(One day I asked Kellen with a smile: Wind, tell me, what do you think of our grandfathers and grandmothers who save the world?
He said, "They are the hardest, hardest, most unforgettable people of our lives..."
The wind is right, they are the hardest, hardest, most unforgettable people of our lives!
- Excerpted from "Several of the Most Important Historical Figures in the Empress's Life" compiled by historians after the creation of the Divine Territory
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"I say, my mother-in-law is gone." Kellen looked at Water Elara in puzzlement and replied.
"Gone?" Water Elara looked back at the old lady in the Crystal wheelchair, who was already leaning quietly in the wheelchair as if asleep.
"Yeah... Mother-in-law, she's gone. After all, she didn't even glance at this lovely little girl." The elder Jishi, with his calloused, thick and powerful hands, picked up the old woman in the wheelchair and staggered towards the back hall. Such an old man took such heavy steps, not because the other old man in his arms was so heavy.
It was because the old man's heart suddenly sank, suddenly mourned.
Through countless years of mutual support, there is no escape from the parting of life and death. How could the old man's heart not be heavy? How can the heart of an old man not be lonely, not cold?
The old man's steps are heavy. The infatuated gaze remained fixed on the old woman's face. The knife marks of time are merciless, and they have simultaneously smeared wrinkles on the faces of the two old men. Now, the merciless years have finally brought the old woman to the end of her life. The old woman walks alone, unsteady on her steps, as if she doesn't know what to do next...
"Grandpa... Why does the old lady want to see me?" Water Elara and Kellen followed the Elder Ji Shi towards the back hall, both of them walking slowly.
"Because, I said to my mother-in-law, she was very much like you now... Hehe, so she also wanted to see what you looked like, but unfortunately, she was too old. People tend to fall asleep easily when they get old, and once they fall asleep, it's hard for them to wake up again." The words of the elder Jishi were still very kind, but the two children still detected a faint sense of sadness.
The elder placed his mother-in-law securely on the couch, with a small sandalwood box beside the pillow. The faint fragrance of the sandalwood surrounded the bed at this moment, and the elder's eyes reddened as if he had returned to his childhood memories. He gently rested his mother-in-law's head on the pillow and said with a smile:
"All these years she has kept... Hehe, we were neighbors back then. We lived on the east side of the river and they lived on the west side, separated only by a small river that was five steps wide. The water was very clear, and it was home to little fish, shrimps and crabs. Whenever we had free time, we played in that river."
As he spoke, the elder Ji Shi had already opened the sandalwood box. Inside the box was a beautiful floral dress, and Elara's eyes lit up at once. She moved closer to the box as if she wanted to stick her little head into it. Amazement: "Pretty!"
"Hehe... She looked exactly like you at that time! Put it on." Elder Jishi patted Elara's little head with a kind expression.
"Grandpa, did you give this to grandma?" "Kellen asked curiously.
"Hehe... Not bad. That year was also about six years old... Well, it was really too long. I went to the trading market with my parents and saw this beautiful dress. I asked my mother, 'Yuxin' is about to have her birthday. Shall I give her this gift? 'Mother just smiled, but bought it in the end.
Remember, it was a very lively birthday for Yuxin that year. Because all of us went there, you have no idea how happy she was then!" At this point, Elder Ji Shi's eyes froze, and the smile on his face lingered for a long time, as if he had traveled through a thousand years, back to the past, back to childhood, back to Yuxin's birthday...
Kellen stared at the old man's dazed eyes and froze herself. He had never imagined that the magic of a gift could be so great and that it could have such a profound impact on a person's life. Secretly decided that when he went out, he must change Elara into a beautiful floral dress.
"Grandpa, grandpa," Water Elara pulled the collar of Elder Jishi's robe and called out softly several times before Elder Jishi came to his senses from his childhood memories. With a smile on his face, he looked at the overexcited little girl, who had already changed into that beloved flowery dress.
"Grandpa, do you think I look pretty?"
"Yes! Really like! Pretty!" The elder Jishi, with his eyes shining, looked at the flowery dress in a trance and laughed: "She was exactly like you back then, hehe... In the blink of an eye, we have gone through so many years. Hehe... Time is so fast that there's no time to think about it, he... Hehe." The elder Jishi's words froze, as if his smile had frozen.
The old man turned his face towards his mother-in-law, and his thin, rough fingers wiped his face imperceptibly, and two lines of tears vanished in an instant. As if no tears had ever been shed, as if no tears had ever been wiped away. The old man placed his hand on his mother-in-law's face, which was already sleeping peacefully, and gently stroked the few strands of silver on her face to one side.
Murmured: "All these years... HMPH... Never changed..."
The old man spoke in a low voice, but Kellen's eyes never left the old man from beginning to end, and Kellen heard the old man's murmuring very clearly. In Kellen's mind, the words seemed to have a special meaning. Otherwise, the old man wouldn't have spoken so peacefully, truly and in such a low voice.
"Eh! Grandpa, there's a crystal ring in the box that's exactly like mine!" "Listen to the water Elara's gaping, astonished laugh. The old man turned his eyes away involuntarily and stared at the ring in a trance for a while before saying:
"Hehe... This ring was brought with me when I bought clothes. We didn't know at the time either. It was Yuxin who discovered it herself. Until she fell asleep just now, she kept thinking that the ring I had secretly brought back from the trading market to give her. Hehe... Or perhaps, even now she still thinks so...
But that's fine too. A tiny ring, I don't know how many years it has made her happy... Hey, it's been so long, I only remember her happy look, hehe... Just like you, innocent and lovely, very likable!"
Kellen looked at the old man's trance, then at Elara, and smiled faintly.
Elara, however, did not notice the subtle expression on Kellen's little face, but focused all her attention on the flowery dress. "Really? I think this dress is even prettier. But this ring is actually nice too, only... "Just," Elara handed the ring on his right thumb to Elder Ji Shi, then frowned and said:
"It's just that Kellen says this talking ring seems to carry the aura of the netherworld, so... So I think she's a bit unlucky!"
The old man examined the crystal ring carefully and found it exactly the same as the one in the sandalwood box. Laughing: "A tiny ring, I don't know what magic it has. But it is a good way to maintain the bond between us. All these years, through wind and rain, through thick and thin, by our side, hehe... We were content and never had too many scruples.
But I think there will be a little difference. Can your ring speak?"
"Yes! She really can talk!" "Water Elara said seriously.
"Hehe... You might as well put this on too." As he spoke, the old man had already put the ring on Elara's right thumb. Something strange happened:
Under the faint blue glow of the crystal chandelier, the ring in the old man's hand seemed to be attracted by a kind of magic. Slowly dislocating the old man's two fingers, quietly moving towards the right thumb of water Elara. Water Elara opened her eyes wide in astonishment, and vaguely recalled that the ring on her hand was also pulled by a strange suction force on her body, so that the ring was finally put on her hand and could not be shaken off.
The current ring was put on Elara's right thumb in the same way. The faint purple light, in the faint blue glow, blinked and the two rings overlapped, touched, merged into one!
As the faint purple light faded away, the ring was still worn on Elara's hand in its original form, and it seemed no difference was noticed. It was as if there had never been an overlap or recombination of another ring, and it had always been like this.
The two of them were so absorbed in staring that they couldn't come to their senses for a moment. The Elder Jishi seemed to have noticed something and reached out to touch the ring, trying to pull it off Elara's hand. With a little force, the ring didn't move at all!
Hehe... What magic can a tiny ring have?
Elder Jishi wondered to himself. Then he touched between the two fingers of the ring (the thumb and the index finger), and a deep blue downy light appeared. Under the interplay of the crystal light, the downy light between the fingers gradually expanded and brightened. Gradually, the blue light between the two fingers of the elder Ji Shi grew, like a brilliant, shiny little ball, tightly enveloping the mysterious ring.
At this moment, the elder activated his spiritual power again, "Hum -" a shrill shrill cry came from the ring. Almost at the same time, the three of them involuntarily covered their ears and felt a buzzing sound in their minds, the memory of this moment vanished, they felt dizzy and had a strange feeling of being about to fall.
After some time, the three gradually regained their original consciousness. Almost at the same time, they let go of their hands covering their ears, but they felt that their ears were as cold as frost, as if they had just melted after being frozen.
The two of them were stunned when they heard the elder Jishi say to himself, "What a powerful spiritual seal!" I am ashamed of my cultivation for over a thousand years, and I am proud that no one in the world can match me, so I am hiding here. I never expected that in my old age, I would not even be able to unseal a tiny ring. Unbreakable, unbreakable, I can't even pull it off." After a wry chuckle, he said, "What a fool!"
Chapter 49 Borrowing Life to Return to the Dead (Part 1)
(The first experience of the creepy ghost, the first understanding of the mystery of You Xiaojiao.
I never expected that You Xiaojiao's magic power could bring the dead back to life!
When Her Majesty the Empress spoke of You Xiaojiao, she said so.
-- Excerpted from "Some of the Most Important Historical Figures in the Life of the Empress" compiled by historians after the Creation of the World)
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"Grandpa, I can pull it off!" Elara, after experiencing the great shock of Elder Jishi's extraordinary spiritual power, said something that would make people speechless.
Of course, Elara was not exaggerating. After saying that, she actually took off the ring gently and presented it to Elder Ji Shi. Yingying laughed and said, "Grandpa, here you!"
Elder Ji Shi was even more stunned, staring blankly at the crystal ring handed over to him, his eyes wide open. I never thought that after a thousand years of hard work, it would be no match for a six-year-old child? Looking at Elara's lightness as she just took off the ring, it was not the slightest blow of dust. And I actually...
Cough... Old age, really old age!
The elder Jishi was stunned, then shook his head and laughed, "Useless! Now it seems to be your young people's world!" The old man pushed back the ring that was presented to him and said with a smile, "Keep the ring. Since you can take it freely and no one else has the ability to do so, it seems that this ring has an unbreakable bond with you. I'm afraid I won't be able to see the reason. Hehe... It is also unknown what mysteries you will gradually discover in the future."
"But... But Kellen says there's an aura of the netherworld in this ring. I think it's an ominous thing and should be thrown away!" Elara pouted and said.
"Elara sister, why are you throwing me away again?" For some reason, the ring, which had been silent earlier and later, opened at this very moment.
"Who made you speak? Ominous thing!" Elara, not knowing where her anger came from, threw the ring hard on the ground, wishing to shatter it to pieces in an instant.
The ring, with a gentle stroke in the wind, drew an arc. Not only did it not fall to the ground, but it was slowly suspended in mid-air. This time it was completely different from the past, with a faint purple glow flickering on the ring. Although the light was faint, it stood out conspicuously in the dim light.
At this moment, an innocent tone came from the ring, "I can listen to you in everything, but please take me home and do not abandon me."
The elder Jishi's psychic eye was stunned on the ring, and he said to himself, "Ice Soul Seal! There must be no mistake! Such a seal cannot be sealed or opened without the simultaneous casting of spells by more than five elders. No wonder my cultivation is useless, hehe... I'm ashamed that I almost made a mistake."
At this moment, the two children did not pay any attention to the elder Jishi's self-talk, but focused intently on the strange ring.
"You can listen to me about everything?" Elara's big eyes flickered and asked with a smile.
"Yes." The tone in the ring was very pitiful and innocent.
"Hehe... I'd love to see what you're capable of! Hehe... Now I'm hungry, I want the old lady in bed to wake up immediately and have dinner with us!" Water Elara, with a naive look on her face, made this request almost without a second thought.
For a moment, the whole house fell silent. Kellen, Nine Spirits, and Elder Jishi all thought how fanciful Elara's idea was. It was well known that the old lady on the bed had passed away, separated by life and death, never to come back to life. How could it be possible to come back to life just because of a naive word?
All the people were stunned and thought Elara's demands were too tricky and impolite. It was obvious that he was trying to make things difficult for the ring. It was obvious that he wanted the ring to back off.
"This..."
The moonlight bathes the sky, and the night is deep and peaceful.
The bedroom, which was originally empty, was now particularly quiet under the pale blue crystal light. The old man on the bed had just rested, and the quiet bedroom was naturally filled with a touch of gloom.
The moonlight, like water, slowly lengthened the reflection of the door frame and quietly spread it on the hall table in front of the door. It cast a pale pale glow on the otherwise pale blue bedroom.
The atmosphere in the room at this moment is so chilly to look at. For a moment, the whole bedroom fell silent, with only the soft whispers of the little jiao in the ring coming out in a low voice.
"This... It's not impossible either. For many years, I have been taken care of by her, and I am truly grateful in my heart. Looking back now, life and death pass by in an instant, and the white-haired person can never escape this. Well, well, since the little master asked for it today, I might as well make an exception and give her ten years of life.
But I have one condition. I wonder which of you would like to lend her life?"
"What?" The words of the little Jiao in the ring surprised everyone present at once. Especially the elder Ji Shi, for over a thousand years, "borrowing life to return to the dead" had been heard, but that was just a rumor.
It is said that "returning to the dead by borrowing one's life" is a divine and mysterious magic of the netherworld, which is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. In today's world, although there are many physiognomists who judge one's life based on physiognomy, they only have a superficial understanding and are deliberately making things mysterious. There are no two true masters of divination throughout history, let alone such mysterious and enigmatic methods as "borrowing life to return to the sun".
But just now, this ring spoke with true words, not like a joke, as if it could really perform this mysterious spell. This is quite strange! The elder Ji Shi had a look of surprise and delight on his face, and was also skeptical in his heart. But at the thought of seeing his beloved wife again, an inexplicable surge of passion welled up in his heart, just like when he was young a thousand years ago. He said resolutely:
"Ok! Then lend it to me!"
Elara was about to laugh, thinking that the little girl in the ring was lying. Just as I was about to expose her endless nonsense, the Elder Jishi readily agreed! Though the elder's voice, which burst out with excitement, trembled slightly, the firmness of his tone was beyond doubt.
"Grandpa, do you believe her?" Elara couldn't hold back any longer and asked.
The elder Jishi let out a long sigh and said slowly, "I have saved countless people throughout my life, and I have done some good deeds. Now that my beloved wife has passed away, my heart has turned to ashes, and I have no more attachment. If this one... This... What the ring says is true, and it is a blessing from heaven. I am naturally very grateful for this favor! Of course, thanks to this... This... Thank you."
When it came to the ring, Elder Jishi didn't know how to address it for a moment. It's not appropriate to call it a ring. After all, what seems like an ordinary crystal ring is a special ice soul seal. The woman in the seal is extraordinary in her cultivation and has the great power to bring back life and the dead, but I don't know her name, so I just said something different.
No sooner had the elder Ji Shi finished speaking than the soft and delicate voice in the ring came again: "Thank you, I don't deserve it. I'm afraid you are too old to borrow your life. If..."
"You can borrow mine! I can borrow, but never Elara's, she... She..." Stammering, Kellen actually stopped, looked at Elara awkwardly, and then lowered her head. Murmuring, "Just don't borrow her anyway."
"That couldn't be better!" " You Xiaojiao smiled happily.
"What is good? Lend him for ten years and Kellen will live ten years less! I can't owe this favor. How about this? Kellen and I share it, what do you think?"
Hearing Elara's forced question, You Xiaojiao was speechless for a moment. After a moment of thought, he said, "It would have been fine anyway, but I have just seen three faces, only Kellen..."
Not to mention the origin of You Xiaojiao for the moment, the mysterious technique of "borrowing life to return to the living" has very strict requirements for "borrowing life". The act of "borrowing life" itself is against the way of heaven, and therefore the person who performs it is condemned by heaven. At the time of "borrowing longevity", according to the laws of heaven, the one who lives a long life is preferred. In this way, when practicing this mysterious method, one naturally first learns to read people's physiognomy.
In a short moment, You Xiaojiao had already read the faces of the three and found that among them, Kellen lived much longer than the other two. So Kellen was the first person that came to her mind. I thought Elara was born in the same year as Kellen and should have lived a long life, but unexpectedly I found that Elara had no signs of death!
Rebirth and passing away, it is the way of heaven. Elara had no signs of rebirth, her life signs were broken beyond the way of heaven, which really shocked You Xiaojiao. This kind of person, I've never met before, and I have such a connection with him. It's even more heart-wrenching...
You Xiaojiao finally froze her words, unable to speak. After a while, she said, "Anyway, Kellen is the best candidate. In this matter, it's best to listen to me."
"No way! I can't owe Kellen any more. Listen to me this time! I wish to contribute five years of my life to the old lady!"
As soon as Water Elara spoke, the elder of the world was moved to tears. For a thousand years, I met two such sensible little rascals. The innocence of the words and the simplicity of the emotions are rare in the world!
Although they have known each other for a short time and have not known each other deeply, the two children could actually say that they were willing to borrow the old lady's life, which moved the elder Ji Shi very much.