It was already July. For a continuous period of five days, it was either raining or cloudy in Shendu City. The wind howled, and the strange weather had inspired a lot of distracting thoughts, causing the people to be uneasy.
Zhao Xiang dressed himself in a casual outfit and came to the clinic once again. He was not here to get his sickness treated, but was here to ask about a sickness; he was asking on behalf of someone else.
Even though it was cloudy and moody outside, the interior of the clinic was bright.
On the wall of the clinic, there was a copper lamp. It was extra bright, and the flame shook slightly without giving off any smoke.
Zhao Xiang gave an extra glance at the copper lamp, and he realized that there was no lamp oil inside. The flame seemed to be perpetually lit, and there was no sign of it being extinguished.
Shen Lian was clothed in a robe of sea blue, and he focused his attention on rubbing the ink stick on the ink slab. The ink was purplish red, and a gash could be seen on his arm. Zhao Xiang did not know what kind of ink it was, whether it was mixed with blood, but he did know that a peculiar person like Shen Lian would often do something that could not be understood by the common folk.
He greeted Shen Lian before detailing his actual purpose.
“Are you saying that Her Majesty is sick?” Shen Lian asked without turning his head.
“Yes, my grandmother has been overseeing the Dynasty for thirty years, never once did she fall sick. However, she fell sick this time around and she prohibited us from visiting,” Zhao Xiang was more subtle then, but his charismatic aura remained.
This was his nature and was not something that could be covered up.
“Did His Highness the Crown Prince sent you here to ask me?” Shen Lian queried.
“No, I came here on my own accord. But my Lord Father must be curious too,” Zhao Xiang replied.
“Her Majesty is not sick,” Shen Lian pondered before replying.
Zhao Xiang looked slightly disappointed. The last person that the Empress summoned before she fell sick was Shen Lian. As for what happened that day at Xiangji Temple, no one knew. Someone claimed to have seen flying dragon and Buddha hovered over the top of Xiangji Temple.
If that was real, it would be a sign of prosperity instead of calamity. Why would the Empress try to silence everyone then?
Kuhui must have known something about it, and a lot of people in the palace tried to get him to talk. However, the old monk was well-versed in the way of the world and did not let up. However, he did tell something to those from the East Palace; he told them that the Empress had seen Shen Lian before she fell sick.
Naturally, Zhao Xiang would not suspect Shen Lian. However, since his grandmother was not sick, could it be all part of pretense in order to test them? According to his understanding of his grandmother, she was not someone like that.
To the Empress, she was grand and almighty, and there was no need for her to resort to these petty methods.
Though, Zhao Xiang could not understand the reason why the words about this incident got out.
“Go back and tell your father that, “The eight winds cannot move me, for I am sitting upright on the golden purple lotus blossom”,” said Shen Lian.
To overcome dynamic by being static, this was indeed the best way to deal with an unclear situation.
Zhao Xiang finally understood why his father did not tell him to ask Shen Lian and did not stop him from coming either.
His father wanted to tell him about it through Shen Lian’s words.
Zhao Xiang finally understood what he should have understood, and left. He could tell that Shen Lian was in the midst of something really important, and he should not disturb him any longer.
When Shen Lian saw Zhao Xiang, he could tell that his purple Qi was a lot more stable. It gave off the feel of the first sunrise, and all living beings thrived.
However, Her Majesty in the Imperial City surely must have known that the destiny was to be followed, surely that she was not about to let her fate to continue worsening?
Right now, the Crown Prince and Zhao Xiang were the destined people, and yet they were not the key figures. The key was Zhao Xiaoyu, who was trying to snatch the wishes of the masses that congregated in Shendu.
The ultimate formation that was set up based on Shendu City and the surrounding mountains and water to relay the wishes of the masses of the Da Zhou Dynasty, it was something that was important to both Zhao Xiaoyu and the Empress. If Zhao Xiaoyu were to get her hands on the wishes of the masses, she could use it as the raw material to merge her divinity with, thus elevating the Nine Lotus characteristics of phenomena to a whole new level. She could reach the pinnacle instantly and become a rare powerful being that was just below the immortal Zhenren. She would be a notable being in the cultivation community, and would not be any weaker than Chen Jianmei.
The speculation surrounding Chen Jianmei was no other than he had attained the Nine Transformations of Huandan, and had gone onto the path of the Cultivator of the Sword. The Shapeless Sword Formula was unthinkably powerful, which was why his combat power was so strong. This was why he could build the Temple of Killings in the middle of Dahuang, slaying the demons and monsters, and was unrivaled.
Of course, Zhao Xiaoyu and Chen Jianmei were two parallel lines, and they were nothing like each other. He understood why Daoism and Buddhism were considered as authentic, while the path of Shen was not.
The road to Huandan was treacherous, but success meant success, and failure meant failure. One held one’s fate in one’s hand.
Shen Lian believed that if he were to encounter the both of them now, without something that he could protect himself with, he would definitely be taken in by either Zhao Xiaoyu or the Empress.
This was an unquestionable fact.
The gash on his arm started to heal, and the color of the ink got darker. The good Talisman papers that he brought down from the mountain were running low in stock.
Shen Lian was going to use all of them this time around.
Two more days to the seventh of July, and on that night, the clash between the Empress and Zhao Xiaoyu would take place.
The ink was thick yet even, and it was giving off a pleasant scent of blood. Blood had a tangy smell to it, but Shen Lian’s blood did not have the impurities unlike those of the mortals, and it was very pure. Even back then, Ling Chongxiao’s blood had hints of pleasant scent to it, what more Shen Lian’s.
Ruoxi watched as her brother dealt with the mixture of ink and blood. He started writing after he was done mixing.
On the white Talisman paper, Shen Lian drew patterns akin to that of floating clouds with his blood ink.
His blood ink was thick and did not disperse easily, and there were noticeable hints of darker blood.
The method of making a talisman with blood had been in existence since ancient times. Shen Lian’s blood was full of the Qi of vitality, and his Qi passed through the tip of his pen. The runes that he made could affect the Qi of heaven and earth, unleashing endless power.
Unfortunately, the runes that he learned were not as strong as he wanted it to be. Allegedly, back in ancient times, the talisman could be as strong as a powerful instrument. A sheet of Talisman could move mountains and burn seas, and it was something in its own league altogether.
Shen Lian made a total of three Blood Talismans. If he were to make any more, he would be depleting his Qi and blood. What more with his capabilities, if three Blood Talismans could not do their job, even thirty of them would not change anything then.
Later, Shen Lian accompanied Ruoxi to study and to write. The bad weather was convenient, as Ruoxi would not ask to go out to play anymore.
To be fair, if he were to disallow Ruoxi to head out, Ruoxi would listen. However, he did not want to force Ruoxi to do something that she did not like to.
Maybe Ruoxi was more capricious and proud because of that, which made her more like her mother.
However, Ruoxi’s maturity was beyond his imagination. Perhaps, from the day she cooked him porridge, the little girl had drawn a line and grew up from the past.
Bai Shaoliu came twice, and he was no longer obsessed with the question Shen Lian asked him. His sword technique was a lot more natural; in fact, there was something indescribable about its fluidity, and it was not as simple as the never-ending stream of water.
The second time he came, he was here to bid his farewell. The lady boss was moving away and asked if he wanted to follow. He felt indebted to the lady boss, and he was worried that she might get into trouble when she was elsewhere. Even though the lady boss had a mysterious Junior Apprentice-Sister and kept some secrets, Bai Shaoliu still wanted to protect her.
When Bai Shaoliu bid his goodbye, Shen Lian had a premonition that they will meet again.