Chapter 28: Cloud City
The sky was barely bright, but the city gate of Hezhou had not yet opened. Several people sat outside the gate, and Qiuli suddenly felt a burning sensation at her throat. When she reached up to touch it, she realized it was the warm jade pendant that had been hanging around her neck all along. It seemed like this jade had been with her since before she possessed this body. She thought it might be a token from the Liu family, but it had never reacted in such an unusual way before. People said that jade was the most spiritual thing, so was it trying to tell her something? Qiuli suppressed the doubts in her mind for now, as her priority was to deal with these few men. She was afraid of death, but she was even more afraid that someone would die because of her. Although this trip might not be as dangerous as she had imagined, however...
"What qualifications do you have to decide where this young master goes? Anyway, this young master has made up his mind to follow you. Don't think about not taking me along." Zhu Chengxun turned his face away, looking like he was angry. What a stubborn kid! The so-called imperial noble is just an ordinary child after all. Actually, as soon as the words left Qī Liǔ's mouth, she regretted it. Since they came from afar in Shāzhōu to follow him, how could they be so easily sent back with just a few words? Was it really just because life was too boring that they followed him?"
It's rare for the normally taciturn Xiao Shi to speak up, but he did: "Anyway, it doesn't matter where I go, the more dangerous the place is, the more interesting it is, right?" This guy usually only says "oh", how come he suddenly has so much to say today.
"Seventh Young Master, Ah Guan doesn't want to go back either. If he goes back like this, he will definitely be scolded by Jing Young Master."
With a creak, the city gate opened wide and the five of them walked together, just like the magnificent entourage of the Western Heaven's scripture retrieval. The customs and people of this Hezhou were not much different from those of the Eastern Jin, and the small border towns were mostly gathering places for merchants from both countries. Except for a few individual merchants wearing traditional West Qin attire, the streets were filled with Eastern Jin merchants, while the West Qin attire was quite distinctive - embroidered white skin hats, loose-fitting long robes, and high-waisted leather boots, which were similar to the traditional clothing of the Uyghur people in past lives. Unfortunately, they didn't get to see any women wearing West Qin attire; those beautiful Uyghur women from past lives were truly breathtaking. In this era, women usually stayed indoors and rarely ventured out, after all.
But wherever there is a bustling market, there are always beggars, pickpockets and those who make a living by talking. That's why at this moment, an old fortune teller with a wooden staff and a paper lantern on it blocked Qi's way: "This old man sees that you have a bad aura around you, young master. Your journey west will be fraught with danger. May I have a word with you?"
Ah Guan gently tugged on Qi Mei's sleeve and whispered, "Young Master, why not listen to what he has to say? You've mentioned before that you often have nightmares, maybe it's because of some unclean thing that's been bothering you." Qi Mei, however, just smiled lightly and quickly pulled everyone away. If this fortune teller could really see into the heavens and know one's fate, then why did he call her "young master" from the start? A person who can't even tell male from female, how can his words be trusted? Now that they were all dressed in Eastern Jin attire, since they had come to Western Qin, of course they would be heading west. Did they still need to ask about their direction?
Zhu Chengxun and Xiao Shitou, on the other hand, looked incredulous. Only a superstitious person like Guan would believe such nonsense. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, the fortune teller couldn't help but laugh at himself. He turned in the direction of the departing crowd and sighed: "Since you have such a treasure, why should I worry about you anymore?"
They didn't stay long in Hezhou, and after stocking up on dry rations, they left the pass and headed further west. Not long after leaving the pass, Jia Lefu intercepted them again, this time dressed in official attire and repeatedly urging Zhu Chengyun to reconsider his actions. However, his words were still unable to deter that stubborn little kid, so from then on, Jia Lefu followed behind them like a bodyguard.
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The journey to Yun Zhong Cheng was a nightmare that those who experienced it firsthand would never forget for the rest of their lives. Many years later, Qi Liu wrote in a letter to her son as if telling another story: Human flesh is really not easy to eat, but small stones can be eaten so fragrantly. At first, Zhu Da Shao Ye smelled the smell and vomited nonstop, but we had to survive. Three months passed, and we wandered around the desert without even seeing a shadow of the city, nor could we find our way back. In the desert, we met again with the merchant group we encountered outside He Zhou City. Were they also searching for Yun Zhong Cheng? But neither side ever mentioned it. During these days, some companions fell into quicksand or were dragged away by giant sand snakes. When our dry rations were exhausted, the only food left was the people who died of thirst among us.
Every time I fell into danger, the warm jade would become scorching hot, and the sand snake would retreat as if electrocuted. It wasn't until then that I truly felt that this piece of jade might be a treasure. Those days were like every day was night, I knew there was no polar night in the desert, perhaps it was the swirling yellow sand that blocked out the sky. Despite our hunger, we left behind the only camel remaining in the group, everyone knew this was essential for survival. Ah Guan's little superstition prayed to heaven every day, but whenever his stomach growled, he would eat human flesh without hesitation. Is this the reason why God doesn't bless us? Even if I die here, having a prince accompany me in burial is still a gain. This kid thought he was hiding it well.
That day, we were all desperate because there was nothing to eat, not even human flesh. Everyone sat with their backs against each other, I don't know if they regretted following me in the first place. My vision went black and memories of my past life intertwined with this one. Death is such a wonderful feeling, I never belonged to this world anyway. Suddenly, I felt a piercing light, the wind stopped, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a magnificent crystal palace behind layers of clouds. Was it an illusion or a mirage? Maybe it was just an illusion, otherwise where did Xiaoshi and the others go?
That crystal palace is so real in front of me, I even try to step on the white jade stone steps to go up, but the feeling under my feet is real, I pick up the steps and go up just like walking on the stone steps of Zhongshan Mausoleum in my previous life. There are strange symbols on the gate outside the crystal palace, which are exactly the same as those on my jade piece. What kind of people live in the Crystal Palace? Are they fairy maidens from the upper world?
But when I really saw the master of the palace, all my fantasies about the city in the clouds were shattered. There was no fairy, only an old man who could make all sorts of strange things. This was not a crystal palace, and those dazzling lights were just glass reflecting sunlight. Yet, here gave me a sense of inexplicable intimacy. On the marble floor that could reflect people's shadows, I couldn't see who I was or where I was.
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