Chapter 507 - 416: Until She Turns Around, and Walks On
Chapter 507: Chapter 416: Until She Turns Around, and Walks On
The day after the three Holy Decrees were issued, everyone from the Imperial Court to the common folk was filled with complex emotions upon learning the Sovereign was abdicating to the Crown Prince.
However, aside from the countless commoners submitting petitions for Qin Siyao to stay, not a single person in the Imperial Court advised her against it.
Because these ministers knew that Her Majesty had transformed the Qin Kingdom’s national fortune into three Holy Decrees. These decrees were linked to the Great Dao, and there was no way to retract them.
Seven days later, a grand ceremony was held in the Qin Kingdom Royal Palace. Qin Siyao went through the official rites and handed the throne to Qin Lan’er.
On the morning after the ceremony, Qin Siyao changed into a simple long dress and quietly departed from the Qin Kingdom Royal Palace.
After walking out of the Imperial City, Qin Siyao turned to look back at the gates.
She didn’t know when she would return.
’Perhaps I’ll never come back...’
Hua Sheng, standing to the side, asked, "My Lady, do you really not plan to say goodbye to Lan’Er?"
Qin Siyao shook her head. "There’s no need. Lan’Er knows I’m leaving and would insist on seeing me off. She’d just end up crying her eyes out. She’s the Sovereign of Great Qin now. It wouldn’t do for her to be seen shedding tears."
Turning her gaze away, Qin Siyao looked at Sister Hua Sheng. "By the way, Sister Hua Sheng, you’re returning to your clan now, right?"
"Mhm."
Hua Sheng nodded.
"I once promised an ancestor of the Qin Kingdom that I would serve as a Tributor.
One reason was that your kingdom’s Mountain and River Fortune aids my cultivation.
The second was that I was on good terms with the Empress of your ancestor.
So I promised her I would stay in the Imperial Palace.
I could have left after your father ascended the throne.
But, My Lady, when you were born, a strange phenomenon occurred in the world.
I was curious, so I decided to stay longer and watch over you.
And the more time I spent with you, the more I came to find you so pure and endearing."
As she spoke, Hua Sheng sighed softly, a hint of frustration and helplessness in her eyes:
"Now that you’re setting out to travel the world to find him, I wish I could accompany you. But something has come up within my clan. The clan leader says they’ve forgiven me and that my mother’s condition is worsening, so I have no choice but to return to the Demon Race’s World."
"I see." Qin Siyao nodded. "Then you should return as soon as possible, Sister Hua Sheng. Please give my regards to your mother for me. I wish her a swift recovery."
"My Lady, will you truly be alright on your own?" Hua Sheng looked up, her expression still laced with worry.
Qin Siyao smiled faintly and shook her head. "I’ve lived in the Imperial Palace my whole life and have hardly been anywhere. But my husband... he’s been fighting campaigns across the land since he was young.
As I go to find my husband, I also want to see this world for myself.
To see the prosperous age he fought to create.
To see the places where he walked."
Hua Sheng sighed softly. "After I return to the clan, I will have my people help you in your search. Furthermore, if our clan should encounter anyone with the surname Xiao in the future, as long as they are of upright character and integrity, the Vermilion Bird Race will offer them what assistance we can."
"Thank you, Sister Hua Sheng." Qin Siyao gave a slight bow.
"You are too kind, My Lady." Hua Sheng gazed at the woman before her, reluctant to part. "I... must be going now..."
"Alright. May we meet again."
"May we meet again."
Hua Sheng’s form shifted, and a crimson Vermilion Bird rose into the air from outside the Imperial City. Trailing a long plume of flame that dyed the clouds red, it flew off into the distance.
Only after Hua Sheng had vanished over the horizon did Qin Siyao retract her gaze.
The woman took a small clay figurine from her robes and glanced at it, the corners of her lips curling into a gentle smile.
She placed the clay figurine back in her robes, lifted her head, and took a step forward, beginning her journey.
She was going to see it with her own eyes.
To see this world of mortals.
She passed through towns and cities, vanquishing evil spirits for common households.
People called her the Immortal Maiden.
She passed through villages, helping women through difficult childbirths.
When mother and child were both safe, the family would call her a Bodhisattva.
She opened academies for the children of the streets and alleys.
Both boys and girls were welcome to study there.
The tuition was a mere single coin, yet the knowledge she taught was worth a thousand times more than that offered by ordinary scholars.
She also opened a medical hall or two.
Consultations were cheap, and the fees were minimal.
Within a month of opening, each hall would be bustling with visitors.
Everyone in town knew—a kind-hearted young woman with superb medical skills had arrived.
Yet even more renowned than her superb medical skills was her stunning beauty.
She crossed great mountains.
Wherever she went, the Mountain River Gods bowed from a distance, not daring to approach.
She had seen demons, but she had also seen the hearts of humans, which could be far more terrifying.
She liked to sit alone by the river, gazing into the distance.
Scholars traveling for their examinations would see her and mistake her for an Immortal descended to the mortal realm.
They claimed to have seen the Linjiang Immortal.
She went to the Great Wall of China and slew a Great Demon.
Everyone was astonished.
But no one knew her name. They only knew that this exceedingly gentle woman wore a mask, and that her killing of enemies beneath the walls of Wanli City was like a graceful dance.
She poled a small boat downstream, drifting toward the horizon. Flood Dragons parted for her, and River Gods escorted her on her way.
Boatmen would silently marvel, ’Why is the river so much smoother today than usual?’
At night, she walked alone through mountain forests, watching swarms of fireflies that looked like stars fallen to earth.
Ten years.
A hundred years.
A thousand years.
Ten thousand years.
The Sects in the mountains constantly changed.
The stars in the sky shifted.
Vast Seas turned into mulberry fields.
And still, she walked the mortal world.
She had been to every place he had ever been and walked every path he had ever taken.
Thirty thousand years passed. Because of the three Holy Decrees, the woman suffered a backlash from the Heavenly Dao Laws and was never able to step into the Ascension Realm. Her time was now drawing to a close.
Yet she still looked no older than twenty.
Only her black hair had been turned white by the years.
On a day of heavy snow, dressed in a plain skirt, she walked alone through the mountain forest.
Her Cloud Pattern Embroidered Shoes left a trail of small, neat footprints in the snow.
Xiao Mo followed behind her.
Thirty thousand years had passed.
She was searching for him.
He was accompanying her.
Reward calculation for the fifth life in the Hundred Generations Book is complete. Host is about to leave the River of Time. Please prepare for departure.
Ten...
Nine...
Eight...
As the voice of the Hundred Generations Book echoed in his mind, Xiao Mo stopped walking.
He stood still in the snow, watching as her slender figure grew more and more distant.
Three...
Two...
"Siyao..."
"I..."
"...am leaving..."
As the final count from the Hundred Generations Book faded, a cold wind, thick with snow, swept through the forest.
The woman stopped in her tracks, spun around, and looked behind her.
But the path she had come from was empty.
The woman stared for a long, long time...
...until the fine snow had piled high on her hair and shoulders.
...until she exhaled a deep, warm breath.
...until she took a bloodstained Asura Mask from within her robes.
...until she lowered her head and put on the mask.
...until she turned around.
And continued on her way.