Floating life reflects two lotuses

As night fell, the golden tiles and red walls of the palace shone with a desolate glow under the moonlight. However, beneath the calm surface, an unusual phenomenon was quietly brewing.

The eunuchs hurried along the long palace road, followed by the suppressed screams and cries of the palace maids. In the once orderly imperial garden, the branches of several ancient trees seemed to have twisted out of thin air and drooped down, as if trying to grasp something.

The clock seemed to have lost its function within the palace; the sound of dripping water was intermittent, sometimes near, sometimes far.

In the side hall

Xiao Jinlian stood by the window, gazing at the distant sky.

The night sky, which was originally dotted with stars, was now shrouded in a thin, gray mist, with the starlight appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Li Heng strode into the hall, his expression grave: "Lian'er, the strange phenomena in the palace are getting worse. Many people are starting to say that it is the work of ghosts and gods. Even the Emperor has had to summon his ministers to discuss countermeasures."

Xiao Jinlian withdrew her gaze, her expression calm, and slowly said, "This is the spread of the runic power of the Land of Offering Spirits. This phenomenon does not occur without a reason."

Li Heng took a step closer to her, his brow furrowed: "Do you know the reason? Is this power related to the rune fragments you found?"

Xiao Jinlian did not answer directly, but walked to the table, her fingertips gently tracing the map on it, her eyes showing a thoughtful look: "The palace is the hub of this land. If the power of the Land of Offering Spirits gets out of control, this place will inevitably be the first to be affected."

Li Heng looked at her, his tone tinged with worry: "Lian'er, are you still hiding something?"

Xiao Jinlian remained silent for a moment, her gaze lowered slightly, as if she had made up her mind, and said softly, "Li Heng, if I told you that my soul... does not entirely belong to this time and space, would you believe me?"

Li Heng froze, his brows furrowing sharply, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes: "You already said that before..."

Xiao Jinlian took a deep breath and looked at him with a firm gaze: "I am not always Chu Wanlian in this world... Sometimes, my consciousness enters another space-time, where there is another person similar to me."

Li Heng stared intently at her, his gaze filled with shock, but even more so with determination.

But he quickly composed himself and slowly clenched his fist: "So... how are you doing there?"

Xiao Jinlian was taken aback, not expecting him to ask such a question so calmly. A bitter smile appeared on her lips: "In that time and space, I was not a princess, but an ordinary person, living a hard life. But... there were people who accompanied me in searching for the truth."

Li Heng's expression gradually returned to calm, and he said in a low voice, "You mean, the power of this rune is connected to that spacetime?"

Xiao Jinlian nodded: "The connection between the two is much closer than we imagined. I can sense that the fluctuations of the runes are tearing apart the balance between the two spacetimes. And the current anomaly is the consequence of the spacetime distortion."

Li Heng slowly loosened his fist, looking at her with unwavering determination: "No matter where you come from or where you are going, you will always be you. And I only want to protect you."

Xiao Jinlian was slightly taken aback, as if something in her heart had been touched.

Her gaze softened, and her voice became a little gentler: "Li Heng, sometimes I feel that meeting you is the greatest gift of fate."

Li Heng curled the corners of his lips, his eyes deep: "Then let's face it together, whether it's the power of the runes or the other dimension you mentioned."

Meanwhile, deep within the palace

The chief eunuch hurriedly knelt before the emperor: "Your Majesty, dozens of people in the palace have fainted from the strange phenomena, and some have even witnessed strange symbols appearing on the palace walls!"

The emperor's brows furrowed deeply, his gaze heavy with an unprecedented somberness. He waved for the eunuchs to leave, rose, and walked outside the hall. Gazing at the distorted shadows of the trees in the distance, he murmured softly, "Lingjian, Consort Yan... could it be that you are the ones causing this?"

He recalled events from many years ago, those taboo legends and conspiracies about the Lingjian organization, which seemed to resurface today.

"Issue an imperial decree to summon the Imperial Preceptor to the palace immediately!" the emperor said in a deep voice, a resolute glint in his eyes.

Inside the Princess's Palace.

A violent tremor came from the ground, the candlelight inside the hall flickered violently, and the shadows on the walls seemed to twist.

Silan rushed in, her expression terrified: "Princess, the strange phenomena outside are getting worse. Many people are so frightened that they're kneeling and begging for mercy, saying that ghosts and gods have descended!"

Xiao Jinlian gripped the jade pendant tightly, her eyes blazing: "Go and inform everyone to remain calm and not spread rumors. Silan, get ready, I'm going to the Land of Offering Spirits to investigate!"

Li Heng immediately stood up, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "I'll go with you."

Xiao Jinlian looked at him and nodded: "Okay, let's go together."

The two quickly got ready, and Xiao Jinlian led Silan and Li Heng toward the place of offering sacrifices. In the darkness of the night, their figures gradually disappeared on the path leading to the place of offering sacrifices.

In the distance, dark clouds gathered, the wind howled mournfully, and an even greater storm was quietly approaching...