Chapter 104 Awakening from a Feverish, Frenzied Dream

"Your Li family are all lunatics! Lunatics for generations!"

A woman dressed in gorgeous clothes and with exquisite makeup stood in front of the rows of ancestral tablets, her eyes filled with resentment, and she roared the most vicious curses at him through the door.

The next moment, he was locked in a dark, sunless cell, where snakes, insects, and rats crawled all over his body, gnawing at his tender flesh.

He was terrified of these things at first, but later he worried that they would stop coming once they were full, so he only let them eat for a short while.

But gradually, they came less and less, and more and more slowly, so he had no choice but to kill them all. He tore them apart with his hands, bit them with his teeth, and used every ounce of strength a child could muster to torture and kill those untrustworthy creatures.

"You all deserve to die!" That beautiful yet twisted face suddenly appeared before him, her hand, stained with bright red nail polish, gripping his neck tightly. "You die too!"

He suddenly realized that he was surrounded by a sea of ​​fire, with dazzling flames and waves of heat hitting him.

The woman's eyes suddenly softened at that moment. She squeezed his hand and said, "It would be better if you died. If you died, you wouldn't become a little madman."

"My dear child, let's die together."

"...It would be better if he were dead..."

But he didn't want to die; he was still so young.

He longed for a drink of cheese; he hadn't had a sweet drink since he was locked up in that place.

He hasn't had enough to drink yet...

Then Mother can only die herself.

...

"Li Mengbai, Li Mengbai..." Someone called his name from afar.

A hand was slapping his face repeatedly, with great force. It hurt terribly and was very annoying.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Stop filming! He's about to wake up!

He swore that the first thing he would do upon waking up was to chop off this hand!

Jiang Yuhuo only dozed off for a short while before waking up. Her shoulders felt heavy, so she pushed away the head resting on them and rubbed her sore shoulders.

They didn't know how long they had walked in this cave, in this place without a single ray of light, nor how many times day and night had alternated. She was terrified that she might fall asleep and never wake up again.

Li Mengbai was sleeping soundly to the side. He was muttering something in his dream. Jiang Yuhuo leaned closer to listen and could vaguely hear him calling for his mother.

He was covered in blood, from the blow she struck him.

Jiang Yuhuo waited for a while and found that he still showed no signs of waking up. She checked his breathing; it was very weak, but he was still breathing.

She had to wake him up.

Just as they were about to pinch the person's philtrum, the person on the ground suddenly opened their eyes, without warning or any prior indication.

In the pitch-black cave, only the faint light from the moonlight and stardust on her hand could be seen.

Those eyes, already dark and damp, now resembled phosphorescent stones, exuding a ghostly aura that sent chills down one's spine.

Jiang Yuhuo composed herself and said to the pair of eyes in the darkness, "Li Mengbai, we should go."

The person on the ground groped her way to her feet, using her uninjured hand to support herself against the wall. The pain on her face was still there, and even the physical pain came from her.

When she slammed him against the stone wall so mercilessly and beat him half to death, did she want to kill him at that moment?

How cruel! He showed mercy and let her go, only to be met with this result.

Now that he's gotten what he wanted, she can die too! She can die here, and no one will find her. But that bastard will know, because he'll use her communication talisman to tell that bastard to go settle accounts with Tian Que.

Everyone who betrayed him deserves to die.

It's not his fault; it's just that this place is too perfect for murder.

Li Mengbai calmly picked up a talisman and, as usual, secretly manipulated it, striking the opponent swiftly when they were off guard. He followed the instructions, sending the talisman out with lightning speed using two fingers.

But the other person didn't move at all; the poke only hit her stomach, and nothing happened.

The next moment, Jiang Yuhuo pried his hand away.

"what you do?"

Li Mengbai then realized that his spiritual power had disappeared.

They discovered this long after the explosion that completely destroyed the great formation, when she tried to light his talismans with fire for illumination. In this space, their spiritual power seemed to have vanished along with the collapse of the great formation.

He woke up and completely forgot about it.

He also forgot that he was just a mortal at the moment, seriously injured, and might not even be able to get out of this place on his own.

He still needs her.

"I...I can't see." Li Mengbai quickly put away the talisman, waving one hand in the darkness. "Jiang Yuhuo, why can't I see anything?"

Jiang Yuhuo waved her hand in front of him, puzzled, "Are you blind?"

Li Mengbai's eyes were lifeless, and he just stared at her blankly, which could be considered as acquiescence.

He wasn't entirely lying; in such a space, his eyesight was only slightly better than that of a blind man.

A cold object was handed to me.

Jiang Yuhuo said, "Hold your sword and follow me."

She spoke calmly, completely unaware of what had happened at that moment.

Li Mengbai stood there, speechless, gripping the cold blade of the sword, obediently following behind her.

The cave seemed to stretch on and on without end.

Jiang Yu climbed the wall with her fire hand and walked along the passage until she felt exhausted and thirsty. Without spiritual power, she was nothing more than a mortal body.

Li Mengbai kept groaning and complaining of discomfort and pain in various places.

Jiang Yuhuo ignored him. Without food or water, if this dragged on, their two mortal bodies might really die here.

Suddenly, a force pulled her sword backward, and Jiang Yuhuo thought Li Mengbai was up to something again. Turning around, she found Li Mengbai lying on the ground, still clutching her sword.

"Li Mengbai, wake up!"

She tried to prop Li Mengbai up, but the other woman was limp as a puddle of mud, too weak to stand. She could only mumble in response, "So tired...so painful...I can't walk anymore..."

He had done his best; he had never walked so far in his life. "Let me rest for a while..."

"Don't sleep!"

Jiang Yuhu slapped his face, but he had no spiritual power left. As a mortal, given his current physical condition, he might never wake up again once he fell asleep. But this trick seemed to have no effect on him anymore.

In his hazy state of consciousness, Li Mengbai felt his body lighten, and then he was lying on his back. The thin layer of muscles was very taut, and his back was hard, as if there were bones under the skin.

It's so different from her belly; I wish I could lean on her soft belly.

He thought about it in a daze.

"You'll get through this, just hang in there a little longer."

He vaguely heard someone say that.

It's unclear how much time passed, but Li Mengbai fainted and then woke up again, and the person carrying him continued to walk forward.

“I can’t get out… Jiang Yuhuo, put me down.”

He could hear her heavy breathing, and it took her a long time to answer him.

"No, I will definitely get out of here. My senior wouldn't lie to me."

Night 18th day 40th...

Situ Xin must have known what would happen in the end, which is why he told her about the escape route so early on.

She didn't think much of it at the time, and only realized it when she bumped into the statue at the last moment.

The statues are interspersed on the wall day and night, and the numbers represent the order of the statues.

Situ Xin only wanted someone to kill him; he didn't intend to harm them.

Upon hearing this, Li Mengbai's already fuming mind became even more agitated, and he said bitterly, "You believe in any Tom, Dick, or Harry? You're just... just hopelessly stupid!"

Jiang Yuhuo wasn't angry. She calmly said, "He's not just anyone. He looks a lot like my father, and he's even... met my mother."

How could someone like that lie to her?

Unfortunately, she only learned about these things when he was about to leave.

She paused, then added, "Even I've never met her."

"Doesn't your mother want you anymore?"

As soon as Li Meng asked the question, she felt the person beneath her tense up instantly. She replied softly, "Mmm."

Then, as if nothing had happened, she changed the subject, "Don't die here, Li Mengbai. My senior brother is still waiting outside."

The bitterness in his heart vanished instantly. What should have been words of concern were spoken in a way that made it sound as if she wanted him to die somewhere else.

The person supporting him at this moment is only for another person.

She was always thinking about that bastard.

He couldn't tell if it was jealousy or envy, but he unconsciously moved closer to her. He remembered that night in Luoyue City, when Wen Yizhan had also rested her head on his shoulder in the same way.

It was indeed very comfortable.

It was so comfortable that he didn't want to move, as if it was his rightful place.

Li Mengbai finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been buried in his heart all along.

"What's so good about him?" she muttered, as if complaining.

She was so good to him that she was willing to risk her life to save him.

It's just an eye.

Who would willingly risk their life to save one of his eyes?

Li Mengbai knew the answer without even thinking.

He knew there wasn't.

"When I was young and had nowhere to turn, he saved me."

The first time someone asked, she told them about what happened that year for the first time. Even though the person on her back might not have the strength to listen anymore.

In such pitch-black darkness, people are separated by a layer, unable to see each other, yet knowing that someone is there. Those things buried deep in their hearts, never spoken to others, seem to be able to surface at this moment. Protected and shielded by the darkness, they can safely lay bare their hearts.

Jiang Yuhu chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Back then, it snowed heavily. I killed many people and didn't know where to go or how to take revenge."

"At that moment, he and my master appeared. I had no intention of becoming their disciple, and my master had no intention of accepting me because of my excessive bloodlust. It was him who, as he left, kept turning back to look at me and winking at me. Only then did I realize that I could actually go with them, that there was such a path after all..."

"At first, I didn't know anything, I didn't know what moves were, I just grabbed a sword and tried to stab people in vital areas. I stabbed him so many times that he had to make a wooden sword..."

She spoke very slowly, without any logic, just details.

Li Mengbai, however, keenly sensed the hardships she had endured along the way, and the weight Wen Yizhan held in her heart was self-evident. He was unusually at a loss for words to use to satirize her.

All he knew for sure was that he was jealous.

"Li Mengbai, you must get out of here alive and give me the Earth Flame Vine."

As if afraid he might change his mind, she confirmed with him again.

In the darkness, Li Mengbai held the person beneath him tightly, making a weak but solemn promise.

"Here you go. Jiang Yuhuo, I'll personally fetch it for you when we return to our hometown of Yanling."

*

Jia Yue woke up, once again from the sinking pool.

What comes into view is the deep, dark water and the grand hall; everything is as it was before, except that it is empty.

It's empty and desolate, leaving one feeling empty inside.

Jia Yue swam to the edge of the pool and brushed her hand against the pool wall.

It looked as if a person was clinging to the edge of the pool, their body submerged in the water, only their slender collarbone and pale face visible. The person's clear black and white eyes were watching him warily.

He reached out, wanting to touch her face, but the next moment, all that remained was an empty pool of water.

Jia Yue was stunned, staring at the empty pool for a long time, so long that he began to wonder if meeting Jiang Yuhuo was a dream, a feverish and frantic dream.

It fell from the sky without warning, and by the time he realized something was wrong, he was already engulfed in flames.

But now, the dream is over.

Everything should be restored to its original state.

This is how it should be, this is how it should be.

A silvery glint appeared in the water; the silver snake on his wrist had somehow swum to that area, as if it knew that it was her favorite spot.

The silver snake could sense its master's mood. It was also listless as it floated in the water. It didn't know what had happened, but it was just instinctively searching for the incense scent that had become so faint that it was almost undetectable.

Its movements, observed by Jia Yue, reminded him that the person had truly existed.

Qingping's arrival shattered his last illusions.

Qingping returned the Condensed Pearl to Jiayue. The blood splattered on the pearl had been washed away by her. The pearl was clear and translucent, and the black core inside seemed like an eye, scrutinizing him and forcing him to face it.

Jia Yue did not answer.

After a long while, he asked, "How is the great formation doing?"

Qingping knew what he wanted to ask, lowered her eyes, and said, "I heard from Protector Ling that the ruins have been thoroughly searched, and apart from this bead, there is... nothing else..."

Jia Yue glanced outside. The sun was shining brightly during the day, a perfect time for sword practice. He asked, "How many days has passed since then?"

"The third day."

Three days, three days.

Three more days passed quietly. He missed everything; he couldn't give her the Earth Flame Vine, nor could he bring her out of the formation.

It was just a matter of three days on, three days on, leaving her to fight alone in those life-or-death arenas.

"Your Highness, you actually like Miss Jiang, don't you?" Qingping couldn't help but ask the question that had been on her mind.

His Highness did not answer her.

Qingping continued, her voice trembling, "The thief who broke through the formation was also Miss Jiang, wasn't he?"

Another silence fell, the answer was self-evident.

His Highness remained calm, but Qingping could not. The thought of the obedient woman who had let her comb her hair filled her with unbearable grief, and tears streamed down her face as she blinked.

Large teardrops fell to the ground and then rolled into the sinking water.

"Step back, Qingping." Jia Yue waved her hand, turned her back to the person who came in, and said, "Go and rest for a while, and don't come in again."

"Your Highness."

"Step back."

Qingping sighed and turned back to advise, "Your Highness is feeling bad, so please cry it out... Crying will make you feel better."

The empty hall was silent.

She had no choice but to close the door. Before the palace door closed, Qingping peeked through the crack and saw that resolute figure sinking into the water, as if trying to isolate himself from the whole world.

The heavy palace doors closed completely, and the merman hid himself in the deep, inky water, in the familiar, safe darkness, like the abyss of an endless sea, where he could fall into a deep sleep.

Why would he cry?

He's not like Nanxing, who, despite his age, acts like a child, bursting into tears when he gets angry.

He just needs to hide himself, and everything will pass.

Just give him time, let him be alone and have some peace and quiet.

But the sink is filled with her memories. He has shut down all his senses, but as soon as he closes his eyes, she appears.

It stubbornly took root in his mind, yet it dissipated just as he was about to grasp it, leaving him stunned and facing the empty hall after he awoke with a start.

They will never find peace.

Hiding in the Shenshui River is not enough; he needs a more secluded and cleaner space.

Jia Yue grabbed the silver snake that was sleeping with him, touched forehead to forehead, and hid his divine sense in the silver snake's mind.

For a spirit beast whose mind has not yet been awakened, its sea of ​​consciousness is the purest place.

Sure enough, he entered a pure white space. The silver snake's sea of ​​consciousness was vast and empty, without a single distracting thought.

But as soon as he turned around, a tiny snake shadow appeared in front of him, shimmering with silver light; it was the soul of the silver snake.

A red bond was tied around Huan's body, a bond formed with his master.

Its body was curled up tightly, tightly wrapped around a radiant bead, its head resting on the bead as it slept soundly, a posture of complete possession, allowing no one to covet it.

Jia Yue looked at the bead and felt a sense of familiarity; it was a magical bead formed from the memories of a mermaid.

But why would the silver snake be holding the mermaid's magic pearl?

Whose is it?

He approached the bead in a daze, and the closer he got, the more familiar it felt.

A strong sense of unease welled up inside me.

Some images flashed before my eyes.

Upon their first meeting, the silver snake eagerly followed her; on the dueling platform, the silver snake was extremely anxious because she was injured; in the library, the silver snake affectionately wrapped itself around her neck...

These kinds of things are countless...

He never investigated the reasons behind all the unusual and unprecedented actions of the silver snakes.

It was as if a thunderbolt struck his mind, and a huge sense of panic pressed down on him.

He was trembling all over, and even stopped breathing.

With difficulty, he reached out his hand, reaching for the magic bead...

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Author's Note: This chapter took me a really long time to write, I'm so tired... But I've finally finished it! The next chapter will be about restoring memories.

And the "strong female lead" label has been removed. Xiao Jiang is indeed not the kind of strong woman like Feng Aotian. Perhaps I misunderstood this label, so after thinking about it, I think it's appropriate to remove it.