I've Been Waiting for You for a Long Time
The new emperor may be pinning his hopes on witnessing a miracle in fifteen days, hoping that Zhang Xuezhou will return.
But the miracle the new emperor was waiting for did not happen. Zhang Xuezhou was presumed dead, hence this funeral.
Mei Gao and Zhang Xuezhou, who were in charge of the funeral, had only met him a few times, and he still found the situation somewhat hard to believe.
When Zhang Xuezhou opened the coffin, he found some of his tattered clothes and rags inside.
When his gaze fell upon the shattered fragments of the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, Zhang Xuezhou's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, felt half-dead.
He had a lot of pills in his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, some of which he could refine, and others of which were longevity pills that he couldn't refine at the moment, all of which were shattered by the Demon-Revealing Mirror.
Fortunately, his spiritwood staff was difficult to control and could not be put into his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, which saved him from being buried with the deceased.
"Get out, get out! Get everything out of here!"
Zhang Xuezhou showed great disdain. He quickly arranged Ren Anran's accommodation and urged Mei Gao to remove the mourning hall from his place.
After arriving safely at the mansion, he was able to roughly determine that the Demon-Revealing Mirror was relatively safe and was not targeting him.
As Mei Gao nodded in agreement, Zhang Xuezhou swayed and then slipped through the crowd.
As the medical facility for many high-ranking officials, the Imperial Medical Academy was not far from the residences of important court officials. If one passed directly from the Pingyang Marquis's residence, the Imperial Medical Academy would be in sight.
"A betrothal!"
Instead of recklessly causing trouble, Zhang Xuezhou called out from a great distance.
His voice carried first, followed by his arrival.
Yi Shuo had great confidence in Zhang Xuezhou and was not overly worried about the fight between Zhang Xuezhou and Dao Jun and others, but things couldn't withstand the test of the new emperor's testimony and even his handling of the funeral arrangements.
If he hadn't died, but Yi Shuo had instead died of illness, Zhang Xuezhou felt things would be very bad.
The sound of sobbing came from inside the Imperial Physician's Hall, and Zhang Xuezhou's heart skipped a beat.
Who is crying?
Zhang Xuezhou, standing atop the waves, glanced around several times. He noticed that the weeping person was unfamiliar, and a large group of medical officers were lamenting their loss. Only then did he turn to the gatekeepers patrolling and guarding the area.
"The Marquis of Wu'an was ill for three months; he probably didn't make it through!"
"The ones weeping are the family of Marquis of Wu'an!"
Zhang Xuezhou breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the two gatekeepers' reply. He had been too hasty and misjudged the situation. After all, people who mourned Zhang Xuezhou needed to hire others to come. Yi Shuo, who had lost both her parents, lacked Lineage connections and only had Yi Zong as her relative. If she wanted to cry and sob like that, she would also need to pay someone to come.
Zhang Xuezhou ignored Marquis of Wu'an Tian Fen, and quickly inquired about Yi Shuo.
As the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, Yi Shuo was very famous there, and the gatekeepers must have known about her.
"The imperial physician was taken away yesterday; they said he was going to see some famous doctor!"
"A renowned doctor? Who took the volunteer doctor away!"
"That Wei Ou who's famous for her singing, her voice is incredibly beautiful!"
Mei Gao was always holding funeral rites, so the information was obviously not accurate or timely.
Zhang Xuezhou inquired about the information and then breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't trust the people at the Imperial Medical Academy, but he trusted Zheng Wukong more. He knew that Zheng Wukong would keep Yi Shuo alive no matter what, especially since Chunyu Tiying was also in Laoshu Hutong, and Zou Bugui to assist her.
Wei Shao'er wasn't much of a help in normal times, but when a real problem arose, he was extremely decisive, at least relieving Zhang Xuezhou of his worries.
"Yishuo and Aqiao are ultimately different!"
As Zhang Xuezhou rushed through the streets toward Old Tree Alley, he couldn't help but sigh.
Under the current social system, free love is indeed a luxury. Marriages between men and women are arranged by parents and matchmakers, and even emperors are no exception.
Aqiao was deprived of her freedom and was passively drawn into the schemes of the King of Huainan's Household. She was thus transferred like a commodity and forced to follow Zhang Xuezhou under extremely passive circumstances.
Yi Shuo, on the other hand, took the initiative to form a relationship with Zhang Xuezhou. For Zhang Xuezhou, it was about curing his illness, but for Yi Shuo, it was about love. The two had completely different feelings for each other.
"I should have been more vigilant when Yi Shuo sent Sai Xi Shi back!"
Zhang Xuezhou shook his head, feeling that Yi Shuo would need to get to know him better in order to understand him more clearly.
The death caused by the Demon-Revealing Demon-Revealing Mirror will inevitably lead to some follow-up problems. Zhang Xuezhou will not only have to face the illegitimate wife, but also the new emperor, in order to continue living in peace.
As Zhang Xuezhou sped toward Laoshu Hutong, he considered many reasons, but ultimately concluded that honest communication would be more effective.
"Shuo, Dongfang Shuo is gone, but at least he left behind a son. Dongfang Jia, come here and kowtow to your second aunt. Your second aunt..."
From the courtyard of No. 17 Laoshu Hutong, came Zheng Wukong's somewhat feeble words of persuasion, mixed with the sound of Dongfang Jia kowtowing.
The moment the sound reached his ears, Zhang Xuezhou had already leaped over the wall and entered.
Before he could even speak, Zhang Xuezhou found himself face to face with Yi Shuo, who was lying in the courtyard. Yi Shuo's right hand, which had been reaching for Dongfang Jia's head, immediately rose.
"You've come... come to pick me up!"
"Um!"
After Yi Shuo made a labored sound, Zhang Xuezhou quickly replied.
When several pairs of eyes turned back to look, Zheng Wukong and the others jumped up as if they had encountered a ghost.
"Alive?" Chunyu Tiying exclaimed in surprise.
"I heard you guys created something called Yang Soul Body. Is it that someone dies and transforms into a Yang Soul Body?" Zheng Wukong asked in surprise.
"You two are talking nonsense! Tian Ding already said that Zhouzi didn't die so easily, but you insist on believing he's dead!"
Zou Bugui stood up and approached Zhang Xuezhou, then pinched him.
Later, Wei Shao'er, being suspicious, pinched Zhang Xuezhou's face hard, which prompted Zhang Xuezhou to flick his finger back.
"How strange! His Majesty has already held a funeral for you, and you're still alive!"
Wei Shao'er cried out in pain and told Liu Xuan to quickly help Yi Shuo up.
"Did my cousin go to Mount Tai?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.
"Yes, he and Kong Ning both went to Mount Tai, saying they wanted to thoroughly investigate your life or death," Wei Shao'er nodded.
"I learned some resurrection skills from the Shijiao School, so dying once or twice is no problem," Zhang Xuezhou said, taking Yi Shuo's withered hand. "Don't be frightened by my death in the future!"
"Really?" Wei Shao'er exclaimed in surprise, "It's already difficult enough to just hit you, and you can even come back to life. If you keep doing this, wouldn't you be invincible?"
"What kind of invincibility is this!"
Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and then tugged at Dongfang Jia, who was kneeling on the ground and dared not get up.
He used to think that achieving physical sainthood was something extraordinary, but after being beaten, he lost all his temper.
There are even stronger cultivators and special treasures in this world that can restrain even those who have attained sainthood through physical cultivation.
As for the ability to resurrect the dead, it is rare and not unique; Naggs' pursuit of immortality through the mark is a similar method.
The stronger Zhang Xuezhou became, the more he understood the importance of humility; otherwise, a single misstep could lead to total defeat.
"Shuo Xian, you really do live here! I've been waiting for you for so long!"
Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to talk to Yi Shuo, who was overly agitated, to calm her down, he heard a loud shout from the corner of the wall, and a white dog jumped out.