Longevity Candle

Chapter 63 You call this the end of a nation?

Hu Ling hardened her heart and left.

She could not reveal her identity, nor could she make Zhang Ning abandon his status as the top scholar; discarding the imperial edict was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family.

She had considered bringing Zhang Ning's family to Taoyuan Village, but her master wouldn't agree.

Rather than letting him have any lingering thoughts, it's better to end it sooner rather than later.

One should not yearn for the mundane.

She blew a breath, causing Zhang Ning to fall into a deep sleep, while she kept watch in the shadows.

The next day, Zhang Ning woke up and called out for her everywhere, but could not find any trace of her. He felt as if he had just had a dream.

Hu Ling returned to the mountain, feeling down.

Hu Yan looked at her in surprise: "Good disciple, what's wrong? Who made you unhappy? Is it your uncles who are going to beat you up?"

"No." Hu Ling looked at Qingdeng: "Master, what do you think would have happened if the Peach Blossom Sword Demon had fallen in love with Qingdeng back then?"

"That's impossible." Hu Yan chuckled. "Who would fall in love with a lamp?"

Hu Ling lay on the ground, tilted her head, and said, "Master, I meant 'what if'."

"Without this 'what if,' what's wrong with you? Could it be that you've fallen for someone?" Hu Yan became nervous: "You are a genius of my fox clan, the future messenger of the Celestial Fox Queen."

"Master, what are you thinking?" Hu Ling asked, feeling rather guilty. She glared at Hu Yan and said, "I'm just curious if Qingdeng has a story of falling in love with an elf."

"No, he didn't wake up for a long time. It's been decades since he last woke up, and we don't know how long he'll be asleep."

Hu Yan said, "With the way he sleeps, even ordinary immortal masters and Taoists would only see him a few times in their entire lives."

“Master, I’ll stay with you and keep watch over the green lamp from now on,” Hu Ling said.

“Great! Master is so boring. With you by my side, Master won’t be lonely anymore,” Hu Yan said with a smile.

Hu Ling stayed behind. She came to the lamp and felt the power of peace. Her heart calmed down and her longing seemed to lessen.

She seemed to have returned to her childhood self, that carefree little fox.

Seeing that she seemed perfectly normal, Hu Yan felt relieved and focused on his cultivation.

As the days went by, the power of carefree joy could initially be suppressed, but as time went on, the longing in his heart only deepened.

She couldn't resist in the end and went down the mountain to inquire about Zhang Ning.

Zhang Ning did not return to the capital, but went to the neighboring Nanyun County and became its magistrate.

She rode away on a cloud, glanced at him from afar to make sure he was doing well, and then left.

Once you've done it the first time, you can do it countless times.

She was starting to tire of watching over the lamplight, and it was fine to just watch him like this.

Zhang Ning was a wise and virtuous official. He even disregarded his status and took the initiative to lead the people under his jurisdiction to reclaim wasteland and personally learn farming and weaving.

Under his governance, the people of Nanyun County are living better and better lives.

Zhang Ning was unmarried, and landlords, gentry, and even officials all wanted to marry their daughters to him, but Zhang Ning refused.

As a result, he offended his superiors and the local gentry.

Several times, these people tried to make things difficult for Zhang Ning, but Hu Ling secretly thwarted their attempts.

Several times, she really wanted to be honest with Zhang Ning, and even took advantage of his rest time to appear in his dream and ask him to remarry.

But her dream seemed to convince Zhang Ning that she was nearby.

More than once, Zhang Ning asked in her dreams why she was being avoided, but she could not answer.

Hu Ling felt that she couldn't continue like this, as it would only delay him, so she hardened her heart and returned to the mountain again.

Time flies, and ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Ning is now forty-two years old, with gray hair, but he is still unmarried.

Hu Ling thought that after all these years, Zhang Ning should have forgotten her and started a family.

She went down the mountain again and came to Nanyun County. To her surprise, the town was full of rioters and heavily guarded.

The magistrate of Nanyun County has been replaced. She has bewitched the mortals and only then did they learn that Zhang Ning had been imprisoned a year ago.

If it weren't for Shangguan valuing talent, Zhang Ning would have been executed long ago.

Hu Ling intended to deceive the officials, but they all seemed to possess a faint aura of dragon energy.

She had no choice but to try to mislead the local gentry and ordinary soldiers, and it took her quite a while to figure out what was going on.

The Emperor of Ningguo conscripted laborers to forcibly carve roads through mountains, attempting to establish a passage between Ningguo and the southern kingdom of Yunmeng, thus completely connecting the two countries. This undertaking was a waste of resources and manpower, and could potentially lead to war.

Zhang Ning defied the imperial decree and attempted to submit a memorial to remonstrate with the emperor. The emperor imprisoned him, but Shangguan Xicai pleaded for him, thus sparing him from execution.

Hu Ling looked around and saw that several mountain peaks had been leveled, and the valley in the distance had become a mass grave, filled with the corpses of laborers wrapped in straw mats.

She was puzzled. In this peaceful and prosperous era, why would the emperor do this?
Didn't Master say that an emperor needs to win the hearts and minds of the people?

Could it be that a tyrannical ruler has emerged?
It's good that there's a tyrannical emperor. Now I can enter the world and offer incense, and I can openly and legitimately take care of Zhang Ning, as long as he believes in the Empress.

Thinking of this, she couldn't wait to sneak into the prison to see Zhang Ning.

In prison, Zhang Ning was extremely thin and haggard, his body covered in wounds.

Hu Ling hugged him tightly, her heart aching: "Zhang Ning, Zhang Ning."

Zhang Ning opened her eyes with difficulty, her weak gaze smiling: "Ling'er, was I...was I dreaming again?"

"I'll take you away." She picked up Zhang Ning and, to his astonishment, passed through the wall.

They rode the clouds away, far from Nanyun County, and settled him in the forest.

"Wait for me to go back and get the medicinal herbs, then I will heal your wounds," Hu Ling said.

"Don't go." Zhang Ning held her hand tightly: "If you leave, this dream will end."

"This is not a dream, it is not a dream, I will be back soon."

After Hu Ling finished speaking, she leaped through the forest.

Zhang Ning's eyes widened; it seemed... it really wasn't a dream?
Before, it could pass through walls and soar through the clouds; now it can leap through the forest...

She is not an ordinary person?

Back then, Li Qingping, the leader of the Way of Peace, brought the Dao of Immortality into the mortal world. Although the emperor issued an edict against immortality, there were still many people seeking immortality. He had naturally heard of this before, but he had always just laughed it off and never taken it seriously.

Fifteen minutes later, Hu Ling returned and applied ointment to him: "Don't move, I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you everything."

"Okay, I won't move." Zhang Ning lay quietly, enjoying this moment of happiness.

After applying the medicine, Hu Ling fell silent, unsure of how to begin.

Zhang Ning noticed her hesitation and broke the silence first: "Are you an immortal?"

“I am a white fox, and a celestial master,” Hu Ling said.

Zhang Ning's heart skipped a beat: "White Fox? Back then... why didn't you tell me?"

At first, I thought the white fox had harmed Hu Ling.

“Immortal masters and Taoists are subject to the suppression of the dragon energy of the nation’s destiny. You were carrying an imperial edict at the time, but my magic power was insufficient, and my magic power was suppressed.”

Hu Ling said in a low voice, "I once thought about breaking off contact with you, but my longing for you grew stronger and stronger, and since you were still unmarried, I secretly watched over you."

"An imperial edict?" Zhang Ning said bitterly, "If you had told me earlier, would I have been so greedy for fame and fortune?"

"It's not too late now. The emperor has forcibly conscripted laborers, causing countless deaths and injuries. Even a good official like you who serves the people has been imprisoned. He is a foolish ruler."

"With a tyrannical ruler in power, we immortal masters can enter the mortal world to perform good deeds, so I no longer need to hide in the shadows."

Hu Ling said with slight excitement, "I've been waiting for this day."

"A tyrant?" Zhang Ning was taken aback, then quickly said, "You must not speak ill of His Majesty. His Majesty is not a tyrant, although the Nan Yun incident did indeed harm the people."

"What is this if not the behavior of a tyrant?" Hu Ling said, "By imprisoning you, he is a tyrant. Besides, didn't you want to stop the emperor? Didn't you want to save those people?"

“I want to save them, but petitioning is useless,” Zhang Ning said in a low voice.

“I have a plan,” Hu Ling said. “Now that the end of the world has arrived and the emperor is incompetent, Your Majesty will surely be willing to enter the mortal realm. At that time, you can protect the common people and save the world.”

"Your Majesty?" Zhang Ning was taken aback. "Does it possess the aura of the nation's destiny...?"

“It’s alright. There are martial arts masters in Peach Blossom Village. Each of them can fight against ten thousand soldiers and is not afraid of the fate of the dynasty. The Empress is also counting on them to seize the initiative in the final years.”

Hu Ling became more and more excited as she spoke: "Wait for my news, I'll bring back good news tomorrow."

Without waiting for Zhang Ning's response, she quickly returned to Taoyuan Village.

“Master, Master, Ning Kingdom is in chaos. Now that the kingdom is in its final years, we can go out and do good deeds.”

Hu Yan looked up, staring blankly into the distance. Above the clouds, there was a magnificent golden python. Just one glance at it made his eyes sting.

Is this what they call the end of a kingdom?

Even at its peak, the Qian Kingdom couldn't compare to its current state!
(End of this chapter)