Chapter 116
Su Jinzhou couldn't help but think of the fire in Yuhuang Pavilion again.
The rising black smoke and the noisy voices of people mixed together and poured into his mind all at once, like being hit hard by a heavy hammer. He felt dizzy and his feet felt a little weak.
While he was drowsy, a force supported him and steady him.
Su Jinzhou turned around and met Ji Tang's worried gaze. The clear light in her eyes flowed into his restless thoughts like a spring. He held Ji Tang's forearm and finally found a clear path.
The inner demon that had been silent for a long time took the opportunity to show up. This devil who always transformed into the image of Ji Tang took advantage of every opportunity and now transformed into his third brother who had passed away long ago, calling him Prince Brother with a clear young voice.
Su Jinzhou looked at the haggard and crazy woman in front of him, and the bitterness in his heart continued to overflow, filling his entire heart and even about to burst it.
In order to secure the opportunity to sit on the throne, the queen mother staged a conspiracy and killed her third brother.
He refused to believe it and ran to find her, demanding the truth.
Later, the seventh brother Su Qianchen accidentally heard this cruel truth and was discovered by his mother.
The Queen Mother panicked, ultimately causing the horrific fire. This was a royal secret, and it became a perpetual nightmare for those who knew about it.
Tan Qingyue had already met his mother when he entered Wangchuan. His mother was a mortal, with a lifespan far shorter than that of a cultivator. By this calculation, she had spent a long time in Wangchuan, and it was only through her obsession with her third brother that she managed to survive until now.
Su Jinzhou resented her vicious act of killing her son for the position of queen, but there was still a soft spot in his heart. This softness was the young prince's love for his mother, his dependence and attachment to her.
This love seems to have been covered with dust after a long time, but it has never dissipated. Only a slight breeze can keep it spotless and eternal.
He finally summoned up the courage to shout:
"Mother."
Queen Liangshu was suddenly stunned, her white skirt swirling into large flowers in the air, and she looked towards Su Jinzhou.
After Su Jinzhou started speaking, he was finally able to speak more fluently, but he just couldn't take a step forward, as if he was tied up by invisible chains and couldn't move forward.
He had no choice but to call out "Mother" again.
Empress Liangshu looked at him carefully, starting from his eyebrows and eyes, afraid of missing any details.
She took small steps closer, looked up more intently, then reached out her hand tremblingly and touched his cheek.
"Noel?"
I don't know how to answer after staying here all night.
Empress Liangshu was ecstatic: "Yes! Yes! It's my Nuo'er!!"
She had to raise her arms to hold Su Jinzhou's face with both hands, "My Nuo'er, my Nuo'er has grown so big!"
Su Jinzhou felt a feather-light touch on the side of his face. When their skin touched, the biting coldness quickly penetrated his skin and seeped into his flesh.
He was shaking.
He once carried the queen's coffin in plain clothes. Over the years, he went from being deeply traumatized to being numb.
He never thought that there would be a day when he would be so close to her, able to see her, feel her, and hear her voice.
She was so excited that she was a little incoherent, and kept murmuring "my Nuoer", with tears soaking her collar.
She grabbed Su Jinzhou and left.
Jitang followed the two of them and came to a place with Queen Liangshu. It was far less spectacular than the Land of the Dead, with only stone and brick houses scattered around.
Empress Liangshu walked quickly into a room. The door was not high, so Su Jinzhou had to bend over to get in.
She asked Su Jinzhou to sit down, and she seemed to have endless things to say: "Nuo'er, where have you been all these years? Why are you still playing hide-and-seek with me like when you were little? I know you love wood carvings. Look, I found these for you. Do you like them?"
Where can I find wood in Yewangchuan?
They watched as Empress Liangshu carefully took out a few broken bricks from a pile of debris. She arranged them in a row and said to Su Jinzhou, "These are all the zodiac ornaments that your mother has collected. Look, this is a dragon, this is a tiger, and this is a little rabbit..."
Seeing that Su Jinzhou didn't answer, she hesitated and asked, "Does Nuoer not like it?"
Jitang didn't go into the house, she just stood by the door.
The hem of Su Jinzhou's black robe was spread out on the floor of the dusty hut, and his broad shoulders covered Empress Liangshu.
She couldn't see Empress Liangshu's expression or movements, but she could imagine her expressions and movements by listening to her voice.
Su Jinzhou was in mixed feelings. He couldn't bear to see her humble, tentative, and eager look.
He held the brick in his arms, ignoring the scraps and marks on his clothes, and said in a low and hoarse voice, "I like it."
Empress Liangshu looked at him with great joy and assured him, "I will continue to look for more for you!"
Su Jinzhou's voice became even hoarse, "Okay."
Queen Liangshu was sometimes happy and joyful, sometimes she covered her face and cried. Su Jinzhou sat beside her. Although he didn't say much, he never left.
"Her... obsession is over."
Jitang was startled by the voice behind him. He turned around and found that it was the deceased girl.
The girl didn't know when she got closer, but the deceased was silent and it was difficult for her to notice.
Ji Tang asked softly, "What will happen if the obsession is resolved?"
The girl didn't look at her, but looked inside, as if she could see Queen Liangshu through Su Jinzhou's broad back.
"I really... envy... her. She's going to become... a ferryman..."
Ji Tang asked again: "Will she stay in Yewangchuan forever in the future?"
The girl nodded, "Of course."
Jitang sighed slightly.
Empress Liangshu had done something very wrong before, but she was Su Jinzhou's mother, and that would never change.
It was up to Su Jinzhou to decide how he wanted to get along with Queen Liangshu in the future, and she would support his decision as long as he made it.
Queen Liangshu said a lot, as if she wanted to make up for all that she had not said to the Third Prince before. After a long time, her eyes gradually closed in fatigue.
The voice did not stop, "Nuo'er, mother is sorry for you... sorry for your seventh brother, sorry for your brother the crown prince..."
Su Jinzhou's eyes were filled with bloodshot, burning like flames and making his eye sockets red.
Empress Liangshu: "Mother is wrong...very wrong...it's all Mother's fault, it's all...my fault..."
Su Jinzhou was silent for a while, looking at Empress Liangshu who seemed to be in a deep sleep, and asked the girl outside the door, "When will she wake up?"
Girl: “I don’t…know…”
Su Jinzhou turned sideways and asked, "Is she safe here?"
The girl tilted her head in confusion. "What...safety...does the deceased need?"
Jitang: "Thank you, young lady. We would like to rest here for a while."
The girl took a long time to react before slowly turning around and leaving.
Jitang wanted to give Su Jinzhou and Queen Liangshu some space to be alone together. She leaned over to close the door, but heard Su Jinzhou's voice when the door was about to close.
His voice was extremely hoarse, and he only called out "Jitang".
Ji Tang closed the door decisively and sat down next to Su Jinzhou.
She tentatively put her arm into Su Jinzhou's arm and slowly circled it half a circle.
Su Jinzhou's whole body was cold, even his black clothes were as cool as winter spring water.
This chill did not come from the deathly aura of the Undead Realm, but from his own coldness.
She turned slightly sideways and raised her hand to pull Su Jinzhou's erect neck towards her. He did not resist and was inevitably pulled sideways by Ji Tang.
Their cheeks were so close that they were almost touching. Ji Tang pulled him down until he rested his head on his shoulder.
He was tall, with broad shoulders. To rest his head on Jitang's shoulders, he had to hunch his upper body, which was not an comfortable position. But he just hunched over and didn't move, letting her do whatever she wanted. His breath on her neck brought a shudder.
The area behind her ears and around her neck couldn't stand such closeness and breathing, but she endured it, and the hand that was pulling him down instead wrapped around the back of his shoulders.
After a few breaths, her neck was suddenly hit by a damp coolness, and then more coolness continued to fall, sliding along her shoulders and into her back.
Jitang's heart suddenly tightened and his eyes turned red in an instant.
She pulled her hands out of his arms and knelt down to hug him.
Su Jinzhou didn't look up, his forehead still touching her shoulder, hugging her.
Ji Tang was held tighter and tighter, until every breath she took became difficult. But she did not move, and tried to breathe softly, fearing that Su Jinzhou would notice the change in her breathing and let her go.
Neither of them spoke.
No one could see each other, but they hugged each other very tightly.
Only his body would tremble slightly occasionally, it was an emotion that was difficult to suppress, in this shabby little world, it rolled down his cheeks, the pain piercing his heart.
*
Several people temporarily settled in the realm of the dead.
Su Jinzhou didn't stop at the temporary house and continued to walk up holding Jitang's hand.
Ji Tang tugged at him, "Brother, don't send me off."
They lived in two adjacent rooms, and she lived half a floor higher than him. These days, Su Jinzhou would send her into the room and then go back to his own residence.
Ji Tang pulled him down the stairs and said, "Have a good rest tonight."
Both of them still had red eyes. Su Jinzhou half-lowered his eyes and grabbed Ji Tang's hand, "You too."
Ji Tang saw that Su Jinzhou did not leave immediately after returning to the house. She did not care about the dust on the steps outside the door, and sat down against the door and sat quietly for a long time.
As they were about to leave the Undead Realm, Ji Tang watched him close the door and asked, "Brother, have you forgiven Queen Liang Shu?"
Su Jinzhou looked deeply at his mother inside the door, wanting to engrave everything about her firmly in his heart.
The door closed.
He closed his eyes slightly and said, "You have to ask my third brother, has he forgiven mother?"
Ji Tang's thoughts were in a mess.
On the other side of the door, unknown to her, Su Jinzhou was also leaning against the door.
The residence provided by Yewangchuan for the dead is quite simple. It is just a temporary place for the dead to live in order to eliminate their obsessions. Although the gap in the door does not let in light, it cannot block out sounds and smells.
Su Jinzhou could still smell the faint fragrance of Ji Tang through the rickety door. This scent had been lingering outside the door. He wanted to turn around, open the door, and hold her in his arms, but he immediately held back.
When the fragrance outside the door gradually dissipated, he extended the power of his soul and watched her enter the house from a distance.
The door closed, Su Jinzhou waited for a while before going out to look for Ye Baidu.
Ye Baidu had just guided the dead into the realm of the dead when he saw Su Jinzhou beside the huge and heavy door.
With just one glance, Ye Baidu knew that Su Jinzhou had something to say.
He continued to walk inside with the Netherworld Lamp, while Su Jinzhou waited there.
After a stick of incense, Ye Baidu came back.
The two men walked to a remote corner where there were few dead bodies. Ye Baidu turned off the Netherworld Lamp directly.
He turned around and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
Su Jinzhou went straight to the point, "Has Jitang ever been in a furnace?"
Ye Baidu is a dead man who can see through any falsehood and cover-up. He recognized Ji Tang when he saw her again.
His expression was calm and indifferent. He had been prepared for Su Jinzhou's question. "I thought you would ask."
Ye Baidu knew that when they were in the Furnace, his emotions, which he had concealed well, were still discovered by Su Jinzhou.
He was not surprised, but felt that it was as it should be.
If Su Jinzhou couldn't find out, he wouldn't be alive in the brutal competition in the world of cultivation, nor would he be able to reach the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and it wouldn't be worth it for Ji Tang to take such a big risk.
Ye Baidu was equally straightforward: "She has been in there."
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