Chapter 183: Clear Day Chapter 160: Confirmation of Heavenly Secrets

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Officials prepared the process, attendants scrubbed the altar, the wu-na rehearsed the sacrificial dance, and craftsmen set about making the red-faced Plague God statue.

When disaster and plague strike, there must be the "Sending Off the Plague God" exorcism ritual; compared to the straw Plague God images made by the common folk, those crafted by the court's skilled artisans are even taller and more fearsome, this image resembling a coffin, gradually taking shape in the artisans' hands.

And that evil ghost about to be sealed in a coffin was now a dead man.

In the dark prison cell, a girl dressed in a plain dark-colored skirt stood still, gazing with eyes full of hatred at the dying man huddled on the mud bed.

"Why was it my younger brother?" Liu Ming asked the question she had thought over and over: "Just because of that one word 'evil monster'?"

This evil Taoist's death date was set, yet he was still under strict guard; she had petitioned the Emperor for permission before she could come here to see the Taoist's current state with her own eyes.

What she saw was more or less satisfactory, but the resentment in her heart could not be dispelled.

"Just because..." Chi Yang closed his remaining eye, his voice faint, yet a smile played at the corner of his mouth: "The world says children's words are without taboo, merely indulging ignorant evil thoughts..."

A sigh escaped his lips: "Also blame his bad luck... the last child should have been of the Liu bloodline; unfortunately, at that time I only thought of this disobedient child... only blame him for making me remember him."

Liu Ming's body trembled; she wanted to step forward, but He Pingchun reached out to stop her.

"No, innocent children are inherently blameless..." Chi Yang still had a faint sigh: "Commandery Princess, why must you go to listen to the scriptures, creating this karmic bond?"

Liu Ming's resentful expression suddenly froze; it seemed blood seeped from her heart, into her eyes, and her eye sockets turned red.

The Taoist on the mud bed still kept his eyes closed; his breath was weak, but with every exhalation, it seemed he would drag more people into Purgatory with him.

Liu Ming nearly collapsed; though her face bore ten thousand resentments, she could not suppress the guilt she could not face within; she was led out of this prison cell, and in her collapse and confusion, she saw the Great Wu God and Liu Qi walking toward her.

"Tai Puzhe, Sixth Brother..." Liu Ming's voice trembled slightly; after more than a month, she had grown thin and gaunt, the former rosy fullness gone from her cheeks.

After a brief exchange of glances, He Pingchun sent Liu Ming away.

The Great Wu God bore an imperial decree and had the right to interrogate Chi Yang at any time; before leaving, He Pingchun only reminded the Sixth Prince in a low voice: "... the time for the Heaven Sacrifice is set; Your Highness, act with caution."

Liu Qi, who appeared ferocious and lawless to outsiders, readily agreed; once outside the prison cell, he still stood guard for the Fox Spirit.

"Have you decided? You're going to die." Shaowei asked without expression.

Chi Yang finally opened his eyes weakly, half-smiling as he countered: "... Have you decided? Do you truly want to kill her?"

The only girl he had ever truly looked at showed no ripple on her face or in her eyes this time: "The one who has always wanted to kill her is you, so I will kill you."

Simple words, straightforward logic, a posture that could no longer be shaken.

Chi Yang watched, slowly saying: "Very well..."

Still not enough, after all still not enough...

"Then let's go to hell together." He smiled slowly, closing his eyes again: "The dead must go to hell, and the living must follow down to hell..."

"The Hell of the Giant Mountain Siege, the Hell of Fengdu, the Hell of the Blood Lake... tormented day and night, with no release."

He still did not yield, and there was no hope of negotiation; Shaowei turned and left, not bothering to entangle further with a useless evil ghost.

This time her steps out of the prison cell were even more decisive; she would not come here again, and the next meeting would be his death date.

Liu Qi took one last look at the body curled on the mud bed; in a sense, Chi Yang had already been killed by her, his immortal reputation destroyed by her, his flesh trapped by her, his malicious intent trampled by her, only this last breath of foul air with a time limit written on it remained.

However this breath gasped, it could not prolong Chi Yang's life.

The ten-day limit was Shaowei's deadline in her heart, and also nearly the limit of Chi Yang's lifespan.

After He Pingchun returned, he checked on Chi Yang's condition again; fortunately, the Sixth Prince had been calm enough this time; if he struck again, even ten days might be hard to endure... the people from the Taiyi Shu had come yesterday; the organs of this remnant life had already begun to rot.

A person like this had nowhere to escape, and no need to escape; even if he escaped, it would only be to change places to breathe his last; he was a dead man in a double sense.

Even so, He Pingchun did not dare be careless, still ordering his capable deputy to keep strict watch.

A dead man with a heart of death, lying on the mud bed in a posture of death, murmured in his mouth like mad ravings: "She is indeed your disciple..."

"But I am also indeed your junior brother, am I not..."

"It is truly cold now..." Chi Yang curled up even smaller, his back hunched, his spine protruding like a string of beads; he was about to fall into a daze, unable to tell what year it was, murmuring softly: "... You gave me your clothes; are you cold?"

"Do you feel cold?"

After leaving the great prison, in the night, seeing Shaowei walking with her arms crossed, Liu Qi spoke up.

The weather at the end of June, the summer heat not yet faded; how could one feel cold?

Shaowei shook her head to deny it, but the arms she held crossed did not lower.

Seeing this, Liu Qi had an impolite thought.

At this moment, not far from the great prison, Liu Ming, who had been waiting and not yet left, walked over.

Her expression was somewhat dazed, but she still immediately raised her hand, bowed deeply to the Fox Spirit: "Tai Puzhe has investigated the truth of Chuntian's murder and brought the true culprit to justice; such great kindness, Liu Ming will remember it for life..."

Shaowei regulated her breathing, suppressed the cold seeping from her bones and blood, lowered the arms she had held, but said: "Commandery Princess, do not believe his words."

Liu Ming stared blankly, raising her head, meeting a pair of extremely persuasive eyes; the owner of those eyes, allowing no intercession, said: "He is a murderous ghost, and still tries to shift the blame. Do not listen to his words; you only need to remember one thing: he killed people, he bears the pain, and he will die."

Liu Ming, in a daze, suddenly had her emotions opened by these simple words; she looked at the girl before her, and actually sensed a similar aura from her, as if they had walked the same road invisibly, but the person before her was clearly the pathfinder, so she could guide her.

The next moment, Liu Qi not far away saw Liu Ming carry out that impolite thought he could not act upon.

Liu Ming, holding back tears, hugged Shaowei tightly.

Shaowei seemed quite tense, for a moment not knowing how to respond; she subconsciously turned her head, looking at Liu Qi, her eyes startled, as if asking him for help.

But Liu Qi was pleased to see it; he did not rescue her, but instead revealed a somewhat teasing smile, turned, and left.

What Liu Ming could do, he could not do; but he had other things he could do for her.

Chi Yang refusing to speak even at the cost of death was not the end; Chi Yang's death was not the end; only the moment she spoke to stop would it truly be over.

Before she gave the order, everything must continue.

Nine days, eight days, seven days, six days, five days...

Day and night she pondered, searched, and investigated; Shaowei had become a taut bowstring, unable to relax for a moment.

She had already accepted killing Chiyang as her revenge to close things out, yet she still valued that deadline in her heart immensely, keeping Chiyang alive until the eve of that day because she was unwilling to give up any possibility.

The approaching deadline brought ever-increasing anxiety; Shaowei spoke less and less, and even using the Acupoint Great Art could not help her sleep.

Zhan Zhan sensed these surging emotions and was affected, beginning to show the stereotypical behavior of a frantic bird plucking its feathers.

After Mo Li's hair and Xiao Yu's eyebrows had successively suffered, that night the house slave lay on the bed, and the frantic little bird used its long beak to pluck his beard bit by bit, which he had not groomed in recent days.

The house slave had no expression, wearing an air of resignation to fate.

Though other people's birds pluck their own feathers when frantic, his... probably followed the master.

The little bird's master was not at home and had gone out searching at night again.

Only five days remained; Shaowei deceived again, using the excuse that the Great Sacrifice was imminent and she needed to calm her mind to seek divine inspiration, no longer concerning herself with the shrine's tedious affairs nor seeing anyone.

Outwardly she stayed behind closed doors, but secretly she traveled here and there, seeking true "divine inspiration."

Divine inspiration was hard to grasp; what Shaowei kept tightly clenched in her hand was always that unwilling-to-give-up thought that insisted on forcing things to the end.

After the Zi hour, the seventh month arrived; Shaowei, dressed entirely in black, sat alone on an unnamed high pavilion in the city, gazing around at Chang'an on the first day of the seventh month.

As Shaowei's gaze moved, it fell upon a mansion that still had many lights on.

Longing arrived, and the person soon followed; Shaowei, now skilled at evading the Liang Wang Fu patrols, sneaked into the place where Qing Wu was.

Since leaving Taoxi Township, Qing Wu had always slept lightly; she heard a slight sound at the window and immediately rose from the bed.

The window opened, and the night visitor reached in; in the dimness, Qing Wu grabbed Shaowei's hand, and with her other hand touched Shaowei's shoulder and arm, feeling that both person and clothing were ice-cold, like a night-walking civet, not knowing how far it had run in the cold wind, its fur shivering as if frosted by night dew.

Qing Wu asked nothing; the urgent matter was only to pull the person to sit by the bed, fetch the kettle warmed on the stove in the next room, first use a towel to wipe their hands, then pour a bowl of hot tea, and bring out the pastries prepared every day.

Shaowei obediently drank tea first and then ate the pastry; though she could not taste much flavor, the tea was hot and the pastry was soft.

Only when the chill throughout her body had dissipated did Qing Wu softly ask: "Still can't find her? That demonic Taoist would rather die than reveal Eldest Sister's whereabouts?"

Shaowei chewed the pastry and nodded.

Qing Wu gripped the damp towel in her hand and could not help but say: "How can there be such a wicked villain in this world..."

How could the people here have so many endless ways of bullying others?

Tears welled in Qing Wu's eyes; looking again at Shaowei in the dimness, she was both anxious and heartbroken for a moment, but could only restrain herself and ask: "Is there really no other way?"

"There is, and we are trying all of them." Shaowei stopped eating the pastry and said: "A Jie, this time I came to tell you that the situation has changed; I may not be able to leave the capital in a short time. Once news from Aunt is sent back, I will send you away first."

The date originally tacitly accepted in her heart was Jiang Fu's birthday, but if Chiyang died and still no result appeared, she would still have to keep searching.

This capital city was too big; above were high pavilions, below were underground chambers. One month was not enough to search it all, let alone five months, one year, two years... alive they must see the person, dead they must see the corpse.

Qing Wu did not nod immediately, only looked at Shaowei with tears.

They had finally captured that terrible prey, yet still could not fulfill their wish, still had to swallow this bitterness and continue running through the black night...

Qing Wu looked at the girl eating the pastry again; she had only a pair of hands, and no matter how brave and capable, she was still just one person, a person who had not truly grown up... who had previously told her that she had never been bullied after entering the capital; how could she believe that?

With blurred vision drooping, Qing Wu looked at her own hand holding the thin white towel; though both were human, her hands were so weak, just like when "performing drills" by the Hou He in Taoxi Township in the past, she always played the hostage waiting to be rescued. This time entering the capital, merely forcing herself not to commit suicide had already consumed tremendous willpower; fortunately, she waited for Younger Sister Shaowei, who rescued her once again...

Back when Younger Sister Shaowei wanted her to follow and learn martial arts, she was afraid and refused to agree no matter what, only because she was the A Jie, and Younger Sister Shaowei followed the human order of "whoever is the A Jie has the final say," not daring to force her... but this A Jie of hers, where was she actually like an A Jie?

Shaowei finished the last bite of pastry and took the towel from Qing Wu's hand to wipe her hands.

Qing Wu raised her hand instead and wiped away a crumb at the corner of Shaowei's mouth, just as gently and patiently as when they first met.

But Qing Wu's state of mind was no longer that of the past; at this moment a wordless emotion arose in her heart, and if examined closely, it was roughly a kind of overreaching protectiveness.

Because she wanted to protect someone who had always been protecting her, she felt herself powerless and useless.

She had no scheming, knew not a bit of martial arts, and had an unhidden timidity; companions who had been arranged to enter the capital with her had often mocked, saying it was fine this way—if she made no big moves, no one could discover she was a spy.

Before Shaowei left, seeing the red spots on Qing Wu's face fading, she did not forget to remind her to take her medicine on time.

Seeing Shaowei off, Qing Wu took out a small jar mixed among several jars of incense pills and poured out a pill.

Moonlight streamed into the room, time seemed to stand still, until those slender fingers moved slightly and the pill was put back into the jar.

Qing Wu did not sleep again; until the sky brightened, she still could not think of any good idea.

But always hiding was not a solution.

She decided to make a pot of rice cake.

The steward of Liang Wang Fu was very pleased; Xiangzhi, who had been ill for nearly a month, finally showed signs of recovery. She went to the kitchen herself to make food and entrusted him to present it to the Master, conveying her gratitude for the Master's indulgence.

The steward originally intended to let Xiangzhi recuperate for a few more days, and once fully recovered, take her to see the Master.

The Chiyang incident had aroused public anger. To atone to the heavens above and pray for rain, Liang Wang and the Emperor had recently abstained together from pungent foods and meat, and naturally it was not proper to indulge in pleasure.

Even so, upon seeing the rice cake, Liang Wang immediately summoned Xiangzhi. Seeing the red spots on her face fade, Liang Wang nodded with a smile, took her hand, and spoke haltingly: "... Don't be afraid, rest well, wait for this Prince... to take you back to Liang."

Qing Wu bowed her head and softly agreed.

At this moment, the steward returned quickly from outside, bringing a major piece of news.

—Xian Tai Gong had finally divined the Heavenly Machine Time Pillar; relying on this complete Eight Characters, they confirmed the true Tianji Incarnation!

"Good, ah..." Liang Wang made two "ah" sounds, sat up straighter, and said excitedly: "The Heavenly Machine appears, the world is at peace..."

He wanted to go to the Imperial streamer to offer congratulations to his Imperial Brother; the steward soon had people prepare carriages and horses.

Liang Wang was excited for a while before remembering to ask: "Which... Xian Tai Gong?"

The steward: "Yes, right inside Xian Tai Gong!"

Inside Xian Tai Gong, there was an uproar above and below.

Dressed in a light gray Daoist Robe, with a face full of sickness, Ming Dan stood stunned in the San Qing Dian, surrounded by the clamor and countless gazes.

Heavenly Machine?

Actually her?

How could it be her?

She had only picked up that Birthday Token; she had only wanted to deceive the Feng Family; she had only wanted to be Shaowei... how had she become the Heavenly Machine?!

Among so many youths in Xian Tai Gong, there must be more youths sharing the same birthday who have not yet been found... She never thought that "she herself" would be the Celestial Opportunity!

Long ill, her body weak and mind in turmoil, the tremendous shock swallowed Ming Dan; caught off guard, she felt herself a small boat amid the Jing Yao Hai Lang, rocking and tossing, her path ahead unclear.

Too stunned to think further, dizziness enveloped her; before losing consciousness, countless exclamations rang in her ears, countless hands reached to support her.

Upon hearing the news, Shaowei was not particularly surprised.

And closely following this news of the Celestial Opportunity Manifesting, Dou Shiyi suddenly came to deliver word—regarding the origins of those Nanshan death warriors, Liu Qi had made progress in his discovery.

Shaowei's eyes brightened, and she immediately went with Dou Shiyi to see Liu Qi.

Half an hour later, Shaowei dressed as a Black-Cloth Guard, tied on her cloak, and rode out of the city with Liu Qi.

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