Inside the Yun City Pass, in a dilapidated small courtyard on the outskirts of the gathering place for the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate residents, the bonfire crackled softly.
Nanling Yaohua stared blankly at the dying embers of the bonfire, lost in thought.
Her mind was a ss.
Just over an hour ago, she was still by Lu Yibei's side, but sohow, the person who was perfectly fine in front of her suddenly vanished...
“Vanished” here didn't an deceased, but gone in every sense: her physical body, her Spiritual Energy fluctuations, even the mory of why Lu Yibei was there in the first place... everything, as if it had never existed or happened, disappeared in a flash.
She had experienced a similar feeling once before, when she left Dream City.
Things that had happened before were like yellow sand in her hand; no matter how hard she tried to grasp it, it would still slip through her fingers.
“Child? What are you thinking about?”
A familiar voice sounded in her ear, and a broad, rough hand rested on Nanling Yaohua’s shoulder, pulling her back from her daze.
Turning her head, Nanling Qifeng’s smiling face ca into view.
She had reunited with Bai Kai and his group earlier near the Daimu Courtyard.
Lu Yibei’s figure had suddenly vanished from her sight, and her first reaction was to rush out of the Daimu Courtyard to search, where she then encountered Bai Kai and his group, surrounded by Divine Kingdom Jade Gate residents.
Of course, besides Bai Kai and his group, there was also Fang Ji, who had once attacked Lu Yibei.
She heard that the residents of Divine Kingdom Jade Gate had dug him out from under two stone lions near the Chawan Temple ruins?
“Grandpa...” Nanling Yaohua softly called out, shaking her head, and moved closer, nestling into Nanling Qifeng’s embrace. “It’s nothing, I’m just tired.”
Nanling Qifeng sensed that his granddaughter had sothing on her mind but didn't press her. He just sighed silently and said, “Hmm, if you’re tired, why don’t you rest for a bit? By my reckoning, your White Shishu and the others should be back soon.”
“If their trip goes smoothly, we might have to prepare to leave the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate.”
After contacting the residents of Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, everyone was quickly settled here by the local people.
Not long after settling down, Bai Kai and Lord Bing noticed that the residents of Divine Kingdom Jade Gate seed to be preparing for so kind of celebration, decorating with lanterns and strears, slaughtering pigs and cattle, and bringing out aged wine. It was even livelier than New Year's, which was sowhat unusual. So, Bai Kai and Lord Bing left the small courtyard to gather information.
Although those local people appeared warm, hospitable, and polite, everyone could see that beneath their enthusiasm lay a hidden distance and caution.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have arranged such a small courtyard to gather everyone, as the intention to monitor was already quite clear.
And leaving with Bai Kai and Lord Bing, splitting up, were Fang Ji and Void.
Those two guys knew they weren't welco here; the forr had been personally seen by Nanling Yaohua presiding over the Miracle Order's summoning of Yun Pass, and the latter's identity as a urban legend was too sensitive, constantly monitored by the Psychic of several Calamity, making him feel completely uncomfortable.
If not for Naless Book vouching for him, Void would probably have been suppressed and prepared to be taken back to the Night Watch for interrogation.
Although that was just a clone...
Among the three individuals or urban legend with problematic identities, only Gu Qianqian seed completely unconcerned, staying obediently in the small courtyard, eating when she should, sleeping when she should, and even challenging Lord Huaiyuan, who was also a power-type Psychic, to an arm wrestle.
Her entire state exuded a sense of being content with whatever ca her way!
It was hard to imagine that this was a ruthless character known for her bloodlust, devouring urban legend alive, and acting lawlessly.
Suddenly, a rush of hurried footsteps ca from afar, followed by two figures, one after the other, flashing into the small courtyard.
“We finally figured out what those locals are doing!”
Bai Kai was much faster than Lord Bing, leading the way into the small courtyard. As he walked towards the bonfire, he said to everyone, “They are celebrating the return of so Miracle Saintesses...”
He hadn't finished speaking when Lord Bing caught up, interjecting very appropriately, “Just now, so people were still smugly telling that because he revealed his identity as being from the Yun Sand Sea lineage, the locals, rembering the historical ties between the two families, were going to host a banquet to entertain us!”
After speaking, Lord Bing cupped his hands towards Nanling Qifeng, who was puffing on his pipe, “My apologies, Nanling Old Man, no offense intended, but if you had seen a certain person's face just now, you wouldn't have been able to resist saying a few words either.”
Nanling Qifeng waved his hand dismissively at Lord Bing, then turned and glared fiercely at Bai Kai.
Nanling Qifeng knew his own disciple's character very well; he was the kind of guy who, given a wink, would crawl into bed in the middle of the night.
Bai Kai, having been glared at, shrank his neck and looked at Lord Bing, retorting, “Well, the historical ties between the two families weren't my words, they were theirs!”
“How would I know? A First Generation Miracle Saint just left, and sohow, two original Saintesses popped up, along with a whole bunch of locals I've never even heard of. If it were you, you'd be stumped too!”
He paused, then looked at everyone, a corner of his mouth curving up as he changed the subject, “Everyone, the situation now is that the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate has inexplicably sealed itself off; we can't even climb over the walls to get out... Since we're just sitting around here anyway, why don't we go together and see what kind of divine beings these so-called original Saintesses are?”
“I agree.” Nanling Qifeng looked at Bai Kai and said, “These residents in the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate appeared inexplicably, and those two original Saintesses appeared even more inexplicably. My intuition tells that if we figure out why they appeared, we'll find a way to leave.”
“I agree too.” Lord Bing nodded with a smile, “We outsiders are guests. Now that there's a big joyous event locally, we should go and offer our congratulations.”
His smile carried an unsettling implication, and coupled with his powerful, innate aura of killing from his authority, it always made one feel that he wasn't going to offer congratulations, but rather to crash the party.
As if he would start a massacre and capture the Saintesses if things didn't go his way.
Not far away, Gu Qianqian listened to their conversation and thoughtfully asked the system, “System, they seem to be talking about celebrations, banquets, and such...”
“Does that an there will be a lot of good food?”
“While there might indeed be, my suggestion is to observe for now. This matter seems strange, and there might be so danger. It's better if we try not to get involved.”
Gu Qianqian only heard the first half of the sentence, and her eyes lit up. “Then I want to go too!”
System, “...” So, you didn't hear a single word of what I said afterward, did you?
————
“Hello everyone, hello everyone!” On the lavishly decorated float, Lu Yibei waved to the cheering Divine Kingdom Jade Gate residents around her, while shouting loudly.
“You’re too kind, too kind! Don’t be like that, we are not heroes, everyone here is a hero!”
“Sorry! We’re late returning!”
“...”
After she greeted the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate residents with an expressionless but friendly deanor, she squeezed into the float and sat down, only to find Shen Baiwei looking at her with a resentful gaze.
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“You didn't actually start thinking of yourself as so Saintess, did you?”
She had originally wanted to remind Calamity that these people were of suspicious origin, and Dragon Tang, apart from when he interacted with them, seed sowhat deranged and disoriented at other tis. It would be better to maintain so distance and at least a modicum of caution.
Furthermore, in her opinion, this also aligned with Calamity's consistently cautious approach.
However, after hearing her words, Lu Yibei said sothing that surprised her, “Does it really matter if it’s true or false?”
“Have you ever thought that the legend of the so-called original Miracle Saintesses might be the spiritual pillar that has sustained them for over a thousand years? If we were to tell them now that we are not the people they are waiting for, could they bear it?”
“What if they suffer a ntal breakdown and do sothing terrible? I don't know about others, but I definitely can't defeat Brother Dragon Tang right now... So, following the script they've given us is the safest approach.”
“...” Shen Baiwei was montarily speechless. Through the gap in the float's curtain, she glanced at the back of Dragon Tang, who was leading the horse at the front of the float, and suddenly felt her eyelids twitch wildly.
Although she didn't dare to investigate too closely, a rough sweep with her Psychic had already detected several different Spiritual Energy fluctuations generated by different Spirit Marks from Dragon Tang's body, and these mixed Spiritual Energy fluctuations, when combined, produced an exceptionally powerful Spiritual Energy fluctuation.
That feeling was very strange, just like the special effects animation she used to watch as a child; each protagonist, when separated, could stand alone, but after combining through a special thod, they could form a new, powerful individual.
It was just weird! It didn't conform to the known laws of Spirit Mark.
Could it be that this guy, during the more than a thousand years that the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate was sealed, had explored a path to advance to Calamity on his own?
Shen Baiwei shook her head at this thought.
In her impression, Dragon Tang was just an overly enthusiastic, sowhat foolish young man, making it hard to associate him with a formidable figure who had independently explored a path to Calamity.
That feeling was like the Xiao Pang Duner from next door in her mory, who always had a runny nose, suddenly turning into a handso, successful person [N O V E L I G H T] with a thriving career after a few years of not seeing him.
Just as Shen Baiwei was imagining things, Lu Yibei suddenly handed her an exquisitely crafted wooden box, interrupting her thoughts.
She looked at Lu Yibei, tilting her head. “What is this?”
“You're asking ?” Lu Yibei pointed at the tip of her nose, expressionlessly. “Brother Dragon Tang just gave it to , saying you left it.”
“You, Shen Baiwei! I can't believe soone as seemingly upright as you is secretly doing such things? And you even criticized for leaving behind pure succubus books and spreading faith before...”
Shen Baiwei's mouth twitched. As if a dirty little secret had been discovered, she guiltily avoided Lu Yibei's piercing gaze, lowered her head, and carefully opened the wooden box. A small, naless booklet with a leather cover then ca into her view.
She opened the first page, and before she could read the contents, just seeing the yellowed, brittle notebook pages, she froze.
Her fingertips gently brushed over them, and the notebook pages, which were originally condensed from her Spirit Mark, imdiately seed to sense sothing, trembling slightly. In a breath's ti, they transford into a stream of light, flowing along her fingertips and rging into her body.
The next mont, her Spirit Mark vibrated violently, and surging Spiritual Energy erged, spreading throughout her limbs and bones, as warm as jade, yet as profound as history. Along with the Spiritual Energy ca a massive amount of information.
In a trance, she seed to see several figures, hunched over a desk, grinding ink and lifting their brushes, writing words on page after page of the notebook...
————
【Today, Grandma Zhang and Grandma Li in the courtyard had a big fight over an egg. Grandma Li said she wasn't feeling well and wanted the egg to make sugar water to nourish herself. Grandma Zhang insisted it was an egg that could hatch chicks and demanded Grandma Li compensate her. After much calculation, sohow, it even amounted to a brood of chickens.
Miss Shen is learned and well-inford, who do you think is more in the right?】
...
【Nothing happened today. During the drill at the training ground, the comrades of the Long Xiang Army were not in high spirits. Seeing this, I felt deeply worried.】
...
【Today, I bought five lambs, two males and three females. By next year, I will surely have more than ten lambs!】
...
Initially, the things recorded in those notebook pages were all trivial matters.
There were daily household notes recorded by the Daimu Courtyard maids, daily routines of the Longxiang Army Camp recorded by Soldier Chen Long, and also what could be called a “livestock log” from Head Chef He of Daimu Courtyard, who had frequent contact with Shen Baiwei.
As ti passed, trivial matters beca fewer and fewer, from being recorded daily at first, then every few days, then monthly, and even yearly.
It felt like soone started writing a diary on a whim but didn't stick with it for more than a few days, gradually slacking off and abandoning it as their enthusiasm faded.
Until several years later, the life of the first recorder ca to an end, leaving behind their final words.
【Starting with five lambs, I finally got over thirty mature sheep, so it wasn't a complete waste.】Head Chef He was already old; these were his last words.
Although he was still talking about his sheep at the end, Shen Baiwei, through her subtle connection with the notebook pages, felt the difficulty he faced in raising livestock under the extre conditions of the sealed Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, and that last trace of unwillingness as he was about to bid farewell to this world.
In a trance, among the figures writing at the desk, a short, stout figure stood up, turned around, and walked into the darkness.
Imdiately after, one figure after another stood up, just like Head Chef He, and walked into the darkness.
More and more figures walked into the darkness; there were no parting words, just the abrupt halt of the records.
Soon, only two figures remained: the Daimu Courtyard maid and the Longxiang Army Armored Soldier Soldier Chen Long, and their records at this point also began to change.
【Today in the main camp, I was inford that there were evil spirits causing trouble in the city, so I went to investigate with my comrades. The sight I witnessed was just like the chaos at Daimu Courtyard that day, sending chills down our spines.
Has the Shaman King seemingly returned?】
...
【There was a woman in the city who gave birth today to a boy, but the boy had four arms and was covered in red scales, truly terrifying.
Miss said that he was probably affected by the city's pollution, and told us to bring all pregnant won in the city to Daimu Courtyard to await childbirth.】
When such information surfaced in her mind, Shen Baiwei's heart trembled slightly, and an ominous premonition quietly arose within her.
The Shaman King's erosion had reignited, thirty-six years after she and Lu Yibei had left.
But...
If the Shaman King's erosion had reignited, how had they survived?
And continued for a thousand years? Shen Baiwei wondered, puzzled.
The next mont, as more and more records surged into her mind, a picture of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate residents struggling to survive in despair quietly unfolded before her eyes...
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