Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 502: The Endless Joy of a Small World

On a midsummer afternoon in the densely forested mountains, the cicadas chirped incessantly.

Even under the shade of the trees, the heat was penetrating. The refreshing coolness of spring had passed.

Sisi had changed out of her formal attire, now wearing her usual outfit that left her waist and feet bare. She made her way gracefully through the forest, carefully leading Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe followed behind, silently watching her slender waist and delicate feet.

The burial ground of the Spirit Tribe in this era was at a designated location, but the ancient tombs had no such order and could be found scattered everywhere. The people of the Spirit Tribe no longer knew which tombs belonged to which ancestors, so they could not perform proper rituals for them. Instead, they conducted ceremonies centrally at the sacred mountain and temple, and marked areas with clusters of ancient tombs as forbidden zones to prevent those desperate for riches from looting them.

As for the scattered, isolated tombs elsewhere, they essentially turned a blind eye to them—if someone happened to stumble upon one and dig it up, then so be it.

In truth, the Spirit Tribe was largely self-sufficient. Even during their time under exploitation by the forbidden land, they were not deprived of all their resources, nor was their livelihood affected, so there was no desperation driving them to dig up their ancestral tombs. Over time, these ancient burial sites became desolate mountains that no one approached, possibly untouched for centuries.

The journey was fairly long, and the two of them silently trekked through the barren mountains, neither knowing how to break the silence.

Fwhoo~

The wind rustled through the forest ahead, and a white tiger with large eyes leaped out.

Sisi’s eyes darted, and she frightenedly dove into Zhao Changhe’s embrace. “Master...”

Roar!

The tiger roared and pounced.

With one arm holding Sisi, Zhao Changhe extended his other hand and pressed down on the tiger’s head.

The tiger pushed and clawed but could not advance even a cun.

Zhao Changhe suspected that if he released his internal energy right now, he could kill this playful tiger instantly, but he did not do so.

This was because he felt it very likely that Sisi was controlling the tiger, having it pounce toward them so that she could have an excuse to throw herself into his arms. He recalled that during their reunion, she had been able to control snakes, though she had not shown such abilities since then.

Sisi stole a glance at the tiger, whose eyes were almost teary, and whispered, “Master, you’re so strong...”

Zhao Changhe playfully flicked the tiger’s head. With its tail tucked between its legs, the tiger whimpered and ran away.

But the arm holding Sisi remained wrapped around her, not letting go.

Sisi blinked, glancing at his profile before lowering her head. “Master, didn’t you want me to lead the way?”

“Alone in the woods with a beautiful woman, I’d rather do something else...” Zhao Changhe tightened his grip, pushing Sisi against a nearby ancient tree, gazing deep into her eyes.

Sisi’s heart pounded wildly and her breathing quickened.

The two of them had played the roles of maid and master for so long, but in truth, no matter how one thought about it, Zhao Changhe had never initiated anything to this extent. Even this time, though he had conquered the Spirit Tribe and theoretically could do anything he wanted, all the servitude in the sacred temple had been initiated by Sisi herself. He had even considered telling her to stop at one point.

This was the first time Zhao Changhe had shown any intention of wanting to play with her.

Was it because serving him in the sacred temple had given him a taste of it, making him change? Or did he already know about what had happened at the Ao Pool...

Zhao Changhe’s hand was already gently caressing her waist. Sisi’s body tensed up, feeling strange.

It didn’t feel like this back at the Ao Pool... Why does just him touching my waist feel like this... It’s as if there are electric shocks running through my body...

“Master...” Sisi finally could not help but plead, “There are wild beasts around here. Please, not here...”

“Would a different place be fine?”

Sisi could only reply, “Sisi has always been yours... Master didn’t want me yesterday, and now you’re teasing me again...”

Zhao Changhe lowered his head and kissed her lightly on the cheek, then moved to her lips. “But now your master wants you.”

Sisi’s mind went blank for a moment, and her lips were sealed.

Her eyes widened, her thoughts scattered.

It was laughable. After everything they had done, this was actually their first kiss.

Sure, back when she had pretended to be Hongling, or yesterday in the Ao Pool, she had done more than just kiss him... but whatever she’d done before felt nothing like what she was feeling now.

Sisi felt her whole body lose strength, and she only remained upright because he was pressing her against the tree. Her eyes were open, but nothing registered in her mind, just a blurry haze.

Finally, she gave up and closed her eyes in defiance, not wanting to look.

Not thinking about anything... It actually feels quite nice... His technique is quite good... Uh, wait, is this even something worth praising?

Sisi felt a surge of irritation and lightly pushed him away.

Zhao Changhe did not insist further, backing off slightly in response to her push.

The two of them, breathing heavily, looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. Zhao Changhe brushed his fingers over her flushed lips and said softly, “The seal is stamped, the rest can wait.”

Sisi felt as if she could not even stand, and after a long silence, she suddenly said, “Zhao Changhe, have you wanted to do this since Gusu?”

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then whispered, “Yes.”

It was not actually true—it was only from today.

But since she wanted to think that way, he let it be so.

Sure enough, Sisi immediately brightened up, lowering her head and taking his arm. “I knew it... You’ve always had bad intentions. You’re not pretending anymore, huh?”

Zhao Changhe smiled. “I’m not.”

He linked arms with Sisi and continued walking, suddenly chuckling. “Thanks to Buqi.”

Sisi huffed. “What does it have to do with him? If I wasn’t willing myself, could he really have given me to you?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “So you were willing even back then?”

“No way!”

“Oh, did you not think your master was handsome and smart back then?”

“Eugh...” Sisi made a show of kicking him, then ran ahead.

Zhao Changhe pulled her back into his embrace. “You even dare to kick your master now, huh...”

Sisi’s eyes sparkled. “So, what does Master want to do? Punish me on the spot?”

“Punish the little maid by making her my walking stick.” Zhao Changhe pulled her hand. “Lead the way.”

Sisi giggled. “Is this a walking stick or a guide dog?”

Zhao Changhe blinked.

Sisi leaned close to his ear and whispered, “And this little dog is female, you know...”

Zhao Changhe: 凸

Sisi giggled but truly continued to lead him, her hips swaying as she walked ahead.

The once stifling heat of the mountains suddenly felt refreshing, like a gentle breeze in spring.

Sisi had a feeling that perhaps her clever master had already figured it all out, which was why he was like this, but there was not any of the awkwardness she had imagined. So why care about making him dwell on things afterward? Was it not perfectly fine this way... The joy in her heart was something she had never felt before.

Since he isn’t bringing it up, then maybe it’s because he’s afraid that I’d feel embarrassed... Then I won’t mention it either.

Sisi thought back. Since her father’s death, and since the Spirit Tribe had bowed before the forbidden land, she had not felt as happy as she did today. It had been many years... Back then, Sisi was still just a little girl.

It felt like a fleeting dream.

Although the mountain where the burial ground was located was far away, and they had walked for a long time, when she finally saw it, Sisi suddenly felt that the journey was too short.

“Is this the place?” Zhao Changhe’s voice broke her reverie. “It doesn’t look particularly special... The tombs seem quite primitive.”

Sisi snapped back to reality. “People suspect that the true ancestral god’s tomb might be inside the mountain, but no one dares to approach it, let alone disturb it.”

Zhao Changhe surveyed the mountain for a while, then carefully climbed up. He mainly focused on sensing any reaction from the Heavenly Tome within his ring.

Halfway up the mountain, the Heavenly Tome stirred slightly.

It really had a reaction.

Zhao Changhe stopped, gazing at the overgrown hillside in front of him, deep in thought.

In the worst-case scenario, there might be an ancient god or demon resting here, waiting to awaken, much like the Sword Emperor.

This being could very well be a top-tier shaman specializing in life, as well as flesh and blood—there was a high possibility that the reason the page of the Heavenly Tome ended up here was related to that.

However, there were no strange phenomena here, nor could he sense any special energy.

Do I have dig to find out more? That doesn’t feel right... Besides, based on how things went at the Sword Emperor’s tomb, even if the Spirit Tribe allowed me to dig, would I dare to disturb it?

Zhao Changhe walked slowly around the area, eventually spotting a smooth stone platform ahead. The stone platform was about a zhang in diameter. Surrounded by wild grass and trees, it was remarkably clean, without moss or signs of weathering.

He tried standing on the stone platform for a while, then looked up at the sky.

The sun was setting in the west, and from this vantage point, it looked extremely close. It was as if it were a large plate right in front of him.

The sacred mountain was likely at the center of this secret realm, making this location possibly the western edge.

It was like a miniature world, with the sky appearing round and the ground flat, where the sun could be viewed up close.

Sisi did not bother him, instead holding his hand as they walked back and forth. Even she was a bit surprised at this point. “We’ve lived here for so many generations, and we never realized that we could see the sun this close without it burning us.”

Zhao Changhe stared at the massive sun ahead for a long time before saying, “Compared to the secret realms I’ve entered before, this one is closest to a complete world, with its own sky and sun. If humans seek to understand the heavens, they can’t really do it in an ordinary place. This realm feels like a scaled-down model of the main world... I want to practice here for a while, and also see if, at a certain time, there will be other phenomena.”

Sisi looked around. From this position, surprisingly, there were no tombs in sight, and a stream flowed nearby, giving the impression of an isolated pure land.

She found the place interesting, too, and said, “Do you want to build a small house here?”

“Hmm...” Zhao Changhe looked at Sisi and hesitated slightly.

Sure enough, women cause the speed of your sword to drop.

If I was exploring the mysteries of heaven and earth here alone, it wouldn’t have mattered how long I stayed somewhere—whether it be this burial mountain or some blood-soaked battlefield.

But now, with Hongling still around and Sisi’s feelings just starting to unfold, building a house on a burial mountain hundreds of li away to practice at just seems a bit strange.

As if reading his thoughts, Sisi reached out to adjust his collar, speaking softly, “There’s no rush. Didn’t you still want to see the exotic beasts? In the next few days, I can have some people come here to build a courtyard with all the necessary amenities prepared... By the time everything is ready, the chaotic affairs of the newly established Spirit Kingdom should be more or less settled. I will then come here to accompany you, adding a touch of warmth, and be your little maid.”

Zhao Changhe looked into her eyes.

She was clearly a newly crowned queen... but those gentle eyes made it feel like they were back in Gusu.