By the ti of Grain Rain, the endless drizzle spread like the fog in an ink wash painting, soft as fluff, pitter-pattering, shrouding the Jiangnan nightscape in a hazy and splendid veil.
In the lamplight, the bluestone path seed to be coated with a layer of crystal. In such a season, there always seed to be a couple or two, in high spirits, sharing an oil-paper umbrella and strolling through the rain.
This was the first ti, holding an umbrella for her.
Basking in the dim street light, you slightly turned your head and what presented itself in your eyes was a perfect profile.
A high-bridged yet gentle nose, cherry lips red and plump, the fluttering of dark lashes in between, gave you a sense of being awash in a bygone era.
"Thud, thud thud... thud, thud thud..."
In the misty rain, a voice you were familiar with reached your ears. You couldn’t help but glance at Zhao’er beside you and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of your mouth.
As always, Grandma ng arrived, riding slowly and unsteadily on her three-wheeled electric scooter.
"Grandma."
As she stopped before you, you respectfully greeted her.
Grandma ng did not respond. Instead, she turned and stared at Zhao’er, a twinkle flickering in her eyes as deep as the starry sky.
"I never thought there would co a day when I would see you again."
As soon as she spoke, Grandma ng uttered words that greatly surprised you.
You had no idea about Zhao’er’s identity, but you knew she must not be an ordinary person, that her status was extraordinary. However, you hadn’t expected that Grandma ng’s nostalgically laden words would be tinged with such reverence.
What kind of existence could make Grandma ng feel reverence?
While you were lost in your thoughts, a pair of smooth and gentle jade hands found their way into your palm and gently held it.
Turning in surprise, you discovered that Zhao’er was holding your hand of her own volition for the first ti, her eyes no longer empty but shining with a glint of warmth.
However, that warmth soon subsided, and her pupils beca cold and still once again.
Considering that you would soon learn her identity and knowing the thod to restore her cognition, your spirits, which had been low, began to rise again.
"Grandma, can you tell Zhao’er’s identity now?"
After gazing at Zhao’er for a brief mont, Grandma ng sighed softly, "Truth be told, I’m not quite sure of her true identity either."
"Ah?"
You were dumbfounded.
You hadn’t expected that after all that trouble, Grandma ng would give you such a reply.
Seeing you standing there stunned like a wooden chicken, Grandma ng couldn’t help but purse her lips into a smile. Such a gesture on her aged appearance was unexpectedly amusing.
"Alright, alright, no more teasing you, child," Grandma ng chuckled, "Co to think of it, it’s been over three thousand years since I first t her."
"Three, three thousand... years... gulp!"
Hearing this, you inadvertently swallowed nervously.
"What, she’s too old for you?"
Grandma ng looked at you with narrowed eyes.
"A woman plus three ans a gold mine. Having aged three thousand years, I’m clutching nine thousand gold bricks. Tsk tsk, no more farming for , just cuddling with the wife and kids by a warm bed. Those will be so good days."
Grandma ng turned to look at Zhao’er again, her face reflecting a tinge of reminiscence: "Back then, I was but a little girl, with pigtail braids, always following behind my master, and so many people would chide as a little tagalong."
Blinking, you asked Grandma ng, "Grandma, who was your master?"
"I dare not ntion my master’s na, but in your mortal realm, she is revered as the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman, or the Nine Heavens Holy Mother."
"My heavens, Nine Heavens’ Empress!"
"Are you surprised?" Grandma ng looked at you with a slight sense of wonder.
Seeing you nod like a pecking chick, she smiled and said, "Back then, when faced with those two individuals, my master and I were rely bystanders among the celestial crowd. They arrived gracefully through the sky, and the Heavenly Realm poured out to see them. The two still wore smiles amid the deadly layout set by gods and demons, effortlessly breaking through and leaving with such elegance and poise that it was unforgettable for a lifeti."
You paused and then carefully asked, "Grandma, the two people you are talking about are...?"
"A man and a woman. The woman is Zhao’er, who is by your side."
"Boom!"
Your mind seed to explode in that instant!
You never could have imagined that Zhao’er had once been such a heaven-defying existence!
"However..."
Grandma ng’s words shifted, causing your heart to jump once again.
"What happened?"
"As far as I know, she should have perished long ago."
"Perished!?"
You were not unfamiliar with this term, for you had done it yourself!
In Heavenless Hell, to save Wu Qiyi, you, in a fit of rage and without any awareness, opened the Death Gate and extinguished Changsun Chong and Changsun Wuji with a re glance; furthermore, during the array barrier set by Liu Bai, you risked your bodily existence, protected by the array’s order, and used the strongest Forbidden Technique of the Myriad Manifestation Eye Technique, "Interrupt," which had a similar miraculous effect to the obliteration of Death Gate, albeit it was much weaker.
Obliteration is different from the common phrase "vanishing into smoke."
When ghosts "vanish into smoke," they turn into Ni, living in a different space in another form.
But obliteration is the true absence of being, without a past life or a future, vanishing forever.
"I overheard this news when I was eavesdropping on a conversation between my master and the Yellow Emperor as a child. At that ti, I was young and listening from a distance, not very carefully, so I don’t know much about her identity. The only thing I do know is her na."
You raised your eyebrows and eagerly asked, "What was Zhao’er’s original na?"
"Suyi."
"Suyi?"
Grandma ng nodded, "Back then, I was young and naive, and I felt that these two characters didn’t suit her. But now, I think only these two characters can truly highlight her peerless beauty."
At the ntion of these two characters, a line of poetry spontaneously erged in your mind, and you softly recited, "Suyi dyed with celestial fragrance, jade wine enriched with the nation’s beauty."
Grandma ng nodded gently, smiling without a word.
After thinking for a mont, you asked, "Grandma, who was the man with her? What was their relationship? Who hard her? If she was obliterated, then is Zhao’er only similar in appearance?"
A barrage of questions burst forth from your mouth like fireworks.
Grandma ng, with a smile, said, "You child, you’re really in a ss because you care. Let answer your questions one by one."
You nodded eagerly.
"First, about that man, I do know a thing or two. His na is Yun Chu, he is the ruler of The Ten Directions Heaven Beyond the Sky, and in both the Heavenly Court and the Divine Realm, he is known as the Heavenly Demon God; but he proclaid himself the Divine Emperor Sen Luo."
"Sen Luo?"
At that mont, you were stunned. This term was all too familiar to you.
It was these two words that had changed your life’s trajectory, making it splendid and colorful.
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