Chapter 559 Pure love unexpectedly encounters good fortune; who will repay it today? [Seeking monthly votes!]
"No way, not again?"
In the pure white space, someone blurted out, breaking the silence.
Seeing the purple mist that was boiling over the bronze bell again, Ouyang Rong was speechless and almost cursed.
Above, a purple mist, interspersed with pink threads, flowed down from the ancient, carved bell like water.
The engravings on the ancient bronze bell were blurred and indistinct, and the thick purple aura that dripped from it seemed to evaporate in mid-air and disappear.
Another stroke of good fortune in love!
Moreover, when Ouyang Rong got closer and took a closer look, he could vaguely see that in addition to the pink threads, there were also some faint blue threads mixed in with the purple mist.
I only confused them because blue and purple are slightly similar and I didn't look closely enough. It's more noticeable in the purple mist flowing vertically down from the bell.
There are pink and light blue ones.
What kind of bizarre blessing is this?
This is the first time I've encountered something like this.
However, this time, there was no blood-red mist that had terrified people before, so it was relatively safe.
At least in a certain sense, it means that there is no immediate danger, right?
But the lingering, powdery mist made Ouyang Rong, a staunch advocate of pure love, frown.
"Could it be that they're right, that I'm not pure enough in love? No, that's impossible."
Ouyang Rong shook his head firmly.
He then took a closer look at the newly appearing pale blue color in the mist.
Blue gives people a sense of tranquility, peace, and purity.
It doesn't seem to have any bad connotations.
Ouyang Rong muttered to himself.
Flying to the ancient bronze bell, I reached out and touched its surface, and a mysterious message immediately entered my mind.
"Five thousand merits, why don't you just rob it?"
Ouyang Rong's eyes widened, and he leaned back to disengage, immediately creating distance between himself and the ancient bronze bell.
"What kind of blessing is this? It requires five thousand merits from me. That's almost enough for me to cast a divine decree to kill two batches of Lin Cheng and Wei Shaoqi."
Ouyang Rong changed to a brand new unit of measurement, did some calculations, and his expression immediately turned displeased.
The last time he used the Shangqing ultimate technique of summoning the gods, it consumed nearly three thousand of his merits.
However, that was because he, as a "god," used the red and black talismans as an anchor point to remotely descend upon Huang Feihong, who was the vessel.
Therefore, it consumes more merit-based purple mist.
If he himself were to use his body as a vessel to summon other "gods" that have existed in the unseen world, there should be fewer such summons.
I estimate it will only cost 2,500 merit points.
Well, you can think of it this way: one is on top, and the other is on the bottom. The one on top, being more proactive, definitely expends more energy, not just physical strength...
For now, besides exchanging merits for randomly triggered blessings of varying sizes, the Purple Mist of Merit is also useful.
It has several other uses:
It can replace spiritual energy to perform the unique skills and supernatural powers of other Taoist sects, such as the ancestral hall skills of the Three Pure Ones.
Another method involves using the purple mist of merit to replace a certain sorcerer's ritual, collecting illusory avatars for the Mirage Beast Mask.
The latter requires 1,500 merits to perform once.
Finally, when the craftsmanship runs out of resources, the "dependent origination and emptiness" supernatural power can also be fueled by the purple mist of merit...
After considering all this, the Purple Mist of Merit is indeed very useful, and now, the Bell of Blessings in front of him is asking for five thousand.
"Don't forget, you're just a lucky charm for men, which isn't anything special for handsome guys. Don't be too greedy. Hmm, they don't really need you anyway. Actually, you're not that great, and they might not even be able to reciprocate your good fortune..."
As Ouyang Rong spoke, he nodded, gazing at the seemingly sentient bronze bell before him, and began in a serious tone:
"So could you lower the price a bit, give me a friendly price, and let's be friends?"
Unfortunately, the ancient bronze bell remained unchanged, and the boiling and trembling of the purple mist did not change, as if it did not hear it or was unmoved by it.
Its vibrating, buzzing appearance, like a vibrating egg, seemed to Ouyang Rong like a smug, triumphant display:
Take it or leave it.
Ouyang Rong looked suspicious, turned around, and looked at the small wooden fish not far away.
Is the blessing clock aware of his "wallet balance" and in cahoots with the little wooden fish?
The merit points I just accumulated are about to be squeezed out again in various ways.
Adhering to the principle of being cautious in exchanging the blessings associated with pink peach blossoms for pure love, Ouyang Rong turned around and temporarily put it out of his mind.
Soon, he arrived in front of the small wooden fish and looked up at it.
Before the Xingzifang Buddha incident, his remaining merits were... 4,772.
During this period, there were both decreases and increases, roughly as follows:
Casting a divine decree deducts three thousand merits... leaving one thousand seven hundred merits.
At the Chrysanthemum Poetry Gathering at Xunyang Tower, I wrote "On Chrysanthemums" while drunk, astonishing everyone present... and gained over three hundred merits.
The collapse of the Xingzi Lake Buddha served as punishment for the ringleaders Lin, Wei, Wang, and others, and the aftermath... resulted in a significant increase of over two thousand merits.
He was invited by Rongzhen, Qin Yanqing, Yuan Huaimin and others to act as the chief administrator, clean up the mess in Xingzifang, appease the laborers and soldiers, and calm the hearts of the people... His merits increased by more than a thousand.
At the literary banquet in the capital, under the leadership of the Empress and the Prince of Xiang, Ouyang Rong's works "On Chrysanthemums" and "On Teachers" became famous among the scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty. His literary reputation spread far and wide and he was widely praised. However, the merit brought by this fame was somewhat diminished... but he gained more than a thousand merits.
Besides these, there are some scattered ones.
On behalf of the government, they comforted the families of Wang Lengran, Wei Shaoqi, and Shen Bingqiang... and increased their merit by more than two hundred.
Spending the Spring Festival with Zhen Shuyuan, Ye Weilai, and other women of the inner quarters... I gained a little over one hundred merits... Finally, after receiving the imperial decree, Rongzhen, Granny Song, Zhang Yu, Hu Fu, and others breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their gratitude... I gained a little over one hundred merits... And not long ago, the graceful and beautiful woman expressed her excited gratitude...
Oh, right, plus the merit experience packs from Junior Sister and Lady Historian, which occasionally generate small amounts of merit.
And so it went, back and forth.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the small wooden fish in front of him; above it floated a long string of cyan-gold characters:
[Merit: 6,541]
In the brief pause of his gaze, the little wooden fish made another "thump," and the last number in the text jumped from "one" to "two." It was unclear which young lady was thinking of him again.
Ouyang Rong sighed, touched the smooth, warm wooden fish, and said with a hint of melancholy:
"After deducting five thousand, only one thousand five hundred and forty-one are left, not enough for even one divine decree..."
He pondered for a moment.
I didn't redeem it immediately.
Ouyang Rongxian left the Pagoda of Merit.
In the empty study, he stood at his desk, glancing down at the white jade hairpin he held in his hand.
The white jade hairpin was placed back on the table.
The trembling, joyful chimes that had been ringing in Ouyang Rong's ears vanished in an instant.
His palm covered the white jade hairpin again.
The sound of the Blessing Bell vibrating assaulted my ears once more.
I tried it several times.
He tossed aside the white jade hairpin that resembled a remote control for a vibrating egg, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his face.
"As expected, it was triggered by the condition."
"So this light blue blessing is related to the white jade hairpin?"
Ouyang Rong's gaze slowly fell on the bundle spread out on the desk containing Zhao's mother's belongings.
"This kind of pink blessing isn't necessarily that weird peach color. The two-color blessing we redeemed last time, in hindsight, was only for Rongzhen."
"At that time, I was drunk in Xunyang City writing half of a sword manual. I didn't expect her to be outside the building. If I had gone inside, my literary talent would have been exposed, and then it would have been difficult to handle. No wonder it's called Peach Blossom Curse."
"But this peach blossom doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong; rather, it means it involves a woman."
Ouyang Rong suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Could it be that Mother is still alive? Is the good fortune related to her?"
But upon closer reflection, it seems a bit outrageous.
According to my memory, Zhao's mother and Ouyang's father were ordinary people, and the Ouyang family of Nanlong was also an ordinary local gentry family in Luling. Where did all these grudges and feuds come from? Why are they making up a story?
Ouyang Rong didn't stop there; he tried other items among Zhao's mother's belongings and found that the Blessing Bell didn't respond.
Finally, his gaze fell once again on the white jade hairpin.
Under the flickering flame of the lamp, I picked up the hairpin and examined it closely.
The hairpin is made of a material similar to white jade, with a whitish color and a very fine texture.
It should be an old hairpin from a long time ago.
Jade nourishes people, and people nourish jade in the same way. After being worn for a long time, this hairpin has an almost polished, glassy luster.
Moreover, strictly speaking, this white jade hairpin is not a single-stick hairpin; there should be two small and exquisite pendants hanging from one end of the hairpin, made of the same material as the hairpin body.
It could barely be called a hair ornament.
"Longling—Longling—"
As Ouyang Rong fiddled with the hairpin, the two delicate little pendants collided, producing a unique sound of jade striking each other.
It has a crisp and pleasant sound that is refreshing.
He let out a soft "hmm" and examined the material of the hairpin and the two pendants.
It's rare to see jade with such pure white and delicate texture, especially with such a unique sound.
The normal sound of jade colliding is "ding-ling," but this one is "long-ling."
Ouyang Rong got up and went to the bookshelf, flipping through books on metal and stone, but couldn't find any descriptions of similar materials.
He put it aside for the time being and tucked it into his bosom.
Ouyang Rong opened the door, called Ye Weilai back, asked her to prepare hot water for a bath, and then went to rest.
Nothing was said that night.
The next morning, Ouyang Rong, carrying the white jade hairpin, arrived at the main hall of Jiangzhou and sought out Yuan Huaimin.
This guy is a master of slacking off; he can do everything except work.
Yes, in every sense of the word, ancient books, rare editions, and antiques.
Yuan Huaimin placed the jade hairpin pendant to his ear, shook his hand, and listened intently.
"Longling—"
“Interesting, Brother Lianghan. This is ice-white jade. The sound is unmistakable, and the quality is excellent. It’s quite rare. Back in the pre-Qin era, it was used by nobles… This kind of jade is quite rare in the south. Where did you get it, Brother Lianghan? Would you sell it to me?”
Yuan Huaimin asked curiously.
Ouyang Rong silently withdrew his hand and whispered:
"My mother's belongings."
"Judging from this, it's been passed down for a long time."
Yuan Huaimin's gaze lingered on it, his expression reluctant, and he couldn't resist making a teasing remark:
"Judging from this, your mother's family must have been quite wealthy in the past, perhaps for many generations."
Ouyang Rong curled his lip, "Whose ancestors weren't once wealthy? Brother Huaimin's ancestors were from the Northern Wei royal family."
"Not much has been passed down; many things are still passed down orally from the elders in the clan."
Yuan Huaimin sighed.
Ouyang Rong nodded: "What else do you want to pass on? The throne of Northern Wei?"
After saying that, he put away the hairpin and left, leaving Yuan Huaimin with a sheepish expression.
Don't give him the chance to grope the white jade hairpin.
For the entire day, Ouyang Rong carried the icy white jade hairpin with him. Whenever his palm touched the hairpin, a pinkish-blue auspicious sound would be heard, so he wasn't in a hurry.
The following day, in the main hall of Huaiye Lane.
At the breakfast table, Ouyang Rong accompanied Zhen Shuyuan as she drank porridge. Halfway through, he put down his bowl, took out a white jade hairpin, and asked curiously:
"Auntie, is this the one Mother used to wear?"
Zhen Shuyuan paused, gazed at the icy white jade hairpin for a moment, her eyes filled with reminiscence, and nodded gently:
"Yes, it's the jade hairpin your mother used to wear... I heard from Sister Zhao that it's an heirloom from her maternal family. When the daughters of the Zhao family reach marriageable age, the clan gives them a jade hairpin like this to accompany them when they get married. All the daughters of the Zhao family have one."
"Is there any word from my mother's side? Is it some fallen aristocratic family?"
"Not exactly. They're also from Nanlong, though of slightly lower social standing than our Ouyang family, but they're still considered a family of scholars and gentlemen..."
Zhen Shuyuan thought for a moment and said, "Moreover, the Zhao family girl is very famous in Nanlong."
"How exactly are they famous?"
Ouyang Rong looked curious.
————
P.S.: (There will be an extra chapter at midnight!)
(End of this chapter)
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