Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 348 The founding Emperor of the Ning Dynasty, Great Ancestor Ning! [2 more - s]

Chapter 348: 348 The founding Emperor of the Ning Dynasty, Great Ancestor Ning! [2 more Chapters]

The elder possessed a formidable affinity that irresistibly drew Ye Wanlan closer.

He, too, wore ancient clothing, indistinguishable from that of an ordinary commoner.

Ye Wanlan had never before seen this elder, yet at this moment, she felt an unprecedented sense of familiarity, as if they had known each other a very long time ago.

What left her most shocked and speechless was that the elder called her—Little Yongning.

But who else would call her that, aside from her relatives in her past life?

Ye Wanlan’s hands became incredibly stiff as her gaze shifted downwards, and she only then noticed that despite his simple dress, a treasured sword hung at the elder’s waist.

This sword was clearly identical to the Sky Initiating Sword once offered in Fengyuan City.

It was just a pity that three hundred years ago, when the enemy army invaded overnight, the whereabouts of the Sky Initiating Sword became unknown.

Thus, the identity of the person before her was self-evident.

Ye Wanlan’s body trembled, "Grand Ancestor...?"

The elder before her was none other than the founding Emperor of the Ning Dynasty, Great Ancestor Ning!

"I had planned to introduce myself, but it seems Little Yongning has already recognized me." Great Ancestor Ning smiled faintly, "You are indeed worthy of being Little Yongning."

Whether in her past life or in this one, Ye Wanlan had encountered too many remarkable events.

She thought she had weathered great storms and could accept anything.

Yet now, with Great Ancestor Ning’s appearance before her, the impact was unimaginably immense.

Could it really be, as Xie Linyuan had speculated, that the Treasure Bead inlaid atop the Phoenix Origin Pagoda contained the spirit of Great Ancestor Ning?

Ye Wanlan had no need to doubt the elder’s identity; the blood of the Xiang Imperial Family—full of ambition and ferocity—still ran in her veins.

She could feel that she and the elder shared the same bloodline.

"Come, sit." Great Ancestor Ning beckoned to her, "From here, what can you see?"

Ye Wanlan paused, then looked over the Southern Frontier from the highest point of the Phoenix Origin Pagoda.

The lights were bright.

After a moment of thought, she answered, "The land of Shenzhou is inviolable."

"Not quite," Great Ancestor Ning said softly, "Look again."

"The people live and work in peace and contentment, and there are no more wars?"

"Still not right."

Ye Wanlan encountered difficulty, rarely seen in her, and bowed, "I am ignorant, Great Ancestor Ning, please enlighten me."

"I merely asked you to appreciate the beauty of the scenery here, how it soothes the heart. Why did you think so deeply?" Great Ancestor Ning looked at her, his voice soft, "Little Yongning, you are too weary. Being too weary can sometimes lead oneself into a strange loop."

A simple sentence, yet it weighed heavily on Ye Wanlan’s eyes.

Reborn, she was no longer Princess Yongning, and the Daning Dynasty had long perished. She need not bear such heavy responsibilities.

However, the tragic events of three hundred years ago and the fresh blood of her relatives made it impossible for her to relinquish this responsibility.

"I do not know what you have experienced in this life, but at present, your state of mind is incomplete." Great Ancestor Ning raised his hand and gently patted her head, "Many of the responsibilities are not yours to bear, and you need not blame yourself."

It was a revelation, and after a few brief exchanges with Great Ancestor Ning, Ye Wanlan genuinely felt a sense of emptiness and restoration within her.

After a long while, she finally voiced her doubt, "How did you know about me?"

Whether in the modern era or the Qianhe Period three hundred years ago, Great Ancestor Ning was a legendary figure.

Even her father, Emperor Zhaozong, always lamented that Great Ancestor Ning was too legendary, to the point where even he felt overshadowed.

Ning Zhaozong spent his life teaching her with the hope that she might lead the Ning Dynasty to another pinnacle like Great Ancestor Ning did.

"How did I know about you?" Great Ancestor Ning repeated her question and smiled lightly, "Because back then, the State Preceptor, in conjunction with magicians from all over, divined the future of the Ning Dynasty. They told me that an Empress named ’Emperor Yongning’ would appear."

Ye Wanlan asked further, "You knew of my existence back then?"

"Of course." Great Ancestor Ning stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "Of course, I was very curious as to which of my descendants would produce an Empress, truly remarkable."

He paused, then sighed, "But the State Preceptor also said that because the fate and auspicious energies you carry are too strong, you were born with calamities and would face a major one at seventeen. If only you could survive until eighteen. "

Ye Wanlan bowed her head, her voice tinged with a trace of bitterness for the first time, "Indeed, I died in the year I turned seventeen."

Great Ancestor Ning had established the Ning Dynasty not merely because he was an incomparably powerful Commander, but also because he had gathered numerous geniuses.

"Indeed, when the time came and I did not see you, I knew it was thus," Great Ancestor Ning shook his head softly, his demeanor still kind, "But you have already done well enough."

Ye Wanlan spoke softly, "I, too, wish to achieve great deeds like you."

"You are not inferior to me. If you were, why would heaven allow you another life?" Great Ancestor Ning smiled again, then asked, "Do you know how this Treasure Bead came to be?"

Ye Wanlan nodded, "The teachings of my father, the Emperor, informed me that the bead was personally sought from the Buddhists by you and that, given your status, you need not have gone yourself."

"That’s true, but it was not just a request. I knelt and kowtowed, climbing nine hundred and ninety-nine stone steps to obtain it."

"!!!"

Amazement was unmistakable in Ye Wanlan’s eyes.

To kneel and kowtow?

When the Emperor makes obeisance to Heaven and Earth, then Heaven and Earth owe him a great debt.

What exchange had Great Ancestor Ning made with Heaven and Earth?

"The State Preceptor foresaw a great calamity for Shenzhou and prophesied that the Ning Dynasty would either end at three hundred and eighty-four years or would persist much longer," said Great Ancestor Ning, his voice calm, "I was aware, but I knew I would not live that long. So, I made a request to the State Preceptor at the time—"

"With all my merit, to exchange for a wisp of remnant thought, allowing me to meet my descendants after a century. I have so much to tell them, and the first thing would be to say that you have all done very well indeed."

Ye Wanlan’s head jerked up, "Great Ancestor, you now are..."

"Yes, I am now merely a remnant thought, neither a return to the past nor a spirit," Great Ancestor Ning explained, "Thus, some things must be said quickly. Otherwise, should the remnant thought dissipate, the merit would be wasted in vain."

Ye Wanlan was greatly shaken.

Merit, such a mystical and intangible thing for ordinary people, but of what amount was Great Ancestor Ning’s merit?

To give it all away?

"How does it matter?" Great Ancestor Ning, as if reading her confusion, spoke with equanimity, "I lived a life of eighty years, which was enough. If I can do something for Shenzhou before dying, why not?"

"After the State Preceptor finished divining Shenzhou’s calamity, he passed away from peering too much into the secrets of heaven," said Great Ancestor Ning with a hint of sorrow, "It’s a pity that he couldn’t see how to resolve Shenzhou’s plight. However, he mentioned that there was a slim chance of survival."

With that, he looked deeply at the girl.

Ye Wanlan was taken aback once more, "You mean... me?"

"Of course," nodded Great Ancestor Ning, "The fact that you are reborn is that slim chance. You say the heritage of Shenzhou was utterly destroyed three hundred years ago, but you remember these legacies, don’t you?"

Ye Wanlan murmured, "Indeed."

Thanks to her eidetic memory, although she couldn’t practice many martial arts in her previous life, she remembered them all by heart.

"Some want to eradicate the roots of Shenzhou, but the roots are not severed," Great Ancestor Ning said quietly, "So three hundred years later, they will surely return. Little Yongning, listen carefully to what I am about to say."

He spoke rapidly, and Ye Wanlan committed every word to memory.

After an unknown period, Great Ancestor Ning suddenly looked up, "Time is up; I must leave now. The rest is up to you."

After speaking, he began to recite a poem: "Standards unfurl over the hills, the war drums yet to cease, while the thin crescent frost-like lies. On the battlefield, a thousand riders race briskly, reflecting the evening fires beyond the Great Wall."

Ye Wanlan recognized it—it was an impromptu poem written by Great Ancestor Ning after founding the Ning Dynasty.

While its literary grace could not compare with Fu Guang’s, the power and overbearing momentum it contained were exceptionally strong.

She had once personally transcribed this poem and hung it in her study.

"Facing the shore in the wind, resting on our weapons waiting for dawn, our spirit raging. Watching the camps, armoured horses, and men of steel, today, hundreds of thousands of young men dominate in all directions."

"Stride across the Eight Wastelands, sweep through the Six Union, once more, untethered blade."

"Northward gaze. Broken spears buried in sand, the cold iron unrestrained. Holding the reins tight, we constrict Heaven’s expanse."

"...With reverent welcome to Heaven’s Inception, solely commanding all nations."

As the last line of the poem concluded, the figure of the elder had completely dispersed.

A lone moon hung high, and the night retained its silence.

The brightness of the Treasure Bead grew stronger, blessing all below.

"Little Junior Sister? Little Junior Sister!" Xie Linyuan called anxiously, "Don’t scare me! Can you hear me calling you?"

Ye Wanlan remained in shock, unable to come back to reality.

She still heard Great Ancestor Ning’s last words echoing in her ears—

"I anticipated that the ’Heavenly Inception Grand Canon’ would eventually suffer destruction or theft, so the version in the Imperial Palace is a duplicate. The duplicate contains many deliberately inserted errors, and whether or not it’s been used by other races is of no concern to our great Daning."

"The true ’Heavenly Inception Grand Canon’ consists of 31,899 volumes, all of which are now located 7.7 zhang below the Phoenix Origin Pagoda. Little Yongning, only you can open that door."

"Go."