Chapter 53 Awkward Moment [Second Update] "Excuse me... do you want me to wipe it off...?"
Just hearing him say that, Mu Meng felt that this must be another cruel and vicious method like the Rebirth Array.
Feng Xixue lowered her eyes and spoke in a cool, calm voice about this bloody method: "You know, the hearts of demons are made of stone. If someone wants to become a demon, they must have a heart of stone."
"The method is to select a fine stone and water it with one's own blood day and night until fresh blood seeps out when it is cut open with a knife. Then, the blood vessels in the body are sealed, one's heart is cut out alive, and a prepared stone heart is placed in its place. However, after the replacement, it still needs to be adjusted. Humans are made of flesh and blood, and it is unknown whether a stone can truly connect the heart and blood vessels when suddenly inserted."
Feng Xixue sighed slowly, looking up at the gray sky. Her voice seemed to come from a distant place, "I haven't seen many hybrid demons, because this method is a constant struggle against death. Every step could very well lead to your demise."
"But if you succeed, you will become a true demon, no different from a pure demon—you will lose your nature, become cold and ruthless, bloodthirsty and warlike, and ruthlessness and poison will gradually seep into your bones."
His tone was flat, but the matter itself was chilling enough. Mu Meng's expression darkened; it turned out that her brother Jiu Yan had experienced such pain in his past life.
What must he have felt as he poured his blood into watering a stone day and night?
What kind of hatred must he have harbored to so resolutely rip out his own heart?
What kind of pain did he endure to survive when his once soft heart was replaced by cold, black stone?
He was so young back then.
Mu Meng frowned slightly, feeling pity for Yun Jiuyan. Fortunately, he didn't have to suffer like that in this life. He was alive and well, and the entire Yunze Realm was also alive and well.
As she pondered, a name that had not appeared in her mind for a long time suddenly surfaced.
And what about him?
Mu Meng had just had a thought when he immediately shook his head—impossible, he wasn't. If he became a demon later in life, what was his original identity? He himself admitted that he was exchanged by the demons, so he must be a pure-born demon.
It must be.
Mu Meng frowned slightly. His gaze, which had been gradually hardening, suddenly fluttered as his long, curled eyelashes trembled, and his expression became unpredictable again.
But... putting all that aside, who exactly activated the Rebirth Array?
Feng Xixue said that only demons could learn this skill; others couldn't. But in his previous life, Brother Jiuyan had already been thrown off the Endless Cliff. He didn't have the conditions to walk through raging fire, temper himself in freezing ice, and obtain the Jade Demon Stone to activate the Rebirth Array. So who among the demons would do such a thing?
The more I think about it, the clearer that familiar yet unfamiliar face becomes in my mind.
Mu Meng shook her head. Could it be a coincidence? For example, perhaps a member of the demon race activated a rebirth array for his own selfish desires, and she and he were just the variables brought about by the array?
But since it's called a variable, it should be closely related to oneself... If a strange demon really activates the magic array, then what kind of variable would her and Mu Qingheng's rebirth be to him?
Mu Meng felt her temples throbbing and her mind was in a mess. Having suddenly learned about these things, no matter how many questions she had, Feng Xixue could not answer them for her.
So... what if it wasn't a coincidence?
Mu Meng knew in his heart that he shouldn't think about it anymore. Thinking about it would only lead to trouble without any answers.
But once the idea took hold, she couldn't stop.
If it wasn't a coincidence, then Mu Qingheng had activated the Rebirth Array.
He paid a heavy price to reverse everything.
Even knowing there might be changes, they still insisted on doing it anyway.
To even meet such a condition, he must be a hybrid demon.
So, he also used that bloody and cruel method to become possessed by a demon later in life...
She had been with him since childhood and they had never been separated. If he were to water the stone with his blood day and night and tear out his own heart, she would know that he was more concerned about him than her father or her sister. She was meticulous and attentive to every detail. How could she not know if he did such things?
In her past life, Mu Qingheng had told her that he had wanted her, his pure heart pill, since the day she was born. Could it be that he had already become a demon before she was born?
But at the time he was just a little kid.
That's ridiculous.
That's absolutely absurd.
A person burdened with sins, even long dead, was always believed by everyone to be inherently evil, but years later, it is suddenly revealed that he may have been carrying some unknown secrets.
Mu Meng's eyes darted around a few times as she suppressed her emotions. Although her thoughts had been in turmoil, she only frowned slightly, not letting anyone see the turmoil in her heart.
She didn't speak, so Feng Xixue didn't say anything either.
Mu Meng composed herself. In any case, this was not the time to think about such things. She had important business to attend to here.
"Feng Xixue, I have a favor to ask of you. Please help me send Ze'er back to the Celestial Clan. The Dark Cave is not as easy to wipe out as the Bright Cave. I'm afraid I won't have time to take care of him, and this place is not suitable for a child like him to stay for long." After calming down, Mu Meng sealed away his previous thoughts and began to explain the current matter.
Feng Xixue glanced at Mu Zeyu, who was fast asleep beside her, then turned to Mu Meng: "A round trip will take a lot of time, and this place isn't entirely safe. If you..."
"Don't worry, I won't be careless. You should know my capabilities. I can handle this situation." Mu Meng pointed at Mu Zeyu. "The only thing I'm worried about is this little guy. With Zeyu here, I'll be distracted."
"I'm confident you can handle things here, but there are always unpredictable things in the world. Otherwise..."
“No other choice, it can only be you. The Ghost King is here on official business, and besides, he is of the same rank as my father, so I can’t very well trouble him; that brother is taciturn and I don’t know him well since we just met, so I don’t feel comfortable entrusting him with anything.” Mu Meng guessed what Feng Xixue was going to say, so he had no choice but to explain it to him.
That's true. Feng Xixue silently considered for a moment: "Then I'll entrust the young master to Yunze Realm for now. It's not that far from there, so I can get back quickly. Please inform Her Highness the Princess and ask her to send someone there to pick him up. Is that alright?"
"That's no problem," Mu Meng nodded. "Go ahead, I'll tell my sister."
Feng Xixue walked over without saying a word, stood next to Mu Zeyu, hesitated for a moment, and then bent down to pick him up.
Mu Meng chuckled inwardly. It was fortunate that her Ze'er was a boy; if he were a girl, she probably wouldn't have been willing to hold him once Xi Xue started to enforce her rules.
Not long after Feng Xixue left, Lu Zhaoxin returned.
Seeing that Mu Meng was alone, he looked around curiously and asked, "Where's the young master? Oh, with your silver hair..."
Mu Meng glanced at him indifferently.
Lu Zhaoxin immediately changed his words: "Your attendant."
"His name is Feng Xixue."
“Oh, so that’s his name,” Feng Xixue said. She had accompanied Mu Meng to the Ghost Realm many times, but Lu Zhaoxin had heard too many rumors about him, and they weren’t good. She had preconceived notions and had never paid much attention to him, not even asking his name. “To be honest, the name sounds a bit familiar. Hmm… never mind, it’s not important. Mengmeng, what do you plan to do next?”
Mu Meng looked serious, stroked his chin and pondered: "I've thought it through. After we wipe out all the open caves, their dark caves and nests will be like eyes and ears, they won't know anything now. But their main camp is hidden after all. They are in the dark while we are in the light. If we search rashly, we might alert them. We can disguise ourselves as humans, let them capture us and take us into their nests, and then take them down in one fell swoop."
Lu Zhaoxin was greatly impressed and clapped his hands repeatedly, saying, "That's really a good idea. Good hunters often appear as prey. We can not only deceive them, but also see them panic and be terrified. Not bad, not bad. Mengmeng, how about we pretend to be husband and wife?"
Mu Meng stomped hard on his spotless black boots: "Don't even think about it."
"You're ruthless, showing no mercy whatsoever." Even at a time like this, Lu Zhaoxin could still tenderly pull out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wipe away the footprints on his shoes. As he wiped, he casually asked, "I think this is a good idea, and that fellow should agree. But I have to say, wasn't he a bit slow? I glanced at him from afar and thought his spiritual power was higher than mine, so how come he was slower to get back than me?"
Huh? That's right.
Mu Meng frowned slightly. That person's spiritual power was so high that even if he had some difficulty moving, he should have arrived at the same time as him.
But at this moment, she had already spoken with Feng Xixue and waited for Lu Zhaoxin, but still hadn't seen him.
Could something have happened?
Just as they were about to head north to meet them, they suddenly heard a "crackling" sound in the distance. Mu Meng and Lu Zhaoxin turned around together to look—
In the distance, thick black smoke billows beneath a raging fire.
"What... what's going on? Fire attack? The snake gu is most afraid of spiritual fire. If we hadn't found the hidden lair, using fire so easily would have alerted the snake."
Mu Meng gazed at the scene for a moment, then snorted coldly, "This man is quite arrogant. Don't worry, he knows what he's doing. Since he used the spiritual fire, he must have found the real dark cave."
Lu Zhaoxin gave an "oh," then frowned in disapproval. "Even if he finds it, he shouldn't risk it alone. It's fraught with danger there. He's just a rogue who hasn't even come to meet us before acting rashly."
Mu Meng also thought it was amazing. How could this person combine inferiority and arrogance in one person?
However, Lu Zhaoxin was wrong about one thing. Mu Meng looked at the thick smoke rising into the sky in the distance and said, "Didn't you see? People say that he has just entered the world, but that's only because they have never heard of his chivalrous name before, nor have they seen such a master, so they think he is just a novice. But after seeing him today, you should know that this person is definitely not someone who has just entered the world."
As she swept through the Ming Caves, she did discover a few clues, but since it was her first time in the Northern Frontier, she lacked experience and dared not act rashly. She decided to prioritize safety, but that person was different.
He is bold and meticulous, able to accurately and steadily locate the hidden cave deep underground. How could someone who is inexperienced in the ways of the world do such a thing? If not for his rich combat experience, how many people in the world could do what he did?
Moreover, his body was covered in scars, his hands and feet were injured, and the many marks on his face all proved that this person had experienced countless unknown cruelties - could it be that he suffered those injuries behind closed doors at home?
Lu Zhaoxin narrowed his eyes, then turned his head and said with a smile, "Mengmeng, you are very observant. But what you said makes sense. This brother is definitely not some naive and carefree young knight. On the contrary, he has a lot of stories to tell. I was almost fooled by his act of pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger."
"Say something nice about him," Mu Meng glared at him lightly. "These are all speculations. Who knows if he can really handle it by himself? Let's hurry over there."
...
They ran in the direction of the firelight and sure enough, they saw the entrance to the dark cave that had been opened by the fire. Since the spiritual fire could not harm them, Mu Meng and Lu Zhaoxin exchanged a glance and rushed in one after the other.
This was the place where the spirit fire was first lit, but it has now been extinguished, leaving everything charred and blackened, with snake corpses burned to charcoal everywhere.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this guy is really ruthless, he didn't leave a single one alive."
Mu Meng was both amused and exasperated. She had come here intending to capture a few people for interrogation. The Northern Frontier Snake Gu had always existed, but it had always been a minor player. When had it ever dared to be so blatant and act so openly? Who would believe that it had no one backing it up?
But if they are all killed at once, the underlings are dead, but their backers can easily find another group of demons and monsters to rise up again, and in the end, it will be the innocent people of the human race who suffer.
“This man has a rather strange temperament. From the day I first heard about his deeds until now, all he has done is keep killing wicked people,” Mu Meng said as he explored the area. “It seems that he believes that anyone who does something bad should be killed, regardless of the reason.”
“Not just,” Lu Zhaoxin added, “they should all be killed.”
That makes sense. This person seeks neither fame nor fortune, traveling thousands of miles and traversing various places, killing countless heinous criminals. "He truly has the Great Way in his heart. Although this person is not a member of my Heavenly Clan, his teachings coincide with our clan's precepts. I can only hope that he is not a reckless person. It's fine to kill these little snakes, but I hope he can spare the life of that Gu Lord so that I can ask him a few questions."
“Then we’d better hurry up and catch up with him. Sigh—but his spiritual power is very strange,” Lu Zhaoxin said as he walked, wiping a handful of the charred snake corpse nearby, frowning as he smelled it, and then immediately removing it with a look of disgust. “To be honest, even though I’ve seen a lot, I can’t tell which realm his spiritual power comes from.”
Mu Meng waved his hand: "Let it be strange. I found out a long time ago. He didn't use it for anything bad. Let it be wherever it wants."
"That's true."
They walked deeper and deeper into the area, which was not a straight passage but rather branched into countless paths. Mu Meng and his companion explored every single one of these paths. The area had been thoroughly cleared by the man, and it was difficult for them to even encounter any living creature.
The deeper you go, the fainter the light becomes, and the outside light gradually can't penetrate. Only the faint firelight in the cave illuminates the winding, interconnected paths.
Suddenly, Mu Meng frowned, kicked Lu Zhaoxin in the back of the knee, and hissed, "Get out of the way!"
Lu Zhaoxin stumbled from her kick and before he could react, Mu Meng had already drawn her dagger with a "whoosh" and suddenly took a step in the direction Lu Zhaoxin had just been.
With a loud "bang," something was slammed against the wall by her.
Lu Zhaoxin was secretly delighted: Good, at least we found a survivor. Luckily, that guy didn't kill us all.
He casually snapped his fingers, and a ball of shimmering white will-o'-the-wisp appeared above his finger, illuminating the small area.
But what he saw left him dumbfounded—
Mengmeng bravely pinned the man in blue against the wall, the dagger in her hand pressed against his porcelain-white neck. She lost control of her strength, and the blade had even cut a little bit, leaving a shallow bloodstain with blood slowly trickling down.
Moreover, it was too dark to see clearly just now, so Mengmeng had no sense of propriety at all—she grabbed the man's collar with her other hand, which tore it open quite a bit, exposing his delicate and beautiful collarbone and even revealing a bit of his strong and powerful chest muscles.
The man was firmly pressed down by Mengmeng, his thick, black hair scattered and brushing against the wall. Although half of his face was covered, the half that was exposed clearly showed him staring blankly for a moment.
Lu Zhaoxin remained expressionless and motionless, holding up the swaying, silvery-white will-o'-the-wisp, his toes curling up little by little in a dark manner.
Everything happened very quickly; from Mu Meng taking the man to Lu Zhaoxin lighting the will-o'-the-wisp, it was only a moment.
Mu Meng quickly let go—both hands at once.
If conditions allowed, she would rather immediately cover her face in shame and hide away, and then think back to what she had done.
But the circumstances didn't allow it at the moment. Just now, in this narrow and dimly lit passage, she had indeed violently slammed him against the wall and held him down, rudely tearing off his clothes and even slashing his neck.
In this situation, you must sincerely apologize, even if the other party is angry, you should blame yourself for being too rash.
Mu Meng felt extremely guilty. He opened his mouth, and just as he was about to utter an apology—
"sorry."
The man in blue spoke in a low voice, his tone even carrying a hint of panic.
If he could, Mu Meng felt he should take two more steps back.
What did he say? Was he...sorry?
Mu Meng looked up in disbelief. Under the clear light, his scarred face was not ugly, but rather had a kind of broken beauty. His deep, star-like phoenix eyes quietly revealed a kind of sadness.
He lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes drooping as well, his gaze fixed on her hand—the one that had just tugged at his collar.
"I'm sorry... would you like me to wipe it?" He asked, his voice filled with sadness and sincerity, as he pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket.
Hand it over carefully.
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