Night Talk
With its upturned eaves, green bricks and gray tiles, the gate is made of solid wood. Even though the patterns on the door are mottled and peeling, one can still glimpse the exquisite craftsmanship of yesteryear.
“A post station?” Lin Yun read out the two characters written on the plaque. “As far as I know, this is a place where the imperial court transmits information and where officials travel.”
Why come here?
A question arose in her mind, but before she could think about it, Sang Zhao led her into a side alley. After all, the inn was located on a deserted street, and the two of them stood out somewhat.
"This is where the carrier pigeons return to their nests." The doctor's fingertips condensed into a faint light, and the afterimage of the carrier pigeons appeared in the void.
"I originally thought it was just a conflict between the immortal sects." Lin Yunwang's expression suddenly turned serious, and a chill ran down his spine.
She had naively thought that by relocating the entire village to the town as soon as possible and using the array to suppress cultivators, at least everyone's lives would be spared. Now it seems that she was simply naive to the point of being an idiot.
"This matter may also be related to the demon race, but it is not convenient to say more here. I will tell you when we get back."
Sang Zhao noticed her worry and promised, "Don't worry too much. I will leave after I find out the truth."
As a direct disciple of Venerable Yichen, Sang Zhao was humble but confident in his own abilities.
As he made a hand seal, Lin Yun suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Can you teleport me directly to my residence? There's an item I need you to examine."
The teleportation talisman burned out, and the Milky Way fell to earth, leaving the two standing in a pitch-black room.
Lin Yun pulled out a slip of paper from the bottom of the dressing case, then took out a slip of paper hidden in his sleeve and handed it to Sang Zhao. "One is a prescription written by the doctor who told me that the Rejuvenation Pill of the Jingyin Sect can save my grandfather's life, and the other is a message brought by a carrier pigeon this morning."
She had hesitated about whether to show Sang Zhao the prescription the doctor had left for her, but once she agreed to return to the village with Sang Zhao, she had no right to waver.
Lin Yun took the medicine pot from the cabinet, took the kettle off the stove, poured a glass of water for Sang Zhao, and then prepared to start decocting the medicine.
Sang Zhao stroked the ink mark with his fingertips. "The characters share the same origin. May I make a rubbing and send it back to the Jingyin Sect?"
"I couldn't have gotten it."
This action undoubtedly binds her to the Jingyin Sect, but given the current situation, there is no other way.
The young man examined the prescription, considering the dosage of each ingredient. "The prescription itself is fine; it has a calming and soothing effect. However, adding the original herbs from the Resurrection Pill..."
Lin Yun took the prescription from his hand, walked to the stove and sat down, lifting the lid. The aroma of medicine filled the whole room. "This is the medicine prescribed for me. I was so troubled at the time that I couldn't fall asleep no matter what."
With the topic of conversation over, Sang Zhao changed the subject: "Then let's talk about the Exploration Gate. You seem quite interested in that?"
“But the medicine is ready.” Lin Yun smiled helplessly at him. “I’ll go deliver the medicine first. I should bring dinner later. We’ll talk about it then.”
"Shall I go with you?" he suggested.
"No need, I can go by myself." Lin Yun made an appointment with Sang Zhao to meet him in his courtyard later.
Stepping out of the courtyard, Lin Yun looked up at the night sky. In Shixi Village, one only needs to tilt their head back to see a vast sea of stars, countless stars scattered like sesame seeds on a sesame seed cake.
She really loves this place and everyone in the village.
Moonlight spilled onto the thatched eaves of Shixi Village as Lin Yun carried a bowl of medicine through the courtyard, the rising steam from the medicine mingling with the night mist.
"Grandpa, it's time to take your medicine." She called out from the doorway before even entering the house.
"Your complexion is even rosier than that peach tree in the village now," Lin Yun said, handing the medicine bowl to the old man. "This medicine is very potent."
The village chief chuckled, "Back then, when Ah Sheng carried you back, the strength with which you gripped his clothes was far more potent than this medicine."
Before he fell into a coma, he started mentioning his grandson more often, and he would associate everything with Ah Sheng. It seems that this will continue even after he wakes up.
Hearing his mutterings, the girl sighed silently: Ah Sheng, where are you?
"If you're bored, play with the birds you keep. Don't go running around recklessly since you're not fully recovered." Lin Yun noticed that his grandfather's shoes were covered in mud, knowing that his grandfather couldn't stay still.
The old man sipped his medicine and nodded honestly. Suddenly, he said, "Tell me about your trip to the Jingyin Sect to seek medicine."
Lin Yun turned around and added fuel to the fire, saying, "These are all trivial matters. What food did you leave for the doctor today?"
Anyone with eyes could see that she was clumsily trying to change the subject, but the village chief just fell for it.
"That little rascal," the village chief thought to himself.
"It's in the pot, I'm afraid it'll get cold."
Seeing that the village chief had finished drinking the medicine in his bowl, Lin Yunwang was afraid that he would ask more about the medicine, so he quickly said, "You should rest well after you finish your medicine. I'll go and get some food for the doctor."
"I'll be back to keep watch for you in a bit!" she said as she ran.
"Don't come back." The village chief shook his head. "Your Uncle Liu is coming over tonight. I told him not to come, but he insists on coming to keep watch. They're all such a worry."
"We care about you!"
As the village chief watched her retreating figure, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "She must have suffered a lot by avoiding the topic like this."
He understood Lin Yunwang; he knew the child disliked lying and that she had risked her life to save him. But as her grandfather, he would rather Yunwang be a selfish person than risk her own life for the sake of those around her.
He has already lost his grandson and doesn't want to lose his granddaughter too.
Lin Yunwang was taken in by Asheng, the village chief's grandson. From a young age, she was cared for by the village chief as his own granddaughter, and she regarded him as her own grandfather. After Asheng left, she and her grandfather depended on each other for survival.
Unable to accept the death of her grandfather, the village chief, she was determined to save him, even at the cost of her own life. Before the arrival of the mysterious doctor, she had consulted numerous physicians and tried her best to obtain even the most expensive medicinal herbs, but with little success.
Lin Yun composed himself, stood in front of Sang Zhao's courtyard gate, and then gently knocked on the door knocker.
After waiting for quite a while, someone finally came to open the door.
The night was as dark as ink, and unburnt talismans were scattered on the stone table in the courtyard, standing out conspicuously in the darkness.
The two walked into the house as if they hadn't seen anything. "Let's eat inside, it's getting dark in the courtyard."
They tacitly avoided discussing it.
With something on their minds, the two ate very little and finished quickly. They put down their bowls and chopsticks and sat facing each other.
Sang Zhao broke the silence first, "I remember you were interested in the Exploration Gate, so let's start with that."
According to the "Historical Records," this organization was founded 30 years ago by the Immortal Venerable Qiming, with the aim of developing spells beyond attack and defense. Rather than spells, they were more like tools. The inventions we encountered were mostly in the form of talismans. When using them, one needed to infuse them with one's own spiritual power.
He spoke very interestingly. Even when he talked about those difficult and obscure classics and anecdotes, Lin Yun listened attentively.
"They are mostly used for teleportation, directions, and voice transmission. However, they are not circulated in the mortal world." After saying this, he showed Yun Wang the three different talismans, which had only slight differences.
He took out a specially made talisman from his sleeve, and soon Sang Zhao stopped supplying spiritual power. A model of a large city stood before him. Lin Yun recognized it as Shuofeng City and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"The Immortal Venerable once established a rule that cultivators are not allowed to participate in human affairs. Therefore, the human world is almost full of formations that suppress cultivators. However... the reason that these cultivation families gave to Immortal Venerable Qiming is that they have private dealings with the noble families and royal families of the human world."
Sang Zhao realized he had misspoke and quickly changed the subject, "However, the things created by the Tanwei Sect are not omnipotent. For example, the transmission talisman has extremely high distance requirements. Once it exceeds the range, the transmitted sound may spread to the farthest distance. If one's cultivation reaches a certain stage, one will have one's own tools for transmitting messages and sounds, and there will be no concern about distance."
"I see." Lin Yun hesitated for a moment, then took out the mirror that could guide the way from his sleeve. "This is different from the talisman you showed me. It was given to me by that doctor. I haven't had a chance to show it to you before."
Sang Zhao took the mirror. "This design is quite peculiar."
He tried to infuse it with spiritual power, but he couldn't activate it, nor could he sense anyone's spiritual power within the mirror. Logically, since it had led Lin Yun to Zhongyu Mountain, it should have been controlled by someone's spiritual power, yet there was no fluctuation of spiritual power around it.
"Did you experience any unusual behavior while using it?"
Lin Yun shook his head in denial.
"I have memorized the design of this mirror; you should keep it safe."
Sang Zhao handed the mirror back, and Lin Yun carefully wrapped it in a soft cloth.
"I also have something I want to tell you."
The courage he had mustered today had diminished somewhat. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke, "The Soul-Returning Pill was originally developed to resist the Demon Lord's ability to invade people's sea of consciousness, devour fear, and drive them mad. Now that the Soul-Returning Pill is working, it means that someone may have mastered the Demon Lord's magic."
Didn't the Demon Lord die in the great battle more than a decade ago? Even though Lin Yunwang knew almost nothing about the cultivation world, everyone knew about this matter.
Lin Yun was somewhat uneasy. After chatting with him for a while longer, she got up to say goodbye.
After spending a few days with him, she learned about his character; he could be described as having a pure heart and being free of ulterior motives.
The two trusted each other. However, revealing their true feelings to each other was truly difficult. Yet, they were both adept at understanding people's hearts; if the other took a step back, they would also take a step back.
Do not put the other party in a difficult position, nor embarrass them.
For example, Lin Yunwang kept trying to get the words he hadn't finished saying at the post station, but he remained silent and didn't say much, just waiting for Lin Yunwang to take the initiative to speak.
Although they didn't talk much that night, it was the first time the two of them opened their hearts to each other.
The wind howled as it swept through the treetops, and the fallen leaf stalks trembled between the branches.
A night breeze suddenly arose, rustling the old trees along the road, startling Lin Yun. As she pulled up her sleeve, she touched her smooth, pristine skin. "Something's not right," she thought, "this wound is healing way too fast."
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