# 1717
Chapter 1717: A Long Journey
If the Key to the Gate continued using Migo to track them, it would eventually discover this grand scheme, possibly implicating some "pieces" that hadn't yet been erased from causality, and alert the Cthulhu Faction gods.
In his mind, he recalled the ancient coffin placed at the core of Fengdu when he first met Jialan...
Could it be that in the end, there was only this one method?
Ame-no-Murakumo furiously pierced through the Migo swarm, slaying them all, then gently shook off the bloodstains from the blade as it flew back into Lin Qiye's palm.
Looking at the corpses littering the ground, Lin Qiye's furrowed brow showed no sign of easing.
"What's wrong?" Jialan asked, puzzled.
"Nothing..." Lin Qiye took a deep breath and turned to look at Jialan. "After we return this time, let me find you a job?"
Hearing this, Jialan's eyes lit up. "Sure! What kind of job? How many taels of silver per month?"
"You'll find out when the time comes."
...
Chang'an.
"You're not going back?!" Chloe asked in shock in the courtyard.
"That's right." Lin Qiye nodded slightly. "As you said, there's not enough faith power to teleport us back two thousand years. Since that's the case, we won't be going back."
"Then you..."
"My lifespan is extremely long, so熬过去两千年 isn't a problem. As for Wu Quan..." Lin Qiye took out that bell from his chest. With a gentle shake, it transformed into an ancient massive bell that landed in the courtyard with a沉闷 sound.
"I borrowed this Eastern Sovereign Bell that can seal time from Lingbao Tianzun. With it, I can freeze Wu Quan's time until over two thousand years later."
From the moment Lin Qiye first met Chloe in this era and learned there wasn't enough faith to send them back, he had suspected this was mostly a one-way time journey... Future Chloe only needed to send them back. The remaining two thousand years would have to be endured as they drifted along the river of time.
Lin Qiye himself possessed an endless lifespan, so熬过去两 thousand years was nothing. But Wu Quan was different.
Wu Quan was a naturally deficient Dominator Emperor. At his current age, he could live at most five more years. Two thousand years was absolutely unthinkable. How to let Wu Quan also live to see two thousand years later had been a困扰 Lin Qiye constantly.
But with Lingbao Tianzun's gift of the Eastern Sovereign Bell, this problem was solved.
Wu Quan curiously walked to the side of the Eastern Sovereign Bell, examining it carefully. The space inside the bell was just right for his身形, as if custom-made.
"I have no objections." Wu Quan nodded. "As long as I can return to two thousand years later, I don't care what method is used."
"There's another benefit to this."
Lin Qiye pointed to his chest. "If we were to go back, we'd have to forge another identical Covenant. This would not only consume faith power uselessly but also占用 one opportunity to forge a Covenant.
Since we're not going back, the remaining two Covenants can be used for other purposes."
Lin Qiye's chest bore three Covenants in total. The first sent them back over two thousand years to the Western Han, giving humanity a desperate hope and setting this grand chess game of causality in motion... The purpose of the second and third Covenants, Lin Qiye still didn't know. But there was no doubt that every Covenant was crucial to humanity. Using one just to return would be an enormous loss.
"Have you thought about what to do with the remaining two Covenants?" Chloe asked.
"Not yet..." Lin Qiye shook his head. "Covenants are of great importance. I need to think carefully."
"You said before that you wanted me to forge a Covenant with your past self in the church two thousand years from now, right? So there's no rush. You have two thousand years to think it over."
"By the way, Jialan and I will be leaving Chang'an for a while."
"Leaving Chang'an? Where to?"
"Not certain yet, but probably from Chang'an, north to Liaodong, east to Kuaiji, south to Zhuyai, west to Loulan... and finally back to Chang'an."
Chloe's mouth fell open. "You two want to遍历整个大汉? How long would that take?"
"If we're quick, about a year."
Chloe's gaze fell on Jialan, who was playing in the distance with Gongyang Zhuo, and her expression became微妙.
"A year later, you wouldn't have a child, would you?"
"You're overthinking." Lin Qiye said seriously. "Since her birth, she's been staying in the Jade Pool. I just want to take her out to see... this mortal world."
"Oh? Then you'll definitely bring Wu Quan along, right?"
"Well... that's not impossible..."
"Seventh Brother, I don't want to go out and play." Wu Quan walked to Lin Qiye's side and said seriously, "I'm different from you... My life is very short. I want to do something meaningful."
"What kind of thing?"
"Since Seventh Brother plans to leave Chang'an, I want to go too. I want to walk the path the Marquis took on his campaigns, to experience the mindset the Marquis once had... Maybe it can help me better digest what the Marquis has taught me during this time."
Looking at the serious-faced Wu Quan, a hint of surprise appeared in Lin Qiye's eyes.
"You want to use this journey to break through your mental barriers?"
"Mm."
Lin Qiye gazed at Wu Quan复杂ly for a long moment, then nodded slightly.
"Very well, since you have this determination, go ahead and do it... When the time is right, I will come find you and seal you within the Eastern Sovereign Bell until the future."
"Then I should set off too." Chloe stretched in the courtyard. "I've耽搁太久 in Chang'an. My plan to establish a religion hasn't made progress. It's time to set out..."
"How should I find you when I've decided on the remaining two Covenants?"
Chloe thought for a moment, then drew a faint mark on the back of Lin Qiye's hand.
"I make a vow with you. If you want to find me, just write my name with this hand, and the power of the vow will teleport me over."
"No problem."
...
The several of them said their farewells in the courtyard. Two hours later, a carriage slowly departed from the bustling Chang'an City under the setting sun.
Inside the bumpy carriage, Jialan in her deep blue Han robe sat facing Lin Qiye. The fiery sunset painted her cheeks with a blush. She gently lowered the curtain and couldn't help but ask:
"You said the job you wanted to find me... was to be your traveling maidservant?"
"Not a maidservant." Lin Qiye explained. "As you know, I can't form too many causal connections with people. So if I'm traveling far, I need someone to buy food for me, change horses, ask for directions, and..."
"Couldn't you give this simple work to someone else?"
"What? You don't want to do it? Fine, Yan Zhong said he knows a workshop that's still hiring..."
"Who said I don't want it!?" Jialan immediately put her hands on her hips. "I'm already on the carriage. You want to kick me off? First things first, this requires payment!"
"Don't worry. I won't skimp on your wages."
Lin Qiye smiled, leaning leisurely against the carriage wall. As the carriage swayed, the two of them gradually disappeared beyond the fiery horizon...