093. The Matchmaker’s Pendant: Dispelling Doubts (Weekend Extra Chapter)

“See for yourself!” Jing Qingmu sighed helplessly. With a flick of his wrist, an antique bamboo slip appeared in his hand.

Jing Qingxin took the bamboo slip with a troubled heart, unable to wait as she opened it to read. She knew the slip contained records about the ancient ink jade pendant, and her emotions grew even more tangled. She could not say exactly how she should feel at that moment.

Jing Qingxin’s parents saw the seriousness and gravity on her face and refrained from disturbing her with questions. Instead, they pulled their son aside to inquire.

“Son, tell us what’s going on. What does the bamboo slip say?” her mother asked, tugging at Jing Qingmu’s sleeve. Since both the jade pendant and the bamboo slip had come from their son’s collection of treasures, they assumed he had already read the contents.

Anxious to know the truth, the couple could only interrogate their son first.

Jing Qingmu exchanged a look with his parents, and the three of them went to sit in a small side room.

After gathering his thoughts, Jing Qingmu began his explanation.

The ancient ink jade pendant is called the Destiny Pendant, divided into Yin and Yang halves, meant to be held by a man and a woman. According to legend, in ancient times, a pair of deeply devoted cultivators, fearing disaster before their ascension, poured a trace of their essence into creating this pair of Yin-Yang pendants, naming them the Destiny Pendants.

The pair used the pendants as tokens of their love, each keeping one. If they failed to ascend, the pendants would enable them to find each other, no matter how far apart they were.

In the end, the cultivators succeeded in their ascension. In their final moments before leaving the mortal world, they infused the Destiny Pendants with their power and released them into the world, hoping the pendants would find fated souls and forge destined bonds.

The most marvelous feature of the Destiny Pendant is that, no matter how far apart the destined holders are—even if separated by time itself—the pendants will guide them to one another.

Once one pendant is activated, the magic within begins to work, and the holder’s destined partner is fixed. There can only be one true match in this lifetime.

“What does that mean? Only one destined partner?” Jing Qingxin’s mother pressed, her brows knit with worry. Concerned for her daughter’s happiness, they dared not treat this lightly. They needed to understand everything to help their daughter.

Her father too waited in deep thought, expecting his son to clarify.

Jing Qingmu, somewhat resigned, answered, “To put it simply, that legendary couple cast a spell to ensure that each fated person would have but one destined love.”

Seeing his parents’ grave expressions, Jing Qingmu continued, “That means, when my sister activated the pendant with her blood, its magic drew her to a man named Gao Shen. Since they lived in different times, the pendants created a tunnel through time.”

“Get to the point!” Jing Qingxin’s father demanded, his tone stern. He wished to know only the outcome—whether there would be any harm to his daughter.

Jing Qingmu was briefly at a loss for words, having wanted to explain the whole background. He paused, then said, “The key is: if the man and woman holding the pendants fall in love and each lets a drop of their blood fall on the pendants, they confirm each other as destined partners. Their lives will be bound, and they can be together always.”

“And if they do not fall in love?” Jing Qingxin’s mother pressed.

“Then there will be no other love in this lifetime. The person fated for the Destiny Pendant who loses their match will live out their days alone,” Jing Qingmu sighed. He truly wasn’t sure if this arrangement was a blessing or a curse.

“So what about Yuanyuan’s situation?” her father asked, his brow furrowed even deeper.

“If two fated souls from different times fall in love and confirm their feelings with a drop of blood, their destinies will be bound. They will love each other for life, together and content,” Jing Qingmu answered.

“Can Yuanyuan still return then?” her mother asked anxiously, twisting her hands together.

“She can, and she cannot,” Jing Qingmu replied with frustration.

Her father, growing impatient, slapped Jing Qingmu’s shoulder. “Stop beating around the bush! Tell us the key point!”

“The bamboo slip does not say directly—it only writes: ‘All is destined. When the time comes, the tunnel will disappear! Once feelings arise, the tunnel narrows and eventually vanishes. In other words, each passage becomes more rare and difficult,’” Jing Qingmu said gravely.

“If they are destined, why can’t that Gao Shen cross time to be with us?” her mother wondered. If that could happen, it would be ideal.

Jing Qingmu shook his head. “It’s not possible. According to the bamboo slip, traversing time cannot alter the order of nature or the path of history. Gao Shen lives in the 1970s, over sixty years before us—he is history. If someone from the past were to vanish and come to our time, it would violate the laws of nature. Besides, since it was Yuanyuan who activated the Destiny Pendant, she must follow Gao Shen’s era. In the end, all rests with fate.”

With those words, silence fell over the little sitting room.

Meanwhile, Jing Qingxin finished reading the bamboo slip in the living room, her mind swirling with thoughts.

So that’s how it is!

Why had she traveled through time? Why did she meet Gao Shen? Why did she experience strange disruptions in her journeys? All her questions were answered now.

It turned out she and Gao Shen were the ones chosen by the Destiny Pendant. If they fell in love and confirmed their feelings with blood, they could be together forever. If not, before the tunnel vanished, she would be sent back to her own time, destined to grow old alone.

The reason she had not traveled as usual last time was because feelings had already blossomed between her and Gao Shen, weakening the tunnel’s pull. To travel then would require both of them, in love and with the pendants, to sense one another.

If she and Gao Shen did not exchange drops of blood on the pendants, every time the tunnel opened, she would be drawn back to her own time. But once their blood confirmed the bond, she would be free to choose, able to move between the two eras before the tunnel disappeared completely, no longer forced to wait passively for its call.

Jing Qingxin quickly gathered her composure, turned toward the side room, and called out, “Dad, Mom, brother, come here!”

At her call, the three in the side room silently made their way into the living room and sat down.

Once seated, Jing Qingmu said guiltily, “Yuanyuan, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t found that pendant in the Hall of Flowing Light and given it to you, you wouldn’t have activated the tunnel with your blood.”

If his sister had not awakened the Destiny Pendant, she would not be caught in such a difficult dilemma. Life would have remained as simple and comfortable as before. In his heart, Jing Qingmu could only sigh with exhaustion.

—Extra Note—

Friday, as promised, an extra chapter!

Throwing flowers!

Tickets, flowers, and rewards, please come quickly!

This book is originally published by Xiaoxiang Academy. Please do not reprint!