Squatting in the underground passage, Zong Lizi stared at the rainwater collecting hole with the remaining faint sword wills, looking like a bored young girl squatting under a tree and looking at ants.
The main preachers of the priest manor and the officials of the government were left outside. Some of them asked her a few questions, but they didn't get any response.
She had no idea where Jing Jiu had gone or how long she would have to wait here.
All she knew was that Jing Jiu had a mental problem, and he didn't get better after meeting that person. So she was worried.
"What are you looking at?"
Unexpectedly, it didn't take long before Jing Jiu's voice rang out behind her.
Zong Lizi was startled. She turned around and shot a glance at Jing Jiu, and then looked at the rainwater collecting hole by the track. "How come you're here so soon?" she asked, opening her mouth.
"It's fine as long as I'm here. I don't need to worry about the time." Jing Jiu had always been patient with her.
Time was relative. All he needed was a quiet and isolated environment to think about something and relax his mind.
A few minutes and a few decades made no difference.
Zong Lizi took out the clothes she had prepared and helped Jing Jiu put them on.
The two of them returned to the lawn from the underground. The main preachers of the praying hall and the officials of the government had left a long time ago, as if they had never waited here nervously. The huge permanent star was hanging on the horizon. The bright light looked a bit bluish after being filtered by the protective shield. The light shone on the buildings and the lawn in the manor, looking like the starlight that was a few hundred times brighter.
"How have you been studying these days?" asked Jing Jiu.
This question seemed to be casual, like the concern between friends; but it startled Zong Lizi.
Such a conversation had never occurred in the underground community or at the University of Stargate.
This was a rare thing for Jing Jiu. It was well known that he cared about the world, but he wouldn't express it verbally even if he did.
"Well … it's very difficult."
Thinking of the courses she had to attend in the last few days, Zong Lizi felt a headache coming on. As her personal attendants, Jiang Yuxia and Hua Xi had less to learn than her, and they were geniuses whose genes had been modified. Even so, it was still very difficult for them, not to mention Zong Lizi.
"In fact, I've been wondering why I have to memorize the art knowledge even though some inheritances need to be kept a secret."
She said with a blank expression, "I can't even memorize the chronology, let alone the specific content."
Jing Jiu asked, "How did you study?"
Zong Lizi said, "There is a quiet room in the institute. As long as you sit in it and meditate, many knowledge fragments will enter your mind."
Logically speaking, this was the absolute secret of the priestesses. She could not tell anyone. However, since Jing Jiu had asked, she would definitely tell him.
The inheritance of the priestess had always been passed down by word of mouth and not written down. This had been criticized and questioned countless times.
In the early years, the priestesses could not gain the trust of the human masses, and this had something to do with it.
Even in modern times, many people, including those who surrendered, still used this to attack the priestesses. The distant ancient civilization had an exceedingly magnificent culture and advanced technology; but why didn't the female priests reveal all of them to help the humans of the new era develop better and fight against the Sea of Dark Matter?
No matter how one looked at it, this didn't make any sense, and it was easy to infer that it was unfavorable to the priestesses.
"She doesn't believe in humans."
This was the explanation given by Jing Jiu.
Zong Lizi guessed who he was referring to, and halted her steps in surprise.
Jing Jiu continued, "Including you people."
Looking at a lone tree in the deep end of the grass, Zong Lizi didn't know what to say.
The huge sun sank below the horizon. The stars in the night sky grew brighter instantly, though the brightness was not much different from before.
The tree bathed in the starlight looked a bit more sacred and lonelier.
Zong Lizi asked softly, "So … you didn't get along well with that person?"
"No, I don't believe in her either," said Jing Jiu.
Though the young woman named "Fei" didn't believe in the ascendants from Chaotian, Jing Jiu was nevertheless different.
In the story "The Path Toward Heaven", the Green Sky Mirror and the All in One, Qing 'er and Ping Yong-Ka, and the Snow Girl had all proved this point.
Zong Lizi realized what Jing Jiu meant after being taken aback for a moment. She suddenly felt that Jing Jiu's figure had become lonelier, like the tree in the grass.
Many years ago at the Plum Meeting in Zhaoge City, Jing Jiu heard the zither music played by Lian Sanyue. Zhao Layue had a similar feeling when she looked at Jing Jiu.
Her gaze fell on Jing Jiu's earlobe, and she noticed that the gap had become very smooth. It would be hard to notice if she didn't compare it with the other protruding ear.
It was probably because Jing Jiu had touched it with his hand a lot recently.
Why did he often touch his earlobe with his hand? It was because he was a bit upset.
How could he solve his problem? His finger was not there.
"Are you … okay?" asked Zong Lizi.
Jing Jiu didn't answer her question. He took out an object and handed it to Zong Lizi, saying, "If something happens to you, burn it."
It was a paper crane made of yellow paper. It was inauspicious regardless of its material, shape, or the word "burn".
Looking at Jing Jiu, Zong Lizi asked in a trembling voice, "What could happen to me?"
Jing Jiu said, "It's none of your business. Don't ask."
From that apartment building to the hotel at the University of Stargate, and then to this manor, Jing Jiu had brought many changes to her, but he didn't intend to change her completely.
For instance, he used the fairy energy to temper her body, but he didn't intend to teach her the Cultivation method.
The humans in this world were not suitable to cultivate the magic methods of Chaotian, and Zong Lizi's talent was ordinary; but these were not the real reasons.
Jing Jiu didn't want her to know too many things and have too much connection with him.
In this way, she would have a chance to leave when something happened to him.
It was true.
It was the first time that Jing Jiu wondered if something would happen to him.
Yet, it didn't mean that he had lost his confidence.
He still thought that he was the strongest ascendant from Chaotian, save for the Snow Girl.
Yet, it was different this time.
…
…
The next morning.
The sun hadn't risen yet.
The stars were not as bright as they had been before midnight.
It was quiet in the manor house.
The insects in the meadow were making their last chirping of the day.
Ran Handong, who had stayed up all night, washed her face with cold water and employed the zhenqi in her body to pull herself together. Then she knocked on the door of the room.
Jing Jiu got up from the chair, picked up the black backpack, and headed for the outside of the door.
Zong Lizi couldn't sleep well last night, thinking of the mishap Jing Jiu had mentioned. She didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, and she was woken up by the knocking on the door.
She rubbed her eyes and woke up instantly when she saw Jing Jiu's figure. "Where are you going?" she asked after sitting up in bed.
"To meet someone." Jing Jiu didn't explain further. He put on the backpack and pulled up the hood of the blue hoodie to block his eyes and brows.
Ran Handong smiled at Zong Lizi and closed the door. She put on the military cap and followed Jing Jiu at a faster pace.
The chilly wind blew over from the deep end of the steps, ruffling the grass pieces in the air. The floating train had already left.
Standing on the deck and looking at the scene in the distance, Zong Lizi tightened the pajamas on her body reflexively.
Jiang Yuxia and Hua Xi walked into the room after hearing the commotion. Zong Lizi waved her hand to indicate that nothing had happened. Jiang Yixia glanced at her worriedly. Hua Xi walked to the railing and looked at the grass pieces dancing in the wind with wide eyes. Her small face displayed an innocent expression; it was unclear what was on her mind.
… …
… …
It was unclear where the floating train had stopped, and the attendants had no idea which station Jing Jiu and Ran Handong had left from.
Two hours later, a black spacecraft landed on the icy land in the extreme south of the planet.
"You shouldn't have brought me with you," said Ran Handong while staring into Jing Jiu's eyes. "It's impossible for me not to tell my father about it."
The young female officer breathed quickly, turning into a thick white fog in the cold field.
"How did you guess it?" asked Jing Jiu.
"There are a dozen battleships in the distant space and countless satellites outside the atmosphere, not to mention the monitoring stations on the ground. But we've flown to the extreme south of the planet without being monitored," said Ran Handong with a pale face. "My father can't do it, and neither can that person."
She thought that the person who wanted to see Jing Jiu was that person, but she didn't expect that person to come to the icy land in the extreme south, and she didn't see any monitoring during the entire process.
In order to achieve such an unimaginable feat, there was a prerequisite, and that was to control the entire military.
There was only one person in the world who could do it.
"I want to see him," said Jing Jiu.
"What do you intend to do?" asked Ran Handong in a trembling voice.
A few days ago, the battleship was ablaze in the dark space. The calm and profound voice echoed in the spherical flames.
Jing Jiu said that if we meet …
The battleship was destroyed as soon as he said this. Nobody knew what the second half of his statement was, and nobody knew what would happen when they met.
Maybe nothing would happen.
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