Chapter 24 (Three-in-One) (Upload error, now corrected...)
How could it be him... Qing Jiujie?
Although Qing Jue had never met him in person, in Wu Qing Xianjun's memory, Qing Jiujie was a responsible and loving head of the family.
It was because of this that he sacrificed himself to protect the people of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou during the sudden attack by the Xie family.
Based on this information, it's difficult for Qingjue to connect him with the man in the mural.
...Could such a person be the heartless man who deceives girls and keeps them alone in the mountains?
Of course, Qing Jue and Qing Jiujie did not know each other, and their understanding of him was limited to this.
If we think about it calmly, there are still people in modern times who are hypocritical and have no conscience; we can't define a person like that.
Neither of them spoke, and they stared at each other for several seconds.
Mu Yuan spoke up: "Gentlemen, please leave. People from the immortal sects are not welcome here."
Qing Jiujie politely said, "Miss, we are just passing through. We will be fine once we cross this mountain. Or, could you remove the restrictions here so that I and a few disciples can fly over on our swords?"
"I'm sorry, but you may choose to take a detour."
“Young lady, if we take a detour from here, it will probably take quite a long time.”
Just as Qingjue thought this was some kind of love at first sight scene, the next second, Muyuan launched an attack, and the surrounding tree branches were uprooted from the ground.
Qing Jiujie was stunned for a moment, then quickly drew his sword and launched an attack in that direction. The two exchanged blows at the foot of the mountain.
So suddenly?
And the movement and force just now were very similar to...
"The last mural..." Jie Zhoujian's childish voice said, "Master, is that last mural depicting their first encounter?"
Qingjue was a little confused watching them fight. After a moment of silence, he made a guess.
"Could it be... that the order of the murals is reversed?"
The fight hadn't stopped yet; the two had fought from below to above. Qing Jiu's sword energy crisscrossed the mountains, but he deliberately controlled his strength so as not to damage a single blade of grass or tree.
Mu Yuan and he were circling in the air, clearly fighting, but Qing Jue sensed that she wasn't tense at all, but rather had a sense of satisfaction in finding a kindred spirit.
The two went back and forth, neither giving an inch, but neither hurting the other. The scene was quite entertaining to those below. Qingjue and Jiezhou couldn't see any other perspective, so they could only follow Muyuan's eyes and senses.
After their exchange of blows ended, Qing Jiujie landed and sheathed her sword.
"Master, Master!" another member of the sect exclaimed, "She...she's a demon, isn't she? We've come to help..."
Qing Jiujie stopped him, saying, "You mustn't be rude. As long as you don't harm anyone, there's no difference between humans and demons. It's true that we're trespassing on someone else's territory."
“Miss,” Qing Jiujie bowed, smiling with an unexpected shyness, “allow me to introduce myself. I am Qing Jiujie, the current head of the Qing family, a family of cultivators. Just now, seeing your profound cultivation, I realized that I had not encountered an evenly matched opponent for a long time, so I couldn’t help but spar with you a few more moves. I have no intention of offending you.”
"It's alright," Mu Yuan said softly, knowing that he hadn't used his full strength during the process. She didn't take it seriously either. "The Daoist is also highly skilled in martial arts. A fine sword should naturally be paired with a fine knight. It was my presumption."
The fellow disciples behind them looked at each other, completely bewildered.
"Master," Jie Zhoujian asked, "was your fight with Young Master Yun also because of this?"
"No..." Qingjue almost rubbed his forehead: "Completely different, not even a little bit different."
Qing Jiujie spoke again: "So, I wonder if you could make way, young lady? My fellow disciples and I are about to cross this mountain, but for some reason, the spiritual energy is disordered in this area and we cannot fly on our swords. We can only climb up on foot."
"I'm sorry, Daoist Master, outsiders are not allowed to enter here, especially someone as skilled in martial arts as you. It would frighten my friends on the mountain. Please take a detour."
Someone behind me was muttering quietly:
"Huh? We still have to take a detour after a fight? How long will this detour take?"
"Yes, we're in a hurry to get back..."
Qing Jiu Jie: "..."
From Qing Jue's perspective, Qing Jiu Jie remained silent for a moment before finally nodding: "Alright, I understand. I'm truly sorry for disturbing the peace of the young lady and the residents. I'll leave with my fellow disciples now."
"Patriarch...this..."
Qing Jiujie reached out to stop the people behind him and said, "Those who cultivate immortality must not be excessively greedy. Have you all forgotten the Qing family's cultivation method?"
"I apologize, Patriarch, it was my fault for being so talkative."
Qing Jiujie said, "Then we'll take our leave now. We'll have another chance another day to apologize with gifts and have a proper discussion with you, Miss."
"It's alright," Mu Yuan said. "The Daoist Master and his fellow disciples had no ill intentions, so there's no need to apologize. It's just that my companions and I were maliciously attacked by people from the Immortal Sect. Consider it my unauthorized demonstration. It's an honor for me to be able to exchange blows with the Qing family head."
It seems to be just a beautiful misunderstanding. The cultivators accidentally entered this area, exchanged a few moves, and left after negotiating.
Qingjue and Jiezhu's perspectives followed Muyuan back into the mountains, and for a long time afterward, their memories consisted of mundane daily life, with no other outsiders appearing.
This place was originally called "Yuanmuyuan". Muyuan is a great demon transformed from a thousand-year-old tree that guards this place. It was named after her. She is not only the guardian of this generation, but also a friendly friend to the people. Most demons, spirits and humans call her a fairy and do not regard her as a monster.
Since the memories begin here, there must be a reason. The long-haired Taoist priest in the mural is indeed Qing Jiujie.
...The red rope had nine knots tied on it; it turned out that it represented his name?
If he and Jie Zhoujian misunderstood the order of the murals, then the story is not the conventional one he thought it would be. Qing Jiujie is not a heartless man, and Muyuan is not a naive girl with a love-struck mind.
What happened after that?
...The only thing that can be confirmed is that Qing Jiujie did indeed die many years ago, and they knew the outcome of this long-awaited ordeal from the very beginning.
Up to this point in the story, the two were still just strangers who met by chance.
Several everyday memories passed until this day.
Qingjue suddenly sensed that Muyuan was somewhat flustered. Looking up, he saw that Yuanmuyuan was still peaceful and serene, with nothing unusual.
But she suddenly got up, looking very anxious, and without even saying goodbye to the villagers, flew off in one direction.
Qingjue murmured, "That seems to be in the direction of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou..."
Jie Zhoujian was also curious: "I've never heard of Sister Muyuan before, and the former head of the family never mentioned her?"
"This..." Qingjue's memory was indeed blank. Most of the ancient books or biographies he had seen so far did not record that the former head of the family had such a... partner? friend?
Regardless of whether the murals are in forward or reverse order, their relationship is definitely not just a chance encounter; it must be at least a close one.
Why doesn't anyone know?
“…Indeed, it was never mentioned,” Qingjue said, also surprised. “Before this, I was unaware of the existence of Miss Muyuan.”
Beyond the towering mountains, the view stretched into the distance, revealing the area of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou from a century ago. The air was thick with black smoke, creating a spectacular sight.
Jie Zhoujian: "This is..."
Before Qingjue could get a good look at her, her gaze suddenly shifted, and the surrounding trees parted on their own. Muyuan stepped on a branch for leverage and landed quickly.
Not a single strand of hair was out of place.
Upon closer inspection, it was too late to react. Quanzhou and Zhangzhou were now being invaded by a large number of ferocious beasts, and a civilian was bitten in half right under Mu Yuan's nose.
Qingjue could sense the anger and tension in Muyuan's heart at this moment. In the blink of an eye, the trees underground suddenly sprang up, separating the battlefield.
In the distance, Qing Jiujie, who was fighting the ferocious beast on Shuiyun Lake, instantly felt a fluctuation of spiritual energy.
The spiritual energy wasn't aggressive, but it was definitely not weak; he had fought with her before and could naturally sense it.
Finally, with Mu Yuan's help, the out-of-control monster was successfully subdued.
"Are you alright?" Mu Yuan knelt down, raised her hand to treat a little girl's wound, and said gently, "If anyone else around here is injured, please let me know."
The little girl was initially afraid of her because she had witnessed the whole process of Mu Yuan attacking the ferocious beast, but now the spiritual energy attached to her hand was warm, and the wound no longer hurt, only felt a little itchy.
"...Thank you, Fairy Sister."
"You're welcome."
With the cleanup work mostly done, Mu Yuan withdrew his magical powers.
"Miss, may I have a word with you in private?"
A voice rang out from behind Mu Yuan, clear and melodious like flowing water. It was the Qing family head, whom she had met briefly before.
Mu Yuan stood up, dusted herself off, and turned to face him: "Of course."
The two flew together to a sparsely populated mountaintop.
"Master Qing, please forgive my rash actions. I felt an unusual tremor in the mountains just now, and since Quanzhou and Zhangzhou are not far from where I am, I came here without permission."
Qing Jiujie waved his hand and said, "How could that be? It is I who should be thanking you for your help. If it weren't for you, the casualties would probably have been much worse."
"Of course, it's a matter of life and death."
"I'm rather curious, how did you find out, young lady? Quanzhou and Zhangzhou are not exactly close to your residence."
Qing Jiujie's smile is different from Qing Jue's. His smile is pure and without any impurities, and it doesn't make people feel threatened. It makes people truly believe in him because he is releasing goodwill.
Mu Yuan didn't answer directly, but instead raised his hand, and a small branch sprouted from the ground, with green leaves blooming at the top of the branch.
She said, "I share the same roots as trees. I can sense them wherever there are trees, but this sense becomes weaker and weaker with distance."
"I see. With your cultivation level, it is indeed not difficult for you to sense the spiritual energy at this distance."
"Now it's my turn to ask, how could Quanzhou and Zhangzhou have been attacked by ferocious beasts?"
Qing Jiujie shook his head: "We were caught off guard by this matter as well. The details are still under investigation. By the way, although there is a spiritual energy restriction around your place, it is still a place rich in spiritual energy. Like the Qing family in Quanzhang, it is easy for others to covet it. There have been a lot of unsettling things lately, so please be careful."
"Thank you for the reminder, Master Qing."
"This time, young lady, you have come to help us despite past grievances. We feel indebted to you, and we will do our best to help you in the future."
The two chatted for a long time afterward, and Qingjue was getting a little sleepy. Their conversation was unhurried and they exchanged pleasantries.
The conversation shifted from major events on both sides to everyday matters, which was quite soothing.
However, it's clear that their personalities are very compatible; how should I put it, they both have a strong sense of justice.
Mu Yuan frankly admitted that he couldn't bear to leave the lives of people in other places, so when he sensed such an aggressive and lethal fluctuation, he came to check it out.
Qing Jiujie also said that the reason he and several disciples passed by that place last time was to take a shortcut and return as soon as possible to treat the epidemic among the people of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.
Jie said during the day, "It seems that the former head of the family was a very good person, with a sense of concern for all living beings."
Qingjue replied, "Does that mean I, Your Majesty, am not compassionate enough towards the common people?"
"No, no, Master, that's not what I meant during the day. Master is a very good person. During the earthquake, he even sacrificed himself to save many people..."
"Hahaha, I was just kidding," Qingjue said. "In terms of intentions and achievements, I am self-aware and indeed cannot compare to Senior Jiujie."
However... Qingjue silently sensed his own internal strength and felt that he was actually much stronger than Qing Jiujie. Should he say that the younger generation is formidable?
Immortal Lord Wuqing was originally Qing Jiujie's disciple, but now he has surpassed his master.
However, he manipulated the spiritual power and internal energy of this body very smoothly, with almost no transition period. He adapted so quickly that even Qingjue felt it was unreal.
It's like this body belongs to him.
After Qing Jiujie finished talking with Mu Yuan, the latter bid him farewell.
"The people all want to thank you, won't you stay a few more days?"
"No, it's better not to let too many people know about my existence. I only want to protect that one mountain, and a small number of people and demons. I don't want my reputation to spread and attract more people."
"It was my oversight. Very well, I will take responsibility for explaining to the people."
As she turned around, Qing Jiujie suddenly called out to her, took her hand, and placed something in her palm.
Qingjue sensed a flicker of emotion in Muyuan's heart and was pleasantly surprised.
"This is your pass to enter and leave the Qing family. You are welcome to come again anytime, as a friend, so as not to expose your identity."
"Thank you, Master Qing."
Mu Yuan accepted the gifts and left without looking back.
From this vantage point, Qingjue and Jie could not be seen during the day. The man on the hilltop stood there for a very long time, until night had completely fallen before he left.
Back at Yuanmuyuan, Muyuan was questioned by the little fairy about what she had been doing outside that day. She had never come back this late before.
Mu Yuan just smiled and didn't answer, carefully putting away the hanging rope that Qing Jiu Jie had given her.
After that, the two first corresponded, and after writing to each other for a period of time, Qing Jiujie would occasionally come to the foot of the mountain to spar with Mu Yuan.
Sometimes he would bring her lots of food and novelties, such as osmanthus cakes and lotus pastries from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, as well as special tea cakes.
"Brewing it with tea? This is delicious."
"If you like it, I'll bring you some more next time."
“Aren’t you from the Qing family? You keep coming here; no one will gossip about you.”
"I've finished my official duties, so what's wrong with taking a walk? I'm always being watched by some elders at the Qing family, but I feel much more at ease here with Miss Muyuan. Besides, there aren't many people there who can fight me to a draw."
Mu Yuan smiled: "I didn't expect the Qing family head to have such a childlike nature."
Qing Jiujie also smiled: "Miss Muyuan does have a unique perspective on food."
"So why haven't you taught me how to make tea cakes yet?"
"If I were to teach you, wouldn't I have no reason to come here?"
Through their conversation, Qingjue and Jiezhou pieced together some of the truth about Yuanmuyuan's past.
Yuanmuyuan was originally just an ordinary mountain, where a gifted wood spirit was born, namely Muyuan.
The true form of Mu Yuan is a thousand-year-old tree. After years of cultivation and research, this thousand-year-old tree possesses chaotic spiritual energy and the ability to protect this place.
As long as this ancient tree remains, this hilltop will forever remain lush and verdant, making it difficult for anyone to infringe upon its natural beauty.
The fairy Mu Yuan, who was transformed from the ancient tree, could not initially stray too far from the ancient tree.
Through her own cultivation, she was able to gradually travel to the outside world.
The ancient tree is her root, her home. As a child, she longed for the outside world and left home.
But the outside world was not as wonderful as she had imagined. There was a great power struggle outside. At that time, the cultivation world was far less orderly than it is now. Almost wherever she went, there was fighting.
Mu Yuan was kind-hearted. She couldn't bear to see ordinary people who were homeless and displaced because of the fighting among the immortals, so she brought them back to Yuanmuyuan.
Over time, people, demons, spirits, and all things came to be here.
It gradually transformed into a small, utopian existence.
As long as the original divine tree remains, no one can attack this place, and all living beings can live and work in peace here. Mu Yuan has traveled enough and seen too much corruption and depravity, so he will no longer travel far and will stay in Yuanmuyuan to live a peaceful life.
Correspondingly, she did not come into contact with any outsiders. As a guardian deity, although she was very approachable and loved everyone in Yuanmuyuan, Qing Jiujie was the first person to open her heart to her.
She told Qing Jiujie all of this. She finally had a friend or even a lover with whom she could confide her deepest feelings, but Qing Jue was a little worried.
How was Mu Yuan able to determine that Qing Jiujie was a trustworthy person?
Isn't she afraid of causing trouble for Yuanmu Yuan by telling him all this?
Over time, the residents of the mountain couldn't possibly be unaware of the immortal who frequently visited her.
"What!" the little cat demon exclaimed anxiously, "You mean that Taoist priest from last time?! No, Sister Muyuan, those Taoist priests are definitely up to no good, otherwise why would he suddenly be so nice to you?"
"Actually..." Mu Yuan smiled shyly and said, "From the first moment I met him, I used a mind-calming mirror on him to see through his entire life and thoughts."
She said, "I've always known he's a good person."
Qingjue and Jiejie only realized what was happening when they heard this during the day.
It turns out that she had already figured out everything about Qing Jiujie from that first meeting.
"The Mind-Stabilizing Mirror?" Xie Zhoujian asked, "Is it some kind of magical artifact?"
"I have indeed seen it in ancient books. It is considered the most powerful tool for understanding people's hearts. However, it disappeared five hundred years ago and has not been seen since. It turns out that it was on Miss Muyuan."
Jie Zhoujian was good at grasping the key points: "Hmm... why is it called 'calculation'? Shouldn't the strongest be a given concept?"
"Because although the mirror can see through a person's life and thoughts, it is only limited to those who are willing to open their hearts openly and honestly. For those who have something to hide or have ulterior motives, the mirror can only see chaos. The difference is that the more complicated the thoughts are, the deeper the chaos in the mirror."
From this perspective, if the records in ancient books are correct, Qing Jiujie was indeed an overly frank person.
Doesn't that mean he has no secrets in his life?
Qingjue thought to himself, if he looked at himself in that mirror, he would probably only see a black reflection.
He has too many secrets; the fact that he can travel through time alone is something he would never reveal to anyone.
Jie Zhoujian: "In other words, we can't actually see what a person with ulterior motives is actually planning to do; we can only judge the purity of their mind."
"Pretty much, but it's rare to see someone as open and honest as you, senior. You can see through good people, but you can never see through bad people. No wonder Mu Yuan trusts him."
Qingjue still finds it hard to imagine that a person could have no secrets.
However, if we consider it from the perspective of cultivators, this is indeed possible, as calming the mind is an essential part of cultivation.
Qing Jiujie must have achieved a great deal in mental techniques; Qing Jue felt that compared to him, he was just all brute force.
But he still couldn't completely believe it. He always felt that there would be a twist at the end of the story, that Qing Jiujie might not be completely innocent in the end, and that everything might be foreshadowing.
As expected, the two fought side by side through one crisis after another, and their relationship grew stronger.
That must be the meaning behind the third-to-last portrait.
Years later, they finally caught the culprit who released the ferocious beast.
Qing Jiujie sent a letter to Muyuan, inviting her to come and see for herself.
Qingjue couldn't help but wonder if this was going to be a way of resolving a plot point? This invitation seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Was he lured away from the mountain? Or has Qing Jiujie finally given up acting?
Mu Yuan went to the Qing family. According to her memory, it was the first time she had gone to the Qing family on her own initiative, and it was also the first time that the rope given to her by Qing Jiujie had been put to use.
When Mu Yuan took out the hanging rope, Qing Jue and Jie Zhoujian finally saw what the rope looked like. The entry and exit permit from a hundred years ago was different from the one now; it was just a simple knot that contained the spiritual power of the family head.
The knotted rope led the way over Shuiyun Lake, and Mu Yuan easily flew over the thick fog above the lake.
The credentials for entering and leaving the Qing family now are much more advanced; not only are imperial tokens accepted, but various magical artifacts and treasures are also acceptable.
If someone is already a disciple of the Qing family, they can simply draw an invisible talisman on their body.
Mu Yuan took out the knotted rope at the entrance of the Qing family. The two disciples guarding the gate recognized it as a gift from the family head at a glance, so they did not stop her.
The culprit they caught made Qingjue and Xie Zhoujian both gasp in surprise.
That was a member of the Xie family.
This was the first time Jie Zhoujian had seen members of his own family in someone else's memories. Even though he knew his family had never been a good family to begin with, it was still hard for him to accept confronting their evil deeds.
He was, after all, just a child.
But they are now just wisps of divine souls attached to the divine consciousness, so Qingjue can't comfort him, and doesn't know what to say at this moment.
"During the day..."
"Master, I'm alright."
"……good."
Qingjue inexplicably felt as if she had been comforted by a child.
The Xie family is best at instigating conflict and reaping the benefits. This is not the first time they have manipulated the minds of ferocious beasts to attack the people of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. For the past hundred years, they have been targeting the Qing family in order to elevate their status in the cultivation world.
Unfortunately, they didn't get much crucial information out of him before the Xie family member bit into the poison in his mouth and committed suicide.
Qingjue followed Muyuan's perspective to the Qing family, eager to see where Wuqing Immortal Lord was now, but he was not in Muyuan's sight.
A hundred years ago, this body of mine was probably still a child.
In the past few years, Yuanmuyuan has indeed been invaded by the outside world, all of which are related to the Xie family. It seems that the Xie family caught him when he rescued someone last time. Therefore, Muyuan and Qingjiu had a heart-to-heart talk to discuss how to completely eliminate the evil Xie family.
In other people's memories, hearing others discuss the killing of one's entire family, even if one knows that one's own family has committed many evils, it would probably be difficult to accept for a while.
Qingjue was somewhat worried about Jie's mental state during the day.
Over the course of the year, he had finally managed to raise his child to be a little more cheerful and outgoing. He couldn't let this memory bring him back to his old self. The grudges and grievances of the past were ultimately irrelevant to him. He cared more about his apprentice's thoughts than about these memories.
Jie Zhoujian was someone he saw with his eyes and understood with his heart—a gentle and kind child.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see the other person's expression in his current state.
...Let's do the ideological work after we get out.
Moreover, as a descendant a hundred years later, Qingjue had already guessed the final outcome.
Although Qing Jiujie is so vivid in Mu Yuan's memory, he has actually been dead for decades in reality.
Several decades is neither a long nor a short time; it's enough for dynasties to change.
Nothing happened after that trip, and Qingjue was not disappointed that his guess had failed.
Because he always hopes for the worst rather than the best, it's better if his ideas don't come to fruition.
However, this good fortune didn't last long.
The plot then takes a sharp turn for the worse. Qingjue can clearly sense that Muyuan's mood is no longer relaxed. Instead, he is burdened with heavy shackles, to the point that he even hesitates about his good deeds.
A massive fire ignited the battle. Yuanmuyuan could not remain a paradise forever. Even without the Xie family, there might have been other families like the Zhao or Wei who discovered it. Eventually, the Xie family spread the word, and they instigated several wicked cultivation families to attack, resulting in instant devastation.
Mu Yuan did his best to guard the cliff, and Qing Jiujie led people to help. They successfully drove everyone out of the place, but the ancient divine tree that originally guarded Yuanmuyuan was burned to ashes by a specific demonic fire.
Just like before, Mu Yuan patted a little girl's head and touched her injured hand.
But she still couldn't relax.
It was a bottomless sorrow and resentment.
“...A-Yuan.”
Behind her, it was Qing Jiujiedu's voice again.
"Why," Mu Yuan's voice was hoarse and broken, "Why did they know! It was you? You told them!?"
"No!" Qing Jiujie quickly said, "I haven't even told the disciples of the Qing family anything about this place, everything you've told me!"
Spiritual energy rose around the wooden frame, and the vines all lashed out at Qing Jiujie, a pure outburst of energy.
Just as the vines were about to touch him, he said, "You can look at me again with the magnifying glass."
Mu Yuan was stunned for a moment.
“Look at me again,” Qing Jiujie said, her expression also filled with sorrow. “I, Qing Jiujie, have only one secret in my life.”
Mu Yuan barely had the strength to doubt his words, and she knew that what she had just said was purely unfounded accusation, but her anger was too great to be quelled in a short time: "...When did you find out?"
"Early in the morning."
In Mu Yuan's vision, he trembled as he took out the calming mirror.
Through that mirror, I saw Qing Jiujie's clean and pure life.
He was born into a family of cultivators and was a chosen one of heaven. He had a loving master and parents, as well as fellow disciples who grew up with him.
To this day, few of those people have survived.
Birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural course of life, and this is not unexpected.
Qing Jiujie has lived for hundreds of years.
Qing Jiujie dedicated his entire life to the Qing family and the cultivation world.
He gently stroked his own scars; he had a painful past, he had failed, he had felt powerless.
But he felt there was nothing to hide.
That was him, and his life.
Everything that makes up Qing Jiujie is reflected in that mirror.
It wasn't until he met Mu Yuan that his life finally began to become murky.
The image was slightly blurry, but his true appearance was still clearly visible.
Is he no longer clean?
Qing Jiujie: "I just want to say that I really did not betray anything here. I don't ask you to believe me. I just want to tell you that if you want to kill me to vent your anger, I have no complaints. But before that, I need to settle the people of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou and the Qing family."
Upon seeing this, Jie Zhoujian couldn't help but ask, "Why is the life reflected in the mirror becoming unclear?"
“He must be hiding something,” Qingjue said. “He can’t be completely open about everything anymore.”
At this moment, Yuanmuyuan was filled with all kinds of cries and shouts, and it wasn't just here; the trees within a hundred miles were all conveying messages to her.
The wooden frame put away the calming mirror and also put away the vines from all directions.
She didn't kill Qing Jiujie; she already had an answer in her heart, and she had calmed down.
"I need to go back underground, back to where the ancient tree took root, otherwise this place will collapse completely soon."
"..."
"Don't be sad for me. This is my destiny. I was born there and I should return there. Otherwise, once this mountain collapses, the people around will suffer, and the people living in Yuanmuyuan will be homeless again. They will only have me left."
Mu Yuan turned back and looked firmly at Qing Jiujie: "And you, too, have a mission to complete."
Her eyes burned with fury: "Go for revenge, kill everyone who broke into this place, everyone who killed innocent people."
"--I trust you."
Qing Jiu clenched her fists and lowered her head to hold back a tear.
“…Okay, I’ll take you there.”
The deepest part of the earth is where they met for the last time.
Qing Jiu stood straight, facing Mu Yuan: "I will find all those who have invaded this place, kill all the culprits, and protect the people and demons of Yuanmuyuan and Quanzhang, so that they may be safe and sound."
Mu Yuan looked at him again: "And I will stay underground, using all my strength to support this mountain, to support the last 'Yuanmu Source', so that all living beings can have a home to return to, until the spiritual power is exhausted."
"I will definitely come back to see you."
"Yes, we must protect them."
I will not let you down.
"Yes, we must live well."
"I will find a way to get you out of here."
"Yes, I look forward to that day."
"Have you guessed the secret of my life?"
"Yes, once I'm able to get out, I want you to say it to me personally."
"When you miss me, tie a knot in the rope, so that when I come I can see how many times you've thought of me."
"Yes, I'll try not to think about it."
"Once the war is over and the cultivation world is at peace, I will teach you how to make tea cakes."
"Okay, I'll wait for you."
Then, the perspective turned to black, and Mu Yuan walked into the stone wall. The branches that broke through her skin from behind her body pierced through the soil and reached the ground.
The fourth to last painting makes it clear.
The fire outside has been extinguished.
But there was no fire in Qing Jiujie's eyes.
However, he could not see the clear secrets and explanations in his eyes during the day.
To be precise, it is the invisible wood that has become the foundation of the mountain.
A flash of white light, and a throbbing pain, unique to the sensation of being separated from one's consciousness, came from within.
A buzzing sound filled their ears, and it took Qingjue a long time to help Jie Zhoujian regain his balance.
This trip was quite memorable; it felt like it took a long time to process everything. Although it didn't cover every single detail, it's clear that the two of them spent a considerable amount of time together.
Surprisingly, their confession only occurred at the very end.
Moreover, Qing Jiujie's words were cryptic, and Mu Yuan did not give a clear answer, only telling him to live.
The intervention of Qingjue during the day also helped Muyuan, who had lost his mind for a hundred years, to clear his long-sealed memories.
Unfortunately, her face was completely covered in mud and sand, and she couldn't even blink, let alone shed tears.
She has been deeply embedded in the wall, in the mud, and has completely become a thousand-year-old tree guarding this place.
Qingjue didn't like this kind of story. Not only did he not guess any of the plot's developments correctly, but the ending was also exceptionally...
Qingjue: "...Your memory ends here. I wonder if you can still recall how many times you've seen him in the past hundred years?"
The spirit gently carried her voice to her ears: "I haven't seen her since."
"..."
"How are the Xie family, Yuanmuyuan, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou...?"
Jie Zhoujian: "..."
Qingjue was silent for a while before speaking: "The Xie family has been completely wiped out, and Qing Jiujie has fulfilled his mission. After that, the Xie family did not do anything bad for a long time. Although he could not exterminate them, he did protect the century-old peace of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou."
"As for Yuanmuyuan... it's deserted outside. We didn't see any living beings nearby on our way here. However, the vegetation around here is lush and growing well, and there are no signs of fighting. I guess they moved away voluntarily."
"..." Mu Yuan was still a little sluggish after processing the memory turmoil. She thought for a long time before saying, "Jiu Jie, is he still alive?"
"..." In the end, he was still asked this question. Qingjue could not hide it and said, "He died decades ago. In order to protect Quanzhang, he perished together with some of the Xie family members and destroyed their prestige."
Qingjue said, "I don't know the specific details, I just heard it from others, but in short, he died for the greater good."
Mu Yuan: "..."
The ending of this story is truly heartbreaking.
Jie said during the day: "I'm sorry."
Jie Zhoujian's sudden opening of his mouth made Qingjue look at him.
In his previous account, he intentionally or unintentionally distanced himself from Xie Zhoujian, omitting the fact that he was a member of the Xie family.
This was out of his own selfishness; Jie Zhoujian was his apprentice, and he had not been involved in the grudges and feuds of his seniors.
He also killed the last members of the Xie family, which can be considered revenge for the former head of the family.
He didn't want to get involved in this during the day.
However, Qingjue understood Zhou Jian very well. Almost the instant he opened his mouth, Qingjue knew what he was going to say, so she spoke up to interrupt him: "I..."
"I am a member of the Xie family."
You can clearly feel the surrounding vines and walls move.
“I have no right to apologize on behalf of my family now. There is no doubt that I have their blood in my veins, the blood of evil people.”
Jie looked up, his voice still childish, but his eyes were very firm: "I am only saying sorry on behalf of myself. I am sorry for what happened, but I was not alive at the time and I was powerless to change it."
"This is the first time I have directly experienced the crimes of my family members. Before, I had only heard about or seen some minor details. I did not know how serious the consequences were. If it weren't for Fairy Sister's memory, I probably would never have known."
"I naively thought that as long as I acted uprightly, I would one day be able to change the people's opinion of me, but after this memory, I can no longer do it."
“I understand that I can only live with this sin on my shoulders. I cannot ask anyone who was hurt in the war to forgive me.”
"Although the fragments in my memory are only a small part, I can feel the despair, the sad atmosphere, and the heart-wrenching pain... Although I am young, I understand that no one can forgive anyone else for these things alone."
Jie spoke at length during the day. He wasn't exactly eloquent; at least compared to Aju and Qinghuan, his words lacked any linguistic artistry.
He practically slapped himself naked onto the chopping board.
Of course, he never expected anyone to forgive him, even though he had done nothing wrong; he was still a member of that family.
He knew all too well, he knew it all too clearly.
What can be done?
Qing Jiujie is dead, Yuanmuyuan is deserted, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou are now completely different, and Muyuan, which has stood alone for a hundred years, is about to burn out...
The Xie family instigated conflict, burned down the sacred tree, committed rape and plunder, and did all sorts of evil deeds.
Aren't these all things seen in my memory, so real and vivid?
Jie Zhoujian, what excuses do you have left?
Mu Yuan: "..."
The atmosphere suddenly fell into a deathly silence.
It had been so long that Qingjue could count the number of ants crawling across the wall.
"Alright, alright, why are you all so serious?" Qingjue finally couldn't help but speak up: "It's like we're in a dead end. Isn't it because I'm here?"
"...Master?"
"...And you are?"
"Have I forgotten to introduce myself? I am the current head of the Qing family, the renowned Immortal Lord Wu Qing. My cultivation is currently above everyone else, including you and Qing Jiu Jie," Qing Jue said, forcing a smile after reading such a tragic story. "Saving you is more than enough for me."
"But... once I leave..."
Qingjue: "No one lives here anymore. What use are you if you stay here and become nourishment for these trees? Don't you want to go find Qing Jiujie? Don't you want to know what happened after you became a divine tree? Don't you want him to come back? What if there's still a chance to save him?"
"The dead cannot be brought back to life, that's true for ordinary people. But some people go to great lengths to revive important people because they can't afford to wait for milder methods."
"Human lifespan is only so long, but you are not human, you are a demon. You have waited for hundreds of years, are you afraid of waiting hundreds more years to nurture Qing Jiujie's soul back?"
"Or are you willing to continue staying in this dark underground place? I made it very clear when I came here that you unintentionally harmed someone. Even if it wasn't for the purpose of helping you, you must go back to atone for your sins. You can't do anything here."
Qingjue reached out his hand towards the fairy girl who was no longer human.
"Well, if you agree, I can take you out right away. I can handle this mountain without hurting anyone."
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