. His snow-white robes fluttered in the wind, like a wandering soul.
Once he was out of sight, Li Bao'er immediately called out to the system in her mind: [001! What's the background of this Imperial Advisor? Is there a record of him in your database?]
"[Strange...]" 001's voice was clearly confused. "[I've searched through all the records, and there's no such person here!]"
The electronic voice suddenly became urgent: "Something's not right. According to the original timeline, the Great Rin Dynasty shouldn't have had a Grand Preceptor at all!"
It's all because it ran out of energy and went into a deep sleep. How come the development trend of this world has deviated a bit?
Upon hearing this answer, Li Bao'er felt that the problem was somewhat tricky. Fang Xu's fame had spread because of his divination and precognitive abilities. 001 still couldn't find out his origins. Could this person also be a time traveler?
Li Bao'er's fingertips unconsciously rubbed together, a sense of unease rising in her heart: [What do you mean?]
"Either this world automatically filled in the plot, or..." 001's voice became unusually serious. "He's also a transmigrator."
This guess sent a chill down Li Bao'er's spine.
She looked up toward the altar. Fang Xu was adjusting his veil. As his sleeve slipped down, she noticed a peculiar line on the inside of his wrist, but she couldn't see it clearly because of the distance.
Fang Xu? The imperial advisor who descended from the sky is actually from my hometown!
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