On Mount Changbai

Everyone understood... this situation was already as good as it could be. No one could possibly voice any dissatisfaction.

After all, even as powerful as Su Qing was, it was impossible for her to violate the laws of heaven and earth.

Seeing this, Su Qing nodded slightly... and then said no more. She simply focused on eating her meal.

At the same time, she pondered when she should go see Su Qingyu and the others again, as well as what tasks she needed to accomplish in the future. Thus, for now, the matters regarding Su Qingyu and her group had come to a close.

After dinner, Su Qing sat in the courtyard. She looked up at the bright moon hanging in the night sky, remaining silent... as if she were lost in a daze.

In reality, she had simply turned her focus elsewhere, which made her appear as though she were staring blankly.

At that moment, Ao Yiyi came over and sat down beside Su Qing.

"Big Sister Qing," Ao Yiyi called out.

Su Qing snapped out of her thoughts and turned to look at her, curious. "What is it? To call me so suddenly..."

"It's nothing. I just have nothing to do, so I came to keep you company." Ao Yiyi looked at Su Qing, and after a moment of silence, she asked, "Also, I'm a bit curious—what kind of experiences did you have in the past to be able to remain so unfazed even in the face of such events?"

Su Qing was momentarily stunned by these words, feeling a bit surprised and confused. She hadn't expected Ao Yiyi to suddenly ask about this...

After all, they hadn't discussed it before, nor had it come up during dinner. How could Su Qing not be confused when she brought it up so out of the blue?

Su Qing asked, puzzled, "Why the sudden interest?"

"I just happened to think about what happened earlier, so I wanted to ask... That way, I'll know how much longer it will take for me to grow to your level." Ao Yiyi looked at the moon, then turned back to Su Qing.

Noticing Su Qing's confusion, Ao Yiyi gave an embarrassed smile and added, "Sorry, was that too sudden?"

"It was indeed a bit sudden, but the question isn't that hard to answer." Su Qing gave a helpless smile and nodded.

It wasn't that Su Qing couldn't answer Ao Yiyi's question; she had simply been caught off guard by the abruptness of it.

Ao Yiyi smiled and asked, "Is that so? Then... can you tell me, Big Sister Su?"

Su Qing nodded. "Mhm, of course. However, I actually hope you don't grow up to be like me... there's no real benefit to it. It only makes one appear more indifferent."

"As for what I've experienced in the past? Fine, I'll tell you slowly! I have nothing better to do right now anyway."

Su Qing smiled and shook her head slightly, then began to recount some of her past experiences. She treated it as a heart-to-heart talk; after all, this version of her had no urgent matters to attend to.

While the Su Qing in the mortal world was chatting with Ao Yiyi, the Su Qing on Mount Changbai was enjoying a massage from Bai Zhu...

Over the past thirty years, Mount Changbai had remained peaceful, with no major incidents occurring. The minor issues that did arise were easily handled by Su Qing. Thus, it could be considered quite tranquil—at least, within the bounds of Mount Changbai itself.

Outside the region of Mount Changbai, however, many things had happened...

The petitions Su Qing had heard over these past few days were so numerous they were giving her a headache. Consequently, the Su Qing on this side was quite exhausted.

"You certainly know how to enjoy yourself." Chen Nianxin remarked with a sarcastic jab after returning from the lakeside and seeing Su Qing receiving a massage.

As the years passed, Su Qing had grown too lazy to keep Chen Nianxin strictly confined to the courtyard at the mountain peak. Since there was no longer any possibility of Chen Nianxin escaping, Su Qing didn't care much even if she did. At most, she would just feel a bit bored having one less person to talk to.

Therefore, Su Qing simply allowed her to move freely about the summit. This gave her more space to move and more freedom. It wasn't like before, when she was stuck on the peak with no chance to leave unless Su Qing happened to take her along on an occasional trip down the mountain.

With more room to move, Chen Nianxin had undergone some subtle changes. For instance, her daily sarcasm had noticeably decreased, and she spent less time being inexplicably moody. The reason for this wasn't particularly complex: she simply had more things to do and no longer needed to use her sharp tongue on Su Qing just to pass the time.

Of course, if she happened to see Su Qing, she still wouldn't hold back whenever she felt like making a comment... after all, it was one of the few pleasures in her life.

Su Qing didn't care much about the teasing. Hadn't she been teased enough in the past? What was there to worry about now?

Upon hearing the girl's words, Su Qing merely glanced at her and said, "You're the one who's truly at leisure. While I'm working hard, you're wandering around everywhere every day."

"I have no magic power. Even if you asked me to help, I couldn't do much; I'd only be in the way. So please, keep working hard, and leave the enjoying life to me." Chen Nianxin curled her lip and spread her hands.

Su Qing's mouth twitched. This girl's words were truly exasperating.

"Careful, or I might make it so you can't enjoy life either," Su Qing threatened with dissatisfaction.

"Threatening me won't work. What I need to say, I'll say." Chen Nianxin curled her lip and asked, "Though I am curious, why have you been so busy lately?"

"When am I ever not busy?" Su Qing countered.

"That's true... but lately, you've clearly been busier than usual?" Having been bored at Su Qing's side for many years, Chen Nianxin had developed quite a keen sense of observation. Of course, she hadn't developed this skill out of concern for Su Qing; she had done it solely to find better angles for her sarcasm. Since she had nothing to do, the only thing she could use was her mouth. And she couldn't just tease without a basis, or she would just be shut down. Thus, she had honed her observation skills, which allowed her to notice the changes in Su Qing.

Su Qing glanced at her and said, "I didn't realize you cared about me so much."

"Oh yes, of course I care. After all, I have to seize every opportunity to tease you!" Chen Nianxin said with a chuckle. Her personality had changed, but not by much; she still loved bickering with Su Qing.

Su Qing didn't mind. She flicked her tongue and said, "Thank you for your concern. I didn't realize you loved me so much that your whole heart is focused on me."

Chen Nianxin was momentarily speechless. "Is that how you interpret it? I never realized you were so narcissistic. Fine, stop with the nonsense and tell me—what exactly have you been so busy with lately?"

Chen Nianxin really didn't want to discuss this with Su Qing anymore, because if they continued, Su Qing might actually hit on something personal. When it came to changing the subject, one couldn't afford to be soft-hearted.

Su Qing looked up at her and said, "There has been too much warfare in the mortal world lately, which has caused the petitions on my end to skyrocket... Plus, there have been quite a few natural disasters recently, so naturally, I'm incredibly busy."

"Don't be fooled by how peaceful it seems around Mount Changbai. That's only because I'm personally stationed here, and the Old White Deer Spirit is helping me manage things."

"Furthermore, it's because there are many demons I've sent out in the vicinity who help me maintain peace. That's why it's so quiet here. In places beyond Mount Changbai, many areas have already turned into a complete mess."

In truth, her workload was partly due to her disciple. Some of the wars had been started by that disciple of hers who had only recently finished her apprenticeship... but that girl was quite disciplined in her troublemaking. Moreover, what she was doing had some benefits for Su Qing's side. While it increased Su Qing's workload for a time, if she actually succeeded, it might usher in a new era. Thus, Su Qing didn't take it to heart and didn't interfere much, nor did she explain the details to Chen Nianxin.

Chen Nianxin listened, slightly dazed. She truly hadn't expected the situation to be like this. But she couldn't be blamed; without magic power, there was no way for her to know these things even if she wanted to. And even if she did know, she wouldn't have the ability to help.

She looked at Su Qing and said, "I see. No wonder you've been so tired lately. It seems being a deity isn't as easy and carefree as it looks!"

Although Chen Nianxin liked to tease Su Qing, she didn't like to do so without reason. Hearing Su Qing's words, she was a bit surprised.

"Did you think being a deity was exceptionally easy? The world is so vast and I have so many believers; how could there be few matters to attend to?"

Su Qing said calmly, "Besides, the current situation isn't too bad. At the very least, everything is still within controllable limits. After all, the truly big trouble hasn't even arrived yet!"

"I really did think you had it quite easy, especially since you often look like you're enjoying yourself."

Chen Nianxin looked at Su Qing and asked, "But, the truly big trouble? What is that?"

Chen Nianxin was puzzled. What other big trouble could there be? Su Qing even had a prediction for this?

"Mhm, but I don't know exactly what it is." Su Qing smiled and replied.

Hearing this, Chen Nianxin felt her fists tighten. If you don't know, why even mention it? She had thought this girl was so clever that she had even predicted a future crisis. It turned out she was just teasing her.

"..."

"You... sometimes you really aren't worth my concern," Chen Nianxin said through gritted teeth.

Su Qing just laughed and didn't explain further. She was naturally very clear about the real trouble... she just didn't want Chen Nianxin to know.

"Alright, let's talk about something else. There's no point discussing this; you can't help anyway."

Su Qing shook her head and shifted the topic. These matters were indeed not worth discussing—either she couldn't help, or Su Qing simply couldn't talk about them. Naturally, there was nothing to chat about.

Chen Nianxin let out a helpless snort and said, "Fine. What else do you want to talk about?"

Su Qing thought for a moment and said, "Actually, let's just not talk at all!"

"That's the result you came up with?"

"Yes, because I don't have anything else to say for now," Su Qing replied.

Chen Nianxin was speechless. She curled her lip, turned around, and went back inside. She couldn't be bothered to waste more words with Su Qing. She had finally decided to have a normal conversation, only for it to end like this. It was truly dull.

After Chen Nianxin left, Bai Zhu gave a soft laugh and said, "Chen Nianxin seems a bit unhappy..."

"It's normal. No one is happy when their mood is spoiled." Su Qing shook her head and said, "But there really wasn't anything left to talk about... and I am indeed tired. Yawn~ Keep massaging; I'm going to doze off for a bit."

Su Qing's energy was flagging, so she decided to take a rest. Bai Zhu naturally had no objections. She nodded and said, "Mhm, just rest well, Big Sister Su... I can't help you with much, but I can at least give you a massage."

Seeing this, Su Qing gave a soft hum of agreement and closed her eyes, putting this body into a dormant state to recover and conserve energy.

As for why she wasn't recovering her mental energy? Naturally, it was because unless the main body rested, the recovery of mental energy was extremely slow or even impossible. Thus, it didn't count as true recovery.

On the other side, in the Northern Continent, Su Qing put down the official documents and stretched her back. Beside her, Su Tingtong also let out a long breath and stretched, mimicking Su Qing's movements. The mother and daughter were practically identical.

"The two of you really are mother and daughter," Liu Xixi remarked from the side, unable to resist teasing them.

Su Qing smiled and said, "Of course! She is my biological daughter, after all. Alright, let's call it a day! You too—it's about time you went to rest."

"The Sovereign should go rest first. Managing three bodies at once must be much more taxing on your spirit than it is for me..." Liu Xixi nodded and said.

"I'll wait for you a bit longer, then we can leave together."

"This..."