Chapter 44 The Mohist School of Central Plains (8) "Such a counterfeit, can it be compared with..."
"I can let Sword Master Chen stay by your side forever."
Zhu Yu's eyes held an unwavering certainty, as if he was certain that the person in front of him would not refuse his offer.
Shi Yubai and Xuan Kui were stunned. Shi Yubai spoke up, tentatively trying to persuade Fu Yunyao.
“Yun Yao, the puppet that has returned as a soul has made Sword Master Chen no longer the same person.”
Zhu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the man and the demon, and scoffed inwardly, finding them an eyesore.
He waved his sleeve, and in the next instant, demonic energy filled the courtyard. Just as Shi Yubai was about to struggle, he found himself falling into a void.
He offered up the divine wooden divination stick, but before he could even begin to form the hand seals, he was stopped by a hand that suddenly appeared.
The hand was cold and pale, but Zhu Yu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I told you, we're not enemies."
Shi Yubai shook off his hand, her expression wary. "Not an enemy? I have no reason to cooperate with you."
"Is that so?" Zhu Yu didn't care about his attitude at all. He took a few steps back and distanced himself from Shi Yubai.
"But I think you'll like my suggestion."
Shi Yu Bai ignored him and summoned the Divine Wood Token to break through this space. "Why should I believe a demon who only communicates with me through illusions?"
He had already realized that the person who suddenly appeared in front of him was just a phantom of Zhu Yu.
The phantom chuckled and did not stop him from breaking the formation.
“This formation is not dangerous. I have simply separated you into different spaces. You cannot break the formation in a short time. Why don’t you listen to my suggestion first?”
"We have nothing to talk about," Shi Yu replied without looking up.
"Really? For example, Jiang Wanyin?"
Shi Yubai, who was studying the formation, paused. He looked up and met those dark red eyes.
As for Xuan Kui, while trapped in the formation, he casually found a place to sit down.
When Zhu Yu's phantom appeared, he even had the leisure to ask, "Can you really bring people back to life?"
The phantom glanced at him, its gentle smile vanishing, and it spoke coldly, "I can't save your little moon demon. Her soul has been scattered, and she can never come back."
"Oh," Xuan Kui responded, looking up at the sky. "Could you turn this place into something like Moon Demon Village?"
Zhu Yu laughed, "When you make demands of me, don't forget the adults' instructions."
Xuan Kui shrugged it off, "Didn't I bring the person to you?"
"Heh." Zhu Yu scoffed lightly, "Don't think I don't know about your little tricks. You know the consequences of ruining the adults' plans."
Xuan Kui gazed silently at the sky, offering no further reply.
The phantom didn't expect a response and slowly dissipated. As it vanished, the scene within the formation changed.
Under the snow-white moonlight, the familiar courtyard appeared before Xuan Kui's eyes.
In the courtyard, the girl turned to look at her, a smile on her face, lively and lovely.
...
In the courtyard, Zhu Yu's true form and the person in front of him were locked in a stalemate.
"Young Master Yao, what are you hesitating about? You know I can help you."
Fu Yunyao didn't reply. She spoke softly, "I was a little curious about why you had Xuan Kui lead me here."
When that voice transmission, which only she could hear, appeared, the Dust Sword trembled slightly, reminding her of the presence of demonic energy.
One of the demons in Zhongzhou City was bound by something and could not leave, while the other stayed by her side.
Zhu Yu smiled and said, "I knew it. Such a small trick couldn't be hidden from the young master."
"That little girl with the Ink Pool Soul Imprint has been tainted by demonic energy, hasn't she?" Fu Yunyao continued, and Zhu Yu's smile faded slightly.
"So what if it is?"
This time it was Fu Yunyao's turn to smile, her voice soft and cheerful as she spoke.
"She couldn't control the demonic energy within her, and even manipulated it to cause the arson case at Nanxiang Xiangfang. Left with no other choice, you had to take her away and hide her in this deep alley."
Zhu Yu's expression grew increasingly tense.
Fu Yunyao continued, "To prevent being discovered, you created another puppet, diverting the attention of the demon hunters investigating the arson case to the puppet."
When they capture the puppet, you turn the tables and manipulate it into the dungeon.
Then, they escaped from prison, taking with them the chains that could suppress demonic energy. Right?
“Absurd speculation,” Zhu Yu retorted, flicking his sleeve.
Fu Yunyao raised an eyebrow slightly. "There were no casualties in the arson case. Even if she did it, it wasn't an unforgivable crime. Are you so eager to refute me because—"
She lost control of her demonic energy and killed someone.
Zhu Yu immediately looked directly at her, and demonic energy emanated from his body, attacking Fu Yunyao.
Before Fu Yunyao could move, the demonic energy dissipated into the air the instant it touched her.
"Your reaction tells me I was right."
A murderous glint flashed in Zhu Yu's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. After a while, he smiled again.
"Now that you've discovered this, Young Master, you should know why I invited you here. It's rumored that the Dust-Slaying Sword Qi can suppress demonic energy. I hope you can leave a Dust-Slaying Mark on Xiao Chi to help her control the demonic energy within her body."
"Why should I help you? And why should I help a demon who harms innocent people?"
"Xiao Chi isn't a demon!" Zhu Yu roared. "She's in pain too. She didn't want this either. She was such a kind person, how could she have been stained with other people's blood? How could she end up like this..."
Fu Yunyao looked at the person in front of her whose eyes were filled with tears, and calmly stated her position.
"She was already incomplete in spirit. You forcibly summoned her spirit back and then used a puppet to transform her spirit with your demonic body, causing her spirit to be tainted by demonic energy. Isn't the current situation all caused by your single thought?"
You said you're in pain? Sad?
Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, "I invited the young master here for mutual benefit. I heard that the young master and Rang Chen knew each other. Although I don't know why their relationship broke down in the end, years of friendship cannot be completely erased overnight."
If there were truly no feelings between you, then the sword that was once the Dust Sword Master would not have remained obediently in your hands, and the puppet that had been fused with his essence and blood would not have tried to leave the dungeon upon seeing you.
However, if the Sword Master of the Dust Sword were alive, would the Dust Sword, which now obeys you, really choose to remain in your hands?
Or perhaps, would someone as proud as the Sword Master Dust truly be willing to stay by your side forever?
Fu Yunyao lowered her brows slightly. "Are you trying to use him to seduce me?"
"Don't you want him to stay with you forever? As long as I have even a wisp of his soul, I can create a more realistic one, with flesh and blood, with thoughts, truly unique to you, for the Dust Sword Master."
His voice was full of seduction, "He will always obey you and will never betray you. You will never have to worry about him leaving you one day. Isn't that what you want?"
Fu Yunyao shook the Dust Sword, causing it to drop specks of frost.
His eyes were full of confidence. "You'll say yes, right?"
Fu Yunyao spoke, her voice seemingly tinged with pleasure, "What you said is indeed quite interesting."
He smiled and said, "Then..."
...
Shi Yubai retrieved the divine wooden token that had fallen into the array, saying, "Jiang Wanyin, who returned in this way, is no longer the same person."
Zhu Yu's phantom flicked its fingertips. "Of course it's her. That's her soul, possessing her memories and even the same personality. How could it not be her? Moreover, her soul will slowly be restored under the nourishment of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. When the day comes, the real her will return."
Shi Yubai stood there, stunned. The phantom was still saying, "More importantly, that way, you and Young Master Yao can truly return to the way things were before."
Shi Yubai suddenly looked up at him, "What?"
The phantom smiled, "Even if you try not to think about that day, what stands between you is the life of your dearest friend. Even if you reconcile, you can never go back to the way things were."
But if Jiang Wanyin comes back, then the only barrier between you will disappear.
Only then can you truly return to the way things were before.
“Go back to the past…” Shi Yubai murmured repeatedly.
The phantom's face was full of smiles. "Yes, back to the past."
Before Bai Taiyang could say anything, the phantom suddenly vanished, the formation began to break, and the phantom transformed into streams of demonic energy that swirled around the courtyard.
In the courtyard, drops of blood fell onto the grass, then transformed into crimson ice flowers that bloomed.
Zhu Yu lowered his head, a triumphant smile even lingering in his eyes. Gazing at the sword piercing his chest, his blood froze, bringing with it boundless despair and suffocation.
Fu Yunyao gripped the Rangchen Sword, her voice still gentle, yet tinged with coldness.
She said.
"What a pity, how could you think that such a fake could compare to it?"
The sky was filled with chilling sword intent, and frost flowers fell and exploded, determined to sweep away all that was unclean.
"What filthy thing is worthy to replace him?"
Zhu Yu struggled, but could not break free from the control of the Rangchen Sword Qi. He closed his eyes in despair. So this was the Rangchen Sword that could suppress all demons?
The image of that figure in pink reappeared in his eyes. So close…
Blood slid down the dust-covered sword.
Fu Yunyao sheathed her sword and shook off the remaining blood droplets on its blade.
The next moment, a demonic aura similar to Zhu Yu's swept out of the room.
Fu Yunyao raised her sword to block, then looked up.
At the door frame, the girl's body surged with demonic energy, and the chains binding her feet had been removed at some point.
"Xiaochi..."
Zhu Yu stared blankly at the person in the doorway, and she walked closer to him step by step.
And right behind her, the girl's figure slowly emerged.
She remained radiant and gentle, even her soul was pure and pristine.
Mo Chizhao's soul was slowly drawn out of the girl puppet, and the puppet fell to the ground with a sound.
Zhu Yu paid no attention to anything else; he simply gazed at the girl's soul, his eyes filled with longing and reluctance.
The spirit came before him, reached out to him, and landed on his face, like a breeze, leaving only emptiness.
Zhu Yu could no longer hold back her tears.
He kept whispering, "Xiao Chi, I'm sorry..."
Mo Chizhao slowly shook her head, withdrew her hand, and turned to look at Fu Yunyao.
"Zhu Yu was a very good person. The current situation is actually my fault. My death caused him to develop inner demons, and he was then tempted by others, which led him to fall into evil. However, he never intended to harm anyone. It was I who truly harmed innocent people."
"Xiao Chi!" Zhu Yu tried to stop her, but her fingertips passed right through her body.
Mo Chizhao sighed softly, "I am already dead, but my life is no match for those who died by my hand without cause."
Shi Yubai glanced at Fu Yunyao and finally asked, "How did you die?"
His question drew a glare from Zhu Yu. Mo Chizhao paused for a moment and then answered slowly, "I don't know. That day, I had made an appointment with Zhu Yu, but I unexpectedly sensed a demonic aura. Before I could react, the demonic aura had already pierced through my body."
I didn't even see the demon who killed me.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Zhu Yu said in a hoarse voice, her eyes filled with pain.
He would never forget that day, in the spring rain, when the girl held an umbrella and smiled at him with her head tilted.
She was so beautiful, but in the next instant, a demonic aura pierced through her body.
She was right in front of him, no more than half a meter away.
Blood splattered on his face, and he saw the familiar face behind the girl.
That's his face...
How could that be his face?
The dark figure disappeared, and he stood frozen in place, unable to move an inch.
Until the girl fell into his arms, her warm blood staining their clothes, she closed her eyes forever in the rain.
Zhu Yu was consumed by the pain of that day; his body began to tremble, and he fell to the ground.
Mo Chizhao squatted in front of him, gently comforting him.
"It's alright, it's all over now."
Her figure became increasingly transparent in the sunlight, and the hem of her clothes began to disappear.
At the last moment, she looked at Fu Yunyao, her gentle gaze filled with pleading. She didn't speak, but instead turned her gaze back to Zhu Yu once more.
"Xiaochi..."
Zhu Yu reached out his hand to her, trembling.
"I am here," she replied, her soul transforming into starlight and scattering away.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Mini-Theater:
One day, Yu Yu and Zhu Yu met.
Yu Yu: I heard you once tried to replace me with a puppet?
Zhu Yu: Didn't this fail?
Yu Yu: I can't help it, I hold grudges.
Zhu Yu: ...
Yu Yu: Besides, who said I wouldn't want to stay by Liao Liao's side all the time?
Zhu Yu (pointing): Why are you telling me this? Go tell her!
Yu Yu: What, are you envious?
Zhu Yu (cursing and about to start cursing)
Yu Yu: Don't get excited, or you'll scare away the little soul butterfly in your hair.
Zhu Yu: ...Heh.
Black sesame filling version of Yu Yu +1
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