bookrebus Chapter 48 Time Has Passed
Chapter 48 Time Has Passed
When Ning Xiaoxi opened her eyes, she found that it was already dawn, and she was still lying in the small courtyard where she had been entertained before. Looking at the familiar furnishings in the room and the warm blankets on her body, it seemed that all the bloodshed was just a dream.
"Young lady, you're awake." A gentle voice came from behind.
Ning Xiaoxi turned her head and saw a woman dressed in a dark blue official's uniform looking at her gently.
"you are?"
"My name is Sui Lanting, and I am an official under Lord Tianji."
"Lord Tianji?"
"Yes, Lord Tianji arrived in the mountain city at midnight last night and is currently discussing matters with you gentlemen!"
"Lord Sui, have the mourning halls for Lord Di An and the Military Advisor been set up? My daughter would like to go and see them."
In the central square of Panhou Mountain City, a solemn and dignified mourning hall was quietly erected. Black curtains, like heavy mourning, hung from the surrounding pillars, swaying gently in the breeze, as if whispering endless grief.
In the very center of the mourning hall lay Lord Di'an's coffin. The coffin, crafted from ebony, gleamed with a deep, somber luster. A banner embroidered with the emblem of Panhou Mountain City covered the coffin, but now even the banner seemed tinged with sorrow.
The strategist's memorial tablet was placed to the left of Lord Di An's coffin, which was covered with a banner bearing the emblem of the Celestial Master Pavilion. On an antique wooden table, there was the feather fan he used in life, its feathers no longer flowing, but carrying a sense of solemnity and decay.
On the right are the coffins of the clerk, the registrar, and the chief secretary. The dark coffins are heavy and ancient, carrying a deep sense of sorrow and loneliness.
The memorial tablets of the officials and guards were arranged in order on both sides. On the exquisite wooden tablets, their names and positions were engraved with spiritual energy. Behind each name was a vibrant life and a unique story. In front of the memorial tablets were their weapons from their lifetimes. Although the swords, bows, and crossbows were no longer stained with blood, they still exuded an indomitable spirit.
The memorial tablets of the city's soldiers were arranged behind those of their subordinate officials and guards. People from the city came to pay their respects from time to time. They were dressed in plain clothes, their faces were full of grief, and they bowed silently before the memorial tablets. Some of them couldn't help but sob softly, and their tears fell on this land shrouded in sorrow, soaking one patch after another.
In the corner, an incense burner stood, wisps of smoke rising slowly, carrying the thoughts and prayers of the people in the city, drifting towards the unknown horizon.
Ning Xiaoxi sat between the coffins of Lord Di An and Lord Military Advisor, the somber atmosphere making it hard for her to breathe.
【Dumpling, is this the world of demons?】
This is the world of demons!
"so tired!"
When Ning Xiaoxi woke up again, the setting sun filled the room, and Sui Lanting was still by her bedside.
"Lord Sui, I remember Lord Di An has a jade cabbage. May I keep it as a souvenir?"
Sui Lanting gave Ning Xiaoxi a strange look, wondering how she could have such a relationship with Lord Di An, whom she had only met a few times, not only because she was injured for him, but also because she wanted to obtain his belongings.
"I'll go ask the adults. Usually, belongings are left to family members. However, it seems that Lord Di'an doesn't have any family members left."
Sui Lanting returned quickly, and Ning Xiaoxi obtained the jade cabbage that had cracked in the middle.
After having dinner with her, Sui Lanting escorted her to the gate.
The courtyard was still somewhat dilapidated after the battle. The scattered rubble had been cleared away, and Changqing was leading people to tidy up the leaky roof of the main house and the collapsed side rooms.
Ning Xiaoxi watched Chang Qing's busy figure and couldn't help but tear up.
“Young lady, you will need to go back to your parents alone this time.” Sui Lanting followed Ning Xiaoxi’s gaze to Chang Qing.
Ning Xiaoxi nodded, turned around and walked out the door.
"Xiao Xi."
Ning Xiaoxi turned around and saw Chang Qing running over.
Chang Qing had composed himself, but the cheerful smile was gone from his face. The man, nearing forty, looked rather pitiful. "I have a lot of things to do, so I can't see you off."
Ning Xiaoxi nodded and smiled at him, "Goodbye, Brother Chang." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the main door of the house through Chang Qing's figure, and she vaguely remembered the scene of the chubby Di An and the serious Bai Qingnian seeing her off.
Chang Qing pursed her lips, wanting to smile, but suddenly felt her eyes welling up with tears. She could only wring her hands helplessly and say, "Goodbye."
Leading the Light Cloud Beast into the woods outside the gate, Ning Xiaoxi looked back at the Heavenly Master Pavilion's residence, now devoid of Lord Di An and the Strategist, and finally couldn't hold back her tears.
"Girl."
Ning Xiaoxi wiped away her tears, turned around, and saw Tianji standing under the tree.
"My lord." Ning Xiaoxi bowed respectfully.
"Let's go!" Tianji turned around first, the dim sunlight shining through the branches onto him.
Ning Xiaoxi followed behind Tianji, watching his dashing figure, and the unease in her heart began to slowly subside.
“Yesterday, it was Tian Shang and Tian You who tracked them down. They left marks along the way. The Left Vice Pavilion Master also led the patrolling Heavenly Gangs to go there.” Tianji’s voice was gentle, as if he were talking about something very ordinary. This time, the Pavilion Master gave a death order to kill those two demon generals. “Those two demon generals went south. A hundred years ago, Qing Ben was besieged in Youzhou. It is a bit unreasonable for them to go south.”
"Perhaps it's a diversionary tactic," Ning Xiaoxi continued, picking up where Tianji left off. "Judging from their words, Houqing is probably asleep somewhere, and what conditions are needed to awaken him?"
"It depends on its state of slumber. If it's a normal slumber, offering blood and food will awaken it. If it's a slumber that has damaged its very essence, a sacrificial ceremony will be needed to awaken it with the life force of living souls and blood." Tianji thought for a moment, "Judging from the records in the Heavenly Master Pavilion, Houqing should be the latter case. Therefore, to awaken it, it would probably require a blood sacrifice of ten thousand people. Because the amount of life force required is too large, such a large-scale sacrifice is no longer possible in the current human dynasties."
Ning Xiaoxi remembered that Xuehun had also mentioned establishing a sacrificial array, so it seemed that Houqing was not a threat at least in the near future.
Sure enough, Tianji continued, "As long as the Vice Pavilion Master leads his men to wipe out those two demon generals, he can cut off the possibility of Hou Qing waking up and eliminate a major threat."
Ning Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her breathing become smoother.
“Your ability to rewind has been reported to the cabinet. It’s a special ability, so it’s understandable that it has some peculiar limitations.” Tianji suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Ning Xiaoxi.
Ning Xiaoxi blinked and said, "That was a one-time skill. The mirror broke, so the skill is gone."
Tianji smiled, a glint in his phoenix eyes. "That's a real pity."
"Well, I'm still too young, and my spiritual power is insufficient. There's nothing I can do about it. I can only cultivate more to increase my spiritual power." Ning Xiaoxi's words were a bit dry, and she didn't even believe them herself.
"Yes, this is the right path. After spiritual energy condenses, the next step is to widen the spiritual veins. The sign of reaching a high level is that the entire body is covered in spiritual veins. If one can achieve the state where the spiritual veins dissipate into energy and become invisible, connecting with the spirit of heaven and earth, then one has entered a super stage. Your spiritual veins are already expanding throughout your body, but everyone has been too busy these past few days to pay attention to you." Tianji took out a bracelet and handed it to Ning Xiaoxi. "Wear the bracelet carefully; it will conceal the fluctuations of spiritual energy on your body."
Ning Xiaoxi took the bracelet. It was entirely woven from delicate silver threads, fine yet strong, shimmering with a soft metallic luster. At the center of the bracelet was an oval moonstone. The moonstone's surface was warm and smooth, its interior containing a dreamlike blue halo. On either side of the moonstone were two small pink morganites symmetrically set. The morganites displayed a vibrant, pure, and sweet pink, without a trace of impurity. At intervals, several transparent crystal beads were strung along the bracelet. At the end of the bracelet was a small silver tassel, woven from fine silver threads, with a small blue enamel bead hanging from its tip.
Ning Xiaoxi's mind was completely captivated by the bracelet, leaving her utterly unable to think. "Thank you, sir."
"Alright, that's enough for now." Tianji stopped at the edge of the woods. "Once you've settled your family in Youzhou, you can visit Lingyuan Dao Academy to brush up on some basic knowledge."
Ning Xiaoxi put on the bracelet, bowed again, and said, "Thank you, my lord. Goodbye, my lord." Then she led the light cloud beast towards the streets of the mountain city.
"The new Dark Star will be in place in three days."