Chapter 87 Recognizing Fullness and Decline: She is dead, her soul returned to the Sea of Karma.
After carefully reading the contents of the letter, Jiang Geyun silently stuffed it back into her hand.
Well...
It's understandable that the Hua family was furious upon seeing such a letter.
Jiang Geyun once discussed her experiences at Yunling Manor with someone, from the strange town at the foot of the mountain to the rising fog, and then to the sudden death in the manor.
The discussion was subconscious; she had no intention of investigating. Yet, the other person accurately analyzed what the so-called "mountain god" was from just a few words.
She didn't take it too seriously at the time. In an illusion, it was really hard to distinguish between reality and illusion. Rather than dwelling on the past, it was better to look at the present and find a way to leave first.
I never imagined that I would need the knowledge I had back then.
The deity worshipped in the town, the one enshrined in the mountain villa, and the one revered by the Hua family are all the same deity, whose core power lies in "exchange, communication, and interaction"—the Five Gods who can sculpt fortune and misfortune and graft destiny.
The extraordinary abilities of the immortals behind this are a fitting description of the Hua family's immense wealth.
Thanks to this immortal, the Hua family has always had a smooth and successful life.
Even if it leads to some kind of vengeance, that vengeance will never find the Hua family. Even if the Hua family were forced to live in a haunted house, they would not be affected in the slightest.
Now that we've covered the advantages, there are of course some disadvantages.
However, this disadvantage is relative.
The Hua family has been able to maintain its current status and wealth by continuously accumulating wealth, but it has also had to continuously "pay back."
Hua Biezhi was a destined victim.
She caused a disaster for the Hua family, but it brought them several years of good fortune.
The more a family member is valued and pampered, the more precious their worth becomes, and the longer the blessings they receive. Those who understand this principle become increasingly adept at cultivating an "important family member."
The one who was raised with the utmost care was always destined to be the victim.
It's unclear when the victim became aware of its fate, but in any case, Hua Biezhi accepted being the "little fish" in the terrarium quite well, or rather, as stated in the letter—
She believed that the Hua family was the ones who had truly met their demise.
As a result, whether it's because the Mountain God particularly approves of Hua Biezhi or for some other reason, Hua Biezhi now controls Yunling Manor and can sever the connection between the Mountain God and the Hua family at any time.
The letter contained roughly this kind of... provocation.
How are you doing lately, dear reader? I imagine you're not doing too well. Has the Hua family's luck turned sour lately? Have ghosts started appearing in the old house? These are the kinds of seemingly concerned but actually sarcastic messages.
This kind of content is indeed not something to be rushed into.
...They didn't take the messenger's life seriously either.
She thought that sending a letter would help settle old scores, and that Jiang Geyun would do her a favor and pretend that the past had never happened. Little did she know that Hua Biezhi was secretly setting a trap for her, playing a game of elimination with people she didn't like.
Thinking of Hua Biezhi's personality and the scene at the time, Jiang Geyun realized that she was not as surprised as she had imagined, and she could only show a bitter smile.
The first possible path has become a complete dead end. Forget about helping her; even if Hua Zhaojin didn't bring a group of people to kill her, she would still have to praise the temple for its good security.
After reading the letter, Jiang Geyun understood where the Hua family's hostility came from.
But... she stared at the newly opened letter, completely baffled.
The letter was never sent out, so how did Hua Zhaojin know its contents?
Did Hua Biezhi find another messenger? And was this person so much more proactive than her?
Unable to think of anything for the time being, and looking at the darkening sky outside the window, Jiang Geyun decided to take a nap first.
*
In my dream, I met the white dragon again.
Practice makes perfect, and what about the third and fourth times...?
Jiang Geyun sat down cross-legged on her own, then looked up at Him and greeted Him.
The white dragon shrank considerably and coiled around her, quickly closing its eyes, ready to listen to Jiang Geyun's story.
Seeing His posture, Jiang Geyun couldn't help but feel a little curious.
"Was my story really well told?"
Bai Long never really paid attention when listening. Occasionally, he would point out where he left off last time and ask her to continue, but after talking all night, she knew very well that the progress he had recorded was completely wrong and was most likely just something he said offhand.
Bai Long didn't stand on ceremony with her, saying, "It's alright."
"I see," even though she had expected it, Jiang Geyun was still a little disappointed to hear this feedback. But the disappointment didn't last long, and she continued to ask, "Then why did you come to listen to me talk about these things, senior?"
Bai Long said, "Very few people can see me. You are calm and composed. I won't lose anything by seeing you, and I can even sleep better."
Bai Long spoke casually, but Jiang Geyun understood.
So she was used as a sleep aid radio station.
Just as she was about to pull herself together and tentatively ask the question she wanted to ask, the white dragon suddenly said, "Entering the Dao is not the end. For you, you have to give up some things to gain greater power. For us, these are innate."
Jiang Geyun understood Bai Long's meaning and said with a hint of teasing, "Senior, are you saying these things to make me envious?"
She knew that the white dragon was saying that beings in this world need to be pure enough and undergo trials in order to attain enlightenment by chance. Such a path makes those who attain enlightenment as numerous as Chao Wujiu seem to lack... humanity.
As a dragon, He was not naturally very intelligent.
Choosing to communicate with Jiang Geyun is not important; the specific content of the communication is what matters most.
This is also an important reason why immortals in this world need believers, to anchor themselves to others, so as not to become part of the gods. Becoming a god is not entirely a good thing here.
In other words, Jiang Geyun was lucky and her performance pleased Him, thus earning her the throne of His "believer".
In that case, wouldn't she be more comfortable asking the questions she wanted to ask?
Jiang Geyun's silence didn't last long. Just as she was about to speak to probe, Bai Long lazily said, "Ask away, but you can only ask one question."
"One?" Jiang Geyun was stunned.
After acting as a human-shaped sleep aid radio station so many times, is this all I can get in return?
Bai Long said, "Any questions?"
Jiang Geyun was filled with awe.
That's an answer to anything you ask.
She remembered some unsolved problems from before she transmigrated into the book: the Riemann Hypothesis, the Hodge Hypothesis, Navigational-Stokes Existence and Smoothness...
"I suggest you ask a question that will allow you to live long enough to ask me the next question, otherwise it would be a bit of a regret for me."
really.
Jiang Geyun smiled.
These problems have more suitable challengers, their own fates, and the outcome of solving them is just as important as the process of solving them, or even more important. It is meaningless for her to simply accept a definite answer.
So, what's the question?
What is the purpose of this precious question that is sure to receive an accurate answer?
How to fight the main villain? Why does the main villain have a goal of destroying the world? How did she survive?
This silence was longer than any of the previous ones; in fact, it could be said that Jiang Geyun had never maintained such a long silence while communicating with someone.
Bai Long did not urge him.
Although its size had shrunk, it was still the size of three or four people. Its body lay casually in front of Jiang Geyun, like an extremely magnificent painting with flowing light across it, as if a miracle was descending upon her.
Well, in essence, it really is a miracle.
Jiang Geyun took a deep breath and had already thought of the question.
She still wanted to resolve the issue between him herself.
Jiang Geyun looked up and asked, "I want to know why I can't summon my friend's soul."
From witnessing Su Guang's death to learning that her soul had not completely disappeared and that she could even communicate with it, Jiang Geyun did not experience a long period of time. Therefore, the brief separation did not bring her much pain.
But after that, before leaving the Eastern Palace, she made one more attempt.
She had originally intended to talk to Su Guang one last time before her blood ran dry, as she had many things to tell her. However, she did not respond.
Putting aside "those problems," the first thing that left her feeling completely lost was this matter. For some reason, just thinking about it made her feel intensely uneasy.
When Bai Long heard this question, he made no comment, but simply gazed at her with an extremely calm expression for a moment.
Bai Long said, "She is dead, her soul has returned to the Sea of Sin."
The dragon's voice was ethereal and far-reaching, like a proclamation.
Jiang Geyun hadn't expected this answer and said urgently, "I know, I mean..."
Of course she knew that Su Guang was dead, otherwise why would she use a soul-summoning ritual to see her? She could have just gone to see him in person!
Having finished answering the question as promised, Bai Long ignored her hesitation, lowered his head, curled his body closer to her, and closed his eyes.
The meaning was clear; there was no point in Jiang Geyun saying anything more, so she could only start acting as a human-shaped sleep aid radio station for the night.
...
I managed to get a decent night's sleep.
When she woke up, Jiang Geyun had regained a lot of energy. She did some morning exercises and then excused herself by saying that she had already eaten some things in the dormitory and did not have breakfast with everyone.
The real reason, of course, is that she doesn't need to eat breakfast at all now.
Since the day she escaped, her body has remained in the same state thanks to her remaining strength and the spiritual energy of the temple.
She's like a phone with very low charging efficiency, on the verge of running out of power and shutting down. The traditional charging method of "eating" is meaningless to her, just like she can't charge without a charging cable with a specific protocol.
In order to avoid "shutting down," she had to quickly come up with a solution.
Contact Pei Xueyi?
It seems that only Miss Pei understands her situation and is willing to help her.
But Pei Xueyi stayed in the capital to cover for her, and now she's probably too busy to care about her.
well……
The temple in the early morning overlaps with the Yunshui Temple in my memory in the early morning.
When she first came into this world, she was fortunate to spend the most peaceful and tranquil period of her life. Although she would think about the future from time to time and create some anxiety in her heart, objectively speaking, especially looking back from now on, those were truly the most peaceful days.
Guided by her friends, she explored the world, seeing mountains, rivers, and even immortals during the day, and chatting with them in quiet, secluded places at night.
Nothing major happened, but if you want to remember anything in this world, you have to start from that time.
...It must be because these temples and Taoist monasteries look too similar!
This made her feel sentimental!
While thinking, she dealt with the trivial tasks assigned to her by the clergy.
Jingzhou is far from the capital, so not many people should know what the Crown Princess Jiang Geyun looks like. However, just to be on the safe side, she still tries to conceal her appearance in public. That's why she doesn't do much to guide pilgrims.
The battery was almost dead, so I should use fewer functions.
Jiang Geyun was cleaning alone in a corner of the temple.
The temperature in Jingzhou is much lower than in other parts of Dazhou. While other parts of Dazhou may still be in the tail end of summer, here it is already early autumn, with fallen leaves occasionally landing in the courtyard.
It wasn't late autumn, so there weren't many fallen leaves. She quickly gathered them up, leaned against the broom, and looked up at the golden-green canopy of the trees, where dappled sunlight filtered through. The temperature was just right, and the scenery was absolutely stunning. It would be even better if she didn't have to think about how to survive.
One idea after another appeared in her mind, only to be rejected by her one by one.
Just then, she saw a figure she hadn't seen in a long time, a figure she never thought she would see again.
The man didn't notice her. He walked hurriedly, still maintaining the air of a young master. After not seeing her for a long time, his face looked slightly haggard, and his usual sharp temperament had dimmed considerably.
Jiang Geyun was not surprised by this chance encounter for long before falling into deep thought.
...If it were him, perhaps we could give it a try?
But why would he appear in Jingzhou?
*
The young man in white reined in his horse and stopped.
Due to his various experiences traveling and the day's hard work, he looked exhausted, but even so, his expression and voice were still filled with a natural aloofness.
"Sir, if you do not appear soon, are you going to enter the forbidden area with me?"
The person tracking him controlled his breathing very well.
If it weren't for his significant improvement in strength and the various situations he encountered during his training, which made him much more cautious than before, he might not have even noticed the person following him, or he might have noticed but not taken it seriously.
He had requested to leave the capital to calm down, without expecting anything in return. However, he did gain more than he had imagined.
It was precisely because of this that he was able to discover the truth about the forbidden area of Jingzhou and attempt to confront it.
Before that, if the people following him don't have any bad intentions, then so be it; if they do, then let's take advantage of the power of this place to deal with them all at once.
The man appeared as instructed, but there was still not much movement.
He looked at the man and felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
Without thinking for long, he recalled the events of earlier that day.
He had seen someone in the temple when he visited it to plan what was to come.
The woman slowly swept the fallen leaves, and the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves fell on her. This scene was indeed very suitable for a place like a "temple".
But the reason he was impressed by that fleeting glimpse was not because of the harmony and divinity of the scene, but because the person reminded him of someone else.
But she is much more beautiful.
He didn't think much of it at the time and continued doing what he was supposed to do.
Unexpectedly, this person followed us.
Could it be that they found out his identity from somewhere and wanted to use this opportunity to curry favor with him?
He didn't dismount, but looked down at her. Thinking about what he was about to do, he couldn't hide his impatience and asked, "What brings you here, sir?"
Jiang Geyun hesitated for a moment, but did not remove her disguise.
First, you need to determine the stance of the person in front of you.
What if the younger sister is willing to help her, but the older brother doesn't think so?
She looked up and said, "Young Master Pei, your younger sister asked me to deliver a message. Would you mind having a chat?"
She considered herself quite clever in this question. Not only could she find out Pei Xuexiao's attitude towards her sister, thus inferring his attitude towards her, but she could also find out Pei Xueyi's current state, which could be described as killing two birds with one stone.
However.
Pei Xuexiao's expression remained unchanged, extremely indifferent, showing no emotion whatsoever from her words.
He frowned and said, "You should investigate the matter thoroughly before coming here. I do not have a sister."
...
...
What?
Jiang Geyun was stunned for a moment, and all the words she was about to say were stuck in her throat.
Wait, isn't this person Pei Xuexiao? Or is this another relative of the Pei family who looks like Pei Xuexiao? Did she mistake someone else for someone else?
How is that possible? How could Pei Xueyi not exist?
Just as she was feeling bewildered, she heard the rider warn her with a mixture of annoyance and impatience: "Watch out!"
She looked up suddenly.
In the already deep darkness, an even deeper and more complete blackness enveloped the two of them.
This is indeed near the forbidden area of Jingzhou, but isn't it just "nearby"?
Before she could figure it out, the heavy blackness had already enveloped the two of them, and it spread outwards with unstoppable force, seemingly endless, as if it would completely cover the entire world.
-----------------------
Author's Note: The next chapter will feature my personal experience of "ghost town" transformation + meeting one of the instigators~
Quick tips: Both the Mountain God and Xuan Dujian seem to be related to exchange, but Xuan Dujian is the type who would "repay the emperor's kindness on the golden platform and die for him with a jade dragon," while the Mountain God is more sinister; also, I only realized today that Hua Biezhi and Liu Zhuozhi have the same character in their names. These two have never appeared on the same piece of paper before, and the meaning behind the image of "branch" in their lives is completely different, so I didn't even realize it!
Also: One of the biggest foreshadowing elements in this story, a crucial plotline and emotional thread, is about to be revealed! It was planted rather subtly, to avoid making it too obvious and lacking a sense of twist. I deliberately portrayed someone in a more normal light, so the suddenness of this part is understandable. In fact, this woman has done many illogical things, and many of her reactions are quite intriguing in retrospect. The timing of some events is also very subtle. Who exactly is she? How will things unfold...? You don't need to reread the previous chapters or feel burdened; I'll explain everything clearly. The final chapter... good luck to myself!
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