In the pavilion of the garden, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong leaned against each other, savoring the story of General Qing Jiang and Princess Yu Shu.
It felt as if they had experienced it themselves, yet also like watching a movie, leaving them in a state of emotional turbulence for a long time.
The bone chains in their palms gradually lost their warmth, turning cold.
Only then did they snap back to reality.
Lin Zitong lowered her gaze and said, "Princess Yu Shu's soul has merged with mine."
Yan Shouyi heard this and examined Lin Zitong.
Although Lin Zitong did not seem in a good mood at the moment, her soul was indeed more resilient and powerful than before!
This secretly astonished Yan Shouyi.
After all, the Lu Shan Sect's primary focus was on cultivating the soul, and Lin Zitong, with her extraordinary talent, already possessed a strong soul.
But that was only half of her soul!
Now, with the return of Princess Yu Shu's soul, Lin Zitong's soul was complete, and the cohesion of her soul had increased exponentially!
It was as if Lin Zitong's cultivation had doubled!
Good heavens, it's fortunate that I also had my epiphany, otherwise I truly wouldn't be able to keep up with that brat's cultivation progress!
Yan Shouyi was secretly relieved, believing that he was still slightly superior to Lin Zitong in terms of strength.
At the same time, the last stone weighing on his heart was lifted. With the return of Princess Yu Shu's soul, Lin Zitong was no longer in mortal danger!
"Right, the bone chain..."
Yan Shouyi released his hand, and Lin Zitong also opened her palm. The bone chain lay quietly in her palm, exuding a chilling aura.
"The bone chain is made from Princess Yu Shu's spine, and it has been nurtured by her soul for a thousand years. Strictly speaking, it is an ill-omened object," Lin Zitong said.
Yan Shouyi frowned, "Then how should we dispose of it?"
"I don't want to throw it away," Lin Zitong stated her thoughts.
Yan Shouyi pondered for a moment, then his gaze happened to fall upon the soul-summoning bell on Lin Zitong's wrist.
He had an idea and said softly, "Lend me your soul-summoning bell, Shu Ling Snake, and the bone chain for a day."
"Okay."
Lin Zitong unhesitatingly removed the three items and handed them to Yan Shouyi with complete trust.
Yan Shouyi asked in surprise, "Why didn't you even ask me what I plan to do?"
"You wouldn't do anything that would harm me anyway," Lin Zitong stuck out her tongue.
"You truly are... you brat."
Yan Shouyi smiled helplessly and put away the three treasures.
He intended to give Lin Zitong a surprise and couldn't tell her for the time being.
"Big fool, Lian He is still inside me," Lin Zitong reminded him. "She said she doesn't want to leave yet and wants to serve me for a few more years."
As Princess Yu Shu's maid, Lian He was loyal to her princess. If Princess Yu Shu waited for General Qing Jiang for a thousand years, then Lian He had simultaneously waited for both General Qing Jiang and Princess Yu Shu.
Lian He had also wanted to appear just now and say a few words to Princess Yu Shu, but she could not bear to interrupt the beautiful moment between them.
It was only at the last moment that Princess Yu Shu quietly said a few words to Lian He in her heart.
Despite this, Lian He was already extremely satisfied.
Yan Shouyi thought for a moment and said, "Let Lian He stay. Although her soul is not complete, I can nourish it with the horse lantern, so she should be able to remain in the mortal world for quite some time."
Lin Zitong nodded.
"Actually, General Qing Jiang also left me a few words before he departed," Yan Shouyi said mysteriously.
Lin Zitong was taken aback. "What did he say?"
"It's good news and bad news, I suppose," Yan Shouyi said. "The bad news is that General Qing Jiang said the Grand Tutor will not give up. Our destinies have long been intertwined with his, so even if our journey to the imperial tomb is a great victory, we must still be extremely cautious in the future."
Lin Zitong nodded slightly, her expression thoughtful. "The Grand Tutor has profound cultivation. Perhaps he will also preserve his true form and reincarnate like Jiang Wusheng, or perhaps he has already infiltrated our vicinity."
"So we still need to be very careful from now on."
Yan Shouyi paused and then said, "The good news is that before General Qing Jiang departed, he transformed the malevolent energy within him into True Dragon Purple Qi."
Yan Shouyi opened his hand, and a faint purple aura swirled in his palm.
Lin Zitong, also a possessor of True Dragon Purple Qi, immediately recognized it. "Does that mean all the malevolent energy in your body has been converted into True Dragon Purple Qi?"
"About half of it," Yan Shouyi shrugged. "Malevolent energy and purple qi are not mutually exclusive. Look at Qin Shi Huang; he killed so many people, yet he was still surrounded by True Dragon Purple Qi."
Lin Zitong nodded. Throughout history, what emperor's hands were not stained with blood? Even those praised by later generations as wise rulers occasionally had to resort to certain measures to stabilize their courts.
A combination of benevolence and power was the fundamental basis for imperial stability.
In the final moments before General Qing Jiang's soul dispersed, transforming part of the True Dragon Purple Qi for Yan Shouyi was also leaving him a trump card.
If he encountered an opponent he couldn't defeat in the future, he could first use the malevolent energy to enhance his own strength. If he still couldn't win, then he would have to use the True Dragon Purple Qi to sever the opponent's fate.
Just like killing Huo Ban.
With this, Yan Shouyi's strength experienced another significant leap!
He vaguely felt that he was now not much weaker than Chu Wu, and even if he faced Shi Jing and a host of ghost kings head-on, he would have the strength to fight.
Recalling back in Qiantang, Yan Shouyi could only deal with one ghost king even with all his might, and that wasn't even the most powerful Yu Jinbo.
Thinking of this, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but feel proud. He reached out and squeezed Lin Zitong's cheek, laughing.
"You brat, don't forget you're the rich lady who's supposed to be keeping me, but the gap in our strength is growing bigger and bigger!"
Lin Zitong, unwilling to be outdone, sneered and touched her flat abdomen, saying, "If you dare to bully me, I'll bully your baby."
Yan Shouyi: "..."
Why did I feel like my lifeline was in someone else's hands?
The moment children were mentioned, Yan Shouyi's gaze softened considerably. He said softly, "I swear, I will protect both of you."
He dared not speak too loudly, as if he might disturb the sleeping child, even though this child was still just a rice-sized embryo.
Lin Zitong chuckled, "How do you know there's only one in my belly? What if it's twins or a boy and a girl?"
"One step at a time. One child is enough for now; two would be too much trouble," Yan Shouyi said. "Don't you remember when we were in Rongcheng and Old Wang left Zhi Lai with us to take care of, and the teacher called every day for home visits?"
Lin Zitong's expression tensed, and she immediately felt the pressure of being a mother.
Speaking of Wang Zhi Lai, this mute young boy who could foresee the future, everyone had temporarily left him at Longhu Mountain out of fear that Li Genmiao would target him again.
With Yu Luming and the elders of Longhu Mountain protecting him, Wang Zhi Lai would undoubtedly be safe.
After all, Longhu Mountain could be considered the safest place in the entire Xuanmen.