Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1857 The Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty 17

Song Yuzhi was still somewhat naive, or rather, had not yet been corrupted by power struggles. Therefore, she felt that her relationship with Kou Zhong should be based on mutual affection and should not involve any so-called power struggles. "If Kou Zhong only has a slight possibility with me when he decides to fight for supremacy, then I would rather not have such a marriage..."

Jiang Xinxin didn't think there was anything wrong with what Song Yuzhi said, but in the current world, it was probably still impossible for her and Kou Zhong to have a relationship. Even though the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai was more than a hundred years earlier than it is now, in the world after the Eastern Jin Dynasty, men like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose backgrounds as beggars were too low, would find it very difficult to be matched with a noble lady like Song Yuzhi.

Jiang Xinxin wouldn't say anything to spoil the mood, and she wasn't interested in Li Xiuning and the others' attempts to win over the Pegasus Ranch, especially since everyone was currently on high alert, preparing to face the Yin Queen Zhu Yuyan.

Lu Miaozi felt very heavy-hearted when he thought of the upcoming Empress Zhu Yuyan. Even though he knew very well that Zhu Yuyan's pursuit of Shi Zhixuan was not only because of love, but also because of their respective paths and their status in the Demonic Sect, he would naturally want to use every means at his disposal to defeat such a powerful enemy.

At this moment, Kou Zhong felt a pang of regret, so much so that he slapped himself twice in a row. "If only I hadn't urged Ling Shao to tell that she-devil Wanwan about the Evil King back then..."

Xu Ziling also felt a little regretful, but it was too late to say anything at this point. Everyone could only look forward. He still had to comfort Kou Zhong: "Young Master Zhong, what am I supposed to do with you like this? After all, I was the one who said those messages."

Worried about Xu Ziling's feelings, Kou Zhong could only turn his anger towards Wanwan: "To be honest, it's all that witch Wanwan's fault! If she hadn't kept pestering us and acting like she was deeply in love with our Young Master Ling, I wouldn't have taken pity on her and given in..."

Xu Ziling sighed helplessly, "Let's not talk about this now. We've already told Wanwan that the Evil King Shi Zhixuan is frozen somewhere, and the Evil Emperor's Relic is right in front of him. We don't know the exact location, but it seems that you, Senior Lu Miaozi, know."

Lu Miaozi sighed, "Back then, at Shi Zhixuan's request, I personally supervised the construction of the Evil Emperor's Tomb to prevent Shi Zhixuan from going astray and doing something irreversible. Since then, I have been living in seclusion. Now that I think about it, I'm afraid the arrival of you two lads is not an accident at all, but a summons for the upcoming opening of the Evil Emperor's Tomb."

Kou Zhongshun asked casually, "So, senior, where exactly is the Evil Emperor's tomb? It seems there are quite a few people searching for the Evil Emperor. Besides that Yin Empress Zhu Yuyan, isn't there also the Amorous Young Master Hou Xibai from the Flower Sect? Miss Xiuning also mentioned before that the Flower Sect has always been a single-lineage sect. Doesn't Hou Xibai want to find his master?"

Lu Miaozi looked at Kou Zhong with amusement, not minding to broaden his horizons. "If you say that Shi Zhixuan's disciple Hou Xibai is coming, then I dare to assert that the factor of Hou Xibai being the Evil Emperor's Relic is greater than the so-called master-disciple relationship between him and Shi Zhixuan."

Neither Kou Zhong nor Xu Ziling understood Lu Miaozi's words, but Li Xiuning and Shi Feixuan understood them very well. Li Xiuning explained to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling: "The Demonic Sect has a most heinous ritual called severing worldly ties. Their henchmen travel the world, and if they take a fancy to a talented child, they will kill the entire family, leaving only the child they have chosen..."

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never heard of such a terrible thing before, so Kou Zhong couldn't help but curse and swear. Xu Ziling was not good at arguing, and he just got so angry that his face turned red.

Jiang Xinxin glanced at Shi Feixuan and said, "Actually, I'm not very familiar with the so-called demonic sects or Buddhist sects, but it seems that most of the disciples of Cihang Jingzhai are people with few family ties..."

Shi Feixuan was angered by Jiang Xinxin's words. She wanted to refute them, even to scold them, but when she carefully recalled her fellow disciples, she had to admit that the disciples of Cihang Jingzhai were all people without worldly ties...

Xu Ziling naturally spoke up for Shi Feixuan: "Miss Jiang is overthinking it. Cihang Jingzhai is a nunnery, and it is only natural for them to adopt orphans. They don't need to sever their worldly ties like the Demonic Sect."

Song Yuzhi was so shocked by the sudden turn of events that she dared not speak, especially when she saw Jiang Xinxin just smile after hearing Xu Ziling's words. Her bad premonition became more and more obvious.

Shi Feixuan clearly understood that if the misunderstandings about Cihang Jingzhai weren't clarified today, it could very well lead to rumors detrimental to Cihang Jingzhai's reputation. Therefore, she stood up, respectfully clasped her hands in a fist and palm salute to Jiang Xinxin, and said, "Miss Jiang, Shi Feixuan is very grateful for your kindness in coming to my aid at my request. However, your speculation today will indeed tarnish Cihang Jingzhai's reputation, and Shi Feixuan cannot afford to be confused and careless—"

"Our Cihang Jingzhai is a sacred Buddhist site, and we have always taken the world as our responsibility. We always step forward to relieve the suffering of the people in times of chaos. We absolutely cannot associate ourselves with the evil demonic sects!"

Jiang Xinxin also stood up and returned the greeting with clasped hands, but still couldn't help but sigh, "Miss Shi, I never question your ideals. But you should understand one thing: on the land of the Central Plains Dynasty, no sect should or can interfere in the affairs of the court. Especially now that the world is in turmoil, it is understandable for the Taoist sect to raise a great cause. After all, the Taoist sect was founded by the people of the Central Plains themselves, and it has a long history and has precedents of raising great plans."

"The Buddhist sect does not possess the advantages that the Taoist sect has. Buddhism came from the west, and its doctrines have been modified many times to adapt to the people of this land. Furthermore, there are precedents of the persecution of Buddhism by the Three Wu and One Zong."

"But now, Cihang Jingzhai, as an outsider branch of Buddhism, has actually seized the He Shi Bi jade, a symbol of the unification of the world, and is loudly proclaiming itself as the one to choose a ruler on behalf of Heaven—"

"I dare say that if Cihang Jingzhai wins this battle, the entire Buddhist community will never have another chance to flourish."

Everyone was speechless, but Li Xiuning stepped forward and said to Shi Feixuan, "Miss Shi, Miss Jiang's words are not wrong at all. As the eldest daughter of the Li family, even though I outwardly hope that the He Shi Bi will fall into the hands of our Li family, I do harbor resentment towards Cihang Jingzhai's act of choosing a master on behalf of Heaven."

Shi Feixuan was getting anxious. Although she herself didn't understand politics very well, her master, Fan Qinghui, clearly did. And she herself had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood. With Jiang Xinxin and Li Xiuning speaking from experience, she felt anxious and aggrieved: "But what did we do wrong? We truly took the well-being of all people as our responsibility. We just wanted to end the chaos as soon as possible and restore peace to the world!"

Jiang Xinxin knew, of course, that Shi Feixuan was a typical idealist who put knowledge into practice, so she was happy to help Shi Feixuan: "Your ideals are not wrong, and your methods are not wrong either. The problem is that your Cihang Jingzhai is too arrogant."

"And arrogance is the original sin."