Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1148: Getting To the Bottom of Things

Xu Qing wasn’t sure whether Starfire could have possibly entered the fourth world. But he did know that he was not himself in body and soul. His thoughts had taken over the Young Lord Aurora of this time period, and he was now tasked with acting out his role in the most accurate way possible.

History could not be changed. That was what the imp, who was the discarnate will of Aurora himself, had said to Xu Qing. He had made it clear that after entering the fourth world, things needed to play out as they had in history. Xu Qing was there to listen and see. To experience.

But Xu Qing wasn’t completely convinced of that. After all, if that was how things went, then this entire thing would be somewhat meaningless, both to himself and to the Shining Stars. If all you did was observe, then would that really bring the best good fortune and destined opportunities? Did things really play out automatically in the best way possible for the participants? Or was there a better way to do things?

And thus… Xu Qing felt that the best destined opportunity in this fourth world was to find the best possible outcome for this version of the past, even if it was hidden deeply.

So how am I supposed to do that?

As the lightning struck him, he began to observe his surroundings and sense what was going on. In that manner, time passed.

Five days went by.

Zhong Chi came every day to keep him company at the cliff. He was a study partner, and therefore, that was his job. At least, that was how it looked on the outside.

The reality was that while the young lord was being punished, Li Mengtu had some unprecedented free time to do whatever he wanted…. And thus, he was working on his own good fortune. In the end, Li Mengtu didn’t really care at all that the young lord was strung up and being punished. In fact, he hoped it would last for longer.

Xu Qing could tell what was going on. He didn’t call Zhong Chi out. After all, he wouldn’t have appreciated someone else doing that to him. Everyone who came to the fourth world had their own matters to deal with.

As for himself, he took advantage of his time being punished at the Scourgebolt Cliffs to study the lightning bolts and use them to learn a bit more about this world.

The spirit energy here, the lightning, and even the aura of heaven and earth… all contain traces of time within them. This place is actually a bit different than the real world. To actually change history would be incredibly difficult. There are some high-level canon restrictions that make changing the past impossible. It’s as if there is a space-time tempest covering the entire Fifth Star Ring here. This part of the timescape I’m in is likely… not real history!

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he studied the lightning striking him, and came up with further speculations. It wasn’t that this part of history had never occurred. Based on what Xu Qing understood of time, it seemed to him that the fourth world was a representation of the past. It was like… a reflection.

I’ll have to do some tests to find out for sure.

As he devoted thought to such matters, he would occasionally let loose some screams to make sure that he was playing his role properly.

During the five days that passed, he spent time thinking about something else. And that was… whether there were other Shining Stars in this world besides Li Mengtu. And if there were, he wondered what roles they were playing.

After I’m freed from the Scourgebolt Cliffs, I’ll have to see what I can find out.

He had no intention of causing problems for them. But the more he knew about who was here and what role they were playing, the easier it would be to work that to his own advantage.

Finding out how they’re trying to get their own good fortune will help confirm some of my speculations. If I’m right, then this world is just a reflection….

If that’s true, then trying to mess with time here, for instance by altering death, would result in transformations to space-time. And that would help me achieve deeper enlightenment of my space-time canon. If I did that, I could become a sovereign of space-time! Hm. I wonder if Immortal Lord Aurora is going to come back and see me…?

Xu Qing looked off into the distance. Immortal Lord Aurora had come right when Xu Qing arrived in the fourth world. Back then, he knew nothing about his surroundings, and in the interests of not making a mistake, he hadn’t even looked at the Immortal Lord.

But in the days that had passed, he had learned a lot. Sadly, as the sixth day passed, and he was only about half a day from being freed, though someone did come to visit, it wasn’t the Immortal Lord.

A person arrived in an imperial carriage being pulled by nine phoenixes. The carriage’s curtain made it impossible to see who was inside. As the lightning shone onto the dazzling carriage, it seemed capable of lighting up this entire section of the immortal palace.

The nine phoenixes pulling the carriage let loose cries that caused wild colors to flash in heaven and earth. Each phoenix was like a burning flame that could devour all existence. The carriage was inlaid with countless jewels which shimmered like stars as the carriage moved, making it incredibly eye-catching.

Flanking the carriage were over a hundred guards clad in pitch-black suits of armor, with long spears in their hands. All of them emanated terrifying auras. They maintained orderly ranks as they marched next to the carriage. They seemed solemn and austere, and clearly viewed it as a great honor to serve as guards for this person.

The entire procession flew right into the Scourgebolt Cliffs. The carriage came to a stop about 90 meters away from Xu Qing, right in front of him.

Then a fair, delicate hand reached out from behind the dazzling curtain. The hand fairly radiated kindness, but it seemed to falter for a moment just as it emerged. After a short pause, the hand moved gracefully in an arc to draw aside the curtain, revealing the person in the carriage.

She had an extremely beautiful face that seemed like it was gilded with silver in the flashing glow of the lightning. In fact, that glowing radiance seemed to make her holy and even dreamlike. Everything around her seemed to dim in comparison. She had gleaming eyes, a long, straight nose, and naturally flushed lips that were perpetually curved in a gentle smile. However, at the moment, that smile was gone, and had been replaced with pure anger. As she emerged from the carriage, her hair cascaded like ink over her shoulders, and the way it flicked made her seem even angrier, but at the same time, added to her gentle charm.

Striding up to Xu Qing, she said, “You heartbreaker!”

Xu Qing looked up at the beautiful young woman in front of him. Based on his host’s memories, he knew exactly who she was. She was the daughter of Immortal Lord Nineshores, and her name was Zhou Linshan, although she was usually called Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix.[1]

This was the woman that Immortal Lord Aurora had commanded he marry in a month. It went without saying that the daughter of Immortal Lord Nineshores was beautiful in every way imaginable. There was something transcendentally gorgeous about her, such that anyone who saw her would think of her as so pure and holy that they wouldn’t dare to even touch her.

When the breeze stirred her hair, her attractiveness would stir the heart of anyone looking at her. Her good looks and her temperament made her seem like an immortal fairy who had stepped out of an ancient painting, or perhaps a beautiful gemstone delivered as a gift from heaven above. Even when she spoke with anger in her voice, it sounded like music from nature.

Unfortunately, Xu Qing was not actually Young Lord Aurora. After glancing at her, he simply closed his eyes and ignored her.

“You womanizer!” she snapped, her eyes blazing. But then she saw the wounds covering his body, and she suddenly felt sorry for him. Despite still being angry, she took out a handkerchief and wiped some of the blood off him. Her hand seemed infinitely gentle, as if it could soothe all restlessness in the world. As she wiped away the blood, she said, “You were very eloquent. Quite the flatterer. But now…. I know you don’t want to give up your Hundred Flowers Palace. So why did you come flirt with me in the first place? Your father already proposed a marriage. The wedding is supposed to be in a month. You don’t—”

Xu Qing’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and despite the lightning binding his arm, he reached up and grabbed her wrist.

She didn’t struggle against him. She just looked at him.

“If you wipe all the blood off,” he said, “how am I supposed to convince my father I’m sorry?”

He let go of her hand.

She snorted coldly and kept wiping the blood away. “You won’t give up your Hundred Flowers Palace, and you also think that Immortal Lord Aurora is going to feel sorry for you because you have some blood smeared on you? Maybe I should tear down the Hundred Flowers Palace myself!”

Spinning furiously, she walked back to the carriage. A handmaiden opened the curtain, and she got inside without looking back. The carriage and the guards then turned around and left the Scourgebolt Cliffs.

Zhong Chi looked up. “Was that really necessary, Young Lord…?”

Xu Qing didn’t reply. He just closed his eyes. As a result, no one could see the strange gleam therein. He was currently thinking about everything that happened from the moment Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix arrived until she left.

There had been a few noteworthy details.

First was the way she opened the curtain of the imperial carriage. There was something strange about the way it happened. Based on the host’s memories, it seemed to him that someone of her status would have grown up having other people open the carriage curtain. It was not something she would do herself. Of course, there could be reasons to explain that way.

But there was another detail. When he suddenly grabbed her wrist, she hadn’t reacted in any way. However, he had felt a hidden but profound force pushing back against him. It was faint, but he had been paying attention and had detected it. That was very strange. His host and Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix had already had physical contact, so why would there be a force pushing him away? Even still, those things could be explained away.

But there was an additional detail to add into the mix. After her wrist was grabbed, and at the same time as the force of rejection flared, her guard had gone up. Given who she was, that didn’t make sense.

Any of those things on their own wouldn’t mean very much. But when you added them together, they were very meaningful, at least to Xu Qing. That was especially true considering… that those three details didn’t seem to add up unless you combined them with a certain speculation. Then they made perfect sense.

And that speculation was… that she was an outsider. An outsider would slip up by opening the curtain. An outsider would instinctively unleash push back against him. And an outsider, having been provoked, would put their guard up.[2]

I bet that she’s not really Zhou Linshan! Is she one of the Shining Stars? There’s only one of the Shining Stars who’s a woman, although that doesn’t rule out the others.

Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked off into the distance.

If she is one of the Shining Stars, then… what is she trying to accomplish?

1. Zhou Linshan: Zhou is #10 on the list of 100 common surnames. Lin means “gem” and Shan means “coral.” Madam Deathblade says it sounds like a beautiful, feminine name. The name is important, but in the vast majority of cases she’s referred to by her title/nickname. For best reading experience, put a mental bookmark into Zhou Linshan being her real name. ☜

2. Those of you who have read ISSTH might remember the Outsiders from that novel. That is a completely different term than the one in this chapter. In this chapter, the word literally means “someone from outside.” In ISSTH, the term “Outsiders” is actually the same as what I’m rendering as “nonhuman” in this novel. Back in the ISSTH days, I was much less experienced. Based on the context of how those nonhumans were portrayed (being “outside” of the world Meng Hao lived in), I thought that Outsiders was a cool name for them. Even after finishing that translation and moving on to AWE, it never occurred to me that Outsiders was not a good choice. I mean, it does sound cool. But it doesn’t accurately reflect what they are. If I could go back, I might just refer to them as “nonhumans” the same way I do in this novel. In any case, during this “fourth world arc” in BTT, the ‘outsiders’ are simply people from the outside. ☜

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