Moonlight, Shadow, Night (8)
The bell looked very old, with broken edges and some ugly moss and rust stains, as if it had just been dug out of the ground.
"One month, and then I'll take the most important thing from you." With that, the man in black vanished. Lou Yao clutched the worn bells tightly, her delicate expression breaking into a maniacal smile.
The moonlight grew brighter, and the surface of the bell reflected a cold light.
She looked out the window with determination, clutching the bell as if it were a life-saving straw.
*
After an unknown amount of time, Li Zhaoyue awoke in darkness. Memories of her body being taken away swirled in her mind. She hugged her knees in discomfort, burying her face in their places.
Lou Yao, who was so gentle in front of her, and Lou Yao who held her by the river, actually wanted to take away her body for no apparent reason.
She stared at a certain point in the darkness dejectedly and sighed softly.
"You are still too naive. There are countless people like you who left Ichijiyuan. Selfishness and greed are the root of human nature, and no one can avoid it."
A female voice suddenly appeared in the silent space.
Li Zhaoyue's heart trembled, and then he asked, "Are you the same person as before?"
The female voice was very familiar, very similar to the woman who had entered her body before.
"It's me. Your body has been occupied by someone else, so naturally I was kicked out." As she spoke, the woman in red gradually appeared in front of Li Zhaoyue.
"Then will you..." Li Zhaoyue hugged his knees and asked worriedly.
The woman interrupted her, sat down in front of her, and said, "Are you stupid?"
"I've occupied your body, so I'm definitely not a good person. Now that I'm kicked out of your body, it should be a good thing. You should celebrate instead of worrying about me."
Li Zhaoyue's eyes dimmed, and his hands hugging his knees tightened slightly.
"I……"
"Don't worry, Ah Yue. Everyone in this world is very kind. Excessive defensiveness is very insincere. Master doesn't want Ah Yue to become an insincere bad person, okay?"
Zhu Ming's words kept echoing in his ears, intertwining with the voice of the woman in red.
"It seems that it's not a good thing that you have forgotten everything."
These words were profound, but Li Zhaoyue was immersed in his own memories and didn't notice them.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of He Shuyu.
In fact, a long time ago, they were not as incompatible as they are now. On the contrary, He Shuyu was her first friend besides Xie Feng.
She still remembered the first time she met He Shuyu. It was at the wall of the Art Court. He Shuyu was surrounded by a group of children, silently being beaten. Those children were the less talented among their peers, but were larger in size. The fat kid in the lead punched and kicked He Shuyu, mocking him, "So what if you're talented? You dare to be so rude to me? I'll teach you a lesson, and you'll know your place."
He Shuyu was covered in wounds and barely alive, yet he still had the energy to retort: "You fat pig, if you have the guts, beat me to death."
"Looking for death!" the little fat man roared and swung his fist.
"The elders are here!" The sudden female voice startled the children. The fat boy glared at He Shuyu fiercely and quickly called the others to run away.
After a while, making sure they had all left, Li Zhaoyue walked out from behind the bushes, squatted in front of He Shuyu, and stretched out his hand to her.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
He Shuyu turned his head away and said nothing.
"Since you're seriously injured, I'll take you to the pharmacy."
"Why aren't you talking? Are you okay?"
After asking several questions without getting any response, Li Zhaoyue panicked. Just as she reached out to shake He Shuyu's shoulder, her wrist was grabbed.
He Shuyu looked at her coldly: "Shut up."
Looking at Li Zhaoyue's stunned expression, she added: "Take me to the pharmacy, and..." After she finished speaking, her body suddenly fell forward. Fortunately, Li Zhaoyue was quick to support her.
He Shuyu's lips turned pale, and he could no longer speak. Li Zhaoyue pulled a teleportation talisman from his sleeve, and the two of them were quickly transported to the medical school.
He Shuyu was not seriously injured, and his injuries were not too serious, but because he had exhausted too much energy, he fell into a deep sleep.
Li Zhaoyue sat on the edge of the bed, swinging the gold chain around his waist boredly, waiting for her to wake up.
"Junior sister, are you going to squat like this? Let me get you a bench." A disciple passed by and saw her squatting and asked enthusiastically.
Li Zhaoyue took the bench his disciple brought him and dozed off. After an unknown amount of time, as the sun set and the sky filled with rosy clouds, Li Zhaoyue was shaken awake by a pair of cold hands.
The hands grabbed her hair hard. She screamed, rubbed her eyes, and found that it was He Shuyu who was pulling her hair.
"Are you okay?" Li Zhaoyue asked in surprise.
He Shuyu was not used to her enthusiasm. He turned his eyes away uncomfortably and nodded slightly.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked again.
"No." He Shuyu's voice was a little hoarse.
Li Zhaoyue noticed her difficulty swallowing and thoughtfully brought her a glass of water. He Shuyu took the water and drank it quickly without saying thank you.
"Drink slowly." Li Zhaoyue reminded.
He Shuyu paused, then slowed down. After drinking the water, Li Zhaoyue carefully examined her. Seeing that she was alright, he called the elders stationed at the medical school. After confirming that she was alright, he took He Shuyu's arm and helped her down from the bed.
The two little kids supported each other and walked slowly towards the road.
"Why are you helping me?" He Shuyu suddenly asked.
A cool breeze blew the hairband around Li Zhaoyue's ears, and a dazzling sunset glow shone from behind her. At that moment, Li Zhaoyue seemed like a god descending from the sky.
"I helped if I wanted to."
He Shuyu pulled himself out of this memory, pressed the rapidly beating heart on the left side, and frowned.
She felt uneasy for some reason. She put on her clothes, looked out at the dim light, and then walked towards the brightly lit lobby.
There were always endless cases to deal with at Jinxiantai, and staying up all night was the norm. Today, she finally had some free time to sleep, but she dreamed of Li Zhaoyue for no apparent reason, which disrupted her sweet dream.
He Shuyu fretted, holding the Li Ci Sword in her hand, as she paced outside the lobby. She was waiting for Su Zi to call her in. Recently, a medical immortal had arrived at Jinxiantai, claiming unparalleled medical skills, but also possessing a rather peculiar temper. His prescriptions contained many strange herbs. To resolve the Lou family's grievances, Su Zi not only had to meet the immortal's demands but also search far and wide for herbs.
She had been up all night for a long time. In order to help her share some of the work, He Shuyu would help her deal with the remaining tasks before dawn.
He Shuyu yawned and cursed Li Zhaoyue several times in his heart before he finally felt relieved. From her perspective, she could just see the shadow of the word "Su" cast on the paper window.
The shadow trembled, and if you looked carefully, you could see another shadow superimposed inside it. When He Shuyu looked intently, the other dark shadow that seemed to appear and disappear suddenly disappeared.
At that moment, the door in front of her opened. Su Zi, pale and with dark circles under his eyes, beckoned her in. He Shuyu remained vigilant, holding the Li Ci sword and waving it around his body.
"Shu Yu, why are you still standing there?" Su Zi said sternly, rubbing his temples tiredly.
Hearing this, He Shuyu immediately put down the Li Ci Sword and walked forward. As he passed by Su Zi, the hilt of the Li Ci Sword was suddenly tugged by a force. Although it was very light, like the slight scrape of a garment, He Shuyu still felt it.
She calmly moved the sword aside and lowered her eyes to look at the ground. Sure enough, her skirt was swaying slightly.
"Master, you have been too tired recently. Let me take care of the rest. You should have a good rest." She said as she calculated the direction of the swaying hem of her clothes.
To the west, there is a courtyard.
He Shuyu was secretly calculating, but his expression remained calm. Su Zi was probably too tired, her body was swaying, and when she stepped out of the door, she almost tripped over the threshold. It was He Shuyu who helped her up.
"Master, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. Su Zi pulled his hand away from hers and shook his head.
After watching the white figure go away, He Shuyu turned around and walked into the lobby.
When she was supporting Su Zi just now, she saw the divine awl wrapped around Su Zi's waist emit a faint golden light. The divine awl is connected to the mind of its owner, and under normal circumstances, there will be no abnormal movement unless the owner has expended a large amount of spiritual energy in a short period of time.
For some reason, He Shuyu suddenly thought of the recent rumor: the elusive man in black who was said to be able to grant any wish...
Walking to the desk, scattered with case files, He Shuyu found a report in the far corner. It reported on the recent rumor-mongering incident involving the man in black, causing widespread panic. The man in black seemed to have no physical form, and his targets were chosen without any pattern. His claim to be able to grant any wish was conditional, seemingly requiring the completion of a ritual called exchange.
Many organizations have even emerged on the floating island, believing in the so-called Black Cult. These organizations gather followers on a large scale, conduct massacres, and summon black-clad men, which has caused a considerable impact and attracted the attention of various major immortal sects.
The edge of the report showed signs of being flipped. He Shuyu picked it up, shook it, and a strand of hair fell out. From the traces of spiritual energy remaining on it, it could be determined that it belonged to Su Zi.
Recalling the way her master had deliberately covered her hands when she left, and her pale face, He Shuyu instinctively felt something was wrong. Su Zi didn't have many tasks left, and she could finish them quickly.
After that...
He Shuyu slowly turned around and looked through the door frame towards Yiziyuan.
*
It was a day off today. Xu Xing had just finished dealing with the junior sisters from other colleges. He raised his eyebrows at Fang Yu, who looked resentful, and walked straight to his room.
Fang Yu cursed him inwardly and followed him hurriedly.
"Junior brother, why are you following me? Is there something wrong?" Xu Xing deliberately quickened his pace and asked loudly while listening to Fang Yu's angry breathing.
"Song Shiyu ran away on his own. Xie Feng is now searching for him everywhere and doesn't allow disciples to enter and leave Yiziyuan at will. What if they find out about me? It's all your fault. If it weren't for you..."
Before Fang Yu could finish his words, a force suddenly came from the front and knocked him upside down.
"Xu Xing!" He cried out in pain, quickly got up from the ground, shook off the mud on his body, and was about to pounce on him with bared teeth.
"I kindly warned you that you would be discovered, but who knew Xie Feng would act so quickly? Can you really blame me for this?"
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