Spring Water

Su Qing and the others chatted as they walked, continuing their journey.

Before long, they arrived at a city gate, where they were stopped by several female officials.

To enter the city, one naturally had to verify their identity and state their origins.

Otherwise, entry would certainly be impossible.

Su Qing and the others were aware of this rule, so they cooperated fully. Besides stating their identities verbally, they also presented their travel documents.

This was far more convincing than mere words.

Su Qing, Yudie, and Chaoyan's documents were, of course, already prepared when they left Chang'an.

As for Jingyue's, it was forged later.

However, no one could discern the authenticity of the fakes Su Qing produced.

After the female official examined Su Qing and the others' travel documents and listened to their self-declared origins, she couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.

A moment later, the female official recovered and quickly cupped her hands, saying, "You are guests from the Great Tang?"

Chaoyan nodded slightly in response.

The official said, "The Great Tang is at least tens of thousands of li from here. For you to come all this way is truly remarkable, I apologize for my disrespect. Please rest for a while at the Yingyang Post. I will go report to the Queen and bring you to meet her."

Upon hearing this, Chaoyan couldn't help but say, "There's no need for such trouble. We are merely passing through, there's no need to disturb Her Majesty."

The female official shook her head and said, "Guests, you do not know, Her Majesty once said that if any guests from the Great Tang were encountered, they must be invited to the Imperial Palace, as she wishes to personally receive them."

"...?" Chaoyan was puzzled by this. "Why?"

The female official smiled and said, "That is difficult for this humble official to answer. I merely follow orders; as a minor official, I cannot possibly know Her Majesty's thoughts."

Seeing this, Chaoyan naturally had nothing more to say and could only nod slightly.

She speculated.

Perhaps the Queen was simply very curious about matters concerning the Great Tang, which was why she wished to meet their group?

After all, she couldn't think of any other possibilities.

And this was the most likely and most explainable possibility.

Of course, even if the Queen had other intentions, she wasn't particularly worried.

Although her own strength wasn't exceptionally formidable, escaping from a mortal queen would not be difficult.

As for her Godmother, Yudie, and Jingyue.

They had even less to worry about.

Her Godmother was very mysterious, Jingyue was already stronger than her, and Yudie's strength was comparable to her own. If she could escape, how could the others not?

Soon.

The female official left to report Su Qing and the others' arrival to the Queen.

Meanwhile, one of the other female generals led Su Qing and the others to the Yingyang Post to rest.

The Yingyang Post was not far from the city gate, and they arrived shortly.

Outside the Yingyang Post, there was a spring.

And by the spring, there were pregnant women coming and going.

Chaoyan saw this scene and couldn't help but ask Su Qing for the reason.

Hearing this, Su Qing couldn't help but smile, saying, "There are locals here, why ask me? Don't the locals know better than I do? You silly girl."

Upon hearing Su Qing's words, Chaoyan pouted. She was used to asking Su Qing and had done so subconsciously.

However, since Su Qing told her to ask the locals, she naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to continue asking Su Qing.

Beside them, the female general who had walked with them explained, "This spring is called the Fetal Reflection Spring. After the age of twenty, if people here drink the Mother-Child River water and feel abdominal pain indicating pregnancy, they come here three days later to 'reflect'. If two shadows appear, a child will be born not long after."

Chaoyan nodded slightly upon hearing this, saying, "I see. Thank you, Sister, for clarifying."

The female general smiled gracefully, shaking her head and saying, "It's nothing. You could ask anyone here and they would know. By the way, would you like to 'reflect' yourselves?"

"We haven't drunk the water, so reflecting in the spring would be useless, wouldn't it?"

"Just try it, perhaps?" the female general said with a smile.

Chaoyan was somewhat reluctant to try, but Su Qing said, "That's fine, consider it a 'check-in'."

The female general paused, then asked, "Check-in?"

"No need to mind it, it just means to visit a place."

"I see." The female general nodded slightly and said, "Please follow me!"

Su Qing nodded and followed the female general to the Fetal Reflection Spring.

And when Chaoyan saw Su Qing go, she naturally had nothing more to say and followed along.

Su Qing and the female general looked into the spring water together.

But strangely, in the spring water, let alone two shadows, not even a normal reflection could be seen.

"Oh, that's odd. Why can't you see your shadow?" The female general was puzzled when she saw Su Qing had no reflection.

She raised an eyebrow, thinking there was something wrong with the spring water, but when she looked down at her own reflection, a single shadow appeared normally.

And the others beside them also had shadows.

Some had two shadows, some had one.

But none were like Su Qing, without a reflection.

Seeing this, Su Qing was actually a little surprised herself.

However, after a moment's thought, she roughly understood why she couldn't see her shadow.

The reason wasn't hard to guess.

She had already transcended the Three Realms and was beyond the Five Elements, her name absent from the Underworld, her longevity freely her own.

Although this Fetal Reflection Spring water was miraculous and could reveal the shadow of a fetus, it wasn't miraculous enough to reflect her shadow.

If it were an ordinary spring, then it would be fine; where she was, her shadow would naturally be. But unfortunately, this was no ordinary spring, but the Fetal Reflection Spring unique to the Women's Kingdom.

Therefore, it naturally couldn't be like an ordinary spring.

Seeing the female general's immense surprise, Su Qing smiled gracefully and said, "Perhaps I just happened to be standing in a bad spot! No need to worry too much about it."

Su Qing's words seemed to possess a certain magic.

As she spoke, the female general nodded, seemingly convinced that it was indeed due to the position, and asked no further questions.

Beside her, Yudie also looked at her reflection in the water.

A shadow appeared there.

However, the shadow was blurry, its true form indiscernible.

Jingyue, on the other hand, did not look into the Fetal Reflection Spring, as she had not drunk the Mother-Child River water of the Women's Kingdom.

As for Chaoyan, she looked at her own shadow in the water.

What was strange was that her shadow was exceptionally blurry and somewhat incomplete, as if it wasn't whole.

In fact, calling it incomplete wasn't quite right.

It was more like some parts were missing and then patched up, giving it a semi-illusory, semi-real feeling.

That's why it felt incomplete.

Chaoyan stared at her reflection in the water.

A moment later, she stepped back, no longer looking closely.

She took a deep breath, her mind filled with many questions.

She didn't know what her shadow meant.

She just instinctively felt that things were definitely not as simple as she imagined.

"Should I ask Godmother? Godmother is knowledgeable and knows almost everything. If I ask her, will there be an answer?" Chaoyan thought, turning her head to look at Su Qing, who was chatting and laughing with the female general.

Then she lowered her head and thought, "No, I won't. Although Godmother is knowledgeable, she probably wouldn't know about such a strange phenomenon. If I ask now, it might even cause her to worry. Godmother has already worried so much for me on this journey, I shouldn't burden her further."

"Besides, although this reflection is strange, I haven't felt any discomfort along the way, nor have I ever been disturbed by ghosts or evil spirits, so there shouldn't be any major problem."

"Later, when we reach Spirit Mountain, I'll ask the Buddha. The Buddha knows all things under heaven, so he will surely know what this is about."

Chaoyan's mind was full of thoughts.

But she didn't realize that Su Qing had been observing her for a while.

Suddenly, Su Qing called out, "Chaoyan? Why are you spacing out? Did you perhaps see two shadows of yourself?"

Su Qing's sudden voice startled Chaoyan, bringing her back to her senses.

"No... no, I haven't drunk the Mother-Child River water, nor am I sporting a big belly like others, so how could I possibly see two shadows?"

Chaoyan quickly composed herself and, with quick wit, replied.

Su Qing looked at her suspiciously and said, "Then why were you spacing out?"

"I was just... marveling at the wonder of this Fetal Reflection Spring, and curious about its principles," Chen Chaoyan thought for a moment and replied.

Su Qing chuckled, saying nothing more, only, "I don't know the principles of this Fetal Reflection Spring... perhaps it reflects the soul."

"Is that so?"

"I don't know, I'm just guessing."

"Godmother really doesn't know?"

"No, I don't! I'm not God, how could I be omniscient? Besides, even Haotian Shangdi might not be omniscient!" Su Qing waved her hand and said casually.

Chaoyan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "So that's how it is... I thought Godmother knew everything!"

"You think too highly of me," Su Qing laughed. "I only know what I need to know."

Smiling, Su Qing patted her shoulder and said, "Alright, stop spacing out. Let's go into the post station to rest for a while! The female official should be back to pick us up soon."

Chaoyan quickly nodded, no longer arguing with Su Qing.

Her purpose was never to win an argument with Su Qing, but merely to prevent Su Qing from continuing to question what had just happened to her.

On the way to the post station.

Su Qing looked at Chen Chaoyan's back as she led the horses and couldn't help but smile inwardly.

This girl might think she was hiding it well, but in reality, she wasn't.

She wasn't far from her.

How could she not see what her shadow looked like?

The reason she didn't expose her was simply because she saw that Chaoyan didn't want to talk about it and seemed to want to hide it.

So she just helped her hide it.

After all, Su Qing never intended to make Chaoyan uncomfortable.

Moreover, this could also make Chaoyan feel more at ease.

Entering the post station.

Su Qing and the others found a spot to sit down.

And the female officials in the post station, upon learning that Su Qing and the others were guests from the Great Tang, became much more respectful.

Clearly, the Great Tang now held considerable prestige among the surrounding nations.

The female official served tea to Su Qing and the others.

She also began to chat with Su Qing.

They talked about many things, but mostly about the Great Tang.

And naturally, they also discussed matters within the Women's Kingdom.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The female official who had previously stopped Su Qing and the others had now arrived at the Imperial Palace.

She successfully met the Queen of the Women's Kingdom and informed her of the guests' arrival.

"You mean, there are several women from the Great Tang?" The Queen asked with a smile, resting her chin on her hand.

The female official nodded, "That's right."

"Did they claim to be?"

"They have travel documents, so there's no mistake."

"In that case, invite them over!" The Queen nodded slightly and said, "You've worked hard. After this, you may claim your reward! However, if you deceive me, you know the consequences. In recent years, many people have had such crooked thoughts."

"Your humble servant would not dare! The guests are indeed from the Great Tang," the female official quickly shook her head and said.

"Alright, alright, I won't scare you anymore, go quickly!"

"Your humble servant will go at once." The female official nodded, then left the Imperial Palace and rode her horse towards the Yingyang Post.

These past few years, their Queen seemed to have gone mad, showing an unusual interest in people from the Great Tang.

Yet, not that interested.

No one knew exactly what the Queen was looking for, or what her purpose was.

Everyone only knew that most guests from the Great Tang were sent away after one meeting with the Queen, never to be seen again.

Even the rare men who came were met once and then sent away.

It was as if these people from the Great Tang were not the ones the Queen was looking for.

However, most people didn't care about the Queen's purpose in seeking people from the Great Tang. They only knew there were rewards, so they were naturally quite enthusiastic.

After the female official left.

The Queen of the Women's Kingdom leaned back in her chair, letting out a long sigh.

She looked at the clouds in the distance and couldn't help but think:

"I wonder if the people who have come this time will be the one I am waiting for."

After a long time, she shook her head and picked up a thick book from beside her, beginning to read it.

It was as if she intended to pass the waiting time this way.

Now, back to Su Qing.

The group had waited for a long time at the post station.

Su Qing had also chatted with the female official at the post station for so long that they were running out of things to talk about.

Fortunately...

After such a long wait.

The female official who had gone to report finally returned.

The female official walked up to Su Qing, bowed, and said, "I am truly sorry to have kept you waiting! I have informed Her Majesty, please follow me into the palace!"

Chaoyan looked at Su Qing, and seeing Su Qing nod, she also nodded.

Su Qing said, "Thank you for your trouble."

"It is I who troubles you all!" The female official smiled, "Guests, the carriage is ready, please follow me!"

The female official had naturally made full preparations.

It would be unthinkable to have Su Qing and the others walk into the palace like that.

That would be a great lack of hospitality.

Su Qing nodded, followed the female official into the carriage, and then rode the carriage into the city, heading towards the Imperial Palace.