First Love

“You made this?” Master Mao asked incredulously while looking at the Spirit Gathering Formation that Lou Ming had altered.

“Yes.” Lou Ming nodded.

“Did you dream about it?”

“Yes.” Lou Ming nodded again.

“Unbelievable.” Only a few places had been changed plain and simple, but the concentration of spirit qi in the courtyard was at least twice as high as before, and the climate in the courtyard had also become cooler.

“What else did you dream about besides the Spirit Gathering Formation?” Master Mao asked afterward.

“There are also some intermittent scenes. I have never been sure before, but judging from this Spirit Gathering Formation, those scenes are probably all memories of my past life,” Lou Ming told Master Mao about his conjectures.

“When did your memories start to awaken?” Master Mao asked.

“It should be from after seeing the Bone Flute,” Lou Ming said with some uncertainty.

“The Bone Flute? Could it be related to that spiritual artifact?” Master Mao pondered for a moment and then denied it himself. “The Bronze Sword is also a spiritual artifact, but its appearance did not bring you any influence, so I think it should not be the Bone Flute. It should be Feng Luo’s awakening that has affected you.”

Lou Ming also was not sure whether it was the effect of the spiritual artifact on him or Feng Luo’s awakening that brought back his memories. In fact, these two reasons did not make much difference to him. What mattered was that he remembered many occurrences that he had never experienced.

“This being the case, you must have been a Celestial Master in your previous life.” Master Mao looked at the Spirit Gathering Formation again and said, “And a very remarkable one at that.”

“But I still can’t remember exactly why I turned into this.” In the past few days of dreaming, sometimes an evil qi in his dream world would appear, and sometimes there wasn’t. Hence, there should be a certain segment in the middle that never came to his mind.

“Take it easy. Since your memory has begun to recover, then it is only a matter of time before you remember everything.” Master Mao said optimistically, “It’s the ending of the Metaphysics era nowadays, and countless Metaphysics techniques have long been lost. Since you were a Celestial Master in your past life, if you can remember all your past memories, you may know the method to resolve your evil qi yourself.”

“You’re too optimistic, Master Mao.” Lou Ming smiled and said, “If I knew the solution in my previous life, how would I have reincarnated for so many lifetimes with my evil qi.”

In an instant, Master Mao realized it himself and smiled at Lou Ming with some embarrassment.

After checking the Spirit Gathering Formation, Lou Ming and Master Mao turned around and walked towards the living room, where He Qi had already served tea. The two drank tea and chatted about the progress of the spiritual artifact search.

“The Ling Ji sword is already on its way back, and it will probably be delivered in two more days.” Master Mao said, “Let’s wait until after the Profound Spirit Grand Competition. If Little Friend Chen also wins a spiritual weapon at Qilian Mountain, then we will have gathered four pieces of the six spiritual artifacts.”

“What about the remaining two pieces?” Lou Ming kept in mind that the clues to two more spiritual artifacts had not been deciphered.

“There are already some clues on the fifth spiritual artifact, it should be figured out in a while. As for the sixth one, we are still guessing.” After Master Mao finished speaking, he looked at Lou Ming and said, “Of course, it would be better if you could remember it yourself.”

Lou Ming was stunned, then smiled without hope. Judging from his recent dreams, he started having them only after seeing a spiritual artifact, and the contents of the dreams seemed to be related to the era the spiritual artifact was in.

“Master Mao, did you find out the provenance of the Ling Ji Sword?” Lou Ming was reminded and asked.

“I checked it out.” Master Mao nodded and said, “The Ling Ji Sword is indeed the sword of Princess Ling Ji of the Ye State.”

“Is the ancient tomb of Wufang Lake the tomb of Princess Ling Ji?” Lou Ming asked.

“No. That ancient tomb should be from the Jin Dynasty. Except for the Ling Ji sSword, the other unearthed vessels and the accompanying burial objects are all from the Jin Dynasty,” Master Mao answered.

“The Jin Dynasty? Why did this Ling Ji Sword appear in the Jin Dynasty, three hundred years after the end of the Warring States Period?” Lou Ming wondered.

“Experts speculate that it may be because Princess Ling Ji offered the Ling Ji sword to the State of Shi, which was attacking the Ye State at that time. After which, the Warring States were unified by the Jin Dynasty, and the Ling Ji Sword was passed down,” Master Mao explained.

“Princess Ling Ji gifted the sword?” Lou Ming was incredulous. For some reason, he instinctively didn’t believe that the Ling Ji Sword was gifted outside.

“Correct,” Master Mao narrated the tale of the Ling Ji Sword that historians obtained, “The Ling Ji Sword is the national treasure of the Ye State. It was forged from the ore on the side of a dragon vein of the Ye State by the best craftsman of the state at that time. At the end of Ye State, the middle-aged ruler had a daughter. She was gifted and versatile and is omniscient in both literary and military strategies. At the age of 13, she secretly followed her uncle, the then General Protector of the state, to the border, and then made a name for herself in the battles that ensued. The Ye State ruler was overjoyed and gave Princess Ling Ji the sword and named it after her.”

“Later on, the Ye State was besieged by the Shi State, the largest state at that time. The war lasted for ten years, with countless casualties. Princess Ling Ji led 20,000 soldiers to defend the city and maintained a standoff against a 100,000 strong army for a year. Finally, due to the lack of army provisions and the Ye State nearing its fated end, Princess Ling Ji offered the Ling Ji Sword and surrendered within the city border in order to ensure the safety of the people of her state. “

“Surrender?” Lou Ming felt as if someone landed a merciless punch in his heart. He asked, ashen-faced, “And then?”

“What happened afterward is more tragic. It’s really a pity for a heroine among heroes, how tragic heroes have been since ancient times.” Master Mao couldn’t help sighing.

“What happened?” Lou Ming asked persistently.

“Princess Ling Ji went to battle at the age of 13 and killed countless soldiers of the Shi State. In the last year of defending the city alone, she used her bow and arrow and shot three opposing generals, one of whom was the second prince of the Shi State at the time. The one who finally accepted Princess Ling Ji’s surrender was the second prince’s older brother from the same mother and the next emperor of the Shi State, who was known for being violent, cruel and vengeful.” Master Mao continued, “He superficially accepted Princess Ling Ji’s surrender, and after all the generals of the Ye State surrendered their weapons, he ordered the massacre of all residents of the captured city.”

“City massacre?” Lou Ming’s voice involuntarily rose a notch.

“Yeah,” Master Mao said with a regretful nod, “So it’s a pity for Princess Ling Ji, the heroine of all time, the female war god of the Ye State. She was supposed to surrender for the sake of the people in the city and the surviving generals, but she unknowingly led the wolves into the house and let them slaughter them instead.”

“Then how about Princess Ling Ji?” Lou Ming asked, restraining the shudder that racked his body.

The prince of the Shi State brought Princess Ling Ji up to the city tower and let her watch her people being brutally killed. She could not bear it, and could not kill the Shi State prince either to avenge them, so in the end, she leapt down from the city tower and died bitterly remorseful.”