Chapter 97 The World Turns, Time Presses On (Part Two) Si You...
After hearing Yu Chan's vow, the female cultivator's expression softened slightly. However, the hand gripping Yu Chan's shoulder not only didn't let go, but tightened its hold considerably.
She lowered her eyes, staring at a point on the ground, seemingly deep in thought, before turning back to her youngest daughter.
“There is one more thing… Starting today, you must move out of Qiongyin and live with your sisters and brothers on Qingku Peak. You are not allowed to see Siyou again.”
"Why!" Upon hearing this, Yu Chan suddenly began to struggle and try to escape from her mother's grasp, but the female cultivator held onto her clothes tightly, preventing her from moving any further.
"There's no reason why, it's an order."
"Mother! Mother! Did Yu Chan do something wrong again? I will never sneak up to Sanjiu Peak to play again! Si You? Or did Si You do something wrong? No, no, he stays in the house obediently every day and has never gone anywhere! Why do you want me to move out, Mother?"
The female cultivator stopped looking at her, released Yu Chan, gently pushed her back, and then stood up.
"I'll send someone to help you pack your things and move away from Qiongyin Peak immediately. There's nothing more for you here, go back."
Yu Chan stopped resisting and questioning. She knew her mother had always been a decisive person; if she said she would move out immediately, then she wouldn't wait until tomorrow. She just didn't understand why. She had been with Si You since birth, never separated for a single day. She couldn't understand why her mother seemed to have suddenly become a different person.
Not only was she forced to make such a terrible oath, but she was also forbidden from seeing Si You again.
There wasn't even a bird on Qiongyin Peak. How lonely would Si You be if he were all alone in the future?
The image freezes on the female cultivator's seemingly stubborn and indifferent back view, like an old ink painting slowly spreading out from the edges until it enters a state of nothingness again.
Xia Zhu is like an innocent passerby who is suddenly kidnapped to a movie theater halfway through his journey and forced to watch a performance while his personal freedom is restricted.
The story isn't just about ordinary family matters, but about the family life of Ji Wuchou's ancestor, the god-human Zhuanxu.
From just these few scenes with no prior knowledge of the events, she gleaned a wealth of explosive information.
Zhuanxu, Xia Zhu tried her best not to recall the female cultivator with an icy temperament, discarding everything she knew after stepping into the world of divine blood, and only finding some relevant information from her own original knowledge and understanding.
The Records of the Grand Historian records that Zhuanxu was "quiet and insightful, wise and knowledgeable," and was the leader of an ancient tribal alliance, one of the "Five Emperors," and a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. Therefore, the Ji surname of Kongtong and the Ji surname of Puyang are the same surname but different clans.
The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are a product of the interweaving of myths and legends with historical memory. In Xia Zhu's world, they cannot be regarded as absolute history, but they cannot be completely denied either.
After all, a true story, passed down by word of mouth, is easily embellished and exaggerated as it flows downstream, becoming fantastical or even unrecognizable. One obvious example is that modern people are unaware that these great leaders were all women.
But no matter how a story is sung or mythologized, its essential nature and core remain largely unchanged. For example, Zhuanxu was indeed an outstanding individual who made many great contributions and achievements throughout her life.
Formulating astronomical calendars and promoting ethical and cultural reforms—these all align with the actions of the female cultivators.
What else? Xia Zhu pondered deeply, feeling that something was wrong.
They prohibited intermarriage within their own clan, composed the musical piece "Cheng Yun," and for the first time delineated the territory under their rule.
Oh, and one more thing.
The path from the earth to the heavens is severed.
The earliest mention of this concept is found in the "Lü Xing" chapter of the Book of Documents. This was a political reform initiated by Emperor Zhuanxu, because before that, heaven and earth were not as clearly separated as they later became. Humans and gods were mixed together and could freely interact. Any ordinary person could claim that they could communicate with the heavens and spirits.
In order to centralize religious power and unify politics, Zhuanxu ordered his two descendants, Chong and Li, one to lift up the sky and the other to push the earth, to forcibly make the distance between the sky and the earth greater, and even completely sever the natural physical link like Jianmu and Kunlun Mountain.
If the previous measures were all more or less related to the female cultivator's behavior, then where does the "severing the connection between heaven and earth" aspect manifest itself?
Xia Zhu recalled the question Yu Chan had asked her mother.
Why did Jianmu leave?
She recalled that Feng Feng had once told her that the Jianmu tree, located in Dongshan, used to grow on Riyue Mountain. Later, for some unknown reason, it shed its outer shell and migrated eastward, eventually settling on the Feng family's territory.
Therefore, in the real world, the reason why the tree was cut off from the heavens and earth was because, for some reason, Jianmu chose to leave this place and hide in a secluded paradise, never to care about the world again. Naturally, it cut off the communication between heaven and earth, leaving only the Wuji Heavenly Gate made of the tree core, so that future generations could continue to ascend to heaven and work for a certain god in the nine heavens for generations.
But what is the truth behind Jianmu's departure?
Xia Zhu felt that it couldn't be that the female cultivator was just trying to appease Yu Chan by saying she just wanted to see the outside world, but she had no way of knowing or guessing why.
But she was inexplicably certain that the female cultivator was the one who knew the inside story.
A flash of white light appeared before her eyes. She thought the story was over, but it turned out that it was just a break.
What comes into view is a lush forest, with a small house nestled on the verdant grass.
This time, Xia Zhu's gaze was at a different height than before, but rather at roughly the same level as she usually saw.
A slender white hand entered the field of vision and gently stroked the "Isuzu" that was the embodiment of Xia Zhu's consciousness. It seemed that Yu Chan had hung "it" around her neck.
"Isuzu, oh Isuzu, what magic do you possess? Ten years have passed and I still haven't figured you out. Although your material is special—no one in the clan knows what it's made of—you, as a bell, don't even ring. You're utterly useless..."
The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but it had matured considerably compared to before. However, its tone was still sharp and clever. It was definitely Yu Chan. The time span was so large. Judging from the height and voice, Yu Chan must have grown to be about the same age as Xia Zhu.
The scene quickly shifts, seemingly showing Isuzu's owner glancing hurriedly behind him.
"However, not making a sound is also an advantage, that way no one will find out if we sneak up to Qiongyin!"
Yu Chan muttered to herself as she walked toward the small hut on the grass.
The thatched cottage and fenced yard, with fallen leaves scattered on the ground only swept by the wind, looked desolate, but Yu Chan's heart was not sad. She ran into the house, stepping on the leaves. Xia Zhu could feel the wind rustling and the leaves under her feet making a happy rustling sound.
"Si You!"
There was only a pale, thin boy in the room, sitting cross-legged by the window, staring blankly at the sound of the pine trees outside. He only looked towards the door when he heard a noise.
"How many times have I told you, you have to call me brother." The boy's gaze followed Yu Chan until she was right in front of him.
Xia Zhu then realized that the legendary plague demon actually looked like this beautiful and elegant creature.
Staring at Si You's face, she would inexplicably think of Ying Huo.
Both of them are the seductive and alluring type.
Si You was more like a snowflake that would melt away in an instant, yet he had such an arrogant expression that it seemed he would melt in a way that would shock the world.
The boy also had a dark blue freckle growing between his eyebrows, which was quite fitting.
It's only the size of a fingernail, and what was originally thought to be a birthmark or something, now looks more like a beauty mark.
"You're here again, behind Mother's and the elders' backs." Si You leaned against the window, looking nonchalant, but his dark eyes were fixed on Yu Chan.
"Can't I come? I should have been here."
Yu Chan seemed to be imitating him and leaned against the window, but she was quickly attracted by the scenery outside, and Xia Zhu's gaze also turned outward for a moment.
“That’s true.” Si You blinked. “The people of Zhuanxu tied our lives together seventeen years ago. Of course you should come here and stay by my side.”
"Siyou, what's wrong with Mother? Has she encountered some difficulties? In the past few years... no, since Jianmu left, she seems like a different person. Not only has she set many rules, but she also no longer allows me to go to Qiongyin."
Yu Chan's muffled voice came from above, sounding somewhat dejected.
"Difficulties? What difficulties could a great tribal leader, a god-human hybrid, a mysterious official bestowed by the chief god, who controls the absolute power of ice and snow in this world, possibly have? He's just lonely at the top, finds life boring, and insists on making a fuss."
"Ah Chan, it's rare to find someone like me who is utterly useless and can't even grasp the last bit of freedom I have left."
Yu Chan adjusted her posture and moved closer to Si You's position.
"You...don't say that about Mother. You and I both know how wonderful she is."
"You know it yourself, but don't drag me into it. Of course your mother is good to you; she even passed on her most precious abilities only to you."
"That's not how it works! The inheritance of the power of divination isn't something Mother can decide! It's the responsibility of the Heavenly Gods..."
Si You suddenly reached out and pulled Yu Chan in front of him. He was older than Yu Chan and had a larger frame. He could hold her in his arms with one hand. In fact, Yu Chan was stronger than him, but for some reason, she did not intend to resist.
"Alright, alright, I didn't say anything, why are you still angry?" He smiled slightly, and gently stroked Yu Chan's face with his other hand.
“Si You, possessing the power of the physiognomy isn't anything extraordinary. I didn't realize it when I was little, but in recent years I've had this persistent feeling that my body is getting heavier and heavier. It's as if I'm carrying my mother, my brother, the elders, and the clan on my shoulders. My mother always says that the future of Puyang depends on me, but I don't think I can live up to her expectations…”
"A-Chan is talking like a child again. Having the power of magic is such a wonderful thing. If someone bullies you, just use your ice blade to cut their neck. If you don't like it here, then fight your way out and see the world. No matter how big the problem is, you can solve it with these hands, right?"
His fingers gently traced the peaks of Yu Chan's eyebrows and then the corners of her eyes, a tingling, itchy sensation that seemed to stir a bluish vein beneath her skin, as if blood were coursing through her fingertips.
The cicada trembled uncontrollably.
That's right. Si You and I share the same blood. As he said, it's a line that was destined to be intertwined from birth.
"I don't think it's that good..." she said sullenly, feeling Si You's hand stop near her right eye.
"Is that so..." His voice became erratic, "If you don't like it, you might as well give it to me." His fingers suddenly brushed heavily against the corner of Yu Chan's eye.
Yu Chan opened his eyes wide and saw the patterns of a black bird slowly flowing in his blue right eye through his dark, black iris.
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