083
Jiang Huali and Mu Bai returned to the small wooden house on the mountain.
Mu Bai was about to go inside when Jiang Huali stopped him: "I saw black mist on you down the mountain. Has your spiritual power been corrupted?"
She was referring to the black aura that swirled around Mu Bai's hands when he fought the outsiders at the foot of the mountain.
Mu Bai stopped and turned around. His white hair was tied up with a red ribbon, swaying gently with his movements.
"No."
"Then what's with the black aura on your body?"
The contamination of spiritual energy is no small matter. Fairies cultivate with spiritual energy and pursue purity above all else.
Mu Bai curled his lips and was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. He clutched his chest, braced his other hand against the door frame, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Jiang Huali was startled by this sudden situation and quickly stepped forward to support him: "What's wrong?"
"Is the injury from before still not healed?"
Mu Bai's face contorted slightly, his heart ached terribly, and his vision went black for a moment. He tightly gripped Jiang Huali's hand.
Woke up so quickly.
A pang of regret flashed through his mind, and at the same time, a voice echoed in his mind: "Don't forget our promise."
"Mu Bai? Mu Bai?"
The voice in my mind faded away, while the voice in my ears became clear.
"I'm fine." Mu Bai felt the warmth from his hand, lowered his eyes, released Jiang Huali, and casually wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.
It's just that some demon doesn't want its true identity to be discovered. They share a body, and forcibly fighting over it will only result in mutual destruction.
Seeing that he was truly weak and that his spiritual power was on the verge of dissipating, Jiang Huali used her spiritual power to teleport him to another location.
"Where is this?" Mu Bai was placed aside by Jiang Huali and looked at the scene before him.
“The Spirit Spring,” Jiang Huali replied.
Before us lies a hot spring nestled among the mountains and forests, its waters brimming with spiritual energy.
Jiang Huali explained, "Your spiritual energy is scattered. Go soak in it for a while first. It will help you gather your spiritual energy."
This hot spring is located deep in Lingshan. Jiang Huali often came here to soak in it and absorb spiritual energy when she first woke up.
The concern on her face was genuine. Mu Bai was slightly taken aback, lowered his eyes, and his expression was unclear.
Seeing that he didn't move, she frowned: "What's wrong? Don't you have the strength?"
She walked straight over and helped him to the hot spring. When he was soaking in the hot spring water, she told him, "You can soak on the side."
Otherwise, it would be bad if I collapsed from exhaustion.
Water soaked Mu Bai's hair, and warmth spread through his limbs. He looked at Jiang Huali and asked, "Don't you have any doubts?"
"What do you suspect?"
"The dark aura on my body will not appear on demons."
Jiang Huali said half-jokingly, "What else could you be but a demon? You can't possibly be a ghost, can you?"
Mu Bai remained silent.
After a while, he turned his head and sank slightly into the water, accompanied by a very soft voice: "No."
He healed his wounds in the spiritual spring, while Jiang Huali rested with her eyes closed beside him.
The surroundings were completely quiet.
He closed his eyes, and a voice appeared in his mind: "Didn't I tell you not to give yourself away?"
He scoffed, "I didn't say anything. What? Are you so afraid of being discovered to be some kind of ghost or monster?"
"I am a demon, you are the ghost," the voice said.
"Just fool her, don't fool yourself too," he said.
Then there was silence.
As he withdrew from his sea of consciousness, Mu Bai turned his head to look at the white hair on his shoulder. Sure enough, he still preferred black.
Mu Bai focused on absorbing spiritual energy. The struggle between the two consciousnesses for control made the condition of this body worse, but judging by the time... this situation will soon be over.
Jiang Huali opened her eyes, looked at Mu Bai soaking in the hot spring, and got up to walk outside.
She gathered some herbs in the mountains to restore her spiritual power, and on her way back, she also saw some calming herbs.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Huali picked some and put them into a straw basket made of vines.
Back by the hot spring, Mu Bai was already in a meditative state. Jiang Huali threw all the herbs from the basket into the hot spring for him to soak in.
When Mu Bai opened his eyes, all sorts of herbs were floating around him.
Mu Bai: "..."
"How are you feeling now?" Jiang Huali walked to the hot spring and squatted down.
"What are these?" Mu Bai asked, brushing aside the herbs on the surface of the water.
“Some herbs that can help you absorb spiritual energy,” Jiang Huali said.
She then produced a purple plant from somewhere and held it to Mu Bai's lips.
"This is for calming the nerves. Soaking it in water won't help. You should eat it."
Mu Bai paused, then chewed the herb in her hand and swallowed it, the bitter taste spreading through his mouth.
His lips brushed against Jiang Huali's palm, bringing a touch of coolness.
Why are you giving me this to eat?
"You don't seem to be in a good mental state lately," Jiang Huali said.
Mu Bai pursed his lips, his expression turning somewhat cold: "Why do these things?"
"Huh?" Jiang Huali asked, puzzled.
Why are you so good to me?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Huali said, "Since you have stayed on Mount Ling, then like the other demons on the mountain, my responsibility is to protect this place."
"If other fairies were injured, I wouldn't stand idly by either."
"What if I have ill intentions?"
Jiang Huali was stunned: "What?"
Mu Bai met her gaze: "What if I were a demon who disregarded life and whose hands were stained with blood?"
After saying this, he looked away: "I am different from those little demons on the mountain."
Jiang Huali did not answer immediately, and silence spread once again.
A strange emotion flashed in Mu Bai's eyes.
His chest began to ache again; it was another consciousness trying to seize control of his body.
He thought aimlessly: Since I'm going to disappear soon anyway, how can I not make the other half of my consciousness feel a little uncomfortable?
"Would you hurt innocent people?" Jiang Huali finally asked.
Mu Bai laughed upon hearing this, seemingly mocking her naivety: "Would you place your hopes on a demon who has been stained with blood? Human hearts are unpredictable, and so are demons."
“You won’t,” Jiang Huali said confidently. “You’re right, but there’s another saying: judge by actions, not intentions.”
"When you came to Mount Ling, you didn't harm any of the demons. You played with Yuanyuan the Mouse, were the first to rush out and rescue the little demons who fell into the water when you patrolled the mountain, helped me repair the roof, and worked together to deal with those outsiders..."
“I don’t know what you were like in the past, and I have no intention of investigating, but I have eyes and I can see for myself. I also have basic judgment and I will not judge a person arbitrarily based on a single word.”
"If one day you do something to hurt the fairies, I will never be soft-hearted."
Mu Bai finally stopped smiling insincerely.
“…What good luck.” His voice was very soft, and Jiang Huali didn’t hear it clearly.
He turned away from her in the hot spring, but a pair of hands touched his shoulders.
Jiang Huali put her hand on his shoulder. He turned around and heard her say, "Don't do that again next time."
He lowered his eyes, a lingering pain still lingering in his heart, yet its beating rate was accelerating: "Mmm."
...
After soaking in the hot spring, the two returned to the cabin.
Mu Bai went back to his room to change his wet clothes. When he came out, his hair was also dry, and he tied it up with a blue hairband.
Jiang Huali's gaze fell on his hair, and she asked, "You found this hairband again?"
Mu Bai paused, touched the headband on his head, and gave a gentle smile: "Yes, I found it."
Jiang Huali touched her nose.
Remembering something, she added, "The dark aura on your body..."
Before he finished speaking, Mu Bai stretched out his hand, gathering spiritual energy in it, which was pure white.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
"What happened to you when you suddenly vomited blood? If your injury hasn't healed yet, you should soak in the hot spring for a while every day from now on."
Mu Bai shook his head: "No need, it's just a minor ailment, it will be fine soon."
Jiang Huali felt relieved for the time being: "Tell me if you still feel unwell."
Mu Bai nodded, his expression gentle.
Jiang Huali looked at him and unconsciously touched her fingers. Had she returned to normal?
From that day on, Mu Bai returned to the way he was when he first arrived at Lingshan, as if the previous abnormality had never existed.
When Yuanyuan and Shushu came to play with him, he patiently played along with them.
He never used that red hairband again.
When winter came, snow fell on Lingshan Mountain.
Many fairies that hibernate have reduced their activities, and the flowers, plants, and trees on the mountain have become sparse.
Yuanyuan and Shushu mostly stayed underground and rarely came up the mountain to find Jiang Huali.
Strangely, Mu Bai's prototype is a snake, and he is no different from usual in winter.
In winter, everything withers and spiritual energy becomes scarce.
Jiang Huali gradually felt weak.
When she entered this world, she had just awakened from her slumber, and her spiritual power had already deteriorated. She had been maintaining a spiritual power barrier, and by now, the spiritual power in her body had been greatly depleted.
But when she's in good condition, she still patrols the mountain with Mu Bai, and helps any fairies who need it.
That day, they had just returned from their mountain patrol when Jiang Huali felt increasingly cold. She went back to her room to meditate and regulate her spiritual energy, but then fell into a deep sleep on the bed.
By the time Mu Bai noticed, her body was covered in a layer of frost.
When Mu Bai realized he couldn't wake Jiang Huali, he quickly helped her up and tried to channel his spiritual energy into her.
However, the effect of transferring spiritual energy was very weak, and Jiang Huali's face remained pale, with a layer of frost on her eyelashes.
Suddenly, a figure with black hair and bloodshot eyes appeared out of nowhere beside the bed.
"Why did you come out?" Mu Bai frowned. "Appearing as a ghost, do you want to disappear too quickly?"
Upon hearing this, the ghost glanced at him, then bent down and lifted Jiang Huali off the bed.
He said calmly, "Our strengths are shifting, shouldn't you be happy?"
As he spoke, he carried Jiang Huali out of the room: "Let's find a place with abundant spiritual energy first."
The situation is urgent. A demon and a ghost brought the sleeping Jiang Huali to the Spirit Spring.
If one were to consciously perceive their surroundings, they would be able to see that the barrier on Mount Ling is slowly weakening.
The ghost gently placed Jiang Huali into the hot spring, then soaked in the water himself to support her and prevent her from slipping into the water.
The abundant spiritual energy in the spring made the ghost feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Mu Bai was also soaking in the hot spring, channeling his spiritual energy into Jiang Huali from the other side.
The surrounding spiritual energy slowly flowed into her body, and her body temperature gradually rose in the hot spring.
The spiritual energy barrier on Mount Ling also stopped weakening.
Throughout this process, the ghost steadily supported Jiang Huali. The ghostly aura on his body had become extremely faint, and his figure had become somewhat ethereal.
As Mu Bai said, he was indeed about to dissipate.
More accurately, he is returning to his original consciousness.
Since it is a fusion, Mu Bai, as the owner of the body, already has an advantage. After being forcibly fused, the power of the ghost body is constantly weakening. When the time is right, he will completely merge with the main body.
At that time, Mu Bai will be able to possess the power of both demons and ghosts, and regain control of his body.
Their previous agreement to exchange control of the body monthly was merely a check and balance before they were fully integrated.
Since the last time healed his wounds at the hot spring, the ghost seemed to have lost interest and stayed in his sea of consciousness, no longer taking over his body and appearing in the outside world.
The ghost slightly tightened its arms, and Jiang Huali, who was half-leaning in his arms, suddenly moved her eyelashes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com