Chapter 14 Collapse
The peach wood sword seemed to respond to the inner call of its owner, suddenly cutting through the air and returning to her palm with a whoosh.
You Xiaohun saw that she was unwilling to cut her hair off, so she suddenly pulled the hair that was embedded in her abdomen with such great force that she pulled the wooden comb along with it.
The long black hair like a waterfall surged out from the wooden comb again, covering the sky and the sun, trying to drown You Xiaohun in the endless sea of hair.
Do you think she will be fooled by the same trick again?
As the spell flashed through her mind, she gathered her strength and suddenly spurted out the clear spring that had been accumulating in her mouth!
The spring water containing the cursed power penetrated the hair accurately, revealing the wooden comb inside. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, You Xiaohun tightly grasped the peach wood sword, with the tip of the sword condensed with the brilliance of spiritual power, and swung the peach wood sword: "Breath of the Spirit, Zero Style, Kill the Evil!", with the majestic momentum of purifying all evil, he cut through the sky and hit the wooden comb exposed in his sight with an unstoppable posture.
Her eyes were about to burst, and she vowed to completely cut off this evil spirit: "Evil ghost! You are dead! Go to hell and atone for your sins!"
As the sharp edge of the peach wood sword cut through the sky, the moment it met the wooden comb, a roar like a dragon's roar echoed in the cave.
The wooden comb broke instantly, and the hair entangled on it seemed to be purified and disappeared without a trace by this blow.
Seeing this, the female ghost showed an expression of disbelief and extreme fear on her face. She trembled violently and her figure began to gradually disappear.
"Ah! I don't believe it, I won't die." The female ghost screamed miserably, and the sound penetrated every corner of the cave, carrying with it endless resentment and unwillingness.
She was unwilling to be destroyed like this, so she used up her last strength and danced all the hair in her cave madly. These hairs seemed to be given life and turned into long black whips. With the sound of whistling wind, they pounced towards You Xiaohun, vowing to drag her into the abyss of no return.
Busikawa arrived just in time to reach You Xiaohun. Facing the overwhelming onslaught, he remained unfazed. "Breath of Wind, Form Three, Clear Cloud Wind Tree!" With a fierce swing of his Sun Blade, the surrounding air seemed to come alive, surging and swirling violently, forming a rapidly expanding sphere of wind centered around him and You Xiaohun. This wind was not only incredibly swift but also possessed a cutting edge, seemingly capable of splitting even space in two.
Finally, under the resistance of Busei River, the female ghost let out a desperate wail, her figure began to become blurred, and finally turned into a wisp of smoke, completely dissipating into the air, leaving only the mess and destruction on the ground as proof of her existence.
However, although the battle was over, the crisis was not completely resolved. As the female ghost dissipated, the structure inside the cave seemed to be affected, and bursts of rumbling sounds began to emit, and rubble whizzed down, indicating that the cave was about to collapse.
You Xiaohun and Busikawa looked at each other, and they quickly moved towards the cave entrance, but unfortunately, they found that the entrance had completely collapsed and was sealed.
They had no choice but to go back, perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope.
You Xiaohun forced himself to calm down, dodging the falling rocks while quickly and carefully passing through every inch of the cave.
"There! There is a passage on the cave wall over there. I feel a flowing echo in the air there." You Xiaohun pointed to the cave wall.
"Then what are we waiting for!" Before she finished speaking, she and Busei-kawa were like two flashes of lightning, bursting out with astonishing speed and tacit understanding in an instant, rushing to the front of the cave entrance, leaping, and landing steadily on the narrow passage on the cave wall.
Just as You Xiaohun and Bu Sichuan hurried through the hidden cave entrance, they took a few steps before suddenly stopping. A low cliff suddenly appeared before them, and below it was a surging, surging underground river, the sound of the water deafening. "Damn it!" You Xiaohun cursed inwardly. No wonder this place was called Shuigang Village, it turned out there was an underground river here.
Her face instantly lost color and she couldn't help but take a step back.
However, there was no way to retreat. The collapse of the cave behind him had spread to him, and falling rocks from the hole in the cave wall continued to pour in.
Busikawa looked at You Xiaohun, a look of determination flashed in his eyes. He took a few steps back, then rushed forward and grabbed You Xiaohun's wrist tightly. She screamed: "No! I can't..." The two of them fell into the river together.
"Wow! These disgusting silk threads are so troublesome!" the team members were horrified.
Zi Rong flung out several more vines, like spirit snakes emerging from a cave, precisely entangling the restless black silk threads and temporarily restraining them. However, his tone could not conceal his fatigue: "Hurry up, I can't hold on any longer!"
They hurriedly quickened their movements: "It's almost done, these few people are the last batch!"
Suddenly, the black silk slowly retreated. The soldiers looked at each other in surprise, and then cheered in surprise: "Master Fengzhu and the others succeeded!?"
However, this joy did not last long. "Listen! What's that sound?"
Debris began to fall, indicating that the cave was beginning to collapse. Seeing the situation becoming increasingly dangerous, they shouted: "Retreat quickly! Retreat quickly! Everyone, evacuate immediately! The cave is about to collapse!"
"But, Lord Fengzhu and the others are still inside!" Some of the soldiers said as they were about to turn back to rescue them.
But Zi Rong blocked their attempts: "You Xiaohun and I have a contract. I can sense that she is safe for now. Hurry up and arrange for people to come to her aid!"
You Xiaohun's consciousness seemed to wander in endless darkness, each breath blocked by thick mud, unable to absorb even a trace of oxygen. Her chest felt as if tightly grasped by an invisible giant hand, and every attempt to breathe was accompanied by a tearing pain. Despair, like the cold water of a river, gradually eroded her will, almost causing her to give up and sink into eternal darkness.
However, at this brink of life and death, a gentle and firm force suddenly emerged, like a breeze in the fog, dispelling the haze around her. She felt a hand, so strong, so warm, tightly grasping her wrist, pulling her back from the abyss of death.
Just as she was about to use up the last bit of oxygen and her consciousness was about to completely dissipate, she felt a warm current of air flowing in from between her lips. As this precious breath of air flowed into her body, You Xiaohun seemed to hear the sound of her heart beating again.
After an unknown amount of time, when the first ray of sunlight penetrated the water and shone on her face, You Xiaohun slowly opened her eyes. Although the world before her was blurry, she felt like she had been reborn.
She found herself being held in the arms of Busou, who radiated warmth and comfort. However, this posture also made her body tense involuntarily.
Busei put her on the shore and said with a smile, "Looks like we are out of trouble!" Drops of water slid down the ends of his wet hair, and he shook his head.
You Xiaohun's chest heaved: "Cough cough cough~" He tried his best to cough out the remaining water in his lungs.
Seeing this, Busei couldn't help but tease her: "Heh~ You usually look fearless, but I didn't expect you to be afraid of water."
She rolled her eyes at him, her tone somewhat helpless: "Looks like I should thank you, Master Busukawa!"
"Is this the right attitude you should have towards your savior?" Busui scratched his hair and looked at You Xiaohun with an unhappy face: "That's enough! Can you please stop calling me Lord Busui in such a sarcastic way!"
You Xiaohun was really amused by his appearance and couldn't help but want to tease him: "Huh? Then what should I call you?"
Upon hearing this, Busei was speechless for a moment.
You Xiaohun laughed inwardly. He really was like a cat that would get angry at any moment. "Then I'll call you Shimi. You can call me Xiaohun, but you're not allowed to call me by my full name!!!"
Upon hearing this, Busei's cheeks flushed slightly, and then he immediately realized: "Huh~ Are you afraid of people calling you by your full name? You can't be serious!?"
When You Xiaohun heard this, she was about to explode, but had to hold it back because of the discomfort in her abdomen: "Stop talking nonsense! Hiss~~~~" The pain made her gasp and she covered her abdomen.
"Where is your healing talisman?" There was a hint of urgency in the tone of Busei Kagawa.
"The situation was critical just now, and I didn't have time to cast it. In addition, after falling into the water, the talisman paper was soaked with water, so it naturally lost its effectiveness." You Xiaohun was also helpless: "Don't disturb me, let me rest for a while and I'll be fine."
Afterward, You Xiaohun closed her eyes and concentrated, slowly meditating under the gaze of Busei Kagawa Shiya. The air around her seemed to soften with her breathing, and spiritual energy slowly gathered like fine threads, gently surrounding her and finally converging on the wound on her abdomen. Time seemed to freeze at this moment, leaving only the sound of her even, deep breathing.
With the nourishment of spiritual energy, You Xiaohun's pale face gradually regained some color, the pain in her abdomen gradually eased, and the blood slowly coagulated under the action of spiritual power and did not spread anymore. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As Mushikawa Minami stared at You Xiaohun, he couldn't help but think of their argument in the past. It seemed that he had really underestimated her. She was much stronger than she seemed and more resilient than he had imagined.
You Xiaohun slowly opened her eyes, and their gazes intertwined in the air. She didn't expect that he had been looking at her all the time, which made her involuntarily recall the subtle touch of his lips when she was drowning. An indescribable emotion quietly crept into her heart, and her cheeks gradually turned red.
In order to dispel the sudden embarrassment, You Xiaohun took off the gourd from his waist and drank a sip of water: "Ahem! Do you want some water?" Then he handed it to Busei Kagawa.
He looked at You Xiaohun with a strange expression: "Didn't you just use this... to deal with the ghost? Can this be drunk?"
Upon hearing this, You Xiaohun was stunned at first, but then she was amused by his laughter and tears welled up in her eyes: "Puchi! Hahaha~" Her laughter was crisp and pleasant. She explained: "Your focus is too strange. When dealing with ghosts, I cast a specific spell on them, giving the water the power to drive away evil spirits. Otherwise, it would just be plain water."
Fuzukawa Miya looked at You Xiaohun who was laughing heartily, and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously: "Huh~ This is more like you, don't always have a stern face, who are you showing it to? Even Purgatory doesn't want to see it."
Hearing this, You Xiaohun lowered his eyes slightly, then looked at Shimi, with a warm and sincere smile on his lips: "Thank you, Shimi, you are indeed a very gentle person~"
When Fuzukawa Minoru heard this, his face turned red instantly and he quickly turned his head away, as if he didn't expect her to be so straightforward.
"Let's go, otherwise they will be worried." You Xiaohun slowly stood up.
The sunlight shines through the sparse clouds, dappling onto the entrance of the cave, but it seems unable to dispel the solemn and sad atmosphere.
Not long after, You Xiaohun and Busei Gawa Shiya rushed back to the cave entrance.
"We're back." Although You Xiaohun's voice was soft, it was clearly heard by every team member present. They all stopped what they were doing, turned to look at them, with hope and peace of mind flashing in their eyes.
"Great, you're all okay!" a team member shouted excitedly.
"We thought..." Another team member's words were a little choked with sobs, but more of it was gratitude and relief.
Zirong leaped lightly and flew straight to You Xiaohun, with a bit of pride: "Hmph~ I did a pretty good job, didn't I!" The leaves above his head kept shaking, as if they needed people's praise to stop.
You Xiaohun's eyes sparkled with approval: "Hmm! Thanks to you, you are indeed Zirong, who has practiced Taoism for hundreds of years!"
Fuzukawa Minoru walked among the wounded, his eyes sharp as a torch, quickly scanning every familiar face to confirm their condition. He asked in a deep voice, "What's the situation? What are the casualties..."
You Xiaohun slowly approached each deceased person, her gaze gentle and profound, gently sweeping across each face covered by the white cloth: fallen colleagues, departed strangers, and, most hauntingly, the image of that woman. In her memory, she had been so gentle and charming, her eyes gleaming with a love and longing for life. However, a twist of fate had led her down a completely different path. You Xiaohun couldn't help but sigh, the world is unpredictable, fate plays tricks on us.
She slowly took out a flute and took a deep breath. The melodious sound of the flute immediately echoed in the valley. The sound of the flute was like the breeze blowing through the bamboo forest, or like the gurgling of a stream. It was a requiem that brought peace to the body and mind. Under the guidance of this melodious melody, people seemed to be able to temporarily forget the troubles of the world.
At this moment, tiny lights began to flicker around the body, like fireflies awakening in the woods on a summer night, their glow light and dreamy. Or perhaps it was the gentle dance of the departed soul, slowly rising from its slumbering shell. They danced around the tiny, ethereal spirit, then, neither hurried nor slow, intertwined in the air to form a flowing galaxy. The sound of the flute slowly guided the deceased's spirit to higher and farther reaches.
May they be able to forget the sufferings of this life in the afterlife and be born into a peaceful and harmonious world where there is no fighting, no sorrow, only happiness and tranquility.
Everyone watched with bated breath, their hearts deeply moved. Surrounded by fluorescent light, the little ghost's figure appeared mysterious and majestic, blurring the line between life and death. The melodious flute, each note imbued with boundless compassion, soothed the deceased's soul while also bringing an unprecedented sense of tranquility and peace to everyone present.
Musashi looked at the person playing the flute with a complicated expression. Every movement of hers made him feel inexplicably emotional.
As the sound of the flute gradually faded away, the flowing stars slowly dissipated, but this sacred picture was deeply imprinted in everyone's heart, and tears flashed in everyone's eyes.
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