Chapter 71: The Human World She waited in the human world without him. Another spring passed.
Ever since Song Xieqing received the punishment of thunder and was blessed by the Emperor of Heaven with the Spirit Cleansing Water to nourish his body, Chi Xing's good brother no longer paid any attention to him.
Chi Xing sighed because he did not wake up Song Xieqing who was resting in Chichi after a quarter of an hour. He really had a lot of grievances.
As an older brother, wasn't he simply hoping his younger brother would recover first? It was because of his momentary selfishness that his younger brother had missed his date with the young lady in the mortal realm, leading to a long period of bitterness between the couple. Because of this, Song Xieqing treated him even colder, ignoring him whenever he saw him, as if he were air. Song Xieqing had wasted precious precious water, instead of using it, stepping into the Red Water and messing around. Before he could even get angry, Song Xieqing started to act arrogantly.
Chi Xing saw through it all. His wife was as heavy as a thousand pounds to his younger brother, while his brother was dispensable and could live or die.
It wasn't until his sister-in-law's death was about to come that his good brother came to visit.
Since the young lady was a mortal, she might get into trouble while he was away from home. Although Song Xieqing had ordered the Koi Carp Fairy to take care of her, Zhuoshui was just a small goblin that was about to transform and was not very powerful. If the other two little fairies transformed by Song Xieqing were still there, it would be fine, but the two fairies had already gone to travel around... In other words, his brother just wanted to teach him, the noble and invaluable god of the North Star, to be a guard for a mortal.
How ridiculous! Song Xieqing is simply going too far in deceiving the gods!
Chi Xing, using the Shadow Escape technique, was lying on the eaves of Zhu's house. He sighed sadly, and his numb eyes swept over Zhu Hao, who was planting flowers and laying grass in the courtyard, and sighed again. Could he refuse this job? Of course not, after all, Zhu Hao was considered his younger brother's sister.
However, this Miss Zhu is really not an ordinary lady. Song Xieqing has been away from home for three years, which is longer than any other time he was away from home. Originally, it was thought that Miss Zhu must have been crying and wiping tears all her life, but who would have thought that she was depressed for a few days when Song Xieqing was about to leave. After a few days, she was either working in the clothing store, embroidering at home, or taking care of the flowers and plants in the yard, or just staying in the attic to study. In front of the second person, she did not show any sadness on her face, let alone the fact that she was becoming increasingly depressed because of Song Xieqing's departure.
When Song Xieqing asked him to secretly look after Zhu Hao, he had already told him the method to crack Zhu Hao's fate book. Chi Xing thought that Zhu Hao probably knew the method, otherwise how could he have the patience to wait for Song Xieqing?
He had once glanced at the "Soul Cleansing Record" in Song Xieqing's hands. As for the method to decipher it...
Although fate is determined by heaven, merits and blessings in this world can prolong one's life. However, Mrs. Zhu's fate cannot be resolved by ordinary blessings. The Soul Cleansing Record records that if the fate of two people is entangled by secret methods, the blessings and merits obtained by one person will be shared by the other.
It was mid-winter of that year, and Song Xieqing braved the flying snow and fought for his life against the sky. He embarked on a risky journey to slay demons and evil spirits and accumulate merits and blessings.
Why is it called a risky strategy? You must know that the only thing that can extend a mortal's lifespan is the merit of slaying great demons and eliminating great evil. Therefore, Song Xieqing constantly lingers by the Yellow Springs Bridge, hoping that if something unexpected happens to him, he will receive the corresponding blessings to save his life. The two of them have indeed lived up to the saying: We cannot live together, but we can die together.
Chi Xing suddenly found it funny. He could assume that Song Xieqing had already told Zhu Hao the method to crack the code, but he was not sure whether he had explained to Zhu Hao the degree of danger of this method.
He glanced over and saw Zhu Hao working energetically in the garden with a small hoe to loosen the soil. He thought his brother was safe, in other words, successful.
Although he didn't know the detailed origins of the Soul Cleansing Record, and knew that it had advantages as well as disadvantages, as the saying goes, every advantage has its disadvantages, Chi Xing knew one thing very well: if Zhu Hao encountered an accident, his "good brother" would never let him live alone. If the only way out was death, he might as well let him have a try. After all, once Song Xieqing made up his mind, even ten oxen couldn't pull him back.
Just as Chi Xing was lost in thought, someone emerged from the inner room. It was Miao Li. Miao Li's gaze was fixed on the towering eaves, and Chi Xing's slightly puzzled gaze met hers for a moment. Miao Li's gaze was directed at him because Zhu Hao was also looking towards the eaves.
"Sister...what are you always looking up at?" Miaoli blinked, making sure there was nothing on the eaves. Then she couldn't help but wonder, "I don't see anything new up there either. What could be so fascinating, sister? The tiles on the eaves look pretty ordinary...or am I just blind?"
Zhu Hao smiled upon hearing this, her eyes lightly sweeping across the eaves. Just as Miao Li had said, the eaves were empty, yet she still felt something was a little strange about it...
Zhu Hao felt it was strange, and so did Miao Li. However, Miao Li didn't think the eaves were strange, but that her good sister was unusual.
My thoughts go back to three years ago. After my brother-in-law returned home from a long trip with my sister, he left home alone not long after. This time he did not leave without saying goodbye. The couple said goodbye countless times at the door of the house. It was not until dark that my brother-in-law left. Unlike the previous absence of a year and a half, my brother-in-law has been gone for a full three years this time. Sister Fang once tried to ask her where her brother-in-law was going, but she always said that her brother-in-law had something important to do, but she didn't say what it was, leaving everyone confused. Finally, my sister did not forget to add a sentence in earnest words, which probably meant that her brother-in-law treated her well and hoped that everyone would "go easy on him."
This is not surprising. I still remember when my sister and her husband got married, he suddenly ran away and everyone cursed him day and night in front of her... At that time, my sister would occasionally join everyone in teasing her brother-in-law, but he has been gone for three whole years, and my sister has not only never ridiculed him, but has even spoken well of him. So, I guess my brother-in-law didn't leave home to do something as shameless as abandoning his wife and taking a concubine...
For this reason, Zhu Hao's close friends and relatives never criticized Song Xieqing in front of her. However, whenever Zhu Hao was not around, they would still scold him. No matter how many excuses he had, he could not hide his fault for abandoning his wife at home for three years!
No matter how many people there are, it is not easy to say anything. After all, every family has its own problems. If my sister really has something to hide, everyone's questioning will only make her more sad.
After her brother-in-law left, she and her elder sister were the only ones left in the huge Zhu residence. A few days after her brother-in-law left home, a heavy snowstorm occurred overnight, almost burying the entire Huaicheng City in a white mound. The north wind carrying snow particles hit the window, making the window frames creak. Her elder sister fell ill in mid-winter and could not get up even half a spoonful of rice soup when she was critically ill. The doctor did not stay long, but only sighed that life and death are predestined, and Miao Li almost cried his eyes blind. It was clear that her elder sister was fine yesterday, even leaning under the pomegranate tree embroidering the twin pink lotus flowers. How could she fall ill in the blink of an eye?
Most of the doctors in Huaicheng advised her in various ways to prepare for her funeral as soon as possible. Miaoli went to the murder site crying with her arms full of gold and silver. When the coffin was half-made and the winter snow melted, her sister's fatal illness also melted away like the ice and snow, as if the gods were protecting her sister.
Pulling her thoughts back to her senses, Miaoli saw Zhu Hao still fiddling with the flowers and plants in the yard, so she rolled up her sleeves and went forward to help.
…
Over the past three years, in addition to the two shops left by her parents and the clothing store she co-operated with Liu Rutang, Zhu Hao opened many new shops in Huaicheng. She was not limited to the clothing and cloth business, but also tried to get involved in different trades. No matter how adept Zhu Hao was at tailoring and embroidery, she was just a novice in other trades. Fortunately, although she had suffered losses in the past three years, she had barely made back her investment after careful calculation.
That day, Zhu Hao finished embroidering the brocade and leaned into Dexian Building. On the long table was a pile of miscellaneous items half a person's height. She casually opened a book and saw red and black annotations. Some of the words were small and round and were written by her, while some were vigorous and elegant and were annotated by Song Xieqing when he was still by her side. When he was a human being, he was a respected imperial teacher, and when he was young he was the top scorer in the imperial examination. He must be well versed in classics and history, and a versatile man. Zhu Hao originally thought that such a person would be stern in lectures, but in fact, it was not the case. Even if Zhu Hao was in a trance, he would just pinch her cheek.
Zhu Hao mostly read the registers of the previous dynasty. It was not difficult for her to see the confusion in Song Xieqing's eyes, but he never used magic to point it out. If she didn't tell him actively, he wouldn't ask any more questions.
The sky outside the building was bright, making Zhu Hao's eyes blurry. The ink on the new book on the edge of the desk was not dry yet. Her original handwriting already had three-tenths of his style. Zhu Hao forced back her tears, but her fingertips stroked his handwriting again and again.
Zhu Hao only allowed herself to be sad for a moment, and the moment passed. Zhu Hao took out the books to review them. She was very busy. While grinding the ink herself, she would feel a nameless anger when she encountered a difficult part in the book. She suppressed the urge to tear up the book and pointed to a few lines of obscure words and sentences to study them again and again.
Whenever this happened, Zhu Hao couldn't help but imagine that if Song Xieqing were still alive, she wouldn't have to waste so much time and effort. She despised herself for being so useless, but subconsciously hoped that her fantasy would come true.
The thoughts in her mind had not yet dissipated, but were crushed by the sound of hurried footsteps outside the building. The door of the building suddenly opened wide, and a man in a blue robe came in. This man was quite tall, with a slender figure. The goat hair brush that Zhu Hao was holding between two fingers dropped from her hands, and a brush of ink was dragged across her pink skirt. The goat hair brush rolled to the ground with a crisp sound.
A draft blew through the hall, and the books on the desk fluttered like white butterflies. Her dress was tangled in the wind. Zhu Hao's eyes met his through the flying pages of the book, after three years of separation.
Zhu Hao stood up and moved her legs, which felt like they were filled with lead, towards the door. The man just stood there in the daylight. She moved closer inch by inch, and when her fingertips were about to touch him, he scattered like dust.
The tears on the desk soaked through his sleeves and soaked the pages of the book. Zhu Hao raised his eyes again, but the building door was empty. Where was the shadow of the blue shirt? It was just the sunlight filtering through the gauze curtains, casting a patchwork of scattered light and shadows on the ground.
It was just a dream.
Zhu Hao walked slowly to the door, pushed it open, and the door opened wide. New buds had broken through the soil in the flower garden in the yard, and beads of dew condensed into delicate and lovely beads on the tips of the leaves.
She waited for another spring in the world without him.
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Author's Note: Transition Chapter [Pigeon]
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