The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 666 Don't go looking for a fight! Don't provoke missiles!!!

Lou Yun clenched her fists, overwhelmed with grief and unsure of what to do. Just as Hulü Guang had said, what good would escaping do? What good would surviving do?

If you can live for one day, can you really live for ten days, a hundred days, five years, or ten years?

Hulü Guang has a large family in the capital, his brothers have large families in other places, and his daughter, the Empress, is in the palace... How could he save one person and so many others?

The emperor wants to kill him! They've already fallen so low that if he wants to save his life, he'll have to rebel! But what good will it do if he rebels?

The Gao family is not without famous ministers and generals. Prince Lanling is also a renowned general. If Hulü Guang dares to rebel, Prince Lanling can immediately lead his troops back to fight!

There were also external enemies. The Gao clan of Qi and the Yuwen clan of Zhou had been fighting each other along the Tongguan Pass for so many years. When Hulü Guang and Lanling Wang were locked in a fierce battle, the Yuwen clan dared to send troops immediately and wipe out the entire Qi clan!
Hulü Guang is already fifty-eight years old...

Lou Yun lowered his head, clenched his teeth, and felt so powerless for the first time—even with all the immortal techniques he had learned, he couldn't change the situation at all.

In fact, the immortal sects didn't even have a way to directly confront the imperial court. They could only do things secretly, and the emperor would turn a blind eye because the immortal sects possessed longevity elixirs.

If a serious battle breaks out, even a single roar from Hulü Guang can shake his immortal magic. With his army assembled and his military spirit soaring to the heavens, the immortal sects have no choice but to retreat!
He didn't move, but Shen Le did. She slowly squatted down and looked directly into the old general's eyes:

"Do you... have any other wishes?"

The atmosphere in the back room surged. Lou Yun suddenly looked up, pointed his fingers, and a white light from his fingertips transformed into a light screen, encircling Liu Taozhi and the others:

"Stay put! I don't want to kill you, and don't force me!"

A blinding light pressed directly against her neck, causing Liu Taozhi to shiver and freeze. Shen Le didn't even look up, focusing instead on gripping the old general's hand and desperately channeling warmth into his body.
"Just tell us what you need, and we'll do our best to help you with anything we can do."

"A wish..."

Hulü Guang lay on the ground, his breath growing weaker and weaker, yet he managed a slight smile. He raised his eyelids, looked at the two people before him, and grinned:

"By the way, what brings you here today?"

Shen Le was speechless. He couldn't very well say that he had come to find materials for making the Soul-Suppressing Figurines, could he?
In the imperial city, randomly find a bad guy you don't like and kill him to see if he's suitable material. If not, kill another one.
Then, hearing that someone wanted to harm Hulü Guang, and thinking, "I've got nothing better to do, so I thought I'd come and see some famous historical figures," I sneaked in to take a look.

"We've come to avenge his family." Fortunately, Lou Yun took over the conversation at this moment, steadily pointing to Shen Le:
"It's the Lu family, the ones who made the Soul-Suppressing Figurines. They were inexplicably wiped out last year. After taking their revenge, they heard they were trying to harm you, so they came to the palace to see what was going on..."

I tried to see if I could save your life, but unfortunately, I couldn't... I arrived safely, I tried my best, but still, nothing could be changed...

"The Soul-Suppressing Terracotta Warrior..."

Hulü Guang looked up and thought for a moment, then sighed softly. He no longer had the strength to nod; he lay in his pool of blood, his voice weak:
"Young man, how about we make a deal?"

"what?"

Lou Yun asked instinctively. Huli Guang replied calmly:
"I'll make the Soul-Suppressing Puppet. In return, you'll help me save someone—my youngest son. Take him far away and save his life, how about it?"

"How can this be done!"

Shen Le and Lou Yun blurted out simultaneously. Huli Guang smiled, too weak to speak, and simply stared at them. Shen Le gritted her teeth:

"Saving people? No problem! You don't need to sacrifice yourself! We'll take them away right away!"

Hulü Guang shook his head slightly. Those hands that once held the bow and arrow to shoot eagles clenched back, gripping Shen Le's fingers tightly amidst the blood-soaked ground.

"I am dying. If I can help more, if I can stabilize the fate of the nation..."

His voice grew softer and softer, and the last few words were barely audible, requiring Shen Le to concentrate fully on her ears to hear him clearly.

He desperately channeled his heat into the old man's palms, but he felt them growing colder and colder, and even his blood was getting cold. In the howling wind of Liangfeng Hall, he was almost as cold as a dead man.

Only those eyes remained fixed on him, unblinking, as if they wouldn't be able to rest in peace or breathe their last until they received a satisfactory answer.

"Ok."

Shen Le gritted his teeth and said resolutely. He stared into the old general's pleading eyes, gritting his teeth as he spoke each word slowly and deliberately:
"I agree."

Before he could finish speaking, his hand sank, and the old man's breath was gone. The fiery, howling aura emanating from his body slowly dissipated, rising into the palace and disappearing without a trace.

With a thud, Shen Le collapsed to the ground, filled with sorrow. A buzzing sound filled her ears, as if someone was rushing towards her, or as if someone was shouting, yelling, and arguing.
He couldn't hear a single word; he just stared fixedly at the corpse on the ground.
How could he die like that?

Why is it that the more famous and loyal a general is to the country, the less resistance he offers and the less likely he is to rebel, and the less likely he is to be killed by the monarch he serves?

Are good people destined to have guns pointed at them?!

Why is it that after all this hard work, he can't do anything and no one can save him?

He stared blankly at the corpse lying in a pool of blood. Beside him, Lou Yun bowed his head, clasped his hands together, and murmured:
"In the vast Fengdu, there are towering Vajra Mountains. The boundless light of Lingbao illuminates the veil of the Fiery Pool."

The spirits of the seven patriarchs, their bodies carried on fragrant banners. May the lotus of wisdom and meditation grant them eternal peace and rebirth in the heavens…

As each word of the scripture was uttered, it was as if gentle golden light fell from his body, one by one disappearing into the corpse.

The lingering pain on the old general's face was gradually smoothed away and disappeared completely. Then, Lou Yun looked around, leaped out of the hall, broke off a green branch, and returned to the hall:
He cut off a lock of the old general's white hair, dipped it in some fresh blood, and wrapped it around a tree branch. After twisting and turning it a few times, he recited a short incantation, and then clapped his hands together:
"go with!"

A streak of light flashed, and the tree branch instantly transformed into the shape of a corpse, its white hair swaying, the wound on its ribs identical to the original. Shen Le understood, bent down to carry the old general's body on his back, and exchanged a glance with Lou Yun:
"go!"

Ten days later, Shen Le sat blankly before the kiln, staring at the newly fired batch of Soul-Suppressing Figurines. Behind him, Lou Yun withdrew his spellcasting hand seals and sighed softly:
"It actually burned like that..."

"Yes. So, the final secret recipe for firing the Soul-Suppressing Figurine is actually this..."

It must include ashes. Not the ashes of chickens, ducks, cattle, or sheep; not the ashes of ordinary people; not the ashes of those who died unjustly or violently…

It requires a person of great benevolence and courage, willing to sacrifice themselves to save the world, even to be burned to ashes and refined into a soul-suppressing terracotta warrior. Even in death, they would be willing to watch over and protect this country…

"How are the Hulü family members?" Shen Le asked softly, her back to Lou Yun. That day, they took Hulü Guang's body out of the palace, showed it to his family, and then casually took the old general's youngest son with them—

Before he was even ten years old, Lou Yun could easily pick him up and hold him in his arms, without even stopping him from continuing to fly. He would fly back into the mountains, entrusting the child to his sect's care, at least to save his life.

That's all they can do. A young child, according to the law, should be pardoned; the emperor might not pursue this matter to the end. The others are all adults, each with their own agenda—let them fight for their lives!

"That day, an imperial edict was issued stating that Prince Xiang had plotted a rebellion and had been executed, while all others were pardoned." Lou Yun's voice was hollow. Shen Le shrugged, remaining silent.

pardon?

How can it be?

You're kidding me!

As expected, Lou Yun continued:

"Then, a few days later, another imperial edict was issued. All of the Prince of Xiang's sons were sentenced to death, and the entire family of the Prince of Jingshan, except for children under the age of fifteen, were also sentenced to death..."

The two remained silent. A cool white light flowed across the Soul-Suppressing Figurine, seemingly mourning as well. Shen Le said softly:

"I don't want to burn this soul-suppressing terracotta warrior anymore."

This time it's Hurikō, who will it be next time?
Gao Chang Gong?!
They watched helplessly as the tall body blurred and shrank into black ash in the fire.

I personally smashed and ground the dark gray bones, mixed them into glaze according to the ratio, and applied them to the porcelain blank.

One by one, they were carried into the kiln and ignited in the raging flames—but the flames in the kiln didn't even turn a ghostly green, and he didn't even hear any cries or roars!
Soul-suppressing figurines fired in this way—made from such materials—are subject to the silent and utter destruction of any resentment, plague, or ghostly energy that rushes towards them…

Living, we protect this nation; dying, we burn ourselves as offerings to continue protecting this land... But by what right?
Why! ! !
The entire Hulü family has been almost completely wiped out!
"Then we won't burn it!" Lou Yun angrily kicked the shards of the casket in front of him, sending them flying far over the wall.

"This world—this world! Bah!"

Why should we protect this damned emperor and this damned country so desperately?

A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one. Let better people rise up and cleanse the world of corruption. Maybe then, the world will be a better place!

These words were like a boulder thrown into water; before Shen Le, the green mountains, the porcelain demon, and rows of soul-suppressing terracotta warriors rippled outwards like waves.

In an instant, he felt a lightness throughout his body and found himself sitting upright in front of another kiln, his palms resting on a hard, cool porcelain tower—

"Shen Le? Shen Le, how are you? Are you alright?!"

The voice calling her was soft yet urgent. Shen Le turned her head inch by inch, staring blankly at the other person. After a long while, she finally caught her breath:
"I'm fine... Teacher Zhang, I'm really fine..."

"Thank goodness you're alright!" Professor Zhang breathed a long sigh of relief, slumped down, his forehead glistening with sweat.

"You're standing there frozen, your hand pressed against the porcelain tower and I can't get it off. I thought you were possessed! What am I supposed to tell the school and your advisor if something happens to you!"

Shen Le sighed, feeling a mix of amusement and emotion. He slowly stood up, stretching his limbs, his eyes shining brightly.

"I'm really fine. Just now, the porcelain tower was telling me something, telling me about things it had experienced. It was kind of an immersive experience, so I was a little engrossed—"

Well, it's not all bad. At least I can burn the Soul-Suppressing Puppet with my bare hands now..."

"You can burn it?!"

Professor Zhang's eyes lit up. She didn't even press for details about "what exactly happened to the porcelain pagoda"—she was a specialist in cultural relic restoration, not archaeology or history—but simply inquired:
"How do you cook it? Can this be used as the subject of a paper?... Could you demonstrate?"

God knows, she and her students have been piecing together these fragments with such difficulty that they've only managed to produce three bodies so far.

There are still so many pieces, so many missing parts, waiting for them to piece together and repair. If they could successfully fire a batch, wouldn't that greatly aid their restoration work?

"To be precise, I can now fire porcelain figurines made of Yingbai porcelain." Shen Le slowly corrected himself.

Porcelain figurines, no problem. Soul-suppressing figurines, let's forget about that…

I won't burn it!
I'll never burn it again in my life!
"Then remember to write the paper later!" Professor Zhang weighed the pros and cons, but ultimately did not force him to write it now, or even to fire a kiln demonstration piece right now.

She pulled the students away and went back to sorting, brushing, and piecing together the porcelain shards.

With such a large kiln and three or four months to work on it, there's no rush!
She wasn't in a hurry, but Shen Le was. He circled the porcelain tower three or four times, confirming that the tower had completely drained the kiln, leaving no more power to absorb. He packed it up and retreated.

Where was this porcelain tower finally completed?
It needs to find which kiln and where to refire it.

In my memory... in my memory, where exactly was the kiln where he finally fired the Soul-Suppressing Figurines?

Shen Le carefully recalled the events, his feet slowly sinking into the ground, moving westward and northward according to his memory.

In the midst of those rolling mountains, there was a small patch of flat land, a tiny porcelain kiln, piles of smashed and discarded porcelain shards, abandoned houses, and a small grave...

Where are they...?

Following the direction of the mountains, the rushing rivers, and the extension of the roads, Shen Le moved slowly underground, sensing the ever-changing atmosphere, and proceeded cautiously:

The air here is unusually hot; it might be from a gas station, a boiler, or somewhere else.
The air here is cool and rushing, making one suspect it might be a water channel or something similar.
The atmosphere in this area is exceptionally deep and heavy, with a hint of decay. Could it be an ancient tomb that has not yet been excavated?

He moved slowly underground, passing through countless mountains and valleys.

Finally, a sharp aura spurred him to rise rapidly, emerging from the mountaintop, looking left and right:

With a series of clanging sounds, forty-nine porcelain swords, linked together end to end, emerged from the porcelain tower and shot out into the distance!
"Hey! You guys better take it easy!" Shen Le said angrily, slapping the porcelain tower.
"Don't let it get shot down by a missile again!!!"

(End of this chapter)