Chapter 41 Mist-Covered Steps: "To cross the sea, one needs a boat; to return home, one needs a road."...
Tell Xie Qinghe that I've gone to the Taoist temple in the west of the city. I'll be back around 5 PM.
Ning revealed the dungeon, but without even getting into the carriage, he casually took the horse of the guard at the gate and headed west.
I ran wildly, my thoughts racing.
She knew perfectly well that patience would lead to success, but she couldn't wait.
She really wanted an answer.
Three months felt like an extremely long and stressful preparation period for her, all for an exam with a very low pass rate.
Having lingered too long in vigilance and tension, she wanted an answer.
Whether you fail or have to retake the exam, as long as there's a result, that's fine.
Red jade was her answer.
Following the direction Yu Lanzhou indicated, Ning Lu sped along the road and arrived at Yongning Temple at noon.
After finishing their morning lessons, the young Taoist priests were getting their lunch in the backyard.
She grabbed a few questions at random to inquire about Hongyu's whereabouts.
The red jade's features were so obvious that the young Taoist priest immediately pointed out the direction.
West Wing Guest Room.
Ning Lu was already panting when she reached the door. Leaning against the railing, she dared not rush in. She could vaguely hear people exchanging pleasantries in the courtyard behind the guest rooms. After catching her breath, she walked along the winding corridor.
The midday sun shines into the courtyard.
The stone table and benches were bathed in warm sunlight. A thin, frail woman sat facing her, her hand supporting her chin, obediently listening to the elder's instructions.
With each word the other person spoke, their round, almond-shaped eyes would blink, revealing two tiger teeth in a smiling smile.
She looks like an innocent and clever girl.
The elderly man sitting with his back to her heard the voice and felt it sounded familiar, but couldn't immediately recall where he had seen it before.
Before Ning Lu could make a judgment, the little girl saw her, her almond-shaped eyes widened, and the dimples on her cheeks deepened.
"Heroine!"
The elder sitting on the stone bench stood up upon hearing the sound.
The two looked at each other, and Ning Lu was startled.
It wasn't just that his voice was familiar; she had seen him before.
"Greetings to Miss Ning."
The elder bowed in greeting, and Ning Lu then remembered that this was the doctor who had examined her pulse at the Lakeside Pavilion that day.
She quickly glanced down at her attire, making sure that her current appearance was befitting of the title "female knight-errant," and that her identity wouldn't be revealed by the name. Only then did she suppress her trepidation and approach them.
"Is this young lady Hongyu?"
"In response to your question, this is Miss Hongyu."
What are you doing?
Ning Lu looked at the pulse diagnosis table and silver needles on the stone table.
“I am giving Hongyu acupuncture.”
Acupuncture?
Ning Lu was still in a daze: "Shouldn't a ritual be performed for her in this situation?"
"You jest, young lady. Miss Hongyu has developed a soul-loss disorder due to excessive fright. A ritual must be performed, and acupuncture is also necessary."
“Losing one’s soul? Isn’t it the same as being separated from one’s soul?” Ning Lu continued to struggle: “It’s when two souls swap bodies.”
“What the young lady is talking about is a myth. Most of it is made up by everyone.” The gentleman laughed loudly and pointed to Hongyu: “It’s probably because the young lady Hongyu was so frightened that she said something that made her soul leave her body, which gave everyone room to make up stories.”
Hearing what the other person said, Ning Lu could only awkwardly laugh twice.
She recalled that the doctor had also taken her pulse that day at the inn.
She was more cautious and asked, half-jokingly and half-probingly, "Then sir, could you also take a look at me and see if I also have those symptoms of being separated from my soul or losing my soul?"
"Don't worry, young lady, you are in good health, there's nothing to worry about."
The doctor did not reach out, but responded with unwavering faith.
Are you sure?
Undeterred, she asked again.
"Mr. Zou is a divine physician, specializing in treating mental illnesses such as delirium and madness. He rarely makes a mistake. Since he says there is no illness, why does the young lady need to ask further?"
Just as Mr. Zou was in a dilemma, a deep and weathered voice came from behind him.
Ning Lu turned slightly to the side and saw an old Taoist priest with gray hair and a gray beard standing at the other end of the corridor, nodding and smiling at her.
Hongyu's curious gaze darted between the two of them. Seeing Ninglu's dazed expression, she stepped forward and tugged at her hem.
"Sister Heroine, didn't you come here to play pitch-pot with me?"
Ning Lu was somewhat at a loss, suppressing her frustration, and softened her tone: "I'm sorry, Hongyu, it's not possible today. Let Uncle Doctor play with you first, and I'll come and keep you company another day."
She coaxed Hongyu back to sit on the stone bench, and when she looked up again, she saw the Taoist priest nod to her before walking towards the main hall.
She instinctively lifted her foot to follow behind, but was instead hindered. When she came to her senses, she saw that Hongyu was still stubbornly holding her back.
A tassel was stuffed into Ning Lu's hand, and Hong Yu took half a step back, waving at her with a smile.
"Sister, this is something Hongyu promised you a long time ago."
Ning Lu didn't have time to look closely, so she nodded hastily and followed the Taoist priest through the long corridor, back to the central axis of the Taoist temple.
When those who came before her stopped, she stopped too.
This is the entrance to the main hall. Behind you are a long stone staircase, and if you look back, you can see the mountain gate directly.
Looking up, one sees the Three Pure Ones, the highest deities.
The wind rustles the eaves bells, the distant chimes resonate, and the cool fragrance of sandalwood mingles with the scent of aged herbs and wood floats in the dust.
The Taoist priest bowed to the golden statue in the hall from afar, and Ning Lu followed suit, bowing in return.
As the wind subsided, her gaze passed over the swirling smoke and landed on the elder before her.
"You are... Master Tongguang?"
The name Yu Lanzhou mentioned should be this one.
Master Tongguang waved his whisk, turned to the side and asked with a smile, "My Taoist name is Tongguang. May I ask how you should address me, young lady?"
"I?"
If, as Yu Lanzhou said, it was Liu Yunying who brought Hongyu here, then Daoist Tongguang must have seen him before.
Seeing the doubt in her heart, the Taoist priest turned to the deity above: "Young lady, your appearance has not changed, but your soul is not in your bones, and your heart is not in the earth. You are dust from another world."
Ning Lu's heart sank, and she thought to herself, "What an immortal!"
Then, thinking of Mr. Zou in the backyard, she feared that Xie Qinghe had set a trap, so she pretended not to know and tried her best to maintain a proper smile.
Seeing that she did not answer, Master Tongguang began to explain.
“When you came last time, you said your surname was Liu. This time, Mr. Zou calls you Miss Ning.”
"Just call me Ning Lu."
"Miss Ning," Master Tongguang asked her, "Why did you come in such a hurry? Are you looking for your home or your origin?"
His question came so suddenly that no one had time to react.
She subconsciously said, "Isn't where you come from also where you go?"
The Taoist priest gently shook his head, a smile playing on his lips, and stroked his beard as he said, "Where we come from is where we return to; where we return is where our hearts find peace. Most people remember the way they came from, but they may not know the way back."
The stream flows far below the steps, and fallen leaves hang down into the river.
She didn't answer. The saying "Home is where the heart is" was something I learned in school.
Her situation was dire; every day she stayed meant another day of danger. These principles of self-cultivation couldn't help her.
Ning Lu didn't intend to argue with this person, and asked about her purpose: "I heard from a friend that Hongyu has undergone several rituals and is already showing signs of improvement."
"Mr. Zou has already explained to you that she is ill."
Master Tongguang led her to the white jade railing: "Mr. Zou is an old friend of mine. He came to Changzhou for a trip in the spring and happened to meet Miss Hongyu who was staying here temporarily. Miss Liu asked me to ask him to help treat her."
“I heard that when she woke up, she said she wasn’t from here and that she wanted to go home.”
“Miss Hongyu is from Pingcheng. She has been wandering for many years and her heart is broken. What’s wrong with her looking for a place to return to?”
"That……"
"As the young lady said, she had only heard about it. Now that she has seen it for herself, what do you think?"
how?
Ning Lu didn't know.
The last glimmer of hope I had held for so long was suddenly shattered. At that moment, I felt a tightness in my chest and a sudden crack in my heart.
Every day since she came into this world, she has been hearing about it.
One should not believe everything one hears, but a person as adrift as duckweed should naturally seize every possibility.
That's why, when Ji Ming said that there's no smoke without fire, she felt enlightened and had something to rely on.
Seeing her somber expression, Master Tongguang pointed to the fallen leaves swirling at the corner of the stone steps.
“Look at these fallen leaves, they follow the stream all the way down. If they were to cling to the source and insist on going against the current, they would miss the fresh water and only trap themselves.”
"Are you advising me not to look back?" Ning Lu asked with a wry smile, unconvinced.
"To cross the sea, one needs a boat; to return home, one needs a road. If the wind hadn't risen when you came, forcing it would have been futile."
"I don't understand."
She murmured to herself, lost in a trance.
Master Tongguang saw through her stubbornness, stroked his beard, and listened silently to the rustling of the wind.
Ning Lu traced the white jade railing with her fingertips, then sat sideways on a rock, gazing at the gurgling water below.
Her lowered eyelashes trembled, as if she had thought of something. She suddenly looked up at the Taoist priest.
"You just said that one shouldn't completely believe hearsay, so why should I believe what the Taoist priest says?"
Perhaps it was the stubbornness and bewilderment in her eyes that evoked pity, so Master Tongguang hesitated for a moment, sighed softly, and began to calculate with his fingers.
Incense ash fell.
He slowly began to speak: "The young lady should have been born at the end of the fourth month, during the height of summer. She is an only child, her hometown is by the sea, and she studied in the northwest."
The girl looked as if she had been struck by something, her face turning deathly pale.
She had never told anyone here about these things, not even Ji Ming.
She was born at noon in the summer, and her mother said she was always like a furnace.
Her family lives on the southeast coast. When relatives advised her parents to have another child to complete the family, they insisted on having only her.
She was well-behaved and clever from a young age. Although she wasn't very good at learning things, she was good at taking exams and managed to get into a very good school through hard work.
Seeing that she was wavering, Master Tongguang said that he had said everything and would not linger any longer. Ninglu immediately stood up and chased after him.
"Since you know where I came from, you must know how I should get back, or is it even possible for me to go back?"
"The opportunity has not yet arrived, not because there is no affinity. Once the affinity arises, all mountains and rivers will become the way home."
She is a successor to communism.
What vague and ethereal concept of fate did he talk to her about?
But he knew where she came from...
Ning Lu wanted to chase after him again, but then she saw the whisk swaying.
Master Tongguang's voice traveled through the wisps of smoke from the lion-shaped incense burner to his ears.
"Girl, the mountain path is difficult to walk, watch your step."
The statues of the Three Pure Ones sit high on lotus pedestals, their gazes filled with compassion.
Everything before my eyes seemed unreal.
The ancient bells tolled, like echoes from beyond the heavens, awakening those from their dreams.
Ning Lu came to her senses, her clothes damp with fallen leaves, as the sun began to set.
It was past dusk, so she should leave.
I started off unsteadily, stumbling down the seemingly endless steps, one step at a time.
The tassel in her hand fell to the ground with a thud, and the silver bells jingled.
I bent down and picked it up, and found that it was embroidered with patterns, with willows on the front and clouds on the back.
...
Is this what's under your feet? Is this the evidence?
Hongyu is not from another world.
She was the only person from this other world from beginning to end.
Months of hard work vanished like a dream, vanishing as soon as I woke up.
My steps were light and slow, like a wandering soul. With each step down a stone step, my heart sank a little deeper.
In the blink of an eye, we arrived at the mountain gate.
The three gates stand side by side: the gate of no form on the left and the gate of no action on the right, which are known as the three gates of liberation.
Holding the tassel in her hand, she stood halfway through, feeling as if her last glimmer of hope had shattered completely.
Slowly descending, and looking up again, you can see the Xie family's carriage parked in the distance.
Xie Qinghe stood with his hands behind his back in front of the car, his clothes fluttering in the wind, but he remained unmoved, as if he had become one with the twilight sky.
Noticing the gaze behind him, Xie Qinghe turned around and looked up.
Their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze, and Ning Lu felt a tightness in her throat.
Suddenly, all the chaos in my mind dissipated, and the sun shone through the clouds.
The doctor taking pulses, the guards in the west wing, the probing words...
The ruthless ruler in the eyes of others repeatedly showed weakness in front of her...
There's also Zhujia'ao, where he made her throw stones to shoot birds, pluck feathers and remove internal organs, and after arriving in Ying County, there were faint breathing sounds all around, and the feeling of being followed and spied on...
He already knew.
He has been watching her the whole time, just like now.
Feeling inexplicably tired and bored, Ning Lu withdrew her gaze, stepped down the stairs, and walked straight past him.
Walking slowly down the mountain path, my steps were initially unsteady and disorderly, the blue stones crunching under my feet.
As she walked further, the jumbled rocks turned into bluestone slabs, and her steps gradually became steady, slow, and solid.
The truths that could have been seen sooner, the crises and chaos that could have been escaped by thinking that going home was an option, became clearer in my mind.
The person who chased her back then was Zhao Yue, who was behind Prince Jing.
Pan Xingxue was respectful to Prince Jing, yet he committed numerous evil deeds, so Prince Jing was probably not a good person either.
The jade pendant was a token of the rebels, and probably belonged to the wise king.
Xie Qinghe was an important minister to the emperor. When he investigated cases in the southwest, most of them involved Prince Jing and Prince Xian.
Judging from the current situation, it seems that the original owner was ordered by Prince Jing to assassinate Xie Qinghe, while Zhao Yue was the one who lurked behind and killed him to cover it up.
That night, she fell off the overpass, the original owner of the body was forced to jump off a cliff, and Xie Qinghe was seriously injured and fell into a coma at the bottom of the cliff...
She saved Xie Qinghe and has come this far step by step.
Xie Qinghe saved her again, and he had already realized her identity, which is why he sought out a doctor to confirm whether she was mentally unstable or had amnesia...
And, the clue about Hongyu has gone cold; the new clue is that some kind of opportunity hasn't arrived yet...
The fog gradually lifted, but more fog remained behind it.
But no matter what, Ning Lulu...
You really can't live in a daze anymore.
Suddenly waking from her dream, Ning Lu stopped and looked back.
The orange-red light she had left behind gradually faded.
As dusk settled, the long streets and alleys became deserted.
Xie Qinghe followed a few steps behind her, a paper lantern in his hand illuminating the small space beneath his feet, which also dragged his tall figure on the ground.
The man seemed surprised that she would suddenly turn around, and a fleeting look of worry and loneliness suddenly welled up in his deep, unfathomable eyes.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but whether he didn't say it or she didn't hear him clearly, it all drifted away with the wind.
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