"..."
Zhao Rong slightly furrowed his brow and pondered for a while, but still couldn't find any clues.
Moreover, he had actually checked his clothing when he had awoken and hadn't carried any jade items on his person.
Had he forgotten something important?
His eyelids twitched, sensing something ominous…
Lingfei lowered her gaze and waited for a moment, but seeing no response from the person in front of her, she lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
One high, one low.
The woman's brows slightly furrowed, Zhao Rong apprehensive.
"Where is the Jade Token?"
The woman asked earnestly.
"..."
"Where is my Jade Token?"
The woman repeated. Her voice grew colder, like a thousand-year-old unmelted peak.
"What Jade Token are you talking about?" Zhao Rong's scalp tingled under her gaze, but he still looked at her sincerely.
I would also like to understand the situation, um, the Jade Token you mentioned, is it important…
"That is my Jade Token."
The woman looked up at him and said, word by word.
Zhao Rong opened his mouth but remained silent. He didn't know how to respond.
Lingfei was silent.
Seemingly realizing something.
She sniffed, her eyes like autumn waters examined him for a while and then she looked away no more.
Loosening her tightly clenched hand, she suddenly rose and strode outside, her face expressionless.
Zhao Rong hastily stepped aside to let her pass, standing still and foolishly watching her retreating figure.
Her garment was an intricately ornate phoenix robe, her tall stature and slender waist accentuated by her straight, graceful back, her head held high like a swan, she pushed through the door without looking back.
Zhao Rong took a while to come to his senses. Had she been angered?
Eh, should I go after her? But what would I say if I caught up…
What's this?
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark object on the carpet. Bending down to pick it up, it was a black Jade Token.
The Jade Token was entirely black without any impurities, the surface smooth and warmly polished, the carving exquisitely lifelike, yet not symmetrical. On one side was an unknown mystic bird, and the other side engraved with a few words…
"How do I send my thoughts of love?" he murmured softly.
Could this be the Jade Token she was talking about? No, the multi-colored ribbon attached to it looked somewhat familiar…
So she had been clutching this black Jade Token in her hand. Zhao Rong suddenly realized.
Was this related to the Jade Token she had been asking about?
"Miss, Miss!"
Suddenly, a crisp shout came from outside the corridor. Footsteps started, then halted.
He turned to look, and a round-faced girl stood at the doorway. She bent over, supporting her knees, panting as she called, "Miss, where are you going? It's so late, wait for me~"
Then, the round-faced girl leaned into the room, glaring at the cause of all the trouble, and indignantly exclaimed, "Stupid Rong'er! Why did you make Miss angry again? Didn't you promise me you wouldn't bully Miss anymore?"
Zhao Rong: "???"
Where had he bullied her! Wasn't it her who kept asking some inexplicable question, demanding some mysterious jade, and then left inexplicably on her own?
Before he could even begin to defend himself, the girl threw out a "Hmph, I'll ignore you forever," and ran off in a flurry.
This girl, Zhao Rong shook his head with a wry smile, what oddities had he encountered tonight... She must be Zhao Qian'er, Lingfei's personal maid.
The three of them had grown up together, closely bonded. Due to issues arising from him becoming Lingfei's husband, conflict arose with Zhao Lingfei, but Qian'er had always been trying to mediate between them, playing the peacemaker…
"You aren't worthy of her."
"Who?" Zhao Rong looked around frantically, the room empty, the outside silent. Was he hearing things?
The next second, his hair stood on end.
"You're not hallucinating,"
the voice repeated. "You're not worthy of her."
Zhao Rong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and carefully listen and discern.
"Her Sword Heart just shattered."
The voice, accompanied by a light laugh, echoed in Zhao Rong's mind again. It was raspy and gender-neutral, sounding like the grinding of sand by seawater at low tide, deep and desolate.
It continued, "However, it's actually a good thing. For a woman practicing swordsmanship, only by reaching 'Supreme Forget Love' can she achieve Great Tranquility."
"The way of the sword is profound, human hearts are unfathomable, and the Sword Heart should not be tainted by even a speck of worldly dust. She originally had a mind as clear as crystal. After this, by cutting off personal attachments and reforming her Sword Heart... heh, although you're useless, you ended up doing a good thing without holding her back."
Zhao Rong: "..."
"So you came just to mock me?" Zhao Rong narrowed his eyes and thought.
He didn't speak this time.
The voice paused and then asked, "You're not afraid of me anymore?"
Hearing this, Zhao Rong felt even less anxious.
He ignored the voice. Instead, he straightened the clothes he was still not quite used to, walked to the door, closed the door that the woman had pushed open, picked up the wine jar that fell to the floor, placed it on the Eight Immortals table inside the room, and casually picked up an elegant purple clay teapot to pour himself a cup of tea to quench his thirst.
This tea was a bit astringent. He suddenly missed the 'Happy Fat House Water'...
"Interesting, no wonder you have no cultivation but dare to live off a woman," the voice echoed in his mind again.
Zhao Rong smiled but didn't refute.
"How should I address you?" He put down the teacup, lightly thought to himself, then began to fiddle with the Mystic Bird Jade Poem Card.
Upon closer inspection, he found the Jade Token even more extraordinary. It emitted a delicate fragrance, serene and profound, inexplicably reminding him of Qinglian, admirable from afar but not to be desecrated up close.
He had smelled it on someone a short while ago.
Upon touching it more, the jade slightly warmed. He began to grow fond of it.
The voice fell silent for a moment.
"...Call me Gui," it finally said.
"Nice name," Zhao Rong quipped, continuing to play with the Jade Token.
Seeming to perceive his distraction and nonchalance, Gui curiously said, "Hey, kid, aren't you afraid of me? Don't you want to know how I'm communicating with you?"
"Afraid of what? If you really meant harm, would you be talking so much?"
Zhao Rong stopped his actions, picked up the cup and took a sip of tea, "As for how you're speaking to me, well, you're either some powerful being transmitting your voice over great distances, or you're some fallen existence, only a remnant soul residing within my body or this Jade Token in my hand. Either could be speaking in my Sea of Consciousness."
Zhao Rong paused, "I'm more inclined to believe the latter. So, which one are you?"
Gui: "..."
Trying to scare me? Zhao Rong smirked.
Being reborn, I know all the clichés; you must be my golden finger, not looking like a system but rather an accompanying grandfather or grandmother?
Probably so. Sigh, how depressing. I just wanted to quietly be a salted fish, live off a woman, take in the sights of this world, occasionally act as a literate thief, plagiarize some articles, compose a famous poem, gain a bit of fame, leisurely enjoy this life.
But now,
no sooner had I arrived than I drove my lady away, and now here's an accompanying grandfather emerging, probably going to tempt, encourage, and supervise my cultivation, starting an epic of a useless person becoming legendary.
Sigh, so cliché, life is truly both dull and tiresome ..."
Gui no longer wanted to speak, because it was boring; the novelty of awakening had faded. However, to confirm some important matters, it decided to take the initiative,
"Where is this?"
"You haven't answered my question yet."
After a thoughtful pause, Gui answered truthfully, "I am in one of your seven chakras, the brow chakra to be exact, indeed speaking to you within your Sea of Consciousness. I am not a remnant soul; the state is quite special but about the same... "
It paused, self-mockingly added, "If you died, I would also be erased... now it's your turn."
Zhao Rong nodded calmly. Bound to the host? Likely, but he couldn't fully trust it, not ruling out the possibility of it harboring intentions of possession or other malice. He must stay alert!
"This place is Duke Mansion in Qianjing of the Great Chu Dynasty."
He thought for a moment, then added, "Great Chu seems to be located in Wangque Continent."
His mother had mentioned this to him when he was young. She had also said that Zhao Rong's hometown wasn't here but in the distant Southern Tranquility State...
"Qianjing, Qian? Interesting, interesting."
"Wangque, Wangque... I've actually returned to the Xuanhuang Realm!"