Chapter 16 Part 1
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This chapter is edited by Bakhtawar Kakar. Thank you for your contribution!
Chapter 16: May the Spirit of Our People, Passed on Through Generations (1)
The enthusiastic cries gradually subsided.
The aurora that had illuminated the sky above Qingxu moments ago fell into an eerie silence.
But this was not the end.
It was merely a brief moment of calm before the storm!
It was like playing the flute—
The climax always follows a slight lull in the melody.
And after a soul-stirring crescendo, there’s inevitably a period of quiet exhaustion.
This allows the musician a moment to breathe and the audience time to savor the beauty of the performance.
After all, human emotions have their limits.
Ying Shi, always composed and self-restrained, understood this truth deeply.
She never asked for too much and avoided indulging herself recklessly.
No matter how much she wanted something, she would first draw up a list and weigh the pros and cons.
The pros brought happiness; the cons brought pain. If happiness outweighed pain, only then would she proceed.
This method was tedious, but it kept her from sinking into chaos.
Ying Shi was this kind of person.
She had no obsession with extreme pleasure; its existence—or absence—was irrelevant to her.
Her motto was simple: stay steady, remain balanced.
It was because of this mindset that she consciously set boundaries with her role as the “Yaochi Saintess.”
The Saintess was the face of Yaochi Holy Mountain.
Her beauty and grace made her perfectly suited for this role.
But the Saintess was not merely a symbol of beauty. She also represented the will of Yaochi Holy Mountain.
If someone like Ying Shi held that position for too long, it was inevitable that those around her would grow indifferent to her presence.
And in time, the elders of Yaochi Holy Mountain would become dissatisfied.
Rather than waiting to be pushed aside, Ying Shi decided it was better to step down voluntarily, preserving her dignity—and everyone else’s.
But Ying Shi had not always been this way.
There was a time when her heart burned with passion, when she longed to do bold and thrilling things.
Back then…
She had watched, wide-eyed, as her older sister ascended to a position of great power.
She had watched as that same sister, drunk on her newfound authority, began to bully those around her.
And she had watched in horror as her sister was torn apart by the mob, pierced from head to toe with red-hot iron rods.
That chaotic, bloody scene left an indelible scar on the young Ying Shi.
“Is it so terrifying to stand at the center of everyone’s attention?”
She didn’t know what to think.
In the end, she fled desperately from the abyss she had once admired.
Most people quickly shifted their gaze away from her, and in that newfound quiet, she found a sense of peace she had never experienced before.
And yet…
When she reflected on it, there was a lingering sense of regret.
Otherwise, why would she dream of it whenever she was exhausted from cultivation?
But if you asked her to return to that place, she would refuse without hesitation.
It was too intense.
How could she ever stay still in such a position?
Over time, Ying Shi gradually transferred those unfulfilled emotions onto someone else.
She came to admire those who could remain calm and composed while basking in the glow of fame.
The perfect example of such a person was Bai Lian.
Even before the name “White Emperor Bai Lian” became widely known, Ying Shi had already taken notice of her.
This was, ironically, thanks to a rumor spread by Tong Yao.
Yaochi Holy Mountain had allegedly tried to offer two saintesses in exchange for Bai Lian, but the Duxian Sect had refused.
Could Bai Lian really be that extraordinary?
Ying Shi wasn’t particularly upset by the rumor, but it piqued her curiosity enough for her to pay attention.
And from that single moment of attention, she found herself utterly captivated.
Two years ago, everyone was still talking about “Bai Lian Slays the Demon King” and “Defeating the Snake Dragon.”
Two years later, Bai Lian had shattered a monstrous sea creature, turning it into shards of brilliant light.
In comparison, Ying Shi felt nothing but shame.
Two years had passed, and what had she achieved? Not even an increase in the size of her chest!
“I’m so useless!”
(」ó﹏ò)」
Falling deeper into the abyss called Bai Lian, Ying Shi found it increasingly difficult to pull herself out.
Bai Lian’s depths were unfathomable.
But…
Why did she leave?
Wasn’t it comfortable here?
Isn’t this the place she dreamt of?
Bai Lian’s sword slashed through the sea monster and pierced deeply into her own body.
That feeling—
It was exhilarating!
Ying Shi had never felt so fulfilled.
She quietly clenched the fist hidden within her long sleeve.
Bai Lian had accomplished all the things Ying Shi wished to do but couldn’t—or was too afraid to attempt.
This “Bai Lian” was her superhuman, her light.
From Nanwang Country to Yao Xia Bay, and from Yao Xia Bay to Qingxu, Bai Lian’s relentless determination seemed to shape the world itself.
In Ying Shi’s heart, she was slowly molding herself to be like Bai Lian.
It’s decided.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Ying Shi resolved to pour all her admiration and passion into Bai Lian—
Until there wasn’t a single drop left.
Her eyes sparkled with resolve.
At that moment, a green light beam suddenly erupted from the glowing sphere beneath Ruomu.
The calm was finally shattered.
A new wave was on its way.
Everyone present instinctively looked up.
They saw the glowing sphere gradually turning transparent. Within it, Bai Lian stood tall, while the girl who had been protected behind her floated into the sky, rising higher and higher.
“What’s happening?”
Aside from Bai Lian and the merperson, no one else knew that Xia Qingqing was the Green Emperor.
Though the sight was magnificent, it failed to stir the same cheers as before.
Was this silence appropriate?
Bai Lian raised her gaze to Xia Qingqing.
The girl in the sky looked back with gentle, tender eyes.
A faint smile graced her face.
It was as though this moment wasn’t a sorrowful farewell, but a celebration of her ascension.
But…
Whether it was a farewell or a celebration, shouldn’t it be more lively than this?
Bai Lian avoided Xia Qingqing’s gaze and slowly lowered her head.
“…”
Xia Qingqing was momentarily stunned.
Was Bai Lian unwilling to watch her leave?
She had hoped Bai Lian would keep her eyes on her always—
So that no matter how high or far she flew, she would never lose her way.
Like a kite tethered to the ground, Bai Lian’s gaze was the string that kept her anchored.
But Xia Qingqing could understand Bai Lian’s reaction.
No matter how one sugarcoated it, a parting was never a joyous occasion.
Even so—
“I still feel lost.”
Xia Qingqing’s expression dimmed. She lightly pinched her palm, trying to dispel the creeping negativity.
Bai Lian, unaware of Xia Qingqing’s thoughts, was lost in her own sea of emotions.
A swirl of thoughts echoed in her mind—
Threads tangled like silk, impossible to unravel.
Amid this chaos, Bai Lian felt as if she had stepped into a vast river of time.
She wasn’t paddling along its course but drifting to a mysterious, timeless place.
There was no space, no time—just a void.
Looking down, she saw the river’s upstream and downstream.
She saw two stages of a child’s growth.
She saw Xia Qingqing’s mischievous moments at the Tianji Sect, and she saw the Green Emperor battling the sea monster in the torrential rain.
At first, her heart was still, like a calm, rippling pond.
But in the end, even her tranquil soul was stirred by a faint, almost imperceptible wave.
Tick.
Bai Lian opened her eyes again.
Determination filled them.
“She has been working so hard.”
“She shouldn’t leave so quietly.”
“She’s paid so much. She deserves to be remembered and praised by all.”
“And… she came here to find her father. She shouldn’t leave with that regret!”
Bai Lian suddenly crouched down.
She was very weak now, so she couldn’t fly into the sky to send Xia Qingqing off. But even from the ground, there were still plenty of things she could do.
For example—pull out a bunch of fireworks from her chest!
These were something she had prepared specifically for the Lantern Festival.
But that didn’t matter.
Judging by the current situation, she wouldn’t make it in time for this year’s Lantern Festival anyway.
Rather than letting these fireworks remain as mere decorations, why not use them to ignite this emotionless reality?
And so—
Bai Lian began arranging the fireworks on the ground, some thick, some thin, some long, and some short, all in succession.
She rubbed her hands together.
The fuses of the fireworks started catching fire, one after another.
A few seconds later—
Accompanied by a sudden “choo-choo” sound, the fireworks began to shoot into the air, white smoke trailing behind them.
The silence was broken.
Pop, pop…
After the explosions, brilliant fireworks of all colors blossomed across the sky.
