Chapter 19 The Ups and Downs of a Turbulent World, The Longevity Drama 5: Good People Should Help Each Other...
Mingying gazed at this furnace-like world, where cultivators fell into it, turning into ashes like withered paper. She remained motionless: "Your so-called fairness is simply replacing the Heavenly Dao with your name, Immortal Fengshui?"
She met his gaze, blood still seeping from the corner of her lips, her eyes like the moon reflected in water: "They are just ordinary cultivators, with parents and relatives just like mortals. They have not committed any major crimes in their lives. Perhaps they even helped mortals during the disasters you, Fengshui Immortal, created. Your selfish desires are not respectable. If you only want the power of dictatorship, then don't wave the banner of the injustice of the heavens. If there were fewer people like you in the world, the heavens would be more just."
Feng Shui Immortal stopped laughing and looked at her quietly: "But there are so many people in the world who think like me, so naturally I should stand at the highest place. Manman, we should be the same kind. Have you never hated that you are the only one in the Ming Clan who cannot cultivate? Even an old sweeping servant has lived longer than you."
Mingying lowered her eyelids and suddenly smiled: "You're right, I should hate it too. As your kind, can you ask them to let me go?"
Feng Shui Immortal shook his head: "What does Manman want to do? You can't count on that Young Master Xiao. No matter how high one's cultivation is, he is just as powerless as a mortal here."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a short arrow streaked through the air, as swift as a shooting star!
Feng Shui Immortal narrowly avoided a fatal blow; a hidden arrow knocked off his mask, exposing his pale face to everyone. He covered his face and looked up. Xiao Jingze, dressed in black robes, had a cold expression. A flash of silver light appeared on his wrist, and he decisively fired another arrow.
The execution guard reacted quickly, whipping forward to knock him down. Seeing the others standing there dumbfounded, Feng Shui Immortal's face darkened, and he raised his hand and shouted, "Take him down!"
Xiao Jingze slid down the slope, his short blade flying like a butterfly. Wherever the cold light passed, there were muffled sounds. With a whirlwind, the blade lightly swept across, and seven or eight guards fell to the ground. He moved like a fish through a crack, his steps relentlessly approaching the center.
Feng Shui Xianren's face was grim; he hadn't expected this person to be so skilled. The two guards holding Ming Ying looked at each other, hesitant. Seeing that many guards were being held by one person, they considered abandoning her to help. Ming Ying loosened her grip and took the opportunity to break free. She rolled twice on the ground, picked up the short sword from the ground, and held it to Feng Shui Xianren's throat: "Let everyone go."
Shen Zhiyi's heart sank: "Manman, don't worry about that! Run!"
Feng Shui Immortal calmly turned his head to look at her: "What do you think I relied on?"
Mingying felt a sudden sense of foreboding. Her palms burned, and the short sword slipped from her grasp. Fengshui Immortal held up a tiny flame, his eyes filled with arrogance: "Heavenly Fire has long recognized me as its master! In this world, I am the only god!"
Mingying hurriedly retreated, but Fengshui Immortal turned around and captured her. He grabbed her wrist with one hand and twisted it behind her back, while holding up the Heavenly Fire with the other hand and pressing her against his face. He looked at the person opposite him and said, "Young Master Xiao has come uninvited, which makes it difficult for me, the host, to do this."
Xiao Jingze paused, lowered his hand, his eyes darkened, and his lips tightened.
Feng Shui Immortal suddenly burst into laughter, his hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, looking completely deranged: "Yes, that's the expression! Young Master Xiao, how does it feel to be a mortal? Hahahaha!"
Xiao Jingze's expression shifted unpredictably as he swept his gaze across the empty inkwell: "Is this the Shen family's way of continuing the Heavenly Fire?"
Mingying looked at the flames so close to her, a chill running down her spine: "Heavenly Fire? But Grandmother... does she know about this too?"
After laughing enough, Feng Shui Immortal lowered his head and looked at her with pity: "Only Zhiyi is unwilling to believe it. The Heavenly Fire is about to dissipate, and the Shen family is declining. How could that old man just let it go?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi looked up and sneered, "Grandmother has always been kind and compassionate. If she knew, why would you forge the letter? You have harmed your own siblings and are heartless and treacherous. In the end, you still want to pin the blame on the Shen family!"
Xiao Jingze slowly moved his hand to his waist. Feng Shui Immortal narrowed his eyes and brought the Heavenly Fire closer to Ming Ying's face. Ming Ying tilted her head back to avoid it, as if she could smell the burning sensation.
Xiao Jingze quickly spread his hands, looking at him with a half-smile: "She is just a mortal. Did the immortal grab the wrong person?"
Feng Shui Xianren gestured to the guards: "Go, search them."
Mingying looked at Xiao Jingze and said softly, "This matter has nothing to do with Prince Xiao. You should leave."
Feng Shui Xianren's eyes revealed a hint of mockery: "Leave? Has Manman forgotten that your life is still in my hands?"
"Then you're threatening the wrong person. We've only known each other for less than a month, and we're not even friends yet. I'm sure Prince Xiao will make a smarter choice."
Xiao Jingze smiled, his expression unchanged, his gaze fixed on her, his tone calm: "Then Miss Ming is mistaken. I am a good person, and I would never do the treacherous things of an immortal."
Seeing the two talking as if no one else was around, Feng Shui Xianren's face darkened: "Execution Guard!"
The guard cautiously stepped forward, while Xiao Jingze spread his hands and lowered his eyes, appearing very cooperative.
The guard first removed the short blade from his waist, then unloaded the hidden dart. His expression relaxed slightly as he glanced at him and began to inspect his clothes. Suddenly, he withdrew his hand, revealing three thin, willow-leaf-shaped knives between his fingertips.
The guard's expression changed slightly, but Xiao Jingze remained silent with a smile. The guard reached into his belt again and pulled out a roll of soft spikes. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he pulled out a fine needle from his hair.
Finally, he threw the gold ring at his feet, and the scattered items on the ground had piled up into a small mountain.
The execution guard wiped his sweat: "Immortal, the search...the search is finished."
Feng Shui Immortal's expression became increasingly distorted, then relaxed again: "Young Master Xiao came prepared, what a pity."
He waved his hand, and the guard stepped forward. Both of them were shackled, the shackles rusty and stained with dried blood.
Seeing that they worked together and were not as clueless about the situation as the others, Feng Shui Xianren nodded in satisfaction: "Go and do your work."
The guards quickly pulled the two away separately. Feng Shui Xianren watched Ming Ying's back for a while, then looked down at Shen Zhiyi's expression with interest: "Manman misses you very much at the Shen residence. I'll have her keep you company here. The two of you won't be bored playing here."
Shen Zhiyi got up from the ground without saying a word and walked towards Mingying. Suddenly, she stopped, turned around and spat in his face. Fengshui Xianren wiped it off without caring and said, "Zhiyi, girls should be more virtuous."
Shen Zhiyi felt a chill: "If you're sick, you should get treatment as soon as possible. For someone like you, cutting off your head is the most effective treatment."
——
The guards dragged the person along like a corpse. Mingying stood up, leaning against the wall. She hid the gold needle that Xiao Jingze had secretly given her in her clothes and re-wrapped the hair ribbon in her hand. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, her head was getting more and more dizzy.
She shook her head, tugged at her shackles, looked around, and then fixed her gaze on the old woman who had grabbed her leg earlier. She naturally stepped forward and asked, "Grandma, this is my first time here, and I really don't know anything about the situation. Could you please explain it to me?"
The old woman seemed not to hear her, continuing to dig without any expression, and did not answer her.
Mingying stood beside her, scratching at the wall with her good hand, and continued to ask, "Grandma, do you know what this black liquid is? Why can it be used as fuel for heavenly fire?"
The old woman turned her back and walked unsteadily in another direction. Mingying clung to her relentlessly, her anklet dragging on the ground with a dull thud: "Please tell me, maybe I can get you out of here."
The old woman gave a cold laugh: "Ignorant child."
When Mingying saw that the old woman had responded to her, her eyes curved into a smile: "As far as I know, isn't the Lord of Heavenly Fire Madam Shen? Why has she become this Immortal of Fengshui? You must know some inside information. I, this ignorant child, will rely on you to enlighten me."
The old woman paused her movements when she saw that the woman was sticking to her like a leech, and glanced at her: "I don't know, go ask someone else."
Mingying smiled and said, "Grandma, we're so lucky to have met, why don't we become good friends?"
The old woman's face turned pale and then red. Finally, she turned around and looked at her directly: "There are countless cultivators here, why did you have to come looking for me?"
"I know you quite well, and I see that you are very agile and skilled. You were the first to catch me out of so many people, so you must be a powerful figure outside."
The old woman chuckled softly, her head bowed: "Heh, you're a bit dim-witted. You expect me to be as dim-witted as you?"
Mingying smiled and said, "The Shen family caravan has always only recruited young and strong cultivators for escort. If you didn't come here because of the Shen family caravan, then you must have accidentally entered this place while investigating. You must be quite unwilling to accept this. It just so happens that I know some things about this. Good people should help each other. How about we exchange ideas?"
——
Xiao Jingze was roughly thrown against the wall. He calmly looked at the guard in front of him. This guard walked with a limp. He had just been kicked down the slope by Xiao Jingze. Now he was holding a long whip and looking arrogant.
He stood there, smiling enigmatically; it was a scene he hadn't witnessed in years.
Just as the guards left, satisfied, flicking the blood off their whips, Xiao Jingze spat out a mouthful of blood. Suddenly, a blood-soaked figure in the shadows spoke, "If I were you, I wouldn't act so ostentatiously."
Xiao Jingze paused, turned his head to look to the side, and saw the young man who had been punished before in front of the bronze gate.
The young man leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. In addition to whip marks, his body also bore burn scars. Xiao Jingze recalled the situation at the time and said, "Thank you."
The young man opened his eyes and glanced at him: "What are you thanking me for? You've ended up like me anyway, so you're just as useless."
Xiao Jingze smiled and said, "It's too early to say that now. You must have tried many things to leave this place. Why don't we cooperate?"
The young man did not answer immediately. Instead, Xiao Jingze took out a gold needle from his collar, unlocked the shackles, threw the lock cylinder on the ground, and then pretended to close it again.
He paused for a moment, then said in a strange tone, "The guards search you so thoroughly they even check the soles of your shoes, so where are you hiding this now?"
“If he searches me, I can just hide on someone else.”
The young man's expression turned strange as he thought of something: "Is that your Daoist partner? You put yourself in danger to save a woman, do you think she'll be moved?"
Xiao Jingze's smile remained unchanged: "She is not my Daoist partner. This matter is neither a rescue nor a dangerous situation, nor is it to move anyone. I am just following my heart. However, your words are full of sour and pedantic sentiments, as if you are resenting the past."
The young man choked for a moment, then briefly introduced himself: "Chu Tianxiao, a disciple of Zhanfeng Pavilion."
Xiao Jingze's eyes flickered slightly, and he was about to speak when Chu Tianxiao interrupted him: "I know you. Your surname is Xiao, and you're even called the heir. Aren't you the genius that those old men in the academy talk about? It seems that rumors can't be believed entirely."
Xiao Jingze put away the golden needles, didn't reply, but a slight smile appeared on his lips: "How much do you know about Heavenly Fire?"
——
"Legend has it that the Heavenly Fire is the essence of an ancient divine dragon, and it chooses the one whom all people turn to as its master..."
Mingying raised her hand and asked, "But the Heavenly Fire has always been passed down from generation to generation by the Shen family. Does that mean that all the people are drawn to the Shen family? And if that's the case, shouldn't the Celestial Venerable be in charge of the Heavenly Fire?"
Lin Qin frowned: "You little brat, you actually listened to me. You're probably just making up names to fool me, aren't you? I've never met any Ming family member like you."
Mingying touched her nose and chuckled dryly, then dug the hole in the wall even bigger.
Lin Qin continued, her hands hanging down: "The first owner of the Heavenly Fire was named Shen Huai'an. Apart from his name, his life story is unknown. It is only known that he sacrificed himself to the fire during the war, which quelled a war involving tens of thousands of people. The Shen family was able to prosper for a hundred years, and the Heavenly Fire became something that the Shen family worshipped for a long time."
Mingying exclaimed "Ah!" and was about to say something, but seeing Lin Qin's expression, she shut her mouth again.
"More than forty years ago, Shen Xiyun ventured into Xinzhou alone and exposed the city lord's conspiracy to sacrifice young boys and girls for cultivation. The people built a temple for her to pray for blessings, and with the cooperation of Prime Minister Shen of the court, she became the second person in hundreds of years to control the Heavenly Fire."
She looked at the light in the center: "The power of heavenly fire can burn everything, yet it is right there, in a place that everyone can see. But none of the cultivators here can control it. It is indestructible and eternal, but what in this world is truly eternal? Neither the Shen Clan nor it can. It was born in the spiritual vein, and as the spiritual vein weakens, it will also perish. The Shen Clan uses dragon blood as fuel, and the two consume each other, resulting in mutual destruction."
Seeing her cold and stern expression, Mingying remained silent for a long while before finally asking, "And then?"
Why is the Fengshui Immortal able to control heavenly fire?
——
“I suspect that Tianhuo’s so-called support of the people is simply based on the power of incense and prayers. After all, it is just an inanimate object. How can it judge whether a person is good or evil? Fengshui Immortal is just a mortal. What is different about us is that his temples are prosperous and he uses floods to move people’s hearts.”
Xiao Jingze lowered his eyes in thought: "Can mortals also have incense offerings?"
Chu Tianxiao rubbed his hair: "How would I know? Who would believe in and worship a mortal? Such a ridiculous thing is only something that Feng Shui Immortal, a mortal pretending to be a god, can do to fool those unsuspecting fools."
"But this rule is just your guess. There may be other conditions for the Heavenly Fire to choose its master."
"This condition is probably known to no one except the Shen family, but to put it bluntly, this kind of ancient thing is simply about choosing whoever has the most believers."
Xiao Jingze spoke slowly, "There is someone we could give a try."
Chu Tianxiao looked at him for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter. He patted him on the shoulder: "Young Master Xiao has a good idea. Do you think I haven't tried it? If the Imperial Advisor came, we might give it a shot. But you? The servants serving you aren't your underlings, are they? Hahahaha, that's hilarious..."
Xiao Jingze brushed his hand away, glanced at him sideways, his expression indistinct in the shadows: "Naturally, she is the only mortal goddess in this world. If I'm not mistaken, the Ming family has been doing this ridiculous thing for many years."
——
Mingying lowered her eyes, holding the dark dragon blood, and slowly walked to the center. The execution guard stood above her, his gaze sweeping over her indifferently, without giving her any extra attention.
She walked to the edge of the ink pool, where the darkness almost swallowed the faint light in the center. She sighed deeply, looked left and right, and then looked at the celestial fire in the center.
This distance is five times her length. According to Granny Lin, she could simply wade across the edge of the pool, but the Execution Guard would never allow her to get close to the Heavenly Fire.
"He's hitting someone! He's hitting someone! Ouch, this old man is suffering! Enforcement officer, I'm going to report him!"
Lin Qin fell to the ground, pointing at the other side: "Why did you push me! Ouch, my back..."
The boy in front of her was also pointing at her, his face turning red and then pale: "I was just standing here, it was you! You bumped into me, Executive Guard, this old bastard is slandering me for no reason!"
Mingying poured the dragon's blood into the pool and smiled.
The swordsman was pinned to the ground: "Help! Help! Guards, they're killing people!"
Shen Zhiyi viciously grabbed his neck: "Go ahead and scream, no one will come to save you even if you scream your lungs out!"
The guards above exchanged a glance, then walked towards the group, whips in hand.
Mingying waited for a while, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the guards standing by the ink pool.
Another guard ran over, panting, "That...that...well, anyway, he colluded with a group of people again, saying he was going to revolt, and they've already started fighting with the guards!"
The execution guard frowned: "Ungrateful."
He cracked his whip and strode forward.
Mingying didn't look back. As Grandma Lin had said, you'll know whether something will work or not once you try it.
She closed her eyes and stepped into the pool without hesitation. The water was thick and stagnant, reaching up to her chest. Dark currents swirled around her from all directions, and an invisible force tore at her limbs.
Mingying gently opened her eyes, unable to hear any sounds from the outside world. Each time she lifted her leg, she exhausted all her strength. She struggled to move forward step by step, until she was closer and closer. She raised her arm with difficulty, and the heavenly fire licked her fingertips.
No response.
Mingying paused, then bit off the hairband wrapped around her hand, reopening the wound. She stretched out her hand, and blood slowly dripped onto the Heavenly Fire.
no.
She pressed her whole hand on it, the burning sensation making her quickly pull back, but she pressed it again, unwilling to give up.
It still doesn't work.
Despite all the attempts people have made, the heavenly fire continues to watch over her with both gentleness and indifference.
The footsteps of the guards grew closer and closer. Mingying looked at her hands in a daze, her long-suffering hands now looking quite bad.
Mingying felt a pang of guilt when she thought of their trusting expressions. Lies repeated too often can sound like the truth, but Tianhuo would not be deceived by lies. She was never a goddess with powerful incense offerings and vows; she was just a person with a tragic fate who played the role of a goddess.
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