My Taoist buddy has practiced surrogacy

Chapter 1422 Dawn
Zhou Xing stared at her for a long time before slowly letting go of her hand.

After that, Ling Xue continued to deliver meals to the Cold Palace every day. She would secretly hide medicine for her injuries in a hidden compartment of the lunchbox and bring it to Zhou Xing. Each time Zhou Xing received the food, he would warm the icy prison food with his body heat before handing it to Ling Xue. Ling Xue would always refuse with a blush, but a warm current would slowly flow through her heart.

One night, Zhou Xing taught Ling Xue to read. His pale, long fingers dipped in water as he wrote the characters "同舟" (meaning "together in the same boat") on a stone slab. Before the water had dried, he suddenly coughed, and black blood seeped from between his fingers. Ling Xue looked at him in horror and tried to help him, but he gently avoided her.

To fetch medicine for Zhou Xing, Ling Xue stole the Imperial Concubine's hairpin and was slapped twenty times. Upon learning this, Zhou Xing was furious. He crushed the jade pendant, revealing the dragon pattern inside. He gritted his teeth and said, "When I regain control of the Eastern Palace, I will appoint you as..." Before he could finish, Ling Xue covered his mouth with her hand. Just then, the spiderwebs on the beams rustled in the wind, as if whispering their unspoken thoughts.

At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the Imperial Concubine publicly revealed that a former dynasty's imperial robe was hidden in the Cold Palace. The Emperor was furious and ordered the Imperial Guards to search immediately. Upon learning the news, Ling Xue was frantic with worry. She risked her life to rush into the burning building and rescued Zhou Xing's treasured faded swaddling clothes from the ruins. It was a birthday gift given to Zhou Xing by the late Emperor, but now it had become "ironclad evidence" of his treason.

As Zhou Xing was being led to the execution ground, Ling Xue, disguised as a dancer, blended into the crowd. She looked at the black iron chain around Zhou Xing's neck and felt a sharp pain in her heart. As she trembled and tried to cut the chain, Zhou Xing shielded her with his body. A flash of light struck, severing half of his white hair.

The two fled to a dilapidated temple, where Ling Xue applied medicine to Zhou Xing's wound. Suddenly, Zhou Xing grabbed her ankle and said, "If I am a pawn, why are you risking your life?" Ling Xue looked at him, her eyes filled with determination: "I don't know any grand principles, I only know that I cannot stand by and watch someone die."

In the late emperor's mausoleum, Zhou Xing found a blood-written edict. The edict revealed the truth behind the baby swap—he wasn't the real prince. A torrential downpour began, and Ling Xue tore open her sleeve to bandage his wounds. She said teasingly, "So even Your Highness has moments of tears." Zhou Xing looked at her, a bitter smile on his face, and said, "Yes, it turns out my whole life has been a joke."

To lure the enemy out, Ling Xue feigned betrayal. Zhou Xing choked on the poisoned wine and vomited blood, but he smiled and swallowed it, saying, "In this game, I'll play along with you to the very end." Ling Xue looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

The two men lured the Imperial Concubine into a secret chamber, where Zhou Xing personally poured poison down her throat. The Imperial Concubine's eyes widened in disbelief as she died. Ling Xue picked up the jade earring that had fallen from her ear and sneered, "This thing is enough to exchange for countless lives."

On the day the new emperor ascended the throne, Zhou Xing stood atop the city wall, watching Ling Xue disappear into the crowd. He buried the faded swaddling clothes into the roots of a pear tree and whispered, "I gave you the empire, how far will you go?"

Three years later, a plague swept through Jiangnan. A doctor wearing a silver mask was dispensing medicine and saving lives, and he always carried half a piece of burnt osmanthus cake in his medicine box. People spread the word that this doctor was highly skilled in medicine and kind-hearted.

In the teahouse, the storyteller struck the gavel and said, "Is the story of the deposed crown prince and the palace maid merely a record in history, or a tale of love in the mortal world? Look at the pear blossoms falling—" The audience listened intently, lost in thought.

In a remote mountain village, there lived a white-haired doctor. Every day when he gathered herbs, he would pick a few extra wild chrysanthemums and place them in front of an unmarked monument. The children asked him, "Grandpa, what kind of monument is this?" He smiled without answering, but a hint of tenderness flashed in his eyes.

The village women said they often saw an old woman rowing a boat to ferry him across the river. The lantern at the bow of the boat reflected the broken jade pendant inside the cabin, forming a crooked "同" (tong, meaning "together").

A century later, the green hills remain, and the pear trees have grown tall and graceful. Two children, chasing a wild rabbit, stumbled into a shallow grave. To their astonishment, they discovered that where the human hands in the coffin were clasped together, intertwined white bones grew like intertwined branches, as if telling a legendary love story that transcended life and death.

The night was still and deep. The Imperial Advisor, Ling Xue, stood atop the observatory, her black robes billowing in the wind, like a ghost in the darkness. She gazed up at the starry sky, her brow furrowed, clutching tightly the ominous silk scroll bearing the newly divined sign of "Mars guarding the heart." The words on the scroll seemed like a curse of fate, plunging her heart into despair.

Suddenly, a commotion broke the silence of the night. Ling Xue looked in the direction of the sound and saw several palace servants dragging a young prince toward the Cold Palace. The prince was covered in blood, yet he still clutched tightly to half of a tattered military book in his arms. A thought struck Ling Xue, and she did some quick calculations, discovering that the prince's fate secretly aligned with the method to avert the ominous sign.

At this moment, Zhou Xing, who had been imprisoned, awoke in the dimly lit woodshed. Looking at the unfamiliar and dilapidated surroundings, he was filled with anger and resentment. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a half-open corner of a tattered page from the *Six Secret Teachings* peeking out from a crack in the wall. His spirits lifted, and he secretly pulled out the page, devouring it with great eagerness. However, just as he was engrossed in reading, Ling Xue quietly appeared behind him, silently watching him.

Zhou Xing noticed someone was there and turned around abruptly, his eyes meeting Ling Xue's. His gaze was filled with wariness and hostility, while Ling Xue simply looked at him quietly without saying a word.

Ling Xue forcibly took Zhou Xing as her disciple and brought him to the library. She set up three "dead" pieces on the sand table, looking at Zhou Xing with a hint of provocation in her eyes. Zhou Xing looked at the sand table, took a deep breath, and began to place his pieces. One move, two moves… his pieces seemed to come alive, moving swiftly and decisively on the sand table. Finally, he broke the "dead" pieces with a risky move. Ling Xue nodded slightly, a barely perceptible smile appearing on her lips.

On a stormy night, Ling Xue led Zhou Xing into a desolate tomb. Braving the downpour, she unearthed the remains of a former dynasty's war god. Zhou Xing watched her actions, his heart filled with doubt. Ling Xue pieced the remains back together, then pointed to an old wound on the spine and whispered, "These are the remains of the late emperor who severed his spiritual veins to protect the people, and they are also the key to breaking your fate."

Zhou Xing was deeply shocked by her words. Looking at the skeleton, he seemed to see the war god who had once sacrificed himself for the sake of all living beings.

After that, Ling Xue would use silver needles to prick Zhou Xing's Baihui acupoint every night, forcing him to recall the nightmare he had witnessed as a child of witnessing his father kill his birth mother. Zhou Xing struggled with the painful memories, while Ling Xue watched calmly from the side and said, "Your calamity is not in fate, but in the hatred you refuse to forget."

On the Lantern Festival, the palace was brightly decorated and bustling with activity. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue mingled into the lantern market. Ling Xue bought a fox-shaped lantern and handed it to Zhou Xing, saying, "Here, pretend to be an ordinary person." Zhou Xing looked at the lantern in his hand, a warm feeling welling up in his heart. However, just then, shouts of killing came from not far away. It turned out that the Second Prince had been assassinated. Zhou Xing and Ling Xue exchanged a glance and quickly rushed over. Working together seamlessly, they quickly subdued the assassin.

The border was in dire straits, and the war was escalating. Ling Xue publicly broke the yarrow stalks, symbols of celestial secrets, and announced, "The Fourth Prince is the manifestation of the Purple Star, capable of leading the campaign against the Western Qiang." This statement immediately sparked a flurry of discussion in the court. Zhou Xing looked at Ling Xue, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He knew this was an opportunity Ling Xue had secured for him, but it also meant he would be placed in an even more dangerous situation. On the eve of the campaign, Zhou Xing was troubled and drank alone in his tent. He recalled his past of being neglected and the tragedy he witnessed in his childhood, his heart filled with resentment. He picked up his wine jug and smashed it to the ground, shards landing on the requiem talisman Ling Xue had just drawn. Ling Xue looked at the broken talisman, a sharp pain shooting through her heart. She silently knelt down and picked up the fragments.

On the battlefield, the Western Qiang army was exceptionally fierce. Zhou Xing's army was trapped, heavily surrounded by the enemy. Just as he was in despair, Ling Xue arrived. She ignited the Seven Star Array Diagram, sacrificing her lifespan to activate the ancient magic array. A flash of light, and the battlefield situation instantly reversed, with Zhou Xing leading his army to victory.

At the celebration banquet, Zhou Xing looked at Ling Xue in her wheelchair, his heart filled with guilt. He stepped forward, gently took Ling Xue's hand, which was covered in wrinkles, and said, "Are you crazy? Don't you want to die?" Ling Xue looked at him, smiled slightly, and said nothing.

Upon returning to the capital in triumph, Zhou Xing encountered a crisis. The emperor, believing slanderous accusations, accused him of treason and imprisoned him. To save Zhou Xing, Ling Xue stormed the Imperial Ancestral Temple to retrieve the late emperor's blood-written edict. However, when she opened the edict, she discovered it had been replaced with a blank silk scroll. A chill ran down her spine; she realized things were not so simple.

At the execution ground, Zhou Xing was bound to a pillar, surrounded by a dense array of soldiers. When Ling Xue arrived, she saw Zhou Xing with the executioner's blade pressed against his throat. Her heart tightened, and she threw out an astrological chart she had kept hidden for twenty years, exclaiming, "Does Your Majesty truly intend to kill this only pawn capable of suppressing the chaos of the Purple Star?"

The emperor hesitated, and at that moment, the second prince seized the opportunity to poison the imperial meal. Zhou Xing broke free of his shackles and used his body to block the poisoned arrow aimed at the emperor. He collapsed into Ling Xue's arms and weakly said, "You said my fate is hatred... but I can't bear to..." Ling Xue held him, tears streaming down her face.

Ling Xue sealed Zhou Xingbing inside an ice coffin in the snow mountain. She swallowed a life-extending pill, and her white hair instantly spread to her waist. She stroked the ice coffin and whispered, "Wait until I defy fate and return."

From then on, Ling Xue began her long journey. She traveled across mountains and rivers, searching for a way to break Zhou's life-threatening tribulation. Ten years passed, and she finally returned to the capital. The capital had changed beyond recognition, and the new emperor greeted her respectfully in the court. But she went straight to the ice coffin.

When she opened the ice coffin, she found Zhou Xing was gone. She searched everywhere and finally spotted that familiar figure outside the hall. Zhou Xing, holding a wilted bunch of foxtail flowers, chuckled and said, "Grand Preceptor, have you come to collect your disciple's gift, which is ten years overdue?"

The two soared through the clouds above the golden roof of the palace, and in the distance, the voice of the new emperor reading his abdication edict echoed. Ling Xue turned back and saw the ice coffin disintegrate into countless stardust fragments, melting into the dawn. Their figures gradually disappeared into the clouds, leaving only a legend to be passed down through the world.

At dawn, a thin layer of mist hung over the riverbanks of the Great Abyss Kingdom, like a veil. Ling Xue, as usual, came to the river to fish. She was dressed in coarse cloth, but it couldn't hide her graceful figure and beautiful face.

Suddenly, the fishing rod shook violently. Ling Xue was overjoyed, thinking she had caught a big fish. She pulled hard, but it was a young man who was unconscious. The man was soaking wet and his clothes were disheveled, but even in his disheveled appearance, one could still see that he had an extraordinary air about him.

Ling Xue's heart skipped a beat. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a broken jade pendant hanging from the man's waist, engraved with the words "Cui Shi" (Cui Family). She recalled the missing person notice posted on the village bulletin board, offering a reward of fifty taels of silver. But then she thought again: her fiancé, Chen Qingyuan, was studying diligently at the academy and urgently needed a dowry; this man might be an even greater source of wealth. So, she dragged the man into the nearby bamboo grove.

Ling Xue struggled to settle the man in a secluded spot. Just as she was about to leave, the man suddenly grabbed her wrist and mumbled, "A-Luan..." Ling Xue was startled and pulled her hand away. At that moment, she noticed that the man had a persistent high fever and his forehead was burning hot.

Ling Xue's heart softened, and she ran to gather herbs to brew a fever-reducing soup for the man. When she fed him the medicine, the man choked a few times, and Ling Xue patted his back while complaining, "Young masters are so delicate."

Late at night, the man murmured in his sleep, "Cheating in the imperial examinations... the Cui family is doomed..." Ling Xue was startled, realizing that this man's identity was probably more than just that of a wealthy young man. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not wake him, instead plotting in her mind how to extract more money from him.

The next day, Ling Xue lied to everyone, claiming that she had rescued a down-on-his-luck scholar and settled him in a side room of her house. Every day, she would go into the mountains to hunt wild game and gather mushrooms, and she would also secretly add sage to the chicken soup to enhance its flavor.

After the man woke up, he introduced himself as "Gu Huai," but remained tight-lipped about his background. Ling Xue didn't ask any questions, simply preparing various delicious meals for him every day. She secretly planned to extort a hefty sum from him once he recovered and left.

However, Ling Xue gradually realized that something was wrong. Rumors began to circulate in the village about her and Gu Huai, even saying that she was "keeping a gigolo." Ling Xue was both angry and anxious, and decided to speed things up. She deliberately complained about being poor in front of Gu Huai, talking about the difficult situation she and her fiancé Chen Qingyuan were in.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Gu Huai took out a broken hairpin and handed it to her, saying, "Consider this as travel expenses." Ling Xue took the hairpin, feeling somewhat disappointed. Although the hairpin looked old, how much could it be worth? She casually tossed it to the bottom of her makeup box.

One night, a torrential downpour began. Worried about Gu Huai's wound, Ling Xue braved the rain to visit him. When she entered the room, she found Gu Huai drawing something on paper with a charcoal pencil. She quietly approached and saw that it was a detailed river engineering map. Ling Xue was startled, realizing that this drawing might be related to something of great importance.

The town's landlord arrived with a matchmaker. The landlord's son was mentally challenged, and they wanted Ling Xue to marry him, promising a dowry of twenty taels of silver. Ling Xue looked at the burly landlord and his mentally challenged son, feeling a surge of disgust. She used the excuse of "waiting for my fiancé to return from the imperial examinations" to send them away.

However, the landlord and his son were not giving up. That very night, they sent several thugs to cause trouble at Ling Xue's house. Ling Xue was fearless, wielding a kitchen knife, and quickly scared the thugs away. But she was also injured in the process; her arm was cut and bleeding profusely.

Upon learning of this, Gu Huai went out to gather herbs overnight to treat Ling Xue's injuries. Ling Xue watched his busy figure, feeling somewhat moved.