When Nan Zhi entered Bianjing again, the Bian Canal was just as it had always been, and the wards and markets in the city were extremely prosperous, like a blooming cluster of flowers.
—The ghost disaster from a few days ago seemed as if it had never occurred.
“Fresh tea ground with roasted yellow chestnuts, newly stir-fried white sesame seeds, and Jiangnan olives, skin and pit included! Drinking a cup of this in the warm autumn months, wouldn't that be delightful?”
“Come take a look, come have a look! Ding porcelain and Zhejiang lacquer from the south, newly arrived Jianzhou tea, and Fuzhou longans!”
“Step inside and take a look!”
“Newly arrived patterns at the gold and silver shops! Patterns of a thousand autumns, a hundred blessings, purple swallows, and clustered bats! We have trousseaus, hairpins, gold crowns, silver rings, and even armlet designs used by the immortals of the Demon Suppression Division!”
“Fat pork rinds, roasted mutton with Sichuan peppercorns, mutton fat chive cakes, pickled mutton trotters, pickled crabs, as well as newly arrived Jiangyin pufferfish and Linjiang yellow buntings!”
There were young servants peddling fruit on the streets, flower girls rowing boats to sell flowers, elegant guests sipping tea and drinking wine in the private rooms of tea houses, and sedan carriers carrying sedans across the bridge. Seated in the sedans were beautifully dressed courtesan leaders, cradling pipas in their arms.
There were peddlers carrying firewood, walking hurriedly against the walls, wine-selling ladies selling wine along the streets, and families carrying coffins out of the city for burial amidst the sound of wind and percussion instruments...
Life and death were separated by only a thin layer of a coffin.
Pain and pleasure were, after all, nothing more than a long span of a hundred years.
In the Plum Garden of Wanshou Garden, Nan Zhi met the actual ruler of the current Demon Suppression Division, Empress Cao Lingshou.
Empress Cao was not beautiful, and she did not seem to have taken any beauty-retaining pills. She looked to be in her thirties or forties, with a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but her expression was gentle. Dressed in imperial palace attire, she exuded a majestic, phoenix-like grace, and her gentle gaze felt as though it could embrace everything.
Simply looking at her made one think of the vast, boundless sea.
—Empress Cao herself was not very well known in history. On the contrary, her brother was said to have been enlightened and guided to immortality by Lü Dongbin, becoming “State Uncle Cao,” one of the Eight Immortals.
Empress Cao came from the Cao clan of Zhending. When she first married, her husband Li Zhi was obsessed with seeking immortality and the Dao. On their wedding night, he climbed over the wall and fled to become a Daoist priest.
Unexpectedly, rumors spread that it was because Empress Cao was too ugly that Li Zhi had left to become a priest. Consequently, the ministers believed that her “homely appearance would not bewitch the Emperor,” and unanimously recommended her to be the Empress of Emperor Renzong.
Although she did not know Empress Cao's life experience in this game world, Nan Zhi felt that for her to take over the Demon Suppression Division as a mere mortal, maintain the old covenant of Empress Shenlong, and curb the endless expansion of the immortal sects and clans into the mortal realm—if one were to judge her solely by her looks, it would be an insult to Empress Cao.
“Are the injuries on your body any better?”
Empress Cao was very warm upon seeing Nan Zhi. She quickly pulled her to sit by her side and ordered servants to bring over trendy fruit tea and pastries:
“Taste this. This is made from the palace's newly harvested wheat of this year. It was finely ground, sifted several times, mixed with maltose, and steamed into pancakes. Inside, there is even fragrant dew made from crushed yellow apricots and roses. Dai... A-Zi loves to eat this the most.
She told me that during this Yin Yang Road disturbance, if you hadn't sacrificed yourself for justice and stopped Huiyuan from refining the Witch Coffin, the Great Song would have been devastated.”
Hearing this, a wisteria branch planted in a pot nearby swayed, and a small purple flower at the tip of the branch bloomed in the wind, looking exceptionally lively.
Even turning into a vine couldn't stop this fellow from acting spoiled.
And how on earth do you two communicate?
Nan Zhi: “...”
Ever since she entered Bianjing, the wisteria that had been hanging quietly at her waist had grown legs and run off on its own. As it turned out, it had run all the way to Empress Cao.
“This is what this lower official should do. Huiyuan has committed countless evils and attempted to go against heaven. Qinglong blindly sought longevity and harmed living beings, so he was bound to suffer this tribulation.
I am not so foolish as to not realize that if it weren't for Your Majesty and Nun Miaoyun, Qinglong's death could never have been brushed aside so easily.”
Nan Zhi did not know the purpose of the other party summoning her, but she had a faint guess in her heart:
The original site of the Demon Suppression Monastery had been struck by nine heavenly thunders, turning it into a Thunder-Blighted Land.
Half a month ago, the Northwest Circuit Demon Suppression Monastery was taken over by people from the Demon Suppression Division. Demon suppressors from the three neighboring circuits were stationed in the Northwest Circuit to thoroughly investigate past cases, completely turning the Northwest Circuit upside down to seek out the victims who had suffered disasters due to the Qinglong case.
The flying boat of the Qingjing Sect had hovered near Dingyuan for seven days before suddenly disappearing one day, causing much talk among the commoners of the Northwest Circuit.
She estimated that there must have been some sort of exchange of interests between the Demon Suppression Division and the Qingjing Sect, but she didn't know what role she, a mere pawn, played in it.
“You are young, yet you think quite a lot.”
Empress Cao gave her a mockingly reproachful look and smiled:
“There is no need to worry. This time, the Qingjing Sect was in the wrong in the first place. That Qinglong acted against the natural order and brought upon himself the heavenly lightning tribulation, which was his own doing.
Although the Qingjing Sect acts overbearingly, this is the mortal realm, and there is the restriction of the old covenant. Even they dare not act recklessly.
The former site of the Northwest Circuit Demon Suppression Monastery has now turned into a Thunder-Blighted Land and has been taken over by the Demon Suppression Division. As for the victims of the Qinglong case, Lord Bao of Kaifeng Prefecture has already taken charge of it. Once everything is sorted out, the Qingjing Sect will naturally have to give our Great Song and the Demon Suppression Division an explanation.
As for you, little girl, with Sister Miaoyun mediating and you representing our Demon Suppression Division, the people of the Qingjing Sect dare not do anything to you.”
“Then I can put my mind at ease.”
Nan Zhi put on a look of being greatly relieved and said with a bitter face:
“That Huiyuan and Qinglong are truly detestable. One framed me for refining a wicked treasure, and the other schemed to snatch my soul. If I hadn't blundered my way into breaking the Two-Form Inversion Formation that day, I would probably be dead in that Demon Suppression Monastery by now.”
“I know you suffered a grievance, and you won't be suffering this loss in vain.”
Empress Cao smiled. Two palace maids holding wooden trays behind her stepped forward in unison, presenting two storage bags:
“The first is the Qingjing Sect's apology gift. Inside, there are five hundred middle-grade spirit stones, three pieces of high-grade Lightning Struck Spirit Marrow, ten pieces of low-grade Lightning Struck Spirit Marrow, three hundred Origin-Restoring Pills, three hundred Spirit-Absorbing Pills, one hundred high-grade talismans, three hundred middle-grade talismans, five hundred low-grade talismans, one set of sword formations, and one Entry Token to the Miaoling Secret Realm of the Ten Directions Mountains.”
An unexpected surprise.
Absolutely an unexpected surprise.
Nan Zhi did not show it on her face, but in her heart, the little person in her heart was grinning so wide she could barely suppress it.
She had thought that secretly keeping Qinglong's personal storage bag for herself was already something to be secretly happy about, but who would have thought there would be such a pleasant surprise?!
Seemingly afraid that Nan Zhi wouldn't understand, Empress Cao specially added:
“This apology gift is quite decent, but the most precious item inside is that Entry Token to the Miaoling Secret Realm of the Ten Directions Mountains, which Sister Miaoyun requested for you.
The Ten Directions Mountains are located in the Northern Seven Islands, within an ancient War of Witches and Demons secret realm. There is a wondrous realm inside containing tens of thousands of dharma treasures and bound swords. It is a place where Foundation Establishment disciples of various sects go to seek swords and treasures.
This secret realm opens once every ten years. You have already reached Foundation Establishment now. If you wish to seek immortality, you can take this token and go there. Perhaps you can find a suitable natal dharma treasure for yourself.”
“Thank you for explaining, Your Majesty.”
Nan Zhi nodded. She felt even more grateful to Nun Miaoyun in her heart, but a few doubts also arose:
Why would the other party be so good to her for no reason?
“Sister Miaoyun cultivates Buddhism. Once she attained enlightenment in the past, she shed her luxurious robes and entered the Buddhist monastic order. Sometimes, even I do not know what she is thinking.”
Empress Cao also saw Nan Zhi's confusion, shaking her head with a smile:
“Perhaps Sister Miaoyun saw that you carry great fortune and are destined to save many lives. Buddhist dharma is profound, and it is naturally difficult for us to fully comprehend.”
Nan Zhi suddenly realized something.
If, according to what Qinglong said, Miaoyun was indeed that Empress Dowager Liu from the rumored Civet Cat for Crown Prince mystery, then according to seniority, wouldn't Empress Cao be Nun Miaoyun's... daughter-in-law?
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law turning into Daoist companions.
Truly worthy of being cultivators.
So this place really wasn't the Great Song she was familiar with.
Rate on N.U.
