31. Fragrant Grave Soil · 4 · Designed by One Person
Tang Xi staggered back two steps, leaning against the small wooden table beside her, her fingers trembling, unable to believe it. "Me? You schemed against me? When? We've only met once. Did you... when I saved you?"
Zhu Qianqian pressed her head to the ground and said in a muffled voice, "Yes."
Tang Xi was deeply shocked, her gaze blank, and she asked in a daze, "What did you do?"
"You were seriously injured back then, your spiritual meridians were severed, do you remember?"
Zhu Qianqian straightened up and carefully glanced at Tang Xihe's face. "When I was repairing your spiritual veins, I did something a little trick... I planted a 'Fate Thread' in your spiritual veins."
"Tethered threads?" Gui Fang asked. "What are those? Are they poisonous?"
"It's harmless and harmless. It's a secret technique of the Enchanting Web Insect clan, designed to attract destiny. The two parties who plant the thread of destiny will be drawn together by a certain event at a specific time and place... Ah, it won't harm humans! Immortal Tang, please rest assured! The most side effect is that it makes people's perception of pain less sensitive than normal!"
Zhu Qianqian extended two fingers, squinted, and pinched a slit in the air. "The damage that the Fate-Connecting Threads inflicted on you is less than one ten-thousandth of the injury caused by the rupture of your spiritual veins!"
The two who had been mocking Tang Xi suddenly fell silent.
Bei Chen pondered, "Back then, Tang Xi was seriously injured and even saved you. Then you took a liking to his spiritual veins and poisoned him with a non-poisonous substance?"
Gui Fang couldn't help but say, "Don't you want to listen to what you're saying?"
"No, no! I wasn't injured before the immortal saved me! It's all my fault!"
Zhu Qianqian was so anxious that she couldn't even finish saying "I" properly. She hurriedly waved her hands in the air and said, "Those hundreds of evil spirit masters thought I was a remnant of the evil crows and rushed over in a swarm! Even though I handed over the contract to dissolve the guardianship that Wang had prepared before leaving, they still didn't believe me and were determined to cut me open and take my core!"
"Fortunately, Immortal Tang, who happened to be passing by, came to my aid. However, due to my involvement, Immortal Tang fought desperately against the evil spirits and managed to defeat them all by himself. In the end, he was on the verge of death and rested here for a few days."
"Oh, on the verge of death?"
The ghosts are pedantic and pedantic.
Tang Xihe: "..."
"His Highness was hidden in the area inhabited by humans, and I was unable to leave this land. I had no choice but to find a powerful immortal and beg him to bring back His Highness's egg! So... I secretly took action while the immortal was healing his wounds."
As she spoke, Zhu Qianqian looked at Pipi with bright eyes and clasped her hands together, "I didn't expect Your Highness to have grown up so much! I am so proud of you!"
Pipi couldn't get a word in edgewise and didn't understand much, so he could only chuckle sheepishly and scratch himself.
Tang Xihe: "..."
The two people next to her seemed to want to see right through Tangxi, their eyes burning with desire.
"The spiritual veins were severed; was it done by an evil sorcerer?"
Bei Chen glanced at him and asked, "You've fought them, and you know that the evil spirit master's techniques can damage one's character. Are you still soft-hearted towards Lang Yuehua?"
"I didn't back down either," Tang Xi said, sounding a little unsure. "I just couldn't beat them."
"..."
Gui Fang lowered his eyes and remained silent, staring at his palm. After absorbing a large amount of gold from the Labyrinth Mountain, Gui Fang could freely control the shape of his skeletal claws. But as he retracted the bone claws, the purplish-black veins on the back of his hand still subtly reminded him of something.
Bei Chen: "What happened to the broken spiritual vein? Did you immediately take people on a mission after leaving the secret realm? Don't you need to rest?"
Tang Xi, flustered and gesturing wildly, said, "Let's talk about it another time. Let's deal with Pipi's matter first! Um, Zhu Qianqian, Pipi's primordial spirit is inside me. Do you know how to separate it?"
Seeing that Tang Xi wasn't angry and instead focused on Pipi, Zhu Qianqian was somewhat surprised, patted her knees, and stood up.
“That’s easy. Immortal Master Tang, Your Highness, please come with me. Extracting the primordial soul requires you to personally select some crystal materials.”
"Don't do anything weird!" Pipi rarely spoke up.
"Of course!"
Zhu Qianqian picked up her flute by the window and gestured for Tang Xi and Pipi to follow her. She then said to the other two, "Two immortals, you can play by yourselves for now."
With a soft click, the door to the cabin closed, and Pipi's voice could be faintly heard fading into the distance.
Only after Zhu Qianqian, Pipi, and Tang Xihe's presence had completely disappeared did Gui Fang speak, "Is there something you wanted to say?"
Bei Chen ruffled his hair, looked down and sighed, "I didn't mean to start a fight."
"He has a problem."
"...Who? Suzaku?" Beichen nodded. "I also think so. How could Suzaku be a protector? She's lying."
"No, I meant Tangxi and..."
Bei Chen paused, his expression turning somewhat speechless.
"I'm serious! Think back carefully."
Gui Fang asked seriously, "What's the purpose of a quiet student focusing on helping classmates complete tasks? To solve each task?"
"The sheer volume of tasks indicates that Tangxi has a considerable understanding of the level designs of all the secret realms of the various prefectures in the blessed lands. Why doesn't he sell the puzzle-solving methods at a high price? Why doesn't he share the points?"
Bei Chen replied, "That means he's a good person... right? For the sake of his character and reputation?"
His voice trailed off.
Yes, since she knows all the secret realm levels like the back of her hand, why does Tangxi only lead her classmates to do the tasks but not get any points?
“Normally, only people who want to be famous will deliberately maintain their reputation. So why is he so reclusive? Even I, who am not a member of the Earth Immortal lineage, have heard that many people have repeatedly invited Tang Xi to join them as long-term teammates, but he refuses and even makes all sorts of lame excuses to avoid people. This contradicts the idea of ‘maintaining one’s image and reputation’.”
Gui Fang said, "From another perspective, with nearly 900 tasks to complete, yet giving away all the points for nothing, it shows that he doesn't care at all whether he can graduate."
"..." Bei Chen suddenly grasped something from this passage, "You've been observing Tang Xi and..."
"No, it's Xuan Yingxian who's too noisy. Wherever he goes, there's a commotion. He always likes to pick a fight with Tang Xihe, and he always likes to be the one being led around. It's hard for anyone not to notice Tang Xihe, let alone me."
That's hard to refute.
After the first departmental ranking competition, rumors began to circulate in the school that "Tangxi deliberately lost to Beichen Suixing." The rumors intensified, and the fact that Tangxi and Juanwang led their classmates to complete tasks seemed to silently confirm the rumors.
Xuan Yingxian was unconvinced and frequently challenged Tang Xi, but each time he was tricked and stood up without realizing it, only to continue his attempts to ambush her next time. Bei Chen, who was accompanying him, almost began to suspect that Xuan Yingxian was enjoying himself.
"Continuing from where we left off. Tang Xi seems to be nice to everyone, but she never gets to know anyone deeply."
After a pause, Gui Fang's voice became somewhat hesitant, "This kind of person, isn't he actually quite cold-hearted?"
Bei Chen was taken aback. "What's wrong with your thinking? Why are you so cold? I can talk to a lot of people at school. I'm so sunny and cheerful."
Gui Fang rolled his eyes.
Bei Chen added, "You're overthinking it. Maybe Tang Xi just doesn't like to talk..."
But the scene of Tang Xi fighting Lang Yuehua and Tang Xi to the death several times just now still stimulated Bei Chen's nerves.
Bei Chen's lips twitched, and he looked up at Gui Fang, who was deep in thought, and urged, "Explain yourself clearly. Your mind works faster than mine. I can't figure it out."
Gui Fang stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "I think Tang Xi has psychological problems."
"You tell me, isn't he...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Bei Chen suddenly tensed up and made a shushing gesture. Gui Fang covered his mouth and then heard Pi Pi and the others' voices approaching.
“Your hearing is really good,” Gui Fang said.
Bei Chen beamed and said loudly, "Thank you, you must be deaf."
"..." Gui Fang was too lazy to argue with him, turned his head away and rolled his eyes.
Beichen's sunny smile faltered, his thick eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Are you rolling your eyes at me again? I've been annoyed with you, you malnourished little bamboo pole, for a long time now."
"Who are you calling a bamboo pole? It's better than all your inexhaustible strength!"
"What's wrong with Niu Jin!"
The door to the cabin was pushed open, and Pipi stood on Zhu Qianqian's head, saying to the two of them in a serious tone, "You two are not as sensible as me! We were only gone for a short while, and you two are arguing again!"
"Two immortal masters, please follow me," Zhu Qianqian bowed and stepped aside, saying, "The evil spirit master may launch a sneak attack. We must hurry to retrieve His Highness's primordial soul. Please stand guard and protect him."
·
Gui Fang and Bei Chen were led to a wide stone altar.
Surrounded by a primeval forest, this place is the only one where the mist dissipates, leaving it spotless, serene, and comfortable. Huge rocks and tall, withered trees form a flat circle around the altar, with a faint smell of burning emanating from the withered trees and ancient totems carved on the rocks.
At first glance, the rocks appear jagged and grotesque. However, if viewed from above, one would discover that every stone and piece of wood on this open space was arranged according to some ancient formation.
The fragrance in the air grew stronger, and they could faintly hear ancient whispers. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the patterns carved on the totem were twisting and gradually forming bird and beast-like patterns, with their mouths opening and closing, and the whispers were coming from the totem.
Is this stone altar alive?
The two looked around and realized that someone was missing.
"What about Tangxi and him?"
Zhu Qianqian, with her hair disheveled, was adjusting the position of the crystals on the ground. She turned her head to answer the two, "Immortal Tang is changing her clothes. I was worried that Immortal Tang would not be able to withstand the scorching fire during the process, so I prepared special clothing in advance."
After waiting for a while, a figure emerged from the white mist of the nearby dense forest.
"Zhu Qianqian, I'm not very good at dressing up...is that right?"
Tang Xihe's voice came, and then a figure hesitated and slowly stepped into the stone altar.
Tang Xi, dressed in new clothes, transformed into a young master with fair skin and cherry lips. His gentle eyes, beneath the forehead ornament, were more spirited than usual. His gold-red and black robes were perfectly tailored, with flowing patterns of molten gold in every gesture. The cuffs and hem were densely decorated with dark red tail feathers, like the wings of a divine bird. An ancient blood jade pendant in front of him radiated a warm and gentle spiritual power.
Tang Xi pursed her lips, her slightly immature and delicate face flushed red from the intense color of the dress. She seemed unaccustomed to such magnificent and solemn attire, occasionally tugging at her sleeve as she slowly moved forward.
Despite his striking appearance, Gui Fang didn't let him off the hook: "He looks more like a birdman."
Bei Chen's entourage was even more shocked: "Tang Xihe! Please dress yourself like this all the time! Stop wearing those drab, drab immortal-style clothes all the time!"
Zhu Qianqian flashed over in a flash, grabbed Tang Xihe who was crawling all over her body and gave her a thorough treatment. She adjusted Tang Xihe's Undying Fire Wings shawl with her left hand and adjusted the collar ornament with her right hand. She then spun Tang Xihe around in place, and the slender fire crystal waist ornament around Tang Xihe's waist flashed with a sharp and bright light.
Zhu Qianqian praised her masterpiece twice and patted Tang Xihe's shoulder heavily, "Not bad, not bad! Straighten your back and look more confident!"
Tang Xihe: "...It seems like I've become your toy."
Pipi landed on Beichen's shoulder, making it easier for Zhu Qianqian to adjust Tangxi's clothes. "Isn't this what they call 'clothes make the man'?"
"Not bad, Pipi, you can use idioms now." Beichen said with a hint of satisfaction.
Tang Xi's face flushed, and she urged, "Don't look at me like that, are you treating me like a toy? Is that formation ready yet?"
"Azure Flame Life Protection Array!" Zhu Qianqian corrected earnestly.
Bei Chen laughed as he walked by, "You're more fun than a doll."
"Shut up!" Tang Xi felt her face burning.
The group stopped fooling around. Zhu Qianqian guided Tangxi and Pipi to their respective positions, while Beichen and Guifang stood guard outside the stone altar formation.
From within Gui Fang's wide sleeves, fine golden threads, as thin as hair, quietly emerged and spread into the forest. He whispered, "The Demon Management Bureau's goal is the power of the stars. Whether they want to stifle the inheritance of the power of the stars or to seize it, as long as you, Bei Chen, fall into their hands, they will be one step closer to their objective."
"Why are you suddenly talking about me?" Bei Chen asked.
Gui Fang suddenly asked, "Lord Junxing Mountain, do you know her?"
Bei Chen nodded. "He is a very talented prefect."
“She is like you, yet not like you,” Gui Fang said. “What you have in common is that you can both draw upon the power of the stars.”
"The difference is that she is a mountain spirit who has cultivated into human form and has an inner core inside her body."
"..." Bei Chen's heart skipped a beat. He vaguely sensed the evil spirit master's purpose, but it was as if he were shrouded in a thick fog, unable to see clearly. He asked, "How did you know?"
Gui Fang smugly hummed, seemingly casually pulling out the wind-listening ruler from his sleeve, "My teacher found out about it."
Inside the stone altar, Tang Xihe, Zhu Qianqian, and Pipi's figures were obscured. The two outside the altar idly listened to the strange phenomena around them.
Suddenly, a burst of blue flames erupted from the stone altar, shooting straight into the sky like a pillar of heaven, and bursting open into a blue lotus flame, startling the two people outside the stone altar.
Zhu Qianqian shouted, "In the name of the evil crow, with blood as the guide and soul as the bond, sever the ties and reveal the truth of cause and effect!"
"Guide! Traverse! Return!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
