Trust me.
When Ji Wang woke up, he found himself almost buried in a pile of clothes.
Besides the original cloak, several of Bu Jiu's outer robes and a particularly warm-looking quilt were piled haphazardly on his body.
He was stunned for a moment before he realized that Bu Jiu had probably taken the words "sweating it out will make it better" to heart. He felt that one quilt was not enough, so he simply took out all his belongings to sweat it out for him.
Ji Wang couldn't help but smile, stretched his limbs, and found that his illness had miraculously healed completely. So he got up in a good mood and walked around the cave, but he couldn't find that familiar figure.
"They've gone out?" he muttered, instinctively walking towards the cave entrance.
Before he even reached the water curtain, he was blocked by an invisible wall. He reached out and pushed, but it was cold and tough to the touch, and wouldn't budge.
The entrance to the cave had been sealed off completely by a barrier at some point.
Ji Wang's smile vanished instantly.
He stared at the empty hole, as if he could see outside through the barrier. He raised his voice, his tone filled with grievance and accusation: "Forget it! I'm not that great anyway."
He deliberately emphasized the word "amazing," with a hint of self-abandonment: "Don't take me with you wherever you go. I'll just live in this cave for the rest of my life!"
After waiting for a long time without any response, Ji Wang's grievances fermented into anxiety.
He began circulating his spiritual energy, attempting to break the barrier. However, the spiritual energy struck the barrier, only creating a few tiny ripples, having no effect whatsoever.
"No... what's going on?" Ji Wang was getting anxious, clinging to the invisible wall with both hands, like a puppy that had been inexplicably locked up. His tone shifted from aggrieved to uneasy. "Why can't I get out!"
There has still been no response.
Imagining that Bu Jiu might be facing those who were chasing him alone, or that he was in a fierce battle... Ji Wang felt as if his whole body was being gripped tightly, and unease instantly filled his heart.
He could no longer care about anything else and began to pound on the barrier with all his might, his voice filled with panic: "Bujiu! Let me out of here!"
He paced around the barrier anxiously twice more, then finally steeled himself and, almost recklessly, mobilized all the spiritual power in his body, gathering it all in his palm, preparing to forcefully contend with this damned barrier.
Just then, Bu Jiu's voice rang out from behind him, slightly panting as he rushed back: "What's all the noise about?"
Ji Wang hurriedly turned around and saw that Bu Jiu was already standing in the center of the cave, holding a small oilcloth bag in his hand, looking at him with a slight frown.
Upon seeing that he was not to blame, Ji Wang's heart, which had been in his throat, immediately calmed down. However, the grievance of being locked up and the panic he had just felt instantly turned into resentment.
He withdrew his hand, which was brimming with spiritual power, pointed at the invisible barrier, and said in a tone that was both sharp and sarcastic, "What's going on? Why are you locking me up!"
Bu Jiu placed the oilcloth bundle in his hand on the stone platform beside him: "You've just recovered from your illness, and I'm afraid you'll go out and wander around and won't be able to protect yourself." He beckoned Ji Wang to come and eat, "That was set up temporarily, so you wouldn't cause any trouble."
"Oh." Ji Wang's anger subsided considerably, but another, more subtle emotion emerged.
It was a feeling of being looked down upon and treated as a burden, mixed with a little bit of awkwardness about "Does he think I'm troublesome?"
He pursed his lips, his earlier righteous indignation vanishing instantly. His gaze drifted to the side, and he muttered in a low but clear voice:
"I thought you had another dog outside and that you thought I was in the way and wanted to lock me up."
Bu Jiu clearly hadn't expected him to say something like that. He slowly turned his head, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Ji Wang's face, which was filled with the expression "I'm being unreasonable."
He scoffed as if he had heard something utterly absurd and stupid, and strode toward Ji Wang.
As Ji Wang watched him approach, she felt a little uneasy and instinctively wanted to back away, but she forced herself not to move.
Bu Jiu stopped in front of him and reached out to tie up his slightly messy hair again: "It seems you're really cured. You even have the energy to think about all this nonsense."
After saying that, he stopped looking at Ji Wang. He casually drew a line in the air with his finger, and the barrier rippled like water before quietly disappearing. "Now that you're done, go review what you learned yesterday."
Ji Wang picked up the sword, mumbled an "oh," and finally obediently walked to the open space.
However, before the last words had even faded, a dark stream of light, carrying an eerie aura, pierced through the water curtain without warning and shot straight toward where the two were.
Bu Jiu seemed to have been prepared, and his demonic power surged instantly.
However, the person next to him was faster than him.
Ji Wang didn't even see what was coming at him. He instinctively took a step to the side and blocked Bu Jiu's path.
He raised his arm and parried horizontally with his sword, using the parrying motion he had practiced countless times the day before.
"Clang—!" With a crisp metallic clang, the dark light and the sword clashed violently, sparks flying everywhere.
Ji Wang was stunned by the enormous force. Blood seeped from between his fingers and flowed down the hilt of the sword. His entire right arm was first in excruciating pain, and then numbness crept up inch by inch.
He gritted his teeth, but the sword remained firmly in his hand.
The dart that was launched was deflected and fell to the stone ground not far away with a "clang". The black aura wrapped around the dart twisted as if it were alive.
Bu Jiu's outstretched hand was still suspended in mid-air. He looked at Ji Wang's body, which was trembling slightly from the pain, and at the blood dripping from between his fingers. His eyes were first shocked, and then filled with lingering fear.
“You…” His throat tightened, and he quickly tore off a piece of his sleeve, grabbed Ji Wang’s hand, and wrapped it up.
Ji Wang was also a little stunned. He looked at his bleeding hand, then at the dangerous dart on the ground, seemingly unable to believe that he had blocked the attack.
"Interesting." A voice rang out, full of mockery. "It seems our Ghost King has done a good job teaching us."
Bu Jiu's fox ears tensed instantly, almost bursting open with anger and vigilance, as she forced out the blood-stained name from her throat: "Ling Gu..."
He raised his hand, and the surrounding air visibly distorted, with pale golden demonic power rising endlessly like burning flames.
At that very moment, the shadowy figures passed through the water curtain and went straight in.
The man in the lead wore a dark blue robe; he was tall and thin, and there was not a trace of goodwill in his eyes.
He wasn't in a hurry to make a move. His gaze swept over Ji Wang beside Bu Jiu with interest, as if catching up with an old friend: "Long time no see."
Ji Wang frowned and retorted without any politeness, "Who hasn't seen you in a long time? Do I even know you?"
"Oh?" Ling Gu raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze to Bu Jiu. "I'm afraid this question should be asked of your Ghost King."
As soon as he finished speaking, the various monstrous beasts behind him, their bodies wreathed in evil energy, howled and pounced on the two of them like a pack of wolves that had smelled blood.
Ji Wangjian's gaze was fixed on Ling Gu, his demonic power surging but he didn't move for a long time, and he immediately understood his concerns.
Ji Wang twirled his blood-stained hand with his sword, still in the mood to joke: "Trust me, you go beat up that guy, and I'll take care of his pets. Clear division of labor, isn't that perfect!"
"When have I ever distrusted you?" Bu Jiu secretly made a protective talisman behind his back, and then went straight to meet Ling Gu.
The moment the two forces collided, the entire cave trembled violently.
Ji Wang suppressed the excruciating soreness and numbness in his right arm and the tearing pain in his tiger's mouth. The blocking and sword moves he had practiced countless times yesterday had become his only means of survival at this moment.
Although his movements were somewhat immature, his swordplay carried a tenacious and ruthless spirit that refused to retreat even half a step.
With a flash of sword light, he actually managed to force the two demonic beasts in front of him to retreat repeatedly, relying on the fearless spirit of a newborn calf.
On the other side, Ling Gu took a heavy blow from Bu Jiu, which was filled with anger, and used the force to drift back several steps. However, there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, he revealed a smile of triumph.
His gaze swept over the cave dwelling, marked by the passage of time and bearing witness to countless past events, as if surveying a territory: "Bujiu, guess..."
He deliberately dragged out his words: "If I were to completely destroy this cave right now, causing the waterfall to back up and the rocks to collapse... what would you do?"
"Will you stand by and watch your nest with him vanish into nothingness, or... fight to the death to protect that reincarnation?"
Upon hearing this, Bu Jiu's surging demonic power suddenly froze.
Blow this place up?
The small wooden bed seemed to still retain the warmth of their sleep together. The mottled carvings on the stone wall still carried the laughter of their argument. The fox wood carving that had been knocked to the ground by the impact was something that person had painstakingly and clumsily carved over a long period of time before giving it to him, suppressing a smile.
This is the only place left in the world where he is finally connected to everything from the past.
"Bujiu, is the Ji Wang you love as the Daoist Yun Shen, or the Ji Wang before you now?" Ling Gu's breathing was already disordered, his speed had obviously slowed down, but his words became more and more vicious.
As he spoke, the demonic beasts surrounding Ji Wang seemed to be propelled by an invisible force, letting out even more frenzied and painful roars. Ji Wang's muffled groan came from within the encirclement, and the smell of blood spread to Bu Jiu's nose.
At the same time, Ling Gu took a big step back, his hands rapidly forming a seal, and an ominous dark light suddenly shone from his palms. His target was the most vulnerable and crucial stone pillar node supporting the entire cave.
Bu Jiu didn't even hesitate for a second.
The moment that dark light was released, his figure shot off like an arrow towards Ji Wang.
Just as the cave was about to collapse and rocks were about to fall, Ji Wang understood why this attack was necessary.
How could he not know how precious this place was to Bu Jiu, and how could he not know how heartbroken Bu Jiu would be if this place were destroyed?
He absolutely will not allow it.
Thinking of this, he followed his inner guidance and forcefully plunged the sword in his hand into the ground in front of him. With a power that surpassed his current spiritual strength, he rapidly formed an extremely complex ancient hand seal.
A halo of light spread out from him instantly, and all the demonic beasts it touched were shaken away.
The halo eventually transformed into a massive protective shield, supporting the inner walls of the cave like an inverted ancient bell.
"Don't be afraid." As the dust settled, Ji Wang pulled Bu Jiu, who had rushed over, into his arms, using his own body, stained with dust and blood, to firmly protect him between his arms and the world he had forcibly stabilized.
The confident smile on Ling Gu's face froze completely, turning into undisguised horror as he stared intently at Ji Wang, who, despite his low spiritual power, was able to unleash such a formation.
Bu Jiu stared at the mountain range map flowing on the protective shield, his mind a complete blank.
This is by no means a technique of the Bu Nian Guan or any other school of thought in the world... This is clearly a secret unique to Daoist Yun Shen, which has not even been recorded in ancient books.
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