My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion
Chapter 107 - 90 The Prodigal Son

Chapter 107: Chapter 90 The Prodigal Son

A brat who presumptuously claims to know the destiny of heaven.

Taichua Goddess watched as Chen Yi departed.

Even though her heart had gradually become as calm as still water after entering the underground palace, she couldn’t help but still find him an eyesore at this moment.

"The ’Yi’ character in his name is truly wasted on him."

Taichua Goddess murmured to herself.

Yi, itself, implies the Tao.

"He is someone who absolutely cannot sever worldly attachments; why should I bother to persuade him? It is better to quickly seek the Goddess’s inheritance."

Taichua Goddess thought deeply and began to calculate.

Now her mindset is near perfect; she must not be swayed by him, and she certainly must not allow her Heart Lake to surge as it did before.

On Taihua Mountain, there is a clear rule: those whose Taoist skills have not been achieved must not travel far, and those who have achieved great mastery must not travel far either.

The former is because their mindset is not complete enough, while the latter is because their mindset is too complete. One must know that the more perfect the mindset, the more irretrievable it becomes if broken, just like the higher a building rises, the more catastrophic the fall. It is feared that the years of cultivated Taoist skills will be shattered, all serving another’s gain.

...........

Returning to the burial chamber, Chen Yi saw that Empress An was awake, while the captured Lin Family Young Lady was cowering in the corner.

Seeing Chen Yi, Empress An’s head shook, and she softly said:

"Chen, Chen Yi... no, Yi’er?"

Chen Yi noticed, at the start, a fleeting glimpse of hatred in Empress An’s eyes, which quickly vanished, turning into an affectionate and sincere call.

The original memories of Empress An and those of the Tushan Clan seemed to be clashing.

"I am here, Empress."

"Where did you go? Why couldn’t I see you early on?"

Empress An slowly stood up.

"I went to..."

Before Chen Yi could finish, Empress An shuffled over to Lin Wanxiao. The young lady was stupefied at first, then shook all over.

"Kill a few people to worship the Emperor and Earth first, then take care of her a hundred times to pass on your lineage."

Saying this, Empress An carelessly picked up Lin Wanxiao, like picking up a chick.

Lin Wanxiao’s face turned pale with fright, tears in her eyes:

"He, he is my uncle, really my uncle..."

She couldn’t lose her virtue; an ordinary wife could still cover it up, but she hadn’t even consummated her marriage yet. If she lost her virtue, everything would be ruined, leaving her to be a woman who lost her reputation and wanted to throw herself into a river.

And even if Chen Yi still had desires, at the moment, he wasn’t in the frame of mind,

"Empress, you..."

Seeing Chen Yi wanting to decline, Empress An became angry, rebuking:

"I found you a woman, and you still refuse. Do you know how much thought I’ve put into you? Do you know how long I’ve spent to raise you up? Fine, you’ve grown rebellious, thinking I can’t control you anymore. Let me tell you, no matter how long, I am still your mother."

"How could..."

Chen Yi had no choice but to quickly play the part, smiling warmly:

"But currently, in this underground palace, we can’t exactly sacrifice people to the heavens, can we?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanxiao hurriedly nodded.

Unexpectedly, Empress An’s eyes shifted, lightly saying:

"Then sacrifice to the heavens later; handle her first. We’re not like those Eastern Yi people who are constantly worshipping ghosts and gods."

Chen Yi’s gaze shifted, seemingly contemplating.

Lin Wanxiao, with tears in her eyes and no color on her face, placed all of her hope on her cheap uncle, only to see him stride forward and embrace her outright. Raised in the deep chamber, having not interacted much with men, Lin Wanxiao instantly froze.

"I’ll go to the next room."

She heard a sentence like this, and before she realized it, she was already in another burial chamber.

"Uncle, no, no... scoundrel! Shameless villain!"

Pressed to the ground, desperation rose from Lin Wanxiao’s heart, and she struggled, with her embroidered shoes flying off, her bare feet swinging wildly. Annoyed by her, Chen Yi harshly pressed the Yongquan acupoint on her footsole.

"Ouch!"

A numbness spread through her foot, and Lin Family Young Lady exclaimed in surprise.

"Don’t shout, do you really want to be made into a dried corpse?"

Dropping her foot to the ground, Chen Yi said harshly.

Lin Family Young Lady’s face flushed red, anxiously looking at him, almost biting her lips to blood, her gentle brows furrowing, with tears trickling down from the corners of her eyes.

"I’m helping you, understand?"

Chen Yi whispered.

Lin Wanxiao completely didn’t believe it, angrily kicking her legs trying to kick him off.

Chen Yi grasped her leg and again harshly pressed the Yongquan acupoint.

"It hurts..."

Lin Wanxiao retracted her leg, but Chen Yi firmly held it down. She urged:

"I won’t kick you, stop pressing."

As a married woman being this affronted, how could she continue living?

"Alright, cooperate by making a few noises, and consider it done, understand?"

Chen Yi patted her cheek, smiling brightly.

Having left the Empress An who treated him as her son, Chen Yi finally felt less constrained.

If circumstances had allowed, he would have liked to further bully Lin Wanxiao, just as he had with Yin Tingxue.

"Understood, understood,"

Lin Wanxiao quickly said, fearing Chen Yi wouldn’t believe her, adding:

"I’ve been studying literature since childhood, knowing the rights and wrongs, you’re my uncle, a good person, I know."

This was also to remind her cheap uncle that she’s not some wayward woman, but a chaste wife and virtuous mother, and she would never consent to doing anything against morals and traditions.

"Good."

"Can Uncle release my foot?"

"No."

"Why?"

Just as Lin Wanxiao asked, Chen Yi, expressionless, applied force.

"Ah!"

"Releasing you will make you stop shouting."

"Don’t do this, Uncle, don’t... ah! It hurts, you scoundrel, you beast in human attire!"

[Lin Wanxiao’s negative emotions reward ten years of True Qi.]

............

In a certain area of the underground palace.

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince stretched out a finger, silently writing on the sandy ground.

The characters he wrote were twofold: the first character had a "bright" on top and an "empty" below, forming "Zhao", while the second character was a single "Hua."

These were both her names.

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince couldn’t remember when he was sent out of the palace. The image of the woman in his memory had become blurry over the long years.

If he hadn’t heard from others, he would never have known that woman was the first female Emperor in history.

The purple-gold gauze curtains of Yingxian Palace occasionally lifted, casting glances full of both care and hatred, which became his deepest impression of his mother.

Above is "bright", below is "empty", meaning the sun and moon shine high above, illuminating the land, but compared to this character, he preferred the simple "Hua."

Because back when he was in Daming Palace, she wasn’t yet called Wu Zhao.

Later, he was sent out of the palace, to a wooden city she ordered to be built, where he was trapped until the woman’s death, without a chance to see her one last time.

He remembered when the woman died, his heart tightened, as if part of his soul was cut away, and he was muddled ever since. When he came to, his name had become part of the "Sui and Tang Dynasty", making him a demon associated with terror.

"How much longer do we have to stay here?!"

An urgent voice interrupted the Donkey-headed Crown Prince’s thoughts.

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince turned his head, seeing the restless Lin Yan.

The latter paced back and forth with an impatient expression, full of anger.

"Wait patiently."

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince replied calmly.

"Wait patiently? The mistress of Lin Mansion has fallen into that thief’s hands, and you want me to wait patiently?!"

With just a word from the Donkey-headed Crown Prince, intense anger and shame rose up, and Lin Yan questioned gloomily.

"You can only wait."

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince said, continuing to scratch on the ground.

"Wait, wait? Still wait?!"

Lin Yan burned with anger, fearing if they continued to wait, his legitimate, untarnished wife would be defiled, facing uncertain fate.

Seeing the Donkey-headed Crown Prince silent, Lin Yan’s face turned furious, kicking away the sand-covered characters.

"If we continue like this, your mother won’t get to see the light, and we’ll end up empty-handed!"

"Shut up!"

With those words, the Donkey-headed Crown Prince grabbed him by the neck, lifting him like a chicken.

"It’s your own incompetence that let your wife fall into others’ hands. What’s this got to do with me?!"

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince’s face grew even graver, shouting with a deep voice:

"Your wife is at others’ mercy because you are useless. This has nothing to do with me!"

Lin Yan, choked and pale, saliva streaming from his mouth, slapped at the Donkey-headed Crown Prince’s arm, pleading for life.

After a while, the Donkey-headed Crown Prince finally let him down.

Before he could speak something, a woman, emitting an aura and kindness, was slowly approaching.

"Greetings to Yu Zhen Yuan君."

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince cupped his hands.

"No need for formalities, just speak of the matter directly."

Yu Zhen Yuan君 said softly:

"Crown Prince, are you ready?"

"All prepared, just waiting for them to go deep into... the Heavenly Altar."

The Donkey-headed Crown Prince replied.

Yu Zhen Yuan君 nodded slightly.

In the times of Xia and Shang, the Heavenly Court and underworld did not exist, and the matter of treating the dead as the living was observed. Thus, in Tushan Underground Palace, a Heavenly Altar is established, where unknown numbers of sacrifices accompanied its construction.

From royalty to the common people, all were used for sacrifice, except slaves, who weren’t qualified to worship the heavens.

Once the Heavenly Altar is activated, the gateway to the main tomb will open, and by that time, her disciple will personally grasp the ancient "Tao" glyph in the Goddess’s inheritance.