For many years, Qin Niang has been giving life-extending elixirs to other demon cultivators, using them as a bargaining chip to save Qiao Yan, causing most of her spiritual power to be depleted, and she doesn't have much time left to live.
In addition, a fierce battle broke out with his own people today, and the little spiritual power he already had left was even more exhausted, and he could not hold on for much longer.
Ningning suddenly recalled the conversations she had with Qin Niang, and she didn't know how much of her words "I just hope Xiaoyan can survive" were true and how much were false.
The night wind was gentle, quietly blowing away the dull smell of blood. Ningning just felt depressed, squatted down and looked at Qin Niang at eye level, and wiped the blood off the latter's face.
After all, she was just a little girl who had not experienced much. Even though she knew that the other party was a demon, she could not accuse him too much in this situation. She was silent for a long time before she asked softly, "Do you have any other wishes?"
Qin Niang seemed not to have expected that she would say that. A hint of tenderness flashed in her dark pupils. After a brief moment of stunned silence, she gently shook her head.
"You two must remember that the Demon Lord's strength is unfathomable. It is difficult to defeat him with ordinary methods... But if we can destroy the center of the formation and damage the formation with external force, it will definitely cause him great damage."
She finally ran out of strength at this moment, leaning listlessly against a tree stump in the courtyard, letting her long hair cover her bloodstained face: "The spirit fox clan has been infected by evil spirits for a long time, and it won't be long before they are completely reduced to evil creatures that are neither human nor ghost... If you want to save them, you are the only one left."
Ning Ning grasped the hem of her skirt with her right hand, her tone hesitant: "Do you really not need to tell Qiao Yan the truth? You did all this for her, right?"
It was like abandoning the life-saving elixir and struggling to support himself with this damaged body, or it was like becoming an enemy of all the demons in the secret realm and exhausting all his spiritual energy until he died.
She was willing to give everything for the girl, but in Qiao Yan's perspective, this fake mother was just a liar from beginning to end, no different from other demon cultivators.
It's really... unfair.
Qin Niang just shook her head and forced a smile. She was the one who was dying, but her tone was like an elder giving gentle comfort, without any trace of sorrow in her voice: "Time is running out, go find the center of the formation quickly."
No one knows when the "Demon Lord Qi Han" mentioned by these demon cultivators will come back. If the two of them are caught by him, it will be difficult for them to escape. Ningning looked up and exchanged glances with Pei Ji, then finally nodded.
The other demon cultivators around him had all been killed by Pei Ji, and Qin Niang watched them leave quietly. When the boy and girl's backs gradually disappeared from sight, it seemed as if the whole world had fallen silent.
The spiritual power was like a dried-up spring, and the whole body was filled with heart-wrenching pain. She took a deep breath and looked up at the familiar courtyard through her increasingly blurry vision.
This is Qiao Yan's house.
The little girl carefully planted many flowers and plants around, including some magical medicines that can restore spiritual power and treat injuries. The midsummer night was green and emerald, and even the wind was fragrant. Occasionally, fireflies would fly by in groups, making Qiao Yan very happy.
She struggled in the bloody quagmire for many years. The memories of killing and survival were far away, as if they were done by another person. However, the blood stains on her hands could never be washed away, and Qin Niang did not expect to be forgiven.
It is better to turn back when you have lost your way. These words sounded nice, but she knew in her heart that the sins she had committed would follow her throughout her life.
——In fact, she was not worthy of being with Qiao Yan, and it had been like this since the beginning.
The night sky was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the lonely shadow of the woman. Qin Niang knew that she would not live long, but a very light smile appeared in her eyes.
This is her and Qiao Yan’s home.
She used to have no place to live and wander around. "Home" was such a distant word. Now she can die in her own home... It seems not bad.
=====
Ningning didn't say much after leaving the courtyard.
She seldom saw separation of life and death, and Qin Niang's departure was especially filled with too many regrets. In a trance, she thought of Chen Lubai in the pagoda, and her mood became even more complicated.
In the world of cultivation, the law of the jungle prevails, and life and death are uncertain. No one knows about their deaths, and the sacrifices and contributions they make are silent.
Pei Ji also walked beside her without saying a word, and suddenly said, "Are you still thinking about her?"
“I’m thinking about a lot of things.”
He rarely spoke on his own initiative. Ning Ning seemed startled. She looked up quickly, then quickly looked away. She hesitated when she spoke again: "Pei Ji, if someone close to you actually has bad intentions and wants to use you with impure motives, what would you do?"
Finally asked.
Ningning felt nervous and slowed down her breathing.
The relationship between Qin Niang and Qiao Yan seems to be not much different from that between her and Pei Ji.
Although the two of them are becoming more and more familiar with each other, she is, after all, the villain and has to do many things against her will according to the system's requirements.
If Pei Ji caught her one day, Ning Ning was confused, but Pei Ji answered without hesitation: "I don't have anyone close to me."
Ningning was choked.
"What if it was me?"
She mustered up the courage to look him in the eye. In the thick night, the boy's dark pupils were like an abyss: "If I did something bad to you, what would you do?"
Pei Ji looked at her steadily and answered quickly: "You won't."
Ningning was stunned.
"What do you mean by 'I can't'?"
She chuckled at these three words, but halfway through her laugh, she inexplicably felt a little sour, pursed her lips and continued, "Do you trust me so much?"
The young man in black who was walking beside her paused, subconsciously exerted force on the slender fingers holding the sword, and turned his face away without looking at her.
This time he finally paused for a long time. When Pei Ji spoke again, his voice was somehow stiffer: "It's just intuition."
Chengying almost died on the spot out of frustration, screaming madly in his heart: "What do you mean by 'just intuition'! Will you die if you tell the truth?!"
It rolled over and over in anger, but Ningning lowered her head and a barely noticeable curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"You never know. I might bully you at any time."
Her mood didn't seem to be as bad as before, and there was a hint of laughter in her voice: "I'm afraid we can't find any clues here, why don't we go to the other side of the formation and take a look?"
Pei Ji hummed.
Then he replied sullenly: "Don't be sad."
"Um."
=====
"Master Xu, where are you taking me?"
It was dusk, and the sky was clear. The reflections of the trees flowed slowly like water, falling all on a man and a woman in the forest.
Qiao Yan was led out of the settlement by Xu Ye in a daze. Until now, she still didn't understand his intention. Seeing that they were getting farther and farther away from the waterfall, she couldn't help but break free from his hand holding her sleeve and hurriedly stopped:
"You keep saying you want to show me something, but where are we going? What is that thing? Why are you hesitating so much?"
Xu Ye was stumped by her three consecutive questions and stood there at a loss for what to do.
Soon after He Zhizhou pulled the Demon Lord straight out of the gate, the demons in the settlement began to stir. Although they were weak, if they attacked together, Xu Ye alone would surely be defeated.
What's more...Qiao Yan knew nothing about all the secrets. If she ran into those murderous demon cultivators, she would probably be in great danger.
Although Xu Ye had always lived under the protection of his master and his senior sister, and was not very good at getting along with others, he also understood that he should do his best to protect her——
This not only includes Qiao Yan's life safety, but equally important, she must never know the truth of the matter.
In fact, they were the ones in the formation, and the mirror ghosts on the other side of the water mirror were all transformed from the fox clan. As an outsider, he was stunned for a long time after learning about this, not to mention Qiao Yan.
——After all, for her, everything that had happened was tantamount to slaughtering her fellow tribesmen with her own hands and living day and night with her mortal enemy with whom she had a blood feud. No matter who it was, they would collapse instantly when they learned the truth.
Xu Ye knew that he could not stay in the village, so he had to rush to Qiao Yan's residence and made up an excuse to take her out. Maybe they were lucky, and those evil cultivators never caught up with them.
"I, I'm not—"
He is not good at lying. The last time he and He Zhizhou's gang committed a crime to deceive Liu Ying from Neon Island, he had already been under tremendous psychological pressure, not to mention that the current situation is so urgent that it concerns the life and death of both of them.
"I'm looking for Ningning and the others!"
Xu Ye was pressed into a corner, and the words in his head popped out without thinking: "They said they found clues related to the Burning Sun Bow, and asked us to meet nearby - how come there is not even a single person in sight?"
Qiao Yan's eyebrows moved: "Scorching Sun Bow?"
The girl seemed to have finally calmed down.
Xu Ye nodded without hesitation as if he had been pardoned: "Yes, yes, yes! That's it!"
He thought Qiao Yan would calm down, but she frowned slightly, lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly lowered her voice and said, "They won't be able to find the Sunburnt Bow... I think I figured out something."
Xu Ye’s smile froze on his face.
In a trance, he heard Qiao Yan's clear voice.
"The bow and arrow could only have been taken by a spirit fox or a demon. We can make an assumption based on that."
She spoke seriously, her furry snow-white ears swaying as she thought: "If it is the Spirit Fox Clan, there is no reason not to use it publicly to deal with the demon cultivators. Moreover, my people are weak and will never be able to defeat the Fire Phoenix."
Xu Ye: ...
Xu Ye listened to her continue talking in a daze.
"In this way, we can pin all suspicion on those demon cultivators. Even though they are trapped in the water mirror now, it doesn't mean they couldn't have stolen the Burning Sun Bow before."
Qiao Yan spoke faster and faster, looking at him steadily: "They must have used some shady methods before the war to steal the jade pendant and take the bow and arrow. They wanted to use it to completely wipe out the spirit fox lineage, but we got there first and sealed them in the formation."
Xu Ye: ...Ah?
"So the Sunburnt Bow must be in the hands of the demons, on the other side of the water mirror!"
What is this? The reasoning was completely wrong, but the result was right. The Burning Sun Bow was indeed at the other end of the formation.
But those over there are not demons!
Xu Ye's emotions were as complicated as twisted knots. He watched Qiao Yan's eyes become more and more determined, even with a hint of resoluteness. He told him very seriously: "Master Xu, I already have a plan. I plan to go to the other side of the water mirror tonight to see if I can get the Burning Sun Bow back."
"No, no, no, that's not good!"
Xu Ye had not expected that this girl would be so desperate, willing to sacrifice her life for the Burning Sun Bow and the Fox Tribe. Hearing this, he quickly responded, "You are alone and it would be too dangerous to go alone. Why don't you go with me to find Ning Ning and the others first, and then we can discuss it together."
Qiao Yan looked at him seriously: "But didn't you lose contact with them? Why can't you find them after such a long time?"
Xu Ye was choked.
But she still had something to say, and every word she said was righteous and unquestionable: "My mother is almost unable to hold on to the water mirror formation... I must act as soon as possible. Moreover, the demon clan's land is extremely dangerous. This is the business of the spirit fox clan. I can't let you take risks. It's enough for you to go alone."
But you really can’t go! If you see a mirror ghost that looks like your loved ones there -
Xu Ye didn't dare to think further. He was so anxious that his head was overwhelmed. He was crushed by the wheel of life and almost burst into tears out of grievance.
"Don't worry, I know what I am doing."
Qiao Yan paused, thinking that he was worried about her: "This time I went into the water, I just went to investigate the situation on the other side and try to find the whereabouts of the Burning Sun Bow. Mother is still waiting for me at home, I will not ask for trouble and conflict with them beyond my ability."
——But the person at home is no longer your mother, she will not wait for you to come back!
Xu Ye wanted to continue to persuade her shamelessly. If that didn't work, he would just use force and knock Qiao Yan unconscious, and then find some excuse to prevaricate afterwards.
He had already thought of all the plans and steps, but he didn't expect that just as he opened his lips and before the words came out of his throat, he saw Qiao Yan move.
"I'll be back soon!"
She moved swiftly, her long hair was blown high by the wind. When she raised her head in the chaotic night, a bright light flashed across her eyes: "Master Xu, don't worry about me. Go meet up with the others first!"
Behind her was a lake as smooth as a mirror.
Xu Ye's last memory of the mirror world was the smooth arc drawn by the girl when she leaped into the lake, and Qiao Yan's fluttering white shirt as she disappeared from his sight.
He was dazed and jumped into the water with her regardless of everything. After a sudden feeling of suffocation, he saw the blood-red lake water and a dark whirlpool.
He must have fallen into that vortex.
Otherwise, when you open your eyes again, you will not see a scene that is completely different from before.
The sky was turbid and filled with dark clouds and thin smoke. Although it was already night, there was a strange lingering scarlet glow on the horizon.
What was coming towards him was a rotten and fishy wind. The evil spirit lingered for a long time, gathering in almost every corner, making him feel a little nauseous. As soon as I looked up, I saw the withered branches of old trees and scattered animal carcasses.
Xu Ye had wondered before, since the two tribes had fought such a life-and-death war, why there were still birds singing and flowers blooming in the secret realm, and no trace of war at all. It turned out that everything was a false illusion.
The person who had lived in the mirror for a long time finally came to the real world.
A world full of death, mutation and cruel truth.
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