Chapter 27
God has come.
The exorcism ritual given by Guan Qing was not to get rid of Him, but to draw Him out and possess Him on the kite.
The Red Pavilion has existed since before the founding of the Fallen Kingdom. From its humble beginnings as a tiled house to its current status as a walled city that never sleeps, the Red Pavilion has endured through the centuries and remains unshaken.
The clay Buddha has also gone through a hundred years of baptism and is then worshipped and regarded as a god.
A sinister laugh echoed, and Zu Qianjiao twisted her waist and walked out of the dilapidated house in small steps.
He turned to look at Gu Luoyan and smiled flatteringly: "Little girl, you don't even kneel down to greet your mother? You have no manners."
Chuntao and Xueyi stood together, each holding a peach branch. A chill ran down Chuntao's back. She whispered to Xueyi, "How did he get here?"
Xue Yi looked warily at the distance and shook her head.
Zu Qianjiao unfolded her folding fan, covered her face and glanced around: "Tsk tsk tsk, you really put a lot of effort into it and made all the preparations."
He put away the fan, stared at Gu Luoyan with his dark purple eyes, and said, "No one is easy to worry about."
Boom—then another drum sounded.
Only then did everyone realize that the drum sound came from the kite.
A hole opened up in the floor tiles in the distance, and Zu Qianjiao fell in. The next moment, the floor tiles an inch in front of Gu Luoyan opened up, and Zu Qianjiao rose up.
He smiled and stretched out his nails to scratch at Gu Luoyan.
The talisman paper stuck on Gu Luoyan's arm lit up, and when the black nails approached Gu Luoyan, a fire barrier quickly formed, blocking Zu Qianjiao's hand from swinging down.
The flames burned the back of Zu Qianjiao's hand, making a sizzling sound.
Zu Qianjiao withdrew his hand in pain. Another drumbeat sounded. He returned to the dilapidated house.
Gu Luoyan lowered her hands, she understood a little.
After the Clay Buddha descended, he gave Zu Qianjiao an ability that allowed her to move among the beams of brick and tile houses and to teleport within the Red Pavilion.
In a split second, Zu Qianjiao pounced on him again. The body beneath his long skirt twisted, stretched, and expanded, piercing through his skin and growing out, transforming into appendages and a segmented body.
Gu Luoyan took out the paper lanterns stored at her waist and swung them forward. The lanterns made of paper flowers swelled up, gathering flames inside them and forming a long whip.
The long whip made of paper lanterns went after Zu Qianjiao. The huge insect-shaped body dodged, but was still inevitably caught by the sparks from the lanterns. The red light from the cinnabar turned into fire and hit Zu Qianjiao.
The sound of drums suddenly rang out, and the ground beneath his feet opened up. Gu Luoyan fell down, and the long whip in his hand also changed direction.
Amid the rustling sound of bricks and tiles, the wall opened, letting Gu Luoyan out, and in front of her was the white flour that Zu Qianjiao was proud of.
His face folded back, revealing his poisonous jaws at the base of his neck. The mouth opened and closed, squirming, and the poisonous jaws stretched out and pierced Gu Luoyan's body.
The fire barrier rose again, but it couldn't penetrate the armor-like jaws. Transparent poison soaked into the sharp corners, threatening to pierce Gu Luoyan's skin. A piece of peach blossom branch shot out like an arrow, landing on Zu Qianjiao's lower abdomen.
A woman's scream and roar sounded at the same time.
The spot on Zu Qianjiao's body where the peach blossom branch touched began to fester.
The drums roared, and the ground in the courtyard rolled, instantly engulfing Zu Qianjiao. His figure appeared against the distant wall, his upper body twisted in pain.
Gu Luoyan fell to the ground. Chuntao put down his bow in the distance, holding another peach blossom arrow in his hand, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xue Yi tilted the bucket of talisman water toward Chun Tao, who was standing beside her, so she could dip a peach blossom branch into the water. She said to Chun Tao, "The talisman water is useful and shouldn't be underestimated. Chun Tao, keep shooting!"
The bow is drawn and the peach branch is strung.
Chuntao aimed at Zu Qianjiao in the corner, paused for a moment, and released the arrow!
Boom——
The drums sounded.
The west wall suddenly changed direction, rolled over with the wave-like ground, stood in front of the arrow path, and blocked the arrow.
Gu Luoyan frowned. The paper lantern was stuck in the wall because she was sucked into it and could not be taken out.
But as long as the clay Buddha is not removed, she will not be able to get close to the madam!
She stood up and ran in the opposite direction of Chuntao and the others, shouting, "Reel in the line!"
Xue Yi understood. She picked up the wooden bucket containing the talisman water and ran towards the kite at the gate.
Boom——
The door with the kite tied to it began to move for some reason and extended several feet backwards.
Xue Yi continued to run. Gu Luoyan also ran towards Zu Qianjiao. In the distance, the half-human, half-insect monster lying down twisted its body, then gradually calmed down.
Zu Qianjiao's eyes turned red, and she roared as she propped herself up and was about to attack Gu Luoyan.
Dong-dong-dong-dong
Three consecutive drum sounds shortened the distance between Gu Luoyan and Zu Qianjiao three times.
The huge insect body crawled over and rushed towards the woman.
Gu Luoyan had no time to react or think too much. She gritted her teeth and continued to rush towards the madam.
I had thought of waiting for Xinyue to get rid of him, but things changed and I never thought I would meet him today.
The only thing Gu Luoyan could think of at that moment was that she was going to break her appointment with Nian Qing.
But it’s okay, it’ll stop her from thinking about it.
I myself also want to fight to the death.
Gu Luoyan couldn't think too much.
She tore off the talisman on her arm and held it in her palm, facing the huge worm with her palm, trying to fight Zu Qianjiao with her human body.
The sound of a bone flute rang out at this moment, and in a trance, everything around began to stop.
Suqiu, who had fallen on the pile of bones, stood up. A piece of bone was stuck in her back, and blood dyed half of her clothes red.
Suqiu held the bone flute in her wrinkled hands and limped slowly towards Gu Luoyan.
The flute's sound is long and clear, and the timbre seems to have the power to slow down time.
That was the magic weapon she secretly asked Guan Qing for.
Driven by life.
The bones in her back pierced her liver and spleen. Suqiu knew she would not live long.
The only thing the old woman could do was to blow the bone flute to buy some time for Gu Luoyan.
Suqiu walked in front of Gu Luoyan and in front of Zu Qianjiao's ferocious face.
The music in the bone flute was about to reach its final movement, and everything that was still around began to flow slowly.
Suqiu's face darkened and her hair turned pale in an instant.
The last breath sound was blown out from the bone flute, and then the bone flute shattered into powder.
She smiled one last time in the stillness, a smile different from the one she had when she roared at the clay Buddha.
Full of tranquility and peace.
There was light in Suqiu's eyes, which contained all that Zu Qianjiao had.
The monster raised dust and rushed over with a loud noise.
The giant jaw pierced through Suqiu's body, and then two red leaf flower marks appeared on her body.
One was her own, and the other was a replacement for Gu Luoyan.
The brand turned red and then exploded, turning Suqiu's body into a bloody mist.
Zu Qianjiao stopped and greedily stretched out her mouthparts to eat the blood spot in the air.
There was fear on Gu Luoyan's face, which twisted the next moment and became a lump in her throat. She tried to move forward in a hurry, but fell to her knees weakly on the ground.
Tears fell without warning and could not be stopped.
Gu Luoyan hugged her body, her elbows supported on the ground and tried to stand up, crying and shouting:
"Qiu Niang! Don't—"
The only answer she got was silence, mixed with the sound of the monster's mouth moving.
Gu Luoyan almost fainted. She stood up and tried to run towards Zu Qianjiao again.
Xue Yi collected the kite in front of the courtyard gate, poured a handful of talisman water on it, and it screamed, and then there was no change at all.
Chuntao's cries were mixed with peach blossom arrows shooting towards her.
The peach blossom arrow hit the chest of Zu Qianjiao's human form, and Gu Luoyan's hand holding the talisman paper also stuck to his insect-shaped body.
The flames tightened around the madam like a rope, and the festering flesh beneath the peach blossom branches turned to ashes in the fire.
The monster, which had lost its mind in its bloodlust, regained its senses. Its huge body, burning with flames, wrapped around Gu Luoyan in front of it, gradually tightening its grip, as if to crush her.
The black shadow, as light as a swallow, was rapidly approaching. The next moment, a flash of cold light appeared on Zu Qianjiao's neck, where the poisonous jaws were exposed.
Bai Lang slashed down with his sword, chopping off the head of Zu Qianjiao's humanoid form.
Dense runes then appeared, flowing from the sword towards the wound on Zu Qianjiao's body where her head was chopped off.
Inside Zu Qianjiao's body, the "heart" that had been refined for hundreds of years was entangled by the curse and then exploded, turning into rancid blood.
Zu Qianjiao loosened her grip on Gu Luoyan's body, and Gu Luoyan fell down, and he also fell backwards with her.
The flames burned him, and he made no sound. He was as quiet as if he had died.
Bai Lang put away his sword and quickly came towards Gu Luoyan.
"Luo Yan, Luo Yan!" he called her anxiously.
Bai Lang came closer, squatted down and helped Gu Luoyan up, and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
Gu Luoyan's face was pale, she was immersed in pain, unable to escape. After a while, she looked at Bai Lang's hurried voice.
Gu Luoyan's eyes were blurred and tears were overflowing: "Bai Lang, Qiu Niang..."
"Don't think about it anymore. The madam is dead. We won this battle." Bai Lang stretched out his hand to shield her eyes. His face was grave, and he said nothing more.
Until he heard Gu Luoyan ask him again: "Why are you here? Where are the children?"
"The children are all safe, don't worry. Biyue told me that the madam wasn't recuperating in her room. I was afraid you might be in danger, so I followed the marks Xue Yi made and came here."
"Okay, okay..." Gu Luoyan was no longer able to speak. She stopped talking and closed her eyes. She was in so much pain that she could hardly breathe.
In the distance, Chuntao's cries gradually grew louder. Xueyi stayed by her side, running over with her. They ran to Gu Luoyan's side.
Xue Yi took Gu Luoyan from Bai Lang's hand and hugged her tightly. Chun Tao also cried and hugged her tightly, crying uncontrollably.
The only loud sound in this gloomy courtyard was crying, as if the bones in the courtyard were all mourning together.
Until a twisted, wriggling head broke the sadness.
Countless small feet grew from under Zu Qianjiao's head, and she lifted that strange head and climbed to the top of the shrine.
The longevity elixir he swallowed saved his life and allowed him to survive.
He stood on the shrine where the statue was no longer there, and shouted to Gu Luoyan in a hoarse voice: "Gu Luoyan, do you think you have defeated me?"
"You want to be a saint and save the lives of everyone in this red hall?"
"Hahahaha, I tell you it's impossible!" Zu Qianjiao knew that he was doomed today. He no longer begged to live, he wanted to drag everyone in the yard down with him!
"Red Leaf Flower, my flesh and blood, please complete it for me for the last time!" He showed a crazy laugh.
He then playfully squeezed out a mocking tone from the broken head: "Gu Luoyan, guess whether the fox has left or not?"
"You love her, don't you? If she kills you, will you still feel the same way?"
"Gu Luoyan, my youngest daughter, you can't escape from your mother's clutches."
"Back off!" Shiro plunged his sword into the ground the instant the skull opened its mouth. Runes erupted, covering the three people hugging nearby.
·
There is a taboo in the Red Pavilion, concerning the red-leafed flower. The flower can be the pavilion owner's ear, or it can be the pavilion owner's sword.
People in the museum are not allowed to pick flowers, this is a big taboo.
In the closed red pavilion, the red-leafed flowers in every room began to wither.
The maids and servants walked around the Hong Kong Coliseum, doing nothing but their work, and everything was as usual.
Blood-like marks appeared on people's necks, and then as the red leaves and flowers withered, the blood vessels in their necks were broken.
In an instant, many people died.
The bodies spread from the street to the house of the Hong Kong Coliseum.
The maids and old women died tragically, as did the servants and attendants.
Dead bodies were everywhere, blood oozing from every orifice, staining the Hong Kong Coliseum.
The person sitting on the roof crossed his legs and looked at the old locust tree outside the Red Pavilion through the high wall. From time to time, he turned around and looked into the depths, waiting for someone to come.
Nian Qing thought about how to wait, so he just stood in the corner of the Red Pavilion, looking at the locust tree across the wall, waiting for Gu Luoyan to come for the appointment.
An extremely bloody smell suddenly came, and the city was filled with blood, and there seemed to be no end.
As a demon, her true nature was revealed, and she could no longer hold it back. Nian Qing's expression became sluggish, and soon she could no longer stop sniffing. She scratched her body and transformed into a beast with a cry.
Bloodthirsty instincts compelled Nian Qing to transform into a demon, revealing his true form. The fox ran towards the entrance of the Red Hall's death formation. Its form vanished like smoke in an instant.
The door of the Hong Kong Coliseum can monitor outsiders. If anyone breaks in rashly, the owner will be informed.
Zu Qianjiao knew about Nian Qing's first visit to the Hong Kong Coliseum. He didn't try to stop her, but instead watched from the shadows, finally waiting for the day when he could use her.
Monsters are not human beings, so they will definitely eat humans.
This is the eternal truth in this world.
·
The old man who was busy in the kitchen wiped his sweat and talked about Nianqing whom he had not seen for a long time.
But this time he fell down before he could finish his words.
The firewood under the stove was burning vigorously. Li Shisan was thinking of making some delicious dishes and sending them to Gu Luoyan. He also took the opportunity to ask where Nian Qing had gone.
When the scarlet leaf flower's mark appeared, he fell down the stove. His hand hit the firewood and felt a burning sensation.
The heat gave him more memories.
——
His daughter is dead and his son is missing.
Now he is finally going to die, which is a good thing.
A carefully fabricated lie cannot be concealed for long.
Li Shisan closed his eyes in pain and stopped breathing.
·
The moment the rune appeared in the sword, the red leaf flower mark also completed its transfer.
The marks on Xue Yi and Chun Tao were transferred to Bai Lang, plus the one he had previously replaced on the old woman, making a total of three.
The intestines and stomach in his stomach soon turned into a pool of blood. Bai Lang's eyes became blind and his ears became deaf in an instant.
However, he held the sword stuck in the ground tightly and did not let go.
He leaned his body outward, as if in a hugging posture to block the three people behind the sword.
Zu Qianjiao's head turned into rotting flesh, infested with maggots. After the Hong Kong Coliseum's death formation was activated, she finally died.
Soon, a puff of green smoke appeared and the fox arrived.
Its reddish-brown fur exploded as it stood on the wall of the courtyard in an attacking posture.
It wanted to tear everyone in the yard to pieces.
The untimely rain fell at this moment.
No, look carefully at those falling raindrops, they are not water droplets, they are silver powder.
The rain kept falling, it was a heavy downpour.
The fox closed his eyes, lost his arrogance, and fell asleep.
The same was true for the other three people in the bone yard.
Rain fell from the rock-like top, extinguishing everything.
It was a daytime and the weather in Mingjing City was still good, but it was raining heavily in the Red Pavilion.
A pair of white hands gently patted the sleeping Guan Qing. When he raised his head again, in just a breath, the surrounding scene turned into a courtyard where a shrine was enshrined.
The woman knelt there, with Guan Qing lying on her knees.
It was the dead man who spoke again: "Is it you?"
The woman raised her eyes and looked at the man kneeling with a sword in his hand.
"You still remember me."
Bai Lang didn't answer her, and instead asked, "You haven't answered me yet, why did you save me but not Nanzhi back then?"
This time, the woman stood up.
She carefully placed Guan Qing's sleeping body, then walked towards Bai Lang's body.
Dou Shiqiu looked at Bai Lang with pale pupils:
"I am a demon and she is a human. How can I save her?"
"I didn't save you on purpose. It was only because you happened to die outside the Hong Kong Coliseum that I was able to save you."
"So what are we to you?" asked Bai Lang's soul.
Dou Shiqiu's back sprouted wings, her transparent feathers covered in starlight.
Dou Shiqiu said: "You are just a moment to us."
"Shiro, go underground, you are already dead."
"Forget me, just as I erased the impression you had of me back then."
·
The rain is getting heavier.
Wash away the blood in the Red Hall.
Silver-white moths were flying all over the sky, and the powder on their wings fell as rain, washing everything.
The powder fell and there was dead silence.
The Hong Kong Coliseum no longer exists.
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