Hua Zhong Jin Guan Cheng – Chapter 194
Consort Hui had only recently broken free from the formation, and her consciousness was still in a state of confusion. The only reason she had been able to recognize A’Han was that their bloodlines were connected and maternal instinct had driven her, in her most primal nature, to want to be close to her child. Now, hearing A’Han’s heartbroken cries, her consciousness was like a ray of light piercing into the darkness — the clarity in her eyes deepened further by a few degrees. Her struggling movements slowed, and she stared fixedly at A’Han, vaguely beginning to understand something. The rigid lines of her features shifted and gradually revealed an expression of grief.
A’Han could see it clearly. His heart was both pained and sorrowful, and he quickly shuffled forward another two steps on his knees, drawing even closer so that his mother could see him more clearly. Through his tears, he said: “Mother, all these years your son has been with his Master, and Master never let me suffer even the slightest grievance. He taught me many skills. I also have a Shimei named A’Yao, who treats me extremely well. And there is also Abbot Yuan Jue, who came to see me often—”
He spoke while wiping his tears, wanting to tell his mother everything about his years of life all at once. Consort Hui’s gaze was deep and still; though she could not speak, she did not move, listening with rapt attention.
Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi knew that A’Ling’s demonic nature had been almost entirely neutralized by the blood from A’Han’s fingertip, and that her destructive power was far less than before. Now, trapped within the formation, not only would she soon fall into a state of dormancy, but what little consciousness she had managed to recover would also be entirely lost.
Thinking of how A’Ling and her son had only just recognized each other and were about to be separated again, Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi could not help but feel a pang of heartache and reluctance. Yet both men had weathered half a lifetime of hardship, and their minds had long since been tempered into something of steely resolve. They knew that at this moment they absolutely could not hesitate — they had to seize the opportunity while A’Ling’s demonic nature was suppressed to lay the formation for her and send her back into the cycle of reincarnation. If they let misguided sentimentality cause them to miss this chance, everyone present would be consigned to ruin beyond redemption.
The two men steeled their hearts and watched as A’Ling was bound by the spiritual energy of the formation, the dark energy in her body being absorbed away bit by bit, not daring to make the slightest gesture of interference or delay.
Qing Xuzi noticed that A’Ling kept her gaze fixed steadily on A’Han and had not once looked in his direction. He thought of the feeling that had never been spoken aloud in years gone by, and a bitter, indescribable sorrow settled in his heart. He knew that he had been ground down by life into something old and haggard beyond recognition; even if A’Ling were to recover her full consciousness, she might not recognize him. And yet, amid his despair, he still harbored a thread of desperate hope — that A’Ling’s gaze might rest upon him for even a single moment.
But Consort Hui, right up until the golden threads of the net began to climb her neck, kept her gaze entirely and reluctantly on A’Han. Though she longed to draw closer to A’Han, her arms were already bound and she could not lift them; her legs could not move either. The dark energy throughout her entire body was completely suppressed. She could only laboriously open her mouth, looking at A’Han without a sound, straining to produce something that resembled a voice.
Qing Xuzi watched until his heart felt as though it were being torn apart, his eyes reddening as he turned his gaze away, unable to bear looking any longer. The sliver of hope he had harbored earlier was snuffed out like a candle flame in the wind; he let go of all expectation entirely.
But then, unexpectedly, Yuan Jue at his side suddenly shuddered and cried out involuntarily: “A’Ling.”
Qing Xuzi was startled. He turned to look — and saw that A’Ling had actually shifted her gaze to Yuan Jue’s face, and was studying him carefully, little by little, making him out.
Qing Xuzi’s eyes dimmed. Just as it had been more than twenty years ago, whenever his junior sister encountered both him and the young Su Jianfu at the abbey, she would always be the first to steal a glance at Su Jianfu with a flushed face while pretending it was unintentional, and then turn to call him Shixiong with a bright smile. He had not expected that after twenty years, not a single thing about that had changed.
He sighed with a pang of sorrow and was lost in his wandering thoughts when he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon him. His heart jolted, and he raised his head sharply — only to meet A’Ling’s eyes. At some unknown moment she had turned to look at him, and the gaze that floated within her eyes was one of deep and abiding grief. She had clearly recognized him.
It was as if his nasal bridge had been struck a hard blow — a dull, swelling ache that left him utterly unable to speak. Through eyes blurred with tears, he watched A’Ling as the golden threads from the ritual instruments in the hands of the monks slowly wound over the top of her head, yet her gaze pushed through layer after layer of obstruction to look at him with sorrowful persistence, as if she were expressing a wordless gratitude toward him.
Qing Xuzi felt as though a thousand arrows had pierced his heart, and finally broke apart completely, weeping in silence.
From beginning to end, no matter how softly the Emperor called Consort Hui’s name from her other side, she remained utterly unmoved and begrudged him not a single glance. When Consort Hui’s entire being had been confined by the golden threads, the two halves of the cursed token — which had been held in the hands of Qing Xuzi and Yuan Jue — suddenly seemed to be moved by an invisible force. One half flew straight toward A’Han, while the other flew toward Qin Yao.
The half flying toward A’Han merged into his body without obstruction, transforming into a beam of golden light. But the half flying toward Qin Yao — just as it was about to make contact with her body — was blocked by something within Qin Yao, and the golden light changed direction, sinking instead into Lin Xiao’s chest.
Both Lin Xiao and A’Han were momentarily stunned, while Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi simultaneously let out a breath of relief.
A’Ling had completely dissolved her murderous energy and fully offered up both halves of the cursed token. It was only to be expected — no mother in this world would be willing to harm her own flesh and blood, even if she had become a demon and lost her reason.
This was likely the first time, since the Seven Sha Lock-Infant Formation had come into existence, that the corpse used as the formation’s eye had ever voluntarily transformed the curse attached to A’Han into a protective talisman and passed it to someone she trusted. With these two protective talismans in place, as long as the two bearers joined forces once every three years to maintain the formation, A’Han could be prevented from reverting to a state of mental confusion.
To speak honestly, Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi would have preferred Qin Yao to be the bearer, for she and A’Han had grown up together from childhood and their bond was deep — unlike with anyone else. Through whatever storms they might weather in the years to come, she would never leave his side and would do everything in her power to help A’Han safeguard his clarity of mind.
What they could not understand was why a force had arisen within Qin Yao that refused to accept the token, leaving it with no choice but to go to Lin Xiao.
Although the two men harbored a hidden unease, when they thought of Lin Xiao’s character over the years, they had to set aside their reservations. For one, Lin Xiao had always been upright and open, disdaining to use underhanded means to benefit himself. For another, with Qin Yao in the middle as the connecting thread, Lin Xiao would surely not abandon A’Han to his fate.
Though it had come about by a twist of circumstance, it was still an arrangement where all four corners were accounted for.
After Consort Hui was temporarily suppressed, the black fog that had blanketed Chang’an’s skies was blown away as if by an invisible wind, and the light of day scattered like ten thousand streams of golden radiance across the world of men. All the filth and decay that had pervaded the city dissipated entirely.
The Crown Prince and Prince Wu had been choked by Nusù until they had barely a thread of breath remaining and had yet to regain consciousness. Outside the academy, the troops of the Zhechong Prefecture — without a leader to command them — surrendered without a fight.
The Emperor was supported by his ministers back to the palace, and gave orders to have the still-cursing Consort Yi escorted to Dayin Temple in preparation for the formation ritual.
Lin Xiao carried Qin Yao and made his way out of the academy, entrusting her to the Qu family. He then instructed Chang Rong and the others to see the Qu family temporarily back to Prince Lan’s manor, and personally rode out to find Yu Ruoshui.
During the great chaos in Chang’an, Yu Ruoshui had taken her household and sought refuge in a small Taoist abbey not far from the Yu residence. The few Daoist priests in the abbey were elderly and muddled-headed, but coping with ordinary ghosts and apparitions was more than sufficient, and the Yu household, under the abbey’s protection, narrowly escaped disaster.
Lin Xiao sent Yu Ruoshui to the manor to take Qin Yao’s pulse, then instructed Wei Bo to go to the secluded estate on the city’s outskirts to bring his father back to the manor.
He then busied himself alongside Jiang Sanlang and the others in cleaning up the aftermath and settling accounts with Consort Yi’s faction. In just the space of a day and a night, Chang’an had already been transformed beyond recognition. Once he had sorted through the chaos and dealt in sweeping fashion with the most urgent matters that needed handling, his thoughts returned to Qin Yao. Not wishing to delay for even a moment, his heart turned homeward, and he made his way back to the manor.
The moment he stepped through the gates, he found the entire household brimming with joy. All along the path back to Siru Pavilion, the servants who saw him dared not say a word, and yet the corners of their eyes and brows were filled with an irrepressible delight they could not conceal.
He was quietly puzzled and hurried back to Siru Pavilion, where Nanny Wen led the maids forward with smiling faces, just about to offer their congratulations, when the sound of Qu Chen Shi’s cheerful laughter came drifting from the inner chamber: “Good child, this time you truly cannot go running about fighting and killing alongside your Master anymore.”
Lin Xiao’s heart gave a sudden lurch. He stood at the doorway for a brief moment, then turned to seek confirmation from Nanny Wen — and saw her smiling so broadly she could not close her mouth. She said: “Congratulations, Young Lord. Great tidings.”
Hearing these words, the exhaustion and anxiety that had filled Lin Xiao immediately dissolved into wild joy. Eager to hear Qin Yao confirm it with her own lips, he could not bear to wait even a moment longer, and lifted the curtain to enter.
Consort Hui had only recently broken free from the formation, and her consciousness was still in a state of confusion. The only reason she had been able to recognize A’Han was that their bloodlines were connected and maternal instinct had driven her, in her most primal nature, to want to be close to her child. Now, hearing A’Han’s heartbroken cries, her consciousness was like a ray of light piercing into the darkness — the clarity in her eyes deepened further by a few degrees. Her struggling movements slowed, and she stared fixedly at A’Han, vaguely beginning to understand something. The rigid lines of her features shifted and gradually revealed an expression of grief.
A’Han could see it clearly. His heart was both pained and sorrowful, and he quickly shuffled forward another two steps on his knees, drawing even closer so that his mother could see him more clearly. Through his tears, he said: “Mother, all these years your son has been with his Master, and Master never let me suffer even the slightest grievance. He taught me many skills. I also have a Shimei named A’Yao, who treats me extremely well. And there is also Abbot Yuan Jue, who came to see me often—”
He spoke while wiping his tears, wanting to tell his mother everything about his years of life all at once. Consort Hui’s gaze was deep and still; though she could not speak, she did not move, listening with rapt attention.
Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi knew that A’Ling’s demonic nature had been almost entirely neutralized by the blood from A’Han’s fingertip, and that her destructive power was far less than before. Now, trapped within the formation, not only would she soon fall into a state of dormancy, but what little consciousness she had managed to recover would also be entirely lost.
Thinking of how A’Ling and her son had only just recognized each other and were about to be separated again, Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi could not help but feel a pang of heartache and reluctance. Yet both men had weathered half a lifetime of hardship, and their minds had long since been tempered into something of steely resolve. They knew that at this moment they absolutely could not hesitate — they had to seize the opportunity while A’Ling’s demonic nature was suppressed to lay the formation for her and send her back into the cycle of reincarnation. If they let misguided sentimentality cause them to miss this chance, everyone present would be consigned to ruin beyond redemption.
The two men steeled their hearts and watched as A’Ling was bound by the spiritual energy of the formation, the dark energy in her body being absorbed away bit by bit, not daring to make the slightest gesture of interference or delay.
Qing Xuzi noticed that A’Ling kept her gaze fixed steadily on A’Han and had not once looked in his direction. He thought of the feeling that had never been spoken aloud in years gone by, and a bitter, indescribable sorrow settled in his heart. He knew that he had been ground down by life into something old and haggard beyond recognition; even if A’Ling were to recover her full consciousness, she might not recognize him. And yet, amid his despair, he still harbored a thread of desperate hope — that A’Ling’s gaze might rest upon him for even a single moment.
But Consort Hui, right up until the golden threads of the net began to climb her neck, kept her gaze entirely and reluctantly on A’Han. Though she longed to draw closer to A’Han, her arms were already bound and she could not lift them; her legs could not move either. The dark energy throughout her entire body was completely suppressed. She could only laboriously open her mouth, looking at A’Han without a sound, straining to produce something that resembled a voice.
Qing Xuzi watched until his heart felt as though it were being torn apart, his eyes reddening as he turned his gaze away, unable to bear looking any longer. The sliver of hope he had harbored earlier was snuffed out like a candle flame in the wind; he let go of all expectation entirely.
But then, unexpectedly, Yuan Jue at his side suddenly shuddered and cried out involuntarily: “A’Ling.”
Qing Xuzi was startled. He turned to look — and saw that A’Ling had actually shifted her gaze to Yuan Jue’s face, and was studying him carefully, little by little, making him out.
Qing Xuzi’s eyes dimmed. Just as it had been more than twenty years ago, whenever his junior sister encountered both him and the young Su Jianfu at the abbey, she would always be the first to steal a glance at Su Jianfu with a flushed face while pretending it was unintentional, and then turn to call him Shixiong with a bright smile. He had not expected that after twenty years, not a single thing about that had changed.
He sighed with a pang of sorrow and was lost in his wandering thoughts when he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon him. His heart jolted, and he raised his head sharply — only to meet A’Ling’s eyes. At some unknown moment she had turned to look at him, and the gaze that floated within her eyes was one of deep and abiding grief. She had clearly recognized him.
It was as if his nasal bridge had been struck a hard blow — a dull, swelling ache that left him utterly unable to speak. Through eyes blurred with tears, he watched A’Ling as the golden threads from the ritual instruments in the hands of the monks slowly wound over the top of her head, yet her gaze pushed through layer after layer of obstruction to look at him with sorrowful persistence, as if she were expressing a wordless gratitude toward him.
Qing Xuzi felt as though a thousand arrows had pierced his heart, and finally broke apart completely, weeping in silence.
From beginning to end, no matter how softly the Emperor called Consort Hui’s name from her other side, she remained utterly unmoved and begrudged him not a single glance. When Consort Hui’s entire being had been confined by the golden threads, the two halves of the cursed token — which had been held in the hands of Qing Xuzi and Yuan Jue — suddenly seemed to be moved by an invisible force. One half flew straight toward A’Han, while the other flew toward Qin Yao.
The half flying toward A’Han merged into his body without obstruction, transforming into a beam of golden light. But the half flying toward Qin Yao — just as it was about to make contact with her body — was blocked by something within Qin Yao, and the golden light changed direction, sinking instead into Lin Xiao’s chest.
Both Lin Xiao and A’Han were momentarily stunned, while Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi simultaneously let out a breath of relief.
A’Ling had completely dissolved her murderous energy and fully offered up both halves of the cursed token. It was only to be expected — no mother in this world would be willing to harm her own flesh and blood, even if she had become a demon and lost her reason.
This was likely the first time, since the Seven Sha Lock-Infant Formation had come into existence, that the corpse used as the formation’s eye had ever voluntarily transformed the curse attached to A’Han into a protective talisman and passed it to someone she trusted. With these two protective talismans in place, as long as the two bearers joined forces once every three years to maintain the formation, A’Han could be prevented from reverting to a state of mental confusion.
To speak honestly, Yuan Jue and Qing Xuzi would have preferred Qin Yao to be the bearer, for she and A’Han had grown up together from childhood and their bond was deep — unlike with anyone else. Through whatever storms they might weather in the years to come, she would never leave his side and would do everything in her power to help A’Han safeguard his clarity of mind.
What they could not understand was why a force had arisen within Qin Yao that refused to accept the token, leaving it with no choice but to go to Lin Xiao.
Although the two men harbored a hidden unease, when they thought of Lin Xiao’s character over the years, they had to set aside their reservations. For one, Lin Xiao had always been upright and open, disdaining to use underhanded means to benefit himself. For another, with Qin Yao in the middle as the connecting thread, Lin Xiao would surely not abandon A’Han to his fate.
Though it had come about by a twist of circumstance, it was still an arrangement where all four corners were accounted for.
After Consort Hui was temporarily suppressed, the black fog that had blanketed Chang’an’s skies was blown away as if by an invisible wind, and the light of day scattered like ten thousand streams of golden radiance across the world of men. All the filth and decay that had pervaded the city dissipated entirely.
The Crown Prince and Prince Wu had been choked by Nusù until they had barely a thread of breath remaining and had yet to regain consciousness. Outside the academy, the troops of the Zhechong Prefecture — without a leader to command them — surrendered without a fight.
The Emperor was supported by his ministers back to the palace, and gave orders to have the still-cursing Consort Yi escorted to Dayin Temple in preparation for the formation ritual.
Lin Xiao carried Qin Yao and made his way out of the academy, entrusting her to the Qu family. He then instructed Chang Rong and the others to see the Qu family temporarily back to Prince Lan’s manor, and personally rode out to find Yu Ruoshui.
During the great chaos in Chang’an, Yu Ruoshui had taken her household and sought refuge in a small Taoist abbey not far from the Yu residence. The few Daoist priests in the abbey were elderly and muddled-headed, but coping with ordinary ghosts and apparitions was more than sufficient, and the Yu household, under the abbey’s protection, narrowly escaped disaster.
Lin Xiao sent Yu Ruoshui to the manor to take Qin Yao’s pulse, then instructed Wei Bo to go to the secluded estate on the city’s outskirts to bring his father back to the manor.
He then busied himself alongside Jiang Sanlang and the others in cleaning up the aftermath and settling accounts with Consort Yi’s faction. In just the space of a day and a night, Chang’an had already been transformed beyond recognition. Once he had sorted through the chaos and dealt in sweeping fashion with the most urgent matters that needed handling, his thoughts returned to Qin Yao. Not wishing to delay for even a moment, his heart turned homeward, and he made his way back to the manor.
The moment he stepped through the gates, he found the entire household brimming with joy. All along the path back to Siru Pavilion, the servants who saw him dared not say a word, and yet the corners of their eyes and brows were filled with an irrepressible delight they could not conceal.
He was quietly puzzled and hurried back to Siru Pavilion, where Nanny Wen led the maids forward with smiling faces, just about to offer their congratulations, when the sound of Qu Chen Shi’s cheerful laughter came drifting from the inner chamber: “Good child, this time you truly cannot go running about fighting and killing alongside your Master anymore.”
Lin Xiao’s heart gave a sudden lurch. He stood at the doorway for a brief moment, then turned to seek confirmation from Nanny Wen — and saw her smiling so broadly she could not close her mouth. She said: “Congratulations, Young Lord. Great tidings.”
Hearing these words, the exhaustion and anxiety that had filled Lin Xiao immediately dissolved into wild joy. Eager to hear Qin Yao confirm it with her own lips, he could not bear to wait even a moment longer, and lifted the curtain to enter.