Severing ties
Not long after Ah Shi left, the capital began to be in turmoil, with rain falling for days on end or continuously.
The sandstorm raged, layer upon layer, and even the air itself felt chilly.
Weeping could be heard day and night from the palace.
No matter how hard the emperor and the crown prince tried, the decline of the capital did not improve in the slightest; on the contrary, it became more and more serious.
Meanwhile, the Jiangnan region where Ah Shi lived enjoyed favorable weather and gradually became prosperous.
Ah Shi dealt with many corrupt officials in Jiangnan, bringing peace and tranquility to the region and winning the hearts of many people.
Considering the situation in the capital, the emperor ultimately had no choice but to recall Ah Shi.
The capital city returned to tranquility, and no further unusual events were reported.
I don't need to go to the pool to know that the lifeline of this dynasty has been passed down to Ah Shi.
On the day Ah Shi returned, I waited at the Imperial Observatory all day, but I still wouldn't let him in.
After that, my flesh and blood gradually dissolved, eventually turning back into a skeleton, and I saw once again the desires and karma of the people.
I saw the different colors of energy in this world again.
That evening, I teleported to the Crown Prince's side, directly inserted my hand into his body, and extracted the literary vein that he had once stolen.
He knelt on the ground in agony, gripping my leg bone tightly with his hands, his voice trembling: "Auntie... Auntie..."
I sighed again: "If you are content to be a wealthy prince, A-Shi will surely protect you for the rest of your life."
After saying that, I left in an instant and went to the Tenth Prince's residence.
When I reappeared before Ah Shi, although my skeletal body caused everyone around him to faint, his eyes clearly lit up, and he called out to me, "Auntie!"
I infused the cultural essence in my hand into his body: "This is the cultural essence that the Crown Prince forcibly seized. From now on, you must govern the country well."
“I know, Aunt,” he said, his face covered in cold sweat from the pain of having his meridians implanted, but he still trembled as he took my hand. “Aunt…”
I touched his hair one last time with my other hand, and left without saying a word.
I teleported to Muli's room again, waiting for his footsteps to gradually approach the room.
Muli pushed open the door, somewhat wearily tossing his helmet onto the table. He looked up and saw me standing behind the screen.
"Xu Yi?" He excitedly walked through the screen and then gasped.
I slowly turned around, revealing my bare, skeletal frame to him: "Muli, this is what I originally looked like."
He moved his trembling hand closer to touch my cheek, his voice choked with emotion: "So, this is the last time we'll see each other?"
“Yes,” I nodded, “I will not appear again until the thirty-year period is up, then I will leave directly.”
He gently pulled me into his arms, as if afraid of disturbing my frail body. After a long while, he said, "Take care."
Ignoring the tears he was shedding on my body, I calmly said, "Take care."
Then he returned to the main courtyard of the Imperial Observatory and lay back in the cradle under that eaves.
Wu Qing and Bao He were used to me being like this. Bao He still ran over excitedly and jumped onto my stomach to tell me about the affairs of the capital or the world.
I responded with "hmm" as before.
After a long while, Baohe said he was tired and fell asleep on my stomach again.
As always, Wu Qing carried Baohe back to the well, bowed to me, and then withdrew.
From that moment on, I never moved again.
In the 81st year of Xingchao, the emperor deposed the crown prince and appointed the tenth prince, Xu Zheng, as the crown prince. At the end of the same year, the emperor died, the crown prince succeeded to the throne, and the country was renamed Lisi.
During the evening celebration banquet, I put on clothes to cover my skeletal frame and went to the palace where the new emperor was hosting the feast.
When I appeared at the banquet, most people had no idea how I got in. Only Ah Shi's eyes lit up, and she instantly stood up: "Auntie!"
I nodded to him, then turned to look at the aged prime minister, the middle-aged prime minister, and Mu Li, who had become a great general. Then I turned back and grasped the causal thread connecting me to this dynasty with my five fingers as if they were claws...
With a pull of my hand, fine yellow threads were drawn out from everyone's bodies.
The intense pain caused everyone to stand up and lean forward. Ah Shi looked at me in shock, enduring the pain as she asked, "Auntie... what are you... doing..."
I straightened and tightened the fine causal threads again, ignoring the painful screams of the people in the palace, and gathered them into one point. I smiled at Ah Shi: "Ah Shi, I will sever the causal thread between the dynasty and me. Only in this way can the dynasty survive on its own trajectory for a long time, without being affected by me."
"No, Auntie! No..." Ah Shi cried out in anguish.
Even the prime minister trembled as he commanded, "Xu Yi... no... you mustn't..."
I heard the roar of a dragon coming from the bottom of the pool, a mournful cry that seemed to seep into my soul...
I calmly looked at Ah Shi again: "Ah Shi, take care; Prime Minister, take care."
Then I took out the bone knife from my chest, poured my body's magic power into it, and let the golden magic power envelop the entire bone knife before slashing down with it.
The causal link was severed, and everyone fell back into their seats due to the force, then looked at each other in confusion, wondering what had just happened.
At the same time, the history of Xingchao that belonged to me became a small line of text: Xu -, ranked thirteenth, died by marriage alliance.
My portrait in the Prime Minister's residence was tightened and could no longer be opened.
Everyone seemed to remember that there was a princess who ranked thirteenth, but their memory was so vague that they couldn't even recall her name.
All the records of me kept by the Imperial Observatory have been locked by the rules of heaven and earth and can no longer be read by anyone.
I walked alone in the palace, ignored by everyone because of the rules of heaven and earth, and made my way back to the Imperial Observatory.
Bao He was alone in the main courtyard. When he saw me come in, he ran over to me and said, "Xu Yi, something's not right. Wu Qing and I were dealing with something today when he suddenly fell silent for a moment, and then he couldn't remember who you were! I asked other people, and they all said they vaguely remembered you when I mentioned your name..."
At this point, he looked up at me, and seeing that I was very calm, he tentatively asked, "Xu Yi, is that you? What did you do?"
I crouched down to be level with Baohe, and said in a steady voice, "I have severed the causal link with the dynasty. All those in the dynasty who have had karmic entanglements with me will gradually have their memories blurred until they are completely forgotten."
Baohe was utterly shocked: "Why?"
I patted his head: "I'm leaving, Baohe. Thirty years have passed, and I will never appear in front of the world again."
"No, I'm asking why you want to sever the cause and effect, Xu Yi?" Bao He's tone was somewhat anxious.
"My path of cultivation is still long. If this causal link is preserved, it will affect both me and the dynasty. The dynasty needs to have its own path to follow, instead of remaining as enduring and immortal as I am."
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes, Baohe, I'm leaving."
"Where to?" Baohe's voice trembled with tears.
"I don't know. I'm not ready to go to Wuji Mountain yet. I may need to wander around the mortal world. But because of the rules of heaven and earth, no one will remember me after they come into contact with me. I will disappear from the public eye and live in seclusion until I can go to Wuji Mountain."
"Then...then shall I take you?"
“Okay,” I nodded.
Just then, the shadow in the corner of the main courtyard asked me, "What about me?"
I looked at her and said, "You should stay at the Imperial Observatory for now and try your best to guard that bone knife. When the time is right, you will naturally know where you need to go."
Shadow, on the other hand, remained much calmer, replying indifferently, "I understand."
Baohe took my hand and escorted me all the way to the city gate. Everyone from the Imperial Observatory greeted Baohe warmly, but they all ignored me.
Baohe walked and cried the whole way, until his voice became hoarse...
As we approached the city gate, I looked at Baohe and asked, "Do you want to try and get out with me?"
“No need for your promise,” he said with a bitter smile. “You’ve been lying to me for so long, and you still won’t tell me?”
It turns out he knew I was lying to him; he knew from day one.
I knelt down, patted his head again, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry."
“It’s okay,” Baohe shook his head, wiped the tears off his face, and hugged me again: “Goodbye, Xuyi.”
Goodbye, Baohe.
Thinking of Axi, I took out a copper coin from my sleeve, cast a spell, and handed it to Baohe: "Give this copper coin to Axi. I cannot enlighten him to become a guardian spirit of the house yet, but this copper coin can ensure that his soul will not be scattered and can occasionally appear in front of people. You should also tell him to cultivate well and do good deeds."
"I understand, Xu Yi." Bao He took the copper coin, looked at me with tears in his eyes and a smile: "Goodbye, Xu Yi."
I nodded, turned around, and walked out of the city gate.
I heard Baohe scream at me in despair, "Xu Yi, Xu Yi! Don't forget me, don't forget me."
I didn't turn around, I just nodded slightly, and I believed he saw it.
The city gates closed, separating me from Baohe, just as the world separated me from the mortal realm.
In the palace pool, next to the huge dragon sculpture, a female sculpture has been erected at some point. The dragon sculpture lies prostrate at the feet of the female sculpture, wrapped around the hem of her skirt. However, at the junction of the dragon sculpture and the female sculpture, there is a long, artificially severed mark, telling the story of a broken bond.
The sky is high and the birds are wide; all the mortal world is but fleeting smoke.
People are not insects or birds that freeze to death in the wind and snow, yet people are all insects and birds that freeze to death in the wind and snow.
The snow was too heavy and too dense, obscuring everything in the world and laying down a layer of pure white barrier.
Time is a long thread, so long that all the knots on it seem insignificant.
That's it for now. Time to start walking alone again.
The world is just like the world.
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