69 Mirage Mirror (Part 9)
◎No emotional drama in this chapter◎
A full moon hangs high in the sky. Between the jade buildings, several glass lamps slowly rise up and fly into the night sky to keep the moon company.
Several musicians sat on the ground, plucking the strings with their fingertips. Everyone was intoxicated by the lingering sound, and their laughter was like broken jade falling on a plate.
"Senior Sister, you and Brother have done a great service in this expedition." A disciple of the Immortal Sect stood up shakily, his face flushed as he clinked his wine glass towards her. "You two are now well-known in Fengxi Mountain. If you have any secrets, please let me share in your happiness."
Qiuyan pushed him on the shoulder and scolded him with a smile, "What secrets are there? My brother and I are lucky to have survived and returned to our sect."
Recalling the scene at that time, she still felt a lingering fear.
The yellow sand filled the sky so much that she could hardly open her eyes. Fortunately, her master followed the spiritual power and arrived in time, and defeated the fake master and fake senior brother, so she was able to escape.
I felt so many emotions in my heart, but I didn't know what was happening to my other fellow Taoists... Atang and the others.
She blinked her sore eyes. Half a glass of wine down her throat, the cool breeze caressing her face, had already made her feel a little tipsy. Suddenly, the ground shook violently, startling her. Before she could withdraw her hand, the wine in the glass spilled out, weaving its way through her clothes and soaking into her skin. The slight chill made her shiver.
"What happened just now..." After the shaking passed, she frowned and looked up, but saw that the disciples around her were still talking and laughing, completely unaffected, as if everything just now was just her illusion.
"Senior Sister, why don't you drink anymore? Your alcohol tolerance has become worse after going down the mountain?" The disciple just now shook the wine glass and teased her in a half-drunk tone.
Qiuyan lowered her head to look at him and said, "Didn't you feel it just now?"
"Feel what?"
She was about to answer when a hand suddenly reached out and interrupted her.
Qu Lingfei smiled at her with his eyes crooked: "Junior sister, go back and rest quickly. You look so tired that you're even hallucinating."
Hallucination?
Was it really her hallucination just now?
When she looked up again, there was nothing unusual on the faces of the people around her. It seemed that she was the only one who felt the abnormal shaking.
She felt a little relieved—perhaps she had really overthought. Qiuyan put down her cup and passed a gray wall that was broken in half. She saw a vague figure passing by from above. She paused and followed the figure's movement with her eyes.
Now that her fellow disciples were at the banquet, this person's whereabouts were suspicious, and her intentions were unknown. Thinking of this, she sobered up a lot, quickly untied her belt, took out the talisman paper, and held it in her hand. She slowly walked to the wall, staring at the other person with only one eye.
The dark shadow didn't seem to notice her coming. After shaking slightly, a silver light flashed in the darkness.
Qiuyan saw it clearly; it was a blade. This person was definitely going to harm the sect! Without time to think, she swung the talisman in her hand, and the spiritual power emitted a light that illuminated the man's face.
"Atang?!" Her pupils trembled slightly, and she rushed out to stop the talisman paper that was flying halfway, but it was too late.
Li Jintang was just trying to find an opportunity to blend into the crowd to find her, when suddenly a piece of talisman paper with lightning flew towards him. He was slightly stunned, but his body had already reacted in advance and he turned his head to avoid the attack.
The talisman paper brushed against her hair, and a faint smell of burning entered her nose.
"Sister Qiuyan!" She ran over on the uneven stones on the ground. She felt only joy at having finally found someone, and all the danger she had just experienced was forgotten.
Qiuyan was filled with guilt, but she was relieved to see that she was not hurt. Surprise covered her guilty look, "Atang, how did you find this place? Did everyone leave safely?"
"This is still an illusion, don't be fooled, sister!"
"What?"
Qiuyan was slightly startled, her face turning pale. Then she became alert again - how could she be sure that this Atang in front of her was real?
"I know you're doubting me," Li Jintang saw what she was thinking and tried to convince her: "I also felt the shaking just now. The reason they couldn't feel it is because they were controlled by the illusion, and all their words and actions were set. My arrival caused a shock, which was completely out of the plan, so they..."
She said all this in one breath, and seeing Qiuyan's brow furrowed slightly, as if she still didn't believe it, she said, "If you don't believe me, I can just go over there and see if they can see me."
Qiuyan stared at him, trying to find a flaw in his eyes. She took a step back, and they put some distance between them. "Okay, I'll follow behind you."
Li Jintang took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the center of the banquet. Everything that had just happened was just her guess. If she was wrong...
Her palms were sweating and she had to walk past several disciples who were drinking. She tilted her body and knocked over the wine glasses on the table.
"Huh?" The disciple looked down at the spilled wine and just frowned. "The wind is really strong tonight."
Qiu Yan, who was standing behind and witnessed everything, widened her eyes slightly. Her fingertips trembled as she looked around. Those familiar faces and cheerful laughter seemed so strange at this moment.
"You should believe it now, right?" Li Jintang stopped and looked back at her in the crowd.
"I……"
How could I not believe it? I just didn't want to believe it.
After many twists and turns, he returned home, only to tell her that everything was an illusion.
"Then..." She held back the tears that were about to overflow from her eyes and said, "What should we do now?"
It's not always a bad thing. At least Atang and the others are safe. As for returning to the sect... that's only a matter of time.
"Don't be afraid, sister. Just look over there."
Qiuyan raised her head and looked in the direction of her finger. She saw a large cloud of dust and sawdust rolling down from the beams. She gasped and unconsciously reached out to grab the sleeve of the person next to her.
"As soon as you realized you were in an illusion, it began to collapse," Li Jintang raised his hand and placed it on the back of her hand to comfort her, "so we will definitely be able to get out."
"Junior sister, who are you talking to?" A voice interrupted their conversation.
Qiuyan turned around suddenly and saw her senior brother walking towards her with a gentle smile on his face. But that smile now seemed inexplicably creepy.
"No, nothing." Knowing that he couldn't see her, she still subconsciously stood in front of Li Jintang.
Qu Lingfei's gaze passed right through Li Jintang, as if there was no one there. He smiled gently, "You don't look well. How about I take you back home to rest?"
He is not my senior brother, he is not my senior brother...
Her heart trembled suddenly, and her five fingers dug deeply into the flesh.
If that were the case, wouldn't Senior Brother Zhen have been severely injured by her? The illusion was full of changes, and I didn't know what had happened to him.
If she really killed her senior brother, then she...
"Sister Qiuyan."
Li Jintang touched the back of her hand, and she finally came to her senses. She stammered, "No, don't bother me, Senior Brother. I can go back by myself."
"During the time since you and I went down the mountain, the layout of Fengxi Mountain has changed a lot." Qu Lingfei smiled and took his hand, but she felt that smile made his eyes look even emptier. "Let me accompany you."
"I……"
Before she could finish her words, the girl beside her leaned over and whispered in her ear, "It's okay, sister, just agree to it and see where he wants to go."
Qiu Yan swallowed the refusal that was about to come out, nodded, and said, "Then... I'll trouble you, Senior Brother."
Fengxi Mountain, Fengxi Mountain...
Why does this name sound so familiar...
Li Jintang was stunned for a long time, until Qiuyan turned around and left with "Qu Lingfei", she came to her senses and followed.
She put her hand holding the talisman behind her back and was suddenly bumped. She lowered her eyes and saw a piece of glowing jade.
This is?
Before she could think about it, they had already come to a dark passage. It was pitch black all around, and the dense treetops blocked the moonlight that came through.
Qiu Yan became alert: "Brother, where are we going?"
Qu Lingfei turned around, his smile still as warm as usual, "Junior sister, are you tired and confused? Of course, go to your place to rest."
"I remember now," Qiuyan said calmly, pulling away his hand. "I know how to get there. No need to bother you, Senior Brother."
"Junior sister, you've said this for the second time tonight," Qu Lingfei shook his head and said, "When do we need to exchange these polite words?"
He suddenly took a step forward and stretched out his hand to hold her, "Don't you understand my feelings..."
Before he could finish, a strong light suddenly flashed and passed straight through his outstretched arm.
“Run!”
Li Jintang grabbed her wrist, and the two turned around and rushed deep into the back mountain.
Qiuyan ran while looking back, only to see that his "senior brother" had collapsed, holding his chest, but there was no trace of pain on his face, and his entire body turned into nothingness bit by bit.
"The illusion is about to collapse." The two ran straight to the bottom of a cave. Li Jintang stood firmly on his feet and looked around. "It should be safe here. We will hide here for the time being until the illusion completely dissipates."
Qiuyan looked at her hesitantly and asked puzzledly, "Atang, how did you know how to crack it? Is it really that simple?"
Li Jintang glanced at her, curled his lips, and said mysteriously, "Sister Qiuyan, do you really want to know?"
"Can't I know?"
"Yes," she playfully hooked her finger. When Qiuyan came over, she leaned over and whispered in her ear, "The only way to escape is to destroy the object that is causing the person trapped in the mirage mirror when they experience extreme emotional fluctuations."
Qiuyan blinked, still confused. "What do you mean by 'emotionally aroused...'" Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly came to her senses and her cheeks flushed red. "Atang, why are you teasing me too?"
"I'm not kidding you," Li Jintang took a step back and looked at her innocently, "It's just that the talisman in my hand sensed something, so..."
"Alright, no more talking," Qiu Yan looked around, wanting to change the subject. "After the illusion collapses, will we be able to see my brothers and the others?"
She wasn't sure about that either.
Li Jintang thought for a moment and was about to answer when suddenly a strong feeling of weightlessness enveloped her. Her body seemed to lose strength and she fell all the way out of the cave.
"Atang!"
The girl's cry came from above, and then continued to echo in the air, accompanied only by the echoes.
Li Jintang closed his eyes, his mind blank.
She fell so fast that she didn't even have time to be afraid.
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