Chapter 141 What Is a Promise?

The sunlight was warm and gentle, flowing through the gaps in the branches and leaves of the two flowering trees in front of the museum, then cascading onto the ground. The winter morning sunlight carried a sense of clarity. At this time, the flowering trees should have withered long ago, with even the leaves on the branches falling to the ground, making a crisp and drawn-out sound under the feet of passersby.

But now, the flowering trees were still in full bloom.

As if some mystical power had changed the temperature and climate of this area.

Even on a snowy winter day, flowers could bloom as vibrantly as in their prime.

*Whoosh—*

The light-colored curtains were drawn open, and sunlight streamed through the clear glass into the room, dispelling the cold and harshness of winter, leaving only the warmth of the sun itself. The room was decorated in warm tones, with a deep burgundy carpet and simply colored bedding.

Jue's long hair was unbound, cascading down her back like a waterfall.

She gently pressed her hands against the window sill. Sunlight fell into her eyes, giving her hazel pupils a translucent, amber-like quality. The flowering trees outside the window came into view, and wisteria vines in full bloom filled her sight. The girl stretched languidly, and as no one was around, and with magic concealing her from outside gazes, a lazy, cat-like "hmm" escaped her lips, the final note drawn out.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and the sleeves of her pajamas slipped down, revealing a section of her fair arm.

Then, she exhaled softly and gently patted her face to wake herself up.

Well.

A new day begins.

The morning's schedule began.

Jue gathered water-attribute Yuan Qi to wash up. After dressing in light-colored clothing, she left her black hair loose, only using a crimson hair tie to weave it into the strands. Her beauty was extraordinary. As she walked down the sunlit street, holding a bouquet of flowers, the purple wisteria flowers blooming on the trees on both sides swayed gently in the breeze.

Overhead, the power lines of the old street crisscrossed, dividing the blue sky into large patches of clear color.

A flock of birds flew past.

*Creak—*

The wooden door was pushed open, and the bell hanging from the door rang crisply.

Inside the Zhenyao Museum, the Water Ghost was still there, and so was the War Soul.

The two little paper figures had also returned.

Master was still there, while the Qilin had given up his title as one of the four guardians of the Ruins of归墟 (Gui Xu, the mythological primordial sinkhole).

He had returned to the museum to serve his teacher faithfully.

As the bell rang, they all looked up. After Wei Yuan left, even Mother Vodka didn't know where she had gone. Although it was said that one of the two little paper figures had somehow returned, the atmosphere inside the entire museum was still heavy and oppressive.

The wooden door was pushed open, and the girl's black hair lifted slightly as golden sunlight streamed in through the crack in the door.

The arrival of the Heavenly Maiden seemed to dispel much of the oppressive atmosphere in the house.

It once again became somewhat lively.

She comforted the War Soul and the Water Ghost, brought Master what he needed, and personally prepared some food.

And throughout this process, layers of ripples constantly appeared before the Heavenly Maiden's eyes. She was using her laws and divine powers to communicate with the gods of the mountains, rivers, and earth veins of the entire human realm, addressing the issues of these mountain and water gods. This was what she had promised when she gathered the mountain and water gods.

The War Soul had not re-established contact with Lu Wu, but when he passed by the quiet room, he sighed, "He still hasn't returned." This quiet room was still empty. It had been some time since Wei Yuan had left, and he had not returned yet, which inevitably added to the feeling of desolation.

The Qilin looked at the place where Wei Yuan usually read and drew talismans.

In the pottery on the table, there was a bouquet of flowers. Dewdrops still clung to the petals, full of vitality. "Today's flowers are different again..."

The Qilin murmured, "She comes every day, and she comes here every day to change the flowers. In this way, if Senior Brother returns, he will be able to see the flowers sent from across the street immediately. Although it is not a big deal, it is even more difficult to do it every day."

He heard a burst of

loud laughter

resounding in his ears.

It was hearty and unrestrained, yet carried a sense of composure.

Turning his head, he saw Master sitting in the main seat, laughing at something, while the girl on the side had a smile on her face, her expression gentle and calm. She was no longer as she used to be, but for some reason, it gave the Qilin a complex feeling.

After chatting with Master for a while, Jue got up to take her leave.

When she came out, many earth vein and mountain and water gods of the human realm were already waiting for her.

She spent an hour resolving issues such as earth vein congestion, mountain and river transformations, and the spiritual energy connection between the Great Wilderness and the human realm, as well as the various problems that resulted from it. Then, she left amidst the thanks of the many mountain gods.

She declined the Taishan Mountain God's offer to leave a place of worship for the Yuanshi Heavenly Lord.

Instead, she thanked everyone on his behalf and mentioned,

he was not the kind of person who liked offerings and positions of honor. He appreciated everyone's good intentions, and in the future, they could send some of the local specialties from their respective regions. There was no need to mention offerings again. Many of the mountain and water gods secretly wanted to use the name of the Yuanshi Heavenly Lord to build their own influence during this time of great change in the world. However, when they saw that the Heavenly Maiden was smiling, her eyes gentle but without any possibility of compromise, they had to give up on this idea.

She then went to the Ruins of Gui Xu to clear the passages to the myriad realms.

Although there had been a fall in the Ruins of Gui Xu before, and Wei Yuan had left, many remaining problems still needed to be dealt with. These required someone powerful and prestigious enough to suppress those with ulterior motives.

She also discussed with Zhuge Wu Hou how to connect the Ruins of Gui Xu, the human realm, and the Great Wilderness using the method of the Light Xuan Mirror.

In the afternoon, she went to Mount Buzhou to pay her respects.

On behalf of Wei Yuan, she resolved the accumulated affairs of the Jade Void Palace on Mount Buzhou.

She met with Jingwei, Ye Ming, and other disciples, as well as Jia Yi.

To maintain order.

She returned to the human realm.

She mobilized many mountain and water gods to change the earth veins and aura, causing Longhu Mountain to reappear in the world within ten days, without interfering with the earth veins and spiritual energy of other regions. She suppressed the potential consequences of this action to the extreme.

Then, she went up the mountain to see Nuwa.

It was not until after sunset that she was able to relax. When she returned to the Zhenyao Museum, the girl exhaled softly, raised her eyes, and saw the red light reflected by the flowering trees under the warm sunset, which made them seem even more dreamlike. Jue walked step by step, holding a notebook in her arms, stepping lightly.

As if stepping on squares, one step, one step.

*Ding-ding, ding-ding—*

It was the sound of a bicycle bell.

A young man rode a bicycle, carrying a girl away quickly.

Modern technology and the supernatural were developing simultaneously, and could be described as changing with each passing day. Everyone was chasing after the future with increasing urgency, and the pace of life was getting faster and faster. However, this old street seemed to have been left behind in this era of increasing speed. Smoke rose under the sunset, sparrows chirped on the power lines, and a girl in a light-colored long dress walked step by step, holding a diary in her arms.

Passing neighbors greeted her with a smile.

She replied with a smile as well.

Seeing that the lights in the quiet room of the Zhenyao Museum were not yet lit, the girl paused.

Then, she returned to the flower shop across from the museum, but unexpectedly, there were already guests in the house. It was Yu Ji and Bai Suzhen. Jue was a little surprised, and then invited them in with a smile, leading them upstairs, and personally making tea for them.

Yu Ji was still dressed in red, fiery as ever. Her eyes swept around, looking at the girl who was helping to make tea in front of her, and said, "...Jue, you really are busy these days."

"It's getting harder and harder to find you for a chat."

"Um, I've been a little busy lately, I'm really sorry..."

The girl said apologetically, handing over a mug with a cute pattern on it. Inside was hot black tea, with sugar added, which suited Yu Ji's taste even more. She held the cup with her fingers, and the faint coldness from walking along the ten-mile-long street in winter dissipated. She said,

"What have you been busy with these days?"

Jue sat down in the wicker chair, paused for a moment, and then said with a smile, "Just doing some ordinary things."

"Just ordinary things?"

After chatting for a while, the two left. Jue sent them off, walking to the door to watch them leave, but suddenly heard a voice, "Don't you really feel wronged?" The voice was calm. It should have been a frivolous personality, but now it had a hint of lowliness.

The Water Ghost, or rather, Kai Ming, leaned against the flowering tree with his arms crossed.

The setting sun was blood-red, and his eyes flowed with purple light. He said,

"Lu Wu asked me to ask you. You are here, taking care of the order of the human realm, Gui Xu, Kunlun, and even Mount Buzhou. If it weren't for you, these complicated matters would have surged like a tide. It's all because you're here that things can still operate as they did when he didn't leave."

"That guy doesn't know where he's gone."

"Do you not regret it?"

These words were very solemn, and Yu Ji and Bai Suzhen in the distance seemed to stop.

But perhaps it was just an illusion.

Jue raised her eyes to look at Kai Ming in front of her, or perhaps she also saw Lu Wu, who had instructed Kai Ming to come here.

It seemed like it was still thousands of years ago. At that time, she still felt a sense of suppression in front of them, as if she could only obey their orders and arrangements. But when she met them again now, for some reason, it was more gentle than she had imagined.

"Why should I regret it? Or rather, it seems you've misunderstood something, Kai Ming."

The girl smiled slightly and extended her hand, her voice gentle:

"It's not that he's out there running around, and I'm here dealing with these matters."

"We have already made a promise."

She quietly spoke these words, her hazel eyes looking directly at Kai Ming in front of her. This promise was not just a simple summary of the long experience from the past to the present, as Kai Ming thought. At least, it was not entirely so.

The order was reversed to some extent.

This was a vow for this life, an agreement that would last until the end of life.

This vow also included the distant future.

So, all they needed to do now was to start from now and move towards the end of that vow with composure. The girl stood under the flowering tree, looking at Kai Ming in front of her, and simply replied, "We have agreed on the future, agreed on what will happen afterwards. Yuan is in a certain place, facing danger and crisis, and he will do everything in his power to break through these obstacles and reach the end of our agreement."

"He is like that, and so am I."

"So, that's all there is to it. There's nothing to regret or feel wronged about."

"You're overthinking it."

The girl's voice was warm and clear, and Kai Ming lowered his eyes.

The purple light in his eyes changed, as if he had seen layers of the past.

The first time they met in the early days of ancient times, she was a humble potter, and he was a high and mighty Heavenly Maiden.

He was the wooden boy driving the green ox, carrying the girl who had been frightened to tears on his back. He was the elite warrior of Qin kneeling in front of the naive girl, reaching out and handing her his mother's relic, vowing that he would save her once in the future. He was the one who took care of the lonely old man who had lost his teacher, his friends, his younger brother, and his disciples in the waning years of the Three Kingdoms...

Countless scenes seemed to unfold before Kai Ming's eyes.

And in the end, it seemed that their appearances had also erased the differences of time, and they were the same age, and then unfolded like a painting in front of them—

It was as if the young potter was pointing at the toys in front of him, and the girl next to him was resting her chin on her hand.

It was the naive boy riding the green ox, carrying the equally naive Heavenly Maiden on his back.

And then there was the heroic young man holding a sword, practicing swordsmanship, and the girl of the same age standing on the bluestone, expressionless...

...

Layers upon layers, one scene after another, and even in the future, it was the same.

Between you and me, there is no longer any distinction.

In the timeline where Wei Yuan Jun returned, Wei Yuan fell, and Jue was running around to find his traces, and eventually fell as well. In that era of brilliant and magnificent mythology, an unprecedented era of cultivation, one top expert after another roamed the era, leaving behind one brilliant and magnificent legend after another.

And in the epics of countless heroes, the trace of the Kunlun Heavenly Maiden to the Taoist crowned with the name of Yuanshi cannot be separated, and the fragmented record makes people sigh every time they catch a glimpse of it.

If Wei Yuan was lost in a dangerous place and died,

The girl in front of her would appease and pacify everything, and then

raise her sword to avenge him.

She would look for the possibility of bringing him back to life.

Until she finally died in a determined way.

In that thirty thousand years later, everything was still the same, the mountains and rivers were still the same, the bright moon was still the same, and the red dust of the world was rolling on as usual. Only the Jade Void Palace no longer had a Heavenly Lord, and there was no longer a trace of that long wind between heaven and earth.

Kai Ming knew the ending of this story.

Wei Yuan knew.

Only the girl in front of him did not know.

Kai Ming lowered his eyes and said, "...Very well."

He raised his head, and for the first time, he sincerely prayed for something, hoping that Wei Yuan could return safely. And he suddenly understood the meaning of a poem, "I only wish your heart is like my heart."

"I will certainly not fail your longing."

At this moment, Jue suddenly paused slightly, sensing the fluctuation and ripples of spiritual energy. A hint of joy and surprise appeared on her face. She took out the talisman that transmitted messages extremely quickly, and after opening it, specks of spiritual light scattered out. Then, her expression paused slightly:

"This message is from Tushan?"

It was a message from the Tushan Clan.

Or rather, an urgent message from Nujiao of the Tushan Clan.

It was the one that Nujiao had given her for easy contact, and there were still seven days before the agreed date.

Could it be that a guest had arrived?

And there was only one line on this letter—

【Rude guest, great danger, come quickly to Tushan】