Early the next morning after the villagers were settled, Chen Jieqi entered Heaven Dou City alone.
He rode his horse and walked slowly along the official road. The morning fog had not yet cleared, and the city in the distance was looming in the fog, like a faded ink painting.
He was not in a hurry, he was just making plans in his mind.
Ye Family's incident has just begun. Defense Clan's advance team is still rushing to work in the mine. The villagers' winter food and grass are still quite short.
Over at the Breaking Clan, Yang Wudi has used Aromatic Silk Beauty to detoxify the body, and the research and development of new drugs is on the right track.
Things are lined up one after another. There is no need to rush or be slow.
When we arrived at the door of Crown Prince's Residence, the sun had already risen.
When the guards at the door saw this, one led the horse and the other led him into the side hall.
The side hall is small and simply furnished, with a square table and two chairs. There is a pot of tea and two cups on the table.
Chen Jieqi sat down on the chair, picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. The tea was warm and just right in his mouth. He waited for about a cup of tea.
There were footsteps outside the door, not the kind of footsteps that were deliberately gentle to avoid disturbing others, but a very natural, unhurried pace.
The door was pushed open.
Xue Qinghe walked in, wearing a plain robe, with a half-twisted hair crown, a bit tired on his face, but his eyes were bright.
"Coming?" she said.
"Yeah." Chen Jieqi stood up.
"Sit." Xue Qinghe waved his hand and sat down opposite him.
"Come early in the morning, what do you want?"
Chen Jieqi didn't answer immediately, just looked at Xue Qinghe,
"You can't come if you have nothing to do?"
Xue Qinghe raised his head and glanced at him, slightly curved his mouth, said nothing, and pushed the poured tea in front of him.
"It's about the Cangmang Mountain Range," Chen Jieqi picked up the teacup.
"I figured it out."
Xue Qinghe's hand paused for a moment, then he put down the teapot, leaned back on the chair, and looked at his face.
"Say."
Chen Jieqi recounted what Cangmang Mountain Range had seen and heard, including the empty shell of Village of Light, the contaminated villagers, the ambush of Evil Soul Master, and the fragmented scenes released by the Soul Emperor before his death.
He tacitly agreed not to mention Valley of Light, nor did he mention that the source of pollution was behind Valley of Light.
"That underground palace," Xue Qinghe tapped his fingers on the table, "What did you see?"
"A gray-black statue with a vague face and only a pair of scarlet eyes." Chen Jieqi said,
"Another voice said, 'Find the key, open Stone Gate, and take out the core of Temple of Light'."
Xue Qinghe didn't ask any further questions. The side hall became quiet. She stood up and walked to the window.
"You're hurt," she said, looking out the window.
Chen Jieqi was stunned for a moment.
"When Guard Chief Zhao came back, he said there was a scar on your arm." Xue Qinghe's voice was very calm.
"He said your holy light can purify everything, but that scar hasn't gone away."
Chen Jieqi touched his right arm with his left hand. The sleeve covered the gray and black lines, but he knew it was there.
"Small injury."
Xue Qinghe turned around and looked at him.
"Chen Jieqi."
"Hmm."
"Next time you go to a place like this," she said in a slightly calm tone, "Either take someone with you or don't come back to see me."
Chen Jieqi looked at her.
The sunlight poured in through the window, fell on her body, and dyed the edges of her plain robe golden.
Her expression was calm, but there was something inexplicable in her eyes, which was neither a command nor a request.
More like... I don't want to see that kind of injury again.
"Okay." His hand holding the tea cup tightened.
Xue Qinghe turned back and continued to look out the window.
"Your fifth Soul Ring," she suddenly said, "Did that Unicorn tell you anything?"
Chen Jieqi knows what she is asking.
"It says," he said carefully,
"Behind that Stone Gate, there is the complete inheritance of Temple of Light, but now I can't open it."
"Not strong enough?"
"Strength is enough," Chen Jieqi said, "But inheritance cannot be obtained by strength alone."
Xue Qinghe did not ask further questions, and the side hall became quiet again, with only the heat of the tea slowly rising between the two of them.
"That mine," Xue Qinghe suddenly said, "What do you plan to call it?"
"Chapel of Light's Hope."
Xue Qinghe turned around and looked at him, with a bit of scrutiny and a bit of curiosity in his eyes.
"Chapel? You want to build a church?"
"It's not a church." Chen Jieqi saw her scrutiny,
"It is a place... for those who are willing to believe in the light, there is a place to stay."
Xue Qinghe Look at him for a while and sit down.
"Then what do you believe?" she asked.
Chen Jieqi looked up at the ceiling,
"Believe in myself."
Then looked at her,
"What about you? What do you believe?"
Xue Qinghe's fingers paused on the rim of the cup. This time she was silent for a long time, so long that a leaf fell from the ancient tree outside the window.
"I used to believe in God." She finally spoke, her voice very soft.
"Right now... don't know."
The tacit understanding between the two makes some words easy to say.
"That source of pollution," Xue Qinghe put down the teacup, "How do you plan to deal with it?"
"I can't move now." Chen Jieqi spread his hands, "I'm not strong enough, so I'll go after I have enough."
"When is enough?"
"At least after driving Stone Gate."
"It will be Continental Soul Master Tournament in half a year." She suddenly said, "How prepared are you? Can you bring the championship back to Heaven Dou?"
"Everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared." Chen Jieqi said in a normal tone, "Huangdou has almost enough over there, plus myself..."
Xue Qinghe smiled slightly,
"You are quite confident."
"It's not confidence." Chen Jieqi said, "I probably know what my opponent is like."
Xue Qinghe thought of something and showed a clear expression, with a hint of unnoticeable pleasure in revenge hidden in his eyes.
She picked up the teacup and took a sip, "What about after the competition?"
Chen Jieqi knew that what she asked was not "what are the plans for the future", but "when will Stone Gate be opened next."
"After the big game," he said, "The time is almost right."
Xue Qinghe nodded and did not ask any more questions.
Chen Jieqi stood up and waved his hand,
"Gone."
"So fast?"
"There's something else."
Xue Qinghe didn't try to keep him, he just watched him go.
Chen Jieqi walked to the door and suddenly stopped without looking back.
"Xue Qinghe"
"Huh?"
"That scar," he said, "Can't be erased, but I don't want you to see a scar like this."
He didn't wait for her answer, opened the door and went out.
The sound of the door closing was very soft, but in the quiet side hall, it was particularly clear.
Xue Qinghe sat on the chair and stared at the closed door for a long time.
The sun shines in through the window and falls on the tea cup in her hand. The tea has gone cold.
She picked up the cup of herbal tea and drank it all in one gulp. The tea was bitter.
But after it slipped through my throat, there was a hint of sweetness on the tip of my tongue.
She put down the teacup, stood up, walked to the window, and stood there for a long time.
Outside the window, the figure of Chen Jieqi has disappeared, but the corners of her mouth curved in a very shallow arc.