Su Qing looked at her old friend and offered a slight smile. "I'm still the same as before, traveling everywhere to help the Bodhisattva spread her Incense Power. I've been to many places over the years, so I never had the chance to return..."
"The reason I came to see you today is simply because I happened to think of you. I also wanted to bring you something."
Su Qing had initially wanted to chat more, but after a moment's thought, she decided to deliver the item before moving on to other topics.
After all, her primary purpose for coming here was to give her this gift...
She couldn't afford to forget the most important matter.
"As a messenger under the One-Leaf Bodhisattva, you truly have it hard. Have you really not stopped for a moment all these years?"
Ye Qingyu sighed, then shook her head helplessly. "Furthermore, there's no need for gifts. As you can see, what could I possibly lack now? Besides, I'm already at such an advanced age; what could I possibly have a use for?"
"It is enough for me that you could come back to see me once before I die and chat with me again."
"There is naturally something," Su Qing said, her voice calm as she looked at her. "And it happens to be the thing you need most at your age."
She then sent a Sound Transmission to her, informing her of exactly what she had brought.
Hearing this, Ye Qingyu's eyes suddenly snapped wide open.
Clearly, this was incredibly shocking to her.
It was to the point where she could no longer maintain her usual composure.
"What? What?! You... such a precious thing. Sigh..." Ye Qingyu stammered, her voice filled with helplessness.
Seeing her like this, Su Qing gave a helpless smile. She sent another Sound Transmission, telling her to keep the matter a secret while also explaining the pros and cons of the item, urging her to let go of any lingering doubts.
A long time passed.
Ye Qingyu let out a long sigh and said, "You've finally returned, yet why did you bring such a precious thing?"
"It's only to thank you for all these years," Su Qing said with a smile.
"As for worshipping the One-Leaf Bodhisattva, even without me, the people would still do so... You must know that I wasn't the one who built the first temple; the people built it of their own accord. After all, many mortals witnessed what happened back then." Ye Qingyu shook her head helplessly. "So how could I possibly deserve such a precious gift?"
Although she was very grateful to Su Qing for giving her such a thing, she still felt it was far too valuable.
Something like this could not be obtained under normal circumstances...
Undoubtedly, Su Qing must have paid some price to obtain such a life-extending item.
However, Su Qing didn't mind. She simply shook her head and said, "But without support, how could the Incense Power have reached such a level? Besides, keep the item safe; this is a reward from the One-Leaf Bodhisattva to you, not a gift from me."
Since Su Qing had given the item away, she naturally wouldn't take it back.
Therefore, she had to persuade her to keep it...
Ye Qingyu shook her head. "What have I ever done? I only built a few temples. Even if this is a reward from the One-Leaf Bodhisattva, it's still too precious for me."
"Hahaha, alright, stop declining. Since the One-Leaf Bodhisattva has given you this item, just keep it safe." Su Qing smiled faintly and said, "After all, this is the Bodhisattva's goodwill... I'm only here to deliver it."
Su Qing simply switched to a different line of reasoning...
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyu gave Su Qing a helpless look.
She knew that she likely wouldn't be able to refuse today.
"Sigh, very well. Then please thank the Bodhisattva on my behalf." Ye Qingyu nodded and replied.
Seeing this, Su Qing nodded with satisfaction. "Mhm, that's more like it! Now that the item has been delivered, I should be leaving in a little while."
At this, Ye Qingyu shook her head. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Since you're here, why not chat for a while longer? I haven't seen you in so many years; I have many curious things I want to ask!"
Su Qing rubbed her chin and nodded. "In that case, I'll stay and chat with you for a bit longer! However, dinner won't be necessary; I still need to head back early."
Although Su Qing agreed to stay and chat, she also made it clear that she would be leaving shortly after.
Seeing this, Ye Qingyu could only nod helplessly and stop pressing the matter...
"You really are a busy person," Ye Qingyu could only sigh and say.
Su Qing let out a soft sigh. "What choice is there? I do have a mission to fulfill, after all."
Ye Qingyu shook her head helplessly and stopped talking about that subject...
She simply looked at Su Qing and began chatting about other topics.
She indeed had many curiosities...
And indeed many questions she wanted to ask.
Of course, besides being curious about those questions, her primary reason was simply wanting to chat with Su Qing more.
As Su Qing listened to her questions, though she found some of them a bit amusing, she still answered them seriously.
Su Qing and Ye Qingyu chatted quite happily.
The others, meanwhile, waited silently to the side for the two to finish... none of them had any intention of interrupting.
Ao Yiyi's reason went without saying; she wasn't familiar with Ye Qingyu and had only come to accompany Su Qing, so there was naturally no need for her to butt in.
As for Liu Qian's reason, it was even simpler: she... simply didn't dare.
As for the Queen...
Well, she was actually listening far too intently.
So she simply didn't have the mind to interrupt.
Time trickled away like this.
Before they knew it, over an hour had passed.
After answering the final question, Su Qing spoke with a beaming smile, "It's about time; we should be heading back."
Hearing this, Ye Qingyu nodded. Although she was somewhat reluctant, she didn't say much more.
"You're leaving so soon; I really am quite loath to see you go," Ye Qingyu said. "It's rare for you to visit, yet you're leaving after staying for only this long. I truly hope that the next time you come, you can stay for a longer period."
Su Qing smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. Next time I'm free to visit, I'll definitely stay for a few days. But today, I really must go."
At this, Ye Qingyu nodded. "Then it's a promise... I also hope that when you come next time, I'll still be alive."
"Rest assured on that point. If you were dead, I wouldn't come to the palace anymore." Su Qing chuckled, then turned to call out to Ao Yiyi, "Let's go, it's time for us to leave."
Ao Yiyi snapped out of her daze upon hearing this. She nodded slightly and came to Su Qing's side.
Su Qing then performed a hand seal and departed on a cloud.
Ye Qingyu and the others watched the two of them leave...
They didn't look away until the pair had completely vanished from sight.
"Mother, you actually know immortals. That's truly incredible," the Queen remarked with a sigh of admiration once Su Qing and her companion had thoroughly disappeared.
At this, Ye Qingyu chuckled and didn't say much. "I do know them, but it's only an acquaintance. Alright, don't think too much about it. Go back and handle the state affairs properly! Compared to other messy things, what you need to care about more are the affairs of the nation. As for immortals, they truly don't have much to do with us."
Hearing this, the Queen was momentarily stunned, but she eventually nodded. "Alright, I understand. I'll head back then. However, I'm a bit curious—what exactly did that immortal give you, Mother?"
"Something... useful to me," Ye Qingyu said with a helpless smile. "Though I'd very much like to tell you what it is, she told me not to say, so I can't very well go behind her back and tell you..."
Upon hearing this, the Queen tilted her head. "Never mind then. Since the immortal said it can't be told, then it can't be told! If you said it, who knows if the immortal would find out... If she found out and took the item back, that would be a huge loss for you, Mother."
The Queen didn't know Su Qing well, so she naturally didn't care about Su Qing's feelings; her only concern was her mother's interests.
Seeing her say this, Ye Qingyu smiled and nodded...
This child had been personally taught by her, after all, so the Queen naturally understood boundaries very well.
What the Queen didn't know, however...
Was that Ye Qingyu didn't actually care if the item was taken back.
She simply didn't want to break her promise to someone else.
Su Qing knew nothing of the events in the palace, nor did she care much.
At this moment, she was simply rushing back toward her residence on her Somersault Cloud.
As for whether she would return in the future to see Ye Qingyu again...
Su Qing had no detailed plans regarding that.
However, if no accidents occurred, she likely wouldn't visit again.
After all, even if they met again, she didn't know what else there would be to do!
But who could say for sure what the future held?
What if, because of some unforeseen circumstance, she suddenly wanted to see her again?
No one could tell.
Therefore, Su Qing didn't think too much about it.
Su Qing's Somersault Cloud was extremely fast.
In no time at all, she had arrived above the city.
Once there, Su Qing lowered the cloud.
She landed in the courtyard.
Everything was silent; aside from Su Qing's family, no one noticed her arrival.
Su Qing landed in the yard.
Coal Ball was the first to discover her...
Because the fellow happened to be lying in the courtyard soaking up the sun, Su Qing's sudden appearance gave her a fright. Naturally, she noticed her immediately.
She looked at Su Qing and instantly transformed back into her human form. She then came to Su Qing's side and asked, "Sister Su, where did you go? Why are you only coming back now?"
As a little mystic black cat who was often in a daze...
This fellow hadn't even known where Su Qing had gone today.
It was only when Su Qing returned that she remembered to ask.
At this, Su Qing gave a helpless smile. Although this wasn't the first time this fellow had been like this, it still made her feel a bit amused every time.
She truly had no way of dealing with this girl...
No matter what, she always maintained that dazed appearance.
Helpless, Su Qing felt a bit speechless, but she still seriously told her where she had gone and what she had done.
After hearing Su Qing's explanation, little Coal Ball was finally no longer confused.
She nodded and said, "I see. So, did everything go smoothly?"
"If it hadn't gone smoothly, I wouldn't have come back yet," Su Qing said with a smile. "When are you going to get a bit smarter? Don't just eat and sleep every day; you should also learn some useful things!"
"I'm just a cat." After saying that, little Coal Ball transformed back into a cat, looking completely unfazed—she truly made Su Qing want to cry and laugh at the same time.
Helpless.
Su Qing shook her head, too lazy to bother with the girl anymore.
Talking to her clearly wouldn't work...
When she needed to teach her something later, she would just grab her directly.
She simply couldn't be bothered to discuss it with her anymore.
After all, if she tried to discuss it, this fellow would absolutely never learn seriously.
Su Qing shook her head, her mind no longer dwelling on her...
"Where are the others?" Su Qing asked.
"They went to do other work. It seems some demons are causing trouble again, so they went out to exorcise them..." Coal Ball replied directly.
They had told her about this, so she was naturally aware of it...
When Su Qing asked, she answered immediately.
Hearing this, Su Qing nodded and said, "Alright then, I'm going to get busy too. Go play by yourself."
With that, Su Qing didn't care what little Coal Ball's plans were; she simply turned and left to attend to other matters.
Although she had friends helping her here, there were still many things she needed to do personally. Moreover, since everyone else was busy with other tasks, Su Qing clearly couldn't continue to slack off now that she was back.
Even though some things weren't that urgent, or couldn't be rushed, she still had to make more preparations.
In short, there was definitely no shortage of work for her to do.
At dinner time.
Everyone gathered together.
Su Qing informed everyone that the matter had been successful.
Upon learning that everything had gone smoothly...
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Hu Lin'er nodded and said with a sigh of emotion:
"In that case, she'll be able to live for quite a bit longer, and we can accompany her for more days."
Hu Lin'er's feelings for Su Qingyu were very deep. After all, in the past, the one who had spent the most time with the girl besides Su Qing was Hu Lin'er. Naturally, she had poured a lot of emotion into her.
Hearing Su Qing say that things had gone exceptionally well, she also felt a slight sense of relief.
"With the effect of that pill, plus the lifespan she had left, living for another thirty or forty years shouldn't be a problem."
Su Qing rubbed her chin and analyzed after thinking for a moment:
"However, that is the limit. This is all I can do... In the days to come, everyone should truly cherish the time she has left!"
"For you to be able to do this much is already quite incredible... If it weren't for you, she probably wouldn't even have had the chance to extend her life," Hu Lin'er said with a shake of her head.
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