Chapter 180: Mars Guards the Heart

They circled the village, which wasn't large, consisting of dozens of scattered households.

As they completed their circle, night fell. Men working in the fields had returned home, and laughter and cheerful voices drifted from various rooms. Of course, there were also less fortunate families; arguments could be heard from a distance, along with sighs of distress, indicating without a doubt that those households faced significant difficulties.

In every way, this village was a typical ancient rural settlement.

Zu An and Qiao Xueying found an opportunity to slip in quietly. They listened in on many households but found no problems or clues.

"Huh, isn't that house making a strange sound?" Qiao Xueying tugged at Zu An's sleeve, gesturing towards another house.

They arrived at the window of that house and finally distinguished the strange sounds: heavy breathing mixed with the creaking of bedsprings, and vulgar words exchanged between a man and a woman...

Qiao Xueying's face immediately flushed. She spat and muttered, "Doing that so early in the morning, how shameless!"

Zu An chuckled. "Someone like you, who has always lived in a wealthy, prominent family, naturally wouldn't know the hardships of common folk," he said. "Many families are so poor they can't even afford to light an oil lamp at night. What else are they going to do?"

Qiao Xueying covered her ears. "You talk as if you know all about it," she said. "Alright, alright, let's not listen anymore. Let's go to other houses."

"This scene reminds me of a riddle. How about I test you with one?" Zu An said, a strange expression on his face.

"What kind of riddle? Let's hear it." Qiao Xueying naturally didn't want to admit to a lack of wit. Besides, she was a bit bored now, and listening to it might also help alleviate the recent awkwardness.

"The miracle doctor Ji in the city invented a medicine," Zu An said with a mischievous grin. "If a man takes it, the woman can't stand it. If a woman takes it, the man can't stand it. So, if both the man and woman take it, who can't stand it first?"

Qiao Xueying's face immediately flushed. She cursed in a low voice, "That old man, Ji, truly has no respect for his age! He's a miracle doctor in name only, creating such rubbish instead of focusing on saving lives and healing the wounded!"

Zu An laughed. "You can criticize Doctor Ji when we get back to Brightmoon City," he said. "Right now, I'm asking for your answer."

"How would I know the answer to such a ridiculous question?" Qiao Xueying turned away, her face even redder.

"Your little head is definitely wondering whether the man or the woman would give out first, haha!" Zu An burst out laughing. "Let me just tell you the answer: the bed would give out first!"

Qiao Xueying bit her lip. "If you dare to tell these vulgar jokes to Miss Chu," she said, "she'll most likely kick you right out of the Chu clan."

"She might kick out others, but she definitely won't kick me out," Zu An replied.

"I don't know where you get such confidence," Qiao Xueying snorted, then ignored him and continued searching for other clues.

Zu An shrugged and quickly followed her.

After a while, they eventually made their way to the village chief's house, where Chen Wei lived. His father was the village chief.

As the village chief, his family was clearly wealthier; at least they could afford to light oil lamps at night. The silhouettes of two people were visible on the window, clearly standing by the window talking.

They heard Chen's father say in an extremely terrified and panicked voice, "Mars guarding the heart constellation! A great disaster is coming, a great disaster is coming!"

Chen Wei, standing nearby, dismissed it. "Father," he said, "Mars guarding the heart constellation is just an ancient legend, something some malicious individuals twist for their own ends. How could it represent any disaster?"

"You are too young; you don't understand..." Chen's father said, shaking his head. "When everyone in the world believes something, even falsehoods become truths. Disasters will arise even if there were none."

Chen Wei snorted. "Even if Mars guarding the heart constellation is truly as the legends say," he remarked, "it's the emperor who suffers, not us common folk. The death of that tyrant would be a cause for universal celebration."

"Silence! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Chen's father turned pale with fright and quickly covered his son's mouth. "If someone hears you and reports it, this could lead to the extermination of our entire clan!"

Chen Wei huffed resentfully. "I didn't say anything wrong," he insisted. "Every time Mars guarding the heart constellation appears, it's a headache for emperors and nobles, not for us common people."

"I hope so, I truly hope so," Chen's father said, his voice full of worry.

The two lost their interest in talking further and soon extinguished their lamps and went to bed.

"What exactly does 'Mars guarding the heart constellation' mean?" Zu An was completely confused. He was about to ask Qiao Xueying, but noticed she was gazing up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Zu An also looked up at the sky. He only saw a sky full of stars, nothing out of the ordinary.

Thinking of the air and light pollution caused by urbanization in his previous life, it had been years since he had seen a sky full of stars like this.

Qiao Xueying's face was filled with worry. She pointed to a spot in the sky and asked, "Do you see those two very bright stars?"

Zu An followed her gaze and indeed saw two celestial bodies significantly brighter than the other stars.

Qiao Xueying explained, "The star in the upper left is Mars, widely believed to represent disaster and death—an ominous, inauspicious star. To its lower right are three stars that form the Heart Constellation (Xinsu) of the Twenty-Eight Mansions. The largest and brightest star in the center represents the Son of Heaven, the Emperor, while the two stars beside it represent the crown prince and common people. Currently, Mars is within the Heart Constellation, right next to the star representing the Emperor. This is precisely the most ominous celestial phenomenon in historical astrology: 'Mars guarding the heart constellation'."

"Celestial phenomenon?" Zu An scoffed. "Do you actually believe in such superstitions?"

Having been nurtured by science in his previous life, how could he possibly believe such things? However, as he spoke, he suddenly remembered his keyboard system and the various cultivation practices in this world, none of which seemed explicable by science.

"How can this be called superstition?" Qiao Xueying retorted. "Every time such a celestial phenomenon has appeared in recorded history, either a ruler has died suddenly, or a high official has met a violent end, or even the world has plunged into chaos and rivers of blood." Qiao Xueying was clearly displeased by his dismissive attitude, thinking, *Surely everyone in this world knows about this? Why does he not take it seriously at all?*

A thought sparked in Zu An's mind. "Do you think this 'Heaven's Seal' might be connected to 'Mars guarding the heart constellation'?" he asked.

Qiao Xueying's expression changed. "I can only hope not," she said, "otherwise we might be in danger."

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed Zu An's face growing a little brighter. While wondering why, she saw him looking up at the sky and quickly looked up herself.

The originally pitch-black sky suddenly became as bright as day. It turned out a huge burning fireball was descending from the sky.

"A meteorite!" Qiao Xueying exclaimed, her expression changing.

"You actually know the concept of meteorites?" Zu An couldn't help but ask, surprised.

"Nonsense," Qiao Xueying retorted. "Didn't you know that high-level fire and earth elemental cultivators have a forbidden spell that can summon meteorites?" She thought he was making a fuss over nothing.

Watching the fireball glide across the sky, growing larger and larger, with its fiery surface visible to the naked eye, Zu An muttered to himself, "Where do you think this meteorite will land? We wouldn't be so unlucky for it to fall right on us, would we?"

No sooner had he spoken than the colossal meteorite suddenly exploded, breaking into countless smaller fireballs. The explosion seemed to alter their trajectory, causing them to deviate slightly from their previous course and head directly towards the two of them.

"You jinx!" Qiao Xueying exclaimed, speechless, then grabbed him and took off running.

The fiery rain initially appeared distant, but its descent was incredibly fast. In just a few breaths, it was upon them.

Qiao Xueying's expression drastically changed. This naturally occurring meteorite fire rain was far more powerful than any forbidden spell cast by cultivators. Up in the sky, it had looked like a small cluster, but now that it was close, they realized the vast extent of the fire rain. There was no way to escape its attack range in such a short time.

At first, Qiao Xueying dragged Zu An as they ran, but soon, Zu An was dragging her.

Zu An used his Sunflower Phantom Steps, weaving through the falling fire. Each flame had the power comparable to a missile from his previous life. With his ghostly agility, it wasn't difficult to ensure he wasn't directly hit, but the massive shockwaves and intensely hot air currents generated by each flame hitting the ground were extremely dangerous. Furthermore, the surrounding oxygen was rapidly being consumed.

If he were still an ordinary person, a single flame landing near him could have killed him. Fortunately, his physical constitution now far surpassed that of his previous life, allowing him to endure several waves of impact.

However, there was no telling when this widespread fiery rain would end. After enduring several shockwaves, his entire body ached intensely, and he was breathing in nothing but scorching air, feeling as if his lungs were about to explode.

Just then, Qiao Xueying flicked her wrist, and countless green leaves materialized around them, shielding them from the shockwaves produced by the surrounding explosions.

"I feel like the smartest decision I made today was bringing you along. I never expected you to be so useful," Zu An said, looking at the young woman before him and genuinely sighing.

"Hmph," Qiao Xueying huffed resentfully, "the worst decision I made today was coming in here with you. I've taken a huge loss."

Suddenly, another loud bang resonated. Qiao Xueying grunted, unable to stop herself from stumbling into his arms. The green leaf shield around them showed signs of being scattered, but she quickly channeled her elemental power, stabilizing the shield.

Noticing a trace of blood at the corner of her lips, Zu An quickly said, "Stay closer to me. Don't make the shield so large; that way, you'll save a lot of energy."

"No way," Qiao Xueying retorted, even taking a step back and intentionally making the shield larger.

"Are women all such impulsive and irrational creatures?" Zu An was completely bewildered. But as a man, this was a time for decisiveness. He reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her close into his embrace, so they were pressed tightly together. This way, the area of the shield she needed to maintain would be much smaller.

"What are you doing!" Qiao Xueying instinctively struggled.

Zu An held down her struggling arms tightly and said irritably, "Why are you reacting so strongly? It's not like we haven't kissed or embraced before. The Heaven's Seal will surely be more dangerous than what we've faced. Wouldn't it be better to conserve your strength to deal with the dangers that come next?"

Qiao Xueying knew what he said was true. After hesitating for a while, she ultimately didn't retort and silently reduced the size of the green shield around them.

After an unknown amount of time, the two emerged from their hiding place. They found the surroundings devastated, and the village was a sea of flames. Figures fighting fires and treating injuries were everywhere, as were cries of distress.

Zu An fell silent. Although the recent fire rain had been powerful, it wasn't enough to live up to the name "Heaven's Seal." *Could something else have happened?*