Chapter 35 The Mirror of Weariness is unusually quiet.
Afternoon.
Hua Xun and Xiao Yunxi walked out of the city lord's mansion together and were about to fly towards the west of the city.
Before she could take flight, she was grabbed by the back of her collar.
Hua Xun stumbled when she landed, her brows furrowed. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Yunxi holding her up with one hand, her eyebrows lazily raised: "So eager? We haven't even finished talking about our business yet."
Hua Xun was confused. She struggled and freed herself from his grasp by the collar, asking, "What's going on between us?"
Xiao Yunxi squinted at her for a moment: "Why did you suddenly ask me in the main hall if I could investigate this matter with you?"
Hua Xun's expression stiffened slightly, and after a long while, she lowered her eyes and said, "Yesterday, I went to the private residence with Immortal Lord Yunxi, so I know the inside story better. It will be more convenient for us to investigate together today..."
"Heh," Xiao Yunxi sneered, looking down at her, her ponytail drooping over her shoulder, "Hua Xun, do you really think this immortal lord doesn't know you're using me as a shield?"
Hua Xun's eyes flickered with confusion, and she pursed her lips.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunxi knew she had guessed correctly and said angrily, "You're afraid that the God will see through your intentions and drive you away, so you're using me and taking the initiative to befriend me so that the God won't suspect you, isn't that right?"
Hua Xun held her breath, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she couldn't bring herself to deny it.
She did indeed harbor such thoughts, fearing that the God would see through her, so she deliberately showed goodwill towards Xiao Yunxi.
Since Xiao Yunxi dislikes her, he might not really care if she tries to be nice to him, and might even dislike her more.
“…I’m sorry.” Hua Xun lowered her head and said dejectedly, “I thought you would be very happy that I took the initiative to distance myself from the Divine Lord this time.”
She never expected that Xiao Yunxi would get angry because of this.
But she was in the wrong first and should apologize.
Xiao Yunxi's anger froze at her words.
Yes, Hua Xun is far away from the God Lord, he should be happy, why is he angry?
Even more so, when Xiao Yunxi recalled how she had ignored the Divine Lord and instead asked to investigate with him, a hint of secret joy had risen in his heart at that moment.
Xiao Yunxi suddenly took two steps back, looking at her in horror.
This little demon... could it be that he used some kind of sorcery on him?
"Immortal Lord Yunxi?" Hua Xun looked up at him when he remained silent for a long time.
“She’s gone mad…” Xiao Yunxi murmured, her expression one of utter horror, “She’s really gone mad…”
Hua Xun grew increasingly confused, frowning as she peered at him, "Immortal Lord? Immortal Lord?"
Xiao Yunxi suddenly snapped back to reality, looked at the pretty, fair face in front of her, her pupils widened slightly, and she abruptly took a few steps back: "Stay away from me."
Hua Xun assumed he still disliked her and took a step back: "Can Immortal Lord Yunxi set off now?"
Xiao Yunxi stared at her retreating steps, her brows furrowing slightly. After a moment, she silently turned around, instantly transforming into a ball of flame and heading towards the direction of Miaoshouju.
Hua Xun stared at the fiery red afterimage with dissatisfaction, and then flew up as well.
When they arrived at Miaoshouju, Xiao Yunxi was already there, standing in front of the door, arms crossed, looking around the clinic.
When he saw her arrive, he merely pursed his lips and remained silent.
Hua Xun didn't care. Standing three steps away from Xiao Yunxi, he also looked ahead.
Miaoshouju is located next to the city moat, and the environment is relatively quiet.
However, the courtyard did look desolate for quite some time. The plaque had not been repainted in a long time, the three characters "Miaoshouju" had faded, and the paper on the lattice windows was tattered.
Hua Xun: "What Xiao Wancang said is true."
This place has indeed long been abandoned.
Xiao Yunxi glanced at her, then quickly looked away and went to push open the door.
The old door creaked and groaned, emitting a decaying sound, and dust fell in rustling sounds.
A few wooden tables and chairs, and a cypress counter, covered with a thick layer of dust. The rosewood medicine cabinet behind it was empty, with only a rusty pestle and mortar lying forlornly in the corner.
Hua Xun frowned; her intuition as a member of the Wu tribe gave her a strange unease.
With a "bang," the door behind me suddenly slammed shut.
In an instant, the room seemed to be covered by a black cloth. Outside, it was bright daylight, but inside, not a ray of sunlight could be seen.
"Is it Master who has returned?" A faint voice echoed in the air.
"Master, have you come to save me?"
"Please save my disciple..."
"Help me, it hurts so much..."
At first, the voice sounded terrifying, but later it even revealed a hint of painful pleading.
Hua Xun was startled and bit her lower lip hard, swallowing back her gasp.
Xiao Yunxi paused, her hand, which she had slightly raised, and turned to look at Hua Xun, who was three steps away from her. After a long while, she lowered her hand back to her side and looked up impatiently, asking, "Who are you?"
Hua Xun also looked up, gazing into the darkness.
The voice suddenly fell silent after hearing Xiao Yunxi's words.
After a deathly silence, the voice rang out again, now calm: "Have you two come seeking medical treatment?"
Hua Xun was taken aback, turned to look at Xiao Yunxi, and said in a deep voice, "That's right."
As soon as he finished speaking, the polished blue bricks on the ground suddenly changed and rearranged themselves. A bluish-black smoke gradually appeared in the center of the clinic, swirling continuously.
Hua Xun suddenly felt her feet lighten, and before she could even let out a soft cry, she uncontrollably sank into the smoke.
"Little demon!" Just before sinking in, Hua Xun only saw a fiery red figure reach out, seemingly trying to grab her, but quickly followed her into the smoke.
Hua Xun didn't know how long she had been trapped in the smoke. When the fog cleared, the surroundings had transformed from an ordinary clinic into a dark and damp cave.
The murky black water flowed along the underground river, the jagged stone walls were wet, and the ground was covered with moss-covered rocks, with an indescribable fishy smell permeating the air.
“This is the second time,” Xiao Yunxi said in a deep voice, brushing a drop of water off her shoulder.
Hua Xun looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"This is the second time I've fallen into this predicament," Xiao Yunxi said, his thin lips pressed tightly together, his gaze fixed on her, "and I'm still with you."
Hua Xun lowered her eyes as she recalled the time at Fuyu Mountain: "Immortal Lord Yunxi should have left first."
Xiao Yunxi's long eyelashes fluttered for a moment, then she abruptly looked away.
"A man destined to be a cursed one." The voice from above suddenly rang out again.
Hua Xun looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dark shadow looming behind a filthy blue gauze curtain above the center of the cave.
The shadowy figure was clearly in human form, but two long black horns grew from its forehead.
They look just like those who are poisoned by demons.
"Who are you?" Hua Xun narrowed her eyes, trying to see the dark figure behind the veil more clearly. "What did you say, 'a person born of heaven'?"
The shadowy figure slowly explained: "Those who come to me are mostly people with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses, but you have something more in your bodies than others."
Hua Xun was taken aback and immediately thought of the spiritual root that had disappeared from Xiao Ling's body.
She naturally possessed a demon core, while Xiao Yunxi had immortal bones.
But how could that dark figure be identified at a glance?
Hua Xun suddenly looked up.
The soul of Lord Luohe?
"How do you plan to treat him?" Xiao Yunxi asked.
The dark figure remained silent for a few moments, then suddenly raised its head, let out a painful groan, and spewed out thick black mist that pierced through the green veil and surged towards the two.
Hua Xun frowned, about to block the black mist, when a beam of fiery immortal power swept in and instantly blocked the black mist.
The next moment, Xiao Yunxi condensed immortal power into a blade and swung it at Qing Sha.
The thin blue veil was severed in half by the sharp celestial power and floated lightly to the ground.
Hua Xun hurriedly looked up, but couldn't help but freeze in shock.
The dark figure resembled someone afflicted by a demonic poison, possessing human limbs and a torso covered in scales, with eyes like black abysses and a twisted horn on its forehead.
It resembles a giant python, or a serpent.
But what was most horrifying were the chains on his body.
The cold chains, like needles and thread, pierced through his limbs and every inch of his flesh, "sewing" him to the stone wall behind him, making him appear as if he were one with the stone wall.
The flesh pierced by the chains dangled precariously below them.
The bloodstains should have dried long ago, but with every breath and every tiny movement he made, fresh blood would flow endlessly along the chains into the filthy underground river.
Hua Xun looked towards the riverbank.
The murky river water had a faint, viscous, dark red hue.
The shadowy figure, not expecting to be seen, roared and the entire cave trembled, with rocks falling continuously.
Hua Xun was startled and quickly dodged in all directions.
Xiao Yunxi stared at the "monster," sneered, and with a wave of her hand, flames condensed into a long sword, ready to stab it.
At that moment, a powerful beam of bamboo-green light shot out from the "monster" and headed straight for Xiao Yunxi.
Xiao Yunxi's eyes trembled slightly.
This is not demonic power, but... divine power.
He hurriedly turned around, trying to avoid the divine power, but he was still a step too late.
The "monster" roared again, spewing black mist as it attacked him.
When Hua Xun saw that bamboo-green light, he knew that the soul of Lord Luohe must be inside this monster.
Seeing Xiao Yunxi about to be touched by the black mist, and glancing down at the still weak magic power in his palm, he gritted his teeth and rushed forward, forcefully shoving Xiao Yunxi away.
Xiao Yunxi felt as soon as she raised her sword to repel the divine power, her body was pushed away by something. When she turned around, she saw the spot where he had been standing, with black mist swirling around the little demon and enveloping her.
He paused, and the image of her carrying him away on her back during that time at Fuyu Mountain suddenly flashed into his mind.
Xiao Yunxi's throat tightened, her chest filled with inexplicable anger and fear, and her body was instantly filled with magical power, her ponytail and robes burning like flames.
Hua Xun's lips opened and closed as if she were saying something, but he seemed unable to hear her.
He finally heard what Hua Xun was saying when she staggered forward.
"Run!"
Before he could even react, Hua Xun had already jumped onto his back.
Xiao Yunxi's pupils flickered as she felt the warmth on her back, until someone patted her shoulder hard: "Xiao Yunxi!"
Xiao Yunxi gradually regained consciousness, put away her lightsaber, transformed into flames, and vanished from the spot in an instant.
*
After the two escaped from the cave, they realized that it was almost evening outside.
Hua Xun jumped off Xiao Yunxi's back, immediately felt a weight on her body, and staggered before regaining her balance. She breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, we escaped."
Xiao Yunxi looked dazed, then turned to look at her upon hearing this.
Hua Xun looked up in confusion, noticing that his expression wasn't good and that the two were standing quite close together. She quickly took two steps back and said, "I was forced to stand close to you just now because of the situation."
Hearing this, Xiao Yunxi, who had been watching her every move, pursed his thin lips and waited a while before saying, "Are you alright?"
Hua Xun was also puzzled, and shook her head: "I just feel a little heavy, nothing else."
Even the sleepless night she spent thinking about how the God knew her feelings, and the dull feeling in her mind, had all disappeared by now.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunxi looked her up and down and relaxed slightly when she saw that there were no wounds on her body.
After a moment, she asked in a tense voice, "Why...why did you push me away just now?"
"Huh?" Hua Xun felt her forehead getting hot and touched it before saying, "If our demon race encounters a powerful enemy, we will definitely protect the strongest in the end, so that we will have any hope of escaping."
“I am no match for that monster. I am injured, but you can still help me escape. If you are injured, I'm afraid neither of us will ever get out.”
Xiao Yunxi's expression froze as she stared intently at her: "Is that all?"
Hua Xun nodded: "Of course."
Xiao Yunxi remained silent for a long time before saying, "That's very good."
Hua Xun looked at his suddenly gloomy face, puzzled. Then, remembering something, she glanced at the sky and mobilized her inner energy: "It's getting late, we should head back..."
Her voice stopped abruptly.
Xiao Yunxi: "What?"
Hua Xun tried to mobilize the magic power within her body again, but she only felt empty and desolate. She couldn't even see her own sea of consciousness or peer into her dantian.
Xiao Yunxi noticed something amiss, placed a hand on her forehead, and froze.
The demon core within her body was gone, her sea of consciousness had long been sealed, and there was no longer any flow of immortal spiritual energy within her meridians, only the pure energy of a mortal remained.
Hua Xun noticed something was wrong and looked down at the back of her hand.
Xiao Yunxi followed her gaze and saw that dark blue scales were faintly appearing there, spreading visibly up her arm and down to her cheek.
“You…” Xiao Yunxi suddenly looked up.
Hua Xun blinked, feeling something gradually appearing in her field of vision on her forehead, and asked blankly, "Am I... going to grow horns?"
*
White Mist Cliff.
Beneath the peach tree, petals fluttered in the breeze, and a small patch of blossoms swayed gently in the mist.
Nine-Tiered Divine Lord stood quietly under the tree, bowing his head to admire the few small flowers.
After staring for an unknown amount of time, he turned his gaze to the jade table and stools beside him. On the jade table, the mirror was unusually quiet, without the slightest ripple.
The deity gazed for a long time, then turned around and walked step by step toward the palace.
His tall figure gradually turned into golden light and disappeared into the celestial mist, only to reappear behind the celestial curtain, like an unapproachable jade statue, eyes closed and silent.
Meanwhile, in the City Lord's Mansion, the Divine Lord opened his eyes.
It turned out that night had already fallen.
The deity sighed softly.
In the past, thousands of years seemed normal, but now even half a day feels incredibly long.
A beam of fiery red light approached from afar and landed in the courtyard.
The deity turned around and looked.
The light around Xiao Yunxi gradually faded, and the girl on his back gradually appeared, wearing a large dark blue robe, with the hood completely covering her face.
The divine lord paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on the figure in dark blue before turning to the young man.
“My Lord,” Xiao Yunxi hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but was patted hard by the girl on his back and coughed, “This little demon has weak magic and has caught a chill. I’ll take her back to her room first.”
"I'm going back to my room now, Divine Lord," Hua Xun said softly, his voice muffled, hidden beneath his robes and hat.
The deity took in the girl's action of patting the boy, but remained silent for a long time.
"Divine Lord?" Xiao Yunxi called out again.
The deity snapped out of his reverie and nodded: "Hmm."
Watching the two figures enter the room, and even set up a fiery red barrier to prevent eavesdropping from the outside world, the God-King withdrew his gaze.
He continued to admire the courtyard scenery before him, but after a moment, he suddenly spoke, his voice extremely faint, yet the echo reverberated like a divine decree: "Fengshen City, Miaoshou Residence."
As soon as he finished speaking, everything that had happened from the day the Miraculous Hands House was born until this very moment transformed before his eyes into a golden scene that only he could see.
The divine lord watched as past events flashed by, their origins and development becoming crystal clear, as if unraveling a silken thread.
Even today.
The girl pushed the boy aside, blocking the inky mist spewed out by the serpent.
The deity looked at the girl, her red lips tightly pressed together, suppressing her fear, so close to him.
After observing for a moment, the deity withdrew his consciousness.
He used to be indifferent to where he was, but for the first time, he felt weary of Fengshen City.
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Author's Note: The Fengshen City map is almost finished~ Soon I'll be switching to the Demon Realm~
Reason for ending: The last sentence of this chapter (doge)
God: Manually drag the progress bar.
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