Chapter 62: Long Life

  No matter how long the road is, it will eventually come to an end.

  The heavy stone gate finally opened, and Qing Xia's hands were covered in blood and flesh, her whole body numb and kneeling in front of the gate, looking at everything in front of her that was shocking and unbelievable, feeling as if all sorts of things had been like a big dream, absurd.

  What was presented before her was a world of gold.

  The ground is covered with golden sand, shining with dazzling light, and everything in sight is glittering gold. The lamps are lit all around, the ancient whale oil lamps of the South Sea are quietly burning, casting a brilliant glow on the golden sand. On the golden desert, an ancient palace stands tall, every brick and tile is carved from gold, majestic and simple, yet rich and magnificent.

  At that moment, Qin Zhiyan's words echoed in Qing Xia's mind: the icy north, the fiery south, the yellow earth of the west, and the green wood of the east. Could this be the Temple of the Yellow Earth in the west?

  "Be careful!" A low voice suddenly sounded from behind, Qing Xia was startled, turned her head around, and saw Qin Zhiyan leaning against the wall, his face still pale, but no longer as lifeless as before.

  "This is the Western Mirage Guardian of the Southern Yellow Earth Temple. Legend has it that the mirage resides under the yellow earth in the dark sea, skilled at creating dreams. Once you step into it, you will fall into a dream and never wake up again. For thousands of years, the number of tomb raiders who died in this Western Yellow Earth Temple is countless, more than the Fire Flame and Ice Temples combined."

  Qing Xia didn't believe in any mirage legends and looked at Qin Zhiyan with surprise, laughing: "Are you okay? Is everything all right?"

  "Ah," Qin Zhiyan smiled faintly: "Old habit, every day at that time will be slightly uncomfortable, thanks to you."

  After spitting out so much blood, he almost lost his life, and yet he still felt somewhat unwell? Qing Xia didn't say anything, but Qin Zhiyan was able to wake up so clearly, which was a huge blessing in both physical and mental terms. Qing Xia immediately put down the heavy burden in her heart and smiled: "You're fine now, let's hurry to the main hall."

  "There's a problem with the orientation. It seems that we need to pass through the Yellow Earth Temple of Qingmu to enter the main hall." Qin Zhiyan said, slightly hesitating.

  "You're not worried about this so-called mirage, are you?"

  "Aren't you worried, miss?"

  Qing Xia raised an eyebrow and said, "I admit that there are indeed some inexplicable strange things in this world, but this mirage is a bit too far-fetched. A person's heart can't be decided by just one big shell, if you ask me, those people died here because they saw the gold everywhere and couldn't bear to leave. In the end, it's all about being haunted by their own demons."

  Qin's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness as he smiled faintly and said, "This view is quite novel, but upon careful consideration, it's not entirely unreasonable."

  "But we still need to be careful, your ancestors set up so many mechanisms, who knows if there are any hidden traps here."

  Qin's flames nodded and said: "Good."

  Having gone through the two trials of raging fire and icy cold, Qing Xia was no longer careless. He stood up, pulled out his dagger, walked ahead, and habitually said: "You follow behind me."

  In the midst of a dazzling golden light, a small figure in green walked ahead. Just as Qin Zhiyan was about to stand up, he suddenly discovered that his wrist was tied with a white long strip of cloth. The other end of the long strip of cloth was tightly tied to Qing Xia's wrist. Noticing Qin Zhiyan's gaze, Qing Xia's face turned red as she hastily explained: "I'm afraid there might still be some bewildering Bagua formations here, so I made some preparations beforehand. Even if we get separated, we can follow the rope to find our way back."

  That white rope was the auxiliary tool that destroyed the ships of Jia Linghe and others on that day, and beheaded Yan Pingxi today. In the middle section, there were large patches of bloodstains. A deep red color, very eye-catching.

  Qin Zhiyan suddenly lifted his head and burst out laughing, unlike the usual faint smile that seemed to be devoid of emotions. This smile was extremely genuine, so genuine that it shone through to his eyes. The snow-white ribbon on his wrist had tied a knot, Qin Zhiyan lowered his eyes, then suddenly stretched out his hand to untie the knot.

  "Ah! You..." Qing Xia was about to speak, but suddenly discovered that Qin Zhiyan's long fingers had quickly retied the rope, this time forming a dead knot.

  "It's unsolvable then." Qin Zhiyan smiled and playfully clenched his fist at Qing Xia.

  "Alright, let's go." Qing Xia smiled slightly and turned around.

  Two people, one in front and one behind, slowly stepped onto the golden yellow sacred temple, vaguely, there was an ancient wind blowing gently through the air, brushing against their faces and bodies. In the dark and shiny corridor, a long wind was heavily suppressed and roared, echoing everywhere.

  "Qin's Flame,"

  "En?" Qin Zhiyan responded with a low and pleasant voice.

  "We two walk out from here, is also a body of copper smell."

  Qin's flames smiled and shook his head without speaking. Qing Xia saw him talking and laughing as if nothing was wrong, completely unlike the seriously ill man from earlier, and couldn't help but feel a wave of joy. No matter what, this appearance of his was much better than before.

  In a quiet and grand hall, the air was silent, without a single sound. Only Qing Xia and Qin Zhiyan were constantly treading on gold, making soft creaking sounds. Qin Zhiyan suddenly laughed and said: "This isn't called being tainted with copper smell."

  "Huh?" Qing Xia was taken aback and asked: "What's that called?"

  Qin Zhiyan blinked his eyes and smiled: "This is called treating wealth as dirt."

  "Ah?" Qing Xia didn't expect Qin Zhiyan to also be a jokester, and for a moment she was stunned, then burst out laughing loudly.

  Qing Xia's eyebrows and eyes curved, her long black hair scattered behind her back, a pale blue men's robe set off her small face, white and delicate, her eyes shone like stars, flashing with enticing light. Qin Zhiyan's eyes turned slightly, his expression soft, the corners of his mouth warm and smiling, the sky was a bright yellow, like a newborn sun, shining with golden light. Reflecting on Qing Xia's cheeks, it brought out her lotus-like elegance and beauty even more.

  "Tang girl," Qin Zhiyan suddenly called out Qingxia's name in a low voice.

  "Huh?" Qing Xia tilted her head and said: "What's wrong?"

  "It's nothing," Qin Zhiyan smiled faintly: "I just don't know the young lady's name yet."

  "What's your name?"

  Qing Xia was taken aback, she had many names in the past. Her mother gave her a nickname called Yimaer, which translates to "long life" in their native language, this is her favorite name and it accompanied her through the happiest days of her life. Her father's surname is Su, her full name is Su Wan, but this name was never really used.

  After her parents passed away, she was adopted by a local orphanage. Since she didn't speak for over a year, the director casually named her Xiao Yuan, just like naming a small dog. Later, when the orphanage closed down, she secretly snuck onto a large truck headed to the capital and eventually ended up in another orphanage, where she met Tang Yu. At that time, Tang Yu wasn't called Tang Yu yet; like Qing Xia, he had a name similar to a small cat or dog, Xiao Yong. Later on, they were both adopted by a family with the surname Tang and took on new names. However, not long after, due to the cruel treatment of the mistress of the house, the two escaped again.

  Later on, she joined the troops. Because the family that had adopted her had registered a household for them at the time, they continued to use their original names. However, this name was rarely seen in the light of day. Most of the time, she was called 003, just an icy code name, never having a name of her own.

  Now that she has arrived here, she is called Zhuang Qing Xia. After barely escaping the imperial palace, she calls herself Xia Qing in the military camp. Now, when she tells others her surname is Tang, what should she be called?

  Qin's flames saw Qing Xia's dazed expression and said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter, I was too abrupt to ask a young lady's name."

  "Just call me Yima'er." Qing Xia suddenly interjected.

  "Yima?" Qin Zhiyan's eyebrows rose in surprise as he asked, "Miss, are you a foreigner?"

  "No," Qing Xia shook his head slowly and said in a low voice, "This is the name my mother gave me. She was from Xinjiang, and Yima'er means longevity."

  "Long life?" Qin Zhiyan's eyes flashed with a smile, "Indeed, it's a good name."

  "Yes, this is my favorite name, only I know it in the whole world, and now you do too." The eyes of the girl in green clothes shone brightly like a precious gemstone. She smiled with her head tilted back, looking at Qin Zhiyan who was one head taller than her, as if sunlight had burst forth on her face, dazzling Qin Zhiyan's eyes.

  She really didn't lie, except for her deceased parents, no one else in the world knew that she had such a foreign name. She smiled at Qin Zhiyan's slender figure and said word by word: "Qin Zhiyan, if possible, I really want to give this name to you."

  Qin Zhiyan was taken aback, but saw that Qing Xia had already turned around, her slender body pulling on the white silk ribbon, walking far ahead of him.

  Emma, will you live... long?

  A loud "Boom!" suddenly rang out, and the golden sand that filled the sky was blown high into the air. Qin Zhiyan was shocked, and with a serious expression, he looked over to see a deep whirlpool had appeared on the surface of the sandy ground, which was covered in gold. The small figure of Qing Xia had already vanished without a trace.

  "Ima!" A loud shout suddenly echoed through the great hall, Qin Zhiyan's wrist twisted, his hands rotating and intersecting, wrapping all the white silk around his arms, standing firmly as if rooted to the ground.

  On the grand hall, all the quicksand suddenly seemed like a giant monster, crazily flowing.

  A terrible whirlpool of quicksand in the center, spinning and swallowing everything, along with that pale blue figure.

  "Yima!" Qin Zhiyan's face turned cold, and he suddenly pulled hard with his hands. Just at this moment, a loud tearing sound came from the fabric. This small sound was like a thunderbolt that struck Qin Zhiyan's head, and when he looked closely, the lifeline white rope had been torn open with a big hole.

  The quicksand beneath his feet slid rapidly, and Qin Zhiyan's body involuntarily slid towards the whirlpool that Qing Xia had fallen into.

  "Qin's flames, release!"

  A sharp female voice echoed above the grand hall, immediately followed by the crisp sound of fabric tearing. The white ribbon that connected the two people fluttered like a butterfly before being swallowed up by a massive whirlpool.

  Qin's eyebrows furrowed, almost without hesitation, his body suddenly rose from the ground and reached out to grab the rope. The blue shirt flashed, and also fell into the huge vortex.

  In the vastness of time and space, who is actually following whose footsteps.