Shiny with oil and fragrant, they were still hot to the touch, clearly fresh from the pan. She peeled one and put it in her mouth; it was soft, gritty, aromatic, and sweet.
How did he know she liked these?
No, wait, he had a sweet tooth.
“Delicious?”
She nodded. Chewing a few hot sugar-roasted chestnuts in cold weather warmed her heart. Indeed, starch and sugar make people happy.
“I want some too.” He sat down beside her and put his arm around her slender waist, but his gaze was fixed on the chestnut she had just peeled.
“Peel them yourself.”
He said softly: “You heartless girl, I just saved your life, and you won’t even give me a chestnut?”
Feng Miaojun bit her lip, knowing he was playing for sympathy, but couldn’t help offering the chestnut.
A fragrant chestnut, a delicate hand with fine bones.
Yun Ya refused to reach out, instead lowering his head to take the chestnut with his mouth, and in the process, kissed her palm.
His lips were soft and warm, warm enough to make her heart tremble, but then she remembered how Yun Ya had looked at her earlier.
In that gaze lay too many unknowns.
Faced with this enigmatic man, what should she do? Feng Miaojun was no longer hesitant, only sighing quietly.
“Did you buy these from Yinggong City?”
“Yes, shops have been gradually reopening for business since yesterday.”
The wounds of war are indeed hard to heal, but people still need to go on living. After the Yan army took over, the order in Yinggong City was gradually restored. After all, for ordinary people, only the rulers had changed; life had to continue as before.
“What about Xi Kingdom’s cultivators? Have they all joined Yan Kingdom?” This was a topic of concern for someone of her status. Yan Kingdom was already powerful; if they gained Xi Kingdom’s cultivators, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
“King Yan ordered them to register and become citizens, but from what I know, few have responded.” Yun Ya narrowed his eyes. “People have attachments to their homeland; cultivators willing to switch allegiance to the enemy who destroyed their country are never many.”
Cultivators of this era were bound to their homelands and countries, unlike the unrestrained cultivators and immortals of ancient times. Deeply engaged with the world, they naturally experienced the same love and hatred as ordinary people.
She coughed lightly: “Congratulations on picking up the bargain.”
If Xi Kingdom’s cultivators were unwilling to join King Yan, naturally the possibility of joining Wei Kingdom increased. Anyone with eyes could see that a battle between Wei and Yan might be imminent, and those Xi people harboring national hatred would naturally be willing to join Wei Kingdom.
These people would become Yun Ya’s subordinates in the future. Thinking of this, she also understood why Yun Ya had agreed to Xiao Yan’s request to rescue Yu Haizhen. Yu Haizhen had been the State Preceptor, the leader of Xi Kingdom’s cultivators. Whichever camp she joined would inevitably have a ripple effect.
Feng Miaojun brought her mind back and changed the subject: “By the way, back to the curse.”
Last time he had a guess, but only said half of it; she was dying of curiosity.
Speaking of this, Feng Miaojun simply told him about the “heavenly secrets” she had glimpsed when ascending to become State Preceptor. However, she omitted her origin from another world, only saying that after the Wang Po incident, overcome with grief, she saw the reflection of Queen An Xia in the river, and so on.
Yun Ya listened patiently, but his gaze toward her was peculiar.
Feng Miaojun felt somewhat uncomfortable: “What?”
“You were brought to tears by an ignorant village woman?” Yun Ya’s eyes clearly showed disbelief, as if seeing a tigress suddenly turn into a kitten. Back then, he had been the one to judge that case; how presumptuous must he have been to not notice her various abnormalities?
“Ahem, don’t mind that detail.” Feng Miaojun cleared her throat. “The point is, the reflection in the water knew both your whereabouts and those of Mo Tizhun, and also schemed against me. In your opinion, who in this world could accomplish this?”
Yun Ya frowned slightly.
His whereabouts had always been elusive; even if someone knew his travel plans in advance, they might not be able to accurately capture his movement patterns, as he often changed course on a whim. If what Feng Miaojun said was true, the abilities of the reflection in the water were truly extraordinary.
She saw his eyes flicker, seemingly thoughtful, but in the end, he shook his head.
He knew of one person who could do this, but…
Feng Miaojun persisted: “What about King Yan?”
“His cultivation is not below mine.” Yun Ya responded objectively. “But he cannot track my whereabouts.”
That’s true, otherwise the battle between the State Preceptors of Yan and Wei would have begun much earlier, right?
Feng Miaojun stroked her chin: “If the Turtle curse was also part of someone’s calculation, then this person must have a greater conspiracy.”
Yun Ya smiled: “How is making us share spiritual power a conspiracy?”
Hehe, it’s not just that. Feng Miaojun laughed nervously: “I feel uneasy as if keeping this curse will lead to great disaster.” At this critical juncture, with various forces entangled in Yinzi City, she didn’t want to cause more trouble; otherwise, she would have told Yun Ya the entire content of the curse. For the sake of his own life, shouldn’t he pay more attention? “We must remove it quickly!”
With her current cultivation, saying she had a feeling wasn’t groundless; even Yun Ya had to take it somewhat seriously.
“The mark is in your dantian, not with me.” After pondering for a long time, he said seriously, “I need to observe it to make a judgment.”
Indeed, that mark was like a floodgate switch for a dam, but it was fixed in her sea of qi. Yun Ya had no way to observe it, so how could he understand it deeply?
“I originally wanted you to draw it out.” He spread his hands. “But…”
But her drawing skills were too poor, so this approach wouldn’t work. Such a complex pattern would need to be precise down to the smallest detail.
Feng Miaojun understood this principle and blushed: “Then what should we do? The dantian’s sea of qi cannot be entered by others’ spiritual power. Should I start learning painting techniques now?”
This was the source and core of a cultivator’s power, so of course it prohibited all external forces from entering. Yun Ya’s divine consciousness could explore her entire body’s condition along with spiritual power, but there were two places it couldn’t reach: the sea of consciousness in her head, and the sea of qi, which was the dantian.
The intricacies of that mark were difficult to describe in words; it would be best to see it firsthand.
“There is another method, simple and clear.” He suddenly looked at her, with a strange expression in his eyes. “When our spiritual powers merge as one, indistinguishable from each other, I can take the opportunity to attach a strand of divine consciousness to examine it, but that moment is fleeting.”
She didn’t understand: “Our spiritual powers already share the same source and quality.”
“There are still subtle differences.” Yun Ya coughed lightly. “When you borrow my spiritual power, can you easily distinguish it?”
“That’s true.” His was his; she wouldn’t mistake it. “But when I borrow your spiritual power, isn’t it also in my dantian?”
“That flows from the dantian to the meridians through the mark.” He patiently corrected her. “For me to attach my divine consciousness, I must do the opposite, directing spiritual power to flow from outside into the dantian, and then return the same way.” He paused. “Simply put, my spiritual power cannot enter or exit through the mark, yet must pass between our dantians.” Otherwise, his divine consciousness couldn’t make a round trip.
“It can’t go through the mark?” Feng Miaojun heard the difficulty. “Then what mystical technique can accomplish this?”
Yun Ya looked at her, his gaze flickering.
Feng Miaojun was anxious and didn’t scrutinize his expression, urging him once more.
He then slowly spoke four words:
“The Dual Cultivation Method.”