At some point, Chunyu Tiying had become able to speak of an emperor's passing in such a casual tone.
From the time of Emperor Liu Heng until now, she had lived through the reigns of four emperors.
Now, Chunyu Tiying was nearly a hundred years old, yet to anyone looking at her, she still appeared to be a beautiful young woman in her twenties. No one would ever guess she was an elder.
It was only natural for her to retain her youth. Over the years, Chunyu Tiying had saved countless lives, and with the title of Medicine-Dispensing Fairy bestowed upon her by Qingnu, her longevity was simply a reward for her virtue. After all, good people receive their own blessings.
Qingnu set aside her affairs and walked outside, gazing toward the providence of Chang'an from the Jade Emperor Peak of Mt. Tai.
She saw the providence of the Han rising, with golden light shimmering amidst the clouds.
"Liu Bingyi..."
Liu Xun, Emperor Xuan of the Han, known by the temple name Zhongzong.
It was under his hand that the Great Han would truly reach its zenith; that vast, surging providence was proof enough.
Heaven had already decreed it was his; no one else could snatch it away.
Qingnu cursed under her breath and scoffed, "Accursed Heaven... All that talk of 'are kings and nobles born to their status' or 'man can conquer Heaven,' yet it is all just predestination."
But the snake girl had never believed in fate. After all, Han Xin's tomb rested on Mt. Tai, and the Qin kings of Yongcheng had endured for generations.
When a child is quiet, they must be up to no good!
She couldn't stay on Mt. Tai forever. In all things, one had to at least try!
To say it's impossible from the start—one might as well just snip it off and become a palace eunuch.
Qingnu’s thoughts drifted to the Temple of the Jade Maiden of the Azure Heavens in Chang'an. Before her divine statue, the new emperor, Liu Bingyi, was leading his civil and military officials in worship. The offering table was laden with a dazzling array of gifts, including whole oxen and sheep! She didn't listen to a single word of the sacrificial oration read by the Minister of Ceremonies; her entire attention was fixed on the beef and mutton.
"Bird Sister, Little Tiying, let's go eat something good!"
With a call, Qingnu pulled the two of them along as they set off for Chang'an.
However, while passing over Mt. Xiao, Qingnu vaguely felt something strange below, as if something were calling to her.
The snake girl descended and transformed into her human shape.
Hongluan immediately turned into a bird and perched on Qingnu's shoulder, asking, "What is it?"
"Someone called me!" Qingnu replied.
She looked around at the dark, dense shadows of the forest. From the depths of the woods not far away, a pack of wolves emerged, their fur sleek and glossy.
They crowded around a tall, burly, and muscular man as he approached.
The man was completely naked!
Chunyu Tiying coughed lightly. As a physician, she had seen much, but this wasn't a medical examination, and she couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.
Qingnu’s lip curled in a look of pure disgust.
"Tch... if you don't have clothes, don't take human form. Use your original body!"
Hearing this, the burly man scratched his head in embarrassment and hurriedly bowed. "Please do not be offended, Immortal. I will change at once..."
As he spoke, the man dropped to all fours and transformed into a giant wolf, his frame significantly larger than even a prized warhorse.
Seeing the giant wolf appear, Qingnu’s eyes lit up. She trotted over to his side, pinched his muscle, smoothed his fur, and then shook her head with a click of her tongue. Patting the giant wolf on the shoulder, she asked, "Brother Wolf, you’ve got a great physique! How old are you? When did you gain the ability to shapeshift?"
The giant wolf answered her questions one by one. Qingnu learned that although he wasn't among the first generation of Mt. Xiao wolves to feast on the flesh of cultivators, his seniority was indeed high.
The current wolf packs in Mt. Xiao were essentially all his children and grandchildren.
Years ago, after Qingnu had fed so many members of the Yin Yang School to them at once, the giant wolf had finally gained the power to shapeshift.
As they spoke, Qingnu saw many small wolf cubs peeking out from the woods with curiosity.
Her eyes sparkled. She stepped forward and scooped up several, rubbing and kneading them.
The cubs were perfectly well-behaved in her hands.
Qingnu rubbed the cubs like they were puppies while glancing at the giant wolf. "Speak. What did you call me down for?"
"To repay your kindness!" The giant wolf sat like a dog, wagging his tail.
He said, "If not for your feedings, Immortal, we wolves would only live a few years. We would never have gained the ability to shapeshift! Therefore, I have decided to become your mount! To repay you!"
After hearing him out, Qingnu looked him up and down. "Where did you learn to speak like that?"
The giant wolf said honestly, "I learned from the food! When they were thrown down, some of them weren't dead yet."
They survived falling from that height? Well, after several hundred years, it seemed they had indeed cultivated some skill.
Qingnu glanced at the giant wolf's tail, which was wagging frantically. After a moment of thought, she asked, "Can you hunt?"
The giant wolf nodded. "Of course!"
At those words, Qingnu smiled. She stood on her tiptoes to pat the giant wolf's head and said, "Good! I choose you. Brother Wolf, from now on, your name shall be Jingang!"
"Thank you for the name, Immortal!"
Jingang immediately prostrated himself to thank her.
Before leaving, Jingang instructed the other intelligent wolves in the pack to take good care of the little ones.
How much they understood of Jingang’s words was hard to say.
To have one Jingang was already a blessing that these Mt. Xiao wolves couldn't have earned in many lifetimes.
Having gained a mount, Qingnu was in a great mood.
She sat sideways on Jingang's back, steady as can be. Chunyu Tiying, however, was filled with trepidation, gripping Jingang’s fur tightly for fear of being shaken off. Even though she had ridden on Qingnu's true form many times, her timid nature remained unchanged.
Back at the Temple of the Jade Maiden of the Azure Heavens, Liu Xun had already returned to the palace with his ministers.
The oxen, sheep, and delicacies on the offering table remained untouched. If the Jade Maiden did not come to eat them, they would stay there for a day; on the second day, they would be sent back to the palace to be shared among the emperor and his ministers.
To keep the meat fresh, the trays were even lined with blocks of ice.
Hongluan and Chunyu Tiying didn't have much of an appetite, so almost all the meat ended up in the bellies of the snake girl and Jingang.
The next day, when the eunuchs came to collect the offerings, they found nothing but complete skeletons resting on the table, along with a small bamboo slip.
There wasn't much written on the slip—only six words.
"Not enough food. Bring more!"
They had seen a ghost!
No, that wasn't right—they had seen a goddess!
The eunuch clutched the bamboo slip and sprinted back to the palace, presenting it to Liu Bingyi.
Qingnu hadn't left many writings behind, but every single slip was preserved by the successive emperors of the Han. Liu Bingyi pulled out the slips Qingnu had left while teaching Huo Qubing and compared the handwriting. Once he confirmed it was her, he hurriedly summoned Huo Guang.
Monarch and minister arrived at the temple with freshly slaughtered oxen and sheep.
As soon as they entered the temple courtyard, they saw a giant wolf lying prostrate.
"Your Majesty, be careful!" Huo Guang shouted in alarm, stepping in front of Liu Bingyi.
The Yulin Guards behind them rushed in, surrounding Liu Bingyi and Huo Guang to protect them.
Jingang merely lifted an eyelid, nudged his head to the side, and continued to lay there, ignoring them. Inside the temple, Chunyu Tiying walked out. Seeing so many people, she asked, "Where is the emperor?"
"I am here!" Liu Bingyi pushed past the Yulin Guards.
He looked Chunyu Tiying up and down and asked, "Is Our Lady the Jade Maiden here?"
"She's inside. Did you bring the meat?" Chunyu Tiying asked.
With a wave of Huo Guang's hand, a large troop of men entered, carrying the meat and filling the entire temple courtyard until it was packed tight.
Smelling the aroma of the meat, the snake girl appeared without being summoned.
She stepped out of the temple, her eyes shining. She nodded and said, "The boy is sincere. Not bad, not bad at all! Your name is Liu Bingyi?"
Liu Bingyi bowed deeply in greeting.
"Liu Bingyi greets Our Lady the Jade Maiden!"
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