Halfway through the meal, Lu Lingfeng suddenly stood up and blurted out, "Found it."
Lu Kaifeng glanced at her and handed over a handkerchief. "A-Ling, no rush. Wipe your face." Lu Lingfeng was deaf to his words, her eyes staring blankly into the distance as if her gaze could pierce through the layers of walls and courtyards. Lu Kaifeng was well-accustomed to her state of being incapable of basic self-care; with great patience, he raised his hand and used the handkerchief to pick a grain of rice off her face himself.
Lu Lingfeng abruptly raised her hand, accidentally bumping her brother's arm before he could withdraw it, and pointed toward a certain direction with a shout: "There!"
Lu Kaifeng didn't panic in the least. He turned to look at me and said gently, "Ignore her. Let's finish our food."
I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh. "No, no, are you finished, Eldest Senior Brother? I can leave whenever you're ready."
The result was Lu Lingfeng running ahead like a hound while Lu Kaifeng casually gripped one of her hands, following behind as if holding a leash. Having not seen such an absurd scene in a long time, my face ached from trying to hold back my laughter.
While "walking the dog," Lu Kaifeng still had the leisure to turn back and smile at me. "Once we've finished our business, if there's anything you want to buy, A-Zhi, we can go browse the East Market."
"Sure, if we actually manage to finish..."
To my surprise, the place Lu Lingfeng was so determined to reach was right inside the East Market. The three of us came to a halt. At a glance, I could tell it was a prime location—situated on a T-junction corner, flanked by large merchant houses. The rent likely wouldn't be cheap. Master kept talking about "doing business," but what business exactly? If it was just opening a small shop to run errands and solve domestic disputes, we could just find any busy inn and post a notice!
I asked Eldest Senior Brother, "How is it?"
He smiled. "Lingfeng has been studying Aura-reading lately. According to Master, she's opened her Heavenly Eye. If she says it's good, it probably is."
I nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. The Heavenly Eye! That legendary, miraculous ability capable of discerning the destiny of an entire nation! In the last thousand years, including the founder of the Wujing Sect, Ni Tian, the number of famous masters who possessed the Heavenly Eye could be counted on two hands. If such a person appeared among the common folk, they would be "invited" to the Wujing Sect to be provided for for life. My Second Senior Sister right here actually had that qualification!
Was the "Heavenly Eye" Master mentioned really *that* Heavenly Eye? I instinctively felt skeptical, because it was truly hard to say who was more unreliable—Master or her...
Seeing my lips tremble in shock, Eldest Senior Brother quickly raised a finger and squinted. "Shh. Keep it low-key."
What kind of incredible luck did Master have back then? To spend a thousand spirit stones and get a "buy one, get one free" deal on these two treasures!
The Ling-hound reached her destination, and her energy seemed to deplete instantly. Her eyes closed, and she fainted. Her brother, with great foresight, caught her around the waist and entrusted her to the care of an elderly woman at the tea stall across the street. Then, with mature and steady steps, he led me toward the shop.
Strangely enough, in such a prime location and in broad daylight, this medicinal herb shop had half its shutters up, blocking out the afternoon sun. The moment I stepped inside, a sudden chill rose, making me shiver violently. Lu Kaifeng politely cupped his hands and asked, "Excuse me, young man, is your proprietor in? I have a matter to inquire about."
The clerk peeked out from behind the counter and said irritably, "You can buy medicine, but the boss isn't here."
Lu Kaifeng nodded, pulled out a Sound-Transmission Talisman, and placed it on the counter along with a visiting card. "Could you please tell your boss to contact me? I'd like to discuss a business deal." As he spoke, he placed a small bag of spirit stones in front of him.
The clerk remained lukewarm. He took the items without saying whether he would help or not, then lowered his head to resume his work.
When the two of us stepped back out and bathed in the warm sunlight, I finally felt much more comfortable. I pursed my lips and said, "That shop is so strange. Is it about to go bankrupt?"
"Ideally." Eldest Senior Brother smiled. "Come, let's go buy things for A-Zhi."
I gave a joyful cry. Lu Kaifeng didn't worry about his sister for the moment, instead leading me through shop after shop. We discussed how this item was suitable for Fifth Senior Sister, how that one would be useful for Seventh Senior Brother, and how this pair of jade discs would be perfect for the twins, Eighth and Ninth... Naturally, we couldn't avoid picking out a bunch of luxurious and noble items to decorate the facade, to be brought back as tribute for Master. Strangely, I should have been very happy that Eldest Senior Brother was buying me gifts, but perhaps because Wei Qingming had given me so much—from fabrics and utensils to trinkets and ornaments—I didn't feel much of a surprise as I carried the "consolation gifts" he had carefully selected.
We browsed until sunset before heading back to wake the still-slumbering Lu Lingfeng from the tea stall. I glanced back at the pharmacy. Good heavens, it was barely past four in the afternoon and they were already locking up. What kind of business were they running? What if someone fell ill at night and needed urgent medicine?
Eldest Senior Brother also looked at the shop thoughtfully, finally deigning to ask his dear sister, "A-Ling, how did you see that this shop was good?"
Lu Lingfeng pursed her lips and tilted her head as if wanting to say something, but only managed: "It's just good."
We both sensed she wanted to say more than that, but if she didn't want to speak, not a single word would leak out even if you killed her. I could only say to Eldest Senior Brother, "In any case, try to contact them first. If you can't settle it, I know a local power; she'll definitely have a way."
"Good. A-Zhi is truly impressive, making such capable friends in such a short time." Eldest Senior Brother smiled.
"How long will you stay in Pingjing? If you have enough time, look around more. There might be a better location."
"We'll head back together once your mission is over," he said. "We have plenty of time."
After waiting at home for two days, Eldest Senior Brother finally sent a message. He said he had met the pharmacy's manager, who, though polite, was firm in relaying the owner's message: the shop was not for sale. Lu Kaifeng had offered up to five million spirit stones—a quarter more than the market price—but the manager only shook his head, saying it wouldn't be sold for any amount. At the end, he attached the shop's name, the owner's name, and the associated merchant guild, asking my friend to look into it.
I sucked in a breath of cold air, my focus landing on that massive sum of five million spirit stones. I never realized my Mount Gumeng was so wealthy... Master only gave a three-thousand-stone parrot as a gift; did she not love her A-Fei enough?
I took the letter and ran out, scaling the walls into the Wei Manor with practiced ease.
Fortunately, Lord Wei hadn't gone out on duty today. She sat peacefully at home, various scraps of paper spread across her desk, studying something new. I pulled out a fanged demon mask I'd bought while shopping the other day, put it on, and lunged at her with a strange cry, claws bared. Without even turning her head, Wei Qingming raised a hand and tapped one of the fangs with a single finger. The tooth fell to the floor with a crisp *crack*, breaking in two.
I clutched my mouth and wailed, "Waaaah! Give me back my tooth!"
Wei Qingming smiled and opened her palm. The fang was resting there quietly; the one that fell to the floor was merely a product of illusion. I clicked my tongue in wonder. "Not bad! Your illusion skills are getting better and better. Even I couldn't see the flaw. That means you're close to touching the edge of the Realm of Light!"
She only gave a faint smile and handed me a piece of paper. "Read this."
I took it and glanced at it. "Ah, it's Zhong He's epitaph... Forget it, just tell me what you found!"
"I've had many duties lately and couldn't attend to this for a while. I only had time to read these records yesterday." As Wei Qingming spoke, I noticed the large stacks of paper on her desk. Likely every trace of Zhong He's administration during the Taizong era had been transcribed for Lord Wei to read. The sheer height of the scrolls made me dizzy. Wei Qingming, being considerate, gave me the answer directly: "As described in his epitaph, a significant portion of his experiences is completely absent from the Ministry of Personnel's records. These experiences also contain many contradictions. Once straightened out, it's clear he didn't just have two lives, but... four completely different paths of official promotion."
"Four!" I exclaimed. "Did he live four times?"
Wei Qingming pulled out a portion of the papers, which had her handwritten summaries of certain years and locations, arranged in a specific order. They happened to match the layout of the fourteen provinces of Great Jing. In other words, across his different lives, Zhong He had traveled the entire country.
"I suspect he was searching for something, which is why he traveled the world," Wei Qingming said. "In his four life experiences, the timing of one event is certain: the Guanxi earthquake in the eighth year of the Chongxiao era. In the ninth year of Chongxiao, Zhong He was born; his father unfortunately perished in the earthquake six months prior. The world before Zhong He's birth should have been completely free of interference."
Wei Qingming took out four more slips of paper and lined them up. "These are the years Zhong He passed the imperial examinations, ranging from the twenty-ninth year of Chongxiao to the eighteenth year of Qianhua—a span of nearly fifty years. Through repeated examinations, Zhong He's ranking climbed higher and higher, eventually placing as a *Chuanlu* of the second class and entering the Hanlin Academy."
"Brilliant!" I clapped and laughed. "He must have had a great stroke of luck. Could he have had help from an immortal?"
"Not an immortal," Wei Qingming said. "Throughout history, the only thing capable of making time flow backward is one of the four divine artifacts from the War of World Destruction..."
"The Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror!" I felt my entire knowledge of history being overturned. "But all four divine artifacts were destroyed in the war!"
Wei Qingming smiled slightly. "Not necessarily."
Her tone wasn't one of uncertainty; she was absolutely sure the four artifacts still existed. The Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror—legend said it was a divine artifact left in the mortal realm by the Ancestor Dahmana after his ascension to oversee reincarnation. It was swept into the war after falling into the hands of the Demonic Patriarch Kuai Xun. Ultimately, Ancestor Dahmana descended in person and shattered the Reincarnation Mirror with a single finger. Losing the protection of the artifact, Kuai Xun was slain by the spirit of the Shoushan Sword. I was immersed in such a massive secret that I couldn't recover. Could the history written in official records, told in folklore, and known even to three-year-olds be false?
"As for the Chong River flood that Miss Su cares about..." Wei Qingming continued, "What you read was his third life. In the two lives prior, Zhong He was either still taking exams or simply couldn't reach a high enough rank at the provincial level. In his final life, Zhong He served as a Secretary in the Department of Waterways under the Ministry of Works. As early as the tenth year of Qianhua, when the floods first began, he took the opportunity to submit a memorial requesting the dredging of the river. Using a sophisticated method of water management, he prevented the disaster before it could happen. This caused the Chong River breach, which should have occurred six years later, to be delayed by fifteen years, preventing any catastrophic results."
"Was he really looking for something?" I wondered. "Is it possible he just wanted to accumulate merit to become a higher official?"
"That's also possible," Wei Qingming said. "However, in his third and fourth lives, Zhong He more than once declined transfers to the two capitals, Pingjing and Anjing. Overall, he spent far more time as a local official than a capital official. Furthermore, the epitaph contains many records of so-called 'career frustrations' and traveling for pleasure—mere smoke and mirrors."
I was so curious I was practically scratching my head. "Then what on earth was he looking for?"
Wei Qingming pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it before me. "All the divergent experiences end before the thirty-seventh year of Qianhua."
I suddenly understood and cried out in excitement, "That's the year he got what he wanted!"
In the thirty-seventh year of Qianhua, there was, of course, a statue. The reason it left such a deep impression was that starting from this one, the twenty-four statues featured another protagonist besides Zhong He. It was a woman—his wife. He had carved the various experiences of his arduous search for her into this world where he finally met her, to rest with her forever.
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