Chapter 181 Let's go see her and hang in there a little longer.

Lu Bing slept for two days, then awoke from the excruciating pain of the Gu serpent attack. When he opened his eyes, he saw a room full of people, about twenty pairs of eyes staring at him. Among them were a few familiar faces, but under the torment of the Gu serpent, he could not distinguish them.

"Officer Lu, Officer Lu!" Seeing him like this again, Master Fang was so anxious that he didn't know what to do. He could only turn to Elder He for help, "Elder, please think of a way quickly."

Elder He didn't know the principles behind Gu technique, how it works to form meridians, and was completely clueless. He had no idea where to start.

Moreover, this thing is so dangerous that we dare not blindly treat it without understanding anything. If there is any mistake, it could be fatal.

After all, the Gu technique and the Gu master had a fearsome reputation. Under such circumstances, no one knew whether the Gu snake would suddenly emerge and attack people. Healers always had to be more cautious. Elder He did not dare to touch him easily, nor did he allow the other disciples to get too close to Lu Bing.

Others could only watch anxiously, unable to offer any help whatsoever.

Lu Bing gritted his teeth in excruciating pain, trembling as he pulled a porcelain bottle from his robes, poured out a pill, and swallowed it with great difficulty. With no one to help him clear the congested snake veins, he could only endure the pain until the rampaging snakes gradually subsided, finally surviving this ordeal.

Lu Bing lay on the couch, panting heavily, covered in a cold sweat. He was completely exhausted and could barely open his eyes to look around at his surroundings.

He recognized Li Liuyun and the other three boys, who had been entrusted by Ya Ren to come to Shanzhou to rescue him, but had almost lost their lives at Chen Ying's hands.

Fortunately, now that the teenagers are safe and sound, and Chen Ying is dead and has nowhere to be buried, she will no longer harm those who rescued her.

Judging from their clothes and swords, these should all be cultivators from the Taihang Path. Lu Bing no longer needs to worry about implicating others.

"From now on, I'll let you go."

"Lu Bing, you are finally free."

As Chen Ying's voice echoed in his ears, like a dream, Lu Bing suddenly felt a stinging pain in his eyes.

Elder He, who had been observing his condition, stepped forward and carefully examined his veins, which had become smoother. There were still bluish knots in some acupoints on his arms.

"Are you feeling better?" Elder He looked up and asked, "What did you eat just now?"

Lu Bing spread out his hands and said weakly, "Medicine."

"Let me take a look." Elder He took the porcelain bottle, poured a pill from the slender neck into his palm, examined it, and smelled it. "What kind of medicine is this?"

"have no idea."

Elder He couldn't figure it out, so he crushed the pill again: "Did the Gu Master give it to you?"

Lu Bing nodded: "Yes, you saved me?" He looked up at Li Liuyun and the other boys. "Thank you."

Li Liuyun knew that he was thanking him for more than just today: "You're welcome."

Lu Bing looked at Zhou Yaren, who was still unconscious on the other side, and recalled the situation at sea. He asked urgently, "How is Yaren?"

“His injuries are severe,” Li Liuyun said, “but his life is not in danger. The elder has already treated him.”

Master Fang quickly approached the bedside: "Don't worry, Officer Lu. Fortunately, we met these fellow Daoists from Taihang Dao. Tingfengzhi is now mostly recovered, but he is still unconscious."

Zhou Yaren had a very long dream in which Bai Yuan stayed with him the whole time.

However, this dream began with a very ominous separation between the living and the dead, as if from the very beginning it foreshadowed an imperfect ending.

Undeterred by bad luck, Bai Yuan was reborn amidst the calamity of this unjustly killed man, thus forging a unique bond with A Zhaosu. Just as a fledgling bird opens its eyes to see its first crow or sparrow, A Zhaosu was the first corpse Bai Yuan encountered when summoned by the underworld.

She had spent a long time with the corpse, but of course she didn't have any particular necrophilia. She waited until the corpse rotted before digging a hole and burying it on the spot. The inscription on the tombstone read "Tomb of A Zhaosu".

From then on, this grave became her final resting place in this world. Unlike ordinary people, who settle down to make a home, she "settled down to make a grave."

From the moment she was born, she became a wandering, aimless "lonely ghost" in this world, unable to integrate into the worldly life, and could only keep company with her lonely grave day and night.

She regarded this grave as her origin and her final resting place, and the only person she was connected with lived in the grave.

Bai Yuan always lingered before this lonely grave, from the bare mound of earth to the lush grass and birdsong, from the withered trees to the heavy snowfall. She chased away birds and beasts and wild dogs. Later, after seeing people sweeping tombs and offering sacrifices, she also brought wild fruits and turbid wine to place on the grave. Whenever it rained or snowed, she would unfold the "Annunciation Umbrella" and hold it on the grave, going to unnecessary trouble to shield the "A Zhao Su" in the grave from the rain and snow.

She spent her years with a solitary grave, and was also summoned by many grudges to report the deaths of the unjustly murdered.

She was entangled in one saga after another, busy and restless, yet she would always return to the burial place of "A Zhaosu".

One person, one grave – this has become the most desolate and sorrowful landscape at Hangu Pass.

But if a good person in a family sleeps on a grave every day, there must be some special reason behind it.

When Zhou Yaren first witnessed this scene while reporting on the death, she presumptuously believed it stemmed from a deep and unwavering love. Otherwise, why would Bai Yuan guard a lonely grave, treating it as his only resting place, spending his days in solitude, traveling back and forth regardless of wind or rain?

Only now does Zhou Ya finally understand that Bai Yuan is utterly alone and helpless, and only A Zhaosu in this lonely grave is the one she can't explain and is born with a dependence on.

This is related to the origin of the injustice.

"I am Bai Yuan, transformed from the punishment of A Zhaosu. Born into the path of wrongful death, I am subjected to the torment of the underworld. I bear the burden of heaven and earth's yin and yang within the umbrella of death, wandering between life and death to avenge the wronged."

An unprecedented wave of sorrow washed over her, almost completely engulfing her in her lost dreams. Zhou Yaren was in unbearable pain, wishing she could crawl out of that mound of yellow earth.

Then he suddenly saw Laozi standing on the stone gate tower, holding an umbrella, facing the refreshing breeze. As his beard and hair fluttered, he narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully handed the black umbrella to Yin Xi. As if he had seen the secret of heaven, he whispered, "The south wind is not strong."

Guan Ling Yin Xi bowed deeply and carefully accepted the umbrella with both hands.

This is clearly a form of entrustment.

Until A Zhaosu died at Hangu Pass, the Death-Reporting Umbrella was born to answer the calamity.

Why did Lao Tzu travel west?

Is this a premonition?

The Daoist Ancestor saw the Dao of Heaven and foresaw some calamities in advance. For example, the First Emperor, who believed his achievements surpassed those of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, was misled by the Daoist arts of the immortals and sought favors from Heaven and Earth. He obtained immortality but brought disaster upon himself and sowed the seeds of future troubles. Therefore, he went west out of Hangu Pass, gave the scriptures to Guan Yinzi, entrusted him with the Death-Reporting Umbrella, and went into seclusion.

In this world, fortune and misfortune are interdependent, and cause and effect are interconnected. The Dao Ancestor saw that in this world, the Dao gives birth to one, and one gives birth to two... Then he saw that wronged souls blocking the way can give birth to evil paths. Evil paths are born outside the Dao, and there will be a path of wronged death born from calamity, called the White Wrong.

This calamity involves the Fangxian Dao, the Immortal People, the Gu Master, the Hand of Fuxi, and so on, and has been intertwined ever since.

"When the south wind is not strong, there are many cries of death." Did this foreshadow this day long ago, when fate made Zhou Yaren live as "hearing the wind and knowing", find the Taiyin/Dao body that was suppressed in the Northern Qu Ghost Office, and meet his destined tribulation again?

His "torture" led him to the sea trial, where he used himself as a witness to clear Azhaosu's name.

Was all of this the will of Heaven? Or was it a move made by a sage who observed the opening and closing of Yin and Yang to determine the fate of things, and knew the gateway to survival and destruction?

Only at the very last moment did Bai Yuan tell him, "I am the manifestation of your punishment, and also your deep injustice and shackles."

She said, "I'm not sure if I'll still be here after I bring you back."

Bai Yuan had long known this would be the outcome, and was even prepared to perish along with his punishment.

Zhou Yaren should have realized this long ago. On the way to Mizhou, he mentioned the future to Bai Yuan more than once, but Bai Yuan always subtly avoided it and never brought it up.

Because she knew there might not be a future, and she couldn't keep up for long.

Just like when he secretly went to Shanzhou to die without telling Bai Yuan, Bai Yuan didn't intend to tell him either.

They were both too presumptuous, disregarding life and death, and secretly choosing to die without telling each other. Death might end it all, but what about the one left behind?

In his dream, he asked, "What should I do?"

You didn't ask me when you made this decision.

What am I supposed to do?

What should I do?

Zhou Yaren slowly opened his eyes. The illusion dissipated, and all that remained before him was endless darkness. He could no longer see that frost-like figure.

The sounds from two miles around filled his ears, and he realized that he had returned to the small fishing village before he went out to sea. Many familiar voices came into his ears. Elder He had brought Liu Yun and the other boys to this place. Master Fang and the mirror polisher had the loudest voices and were full of energy. There was also Lu Bing... Everyone was there.

He can finally rest easy.

Zhou Yaren propped herself up and got out of bed, slowly opening the door and walking out.

He avoided the noise of the crowd, listening to the distant ebb and flow of the tide, and walked lightly toward the quiet place. As he walked, he couldn't help but recall some past events. Back then, he knew nothing about Bai Yuan, believing himself to be completely different from her, always thinking that one day he would part ways with her...

But Bai Yuan said, "There are three thousand paths to the same destination, and we are destined to be strangers."

He said, "Without the stun gun, I can't complete my task."

"What? Feeling uncomfortable in this vast world? Still thinking about going back to your prison to be a blind official?" Bai Yuan chuckled. "Why insist on doing this job? Why not consider coming with me? Maybe I can still help you out."

Later, his words truly came true.

As Zhou Yaren reminisced, she stopped in front of an abandoned thatched hut in the fishing village and suddenly realized that Bai Yuan was also a straightforward person.

She also said at the time, "No matter where we are or how the world changes, you will die in front of me."

Zhou Yaren smiled, he liked the words very much, so he blew on the tinderbox in his hand and threw it towards the dry and abandoned thatched hut, which also attracted a few wisps of warm summer breeze, making the fire burn brighter and brighter.

As Zhou Yaren felt the blazing fire, he slowly untied the bellows from his waist and placed them on the rocks along with his folding fan.

You said that no matter how far apart we are or how the world changes, I will die in front of you.

So, Bai Yuan, we will definitely reunite, right?

He had long ago made up his mind that from now on, even if it meant working like a slave, he would stay by Bai Yuan's side until death.

He is a man of his word, always keeping his promises.

However, his ankle was pierced by the nails of the shackles, making it difficult for him to move around and slightly slowing down his journey to see Bai Yuan. Although he was a little anxious, it didn't matter whether he was a little earlier or later.

From this day forward, the wind will remember that he and Bai Yuan were inseparable until death.

Just as Zhou Yaren was about to step into the flames, Lu Bing's trembling voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Masato!"

The urgent and frightened voice suddenly stopped Zhou Yaren. He hesitated for a long time, but helplessly did not take another step forward. He could only compromise that the timing was not right.

To prevent Lu Bing from running over and getting burned, Zhou Yaren consciously stepped back and nonchalantly greeted the hurried man.

These few large strides exhausted Lu Bing. He glanced at the two objects resting on the rocks, then looked anxiously at his best friend in front of him and the raging fire behind him, his throat tightening: "Ya Ren."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Zhou Yaren asked nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened and as if the fire had nothing to do with him.

But Lu Bing knew that he had always lived in dire straits, suffered unbearable pain countless times, and had thought of ending his life several times. He knew better than anyone what it was like for someone who didn't want to live anymore.

That's how it looks.

But……

“Elegant man,” Lu Bing said, “life is so tiring.”

Zhou Yaren was suddenly stunned. He did not expect Lu Bingyi to say such a thing to him, in that tone of sighing about the hardships of life, just like when Lu Bingyi was in Chang'an. When Lu Bingyi encountered something upsetting, he would come to him to complain or confide in him, pouring out all his troubles and disappointments without reservation.

But back then, his troubles were just trivial matters like cockfighting and dog walking, which he could forget in the blink of an eye, a stark contrast to his current situation.

“I’m in so much pain too. I feel like I can’t go on living all the time,” Lu Bing stared at his best friend. “But what can I do? Should I die?”

Zhou Yaren stood there, stunned. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Lu Bing continued, "I have to think about this a hundred times every day. Otherwise, I might as well just die and end it all."

Zhou Yaren felt a sudden pang of panic: "Lu Bing."

"Yaren, I've had a hard life. But you all went through so much to save me, and if I were to just die like this, it would be too unfair to you all." Lu Bing said as calmly as possible, "Besides, my grandmother's and father's graves are overgrown with weeds. As their grandson, I didn't have time to fulfill my filial duties, and now I can't even find their graves. So Yaren, I hope you can come back with me, at least I need to go back and kowtow."

"...Of course."

Lu Bing discussed with him, "Let's hold on a little longer. If we really can't hold on any longer, then we can just die. I'll go with you on your way. What do you think?"