Wei Qingming had already unwrapped the bundle, taking out several miscellaneous items. The treasures Gu Shuguan had harvested from the southern tycoons Shen Wanbiao and He Bingshi during their visit to the Thorny Basin must have been plentiful; what he had sent us consisted of two jade slips, a signet ring engraved with a family crest, and a stone seal. The materials of the two jade slips were extraordinary, and their encryption methods were exceptionally rigorous. Master Wei did not even touch them, merely stating that she would have specialists at the office decode them once they returned to the capital. As for the signet ring, she gave it only a cursory glance before noticing my focused gaze and smilingly handing it to me to play with.
Regarding the stone seal, Master Wei examined it meticulously for a long while without finding anything unusual. Hong Lu thoughtfully presented a rubbing of the seal's pattern. Currently, the seals of wealthy families were imbued with high-level spells, leaving marks infused with spiritual energy. In principle, these were a form of minor contract or seal-curse, often invisible to the naked eye and only revealed through specific techniques or instruments. The pattern on this paper was a rubbing Hong Lu had made using ink.
The ornamentation on the ring in my hand was quite intricate; staring at it for too long even induced a sense of vertigo, so I quickly set it down. Seeing this, Wei Qingming asked with a smile, "Does A-Zhi not recognize this?"
"Should I?" I asked, puzzled.
She casually picked up a brush and meticulously yet swiftly sketched out the ornamentation, darkening certain parts. "Look again."
I leaned in to look and suddenly realized. "So this is a set of intertwined Ling script characters!" The characters were disguised as a drawing, supplemented by other lines to eventually form the shape of an animal that looked like a cross between a deer and a horse. I murmured the characters, tracing them in my palm, but I still couldn't make sense of them. I could only blush and stick out my tongue. "Though the Demon language originated from the Ling language, I really don't know it..."
Currently, the languages widely used across the Three Realms were none other than those of the Demon, Human, and Ghost races. All three had evolved from the original Ling language used by the primordial gods. Over thousands of years, they had changed so significantly that they were no longer mutually intelligible. The Divine Voice was, of course, unheard in the mortal realm; only masters within the Wujing Sect and the Moyu Sect, who specialized in divine affairs, were proficient in it. Although the Ling language existed only on paper, its influence could be seen in daily life—most notably, the runes used in formations were the closest to the Ling language, with many characters inherited exactly as they were.
Master Wei shook her head with a light laugh. "It seems I have indeed made things difficult for A-Zhi. Rumenglai has never done business with the Imperial Family." As she spoke, she isolated those few Ling characters and rearranged their order, forming a single word. Applying the pronunciation of the Demon language to the Ling script, I barely managed to read it out: "'Jing'... or is it 'Jing'..."
"It is actually the 'Jing' of Great Jing."
"Ha! Who would dare use that character? Since the founding of the dynasty, everyone originally surnamed Jing has changed it to Jin." I said amusedly, "So, this really is a royal signet ring?"
"Yes," Master Wei said. "And not just any royal signet ring. That day, Ding Lesheng, the steward of Prince Yi's manor, was present; this item likely originated from Prince Yi's estate. The crests of the various princely manors use their titles as the base character, transcribed into Ling script. Only a few very rare and specific types of signet rings would use the national title."
As she spoke, she wore a playful smile, slowly rolling the ring back and forth between her fingers. "It seems Steward Ding was handling matters of national importance for his master that day."
"Then what about this stone seal?"
Even Master Wei could not see through its mystery. "It looks like a collector's seal. There are too many collectors in the world; I only recognize the most famous patterns, all of which have been passed down for centuries. This seal was carved within the last five years. The craftsmanship is unremarkable, though the material is decent—nothing more than medium-grade Lingban Jade, of which the country produces at least ten thousand stones a year. The person who set this token was very cautious. We will investigate it further upon our return."
I joked, "Old Gu really is a gentleman. He obediently took things related to official business; did he not swipe anything from that courtesan lady?"
"A-Zhi means the woman whom both Boss Shen and Boss He were fawning over?" Master Wei also smiled. "That person is no courtesan; she is the mistress of King Midi, one of the ten great Demon Kings of the Kingdom of Leitian."
I was so startled I nearly overturned the table. "You mean the famous Lady Junayi?"
Lady Junayi was truly the foremost "extraordinary woman" of the current age. Not only was she considered an unpardonable demoness by the subtle and elegant standards of our dynasty, but even in the eyes of the passionate and uninhibited Leitian people, her actions were excessively shocking. She was originally a married woman, wed to the Crown Prince of another Demon King, King Shalle. However, during a diplomatic visit, she fell in love with King Midi at first sight. To be with her beloved forever, Junayi betrayed the Shalle royal family, poisoned the already gravely ill old King Shalle, and nearly slaughtered everyone in the palace that night—not even sparing her own three-month-old son. Her dowry for her remarriage consisted of the Shalle tribe's territory—equivalent to a province of Great Jing—and the wealth from the original Shalle royal treasury.
After this upheaval, the prosperous Shalle tribe was nearly wiped out. King Midi leaped from the bottom of the ten great Demon Kings to the second rank, surpassed only by King Anchi. However, the original Queen of Midi was a princess of the Anchi royal family, and Junayi's viciousness was notorious. The elders and high officials protested vehemently, some even choosing death to prevent King Midi from divorcing his wife to make Junayi his Queen. Public resentment seethed. Ultimately, King Midi painfully bestowed Junayi in marriage to a favored courtier, giving her a status that allowed her to enter and leave the palace without hindrance, while in reality, she remained his mistress alone.
Recalling what I had seen that day, I said, "Compared to the demoness I imagined—a colorful, venomous snake who could heartlessly kill her own child—she didn't look that cruel, nor was she exceptionally beautiful..."
"She has kept a low profile since entering King Midi's palace and is rarely seen in public. Whatever business she has in the capital this time must be of great importance." As Master Wei spoke, she tucked the stone seal and the royal signet ring into her robes and tossed the two jade slips to Hong Lu. "We shall see what clues lie within."
"Master, I almost forgot one more thing." Hong Lu caught the jade slips and slapped his forehead. "Miss Arati, the young daughter of Mr. Agawa, has been missing for ten years. Master previously ordered Captain Yuan to investigate, and she was found yesterday."
"Good, just send her back then," Wei Qingming replied casually. Seeing Hong Lu hesitate, she added, "Is there something special about it?"
"There is indeed," Hong Lu coughed. "She... is no longer human, and it's hard to say if she is... alive."
"What kind of talk is that?" I asked in wonder.
"In short, her encounter was very peculiar," Hong Lu said. "She essentially took a trip to the Underworld and returned to the mortal realm. Her physical body was destroyed long ago, so she can only exist as a soul. Yet, she is different from a typical ghost. Ghosts cannot retain memories; they act on instinct without reason. Miss Arati, however, still remembers her identity and origins, and her thinking is much like a normal person's..."
"Did she use the Netherworld as a passage to travel to another realm?"
"Yes." Hong Lu nodded. "Just like Madam's sect."
"Wait!" I cried out. "What does this have to do with Gomeng Mountain?"
Both of them laughed. Hong Lu explained, "Has Madam never wondered why so many of Rumenglai's goods have extraordinary origins? Some are of a quality far exceeding what this realm can produce; some are out of season—for instance, the Ascension Fruits that you and the Eighth and Ninth Young Misses love to eat."
"Could it be... they come from other realms..."
"Yes," Wei Qingming smiled. "Eldest Brother explained it to me long ago." The smugness in her tone was clearly showing off that she was trustworthy while I was not, which is why Eldest Brother never told me!
I glared at her and pummeled her. She laughed and let me hit her while continuing, "Actually, before the War of World-Ending, there were spells to connect to other realms, but they all required specific divine artifacts. Those artifacts have all been destroyed. There are no paths in the mortal realm, but the Netherworld is common to all realms. As long as one is human, they will eventually return to the Sanchuan."
Sanchuan—the Three Rivers—referred to the three rivers of the Netherworld: the rivers of suffering, oblivion, and hatred. When she spoke these words, her tone was flat and calm, yet for some reason, they struck my ears with a faint, lingering sense of destiny.
After the night of boating on Reed Lake, Wei Qingming had slept for most of the day. It was inconvenient for the large party to move, so everyone waited on the boat. The vessel arranged by the Temple was, of course, not the broken fishing boat used as a disguise, but a first-rate merchant ship. Later, seeing that I suffered no discomfort on the boat, she simply chartered it for two more days, traveling southwest along the winding waterways. By the next morning, we had entered the borders of Yuzhou. After winding south for another few dozen miles, we would reach our destination: Mianshan Village in Puyi City.
Yuzhou truly lived up to its reputation as a warm and prosperous southern land, suddenly giving one the illusion of traveling back from winter to autumn. Yet it was not entirely an illusion; Yuzhou indeed knew no extreme heat or bitter cold, and even snow was a rarity. At this moment, the small city lay comfortably nestled amidst mountains dyed in orange, red, and gold. Amidst the brilliant, dappled autumn colors and the thick, dense carpet of fallen leaves, scattered wild flowers trembled slightly—apologetic yet proud, slyly flaunting their divine favor to the northern lands just a mountain range away.
Fourth Brother and Fifth Sister had received word; they could be seen from afar, waiting at the pier. Zhu Yixin had truly adopted the local customs, wearing the blue and white garments of the local women. Her golden hair ornaments swayed tremulously as she looked around and chatted, reflecting the morning light behind her, looking exceptionally lively and lovely. Most rare of all was that Fourth Brother had also changed into the attire of a Yu youth, wearing a short robe of black with silver-patterned borders.
Although Master Wei's aura remained as usual, the sealing of her cultivation was apparent at a glance. Furthermore, she was truly weak from the fatigue of the journey and her illness. The two were greatly surprised and distressed upon seeing her. Zhu Yixin hurriedly asked, "What happened? Did something at home—" Seeing my calm expression, she changed her words: "Then it must be a matter of the Imperial Court."
Qiao Songlin also frowned. Wei Qingming replied with a smile, "Though it took some effort, everything has been resolved. It is a rare chance to take a half-month of leisure, and besides, I will be fully recovered in a few more days. Brother and Sister need not worry."
Only then did Fourth Brother's expression relax. He said as usual, "The village is only ten miles from here. Let us talk as we walk." For some reason, his usually calm and steady voice held a trace or two of hesitation and softness, as if he were quite pained.
Cherishing this southern autumn scenery, we decided to walk for a while before mounting our horses. The two of them led the way, while Zhu Yixin and I followed behind, arm in arm, recounting our experiences since we last met. As for the true situation regarding the Thousand-Year Sorrow, we tacitly refrained from mentioning it—though Master Wei's cultivation was sealed, the sharpness of her five senses had not diminished much. Moreover, although we could converse using Illusory Sound, we were somewhat unwilling to speak of it...
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