This was a story with a beginning and an end.
After finishing her recollections, Jiang Yan smiled, put the diary back in her backpack, packed away the millennia-old bridal gown, then stood up and walked toward the tomb entrance.
Her experience hadn’t been long; it didn’t take much time to review it all.
So when Jiang Yan walked out of the tomb and saw her friends again, only half an hour had passed since they’d separated.
Shen Huanhuan looked worried. “Why were you in there so long? Did something happen in the tomb?”
Shen Xiaoxiao chimed in, “Yeah, when the tomb door closed, I was stunned. That was so scary!”
She craned her neck to peer into the tomb, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms from the cold.
“It’s so dark and creepy in there. If Sister Jiang Yan had suddenly been sucked into an energy field, I’d believe it.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yan shook her head.
“No.”
“There were other reasons I didn’t let you in. Pretty unusual reasons, but nothing to do with energy fields.”
Pingping gave Jiang Yan a probing look, her gaze falling on the bulging backpack.
If she remembered right, when Jiang Yan went in earlier, her backpack had been flat and empty—obviously holding nothing.
After a moment’s thought, Pingping asked tentatively, “Were there any especially beautiful burial goods in there?”
Jiang Yan replied modestly, “Just average-looking.”
Pingping: “…So is it still in the tomb?”
Jiang Yan: “No, it’s in my backpack.”
Pingping: “……”
In her mind flashed the words, “Just as expected.”
Shen Huanhuan was startled for a moment, then quickly said, “Sister Jiang Yan, stealing—picking burial goods is illegal. You can’t just take them home.”
“How about you take it out and show me? I’ll keep an eye out at the auction house, and if I see something similar, I’ll buy it for you. I’ve been wondering what to get you for our half-year friendship anniversary.”
Shen Xiaoxiao nodded rapidly. “Go ahead and take it out. We’ll definitely find something similar, leave it to us!”
Yu Renwan interjected, “No wonder Jiang Jiang was gone so long—turns out she was treating the tomb like a self-serve supermarket. That’s our Jiang Jiang for you.”
Seeing everyone’s thoughts go further astray, Jiang Yan unzipped her backpack and explained, “This thing was left for me.”
Shen Xiaoxiao glanced at the backpack, momentarily dazzled by the golden threads on the bridal gown.
“That excuse might fool your friends, but it won’t fool the government.”
“I saw the archaeologists already put cameras at the tomb entrance. Now that you’ve taken it out, that reason won’t fly.”
Jiang Yan smiled. “The state will leave it to me too.”
At this, Shen Huanhuan started to catch on.
She patted her sister’s shoulder, signaling her to stop overthinking, then looked at Jiang Yan. “Did you know the tomb’s owner before, Sister Jiang Yan?”
Jiang Yan nodded. “Mm.”
“I see,” Shen Huanhuan said. “If the tomb’s owner left it to you long ago, the Supernatural Administration Bureau will definitely help you fight for it. So what now—do we take it back first?”
Jiang Yan nodded. “I’ve already sent the relevant photos to He Qingyuan. He knows what to do.”
“Let’s go.”
Once they got out from underground, everyone took a moment to adjust to the sunlight. After getting used to it, Shen Xiaoxiao pulled out her planned itinerary and led the group straight to lunch.
Because they arrived early, they took a number at the scene, and after half an hour in line, they finally got to enjoy Jin Chuan’s cold hotpot skewers.
As soon as they sat down, Shen Xiaoxiao couldn’t wait to pick skewers from the ceramic basin at the entrance.
It was cooked to order, and ten minutes later, Jiang Yan and the twins came back with three big plates piled with skewers. Pingping curiously picked up a lotus root skewer, but after two bites was so spiced her eyes turned red—yet she couldn’t stop dipping it in chili oil.
“Fragrant, a bit spicy.”
After a few skewers, she summed up succinctly.
Yu Renwan pointed to the tears in her eyes. “Doesn’t look like just ‘a bit’ spicy.”
Pingping ignored her, blowing her nose as she kept eating.
Jiang Yan, on the other hand, handled the spice well. As she ate, she explained the bridal gown in her backpack. She didn’t intend to share her entire story, but sharing part of it—especially the experiences related to the replica bridal gown—was fine.
She talked for over ten minutes.
Halfway through, Shen Xiaoxiao gave up eating, dazed by the information overload, her expression blank. Pingping listened intently, occasionally sniffling, and eventually just stuck a tissue to her face for convenience.
“So this bridal gown was left to me by He Qingfu,” Jiang Yan concluded.
“Once I swap my true body, its lifespan will increase, and I’ll gain new innate abilities. My original abilities will belong to the Supernatural Administration Bureau, to be used for global supernatural resurgence.”
“With my rune, and the rune formed by the bronze mirror yao, all the turbid qi in the human world will be cleared out. The turbid qi concentration will revert by thousands of years, the supernatural resurgence will be completely interrupted, and the energy field will disappear. Humanity will get enough breathing room to think about what to do next.”
Jiang Yan spoke slowly. “But human desire is endless. Turbid qi will still be produced, and turbid qi from other worlds will continue to flow into this one. So the supernatural resurgence will eventually return—maybe in two thousand years, maybe sooner.”
“When that time comes, it’ll be up to you.”
With that, Jiang Yan went back to eating, leaving the others to process everything.
Two minutes later, Shen Xiaoxiao clutched her head in confusion. “The energy field will disappear?”
“Huh??”
“Am I dreaming?”
Yu Renwan latched onto a small detail, asking worriedly, “Will it hurt to swap your true body, Jiang Jiang? Did you look into it? If it’s really painful, maybe you should reconsider…”
Pingping picked up another skewer and pouted. “Boring.”
“I’m supposed to be the ruler of the world.”
“Why does it feel like I can’t compare anymore?”
Shen Huanhuan looked carefully at Jiang Yan. Once she was sure Jiang Yan was truly willing to swap her true body, she didn’t ask further about that, but changed the subject:
“My shifu once told me that everyone actually has spiritual power in their bodies. Psychics just have more of it—compared to ordinary people, psychics find it easier to cultivate and are more attuned to spiritual power, but that doesn’t mean only we can become psychics.”
“Ordinary people can too.”
“So I guess the Supernatural Administration Bureau will probably spend a few years promoting this idea, building schools, making spiritual power use a required course, and using equipment to simulate team challenges. After all, there’s plenty of time—everyone can take it slow this time.”
Jiang Yan nodded casually.
The meal lasted almost two hours. Before leaving, Jiang Yan showed everyone a page from her diary. “Can any of you draw this kind of talisman?”
Shen Xiaoxiao immediately bowed out.
Shen Huanhuan and Yu Renwan had no impression of the rune, but Shen Huanhuan studied the brushwork and guessed, “Feels like a sealing rune.”
Pingping glanced at it. “I can draw it.”
“What can’t I draw?”
Everyone laughed. Pingping took the diary, muttering to herself, and immediately pulled out yellow paper and cinnabar to start drawing. Passing customers glanced over, then walked away with looks of disdain.
A few minutes later, the shop owner came over to shoo them. “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t do superstitious stuff in my shop!”
Just as well, they’d finished eating. They paid and left.
Jiang Yan took the rune Pingping had just drawn and said goodbye to everyone. “I’m going to release a yao. You guys go ahead.”
Yu Renwan asked, “Can’t we come too?”
Jiang Yan thought for a moment. “It’s not anything fun, but if you want to come, of course you can.”
Shen Xiaoxiao immediately raised her hand. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
So they started buying high-speed rail tickets.
The province where Chen Xihe was located was about an hour by train from Jin Chuan. After getting off, Jiang Yan followed the diary’s directions and took a taxi into the mountains.
Some of the mountains had been developed, but two peaks among them had no development value and had never been deeply excavated.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Yan led the way into the mountains.
Gentle sunlight filtered through the leaves, every ray traceable. Birds flapped their wings from time to time, their calls mingling with the chirping of insects—clear and pleasant.
After half an hour, Jiang Yan turned and said to the others, “It’s pretty far. There’s no human presence here anymore. I’ll transform into my true body and carry you over.”
“Otherwise, we won’t arrive until the evening after tomorrow.”
This seemed perfectly reasonable to Jiang Yan, but left Shen Xiaoxiao thrilled.
She bounced a few times. “Really, really?”
“We’re going to fly—fly over??”
Jiang Yan nodded. “It’s faster this way.”
Pingping asked, “How do we fly?”
“Do you turn into a flying carpet and we sit on you?”
Jiang Yan: “…”
She smiled kindly. “Of course I’ll just carry you.”
Shen Xiaoxiao eagerly cooperated. “Okay, okay! Where do you grab—by the collar?”
Jiang Yan wrapped red threads around everyone. “Like this.”
As soon as she finished, she transformed into her true body and shot into the mountains at a speed almost impossible to see. The four were bundled together, dangling from her hem, looking a bit helpless.
But as time passed, helplessness quickly turned to excitement. Yu Renwan spread her arms, and Pingping couldn’t resist taking out her phone to snap photos of the mountains below.
But Jiang Yan moved so fast that every photo came out blurry. After a few minutes, Pingping put her phone away in defeat.
An hour later, Jiang Yan slowed down.
Finally, she stopped in a beautiful spot with clear mountains and water.
There was a vast wetland here. A dozen red-crowned cranes stood at the edge, some with heads bowed, some with heads held high. Jiang Yan shifted back to human form and stood behind a tree, watching the cranes.
The others were set down beside her.
“Who are you here to release, Sister Jiang Yan?” Shen Huanhuan asked.
“The yao who told me twelve hundred stories.”
“A crane yao?” Shen Huanhuan looked around. “There are so many red-crowned cranes here.”
Jiang Yan: “Mm.”
She sensed for a moment, then suddenly put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
Everyone immediately quieted down.
Half a minute later, Jiang Yan looked up at the sky.
At that moment, a golden phantom of a red-crowned crane was flying toward them against the light. Its feathers were pure white, its bearing elegant and graceful, its cry clear and melodious, as if it could cleanse the soul.
After a moment, it landed, flapping its wings, and stood on the wetland, then transformed into human form.
White robes, silver hair, as beautiful as a celestial being.
Because of the rune He Qingfu had given, Chen Xihe’s soul could not be seen by any living being—except Jiang Yan. All souls were made of desire, so Jiang Yan could see them.
Under Jiang Yan’s gaze, Chen Xihe walked over to the lead crane and patted its head.
“How did you hurt your wing again?”
“I told you not to fight. How can you be a leader if you’re so naughty?”
The red-crowned crane couldn’t feel the touch of a soul or hear Chen Xihe’s words, but Chen Xihe didn’t mind at all. He strolled through the wetland, lecturing each crane as if teaching the younger generation.
Jiang Yan laughed softly.
Chen Xihe heard her and quickly looked in her direction. Jiang Yan didn’t hide, but walked out from behind the tree.
She teased Chen Xihe:
“Imperial Father, you still love lecturing people.”
Chen Xihe stood still.
After a long while, he smiled and shook his head. “Has it really been a thousand years?”
Jiang Yan: “A thousand three hundred years.”
Chen Xihe was stunned.
After a moment, he sighed, “Time really flies.”
“You’ve grown up so much, Yanyan.”
Jiang Yan: “You don’t seem to have changed.”
Chen Xihe looked back at her. “You’ve changed a lot.”
“But somehow, not really.”
Jiang Yan said nothing. She glanced at a distant cave, took out the rune, and sent it to a secluded cave on the mountainside.
The next second, a rumbling came from the cave. The ground shook, and several huge rocks crashed down.
Chen Xihe’s true body was revealed beneath the earth.
After more than a thousand years, his body had not decayed, still clean as new.
Chen Xihe flew to his true body, and after ten minutes, his soul and body merged, and he appeared before everyone.
As soon as she saw Chen Xihe, Shen Xiaoxiao gasped.
At first, she was scared—how did a living person suddenly appear?—but then she was just shocked.
“He’s too good-looking to be real.”
She whispered to her sister, “No wonder he’s Sister Jiang Yan’s imperial father—the genes are strong.”
Shen Huanhuan quickly elbowed her sister. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Sister Jiang Yan’s true body is a bridal gown.”
Chen Xihe heard the commotion, looked at Jiang Yan’s side, and after a few seconds, his expression turned gratified. “Are these your friends?”
Jiang Yan nodded.
“How wonderful—Yanyan has so many friends now.”
Chen Xihe and Jiang Yan didn’t seem like they hadn’t seen each other in years. They walked out of the mountains together, just like the closest father and daughter.
They talked the whole way—Chen Xihe asked, Jiang Yan answered.
“How’s Taotao?”
“A bit dumber now.”
“Isn’t that easy to bully?”
“It’s fine. He lives with me now.”
“That’s good. And your mother?”
“Still in reincarnation.”
Chen Xihe asked again, “Almost ready to reincarnate?”
Jiang Yan replied, “Almost.”
Chen Xihe: “I’ll probably go see her then. I dreamed of her just yesterday. I miss her.”
Jiang Yan: “Can souls dream?”
Chen Xihe nodded. “If you miss someone enough.”
“I miss you all very much.”