Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 536: Meeting in the Same Team
When the first autumn wind of Mingzhou blew across Xinheng from the southwest coast, this country with a history of 600 years seemed to have lost its dead leaves and ushered in its own harvest time.

Near the prosperous city, Dongdu City is in the hustle and bustle of a new day.

In the past, Dongdu, as the capital of Xinheng, was called the capital, but it was always deserted. Apart from the ritual personnel who maintained the formations and sacrificial utensils, there were only the guards who patrolled the city. In the dead of night, the capital was completely silent, with only the occasional starlight flowing on the Star-pulling Platform, as if making a sound with its light...

However, half a year later, Dongdu is already bustling with people. Tourists from all over the world are walking through the streets and alleys of the capital, making the jade streets, which used to be noble and only high-ranking ritual personnel could step on, clatter under their feet. Fortunately, the jade in Dongdu is all mined from the deep seabed in the southwest, and its texture is extremely tough.

Such a craze was mostly due to the newly built "Ningyuan Pavilion" in the city.

This pavilion adopts the extremely rare "immortal construction technique", using the heavenly cloud soil left by the previous generation of rotating immortal officials in the Dongdu Immortal Storehouse to hang a magnificent palace high in the air. As a cultural landscape alone, it is already the top in the world.

According to legend, the Ningyuantu enshrined in the pavilion and the heroic statues serving on its left and right can bring extraordinary good luck to those who come to worship it.

In this rapidly changing era, there is no one who does not want to witness with their own eyes the "Ningyuan Pavilion" sent by the Immortal Alliance, and no one does not hope to have good luck, so as to ride the wind and waves and soar straight up.

So, when the Xinheng court announced the opening of Dongdu and Ningyuan Pavilion, tourists from the eighteen counties immediately filled this quiet city.

Your Excellency Ningyuan, in front of the passage to the Ascension Pavilion, a row of guards in platinum armor were trying hard to maintain an invisible shield barrier while mechanically repeating the same words.

"Tourists behind please be patient, be patient! The passage to Ningyuan Pavilion is about to open. Please line up and enter the venue. Go up the stairs one by one. Don't crowd or push..."

Once upon a time, these high-ranking Dongdu ceremonial guards regarded themselves as semi-immortal soldiers, and even looked down on the Fancheng Imperial Guards. However, just half a year later, they had to put aside their past glory and arrogance and force a smile on their faces to those mud-legged people from remote county towns.

"Just be patient, just be patient..."

Amidst the warnings that were like chanting a mantra, a group of people suddenly appeared in the crowded crowd in front of the passage, breaking through the waves and squeezing forward despite the curses from all around, and even trying to cross the shield barrier and step onto the stairs.

The ceremonial guard leaning in the front immediately became concerned.

Since the opening of the Eastern Capital, although the court has established a strict visiting order from top to bottom, there have always been many people who try to break the order. In the eighteen counties of the whole territory, which county does not have some masters and young masters who are arrogant and arrogant?
As for these local gentry, the ceremonial guards never had a good face. Among the bigwigs who were thrown out of the city by them, there was even a county governor from the west... However, as guards of the sacrificial capital, they always had to clearly identify the other party before turning hostile.

They could indeed be rude to the powerful people from other counties, but if the people coming were important officials of the imperial court and their relatives, that was another matter… Dongdu was no longer the holy city of sacrifices that connected the heart of heaven, and the ceremonial guards no longer had a transcendent status. They were ordered by the imperial court in Fancheng to receive the peasants. If one really offended a senior official of the imperial court and was treated harshly, the consequences would be quite painful.

The previous ceremonial guard on duty in front of Ningyuan Pavilion had been sent to manage the newly built public toilets in Dongdu because he had forcefully stopped a court guest.

However, when several ceremonial guards saw the appearance of the crowd flowing against the current in front of them, they immediately became angry.

I saw dozens of tourists from other counties wearing old-style deep-collared clothes, crowded in the front of the crowd with excitement... If the bustling crowd in front of Ningyuan Pavilion was a group of mud-legged people, then these dozens of people in front of me were simply the mud pit itself!

What wild country had they dug up these savages from? Although they were indeed dressed in formal clothes, which were neatly starched and washed, the style, which looked like the costumes in a period drama, simply printed the remoteness and backwardness directly on their foreheads.

Based on their miserable and vulgar appearance, the guards could already tell that these people were at the bottom of the contempt chain. So someone immediately turned hostile.

"Go back! Everyone, go back! Why are you pushing us?! You're cutting in line right in front of us. Do you think the rules of Dongdu are just for show?!"

The person squeezed in the front was a short and fat middle-aged man. He was the only one in the crowd who was dressed decently. When he saw the tall ceremonial guards who looked like heavenly soldiers turned against him, the middle-aged man quickly put on a smile.

"General, we are not cutting in line, we have fast-track tickets."

"...What fast track ticket?" The ceremonial guard was a little confused.

"This is it, please have a look, General."

As the middle-aged man spoke, he respectfully presented a letter with red background and gold calligraphy.

The ceremonial guard almost laughed out of anger after just one glance: "Where did you get this kid's toy? Why don't you ask someone to write you a redemption note for 100 million spirit leaves?!"

The middle-aged man quickly explained: "General, we are not lying. It was Qingqing who works at Ningyuan Pavilion who sent us a special invitation..."

"Ha! Where did this Qingqing from Ningyuan Pavilion come from?! You might as well say it was sent by the Honghong Immortal who works for the Heavenly Court. Get out of here immediately! Otherwise, don't blame us for issuing an order to expel you!"

The middle-aged man suddenly became very anxious, and the group of peasants behind him also started to talk non-stop.

Seeing that Ningyuan Pavilion was about to open, the order on the scene was still in chaos. The ceremonial guards were a little impatient, so they reached into their arms and took out the most severe talisman of expulsion. After that, as long as they ignited it with their true essence, they could throw these troublemakers out of the city of Dongdu a hundred miles away.

However, just before the talisman was about to take effect, a lively laugh was heard behind him.

"Hey, Boss Wen, Grandpa Qu, Second Aunt Yu...are you here?"

Upon hearing that laughter, the ceremonial guard trembled all over, and the talisman fell directly to the ground and turned into a ball of star ash.

The next moment, a girl in green clothes slowly landed from mid-air, and first greeted the guards with a smile: "Brothers, these are the folks I invited from Liuyan City to visit Ningyuan Pavilion at the request of Grandpa Xiahou. I didn't have time to inform you before, so I came to greet you in person. Please don't misunderstand, the fast-track ticket is not a replica nor a toy, it was written by Brother Wang Luo of the Immortal Alliance." Although these words came from a smiling face, the ceremonial guards felt as if they had fallen into an icy cave.

Although no one of the guards working in Dongdu had heard of Qingqing, everyone knew the "adopted daughter" of the prime minister, the current head of Ningyuan Pavilion, Lord Wu. A few months ago, she came from Liuyan City to Fancheng to seek refuge with Xiahou Ying, and Prime Minister Xiahou, who had always been impartial and selfless, made an exception and reused this ordinary girl. Not only did he adopt her as his adopted daughter, but he also assigned her a very important job - the head of Dongdu Ningyuan Pavilion.

The significance of Ningyuan Pavilion to Xinheng today needs no further explanation, and the position of Ningyuan Pavilion management is naturally coveted by countless people. This young girl in green shirt parachuted into Ningyuan Pavilion with civilian qualifications, which was a subversion of common sense, but there was no objection from the civil and military officials in the court.

Because the letter of appointment she held was nominally signed by the prime minister, but in fact it was signed on behalf of the special envoy of the Immortal Alliance... People might dare to argue with the new prime minister, but no one dared to go against the will of the special envoy of the Immortal Alliance.

Since half a year ago, when Wang Luo worked together with the national teacher outside the East Capital to kill the Golden Immortal of Wonderful Law with one stroke, his prestige in Xinheng has been unrivaled. After that, he was in the high hall of the Temple of Heaven, called a special envoy, but actually the emperor, in charge of the government of a country, and handled all the political affairs of Xinheng in an orderly manner, so that the country quickly recovered from the civil strife... and won him an excellent reputation.

Moreover, as the clear road from the Immortal Alliance continued to extend, the Immortal Alliance army, which was powerful enough to destroy the world, was getting closer and closer. At this time, as the only permanent representative of the Immortal Alliance in Xinheng, Wang Luo's will was likely to determine the survival of Xinheng.

There were naturally many different opinions in the court about the relationship between this Liuyan girl and Wang Luo, but no matter what the speculation was, it did not affect the ceremonial guards from kneeling on the spot at this moment.

"I am blind, please forgive me, Lord Wu!"

Wu Qing laughed: "Brother Hu, what are you doing? You are just doing your duty, how can you say you have committed a crime? Come on, get up quickly, don't let everyone laugh at you."

As she spoke, she reached out her hand to support the guard on the ground. Her seemingly soft fingertips contained an irresistible force that made the ceremonial guard suddenly stand up straight and stiff.

Afterwards, the girl apologized generously to the onlookers before leading the blind date participants from Liuyan City onto the passage, and in the blink of an eye they arrived at Ningyuan Pavilion in mid-air.

The Ningyuan Pavilion in Dongdu was largely modeled after the Ningyuan Pavilion in Rongcheng, the Immortal Alliance. The most important Ningyuan painting was in the center, and historical exhibits were displayed around it.

Of course, Xinheng, which was under the rule of the Heavenly Court not long ago, has no history to speak of, so many of the exhibits are copied from the materials of the Immortal Alliance - which can be regarded as the general education that the Immortal Alliance promoted in Xinheng in the early stage. Although the exhibits in the pavilion are easy to understand, for the people of Xinheng, the easy understanding of the Immortal Alliance often subverts their worldview. Therefore, the pavilion must arrange knowledgeable and flexible people to explain to tourists in order to promote the general education of the Immortal Alliance.

Nowadays, there are often part-time lecturers from Fancheng in Ningyuan Pavilion - for the scholars, this is also a process of reviewing the old and learning the new. But the best lecturer is the head of Ningyuan Pavilion himself.

No one knows where this border town girl, who has never even been to a proper academy, learned so much knowledge about the Immortal Alliance... She had clearly never set foot out of Sang County before, but when she explained the history of Dinghuang, she seemed like a native of the Immortal Alliance.

"Okay, let's go to the Antiquity Museum first and see the ancient times from the perspective of the Immortal Alliance..."

Wu Qing started with ancient mythology as usual. This was her favorite way to start the story. She was actually better at the old immortal calendar and the prehistoric era than the new immortal calendar. And many times, her understanding of these two eras was enough to move some academy scholars...

However, these distinguished guests who were personally entertained by her did not cherish them at all.

"Oh, Qingqing, we are all from the same village, and we won't hide it from you. In fact, our main purpose is to..."

Wu Qing smiled when he heard this: "Okay, I understand. Let's skip the boring historical part and get straight to the point. Let's go and pay homage to the heroes of Ningyuan!"

"Hehe, Qingqing really understands us. We are all peasants. We have no use for all those fancy histories we have learned..."

"Hehe, there is no place to use it now, but who knows in the future. Liuyan City is the terminus of Tongming Road and the starting point of the future integration of the two countries. Many people from the Immortal Alliance have already crossed Tongming Road and arrived in Xinheng! Boss Wen, your inn will soon be full of business, so it won't hurt to learn more about the history of the Immortal Alliance. However, today, let's focus on practical benefits... Look here, the first among the contemporary heroes is our most familiar emperor. A few months ago, the world in Ming and Mo states changed dramatically, and wild beasts were in chaos. It was his majesty who led the army to keep the beast tide out of the country... We all saw the situation at that time."

As he spoke, the villagers of Liuyan City immediately began to discuss the matter. People had very complicated opinions about the Emperor, who was a nuisance to Sang County more than half a year ago.

And Wu Qing quickly passed over this slightly sensitive contemporary hero.

"This second portrait depicts a Dinghuang hero from the Immortal Alliance, General Huang Long. Although she looks like a bright and beautiful woman, she is actually a veteran who has experienced many battles. In the battle of Xianyang Peak, thanks to his leading the elite of the Immortal Alliance to support Your Majesty in time, the beast tide's nest was defeated... Next to him is the deputy general Xiao Ling, who also made a lot of contributions in that battle. Well, I know that you may not be so interested in the specific deeds, so I will just talk about the key points. Those who want to pray for peace and security, please worship the emperor. Those who want to join the army, please worship General Huang, and those who want to join the army and be safe, please worship General Xiao... In addition, there is also General Li Xiong from the Immortal Alliance. Two months ago, he led the Immortal Alliance army to support the four southern counties in time and crushed the beast group's attempt to attack from behind, so he is listed as one of the Dinghuang heroes. However, the main purpose of worshipping him is not to defeat the enemy, but to pray for marriage..."

Talking as they walked, Wu Qing soon took the villagers to see the exhibits in Ningyuan Pavilion and came to the lounge in the corner to rest. At this time, the pavilion was already crowded with people, and more and more tourists gathered there. Not many people were willing to seriously worship the Ningyuan Picture. Most of them knelt and made noise in front of the Yingjie Picture based on various superstitions.

For the steward of Ningyuan Pavilion, this kind of noise was just part of daily life, but soon, a discordant voice was heard amid the noise.

The sound came from the historical area - because the passenger flow was relatively sparse, the sound was particularly clear.

She was a young woman who was a few years older than herself and had just stepped out of the realm of girlhood. There was a natural sense of seriousness in her voice.

"Hello, please inform the relevant supervisor that this part of the historical introduction is wrong."

The next moment, Wu Qing said goodbye to his fellow villagers, walked quickly to the historical area, and then looked at the young woman who was finding faults in the pavilion with curiosity.

"Hello, I am Wu Qing, the manager of Ningyuan Pavilion. May I ask who you are?"

"Ah, hello, I'm a visitor from the Immortal Alliance, my name is Shi Yue."

(End of this chapter)