Why are the flowers in the palace so vibrant?
That fierce aura, upon hearing me say I should hit it, wisely shut its mouth; when it heard Ah Shi say it had turned pale with the needle; and when I said it had turned deathly pale with the scented needle, it quickly begged for mercy: "Grandma, please spare me, I'll do whatever you say, okay?"
"Okay, Xiao Huang, it's settled then."
It puffed out its cheeks angrily, but finally resigned itself to its fate: "Fine, whatever you say!"
"Hmm, good boy," I said, patting the spirit stone with satisfaction.
After the malevolent energy was dealt with, the surrounding cultivators were about to remove the formation when I quickly stopped them: "Wait, no rush, let me see what's down there first."
After I finished speaking, I picked up the shovel next to me and started digging. After digging for a short while, I saw a leg bone. Was this a corpse?
Those outside the formation also saw it, and the supervisor made a decisive decision: "Seal off the entire courtyard, then dig it all up to take a look."
Once the entire Hall of Light was surrounded by the magical power of the array, the people from the Imperial Observatory readily picked up shovels and started digging with me...
As we dug deeper and deeper, until the entire yard was dug up three feet deep, we finally saw that below were densely packed skeletons and corpses. They looked as if they had been piled up, in many layers, with one or two people on each layer. They were piled up horizontally and vertically, and we could tell from the color of the bones that they had died at different years. There were men and women among them.
I gasped, "How many people are buried here? Is this a mass grave in the palace?"
I looked at the supervisor, hoping he could explain it to me, but the supervisor waved his hand and said, "Don't look at me, I don't know anything."
I looked at Muli again, and Muli shook her head: "Never heard of it."
“This…” I looked at Ah Shi: “Let’s go ask that old eunuch.”
“Okay,” Ah Shi nodded, then asked, “Then…these bones?”
These bones have been buried for a long time, and they all look like they died in an unseemly and improper way, otherwise they wouldn't have so much resentment. These bones have been tainted by resentment and anger for many years, so they won't dissipate like ordinary bones. I thought for a moment, and my eyes lit up: "Why don't we just take them all back and see if we can refine them into a magic weapon?"
The supervisor nodded: "Yes, these bones are very strong. With further refining, they should be able to become a weapon. However, these bones are always tainted by resentment and malevolence. Long-term use by ordinary people will inevitably affect their health. I'm afraid only you can use them."
"Me?" I was a little surprised. "Then I'll have a weapon from now on? Great! Let's make a whip. These bones aren't suitable for getting stained with human blood anymore. Let's make a whip to whip people, whip ghosts, and teach little dogs a lesson?"
After I finished speaking, I looked at the spirit stone in my hand. Little Huang had no resistance at this point, and just turned his head and sighed, "It's really a case of being caught off guard."
Then the supervisor nodded to a cultivator next to him, who took out a storage bag and put all the bones into it.
The supervisor glanced at the surrounding array and said, "Let's not remove this array yet, in case something else happens. Let's go." He led the way out, and I followed. But as soon as we reached the courtyard gate, we were bounced back by the array...
I stared speechlessly at the protective barrier, while the supervisor who had stepped out laughed heartily: "Oh, I forgot that little Xu Yi can't get out. Let's withdraw first and set it up again when Xu Yi comes out."
"No!" I quickly raised my hand to stop them. "If any of them manage to escape, I'll have to find them one by one. Let's leave it at that for now. You guys go first. I'll stay in this formation for two more nights and see if there's anything else going on."
"Huh?" Ah Shi walked into the courtyard: "Then I'll stay with Auntie?"
"No need, you can go back in peace. We collected so many bones today, and we still need to refine them. You go back and help out. I'll stay here for a couple of days."
Seeing that I was indeed alright, Ah Shi nodded and said, "Okay, I'll come back to pick up Auntie in a couple of days."
"Okay, tell Muli to find two people to guard the yard and prevent anyone else from coming in."
"Okay." Ah Shi said and then went out.
The supervisor looked at me with a smile: "Well then, little Xu Yi, this old man is off too. It's been a long time since I've traveled this far. I need to go back and rest."
"Okay, go, go quickly, don't tire yourself out."
"Little Xu Yi is so thoughtful, haha!" After saying that, the supervisor laughed and led everyone away.
The courtyard returned to tranquility. I tossed the spirit stone in my hand into the air and caught it again, then asked Little Yellow, "Little Yellow, you've been here for so long, do you know anything?"
"How would I know? I don't even know how I died. I only know that after I woke up, I was in the ground with those malevolent spirits that were similar to me, until I was just released."
"Okay," I clicked my tongue, "I'm going to take a nap, you keep an eye on things for me, okay?"
"You're going to sleep while I'm not?" Xiao Huang retorted.
"Hmm, you're right. How about I put a needle in your mouth? That way you won't be able to sleep?"
"No, no, Grandma, you sleep, I'll watch over you."
"Hmm," I touched the spirit stone, "Good boy/girl."
Then he lay down in the nearby pavilion and fell asleep.
In my dream, I seemed to have returned to Wuji Mountain, back to the lonely peak where I had spent so long. The earthen mound where I sat every day had disappeared after years of wind and sun. Instead, a small house had been built next to it. I went inside and saw myself cooking, all alone...
Hey, where are the people around me? Then I heard the voice of the mountain king: "Heaven and earth are alone."
"Mountain Lord?" I woke up instantly, turned my head left and right, and didn't see anyone else. Only the little spirit stone was lying next to me. Little Yellow was already asleep and snoring, but thankfully the sound was much quieter through the spirit stone.
I saw it was raining in the courtyard, and a woman in a dark red dress was kneeling in the garden, digging in the soil. Then, weeping, she put a bloody finger into the soil...
Oh... isn't this Madam Zheng?
I walked over and tentatively called out, "Madam Zheng?"
The woman turned around, and it was my own face. I was startled, and just as I gasped and took a step back, everything in front of me disappeared.
Rain, soil, woman, fingers, ditch—everything has vanished.
The huge pit I dug during the day is still in front of me...
What's going on? Is there something fishy about this place? The next second, it started to rain. The raindrops dripped onto my body, bringing a slight coolness. I suddenly felt a little dazed. Was this rain just falling, or was it falling right now?
Was that woman burying bones just now, or is she burying bones right now?
Those bloody fingers had clearly turned into bones, and the woman cried and resentfully went back to continue the rest of her life... How come I'm still here?
Shouldn't I be here? Wasn't I supposed to be here watching to see if anything unusual was happening?
What's wrong with me?
I was deep in thought when the spirit stone floated over. Little Huang looked at me speechlessly: "What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?" I looked up and realized that it had never rained, and the ground was completely dry...
That rain just now wasn't falling on my body... it fell into my heart...
I clutched my chest, feeling a sharp pain, and then slowly, a beating heart grew inside. It beat, and I came back to life...
When the mind dies, the Way arises; when the mind arises, the Way ascends.
I was already like that, but I've taken it a step further.
It seems that the supervisor was right; I have indeed chosen the same path as my predecessors.
Well, fate is a closed loop.
That's a good thing too.
When Ah Shi came to see me, I excitedly told him, "Ah Shi, I've grown a heart! I was just a skeleton before, but now I've grown a heart again!"
A hint of confusion flashed across Ah Shi's face, but he still smiled happily in agreement: "Then, congratulations, Auntie."
"Mmm, that's great," I sighed to myself.
“But things aren’t so good outside,” Ah Shi said, looking at me. “Today, the Imperial Observatory received reports of unusual disturbances everywhere. Most of them involved people who were perfectly fine in the market who suddenly went mad. The Imperial Observatory sent out all its cultivators to patrol the capital with the Imperial Guards and investigate everywhere.”
Uh... I caused this mess myself! "Are there enough people?" I asked anxiously as I walked towards the gate. "You should hurry too, dealing with the riot is the priority."
“Okay,” Ah Shi nodded to me and ran outside. I suddenly remembered the old cook and the prime minister, so I chased after him and said, “And those high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital should also be protected!”
But Ah Shi was running too fast and didn't hear clearly: "What? Aunt?"
"I said, we need to take some men to protect the residences of those important officials and dignitaries as well," I said anxiously, wanting to get a little closer, so I took two more steps forward...
When I saw that my body was already outside the gate of Chuanguang Hall, I was surprised to find that the formation could no longer trap me.
At this moment, Ah Shi also saw it and ran over in a few steps: "Auntie, you can come out now?"
"Really? I actually stepped out?" Never mind, I shouldn't think about it anymore. It's more important to get down to business. I called to Ah Shi, "Go, take those who are making magical artifacts out and send them to the important officials and nobles in the capital. This dead dynasty may be a bit rotten, but without these people, the country can't even function properly."
“Okay,” Ah Shi nodded, then turned and ran towards the Imperial Observatory.
I took the spirit stones and went to the imperial kitchen first. I saw Chef Deng leisurely picking vegetables. He even looked up at me and said, "Xu Yi, what brings you here? It's not even seven days yet!"
"Oh, I didn't come here to eat. The palace is filled with malevolent energy. I came to see if there's anything unusual here."
"I'm fine, Xu Yi, don't worry. With the Kitchen God here, the Imperial Kitchen will be alright. Go and check other places."
I nodded and headed out of the palace. I simply rode a horse straight to the Prime Minister's residence. The surrounding streets were almost deserted, and every household had their doors closed. However, the Prime Minister's residence was wide open. My heart skipped a beat. Although the Prime Minister had raised a good-for-nothing daughter, he was a decent person. If... something really happened to him, it wouldn't be good to immediately find someone like him to be the Prime Minister.
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