Chapter 85

When Qingchen knocked on the door of the small meeting room, the committee meeting inside had just come to a temporary end. After careful deliberation, the four committee members finally decided to reveal the matter. As the saying goes, "A long pain is not as good as a short one." It was better to clarify things now than to have to explain passively later, causing unnecessary trouble.

Zhang Weixin got up to open the door, inquired about Qingchen's purpose, and while assuring him that the four of them would be over shortly, he secretly rejoiced that he had met the visiting guest first. Otherwise, in the face of the sudden situation, they might have been caught off guard and mishandled it, causing unnecessary trouble.

Then, the four of them followed Qingchen to Fuyaozi's room. Upon entering, Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin immediately looked at the two female Taoist nuns sitting in the upper seats. At the sight, Wang Xiaojun's previously calmed heart became passionate again. At that moment, he was one hundred percent sure that Zhang Weixin had not been mistaken; the female Taoist nun sitting in the second upper seat was indeed his beloved wife from his previous life—Zhang Xiaofei. However, Zhang Xiaofei was slightly turning her head to listen to her Grandmaster, and did not look towards the door, so she did not react to their arrival.

Qingchen, having completed his task, walked up to Fuyaozi and reported, "Grandmaster, the senior disciples have arrived."

Fuyaozi nodded slightly and introduced the two female Taoist nuns, "Jingyue, Jingxin, let me introduce you. These four are my newly received disciples, who are your senior disciples by generation. Since we are of the same lineage and not too far apart, we should interact more and support each other in the future."

Jingyue and Jingxin both nodded in agreement and stood up to greet the four, "Junior disciples greet the four senior disciples." After saying this, they looked up at the four senior disciples they had never met before. It was better not to look, but as soon as they did, a scream immediately rang out. The one who screamed was naturally Zhang Xiaofei, whose dharma name was Jingxin. She opened her small mouth wide and stared straight at Wang Xiaojun, who was full of excitement, not knowing what to say.

For Zhang Weixin and the others who already knew the situation, Zhang Xiaofei's reaction was expected. Fuyaozi, who had been puzzled by Zhang Xiaofei's appearance, had now found the answer to his question. Qingchen, though not understanding the situation, did not react much due to his position. Only Jingyue, who had come with Zhang Xiaofei, was genuinely startled by her junior sister's scream. Although she did not know why her junior sister had suddenly lost control, such impolite behavior in front of the Grandmaster would be seen as a lack of manners. Therefore, she had to awkwardly apologize to Fuyaozi and pull her junior sister's clothes, urging her to immediately apologize to the Grandmaster.

To her surprise, her pull did not make her junior sister return to normal; instead, it made the originally stiff-standing junior sister suddenly go berserk. The Jingxin, who had always been dignified and steady and was considered a model of a lady, suddenly lunged forward, pounced on one of the four new senior disciples, and started punching him. What was even more surprising was that the senior disciple who was being hit did not get angry; he neither dodged nor blocked, did not retaliate, and just stood there motionless, allowing Jingxin's fists to rain down on him. Moreover, the other senior disciples remained indifferent, just watching quietly without anyone stepping forward to stop her.

Jingyue could not control others' reactions, but she knew she had to do something, or she would not be able to explain to her master when she returned. So, she called out, "Jingxin, stop it. Have you lost your mind? How dare you be so disrespectful to a senior disciple?" Then, she moved forward to pull Jingxin away.

However, before she could reach Jingxin, one of the senior disciples who had been standing still suddenly moved. But his action was not towards the frenzied Jingxin, but towards Jingyue, who was about to stop Jingxin. He flashed forward, blocking Jingyue's path, and said to the puzzled Jingyue, "Junior disciple, please calm down. This is not as you imagine. The situation is complicated, and I will explain it to you later."

Since the senior disciple had spoken, Jingyue could not interfere with her junior sister's behavior and had to stand aside, waiting for her to calm down.

After a while, Zhang Xiaofei finally stopped her outburst, perhaps because she was tired, and began to cry in Wang Xiaojun's arms. However, from her sobs, it was clear that she was not heartbroken but overjoyed, a complete release of her emotions. She seemed to want to cry out all her fears, anxieties, and thoughts of the past year to her beloved, letting him know her grievances and how difficult the past year had been for her. Similarly, her earlier punches were not out of resentment but more like a way of being affectionate in front of her beloved.

Zhang Xiaofei cried for a while before her emotions gradually calmed down. As her rationality returned, she realized that her behavior might have been a bit excessive. After all, this was not their love nest, and there were other people present, especially her Grandmaster. She quickly wiped the tears from her face, turned to Fuyaozi, and apologized, "I was too emotional just now and lost my manners. I hope Grandmaster, the senior disciples, and Senior Sister Jingyue will forgive me."

Fuyaozi, Li Junwu, Xu Shaowan, and the others all indicated their understanding, and Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin had no complaints. Only Jingyue still could not understand her junior sister's behavior and remained skeptical, looking at her with a puzzled expression, as if waiting for an explanation.

Zhang Xiaofei understood her senior sister's thoughts and came to her side, explaining, "Senior Sister, do you remember what I said to Master when I first arrived at Yuching Temple?"

Jingyue thought for a moment and said, "Of course I remember. About a year ago, you and two other companions arrived at Yuching Temple, claiming to be stranded travelers from a distant place, hoping Master would take you in. Master, being compassionate, saw that although your clothing was unusual, you did not seem malicious, so she kindly allowed you and Junior Sister Qingchen to stay at the temple, and the man who came with you was recommended to the nearby Huanglong Temple as a monk."

"That's right," Zhang Xiaofei continued, pointing at Wang Xiaojun, "But there was one thing I didn't tell Master. In my original hometown, I was married, and this is my husband. We came from our hometown together, but..."

"But we encountered a shipwreck on our way from our overseas hometown to the mainland and got separated," Zhang Weixin quickly interjected, fearing that Zhang Xiaofei's account might differ from their public story.

Then, Zhang Weixin recounted the standard story of their穿越 team to Jingyue. This was to resolve Jingyue's doubts and to ensure that Zhang Xiaofei knew their agreed-upon story, so they could coordinate and maintain consistency in their lies.

After listening to Zhang Weixin's explanation, Jingyue's face finally showed a look of understanding, accepting this rather legendary explanation. This also relieved Wang Xiaojun and the others, who were glad that Zhang Xiaofei had not explicitly mentioned her hometown, making their stories align without contradiction.

For Jingyue, everything was now clear, and the reason for her junior sister's earlier outburst was obvious. After such a series of events, anyone would have lost control upon seeing their husband again. Therefore, she expressed understanding and congratulated her junior sister on being reunited with her husband.

Seeing that the reunion was over, Fuyaozi gestured for everyone to sit down and talk. After everyone was seated, Fuyaozi introduced everyone to each other. With the relationship between Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Xiaofei, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly warm, and everyone was chatting and laughing. Zhang Weixin and the others introduced themselves to Jingyue, while Wang Xiaojun took Zhang Xiaofei out of the room.

Wang Xiaojun's action was seen as normal by everyone present. In Jingyue's view, the newly reunited couple would naturally have some private matters to discuss. The others, who knew the inside story, understood that Wang Xiaojun was going to tell Zhang Xiaofei about his new marriage.

In the small meeting room, Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Xiaofei sat side by side, listening to Zhang Xiaofei recount her experiences since the穿越.

Zhang Xiaofei said that before the穿越, she had gone to the Water Park in Tianjin to relax after work. She rented a boat and was enjoying herself when she was suddenly transported to this time and place by a black cloud and purple lightning. Another boat, not far from hers, was also transported.

On that boat was a couple. The man, Zheng Zhimi, worked for the local national security agency, and the woman, Liu Jie, was a saleswoman at a local department store.

Speaking of the situation after the穿越, Zhang Xiaofei was still somewhat frightened. According to her, after they woke up, they found themselves still in the boat, but the boat was stranded in the middle of a mountain range, completely landlocked. With their limited understanding, they quickly realized they might have traveled through time and were in a dire situation. They had only three bottles of partially filled mineral water, two chocolate bars, and a box of almost melted ice cream. If they could not find help soon, they would starve to death.

Fortunately, after wandering in the mountains for half a day, they found Yuching Temple and met the kind-hearted Yuching Master, who took her and Liu Jie in and recommended Zheng Zhimi to Huanglong Temple as a monk. Over the past year, although they lived a relatively simple life, they did not go hungry and managed to get by.

After Zhang Xiaofei finished her story, Wang Xiaojun began to recount his experiences over the past year. From the initial accident during the穿越 to the recent successful reorganization and training of the Feilong Fort bandits, he told a series of stories that left Zhang Xiaofei both amazed and a bit envious, complaining that fate was unfair for the stark difference in their situations. Wang Xiaojun, unable to laugh or cry, could only keep comforting her.

After Zhang Xiaofei had vented her frustrations, Wang Xiaojun paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and said to Zhang Xiaofei, "Xiaofei, I... I have something to tell you. But before I do, I want you to know that no matter what, I deeply love you. I also hope you can promise me that no matter what I say, you will remain calm and not act impulsively. Think carefully before making any decisions. Can... can you promise me that?"

Seeing Wang Xiaojun's serious expression, Zhang Xiaofei's heart raced, and a sense of foreboding washed over her. She said nervously, "What do you want to tell me? What has happened?"

Looking at his beloved wife's anxious face, Wang Xiaojun's heart softened, but he knew this was not the time to be weak. He steeled himself and said, "Xiaofei, the situation is this. You must understand that none of us have experienced time travel before, and our understanding of it mostly comes from novels. The chances of experiencing something like this are as rare as being struck by lightning ten thousand times in the same place. No one would have thought that we, separated by thousands of miles, would both be transported here.

Because I did not expect you to also be transported, and to a place not far from me, I... I recently, with the encouragement of my team members, married... married the daughter of the Liao Dynasty's Nanjing留守府推官, Han Qingwen."

After saying this, Wang Xiaojun, like a student who had made a mistake, lowered his head, waiting for Zhang Xiaofei's outburst.

However, to his surprise, he did not receive the expected fury. Instead, he only heard Zhang Xiaofei's low sobs. At that moment, Zhang Xiaofei's heart was a mix of emotions, unsure of what to feel. She had thought that fate had finally shown mercy, allowing her to reunite with her beloved after nearly a year of separation, and they could continue their happy life from before the穿越. But fate had other plans, bringing them back together only to insert another woman between them.

As a modern woman, Zhang Xiaofei was unwilling to accept the polygamy common in this era. But the thought of leaving her newly reunited beloved and severing this deep bond was too much for her to bear. She was at a loss, feeling her heart in turmoil, unable to say a word. However, silence would not solve the problem, and in her indecision, Zhang Xiaofei decided to run. She stood up and rushed towards the door, planning to return to Yuching Temple to calm down and think about the situation.

Wang Xiaojun, fearing that Zhang Xiaofei might do something rash, quickly stood up and chased after her. To his surprise, when Zhang Xiaofei suddenly opened the door, she stopped and stood there, motionless. Wang Xiaojun, catching up, saw Han Qingwen standing at the door, looking at Zhang Xiaofei and himself with a complex expression.