Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 508 The Truth Behind Treasure 507

The old man's emotional fluctuations lasted only a moment before he quickly returned to calm.

"Without A-Yun's help, the Southern Yu Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat, which was a great opportunity for the Northern Zhen Kingdom to press its advantage."

Feng Xiuhu knew what happened next, and after learning deeper details from the Marriage Fairy, he could guess the whole story.

Then he continued, "Your mission will be accomplished once you defeat Aida—but Xijun does not allow true gods to interfere in worldly disputes, so you, the Emperor of Beizhen, have no choice but to 'die' on the battlefield."

The Immortal of Marriage smiled faintly: "Passed away? For mortals, death is death, there is no difference."

Feng Xiuhu understood that the old man in front of him, who was recounting the past, had long lost his sense of belonging to the emperor's identity; now he was merely a matchmaker.

Suddenly, the matchmaker said, "Emperors? Great achievements? They are all fleeting clouds, but some things endure."

He sighed slowly: "Neither Hongzhi nor I are qualified emperors. I underestimated his affection for Ayun, and I also underestimated my own obsession with Ayun."

The matchmaker lowered his eyes, and as far as his gaze fell, countless red lines appeared, quickly intertwining and converging, and in a moment they formed a small, bright red boat on the water's edge.

The matchmaker stepped onto the bow of the boat, turned around and asked Feng Xiuhu, "Would you like to come along?"

Before the story was even finished, Feng Xiuhu readily agreed, while also turning back to call out to Liu Weisen, "Come on, do you still want to find the treasure?"

Upon hearing the word "treasure," Liu Weisen mustered his courage once more. He jogged to the shore, knelt down respectfully before kowtowing to the God of Marriage, and then carefully boarded the boat, huddling in a corner at the stern, not daring to overstep his bounds in the slightest.

The small boat drifted slowly forward.

The matchmaker chuckled, “There is no treasure at all… I said from the beginning that it was a lie Hongzhi made up to deceive the world.”

Feng Xiuhu was skeptical: "What? His wife died and he didn't seek revenge on you, but instead turned around and took revenge on society?"

The matchmaker was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Vadrajo, you're quite amusing."

The name almost caught Feng Xiuhu off guard, so he just chuckled awkwardly.

The old man of marriage was in a better mood. He shook his head and said, "Let's not even talk about whether Hongzhi has the ability to seek revenge on me. That's not what he wants to do most."

Feng Xiuhu asked, puzzled, "What is that?"

Liu Weisen suddenly interrupted, "The believer is talking nonsense... I guess it's about resurrecting Empress Yun?"

Feng Xiuhu and the Fate God both looked over.

Liu Weixin was a little nervous when he was seen. He swallowed and explained, "The Immortal Elder just said that Empress Yun is a deity. Since that's the case, she probably won't die like a mortal. She should have a way to be reborn."

It's not that Feng Xiuhu didn't think of this; rather, it's that he and Liu Weisen have different perspectives on things.

Feng Xiuhu understood the essence of the primordial god and knew that if its power was taken away, the primordial god would completely dissipate. Liu Weisen, however, did not know these things. He only knew that gods were different from humans and that gods could do things that mortals could not.

The ruler of Nanyu was also a mortal, and his thoughts were the same as Liu Weisen's.

The Fate Immortal nodded in agreement: "That's right. So after the defeat of the Southern Yu Kingdom, Hongzhi spent the rest of his life working towards this goal."

"Perhaps Ayun really did give him some instructions, or perhaps it was all just his assumptions. I don't know the specifics."

"But it cannot be denied that everything he did later was indeed for the purpose of reviving Ayun."

"He mobilized the nation's resources to build a temple for Ayun, but that wasn't enough. So he also left behind the legend of a treasure for restoring the nation. All of this was to make people remember Ayun and leave an imprint in their hearts... Hoping that one day in the future, Ayun can come back to life."

"Ok?"

Feng Xiuhu's mind stirred, and he looked up at the Fate God.

This statement sounded familiar to him.

The matchmaker seemed oblivious to Feng Xiuhu's suspicions and continued, "But all of this is in vain. As a primordial goddess who has committed a great sin, how could the true gods allow her to be resurrected?" Liu Weisen muttered to himself, "So that's how it is... This is the truth behind the temple's sweeping through Yu'ai Prefecture and demolishing the Yunhou Temple."

Feng Xiuhu still had doubts: "Wait, if the restoration treasure is just a hoax, then how do you explain the treasure map? The treasure map is indeed real, and following the directions on the map, we can indeed get here."

"Ah……"

The matchmaker sighed deeply and pointed ahead: "Look there."

Feng Xiuhu and Liu Weisen turned their heads to look at the same time.

Previously, due to the dim lighting, no one noticed it, but now that they were closer, they could see clearly that a small boat was quietly floating in the center of the lake.

The matchmaker lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing someone: "All the scenery here is formed from clouds, only this small boat is real."

The red boat slowly approached, and Feng Xiuhu finally saw what was on the small boat—it was a skeleton wrapped in a yellow robe, white bones lying quietly on the small boat.

"The King of Nanyu..."

Feng Xiuhu said in a low voice.

The red boat slowly came to a stop, running alongside the small boat, the ripples causing the small boat to sway slightly.

The Old Man of Marriage calmly looked at his old friend on the small boat: "The so-called treasure map was actually left to him."

"I don't know if it was because he missed A-Yun too much, or because my magic in that battle caused him too much pain. In his later years, Hongzhi suffered from dementia. He was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused. He could not remember what had happened and even thought that he was still in the time when he first met A-Yun."

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized—in his words, this condition should be called Alzheimer's disease.

The Old Man of Marriage said calmly, "So he drew this picture to constantly remind himself not to forget the place where he and A-Yun are buried together."

"Joint burial?"

Feng Xiuhu was stunned—the only thing on the small boat in front of him was the skeleton of the King of Nanyu.

The Fate Immortal chuckled softly, "What, didn't the God of Eclipse tell you that these clouds are the remains of Ai Da?"

Feng Xiuhu was shocked—he had somehow ended up on someone else's corpse.

That's incredibly rude.

But it's no wonder the clouds here are so magical.

The matchmaker explained, "This scene only appears on this day each year."

"The reason why the bell in the Queen's Shrine has remained intact for thousands of years is because it was mixed with A-Yun's blood during its casting. It is also because of this that it resonates with the remains—whenever the Hua Bell is rung, the scenery in the clouds here will appear."

Feng Xiuhu suddenly understood—no wonder he could vaguely sense the lingering rhythm of the bell when he heard it, but couldn't find its source.

The Old Man of Marriage gazed one last time at the skeleton of the King of Nanyu, then silently withdrew his gaze after a moment.

He said to Feng Xiuhu, "The story is over, and I should go now."

Feng Xiuhu looked at him: "So suddenly? It's rare to see you like this. Why don't you go and visit Mr. Liu?"

The Immortal of Marriage smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Young friend on patrol, please give my regards to Xi Jun and Shi Shen."

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and looked at Feng Xiuhu with amusement.

"By the way, Jingzhe Lang is looking for you. I don't know the specific reason, but it is said that he wants to confront you face to face and demand an explanation from Xi Jun and Shi Shen."

(End of this chapter)