Chapter 907: Chapter 530: What Is It Like to Be the Empress’s Guide? (Part 3)
"I don’t know where you got my surname from, but I’m not interested in discussing such trivial things with you." Xu Zhenguan spoke coldly.
Zhao Douan sighed softly, with a sense of melancholy, "Do you think I’m being mysterious? Actually, the friend I mentioned isn’t a woman, but a man, um, much older than me, an uncle surnamed Xu."
He started his act!
"Uncle Xu and I have known each other for a long time. He’s not from this city, also comes from outside, just lived here for a long time, and got familiar with me, um... let’s call it a friendship that crosses generations. Uncle Xu knows some martial arts techniques. He claimed he learned martial arts when he was young. People these days seldom learn martial arts, and I didn’t believe him at first, but later he showed me a few moves, and I thought he did have some skills... When it comes to bad habits, he does have one, which is drinking heavily, often hiding to drink alone and dragging me along, bragging about many stories. He said he wandered the martial world when he was young, had a gang of brothers, and had an extremely beautiful daughter who was sent abroad to study since childhood... But as an old widower, no one around him believes him; they just take it as drunken nonsense..."
Zhao Douan narrated in a reminiscent tone, calmly, as if telling a story of personal experience.
Xu Zhenguan listened quietly, the more she listened, the brighter her eyes became, and the murderous intent quickly gathered, staring at this strange man’s attitude more seriously!
Because...the "Uncle Xu" described by this person is strikingly similar to the Grand Ancestor Emperor!
Especially some very minute life habits, bad habits... all highly correlate with many records of the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s daily life.
Combined with the fact that the Grand Ancestor Emperor is the "creator" of this painting, it makes perfect sense that the Grand Ancestor Emperor would have come here.
Could it be...this person in front of her is the "guide" on the cultivation path in this painting?
As this thought arose, it occupied her mind, and the more Xu Zhenguan thought about it, the more she felt the possibility was immense.
"I have a question," Xu Zhenguan suddenly interrupted him, staring at him, and asked, "Your name?"
The verbose Zhao Douan paused, looked at the Empress with interest, hesitated slightly, folded his hands with a smile, and said his real name in this world:
"Zhang Hui. Zhang as in article, Hui as in returning."
Boom—
Xu Zhenguan’s mind buzzed instantly, her gaze became extremely peculiar!
She remembered that in the nearby Taiqing Palace, the female temple priest once wanted to predict her marriage, asked her to "draw lots," and the result predicted at that time said her "true destiny prince" had the surname "Zhang." And he worked in a government job.
"Your profession?" She pursued.
Zhao Douan said, "Servant of the people."
Matched—
Xu Zhenguan hesitated for a moment, thinking this person couldn’t possibly be in cahoots with that temple priest, trying to set her up? This thought flashed across her mind but was quickly dismissed.
Impossible, every time she entered this world, it would "reboot," and this time, she hasn’t even met that female temple priest, so there’s no possibility of collusion.
As for the nonsense about a true destiny prince... the Empress didn’t believe a word of it. She already had her designated Imperial Consort, how could she be manipulated by a narrative in a painting? What’s the matter with a fake person in the painting?
It was just ridiculous talk.
Perhaps, this so-called "true destiny prince" is just her "plot setting" in the painting.
Um, akin to...
When Zhao Douan was cultivating "Big Dream Scroll," he would enter a time six hundred years ago, becoming a child born in a town and following Pei Niannu in cultivation, experiencing a false life... In "Big Dream Scroll," Zhao Douan thus had a "plot setting identity."
Back when the Empress was cultivating "Big Dream Scroll," she had an identity in the painting, experienced life, aging, sickness, and death...
Considering "Human World" is an advanced version of "Big Dream Scroll," and that she evidently has an "identity" in this world... then, this Zhang Hui must be the "husband" for her identity in the painting?
Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly; she felt her speculation was extremely reasonable, and should indeed reveal the truth.
Thus, she ceased to be upset.
She, the Saint beyond the painting, why be upset by a fake story character in the painting? Why care about a mere fake identity?
"Zhang Hui... very well," Xu Zhenguan nodded, composed, even with a slight expectation, asked, "So, do you know my... father? Where is he? Did he leave any information?"
Um, she believed that in the story of this painting, the Grand Ancestor Emperor played the role of her father.
This should be the starting point of her cultivation path in this painting... Surely, her judgment was correct, only once she truly became a Heavenly Human, instead of the former "Fake Celestial," could she unlock the hidden cultivation path within the painting...
Xu Zhenguan silently praised herself for her wisdom.
Zhao Douan watched Zhenbao’s changing expressions with a smile, nearly bursting with laughter inside, by now he couldn’t fail to guess that the Empress had deemed him as the "guide" or "npc" leading her cultivation in the painting?
Um... being mistaken as the guide by the Empress, what to do? Waiting online, quite urgent.