I Have A Dual World Seal-Chapter 808: A New Story

"I didn't expect everyone to be here." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Shen Ying also smiled, "I added them in. If it were just me, it would look lonely without any grandeur."

At this moment, everyone arrived in front of the main hall of the Taohua Temple. The plaque of the hall bore the inscription of the former Prefect of Yizhou, and in the center of the hall stood a statue of the Peach Blossom Fairy, resembling Shen Ying by eighty percent.

But what attracted everyone's attention the most was a stone tablet located to the left of the main hall entrance, inscribed with a poem.

"Peach Blossoms"

The peach blossoms are luxuriant, their blossoms are radiant. Should one marry a man, it suits his household.

The peach blossoms are luxuriant, they bear their fruits. Should one marry a man, it suits his family.

The peach blossoms are luxuriant, their leaves are lush. Should one marry a man, it suits his kin.

...

Si Lingxi examined the stone tablet carefully, then with a flick of her finger, the stone tablet emitted a soft glow, flickered twice, and vanished.

Shen Ying smiled and asked, "Did the Palace Master notice something?"

Si Lingxi nodded, "It has great potential. If you can avoid moving it, then try not to."

Shen Ying smiled, "I understand."

Wang Xiaowan and Yi Xiaoqian, with their poor cultivation, were completely bewildered, and even Du Yueyao seemed half-understood, but Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan saw it quite clearly.

The stone tablet was bathed in incense all day, already considered an embryo of a magical treasure, and it was in harmony with Shen Ying, of exceptional quality, gaining power as time went by.

...

Shen Ying cast a spell on the Peach Blossom Fairy statue within the temple. If someone offered extraordinary incense, it would trigger a spell to replenish Qi and strengthen the body, considered a gift from the Peach Blossom Fairy.

After a brief tour of the temple, they saw seven or eight people receiving gifts, which showed the people's devotion.

...

At noon, they returned to Taohua Village. Xiaocui had already prepared lunch. Although not up to Lu Zheng's standard, through years of practice, it was impressive enough.

During the meal break, Lu Zheng pulled Shen Ying into the back hall, emerged a moment later, and whispered a couple of words to Si Lingxi, who raised her brows and nodded.

After eating and enjoying some tea, they soared on clouds, heading straight for Hundred Springs Valley.

In Hundred Springs Valley, the mist lingered, creating clouds of steam that enveloped the entire valley. The Spiritual Qi brought by the hot springs from underground was trapped within the steam, reflecting sunlight and casting rays of light.

They descended from the sky, looked around, and saw no one.

Lu Zheng went to one side, undressed, and slipped into a spring.

"Comfortable!"

A moment later, Liu Qingyan, in a cyan one-piece swimsuit, emerged from the mist, gently slid into the pool, and came to Lu Zheng's side.

Soon, through layers of mist, Lu Zheng heard the voices of several women conversing nearby—after all, this was still ancient times; except for Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying, the other women wouldn't share a pool with him.

So, apart from Bi Xinyu, Lu Zheng hadn't… ahem…

"Wow, it looks beautiful!"

"Hee hee!"

"So comfortable!"

Lu Zheng smiled and patted the gourd, and plates of washed grapes, strawberries, sliced apples, watermelons, peeled oranges, and lychees appeared in front of him. With a light movement, he sent them to the neighboring pool.

"Wow! So much fruit!"

"There's even lychee?" Yi Xiaoqian exclaimed, "Fresh lychee?"

"Mm-hmm, delicious, crisp, and sweet!"

The women placed the wooden trays on the water's surface, reclined by the spring while soaking in the hot spring, occasionally indulging in some fruit, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Si Lingxi picked up a lychee, gently peeled it, revealing a juicy, sweet interior. When placed in her mouth, the flesh was plump and tender, with a pit as small as a pinky fingertip.

"What kind of lychee is this? It's really sweet." Si Lingxi remarked in surprise.

Phoenix Mountain also had lychees, even sweeter than this, but it was their essence altered by spells and nourished by Spiritual Qi, time-consuming and labor-intensive. Meanwhile, the lychees before her, Si Lingxi could see clearly, were ordinary lychees without a trace of Spiritual Qi inside.

Hearing Si Lingxi's inquiry, Lu Zheng casually replied, "Feizi Xiao."

"Feizi Xiao?" Si Lingxi was baffled by Lu Zheng's off-topic answer, "Is that this lychee's name?"

"Uh, yes, it's the variety name of this lychee."

"Why is it called Feizi Xiao?" Shen Ying chimed in and asked.

Lu Zheng's eyes wandered, as he rubbed his nose, "Because… it's tied to a story…"

"What story?"

"This… it's a story from my hometown about an emperor's concubine particularly fond of this lychee. Just tasting the lychee would make her smile, so it's called Feizi Xiao." Lu Zheng summed up the story in one sentence.

"That's just a legend. How is that a story?" Shen Ying retorted bluntly, "Lu Lang, didn't you leave out a lot?"

"Yes, yes, like the story of Liang and Zhu, which is about Zhu Yingtai disguising herself as a man and falling in love with Liang Shanbo, ending in mutual sacrifice," Du Yueyao said, "Saying it in one sentence sounds dry without those touching details."

"Lu Lang?" Liu Qingyan gently nudged closer, "If the Palace Master hadn't asked, we wouldn't have known this lychee had such a melodious name. A tale that leaves a legend behind shouldn't be ordinary, right?"

Following the conversation, Lu Zheng could only shake his head helplessly, "No, you're mistaken. Although it's a love story and quite moving, most people might not accept it."

"Oh, how so?"

Hearing it's a love story, the women's eyes brightened.

"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" and "A Chinese Ghost Story" are both love stories, quite moving too. Now that Lu Zheng mentioned yet another love story, how could they not be intrigued?

But…

Lu Zheng really didn't want to tell the story of Emperor Ming of Tang and Yang Guifei!

It's too difficult…

The story involved too much—changes of imperial power, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, military governor rebellion, etc., more importantly, the death of Yang Yuhuan, which Emperor Ming of Tang didn't oppose!

Therefore, without historical and cultural depth as a foundation, without Bai Juyi's "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow," this story is really not touching at all.

Lu Zheng shook his head, "This story isn't interesting. Let's switch to another one."

"Just tell the story of Feizi Xiao." Si Lingxi's curiosity was piqued, so she couldn't let Lu Zheng get away so easily, "If you tell it well, I'll teach you a Fire Manipulation Technique."

Lu Zheng, "..."

"Ahem, actually, this story involves imperial power, history, rebellion, family ethics, as well as the contemporary poets' praise and future generations' nostalgia. It's quite a legendary love story. I think it's really necessary to talk about it."