Free Web NovelQing Ji said he would tell Lu Yibei about the past, but when he opened his mouth, he fell silent, as if the words were stuck in his throat.
After a long time, he looked at Lu Yibei, then at Hua Sang, and asked a question that seemed completely unrelated to why he left the fragments of Lingtai Pure Karma in Da Chunyang Palace.
"Do you know that in the era I lived in, for about two hundred years, no new Calamities were born?"
Lu Yibei shook her head. Ju Meng had indeed mentioned it once, saying that before the night began to lengthen, Calamity-level existences were quite rare, but she didn't know much else.
"I do know a little," Hua Sang whispered. freeweɓnøvel.com
Qing Ji's gaze shifted from Lu Yibei to Hua Sang, he slightly raised his eyebrows, and smiled, "Tell me?"
Hua Sang glanced at Lu Yibei, as if asking for help, a hint of difficulty in her expression.
However, the tacit understanding from their joint battle just now seemed to have vanished. Lu Yibei didn't notice her thoughts at all, and even winked, signaling her to continue.
Hua Sang, "..."
After a two-second silence, she cupped her hands towards Qing Ji and continued, "I saw a document from the Night Watch. That document said that some scholars believe the increase in the number of urban legend and Psychic did not begin with the lengthening of the night."
"Data shows that from the end of the Ming Dynasty until about a hundred years ago, the number of Psychic and urban legend, as well as the density of free Spiritual Energy, remained at a very low level. But about a hundred years ago, both began to slowly increase."
"About ten years ago, the number of Psychic, urban legend, and the density of free Spiritual Energy had already increased by three or four times compared to over three hundred years ago. And when the night began to lengthen, they explosively increased to over seventy times the number from ten years ago in just five years."
"Some scholars believe that in fifteen years, the entire world will fall into eternal night, and the scholar who wrote that report is also a proponent of this view. He said in that report that when eternal night descends, the number of Psychic and urban legend, as well as the density of free Spiritual Energy, will reach about two hundred times that of ten years ago..."
As her voice trailed off, Hua Sang's eyes slightly brightened, and she silently let out a long sigh of relief.
I'm really amazing!
She was surprised herself that she could say so many words in one go.
There was a inexplicable sense of joy, like someone who had been paralyzed for years and could stand up again.
But...
Immediately after, the joy that had risen in her heart was washed away by doubt. She suddenly realized that the question Qing Ji asked seemed to have another meaning.
"..."
When she used to chat with Senior Qing Ji, she heard him mention a few times that the era he lived in was over a hundred years ago...
This time period overlaps with the time when urban legend and Psychic began to increase...
Could it be that Senior Qing Ji leaving the ruler in Da Chunyang Palace is related to this matter? Hua Sang thought.
"Haha... That's probably it," Qing Ji said with a smile to Hua Sang.
Although there were some terms in Hua Sang's words that he didn't quite understand, the general meaning wasn't too different from what he knew.
"Speaking of which, I originally had the chance to become the first new Calamity in several hundred years, but unfortunately, this opportunity came a little too late..."
----
In fact, the Spiritual Energy fluctuation levels of Psychic and urban legend have various other names around the world, just like A-Level is usually called Bishop-level in Europe.
The naming system from D-level to S-level is the simplest and most direct standardized division of Spiritual Energy fluctuation levels after the Night Watch was established, discarding various other names.
However, among the many levels, only S-level retains the former title of Calamity, precisely because of its special nature.
In fact, whether it's D-level or A-Level, there is almost no difference except for the intensity of Spiritual Energy fluctuation. But upon becoming Calamity-level, Psychic and urban legend undergo a fundamental change.
Calamity-level existences, to a certain extent, have become symbols of certain specific things or phenomena, becoming an indelible part of this world, just like natural disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, and earthquakes.
Qing Ji did have the opportunity to become Calamity-level, and even more than one opportunity.
If he wanted to, he could almost certainly become Calamity-level.
But Lu Yanzhi didn't have that opportunity...
She didn't even become a high-level Psychic.
Without becoming Calamity-level, high-level Psychic not only don't live long, but may even die faster under the erosion of their bodies by the series of negative effects brought by Spirit Marks!
----
When Qing Ji first had the opportunity to advance to Calamity-level, Zhang Huainan once rushed from Da Chunyang Palace to Hua City to celebrate for him.
However, upon arriving, Zhang Huainan was surprised to find that Qing Ji had actually chosen to give up advancing.
"Senior Brother, I don't understand! Why are you giving up such a great opportunity? What if later..." Zhang Huainan questioned Qing Ji, puzzled and even a little angry.
Qing Ji, who was carrying a child on his back and washing diapers with his head down, looked up and said with a smile, "Even if I advance now, it would be the lowest level of Calamity, it's meaningless. Do you think I'm the kind of person who settles?"
It was late spring then, and the pomegranate blossoms in the backyard of Yanzhi Tavern were in full bloom. The slightly dry and hot breeze was filled with the beauty of life.
"As for you, since you're already here, why don't you..." Qing Ji looked at Zhang Huainan, his eyes darting around, his smile gradually becoming perverse.
Seeing that smile, which had long been etched into his DNA, Zhang Huainan's face changed. Just as he was about to run away, he found that his perception of his body had become sluggish, as if he had turned to stone, frozen in place.
Then... he was severely tormented for over two months.
In addition to suffering Qing Ji's special training every day, which was hard to tell if it was abuse or guidance, he also had to serve as a waiter, kitchen helper, and child nanny.
More than two months later, Zhang Huainan, who had been dormant for many days and had eaten so much dog food he was almost getting kidney stones, finally seized the opportunity when Qing Ji accompanied Lu Yanzhi on an outing to the countryside and fled back to Da Chunyang Palace in embarrassment.
However, it was precisely that experience of being tormented that allowed him to vaguely touch upon the path towards becoming Calamity-level.
So, for the next twenty-odd years, what Qing Ji did was simply focus on running Yanzhi Tavern with Lu Yanzhi, and watch each other grow old together.
In his opinion, that feeling was truly beautiful, more beautiful than any astonishing power in this world.
If they could watch their child grow up, get married and have children, and then watch their grandchild grow up, get married and have children, and then watch their grandchild's grandchild... that would be even better.
Of course, planning is one thing, but in reality, Lu Yuebo was in a semi-neglected state for a long time, as if he were just an accident.
Over twenty years later.
When Qing Ji had the opportunity to advance to Calamity-level for the second time, Zhang Huainan bravely rushed to Hua City again, only to see the Yanzhi Tavern that had been abandoned for a long time, already covered in dust and cobwebs. Qing Ji and Lu Yanzhi were nowhere to be seen.
He inquired extensively around Hua City and searched for many days. Finally, by a solitary grave outside Hua City, he found Qing Ji, disheveled, listless, and so thin he was no longer recognizable.
The wind blew, and red leaves fell, landing on the solitary grave. His hands trembled as he carefully brushed away the fallen leaves, as if fearing that a slightly larger movement would disturb the person sleeping peacefully in the solitary grave.
Sensing Zhang Huainan's arrival, he didn't turn back. Instead, while wiping the solitary grave with a clean white cloth that was strangely out of place with his slovenly appearance, he said weakly, "You brat, do you know that I can advance to Calamity with just one sword strike now?"
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Zhang Huainan, "..."
He didn't speak, but if Qing Ji said he could, he believed Qing Ji could do it.
"But what's the use? She's already gone..." Qing Ji said to himself.
After speaking, he collapsed weakly by the solitary grave. The setting sun in the sky was dim and yellow, as if it wouldn't rise again after sinking below the horizon.
"She, is gone!"
Qing Ji suddenly let out a long cry, startling a flock of crows and sparrows on a nearby treetop, who flew towards the half-light, half-dark forest.
From the first time he gained the opportunity to advance to Calamity, he spent over twenty years, exhausting everything he had learned throughout his life and all his efforts, finally figuring out a sword strike capable of severing time.
For no other reason, he only wished to sever the "time" that would take Lu Yanzhi away!
But when he could finally advance to Calamity and unleash that sword strike, Lu Yanzhi had already been gone for a long time...
So, this time Zhang Huainan didn't say anything more to Qing Ji. He knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and solemnly bowed to Qing Ji three times, then set off back to Da Chunyang Palace.
That was the last time he saw Qing Ji.
The greatest power of death is not that it can kill people, but that it makes those left behind no longer want to live...
Several years later, Zhang Huainan met Lu Yuebo in Da Chunyang Palace, learned of Qing Ji's death, and received the fragments of Lingtai Pure Karma that Lu Yuebo brought.
"Uncle, my father, on his deathbed, asked me to leave this thing with you. He was worried..." Lu Yuebo said to Zhang Huainan.
Sealing the fragments of Lingtai Pure Karma, which were attached to his elderly memories, in Da Chunyang Palace was Qing Ji's dying wish. He was worried that his obsession with Lu Yanzhi would cause his Spirit Mark to lose control and turn into a Strange Tale the moment he passed away.
His Spirit Mark was already special, and he had the foundation and capital to become Calamity-level. In that era when Calamity-level existences were extremely rare, if his Spirit Mark lost control and became a Strange Tale, the consequences would be unimaginable.
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"Guess what the last thing Little Yanzhi said to me was?" Qing Ji looked at Lu Yibei and Hua Sang, and without waiting for them to speak, answered his own question, "She said she had been chasing after me since the first time we met, and she would keep chasing for the rest of her life."
"But in this life, I walked too fast, so fast that she couldn't catch up. However, when she got old, she finally got a step ahead. When she gets there, she'll walk slower and wait for me to catch up."
"So foolish..."
After speaking, he leaned against the Shui Shu Beast and closed his eyes.
It was as if just recounting this past had exhausted all his strength.
Seeing this, Hua Sang opened her mouth, hesitated several times, and finally chose to remain silent.
Just recently, she had been happy that her Senior Qing Ji had regained some memories and remembered who he was waiting for in front of that small tavern.
But now, it seemed that remembering was not a good thing.
Lu Yibei, "..."
Although it might sound bad to say so, it was indeed a bit foolish.
Ju Meng had said that there was no such thing as the underworld in this world. Unless a person became a Strange Tale after death, they would truly cease to exist. The Ancestor must have known this too.
After hearing her great-great-grandmother say such words, he didn't even have the possibility of chasing after her. He must have felt completely disheartened, right?
As Lu Yibei was thinking, her eyes lowered, looking at Qing Ji, unable to speak for a long time.
She no longer knew how to persuade Qing Ji to unleash a sword strike to create an opportunity for her to contaminate Pink Fluffy Rabbit's faith.
When Qing Ji occasionally revealed his past with Lu Yanzhi before, Lu Yibei always felt that their story was like a fairy tale, but the most beautiful fairy tales are always sad...
However, even if it was sad, some people would not want to forget it after hearing it once.
Only he himself could untie this knot in his heart, no one else could help him.
Just as Lu Yibei fell silent, the Lingtai Pure Karma in her hand suddenly trembled violently, then with a "buzz," it flew out of her hand and shot into the hand of the dispirited Qing Ji, emitting a faint silver-white light.
Then...
Qing Ji's ears echoed with his own young voice.
That voice carried deep anger, like a roaring beast about to tear him apart.
"Bastard! You're getting hung up on such trivial matters?"
"You've never died before, how do you know what it will be like? Giving up without trying, that's not something I would do. Are you sure you haven't been possessed by some ghost?"
"Do you know how long Little Yanzhi will have to wait if there is another world after death, if you do this?!"
The broken sword and the ruler, being in such close proximity for a long time, the wisp of residual soul residing in the broken sword had long developed a subtle connection with the residual soul in the ruler, knowing everything.
Upon hearing this, Qing Ji trembled violently as if struck by lightning. The moment he opened his eyes, they were red-rimmed...
"Then I should..."
"I think you should go die!"
Qing Ji, "..."
He stared blankly at the sky for a moment, then gripped the broken sword ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) in his hand and slowly stood up, trembling. He murmured, "That's right, that's right, I should go chase Little Yanzhi... I should go chase her... She's waited too long..."
As he spoke, he slowly raised the broken sword in his hand and casually swung it forward.
The moment the sword strike was unleashed, brilliant light burst forth from the broken sword. The air vibrated violently, emitting a low hum. Amidst the humming, there was a crisp "clink!" sound, as if two pieces of metal had fitted together.
...
In the dazzling light of the surging sword energy, Qing Ji seemed to see the Miss again, wearing a blue scarf and a peach-colored silk dress.
That Miss ran towards him barefoot, shouting, "Where did this lecher come from? How dare you steal my shoes? If I don't twist your head off today, I'm not surnamed Lu!"
Looking at the fierce Miss, a serene smile appeared on Qing Ji's face. He opened his arms and embraced her.
"Sorry, you've waited a long time..." Qing Ji murmured.
As his voice fell, the white light dissipated.
The weathered Qing Ji silently disappeared, leaving only a silver-white long sword that fell to the ground with a "clang."
In front of the long sword, a pitch-black Rift, like a strange cavity, swallowed and spat out chaotic colors. Time seemed to have stopped, and the drizzle and thick fog hung in mid-air...
