"Sigh! The Liu family is of the Wood element, but fortunately, you have Water in your fate. Otherwise, with your two sons' names containing Fire, you wouldn't be able to control them! As for your wife, she should avoid being too close to the two boys. Her surname is Lin, which is also Wood, and Fire overcomes Wood." Qing Shan continued, then asked, "Has your wife prepared everything?"
As they spoke, the previously pitch-black sky began to change, as if a black wooden board had been struck and cracked. Golden cracks began to spread, growing larger and larger.
Then, a loud thunderclap echoed through the sky. Seeing this phenomenon, Qing Shan thought, *It's said that whenever the Nine-Five aura descends, this kind of sight will occur. It seems I have truly encountered it. Sigh, one can only do what is within their power and follow the will of heaven. The will of heaven cannot be defied! All I can do is my best.*
"Great Supreme Lord, urgently as ordered, the Five Elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—combine to assist. Rise!" Qing Shan rapidly made one hand gesture after another, the symbols changing continuously. Once he finished the final gesture, he threw a golden talisman into the air.
The golden talisman slowly rose into the sky above the courtyard. At each of the four corners of the Fengyuan Escort Bureau, a different colored talisman rose into the air. The five talismans resonated with each other above the bureau, with the central gold talisman beginning the array, while the other four gradually turned a dark color. Under Qing Shan's direction, one talisman flew toward the golden crack in the sky.
This talisman array was called the "Five Element Celestial Shield." It had no offensive or defensive abilities; its only function was to deceive heaven and conceal the truth.
Qing Shan's method was simple: he raised the array high enough to block the view of the Nine-Five aura from the people of Yan City. As the Nine-Five aura descended, the array would wrap around it, ensuring that the people couldn't see the phenomenon. If they did, they wouldn't know what it was—at most, they might think it was thunder and lightning.
However, Qing Shan had underestimated the Nine-Five aura and its power. Just as the array was about to block the crack in the sky, two golden heads emerged from it—one a dragon's head, the other a phoenix crown.
"Heavens! The Nine-Five aura has manifested as a dragon and phoenix descending upon the world!" Qing Shan suddenly became flustered. He had originally thought that only the Nine-Five aura would descend, but instead, the golden dragon and phoenix had appeared.
Qing Shan immediately grabbed five more talismans from the table, infused them with his spiritual energy, and threw them into the air. The five talismans quickly formed another "Five Element Celestial Shield" to counter the celestial phenomenon.
But the light from the golden dragon and phoenix was far too powerful for someone like Qing Shan, a beginner in cultivation, to cover.
Perhaps due to the two layers of the "Five Element Celestial Shield," the golden dragon and phoenix, sensing the tiny trace of Nine-Five energy within Lin Wan's womb, were slightly delayed. After breaking through the first shield, they hesitated for a moment before breaking through the second shield and heading straight for Lin Wan's birthing chamber. As the golden dragon and phoenix passed through the second shield and entered the room, a baby's cry immediately echoed from the delivery room.
"Yiqing, it seems I have failed," Qing Shan said, his voice filled with regret. "The light of the golden dragon and phoenix must have illuminated a thousand miles around Yan City. It's impossible to hide it now."
At this point, Qing Shan was drenched in sweat. "Is heaven truly going to destroy the Liu family?"
Sighing, Qing Shan tried to comfort Liu Yiqing. "Heaven's will is hard to defy. Perhaps there is another purpose behind all of this. Let's go and check on your wife and the two children."
With a sigh of resignation, the two of them made their way toward the delivery room, which was also the master bedroom of Liu Yiqing and his wife.
As soon as Liu Yiqing and Qing Shan opened the door, they heard cries from inside the room. Liu Yiqing was puzzled. "Could it be that the people in the delivery room have been scared senseless? No, that's not possible! The midwife and the maidservants had been instructed beforehand to remain calm no matter what strange phenomenon occurred. They were told the Taoist priest had come to perform a blessing ceremony for the child to be born and any celestial signs were just a good omen. Could something have happened to my wife?!"
Thinking this, Liu Yiqing rushed into the room in a panic. Since Qing Shan couldn't enter, he waited outside.
The servants inside, upon seeing their master enter, immediately knelt down and continued to cry.
"What's going on? Why are you all crying?!" Liu Yiqing demanded as he rushed to his wife's bed. His anxiety eased when he saw Lin Wan, who had just given birth. Although her face was pale, she was breathing steadily and fast asleep.
Liu Yiqing was even more confused. He scolded them, "Have you all been frightened into stupidity? The madam is fine, isn't she?!"
"Master, it's not the madam. It's the third young miss. She passed away right after birth."
"What?!" Liu Yiqing's face immediately turned pale.
The midwife, crying, explained, "The third young miss was born well, not crying. Then, there was a flash of golden light in the room. After the fourth young master was born, the third young miss stopped breathing. I thought it was because the birth fluids weren't cleared properly, so I turned her over and patted her several times, but she still didn't breathe. When I checked, it seemed like her body had no heartbeat."
"What do you mean by a 'flash of golden light,' and that after the fourth young master was born, the young miss stopped breathing?" Qing Shan suddenly rushed into the room and asked the midwife.
"Qing Shan, what are you doing…" Liu Yiqing froze. Traditionally, only the husband is allowed in the delivery room, and no one else should enter, especially not a Taoist priest. But Qing Shan had barged in. Liu Yiqing looked at him with a reproachful gaze.
"Yiqing, this matter is too important, I couldn't hold back. I will apologize later," Qing Shan said to Liu Yiqing.
"Quick, let me see the baby boy!" A maid quickly took the baby from the cradle and handed it to Qing Shan. After looking at the baby, Qing Shan gasped and took a step back, saying, "A reverse-heavenly being! Heavens!"
"Qing Shan, you…?" Liu Yiqing was completely baffled. He couldn't understand what could make Qing Shan so surprised. He took the baby from the maid and looked at him carefully.
The baby was lying in Liu Yiqing's arms with his eyes tightly shut, not crying or fussing, and his features were delicate and charming, just like any other newborn. But as Liu Yiqing looked further down, he saw something extraordinary. On the baby's abdomen, two golden birthmarks glowed brightly, resembling a dragon and a phoenix.
"The Nine-Five aura of the golden dragon and phoenix has entered your son's body! Your son now carries both the dragon and phoenix spirits. This has never happened since the beginning of time! How is this not a reverse-heavenly being?! If people find out about this child, not only will he be unable to be crowned emperor in this world, but even the immortals in heaven will not tolerate him!" Qing Shan said, his voice shaking with excitement.
Upon hearing Qing Shan's words, Liu Yiqing was so frightened that he collapsed to his knees. "Master Daoist! Please, save my Liu family!"
Qing Shan let out a cold laugh. "Haha! My Daoist cultivation is shallow. I myself... How could I possibly..." He paused, then sighed. "Fine! Fine! Everything is my fault for delaying the Nine-Five aura for a moment. All the sins will fall upon me. Yiqing, if you want the Liu family to survive this calamity, you must do two things. First, from today onward, the escort bureau must operate quietly; do not make any public displays. Second, quickly send someone to find the body of a male infant of the same size. If anyone asks, you must say that the male infant passed away and that the female infant survived. The boy's body must be hidden in a remote place. You must never allow him to learn literature or martial arts. You must not let him come into contact with anyone!"
After saying this, Qing Shan turned and walked out of the room without looking back.
"Qing Shan! Qing Shan!" Liu Yiqing hurriedly followed, but there was no trace of Qing Shan left in the courtyard.
"Reverse-heavenly being, a dragon and phoenix combined…" Liu Yiqing stood in the dark night, repeating these words over and over again, staring into the blackness.
Six months later, Liu Yiqing received a letter written by Qing Shan. It read:"I, Qing Shan, have defied heaven's will by hiding the Nine-Five aura, causing the female child to pass away and bringing forth the dragon and phoenix combined form. I have committed a great crime against heaven and know that my time is drawing near. I hereby revisit this matter: the dragon and phoenix combined form cannot be allowed to remain in the world; it cannot be released to the outside world.Please remember this.
After reading the letter, Liu Yiqing hurried up the mountain, only to learn that Qing Shan had passed away three months ago.
The boy pouted and replied, "Hmph! They won't even care about me! I'm not their treasure."
Yan'er, now ten, was at the age where he understood everything. The lies they had told for the past ten years no longer worked.
"Alright then! Yan'er, look at what I've prepared for you!" Xiuning said, changing the subject. "I've made your favorite osmanthus cake and pine nut pastry!"
"Wow! Great! You're the best, Xiuning Jie!" Yan'er's face lit up with joy.
"Eat slowly, don't choke."