Chapter 905: Farewell

Chapter 905: Farewell

In an instant, the expressions of everyone surrounding Li Sui grew grave; as the horn sounded, soldiers from the distance began to converge upon this spot, each preparing their own trump card.

"Hmm—everyone, cease," a voice, neither fully male nor female, resonated, and the tense, bristling atmosphere began to soften.

As the crowd parted, Li Sui saw a man with a round face, appearing to be in his thirties and dressed in green silk, emerge from the throng.

He looked at the wounded Li Sui, extended a finger to twirl a lock of hair at his left temple, and said with measured deliberation, "A Black Tai Sui heart-element? Hmph, how intriguing. To speak so fluently—a rarity in a thousand years."

He did not quite look like a man, yet possessed a certain feminine quality; looking at him, Li Sui was reminded of the eunuchs in the palace, though he seemed even more womanly than they.

"This... are you a eunuch serving the Emperor in the palace? Do you know the Emperor?" Li Sui felt certain the Emperor of Great Qi must know her father.

"Hmph," the androgynous figure let out a soft scoff before replying, "An androgynous soul is not necessarily a eunuch. I did indeed wish to serve in the palace when I was six, but they refused me, saying I was not qualified. No help for it; one must eat, so now I can only scrape by as an Astronomer in the Directorate of Celestial Affairs."

"You are of the Great Qi Directorate of Celestial Affairs? Are you truly?" Li Sui grew agitated; after running for so long, she had finally found someone who could speak sense.

"Then please, go help my father! He is in such danger!" Li Sui then rapidly recounted the entire sequence of events to him.

After listening, the Astronomer looked at her with hesitation, scrutinizing her repeatedly; it was all too bizarre.

Half an incense stick later, he wiped a nonexistent bead of sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief pulled from his sleeve, glanced at the chaotic streets, and turned toward a side alley. "Follow me." Li Sui hurried to keep pace.

Following him through winding paths, Li Sui finally entered a small courtyard; it was not large, containing only a grape trellis, a rocking chair, and a stone table.

Compared to the clamor outside, this place was exceptionally quiet. The Astronomer reclined on the rocking chair, crossed his legs, and squinted, studying Li Sui once more, wondering what kind of creature she truly was.

If she were a fake, how could a mere Black Tai Sui know of a Great Liang, and speak of it with such coherence? Yet if she were real, her claim that her father was assisting the Arbiter of Fate was even more preposterous.

"Can you send me back to Great Liang first? I have urgent matters there; my father is still waiting for me." Li Sui could wait no longer.

"Do not be impatient. Tell me more details so I can figure out how to help you. Start from the beginning—the Dharma Sect. Did they truly annihilate all of Great Qi?"

Through their brief contact, the Astronomer had sensed the simple, childlike heart of Li Sui, and he knew he must probe further.

"But my father, he—"

"Your father is in the heavens, what is there to fear? As the saying goes, a day in heaven is ten years on earth. Set your mind at ease; I guarantee your father is perfectly fine."

Hearing this, Li Sui felt a measure of relief and told him everything she knew, including the details of Great Qi, Great Liang, and the Dharma Sect.

When he had heard her answers, the Astronomer’s heart remained unsettled for a long time. If this were true, it was utterly absurd, yet as he asked more, everything she described began to feel increasingly real.

He suddenly raised both hands, and as his fingers crossed, two white lines appeared between them. He smiled at Li Sui and said, "Li Sui, you poor girl, your face is covered in filth. Do not move; let me tidy you up."

The crossed white lines glided swiftly across Li Sui’s mangled, dog-like face, shearing away the fine, jagged granulation tissue and blood scabs. When he retracted the lines, they were stained crimson.

The Astronomer withdrew the threads and thought to himself, "Acceptable. At least she is not of the Zuo Wang Dao." He believed her a little more.

"Li Sui, tell me, in what year did this Dharma Sect uprising occur in Great Qi?"

"What year? I do not know. My father never taught me that."

"Hmm... then when you were there, what was the name of the Great Qi Emperor? You must know that."

"I know that. His name is Gao Zhijian."

"Gao Zhijian? A fine name."

The Astronomer immediately began to calculate, but after a long while, he stopped, his brow furrowing. "Strange. Why can I not calculate it? Could it be that his name was not chosen according to the Eight Characters or the Five Elements?"

Li Sui looked at the quiet, peaceful surroundings and asked with hesitation, "This... sir, may I ask a question? Before, Great Qi was occupied by the Yu'er God. Why is everything well again now?"

Ever since she had fallen from the sky, Li Sui had been pondering this, but could find no one to ask.

Now that the Astronomer was before her, she naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"As for that..." The Astronomer himself did not quite understand; her words were too outlandish. Could the entire Great Qi really have been destroyed? What kind of catastrophe would that require? "Do not be anxious. I will summon the Great Qi State Preceptor to help you save your father."

Li Sui had not waited long when an old man wearing a Nuo opera mask was carried in on a rattan chair. He looked ancient; his hands were nothing but skin stretched over bone, the veins beneath almost transparent.

Before Li Sui could react, the State Preceptor’s hand shot up, gripping her wrist tightly. A Nuo mask was pressed directly onto her dog-like face.

Li Sui struggled desperately, pulling with all her might until she finally tore the mask away.

The moment it came off, she heard the State Preceptor on the rattan chair speak: "What she says is true, but it is not now. It is three cycles of sixty years from now."

Li Sui’s body shuddered violently.

She knew what a cycle was; she had heard Scholar Lu speak of it. She had already lived through one cycle—a cycle was sixty years, and three cycles meant one hundred and eighty years! She was one hundred and eighty years in the past...

She did not know why this had happened, nor did she want to know. The only thing she knew was that she would likely never see her father again.

Li Sui stood dazed for a long time before slowly coming to her senses. She trembled, trying to comfort herself. "It is fine. As long as Father is safe, it is fine. I have time. I only need to wait one hundred and eighty years, and I will see my father again."

But as she spoke, tears continued to stream down her face, impossible to wipe away.

Li Sui stared blankly at the frantic Li Huowang before her, recalling that memory she had almost forgotten.

"Li Sui! Li Sui! I am talking to you! Are you even listening?"

"Ah?"

"Ah, what! The sky is falling, and you are still daydreaming!"