“However, after bringing others along, the difficulty of weathering the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth will increase significantly.”
The woman in the goose-yellow palace gown hid nothing from Su Qing, telling her the truth plainly.
Su Qing wasn't surprised; she had already guessed as much from their previous conversation.
She nodded and said, “That’s not unexpected, and it doesn't really matter... Since this is destined to be a gamble, let's make it a big one. Win big, or lose everything.”
Su Qing understood clearly...
Wasn't this just going all-in?
What was the big deal?
Could it really be worse than simply abandoning them?
Of course, Su Qing had considered another option...
That was to hand them over to the Heavenly Court and face the tribulation with them.
But again...
Even the Heavenly Court didn't have a hundred percent certainty of surviving the calamity.
So, it was still a gamble.
Instead of selfishly looking out for herself and letting those around her gamble with their lives, she might as well join them!
Hearing Su Qing's words, the woman in the palace gown couldn't help but nod. “Master's decision is exactly what I thought... In a way, Master is really easy to read!”
Su Qing could only offer a helpless smile.
Whether she was easy to read or not, she didn't know...
But this Bodhi Tree consciousness certainly seemed to understand her well.
“Well, in any case, the matter is decided,” Su Qing said with a smile.
“Ah~ besides that, there's actually one more thing I need to clarify with Master!” Seeing Su Qing's expression, the woman in the goose-yellow palace gown sat back in her original spot.
“Oh? And what would that be?”
“It's very difficult for me to grow through my own power now... So if I want to continue growing, I'll need a bit of help from Master.” The woman didn't intend to hide anything and told Su Qing everything.
Su Qing was slightly surprised by this...
She had thought she wouldn't need to do anything and could just witness the good things happening!
But clearly, she had overthought it.
Fine, she couldn't just sit back and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor.
She had to put in some effort.
“Then tell me, how should I help you? As long as it's not something that harms the common people, I'll do my best,” Su Qing said with a smile.
In fact, she knew the other party couldn't possibly grow by harming others.
Because this was the Bodhi Tree her Master had given her.
She had a very clear understanding of her Master.
Her Master might not be an absolute saint, but she was definitely not a bad person, and she would never use something that could harm the world.
The woman in the palace gown wasn't offended at all, still wearing a faint smile. She said, “Actually, Master doesn't need to do anything too difficult. You just need to continue collecting Incense Power. Well, you could call it the aspiration power of all living beings, or the faith of all living beings—it all roughly means the same thing.”
“Although Master's Incense Power is already very flourishing, relying on your current supply would take a long time to reach the required height. The efficiency is too slow... That's why I need more Incense Power from Master.”
Su Qing was surprised by the woman's words...
She had heard about Incense Power countless times now.
The Buddha told her to collect more.
The Old Mother said the same...
And now, the Bodhi Tree consciousness was saying it too.
“Speaking of which... back when I was before the Buddha, you told me to accept the status he offered to collect more Incense Power. Was it for this reason?”
As Su Qing recalled those events, she remembered what the Bodhi Tree consciousness had told her back then.
Seeing Su Qing ask about it, the woman in the palace gown replied without concealment, “Yes! That's right. But the one who told you that wasn't me~ it was the other me.”
“Hmm? Yeah, I actually expected that.” Su Qing nodded, not feeling surprised.
Indeed, the personalities of the two Bodhi Tree consciousnesses were quite different.
The woman in the goose-yellow palace gown was like a gentle, cheerful girl, while the other was more... tsundere?
Well, 'tsundere' might be a bit of an old term, but that girl definitely fit the description.
“You don't need to remind me about the Incense Power; I'll make sure to collect it. After all, more than one person has told me how important it is,” Su Qing said with a chuckle, shaking her head.
“Oh? Is that so? In that case, that's a good thing.” The woman seemed a bit surprised by Su Qing's words.
It was clear that she wasn't watching Su Qing every single moment.
But that was fine.
Su Qing didn't particularly like the feeling of being watched all the time anyway.
“However, I'm a bit curious. Why did the people from the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Sect also remind me to collect Incense Power?” Su Qing tentatively asked the woman.
Since she seemed to know so much...
What if she could get something out of her?
Hearing Su Qing's question, the woman shook her head slightly.
Though her smile remained, there was a hint of helplessness in it.
She said, “Master, aren't you overestimating me a bit? I've been inside your Niwan Palace all this time. I don't know much more about the outside world than you do—in fact, I know much less! So, how would I know why they want you to collect Incense Power? But there must be some special reason! Or perhaps they know of my existence.”
Su Qing gave an awkward laugh.
She hadn't expected her little scheme to be so obvious.
However, the woman's words also gave Su Qing a hint.
Indeed, maybe it really was because they knew about the Bodhi Tree that they told her to collect Incense Power?
After all, the fact that her Master had given her the Bodhi Tree wasn't a secret.
And since it wasn't a secret, they likely knew what kind of effects this treasure had and what it could do.
“Alright, I guess I've been taught a lesson,” Su Qing said, throwing up her hands.
“I wouldn't say I'm teaching Master a lesson; I'm just truthfully telling you about myself,” the woman replied softly. Then she asked, “Master, the tea is cold. Would you like a fresh cup?”
Su Qing looked down at the cup in front of her. The tea, which had been steaming earlier, was now cold.
“Ah, please... I didn't realize we'd been chatting for so long!” Su Qing felt that time had flown by.
She figured it was because she had been so focused.
“If possible, I'd like to chat with Master a bit longer. Talking with Master makes me very happy,” the woman said with a smile. “Usually, the other me is always so gloomy and dull... I'm very glad to be able to talk with Master for so long today!”
Su Qing took a sip of the freshly poured tea and smiled helplessly. “I didn't expect that girl to be gloomy.”
“There's still a lot Master doesn't know about us~ We still have many secrets! If Master wants to find out, you'll have to come chat with me more often.”
The woman looked at Su Qing again with a radiant smile.
Her eyes were narrowed into crescents as she laughed, making it hard for Su Qing to read her gaze.
She only felt that the woman was very happy, as if everything brought her joy and she had no worries at all.
This...
Was actually quite nice.
Very comforting.
As for the woman's words.
Su Qing didn't take them too seriously.
In her view, this was just a bored person saying whatever she could to get Su Qing to spend more time with her.
But she didn't call her out.
She simply decided that whenever she was free, she could come to this consciousness space to have some tea.
“I wonder where all this tea I'm drinking actually goes? Well, it's probably like a dream; I never really drank it in the first place,” Su Qing thought, her mind wandering.
“Of course, as long as you don't find me too annoying, that's fine with me,” Su Qing agreed.
“How could I ever find Master annoying? As long as Master doesn't stop coming to play with me once you've figured out all our secrets.” The woman kept the same expression.
“Don't worry, we'll have plenty of chances to meet in the future!” Su Qing shook her head. They were right inside her head; couldn't they meet whenever they wanted? So the opportunities were infinite.
Su Qing's words made the woman very happy.
She smiled without saying anything, just staring at Su Qing.
Seeing this, Su Qing thought for a moment and then asked, “By the way, until now, the other you hasn't said a word! I'm about to leave; doesn't she plan to come out and chat with me?”
“Her? I don't know! If Master wants to see her, why not just call out to her? Maybe if you're loud enough, she'll come down.”
The woman suggested.
Su Qing rolled her eyes and said speechlessly, “We're talking right under the Bodhi Tree; she must have heard every word we said, right? She hasn't come down to see me yet—could it be she can't transform into a human form like you?”
Hearing this, the woman laughed even harder.
It was as if Su Qing's words were hilarious, or perhaps she was simply mocking the yet-to-appear consciousness.
Su Qing looked at her helplessly.
This girl really was someone who could find joy in anything.
What a character.
Perhaps the girl's laughter was a bit too loud, though.
After she had laughed for a short while.
A Bodhi seed fell from the tree.
It landed right on her head.
There was a loud 'thud' sound.
After being hit by the seed, the woman stopped her loud laughter.
But she maintained her squinty-eyed smile.
“Oh dear, how petty. If you're upset, then come out quickly! If you're too embarrassed to show yourself, then don't blame me for making fun of you.”
Well, it was a very clumsy use of reverse psychology.
But...
It actually seemed to work.
Beside the woman in the palace gown.
A woman wearing a green chest-high ruqun with her hair in twin-loop buns suddenly appeared.
She looked exactly like the woman in the palace gown.
It was as if they were carved from the same mold.
The only difference was.
This new girl in the ruqun had her mouth puckered, looking very 'unhappy.'
Immediately after appearing, she reached out and gave the woman in the palace gown a hard pinch on the waist.
However, the pain didn't make the woman's smile disappear; she simply swatted the other's hand away with a smile.
Su Qing looked at her and smiled naturally. “It's been a long time. I didn't expect you two to look so similar.”
“Not similar—we're identical!” The woman in the palace gown said, still smiling. “We are souls from the same tree; of course we're identical!”
“Our consciousnesses were mixed together and should have become one... but then we separated again.” The girl in the ruqun pouted, still looking unhappy. “What? Do you not like this look?”
Su Qing shook her head and said, “Actually, it's quite cute.”
Hearing this, the girl in the ruqun couldn't help but blush slightly. She turned her head away and said, “Hmph, I know that.”
“She's just like that~ In Master's words, she's a tsundere~” The woman in the palace gown poked the girl beside her, smiling.
Su Qing chuckled. “I suppose she is~”
“So, you wanted to see me. Is there something you want?” The girl in the ruqun shot an annoyed glance at her sister before asking Su Qing.
“If there's nothing, can't I just see you?”
“It's... not that.”
“Then I was simply curious and wanted to see you.”
“Hmph, boring.”
“I don't think it's boring,” Su Qing said with a smile. “Our chat is mostly done, and I'm preparing to leave this consciousness space, so I thought I'd call you out to say goodbye.”
“I'm inside your head; a goodbye isn't necessary.”
“The sense of ritual is important~” Su Qing handled the girl's personality with ease.
After all, Gongsun Zhixue had a similar temperament.
And hadn't she ended up being teased by Su Qing anyway?
But then again.
Are all tree demons like this?
Apparently not.
The one in the palace gown was clearly a bit more mischievous.
“Oh, right. Before I go, I have one more question.” Su Qing suddenly remembered something important—something she had forgotten because their previous conversation had been so significant.
“What is it?” the woman in the palace gown asked with a smile. “My measurements?”
Su Qing rolled her eyes. “What would I need those for? I just wanted to ask for your names... After all, I can't just call you 'Hey' and 'Hey you'.
“I wondered what it was; so it was just that~” The woman in the palace gown said with a smile. “I suppose I did forget to introduce myself~ No matter. Master can call me Yan'er~ As for her, Master can call her Ying'er.”
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