The backyard.
The already crowded place became even more chaotic with the sudden arrival of several people.
The woman, in a plain dress, stood in the middle of the yard.
At first glance, they knew she was their Sister Ling.
Gasping for breath, they tidied their clothes before walking towards where Zhao Shuning was.
It turned out the Shadow hadn't lied to them. Sister Ling had really come back.
Zhao Shuning was startled when she saw the sudden intruders, but then she smiled knowingly.
"My grandfather's birthday. You little rascals have come to show your support too."
The group was speechless. They just knelt in front of Zhao Shuning and kowtowed again.
Maybe at this moment, no words could express their feelings.
Zhao Shuning understood and didn't stop them.
Although they had grown up and taken on responsibilities, in Zhao Shuning's heart, they were still as innocent as children.
"Back then, I caused you all, the prodigies, to lose your spiritual powers. I'm sorry."
"It was our own fault. It has nothing to do with Sister. We were also involved in what happened back then. We're to blame for causing Sister to scatter her soul. We deserve death."
Zhao Shuning laughed. She twirled around on the spot.
"Look, I'm fine now, aren't I?"
Zhao Shuning put her hands on her waist and sighed.
"However, I'm not much different from you now. Most of my cultivation abilities have also been taken away."
What a pity. Truly a pity.
"By the way."
Zhao Shuning walked to a corner and pulled out a chubby little boy.
Even without much light, the little boy's cold and aloof aura couldn't be hidden.
He was really good-looking.
"What a cute boy. Who is he?"
"Feng Xiaobai, my son. Come, say hello to your uncles."
Everyone was shocked.
Feng Xiaobai nodded at them.
That's it?
Just that!
It's over?
It's over!
Looking closely, the boy resembled Sister Ling a bit. His fox-like eyes were just like the Emperor's.
But the look in his eyes was both righteous and evil. He was neither as cold and peerless as the Emperor nor as passionate as Sister Ling.
"Is this... the young highness?"
Zhao Shuning nodded.
They called Feng Xiaobai the young highness because he was the child of Master Yan Ruyu.
"Is Zhiyi here?"
Zhao Shuning called out softly.
Hearing this, Song Zhiyi walked from the back to the front.
Zhao Shuning stepped forward. Looking at Song Zhiyi's somewhat aged face, she said, "Back then, I'm sorry, sister. I made you shoulder such a heavy burden."
Song Zhiyi opened his mouth but shook his head. Then he said, "I've never regretted it. I'm incompetent. That was the last thing I could do for Sister Ling."
His eyes looked a bit dull.
Zhao Shuning said, "No. Although you don't have spiritual power or mental strength, your research on astronomy far surpasses everyone else's. Now, I have another thing to ask you."
Hearing this, there was a glint in Song Zhiyi's eyes.
"Please tell me, sister."
There was a flash of pain in Zhao Shuning's eyes. She told Song Zhiyi everything about her daughter Feng Qiuer. Then she took out the bloodstained shoe that little Qiuer had worn from her bosom and handed it to Song Zhiyi.
"I know you need a medium to determine the general direction. I'm mentally prepared. Just make the calculation for me."
Song Zhiyi took the coarse cloth shoe and stepped back about five meters.
For a quarter of an hour, his eyebrows were tightly knitted.
The atmosphere in the entire backyard was extremely tense, but no one said a word. They maintained the silence.
Finally, the tortoise shell in front of him cracked into two halves.
Song Zhiyi picked it up and examined it carefully.
Then he let out a long sigh of relief.
Zhao Shuning looked at him. Song Zhiyi nodded at her.
The tight string in her heart finally relaxed. Her body went weak. Xiaobai supported her from behind.
Zhao Shuning looked at Feng Xiaobai and grabbed his little hand tightly.
"Xiaobai, your sister is still alive. Little Qiuer is still alive. Do you know that?"
When Feng Xiaobai first heard this, there was a sudden sparkle in his dull eyes. Even his little hand became warm.
He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word for a long time.
However, his excitement, uneasiness, and surprise were all clearly shown on his face.
The uneasiness, guilt, and self - blame that had surrounded Feng Xiaobai for a month finally lessened a bit at this moment.
His sister was still alive. She wasn't dead. So as an elder brother, he still had a chance to make up for it.
This was the news that Zhao Shuning had been waiting for for a long time.
The main reason she rushed to the Zhao family in such a hurry was to use the family's power to contact Song Zhiyi earlier. His ability to observe the stars was unparalleled in the world.
Although she had known that little Qiuer had little hope of survival back then, as a mother, until the very last moment, even if it meant deceiving herself, she would infinitely magnify that tiny bit of hope in her heart.
Finally, she got the result she wanted.
"Master, there's a letter."
At this moment, a trusted subordinate of the Zhao family walked in from outside the yard and handed a letter to Old Zhao.
Normally, it was an extremely important occasion, and nothing should have interrupted them. But the sender of this letter was special, so the trusted subordinate of the Zhao family didn't dare to be negligent.
After Old Zhao read the letter, he sighed and handed it to Zhao Shuning.
Zhao Zheng could probably guess who the letter was from. He asked, "He still refuses to come?"
Old Zhao nodded.
"He's now staying at Hanshan Temple, ten miles outside Linjiang City."
"Since he's already in Linjiang, why doesn't he enter the city?"
After saying this, Zhao Zheng stopped.
They all turned their eyes to Zhao Shuning, who was carefully reading the letter.
Probably, they could guess the reason.
The great Emperor, the imperial teacher for a thousand years, the supreme being on the Nine - Province Continent, was actually afraid to set foot in Linjiang City.
It was just because this was her hometown. Most of the people here were closely related to Shuning. He was afraid of seeing them and being reminded of Shuning.
Zhao Shuning closed the letter.
"Grandfather, what do you want to give to Bu Ran?"
The letter mentioned this. Now, Yan Ruyu didn't want to show up. He just sent a letter and a birthday gift. Probably he had already guessed what Old Zhao wanted to give him.
Old Zhao looked embarrassed and didn't dare to say a word.
To be honest, although he was the oldest elder of the Zhao family, he still felt a bit guilty under his granddaughter's gaze.
Seeing his evasion, Zhao Shuning probably guessed what it was.
"Zhao Xiangxiang, you tell me."
Seeing this, Xie Yu had no choice but to brazenly stand in front of his wife. He grinned at Zhao Shuning and said, "Boss, you can't blame Xiangxiang. The Zhao family's token was won back by you with your life. Grandfather feels guilty about the family business you left behind. He wants to return it to the Emperor. It's just, it's just—"
The words "it's understandable" hadn't come out of Xie Yu's mouth when he was frightened into silence by Zhao Shuning's look.
The boss's look was really terrifying. Just like before, even though she didn't have spiritual power or mental strength now, just one look could make one's hair stand on end.