Chapter 121 Chapter 121
“But then again, why are all of you demons running to our human world?” Shen Wuming said as he crossed his arms and looked at You Lin and Fenghuang meaningfully.
At this time, the flying sword had already flown to a sparsely populated area, and the pursuers behind were left far behind, but this did not mean that he could rest easy from then on.
For the human race, the greatest threat now sat on his sword. One of them held a gun beside him as a "sail," while the other waved a fan, looking at him with a smile.
Although Shen Wuming had already determined that they were not murderous and despicable people during their interactions, there is a saying that goes, "Those who are not of my race must have different hearts." It is indeed a bit heartbreaking to say it, but it is the truth.
For the safety of the city below, Shen Wuming could only assume the worst of the other party's motives. Taking them away from crowded places was also intentional.
Phoenix could naturally see that Shen Wuming was wary of them, but he didn't care about that. After all, he came here to solve problems, not to create new ones - although because of that weirdo, he was still forced to cause trouble.
"The two of us are here to solve a cold case," Phoenix said.
"For a month now, skinless corpses have been appearing in the human world, mostly women, their spiritual roots missing. Rumors are circulating that the demons are behind this, attempting to understand human cultivation methods. Others claim the humans are deliberately orchestrating this conflict. I'm sure you're aware of this; if rumors like these aren't addressed promptly, I'm afraid they'll only lead to greater conflict between the two races."
"If this incident was truly caused by the human race, what are the demon race's plans?"
"That's something you need to consider yourselves." Phoenix curved his eyes and smiled harmlessly. "But fortunately, the troublemaker is someone else. We remain the friendliest of neighbors."
"That's really great." Shen Wuming also smiled politely, and after a moment he said, "You said there was someone else causing trouble. What do you mean? Is there a third group?"
Phoenix nodded. "That thing is neither human nor demon. It comes from another world. It was the one that caused the thunder earlier."
"That's actually the case. But, what a coincidence, I'm here to deal with this matter as well." Shen Wuming continued to cross his arms, maintaining a very cool look: "In that case, why don't we work together? After all, our ultimate goal is the same."
"Of course." After saying that, Fenghuang looked at Zhiyuan beside him and said softly, "Miss Zhiyuan, according to the information we have collected, your senior brother may be related to this case." Maybe he is not the mastermind, but he is definitely related.
You Lin handed the fragment he had picked up that time and the zither player's scroll to Fenghuang at the same time, saying, "It can be confirmed that they are the same thing."
The fragments of unknown purpose left behind by the suspected instigator and the calligraphy of the recently famous painting master, the two cannot be related at all when put together.
Zhiyuan thought it was outrageous. "No way! I've heard of that case before. The murderer's behavior was extremely cruel, even inhumane. But my senior brother couldn't possibly be connected to it. He wouldn't even dare to kill a rabbit, and he'd jump up and down at the sight of blood. How could he possibly do something like that?"
"Why not ask Miss Liu Liu?" Shen Wuming's gaze fell on Liu Liu. The unknown painting master had always been his object of suspicion. It was simply because the timing of his appearance was too coincidental.
He arrived shortly after the skinless corpses appeared, and quickly became famous. Furthermore, Zhiyuan had mentioned that the other party was extremely picky about the material of their drawing paper, so it wasn't impossible that a psychopath might find human skin pleasant to the touch and take the risk.
Although what Zhiyuan said just now has a certain degree of credibility, he is his senior brother after all, so Zhiyuan can't help but have a filter for him.
Seeing that the conversation turned to herself, Liu Liu pretended to be calm, but her panic was still revealed.
Zhiyuan suddenly remembered something and said quickly, "Miss Liuliu, the fairyland in the painting that you performed earlier was performed with the help of my senior brother, the Master of Painting, behind the scenes, right?"
Liu Liu lowered her head and clenched the hem of her clothes tightly with her fingers.
She was just an ordinary zither player, not even a monk. She didn't have strong mental fortitude, and today's incident had already frightened her to the point of losing her composure. Furthermore, she was not completely unaware of the case.
In Liu Liu's eyes, the fragments You Lin produced were irrefutable evidence; this was merely a routine interrogation before closing the net. She sighed deeply and said, "I beg you gentlemen to show some mercy. My benefactor has done nothing evil, and those bones are not what you think they are."
Shen Wuming raised his eyebrows: “What do you mean?”
"If it weren't for my benefactor, I would have become a wandering ghost by now." Liu Liu sighed and fell into memories.
According to fate, Liu Liu should have died of heart failure a month ago. She had resigned herself to death when the painting master appeared and saved her. Back then, he wasn't famous, just a painter specializing in posthumous portraits.
"It's truly a pity that such a talented girl died of a heart attack." The man suddenly appeared, saying something strange: "My junior sister doesn't have many hobbies, listening to music is one of them. If you can survive, you will surely be able to play more and better music."
"Do you want to live? I have a way to save you, but I've never tried it, so I'm not sure if it will work."
At that time, Liu Liu gave him a positive answer.
"The technique of resurrection is to abandon the existing body, remove one's own flesh and skin as a scroll, and use the spiritual roots as the residence of the soul, so as to reshape a carrier. After the painting is completed, one can travel freely with the help of the spiritual body. As long as the scroll is not destroyed, I can live well forever." Liu Liu said softly.
"What you saw earlier wasn't a spell, but rather the process of my soul emerging from the painting. Because everything about the carrier originates from within, once I emerged, both my appearance and aura were concealed, and I was never discovered."
"But you are not a cultivator. Where do you get the energy to maintain your spiritual body?"
Liu Liu said, "My benefactor said that there is a spirit gathering array on the painting, which can absorb energy for its own use. But in addition to these, you need to bring extra spirit stones on weekdays to maintain daily activities."
Only then did they notice that Liu Liu was carrying a number of spirit stones. Some of them were disguised as gemstones and inlaid into jewelry, while others were simply hung on her body as decoration.
Zhiyuan's fingers moved, but finally chose to remain silent.
Phoenix heard Kuni sigh.
This uncanny technique originates from beyond this world. To put it nicely, this girl is a fairy within a painting, or, more bluntly, a wild ghost residing within it. This method can indeed extend one's lifespan, and one can even continue cultivation in a spirit body.
But there's no such good thing in the world. After all this operation, she has been kicked out of the Five Elements Reincarnation. Once she dies, her soul will be scattered, leaving not even a trace.
Fenghuang relayed Liuhe's words, and Liuliu was not surprised. She said, "I know the price. Becoming like this is my own choice."
What's wrong with becoming like this? Her appearance will always be the same as in the painting, and she will never age. She will no longer be tormented by illness, no longer restricted by the flesh, and she can also have plenty of time to practice her beloved music.
She can live for a long, long time.
"Even if the end is death?" You Lin couldn't help but ask.
Liu Liu said, "Who cares about the next life? Only when this life is not going well will you put all your hopes on the next life. Will I still be Liu Liu in the next life?"
"I believe that, besides the soul, the most important thing that makes up a person is memory. It was I who traveled alone to a foreign land to pursue art at a young age, it was I who gave up everything for the zither, and now it is I who has moved the entire capital with my music.
It is all these experiences that make up the 'me' of today. But if I lose these experiences and memories, and only have the same soul, can it still be considered 'me'? "
"In my opinion, Liu Liu's will was completely annihilated at the moment of death. It seems almost the same as her soul being shattered."
Past and present lives have always been a confusing concept for people. Some believe that once you die, you're dead, and after reincarnation you'll be a different person, with no connection to your past life. Others, however, believe that as long as you're still the same soul, it remains the same no matter how many times you reincarnate.
"That doesn't sound like a bad thing," Zhiyuan said. She still hadn't recovered from the shock of the truth, and was in a daze.
“No wonder those paintings are so popular even though they’re not particularly stunning.”
Shen Wuming felt somewhat helpless. He finally understood why no female relatives had disappeared and no one had claimed their bodies since the Wupi case occurred, because these were just abandoned bodies.
As long as that person makes his name known, there will always be people who come to him for various reasons because they don't want to die or want to stay young forever.
"As for the others... they also acted out of their own will, and you, the benefactor, were simply following the flow. It wasn't anything against the will of heaven or morality. You, the benefactor, never harmed anyone; on the contrary, you saved many. Please, sirs, be merciful and don't embarrass him."
"Let's wait until we meet him in person before we discuss this matter. The government emphasizes fairness and justice. If he hasn't done anything wrong, nothing will happen to him. The most important thing now is to find him quickly and put an end to those unfavorable rumors out there. This will be good for everyone."
Despite this, Shen Linan didn't believe there were no real victims in this incident. He still remembered the tiger demon who became hysterical because his cubs were killed. The situation sounded very similar to Liu Liu's. Moreover, this thing sounded very harmful to the world. If it was learned by someone with ulterior motives, it would probably be another disaster.
"Do you know where he is now?"
"He's..."
The sky darkened at some point. Suddenly, a loud thunderclap roared, drowning out Liu Liu's voice. Looking up, they saw thick, dark clouds covering the sky above them, and bursts of thunder rumbled in their ears.
"Oh no, it's easy to be struck by lightning when flying a sword during a thunderstorm. We have to find a place to land quickly. Do you have a place to hide from the rain?" Shen Wuming seemed to have a psychological trauma. The moment the thunder sounded, he skillfully performed a lightning avoidance spell.
You Lin suddenly looked up at the dark clouds: "There's something wrong with this rain."
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