Chapter 74 Chapter 74 What a tragedy.
So many flowers. Blooming flowers, withered flowers. And one flower I'd never seen before.
Someone picked a bunch of wildflowers and placed them in front of the simple grave.
The tomb has no tombstone; only some ethereal, lingering yin energy drifts around it, a manifestation of resentment or obsession.
Meng Chiwan walked forward, and the boundary between reality and illusion slowly blurred, revealing many scenes she had never seen before. Some were bizarre and fantastical, while others were mere pipe dreams.
Only when the breath in her chest was exhaled slowly could she briefly realize that she still had a breath of warmth, a lingering warmth.
The scene before her was like layers of bubbles on the surface of water, which would be blown away whenever she tried to see them clearly, like a trick played by a dream weaver.
These scenes had nothing to do with her memories, but as Meng Chiwan looked at the figure of the flower delivery person, she suddenly thought of something.
Before the Fallen Petals Tree melted away, a Demon-Suppressing Mirror was left behind, and the white-clad figure carrying a sword reflected in the mirror was none other than Lin Shuchun. At this moment, the figure in the scene overlaps with that sword-wielding youth.
When Meng Chiwan first saw Lin Shuchun in the mirror, she felt that there was a thick fog in his eyes that never dissipated. Now, the flower deliveryman in the picture had his back to her, and she could only see his hunched back. She could no longer see his eyes, but she inexplicably felt that the fog actually covered his whole body.
It was desolate, it was bewilderment.
The flowers were wildflowers, but they looked exceptionally beautiful in front of the lonely tombstone.
The monument is blank. Nameless, without surname, nothing at all. It's as if the person who lies here came naked and left empty-handed.
Who could it be?
As Meng Chiwan pondered, the colors in the scene gradually cooled down, and a few fine snowflakes fell on the wildflowers, adding a touch of crystalline beauty to the scattered petals.
In that instant, the scene shifted, and she saw those misty eyes again.
His eyes were somewhat red, and a strange smile hung on his lips, it was hard to tell whether it was bitterness or sincerity.
He didn't reach out to brush away the snowflakes, nor was he surprised by the snow falling in April. He simply leaned closer to the tombstone and gently touched it with his head, as if he were feeling the wind and snow on the tombstone with his forehead.
The glistening droplets slowly melted away, and the dewdrops seeped into the soil in front of the monument.
A solitary figure knelt on the ground, her hands trembling as she gently covered her face.
Those reddened eyes were covered, but the dampness in their palms was still caught. All that bitterness and sorrow transformed into salty dew.
Meng Chiwan suddenly realized who was the person who had been sleeping forever.
It is the entire Lin family. It is Lin Yudong, whom Lin Shuchun patiently nurtured and raised.
After years of long sleep, the people finally welcomed their first child who wept for them.
The scene gradually dimmed, and a voice pierced Meng Chiwan's ears, abruptly pulling her out of the illusion.
"Chi Wan, wake up!"
It was Wen Liansong's voice.
Meng Chiwan opened her eyes blankly. The first thing she saw was Wen Liansong's anxious and worried face.
Before she could even figure out what was going on, Wen Liansong said, "We need to get out of here quickly! Something's happened, something really bad has happened!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Liansong reached out and pulled her up from the ground. Then she ran to the door in a few steps, and Meng Chiwan almost bumped into the threshold.
She was completely confused.
"Get out of the way!"
Someone shouted, followed by a "pfft" sound!
Meng Chiwan turned around abruptly and saw a girl blocking her way, her face splattered with blood, her hand gripping the hilt of the sword tightly but trembling slightly.
Her longsword was currently piercing a person's neck.
Yes. It's a person. Just like her.
The only difference was that there was no humanity in his blood-red eyes.
They are demons.
It is a matter of course for cultivators to exterminate demons in this world; it is as natural as drinking water, and there is nothing about it that would make anyone uncomfortable.
But when Meng Chiwan shifted her gaze from the girl's trembling wrists to her watery eyes, she couldn't help but feel something was off.
In those eyes, it was as if a raging storm was churning up waves, then violently throwing one's thoughts ashore.
This girl recognized the demon before her. Meng Chiwan quickly came to this conclusion.
Meng Chiwan showed no sign of distress, only sincerely saying, "Thank you for saving me, young lady."
The girl just nodded blankly, and then slowly drew her sword.
Blood dripped down the blade, and the girl's expression gradually turned pained.
Meng Chiwan called her several times, but she seemed oblivious. Given her current state, the two couldn't simply abandon her and run away.
Therefore, Meng Chiwan could only sigh silently, and then asked Wen Liansong, "How did I end up here...? What happened?"
“I don’t know either. When I came out of the room, I saw you sitting by the threshold. It’s strange, there were demons everywhere, and you were unconscious and had no power to resist, but not a single demon attacked you.” Wen Liansong thought for a moment and replied, “Do you remember when the Yun family first sent people to persuade Li that some of their spirit pets had gone missing, and told us not to wander around carelessly?”
Meng Chiwan nodded.
Wen Liansong continued, "Later, our room doors were all sealed off, so we couldn't get out, right?"
Meng Chiwan listened attentively.
"That's where the problem lies. I later investigated and found it was a Buddhist restriction. And the Myriad Manifestations Instrument also indicated that the aura of Willow Garden was in the Yun family." Wen Liansong said succinctly.
Meng Chiwan instantly understood her meaning. The only cultivator who escaped back to the Liu family from Liu Yuan's side died from the Buddhist seal, and someone was trying to cover the Buddhist seal with demonic energy. Now, after the incident at the Yun family, it was the Buddhist restriction that had locked them in the room.
Someone didn't want them to continue the investigation.
"What's even more terrifying is that after the restriction was broken, I discovered that there was another magic gathering array beneath it." Wen Liansong was still shaken.
Meng Chiwan's pupils dilated slightly: "You mean, someone doesn't want us to leave the Yun family alive?"
But if the person behind it all has such ability, why doesn't they just kill them all and be done with it? Meng Chiwan couldn't understand this.
Wen Liansong's expression was solemn. He glanced back at the chaotic mansion and asked, "Chi Wan, have you ever seen a Buddhist cultivator?"
Buddhist practice?
Almost instantly, Meng Chiwan recalled Mount Garan and the lotus seal in her mind.
"I've met you," Meng Chiwan replied.
"Do you know what the necessary conditions are for Buddhist practitioners to achieve the Great Dao?"
"I don't know."
“It means you must not kill any innocent person with your own hands. You must keep your path pure and clean, untainted by the innocent blood of the mortal world.” Wen Liansong closed his eyes slightly, his tone solemn.
That's the only reason they can still live peacefully.
Because that person wanted to attain enlightenment, he spared their lives. However, he was not entirely willing to let them go, so he placed a restriction on them, hoping they would die at the hands of the demons.
Meng Chiwan suddenly thought of the corpse she had examined at the Liu family's residence. She paused for a moment and then said, "But wasn't that cultivator who escaped from Liu Yuan's side and returned to the Liu family also innocent?"
Wen Liansong didn't know the answer either, but he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and suddenly raised his sword to block a sword intent.
At the same time, Meng Chiwan's Jinglan sword was drawn on its own, grazing the sword light and sparking a flash.
The demon, who should have died at the hands of that girl, did not die for some reason. The moment it regained its mobility, it sent out a sword intent.
Several strands of the girl's hair were cut off.
She deflected their swords with a single palm strike, her palm dripping with blood.
Meng Chiwan and Wen Liansong were caught off guard and did not expect the young lady to suddenly make a move, so they were unable to retrieve their swords in time.
Both of them looked at the girl with confusion in their eyes, not understanding what was going on.
"Junior brother, it's you... How... how did you come back to life?" The girl's voice sounded genuinely pained, but what was completely different was that he was all smiles as he spoke.
Two extreme emotions appearing in the same person are like experiencing both ice and fire.
Meng Chiwan and Wen Liansong were both stunned by the sudden turn of events, and for a moment they stared at the girl like spectators.
The demon, who was called junior brother, mumbled sobs but couldn't say anything.
The girl laughed: "You're alive now, but why hasn't your tongue grown back? Didn't you say you were going to tell Master and Senior Sister that they were bullying you?"
The demon's eyes suddenly turned even redder, and the blood covering them looked as if it might drip at any moment.
The demon bone suddenly stretched out and grabbed at the girl, as if it wanted to break and crush her bones inch by inch!
But the girl was able to dodge it instantly.
Meng Chiwan clearly saw that when the girl dodged, it seemed as if she wanted to push her.
The likely outcome is that his bones will be crushed alive.
We should have just left. Meng Chiwan thought to herself at that moment.
It was obvious there was a story behind this, and since she'd come this far, she wanted to hear the rest. She felt this girl might be able to answer some of her questions.
For example, what exactly happened to the Yun family?
Meng Chiwan's mind suddenly cleared. She remembered—this girl, she had seen her at the morning sacrifice ceremony. She was standing next to Yun Xianqing.
At the same time, Meng Chiwan clearly sensed that the demonic herb within her body was beginning to stir.
She had never felt this way before. Meng Chiwan found it strange.
The moon was bright enough to illuminate the young man holding the long sword.
His gentle features slowly welled up with tears, and it took him a long time to force a smile through his tightly pursed lips. It was a forced smile, but it seemed to convey a sense of relief.
The chaotic readings on the omnidirectional display have finally settled down.
A light scratch left a bloody mark on Meng Chiwan's neck, which she gently wiped away.
The surroundings were silent.
Only the sharp, piercing sound of Jinglan shattering the girl's longsword could be heard.
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