“So there really is a Yan Chixia!”
“And Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian too!” Liu Qingyan said in surprise. “I thought Lu Lang had adapted the story from Ning Zhiqi and Yi Xiaoqian!”
Shen Ying laughed. “It even led to Yan Hongxia sparring with Lu Lang, though he did not come off worse.”
Liu Qingyan nodded repeatedly, unable to suppress a quiet laugh. Then, seeing Lu Zheng emerge, both women turned to tease him together.
Lu Zheng looked utterly justified, forcefully salvaging his dignity. “I never once claimed those stories and tunes were my own creation!”
Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying nodded in unison, agreeing that he was right.
Lin Wan, however, refused to let him off. She first glanced at Si Lingxi, then gave Lu Zheng a sour sideways look. “And what about ‘Peach Blossom’?”
“Ahem!” Lu Zheng coughed twice, decisively changing the subject. “How come you are here?”
Lin Wan rolled her eyes helplessly, then pulled out her phone, swiped to a short video of the phoenix phenomenon, and handed it to him.
Lu Zheng took the phone and saw a vast red cloud in the sky. The comments were full of remarks like “spiritual energy revival”, “someone undergoing tribulation”, “another strange occurrence”.
Yet the official title of the video was “Meteorological experts explain Haicheng red cloud event”.
“What is going on?”
Shen Ying said, “While you and the Palace Master were inside healing…”
Si Lingxi interrupted her, glanced at Lu Zheng, then smiled at Shen Ying. “From now on, call me sister.”
Shen Ying grinned. “That would be wonderful!”
Lin Wan rolled her eyes again from the side, but curiosity won out. She studied this woman who was said to have lived three thousand years, the legendary ancient phoenix.
Three thousand years…
Three thousand years ago, China’s history had only just seen King Wu’s conquest of Shang and the founding of the Western Zhou.
Terrifying…
Then she heard Shen Ying continue. “Somehow, not long after, phoenix power suddenly leaked out and formed a phoenix-shaped red cloud in the sky, wings spanning dozens of li, covering most of the city.”
Logically, a phoenix red cloud of that size in the Great Jing Dynasty would completely envelop any city outside the central capital, though the capital itself might not be fully covered. Yet here in this mortal city, it had not covered everything.
Truth be told, a city as vast as Haicheng, with its skyscrapers, subways, and cars that the Great Jing Dynasty lacked, had already left Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying deeply impressed.
“What!?” Lu Zheng jumped in fright, staring in shock.
A clear phoenix silhouette would far too easily lead people to think in supernatural terms.
“Do not worry,” Liu Qingyan comforted him. “The phoenix red cloud was so enormous that no one could fully make out its shape.”
Lu Zheng remained far from reassured. He turned to Lin Wan, who shrugged with a touch of schadenfreude. “Satellites can see it clearly, of course.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
The women were all curious what this “satellite” might be, some kind of stellar deity like the astral officials in the Great Jing Dynasty?
“How long did it last?” Lu Zheng asked urgently.
“About five minutes,” Lin Wan said. “But as Sister Liu… also said, with precedents like the Sichuan rains and the East China Sea typhoons, it probably will not cause much public uproar beyond being filed away at high levels.”
“What about people in other countries?” Lu Zheng asked.
Five minutes was long enough that he doubted foreign satellites were blind.
Lin Wan gave him a strange look. “Weather weapon, naturally. Do they not always accuse us of that?
“And guessing it is a weather weapon is still more plausible than thinking some company projected a real-life 3D hologram.
“Are they really going to believe a phoenix descended on Haicheng?”
Lu Zheng, “…”
The four of them could not help turning in unison to Si Lingxi, because a phoenix truly had descended on Haicheng.
Si Lingxi narrowed her eyes, speaking calmly. “What, is someone dissatisfied with me?”
“No, no!” Lu Zheng hurriedly pulled Si Lingxi to sit down. “No one would dare be dissatisfied with you. But in this world, cultivation does not exist, so if you appeared openly, it would inevitably cause unrest and panic among the people.”
Seeing that Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying already seemed quite accustomed to such things, Si Lingxi laughed. “It seems I missed quite a bit today.”
Liu Qingyan smiled. “Not too much, really. There is so much to learn, and we have only just begun talking with Sister Lin Wan.”
Shen Ying nodded eagerly, pointing at the television, brimming with excitement. “If nothing else, the technology and entertainment of this world have truly opened my eyes.”
Lu Zheng shrugged. “Enjoyment is the driving force of human progress. Take this air conditioner, for instance. It has saved countless lives.”
Si Lingxi examined the television, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, water heater, and most crucially, the core energy source, electricity.
Yet she shook her head without any admiration. “Excessive focus on comfort destroys the spirit. Should crisis come, escape would be impossible.”
Lin Wan disliked hearing this. She immediately searched for nuclear weapons on her phone and showed them to Si Lingxi.
“What do you think?” Lin Wan raised an eyebrow.
Si Lingxi looked at Lu Zheng and shook her head. “Children foolishly wielding great blades. That this world has not yet destroyed itself is truly remarkable.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
“It is called nuclear deterrence balance…” Lin Wan protested weakly.
Si Lingxi gave a disdainful snort. “A fragile balance.”
Lin Wan, “…”
At that moment, the ending theme of “A Chinese Ghost Story” began playing on the television.
Si Lingxi turned to listen for a while. Though the style differed vastly from her world, it was indeed pleasant.
“Of course, every world has its merits,” Si Lingxi said, giving Lin Wan a kindly smile.
“For example, Lu Lang’s understanding of ‘Song of Everlasting Regret’ surpasses most people. To nurture someone like him, this world must do well in education.”
Lin Wan still knew nothing about the “Song of Everlasting Regret” matter; Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying had not reached that part yet.
“Ahem… let us not discuss these things unrelated to us. There will be plenty of time to learn about them later.”
Lu Zheng interjected, then turned to Si Lingxi. “Shall we wait the eighty-one days here, or go back?”
He asked because, after expending all several thousand strands of luck light in the jade seal, the demonic desire divine blood in Si Lingxi’s body had been completely purged, and her cultivation had advanced another step.
“Back, of course!”
Si Lingxi narrowed her eyes. “No one can scheme against me and remain unscathed!”
As she spoke, phoenix divine flame flickered in her pupils, showing she was still far from calm.
Seeing her like this, and having heard the two women’s description of the other world, Lin Wan set aside her jealousy and looked eagerly at Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng waved grandly. “Together!”
