52 Ancient City (VII)
◎ Help you break the prophecy ◎
The waning moon shines obliquely, and its shadow is desolate.
When she regained consciousness and opened her eyes, all she could hear was a series of irregular beating sounds.
Where is this?
Qiu Yan got up with a start, and took two steps at a time to reach Qu Lingfei's side. She wanted to lean over and shake him awake, but her legs went weak and she knelt down.
“Senior Brother, Senior Brother…”
She called out twice, but there was still no response. Qiuyan's heart sank. Just as she was about to reach out to check his breath, a pot of water suddenly splashed over from the side.
"Nangong Xiu?" She turned her head and saw who it was. She couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise, and then her gaze turned to his bleeding arm.
"There are puppets everywhere out there. I... accidentally got tricked." Nangong Xiu walked over to her and sat down. The barrier at the cave entrance closed again. He handed her a pot of water. "Pour it over him to wake him up."
Qiu Yan reached out her hand tremblingly to take the pot of water. The aphrodisiac incense was still in her body, and she still felt a little drowsy. Her arm was obviously numb when it touched other things.
The person on the ground had his eyes closed. After a moment's hesitation, the water in the pot tilted and spilled. Before it hit the ground, the person suddenly sat up, splashing water all over her.
"No... Brother Xie, it's never too late to turn back..."
The hair on Qu Lingfei's forehead was wet with water, and his eyes looked around with empty anxiety.
"Brother," Qiu Yan felt relieved to see him finally awake, but she noticed something was wrong with his expression and asked hurriedly, "Did you have a nightmare? It's okay, it was all fake."
It was a nightmare, but why did he feel so anxious...
The sword stuck in his chest was too real, so real that he thought he was going to die.
"You'd better pray that you can continue to stay in this nightmare," Nangong Xiu said with a wry smile, looking out of the cave, "Now it's much worse than your nightmare."
"But how did we end up here?" Qiuyan frowned, thinking. The shopkeeper had no reason to harm them, but who else could it be but him? "Could it be that Atang and Fellow Daoist Xie saved us? But where are they now?"
Qu Lingfei staggered to his feet, holding onto the cave wall. When he was only two steps away from the cave entrance, a distorted face suddenly pressed against the barrier at the cave entrance.
His brows were furrowed, and his hand habitually reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist, only to find it empty - their swords had been hidden while they were unconscious.
"Without our swords, Atang and the others won't be much better off," Qiu Yan, still thinking of others, said anxiously, "Brother, we can't defeat these things. Why don't we try to escape first? Once we get back to the inn, we can capture those people and force them to find Atang and Fellow Daoist Xie."
This was the only solution at this point. Qu Lingfei's brows relaxed, but his expression remained grim. "Junior sister, do you have any ideas?"
"Listen to me," Nangong Xiu suddenly said, standing up and walking between them. A cluster of golden light danced in his palm. "This is the spirit bead I used to refine the puppet. Hide it in your sleeves, and the smell will be the same as the puppet. Maybe it can fool you for a while."
The three of them immediately walked out of the barrier. Seeing this, the puppets hiding in the bushes rushed out together, but they really stopped not far from them, then turned around and left.
It seems that they are regarded as the same kind.
The three of them used the spirit beads as a cover to move through the puppets and easily left them behind.
*
Bloodstains were spreading crookedly on the ground. Li Jintang raised his eyes, but all he saw was endless darkness.
Strange, has anyone been here before?
Suddenly, an ominous premonition came to my mind - could it be Xie An?
"Kid, let's go back and find Qu Lingfei and the others first."
Li Jintang glanced at his shoulder, his feet still moving. "If you're scared, you can go back by yourself."
"Who, who said I was scared?" Mingshu's mouth trembled a few times as he spoke, and his voice was particularly loud in the quiet forest. "Are you going to look for that kid again? This place is very dangerous. Is it worth losing your life for him?"
"Xie An left everything to me. Now he's missing, so how can I leave alone?" Li Jintang answered very straightforwardly, but his voice couldn't help but lower when he said the last sentence. "Besides... he's the protagonist. If I find him, nothing will happen to me."
"Silly boy, are you so sure that he is the protagonist?" Mingshu was really disappointed.
"It's not true, but he's saved me so many times. It's neither moral nor logical for me to abandon him." There was a space above her head, and moonlight streamed through the sky, falling into her dark eyes. "If... if I had to consider the pros and cons of every interaction, how tiring would that be?"
The Book of Fate hummed twice and stopped talking, only turning the pages one by one.
It was very quiet here, even the trees nearby were standing in neat rows, with no signs of the puppets having been there.
The sound of the wind in front seemed wrong... Li Jintang stepped on a thick layer of fallen leaves, the moonlight in his eyes was swallowed by darkness, and a slender shadow was cast behind him.
Is this... a cave?
Before she reached the cave entrance, she could keenly smell the blood coming from inside.
The Book of Fate lay on her shoulder, and the flickering blue light illuminated the cave wall - there were some messy marks on the ground, but no one could be seen.
The girl stayed at the cave entrance for a moment. Her thin body seemed shaky in the wind, as if she would float away with the wind in the next second.
"Atang." The boy's voice was as weak as porcelain about to break.
The night wind blew fallen leaves into the cave, rustling as they passed by her feet. Li Jintang stood there as if under a spell, and turned stiffly to look at the other person.
The blue light emitted by the Book of Fate suddenly went out, and the boy's figure disappeared from her sight.
"Xie An?" Her voice was trembling.
He had only had time to take a quick look, but he was clearly badly injured. Li Jintang looked at the fate book with pleading eyes and silently pursed his lips.
At this moment, of course saving lives is the most important thing. Whether or not we are exposed is not that important.
Feeling her gaze, the Book of Life turned over and lit up again.
The light shone on the young man. His face was as pale as snow. Blood flowed from his fingertips, leaving a crimson petal-like stain on his white robe.
Xie Changyan leaned weakly against the rock wall, as lonely as a broken statue, with the girl's panic-stricken look reflected in his pupils.
As she approached, a beam of moonlight slanted in from the cave entrance, casting a stone into the calm lake in his eyes, and his eyes suddenly brightened.
"Didn't I tell you to leave?" He looked at the girl half-kneeling in front of him, "Why are you back again?"
Li Jintang didn't answer. He stretched out his hand and pressed his shoulder gently, his eyes reflecting the moonlight. "Does it hurt?"
He was injured like this because he must have single-handedly led away those puppets just now, creating a chance for her to escape.
But he sealed his own spiritual veins, so how could he resist them?
Her wrist was grabbed, and she raised her eyes, meeting the boy's dark eyes.
He stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly smiled and said with a weak breath, "If you leave now, you might still be able to return alive. But it's too late, and I won't be able to protect you anymore."
Li Jintang looked at him in silence for a long time, pulled his hand out of his palm, stood up and walked towards the cave entrance without looking back.
As expected, he left...
Xie Changyan leaned back against the cave wall, feeling relieved. The slight disappointment that had just emerged in his eyes was obscured by his eyelids. Not long after, he heard the rustling sound of footsteps beside him. He opened his eyes and was greeted by the bright light from the cave entrance.
"you……"
The girl stood beside him, using the only remaining elixir in her purse to create a barrier. "You can't drive me away now."
The light from the barrier poured into his eyes, illuminating his dark pupils.
The young man pursed his lips and looked at the person in front of him with drooping eyes, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Without waiting for her to reply, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her in, intending to scare her: "If you fall into the hands of those creatures, they will peel off your skin alive. You will have to endure the pain for seven full days before you die completely. Can you bear it?"
Li Jintang's body trembled slightly, not sure if it was because of fear or because he was too close. His wrists were clasped together, and it felt a little itchy.
As if this look was expected, he smiled and let go of her hand, "Why, do you regret staying?"
It's really strange. He is obviously very scared, but he still comes back to find her.
Xie Changyan closed his eyes, remembering that she said they were friends, and this was the sacrifice she would make for every "friend".
And not just for him.
"Xie An, you're seriously injured. You should talk less." Li Jintang looked into his eyes and tried to get closer to him. "Don't move. Let me see where else you're injured..."
Without waiting for the other party to react, her fingers had already taken the lead in lifting up the clothes on his back. That piece of cloth had long been soaked with blood, and blood was oozing out with every breath.
Li Jintang's heart suddenly ached and her eyes softened, but the other party lowered his hand, blocking her sight.
His expression was somewhat complicated, as if he was in a state of extreme embarrassment. "Don't look..."
"Okay, I won't look at you," Li Jintang obeyed, fumbling several times before finally pulling a tourniquet from her pouch. Luckily, she had saved another, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do. She immediately turned her back. "Then... if you don't want me to see, then take care of it yourself. My spiritual veins aren't sealed. Once you've wrapped it, I'll come back to heal you."
*
The moonlight cast a layer of silver light on the street, and the crisis surged behind like the receding tide, leaving only a patchwork of mottled shadows of trees.
The city was silent at this time. The door of the inn was kicked open with a bang, startling the crows on the eaves.
Qu Lingfei's face darkened, and he spread his hands helplessly, saying, "Brother Nangong, you're being too rude. What if you disturb the other citizens?"
"Senior Brother is just too kind," Qiu Yan glanced at him and blurted out, "I think the other people in this city aren't any good either. So what if they wake up and make trouble?"
Qu Lingfei had never been able to deal with his junior sister's words, and he also knew that finding someone was the most important thing at the moment, so he stepped into the inn, then turned into the corridor, found the room they stayed in last night, and carefully pushed open the door.
The room was empty. He scanned the room and his eyes fell on the two scabbards in the corner.
Their swords were still there...
He ran forward and picked it up. The long sword drew an arc in the air and landed steadily in the hands of Nangong Xiu who had just entered the room.
"Why are there only two?" Qu Lingfei frowned and searched around the inn again. Not only did he not see Xie Changyan's sword, he didn't even see the shadow of a living person.
A chill suddenly grew in his heart—Could Brother Xie and the others have met with disaster?
"What are you thinking about, Brother?" Qiu Yan stepped forward and patted his shoulder. She could guess what her brother was thinking as soon as he was distracted. "I think Brother Xie's cultivation level is higher than yours, so there's no need to worry too much."
"That's right," Qu Lingfei nodded slightly and waved to Nangong Xiu behind him, saying, "Nangong Xiu, stop looking and go outside to take a look. Maybe you'll find something else."
There is no one in the inn now, so I don’t think I can find any useful information.
Qiu Yan pursed her lips and took a step back, saying, "Brother, you guys go out first. I'll meet you later."
Qu Lingfei's face immediately showed worry. He was about to speak when he heard Nangong Xiu's cold voice: "If you hesitate any longer, they might even lose their bodies. Besides, there's no one in this inn. And I think your sister can fight four people with one punch. What's the danger?"
"Yes, yes," Qiuyan was too lazy to argue with him at this point and just kept urging him, "Go quickly with Fellow Daoist Nangong. I'll be fine."
After the two men walked away, Qiu Yan moved to the backyard and carefully looked at the statue.
For some reason, the more she stared at it, the more unsettled she felt.
This statue was different from any statue she had ever seen before, but she couldn't tell what the difference was.
It seems...very weird.
Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew in. She wrapped her sleeves tightly, raised her head and glanced upwards, her eyes immediately fixed on the spherical face.
She suddenly understood why she thought this thing was weird.
There is obviously something wrong with the eyes of this statue. How can eyes be made so lifelike? There are even two white beads inlaid on it, just like the eyeballs of a living person.
She hadn't noticed it when Li Jintang mentioned it during the day, but now that she thought about it carefully, the expressions of the large group of citizens sitting in the inn seemed to be a little strange when the statue was mentioned.
Qiuyan stretched out her hand and carefully felt its material.
It's just an ordinary statue, why do they care so much?
It seems that the shopkeeper plotted against them in the middle of the night just for this statue.
Because she was going to kill someone to silence him for a mere statue, she smiled coldly, swung her arm forward, and a stream of spiritual power struck directly at the gold-plated object.
She wanted to see what shameful treasures were hidden inside.
There was a loud bang, and the statue's arm broke in half, and a golden object jumped out of it.
The night wind swept through the streets, carrying dead branches and rotten leaves, leaving a cloud of dust. The stalls on both sides of the street had been closed, and every house had turned off its lights. The street was quiet and deserted.
"Senior Brother——"
The girl's voice came from behind him. Qu Lingfei stopped immediately and saw that she really had no injuries on her body. A look of joy appeared on his face.
Qiu Yan, however, passed him by and ran to Nangong Xiu, holding out her palm. "This is what I just found in that statue. Do you know what it is?"
"This is..." Nangong Xiu frowned and stretched out his hand to take it, but the thing suddenly shook in the girl's palm, and then rolled to the ground as if attracted by something.
"Why……"
"Don't chase it," Qu Lingfei grabbed her wrist, his expression serious, "Let's see where it goes."
"This thing looks familiar..." Nangong Xiu rubbed his eyebrows, as if he was in deep thought. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head and saw that the round thing just rolled down the steps and hit the door of a house.
"That time with the Bat Demon, you were forced to take out what you gave him."
This sentence seemed to wake Qu Lingfei up. His eyes widened slightly, then drooped again. "It does look similar, but it's still different. Nangong Xiu, you and the others are from the demon world, don't you recognize it?"
Does this guy think he knows everything? Nangong Xiu rolled his eyes at him and was about to speak when he suddenly heard some whispers coming from behind the door.
The three of them exchanged glances, then jumped up and dodged into the alleys on both sides, their ears almost touching the wall.
I heard a woman whisper in a soft, delicate voice, "Who's knocking on my door so late at night?"
Of course, the ball didn't answer. It rolled back again and hit the door heavily.
But there was not a breath of wind at the moment.
After a long silence, the three of them could no longer hold back and were about to step forward to retrieve the bead when the door creaked and opened from the inside.
Qiuyan pressed her shoulders against the wall, tucked her hair behind her ears, and stared at them without blinking with only one eye.
The next moment, she saw the face of the woman who opened the door change, and she whispered angrily, "What's wrong with this person? She actually let you out in the middle of the night." Then she squatted down and gently picked up the bead, as if she was treating some rare treasure.
When the door was about to close, Nangong Xiu suddenly threw out a thin needle, which got stuck right in the middle of the door crack. The woman didn't pay attention and just thought the door was closed. The sound of footsteps was heard leaving the door.
Worried about being surrounded by people and seeing too many eyes, Qiu Yan flew forward, landed lightly, tiptoed closer to the door, and squinted one eye to look inside through the crack.
For some reason, the man didn't turn on the light, and the room was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly.
She raised her head with a little frustration, and just took two steps back away from the door, when suddenly there was a swish sound, and a blade stretched out from inside, directly cutting the thin needle inserted in the gap into two halves.
Qiuyan felt a chill in her heart, and looked down at the tip of the knife that was half exposed from the door - if she had stepped back a moment later, she would have been stabbed by more than just a thin needle.
"Junior Sister!" Qu Lingfei saw the thrilling scene just now and couldn't help but lean forward and shouted.
Qiu Yan bit her lip and raised her hand to shoot out a beam of golden light, which went straight through the crack in the door and struck the inner room. Then a low groan of "Ouch" was heard, and it was obvious that the person in the room was hit.
It seems that they had been discovered a long time ago. Since the other party was merciless, it was no wonder that she was ruthless.
Without giving the man a chance to breathe, Qiu Yan kicked open the door and took the long sword from Qu Lingfei's waist. The cold light from the tip of the sword illuminated the dark room.
"Tell me, who are you? And what is that bead for?!"
*
"Have you taken care of it?"
After waiting for a long time, there was no movement behind me. The man seemed to be asleep, and I could only hear his deep and shallow breathing.
Li Jintang couldn't help but ask, "If you're done, I'll come back."
She waited patiently for a long time, and heard a "hmm" from behind.
The girl turned around and saw that the bloodstains on his clothes had disappeared completely. The white robe looked so spotless, only blood was still oozing from his shoulders from time to time.
"You don't need to treat me," the young man lowered his eyelashes and wiped away the bloodstain nonchalantly, as if flicking off a tiny insect. He straightened his shirt and smiled casually, as if recounting a trivial matter. "It's been poisoned. If you don't want to die, stay away from me."
He raised his eyes and looked at her calmly, thinking that she would be frightened and run away immediately, but unexpectedly, the smile froze before the corners of his lips could even rise.
"Poison?" Li Jintang was stunned for a moment. Under his astonished gaze, he walked closer to him and tried to soothe him in a gentle tone. "Xie An, don't be afraid. Dad and I have learned the magic of detoxifying various poisons. There must be a way..."
Xie Changyan couldn't laugh anymore. He pulled his clothes together and backed away, only to find his back pressed against the rock wall. His eyes darkened, no trace of a smile in them. "I told you, if you don't want to die, then..."
"He won't die. Let me take a look."
The girl dived into his arms, lowering her head to feel for his wound. She pointed her finger at his sleeve and raised her eyes slightly, "Is it here?"
The boy's expression became complicated, and at that moment, the blood in his body seemed to freeze. This time, he didn't push her away. He just rigidly grasped her wrist, moved her hand in front of him, and guided her to press against his shoulder.
"Did you feel it?" He smiled miserably, more like a delicate piece of porcelain that would shatter at the slightest touch. "It's true it's not contagious, but I'm not lying to you about one thing. Only the person who created this poison has the antidote. If you don't have it, you'll die within seven days."
Li Jintang listened in a daze, and it took him a long while to find his voice: "Will you die?"
She looked at her with hopeful eyes, hoping to hear the answer she wanted to hear.
He is the protagonist... How could the protagonist die so easily?
"I can't say for sure..." The young man was slightly stunned, and suddenly he couldn't say the rest of the words.
He actually saw a trace of undisguised fear in her eyes.
What was she afraid of? Was she afraid of his death?
Xie Changyan was completely immersed in darkness, only his eyes, reflecting the girl's voice, were slightly bright. Could anyone still feel sympathy for such a worthless life, despised by everyone, before he died?
Before he could think about it, he saw the girl's eyes turn red, and two thin beads of tears fell from the corners of her eyes and slid down to her chin.
【Author’s words】
Tomorrow I will continue with the big fat chapter [cat head]
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