Chapter 76

The three of them walked out together. The scenery outside was quite nice now; mist had risen in the valley, and walking through Azure Cloud Abbey really did feel like being in a fairyland.

Yuwen Luo was curious about everything—she wanted to see everything and ask about everything.

Some questions even Si Yunqin couldn’t answer. She had to admit that kids were basically walking encyclopedias of “why.”

The three walked on until they reached the back mountain of Azure Cloud Abbey. From there, they could see the valley below and the distant scenery.

Si Yunqin let go of Yuwen Luo’s hand and walked to the edge of the plank road, stretching her arms. “Not bad at all.”

Yuwen Luo wanted to go over and look too, but Shen Yanxin picked her up. “Too dangerous. Don’t copy your Master.”

Si Yunqin chuckled softly and walked back. Nearby was a pavilion, and inside the pavilion sat an unfinished chess game.

“Can you solve it?” Si Yunqin asked Shen Yanxin.

Shen Yanxin looked it over. “No, my chess skills can’t compare to the person who set this up.”

“But I can take a look,” she said as she sat down.

Si Yunqin was a bit bored, so she snapped off a wooden branch and handed it to Yuwen Luo. “Remember the sword art I taught you?”

Yuwen Luo thought for a moment, then nodded seriously. “I remember.”

“Kid’s got a good memory.” Si Yunqin smiled and told her to practice the sword nearby.

She herself sat down on the steps outside the pavilion, took the xiao from her waist, and began to play a slow melody.

Xi Fengyu and the others saw Si Yunqin and Shen Yanxin in the pavilion from a distance. Ke Lanyue wanted to go over, but Xi Fengyu stopped her.

“What are you going over for?” Xi Fengyu asked with a smile.

“To walk around together,” Ke Lanyue replied, not thinking as much as Xi Fengyu.

“Don’t go over. If you do, you’ll ruin the beautiful scene in my heart.” Xi Fengyu chuckled. The picture of this family of three was so harmonious; an extra person would just be out of place.

Yuwen Qiyue knew what she was thinking and shook her head. “If Yunqin and that one knew what you were thinking, they’d probably beat you up.”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Xi Fengyu firmly believed that Shen Yanxin treated Si Yunqin very differently.

“Alright, let’s go back.” Xi Fengyu turned and left first. Yuwen Qiyue followed. On the way back, the three stopped by the main hall to light a stick of incense.

“What did you pray for?” Ke Lanyue asked the other two after they came out of the main hall.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.” Xi Fengyu looked up at the sky. By now, lanterns had been lit in Azure Cloud Abbey, and a few stars had appeared in the sky.

What she prayed for probably had no hope of coming true, but she still made her wish devoutly.

Xi Fengyu lowered her gaze. She seemed to have sunk into a low mood.

The sky had grown completely dark. Si Yunqin walked over to Shen Yanxin. Yan Ke had hung two lanterns near the pavilion, so the area was relatively bright.

“Any leads?” Si Yunqin asked.

Shen Yanxin shook her head. “I don’t have that kind of skill.”

“But the chess game here is worth studying. It’s very enlightening,” she said calmly.

Si Yunqin had no interest in studying chess. She stretched and looked down at the plank road.

Then she suddenly saw someone walking toward them, carrying a bamboo basket on her back. The woman wore a Taoist robe and seemed somewhat frail.

Si Yunqin watched curiously. She felt a familiar aura about this person.

When the woman drew closer, Si Yunqin could see her face more clearly.

Shen Yanxin heard her swear in disbelief: “Holy crap, am I seeing a ghost?”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Shen Yanxin asked, puzzled, following her gaze. She saw a woman walking on the plank road, not far from them. The woman’s face was peaceful, and she exuded an indescribable gentle aura.

As if sensing their gaze, the woman looked up. When she saw Shen Yanxin and Si Yunqin, she paused for a moment, then smiled warmly and nodded at them.

Si Yunqin stared at her without blinking, completely forgetting all sense of politeness.

Shen Yanxin frowned slightly and tapped Si Yunqin on the head. “What’s with that look?”

“You don’t understand. I’ve seen this elder sister before,” Si Yunqin said absentmindedly.

As the two were talking, the woman had already come up. She wore a Taoist robe, and every movement was filled with a gentle temperament.

“Two benefactors, it’s late. The path here is difficult to walk. It would be better to return earlier,” the woman kindly advised them.

Si Yunqin eagerly stepped forward. “Elder Sister, are you a Daoist priestess of this temple?”

“This poor Daoist’s title is Changli. Are you two benefactors here to burn incense?” Changli bowed slightly to Si Yunqin and Shen Yanxin.

“Yes. This afternoon, my elder sister saw this unfinished chess game and was curious, so we came to take a look,” Si Yunqin said softly.

“This unfinished game was left behind when my master played chess with my grandmaster. It’s not easy to solve,” Changli said quietly.

“Indeed, it was set by a grandmaster,” Shen Yanxin agreed with a nod.

“And there’s a little benefactor?” Changli looked at Yuwen Luo and smiled at her. Yuwen Luo, holding Shen Yanxin’s hand, studied Changli curiously. When Changli looked over, Yuwen Luo said softly, “Hello.”

This way of greeting was something she had learned from Si Yunqin.

Changli couldn’t help but smile warmly at Yuwen Luo. “Hello to the little benefactor too.”

“Several benefactors, the mountain path here is treacherous. Why don’t you come back to the temple with me?” Changli kindly suggested.

“Then thank you, Daoist Priest,” Si Yunqin said, a little embarrassed as she accepted.

Changli led them back to the front hall and asked if they knew the way to the guest rooms. Si Yunqin nodded quickly, saying they did.

“Then I won’t disturb you benefactors any longer.” Changli bowed and left.

Si Yunqin stood there, still staring after her somewhat dazedly.

Shen Yanxin tapped her on the head again. “Let’s go. Stop staring.”

Si Yunqin snapped back to reality. “Wow. I actually got to see her?”

“What, is she your dream fairy?” Shen Yanxin asked coldly.

“No.” Si Yunqin quickly shook her head. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“But you said you’d seen her before, yet she doesn’t seem to recognize you?” Shen Yanxin snorted.

Si Yunqin could hear the sourness in her tone. “She’s not my dream lover, but I have seen her before—in Xi Fengyu’s painting. She painted her lover. They once promised to spend their lives together, but then fate played a cruel trick.”

Even though Shen Yanxin was acting strange, Si Yunqin patiently explained.

“Xi Fengyu’s darling?” Shen Yanxin’s tone improved somewhat. “Then why were you so shocked?”

“Because she shouldn’t exist in this world!” Si Yunqin was still a bit shaken. “Do you think it’s just a resemblance, or am I seeing a ghost?”

Shen Yanxin understood what Si Yunqin meant. She didn’t have an answer for that. “Why don’t you go ask your Senior Sister Zhou if there’s someone by that name in the temple?”

Si Yunqin smacked her own forehead. “You’re right. You two go back first. I’m going to find Senior Sister Zhou!”

Watching Si Yunqin rush off in a panic, Shen Yanxin stood there with a slightly sour expression. “She sure runs fast.”

Yuwen Luo looked up at Shen Yanxin after Si Yunqin left. “Mother Empress, where is Sister Yunqin going?”

Shen Yanxin picked her up. “Call me Auntie when we’re outside. Forgot?”

Yuwen Luo wrapped her arms around Shen Yanxin’s neck. “I remember.”

“She went to find someone. Come on, let’s head back first.”

Si Yunqin hurriedly found Zhou Xinglian, who was currently observing the stars.

Zhou Xinglian looked at the star-filled sky. Lately, she had felt that the heavens showed anomalies. Every divination she performed seemed shrouded in a layer of fog. She had planned to do another tonight to see if she could see through it.

When Si Yunqin found her, Zhou Xinglian was sitting on the Star Observation Terrace of Azure Cloud Abbey, drinking wine.

“Yunqin, you’re early.” Zhou Xinglian wasn’t surprised to see her, since they had agreed to meet this afternoon.

“You’re hard to find,” Si Yunqin complained.

Zhou Xinglian handed her another jug of wine. Si Yunqin took it but didn’t drink immediately. “Does Azure Cloud Abbey have a disciple named Changli?”

“That’s my junior sister. Shishu raised her from childhood. I heard she was an orphan swept away by a flood one year and washed up here.” Zhou Xinglian didn’t understand why Si Yunqin was asking about Changli.

“Has she always been frail?” Si Yunqin remembered that when she saw Changli earlier, she seemed to have just returned from gathering herbs and looked weak.

“No. She grew up without any illness or disaster. She looks thin, but her sword art is actually quite good.” Zhou Xinglian took a sip of wine. “Why are you suddenly asking about Changli?”

“Oh, nothing. I just ran into Daoist Changli on the road earlier, and she showed us the way.” Si Yunqin took a sip and answered truthfully.

“What, did my junior sister catch your eye at first sight?” Zhou Xinglian joked.

“Don’t say that. It’s just that this Daoist looks too much like a past acquaintance of a friend of mine.” Si Yunqin sighed and took another drink.

Zhou Xinglian was confused. “Which friend of yours?”

“But Junior Sister Changli has never left Azure Cloud Mountain. She’s always quiet. Her favorite thing is to sit on the mountain peak and gaze into the distance, as if there’s something out there.” Zhou Xinglian shook her head.

Si Yunqin listened thoughtfully. She wondered if Changli was the same as her and Xi Fengyu—but neither she nor Xi Fengyu had retained their previous life’s appearance, had they?

“What are you thinking about?” Zhou Xinglian asked.

“Nothing. But I do have something else I want to discuss with you, Senior Sister.” Si Yunqin took a drink and met Zhou Xinglian’s eyes.

“Let’s hear it.” Zhou Xinglian was quite interested.

“The Temple Abbot once said that you are the greatest cultivation talent Yunfu Taoist Temple has seen in a hundred years. You seem quite skilled at stargazing and fortune-telling.”

“Fortune-telling sounds so vulgar. It’s called deducing heavenly secrets.”

“Fine.” Si Yunqin took another drink and looked up at the sky. She didn’t recognize many of the stars.

“Then can you deduce whether there will be a female emperor under heaven?” Si Yunqin asked softly.

Zhou Xinglian was so shocked by her words that she didn’t know how to answer.

Si Yunqin didn’t push for an answer. She just drank quietly. After a long while, she heard Zhou Xinglian say, in an odd tone, “So the fog was because of this.”

“Recently, the heavens have shown anomalies. The Emperor Star seems shrouded in a layer of mist. I thought the Emperor was in danger, but now it seems that’s not the case.” Zhou Xinglian laughed bitterly.

Si Yunqin put down the wine jug. She couldn’t see all the intricacies that Zhou Xinglian did. “Can you deduce it now, Senior Sister?”

Zhou Xinglian shook her head. “Nothing in the mortal world can be foreknown. What I tell you is only a possibility. The moment you know an outcome, that outcome has already changed.”

Si Yunqin looked at the starry sky and didn’t respond. Zhou Xinglian had no idea what she was thinking.