Jing Lan's eyes flickered with confusion, clearly not understanding what was happening before her eyes.
Yan Zhen's gaze towards An Xin instantly became unfathomable, carrying a chill like a storm turning around.
An Xin felt a chill run down her spine, but she still forced herself to say, "If you're going to find the Ancient Spirit Jade, can you take me with you?"
Jing Lan looked at An Xin, whose smiling eyes were as bright and gentle as the spring sun, and her intimacy with him seemed genuine.
Insulting the moon is tantamount to insulting the entire Holy Moon Cult. Yu Xian will not forgive Yan Zhen and will use the full strength of the cult to oppose him. If she did not truly hate Yan Zhen, she would never have done such a thing...
A sense of relief washed over me; it was good that she wasn't friends with Yan Zhen.
"The tomb is fraught with danger. You should wait outside until I retrieve it, then I will show it to you." Jing Lan smiled gently, the coldness in her eyes dissipating.
"I'm just curious. Besides, I'm worried about you going into the tomb alone." An Xin smiled at him, her cheeks inexplicably flushing at his words.
Jing Lan was slightly taken aback, then said, "I... if you come with me, I'm afraid you'll be implicated."
An Xin immediately said, "You mean those two men who are eyeing me covetously? I'm not afraid!"
Jinglan twirled the jade ring on her finger and smiled slowly, "Okay."
Chapter 43 Parting with You
Yan Zhen watched this scene with a cold eye, her heart filled with indescribable emotions. Yet she felt that what Jing Lan did was not just for show, and her friendliness and intimacy towards Jing Lan were definitely not fake!
She was so clear about her likes and dislikes! He had expected that she would be angry when she learned his identity, but he hadn't expected her to be so resolute!
The usually smiling Prime Minister's face finally darkened, and all his previous ease vanished.
As soon as Jing Lan took a step, An Xin grabbed his sleeve, but didn't even glance back at Yan Zhen.
"Stop!" Yan Zhen shouted coldly, and just as he was about to step forward, a cold gust of wind rushed straight at him.
Yan Zhen's eyes turned cold, and he said indifferently, "The Holy Moon Sect has never participated in any disputes, so why are you meddling in other people's business today?!"
Yu Xian said calmly, "I swear by the moon that the Holy Moon Sect will use all its strength to fight you to the death!"
Upon hearing this, An Xin felt a chill run down her spine, only to see someone blocking Jing Lan's path—it was none other than Zuo Luo, the Northern Desert Demon Slayer.
An Xin gripped Jing Lan's hand tighter involuntarily.
Jing Lan said calmly, "Each should compete based on their own strength. What is the purpose of Brother Zuo Luo blocking this way?"
An Xin said, "Naturally, we'll both be severely injured so that the leader of the Fan Shen Sect can reap the benefits!"
Jing Lan glanced at An Xin with a smile in her eyes.
An Xin raised an eyebrow and asked, "What would happen if you faced him?"
Jing Lan raised her finger and twirled the jade ring, saying, "Both sides will suffer heavy losses."
An Xin asked in surprise, "What if you join forces with him to deal with the leader of the Fan Shen Cult?"
Jing Lan was taken aback.
An Xin said, "Since neither side is willing to give in, and neither wants anyone to reap the benefits, then we have no choice but to secure external stability before pacifying internal strife!"
An Xin looked at Zuo Luo, whose plain face could not hide the murderous aura around him, and the indifferent man finally turned his gaze to An Xin.
An Xin met his gaze without fear and said, "How about this method? Eliminate the opponent, and then the two of you can compete fairly, wouldn't that be better?"
Those eyes were as black as an abyss, their endless indifference making it hard to breathe at first glance. Clearly, expecting this icy man to yield was wishful thinking.
“Since Zuo Luo is unwilling, you’ll have no choice but to join forces with the leader of the Fan Shen Sect.” An Xin looked at the motionless person wrapped in a black robe and hat with a smile, trying her best to make a good impression on him.
Heaven knows, she actually dared to call out the Demon Slayer's name without even realizing it!
Zuo Luo exuded a chilling murderous aura, directly threatening An Xin.
Jing Lan, however, casually pulled An Xin behind her.
The leader of the Fan Shen Sect spoke up at this moment: "This little girl has indeed suggested a good idea." His voice was neither yin nor yang, which was indeed in line with the impression Yan Zhen had given him.
An Xin shivered. "Little girl"... that term of address was so ambiguous it made her skin crawl.
An Xin turned around and smiled, saying, "Right? Right? Anyway, everyone is determined to win, so no one wants to let someone else reap the benefits! There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests, right?"
Jing Lan stared at An Xin in astonishment. It was hard to believe that such words came from a maid! It was truly remarkable!
Yan Zhen's words truly angered Hua Rujin, but An Xin framed Yan Zhen at this moment. This unexpected turn of events secretly pleased Hua Rujin, as taking action rashly could have disastrous consequences. And it must be said that the conditions An Xin proposed were remarkably reasonable!
Zuo Luo stared coldly at An Xin, his expression seemingly dismissive of her suggestion.
Presumably, someone like him would disdain joining forces with others, and even more so, he would disdain others joining forces against him!
An Xin gripped Jing Lan's clothes tightly and whispered, "Be careful, I'll be waiting for you."
Jing Lan glanced at her, a fleeting smile in her eyes before turning serious.
Hua Rujin had already made her move, and Jing Lan had already joined the battle in a flash. This duel was destined to become a sensational news story. However, this duel was destined to be forgotten!
An Xin certainly wouldn't! And I doubt any of the participants would have such a thought either!
The duel between experts was truly thrilling. An Xin hurriedly hid to the side, and naturally no one paid any attention to her. For them, a petite woman like her, who was powerless to even kill a chicken, was easier than crushing an ant!
An Xin enjoyed watching for a while, then quietly entered the tomb. Just before entering, she glanced back at Yan Zhen in the distance, who seemed to be injured.
An Xin then turned and walked into the tomb.
In her previous life, she was fond of archaeology and was familiar with the structure of tombs.
The tomb was pitch black. An Xin took out the dust-repelling bead she always carried with her. The bead emitted a soft light, which dispelled the darkness and also repelled the evil energy in the tomb.
The tomb passage was very deep, and Anxin covered her mouth with a handkerchief she always carried with her.
It wasn't a tomb with an extremely complex structure. If it were an emperor's tomb, An Xin wouldn't dare to enter it alone. This tomb looked more like an ordinary person's tomb, or perhaps it was more like a cave.
After walking for about half a cup of tea's time, An Xin reached the end, where there was a stone door. An Xin groped around the stone door for a while, found a mechanism, and then quickly ran to the side to hide.
The stone door indeed opened slowly. After waiting for a long time without seeing anything appear, An Xin carefully walked along the stone wall, peeked inside, and then pinched her nose.
Inside was a completely decomposed skeleton, with a small box placed to one side of it.
An Xin's heart began to pound uncontrollably. The wooden box was extremely ordinary, and it wasn't even locked. An Xin opened the box against the wall to make sure there were no hidden arrows before looking inside.
Inside the box lay a piece of uncut jade, a book, and a letter.
An Xin wasn't surprised at all. If she had seen a radiant jade pendant suspended in mid-air, she would have thought she was seeing a ghost! However, when she saw the letter, An Xin suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
As she suspected, the skeleton belonged to a time traveler. His time travel was rather tragic; he accidentally fell into a toilet in his previous life and was transported there. He spent his entire life searching for a way back, but to no avail. The booklet recorded everything about him in this world. As for this piece of jade, it was indeed an ancient spirit jade! However, it wasn't as powerful as rumored; it was just a cheap item he bought at a street stall in his previous life. When he transmigrated, the jade pendant came with him.
An Xin held the jade pendant in her hand; it was just a piece of artificial jade.
This person was highly skilled in array formations and mechanisms in this world, and achieved considerable success. All the array formations she encountered when entering Beilong Mountain were his creations. However, as time passed, he eventually died far from home.
An Xin felt an indescribable sense of unease. Would her life, like his, ultimately become just a speck of dust in this alternate dimension?
An Xin is an atheist, so it's quite unbelievable that she could travel through time using a piece of ancient jade. Her time travel is probably related to the convection of spacetime, but unfortunately, she encountered a problem that only future science can explain!
However, people in ancient times all had their own beliefs, and in any case, time travel would probably be seen as a monster in ancient times, so such a thing had to be kept secret!
An Xin tore up the letter and booklet at will, then found two flints and burned them. She kept the jade pendant, and then collected the man's remains, preparing to go out and find a good burial site to bury him. After all, he was from the same hometown, so it would be good for him to keep her company after she died!
The journey was smooth, but when we came out, the fighting outside was already raging!
An Xin looked up and saw Yu Xian's palm striking Yan Zhen's chest. She shouted, "I've found the Ancient Spirit Jade!"
One sentence immediately alarmed everyone!
An Xin took out a jade pendant from her waist and said, "This is not real jade, please stop fighting!"
The first to react was Jing Lan. He darted forward and was already in front of An Xin. He casually picked up the jade pendant and examined it for a while before saying, "This..."
An Xin unfolded the skeleton and said, "We found a skeleton and this jade pendant inside, and a pile of burnt ashes, but nothing else."
As soon as she finished speaking, someone had already rushed into the cave.
An Xin wiped away her cold sweat, thinking that it was fortunate that she waited until the ashes were completely cooled before coming out, otherwise these people were all as shrewd as foxes and would definitely have seen through her trick!
An Xin tapped the skeleton and said, "The body has been dead for many years. It has decomposed to the point that only bones remain. The bones are intact, and there is nothing unusual about them. Also, this jade pendant doesn't look like a real jade pendant! You can buy this kind of jade pendant in Yi'an County!"
As soon as An Xin finished speaking, her neck tightened suddenly, and a chilling murderous aura rushed towards her.
It was Zuo Luo.
His expression was icy, and his chilling aura contained an inexplicable murderous intent. He said coldly, like a demon from hell, "Hand over the jade pendant!"
An Xin rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't I already hand it over?"
His eyes suddenly turned cold: "It's a real jade pendant!"
An Xin said casually, "If you don't believe me, you can search my body, or go into the tomb behind me to see if I'm hiding anything!"
The murderous intent suddenly reversed, and An Xin felt a sharp pain in her neck, followed by a suffocating sensation, causing her face to turn pale instantly!
The next moment, a hand landed on his wrist.
"The jade pendant has turned black from being with the corpse for so long, it has been tainted by the corpse's aura. You've misunderstood her." Jing Lan glanced at An Xin. This girl was becoming more and more surprising. Ordinary women would have fainted from fright even if they were dead, let alone in a tomb. Yet she went into the tomb alone and carried the corpse out.
However, considering that her goal was to enter the tomb alone, and that they had all been used by her, Jinglan's expression became somewhat strange!
Zuo Luo loosened his grip, and An Xin was thrown aside. Caught off guard, she fell to the ground with a thud, her face contorted in pain.
An Xin glanced at Yan Zhen's somber face, feeling a pang of guilt. The dignified Right Chancellor had been concealing his identity, and she wondered what his motives were. Moreover, he had nearly killed An Youwei a few days ago. Considering this, An Xin thought that such a decisive break wasn't excessive. As for being hunted by the Holy Moon Sect, she reasoned that with the Right Chancellor's immense power, he wouldn't die so easily!
An Xin collected the remains, then put them on her back and looked at Jing Lan, saying, "I'm leaving now, you can have this jade pendant."
Jing Lan was taken aback and looked at her, asking, "What are you doing carrying the remains?"
An Xin looked up at the sky and said quietly, "When a person dies, the light goes out. I believe the soul still exists! I'll find a place to bury him, so that he can have a proper burial."
For some reason, Jing Lan's heart was stirred by those words. He casually tossed the jade pendant to Zuo Luo and said, "I'll help you."
An Xin immediately joked, "The Prime Minister is so noble and powerful, yet he actually helped me bury a dead stranger."
Jing Lan smiled gently: "As you said, it was just what I felt."
An Xin bit her lower lip, looked at him, and smiled, "Okay."
Yan Zhen's expression was cold. She had obviously been injured in the previous duel, with traces of blood at the corner of her lips. However, her folding fan covered her lips, and her eyes, unlike their usual sparkling eyes, were coldly staring at An Xin.