My Taoist buddy has practiced surrogacy

Chapter 1349 Raid
Ling Xue accidentally fell into the water, and Zhou Xing jumped into the water without hesitation to rescue her.

Zhou Xing was shocked to see Ling Xue had a flame birthmark on her collarbone, just like his. Ling Xue also noticed something was wrong with Zhou Xing.

At midnight, after being steamed dry, Ling Xue sneaked into the royal ice cellar with Zhou Xing. They found the metal box containing the emperor's will at the bottom of the century-old wine jar. Looking at this mysterious metal box, the two knew that they were one step closer to the truth.

During the ceremony of offering sacrifice to the heaven, the originally clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds and heavy rain poured down. Ling Xue was accused of colluding with foreign businessmen and faced tremendous pressure. Zhou Xing stepped forward and smashed the Western Region glass cup in public, revealing the hidden witch puppet. It turned out that someone framed Ling Xue in an attempt to cause chaos during the ceremony of offering sacrifice to the heaven.

The rebel general took advantage of the chaos to lead the fleet to attack, and the situation was extremely critical. Ling Xue put on armor and held a sword, and climbed up the city wall to command the defense. Zhou Xing activated the trebuchet converted from a merchant ship, filled it with chili powder and sulfur, and created a "beacon fire and smoke" effect. Under their command, the morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted, and they fought hard against the rebels.

However, the situation did not improve. Ling Xue was imprisoned in the fire, and Zhou Xing was extremely anxious. He rushed into the fire and pulled away the burning beams with his bare hands. With his burned palms stained with blood, he grasped the black iron chain on Ling Xue's wrist and said firmly: "I guarantee with my life that Your Highness is not a traitor."

In order to find the antidote, Zhou Xing and Ling Xue dived into the underwater ruins. However, they triggered a trap and were trapped in a secret room. The oxygen in the room gradually became thinner, and Zhou Xing found it difficult to breathe. He stared at Ling Xue and silently recited "The Song of the Yue People" with his mouth, passing the last oxygen to Ling Xue. Ling Xue had tears in her eyes and was deeply moved.

After the poison was removed, Ling Xue's hair turned frosty white. Zhou Xing took out the treasured black hairpin from the bottom of the box and said with a smile: "This should have been given as a gift at the coming-of-age ceremony." Ling Xue took the hairpin with mixed feelings.

At this time, the court officials forced Ling Xue to give an explanation. Zhou Xing burned the imperial merchant order in court, knelt down as a commoner and presented a letter to the people to support Ling Xue. Ling Xue was deeply moved, she knew that Zhou Xing was really good to her.

The ending presents a twin mirror image. In the court, Ling Xue wore a phoenix crown and sat beside the dragon throne, listening to the government affairs behind the curtain with Zhou Xing. On the imperial desk was a confederation of the two languages. They worked together to govern the country and gradually made the country prosperous.

Overseas, merchant ships flew flags with the Chinese character "Ling" and cut through the huge waves. Zhou Xing stood at the bow, holding the amulet embroidered by Ling Xue. The cargo hold was filled with bronze cannons with the emblems of the two countries. Their trade routes were also becoming wider and wider.

In his old age, Zhou Xing and Ling Xue met in the imperial garden full of exotic plants. White-haired Ling Xue's fingertips traced the old scar on Zhou Xing's palm and asked softly, "If I had met the businessman Zhou Xing first..." Zhou Xing gently held her hand and smiled, "No matter when we meet, I will always be by your side." The two smiled at each other and spent a quiet and beautiful time under the afterglow of the sunset.

During the intense rescue process, Zhou Xing discovered a shocking secret. It turned out that a huge alien civilization relic was hidden in this mysterious nebula. These relics emitted powerful energy fluctuations, which was the reason why the exploration spacecraft lost control. Zhou Xing realized the importance of this discovery. After ensuring the safe evacuation of the crew, he decided to go deep into the ruins for a short exploration to obtain some key data and information.

He told this idea to Ling Xue and the stationmaster on the space station through the backup communication channel. After learning the news, Ling Xue was worried about Zhou Xing's safety, but also proud of his bravery and curiosity. She and the stationmaster organized other staff members of the space station to provide technical support and guarantee for Zhou Xing in the rear.

Zhou Xing carefully went deep into the ruins. The architectural structure and technological equipment here were beyond his imagination. There were flashing lights and mysterious symbols everywhere. He found a huge crystal slab in a hall, which was engraved with strange words and patterns. Just as he tried to interpret the information, the defense mechanism of the ruins was suddenly triggered. Energy beams shot from all directions, and Zhou Xing was forced to dodge.

While dodging, he accidentally fell and got injured, and felt a sharp pain in his leg. But he gritted his teeth and insisted on continuing to explore.

He was fully aware of the mission and responsibility he shouldered and could not give up this opportunity easily.

Just when Zhou Xing was in a desperate situation, he suddenly found a hidden passage. He crawled along the passage and found a room full of alien technology data. These data are undoubtedly priceless treasures and will have a huge impact on human interstellar exploration.

Zhou Xing didn't care about his own injuries and quickly collected the information. He stored the information in the storage device of the rescue spacecraft, and then drove the spacecraft away from the ruins with difficulty. On the way back to the space station, his injuries became more and more serious, but he always maintained consciousness, with only one thought in his mind: to return to Ling Xue.

When Zhou Xing's spacecraft finally returned to the space station, he was already dying. Ling Xue and the medical team immediately carried him into the operating room for emergency treatment. After several hours of surgery and treatment, Zhou Xing's injuries gradually stabilized. He kept calling Ling Xue's name while in a coma, as if he was meeting her in a dream.

Ling Xue stayed by Zhou Xing's bedside day and night. She looked at Zhou Xing's pale face and thin body, and felt distressed. She gently held Zhou Xing's hand, whispered her thoughts and love in his ear, and hoped that he would recover soon.

As time passed, Zhou Xing's physical condition gradually improved. When he woke up, he saw Ling Xue's tired but joyful face, and his heart was filled with emotion and guilt.

"I'm sorry for making you worry." Zhou Xing said weakly.

"Don't say sorry, I just hope you can come back safely." Ling Xue replied with tears in her eyes and a smile.

After this incident, Zhou Xing and Ling Xue's relationship became even more solid. They experienced life and death together, and witnessed miracles in the universe together. Their story spread in the space station and became a legendary story among people. However, their adventure did not end there. As the research on the remains of alien civilizations gradually deepened, humans discovered more secrets and potential crises about the universe. As someone who had once gone deep into the remains, Zhou Xing became one of the core members of the research team. He often discussed those mysterious alien texts and patterns with scientists, trying to unravel the mysteries.

Ling Xue is also not idle. She actively organizes various activities in the space station to provide spiritual support and a comfortable living environment for researchers and crew members. She will hold food festivals, concerts and other activities to allow everyone to relax after intense work. She also set up a volunteer team to help those who have just arrived at the space station adapt to the environment and understand the rules of life in the space station.

At a scientific research conference, Zhou Xing proposed a bold hypothesis: the remains of alien civilizations may be just the tip of the iceberg, and there may be a huge and complex interstellar network in the entire universe, and different alien civilizations may have some kind of connection and communication method. This hypothesis has aroused heated discussion and strong interest among scientists. In order to verify this hypothesis, humans decided to launch an unprecedented interstellar exploration plan - the "Star Link" plan.

The plan aims to send a fleet of multidisciplinary experts to different star systems to search for traces and clues of alien civilizations. Zhou Xing was appointed as one of the commanders of the fleet with his rich experience in interstellar navigation and in-depth understanding of the ruins.

Zhou Xing escorted the merchant ship, sailing on the vast ocean. One day, the sea suddenly surged with strong winds and huge waves. The merchant ship was like a small boat in the waves, and was in danger of being submerged at any time. With his rich sailing experience, Zhou Xing tried hard to steer the helm and get the merchant ship out of danger. However, the storm was too strong, and a huge wave hit, swallowing the merchant ship in an instant.

When Zhou Xing regained consciousness, he found himself washed up on the coast of Ling State. Before he could recover, a group of Ling State soldiers surrounded him and accused him of being a spy from the enemy country. Zhou Xing quickly explained that he was just an imperial merchant caught in a storm. But the soldiers did not believe him and took him to the royal city.

Princess Ling Xue of Ling State heard about this and came to interrogate Zhou Xing. She found that Zhou Xing's merchant ship was full of precious medicinal materials and fabrics, which made Ling Xue suspicious. During the conversation, Zhou Xing mentioned the grape wine from the Western Regions and described its unique flavor in detail. After hearing this, Ling Xue's heart moved, because it evoked the memories of "Yiyuzhi" that she read in her childhood. She tentatively asked Zhou Xing, and Zhou Xing's answer gradually made her believe that this person might really be just an imperial merchant.

Soon after, a palace banquet was held. Ling Xue deliberately ordered people to present tribute wine from the Western Regions to further test Zhou Xing. As soon as Zhou Xing smelled the wine, he pointed out that the wine was of the wrong age and accurately stated the brewing method. His words touched Ling Xue's hidden business ambitions and made her feel a little favorable towards the young imperial merchant in front of her.

In order to thank Ling Xue for saving his life and to further demonstrate his own value, Zhou Xing offered to help Ling Xue improve the court weaving technique by offering her overseas treasures. Ling Xue was already interested in business, so she agreed to his request. The two began to exchange letters frequently, discussing business and statecraft.

Once, Zhou Xing used the metaphor of pearls on the sea to describe "people's hearts are like shells that need to be nurtured" to explain his views on state governance to Ling Xue. Ling Xue was very smart and immediately realized that this was his ironic criticism of the current overly harsh government orders. However, this move aroused the dissatisfaction of the censor. The censor impeached Zhou Xing for "interfering in politics with business". Although Ling Xue appreciated Zhou Xing's views, she had to punish him by copying "Salt and Iron Theory" in order to maintain the face of the court.

On a rainy night, Ling Xue's curiosity got the better of her and she sneaked into the side hall where Zhou Xing lived. She saw Zhou Xing concentrating on drawing a sea chart, and there was an unsent letter from home scattered on the table. The handwriting in the letter was blurred by the rain, and the words "If I could have the princess as my friend, I would have no regrets in my life" could be vaguely seen. Ling Xue's face instantly turned red, she silently put the sea chart and the letter back to their original places, and hurried away.

The war in the northern border was tense, and the supply of grain became a key issue. Zhou Xing cared about the country and volunteered to purchase grain across the border. Ling Xue knew the difficulty and danger of this matter, but she was moved by Zhou Xing's patriotism and privately transferred the imperial guards token to escort him. Before leaving, Ling Xue gave her fox fur dagger to Zhou Xing, and watched him go away with a worried heart.

When Zhou Xing was buying grain in a foreign country, he encountered difficulties from grain merchants. They raised the grain price in an attempt to make a fortune. Zhou Xing did not panic. He used Lingguo porcelain as collateral to force the other party to compromise. At the same time, he secretly contacted his old subordinates in Haiyang and prepared a batch of grain and grass.

However, the return journey was not smooth. They were intercepted by pirates and Zhou Xing's merchant ship was in trouble. At this critical moment, Ling Xue disguised as a merchant and came with reinforcements. She fought side by side with Zhou Xing and commanded well. But unfortunately, Ling Xue was shot in the shoulder blade, and the blood stained her clothes red. Zhou Xing looked at the injured Ling Xue, and his heart was full of guilt and distress.

After the war, the emperor learned about this. In order to silence the censors and appease the families of Lingguo and Zhou Xing, the emperor granted a marriage between Zhou Xing and the daughter of the Marquis of Loyalty. When Ling Xue heard the news, her heart was as painful as being cut by a knife. But she still held back her tears and pretended to be calm.

On the wedding day, the whole capital was immersed in a festive atmosphere. Zhou Xing wore wedding clothes, but he had no intention of celebrating. He looked at the guests in the hall, and all he could think of was Ling Xue. Suddenly, he broke the red string of the jade pendant around his waist, rushed out of the wedding hall, jumped on a fast horse, and ran towards the palace.

At this time, Ling Xue was praying at the altar. She was upset and just wanted to forget the pain in her heart. At this moment, Zhou Xing appeared in front of her. He tore up the imperial edict in public, dragged Ling Xue onto his horse, and galloped away. The horse's hooves crushed the sacrificial utensils on the ground, and also crushed the cumbersome rules.

The two fled to the border wharf, where Zhou Xing's merchant ship had been waiting. Ling Xue stood on the deck, looking at Zhou Xing with doubts in her eyes. At this time, she found that the cabin was full of the "overseas crops" she had mentioned before - potatoes. Zhou Xing smiled and told her that he wanted to take her to open up overseas territories, where there was a wider world.

Just as they were about to set sail, the pursuers approached. Ling Xue acted decisively and lit the beacon tower to attract Zhou Xing's old troops. She also used the Princess's order to temporarily mobilize the garrison and drove back the pursuers. Afterwards, she discarded her hairpins, put on her battle robe, stood firmly beside Zhou Xing, and sailed to the sea with him.

The fleet had been sailing on the sea for a while when it encountered a terrible hurricane. The wind was howling and the waves were as big as mountains. The fleet could be swallowed up at any time. Zhou Xing, with his rich sailing experience, calmly commanded everyone. Ling Xue did not retreat either. She cut the sail rope with a dagger and helped Zhou Xing stabilize the boat.

However, the disaster was not over. The cabin was flooded and the situation was very critical. Ling Xue, regardless of her own safety, sneaked into the cabin to stop the leak. In the dark cabin, she caught a glimpse of the dragon-patterned military talisman in the secret compartment and was startled. But she did not make a sound and continued to complete the work of stopping the leak.

After the storm subsided, the fleet continued to move forward. They arrived at a deserted island, where food and fresh water were becoming increasingly scarce. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue ate grilled fish together, supporting each other in difficult times. Ling Xue teased Zhou Xing that "a royal merchant turned into a fisherman", while Zhou Xing laughed and pointed out that she was "a princess turned into a wild woman". Late at night, Zhou Xing took out the blood-stained fox fur dagger that he kept close to his body and confessed to Ling Xue.