Chapter 129 A Soul-Swapping Tale of Heartbreak, A Peach Blossom...
His voice was calm, yet each word resonated deeply.
Lu Zhitao suddenly laughed. She raised her hand, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and said with utter sarcasm,
"Can't you tell? I'm not Li Ruoxin, so who is?"
"yes,"
Qingyu replied, following her words. The woman looked at Lu Zhitao lying on the bed not far away. With a hint of understanding, and perhaps a touch of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both regret and reflection), she repeated Lu Zhitao's words.
"If you're not Li Ruoxin, then who is?"
A soft yet piercing rooster crowed from not far away—
The rooster leads the way, my three souls unite, I long to return home, yet I cannot turn back.
...
Lu Zhitao seemed to finally realize something. She clutched her chest and gasped for breath, as if something had left her heart.
With pain, Lu Zhitao slowly turned her head, looking at the woman on the bed, watching her close her eyes at some point, watching the tears glisten in the corners of her eyes, watching her soul return.
"How is that possible?"
Lu Zhitao looked at Li Ruoxin on the bed, and she murmured almost numbly, "How could this be..."
She clearly, clearly prayed to the ghost immortal, and Li Ruoxin's soul was the sacrifice...
How could that be? How could Li Ruoxin come back? And she's back in Lu Zhitao's body...
Why is it impossible?
Suddenly, Ji Shaowei and Lin Fanxiang entered the room. Outside, Li Ruoliang and Li Ruojun remained silent, while Zhang Xuan stood there with them.
Qin Tianshu was fanning himself under the eaves not far away. The scholar silently looked at the moonlight and thought that the ghosts in the illusion were also invisible. All the madness, love and hate were the human heart.
In the end, they remained stubbornly unrepentant.
Qingyu sighed silently when she saw them come in. Lin Fanxiang first exchanged a glance with her, then walked to the bedside to take Li Ruoxin's pulse and help stabilize her soul.
Ji Shaowei looked down at Lu Zhitao and, word by word, recounted the entire farce—
Lu Zhitao tricked Li Ruoxin into the haunted house, using Li Ruoxin's soul as a sacrifice in exchange for a talent.
Unfortunately, even true immortals rely on fate—talent, it is all about talent.
If you can't give it, then give it another.
Lu Zhitao and Li Ruoxin swapped souls; one died and the other lived.
And so, your wish has been fulfilled.
...
Lu Zhitao looked up, staring coldly at them. "How did you find out?"
A breeze blew by, and Qingyu lowered her eyes, recalling the exquisite, yet not particularly rare or extraordinary, round fan. Come to think of it, it seemed somewhat absurd—
Back then, on the second floor of Linglang Pavilion, after Li Ruoxin apologized to Zhang Xuan, she even made a special trip to find her.
The girl was apologetic and ashamed. Qingyu couldn't quite remember what she said, but it was mostly apologies and attempts to make amends. She even praised the fan, saying it was very much to a girl's liking. So, they were momentarily confused and said some nonsense.
At that time, Li Ruoxin looked at the fan with a generous, calm, and appreciative gaze.
But later, when they met again in the main hall of the Li family, "Li Ruoxin" said that she and Lu Zhitao had a big fight over the fan, which led to trouble.
At that time, Li Ruoxin looked at the fan with a strange, disgusted, and even jealous gaze.
The change was too rapid. Even though she appeared flawless on the surface, with the same emotions and tone of voice as before, it was the subtle changes in her eyes—those eyes that revealed a person's character—that truly changed her.
It's different, that's it, it's different.
At that time, Qingyu felt that something was not right. It wasn't until Ji Shaowei came today and the young man explained the matter of summoning the soul, and "Li Ruoxin" cried, that Qingyu truly realized that the Li Ruoxin at this moment was not the person they had seen a few days ago.
Ji Shaowei: "Lu Zhitao, I don't know how you opened the haunted house, nor do I know if that so-called ghost immortal is real or fake."
The young man paused, then looked at Li Ruoxin, who had fallen into a coma again on the bed, and said, "But Li Ruoxin's soul has been here from beginning to end."
Lu Zhitao was stunned by what she heard. Gently, she reached out and clutched her chest, asking blankly, "Where?"
Ji Shao looked down at her, "Inside her own body."
It's inside her body, in her heart, and in your heart.
...
If there really is a ghost or immortal in that house, it must be a mischievous one.
She granted Lu Zhitao's wish and placed Lu Zhitao's soul into Li Ruoxin's body. But ironically, she didn't remove Li Ruoxin's soul either.
A person has three souls. The unconscious "Lu Zhitao" only has one of Li Ruoxin's souls inside her body. The other two souls are still in her own body, behind Lu Zhitao's soul.
So these days, Lu Zhitao has been controlling Li Ruoxin's body, while Li Ruoxin is hiding behind "herself," watching everything "herself" does.
What a ridiculous farce!
"Why...why..."
As if suddenly understanding everything, Lu Zhitao collapsed to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as she murmured incoherently.
Through Li Ruoxin's face, Qingyu seemed to see Lu Zhitao's soul for a fleeting moment.
It's too late to get it back.
Lu Zhitao's soul has been embedded in Li Ruoxin's body, and Li Ruoxin's soul has also returned completely to Lu Zhitao's body.
For the rest of their lives, neither of them could bring it back.
With a sigh, Ji Shaowei recalled that during his soul-summoning ritual, he vaguely heard the woman say that she was right there. However, she could no longer return to her own body.
The young man asked, "Then how can I save you?"
The woman laughed, "She became me, so I will become her."
...
Lu Zhitao died in a very strange way.
She just laughed, cried, hated, and cursed the many injustices in the world. In short, she never had a single regret until her death.
At the last moment, she lay on the ground, convulsing uncontrollably, cowering, clutching her chest and vomiting blood—strangely, a knife wound had inexplicably appeared in her abdomen, and blood was flowing all over the ground.
Qin Tianshu said that in the illusion, she killed herself.
Under the eaves, Qingyu glanced at the scholar, "You...killed yourself?"
"yes,"
The scholar, fanning himself, gazed at the moon and smiled, “In my illusion, only I can truly kill myself.”
His illusions are like the human heart. They choke on their own lifeline; it has always been so.
Qingyu smiled. As dawn approached, she asked, "Where's Wenchuan?"
They've been gone since dark. Even Cai Cai was being held by Zhang Xuan. She asked, but they wouldn't say anything, acting all mysterious, only saying they'd be back at dawn.
"Snap—"
The scholar closed his fan, turned, and left, his smile unchanged. "He's just too lazy to watch this farce anymore; he's off to do something more important."
Qingyu frowned, completely baffled as to what had happened. Then, the woman smiled irritably at the scholar's retreating figure and asked, "Where did you go?"
The scholar, with his back to her, lazily curled his lips, while the young man casually waved his fan handle, looking extremely carefree.
"Really..."
Qingyu muttered a few words under her breath, "What's going on? It's one thing that Wen Chuan is nowhere to be found, but Qin Tianshu is also acting all carefree."
"Qingyu Girl?"
Some unfamiliar voices came from behind. Qingyu turned around and saw Ji Shaowei.
It's quite strange, though. Qingyu has traveled to so many places across the Nine Provinces, and has rarely encountered cultivators specializing in feng shui. He'd heard that most of them practiced geomancy, judging the wind and water, but it seems they also deal with matters of ghosts and spirits.
"Lord Ji, is there something you need?"
Ji Shaowei stopped in front of Qing Yu. The young man was handsome, dressed in white, with gentle, affectionate peach blossom eyes. Under the moonlight, he looked at the woman and smiled unconsciously.
"It's nothing, I just thought I heard you talking about my peach wood sword during the day, so I came to ask."
Qingyu smiled upon hearing this and replied generously, "Yes, to my shame, as a flower fairy, I actually forgot that peach wood has the effect of warding off ghosts... I should have brought some peach blossoms with me when I came to Taishan in Qingzhou."
Peach blossoms...
Ji Shaowei asked curiously, "You're a flower fairy... so if you have peach blossoms, can you grow peach trees?"
Qingyu said noncommittally, "More or less... Speaking of which, Lord Ji is the deputy envoy in charge of suppressing demons, while I am a demon. It's quite interesting that we're talking about this tonight."
Ji Shao lowered his eyes, while the young man smiled and said, "Everyone in the Nine Provinces knows that Miss Qingyu is kind-hearted, highly skilled, and a great demon of Qishan, the kindest among demons."
Qingyu couldn't help but chuckle, finding Ji Shaowei rather strange, and wondering what he was trying to do to get close to her.
She smiled politely and didn't say anything more.
Ji Shaowei looked at her in silence for a moment, then unconsciously rubbed his hand hidden in his sleeve. He then raised his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, and spoke to Qingyu as if suddenly remembering something.
"Actually, there is a peach grove in the mountains outside Qingzhou, and my peach wood sword is made from the peach wood there... It's a pity that it's summer now, and the peach blossoms have probably all fallen."
Qingyu nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this. The woman gently waved her fan, the hazy sunlight shining on her light gauze, revealing a bright and elegant beauty, like trembling sand.
She laughed, "It doesn't matter if it falls; finding a withered branch is good enough."
"in this way--"
"oh,"
Qingyu tilted her head slightly, and the sound she made unconsciously interrupted Ji Shaowei's words.
The woman half-covered her face with a fan, her eyes suddenly filled with laughter. She looked at the corner of the corridor behind Ji Shaowei and smiled, a beautiful and delighted smile.
She snapped out of her reverie, first raising her eyes to give Ji Shaowei a polite smile, "It seems I'm very lucky to have found a peach blossom in June."
Before Ji Shaowei could react, the woman had already taken a step away. When she passed the young man, her skirt seemed to brush against him for a moment. He was stunned for a moment, letting the illusion and fragrance of the flowers spread, intertwine, and disappear.
A breath is too short, yet the daylight is bright.
The young man finally came to his senses. He first lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, then turned around and looked at them around the corner with a casual yet serious expression.
It was just a peach blossom.
But unfortunately, peach blossoms...
One branch, one bloom, that's enough.
...
A young man dressed in a deep blue, elegant robe stood at the corner of the corridor, holding a vibrant peach blossom in his arms.
The dawn was still far off, but their love was as deep as the ocean. His gaze followed hers, gently, their eyes filled with smiles as they met.
Qingyu quickly walked up to Wenchuan. The young man still carried the morning mist from the mountains, along with a faint fragrance of peach blossoms, which made her extremely excited.
The woman's eyes crinkled as she looked up at him. Before she could even speak, a peach blossom appeared in her hand.
"No wonder I didn't see you tonight... Turns out, it was because of a peach blossom."
Wen Chuan lowered his eyes, and as they looked at each other, he smiled, "Do you like it?"
"Of course I like it!"
Qingyu replied subconsciously, picking up the peach blossom branch and examining it closely. As she gently smelled it, she smiled brightly, "Why did you think of picking peach blossoms at night... And it's June now, how did you manage to pick such a beautiful peach blossom?"
Wen Chuan pursed his lips as he watched her happy expression. The young man spoke softly and gently, his eyes filled with tender affection.
"During the day, you were looking at other people's peach wood swords and getting annoyed, saying that you should bring some peach blossoms to Mount Tai."
With so many people and so much drama tonight, he wasn't particularly interested; he found talking to Qingyu much more entertaining. Qingyu, however, was quite interested in tonight's events, listening to the scholar create illusions and helping Doctor Lin and her uncle prepare the soul-stabilizing medicine, keeping herself very busy.
By then, Ji Shaowei had already put away the peach wood sword, so Wen Chuan asked the Li brothers beside him, and learned that there was a peach grove on the outskirts of Qingzhou. It was absolutely beautiful in spring, but now that it was summer, the peaches had probably all fallen.
"So you went to the peach grove... but these flowers..."
Wen Chuan smiled, and they stood intimately together, descending the steps of the pavilion. The young man explained casually, a hint of languid weariness in his eyes, but his gaze never left Qing Yu.
"It only took some spiritual power to lower the temperature to a suitable level."
"That's difficult too... Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have gone by myself."
"It's just a peach blossom, I'll pick it for you."
"Hmph, fine, you're right."
Softly, they spoke, carrying flowers, and parted with intimate smiles in the misty morning.
Finally, the woman looked at the exquisitely beautiful and vibrant peach branch in her hand and smiled silently—
A lone, gnarled, light brown branch is intertwined with blooming peach blossoms. The petals are thin and tinged with red, and the tender stamens are delicate and glistening with frost. In this newborn light, they take the form of clouds and mist, or the light snow of spring, and finally, they fall into her embrace.
It is worthy of the full spring, and it borrows the color of frost.
In short...
That was already an exceptionally beautiful peach blossom.
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