The Final Meeting and Closure

After completing her worship.

Zhou Chuxue looked up at the clay statue.

Ten years had passed, yet the statue hadn't faded at all. Just like her own memories, the events of that year remained vivid in her mind.

"Can the Sovereign Goddess hear my wish?" Zhou Chuxue looked at the statue and thought to herself, "Please, let me see her just one more time. I only wish... to repay the kindness I received back then."

More than ten years had gone by.

Since the temple's completion, she had never seen Su Qing again.

It was as if the woman had simply evaporated from the mortal world.

Everyone still remembered her—remembered her face, her voice, and everything she had done...

Yet, no one knew where she lived or what her connections were.

She had appeared out of thin air and then vanished just as suddenly.

Sometimes, Zhou Chuxue wondered if Su Qing had some special connection to the Azure Spirit Sovereign...

Or perhaps, that she was the Azure Spirit Sovereign herself.

But a suspicion was merely a suspicion; no one could confirm if their guesses were true.

Even if... this world truly had immortals who enjoyed playfully wandering among mortals.

She gazed at the clay statue of the Azure Spirit Sovereign for a long while before letting out a soft sigh and rising to leave.

With so many people praying to the Sovereign Goddess these days, how could she possibly hear her specific wish?

And yet, she still held onto a sliver of hope.

What if?

What if she was heard, and she was allowed to meet that lady once more?

Zhou Chuxue walked out slowly. Looking at the crowds coming and going through the temple, she sighed again...

She didn't linger any longer, turning toward the temple gates to head out.

Perhaps she was walking too fast, or perhaps she was simply distracted...

Just as she was about to step through the main gates, she bumped into someone.

Fortunately, she wasn't moving at high speed, so neither of them was knocked over.

"I'm so sorry... Are you alright?" she asked the person she had bumped into.

However, in that momentary daze, she felt as though the person before her looked familiar...

As if she had seen her somewhere before.

"Hmm? I'm fine," the person said with a smile. "What about you? Did the collision hurt?"

"No... I'm fine," Zhou Chuxue said, shaking her head quickly. "But, miss... you look a bit familiar."

"Familiar?" the woman said with a chuckle. "That's quite a coincidence. Looking at you, I feel you're a bit familiar too."

Hearing those words, Zhou Chuxue looked at her intently...

The more she looked, the more her pupils contracted in shock. "Dare I ask, is your surname Su?"

"Indeed..." Su Qing saw that she had been recognized and couldn't help but smile. "I didn't expect that after all this time, you would still remember me."

"It really is Miss Su! What an incredible coincidence." Zhou Chuxue was both delighted and a bit embarrassed. "You recognized me immediately, yet I was still asking who you were... I'm truly ashamed."

Seeing this, Su Qing shook her head slightly and said:

"That's perfectly normal. After all, ten years have passed, and I've aged quite a bit. You, on the other hand, have grown up..."

In terms of acting, Su Qing was naturally exceptional...

And when it came to transformation techniques, she was beyond peer.

Forget changing herself to look ten years older; she could have made herself look ten years younger just as easily.

"How has you aged, Miss? To me, it looks like you've only grown two or three years older," Zhou Chuxue said quickly.

"Ahem, alright, let's go chat over there. Standing here... we're a bit in the way of others coming to pray," Su Qing coughed lightly and said with a smile.

Seeing the sense in that, Zhou Chuxue nodded and followed Su Qing to a nearby pavilion.

Reaching the pavilion.

Su Qing and Zhou Chuxue sat side-by-side...

"Miss, I have something I want to ask." Zhou Chuxue looked at Su Qing's seemingly older appearance, her mind flooded with thoughts.

Su Qing nodded with a smile. "Ask whatever you wish."

"Where have you been all these years? Why did you leave without saying a word?" Zhou Chuxue asked after carefully considering her phrasing.

Su Qing smiled faintly. "I originally came only for the construction of the temple. Once it was finished, it was only natural for me to return from whence I came. As for leaving without a goodbye, it was because of some urgent family matters I had to handle, so I had to rush back."

These words were, of course, a casual fabrication.

Su Qing hadn't come to see Zhou Chuxue to reveal her true identity, but rather to fulfill the girl's long-held dream.

It was also to bring closure to their relationship.

After all, spending a lifetime busy and conflicted over a 'Miss Su' who didn't truly exist served no purpose.

A human life was too short, spanning only a few decades.

In the blink of an eye, it would be gone.

Wasting it on her was simply not worth it for a mortal.

As for whether her lies could deceive this clever and stubborn girl... Su Qing didn't know.

If she really did notice something...

Su Qing didn't plan to do anything about it.

Or rather... if the girl figured it out on her own...

That might even be better.

With her intelligence... she would surely understand the divide between immortals and mortals, and stop pining for a person who didn't exist.

Regardless of the outcome.

This would likely be their final meeting.

"So Miss... you came specifically for the temple?" Zhou Chuxue mused on this, nodding as she spoke. "I see... Have those family troubles been settled then?"

"Ten years have passed; they were settled long ago," Su Qing said with a small smile. "If they weren't settled, how could I have come back here?"

"I suppose I was being silly..." Zhou Chuxue laughed. "So, what brings you to Long County this time? Are you planning to expand the temple?"

"I was just passing through and saw the temple, so I decided to stop by and pay my respects to the Azure Spirit Sovereign. After all, I did watch this temple being built..."

Su Qing put on a somewhat nostalgic expression and said:

"I never expected to run into you here! Fate truly works in mysterious ways. I thought you would have long since forgotten someone like me!"

"You were kind to me back then, Miss. How could I ever forget you?"

"Let's not mention the past. I never looked for anything in return..."

"I know... Your kindness is well known to me and all the craftsmen from back then." Zhou Chuxue didn't push the matter, only asking: "Fine, if you don't wish to speak of it, I won't. I'm just curious—where are you headed now?"

Hearing this, Su Qing smiled inwardly, thinking the girl had finally reached the point she wanted.

Her prepared excuse was finally coming into play.

She looked toward the west and said:

"This time, I plan to journey to Aparagodaniya, to the Kingdom of Tianzhu, to seek the Buddhist scriptures. I have an elder who was a devout believer. Now that she has passed away, I must fulfill her final wish..."

"Where... is that?" Zhou Chuxue was stunned.

Having never left Long County in her entire life, she had never heard of Aparagodaniya, let alone the Kingdom of Tianzhu.