Chapter 13: The Shocking String Reveals the Monster – Turns Out He's a Taoist Priest Like a Raccoon…
A thick fog rolled in, and the surroundings were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Shen Lixia was in a daze for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she had already disappeared. The pale mist was like a barrier, layer upon layer, enveloping and gathering, with the shadows of trees swaying within, turning into eerie ghosts.
Her hands were burning hot. Looking down, she saw that she was holding a longbow, dark red in color, with winding dark gold patterns on it, resembling soft bird feathers.
The bow's surface was quite hot, burning her palm, but she only felt comfortable, as if—
It was as if she had lost this bow for a long time and had finally found it today.
With it in my hands, I won't panic even if I can't see through the fog.
A shadow flashed through the crisscrossing trees ahead, drifting eerily. Shen Lixia's heart stirred; before her consciousness could react, her body had already expertly nocked the bow and drawn the string, her eyes burning. A wisp of mist drifted past the boy, unable to obscure the vibrant color in her eyes.
It was bright red, like an inextinguishable flame in the vastness, so bright and captivating.
Shen Lixia curled her lips into a smile, and an arrow materialized out of thin air on the bowstring, its tip gleaming coldly.
This place does not belong to anyone else; it is her hunting ground.
The arrow pierced the mist the instant it was aimed at the target, heading straight for the ghost lurking in the jungle. A scream broke the silence after the sound of flesh tearing apart. Shen Lixia tilted her head, feeling for some reason that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
She gripped the bow tightly and headed towards the source of the sound. When she got closer, her pupils constricted slightly.
It is Lin Fenghua.
The arrow was lodged in the other man's throat; his face was pale with shock, and his body trembled violently. A wave of disgust washed over Shen Lixia. She bent down, grasped the arrow, and prepared to stab it deeper. Blood gushed out, and a sticky sound accompanied by a putrid stench filled the air.
Suddenly, there was a slight movement behind her. Shen Lixia's vision blurred again. Colors gathered and the paleness faded. The scene before her eyes transformed into a mid-spring scene with flowers in full bloom.
She looked blankly at her subordinates, but the man from before had turned into a lifeless wild boar, blood gushing from his throat. He twitched twice and then lay still. Someone clapped behind her. She turned around and her heart clenched.
It was a woman with black hair and dressed in white—or rather, a young girl, whose every move exuded a youthful innocence. She wore a light blue belt around her waist, its pattern resembling water ripples, seemingly unremarkable yet leaving a lasting impression.
Senior sister?
No. It wasn't her... Shen Lixia looked up and saw that the woman's hair was tied with a dark blue ribbon, not the light blue one that Qiao Yanshen usually wore.
They look very similar, yet they are never the same person.
Just as she was in a state of confusion, the woman spoke.
"Wow! That's amazing archery. But this place seems to be someone else's territory. Won't we get caught if we do this?" The other person's voice was soft and gentle, clear and melodious, as if a stream of water was washing over one's body and mind.
I really want to talk to her.
Just as she was thinking this, Shen Lixia uncontrollably replied, "It's alright! I'll put this in my bag first, and we'll go through the forest together for a barbecue later."
As she finished speaking, her voice rose at the end, revealing a hint of smugness.
The willows sway gently, their white catkins dancing in the air. The flowers bloom in abundance, so dazzling, that they dazzle the sharp eyes of the young people; the pollen and fragrance filling the air intoxicate their restless hearts.
After carefully collecting the enormous beast carcass, she reached out and tugged at the other person's sleeve, leading them forward into the verdant forest path of mid-spring, where they ran freely through the swaying shadows of the trees.
"This forest is so dense, it's gotten much darker now..."
Are you afraid?
"It won't happen when you're here."
The other person's hand was very light, as if it had lost its basic weight, with only a slightly cool temperature. She opened her mouth halfway through her run, as if she were about to shout something, as if it were the height of spring, as if a riot of flowers were dazzling to the eye.
But all of this stopped just before she was about to call out the other person's name.
Shen Lixia did not know the boy's name.
She tried desperately to recall, straining with all her might, but couldn't grasp that fleeting fragment of memory, and was almost brought to tears. Why couldn't she remember? Why was she here? Whose memory was this? Why did it feel so familiar? And where did the warmth and pain coexisting in her heart come from…?
She couldn't remember anything at all.
Along the long pavilion road lined with green willows and fragrant grasses, it's easy to leave a loved one behind in youth.
Shen Lixia suddenly stopped, raised her hand to touch her cheek, and sure enough, it was covered in tears. She heard someone sigh, and then the spring colors vanished, the person behind her disappeared, and the endless affection came to an abrupt end, as if someone had forcibly cut it off.
But I'm so lonely.
Her hand slid to her chest, clutching her clothes tightly, feeling as if something was missing, an emptiness within. Tears streamed down her face, like beads falling from a broken string.
No, no. She hadn't lost that person. That person was clearly still beside her, just now—walking ahead of her. She hadn't been abandoned; on the contrary, she was being cared for.
The ambiguous feelings receded like a tide, and Shen Lixia was suddenly jolted awake from the heavy shackles that had bound her consciousness. She shook her head and slapped her face hard.
All around was a vast expanse of white mist.
But there was something unusual. Shen Lixia's nose twitched slightly as she caught a whiff of sandalwood incense in the air. The scent was extremely faint; she had been completely oblivious to it while immersed in her hallucinations. Now, however, it seemed somewhat pungent to her.
She focused her attention and walked towards the sandalwood incense. The scent acted as a guide, preventing her from getting lost in the mist. The illusion could no longer hold her back, for a guiding light had been found within her.
She needs to find Qiao Yanshen.
Shen Lixia followed the sandalwood scent deeper into the white mist. Although she still couldn't see anything around her, she vaguely sensed that something was changing.
The ghost's methods were very strange. It could reproduce these scenes that she had never seen before, yet they also evoked a sense of familiarity, as if these were not unfamiliar things, but rather hidden deep in her memory, having been forgotten for a long time.
Who exactly is the person who looks somewhat like my senior sister, and who is "myself"?
And why did she feel such a strong sense of loss just now...?
Shen Lixia clenched her fists tightly.
It's like never seeing that special someone again.
She sighed, feeling the sandalwood incense growing stronger, beginning to emit a cold, sour, and rotten smell, as if she had stumbled into some sacred Buddhist site.
If it were caused by ghosts or monsters, it shouldn't have this smell, and it should be even more...
Shen Lixia pondered, feeling that something was amiss. In her mind, the illusions of ghosts and monsters were far more terrifying, always involving seeing dripping blood, hearing mournful wails, and witnessing scenes from hell to express resentment or injustice; or creating beautiful illusions to lure people into willingly giving up their lives.
Although the sandalwood incense is cool and gloomy, it doesn't smell of blood. It's just a bit strong, but upon closer inspection, it actually brings a sense of peace.
The scene she had just witnessed only left her feeling lost, not that she had been invaded by evil spirits.
She recalled what she had learned in the past few days, searching for the corresponding parts and slowly pondering them. The sandalwood incense wafted through the air, becoming increasingly strong and intoxicating the further she went, yet each inhale brought a cool sensation to her lungs.
Halfway there, Shen Lixia suddenly slapped her forehead.
This is a formation.
It is a barrier formed by magic, not a demonic spell created by ghosts, but an illusion array.
Behind the illusion array is not a monster, but—
Someone has set up this formation here.
Could he be a scheming array cultivator?
However, now that it has been confirmed to be an array, we only need to find the array's core to break it.
The strange sandalwood scent currently permeating the air was probably a crucial clue to finding the array's core. With this in mind, Shen Lixia quickened her pace, following the fragrance to locate the oddity within the mist. Her keen sense of smell made this task quite easy.
When she reached the area where the sandalwood incense was strongest, she could clearly see something undulating within the white mist. This distinguished it from the surrounding space, like a discordant piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Shen Lixia couldn't find any other items on her body, and when she looked down, she realized that her storage pouch was gone.
If this is a "dream"...
Then there should be some of her consciousness involved as well.
The most likely weapon she could obtain right now... she didn't have a sword, her previous spirit orbs had long been used up, and her slingshot was nothing special; the details had become somewhat blurry when she conceived it.
Bow... Her thoughts paused here. Shen Lixia blinked and raised her hand.
She slowly recalled the appearance of that longbow. The dark wood looked exceptionally precious, adorned with winding dark gold patterns, beautiful and luxurious. The bowstring seemed to be made of a special material, strong and resilient.
A burning sensation came from her hand, and Shen Lixia opened her eyes to find the dark red longbow already in her grasp.
She drew her bow and shot an arrow as before, aiming at the undulating ground. The arrow shot straight ahead like a cluster of flames, making a whistling sound.
The fluctuating space was instantly pierced, first with a slight cracking sound, then the cracks spread rapidly, and everything collapsed.
The surrounding white mist vanished, and the barrier shattered instantly.
Before her consciousness plunged into darkness once again, Shen Lixia suddenly felt a strange, indescribable emotion slip through her heart.
I don't want to lose her again.
We can't let her go this time.
Someone sighed and murmured to themselves deep within her mind.
However, time was of the essence, and she had to quickly shake off this melancholy and return to reality.
After finally regaining consciousness, Shen Lixia did not rush to open her eyes, but instead listened to the sounds around her.
...Is someone touching her belt?
Suddenly, Shen Lixia felt a lightness around her waist; she could tell that her storage bag had been taken away.
Then a clear female voice rang out.
"Why are you hugging so tightly while sleeping? Sigh, these days everyone's in pairs!"
Hearing this, Shen Lixia realized what she was holding in her arms. She opened her eyes slightly and saw Qiao Yanshen sleeping soundly in her arms.
The familiar scent enveloped the boy, blushing the tips of her ears. Shen Lixia took a deep breath, biting her lower lip to suppress her trembling.
That was too much. Luckily, my senior sister won't know.
But at the same time, she felt a sense of satisfaction, an unparalleled sense of peace flowing through her entire body, making even the tips of her hair relax.
There was a rustling sound behind me.
"So little stuff... not even a single spirit stone. What a pauper... Could he be a disciple of the Boundless Sword Sect?"
He rummaged through people's storage bags to steal things and then acted like this; what a rotten person.
"Oh, and there's a small wooden carving. It's so exquisite, could it be a gift from the person next to it..."
She made it herself!
Shen Lixia could no longer restrain herself. After carefully releasing Qiao Yanshen, she suddenly sat up. Her movements were not like those of a living person, but rather like those of a corpse coming back to life.
This startled the person next to her who was talking, causing them to drop their storage bag on the ground with a soft thud.
Shen Lixia turned her head, about to speak, when something was stuffed into her mouth.
Wait a minute, it smells pretty good. A strong braised/sauced aroma.
No, she's here to settle accounts, not to freeload. Shen Lixia spat out the food with a speechless expression, eliciting a startled cry from the man:
"So, a big pig's trotter really can't replace a black donkey's trotter!"
...Does she have some unspeakable intellectual disability, or does she think she's starving?
Shen Lixia wiped her mouth with her hand, stood up and said coldly, "It seems you are the ghost who traps people in illusions and takes the opportunity to steal."
Seeing that she had recovered, the other person took two steps back reluctantly, and his voice weakened: "I am not a ghost... Please let me explain, please let me explain."
Although she wore strange sunglasses and dark blue robes, Shen Lixia noticed that she had thick eyebrows and, if it weren't for her soft eyes, she could be described as righteous and awe-inspiring, not like an evil spirit.
However, appearances can be deceiving; who knows what kind of bad intentions she might have?
The boy nodded, crossed his arms, and his hostility remained undiminished: "State your name, and who your master is?"
The woman wiped away her cold sweat and smiled, "My name is Simmons, and I have been ordered to quell the chaos in Kuizhou."
When she spoke of her sect, she paused for a moment before continuing, "I come from Buddhism."
A note from the author:
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A riot of flowers dazzles the eye; shallow grass barely covers the horse's hooves. —Quoted from Bai Juyi's "Spring Outing on the West Lake"
Green willows and fragrant grasses line the long pavilion road; in youth, it's easy to leave loved ones behind. —Quoted from Yan Shu's "Jade Tower Spring: Spring Sorrow"
It touches on the topic of past and present lives, but the two are definitely in love with each other in the present.
Li Xia: This name sounds like it indicates good sleep.
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