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Chapter 92




Since he was so ‘sincerely’ invited, Qu Zhiwen naturally wanted to go have a look.
The Huayan Temple, located in the Shaoling Plain in the Chang’an District of Xi’an, was less known than the far-famed Daci’en Temple. Since the scenery wasn’t that outstanding, it naturally had few tourists visiting it. However, in the eyes of those who know the art of Feng Shui, this was a place of spiritual beauty.
Located on the half-slope of Shaoling Plain, to the Southeast of Weiqu, the Huayan Temple is high above, facing the mountains and rivers, overlooking the Fan River. In short, this Feng Shui treasure had a good flow of qi, and since there were less people around, the qi was enough to repel any evil that dared to approach.
So, for Tang Jiaming to invite Qu Zhiwen here to talk, meant that he doesn’t want anyone listening to their conversation.
When Qu Zhiwen arrived at the Huayan Temple, he could detect Tang Jiaming’s location without even bothering to search for it. After all, in this vast Buddhist temple, there was only one place emanating the aura of a Taoist practitioner.
The southeast corner of the Temple.
The surrounding monks didn’t notice a person walking unimpeded towards the inner courtyard, nor did anyone notice that same person enter the meditation room where outsiders weren’t allowed to step in.
After pushing open the door, Qu Zhiwen saw Tang Jiaming sitting in the main hall sipping tea slowly. Tang Jiaming’s appearance astonished Qu Zhiwen.
It wasn’t that Qu Zhiwen hadn’t seen Tang Jiaming before, but the last time he saw him, Tang Jiaming didn’t look like this. Last time, Jiang Ping had called Tang Jiaming to ask him questions about the case, and even though Qu Zhiwen was able to see that he was in poor shape, he only looked like a tired man. However, in less than a month, Tang Jiaming had lost a lot of weight. Saying that he looked like skin on bones wasn’t exaggerating. Moreover, even his face had a waxy yellowish tone. Even though Tang Jiaming was clearly 28 or 29 years old, he now looked like someone in their 40s or 50s.
“Are you surprised by my current appearance?” Qu Zhiwen’s serious expression naturally fell under Tang Jiaming’s gaze, but he smiled as if he didn’t care much about it.
“Even if you had spent nearly 30 years of your life forcibly trying to open the tomb, you still shouldn’t grow this old in just a few months. Moreover, the last time I saw you was about 20 days ago. You were fine then, weren’t you?” Speaking of this, Qu Zhiwen’s eyebrows moved slightly. “What have you done?”
“Hahahaha, the heir of the Qu Family’s Yin-Yang Eye <sup>1</sup> it’s indeed quite outstanding. Then, can you see how long I will live?” Without answering Qu Zhiwen’s questions, Tang Jiaming asked rhetorically.
"
"
“If you go on like this, you won’t survive this winter.”
“This winter
.?” Tang Jiaming took a sip of hot tea, put down the cup and stood up. Then he looked straight at Qu Zhiwen and said, “Alright, then can you calculate whether Su Jingmo will be able to survive until
.ah, no, no, no. He’s been long dead. It will be more accurate to ask you if he will turn into ashes!”
“What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about? Didn’t you ask me before what I did to end up like this?” Tang Jiaming sneered. “I didn’t do anything wrong. But I’m afraid that when some ‘things’ do happen, it will already be too late to regret it.”
After seeing that Qu Zhiwen was so puzzled he couldn’t even speak, Tang Jiaming continued: “Although you’re a Heavenly Master, you’re still a young man in his early 20s, unlike me. Even if my abilities aren’t as good as yours, I can still see this matter much more clearly than you.”
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to go against the ghost of that Emperor, instead of cooperating with him in exchange for the Taowu bones like you’re doing?” Tang Jiaming said.
“Can’t you see that the tomb will not last much longer? Or are you waiting for the tomb to collapse? That way, you can take the Taowu bones since Su Jingmo will be turned into ashes. Am I right?” He continued.
“However, I heard that the men in the Qu Family obtained the Yin-Yang Eye at the age of twenty, but you were born with mortal bones. You can’t live past the age of 25, right? Oh, Qu Zhiwen, can you really wait until the Emperor disappears?”
Qu Zhiwen didn’t speak, because what Tang Jiaming had just said was exactly the same as what he thought. Although the formation in the tomb of Ninghua Village was very powerful, he could already sense that it had been destroying itself for the last 10 years. Su Jingmo was a ghost of 1600 years, even if he didn’t know what has been going on, he would still notice that he won’t be able to stand the ghostly qi surrounding him if it comes at him all at once. Anyway, both the tomb and Su Jingmo will disappear sooner or later. This way, wouldn’t it be better for Tang Jiaming to simply wait for the tomb to collapse before making a move?
However, has Tang Jiaming found something Qu Zhiwen wasn’t aware of?
“A Dynasty that disappeared from history. Qu Zhiwen, what do you think will cause a Dynasty to disappear completely from history?”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“How can it not be related?! Of course, if you know history, you should know how ridiculous it is to want to erase the existence of a Dynasty. Especially in an era where written records already existed. However, as you can see, the Xu Dynasty disappeared, and how or why it happened is unknown to us
.because we’re not from that era. We don’t know what happened in the first place. One thing is for sure, it must be
that some ‘people’ don’t want this piece of history to be known
.”
“Su Jingmo
.was alive during that era.”
“Yes, his mere existence is proof that that piece of history existed once. This piece of history, just so happened to be discovered by that archeological nerd, Qin Cheng. Since then, he has been acting as a translator to bring that erased part of history out of the darkness. I confirmed that when I read his notes. But, who do you think is behind this game? With the Taowu bones around, who would care whether that era really existed or not?”
“Are you trying to say that Su Jingmo is using Qin Cheng in order to bring that piece of history to light? But, he has never let Qin Cheng step into the muddy waters.”
“Are you
really sure?” At that, Tang Jiaming saw that Qu Zhiwen’s face changed all of a sudden, making Tang Jiaming giggle a bit. “I didn’t expect that Qin Cheng, that bastard, would actually be so sincerely devoted to that ghost. But you may know by now that the Emperor is actually being really ruthless with Qin Cheng.”
“As soon as Qin Cheng left the tomb, were you able to feel that the Taowu bones inside the tomb reduced a fraction? Now that Qin Cheng is like a walking corpse, the Emperor has integrated the Taowu bone into Qin Cheng’s blood and bones.”
Qu Zhiwen was made aware of this fact when he saw Qin Cheng in that lethargic state. Su Jingmo couldn’t activate the Taowu bone on his own, and could only use his ghostly qi to force the Taowu bone into Qin Cheng’s body. This way, after losing such a large amount of ghostly qi, the ghost would only fade away sooner. As for the person receiving the treatment, it’s life-threatening for them to melt the Taowu bones inside their body. Although this method can save someone’s life for a while, in the long term, it will consume their lives too
.
“I think the ghost of that Emperor will disappear sooner or later. If he’s gone, the tomb in Ninghua Village, which exists alongside him, will disappear too. He wants to melt the Taowu bones into Qin Cheng’s soul, so that the tomb will be supported by Qin Cheng, as his successor. This way, the tomb won’t collapse once the Emperor turns into ashes! After all, once the tomb in Pingyao gets destroyed, only the tomb in Ninghua Village will remain as proof that the Xu Dynasty once existed
.”
Tang Jiaming doesn’t know what Su Jingmo truly thinks of Qin Cheng, but Qu Zhiwen was different. When he saw Qin Cheng for the first time, Qin Cheng already looked like a walking corpse. At that time, Qu Zhiwen had warned Qin Cheng about it.
One thing was for sure, Qu Zhiwen knew that Qin Cheng’s appearance wasn’t related to the influence of the Taowu bones.
Not long after, the feeling that Qin Cheng would die early diminished all of a sudden. Now that he thought about it, it may be related to Su Jingmo forcibly integrating the Taowu bone into Qin Cheng, allowing him to live like a normal person
.
So, Su Jingmo’s original intention to give Qin Cheng the Taowu bones really was because he wanted to save Qin Cheng’s life. Otherwise, Qin Cheng should’ve died a long time ago
.even though he became like a walking corpse as a result
.
As for what Tang Jiaming had said, Qu Zhiwen didn’t believe it all. However, it did remind Qu Zhiwen of something. Since the Taowu bones had been integrated into Qin Cheng, forced by the ghostly qi, they couldn’t be taken out. Over time, Qin Cheng’s soul would merge with the Taowu bones, and when that time comes, Qin Cheng will die. Since most of the Taowu bones are still inside the tomb in Ninghua Village, and parts of Qin Cheng’s soul now belong there, he will be summoned to the tomb. His soul will be forcibly taken from his body, making him remain in the tomb to protect it
. This way, even if Su Jingmo does disappear, the tomb won’t collapse
.
‘ This is tricky
. ’
‘ But
. ’
“Why would I want to help you? If you’re able to break into the tomb to get close to the Taowu bones, you think I can’t do it too?”
Qu Zhiwen’s words made Tang Jiaming chuckle: “Of course I believe you’re able to do such a thing. However, I’m afraid that you haven’t confronted that Emperor head-on yet. You should understand how difficult it actually is when looking at my current appearance.”
After saying that, Tang Jiaming approached Qu Zhiwen, whispering a word close to his ear. At that moment, he saw Qu Zhiwen’s face turn ugly.
As he fixed his gaze on Tang Jiaming, Qu Zhiwen’s eyes looked a bit serious. “That item couldn’t even affect him a single bit?”
“It hurt him a little, but I didn’t expect that he would be so powerful. I can only guess it’s because he has slept for such a long time
.”
“Do you look like this due to that item’s backlash?”
Tang Jiaming nodded. “Now, do you really think that you can overturn that big tomb on your own? There are so many Taowu bones inside that tomb that even if we share it equally, there will be plenty for the both of us. Our cooperation will bring us more benefits than harm, and we can also get them faster.”
Although Qu Zhiwen was conceited, at least, he still had some self-awareness. Since Tang Jiaming said that he couldn’t hurt Su Jingmo even with that item, Qu Zhiwen was more aware of where his own limit lies.
“But, we can’t destroy the formation inside the tomb.”
“Who says that we need to destroy it?” Tang Jiaming smiled. “All we have to do is to tempt that Emperor into destroying the formation himself
.”
“Destroy it himself?” Qu Zhiwen raised an eyebrow. “Can he break free from the formation on his own?”
“Between Su Jingmo and the formation, which do you think is the strongest? We only need to dismantle a part of the formation and the Emperor will be able to leave the tomb on his own.”
At that moment, an emotion surged in Qu Zhiwen’s heart, understanding what Tang Jiaming was hinting at. “It’s easier said than done. But I’ve never seen the formation that lies inside that tomb, so how will we know where to start?”
“I have a way.”
The plot thickens!!!!
C’mon Qu Zhiwen, I believe in you boi, don’t join Tang Jiaming đŸ˜©đŸ˜©
Su Jingmo is so OP that not even a mysterious item could beat him 😂😂
As for Tang Jiaming’s theory, I don’t think SJM is trying to make Qin Cheng his successor. Tang Jiaming doesn’t know this (only our nosy boi Qu Zhiwen has a close idea), but Su Jingmo truly likes Qin Cheng and wants to protect him đŸ„șđŸ„șđŸ„șđŸ„ș (and kiss) (ïœĄăƒ»//Δ//ăƒ»ïœĄ)
.
(â™ĄË™ïž¶Ë™â™Ą)  ❀
Footnotes
<ol><b>é˜Žé˜łçœŒ</b> <b>yÄ«n yĂĄng yǎn</b> ; it’s a kind of spiritual supernatural function in Chinese folklore and superstition, representing the ability to see ghosts or supernatural phenomena that are invisible to the average eye. This ability has never been scientifically tested, and yet, there are still many people who believe in its existence. It’s believed in folklore that the Yin-Yang Eye can be inherited through generations, but can also be acquired through spells.</ol>