Chapter 174 Secret 05
The land of ghosts.
The inky black mountains overlapped one after another, the mountain walls were straight and steep, and scarlet blood flowed out every hundred steps, as if clusters of red spider lilies were blooming in the mountains.
Only the top of the mountain was flat. A lonely wind whimpered, making the dark palace standing on the top even colder.
In the center of the palace, there was an ice coffin that looked out of place.
Lying in the coffin was an old man with gray hair and wrinkles all over his face. The strange thing was that his skinny chest was still rising and falling and he was still breathing.
“Da, da, da…”
The footsteps slowly approached, and the old man slowly opened his eyes and saw a familiar person through the ice-blue coffin.
No, not human.
When I first met that kid, he was walking around in the form of a ghost, and he had never "died" as a human. I was amazed at his strength at the time, but I didn't expect that later, he would even sit on the throne of the top of all ghosts.
However, it would be hard to sit comfortably on this vast and lonely mountain top...
The old man started coughing.
"You're awake." Xia Yi looked at the old man in the ice coffin, "You woke up very early this time."
“What are you talking about, Ghost King? If I were a human at my age, I should have been buried in the ground long ago. The only reason I’m still alive now is because of your power… cough cough…”
Xia Yi frowned, "I told you that you don't have to stick to their names."
"Courtesy is for outsiders to see. When we are alone, you and I should still get along as usual."
After hearing his words, the old man laughed, "Courtesy...Courtesy."
"Remember, Xia Yi? Human etiquette and rules... I was the one who taught you these things. At the beginning, you knew nothing and were very different from other Duzhu."
Xia Yi responded, "I remember. That's why I call you Master." The title of Master was also taught to him by the old man in front of him.
Across the ice coffin, the young man's gorgeous and charming face was covered with a thin layer of cold light, and he looked extremely far away. The old man was slightly distracted, because this face had never changed in his memory.
From the very beginning, he was so beautiful and so cold...
Just when Xia Yi thought he was about to fall asleep, the old man asked, "Do you still remember... why you were there?"
They first met a hundred years ago.
At that time, he was just a mountain dweller who went hunting and chopping wood. He saw a young man standing barefoot by the stream at the foot of the mountain and thought he had encountered the mountain spirit that the old people talked about.
Half of the boy's body was covered in blood, and his eyes were cold and lifeless.
He told himself that he was a demon, not a human being.
Perhaps because the boy's behavior was too human, this self-introduction did not scare him. He was already interested in the strange things the old man said, so he asked about his origins and where he was going. Who knew that the boy stood quietly for a long time, shook his head and said, "I don't know."
The young Yamato was puzzled. "You know you are a demon, but you don't know where you came from or where you are going? Um... do you know your name?"
The handsome boy said nothing.
Yamano pushed aside the leaves and walked down the mountain. After he had walked a few steps, he heard a voice coming from behind.
"Xia Yi."
"……Um?"
"My name is Xia Yi."
…
Scenes from a hundred years ago flashed before my eyes, except that the appearance had changed and the hair had turned white. The gap between humans and ghosts was not that far compared to that between gods and ghosts.
There is not too much distance between far away and very far.
The white breath from the old man blurred the ice surface. "Later, you slowly remembered your previous experiences."
He remembered that there was a young wizard named Jiang Yuelu who named himself "Xia Yi". He also remembered that Jiang Yuelu died in the wizard catastrophe that year, right in front of his eyes.
"But do you remember why you were there at that time?"
Xia Yi shook his head, "No."
"but……"
After he started talking, the young ghost king fell silent. After a long while, he spoke: "But recently I seem to have remembered something. I went there after he died."
"Jiang Yuelu?" the old man asked.
"Who else could it be besides him, old man?" Xia Yi laughed maliciously: "Have I ever mentioned anyone else to you besides him over the years?"
The old man laughed softly, "To be honest, your attitude always gives me the illusion that you have a close relationship with this 'Jiang Yuelu', but I'm not sure."
Xia Yi asked strangely, "Why are you not sure? Among so many humans, he is the only one I am close to. You people define this kind of relationship as friends, but he and I have eaten and slept together, fought side by side, and shared life and death together. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are good friends."
Seeing this, the old man smiled again, "Yes, yes. I can't be sure, it's because of the tone you speak."
"What tone?"
"To anyone who hears these words, they seem to be the most sincere confession, but when you say them out loud, they don't sound sincere."
Xia Yi frowned, "I said this from the bottom of my heart, and I really think he is different from anyone else."
"I'm not saying you're lying, Xia Yi." The old man said patiently, "I just feel like you're speaking as an outsider. I can't sense any sincerity from you."
Xia Yi paused, "Really?"
"Yes. In fact, I feel this way a lot of the time... I have taught you a lot, and you have mastered the etiquette and rules of the human world very well. Now when you approach a bustling human town, you will definitely not cause a sensation like before. In a sense, you are already a qualified 'human'."
Xia Yi's scarlet eyes stared motionlessly at the mist condensing on the ice coffin.
"But people need more than just etiquette and rules. I can teach you what human emotions are, but I can't let you feel them."
"He was your best friend, different from anyone else, but you never felt sad when talking about his death. Do you think this is normal?"
Xia Yi said calmly: "Don't tell me it took you hundreds of years to realize that I'm not normal."
The old man said helplessly: "That's not what I meant... ahem..."
Seeing him coughing heartbreakingly, Xia Yi used magic to strengthen the power of the ice coffin, "You just talked too much, take a rest first."
"Ahem... Xia Yi, it's useless." The old man panted, "Do you think that if you reinforce the ice layer, the god of death won't be able to see me? My life should have ended long ago, you can't go against God's will."
Xia Yi raised an eyebrow, "What God's will of death? So what if I violated it?"
The old man shook his head and was about to say something else, but he saw Xia Yi's expression change. It was the first time he saw him with a different expression, and he paused for a moment.
"The situation over there has changed. I have to leave first." Xia Yi did not explain any more. The blue flame burned fiercely and his figure disappeared.
The old man murmured: "Why are you so angry..."
He was the only one left in the palace again, and the transparent ice coffin reflected his few remaining lives.
There was no sunlight in this haunted land all day, and soon the hall was submerged in darkness.
-
Wizard Academy, Ghost-killing Prison.
With Luo Yinguan leading the way, the journey was smooth and Jiang Yuelu and his party soon reached the deepest level of the prison.
As soon as he stepped on the brick surface, a ray of light flowed from the soles of his feet. In the brief gap when the light appeared, Jiang Yuelu vaguely saw red blood flowing on the road ahead.
"Ha ha……"
The panting sounds coming from the depths of the darkness were oppressive and ominous.
Just as Jiang Yuelu was about to move forward, Leng Wenhan beside him suddenly stopped him.
Seeing him turn his head and still have that unfamiliar smile on his face, Leng Wenhan's scalp numbs. He dared not look at him again and lowered his head to explain: "The rune formation here was set up by the dean."
Jiang Yuelu smiled, "So what? Just destroy it like before."
Leng Wenhan was stunned, "But this..."
Tong Mian also said cautiously: "If we do this, we will definitely be discovered, and then I'm afraid all the deans will be called in."
Jiang Yuelu said: "Isn't this just right?"
Leng Wenhan and Tong Mian were both silent.
"I was going to meet them anyway, so this saves me from making another trip." After hearing Jiang Yuelu's words, Tong Mian felt that he was too optimistic and this wouldn't work.
So he gritted his teeth and explained, "The three of us, plus Mo Zhixian who might be injured inside, will definitely not be able to do anything to the dean. If we fail to rescue the people, we will also be imprisoned. It's not worth it."
Jiang Yuelu was very confident and calm, "They won't go against us."
Tong Mian had nothing to say.
He scratched his head, feeling anxious. He realized later that Jiang Yuelu was a little too confident today... He was not like this on the sternboat.
"Wen Han, continue."
Leng Wenhan did not hesitate and stood at the front like a resolute warrior. He lowered the black-headed magic staff in his hand, and a talisman light wrapped in black air burst out from it, quickly awakening the magic circle buried deep in the ground, and the ground began to rumble and shake.
When this noise came out, Tong Mian fell into despair.
It's over.
I will definitely, definitely be scolded by my uncle!
“Scolding for a day is no different from scolding for several months…” Tong Mian gritted his teeth and rushed over. “You’re going to die anyway, so you might as well choose your own way of dying. Leng Wenhan, let me help you start the formation!”
Behind him, Jiang Yuelu had already taken out the rusty scale.
The moment he took it out, the corners of his mouth curled up, as if he was a little disgusted.
He spun the rusty scale flexibly in his hands and placed it against Tong Mian's back. The two cooperated with each other and performed the perfect move they had used on the sternboat.
Strength... the long-lost strength once again filled my body.
Tong Mian once again felt that all his limbs were under his control. The scissors in his hand danced high in the air, interweaving with the light of Leng Wenhan's staff, illuminating the ground.
"boom--"
The startled ground became unusually active, and the cold bricks and stones revealed their original appearance in an instant, revealing the rune formation specially set up here by the elders of the academy.
The corridor instantly turned into a river of rune light.
Countless lines coiled and shone on the ground, giving off an intimidating aura. The oppressive feeling from the strange elders made Leng Wenhan and Tong Mian groan in unison. Unable to hold on, they staggered back a few steps, and were held steadily by a hand.
Leng Wenhan turned his head with difficulty, "..."
The nerves paralyzed by pain only had time to think of one thing -
Jiang Yuelu, when did she become so powerful that she could save him and Tong Mian in the face of this level of formation?
Jiang Yuelu, who was holding the two of them, remained calm and said to the air, "They can't do it anymore, you go."
The female voice of the system, who had been following them and did not dare to act rashly, immediately agreed: "Everything will be in accordance with your wishes."
"Is that... a system?" Tong Mian couldn't believe it.
Leng Wenhan also couldn't breathe.
The female voice of the system - this "voice" that diligently and responsibly plays a guiding role in the exam copy has been just a voice for so many years.
She played the role of the system perfectly, providing them with assistance, announcing their grades, and the progress of public examinations... Over time, they gradually forgot that she was originally a messenger of God.
And he is the only messenger of God who remains to this day.
A long time ago, several gods' messengers left their original places of residence for various reasons after the Lord God fell into a deep sleep. They each established a family, had children, and provided talents for the wizard academy.
Hundreds of years have passed. Some of them remain loyal, some break their oaths and defect, and some seek other ways out, no longer waiting for the gods to wake up.
She was the only one who, at the moment God fell asleep, vowed to abandon her physical body and to accompany the Lord God forever with her eternal mind and soul.
Generation after generation of students grew up and graduated under her gentle guidance.
Now, only Leng Wenhan and Tong Mian saw the human body of this loyal messenger of God again.
"Shh..."
A crystal clear figure hovered in the air, and the talismanic light on the ground reflected her soft body into a huge twisted shadow, projected on the top of the prison.
She was like a bubble, dressed in white divine attire, stuck in ancient times.
The beautiful female phantom first looked in Jiang Yuelu's direction with fascination, and then cast a sober gaze on the two young students, "You just stop here, leave the rest to me."
Hearing this familiar voice, Tong Mian and Leng Wenhan couldn't help but let go of their hands, just like they had followed the system's arrangements every time in the exam copy before.
The phantom's bare feet touched the center of the river of rune light. She did not rush to act, but turned her head.
Only when Jiang Yuelu smiled and nodded at her did she hold back her tears and without looking back, she tore up the powerful formation set up by successive deans.
“Ah… it hurts…”
The light bursting out from the front was too dazzling, and Tong Mian couldn't help but close his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't help but stop breathing.
The runes disappeared, the ground returned to its original state, and the corridor was no different from any other corridor they had ever seen. It had lost its function as a "prison".
Only the bloodstains on the ground gave any hint of the bloody massacre that had taken place here.
"That is..." Tong Mian exclaimed, "That is..."
They all saw it.
At the end of the long corridor and the bloodstains, the person who was held high in the air by countless swords, unable to move, was Mo Zhixian who had led them here.
He had already fainted, and no matter how Tong Mian called him, he did not open his eyes.
Jiang Yuelu walked over slowly, and Tong Mian was about to catch up, but found that Leng Wenhan was still standing there.
Generally speaking, Leng Wenhan is like a follower of Jiang Yuelu.
Tong Mian was puzzled, "Why don't you leave?...By the way, you seemed to be acting strange just now."
Leng Wenhan didn't say anything. He stared at Jiang Yuelu's back without blinking. He knew that the disappeared phantom messenger was following him, even though neither of them could see it.
How to tell Tong Mian that he felt Jiang Yuelu was becoming more and more unfamiliar... so unfamiliar that she couldn't even stand next to him?
When she arrived at Mo Zhixian's side, Jiang Yuelu was not in a hurry to rescue him.
"The child of the Mo family." Jiang Yuelu nodded with a smile, "He looks very much like his ancestors."
The female voice of the system gently reminded, "The child of the Wu family is in the cell on the left. This is the only one left. While you were sleeping...something big happened in the Wu family. Wu Yeming——"
Jiang Yuelu interrupted: "I know."
"Although I was asleep the whole time, I knew everything. It's just that it was difficult to talk to you." Jiang Yuelu smiled and said, "Fortunately, the children of the Tong family helped me wake up early."
"I overstepped my bounds."
"Hmm... Now it seems," Jiang Yuelu raised his hand, "this body is a little too fragile."
"Do you want to change it? But——" The female voice suddenly changed from gentle to high-pitched, "——Who?!"
The loud voice also attracted Tong Mian and Leng Wenhan who were not far away. They looked up but did not see any figure.
"Hmm?" Tong Mian rubbed his eyes, "Is there a snake on the ground?"
"snake?"
The floating green light appeared on the ground and soon turned into a raging fire. Leng Wenhan and Tong Mian had both seen the power of the green fire and said in unison: "It's him!"
"The people who came here shouldn't be from the academy, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so alert..."
Jiang Yuelu looked at the burning green fire, "Oh, green flame, so you are——"
Having grabbed his neck first, Xia Yi emerged from the tongue of green fire, opened his red eyes, and spoke in a sinister and bone-chilling voice.
"Who are you?"
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