Chapter 34034 Never Separated

…

"My friends, you are quite skilled. That white snake is quite powerful, yet you captured it so easily."

The person who spoke was not the Palace Master of Yingyue Palace, but a guardian in his palace.

"Unfortunately, the Palace Master is in seclusion and has no time to meet with you," he mentioned casually. "I presume you've come for my Xingluo Nation's Full Moon Night Banquet, right? It's a shame the monsters are rampant, ruining the feast... Actually, not only do the common people have competitions and rewards..."

Zhuang Rong'er didn't have the patience to listen to him continue to lay out the groundwork, so she interrupted him directly, "I can subdue the Nightmare Queen."

The guardian was stunned and looked at her in surprise.

"I can tame Nightmare, but I have one request," she repeated. "At the Moon Oath Ceremony, I want him to pretend to be my bridegroom."

She looked in the direction of Jing Huai.

“…”

Jing Huai's eyes flickered slightly, but he was not overly surprised.

The guardian's emotions were obviously much more volatile. He took two seconds to react and only said, "Huh?"

Although he originally wanted to persuade several monks to join the crusade against Nightmare Queen, how come the other party had already taken the lead, no, taken ten steps ahead, to discuss the strategy before he could even fully introduce the topic?

The Moon Oath Ceremony mentioned by Zhuang Rong'er is also a traditional ceremony held at the Xingluo Kingdom's Full Moon Night Banquet. To put it simply, it is a wedding ceremony held by many people together.

On the last day of the annual banquet, dozens or even millions of couples would swear an oath under the moonlight, using the bright moon as a witness and heaven and earth as an alliance to become lovers.

The Xingluo people believe that if they enter into a marriage contract on this night, they will be blessed by the Moon Goddess, and the couple will be united in heart and live in harmony for a hundred years.

After thinking about it for a while, the protector felt that although Zhuang Rong'er's request sounded unreasonable, he seemed to understand it after thinking about it carefully.

Nightmare feeds on the seven emotions and six desires, and the overflowing love in the Moon Oath Ceremony naturally attracts it... No, this request is very unreasonable!

If you just want to pretend to be a newcomer to lure out Nightmare Queen, how can the pretend friendship be successful?

The guardian looked at Zhuang Rong'er with an expression that said, "I see you have other intentions than drinking," but heard Jing Huai say, "Okay."

He took two steps forward, his tone gentle, revealing the righteousness of a gentleman: "Rong'er, for the sake of the people of this world, you can do anything... Besides, I also think there is nothing wrong with joining the game yourself."

His answer was impeccable, but Zhuang Rong'er turned her head away as if she had heard something unpleasant.

Her reaction was somewhat unexpected, and she didn't seem to be immersed in the joy of pretending to be lovers with her beloved. Jing Huai took it all in and said, "In order to successfully deceive that Nightmare Lady, why don't you and I get along like an ordinary couple for now?"

Just when he almost thought he would get no answer, a somewhat dull response came from his ears.

"……Um."

…

The underground palace was chilly, but not quiet.

As soon as Shu Qianhe sneaked in, she heard a man cursing continuously.

"Damn you, pufferfish! Your clumsy illusion doesn't give me any sense of immersion!"

"Do you think I have no memories of my snake form? I've personally experienced the truth with my master. How could I be deceived by your lies?"

"When I get out, I'm going to cut you into pieces! I really do hate fish! Ahhh, you all deserve to die!"

The little snake's irritable mental state was clearly visible, while the palace servants of Yingyue Palace had no expression on their faces, as if they were immune to the incessant noise - anyway, these monsters would be sacrificed to the moon with blood in the last hour before the end of the night banquet, so at most they wouldn't make trouble for much longer.

The centipede monster on the other side was in much better condition. It had just been brought in and was still unconscious. It was coiled up like a corpse, motionless.

After the palace servants left, Shu Qianhe quickly walked towards the cage where the little snake was.

She was certain that this demon cultivator was also awakened, and hurriedly greeted him in a low voice, "Senior!"

The little snake glanced at her sinisterly, cursing non-stop. At this moment, he was afraid that except for Zhuang Rong'er's appearance, no one could reduce his resentment towards his environment.

The two had never met before, and he didn't recognize her, so Shu Qianhe had to get straight to the point: "Don't worry, senior. Like you, I'm a cultivator who was eaten by the World-Devouring Whale, and I've also seen through this illusion!"

"Hmph! Cunning pufferfish, you're setting up a second illusion to try to trick me?" the little snake said disdainfully. "We don't even know each other, yet you find me and say these things. It's obvious you're just a phantom targeting me! Go away!"

"No! I met you once in a restaurant in Zhaixing Town. At that time, you were with Master Zhuang and Junior Brother Ahuai!" Shu Qianhe said hurriedly.

The little snake seemed to have taken her words in. He squinted his eyes and looked at her. Suddenly he asked, "Are you the person that the stinky centipede is looking for?"

"Yes! Wu Heng is my uncle... But like the Valley Master and Junior Brother Ah Huai, he is still under the influence of the illusion and is unconscious..."

"Nonsense!" The little snake gritted his teeth, "It's impossible that the master would be bewitched by a small illusion..." But as he spoke, he began to feel guilty, because he remembered that he seemed to have seen Zhuang Rong'er's figure in the audience before his consciousness was interrupted, and the silk ribbon that rushed up and knocked him unconscious at last did look like the work of his master.

If the owner is awake, why beat him and trap him?

If the master is intoxicated, wouldn't it be inconsistent with her image in his mind as wise, brave and omnipotent?

"No matter what the master does, she must have her own considerations behind it... You, don't butt in!" The little snake was only concerned with maintaining the master's image, but he couldn't figure out the reason, so he said, "Also! Don't flatter the 'Junior Brother Ah Huai' you mentioned! The powerful cultivator you saw was Jing Huai, who reappeared in the illusion! He's not just Ah Huai, who's just a facade."

"Jing Huai?"

Shu Qianhe was stunned for a moment. She had probably heard of this name, but her impression was very vague. She only remembered that it was a hero who had fought a bloody battle with the Jiyuan filth a hundred years ago.

For some reason, his deeds do not seem to be outstanding, at least the younger generation knows little about him.

"...Yes, Jing Huai."

As soon as this low, hoarse female voice was heard, Shu Qianhe and Xiaoshe both looked in the direction of the sound.

The centipede in the other cage had disappeared at some point, and now there was only the haggard back of a man.

His clothes were disheveled and he sat facing the wall. I don't know if he felt embarrassed or awkward, but he didn't want to show his face to others.

Shu Qianhe reacted quickly and walked over, calling softly: "Uncle Master, are you..."

"Yes." Wu Heng hurriedly interrupted her, then, as if afraid she would ask questions related to their previous encounter, he continued without stopping, "It's Jing Huai. He must be the Eye of Illusion in the belly of the World-Devouring Whale."

"...How are you sure?"

“…Because it’s not the same at all.”

"What's the meaning?"

Wu Heng frowned and stared at the dark inner wall of the cage without saying a word.

"Jinghuai" is not the same as Jinghuai at all.

The direction of the fantasy world is completely different from the real night banquet.

If even he can sense the difference, how could Zhuang Ronger not feel it?

"So that person is the key to the illusion?" Shu Qianhe pondered. "Who... who is he? What is his relationship with Junior Brother Ah Huai?"

She originally thought that Nightmare Lady was the core character in this matter, but considering that her uncle had just had an "unpleasant" experience with Nightmare Lady, she swallowed her words back into her stomach.

Wu Heng finally turned around after hearing her question. His expression was more serious than ever before, and he seemed to be somewhat moved.

He said, "Xiao He, the fact that you and I can stand here safely today is all thanks to him."

Shu Qianhe thought, they are not safe at all now... But she can also understand Wu Heng's meaning, and can even feel the completely different attitudes of several people towards Jing Huai and Junior Brother A Huai. She immediately suppressed the urge to retort and nodded honestly.

"Then as long as we kill the fake Jing Huai, we can escape from the illusion?" The little snake acted as if he suddenly understood something.

He spoke simply, but his expression was serious.

"Do you know what this means?" He pursed his lips. "It means our enemy is Zhuang Rong'er! How could she tolerate Jing Huai dying before her eyes?"

"Ha." The little snake actually sneered. A complex expression mixed with pride appeared on his face. He said firmly, "You don't understand the master at all. She can't stand others pretending to be Jing Huai and appearing in front of her. She won't have any sympathy for them and will only peel off their skin and pull out their tendons!"

"...What about Ah Huai?"

"Ah Huai..." The little snake was speechless for a moment. He frowned and continued, "He's not pretending after all... Anyway, anyway, this is it! If the Jing Huai in the illusion is the eye condensed by that stinky fathead fish, the master will definitely kill him first!"

Wu Heng's tone was filled with doubt: "But she's clearly dealing with us now."

As he spoke, he looked around, meaning, look at the environment they are in now, this is a dungeon.

"The dungeon is safe, what do you know!" The little snake glared, "The master doesn't want her blood to splatter on us when she kills people, so just stay here!"

“…”

Wu Heng and Shu Qianhe were both silent. After looking at each other, Wu Heng said, "We must leave by tomorrow night at the latest. After the Moon Oath Ceremony on the final day of the Full Moon Night Banquet, demonic creatures will be sacrificed to the moon. Can you guess which two demons will be sacrificed in blood?"

"What? If I had known this, I wouldn't have let you in, Uncle Master." Shu Qianhe looked a little broken-hearted.

The little snake snorted coldly, "Don't cry. It won't take that long. I guess the master is already sharpening his knife."

…

Red candles are lit.

Zhuang Rong'er sat quietly in front of the bronze mirror, holding a smoothly polished dagger.

"Madam, are you reluctant to do it? Why don't you let me do it?" An old lady came forward hesitantly.

For a moment, all the women in red attire in the room looked over curiously. They were all the brides at the Moon Oath Ceremony tonight. There was no rule in Xingluo Country that marriages were arranged by parents or matchmakers, and they were all going to marry their own sweethearts.

The warm tenderness and sweetness in the air almost turned into a physical entity.

Zhuang Rong'er's fingers were cold. She gripped the dagger tightly and cut off a strand of her hair.

The old lady picked it up with some joy and said, "Well, we are married and will be together forever!"

…

On the roof of the dressing room, a woman who gradually took shape from a shadow greedily sniffed the air beside her.

—How sweet, this strong, twisted, hopeless love!

Because it could never be realized, and was frozen at its most intense, an obsessive love that would never fade, never fall... She had to taste it, even if it meant risk...

At this moment, Yan Ji no longer looked like You Xueqi. Instead, her face and figure were somewhat blurred, like a ball of dough waiting to be shaped...

As she continued to sniff, the "dough" gradually took shape. Her facial features became handsome, her figure became slender, and she grew into a man with the appearance of an immortal.

The silk ribbon covering his eyes fluttered in the night wind, and the "he" who had transformed from "she" no longer had the greedy and bestial nature of before.

If you ignore his fingers that were a little twitching with excitement, he looked like the most elegant and handsome young man in the world.

He took a final deep breath, jumped down, and knocked on the door of the waiting room.