After Su Qing took the letter from the messenger, the woman departed on her own. Clearly, she had no intention of waiting for a reply to take back... or perhaps, Chang'e hadn't expected Su Qing to provide one in the first place.
Watching the messenger leave, Su Qing said nothing and simply let her go. She then sat in her chair, opened the letter, and began to read its contents.
In the letter, Chang'e explicitly told Su Qing that the Lunar Deity had responded to her message. She confirmed that it had indeed been her clone. Furthermore, she pointed out the reason why they had felt that strange sensation earlier.
The reason was quite simple. It was exactly as Chang'e had suspected: it was caused by the mutation.
Additionally, she updated Su Qing on the aftermath. She stated that the Heavenly Court had officially sent personnel to reinforce the seal. They had also placed a protective blessing upon the entire Earth Vein to prevent the mutation from spreading further. This also ensured that even if another accident occurred within the Earth Vein, it wouldn't be so easy to break through the suppression and threaten the Moon Palace again.
Beyond that, Chang'e also mentioned the Osmanthus Tree... she noted that she had informed the tree about the Earth Vein's mutation, which had caused the Osmanthus Tree to realize certain things.
As for the details, Chang'e didn't elaborate. Apparently, she felt she had written too much and grew too lazy to continue. She simply ended by saying she would explain everything in detail the next time Su Qing visited the Moon Palace to play.
It was very much in character for her, and it left Su Qing quite speechless.
After finishing the letter, Su Qing let out a long breath, finally feeling a sense of complete relief. "With this, I can truly put my mind at ease..." She burned the letter as she spoke, shaking her head with a helpless smile.
Once the letter was destroyed, she stood up to handle the affairs of the Northern Continent. Things were far from idle here; it was still incredibly busy. Su Qing couldn't afford to stay leisurely for long.
She called for Su Tingtong and headed to the study. Inside, Liu Xixi had already arrived as usual, currently processing the official documents in her hands. This was a daily routine for them.
Seeing this, Su Qing stretched her wrists and asked, "There shouldn't be any major trouble in the Mortal World lately, right?"
"If there were, I would have told you already, Sovereign. How could I leave it unhandled?" Liu Xixi nodded and continued, "However, the number of documents sent up from below has indeed decreased significantly. It seems the Mortal World has been much more stable lately. This is all thanks to your hard work, Sovereign!"
Su Qing shook her head. How could this be her doing? It was simply that the signs of the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth had entered a period of stability. After all, the signs of the Great Tribulation didn't grow stronger in a purely linear fashion day by day. Every so often, they would subside for a while, as if giving the world's living beings a chance to catch their breath.
She truly didn't know what the heavens were thinking. However, for Su Qing, the difference wasn't particularly large; at most, it meant she could be a bit more relaxed during this period.
Of course, it was a good thing. It meant Su Qing would have a bit more free time to rest, rather than being worked to the bone.
"It's your hard work; I haven't done much..." Su Qing shook her head and said with a smile, "Alright, let's not talk about that for now. Let's finish today's tasks quickly! There are many things waiting for us afterward."
Su Qing rolled her shoulders, showing a bit of drive. Hearing this, Liu Xixi nodded with a smile and said, "Am I not already working on it?"
Su Qing chuckled and joined in. As for Su Tingtong, she had long been ready to get to work.
Time flowed by. In the blink of an eye, another month of peaceful life passed. Life during this time was no different from before: working, going out, and spending time with family. In short, everything was very calm.
One day, after spending time with Leng Xiang and Ao Ying, Su Qing returned to the Daoist academy. She prepared to handle the remaining official business. Although there hadn't been many matters lately, she couldn't just leave them be, or they would pile up like Chang'e's work. Especially since no one knew if things would suddenly become hectic again.
Su Qing returned to the study. Liu Xixi was working as usual, but as soon as she noticed Su Qing's arrival, she immediately walked over and handed an official document to her.
"Sovereign, I'm afraid this matter requires you to take action personally," Liu Xixi said. "Currently, General Tortoise and General Snake are not in the academy. Other powerful seniors have their own assignments, and some have been borrowed by the Heavenly Court... Therefore, this matter can likely only be handled by you."
Su Qing was slightly surprised but didn't refuse. She simply nodded and asked, "Oh? What kind of matter is it that requires my personal intervention?"
As she spoke, she took the document from Liu Xixi and gave it a brief look. However, even with a quick glance, Su Qing couldn't help but frown.
No wonder Liu Xixi said this required her personal touch. Indeed, this kind of situation was best solved by her. If someone weaker or less capable encountered this, it wouldn't be so easily resolved. After all, this matter already involved an entire city.
Su Qing nodded slightly. "I see. It would indeed be better if I handled this myself... But if I do, I'm afraid you'll have to continue processing the documents alone."
"There's no need to worry about that, Sovereign. I can handle the paperwork even by myself."
Liu Xixi shook her head with a smile and continued, "Besides, the documents lately haven't been as numerous as before, so you can go with a clear mind. If I didn't have the ability or the confidence to handle everything alone, I wouldn't have handed this to you the moment you returned."
Although Liu Xixi would occasionally push herself, she was usually honest with Su Qing about her actual situation. What she said now was the truth; she did have the capacity to manage the current workload, which was why she brought the matter to Su Qing so quickly. Otherwise, while she would still have informed her, she would have waited at least until today's tasks were partially finished.
Su Qing lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly. "In that case, I'll have to trouble you for the next few days. However, once I return, you should take a day off. One shouldn't be too overworked; everyone needs to rest occasionally."
Hearing this, Liu Xixi nodded with a beaming smile. "Thank you for your concern, Sovereign. Rest assured, I certainly will."
In the past, Liu Xixi might have protested, but she had learned to accept Su Qing's kindness and no longer refused. Besides, taking a single day off wouldn't have a major impact on their work, especially during this period.
Seeing this, Su Qing gave a satisfied smile. "That is good!"
At Su Qing's smile, Liu Xixi nodded and asked, "By the way, when do you plan to set out?"
Su Qing rubbed her chin and thought for a moment. "I'll leave in a little while. It won't hurt to wait a bit; let me rest for a moment first."
Su Qing wasn't overly anxious. Although the matter was significant, it hadn't reached the point where she had to leave this very second. A short delay wouldn't change anything.
Liu Xixi naturally had no objection. In truth, even if Su Qing left tomorrow, it wouldn't be a huge problem. The situation hadn't worsened to that degree yet, so there was no need for extreme haste. And if the situation had already reached an irreversible point, then rushing now would be meaningless. Even Liu Xixi, having experienced so much, had become much more open-minded. She no longer felt so impatient about everything.
Su Qing smiled, said goodbye to Liu Xixi, and turned to leave. She wasn't in a rush to go, not just because she wanted to rest, but also because she needed to go back and prepare. While this matter wasn't overwhelmingly difficult, it wasn't simple either. Therefore, she needed to prepare a little; otherwise, if something went wrong, the trouble would fall on her.
Besides that, Su Qing had one other thing to do... she had a certain agreement with Su Tingtong.
In the sleeping quarters of the Daoist academy in the Northern Continent, Su Tingtong greeted Su Qing as she returned.
"Mother is back! Did you prepare a gift for your darling daughter?"
Su Qing reached out to rub her head and nodded. "Of course I did..."
As she spoke, Su Qing handed the items to Su Tingtong.
"Thank you, Mother~" Su Tingtong said with a graceful smile.
Su Qing nodded and said, "I have to handle some affairs over the next few days, so you might need to stay here and help out."
Su Qing obviously couldn't hide her departure from the girl, so after giving her the gifts, she immediately mentioned that she was leaving again.
Hearing this, Su Tingtong couldn't help but frown. "Mother, you just got back and you're leaving again? What kind of business is it? Is there anything I can help with?"
"You can't help with this... If you could, I would naturally take you with me," Su Qing said, shaking her head.
Su Tingtong truly couldn't help with this matter. For her, aside from cheering Su Qing on from the sidelines, she could at most handle some minor tasks. With anything more troublesome, the current Su Tingtong wouldn't necessarily be able to handle it well. While she did need to gain experience, she shouldn't start with something of this difficulty. That wouldn't be training; it would just be sending her to get beaten.
"No, Mother, are you looking down on your daughter a bit too much? My strength is quite formidable now; I'm sure I can be of a lot of help." Su Tingtong thought for a moment, then crossed her arms and said, "Besides, if I'm there to help, you'll be more relaxed, right? Even if it's just a little bit, it's still something. Also, I don't need you to protect me; I can protect myself. Although my current strength still has a massive gap compared to yours, Mother... I still have the ability to defend myself."
Su Tingtong said quite a lot in one breath, clearly very eager to go along. Previously, she had agreed so easily not to follow because Su Qing was going to see Leng Xiang and Ao Ying; there wasn't much point in her going along, other than seeing her sisters and her mothers. It might even have been a bit awkward. So, she could stay behind.
But now Su Qing was going to handle business, and it was business with a certain level of difficulty. Naturally, she wanted to go along. On one hand, she wanted to train herself. On the other, she wanted to get out and see the world. And the final reason was simply that she wanted to help Su Qing. After all, she didn't want Su Qing to be too exhausted.
Listening to Su Tingtong's words, Su Qing remained silent for a moment, weighing whether or not to take her out. While Su Qing was thinking, Su Tingtong continued to 'cajole' her, or rather, act spoiled.
After a long while, Su Qing let out a helpless sigh. "Fine, since you want to go so badly, you can come along. However, before that, we need to pay a visit to Yudie."
Hearing this, Su Tingtong first shouted a "Hooray!"
Then, she asked with a look of confusion, "Why do we need to go see Sister Yudie?"
Su Qing looked at her and rubbed her head. "Naturally, because I need a weapon! Your Sister Yudie is the sword spirit of a short sword, as you well know. The place I'm going next has a certain level of danger; having a weapon is always a good thing!"
Su Tingtong suddenly understood. She had wondered what the reason was.
"Ah, I see..." Su Tingtong nodded and asked, "Then when do we set out?"
However, she was actually somewhat envious of Yudie. After all, according to her mother's words, Yudie must have accompanied her mother on many missions. This was her first time going out to handle official business.
But... things would surely change in the future. She had that confidence.
"Wait a bit longer; I need to prepare some things," Su Qing said, patting her head.
Su Tingtong smiled and nodded. "Alright then! But Mother, what else do you need to prepare?"
"You don't need to worry about that; they're just some things I'll use later," Su Qing said with a smile, then walked alone into the quiet room.
Entering the quiet room, Su Qing sat cross-legged at the writing desk and began to draw talismans.
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