Chapter 135: Chapter 134: Summoning the Spirit!
The Empress Dowager feigned a low exclamation, "A variable affecting the national fate? What should we do?"
Ms. Chu cried, "It must be a jinx, that’s why it took my son’s life."
"Why are you wailing?"
Yu Nianzhao turned his head and scolded, startling Ms. Chu into forgetting her tears.
"What if it is a variable? I am the good kind of variable, one that can protect the Great Chao Country. So what? Does this bother you?" Yu Nianzhao said, hands on hips, with great ferocity.
"A variable that protects the Great Chao Country? You sure have a high opinion of yourself." Duke Luu was left speechless by Yu Nianzhao’s audacity.
"It’s not audacity; this is what I’ve calculated." Yu Nianzhao said leisurely, "Is Yong’an better at fortune-telling and divination than I am? How about you try figuring out if this variable of mine is a bad one?"
Yong’an was momentarily at a loss for words in response to Yu Nianzhao’s compelling speech.
Jing’an laughed and said, "What the lady said is true. A fate that cannot be calculated might indeed be one of high distinction."
Yong’an replied solemnly, "This cannot be determined at the moment."
"Useless." Yu Nianzhao crossed her arms, starting to taunt, "You talk with such confidence, yet you can’t even figure out my fate. Speaking out of both sides of your mouth, is it all just words to you?"
The Empress Dowager couldn’t sit still. She stood up and asked, "Yong’an, what exactly is going on? Can’t you calculate her fate at all?"
Her ominous stare made Yong’an understand her intention.
Yong’an waved his sleeve with a grand gesture, and a wisp of blue smoke escaped his cuff, attempting to land on Yu Nianzhao.
Yu Nianzhao’s eyes were sharp, her reflexes quick as she caught the wisp of blue smoke, letting it flutter in her palm.
Ha!
Yong’an’s pupils constricted, staring at the smoke in her palm, shocked that his nonchalant move could be discovered.
"What is this thing...?"
"It’s the True Words Spell!"
Jing’an had unwittingly moved next to Yu Nianzhao, and with a gentle smile on his scholarly face, he pointed at the smoke, saying, "The True Words Spell manifests in this form, and whoever it touches must speak the truth."
"Oh..."
Yu Nianzhao realized, "So that’s what the True Words Spell looks like in ordinary Taoist and Buddhist magic, but... it was used against me?"
She smirked playfully, "Yong’an, if you want to hear my true words, there’s no need to resort to such lowly methods."
Yu Nianzhao unceremoniously ignited flames and burned the smoke to nothing.
Witnessing Yu Nianzhao casually summon fire in her palm, both Jing’an and Yong’an’s expressions changed drastically.
"You can summon the infernal flame at will?" they were utterly shocked.
"Why not?"
"Isn’t the Fire Talisman required?" Yong’an scratched his head.
"I don’t need it."
"How is this possible? Under whose tutelage did you learn?" Bloodshot eyes filled Yong’an’s vision.
"My master is long gone. Are you going to the underworld to find him? Perhaps he’s reincarnated."
"What was his name before?"
"I called him Old Man!"
"What Old Man, don’t you know his name?" Yong’an was deeply troubled. From childhood, he had studied Taoist arts and had never seen someone so adept at using infernal flames. He was envious to the point of frustration.
He just wanted to know who taught Yu Nianzhao so he could seek them out for guidance!
"Why ask so many questions? You’re annoying!" Yu Nianzhao complained, "You misuse the True Words Spell on me and then try to change the topic?"
"I... only used the True Words Spell to give the Emperor and others peace of mind, that’s all."
Yong’an rolled his eyes, having already thought of a countermeasure.
"Your True Words Spell is ineffective; it has no impact on me." Yu Nianzhao casually pulled out a talisman, "This True Words Talisman of mine is much more powerful than your spell."
As she lightly raised her hand, Yong’an’s eyes nearly stuck to the True Words Talisman.
"Did you draw this talisman?" Yong’an could feel the mysterious power within the talisman, his heart pounding.
"Of course, who else would have drawn it for me?"
"At your young age, you can draw such formidable talismans. The power on this True Words Talisman is unfathomable; what is its source?"
Yong’an wiped the sweat from his palms, irresistibly wanting to touch it.
Yu Nianzhao quickly retracted the talisman, "I’m just showing it to you, not letting you touch it. Or do you want to be tagged?"
Yong’an quickly withdrew his hand. Being tagged was out of the question.
In this setting, revealing truth could mean losing one’s head.
"Can I buy a talisman from you?"
Yong’an asked with a cheeky smile.
"Not for sale!" Yu Nianzhao refused without a second thought.
"Why not? I can offer a thousand taels, no, three thousand taels!"
"Not for sale!"
"Five thousand taels?"
"No way!"
"Fine, ten thousand taels!" Yong’an gritted his teeth, painfully offering.
"I won’t sell it to you, just won’t!" Yu Nianzhao would certainly not sell her True Words Talisman to him, even if he tried to copy it, he couldn’t replicate a quarter of it. She just felt that Yong’an gave off an eerie vibe, not seeming like a good person, so she wouldn’t sell it to him.
"Why not? I offered ten thousand taels. Why oppose money?" Yong’an stamped his foot, feeling aggrieved.
"Yong’an!"
Before Yu Nianzhao could speak, the Empress Dowager sternly reprimanded, pulling Yong’an back to reality.
He raised his hand to wipe his cold sweat, inadvertently led astray by the talisman.
The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and, through gritted teeth, asked, "Yong’an, what is the conclusion?"
Yong’an was in a predicament. As he hesitated, Jing’an said, "On Miss Yu’s fate, this humble Taoist cannot calculate it, and to probe deeper would be to uncover heavenly secrets. One could also say... it’s not that it can’t be calculated, but rather it shouldn’t and cannot be dared to be calculated further."
"So extraordinary?" A wave of unease washed over the Empress Dowager.
Yong’an sighed lightly, "Indeed it is so."
The imperial concubine beamed, "Then it indicates that this daughter-in-law of the Aijia has a powerful destiny. What more is there to say, Empress Dowager?"
The Empress Dowager was left to swallow her bitterness in silence.
"But did she really cause my son’s death?" Ms. Chu’s grudge was to avenge her son; other matters concerned her less.
Yong’an pondered for a moment and decided to take a risk, "Perhaps I could summon Mr. Chu’s soul to inquire."
"Yes, yes, quickly summon it." The Empress Dowager exhaled a breath of foul air, seeing it as a good way to solve the mystery.
Yong’an immediately proceeded to set up the Soul Summoning Array!