The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Chapter 1050 - 582: Empress: Search For a "Water Melody" For Me_2

The forest is like a sea, carving a green demarcation line across the earth, and outside the dense forest, along the river at intervals, there stands a sentinel post of the Southwest Border Army.

This is the Southwest Territory.

It is also beyond the borders of Yu Country, the land inhabited by the Liao Clan, where in the vast mountains, birds and beasts take flight, as if sensing the stirrings from the northern Zhengyang Mountain.

In what seems like an ancient forest, a "sentinel" standing atop the dense canopy gazes northward. She is a tall female hunter, wearing a dress sewn from animal skins, her exposed skin shines darkly, a woman in her twenties with an exotic face, her green eyes narrowing.

The female sentinel turns deftly, her movements so broad that the bone-crafted ornaments hanging from the skirt at her waist jingle.

She whistles a sharp note!

"Screech!"

From afar, a massive bird flaps its wings, stirring a gale as it soars towards her.

The female sentinel leaps onto the bird’s back, kneeling with both knees, grasping the feathers with her hands, soaring over Lin Hai towards a distant, gigantic "bird’s nest"!

Upon getting closer, it becomes clear that the "bird’s nest" is an enormous, cylindrical Great Village, resembling a ring of the Divine falling into the mortal world.

Cutting an area of tranquility amidst a forest prowled by fierce beasts and poisonous creatures.

On the circular wall, sentinels of the Liao Clan look up at the great bird, then withdraw their gazes.

Young as she is, the female sentinel, who possesses a ’White Flute’, flies over the walls.

Below in the village, it’s densely packed with buildings, like stars scattered across the sky, where members of the tribe move to and fro, and on the plaza, many women of the tribe are drying and hanging fruits and meats.

Among the numerous structures, a stately "temple" stands out prominently.

Near the temple, the female sentinel dismounts quickly on foot, and under the scrutinizing gaze of those around, she steps briskly up the stairs to the temple’s entrance.

If Zhao Douan were here, he would be surprised to find that the so-called temple’s interior is actually a small building fashioned remarkably like those in Yu Country.

"Knock knock knock..."

The female with the "White Flute" knocks on the door.

"Enter."

A voice comes from within.

Pushing the door open, what greets her eyes is not an imposing ritual hall, but... a study!

Indeed!

A study!

The floor is covered with Western Regions woven carpets, and inside the spacious room are several elegantly designed desks, cluttered with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones...

And volumes of books.

On the antiquities shelf lies porcelain items, and the walls hang landscape paintings, bearing the dense private seals of collectors from different eras.

In the corner, trimmed flower stems are nestled in large vases, a birdcage hangs nearby, with a parrot dozing inside, seeming about to fall from its perch at any moment.

Around the room, several massive bookshelves stand, packed with various books, in no way less than the grand library of Yu Country.

Among them is even the most popular book in the Great Yu’s Confucian world of the past year, "Heart Learning Theory"... hmm, authored by Mr. Zhengyang, albeit with "Zhao Douan" modestly placed as second author, despite being first.

At this moment, under a bookshelf, a long-haired man in a loose purple Confucian robe stands barefoot on a bamboo stool, reading ancient texts.

Hearing a noise, the man turns his head, revealing a face distinct from the Liao people, closer to that of Yu people, though beardless, with only a green stubble.

"Clan Leader."

The White Flute-eyed curious and respectful glances at the interior setup, then kneels on one knee to truthfully report her observations.

The long-haired man in the purple robe frowns slightly, jumps down barefoot from the stool: "From the direction of Zhengyang Mountain, clouds gather, then are dispersed by Qingyun? Moreover, columns of aura rise and dissipate?"

"Yes." The White Flute nods.

The long-haired man in the purple robe muses for a moment, softly says: "Xu Jingtang seems to have died."

Then swiftly moves to the table, spreads out a piece of xuan paper, dips a brush in ink, quickly writes a letter, and hands it to her: "Send it out."

The White Flute asks nothing, dares not pry, and respectfully leaves, only hearing the awakened parrot in the cage grumbling just before closing the door: "Who dared disturb my sleep..."

The long-haired man in the purple robe ignores the parrot, silently standing in the room, gazing at the vista outside the window, murmuring: "Heavenly Master Zhang has arrived in Yunfu, not intending to come over for a reunion?"

No response comes, only a breeze brushes outside the window.

...

...

Under the shroud of night, the city rests.

Inside a certain office.

Zhao Douan opens his eyes, straightens from his desk posture, seeing the familiar sleeping-screen computer, the stack of blue folders beside, and the corner of a blue curtain stirred by the night wind blowing in from the window.

"Returned again..."

He rubs his face, stands upright, paces the room to relieve his fatigue a bit.

Then, familiarly heads to the washbasin, scoops the water with cupped hands onto his face.

"Splash——"

Feeling the water trickle down his skin, drenching the collar, Zhao Douan lifts his head, looking at the unfamiliar yet familiar face in the mirror.

Wiping his hands dry, he takes out his phone from his pocket, presses the screen; the time shows: 0:02

When no one enters, this world seems to be at a standstill, or more accurately... reset, or refresh?

"By this time, Zhenbao should have just entered too, hmm, we haven’t appeared in my house... implying that reentering requires regrouping each time..."

This relieves Zhao Douan.

For if, upon entry, seeing the Empress lounging with legs crossed on his sofa watching TV, turning imperiously to command: "I want..."