quicksand
Three days later.
Before the morning mist had even dissipated from Yunhua Mountain, Jinzhu was already carrying a small bundle, excitedly waiting outside Wangyue Pavilion.
Inside the Moon Gazing Pavilion, Yun Shu was patiently tying up Yun Hua's long hair and taking out Yun Hua's favorite hair ornament to carefully arrange it for him.
"Master, Qiuqiu is going on a long trip." Yun Shu's tone was gentle. "She'll also take Jinzhu home to visit... You and Senior Sister should stay in the mountains and take your medicine on time... Also, please don't drink alone in secret, okay?"
The chaotic eyes lifted, gazing calmly at him. Yunhua did not speak to stop him, nor did he use his demonic power to force his disciple to stay. He simply used his fingers as a comb to stroke Yun Shu's silver hair and soft fox ears.
Even though he was not in his right mind, he knew exactly what his disciple was going to do by bringing the golden pearl with him.
Yun Shu felt a pang of sadness, so she leaned down and pressed her forehead against Yun Hua's: "Qiuqiu will be back soon. When she does, she will bring Master the finest wine from the Western Regions as an apology, okay?"
Perhaps it was the familiar feel of the fox fur that brought comfort, Yunhua slowly let go, then pinched the tip of a tail and played with it between her fingers, saying only, "Master naturally believes in Qiuqiu's strength. You're grown up now, it's time for you to seek your own opportunities... Go home soon."
Yunhua Immortal Mountain, or rather, the place where this group of people lives, will always be Yunshu's home.
After bidding farewell to her master, she stepped outside and saw Jinzhu with her golden hair neatly tied up, shimmering in the morning sun. She was nodding her little head as she listened to Yunhe's instructions, completely devoid of the fear she had shown when he told her the "ghost story." Her face was full of excitement at accompanying the fox spirit on an adventure, and... a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
Sect Leader Yunhe knelt down and straightened Jinzhu's collar, his tone unusually gentle: "Jinzhu, on this trip to the Western Regions, you must follow the instructions of the Fox Fairy. Do not act on your own, understand?"
The junior sister nodded vigorously, indicating that she would definitely stay obediently by the fox spirit's side and not cause any trouble.
"Senior Sister..." The Fox Fairy leaned over and patted Jinzhu's head, "It's just a 'trip,' why be so strict with her?"
Then he said to Jinzhu, "If you come across something you like, just tell me. Don't be shy."
Being described as "strict," Yunhe wasn't annoyed. He just shook his head, shoved his fox junior brother, and then grabbed the lively little fox's ear to scold him: "You little fox, you can't bring yourself to say anything even slightly harsh to anyone. No wonder Master... Never mind. Remember, don't be reckless when things happen. Your own safety comes first, understand?"
Yun Shu was too soft-hearted and unsuitable for power. Therefore, Yun Hua had long ago decided to pass the position of sect leader to Yun He—even though Yun Shu had greater potential. Yun Shu knew this and had no interest in the position of sect leader, so she only treated this matter as a joke between her fellow disciples.
However, this fox ball was still a fox after all, and its methods of acting cute were becoming increasingly sophisticated. At this moment, the White Fox Immortal looked at his senior sister with blinking eyes, and gently shook Yunhe's sleeve with his little finger: "Don't worry, senior sister, I will send a message back every day."
Upon hearing the fox speak in a soft voice, Yunhe lost her temper. She rubbed the fox's ears a few more times, then said nothing more and let the fox leave.
Yun Shu took one last look at Yun Hua, who was leaning against the door, quietly watching her. She took a deep breath, and a soft white light emanating from her enveloped the golden pearl. The next moment, a gentle breeze swept by, and the two figures vanished, leaving only a few flowers slowly drifting down in their place.
Inside the palace, Murong Jin was having a headache over the secret letter when he brushed his fingertips across a nearby firefly, and the little insect immediately flew to the Demon Realm.
In no time, Mo Yiheng's figure appeared in the water mirror. The two supreme beings looked at each other without saying a word, but the atmosphere was tense. Only when the other water mirror lit up, showing Ling Zhao and the image of Jade Guanyin standing side by side, did the situation ease.
"Your Majesty, Demon Lord," Ling Zhao spoke first. "These past few days, we infiltrated the supervisory officers and finally tracked down several laborers behaving strangely. According to Your Highness the Jade Guanyin, those men were all covered in a thick aura of death. We investigated their movements and discovered that they went to the dry riverbed to draw strange runes in the dead of night."
He held up the blurry rubbing to show it, and what was drawn on it matched the totem drawn by Jinzhu. The scaled snake was coiled and twisted, and even the four wings were unnaturally stretched out, exuding an ominous aura.
Before Murong Jin could speak, Mo Yiheng burst out laughing. The Demon Lord summoned the scribe Ye Xiuluo, who glanced at it briefly and immediately recognized what it was, saying without any emotion, "According to the Demon Codex, this creature has four wings and a snake's body; it is the Ming Snake. However, the records have been lost for a long time, and the only record of it from ten thousand years ago is 'its appearance caused a great drought throughout the land.'"
Another severe drought struck the land. Murong Jin frowned, recalling not only the dried-up rivers but also the fact that Liu Qing had risen to power because of a century-old drought.
Jade Guanyin raised her eyes to greet her "brother," then continued, "His Majesty ordered us not to alert them, but to secretly monitor who they contacted. We followed his instructions and saw that after those people finished carving the totem, they poured some kind of powder into the carving. According to the demon soldiers left to observe along the river, within three hours of pouring the powder in, all the moisture in the soil near the carving would be completely drained, and even turn into sand. The vegetation, insects, and rodents on the riverbank would also die of dehydration within two days. And another group of laborers returned to camp with the conscripts..."
At this point, Yu Guanyin suddenly smiled coldly, her bright red fingernails curling up as she and Ling Zhao fetched something.
The object was yellowish-red, and when it appeared before my eyes, it seemed to be pulsating slightly, as if it were breathing.
“Interestingly, the ‘contact’ they captured… had no face.” Jade Guanyin playfully tightened her grip on the object, and when she released it, it elastically contracted. “As Your Majesty and Your Majesty can see, this skin has no facial features; the skin is smooth, as if it was born this way.”
Ling Zhao immediately added, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. It's not that we were unwilling to leave any survivors for interrogation. It's just that... the moment we detained him, the evil spirit turned into a pool of black sand, leaving only this. But please rest assured, Your Majesty, the totems drawn by those people have been completely erased."
The water mirror focused on the face. If it weren't for Ling and Yu's explanation, no one would have recognized it as human skin, mistaking it for some kind of high-quality paper or leather. However, the faint aura emanating from the face through the water mirror was enough to make the Human Emperor and the Demon Lord tense up.
That scent, they would never forget until their deaths.
It belongs to Liu Qing.
Some say it belongs to the "faceless" organization behind Liu Qing.
"Continue the investigation." The Emperor's voice was unreadable. "Furthermore, order the Zhenxi Army to strengthen border defenses and not let even a single rat in."
Ling Zhao accepted the order. Yu Guanyin glanced at her master and was about to speak when a shadow moved beside her. Ye Xiuluo suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed one of her wrists—the wrist was already semi-transparent.
“It’s time,” Night Demon said calmly, as if the person about to disappear had nothing to do with him. “Come back and rest. I’ll take over.”
“…Oh.” Jade Guanyin pouted. Although she wanted to play outside a little longer, she ultimately had to turn into a red light and enter Night Asura’s body because her physical condition did not allow it. A blood-red tattoo appeared on the latter’s wrist.
"Granted." Mo Yiheng spoke slowly, but then his gaze shifted as he picked up the cold mist falling from Yunhua Mountain and said to Murong Jin, "Your Majesty, my master has sent a message saying that my master has taken my junior sister to the Western Regions."
Murong Jin was taken aback, then frowned and said, "Xiao Xue, he..."
"I am merely fulfilling my duty as an ally by informing you of this matter. I have no intention of discussing Master with you. Master's strength is unfathomable, and there is no need for the Human Emperor to concern himself with it."
“...Ha, that’s true.” Murong Jin was taken aback by his retort, then shook his head and laughed. “After all, let alone you, even I, who have been with him for a thousand years, have never witnessed him use his full strength... So you can’t blame the Demon Lord.”
Mo Yiheng, who had intended to flaunt his closer relationship with Yunhua Mountain outside of official business but was outmaneuvered by Murong Jin, thought: ...You wicked humans!
The water mirror went out, and the Human Emperor and the Demon Lord each departed, and that was the end of it.
Meanwhile, Yun Shu, at the eye of the storm, had already carried the golden pearl and ridden the wind into the Western Regions.
The dust and sand of the Western Regions did not diminish the fox spirit's beauty in the slightest; on the contrary, they added to his dashing and unrestrained charm. He had restrained most of his demonic power, concealed his fox ears and tail, and washed his silver-white hair back to jet black, making him look like a noble young master traveling with his younger sister.
In contrast, Jinzhu's excitement faded considerably, leaving only a growing sense of bewilderment. The wind and sand, the camel bells, and the exotic appearance that resembled her own all reminded her of long-forgotten childhood memories.
Jinzhu became a little happier when they passed by the market.
Holding Yun Shu's hand, she excitedly pointed to a colorful feather ornament on a stall and said, "Fox Fairy, look at that one. My mother bought me something similar when I was little!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she lowered her head in disappointment.
"Fox Fairy... do you think my mother and the others are still in the Western Regions?"
If she were still alive... she would definitely ask her parents why they abandoned her.
Yun Shu gently stroked her dazzling golden hair and said softly, "If there's a chance, would you like to accompany me to search for their whereabouts, Fox Fairy? Are you hot? Would you like to summon a few cool breezes to cool off?"
"No, it's not that hot, it's not a big deal." Jinzhu smiled, her face brightening, and she was back to her cheerful self. "It's just that I always feel... this place isn't quite the same as what I saw when I was little, or what my mother told me about. Look at that oasis over there, Fox Fairy. I remember it used to spread all the way here, but now it's just such a small patch..."
Following her gaze, Yun Shu quietly spread her divine sense and indeed sensed that the underground water sources of many oases were drying up and that there was an imperceptible aura of decay permeating the air—consistent with the message that the Red Lotus Sect had sent back to Yunhua Mountain.
Just as I was about to investigate further, the breeze beneath my feet seemed to have crashed into some kind of barrier. The surrounding scenery instantly blurred and distorted.
"Oh dear!" Jinzhu exclaimed, instinctively grabbing Yunshu's sleeve.
Protecting her behind him, Yun Shu's glassy eyes flashed with vigilance—he sensed it; an extremely subtle power was attempting to devour his wind-controlling demonic energy. Yun Shu's fingertips gathered a clear light, intending to forcefully break free from this strange force field, but he noticed Jin Zhu beside him staring blankly at the sand dune before them. As if drawn by something, she unconsciously reached out, her fingertips brushing against the golden braid adorned with small flowers that Yun Hua had woven.
In an instant, the blurry scene ahead rippled outwards like water. As if summoned by some force, the endless desert and Gobi parted on their own, revealing an ancient path that had never existed before.
This sand road leads to a tranquil place deep in the desert. On both sides, the poplars that had long been buried by the yellow sand have been brought back to life, their branches twisted and pointing to the sky, as if the desert is whispering silently.
Jinzhu withdrew her hand in surprise, looked at Yun Shu, and asked in confusion, "Fox Fairy, this...this road seems to be calling me?"
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