There were monsters and cultivators, and in that mysterious eastern land, past lives and present lives existed.
Most ordinary people probably would not believe it. Yet Luo Qiu was the sort of person who would believe without needing proof.
You Ye had said that he would be able to see through people's hearts in the future... Luo Qiu was not sure whether that would really happen, but at that moment, he could sense that this man had not spoken.
It was just like when he had stared at this man at the auction earlier—he had been unable to sense any malice from him.
He reached out and helped the man up. As he touched the other White Jade Token in his hand, he also began listening to this man's story.
The man was thirty-four years old. His name was Su Houde, and he had originally been just a courier for a nearby transport company. He was unmarried.
He had been having a strange dream ever since he was a child. In a magnificent palace, the dragon countenance of the Son of Heaven raged, while vicious guards stood nearby with blades in hand.
When a child had nightmares, the elderly would use ancient methods to drive away evil spirits. But the effect was not significant. As Su Houde grew older, he had the dreams more and more often, and the things he saw became increasingly real. Finally, when he turned thirty, he learned what this long dream truly was—and what he himself was.
"So... you're the maker of this pair of jade tokens?" Luo Qiu asked in surprise as he looked at Su Houde. "That famous jade craftsman from the Ming Dynasty?"
Su Houde smiled bitterly. "You don't believe me, do you? At first, I didn't believe it myself. But it isn't just this pair of jade tokens. I clearly remember, recognize, and know every other artifact that has already been unearthed!"
Su Houde caressed the White Jade Token in his hand, an infatuated look appearing on his face. "How they were cut from the raw stone, how they were polished, carved, and inscribed... I remember every single step perfectly."
Luo Qiu pondered. "Since Mr. Su knows that this is about past and present lives, and that your past life has ended, why are you still so attached to this White Jade Token? You were born in the modern era. You have family and friends. To risk acting like this... aren't you afraid?"
"I don't know..." Su Houde shook his head, his expression pained. "I was lost, and I hesitated... I've been hesitating all along. But when I saw this White Jade Token at the venue, I became possessed. I simply couldn't control myself. I know very clearly that I am Su Houde, not an ancient man from five hundred years ago. But another voice also told me that I couldn't just watch San Niang be bought by someone else. We have been apart for five hundred years. Who knows when we'll meet again?"
"San Niang?"
Su Houde gave a bitter laugh and let out a long sigh. "I was the greatest jade craftsman of my time. I was obsessed with jade all my life, and even more than that, I was arrogant about my talent. That year, Emperor Xianzong summoned me to the palace and ordered me to make a pair of White Jade Tokens, with a Daoist scripture engraved inside them. But I was not allowed to view the scripture directly. Someone could only recite it aloud beside me. And San Niang was the person Emperor Xianzong sent to recite it for me."
"Only later did I learn that San Niang was no ordinary palace maid. She was one of Emperor Xianzong's consorts. Before entering the palace, San Niang had gone up the mountain to study the Dao. Emperor Xianzong desired immortality and had also gone into the mountains to seek the Dao from the Old Immortal. For some reason, the Old Immortal agreed to the emperor's request and had San Niang follow him into the palace. In the eyes of outsiders, San Niang was the emperor's consort, but in reality, she was a cultivator who instructed the emperor."
"The origin of this pair of White Jade Tokens was a strange stone discovered in the Eastern Sea, one with miraculous powers. San Niang had the emperor carve the strange stone into jade tokens and engrave inside them a scripture she had cultivated—the Supreme Jade Emperor's Heart Seal Subtle Scripture. If the emperor wore them and often recited the scripture while meditating, his cultivation would become twice as effective with half the effort."
Su Houde's voice suddenly grew low. "During those days, San Niang kept me company. She had originally belonged to a world beyond the mundane, yet she met me... It was all because I disrupted San Niang's Dao heart. But those days were the happiest of my entire life. Unfortunately, good times never last. The White Jade Tokens eventually reached the day they were completed."
"I knew that once the jade tokens were finished, San Niang would have to return to the emperor's side. I also knew that even if we loved each other deeply, there was no way we could be together." Su Houde let out a long sigh. "The only thing I could do was secretly carve San Niang's name and my own into the pair of jade tokens, hoping that when San Niang saw them, she might find a little comfort."
As he spoke, Su Houde opened his hand to reveal the White Jade Token. "This one uses intaglio engraving. It bears the signature I usually used. The one in your hand is more concealed and can only be revealed under light. It bears San Niang's name. It was perfectly ordinary for a jade craftsman to leave his signature on his work. For me especially, signing my work had become the most natural thing in the world, because I was the finest craftsman of that era... But I had overlooked the fact that these were for the Son of Heaven. How could the emperor wear someone else's name on his person?"
"The emperor discovered not only my name, but San Niang's as well, and flew into a rage." Su Houde's voice turned hoarse. "Only then did I realize that although the emperor sought immortality, he had also fallen in love with San Niang at first sight. The emperor wanted to kill me, but San Niang desperately pleaded for my life. In his fury, His Majesty summoned a demonic Daoist, who struck San Niang's three souls and seven spirits separately into this pair of White Jade Tokens. He then had me beheaded outside the palace. My body and head were separated and sent to the southeast. I truly died a death with my body and head in different places..."
"I hated him so much. I swore that even if I became a vengeful ghost, I would never let the matter rest! Even if I were reborn, I would personally kill the emperor and find my San Niang."
"But the emperor was already dead, and no one knew where the jade tokens had ended up."
"I kept searching, life after life."
"I don't know how many times I reincarnated."
"But I finally found them!"
Su Houde's gaze suddenly changed. He grabbed Luo Qiu's arms with both hands and snarled, "Give me the jade token! I need to free San Niang! Five hundred years! A full five hundred years! Her soul has been split apart and sealed inside two tiny jade tokens! Do you know how much she has suffered?!"
Such behavior did not make Luo Qiu angry. He could feel the genuine fury and grief in Su Houde at that moment.
But it angered You Ye.
She struck out directly, slapping Su Houde away and sending him tumbling to the ground. The jade token he had been holding slipped from his grasp and rolled aside.
Su Houde was startled. He scrambled and rolled toward the jade token, trying to pick it up. Unexpectedly, the jade token suddenly rose into the air and shot toward the other side, finally landing in an old man's hand.
A young man accompanied the old man.
Only after the White Jade Token entered his hand did the old man say in a deep voice, "This... should have been an item of my sect. It seems the records were indeed correct."
"It's you!"
Su Houde clearly recognized the old man. He was none other than the person who had helped him at the auction.
Luo Qiu recognized him too.
The old man's face suddenly flushed red. He shouted in a deep voice, "Hand over the other one in your possession as well!"
At almost the same moment, Luo Qiu felt his body become extremely heavy. The air around him seemed to press in from all directions, and his breathing immediately grew labored.
"How dare you touch my master? You... are courting death!"
You Ye's voice turned cold. Blue light blazed in her eyes, and her hair stirred without any wind. She had actually begun to float.
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