CHAPTER 885: 885 SHE WANTS TO FIND HIM [CHAPTER 1]

"..."

Sudden deathly silence.

This sentence caught everyone by surprise.

They all had assumed Ye Wanlan had suffered a severe mental shock due to Yan Tingfeng’s death and was having hallucinations as a result.

Master Rong Shi of Great Purity had already passed away three hundred years ago.

Although he did not die on the battlefield, he suffered severe backlash from probing too much into the Heavenly Mechanism, further straining himself taking on some of Yan Tingfeng’s injuries, his physical body long obliterated in Heaven and Earth.

This was something every Supreme Elder of the Rong family knew.

The Supreme Elder of the Rong family hesitated to speak: "Your Highness, you..."

"Rong Shi, haven’t you set up everything?" Ye Wanlan’s gaze was icy. "So is the current situation also within your expectations?"

"..."

A gentle breeze swept by, yet no one responded.

"Ah Lan." Lin Fanyin couldn’t help but speak, choking up, "Ah Lan, rest a little longer."

Xie Linyuan also spoke softly, "Little Junior Sister, I know you hold a grudge against Rong Shi, but he..."

Ye Wanlan turned a deaf ear, her voice still cold: "I don’t know what you said to him, making him think he’s destined to die. I don’t believe all your prophecies are true. If you don’t come out, I’ll dig up your Rong family’s ancestral graves!"

"Your Highness!" The Supreme Elder of the Rong family was horrified.

He had interacted with Ye Wanlan far less than Yan Tingfeng.

He never expected Princess Yongning to appear calm, a normal person, yet far more insane than the Master of Highest Heaven Tower!

"Won’t come out?" Ye Wanlan sneered coldly, "You should know, an emperor does not joke."

At this moment, everyone realized that even though Princess Yongning was just a step away from the position above thousands, she was already an emperor.

Finally, a sigh lightly fell, carrying a bit of consolation and melancholy: "Her Royal Highness the Princess is a genius beyond compare, nothing can be hidden from you."

Slowly, a vague shadow gathered, gradually appearing before Ye Wanlan.

White clothes surpassing snow, long hair scattered.

Eyes with flowing light, lips holding a smile.

If it’s not the amazing Master Rong Shi of Great Purity, who else could it be?

Ye Wanlan stared steadily at him: "You are indeed here."

"..."

These four words caused the surroundings to plunge into silence once again.

The Supreme Elder of the Rong family suddenly widened his eyes but did not see Rong Shi’s figure.

Xie Linyuan and his group were also stunned in place.

After a long while, he stammered out: "Why can’t Brother Rong be seen by you and me?"

"Thinking it over, it’s because Brother Rong and our state are not the same." Huo Jingyu smiled faintly, "The historical images brought by those antiques can only be seen by Her Royal Highness alone, correct?"

"Yes, I am indeed here." Rong Shi nodded lightly, "What just happened, I also saw it all."

Ye Wanlan’s hand gripping the knife suddenly tightened, but her face remained calm, neither joyous nor angry: "So what did you say to him?"

"I said, the divination is indeed unchangeable." Rong Shi sighed, "The Tower Master’s body won’t last three months, so it will inevitably collapse within three months, whether he dies for the Princess or not."

Ye Wanlan’s gaze sharpened instantly: "You used this sentence to make him choose to exchange life for life?"

"Of course not." Rong Shi shook his head, "Who can dictate the Tower Master’s thoughts? How he chooses is his own decision."

"If you hadn’t predicted he wouldn’t last three months, why would he choose to die?" Ye Wanlan shouted angrily, "I said I would save him!"

"..."

The surroundings remained silent.

Even Xiang Mingyu, who had watched Ye Wanlan grow up, had never seen her so emotionally exposed.

"The Princess’s joy and anger, plus I spoke of his body." Rong Shi chuckled, "Yet humans are not made of the body."

There’s also the soul.

And memory.

All essential.

"But I..." Ye Wanlan slightly raised her head, her voice barely audible, "cannot feel his soul."

This was the reason she couldn’t accept.

As a practitioner, she naturally knew that as long as the soul remained, she could certainly find him.

According to Penglai’s theory, after death, a soul wanders the mortal realm for seven days before leaving.

Yet, after Yan Tingfeng’s physical body collapsed, she couldn’t perceive his soul’s presence at all.

Exchanging life for life, such art and method is ultimately defying the heavens. If even the soul dissipates?

Rong Shi seemed to see through her thoughts, smiling: "When Her Royal Highness passed away, the King of Yan also couldn’t perceive your soul presence."

"Swish—!"

Ye Wanlan suddenly lifted her head, raising a knife and slashing at Rong Shi.

This slash was extremely sharp, slicing Rong Shi’s shadow apart.

But within half a second, the shadow reformed, Rong Shi was still present.

"Rarely seen Her Royal Highness so enraged." Rong Shi remained unmoved, "Human emotions are indeed very complex."

Ye Wanlan calmly chuckled: "Doesn’t Master Rong Shi have emotions?"

"Of course." Rong Shi replied unhurriedly, "I just never let emotions override my rationality."

"Indeed." Ye Wanlan said softly, "You played a good game of chess. Everyone is moving forward according to your plan, even I can’t escape your plan."

Back then, her soul couldn’t be felt because she immediately went to another world after death.

Rong Shi’s words "May the Princess have a smooth journey" contained so much meaning.

"Her Royal Highness is joking." Rong Shi smiled lightly, "This Chess Master is only you and the Tower Master. I am but an observer."

"Alright, you’re just an observer." Ye Wanlan’s tone was calm, "Yet as an observer, you see the whole chessboard, the Chess Master’s every move is in your gaze."

"I could see, back then I couldn’t sway the Chess Master’s actions." Rong Shi whispered, "Master of Great Purity, knows heavenly intentions above, peers into hearts below, but human hearts are far harder to decipher than heavenly intentions."

Even he couldn’t understand every person’s emotions.

"So you’re saying he, like me, had his soul go to another world and that’s why I can’t feel his existence?" Ye Wanlan raised her eyes, "Then, which world is he in?"

"As long as Her Royal Highness wishes, you will soon meet the Tower Master." Rong Shi smiled again, "Having answered Your Highness’s question, I should go now."

"One last question—" Ye Wanlan directed her intense gaze at the shadow about to dissipate, "Are you still alive?"

Rong Shi paused, then chuckled: "I don’t know about that, perhaps when the Princess finds the next me, more will be revealed."

The shadow then dissipated into Heaven and Earth.

Ye Wanlan knew this shadow wasn’t Rong Shi’s soul, just a thought manifested.

"Tingfeng isn’t dead." Ye Wanlan lifted her head, "I must find him."