Chapter 86 Cold Night

◎Dream Warm◎

"Do you believe in fate?"

Luo Wei stood up, walked to the girl, looked up at the sky with a distant gaze.

"I don't believe it." Shi Hanqiao replied quickly, "If fate really existed, then the life-changing talisman wouldn't exist."

Luo Wei pulled himself out of his long memories and said, "Such a sinister method as the Life-stealing Talisman will surely bring down divine punishment. The caster will not survive more than seven days and will eventually die suddenly."

Life-stealing talisman?

Shi Hanqiao lowered his eyes slightly.

She turned her head to look at the old man: "You called me just to talk about boring fate?"

Luo Wei's expression was unusually serious, staring directly into the girl's eyes: "Destiny is not a joke, you——"

"My destiny is in my own hands. It will be what I want it to be."

Shi Hanqiao interrupted her: "Isn't it good for my fate to be boring? You don't want to see my fate be eventful, right?"

Luo Wei's breath caught in her throat. She reached out and gently pushed her, saying in a slightly urgent tone, "Get out of my sight right now."

Shi Hanqiao didn't say anything. He spread his hands towards her, silently expressing his helplessness, and turned away under the old man's glare.

"You'll have to remember what you said in the future."

Luo Wei watched the girl leave, kindness slowly emerging in her eyes. Thinking of her promise, perhaps she was right to be soft-hearted back then.

Seven years, how could there be no feelings?

Moreover, apart from her enemies, she had never seen the girl hurt anyone on her own initiative.

Luo Wei withdrew his gaze, returned to his seat, pushed aside the messy chess pieces, and took out a book from his arms heavily.

Luo Wusheng was going to follow Shi Hanqiao, who was about thirteen or fourteen years old, but he found that he could not leave the yard and could only return to the pavilion.

The phoenix eyes suddenly widened, staring straight at the book Luo Wei took out. On its cover was an icon that he was extremely familiar with -

——Circle the five stars.

Luo Wei took out another porcelain bottle, opened the bottle mouth, and bright red liquid fell on the icon, automatically flowing outlining the lines of the icon.

The young man took three or two steps to walk behind the old man, and the moment she opened the book, his sight was pure white. He could see nothing and feel nothing.

After about two or three breaths, his vision gradually returned.

However, the scene changes and time turns from bright day to dim night.

He closed his eyes uncomfortably.

Without vision, other senses become more sensitive.

Mixed in with the shrill screams was the sound of iron chains swinging like wind chimes.

The air was filled with the foul smell of blood, mud, and rotten urine...

Luo Wusheng covered his mouth and nose. Even though he had no physical body, he couldn't resist the urge to vomit.

The phoenix eyes slowly opened, and it turned out that it was not night.

He was in a spacious cave, with only the bonfire on top that was almost burning out emitting a dim light. No wonder he felt it was night.

“Hahahahahaha, I succeeded!”

The arrogant laughter attracted Luo Wusheng's attention. He turned around and was stunned.

The first thing that caught his eye was not the man standing in the center holding a baby and laughing wildly, but the shocking environment inside the cave.

The cave was very large and tall, with dozens of iron cages hanging from the ceiling. Almost every cage contained a person or a humanoid creature, and each cage had a piece of yellow paper stuck to the door.

——Like a dog.

"Cry! Why aren't you crying?!"

Luo Wusheng felt something and walked quickly towards the man, only to see him waving his big hand towards the newborn baby.

【No--】

The young man stretched out his hand to stop it, but he could only watch as the huge palm passed through his blocking hand and landed on the newborn baby.

There was no crying.

The closed eyes slowly opened because of the pain.

There is no newborn baby's curiosity and exploration of the world.

Those were a pair of eyes that were extremely dark and their expression was calm and peaceful.

It's her.

The young man's eyes were always on the baby, and time passed by in the dream like a blink of an eye.

This look lasted seven years.

Luo Wusheng had never wanted to kill someone so much.

The owner of the cave is called Taoist Wubei. He is not good at practicing, but he is proficient in alchemy, talismans, formations and other techniques.

His cultivation level is not high and his life span is limited, but because of his half-demon body, his life span is longer than that of cultivators of the same level.

However, his talent for cultivation was limited, and he saw the end of his life early on.

Not content with this, he began to delve into the art of prolonging life, while also learning various skills to improve his overall strength.

This includes biological research on three races: humans, demons, and monsters.

He has a kind and good-looking face. He would first lower the target's guard with his appearance, spend some time with them patiently, and then arrest them after they lowered their guard.

He captured all the people, monsters and demons in the cave in this way. Because of the formations inside and outside the cave, the yellow talismans outside the cage, and the inhumane experiments conducted by Taoist Wu Bei on them, their bodies became weak, so no one could escape.

The dark cave condenses the world's most extreme malice.

Shi Hanqiao was born here. Her cultivator father and demon mother were also victims. Like other captured victims, they were forced by Taoist Wubei to have sex and give birth to experimental subjects for his research.

"Hahaha, he's really a bastard, just like a dog."

"What's a dog?"

"You're like this now. Only dogs kneel on the ground to eat. You have no dignity. People sit upright to eat, use chopsticks, and stand up straight."

“What is dignity?”

"Dignity is a person's identity and status that cannot be violated. Everyone has it, but if you don't, you're a bastard."

"You don't have it either. You're also locked in a cage now, and your dignity has been violated."

Among the people caught in the cave, some were bad people, while others were good people.

But after being caught in the cave, they all became crazy.

Shi Hanqiao survived among a group of crazy people.

Through these lunatics, she learned about the outside world, which had mountains and rivers, dangerous mountains and steep cliffs; it had the purest and the kindest, as well as the darkest and the most evil...

Good and evil are not two extremes, but in a chaotic sphere.

In the cave, the kind people in the past would curse her with the most vicious words, but would also tell her all kinds of unknown knowledge with gentle words.

The evil people in the past would mock her coldly and tell her the most despicable and vulgar methods of the outside world.

During this period, Taoist Wubei cut her flesh, let her bleed, dug out her eyes, and chopped off her limbs...

As material for his research.

When research fails and you feel bad.

He would put the people in the cage together in pairs, forcing them to make peace or fight to the death, either one or the other.

"You're such a perfect thing."

Taoist Wubei pinched the jaw of the corpse-like little girl and looked into her dark eyes.

He reached out and tried to poke out the eyes; they would grow back anyway.

But even after crushing one of them, the other one still stared at him without any emotion.

Taoist Wu Bei felt it was boring again. He was tired of her expressionless eyes.

"You come and break her limbs."

Taoist Wubei grabbed the little girl and threw her into a cage. Inside the cage was her biological father, a cultivator who was once a Taoist immortal.

【asshole--】

If the murderous intent in the phoenix eyes could be transformed into reality, Taoist Wubei would have been tortured to death.

He once again passed through the body of Taoist Wubei, feeling unwilling, painful and full of hatred.

Without hesitation, limbs fell off.

There was definitely some hesitation the first time, but the action was clean and smooth, and it was obvious that this had happened many times.

"Monster, you are a monster! Hahahaha!"

Wu Bei looked at the still calm eyes and felt better.

Even though he couldn't touch the little girl, Luo Wusheng still reached out and touched her body covered with scars.

There was only heartache in his eyes, and tears fell silently.

He thought of how Woman A had once brushed aside the past with the words "Although we are not related", and he wondered what kind of state of mind she had been in to be able to say this so casually.

Is she really as calm as she appears?

How is that possible?

She can also feel pain, malice, and insults.

Luo Wusheng stayed by the side of the little girl who closed her eyes and endured the immense pain of regenerating her limbs.

With her insight, she can get a lot of information from just a few words.

How could I not know what Wubei wanted to see?

In a panic, truly like a dog, I shed tears and wagged my tail to beg for mercy.

Even if she really showed a gesture of begging for mercy, Wu Bei would not let her go, and she would only be persecuted more cruelly.

It's for the sake of ridiculous dignity and also for survival.

Shi Hanqiao will not retreat even a single step!

The dark eyes opened again, as calm as the sea surface before a storm, and scanned the remaining magic circle on the ground and the yellow talisman on the cage one by one.

It was another night, Wu Bei burned the destroyed talisman and ordered two people to fight.

Among them is naturally Han Qiao. Her physique is simply perfect, her self-healing ability is strong, and her blood can help repair wounds, and the effect is comparable to that of Tang Monk's flesh.

Bang--

A severed arm fell into the fire basin. Wu Bei searched the basin suspiciously. Apart from Shi Hanqiao's severed hand, there were only talismans that were either burned to ashes or burning.

It must be his illusion.

Luo Wusheng knew everything, but when he saw the little girl taking the initiative to face the blade, he still turned his eyes away, unable to bear to watch.

He finally understood why she firmly told the old man that she didn't believe in fate.

In addition to the life-changing talisman burned in the brazier, there was also a broken arm symbolizing the past.

Shi Hanqiao looked at the fiery red flame quietly. She drank the blood from the cut of her severed arm, and the blood color was reflected in her dark eyes.

Alchemy, spells, formations, inscriptions, weapon refining...

Cultivating Immortals...

The look she cast on Wu Bei was calm and composed, as if she were looking at a dead person.

His gaze shifted to the magic circle in the center of the cave.

Another night passed, Shi Hanqiao fell in the magic circle, and her blood finally covered the entire magic circle over a long period of time.

"The young master is finally out! Hahahaha!"

The entire cave began to shake, and the iron chains and iron cages swayed, making bursts of roaring sounds.

Wu Bei didn't understand what was going on and looked at the magic circle in the center warily.

A jade bell broke out from the central formation.

It turned out that this cave had an ancient formation, which happened to be under the suppression formation set up by Taoist Wubei.

Therefore, with the residual power of the ancient formation, he was able to suppress dozens of humans, demons, and monsters of different cultivation levels.

"Damn it?! Which bastard is it?!"

Hunyuan Ling, who thought she was free, felt a weak but not negligible pull.

"hateful!!!"

Shock that demon to death!!!

The bell rang three times, shattering countless chains and yellow talismans. Wu Bei saw that something was wrong and transformed into his original form and escaped underground.

The centipede has many legs and runs very fast.

Large rocks fell from above, and the people, demons and monsters who escaped from the iron cage could not find the culprit. Seeing that the cave was about to collapse, they all fled out of the cave.

Shi Hanqiao fell in the center of the magic circle, looking coldly at the figure passing by above, listening to the chaotic footsteps and the sound of falling rocks.

Her calm eyes fluctuated as she glanced at her nominal father/mother one after another.

"Get up and go!"

It was a female voice.

But her footsteps did not stop.

The corners of Shi Hanqiao's mouth curled up slightly.

She tilted her head and fell to the center of the formation, looking dead.

As I wished, I heard the sound of footsteps going away.

Shi Hanqiao was the only one left in the cave. Rocks kept falling. The largest rock on the ceiling was two or three times bigger than the little girl's body and fell straight towards her.

【No--】

Luo Wusheng forgot again that he had no physical body and could do nothing.

The shadow of the stone had covered the little girl's body, and the ending was visible to the naked eye - she was smashed into a pool of flesh.

Bang——

"You little bastard! Fuck you!!"

The bell grew bigger and covered the little girl tightly as it was pulled.

The huge stone hit the jade bell and smashed it into pieces.

The bell grew larger, like a giant bell.

Shi Hanqiao walked out of the ruins and found no one around.

His calm eyes looked towards the full moon in the sky, then he withdrew his gaze and walked towards the direction facing the moonlight.

"Hello?!"

"You're just leaving like that?!"

"Just ignore me?!"

Hunyuan Ling shrank its body and followed, cursing.

Seven years passed in a flash, and when Luo Wusheng came to his senses, his eyes were already filled with tears.

He raised his legs to follow, and suddenly felt dizzy again.

When the phoenix eyes opened again, it was in a village.

In the afternoon, the men, women, young and old in the village gathered under the old tree at the entrance of the village to enjoy the cool air and chat.

A ragged man ran away and fell to the ground.

His face looked weather-beaten, but one could still vaguely see his elegant features and kind eyes.

The villagers stood up and the old village chief helped him up.

"Are you okay?"

"fine."

The man said, "I encountered a monster on the road and escaped after a lot of hardships. Now I am cold and hungry. Could you please give me some food?"

"sure."

Seeing that the man was well-spoken, the surrounding villagers invited him to their homes for dinner.

A chuckle escaped from the man's throat.

"No need to argue, I will go to every one of them."

Before he finished speaking, the man stretched out his hand and grabbed the village chief's neck, sucking away all the energy in his body face to face, even leaving his flesh and bones untouched.

A pile of clothes fell to the ground.

"ah--"

The villagers let out several screams and ran out.

But countless long hands stretched out from behind the man, grabbing each person without exception and pulling them towards him.

The man's long arms were all chopped off by the trident, and blood sprayed in the air.

The struggling villagers lost their shackles and fell to the ground one after another. In the field of vision, a woman in white clothes, who looked calm but had a chilling look in her eyes, landed on the tip of an old leaf.

When you are high up, you will feel the cold.

"Monster!!!"

The villagers were horrified and fled in panic.

"Please spare me, aunt!"

"You've tortured me for seven years. Isn't that enough?"

The man fell to the ground, and his broken arm was attracted and slowly climbed back onto his back, healing and retracting.

During these seven years, he fled day and night and never had a single day of peace.

I live in fear every day. I can’t even get a good night’s sleep hiding in the cave, because I have to flee again when the sun rises the next day.

He tried his best to escape, but he was always found.

Every time he was found, it was a torture worse than death, but in the end the other party would feed him a drop of blood and save his life.

Even ants try to survive, let alone men who want to prolong their lives.

He had no choice but to continue running, trying to get rid of his pursuers.

But no matter where he ran, the woman was like his shadow and he could not get rid of her.

The man's mentality constantly collapses and reorganizes in this cycle.

"If it really doesn't work, tell me how much longer it will take?!"

"I beg you, please let me go!"

The man knelt on the ground like a dog and kowtowed to the woman who fell right in front of him.

"Master Wubei, your hatred now does not live up to your name." The woman's voice was calm, without any emotion.

Luo Wusheng stared at her in a daze. Shi Hanqiao, who was about twenty years old, had more mature features than the seventeen-year-old Shi Hanqiao in Xingji. However, her temperament was still a little cold, but softer than before.

The Shi Hanqiao in front of him was two or three years older than Girl A, but he lacked her indifference to everything and the empty feeling of not caring about anything in the world.

"As long as you let me go, I will immediately change my name to Taoist Youbei, or Taoist Jibei."

The man's mentality really collapsed. He hadn't had a good night's sleep for seven years. He was like a mouse being toyed with by a cat.

If I had known this would happen, I would have killed this little bastard right away!

But he couldn't beat him.

Three years ago, he had led her to the territory of the Corpse Demon Ancestor. He killed his Corpse Demon descendants and put the blame on Shi Hanqiao, just to provoke a fight between the two sides and get relief.

However, she stabbed the corpse demon ancestor through with one shot, and the body parts were eaten up by other corpse demons.

The pressure that shocked the entire Blood Corpse River made him unable to move.

From then on, all the powerful people were wary of him, and he could no longer find a chance to escape from her shadow.

Her cultivation level was increasing at a terrifying speed, and he had no idea what level she had reached.

He wanted to live, so he had to kowtow and beg for mercy.

He looked up and down and caught a glimpse of the trident in her hand.

His heart sank, and he shivered as if three holes had been stabbed into his body.

He was really scared. Every time she came, the weapon in her hand was different.

Knife, sword, axe, hatchet, whip, stick, hook, fork...

He once met a famous doctor. When the doctor saw the scars on his body, he took back the medicine box without saying a word, saying, "Although I really want to study your body, which has collected all ten sacred artifacts, I am a medical student and cannot defeat anyone. I don't want to use the last of my life's skills on myself."

It has collected the scars of ten famous scenic spots and ancient artifacts.

It was obvious that he had provoked a terrible opponent.

The fact that he was still alive proved that he had not been tortured enough.

The famous doctor had such a clever mind, but he disappeared as soon as he finished speaking.

To date, he has collected scars from hundreds of weapons.

Each of them is a well-known weapon in the world of cultivation.

On his way to escape, Taoist Wubei heard that people from all walks of life went to the secret realm of Kunshan just to seize the newly-born Sky-breaking Trident.

However, the troops from all directions fought together, and after entering the secret realm, they found that the trident had disappeared.

Now, the trident that everyone is scrambling to find is in Shi Hanqiao's hands.

He didn't know what kind of luck and destiny she had, cultivation, treasure hunting, spells, formations...

Everything he had dreamed of but could never get!

Taoist Wubei's eyes turned red with greed, but he couldn't muster any thoughts.

Because he couldn't beat her, she seemed to be able to see through whatever idea was in his mind and set a trap for him to fall into without realizing it.

He really broke down.

The physical and mental torture made him feel like dying.

However, even ants try to survive.

What’s more, Taoist Wubei originally did evil in order to prolong his life.

What he loves most is himself, and what he cares about most is his life.

Shi Hanqiao's expression didn't change at all, his eyes were as calm as ever, making it impossible to see through his thoughts.

"You really look like a dog now."

What Wu Bei hated most was her calm and clear look, as if the whole world was turbid except for her.

But the man, who had been tortured to the point of having only the will to live, raised his weathered but still elegant face and gave her an innocent, dog-like smile: "Woof woof woof!"

"If you let me go, you can let me change my name to Wild Dog!"

Taoist Wubei just wants to survive and is willing to give up everything to survive.

"Today is the 2557th day I've been hunting you. It's time to end things between us."

Luo Wusheng was slightly startled. Doesn't that mean today...

2557?

There are two leap years in 7 years.

Taoist Wubei roughly remembered that it was in the seventh year when the Hunyuan Bell was born and his cave collapsed.

Was that day the seventh year?

She even remembers the specific date so clearly? !

A huge sense of unease rose in the man's heart. Beneath her calm exterior, was she still harboring a deep grudge?!

Shi Hanqiao changed to a long hook, the Soul-Chasing Hook, which was also a treasure coveted by all forces.

A golden basin fell to the ground, with black flames of true fire burning in it.

"You are a centipede. Even if your arms and legs are broken, you can still grow them back."

The long hook left an afterimage in the air, and Taoist Wubei's limbs all fell into the golden basin. They could have been pulled back to their master and reconnected, but the black flames instantly swallowed them.

The man's tragic screams shook the leaves to the ground, and the pain in his body made him unbearable. However, the centipede has many arms and legs.

The pain of growing new limbs is no less than that of the demons healing themselves.

After hooking more than a hundred pairs of limbs and throwing them into the black flames, Shi Hanqiao's eyes changed. "With your talent and cultivation, your lifespan should only be two hundred years, but you've extended your life by a thousand years."

After the limbs in the golden basin were burned by the flames, they returned to their original form - soul.

Without their restraints, these souls huddled around the edge of the basin. Seeing that Shi Han Qiao had no intention of refining them, they quickly dispersed and headed towards the mountains to practice or reincarnate.

"No, don't."

Taoist Wubei was covered in blood and sweat, his pale lips trembling as he begged for mercy, "These are my last limbs, please, please, ah——"

His own limbs fell into the golden basin and roasted in the black flames, giving off a burst of meaty aroma.

"I'll give you two choices."

Shi Hanqiao calmly hooked out his roasted limbs and threw them in front of him. The reddish tip of the Soul-Chasing Hook scratched his eyeballs, just a thin leaf away. He said, "Either you gouge out your eyeballs or you eat them."

vomit--

Taoist Wubei wanted to vomit, but he didn't dare to move at all, for fear that his eyeballs would hit the hook tip.

He is a centipede, not a spider. He has extra hands and feet, but no extra eyes.

"There are three numbers. If you don't choose, I'll help you choose."

Shi Hanqiao shook the long hook expressionlessly, the tip of the hook always being separated from Taoist Wubei's right eyeball by a thin leaf.

Before he finished speaking, the man knelt down and took a half step back. He endured the churning in his stomach and lay on the ground to eat like a dog.

As the disgusting intercourse grew, he looked up at her, his eyes still calm.

Taoist Wubei spat out the hand bones in his mouth, his whole body shrouded in terror.

"You're not going to let me go, are you?!"

He suddenly realized how could she let him go.

Wu Bei just wants to survive. As long as he survives, there is hope. As long as there is hope, sooner or later he will kill that little bastard Shi Hanqiao.

"You damned little bastard! You never intended to let me go, did you?!"

"Ah - Auntie, I was wrong, I beg you to let me go, I was wrong!"

Wu Bei's curses turned into pleas for mercy when the long hook pierced his scapula.

"The next hook will go through your heart."

Shi Hanqiao pulled out a long hook, the tip of which was dripping with blood in the midday sun.

Drops of blood fell into the man's eyes, his pupils widened, and the tiny hook tip in his field of vision continued to magnify.

"belch--"

Wu Bei suffered a mental breakdown and was frightened to death by his own fear.

Clang——

The tip of the hook fell into the black flame as Shi Hanqiao moved.

Shi Hanqiao had no intention of dropping the hook from the beginning. Since Taoist Wubei cherished his life and wanted to prolong his life, he would destroy his precious life himself.

She withdrew her pressure and turned to leave. A few wild dogs came from a distance and ate the body of the dead Taoist Wubei.

Luo Wusheng watched the whole process without any fear. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief when the wild dogs had eaten up Taoist Wubei's body. Fortunately, he was really dead.

He followed Shi Hanqiao and found that there were no restrictions this time.

She changed her clothes and returned to the yard where he first saw her in the evening.

"You're finally back! Hurry up! I don't know what happened, but Luo Wei said today that she won't serve dinner until you come back."

A young man rushed out from the side, his eyes raised, jumped to Shi Hanqiao's side, and pushed her towards the pavilion.

The original small pavilion has been renovated and its area has more than doubled. There is still a stone table in the center, but there is no stone chessboard. In the middle is a pot of hot soup on the stove.

There is also a small stove next to it, from which the aroma of wine wafts.

Shi Hanqiao said, "No need to wait for me."

"Normally I wouldn't wait, but today is your twenty-first birthday, so I should wait."

The young man, anxiously reaching for the soup pot with his chopsticks, paused and looked at the old man who was speaking in surprise, his eyes wide open.

You didn’t tell me that today was her birthday!

Luo Wei smiled faintly and looked back, you didn’t ask!

She took the cooked wine, poured it into a glass, handed it to Shi Hanqiao, and said, "I've left the key to the wine cellar in the back mountain on your table."

After saying that, she turned to look at the young man, attracting Shi Hanqiao's gaze as well.

The boy was a little embarrassed.

"Forget it if you're not prepared."

The birthday boy didn't care, but the boy got angry first.

"Who said I wasn't prepared?"

He stood up and walked into the room angrily, and soon came out. He stuffed the thing into her hand, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"Hey, that's my--" wine glass.

Before Shi Hanqiao could finish his words, he saw that he had put it down and lowered his head helplessly. In his hand was a jade bell - the boy's true body.

The young man was the Hunyuan Bell that Shi Hanqiao forced to claim as its master.

As an ancient divine artifact, his intelligence was awakened early, but he was unwilling to recognize humans as his master, so he was suppressed.

As a result, the person who suppressed him died outside, and he was suppressed ever since, sleeping under the formation.

Shi Hanqiao used blood to remove the seal of the formation. He was sleeping soundly and was in a daze and didn't notice it, so he accidentally recognized the master!

This recognition of the master is one-sided, so there is a connection between them, specifically the physical distance between the two people cannot be too far.

Of course, this was because the 'master' Shi Hanqiao was too weak at the time.

Over the years, her strength grew, and the distance between them became unlimited.

However, she was the only one who could control the Hunyuan Bell, and he did not sincerely acknowledge her as the master. The reason was that after the young man cultivated into a human body, he did not give her his true body.

Shi Hanqiao focused on cultivating herself. Even though the Hunyuan Bell was an ancient artifact and rare in the world, she did not try to force him to recognize her as her master. Instead, she and Luo Wei actively studied how to remove her unilateral restraint on him.

"You gave me your real body?" The old man was surprised for a moment. He looked at the boy who pretended to be nonchalant and started to pick up food but didn't eat a single bite. "A Qiao told me a few days ago that he was going to take you to the secret realm of the extreme sea tomorrow to find a way to break the one-sided attraction."

The young man put down his chopsticks and stared at Shi Hanqiao.

The soup pot was bubbling and steaming, but there was silence in the pavilion.

Luo Wei poured herself a glass of wine and sipped it with a chuckle.

Let the children solve their own problems.

"Then give it back to me!"

Hunyuan Ling couldn't see what was in those calm eyes, but saw her holding the jade bell and avoiding his hand.

“A gift once given cannot be taken back.”

Shi Hanqiao took the glass of wine handed over by the old man again, and raised the corners of his lips: "Since you gave it to me, it's mine."

"Don't worry, I will take good care of you."

"No need! I'm telling you, I'm an ancient artifact, I won't break!"

Hunyuan Ling relaxed and said while eating, "Why would I need the protection of a little brat like you who is not even a fraction of my age?"

Luo Wei turned sideways and chuckled, then poured more wine for the two of them.

That night, the three of them ate and chatted.

Later, when the moon rose, they took down the soup pot and replaced it with a wine pot.

There were three or five jars of wine of different alcohol content on the small table, as well as fruits such as apples, plums and lychees for cooking the wine.

The boy drank too much and got too excited, so he went to the flower garden in the yard laughing and joking.

"If you don't stop them, your flower garden will be a mess tomorrow."

Shi Hanqiao sipped from cup after cup, his voice still cold, but there was a smile in his eyes.

"How can I stop him with my old bones? What if he gets drunk and knocks me over?"

Luo Wei sat steadily, poured herself a cup of cooked sake, and drank it slowly.

She gently put down the wine glass, which still had a little wine in it, creating uneven ripples.

"What are you going to do next?"

"What else can I do? I can meditate and practice. I still plan to go to the secret realm of the extreme sea. I heard there's a whip made from a dragon bone in there. I plan to practice my whip skills."

Shi Hanqiao raised the wine glass to his lips, but suddenly paused, put the wine cup down, stood up and walked out: "No, I have to catch this guy back. It's my turn to take care of the flower garden tomorrow, and he's causing trouble for me."

Luo Wei looked at her back lovingly, and the last worry in his heart turned into a light laugh and drifted away in the night wind.

The old man was in a good mood, but Luo Wusheng was filled with jealousy.

He followed Shi Hanqiao to the flower garden and watched her pick up the boy who had fallen among the flowers.

Although he knew that they were more like family, he still felt sad when he saw her laughing and indulging the boy.

Did she ever express her emotions so bluntly?

Although this straightforwardness is still considered implicit in the eyes of normal people, it is extremely obvious when it comes to Shi Hanqiao.

"Hey, what is this, a bell?!"

The boy was slightly drunk, and he reached out to fiddle with the flowers that looked like wind chimes.

Shi Hanqiao remained calm: "Well, this is your real body."

"You lied to me! Did you think I was drunk?! This is not my true self."

The boy turned around and glared at her, then turned his gaze back to another lily of the valley and said with a silly grin, "This is my true form."

Shi Hanqiao tilted his head and chuckled softly, then picked the person up and said, "Well, this is your original body. Now bring your original body with you and follow me."

The boy grabbed 'his true self', tilted his head back with hazy eyes, and handed her the lily of the valley: "Here you go."

Shi Hanqiao lowered his eyes, reached out to take the lily of the valley, stared at it for a moment, glanced at the flowerbed that the boy had messed up, and carried him back: "Forget it this time."

Luo Wei smiled faintly and said, "He's drunk."

"Um."

"Put him over there."

When Shi Hanqiao came back with the men, the pavilion had changed its appearance again.

The night wind was cold, and green curtains were lowered on all four sides of the pavilion to block the wind. One of the curtains hung in the air, and on a low couch was a small stove for cooking wine.

The square table transformed into a soft couch. Shi Hanqiao threw the boy down and walked around to sit opposite Luo Wei.

The two of them drank and chatted slowly.

The topic switched between weather, flowers, medicinal gardens, secret places, weapons...

Chatting.

Luo Wei was in high spirits and took out the chessboard and chess box: "Want some chess?"

Shi Hanqiao agreed, glancing sideways at the empty plate: "The fruit is gone, I'll go to the flower garden to pick some flowers."

"good."

Shi Hanqiao went to the flower garden again. Among the fiery red flowers, a light orange flower was quietly blooming. The center of the flower was orange-red, and the color gradually faded layer by layer.

She had never seen this flower before. It should be the new rose that Luo Wei had recently cultivated.

【Versilia! 】

Luo Wusheng moved closer and confirmed that the flower in front of him was Versilia.

His breathing hitched as he watched Shi Hanqiao reach out to the fragile branch.

When she touches the cool green branches, she only needs to bend them lightly, and it can belong to her. Even if she doesn't use it to make wine, she can put it in the room to enjoy it.

However, the rich fragrance of flowers hit them, and their fingertips paused slightly.

"She looks pretty good."

Shi Hanqiao gently fiddled with the petals, then picked the bright red rose next to her and turned to leave.

Luo Wusheng was slightly disappointed that she did not pick the pale orange flower. She saw it trembling and blooming in the night wind, but only broken branches were left beside it.

The young man turned around and looked at her back, and suddenly he understood something.

He followed her and saw her carrying the washed petals back to the renovated pavilion.

Luo Wei cooked wine with flower petals, and the two of them played chess slowly.

The white and black pieces intertwined, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, without any murderous aura of conquering cities and territories.

On the contrary, now the night is as gentle as the moonlight. The chess pieces are placed and moved out. The purpose is not to defeat the opponent, but to simply enjoy the atmosphere of the game.

This game of chess lasted until dawn.

Luo Wusheng's consciousness gradually became hazy, and he vaguely heard the conversation between the two.

"Are you doing this on purpose for me?"

"Then I'll take this step."

"Hey, I won't say anymore!"

The moon is full outside the curtain.

The moonlight sprinkled on every inch of the Imperial Palace, making the deserted garden even more silent.

Shi Hanqiao looked around and saw about seventeen or eight children running towards her breathlessly. She then understood why she had appeared in a completely unfamiliar environment in her dream.

The boy had short golden hair and was sweating profusely from anxiety, his eyes filled with confusion.

He ran while looking down at the communication equipment, and finally found a weak signal in a remote corner of the garden. He sent a communication to the Luo family in the nearest hospital, his voice anxious and tearful.

Shi Hanqiao touched his left chest uncomfortably, walked to his side, and wanted to wipe away the tears that wanted to fall from the corners of his eyes but did not dare to.

After the communication, he did not relax at all. Instead, he looked blankly at the empty garden.

There is a bright moon in the sky and the endless night.

Slowly he came to his senses and ran back, thinking about his mother.

Shi Hanqiao followed and watched Luo Ningyou die in his arms.

The room was filled with the smell of blood, and depression and sadness overwhelmed Luo Wusheng.

The tears in his eyes flowed all over his face, but no sound came out of his open mouth. In extreme pain, he even lost the only way to vent.

Shi Hanqiao half-knelt beside him, knowing clearly that all this was just a dream, but still reached out to touch the unreachable golden hair.

As if that would ease his pain and relieve her discomfort.

In the depressing room, she silently waited with him until dawn.

The dawn light appeared in the distant sky, shining through the window onto the two people hugging each other on the bed.

Shi Hanqiao woke up first, the light falling on her closed eyes. She frowned and tightened the pillow in her arms.

After a while, I regained consciousness and realized that the pillow in my arms was still warm?!

Opening his eyes, he saw the golden crown of hair.

The thing about waking up in the same bed.

It's like the first time is new, the second time is familiar.

Realizing that the cycle they had established was still in place, she didn't immediately wake the young man up, as the longer she waited, the better for his mental strength.

The two of them will separate during the day, so there is no need to rush.

Thinking of the dream, Shi Hanqiao tilted his head, raised his hand, and gently stroked the young man's hair.

After ten years, my short hair has grown long.

Her fingertips gently slid the ends of the young man's blond hair from the back of his head, again and again.

Luo Wusheng slept very restlessly. His emotions fluctuated greatly during this sleep, and his body woke up before his consciousness.

“Hmm—”

Shi Hanqiao paused his fingertips, closed his eyes, turned back to lie flat, and withdrew the hand that was stroking his golden hair to his side.

The young man felt a soreness in his eyes before he woke up.

My mood was also affected by the dream, and it felt like a big hand was kneading my left chest.

The light scent of lily of the valley in his breath gave him a full sense of security. His phoenix eyes slowly opened, and what came into view was the graceful neck and delicate collarbone of Woman A.

The tip of his nose was only a few inches away from the latter. Luo Wusheng's cheeks flushed, but what he was thinking in his mind was, it would be great if I could see her every morning when I woke up.

He put his arm around girl A, half-raised himself, and stared at her sleeping face.

Her facial features are exactly the same as in my dream, except that they haven't fully grown yet.

A mark on the lapel of woman A caught the young man's attention. When he realized what it was, his hand suddenly slipped and his head hit woman A's shoulder.

The noise was so loud that Shi Hanqiao had to open his eyes.

【Author’s words】

Repeat after me: Being open and honest is friendship, being cautious is love!!!

Ringo, purple pineapple, both are apples~

Yunmei, it's an orange~