Chapter 372: Examining the Heart

Through a layer of semi-transparent misty barrier, Yuan Hao and Yuan He watched the black-robed cultivator sitting blankly on the bed in the prison cell. After a long while, Yuan He Zhenren spoke hesitantly: "This person is quite plump."

"He was just fed up these past two days," Yu Sheng said casually from the side, "I heard they feed him over a dozen kinds of pills a day. Those things are rich in nutrition and absorb quickly, plus someone helps refine them..."

Yuan Hao Zhenren pondered briefly, then turned to look at Yuan Ling: "Junior brother, is there such a possibility that in the future you could concentrate the pills you use against evil path prisoners, make their effects more fierce, and save yourself some trouble?"

"Ah, pills cannot be concentrated arbitrarily. If the effect is too fierce, it harms the body. There must be harmonizing and soothing auxiliary ingredients inside," Yuan Ling Zhenren said immediately with utmost seriousness, "After all, even though this person is an evil path prisoner, I am still a healer—a healer's benevolent heart, you know. I still prescribe him half a jin of Qi-Soothing and Spirit-Calming Powder every day."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the courtyard guard woman wearing a veil beside him lowered her head and said: "Master, recently this person's subconscious resistance when taking medicine has become increasingly severe. Even within the illusion, he struggles occasionally."

Yuan Ling Zhenren raised an eyebrow: "Then add another half jin of Qi-Soothing and Spirit-Calming Powder, and take it with two jin of nourishing soup."

After speaking, he stroked his beard and sighed again: "Indeed, a healer's benevolent heart."

Yuan Hao and Yuan He both shivered simultaneously. Yuan He whispered to his eldest senior brother: "I think Second Senior Brother is doing this on purpose."

Yuan Hao Zhenren: "Obviously."

As they spoke, Yuan Ling Zhenren had already formed hand seals and chanted incantations at the prison cell door. Then Yu Sheng saw the misty light curtain covering the entire room flicker slightly, and an entrance appeared at the position of the great door.

"Xuan Che, you and Lin Lang guard the entrance. We will go in to question him."

Xuan Che and that courtyard guard woman immediately bowed and accepted the order: "Yes."

Carrying Erin on his shoulder, Yu Sheng followed the three brothers Yuan Ling, Yuan Hao, and Yuan He, stepping into that empty prison cell which contained only a single bed and looked utterly ordinary.

But the instant he crossed the entrance of the misty light curtain, he suddenly felt the surrounding environment change. A sense of "sluggishness" came from his own perception. Immediately after, he saw the prison cell beside him suddenly expand and stretch, then the walls and roof silently disintegrated, and heaven and earth manifested as an illusion.

In the blink of an eye, he was already standing in a desolate mountain forest. A winding small path cut through the forest. The sky was gloomy, drizzling a hazy light rain. The path was muddy, yet there was a small tea shed by the roadside. The house was not large, with a rain shelter attached to the side. A thin layer of spiritual qi rose from outside the shelter, blocking the continuous light rain in the mountains. A small jade plaque hung from the eaves, projecting a "Tea" sign in front of the plaque.

The three people ahead, Yuan Ling, Yuan Hao, and Yuan He, had at some point transformed into the appearance of travelers wearing rain capes and straw hats, walking very naturally on the muddy path in the light rain. While Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned, he also noticed that he had somehow acquired a rain cape and a large straw hat on himself—while Erin had burrowed inside his rain cape.

"This is fun," the small doll murmured in his arms, "Much more intricate than ordinary dreams!"

Yu Sheng blinked and saw that Yuan Ling and the other two had already walked into the rain shelter of the tea shed, appearing merely as passersby seeking shelter from the rain. Under that shelter, three or five tables were arranged, with only a scattered few guests. Sitting behind one of those tables was the black-robed cultivator—he was still in the same attire and posture as in the prison cell, sitting blankly by the table, his eyes somewhat vacant, as if he had been sitting there for a very, very long time.

Yu Sheng followed Yuan Ling and his two junior brothers into the rain shelter. Several resting guests sheltering from the rain here looked up once, then lowered their heads again to talk about their own affairs. Then Yuan Ling Zhenren walked directly to sit opposite the black-robed cultivator. Yuan Hao and Yuan He silently sat in two other corners under the tea shed, seemingly "anchored" at specific positions.

"Come, sit." Yuan Ling Zhenren beckoned to Yu Sheng. The latter walked over and took a seat in the empty spot beside the black-robed cultivator.

The fine drizzle fell on the shelter, producing a continuous sound that made one feel drowsy yet strangely depressed and suppressed in the heart.

The black-robed cultivator slowly raised his head, looking at the uninvited guests sitting before him. After a long while, he mumbled as if in a dream: "Is the mountain road open?"

"Not yet open," Yuan Ling Zhenren said unhurriedly after taking off his straw hat and placing it beside the table, "The rain is heavier over there."

"This rain has been falling for a long time. I can't remember when it started," the black-robed cultivator said slowly, "I remember I have been sitting here all along. The sky is neither dark nor bright. People come, people go, but I have just been sitting here... Are you from outside? What is the scene like outside now?"

"Outside is also rain, is a small path, is travelers seeking shelter from the rain."

"Outside is also a tea shed?"

"Also a tea shed."

A creaking sound came from nearby. Yu Sheng looked up and saw an old automaton wearing a gray cloth short shirt walk out of a small house beside the tea shed. The automaton wore a paper mask on its face with the character "Servant" written on it, holding a tea tray in its hands. Below its body were wheels that creaked noisily. This automaton servant came to the table, placed several bowls of tea on it, and emitted a greeting that sounded like noise.

The black-robed cultivator looked up at this automaton, then spoke slowly: "It has been accompanying me for many years. It has started to rust."

"You are not from around here, are you?" Yuan Ling Zhenren suddenly asked as if making casual conversation.

The black-robed cultivator was stunned for a moment, then shook his head slowly: "No."

"Where is your hometown?" Yuan Ling Zhenren asked again.

The black-robed cultivator suddenly frowned. Even in such a muddled state, a trace of struggle and hesitation appeared in his eyes.

Yuan Ling Zhenren noticed this, but his expression did not change. He simply added very calmly: "I have been to a place called 'Shu Ji'."

The struggle and hesitation in the black-robed cultivator's eyes instantly turned into trembling eyeballs, as if being washed by a higher level of cognition. He was dazed for a few seconds, then spoke as if in a dream: "Ah, Shu Ji. It is a beautiful planet. At night, flower boats parade through the city..."

"Does it always rain on that planet?" Yuan Ling Zhenren spoke softly, as if asking a question, yet also as if guiding something.

The black-robed cultivator slowly closed his eyes: "... Yes. The Dacheng near the equator always rains. It rains four hundred days a year."

"Buzz."

The "world" in Yu Sheng's eyes changed instantly again. The originally gloomy sky suddenly turned into a deep night curtain. The mountain forests on both sides swayed, and in the blink of an eye transformed into countless neon skyscrapers. Those modern city high-rises, however, were carved with beams and painted in many details, with spiritual qi rising, carrying an immortal style. At the same time, the muddy path outside became a wide street illuminated by streetlights. In the night, the rain curtain was dense, splashing continuous water droplets on the street. Puddles reflected the scenery of this border night city.

Not far away, a boat wrapped in talismanic spiritual light flew slowly between the buildings. Tourists stood in twos and threes on the boat. An automaton bird with a spiritual mirror in its beak stood on top of a streetlight, scanning the city streets alertly. Three or five young people walked through the rain with umbrellas, chatting and laughing as they passed the edge of the tea shed.

Inside the tea shed, the old automaton wearing the gray cloth short shirt transformed into a woman with a graceful figure, wearing a plain white dress and a silver fox mask. The automaton devices inside her body ticked away.

Even this simple mountain tea shed transformed into a roadside tea house brightly lit. Not far away beside the counter, a spiritual mirror floated. A holographic projection in the half-air before the mirror displayed the scenery of Xianshan with auspicious clouds, playing a tourism short film promoting Qianfeng Ling Mountain.

The black-robed cultivator raised his head, looking at everything around him somewhat slowly. After a long while, a faint light finally lit up in his eyes.

Yuan Ling Zhenren's voice sounded in time from the side: "Home is so good. Why go out?"

The black-robed cultivator hesitated for a while, then murmured as if talking to himself: "Yes, why go out..."

After a while, he shook his head: "Must find that thing to obtain long-lasting peace..."

"Find what?" Yuan Ling Zhenren gazed into the other's eyes, his voice low and slow, "The Emperor's Legacy?"

"The Emperor's Legacy... Yes, the Emperor's Legacy," the black-robed cultivator's eyes wavered slightly, but he still nodded gently, "Find it, and everything will be stable."

"Who told you to go find it?" Yuan Ling Zhenren asked immediately after.

The black-robed cultivator's wavering and hesitation became strong again. He gave no response.

Yuan Ling Zhenren did not let the hesitation in the other's heart continue to develop. Instead, he decisively changed the guiding method: "Is the old senior Yun Qingzi well?"

The black-robed cultivator's expression froze for an instant, as if the self-logic just established in his heart was suddenly interrupted. The whole person clearly disconnected for two seconds before speaking in a muddled manner: "Benefactor... The benefactor is well, but also not well. His injuries have recovered, but he says his heart demon is unresolved—he must find the Emperor's Legacy before he can feel at ease."

Yu Sheng instantly exchanged a glance with Yuan Ling Zhenren.

The intelligence all matched up.

"What exactly is that Emperor's Legacy?" Yuan Ling Zhenren gazed into the black-robed cultivator's eyes again, asking in a low, slow voice, "Why does Yun Qingzi only feel 'at ease' after obtaining it?"

"The Emperor's Legacy... is the Emperor's Legacy. The benefactor said that once we find it, we will naturally understand," the black-robed cultivator said muddledly, "He said it has great power, the great power to change heaven and earth. The benefactor wants that power. He... he also said his heart demon is extremely heavy, but we don't understand. He is already a figure who can ascend to heaven and descend to the earth, move mountains and fill seas. Why does he still always seem to fear something... He does not tell us. He says our cultivation is insufficient. Hearing it would only increase our troubles. Better to be ignorant and blessed."

Yu Sheng, who had been listening silently on the side without ever interrupting, felt his heart stir immediately upon hearing this.

Yun Qingzi was obsessed with finding the "Emperor's Legacy" because he was "fearing" something!

... Is it related to the unknown powerful enemy he encountered a thousand years ago?

(End of this chapter)