With this thought in mind, I made a phone call. The call was answered almost as soon as the phone rang, and Shang Jingsong asked me with a smile if I had changed my mind.
After I explained the situation, Shang Jingsong did not refuse. Instead, he said he knew that Du Xiaolan would also follow us.
I didn't know why he was so confident. Many things couldn't be explained over the phone, so I asked him to come to the shop and then hung up.
After a wait of ten minutes, Shang Jingsong finally entered.
Before he could even sit down properly, I asked eagerly, "Are you really a deity?"
"In your words, yes," Shang Jingsong nodded and asked if I had any other questions.
I was extremely excited to see a legendary deity appearing before me. I hurriedly asked Du Xiaolan to take a picture with her phone. Just as I was about to speak, Du Xiaolan pulled me up, handed me the phone, and asked me to take a picture of the two of them too.
Shang Jingsong was very cooperative throughout and did not show any signs of displeasure. After the photo was taken, I continued with my previous question, "Are you really the Taoist who abandoned Meng Xier back then?"
This time, Shang Jingsong's smile instantly disappeared, and he looked at me, took a deep breath, and said quietly, "If ears can see people, then eyes are useless."
I was taken aback by this profound statement, but then quickly regained my composure and hastily said, "That's not what I meant. I've only heard of this kind of description from legends. After all these years, I can only speculate from these things."
Shang Jingsong's smile reappeared, and he got up from the chair, saying, "Alright, first of all, I want to thank you for helping me out. Finally, I want to say that this time, when you go back in time, you will only have the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn. If you haven't returned after that time, you will be forever trapped in that period."
"Time is so tight," murmured Du Xiaolan.
I, on the other hand, felt that one hour was completely sufficient. Even if we didn't sever the romantic ties between Meng Xier and Shang Jingsong, we could still leave that place and wait for the next return to the Shang Dynasty.
Seemingly knowing my thoughts, Shang Jingsong closed his eyes and said, "If you find that the ties cannot be fully severed, you can leave first. However, history must not be changed at all. If it changes, the current world will also change, and then you will be unable to return to this world."
After receiving nods of agreement from me and Du Xiaolan, Shang Jingsong gestured for me to close the shop's rolling steel door. Turning on the lights, he conjured an incense stick out of nowhere, and handed me a silk scarf, saying, "If you find her, remember to give her this silk scarf. Tell her that I am already dead, and ask her to stop worrying about me."
I took the scarf, realizing that what I had seen in TV dramas was not untrue. People from the past really liked to use silk scarves as tokens of affection.
We stood side by side with Du Xiaolan, and Shang Jingsong placed a red ribbon on the table, chanting under his breath. As his voice echoed, I felt an unusual heat in my body, as if a fierce fire was burning in my heart.
Turning to look at Du Xiaolan, she seemed unperturbed while I was experiencing this. The heat felt like it was melting me, and just as I let out a heart-wrenching scream, I suddenly noticed that everything in front of me was rapidly distorting.
"Remember, you only have the time it takes for one incense stick to burn," Shang Jingsong lit the incense stick floating in mid-air.
Before I could comprehend, my body suddenly felt weightless, and the rapid descent felt like falling into an abyss. At that moment, I couldn't make any sound, and my vision alternated between bright and dark. During the brief moments of brightness, I seemed to see countless figures disappearing before my eyes.
"Dong!" I don't know how long I've been falling, a muffled sound rang in my ears. My body trembled violently, and a bright light appeared before my eyes.
Hastily looking around, birds chirping, fragrant flowers, a small river flowing. Not far away, by the side of a stream, a village with curling smoke appeared.
"Mingyang, it seems like we forgot something," Du Xiaolan's voice came from behind. I turned to look at her, seeing her full of confusion.
I asked her what's the matter. Du Xiaolan glanced at our attire and said, we forgot to ask Shang Jingsong to get us some ancient costumes, and also forgot to ask him where Meng Xier lived.
Slapping my head, I said, this is indeed a problem. Du Xiaolan sighed and said, we were so excited that we overlooked the most crucial problem.
But no matter what, now that we've arrived in the Shang Dynasty, it's too late to regret.
"Since he could send us to this place, maybe Meng Xier might be in that village," I said and then strode forward.
Du Xiaolan followed beside me, asking me to slow down. When we arrived at the village, a light rain began to fall sporadically from the sky. Looking over the village, there were only about a dozen households.
It was noon and there was not a single person outside.
Taking out the silk handkerchief from my pocket, I held it in my hand and asked Du Xiaolan to wait for me here for a while, as I prepared to inquire from house to house.
As I arrived at a house, the wooden door suddenly opened and an old lady with a haggard look saw me and hastily retreated into the room, preparing to close the wooden door.
Seeing this, I put my hand to stop the wooden door and asked, "Old lady, is there someone named Meng Xier in this village?"
"What do you want her for?" The old lady gave up closing the door and looked straight at me.
It seemed that Meng Xier was indeed in this village. I quickly unfolded the silk handkerchief held in my hand and said, "A friend asked me to come. He asked me to deliver this silk handkerchief to Meng Xier and also to bring a message."
"She's not here!" The old lady said and shut the door, ignoring my knocking.
Since it was confirmed that Meng Xier was here, I didn't want to persist further. I returned to Du Xiaolan and asked her to think of a way to inform Meng Xier about the silk handkerchief and Shang Jingsong's matter.
Du Xiaolan tilted her head and thought for a long time, then rolled up her sleeves and said, "Mingyang, the society we are in now is different from the one we are used to. Watch and learn, I'll drag her out."
I was at a loss for this tomboyish behavior and quickly held her arm. It's because this society is different that we need to inquire politely.
After all, in the TV drama, the Shang Dynasty was the origin of the Investiture of the Gods; who knows if these people can just wave their hands and send us to the heavens.