Chapter 58 Sudden Storm - Xiu's voice was almost a sigh, or perhaps a murmur...
"My lady, may we make this our promise and return to each other soon?"
As Cheng Xi spoke, she had already moved away from Jiang Geyun's neck and sat back at the other end of the sedan chair. Her tone was normal, but mixed with a barely audible, still slightly hoarse voice.
The ambiguous farewell between the two lasted so long that the sunlight gradually faded, and with no lights inside the sedan chair, she could no longer see Cheng Xi's expression after they had separated, nor did she know whether the blush she had glimpsed earlier was real or an illusion.
Obscure and unclear, like a feather tickling the heart.
Jiang Geyun did not answer directly.
She stood up, lifted the sedan curtain, and leaned out to get off.
Cheng Xi did not stop her.
He silently raised his head, his silhouette disappearing into the twilight, like a deity sitting on a high platform, his expression unreadable.
Although he couldn't be seen clearly, his expression must not be good; the air between the two was almost stagnant.
Jiang Geyun chuckled softly, turned around in the twilight, and looked at Cheng Xi, who was staring straight at her.
She said, "I saw that you have lotus flowers in your courtyard, and I'm afraid the wind and rain last night might have knocked the flowers off... Would you please take care of them for me?"
A soft light shone into the sedan chair, a rich blend of gold and deep blue, illuminating his robes and his hands resting on his knees. In this light, Jiang Geyun saw that, as she spoke, his hands suddenly gripped the robes on his knees.
He called out, "My wife."
The tone is the same as before, yet different.
It was almost a sigh, or perhaps a murmur.
It seems he understood what she meant.
This made Jiang Geyun feel a little embarrassed, and her face gradually flushed.
Before the heat fully reached her cheeks, she hurriedly said, "On the night of Qixi Festival, I will go to see how my husband is taking care of me. Don't let me down."
Then, Jiang Geyun quickly jumped out of the sedan chair.
The sedan curtain fell with a sound, as if my heart was fluttering.
She patted her face with both hands, about to run towards Zhang Jing, the clerk still guarding in front of the White Dragon Temple, when she heard a voice with a laugh coming from inside the sedan chair:
"I'm waiting for you."
Jiang Geyun covered her mouth with her hand, coughed lightly, and quickly ran away.
Zhang Jing, who was usually devoid of emotion and more like a machine than a system, saw Jiang Geyun get out of the sedan chair and run towards him. His face showed suspicion, confusion, and even inexplicable fear. For a moment, his face looked like it had been dyed.
Jiang Geyun is no longer the same person who neglected exercise! Now, she can talk without getting out of breath or red in the face after running for quite a distance!
It's not something to be proud of...
Meeting Zhang Jing's surprised and suspicious gaze, Jiang Geyun thought to herself, "I really need to explain to Zhang Jing."
Previously, she was unaware of Zhang Jing's past relationship with the Cheng family and had harbored suspicions. Now that she knew Zhang Jing's background, there was no need to be overly wary.
Having made up her mind, Jiang Geyun said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I wish to stay at the White Dragon Temple. There are many things I cannot do personally. I would like to trouble you to deliver the case files to him for me in the next few days... to Young Master Cheng Xi's villa. Tell everyone that I am focused on reading the case files and have been staying at home."
Zhang Jing showed no curiosity. Her expression quickly returned to its usual calm. After understanding Jiang Geyun's words, she lowered her head and said, "This subordinate obeys."
Jiang Geyun knew her abilities and nodded with relief. Just as she was about to turn around and return to the temple, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She turned around, looked earnestly into Zhang Jing's eyes, and said, "If anything happens to Young Master Cheng, please ask Clerk Zhang to come to the temple and inform me. I will reward you handsomely!"
Before, she had no one in front of her and could only grit her teeth and move forward alone. However, because she was alone, she could move forward easily. But now she has... Everything has two sides. She has concerns in front of her and behind her. Although they are concerns, they are not burdens.
Zhang Jing remained silent for a long time for no apparent reason.
Just as Jiang Geyun was beginning to doubt herself, wondering if her request was unreasonable, the young clerk nodded slowly with great hesitation.
Jiang Geyun felt relieved and bid farewell to Zhang Jing once again.
This time, without hesitation, I stepped into Bailong Temple alone once again.
Under the setting sun, Abbot You stood quietly with her hands behind her back amidst various characters for "Tao". When she heard the noise, she looked up and saw that Jiang Geyun had returned. Her first reaction was to sigh heavily.
Jiang Geyun didn't mind. She smiled and stepped forward, saying, "I'll be relying on you, Abbot, for the days to come."
...
The days that followed were very similar to when Jiang Geyun first arrived in this world: familiar vegetarian meals, familiar cleaning, familiar welcoming duties. The only difference was the liveliness. Many talented and extraordinary people came from all over the Great Zhou Dynasty. People came and went, and they inevitably talked about this and that.
It was during this process that Jiang Geyun remembered that the seventh month of the lunar calendar not only includes the Qixi Festival, but also the Ghost Festival on the 15th of the seventh month.
At this time, the Sea of Evil is most prone to turmoil, and the fact that the White Dragon Temple chose this time to offer prayers shows its profound consideration.
Leaving aside the considerations of the local administrators, let's talk about the White Dragon Temple. As expected of a place of origin of Taoism, it enshrines far more gods and immortals in both quantity and variety than the Cloud and Water Temple.
Aside from the usual main halls, there was almost nothing else in Yunshui Temple, but in Bailong Temple, there was a familiar "living person" right in front of Jiang Geyun.
—Su Heng.
The hall was filled with the smoke of incense. In the center stood a jade sculpture of a young man in court robes, standing tall and upright on auspicious clouds and mythical beasts. His face was sculpted to be extremely handsome and lifelike. One after another, eternal lamps burned, their warm light illuminating the jade statue as if it were glowing, and in a trance, it seemed to breathe.
In fact, the jade carving did not look exactly like Su Heng's face, and the court robes worn by the jade carving were also different from those worn by Su Heng on the day he paraded to unveil the notice.
But below it is clearly written "Crown Prince Chenyao's Longevity and Universal Blessing," and there are also things like "He brought peace to the country during wartime, protected the people, and inspired the descendants of immortals to submit loyally," and "His virtue is admired by heaven and earth, his benevolence extends to all living beings, and his brilliance shines on the mountains and rivers forever"... Looking at it from all angles, there should be no other person like him.
When Jiang Geyun saw the jade statue in the hall, she was both surprised and felt that it was quite normal for such a thing to appear in "Xuan Du Zhao Ye".
All I can say is that the villain truly lives up to his name.
Based on what she knew in the past, living people were generally not worshipped as gods or immortals. The longevity and honorary titles set up for emperors or noble benefactors were more of a blessing, wishing them to be free from disasters and have long life, and for the country to be prosperous and the people to be at peace. In essence, it was to pray for people, not to worship them.
But the way they were treating Su Heng like a god was clearly the reason they were worshipping him.
Jiang Geyun turned to Abbot You and asked, "Is this the Crown Prince? Can he also be worshipped?"
“Lord Jiang, please be careful with your words and actions,” Abbot You shook his head and said, “The Third Prince Su quelled the rebellion of Prince Jing and won the loyalty of General Pei, a descendant of immortals. He selected talents for the world and is extremely kind and benevolent. In terms of merit and character, he deserves this offering. Moreover, for the people of Mirror Lake, seeing His Highness the Crown Prince is not necessarily easier than seeing an immortal. What’s wrong with paying homage together to show respect?”
Forget everything else, he's exceptionally kind and compassionate.
All right.
Jiang Geyun nodded in agreement and said, "I understand."
However, I disagreed with it in my heart.
The system, having been stabbed in the back, has become a completely human-machine interface and is now difficult to communicate with. However, before this, it had been whispering the book's setting in her ear.
They say they're incredibly kind and benevolent... but what if the ultimate villain wants the whole world to die together?
Living beings are complex. They may harbor certain thoughts but take completely different paths. They cannot even be honest with themselves, let alone with others. They deceive, belittle, and kill each other. These are just some of the stories.
However, whether they ascend to become gods or immortals, or descend to become ghosts or monsters, all living beings transform from being complex and indistinguishable to being utterly pure, with their obsessions and desires laid bare.
For some reason, the main villain loathed humanity and wanted to turn all humans into ghosts. Coincidentally, he also had enough talent and ability to turn his plans into reality. So, step by step, he turned all the people in the world into monsters. The only one who could stop him was the protagonist.
His idea was not to destroy the world, not to engage in indiscriminate slaughter, but to create a world as beautiful as this.
Here all return to purity, here all merge into the sea of sin.
All rivers flow into the sea, the clear and the turbid can be distinguished, and lifespan is determined by the mind.
People have broken free from the shackles of the physical body, possessing all sorts of wondrous abilities, and their lifespans are no longer limited. Isn't that a good thing? Living beings no longer scheme against each other; they are easily understood and have become simple and kind. Isn't that a better world?
Regarding the motivation of the main villain, Jiang Geyun commented: "As the old saying goes, don't panic when someone says they want to destroy the whole world, but be careful when someone says they want to create a wonderful new world."
She naturally had her own thoughts on this, but she didn't have the opportunity to debate with Su Heng, nor did she have a vision that encompassed the entire world. She only wanted to solve the problem at hand, the first priority being to survive.
As for saving the world, let's leave that to the protagonist, Xie Jiming.
...Although the discontinued novel "Xuan Du Zhao Ye" has yet to provide any answers.
Hearing Abbot You's explanation, Jiang Geyun didn't say anything more. She chuckled and agreed, preparing to end another day at Bailong Temple and return to her residence there.
Logically speaking, her abilities had been completely sealed, and even her aura had been concealed, yet the white-clad ghost had remained completely silent for days, as if the chilling and ruthless atmosphere in the sedan chair that day was all an illusion.
Are there any other factors that she didn't consider?
Zheng Yi didn't give her any time limit, so logically she shouldn't have been in a hurry. Unfortunately, she not only had to follow Zheng Yi's logic, but also the system's logic.
Besides, now that she's in Lianzhou, she's determined to help Su Guang find the real culprit; time is of the essence.
...If it weren't for the fact that Xuan Du Jian still had too much information that she didn't know, she would definitely summon Su Guang from time to time. Although Su Guang said that she had no memory of not being summoned and that she could always see her when she woke up, Su Guang was not in a hurry.
But she needs her friends.
There are many things in Bailong Temple that Su Guang probably hasn't seen before, right?
Jiang Geyun was troubled and didn't want Abbot You to see it. After the conversation under the jade statue ended, she nodded to Abbot You and turned to leave.
Suddenly I heard—
"careful!!"
The ever-burning lamp, hanging high in the air, swayed for a long time before finally succumbing to its weight and falling downwards!
Jiang Geyun's abilities were sealed, but her training under Commandant Zhao was not in vain. Before the lamp hit her, she quickly drew her Shouzhuo sword from her waist.
Then, without even looking up, he made his move as if it were nothing.
The ever-burning lamp shattered in two, its strength exhausted, and landed on the ground in front of Jiang Geyun. The candle and wax did not splatter; they obediently landed in front of her.
Even if she's sealed away, it would still be difficult to hurt her; she's skilled at keeping her true nature hidden.
Jiang Geyun's figure froze instantly.
etc.
Being clumsy? !
Jiang Geyun took a deep breath, raised her hand, and stared at it silently for a long time.
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Author's Note: 20250916: Fixed! Slightly revised some sentences and plot points~ There will still be red envelope giveaways in the comments before the next chapter update, so those who haven't participated yet can join in! [Sprinkling flowers]
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20250915:
I'm so sorry I couldn't finish writing this two-in-one piece... I'll try to get back to it as soon as possible...
Let me explain to the adults: when I started writing this book, my internship was very relaxed, and I had plenty of time to write. I originally thought I could continue until I finished it, but various unexpected events happened in between. In short, I'm extremely busy now, with a schedule comparable to that of a high school senior, which is the main reason why I can't update daily. I'm very sorry...
However, the outline of this book is very clear, so I will do my best to update at least every other day and finish writing it properly, please rest assured. The reason I didn't explain in detail before was that I didn't want to bother you adults with my current situation, but if I didn't explain, even if you adults didn't urge me, I would still feel a little guilty. So I'm explaining and promising to give you all peace of mind, so you don't have to worry or feel burdened. I'm the one who needs to adjust, and I will try my best!
This chapter might be revised later. I can't tell the quality in my current state, so I'll check it again when I'm feeling better. Don't worry, the word count will only increase, not decrease, if I revise it. Red envelopes will continue to be given away in the comments section of this chapter. Thank you all for your support! [Please!]
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