CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 55: HEART LAMP

"Little Que, I previously thought things were too simple. I hope for your well-being, but I can’t take your place. The things you need to experience can only be experienced by you. Besides being my daughter, you’re an independent person. You have the right to decide what you want to do and where you want to go, so as your mother, I shouldn’t bind you with love and make demands on you."

"Mom..." Sang Que put down her chopsticks, feeling a sourness in her nose.

Sang Wan smiled gently, "I’ve thought carefully these past days. I was too cowardly. If it were your big aunt with her quick temper, she would have supported what you wanted to do the moment you told her everything, even rolling up her sleeves to join you, winning big and not letting you suffer any grievances."

"You’ve given up too much for my sake. You obviously have a high talent in martial arts. If not for staying to take care of me, you should have already gone to various training camps, shining bright on sports fields everywhere."

"At the very least, with your extraordinary eyesight, it’s not bad to become a pilot. Because of me, you’ve been delayed many days and faced the danger of evil spirits losing control. I’m sorry, your mom was really too selfish."

Sang Que shook her head. She had never thought of it like that.

"I’ve gone through those books and notes you brought back repeatedly. Since we’ve already seen the hidden side of the world and can’t return to our former peace, we shouldn’t avoid it anymore or just get by. We must prepare for the worst, so go and make yourself strong."

Sang Wan clasped her hands tightly under the table, trying to maintain a smile while suppressing all worries and fears within her heart.

"Don’t think your mom is useless. I never burdened your big aunt before, and I won’t burden you now. You eat first; I’ll go get something from the study for you."

Sang Wan stood up but staggered, and Sang Que quickly reached out to support her.

Sang Wan steadied herself on the table, "No need to help me, I can manage. You eat."

Sang Que stood by the table, watching Sang Wan limp her way to the study, her heart wrenching.

After finishing the meal, Sang Que cleared the table. The black cat began its ritual of roaming around, rubbing and marking its future abode with its scent.

"Little Que, come to the study."

"Coming."

In the study, Sang Wan, sweaty and slightly breathless, was resting on a chair and pushed a stack of A4 papers imprinted with writings towards Sang Que.

"Look at these; they should be useful to you."

Sang Que took them, her eyes brightening as she read.

The papers contained all the information her mom had garnered from what she’d told her and what Yan Daozi’s books and notes revealed about the Mysterious World, including many details she hadn’t noticed.

"There’s something else I can help you with regarding your Heart Lamp issue. Turn to page three first."

Sang Que quickly flipped to page three, where the title boldly read ’Heart Lamp.’

Sang Wan slowly explained to Sang Que, "According to the current information, I speculate that the powers of that world can be divided into two types: one is fear, and the other is wishing power. Evil Spirits that slaughter the populace gain strength by absorbing fear, while those who bless the people thrive on Incense Fire Wishing Power."

"You previously told me that the first floor of Nine Netherworld Hell is at the 9th Rank, the Second Layer at the 99th Rank, and the Third Layer at the 999th Rank. If there’s no special alteration later, by inference, the Ninth Floor will surpass 1.1 billion ranks deep. The wishing power needed for the Heart Lamp is provided by devout believers. One devout believer equals one layer of the Nine Netherworld. Do you know what this implies?"

Sang Que, deeply engaged with the matters of the Mysterious World, was thinking hard, her mind sharper now than when interpreting classical Chinese texts.

"If the Mysterious World doesn’t exceed a population of 1.1 billion, then no Divine could possess the power equivalent to the Ninth Floor of Nine Netherworld."

Sang Wan nodded, "Even mentioning a population of 1.1 billion, with the casualty rate like in Black Mountain Village, achieving a population of even ten million would be challenging. This means the strongest Divine entity there could only at best be at the Seventh Level of Nine Netherworld. But my point isn’t that world’s Divine, it’s about you."

Sang Que widened her eyes, not quite understanding.

"Not considering other factors, just looking at population size, our Huaxia population is enough to give you a Heart Lamp at the Ninth Layer of Nine Netherworld strength. Do you know what this means?"

Sang Que murmured, "It means I could have a Heart Lamp with the strength of the Ninth Floor of Nine Netherworld?"

Sang Wan chuckled softly, "It means you have the potential to surpass the entire Mysterious World, but it’s too early to say this. With our current abilities, it’s simply unattainable, so let’s talk about something practical first."

Sang Que nodded, indeed it was too exaggerated. How could she possibly make the entire nation look up to her as a faith?

Among all the Gods, probably only the God of Wealth could achieve such a feat!

"Your mom has at least a million book fans online, so I plan to write you into a book!"

Sang Que’s eyes shone, of course, how had she not thought of this before? If her mom wrote a book with her as the protagonist, she wouldn’t have to show her face!

There are plenty of cases where a novel’s popularity makes its characters famous and draws a dedicated fanbase.

"Mom, you’re a genius!"

Sang Que excitedly grabbed Sang Wan’s arm.

"Then you must write me as an all-rounder scholar, with no romantic storylines, a good circle of friends and teammates, and some face-slapping drama..."

"Stop!" Sang Wan interrupted Sang Que, "I’ll try to write according to your real situation, and what I want to write is everything you are experiencing now and what you will face in the future. Only when the characters and events closely match you can the wishing power eventually come down to you."

Sang Wan patted the books and notes of Yan Daozi on the desk, explaining these were deduced from the books, and in the Xuan Dynasty, it wasn’t allowed for the commonfolk to privately write biographies for people, precisely for this reason.

"For the modern part, I’ll create an alternate Huaxia, blurring related place names and changing seasonal times, ensuring no one could trace us from it, as safety is the priority. But let me be upfront, what I write might flop or be censored, ending up as a futile effort."

"Speaking of censorship," Sang Wan pondered, "does the upper restriction on supernatural genre novels and movies count as a macro-control? These movies always end by telling people there are no ghosts, it’s either human acts or dreams, making people stop believing in Ghosts and effectively erasing the paranormal, just like Kou Yushan told you, how due to forgetting, some Evil Spirits disappeared."

Sang Que reflected, "It kind of makes sense, Mom, do you... really agree for me to explore that side again?"

Sang Wan suppressed her concerns, "I said before, you can make your own decisions. Also... about your lineage, you know it, don’t you? Aren’t you curious to find out what kind of people your biological parents who left you the Yansheng coin are? Perhaps they’re still alive. Wouldn’t you like to meet them?"

As Sang Wan brought up the topic, Sang Que realized her mom knew all along.

Reflecting on it, they had discussed many things together these days yet somehow always avoided delving into the most crucial of the Yansheng coin, as the Ancient Coin was something she wore when found, inevitably tied to her lineage if traced back.

"I only have you as a mom, others have nothing to do with me." Sang Que’s attitude remained firm.

Sang Wan sighed, "I understand your feelings, but you’re still young and at the... well, what you often call the teenage phase, full of passion and chivalry. In your eyes, right is right, and wrong is wrong, which is good."

"But as you go through the vicissitudes of life, witness the world’s diversity, and transition from a young girl to an adult, you’ll understand the helplessness and compromise adults face. You’ll see the grey between black and white. I don’t wish to justify anything for your biological parents, as I don’t know their real reasons for abandoning you."

"However, I think you should judge whether they were right or wrong to abandon you only after thoroughly understanding the whole matter, not after you’ve grown to regret missing the chance to uncover the truth."

Sang Que listened quietly, aware that to say she doesn’t care would be untrue. After all, they were the ones who gave birth to her and left behind an Ancient Coin that traverses between worlds, naturally sparking her curiosity.

If she wanted to know, asking Kou Yushan would be the quickest way.