Chapter 68 Recognition: "How did you survive?"...
Zhe Qing's voice was calm and composed, yet it possessed a strangely convincing power when heard.
Mu Meng turned to look at him. Zhe Qing probably wouldn't do anything without being sure of success. After hearing all this, he probably had a general idea. Besides, she had already determined that he was no novice; he had far more experience than she did, and perhaps he would have some ideas about this matter.
Thinking this, Mu Meng whispered to Feng Xixue, "If you don't mind, why don't you tell us the information you have? Maybe we can come up with a solution together."
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Feng Xixue naturally didn't hesitate. He slowly nodded, "Okay, but..."
His voice was filled with deep sorrow and self-reproach, "But I was young and ignorant back then, and I didn't know much."
Zhe Qing smiled slightly: "It's alright. Since it's someone that Young Master Feng is so eager to find, only you know the details best. What you've provided is already the most information you can give."
Feng Xixue tacitly agreed. He remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "Back when I first met Shengsheng..."
He had barely begun speaking when his voice trembled slightly. Although he tried his best to endure it, his pale face could not hide the pain and torment he was suffering. Anyone could see that he was enduring pain and torment.
Mu Meng glanced cautiously at Lu Zhaoxin, seeing that he was focused on his own thoughts and didn't ask or say anything more, which put Mu Meng at ease. He then looked at Zhe Qing, who was even more composed and didn't show any doubt about Feng Xixue's unusual behavior.
After all, Feng Xixue is the last remaining member of the demon race in this world, and she is still so active in public. Once her true identity is revealed, even if her life is not in danger, it will still cause a lot of trouble.
She felt much more at ease knowing that the two of them were so calm and collected.
Seeing Feng Xixue's fragile appearance, Mu Meng couldn't help but advise, "Just focus on the key points. As long as it can help in the search for the missing person, there's no need to mention the other details."
Feng Xixue pressed one hand to his heart, his long, slender hand with distinct knuckles turning slightly white, indicating that he had used a great deal of force. He continued, "When I first met Shengsheng, I had just come of age, and Shengsheng was also quite young. According to the rules of the human race, she should be close to coming of age. At that time, I was seriously injured and unconscious in the human realm. She saved me."
“When I open my eyes and see a stranger, I am naturally wary. The first thing I do is to check how much spiritual power she has,” Feng Xixue said, slowly raising her eyes and gently shaking her head. “Sheng Sheng was indeed a human with no spiritual power at the time, there is no mistake about that. But since it was our first meeting, I did not examine her soul in depth.”
Zhe Qing listened attentively, occasionally lowering her eyes in thought.
Lu Zhaoxin was also thinking, but seemed to feel that there was too little information. After waiting for a long time, and Feng Xixue still hadn't spoken again, he couldn't help but ask, "And then?"
Feng Xixue took two deep breaths, her lips almost bloodless, and clenched her fists tightly against her heart before continuing, "Later... when Shengsheng passed away, I tried..."
“Excuse me, wait a minute,” Lu Zhaoxin raised his hand somewhat apologetically, “Could you please elaborate? The last sentence is about our first meeting, and the next sentence jumps directly to death. In between… are there no details?”
Mu Meng thought so too, but she understood Feng Xixue better than Lu Zhaoxin, so she was too embarrassed to bring it up.
But after Lu Zhaoxin asked that question, Feng Xixue visibly trembled, her eyes gradually reddened, and she opened her lips for a long time, but could not utter a single word.
Seeing his state, Mu Meng feared that recalling too much of the past would overwhelm his mental state and might lead to another bout of madness and self-harm. Just as she was about to advise him to take it slow, she heard Zhe Qing say gently:
"It's alright. If the events in between, and the cause of this young lady's death... are unrelated to details such as spiritual power and soul, then Young Master Feng can skip over them."
Feng Xixue nodded slightly, her voice low and hoarse, "Thank you."
He calmed himself down, glossing over their past, and whispered again, "When Sheng Sheng passed away, I tried to bring her soul back. I had another contact with her soul then, and it was more detailed than the last time. I could confirm that there was no spiritual power involved."
He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "But her soul dissipated in less than three breaths, and I couldn't stop it... I wonder if this is much faster than that of ordinary humans."
Lu Zhaoxin nodded, "It is indeed fast. It usually takes about half an incense stick's time for an ordinary person's soul to completely return to the ghost realm. So, did you come to the ghost realm to search for it next?"
“Next…” Feng Xixue’s lips pressed into a pale line, “I didn’t immediately look for her reincarnation. It was a long time before I gradually started to look for her, but then I found that I couldn’t find any clues at all.”
Mu Meng listened and nodded slightly. She understood that demons were not born knowing how to love. Their flesh and blood grew from their stone hearts not overnight, but through a long process. When Miss Yu Sheng passed away, Feng Xixue felt his first love, but he didn't realize it until much later, when his flesh and blood gradually became perfect, that he began to search for his lost lover in every possible way.
However, she knew about this matter, and Lu Zhaoxin... perhaps had some suspicions as well, but Zhe Qing might not know. Surprisingly, he didn't raise any objections to Feng Xixue's decision not to immediately search for her lover's reincarnation, but instead to wait some time before doing so.
She looked at Zhe Qing and saw that his eyes were lowered, and his long, curled eyelashes cast a light shadow under his eyes, as if he was deep in thought.
As expected, he was quite composed. Mu Meng turned his thoughts back to Feng Xixue's words earlier—no wonder he was so remorseful and self-reproachful. Considering the information he had provided about Miss Yu Sheng's repeated early deaths, and adding everything he had today, there really wasn't much information.
Neither she nor Lu Zhaoxin spoke for a moment, but Zhe Qing seemed to have some ideas and said in a deep voice, "I see. So, Young Master Feng is looking for his beloved. May I ask how long you have been searching?"
Feng Xixue quietly raised her eyes and glanced at him. His brow bones were high and his eyes were extremely deep. This casual glance seemed to carry a hint of inquiry.
But soon he said softly, "More than two thousand years."
"More than two thousand years?!" Lu Zhaoxin exclaimed in surprise, even leaning forward slightly.
He'd been so composed for so long, yet he was suddenly so surprised, and because of something like this—yes, two thousand years is a long time, but even Lu Zhaoxin couldn't have been that surprised, could he? Mu Meng looked at him strangely, "Why are you shouting so loudly?"
Lu Zhaoxin blinked: "I..."
"Has the Ghost King thought of something?" Zhe Qing's calm and composed voice came. He looked at Lu Zhaoxin with ease, as if he wouldn't be surprised by what Lu Zhaoxin said next.
Lu Zhaoxin didn't notice Zhe Qing's expression. Instead, he thoughtfully stroked his chin, hissed softly, and muttered to himself, "More than two thousand years, more than two thousand years..."
Suddenly, he slapped his thigh hard: "This is very strange, because... oh, you are not from the Ghost Realm, so you may not know this—the souls of humans are very different from those of other races. If an ordinary person has never cultivated immortality and has no spiritual power, then his soul is very fragile."
"If what we just said is true, that Miss Yu Sheng was murdered and cursed with such a vicious curse, if she were truly human, carrying such a sinister and cruel curse, her soul could not possibly have lasted for more than two thousand years; it would only last a few hundred years at most..."
"Cough cough cough—" Mu Meng coughed a few times, covering his mouth with his hand as a reminder.
Perhaps in a few hundred years at most, his soul will be scattered and he will never be seen again. However, this statement should be considered carefully. Feng Xixue was already suffering when she learned of the curse on Yu Sheng, and she also recounted some memories herself. She is probably just barely holding on to her spirit now.
If we were to bluntly stab him in the heart again, it might not be appropriate.
Lu Zhaoxin immediately realized what was going on, cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, and quickly changed his words to be more tactful, "Yes, that's right... what I wanted to say is that if Young Master Feng has been searching for more than two thousand years and can still sense that Miss Yu Sheng's soul has not dissipated, then she is probably not human."
He looked up at the ceiling, crossed his arms, thought for a moment, and finally said decisively, "That's right, she is definitely not human."
The Ghost King governs matters concerning both the human and ghost realms, and he holds the most authority over matters concerning the souls of the human race. Since he is so certain, this matter is beyond question.
Mu Meng followed his train of thought and continued: "Miss Yu Sheng is not human, but when Feng Xixue met her, she did not detect any spiritual power in her. So there are two possibilities... either she came here to undergo tribulation, or she committed some mistake and was demoted to the human realm."
Tribulations and mistakes—although there are only two possibilities, if we look at these two lines alone, there are far too many possibilities.
Sure enough, Lu Zhaoxin spread his hands: "That's true, but aside from the human race, there are so many other clans, and there are countless gods and demons undergoing tribulations. There are even more who have made mistakes. I'm afraid that each realm, clan, and race has to send away two or three every day. It's like finding a needle in a haystack."
"Actually, it's not that difficult."
Suddenly, a slightly low, husky voice rang out from the corner.
“If Miss Yu Sheng is not human, then things will be much easier,” Zhe Qing said with a smile as soon as Lu Zhaoxin finished speaking. A hint of relief appeared on his face as he nodded repeatedly. “Within the Six Realms, as long as we exclude humans, I have a way to find some clues.”
All eyes turned to Zhe Qing.
Although Mu Meng also looked over, for some reason, he was distracted and began to think about something else—
Today... wasn't everything going too smoothly?
They took turns pointing and, in less than half an hour, they even came up with a way to find clues. Although this was something to be happy about, things were going too smoothly, and something felt a little off.
Mu Meng's eyes held a hint of doubt. His clear black and white pupils drooped slightly, and after a couple of glances, he finally shook his head—sigh, he had been overthinking things.
Those present were all people she trusted deeply—Feng Xixue, of course, was his responsibility, and he valued it more than his own life; Lu Zhaoxin had been working on this matter for a long time; and Zhe Qing's character and personality were extraordinary.
Well, isn't it good if everything goes smoothly? Everyone here is quite capable; they get together and analyze the key points in just a few words. It's a good thing, after all.
Zhe Qing met Feng Xixue's expectant gaze and said seriously, "Young Master Feng, since Miss Yu Sheng is the beloved you have been searching for, do you have any of her belongings on you?"
Mu Meng was able to answer this question. Of course he did. Feng Xixue had a silver hairpin that was more precious than his own life. When he was having an attack, he would use it to poke seventy or eighty holes in himself.
Just then, Feng Xixue took out a silver hairpin that she treasured from her bosom. "Yes, it's here. What's the method? I'm all ears."
As he spoke, he slowly raised his eyes and stared directly at Zhe Qing.
Zhe Qing met his gaze, raised her hand and gently touched the tip of her nose. "As far as I know, there is an ancient magic array in this world that can trace the origin of an object's owner," he explained. "Except for humans, all races in the six realms possess spiritual power and are born with their own race's mark. For example, the Celestial Race has celestial bones, the Ghost Race has soul energy, the Demon Race has a stone heart, and the Demon Race has a demon core. These innate and unchanging marks will not disappear, whether through reincarnation or heavenly tribulations. As long as we use the items left behind by Miss Yu Sheng to activate this magic array, we can deduce which race she came from, thus greatly reducing the difficulty of the search."
Upon hearing this, Feng Xixue's eyes and brows immediately lit up with joy, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but curve upwards. She said repeatedly, "Good, good, young master is very knowledgeable. I am ashamed of my inferiority. I don't know how to activate this formation. Please enlighten me."
Zhe Qing hesitated for a moment, pondered for a while, and slowly said, "Young Master Feng, I saw that you were deeply in love just now, and you showed signs of pain when you mentioned the past. So I have to remind you that this magic array is activated by items left behind by your beloved. Being inside it will probably give you some kind of connection with her. Furthermore, this magic array cannot achieve its purpose overnight. It will take anywhere from three to five days to one or two months, and you must stay inside it without leaving your side. If you have been heartbroken for a long time, it is not suitable for you to activate this magic array yourself."
Upon hearing this, Mu Meng immediately understood the gravity of the situation. Feng Xixue's heart-wrenching pain was already so severe that even a slight longing or calling out someone's name could trigger a relapse. If Feng Xixue were to personally wield the formation and reconnect with the girl Yu Sheng from back then, it would surely cost him half his life.
She felt it was inappropriate and suggested, "Why don't I do it? I'm fine."
“No need, thank you,” Zhe Qing hadn’t spoken yet when Feng Xixue disagreed. He slowly shook his head, his gaze stubborn yet gentle, “This is something I should bear. If I could communicate with Sheng Sheng…”
He gave a bitter laugh, "Even if it hurts, I'll accept it willingly."
So Zhe Qing didn't say anything more and nodded: "Alright, of course we'll respect your wishes."
Feng Xixue nodded, then slowly raised his head. Behind him was a bright ghost fire that illuminated his long, silvery-white hair, but made his face appear somewhat dark and blurry. For some reason, his expression looked a little strange.
Zhe Qing's eyes met his in the air, and then she looked away first.
He turned slightly and looked at Mu Meng and Lu Zhaoxin. "Mengmeng, Ghost King, although this formation is not a remarkable skill, I am bound by the rules of my sect and cannot spread it widely. Therefore, I need to teach it to Young Master Feng in another place. I hope you two will not mind."
Lu Zhaoxin immediately waved his hand, "No problem, no problem, I understand. There's no one in the side hall at the back, you can talk there."
Mu Meng rested his chin on his hand and nodded with a smile, "You two go ahead, we'll wait here."
Then, the two of them got up to say goodbye. Strangely enough, they looked at each other and walked out side by side, seemingly with a tacit understanding that was hard to explain.
After Zhe Qing and Feng Xixue disappeared from sight, Mu Meng was still staring at the doorway, stroking his chin and pondering, "Lu Zhaoxin, don't you think that Zhe Qing and Feng Xixue seem to have hit it off immediately?"
"I don't know, I didn't notice."
He was so carefree that Mu Meng genuinely felt she couldn't discuss serious matters with him, so she stopped asking and leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
“I say, Mengmeng, Your Highness,” Lu Zhaoxin glanced at her after she had been silent for a long time and couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t you think about too many things every day? What’s wrong with that? Can’t two people hit it off and become good friends at first sight?”
Lu Zhaoxin scoffed, "If you ask me, they're both a bit strange. It's not unusual for strange people to become friends."
What he said makes a lot of sense. Zhe Qing and Feng Xixue do have some similarities, such as their stubbornness and their excessive self-discipline.
But Feng Xixue's actions stemmed from deep love and the instincts of the demon race, while Zhe Qing's were driven by something else.
Mu Meng sat up straight and leaned a little closer to Lu Zhaoxin. "But you don't understand Feng Xixue. His whole heart is filled with another person. There's not even a tiny gap left for anyone else."
She stretched out her hand and used her thumb and forefinger to make an exaggerated gap, which was indeed very small. "Feng Xixue's personality doesn't seem like the type to suddenly become close to someone else."
"Ugh, you're so annoying," Lu Zhaoxin rubbed his temples as if he had a headache. "Mengmeng, being meticulous is a good thing, but there's no need for this. Is it that hard to explain? Zhe Qing offered up his family's unique array formation so that Feng Xixue could find someone, and Feng Xixue showed some gratitude. What's so strange about that?"
Oh...yes, it seems she's being too picky.
Mu Meng leaned back in her chair again: "Okay, stop nagging me. What you said... is true. I admit I'm overthinking it. Let's just wait here for them to come back."
Although she said this, Mu Meng lowered her eyes, slowly licked her lips, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if she was still thinking about something.
...
Zhe Qing and Feng Xixue entered the side hall one after the other, with Feng Xixue in front and Zhe Qing behind. After entering, he calmly and slowly closed the door.
Feng Xixue stood in the center of the side hall. He slowly looked around, his deep, hawk-like eyes scanning the surroundings before finally lowering them, his eyes calm and serene.
Zheqing walked forward step by step.
"How did you survive?" When Zhe Qing stood beside him, Feng Xixue did not turn his head. He remained motionless and asked this question in a low voice.
Zhe Qing paused for a moment, her long, curled eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes like raven wings.
“Let’s talk about the magic circle,” he said.
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