Jiang Shouzhong shrugged, "Who doesn’t like immortality?"
Xiao Lingqiu suppressed the ripples in her heart and smiled, "I don’t like immortality. Living for too long becos pointless, worse than death. But I wouldn’t mind living an extra two hundred years—at least I could accomplish a lot."
Jiang Shouzhong sowhat agreed with the woman:
"Living too long indeed becos dull. But if there’s soone you love, living together eternally wouldn’t be so lonely. The greatest fear people have is solitude, isn’t it?"
Solitude...
Xiao Lingqiu suddenly felt lost in thought.
The word "solitude" resonated deeply with her, soone in a high position. Even Emperor Zhou Chang and other emperors and kings of nations could understand it.
A solitary figure, a solitary figure... the higher you stand, the lonelier you are.
When one gains sothing, they inevitably lose sothing else.
Xiao Lingqiu had never thought about how her later years would unfold, but now she could genuinely feel this kind of solitude, especially after Miaomiao left—it felt as if life had lost much of its joy.
Perhaps her opposition to Yelü Miaomiao and Jiang Shouzhong wasn’t solely because Jiang Shouzhong was a scoundrel. She feared Miaomiao might leave her, leaving her utterly alone.
Thinking this, the woman’s jade-like face showed a trace of lancholy.
She gently tucked her knees to her chest, resting her pointed, alabaster-white chin on top, murmuring softly in a voice only she could hear, "Fighting for the empire seems to have lost its charm."
But Xiao Lingqiu was ultimately the ambitious Empress Dowager of a nation.
The lancholy lasted but a mont before the fire of ambition surged up again, filling her chest.
The heavens, I do not yearn for.
But the earth, it must be held in my grasp!
Solitude be damned—she was determined to stand at the top, ruling for all eternity!
Xiao Lingqiu took a deep breath, dispelling any trace of weakness, resuming her cold and aloof deanor.
"Gurgle gurgle..."
The protest from her stomach rcilessly interrupted the woman’s ambitious dreams.
Since arriving at the Taoist Ancestor’s burial chamber, the two had been rushing around without eating. Even the apples they had found earlier were deed suspicious. Xiao Lingqiu was long famished.
The sudden rumbling from her stomach elicited a hint of embarrassnt from the woman.
Jiang Shouzhong was equally hungry. Worse yet, he hadn’t brought any Fasting Pills. Thinking back to the fish he saw in the lake earlier, an idea sparked in his mind, and he pointed to the woman’s hair and said, "Can I pull out a few of your hairs?"
Hair?
Xiao Lingqiu was puzzled.
Still, the woman complied and handed him a few strands of her hair.
Jiang Shouzhong tied the hairs into a long thread, removed the Dragon-slaying Flying Sword from his ring finger, bent it into the shape of a fishhook, and found a rod to fashion a fishing rod.
Xiao Lingqiu understood what he was doing, her expression turning peculiar: "But there’s no bait—will that work?"
Jiang Shouzhong gently cast the fishing line into the water and grinned, "Let’s give it a try."
With the currents shifting, the flying sword shaped as a fishhook seed to possess an uncanny sense, finding an ideal spot to fish and detecting surrounding creatures.
Soon, a silver-white carp leapt out of the water, struggling in midair before being steadily pulled onto the deck.
"Impressive, right?"
Jiang Shouzhong flashed a smug grin.
Xiao Lingqiu, however, asked a very practical question: "Is it edible?"
Indeed, could anything in this world be edible?
The earlier suspicious apples were the perfect example.
Jiang Shouzhong dismissed the concern, saying, "It’s better than starving to death."
He pulled out his last Spirit Fire Talisman, gathered so burnable materials nearby, and used the hard apple shells to form a small ring for creating a makeshift stove.
Once lit, he deftly used a small knife to cut open the fish belly, removing the innards and gills, cleaned it briefly, and placed it on a rack over the flas.
There were no seasonings, so he had to settle for plain roasting.
The enticing aroma wafted through the air, and a golden roasted fish appeared within the woman’s gaze.
Xiao Lingqiu swallowed back saliva.
This guy was pretty capable.
She couldn’t help but look at the man before her in a new light.
"I’ll try first to make sure it’s not poisonous," Jiang Shouzhong said.
Tearing off a piece, he put it in his mouth without hesitation. Xiao Lingqiu wanted to stop him but it was too late.
"Not bad," Jiang Shouzhong said as he chewed and swallowed, deliberately waiting for a while before handing the remaining fish at to the woman. "Honestly, who knows if we’ll even survive to leave this place—but at least let’s not die starving."
Xiao Lingqiu took the fish at hesitantly.
Jiang Shouzhong didn’t bother to monitor whether she ate or not, quietly catching and roasting another fish for himself.
In the end, hunger won out.
She opened her red lips and took a small bite. After swallowing and confirming there was no adverse reaction, she gradually relaxed, nibbling bit by bit until half of the fish was consud.
"Want more?" Jiang Shouzhong asked.
Xiao Lingqiu softly shook her delicate head. "I’m almost full."
The woman didn’t dare to eat too much.
Jiang Shouzhong chuckled and continued eating himself.
The boat sailed through the mist for a long while.
Perhaps a few two-hour cycles, perhaps a day and a night... In that ti, Xiao Lingqiu slept twice. Jiang Shouzhong, fearing the ergence of demons, hadn’t rested at all.
When she woke for the second ti and saw the man’s bloodshot eyes and obvious exhaustion, she felt a bit guilty: "Why don’t you rest for a while? I’ll keep watch."
"It’s fine," Jiang Shouzhong replied, yawning.
"Sleep, I’ll keep watch," Xiao Lingqiu insisted.
Jiang Shouzhong thought for a mont, realizing how fatigued he was, and nodded. "Alright, I’ll nap for a bit—anything unusual, just shout."
To ensure safety, he scooted closer to the woman.
Xiao Lingqiu furrowed her willow-like brows, intending to put so distance between them but hesitated. Ultimately, she stayed put, silently gazing at the shifting mist ahead.
Who knew how much ti passed before Jiang Shouzhong, while sleeping, suddenly heard a cracking sound.
He opened his eyes to find the boat had stopped.
It had docked along a reed-covered riverbank.
To his dismay, Xiao Lingqiu had fallen asleep again, her delicate head resting against his shoulder, her beautiful, faintly flushed face full of exhaustion, her breaths soft and steady.
Because she was wearing only an outer garnt, her sleeping posture left her collar slightly open, revealing a flawless, snow-like view from where Jiang Shouzhong stood.
Jiang Shouzhong found himself montarily lost in thought.
The sight of this Jingjing lady sleeping was truly striking.
Seeing her curled eyelashes flutter slightly, Jiang Shouzhong realized she was about to wake. Hesitating for a mont, he closed his eyes again to avoid embarrassing her.
Indeed, Xiao Lingqiu woke up monts later.
Upon realizing she had fallen asleep leaning against the man’s shoulder, she jolted upright as if electrified, looked at Jiang Shouzhong, and found him still asleep, relieving her of her embarrassnt.
Xiao Lingqiu’s cheeks ward. She silently blad herself for carelessness.
She had promised to stand guard, yet she dozed off again, even leaning on his shoulder!
At that mont, Jiang Shouzhong "woke."
"Huh? The boat’s stopped?"
Jiang Shouzhong feigned surprise, turning to Xiao Lingqiu to ask, "Nothing strange happened, right?"
"No... nothing," Xiao Lingqiu answered with a guilty tone, avoiding his gaze.
Jiang Shouzhong didn’t expose her embarrassnt. Rising to stretch his muscles, he said, "Let’s go check it out—maybe we’ll find a way out."
Xiao Lingqiu extended her arms.
Jiang Shouzhong paused, "What are you doing?"
"Carry ," Xiao Lingqiu replied, wearing an expression that seed to question the unnecessary question.
"You still can’t walk?"
"I only have a little strength left—still can’t stand," she explained.
To prove she wasn’t lying, Xiao Lingqiu forced herself to rise, but her legs gave out after a brief effort, leaving her seated on the deck.
"..."
Jiang Shouzhong sighed helplessly, crouching down to carry her on his back.
Xiao Lingqiu instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
Jiang Shouzhong hefted her up by the thighs and remarked, "You owe for this. Back ho, make sure to praise to Empress Dowager Yanrong."
"Not happening," Xiao Lingqiu flatly refused.
Jiang Shouzhong’s expression turned sour: "Then I won’t care if you live or die."
Xiao Lingqiu bit her lip and replied, "I’ll make sure the Empress Dowager doesn’t kill you."
Jiang Shouzhong couldn’t help but laugh.
It’s not like he’d committed any heinous cris; why would the Empress Dowager want him dead?
Still, as the Ghost Guard close to the Empress Dowager, Xiao Lingqiu knew certain secrets. Perhaps the Empress Dowager truly did have reason to kill him—it wasn’t impossible.
Jiang Shouzhong dismissed the thought; he had no energy to overthink it. Carrying the woman ashore, he continued forward.
On land, a cobblestone path led toward a distant mist-shrouded mountain peak.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, Jiang Shouzhong finally saw that beneath the mountain peak lay a residence—a mansion overgrown with weeds, seemingly abandoned for years.
As they approached the mansion, a pungent, rotting sll filled the air.
It slled of death.
Xiao Lingqiu suddenly let out a sharp cry.
Following her gaze, Jiang Shouzhong froze—there, dangling from a twisted tree, was a skeleton clad in tattered clothing, swaying gently with the breeze.
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