Scourge Messenger

Chapter 415 Farewell, So It Should Be
So cold.

Ying Rushi put her hands to her mouth and exhaled a puff of white breath, rubbing her palms together like a fly rubbing its hands to warm them. The world was a vast expanse of white, even the pine trees were covered with frost. Ying Rushi stood in the knee-deep snow, shivering from the cold.

Why aren't you wearing more clothes?

A fluffy hat was pulled over her head. Ying Rushi turned around and saw Ying Le dressed up in her finest attire. She was wearing a sable fur cloak and wolfskin boots, her long hair was casually tied back in a ponytail and hung over her shoulders, and her face was red from the cold, like a bright red apple, so tempting that one wanted to kiss her.

The two women appeared on a hillside, below which lay a pine forest covered in snow. In the distance, the mountains had lost their sharp edges and were draped in a thick blanket. The furrows in the fields were smoothed out, like a thick, boundless velvet carpet.

The world is cold, yet it is also gentle.

Ying Ru tugged at her fur hat. Although it was a drop in the ocean, at least her head wasn't so cold with a hat on. She looked at Ying Le's mink coat, and Ying Le immediately hugged it tightly and shook her head: "That won't do. I've already given you the hat. You can't take advantage of me."

"I am your niece."

“So you should respect the elderly and care for the young. You are young and energetic, and you can withstand it, but your aunt is already an old woman and can’t withstand the hardships.” Ying Le said this, but still reached out her hand: “Come closer, it’s warmer for two people.”

Ying Rushi immediately took her arm and pressed herself close to her body, but Ying Le's hand was icy cold and not very warm, while Ying Rushi's body was warmer. Ying Le reached out and lifted her white hair, asking curiously, "Your Dao Foundation is called Overturning Water and Living Beings, so why does your appearance manifest as white hair?"

"The appearance itself will not be affected by the 'overturned water and living beings', but it will reflect supernatural powers. You can understand this as the manifestation of [Sword Gall Ash]."

"【Sword Gallant Gray】? That name is certainly fitting, but even if it manifests, shouldn't it have gray hair? Yours is clearly snow-white..."

As they spoke, they both looked down and saw two people appear in the pine forest path, a man and a woman. The man was tall and heroic, and the woman was slender and beautiful. Although they couldn't see their expressions, they knew from the way they leaned on each other that they must be a perfect couple that everyone would envy.

Ying Le and Ying Ru stood on the hillside watching them quietly. When the couple walked down below them, the man looked up, smiled, and waved to them. The two of them waved back.

"Are you all my hallucinations?" Ying asked.

“Good question. We can take it to the Imperial Academy and let the bookworms debate it. Can hallucinations know that they are wandering phantoms?” Ying Le said lazily. “And why can’t it be that you are my hallucinations?”

"Because I won, I am the final victor."

"But the Crystal Dream Pearl saved my life."

"Don't you feel ashamed to have lost to me? You should just give up and kill yourself."

"As long as I'm the only one who survives, who will know I lost?" Ying Le chuckled. "The reason why the Divine Martial Emperor is invincible is because he killed everyone who had ever defeated him."

"Why are we here?" Ying Ru sniffed and moved even closer to Ying Le: "It's not what I imagined."

"What do you imagine you would encounter?" Ying Le countered.

"Perhaps it's a battle between the consciousness of me, you, and the Divine Martial Ancestor?" Ying Ru said uncertainly. "Only the strong are qualified to possess my body."

“Typical mortal thinking,” Ying Le said. “If the power of possession or supernatural abilities truly existed, how could we possibly resist? Take the [Eye of the Mortal World] for example; unless the other party has similar abilities, how could they resist us?”

"You talk as if you know where this place is," Ying Rushi said, her face full of indignation.

Ying Le glanced at her with a half-smile, and Ying Rushi's heart skipped a beat, knowing that her shallow provocation had been seen through. However, Ying Le turned to look at the backs of the couple in the pine forest and asked, "Do you know the story of Empress Wu Ming and Emperor Shenwu?"

"How could I not know?" Ying Rushi said, "Even if the Qi Kingdom turns to dust in history many years from now, their story will surely continue to be passed down and become a timeless tale. Empress Wuming was born into a powerful family in the northern border. In her youth, she fell deeply in love with Emperor Shenwu, who was then just a down-on-his-luck soldier. She persuaded her family to fully support Emperor Shenwu in his struggle against the chaos of the world. Emperor Shenwu did not disappoint Empress Wuming either, spending countless efforts to help her build her foundation. They were a couple for life, envied by all... Which young man in Qi did not dream of meeting his own Empress Wuming? Which young woman did not hope to encounter her own Emperor Shenwu?"

"Do you know when Empress Wu Ming died?"

Ying Le was taken aback, and after thinking for a moment, said uncertainly, "...After the passing of the Divine Martial Emperor?"

"To be precise, it was three years after the passing of Emperor Shenwu," Ying Le said. "She spent her final years in the Chang Le Palace, which Emperor Shenwu built for her, and never stepped outside." "Never stepped outside?" Ying Rushi was taken aback.

Ordinary people might think this is just a widow living alone, but they are all Foundation Establishment True Persons, and they know that a sword called 'Three Calamities' always hangs over the head of a Foundation Establishment True Person! Even if the Three Calamities in the main city are greatly weakened, even if the Dao Foundation can be restored, unless Empress Wu Ming's Dao Foundation is a 'First-Grade Dao Foundation' that can gather fortune in every aspect of life, such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation, staying in the main city for a long time is no different from slow suicide!

Unlike Emperor Shenwu, who was seriously injured after failing to obtain gold and died only three years later, Empress Wuming likely died because of the collapse of her Dao foundation.

"Do you know who the first fox spirit was?" Ying Le asked and answered herself, "It was Emperor Taizong. After Emperor Shenwu died, she awakened the true blood of Shenwu and served her mother morning and evening for three years. Every time she visited Chang Le Palace, she would leave with all the palace maids, leaving only her mother inside. But many palace maids vaguely heard Empress Wuming's cheerful laughter echoing from Chang Le Palace, just like when Emperor Shenwu was alive. When Empress Wuming was buried, it is said that she was still smiling as sweetly as a bride."

Yingru stared wide-eyed at the two figures gradually disappearing into the pine forest.

“Divine martial bloodline, metal-nature supernatural power, internal strife of the demon fox…” Even Ying Rushi, who was extremely well-mannered, couldn’t hold back any longer: “The root of the calamities that have plagued the Qi Kingdom for a hundred years is actually because… because…” She couldn’t describe it anymore.

"Who knows?" Ying Le said softly, "But don't you think it's romantic? They both gave everything for their love."

Is it romantic? Ying Rushi imagined it: Empress Wu Ming sat listlessly in Chang Le Palace, like a Buddha statue in her shrine, watching the sun and rain outside, the rising and setting of the moon. Nothing mattered, nothing was worth worrying about. Day and night, she recalled every little detail of the past... Even when she was beset by three calamities, she didn't care. She turned the palace into her own prison, willingly becoming his prisoner.

In the final moments of his life, Emperor Shenwu went to great lengths to pass on the Golden Nature Divine Power, all so that after his death his daughter could create a dream of the past for her mother, fulfilling the vow they made when they bowed to each other—to grow old together and live and die together.

“Not at all.” Ying Ru said expressionlessly, “I will not comment on Empress Wu Ming, but Emperor Shenwu is really only concerned with himself. I don’t believe he can’t imagine how much trouble he will cause for his descendants.”

"Based on my understanding of Emperor Shenwu, he would probably only blame his descendants for being useless. After all, he became a sixth-level Great True Person even when his family was penniless. We have such a high starting point, and we not only don't seek ascension, but we are also tormented by the Golden Nature to the point of wishing for death," Ying Le laughed.

"You still haven't told me where this place is." Ying looked at her suspiciously: "You don't actually know either, do you? That's why you're rambling on and on."

“Didn’t I give you a very clear hint? This is a memory, a longing, and a wish left by the Divine Martial Emperor in the Glazed Dream Pearl.” Ying Le watched the couple walk out of the pine forest and into the vast snow-covered fields: “That’s why we saw them.”

"Before Emperor Shenwu died, he lay on his sickbed, holding Empress Wuming's hand. His last thought was probably that he wanted to take a walk with her after the heavy snow."

"Why?" Ying Ru asked, somewhat puzzled.

"what why?"

"I think the last thought of the Divine Martial Ancestor was that he had achieved the sixth level of enlightenment and unified the Central Plains, or some other more glorious moment. Even if he loved Empress Wu Ming, it should have been the moment when they got married or when their child was born."

Ying said, "Going out for a walk is too ordinary for them."

“Is it ordinary? I don’t think so.” Ying Le pointed to the footprints in the snow: “Look at these two lines of footprints, from teenagers to an old couple, the two lines of footprints gradually become very long, they will continue to walk together in the future… walk together… how wonderful.”

Ying Rushi's heart stirred, and she observed Ying Le out of the corner of her eye, thinking that her aunt's words did not seem to be directed at Emperor Shenwu and his wife, but rather seemed to be a heartfelt expression.

"I'm making this so emotional; you should be moved, not expecting me to tell you my story to amuse you," Ying Le said expressionlessly. "How did our Ying family end up with such an unromantic blockhead like you?"

"Are you really not going to tell? If you don't tell, no one will know. Are you going to take it with you to the grave?" Ying Rushi tugged at her arm, as if she were back in her childhood, acting spoiled with her aunt.

“People always have to die with some secrets, and…” Ying Le broke free from her hand, took the spider lily from her head, stuck it in her hair, turned around and jumped down the hillside, her bottom hitting the snow track and sliding down: “I have to follow.”

Just as Ying Ru was about to slide down, she saw Ying Le reach out to stop her: "Someone is looking for you."

got windy.

The wind and snow swept through the pure white world, and Ying Le's figure was quickly swallowed up. Ying Rushi could only hear her voice from afar: "I'm going to go and get back at Emperor Shenwu first, but it's a bit troublesome, since the two of them are working together. But I, Ying Le, am not afraid. I'm going to beat up the ancestors! When you come over, I'll make Emperor Shenwu kowtow to you!"

"Farewell, it should be so!"

(End of this chapter)