Chapter 761: I'm Here to Find Someone

A wave of bloodstain scent swept into the Hall of Nurturing the Heart; Gu Kang fell to the ground, and blood seeping from his forehead spread across the bluestone floor.

Gu Jiu Ling stared steadily at the corpse before her, suddenly feeling a bland emptiness, and a nausea she had never known welled up.

She couldn't help but bend over and vomit; Xiao Yin's heart jolted, and he immediately steadied Gu Jiu Ling.

"Jiu Ling, what's wrong with you?"

Gu Jiu Ling only heard a buzzing in her ears, and in an instant she felt as if she were on a swaying ship on the sea, encountering an unprecedented heaviness, unable to stand steady—one wave could plunge her into a dark abyss.

The feeling was unprecedentedly intense, and Gu Jiu Ling's heart panicked wildly.

Before, when she had used space, this phenomenon had already occurred.

Could it be that after traveling to this era, even though she also brought space with her, these things will eventually backfire?

Gu Jiu Ling had previously, out of extreme urgency, pushed her spatial ability to the limit.

She even forcibly used space again in a short time to bring Xiao Yin out of the underground palace.

She wanted to comfort Xiao Yin, telling him not to be afraid or anxious.

But the hand Gu Jiu Ling raised could never reach that scorching, stern face.

Gu Jiu Ling's fear grew even stronger; she opened her mouth but said nothing, and in an instant her soul drifted into the air.

From her lofty view she saw everything inside the Hall of Nurturing the Heart.

Everyone rushed toward her, and Xiao Yin tightly clasped her in his arms, urgently shouting her name at the top of his voice.

Gu Jiu Ling struggled to speak to Xiao Yin, but she couldn't utter a word.

Gu Jiu Ling stared at herself and saw her afterimage fading bit by bit.

"How infuriating, may the heavens stop playing with me like this—what on earth is happening?"

Gu Jiu Ling fought fiercely, yet her soul continued to dissipate at an irreversible speed.

Having possessed another's body for so long, Gu Jiu Ling now finally tasted the pain of being torn away from it, feeling as if her flesh and blood were being ripped apart.

Ling Feng lifted her and, like a madman, burst out of the Hall of Nurturing the Heart, apparently searching for the Imperial Physician.

Gu Jiu Ling wanted to scold that madman, "You, come back!"

Xiao Yin carried Gu Jiu Ling's body away, hastening her dissolution.

At that moment Gu Jiu Ling really wanted to slap Xiao Yin hard, thinking, "Why does such a huge mess arise at the critical moment?"

The instant Xiao Yin rushed out of the Hall of Nurturing the Heart with Gu Jiu Ling in his arms, Gu Jiu Ling's vision went black, and she knew nothing.

In the second year of Qian Yuan, deep autumn had arrived; the autumn wind blew the already withered yellow leaves down, forming a thick layer on the ground.

The Peach Blossom Nunnery no longer bore its former splendid signs.

At that moment, the gate of the Peach Blossom Nunnery slowly opened.

A nun in blue robes holding a broom stepped out of the main entrance; just as she was about to sweep away the fallen leaves at the doorway, she seemed to recall something and slowly sat on the threshold.

The floor tiles beside the threshold had also been moved.

Buried beneath was the previously most legendary figure of Southern Qi, Gu Kang.

After his death, the emperor ordered his body to be burned to ash and sent specially to her, a hidden meaning that perhaps only those from that time understood.

Thinking of this, Li Ruoxi couldn't help recalling the worldly memories before she took vows.

Back then she was a courtesan in Shang Jing, and Gu Kang was the little tyrant who rode horses at Zhangtai.

With just a fleeting glance, it linked the two of them to the present.

After Gu Kang's death, the Empress immediately fell ill with a strange disease, unable to wake from a long sleep.

Indeed it was a bizarre illness; the Empress resembled a walking corpse, constantly tended by the Emperor himself.

Emperor Qian Yuan seemed mad, summoning Daoist priests from across the realm, even those who captured ghosts, into the palace.

For over a year, daily rituals turned the entire palace city into something bizarre and surreal.

Many ministers disputed this, but Xiao Yin was considered an enlightened emperor; under his rule, during that year and a half, Southern Qi enjoyed good governance, strong national power, and the people lived peacefully.

The unprecedented flourishing was restored, and Emperor Qian Yuan Xiao Yin was even called the Qian Yuan Restoration.

Unexpectedly, regarding the Empress's matter, no persuasion could succeed.

An important senior minister in the past also urged the Emperor not to keep the Empress in the palace, saying the Empress was already dead.

For this, Xiao Yin directly executed that person, and thereafter no one dared to interfere with the Empress's affairs.

However, to put it another way, the Empress had been sleeping for over a year, yet she remained as if alive, showing no change at all.

One can imagine the Emperor living daily with a walking corpse; the ministers shudder at the thought.

But the Emperor's such fondness for the Empress, this little quirk, made them dare not say anything further.

Who didn't know that before his enthronement, Xiao Yin and the Empress shared a deep marital love, bound for a lifetime, never parting.

But if this continued, everyone would watch with aching hearts.

In the past, Emperor Qian Yuan was the War God of the South Pole, handsome and mighty.

In this year and a half, Xiao Yin, aside from state affairs, spent his time performing rituals and inviting Daoist priests.

Thinking of this, Li Ruoxi lifted her hand and slowly brushed over the stone slab, beneath which Gu Kang lay buried.

Li Ruoxi carefully wiped the bluestone slab covering it with a cloth, then picked up the broom and gently swept the fallen leaves on the ground.

Suddenly, the sound of a carriage crushing the road at the foot of the mountain rang out, and Li Ruoxi stared blankly at the carriage.

The carriage at the Peach Blossom Nunnery's entrance halted, and a woman carrying a swaddled infant stepped out.

Seeing the woman's face, Li Ruoxi's heart lurched; wasn't this the Princess Fuqing who had vanished for over a year?

Li Ruoxi was instantly stunned; the two women were probably the ones most entangled with Southern Qi and Gu Kang.

One was a proper marriage, a couple soaring together; Gu Kang became the Prince Consort of Princess Fuqing, basking in boundless glory.

The other was Gu Kang, who almost gave his life for her.

Li Ruoxi possessed Gu Kang's first half of life, while Princess Fuqing concluded his final years.

Two women stood facing each other; the fallen leaves around them, blown by the wind, formed a golden whirl that tightly wrapped the two of them.

It always feels as if Gu Kang were still alive, tightly embracing the two of them.

Only when the two stand together is Gu Kang whole.

Li Ruoxi never expected that the long‑missing Princess Fortunate Clear would actually be standing before her.

She was stunned for a moment, quickly set the broom aside, bowed and stepped forward to salute the Princess Fortunate Clear, but the princess took her hand, helped her up, and smiled lightly, saying, "As a Buddhist nun, I cannot bear this salute; there's really no need for excessive courtesy."

Li Ruoxi slowly stepped to the side: "Your Highness, what brings you to the Peach Blossom Hermitage today?"

Princess Fortunate Clear looked toward the gate of the Peach Blossom Hermitage, her voice trembling; before she could speak, tears welled up in her eyes.

She whispered softly, "I've come to find someone."