Put yourself in a desperate situation and you will survive.
Chapter 41
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Zhou Yulin still couldn't help but frown the moment she stepped into the villa.
Weeds grew rampant among the blue tiles, and wood chips fell from the eaves from time to time without the wind blowing. There was also an open-air awning set up to the side. After glancing at the quilts and pillows under the awning, Zhou Yulin truly believed that this person must be down on his luck now.
A gust of wind swept by, and Quan Jin was caught off guard, ending up with his head covered in white ash.
Seeing the man's miserable appearance, Zhou Yulin tightened her lips, trying hard not to laugh out loud, "Your conditions here are quite good."
That was truly a lie.
Quan Jin remained calm, bending down to brush the dust off his head. Hearing this, he forced a smile but couldn't manage a laugh. "You just said your friend knows me. You weren't talking about Chen Muyao, were you?"
He was silent for a moment, somewhat awkwardly, "He's not a good person."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yulin's eyes subtly lit up, but her face remained impassive as she asked with great suspicion, "Oh? It sounds like you know Chen Muyao quite well?"
"I understand..." Quan Jin belatedly realized something halfway through his sentence, his eyes dimming slightly. "I was abrupt, I'm sorry."
Looking at the cautious and polite person in front of her, Zhou Yulin felt extremely unfamiliar. "If you want to say something, just say it. I'm not the kind of person who relays messages randomly."
Meeting the woman's expectant gaze, Quan Jin lowered his eyes and stopped talking about the previous topic.
“I don’t know him. I will try my best to pay back the money I owe you. I think you should go to the Qingyun Sect to register for entry.” Quan Jin hesitated for a few seconds and stammered, “You two should not go. Let Chen Mu shake him off. You and the other one in white should pack up and go back. You won’t be able to get in.”
"I was just giving you well-intentioned advice. Every year, countless people want to join the Qingyun Sect. Even your friend, who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, is just cannon fodder, let alone someone like you who has no spiritual power." When he said "you," Quan Jin looked at Zhou Yulin. The moment his gaze fell on the other's face, his pupils dilated. "Zhou Yu... no, who exactly are you?"
Seeing that the person had finally realized what was happening, the woman pointed to her stunningly beautiful face, the vermilion mark between her brows shining brightly in the setting sun. She turned her head and smiled charmingly, "Who am I? Hasn't the young sect leader already found his own answer?"
Quan Jin's gaze was stern, his handsome face now filled with suspicion. "You absolutely cannot be Zhou Yulin. She is dead. I saw it with my own eyes."
"I might really be some wandering ghost, Young Sect Master."
Zhou Yulin returned Quan Jin's teasing words verbatim.
Quan Jin cautiously took a few steps back, creating distance between himself and the woman in front of him. Recalling Chen Muyao's attitude just now, he suddenly laughed angrily upon learning that she had come over. "Is it him? He's the one who wants you to be Zhou Yulin's substitute, isn't he? I said, how could such a hypocritical person like him let you stay by his side? Disgusting, it really disgusts me!"
Faced with this person's rapidly changing thought process, it was Zhou Yulin's turn to be dumbfounded this time.
"A body double? What body double?"
Quan Jin was even more furious, and his eyes were filled with pity as he looked at Zhou Yulin. "Heh, I really underestimated this person. She must have put in a lot of effort to find someone who looks so much like her."
If Quan Jin was still wary of him just now, he only felt sympathy for him now. "The Xuanling Sect Leader has a disciple who broke through to the Golden Core stage at the age of sixteen and won the Five Spirit Platform championship at the age of fifteen. You and that fairy have almost the same face."
Zhou Yulin: I know, these are all my past experiences.
This wasn't the first time she had heard her name spoken by others.
“You might not know this, but I didn’t want to tell you.” Quan Jin sighed deeply, “Actually…”
"Wait a minute," Zhou Yulin called out, "Are you really Quan Jin?"
This was the second time she had asked this person a question that day.
"I am not..."
“Okay, you are.” Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Yulin said reassuredly, “You don’t need to pay back the money. I just need you to do one thing for me.”
Quan Jin instinctively asked, "What?"
"Qingyun Sect, Marrow Cleansing Pool".
Upon hearing these six words, Quan Jin's expression changed, somewhat puzzled. "You joined the Qingyun Sect just to take a bath?"
Zhou Yulin blinked, seemingly unable to refute anything; she did indeed want to enter the Qingyun Sect for the purpose of marrow cleansing.
Quan Jin scrutinized the other person for a few moments, realizing that he wasn't lying, and was both amused and exasperated. He rubbed his forehead, thankful, "It's a good thing you said so sooner. When I kicked you out, I also brought out the Marrow Cleansing Pool. If you hadn't run into me, you probably would have made a wasted trip."
Zhou Yulin glanced at the person who spoke without batting an eye and with extreme self-righteousness, and didn't delve into the meaning of "being kicked out."
"This is also to repay the kindness of saving me earlier. Go ahead and try to seduce me if you want, I don't have any money to pay you back anyway."
Quan Jin was easy to talk to, and casually pointed Zhou Yulin in a direction, "Turn left after you go out, then turn right twice. I dug a hole and put up a sign there."
*
Following the route Quan Jin had indicated, Zhou Yulin found the Marrow Cleansing Pool hidden in a remote corner. Looking at the clear blue water that was exactly the same as in her memory, she suppressed the surging emotions in her heart.
Whether it's a turning point or a trial and error, it's all good.
This was all Zhou Yulin's desperate gamble.
"Is there anything you're afraid of, Little Moon?"
"I fear losing my loved ones, I fear wandering as a lonely soul, I fear losing all my magical powers and falling into the dust." This is Zhou Yulin's current answer.
But the girl simply answered with two words: "Never."
The pain when her fingertips touched the Marrow Cleansing Pool did not make Zhou Yulin pull her fingers back. She immersed her hand completely in, letting the pain erode her, while an anxious voice echoed in her mind, "Oh dear, you little girl, why are you so stubborn!"
"Your spiritual root is useless; this is your destiny. If you want to defy fate, you are going against the way of heaven, and it is destined to be a bitter path. Why do you have to walk the most bitter path?"
Zhou Yulin looked at her palm, which was gradually becoming transparent, and smiled through gritted teeth, "Senior, I have lived once, so I am not afraid of death. If I am afraid, it is only that I did not live enough."
The voice suddenly fell silent, as if it knew it couldn't persuade this stubborn person.
The water in the Marrow Cleansing Pool is the clearest in the world, but for Zhou Yulin, soaking in it is by no means easy. With every inch of immersion, the pain penetrates deeper into the bone, each cut feeling like being slowly sliced to death, breaking the bones and reshaping them.
He knew this person wouldn't be able to endure it. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't withstand being soaked all over, let alone someone like her who had no spiritual power left. This was destined to be a case of throwing a stone at an egg.
He admired the man's integrity, but also lamented his foolishness and naivety.
Blood dripped onto the ground. Zhou Yulin took off her outer clothes and walked step by step down the slope into the pool. At first, the water only reached her feet. The woman swayed and almost fell, but fortunately she managed to steady herself in time. However, this was her limit.
Pain tormented Zhou Yulin's will, constantly reminding her that she had long since lost all her spiritual power, and that she was now just Jiangning Zhou Yulin.
Stripped of all external titles, he is just an ordinary person.
If she really couldn't hold on any longer, she was really foolish; she should have left a suicide note.
Her thoughts gradually scattered, and the pain robbed her of all consciousness. Zhou Yulin fell into the pool, and the crimson water rippled outwards.
"You have a useless spiritual root; it's your destiny!"
"You? A weak woman with no spiritual power?"
"Your father doesn't want you to be so competitive."
Amidst a thousand familiar voices, with each breath growing fainter and each heartbeat louder than the last, "Zhou Yulin... is destined to be the best in the world." A sliver of light pierced through the dense foliage; she reached out, but could not grasp it.
The heartbeat stopped for a moment, and the pool returned to its initial calm.
"Young people are so impetuous."
The voice sighed, "If you had obediently followed the path I laid out, you could have lived a few more years." However, the voice abruptly stopped, followed by a rather suspicious question, "Huh?"
The woman, who had lost vital signs, floated on the water, her black hair scattered. But a golden light flashed, and the lost body temperature gradually returned to her body. The water in the Marrow Cleansing Pool no longer hurt, but gently enveloped Zhou Yulin.
The jungle rustled as the young man slashed through the obstructions on both sides with his sword, stepping through the light in the middle of the passage. Looking at the array shimmering in his palm, he lowered his eyes to the Yao Guang Bell that he had given to Zhou Yulin. As if sensing its master's arrival, the silent bell began to sway, as if it were asking for credit for something.
Chen Muyao wasn't in a hurry to pull Zhou Yulin out. The young man stood with his arms crossed, looking up at her calmly. The jade ornaments on his ears were as aloof and cold as a person, and his amber eyes were quietly watching the woman in the center of the pool, as if waiting for something.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yulin, now covered in blood, opened her eyes. They were deep purple eyes, like stars in the night sky, shimmering with a bewitching light. She slowly rose from the pool, her clothes clinging to her body and outlining her beautiful curves.
She walked dripping water as she stood before Chen Muyao, a radiant smile slowly spreading across her face, a blend of innocence and allure. Her breath was sweet and fragrant. "Is Young Master satisfied?"
It was clearly the same face, yet it conveyed two completely different feelings. Chen Muyao's gaze was deep, and his tone was icy, "Did Father send you?"
The woman smiled, unperturbed by the young man's cold attitude, and said respectfully, "Your subordinate, Yu Niang, greets Young Master."
The sword flashed as Yu Niang glanced sideways at the longsword pressed against her neck, and smiled faintly, "Does Young Master intend to kill her?"
It goes without saying who she is.
As if she had calculated something, Yu Niang appeared extremely calm in the face of the young man who was full of murderous aura. She even had the leisure to joke, "Yu Niang has been following the young master for a long time, but only when she is here does the young master show a rare murderous aura. It's really interesting."
“A useless person with no spiritual power is not a good match for the young master.”
Yu Niang paused, especially since she looked so much like that person.
"The engagement has already been arranged, so please turn back in time, young master, and don't make another mistake." Yu Niang advised, "Young master already displeased the sect leader back then."
The young man's dark eyes glared at her, his murderous intent undisguised, his expression as nonchalant and lazy as ever. "Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?" The sword pierced inward, and streaks of blood trickled down her neck.
Yu Niang was flustered, wondering if the other party had discovered something, but her face showed no fear. "If this can make the young master turn back, it might not be a bad thing. Yu Niang is willing to sacrifice herself."
"Sacrifice? That's laughable." The young man chewed on the word. "It's fine if it's just acting, but Yu Niang, why did you take it seriously?"
That all-knowing gaze fell upon her, and when she met those dark, deep eyes, Yu Niang knew that this person knew everything. Chen Muyao said casually, "Let me think, where is your real body?"
"Young Master!"
"Aren't you going to get lost?" The young man's eyes were arrogant, and his tone was cold.
When the soul leaves the body, the range will not exceed ten meters.
It was already past midnight when Zhou Yulin finally woke up.
She propped her head up, but couldn't remember how she got back.
It was as if she went to the cemetery to pay her respects every year.
Does she really have the ability to sleepwalk and take me home?
It felt like all the bones in her body had been reshaped, especially her spiritual meridians, which felt like they had been disturbed. The pain was so intense that Zhou Yulin couldn't breathe. Perhaps because of the pain, she belatedly realized that there were other people in the room.
She immediately became wary, "Who!"
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