True feelings are revealed in the Nine Kill Formation
Chapter Fifty-Eight
"There's one more thing," Quan Jin said carefully, "Who exactly are you?"
As he spoke, he clenched his hands at his sides, lowered his voice slightly, and stood with his back straight as a majestic mountain. His gaze was fixed on Zhou Yulin, and his voice was hoarse, "Why, why did you help me?"
"Don't overthink it, I just don't like those people." Zhou Yulin said quickly, then turned and left.
Quan Jin stood there, slowly walking to the door. His gaze swept over the blood-red words that the children had written on the low wall by the door, inch by inch. He tripped over the rotten vegetable leaves that had been thrown there. He squatted down and tried to pick up the vegetable leaves for the first time. His movements were slow, as if he were picking up his dignity that had fallen to the ground bit by bit.
Then they pieced together a picture of him who was once full of pride.
Water droplets fell on the vegetable leaves, and amidst the silent, suppressed sobs, he hugged the pile of rotten vegetable leaves tightly. Zhou Yulin, who hadn't gone far, stopped where she was and waited for the sobs to subside before leaving.
The next day, at the Qingyun Sect.
The long-silent grievance bell resounded throughout the entire Qingyun Sect. Amidst the magnificent sound of the bell, the Qingyun Sect Master arrived first, followed by four elders who landed on the ground. All of them turned their gazes to a little girl.
After all, no one expected that after so many years, the one ringing the grievance bell again would be a young girl, and a rather young one at that. "Little girl, this bell is not one you can just ring haphazardly." The first elder to the sect leader's left was a disciplinary elder from Qingyun. His sharp gaze fell on Zhou Yulin, and his tone was full of warning and admonition.
"What great injustice could a young girl like you possibly have?" The elder on the right sneered, full of disdain.
The sect leader looked at Zhou Yulin, who had an ordinary appearance, hesitated for a few seconds, and was about to reprimand him and send him away when he heard a calm and respectful voice say, "I did not come here for myself."
"Oh? Then who are you ringing the bell for? I must remind you, little girl, we have no say in matters concerning those outside the sect." An elder spoke up quietly, clearly displeased that a mere young girl was present.
The sect leader's brow twitched, and his eyes were serious and imposing as he looked at Zhou Yulin. "You'd better think carefully before you speak. This grievance bell has been rung since ancient times only for the greatest injustices, not for trivial matters."
Despite the pressure from the group, Zhou Yulin showed no sign of backing down. "A few months ago, a disciple of the Divination Academy died. Her name was Eye Huanhuan. Rumor has it that she was murdered in her room by the young sect leader after an argument with him."
"It's been so long since the matter was settled, you little girl, you don't want to overturn the case, do you?" The Disciplinary Elder sneered. "The cases of the Qingyun Sect are never truly over, there's no such thing as reopening them."
"Then we have it today." The elders and the sect leader were all stunned, looking at the young man in front of them, who was only in his early twenties, with disbelief. He seemed to have said this casually.
"This is truly outrageous!" The purple-robed elder was furious. "Do you think you're the law? How dare you utter such words so brazenly!" Even the usually mild-mannered sect leader frowned. "Little girl, do you know what you're saying?"
“I know the laws of the Qingyun Sect, and I also know the laws of other places. I know that laws are created by people to constrain people, and they cannot be completely fair. I also know that if the laws created are unfair, they should be reformed rather than preserved.”
These words made the purple-robed elder's face turn a deep shade of purplish-red with anger. The disciplinary elder wasn't much better off; he pointed at Zhou Yulin, this rebellious disciple, and was just short of giving him a lecture. The sect leader said with a stern face, "Then you should also know what to do if the grievance drum is sounded?"
"I know about breaking the Nine Deaths Formation." Zhou Yulin swallowed the blood in her throat, endured the anger of the others, quietly bowed, and then straightened up. "The murderer is not the young sect leader. E'ye Huanhuan's death was not so simple. I hope the elders and sect leader will investigate thoroughly. I am not trying to be angry, but I do not want to see someone die unjustly and someone carry the name of a murderer for the rest of their life." When she said the last half of the sentence, the sect leader's fingertips trembled, as if he thought of something. But then the woman stepped into the Nine Deaths Formation with an extremely open mind.
The Nine Kill Formation, as its name suggests, involves nine deaths and one life, hence the name Nine Kills.
No one has ever come out of the battle alive.
No one is an exception.
"Father." A panting voice came from the corner. The sect leader stiffened and turned around in disbelief. "Jin'er."
Quan Jinshan arrived late, followed by Chen Muyao and Gu Ling. He looked around and was a little surprised not to see Zhou Yulin. "Father, have you seen a woman with an ordinary appearance but an extremely frightening aura?"
The purple-robed elder said irritably, "We've already entered the Nine Kill Formation. Young Master, your timing is rather unfortunate."
"Nine Kill Formation!?" Quan Jin jumped directly towards the center of the formation without hesitation, but was stopped by the sect leader. Chen Muyao reacted faster and was the first to enter the formation, but was quickly bounced away. The formation was opened, and no one outside could enter.
"If she wants to seek justice for you, she has to break through the Nine Kill Formation. That's the rule!" The sect leader stared at his son, his tone more solemn than ever before. "But this is my business! How can you let her in? You know how dangerous this formation is."
The sect leader turned his head away and said coldly, "This is her choice, so there's no one else to blame."
The implication was that they would no longer care whether the person lived or died.
Gu Ling was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and Chen Muyao's expression was no better.
Unlike Quan Jin, the two never had any expectations of these people.
"The Nine Killing Formation, I should have thought of it sooner!" Gu Ling pounded on the barrier, angrily saying, "She's always so indifferent to her own life and death!"
No.
Chen Muyao didn't think so. "She cherishes her life, but in her heart, there are too many things that are more important than her own life."
Gu Ling sat on the ground dejectedly, silently praying that the formation would continue to operate for a while.
Zhou Yulin's situation in the Nine Kill Formation is not good.
Upon reaching the sixth level, she was injured in the abdomen, and the wound on her wrist had not yet healed. Bu Zhuiyu moved incredibly fast through the rain of swords, and in the blink of an eye, she finally found the exit to the eighth level.
The sword fights on the ninth floor were completely different from those on the previous floors.
A spring flower petal landed on Zhou Yulin's head. She lazily got up from her desk, a book falling onto her head. Linghu Miao said irritably, "Is it easy to fall asleep during lectures, senior brother? Tell me how many times you've fallen asleep."
The scene shifts to a bright spring day, where a young man in flamboyant red robes sits on a tree, munching on a spiritual fruit. He chuckles, waving the fruit in his hand, and says provocatively, "Oh, why aren't you sparring with me today, junior sister?"
In the blink of an eye, it was Chen Muyao again, standing in front of her. The scene she had witnessed before was repeating itself, but this time, she and Chen Muyao were kneeling together before their master, pleading to go to Jinyang City.
Before setting off, the two held a grand fake wedding banquet, at the master's behest. He said that his mother had always hoped that he could get married.
On their wedding night, the two sat facing each other, neither of them saying a word.
When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by mountains and seas of corpses. Chen Mu, who was in her arms, stretched out her blood-covered hand and cupped her tear-streaked face, her face pale. "Have you ever thought that everything we've been through, everything we've experienced, might not be real?"
Zhou Yulin was startled, a chill rising from the soles of her feet.
After saying that, he smiled at her and said, "You will definitely survive."
It's a blessing, or perhaps a curse.
The next second, Chen Mu's hand fell limply to his side, and he completely lost all breath in his arms.
"Chen Muyao!!!" She couldn't make a sound and could only watch all of this as a bystander.
Time and space began to rewind, returning to the very beginning of their first meeting.
She was a domineering patient who had been poisoned and seriously injured at the foot of Shenyao Valley, while he was a doctor with an average temper and a quiet demeanor.
Their first meeting wasn't great, but it was when their feelings for each other were at their purest. Many times afterward, Zhou Yulin would remember the kindness she had shown Chen Muyao in their youth and show him mercy.
Surprisingly, perspectives beyond my memory also appeared.
She saw that after seeing her off, the lone young man lingered in the same spot for a long time, staring at the jade pendant in his hand for a long time before hiding it in his sleeve. When he lifted his sleeve, his arm was covered with bruises and crisscrossing wounds.
He jogged all the way back to the Valley of Divine Medicine.
A woman slowly walked out of the gate of Divine Medicine Valley. With a stern face, she kicked Chen Mu, who had climbed ninety-nine steps, down the stairs. She coldly raised her eyes and said, "You dog, you still know how to come back."
"Since you didn't bring back the herbs you picked, you'd better stay down the mountain and reflect on your actions."
Zhou Yulin's temper flared up instantly, but when she turned around, Chen Muyao was still just a child at that time.
Thinking of the herbs he used on himself, a thought came to mind, but he couldn't bear to let Zhou Yulin think about it too deeply.
He tumbled down the steps, struggled to get back up, and took a long time to do such a simple thing.
After a long while, the scene shifted, and he was back in the Xuanling Sect.
At that time, Chen Muyao was already showing his talent and was an outstanding disciple of the Xuanling Sect.
"Hey, if you ask me, it's not really fair to keep Junior Sister Zhou hanging like that."
The disciple who spoke must have been drunk, as he chuckled and leaned close to Chen Muyao's cold face, "Why does this person practice swordsmanship with you every day but not with anyone else? If you ask me, she definitely has feelings for you."
When Zhou Yulin saw this scene, he was so angry that he smashed the table Chen Muyao was sitting on with his sword. Afterwards, he compensated the shop owner and was punished by copying the precepts thirty times.
Only today did she hear Chen Muyao's words before she swung her sword.
"It's just a friendly competition between peers. Don't say things like that again."
"Why?"
"Because she'll get angry."
The next second, Zhou Yulin smashed the table to pieces.
Further on, she saw Chen Muyao writing by lamplight, carefully putting pen to paper, neatly writing the sentence, "May Zhou Yulin be safe and sound year after year." The long moon hung high, and the young man carried her step by step from the cemetery back to Lingyue Pavilion.
It turns out that she and Chen Muyao also had so many unexpected encounters.
At the end of the dream, a spring flower swayed and landed in Zhou Yulin's palm, and everything before her eyes dissipated.
The person before her gave her a gentle smile.
"I give spring flowers to the one I love."
"It also symbolizes that happiness will come soon, and it is my mother's favorite flower."
Zhou Yulin held the flower and tried to reach out to grab the man's sleeve to ask him a question, but he turned into a gust of wind and disappeared.
"When the ending is revealed, you will find the real script."
It disappeared along with the voice in my mind.
Zhou Yulin couldn't figure out the answer; however, the formation was broken.
The blinding sunlight fell, cutting a white expanse across the sky.
She successfully became the first person in many years to walk out of the Nine Killing Formation alive.
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