Chapter 950 The Grand Finale
Under the bright moonlight, a small boat was moored beside a rock in a canyon.
The towering cliffs of the canyon blocked out the boundless night, so much so that the water's surface was completely devoid of light, appearing as a bottomless black pool at first glance.
Xuanyuan Qi sat alone on the deck, holding the wolf-tooth jade pendant he had taken from his neck.
Liao Chen came out of the awning, sat down next to his father, looked at him, and said, "Father, are you still thinking about the matter of killing the Heavenly Emperor?"
Xuanyuan Qi sighed: "I didn't expect that during my trip to Jianlu, I would actually encounter Shitian."
Liao Chen said, "I saw him in Shengdu. His name is Long Yi, and he's a friend of Aheng and Jiaojiao. I never fought him, nor did I speak to him. Is his martial arts still as formidable as it was twenty years ago?"
Xuanyuan Qi said, "It's much more powerful than it was twenty years ago."
Liao Chen looked at him with concern: "Father, are you alright?"
Xuanyuan Qi straightened his chest: "Me too, I'm very powerful."
Liao Chen: "..."
"How is Rong Yue?" Xuan Yuanqi asked.
Liao Chen said, "He's really lucky. He took a palm strike from Long Yi and actually survived by half."
This encounter with Long Yi was completely unexpected; it seems that Long Yi was hunting down the people of Sword Pavilion.
Rong Yue is none other than Young Master Mingyue. Although he has never met Long Yi, he carries the Xuan Yue Sword and uses the moves of the Sword Pavilion.
His father intervened in time and saved Rong Yue from Long Yi's clutches.
Enraged, Long Yi engaged in a fierce fight with his father, but stopped halfway through the battle.
"Why did he suddenly stop fighting?" Liao Chen was too far away to see the specific situation clearly.
"Because of this," Xuanyuan Qi said, showing off the wolf-tooth jade pendant in his hand.
"This?" Liao Chen asked, puzzled.
Xuanyuan Qi said, "Twenty-one years ago, he was ordered by Jianlu to hunt down the Shadow Lord. At that time, he had already gained the upper hand, but just like today, he suddenly stopped. I didn't understand it before, but now that I think about it, it's probably because of this Wolf Fang Jade Pendant."
Liao Chen said, "Father said that this was a gift from the Lord of Shadows."
Xuanyuan Qi said, "That's right, it's my birthday, and she gave it to me. She met my elder brother first, and fought alongside him in various battles. Later, she met me, and she was closer to my elder brother."
Liao Chen: Why does your tone sound a little sour to me?
Xuanyuan Qi proudly said, "But, elder brother, we don't have this."
Liao Chen: You're showing off now?
Liao Chen got back to the main point: "But why didn't Long Yi kill his father after seeing it? Does Long Yi know it? Does he know the first Shadow Lord?"
Xuanyuan Qi wasn't entirely sure about this either, but Long Yi left without saying a word, leaving him no choice but to go to Jianlu Island to find the answer himself.
Long Yi stole the Xuan Yue Sword, but he also destroyed most of the mechanisms for entering the island, so he wasn't worried about not being able to get up there.
The following day, they arrived at Jianlu Island.
The island was littered with corpses, and the air was thick with the stench of decay and dried blood.
Rong Yue spotted the corpse dressed in the sect leader's robes at a glance, rushed over and called out "Father!" only to realize with shock that it wasn't her father.
Liao Chen held his breath: "You recognize this too?"
Rong Yue said, "Although my appearance has deteriorated, my father wasn't this short."
Liao Chen sneered: "It seems your father has managed to escape unscathed."
Xuanyuan Qi's goal was to find the truth behind the incident. He searched the entire island and, with Rong Yue's help, finally found a secret room located in the sect leader's study.
“I’ve never been to this secret room before; my father doesn’t allow me to enter his study,” Rong Yue said.
"Let's go in and take a look," Liao Chen said.
The secret chamber contained some strange pills, as well as a large number of things that Rong Yue had never seen before.
Liao Chen opened the box, took out a rusty weapon, and said, "It's a musket. Strange, muskets are things made by the Lord of Shadows, why does Sword Pavilion Island have one too?"
The three continued searching.
Besides the muskets, they also discovered many items that were only found in the Shadow Division.
Liao Chen frowned: "Did this guy steal from the Shadow Division?"
Xuanyuan Qi said, "That's possible."
Back then, all the major branches of the Shadow Division were destroyed by Sword Lodge, and everything inside was gone.
Liao Chen accidentally touched a switch, and a brocade box popped out from the wall. Liao Chen opened the box and took out a yellowed booklet: "Huh? There's a notebook here."
After reading the notes, Xuan Yuanqi suddenly realized: "Shi Tian actually came from Dark Night Island and was the child of the first island lord."
...
In the council hall of Hidden Sword Manor, Long Yi and Sect Leader Rong began to fight.
Sect Leader Rong sneered, "I taught you your martial arts. Do you think you can be my opponent just because you have the Xuan Yue Sword?"
Xuan Yue Sword?
Is it in Long Yi's hands?
Gu Jiao only woke up after entering the council hall, so she didn't see what sword Long Yi was holding.
A question flashed through her mind: the Xuan Yue Sword disappeared along with the sect leader's son. Since the sect leader recognized the sword, why didn't he inquire about his son's situation?
It seems that the head of the Sword Pavilion doesn't have much affection for his son.
Come to think of it, if there were any feelings involved, she wouldn't have allowed her son to be persecuted by his stepmother.
The battle between Long Yi and him was extremely fierce. The sound of tables and chairs being smashed could be heard from time to time in the council hall. Since Sect Leader Rong had Li Jiangping as an inside agent, he must have obtained a lot of Purple Grass Fruit from Dark Night Island.
I wonder if Long Yi will suffer a loss if he faces him.
Sect Leader Rong unleashed a chilling sword aura, blocking Long Yi's attack, and then slapped Long Yi's shoulder with a palm.
Long Yi was thrown back by the force of the impact, crashing into the wall behind him before falling onto the tables and chairs, scattering wood chips all over the floor.
He used his sword to support his body as he attacked Sect Leader Rong.
Before he could even make a full move, he was sent flying by a palm strike from Sect Leader Rong. This time, even the longsword in his hand flew out of his hand.
Long Yi felt a sharp pain in his chest, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
When Master Rong unleashed his third palm strike, he completely shattered Long Yi's dantian, causing Long Yi to spit out a mouthful of blood and his entire body to convulse slightly.
Sect Leader Rong walked step by step towards Long Yi, looking down at him with a cold arrogance, and said, "Shitian, why are you so stubborn? Why do you insist on opposing me? Have I not treated you well? Or... have your memories returned?"
Another recovery?
Could it be that Long Yi has suffered from amnesia more than once?
Moreover, judging from his tone, Long Yi's amnesia seems to be related to him.
Twenty-one years ago, Long Yi went to assassinate the Shadow Lord Xuan Yuanqi, but halfway through the fight, Long Yi voluntarily abandoned the mission.
After that, Long Yi left.
After that, Long Yi lost his memory and wandered into the princess's residence.
That time the amnesia... was caused by Sect Leader Rong!
Why did Sect Leader Rong erase Long Yi's memories?
What exactly did Long Yi remember?
Gu Jiao was filled with countless questions. She wanted to help Long Yi, but the sleeping pills in her body took effect.
This is no ordinary sleeping potion, and this man in black robes is no ordinary swordsman.
Sect Leader Rong looked mockingly at the heavily injured and blood-spitting Long Yi: "Do you know why I sent you to assassinate Xuan Yuanqi? I actually wanted to lure out the first Shadow Lord. I've always felt that she has an inextricable connection with Dark Night Island. If what I want isn't on Dark Night Island, then it must be in her hands. But it seems that a girl has obtained what she wanted, and I've already captured that girl. Whether she shows up or not is irrelevant. As for you, I originally didn't want to kill you, but you've ruined my plans time and time again. Don't blame me for disregarding our master-disciple relationship!"
He raised his long sword and thrust it fiercely towards Long Yi's heart!
call out!
Long Yi caught his longsword with his bare hands!
The sharp blade cut Long Yi's palm, and warm blood flowed down.
Sect Leader Rong was shocked, clearly not expecting that Long Yi, who was already on the verge of death, would still have such strength.
Long Yi's aura is surging!
With a swift movement, he snapped his longsword in two. Then, with lightning speed, he leaped up and plunged the broken blade into Master Rong's chest without hesitation!
Sect Leader Rong was completely stunned: "How could this be..."
Long Yi looked at him coldly: "You shouldn't have... taken me away from him!"
Having said that, he thrust the sword blade inward with a sudden movement, piercing straight through Master Rong's chest!
The mask on Master Rong's face shattered with a bang, and he collapsed to the ground, his expression cracked.
Long Yi slapped his palm, and the powerful internal force shook the broken sword on the ground, causing it to plunge into his chest!
He was hit by two swords in a row, and even eating purple gromwell fruit as his staple food couldn't help him.
Sect Leader Rong coughed up blood.
In a duel between masters, every move is a matter of life and death. It's not surprising that he lost quickly, but it shouldn't be him who lost.
His martial arts skills are superior to Shitian's, and Shitian did not go berserk, so why can he still unleash such terrifying power?
Long Yi waved his hand, and the Xuan Yue Sword, which had been knocked away, returned to his hand.
He stabbed her a third time without any mercy!
Sect Leader Rong froze, completely powerless to fight back.
Long Yi raised his longsword, intending to rip out his heart with the fourth strike, but at that moment, something unexpected happened.
The entire council hall suddenly shook as if an earthquake had struck. Long Yi's body swayed, and behind the wooden wall, Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao's chairs both lurched forward.
Gu Jiao gritted her teeth, overcame her physical weakness, and hugged Xiao Heng tightly.
The two rolled twice on the ground before finally coming to a stop.
The man in black robes lost his balance and crashed into the wooden wall behind him.
The wooden wall collapsed, and he rolled onto the floor of the council chamber.
He glanced at Sect Leader Rong lying in a pool of blood, his expression changed, and he grabbed him and quickly left.
The tremors continued.
Long Yi spotted Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao at the back of the council hall and leaped up.
With two people around, he couldn't wield his sword.
He threw away the Xuan Yue sword in his hand, grabbed one in each hand, and rushed out the door with Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao.
Unexpectedly, the floor suddenly cracked, and the three of them fell down.
...
In a dark tunnel, Gu Yan and Gu Chengfeng were shaken from side to side. Gu Chengfeng's head hit the wall hard, while Gu Yan, thanks to observing the wrestling little dumpling Jingkong, learned a perfect "wrestling technique".
I wasn't hurt when I fell.
"What's going on? Has the earth dragon turned over?" Gu Chengfeng asked frantically.
Gu Yan didn't speak, but covered his head and hunched his chest, maintaining a self-protective posture.
Finally, the shaking stopped.
Gu Chengfeng leaned against the wall to stand up. Both of them were disheveled, but he was in a worse state, as his hair ornament had fallen off somewhere.
"Are you alright?" He went to help Gu Yan up.
"It's alright." Gu Yan grabbed his hand and stood up, looked around, and asked, "Where are we?"
Gu Chengfeng rubbed his dizzy head, patted his chest and panted, "I don't know, hey? Do you have a tinderbox? I think I dropped mine."
Gu Yan took out a tinderbox from his pocket: "Yes."
Gu Chengfeng took it, blew on the tinderbox, and walked out of the passage step by step by the light of the burning fire.
After they fell from the courtyard of the small bamboo house, they entered a strange passage. They walked along the passage and walked forward, and suddenly the accident happened.
He almost thought the passageway was about to collapse.
"Where is this? There's so much blood on the ground." Gu Chengfeng entered the council hall, squatted down, and touched the bloodstains with his fingertips. "It's fresh. There was a fight here."
He looked around and found a gleaming peacock feather sword in the ruins.
He picked up the sword and examined it carefully, exclaiming in amazement, "Wow, the Xuan Tie Sword! It's mine!"
Gu Yan then discovered a mask nearby.
Gu Yan picked up the mask, smelled it, and said, "It smells like my sister! My sister was here!"
...
In the pitch-black chamber, Long Yi used his body as a shield to catch Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng.
The two quickly stood up.
Gu Jiao felt Long Yi's pulse, and Xiao Heng blew on the tinderbox.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Gu Jiao said, "I'm fine, but Long Yi is injured."
Xiao Heng looked at Long Yi, whose face was pale, and asked, "Is it serious?"
Gu Jiao withdrew her hand: "It is serious, but he has a special constitution, so his life should not be in danger."
As she spoke, she reached for the first-aid kit.
"The first aid kit is gone, and so is the mask."
The mask was made by someone Shangguan Qing had made. When Steward Zheng suddenly came to the mansion and said that the Duke of Anguo had an accident, she casually stuffed the mask into the first aid kit.
Xiao Heng looked around and said, "There's a passage ahead. Let's leave here first."
Gu Jiao nodded and, together with Xiao Heng, helped Long Yi up. Then she sighed, "A small Hidden Sword Manor has actually built a secret passage. They really don't show off at all."
Xiao Heng frowned as he looked at the cold, hard walls around him, feeling a sense of danger. "Let's go."
Gu Jiao suddenly looked at Long Yi's handsome face and asked, "By the way, Long Yi, who was that man in the black robe just now?"
“A Gu Master,” Long Yi said.
Gu Jiao smiled and her eyes sparkled: "You really know how to talk now."
Long Yi: "..."
In another passage, Gu Yan carefully searched for Gu Jiao's whereabouts. He couldn't find any clues, but based on the twins' intuition, he felt that she should be nearby.
Should we call out?
Gu Yan turned to ask Gu Chengfeng, but was startled by a terrifying bronze fang mask. "Ah! What are you doing!"
Gu Chengfeng, wearing a mask, said with a grin, "Scared, weren't you?"
Gu Yan, still shaken, rubbed her wildly beating heart and glared at him angrily, saying, "Childish! You're not allowed to walk behind me!"
Gu Chengfeng snorted, "I don't have any twin connection with your sister, how would I know which way to go?"
Gu Yan said angrily, "Go forward!"
Gu Chengfeng adjusted his mask, then touched the peacock feather black iron sword at his waist, and said to Gu Yan, "Give me the tinderbox."
Gu Yan coldly gave it to him.
He strode forward with his head held high.
"You're such a coward, I told you not to come along!"
"You and your sister were born of the same mother, how come your personalities are worlds apart?"
"Ah, that's right, she's not you... cough cough, I mean, she didn't grow up with you."
"Hey, I've said so much, you should at least say something."
Gu Chengfeng turned around in confusion, but Gu Yan was nowhere to be seen.
"Gu Yan!"
His expression changed and he turned back. Just as he turned a corner, a dark figure came up to him and knocked him unconscious with a single blow.
...
"Long Yi, are Gu Masters powerful?" Gu Jiao continued the previous topic in the passage.
Long Yi thought for a moment and said seriously, "He's not good at fighting, but he's good at using Gu."
Gu masters need to raise gu, so they are generally very weak. They are good at using gu to enhance their power, giving people the impression of being experts, but in reality, it is all due to the effects of gu.
Gu Jiao understood then: "So if that guy were to fight in close combat, he wouldn't stand a chance."
Long paused, then lowered his eyes and said, "But Gu Masters can control people."
Gu Jiao asked, "Was your memory erased by that Gu Master?"
Long Yi: "Hmm."
Not only were his memories erased, but he was also turned into a tool for killing, murdering people he shouldn't have killed and destroying what he was supposed to protect.
“Someone’s here!” Xiao Heng said.
At the end of the passage, a stone door slowly opened, and a faint light shone through.
Long Yi walked with the two behind him, his eyes cold as he headed toward the stone gate.
Upon arriving at the door, they discovered a spacious secret room inside, where someone had been waiting for some time—Sect Leader Rong, who was sitting in a chair, toying with a bronze fang mask in his hand.
Standing beside him was the black-robed Gu Master, and Gu Yan and Gu Chengfeng were being held in the Gu Master's hands.
The weapons on Sect Leader Rong's body had been removed, and his wounds appeared to have been treated, but he was still bleeding profusely. He was extremely weak and would die if he did not receive surgery soon.
Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng emerged from behind Long Yi. They looked at the unconscious Gu Chengfeng and Gu Yan, and then at the Gu Master and Sect Leader Rong.
"What exactly do you want?" Xiao Heng asked.
Although the sect leader was physically weak, his aura was not weak. He looked at Xiao Heng and said, "You are the eldest grandson of the Great Yan Emperor? I have seen your portrait. I know your background and that of Shangguan Qing. I also know that Shi Tian has been by your side all these years since he disappeared. I was careless back then, and you got a great deal out of it."
Xiao Heng said solemnly, "Twenty-one years ago, Long Yi abandoned his mission to assassinate Xuan Yuanqi, and then Long Yi lost his memory. Did you do it?"
Sect Leader Rong gave a mocking smile: "He dared to betray me, so of course he has to pay the price. It's a pity that even though we've erased his memory, he still managed to escape."
Long Yi must have escaped from Master Rong's side because of a strong obsession, but he never expected to accidentally end up in the Princess's mansion.
Xiao Heng looked at Sect Leader Rong: "Why did you do this?"
Sect Leader Rong said, "I was actually doing this for his own good. What's wrong with being the personal disciple of the Sword Pavilion Sect Leader? Alright, let's not bring up the past anymore."
As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Chengfeng beside him and said with a faint smile, "These two are your friends, right? If you want to save him, make this girl hand over the elixir of immortality!"
Xiao Heng frowned: "What elixir of immortality?"
Sect Leader Rong shouted sternly, "The elixir of immortality!"
Gu Jiao looked completely bewildered: "Do I have an elixir of immortality? How come I didn't know that?"
Sect Leader Rong is dying; if he doesn't obtain the elixir of immortality soon, he will perish.
His face darkened: "I'll say it one last time, hand over the elixir of immortality! Otherwise, I'll make you all pay with your lives today!"
Gu Jiao said seriously, "I really don't have an elixir of immortality. If I did, I would have taken it myself long ago!"
Sect Leader Rong was furious: "You!"
Xiao Heng asked Gu Jiao in a low voice, "Does he think you have an elixir of immortality in your medicine box?"
Gu Jiao said, "But I don't have any in my medicine box."
She looked at Sect Leader Rong, "Who told you there was an elixir of immortality in the medicine chest?"
Sect Leader Rong used his internal energy to protect his heart meridian, but it was to no avail. His life was rapidly slipping away, and he became increasingly agitated: "I saw it with my own eyes! It must be in your box! Take it out! Take it out!"
This person must be insane.
Like those emperors who were obsessed with alchemy in pursuit of immortality, where in the world can one find immortality? Where can one find the elixir of life?
Sect Leader Rong lost his patience and said to the Gu Master, "Kill him!"
Gu Jiao held out her hand: "Okay, okay, I'll give it to you!"
Xiao Heng instantly got into character, grabbed her wrist, turned around, and used his body to block her cringe-worthy acting: "Are you crazy! You only have one! If you give it to him, what will you do?"
His acting skills are superb; if Gu Jiao were alive in her previous life, she would definitely be an Oscar-winning actor.
No one doubted that he was telling the truth.
Gu Jiao sighed with a pained expression, "But I can't let him kill my brother and Gu Chengfeng. Without the elixir of immortality, I'll just be like you, experiencing birth, aging, sickness, and death. There's nothing wrong with that."
Xiao Heng said in a deep voice, "Jiaojiao!"
"No need to say anything more." Gu Jiao raised her other hand, made a stop gesture, and took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom.
Xiao Heng snatched the porcelain bottle, turned to look at Headmaster Rong, his eyes filled with a complex mix of resentment, anger, helplessness, and emotions: "Give me the person with one hand, and I'll give you the medicine with the other. I'll count to three, you push the person over here, and I'll throw the medicine over to you."
A greedy glint appeared in Sect Leader Rong's eyes: "Good."
"one two three!"
As soon as Xiao Heng finished speaking, the Gu Master pushed the person out, and Xiao Heng also threw out the pills.
Long Yi leaped forward and caught Gu Chengfeng, while Gu Jiao also stepped forward and caught Gu Yan.
At that moment, Gu Yan, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes, reached behind his back and pulled out the peacock feather longsword. With a flash of cold eyes, he thrust the sword into someone's heart!
The Gu Master lowered his head, staring at the Xuan Yue Sword piercing through his chest, then turned back in disbelief: "You..."
Gu Yan wiped the blood splattered on his face, his eyes clear and lucid: "You want me to hurt my sister? You're dreaming!"
The Gu Master collapsed in a pool of blood.
With a swift movement, Sect Leader Rong grabbed the medicine bottle in his hand.
Gu Yan collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Gu Jiao knelt down on one knee and hugged him: "Ayan!"
Gu Yan shakily pulled a small porcelain bottle from his robes and said in a trembling voice, "Fortunately... I have the poison my master's wife gave me... Sister, stay away from me... I still really want to kill you..."
Long Yi pulled the long sword from the Gu Master's back and beheaded him with a single stroke.
Gu Yan fainted in Gu Jiao's arms.
The Gu Master died, and the Gu poison was naturally neutralized. The reason he fainted was because he had previously taken poison made by Nan Shi Niang to combat the Gu poison.
Gu Jiao hugged him tightly, her cheek pressed against his cool face, and whispered, "Silly little brother."
On the other side, Sect Leader Rong, having obtained the elixir, laughed maniacally: "I have the elixir of immortality... I won't die... I won't..."
With a deafening roar, the entire secret chamber shook violently once more. Sand slid down from the gaps in the roof and walls, and dust filled the chamber.
Xiao Heng looked around, his gaze sharp, and said, "It seems someone has triggered an underground mechanism... This place is about to collapse... We need to get out of here!"
He took Gu Jiao's hand.
Long Yi flanked them on either side, with Gu Chengfeng on his left and Gu Yan on his right, covering their rear.
Just then, the stone door to the secret chamber closed.
Seeing that things were not going well, Long Yi first threw Gu Chengfeng and Gu Yan out of his hands, and then knocked Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng out with two palm strikes.
The stone gate closed very quickly, and by the time he finished doing all this, it was too late for him to rush out.
Gu Jiao: "Long Yi!"
Just as the secret chamber was about to close completely, with a click, a small medicine box appeared beneath the heavy stone door, firmly holding it in place.
Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng lay down and peered through the crack in the stone door.
Xiao Heng said, "Long Yi! Come here quickly!"
Long Yi rolled on the ground and emerged from the secret chamber through a gap less than a foot wide.
Sect Leader Rong has just taken the elixir of immortality, which will grant him the same lifespan as the first Lord of Dark Night Island. However, he cannot afford to waste the rest of his life here.
He wants to go out and revitalize the Sword Pavilion!
He squeezed into the crevice under the stone gate.
The first-aid kit remained untouched.
But just as Sect Leader Rong was halfway up, something unexpected happened: the small medicine box suddenly disappeared, and the heavy stone door slammed down!
"don't want--"
Beneath the stone gate, Sect Leader Rong was crushed in two.
He opened his eyes and saw the small medicine box right in front of him.
He coughed up blood as he stretched out his hand: "There's medicine...with medicine...I can...live...give me...medicine..."
However, he never touched the box within his reach before he died.
...
August, the golden autumn season.
Gu Jiao and Long Yi recuperated at the princess's residence.
With bandages wrapped around its wings, Xiao Jiu strutted around the yard, showing off its injury to its newly acquired little bird brothers.
Gu Yan is fine now; he has already gone to school with Gu Xiaoshun.
Xiao Heng came out of Long Yi's room, holding an empty bowl in his hand.
Gu Jiao looked at the bowl and hummed, "You drank it all? So well-behaved."
Xiao Heng smiled and took out a box of charcoal pencils: "I said you promised him."
Gu Jiao's face darkened.
At the end of August, Xuanyuan Qi returned, accompanied by Chang Kun and Ye Qing to Zhao Kingdom.
Gu Jiao thought Chang Kun had come to see Chang Jing, but it turned out he hadn't.
He came to see Long Yi.
Gu Jiao was struggling to write with Long Yi in the courtyard when Chang Kun walked over. He was very agitated and wanted to get closer, but he seemed afraid of startling Long Yi, so he just stood not far away, watching without blinking.
"Is he...is he that child?" His eyes even reddened.
Chang Jing looked at his father with a puzzled expression.
Xiao Heng said, "If you're talking about the child who was abducted by the Sword Pavilion Master, then yes."
Long Yi was stolen by the Sword Pavilion Master when he was five years old. The Sword Pavilion Master had the Gu Master erase his memory and raised him to be a killing tool.
Xiao Heng glanced at Long Yi, who was playing happily with Gu Jiao with a limp arm, and said to Chang Kun, "Long Yi was still young when he left. He only remembers that he came from Dark Night Island and that his father was the island lord. He doesn't know anything else. But I heard from Chang Jing that you didn't have a son as old as Long Yi."
Chang Kun smiled wryly and said, "The island lord he's talking about isn't me, it's the first island lord. He's the first island lord's child, not his own son, he must have been brought back from outside."
"What do you mean by 'should be'?" Xiao Heng asked.
Chang Kun said, "The first island master was an extraordinary person. He had many secrets that ordinary people could not understand, and this child was one of them. I always felt that he was not an ordinary child."
Long Yi is indeed no ordinary person.
Chang Kun sighed and said, "Before the island lord passed away, he entrusted this child to me and asked me to take good care of him. I did not expect that the people from the Sword Pavilion would capture him, feed him purple grass poison, and turn him into a death warrior. I have failed the island lord."
After the child disappeared, he searched carefully, but couldn't find him, so he assumed that the child was no longer alive.
Xiao Heng asked, "Does your island lord have a medicine chest?"
Chang Kun was surprised: "Yes, how did you know?"
After Gu Jiao finished her daily writing assignment, Chang Kun went to find Long Yi, unsure if Long Yi still remembered him.
Gu Jiao then went to the study with Xuan Yuanqi.
Xuanyuan Qi handed a brocade box to Gu Jiao: "I went to Jianlu Island first and found that Long Yi was related to Dark Night Island, so I went to Dark Night Island as well. This is the notes of the Jianlu Sect Leader."
Gu Jiao first read the notes of Sect Leader Rong. It turned out that when he was eight years old, he went off the island with his father. His senior brother was injured, but thanks to a divine doctor, he was saved. The divine doctor's medicine box contained strange knives and medicines.
When he was twenty, he met the same miracle doctor again, whose appearance had not changed.
The same applies at thirty.
He believed that the miracle doctor must have taken the elixir of immortality, and that the elixir was hidden in his medicine box.
He followed the divine doctor to Dark Night Island and discovered that he was the island's master. Later, he found a portrait in the divine doctor's study.
“It’s a portrait of the first Lord of Shadows,” Xuan Yuanqi said, taking the portrait out of his robes and handing it to Gu Jiao with both hands.
This is a gesture of extreme respect; elders would not use this gesture when handing something to a younger person.
Gu Jiao was preoccupied with her own thoughts and didn't pay attention to this detail, but when she took the portrait, her expression suddenly froze.
This is not a portrait.
It's a photo.
A photo of her past life.
...
Gu Jiao went to see Chang Kun and asked him for a portrait of the first island owner.
Chang Kun took out an old portrait: "This is what he looked like when I first saw him. I was afraid I would forget him one day, so I drew it early on."
Gu Jiao saw a tall man wearing military boots and a coat, with a cold expression.
"godfather……"
It turns out that the person Sect Leader Rong met was the Godfather. His appearance hadn't changed because he had taken the elixir of immortality, but because he had traveled here time and time again.
Gu Jiao gripped the portrait tightly. "Where did he go?"
Chang Kun said sadly, "He's dead."
Gu Jiao's eyes flickered: "What did you say?"
Chang Kun sighed, “Every time he came here, he would plant a batch of gromwell, but for some reason, the first batch of gromwell just wouldn’t grow. Later, he passed away, and before he died, he asked me to bury him under the gromwell. Isn’t that strange? The following year, large patches of gromwell grew where he was buried.”
Gu Jiao stared blankly at the portrait, and tears suddenly fell.
...
at night.
Ye Qing came to Gu Jiao's room.
Gu Jiao sat quietly by the window.
Ye Qing opened her mouth, then said softly, "How should I address you now? Miss Gu, Young Commander, Madam Xiao, or—"
Gu Jiao said, "Anything is fine. Your master..."
Ye Qing approached her, lowered his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed the sob in his throat, and said in a normal tone, "My master has gone to travel the world. Before he left, he visited me on Dark Night Island and asked me to give you something."
Gu Jiao took the box and opened it.
It was those three clay figures sitting under the peach tree, and that portrait of the general who once had no face.
Now, her appearance has been enhanced by the imperial advisor.
It was her face from her past life.
She is the Shadow Queen, she is the Shadow Queen.
Ye Qing turned around, raised her hand, and subtly wiped away the tears in her eyes. She said calmly, "My master has a story that he asked me to tell you."
Gu Jiao said, "You go ahead."
Ye Qing considered his words carefully before speaking slowly.
"Once upon a time, there was a poor and destitute sorcerer who offended the son of a wealthy family and was beaten and left to wander the streets. On the verge of death, a fairy-like woman saved him. The woman said, 'You look just like an old friend of mine.'"
"Because of a similar face, the woman treated him, took him in, taught him everything she knew, and even introduced him to the young master of the Xuanyuan family."
“He thought that the old friend must be very important to her. He considered impersonating that person, but he ultimately did not do so.”
"The luckiest thing in his life was meeting her, and the thing he regretted most was having that fortune told."
"The mountains are high and the roads are far beyond, there's no need to look for him again."
Therefore, the Imperial Advisor was not a time traveler; he simply met her, who was a time traveler.
The Imperial Advisor wasn't the Godfather; he just had a face that resembled the Godfather.
The true Godfather is buried beneath the purple clover on Dark Night Island.
...
When Xiao Heng arrived at the room, Ye Qing had already left.
Gu Jiao is burning paper money.
Two braziers.
Xiao Heng looked at her with heartache and said, "One was burned for the first lord of Dark Night Island, and the other is—"
Gu Jiao said in a low voice, "An old friend."
...
Dark Night Island is farther than Yan Kingdom, and going back now would mean encountering the extreme weather of the Ice Plains, so Chang Kun and Chang Jing temporarily stayed at the Marquis's residence.
This was exactly what Gu Jiao wanted to do. She also planned to go to Dark Night Island, and she should give birth after spring.
She will go back with Chang Kun and Chang Jing at that time.
In October, Shangguan Qing returned to the State of Yan.
In the twelfth month of the same year, Chief Minister Yuan caught a cold and his health deteriorated significantly.
Grand Secretary Yuan felt overwhelmed and submitted his resignation to His Majesty.
His Majesty tried several times to persuade him to stay, and it wasn't until February of the following year that he finally approved Grand Secretary Yuan's resignation, with Xiao Heng succeeding him as Grand Secretary.
Thus, the youngest prime minister in the history of the six kingdoms took office.
On the very first day that Chief Minister Xiao took office, Gu Jiao had an attack.
Before the prime minister could even settle into his seat, he stumbled and fell in front of a group of subordinates who were about to pay their respects to him, his official hat flying askew!
The cabinet officials had never seen Lord Xiao so agitated, and they were all dumbfounded.
Xiao Heng no longer cared about his image and rode back to his residence without saying a word!
Gu Jiao was pregnant with twins, her belly was bigger than that of a typical pregnant woman, and her due date was twenty days early.
She had her attack while strolling in the garden with Princess Xinyang, but she remained relatively calm.
Princess Xinyang was quite agitated. Seeing that Gu Jiao could walk back on her own, she almost questioned her own existence.
Xiao Ji: Hehe, when I saw you calmly walk back to the delivery room, I was also questioning my life.
Originally, one of the babies had engaged in the pelvis, but today, both babies are in the wrong position!
The midwife and the female doctor were both shocked.
Generally speaking, once the fetus has engaged in the pelvis, its position will not change.
So what exactly happened? Could it be that this one... was kicked aside by the other one?
The midwife took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: "Don't panic, don't panic. The baby is breech, we'll turn it right. Which one should we turn first?"
She touched Gu Jiao's stomach and said, "This one is closer!"
She had just finished speaking and was about to exert force when the other baby kicked Gu Jiao's belly and shook its little feet against Gu Jiao's belly.
The midwife was bewildered once again: "What's going on now?"
The female doctor paused, then said awkwardly, "He/She probably means... he/she wants to come out first?"
As evening fell, a loud cry pierced the silent sky; the Grand Secretary's little daughter was born!
A quarter of an hour later, the young master of the Grand Secretary's family was also born.
Auspicious signs appeared, with dragons and phoenixes bringing good fortune. The rosy glow of the sky enveloped the entire mansion, and all the people of the capital witnessed this celestial phenomenon, secretly thinking that it was truly a blessing from heaven.
Xiao Heng didn't have time to think about the two little ones; he went to the delivery room immediately.
The little ones, held by the midwife and the female doctor, seemed a bit aggrieved, as if they were complaining that their fathers hadn't even held them since they were born.
Xiao Heng went straight to the bedside.
Gu Jiao had just given birth and was exhausted and weak; she didn't even have the strength to speak.
In a daze, she saw a tall figure walking out from the glow of the sunset.
He reached out his long, slender, pale hand and touched her forehead.
Those were the most beautiful hands she had ever seen.
(End of text)
My new story, "General, Your Wife Wants You to Farm," is now open! Feel free to jump in! O(∩_∩)O~
(End of this chapter)
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