Chapter 76 The Passage to the Underworld - She should have known sooner
"You agree, right, Young Master?"
As Mu Jiuqing's voice faded, the sound of footsteps echoed.
A figure in blue slowly emerged from the light and shadow, appearing before Fu Yunyao.
The accessories around her waist clinked softly, and a few strands of her braided hair fell down to her chest.
He looked up, and his exquisite face was still the same one that Fu Yunyao knew so well.
He looked at her and smiled.
"It's been a long time, Yun Yao."
Like meeting an old friend after a long separation, Fu Yunyao simply gazed at him.
Everything finally settled down at this moment.
She already knew.
She should have known.
When did she start to have fantasies about things she had doubts about?
She raised her sword, its blade pointing directly at Mu Jiuqing, but spoke to the other person, "I'll give you a chance to explain, give me a chance to believe you."
He was still smiling. "You guessed it long ago, didn't you?"
Fu Yunyao closed her eyes briefly. "Don't force me."
"That's the truth, what more explanation is needed?"
"Shi Yubai." Fu Yunyao raised her eyes, her voice turning cold. "What could possibly be so important that you'd put yourself completely against us? Didn't you say we're friends?"
Shi Yubai chuckled, "How come you actually believed it too?"
Fu Yunyao smiled and said, "It's alright. After I capture you, we'll have plenty of time to talk slowly."
Ice flowers bloomed across the array barrier, and cracks appeared in the dark red array patterns.
She raised her eyebrows slightly, "There is no formation in this world that can trap me."
“Of course,” Shi Yubai replied, “but if the formation can’t trap you, then…”
And what about yourself?
Fu Yunyao suddenly looked up, and in the instant the formation shattered, what appeared before her was her own figure.
...
Mu Jiuqing looked at Fu Yunyao, who was trapped and isolated by the array, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
"What a wonderful show."
Shi Yubai didn't want to pay attention to him. "Does Sword Master Rangchen have any instructions?"
Fu Yusheng sheathed his sword and found a place to sit down.
“Once the soul-summoning formation is activated, it cannot be destroyed. I will naturally be here to await the opening of the underworld passage.”
His relaxed expression made Shi Yubai pause for a moment. "Aren't you worried about Yun Yao?"
Fu Yusheng raised an eyebrow slightly and replied with a light laugh, "I believe her."
I believe her...
Shi Yubai's hand, hidden in his sleeve, twitched slightly. He asked, "No matter what, will you always believe her?"
"nature."
Fu Yusheng responded.
Behind him, Mu Shu's figure was gradually solidifying, and within the dark red and eerie array, a phantom door seemed to slowly appear.
Shi Yubai sighed softly, "Once the soul-summoning formation is activated, it cannot be reversed. And when the gates of the underworld are fully revealed, what will you choose?"
Fu Yusheng didn't care about this. "My choice is not important. It's just that the young master went to great lengths. Surely it wasn't to deal with me?"
Shi Yubai did not answer. "There is still half an hour before the gates of the underworld are fully opened. Do you think that half an hour is enough for Yun Yao to break through the illusion array?"
He didn't answer, and Shi Yubai didn't want to hear his answer either. He continued, "We should at least see each other one last time."
Fu Yusheng tapped his fingertips lightly on his knees. "More than anything, I'm curious about what you really want to do?"
"What do I want to do?" he murmured, stroking the wooden plaque in his hand.
"I just want..."
"One answer."
...
When Fu Yunyao stood in front of the familiar cave entrance, she felt a headache coming on.
In the dimly lit forbidden area, the girl sat at the cave entrance, her bloodstained hand hanging limply.
She seemed completely oblivious to the pain in her palm, her eyes fixed quietly on the outside of the cave.
The warm sunlight failed to bring her any comfort.
Fu Yunyao had seen such a scene in her dreams, encountered it in her memories, and witnessed it in the illusion of Baiyujing.
That past was indeed full of blood and darkness for her.
only……
She reached out and rubbed her temples, somewhat puzzled.
So, if she was able to break through the formation and leave the forbidden area back then, why would anyone now think that a mere illusion could trap her?
The Dust Sword hummed softly in her hand.
She raised her hand, the blade pressed against the girl's neck.
The phantom of her, who was fifteen years old, remained completely still. She simply gazed silently out of the cave, the light of the sword reflecting in her eyes, yet her gaze remained utterly calm.
Hold the Dust Sword horizontally in front of her neck. If it goes in just one more inch, the blade will slice open her neck and the formation will disappear.
Fu Yunyao sighed softly and moved the sword away.
She is not the enemy; she is her past self, the one who yearned for freedom and wanted to leave the forbidden area.
Fu Yunyao slowly knelt down in front of the girl.
She looked at the girl's eyes reflecting her image and chuckled softly.
Her sword was not meant to kill her past self.
"I remember it all, the pain and the tears, I remember it all."
I believe that the ten years I spent trapped in the forbidden area, the years of being bound by restrictions and unable to escape, were hardships I should not have experienced.
For a long time, I was overwhelmed by hatred. I loathed everything, but I always felt gratitude towards you.
Only you and I are truly meant to live and die together, to weather the storm together.
Fu Yunyao murmured, a smile playing on her lips.
She knew perfectly well that this was just an illusion used to trap her.
"But how could I possibly kill you with my own hands?"
Shi Yubai truly understood her; the illusion he created made it impossible for her to break through the formation in a short time.
But no one knows her better than she does.
Under the girl's gaze, she reached out, her fingertips brushing against the stray hairs on her forehead, her expression gentle.
The sword energy he wielded was sharp and domineering.
Sword energy spread throughout the forbidden area, climbing the stone walls and repeatedly striking the intricate patterns of the restrictions.
Under the impact, the restriction patterns flickered wildly with a dark red light, and pieces of rubble fell off.
Fu Yunyao raised her eyes and blocked the pebbles that were about to fall on the girl.
This forbidden land, which had stood for thousands of years, was collapsing little by little within this illusionary array.
Finally, the ancient patterns crumbled, and the stones fell.
The first rays of spring sunlight fell upon the stone cave and upon the young girl.
Throughout the entire ordeal, she remained motionless, and not a single piece of the falling pebbles landed on her.
She looked up at the branches swaying in the breeze, the air filled with the fragrance of crabapple blossoms.
Fu Yunyao curved her eyebrows and said.
"Look, I can protect you, I will protect you."
...
"I still remember my first meeting with the Sword Master," Shi Yubai sighed softly, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
“At certain moments, I can always see your shadow in Yun Yao.”
That was his first time going out to exorcise a demon. He was just about to show off his skills to those old fogies at the Star Gazing Pavilion when he received news that the demon had already been eliminated as soon as he arrived in the town. He was so angry that he kicked a tree next to him and was hit on the head by a falling fruit.
A soft laugh came from the tree. He looked up in surprise and saw a boy in red among the dense branches.
The boy waved the fruit in his hand at him.
"What are you doing in the tree?" he asked.
The boy took a bite of the fruit, his cheeks puffing out slightly. "Go to sleep."
Sleeping in a tree?
At the time, Shi Yubai only felt sorry for this handsome young man, who had nowhere to sleep.
Thinking this way, he said it, adding, "Why don't you come with me? I'm traveling around, and if you come with me, at least you won't have to worry about food and clothing."
The young man raised an eyebrow. "It must be tough for the young master of the Star Gazing Pavilion to take care of a poor little thing like me."
Thinking of this, Shi Yubai couldn't help but cover his face with his hand.
Thinking of this, Shi Yubai chuckled, "On the day I took the initiative to go to Yun Yao during the cultivation competition, she said the same thing."
As Fu Yusheng listened to him reminisce about the past, he commented, "You're quite talkative today."
"Really?" he countered. "Aren't you a little excited about finally having the chance to talk to the Sword Master?"
Fu Yusheng raised his eyebrows. "You weren't like this when you traveled with me many years ago."
"Back then, I had no idea you were the legendary Sword Master Rangchen," he replied, then continued.
"At that time, I was still trying to persuade him to come along, but before we even reached the town, we encountered a group of bandits on the road. The bandits saw that I was dressed in fine clothes and had evil intentions."
He couldn't use his formations against ordinary people, and was just thinking about whether to spend money to avoid disaster.
Fu Yusheng suddenly landed behind the bandit leader, his sword pointing straight at the back of his neck, and after finishing, he casually said something.
"I appreciate your concession."
"It was only when I saw the sword in your hand that I realized that the red-clad youth in front of me was the Sword Master Rangchen."
Fu Yusheng simply replied, "I dare not believe what the young master is saying now."
"I remember, in one competition, Yun Yao also landed gracefully behind a talisman cultivator, her sword tip pressed against his neck, and said 'I concede'," Shi Yubai continued.
"By the way, that talisman cultivator later fell into demonic possession and caused quite a bit of trouble."
Fu Yusheng finally looked up at him, his brows furrowing slightly. "What exactly do you want to say?"
"Just chatting since we have nothing else to do." Shi Yubai breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Mu Jiuqing beside him, whose eyes were fixed on the figure in the center of the formation.
"It looks like we're close to success."
Mu Jiuqing didn't reply to him; his attention was completely drawn to Mu Shu's figure.
Shi Yubai shrugged helplessly, "That's really rude."
"Yubai..."
A familiar voice came from one side of the formation.
Shi Yubai's smile faltered slightly. He blinked very slowly and turned his head to look.
Cheng Minxi held the sword, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, and a deep, bone-revealing wound on his left arm was still dripping blood.
He avoided his gaze, his eyes falling on the limp arm, and said, "You're injured."
Cheng Minxi didn't answer him, but only asked, "Why?"
"I'm sorry." Shi Yubai lowered his eyes and did not answer.
"You know, I don't want to hear that. I just want to know why?" Cheng Minxi looked at him, her voice extremely slow.
"Aren't we friends? Tell me, and I'll help you."
Shi Yubai stopped answering, but Mu Jiuqing spoke up from the side, "It seems that the young master's formation is not very good. Do you need my help?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with a cold look from Shi Yubai.
Mu Jiuqing found it amusing. "What, Young Master, are you having second thoughts? You weren't like this with another girl years ago. I remember, she was also one of those who entered the Linglang Secret Realm ten years ago, what was her name—"
"Jiang Wanyin".
Shi Yubai suddenly tightened his grip on the wooden plaque.
Cheng Minxi froze, and looked up in a daze.
"Wan Yin?"
He asked incredulously, "Wanyin's death is related to you?"
How could that be?
Back then, wasn't he the one who was most devastated by Wanyin's death?
Mu Jiuqing raised an eyebrow. "Young Master, do you have a bad memory? That day, wasn't it you who asked me to deliver a gift to her in the Linglang Secret Realm?"
Shi Yubai's expression had turned completely cold.
He said.
"I only want what I want. What do I care whether others live or die?"
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