Chapter 27: Earth Core Fire Lotus
"set off!"

Although Cui Shuyun's dowry was generous, it was still much less than the betrothal gift sent by the Fu'an Marquis' Mansion.

It’s not that detailed or complicated!

With only over 20 cars, the return journey of the bride-picking team from Hou Mansion was much easier.

There were nearly 300 people in the wedding procession, including more than 50 Cui family members who were going to the Marquis' Mansion for further studies and the clan members who were sent to marry. There were also some elders of the Cui family who went to the place where the fire lotus was stored to witness the handover. A total of more than 400 people were led by Cui Zongji.

In the Ming Dynasty, if the families of the man and woman were too far apart, according to etiquette, the woman's clan had to send a wedding procession to attend the wedding and serve as a witness.

This is what is called sending the bride off.

Under the leadership of Cui Zongji, everyone soon arrived at the foot of a small hill that belonged to the Cui family.

Cui Zongji actually didn't want to show off with the people from Marquis Fu'an's mansion in public. He didn't want people outside to think that the Cui family had boarded the Marquis Fu'an's chariot.

Therefore, the wedding party will be welcomed in the town instead of outside the town.

At the same time, in order to avoid offending the Fu'an Marquis' Mansion, Cui Zongji brought all the important members of the Cui family to the scene.

But this time, let’s stop here.

Another thing is that Cui Zongji suddenly thought that since the Fu'an Marquis Mansion could find out that the Cui family had the rare treasure of heaven and earth - the Fire Lotus, perhaps other forces would also find it.

It would be better to tell everyone openly that the Cui family has a rare treasure from heaven and earth, but this rare treasure has been taken away by Marquis Fu'an.

If you want rare treasures from heaven and earth, go find Marquis Fu'an, don't come to Cui.

At the same time, it can also convey a message to the outside world, that is, the marriage between Cui and Fu'an Marquis's Mansion was for Fu'an Marquis's own ulterior motive, and that motive was that rare treasure from heaven and earth.

It was not that Cui wanted to board the ship of Marquis Fu'an and fight for him.

"Fire Lotus, it's right up there!"

"When we get here, the carriages can't go up!"

After walking for a few miles, Cui Zongji suddenly stopped and pointed to an ordinary hill not far ahead and said.

"The main force stays here to protect the supplies and my lady!"

"You, you, you... come up the mountain with me and Manager Dai!"

Zhao Xinghan and Dai Fayan looked at each other, quickly made a decision, and gave orders.

The dozen or so people selected by Zhao Xinghan are all the "tall guys" in the Hou Mansion's wedding reception team, and each of them has the strength of a mainstream level.

"General Zhao, Chief Steward Dai, let's go up too!"

A voice came from Cui Shuyun's carriage.

But the person who spoke was not Cui Shuyun.

It was Dongxue, the maid from Hou Mansion who was riding in the same car.

Everyone turned to look.

I saw Qiuyue and Dongxue had taken off their maid uniforms and put on tight clothes.

"You guys?"

Zhao Xinghan frowned and looked at Qiuyue and Dongxue.

"If you guys go up, what about Sister Yun?"

An elder from the Cui clan asked a question.

"Madam is under Xiaowei's care. Besides, there are so many guards here, so there won't be any problems!"

Qiuyue replied.

After this journey, Qiuyue Dongxue already knew the name of Cui Shujun's maid who came with her as a dowry.

"Then let's go up the mountain together!"

Zhao Xinghan had no intention of bringing Qiuyue and Dongxue up the mountain at first, so he did not mention Qiuyue and Dongxue's names.

But now, looking at the two people in front of him who had changed their clothes and were ready, Zhao Xinghan changed his mind.

Qiuyue Dongxue is Zhu Chengwu's close attendant, and now her words are so firm that Zhao Xinghan is a little unsure whether Zhu Chengwu has other instructions.

"Why did the wedding procession take a detour here?
It seems that I was right!

Fu'an Marquis Mansion has another purpose for receiving the bride this time!

It's just the right time to ruin their plan and avenge those arrows!"

In the dark, someone was watching the stopped wedding procession and muttering to himself.

"here?
It’s just an ordinary hill, and there’s no underground fire, so how could it be here…”

Someone was hiding behind a rock, his eyes fixed on the hill ahead.

“Is the rare fire lotus of heaven and earth right here? But, Sister Yun, it seems that this Fu’an Marquis Mansion is really a whirlpool!”

Someone is hiding behind a tree.

This hill looks ordinary, but when you walk into it, you will find that it is full of strange rocks and is extremely difficult to walk on.

Fortunately, everyone in the Hou Mansion who went up the mountain had some martial arts skills, so they were not afraid.

But the elder members of the Cui clan who came with him did not have that strength.

The Cui family started out as merchants.

There are not many masters among the older generation in the clan!

Plus I’m getting older!
So much so that Zhao Xinghan and others had to wait for help from time to time before they could move forward.

Zhao Xinghan really didn't understand why Cui Zongji brought those old and weak people up the mountain?
But on second thought, with these clan elders around, Cui Zongji would have greater concerns even if he wanted to play some tricks.

Therefore, I agreed!

In fact, Cui Zongji never intended to play tricks. He just wanted to use the eyes and mouths of more people to confirm the fact that the rare treasures of heaven and earth had left the Cui family.

Cui Zongji had also discovered before that Zhao Xinghan and Dai Fayan were on guard against him, fearing that he would play tricks and refuse to hand over the Earth Core Fire Lotus.

But in fact, Cui Zongji never had any other ideas. It was indeed inconvenient to move the Fire Lotus, so it could only be stored here. What could Cui Zongji do?
"This group of people look so arrogant, but they may have never even seen a rare treasure like the Fire Lotus. They have no idea about the characteristics of the Fire Lotus, and yet they are still suspicious! What they are talking about!" Cui Zongji complained about Zhao Xinghan and Dai Fayan in his heart more than once.

"Miss, so many people have gone up there, don't you want to go up there and see the legendary treasures of heaven and earth?"

In the carriage at the foot of the mountain, Xiaowei looked at Cui Shuyun and asked curiously.

"How am I going to get up there in this outfit?"

Cui Shuyun raised her hand, revealing her phoenix crown and bridal bridal gown with long fluttering sleeves and extremely long skirt.

With all this clothing on, Cui Shuyun needs help to walk, let alone climb a mountain?

How funny!
"That's right! It's not easy for the young lady to go up the mountain in this state!"

Xiaowei nodded and pouted.

"You! I think it's you who wants to go up and see it for yourself!"

Cui Shuyun tapped Xiaowei's forehead.

"What a rare treasure from heaven and earth! I've only seen it in storybooks before, but now the real thing is right in front of me, so I naturally want to go and take a look..."

Xiaowei did not hide her inner thoughts.

"It's better to stay at the foot of the mountain! I'm afraid this excitement is not so good to watch!"

Cui Shuyun muttered in a low voice.

Along the way, Cui Shuyun could sense a familiar aura from time to time. It was the aura of her second sister-in-law Ai Jingxia.

Ai Jingxia hid herself very well, but Cui Shuyun was too familiar with her.

And Cui Shuyun's breakthrough in the realm of spiritual refining may have been beyond Ai Jingxia's expectations.

This allowed Cui Shuyun to inadvertently sense Ai Jingxia's aura.

Ai Jingxia’s sudden appearance made Cui Shuyun feel that this journey would never be peaceful.

"It's just that Qiuyue and Dongxue are too unruly. The young lady didn't even go up, but they, as the young lady's maids, actually went up on their own initiative!"

Xiaowei still remembers the grudge that Qiuyue Dongxue took her position!
Cui Shuyun smiled at the intrigues among the maids and stopped talking.

Be low-key and live in peace.

This is Cui Shuyun’s creed.

Judging from the situation along the way, Cui Shuyun could feel that the two maids, Qiuyue and Dongxue, had a special status in the Hou Mansion.

Xiaowei said Qiuyue Dongxue and the others had no manners!

But Cui Shuyun felt that they were not without rules, they just knew too well whose rules to follow.

On the mountain.

Cui Zongji took many twists and turns and led everyone to the edge of a cliff.

"arrive!"

Cui Zongji walked to the edge of the cliff and said so.

"here?"

Not only the people in Hou Mansion, but even some elder members of Cui clan were puzzled.

Cui Zongji walked forward and pulled away the weeds on the edge of the cliff.

Then, several iron chains leading directly to the bottom of the cliff appeared on the edge of the cliff.

One end of the chain penetrated into the huge rock at the edge of the cliff, and the other end extended to the bottom of the cliff.

"Let's go!"

After Cui Zongji finished speaking, he pulled the chain and went down first.

"It's actually here! There's actually underground fire here? No wonder I secretly searched all the dead and active volcanoes near our tribe but couldn't find it!

No wonder the clan leader comes to inspect the farm in Shanghe Village every year..."

The second elder of the Cui family glanced at Cui Zongji who was walking down the iron chain, and then looked at Shanghe Village which was vaguely visible not far below the mountain, and he suddenly realized something.

Although the Cui family’s rare treasures were brought back by the second elder.

But in order to avoid suspicion and keep it secret, after this rare treasure from heaven and earth came into Cui Zongji's hands, Cui Zongji did not even tell the Second Elder where he hid it.

Everyone looked around but found no other path!

He could only follow Cui Zongji down, holding the chain.

To everyone’s surprise, there was no need to go down to the bottom of the cliff.

There is actually a protruding stone platform halfway up the cliff.

On the side of the stone platform close to the cliff, there is a semi-natural and semi-artificial cave.

As everyone followed Cui Zongji into the cave, they felt a heat wave coming.

The further you go in, the hotter it gets!
Finally, everyone walked out of the long tunnel.

What comes into view is a lake of red lava.

"Molten?"

"Extinct volcano?"

"Earth fire?"

Everyone was shocked. They didn't expect that there would be such a strange and bizarre scene in this ordinary hill.

"This is the Fire Lotus!"

Everyone looked in the direction Cui Zongji pointed, and saw a faint fiery red lotus emerging from the magma.

When they saw it, everyone present suddenly felt a desire to get it.

It's as if I have always been incomplete, and only by getting it can I make up for my incompleteness.

This desire is so strong that it makes people almost unable to control themselves.

But the molten lava surging up and down before their eyes forced everyone to regain their sanity.

“That’s right!

This feeling, this feeling as if I am incomplete, is exactly the same as what is recorded in the book.

It is a rare treasure from heaven and earth!
It is definitely a rare treasure from heaven and earth!"

An elder of the Cui family who was well-read shouted excitedly.

It feels like if I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening!
Zhao Xinghan and Dai Fayan looked at each other and felt relieved.

At first they thought Cui Zongji was reluctant to part with the rare treasures and was going to play tricks!

After all, Zhao Xinghan and Dai Fayan had never heard before that rare treasures from heaven and earth could not be carried away.

The rare treasures of heaven and earth are miracles created by heaven and earth, and they do have the characteristic of being born under harsh conditions.

But once it is formed, moving and carrying it will not be a problem.

However, I don't have to worry about that anymore.

That feeling of loss deep in the soul cannot be faked.

This is a feeling that only occurs when faced with rare treasures from heaven and earth.

As for what Cui Zongji said about not being able to carry it, it might be because this fire lotus is special!

As miracles between heaven and earth, each of the rare treasures is different.

Even if there are two rare treasures of heaven and earth, both called Fire Lotus, their shapes and states after they are formed will be different, and their effects will be similar at most, but they cannot be exactly the same.

This is the characteristic of the rare treasures of heaven and earth.

“But the attraction is just too strong.

The book records that rare treasures from heaven and earth will make the holder feel a sense of loss and imperfection, making people unable to help but obtain and take them.

But according to records, the desire is very mild and can be controlled by ordinary people.

That desire is like just a reminder that what is in front of you is a rare treasure from heaven and earth that can make your imperfect self perfect.

No book has ever recorded such a strong desire for the rare treasures of heaven and earth.

It's so strong that just by looking at it from a distance, I can't help myself."

Zhao Xinghan was a little confused.

But then, Zhao Xinghan suppressed this doubt deep in his heart!

Just be special!

As long as it’s a rare treasure from heaven and earth, it’ll be fine!
Besides, what rare treasure in the world is not special?
(End of this chapter)