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墨書 Inktalez
"What’s the rush? What’s the news?" The handsome man asked as I pulled him into the room.
I smugly took out the White Jade Lion and placed it in his palm.
Qiu was such a perceptive person; upon seeing the amber liquid in the teacup on the table, he immediately understood everything. "Oh? You found one? Wait, isn’t this the gift that Madam just gave you? How did you think to try this?"
"It’s not just one; it’s seven! I’ve found all seven gems!"
Nie Qiuyuan looked at me in disbelief.
"Zhenzhen, you... you..." He seemed momentarily at a loss for words.
How about that? Surprised, right? You searched for so long and only found one, while I managed to find all of them so quickly. Thinking this way made me feel quite proud.
"I think the information on this thing must relate to your background, right? So, I worked hard too!" I grabbed his sleeve. "Actually, I don’t think it’s bad not to know those things. As long as we can be together and live well in the future, that’s enough. But since we’re here in this world, it’s rare to have the chance to know; we should learn what we can."
Nie Qiuyuan wrapped his arms around me and smiled slightly. "If I want to know, I need to understand myself well and eliminate all dangerous factors so I can protect you properly. So no matter what it is..."
"What if your family really has some dangers? Would you... would you quietly leave me to protect me?"
"No." The handsome man said firmly. "I would ask you to join me in seeking a solution because I cannot be without you. After all, my selfishness is nothing new."
I felt touched and reassured. I didn’t want any selfless sacrifices. What I wanted was him; no matter how difficult or dangerous it might be, I just wanted him—my life came second. After all, he had always been doing everything he could to protect me, hadn’t he?
"The six gems are kept in our room in Chang'an City. I didn’t bring them with me." I took back the White Jade Lion from Qiu's hand and tossed it into the teacup. "But I memorized the inscriptions on each gem."
Seven gems. Initially, Qiu found one himself, while I found three on my own. During my six months traveling with Ren Pingsheng, luck was on my side, and I found two more. Now that I had just gathered them all together, I had only seen the inscriptions when using medicine to reveal them but hadn’t had time to study their connections yet.
So, I grabbed some paper and a pen and wrote down the characters in the order I found them.
Seven characters: "Vine," "Extreme," "Cross," "Enter," "Heat," "Bottom," "Sea."
The profound riddle suddenly turned into a child’s sentence-making game.
I laid out seven pieces of paper with those characters on the table and immediately noticed the words "Bottom Sea."
This information must be very important, and the seven characters are so brief. It seems impossible to directly state Qiu's background, so it is likely meant to provide another clue through these seven characters, probably guiding us to another location.
Oh my gosh, "under the sea" is really too avant-garde for this era!
Nie Qiuyuan, however, remained calm and composed, excessively flattering me for being capable and a treasure fallen from the sky while arranging those pieces of paper.
In fact, there are many combinations possible: "under the sea," "sea vine," "hot extreme," "entering the sea," all of which are phrases. However, we should first consider combinations that indicate locations or items.
So, after pondering for a moment, Nie Qiuyuan first pieced together a term he thought was quite reliable—"Tengyue."
But what does "Tengyue" mean? This academic achiever had never heard of it.
"This is the name of a country in the south, far away from Chang'an. It's normal that you haven't heard of it." Qiu explained while quickly sketching a map of the Tang Dynasty's territory on paper, marking the location of Tengyue Nation.
Even though I had never heard this name before, my geography skills were excellent. I asked Qiu to draw the locations of several nearby iconic cities and mountains. Upon closer inspection, I couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
In this era, this was indeed a rather difficult place to reach. The location of "Tengyue" seemed to be near modern-day Yunnan Province's Tengchong County!
This discovery instantly inspired me; I quickly pieced together another term from the remaining characters—"Rehai."
Tengchong Rehai does exist today, but it refers to a hot spring area and tourist attraction where one can soak in hot springs or enjoy foot massages. I wondered what "Rehai" referred to in this era? Could it possibly be an active volcano?
Since the location is there and such an area exists in modern times, this combination of terms must be correct—"Tengyue Atami," it has to be!
Thus, the remaining characters suddenly became much easier to piece together, and we quickly formed them.
"Ruteng Rehai Extreme Depth."
Oh my gosh, this sounds even more challenging than an underwater adventure!
"Shall we go...?" I hesitated to ask him.
"Yes," Qiu nodded firmly. "However, we need to prepare thoroughly. So let's head back to Chang'an first and meet with Da Chun and the others to discuss it."
He hesitated for a moment before saying, "When we return to Chang'an, we can try to find out if there have been any recent news about Ren Pingsheng. But, Zhenzhen, you don't need to worry. For someone like him, the Mirror Gate will always find him useful, so he won't be in any immediate danger. He has his own plans, and the path he will take in the future is still uncertain."
I nodded. Indeed, every matter we faced now was too significant, and we couldn't rush into anything. It was best to take our time and consider everything carefully.
Time flowed sweetly and steadily. As long as I was by Qiu's side, it felt like home no matter where we were. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
During this half month, Nie Qiuyuan helped the Thunder Sect settle all outstanding affairs while I accompanied the lady, keeping her spirits up. Gradually, she accepted that I would have to leave the deep mountains for the sake of "treating illnesses."
Finally, amidst reluctant sighs of advice and many tears, the day for us to depart arrived.
To spare the lady from too much sorrow, neither the sect leader nor she came out to see us off; instead, it was Eldest Son Shen Huaqing who took on that responsibility. In truth, Nie Qiuyuan was already quite familiar with the Sword Formation of the Thunder Sect and didn't really need anyone to see him off, but Shen Huaqing insisted on escorting us outside.
Over these days, I had gotten to know this "big brother" quite well. Shen Huaqing was twenty-seven years old, a handsome and dashing young man. In terms of martial arts, he had exceptional talent and had deeply inherited the true teachings of the Divine Sword Sect. Regarding forging skills, he had firmly established himself as second in command in the Thunder Sect after the sect leader. No matter how one looked at it, this eldest son of the sect leader truly fulfilled his role exceptionally well.
However, in terms of personality, he was somewhat too straightforward and unruly. Fortunately, the Thunder Sect was hidden deep in the mountains and didn't require much interaction with outsiders. Otherwise, someone like him would typically not survive past the second episode in a television drama.
At first, his way of speaking could be quite amusing and even a bit peculiar; however, once accustomed to it, one would realize that this kind-hearted fellow who spoke candidly was truly worth forming a deep friendship with.
Thus, I understood why there was such a strong bond between Nie Qiuyuan and him despite their banter.
"We will come back," Qiu said earnestly without interrupting him.
Shen Huaqing nodded.
"Don't stay away too long. Mother will miss you. And... don't do anything reckless like last time. If you need help, come find me; I can accompany you for those matters and lend a hand."
My heart warmed at his words. During these days, I had shared many things with "big brother" behind my husband's back; anything Shen Huaqing wanted to know, I told him without reservation. In our conversation, I could sense that his concern about Qiu "not doing anything reckless like last time" was something he cared about deeply. With such friendship, I truly felt happy for Nie Qiuyuan.
Nie Qiuyuan gently patted Shen Huaqing's shoulder.
"You know very well what would make the lady happier."
Shen Huaqing's breath caught for a moment. Besides our regular visits home, what would truly make her happy? Even I understood that because Shen Huaqing was already twenty-eight years old and still had yet to marry.
This guy, fearless in every way, somehow had a deep-seated fear of women. Although many girls showed him kindness, he would always shrink away at the slightest hint of affection, feeling overwhelmed and plagued by a severe case of "fear of marriage."
"What's so scary about it?" Qiu boldly pulled me closer, causing my cheeks to flush instantly. "If you weren't so stubborn, you'd realize that when a woman isn't by your side for even a moment, you'll be worried sick about her."
Though this was meant to showcase affection for educational purposes, Qiu's rare and open declaration in front of others made me feel both sweet and shy.
Shen Huaqing's face also turned slightly red, followed by a faint smile.
"I must say, it's the first time I've seen someone treat you with such devotion. Qiu, I can see how much she cares for you; she's practically my sister now, so don't let her down."
Hearing such words made me feel that something wonderful was bound to happen in the near future.
Ebei was neither too close nor too far from Chang'an, but for a reunited couple in love, every moment spent traveling felt like a journey, and every mountain and river they passed became part of the scenery. No matter what lay ahead, the warmth and sweetness of this moment were beyond words.
Thinking about returning to Chang'an and the Dali Temple, I knew Luo Dachun and Melan would be pleasantly surprised; my heart swelled with joy at the thought.
In this mood, we soon arrived at our destination. Yes, there were surprises—big ones—but the atmosphere in the Dali Temple was not as cheerful as we had imagined.
Just before our return, someone had been seriously injured within the temple and was still lying unconscious in bed. (To be continued)
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