Chapter 185: |
In many instances, Li Er had to rely on subtle hints and traces to make valid guesses. When situations deviated from the usual, there was typically something unusual happening. This formed the foundation of Li Er’s speculations about Su Li. In simpler terms, he lacked concrete evidence. Nonetheless, he had grown to believe in Su Li’s celestial identity. Furthermore, Changle was always by Su Li’s side. While Li Er had to rely on guesswork, Changle had directly witnessed those miraculous events.
The world believed that Changle’s recovery had occurred naturally. However, Changle knew that without her husband’s care, she wouldn’t have regained consciousness. Most importantly, her husband occasionally provided her with unique nourishment. Changle could never forget the night she awoke when her husband fed her an unusual fruit.
Afterward, as if her husband predicted her awakening, he quietly turned away and lay down. Her husband was typically indifferent to everything, yet that night was the only time Changle sensed trepidation and uncertainty in him. He knew she would awaken but didn’t know her feelings towards him.
Later, Changle and her husband openly confessed their affections, and those feelings eventually led to a partnership. Changle could sense that her husband was unwilling to be apart from her, even for a moment. He wrote poetry and was acclaimed as a poetry sage. However, he never wrote poetry again because he was unwilling to engage with others.
Changle also knew that he couldn’t bear to see people go hungry when he provided divine food. When he led troops to war, he didn’t want Li Xueyan to leave and disapproved of the Tang Dynasty’s compromises for his interests.
Fame, fortune, glory, and wealth were never on her husband’s mind. He often gave her peculiar items—potions, unfamiliar fruits, or even elixirs. Once, he gave her an elixir, humorously claiming it could preserve her youth forever, and playfully asked her if she believed him. Publicly, Changle dismissed her husband’s words as nonsense, but deep down, she wholeheartedly believed him. Her response was only to avoid palace gossip, fearing it might trouble her husband.
In the three years that followed, as Changle aged, her appearance seemed frozen. She appeared even younger, eventually settling on her look at sixteen or seventeen.
Before departing on his expedition, her husband handed her another elixir without explanation, instructing her to take it. Since then, Changle felt her energy was much stronger. Even before, after consuming all the peculiar items her husband gave her, she had noticed her health surpassing that of an average person. But after that time, she felt her vitality become even more robust. Even in the depths of winter, her body remained warm. During the scorching summer days, she didn’t suffer from unbearable heat. Even during pregnancy and childbirth, everything went smoothly, unlike the ordeal others described as if she had traversed the gates of the netherworld.
Changle didn’t understand the effects of that elixir, but she was certain her husband wouldn’t give her something ordinary during such a critical time. She firmly believed that her husband was truly capable of anything. Most importantly, her husband treated her with unwavering affection.
Changle wouldn’t have been afraid of such a thing in the past. Before meeting her husband, she never believed in the existence of immortals. However, she couldn’t say that now. She genuinely worried that one day, what would they do if her father truly found someone similar to her husband? Today, she couldn’t hold back from raising this topic, curious why her husband appeared unconcerned about it.
Changle looked at Su Li nervously, her gaze filled with apprehension. She knew she was probing the deepest part of her husband’s heart, perhaps the world’s biggest secret. If her husband answered, she would be delighted. If he chose not to, she wouldn’t feel disappointed. She would be concerned her impulsive question might burden him.
To be honest, after asking that question, Changle was already regretting it. Su Li smiled as he looked at Changle and said, “Of course, I’m not worried that His Majesty will find an immortal because I’m convinced that there are no true immortals in this world.” Despite his physical abilities surpassing human limits, Su Li would never claim to be immortal. At least, the power he possessed now didn’t exceed his understanding.
Changle’s mouth opened slightly in astonishment. She asked, “So, is the ‘White Jade Capital’ that you and my father talked about also a fabrication?” “The White Jade Capital, well, that place does exist…” Su Li sighed deeply, a mixture of nostalgia and melancholy in his gaze.
Before Changle could ask, he spoke again. “From your perspective, that place does indeed seem like a paradise. The people there are accustomed to soaring through the skies and darting across the land. They travel without using carriages, relying on other means. Traveling thousands of miles in a day is a commonplace occurrence. If one were to journey to the edge of the vast ocean, it would take only a few hours of flight to reach there.”
“In that place, towering buildings are hundreds of meters high everywhere. People have created lamps that don’t require flames to be lit. The city is brightly illuminated when night falls like daytime.”
“Two people, no matter how far apart they are, can have face-to-face conversations as long as they wish.”
“When I left, the people there had already left footprints on the moon, and they had begun exploring other stars…” Su Li’s tone was very calm as he described these scenes. After all, he had long been accustomed to such things. But for Changle, a native of the Tang Dynasty, these descriptions were incredibly impactful.
Changle’s cherry lips slowly parted, her face showing increasing astonishment and eventually a dazed expression. The scenes that her husband described had an unparalleled impact on her. Merely from hearing her husband’s description, Changle felt a profound longing. Was this… his greatest secret?
Changle’s heart was in shock, rendering her unable to utter a word. It took her a while to gradually calm down. Then, a question emerged in her mind. The husband’s implication seemed to suggest that there were many people in the White Jade Capital. But why was he so certain that there couldn’t be another person in the Tang Dynasty like him?