I glanced at the crowded staircase and the mess of bloodstains, and without further hesitation, I ran over. But suddenly, there was a snapping sound above my head.
She and I both raised our heads at the same time.
A flash of golden light passed before her eyes, and when she looked down again, just inches from her toes was a huge hole. At the other end of the hole, only half of her body remained, covered in blood.
That is the huge three-legged golden crow adorning the spire, made of pure gold, standing tall and soaring in the sunlight every day, the most eye-catching embellishment of Wolongkou.
Now, it flies down from the top of the tower, piercing through the nine layers of bricks and stones that had been stretched taut for so long.
No matter how extravagant it was, it was too late to save it. The Tower of Beads was finished, and the people inside would have to give up their lives.
When even the most solid ground we depend on for survival has abandoned us, where can we go and how can we survive?
The girl in my arms slightly raised her head, her big eyes were very beautiful, but now they were filled with a thick mist of tears.
"Sister..." she called softly, tears streaming down her face.
It felt like something had slashed my heart.
My own sister has never called me by name.
I pressed her head down, secretly planning in my mind, and walked up the crowded staircase. Crying and screaming, it was the same on every floor.
I untied the layers of veil wrapped around my head, rolled up the long sleeves covering my pale hands, and pulled out the jade hairpin from my hair, revealing a head of white hair that hung straight to the ground.
I walked forward step by step, toward the crowd on the verge of death.
Just as I was about to touch them, someone finally turned around and glanced at me. The fear on their face seemed to freeze instantly, and then they suddenly burst out, "A demon! There's a demon!"
The screams and screams of panic from the crowd grew louder. I watched coldly; I hadn't encountered anything like this, or people like this, in a long time. Ji Mo had protected me so well; while some people around me were afraid, none had ever screamed like this. For a moment, I found it hard to accept. Ironically, the first word I heard upon birth was "demon," and it should have been this shrill.
I held the child tightly to prevent her from raising her head suddenly.
I don't know how I would escape this tower if she shouted "demon" the moment she saw me.
The crowded throng finally surged forward, and I felt like a plague, something to be avoided at all costs.
They kept going like this until they reached the third floor, but the people in front of them couldn't go any further—the stairs had collapsed.
The height of three stories wasn't too high or too low. Some people jumped down, from the third floor to the second, which wouldn't have been difficult. However, looking down, I saw the floorboards had ripped open, piercing through their chests. I gasped and took a few steps back.
People kept looking down, and in the shoving of the crowd, someone else fell down, only to be met with a scream.
Above me, there was another eerie sound. I looked up, but the tower with the three-legged golden crow was gone. I wondered what else could fall down.
Suddenly, my mind became clear and lucid. I hurriedly ran away, only to find that the very spot where I had just stood had been pierced by bricks and stones, leaving a hollow.
It's collapsed! This place will become a pile of ruins! Nine stories, a full nine stories, I wonder what a magnificent sight it would be if they were all piled up together.
People were terrified by the falling bricks, stones, and wood, and more and more people jumped down, their screams echoing everywhere.
I hid by the window, looking outside. I couldn't jump; there were only three floors, I couldn't jump.
The Stacked Pearl Tower is built on the mountaintop, with huge rocks hidden all over the ground. If you jump down, you will only die!
Could it be that we really are going to end up here...?
I shook my head, desperately trying to shake off the spreading despair.
There's still Jimo, and his severed arm. I haven't finished what Fu Xi asked me to do, and I haven't found my way to Qingqiu Mountain and Danxue Mountain. Nothing can happen to me! Absolutely not!
"Live on! You must live on! Otherwise, I'll never forgive you, even in death!"
Whose voice is lingering in my ears?
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