Chapter 9, "In the thirteenth year of Chunyi, the entire Lin family was wiped out..."
All she knew was that she wasn't alone.
She walked for an unknown amount of time, the wind whistling past her ears, with dry branches and leaves brushing against her cheeks, stinging her, but then disappearing in an instant as if by some unknown force.
The hand that was loosely holding her wrist gently squeezed her wrist to reassure her.
Then a rough voice could be heard: "Brother, did you really choose her?"
"Yes." Another voice rang out, sounding slightly crisper, but still as if it had been sharpened with a knife.
She walked forward step by step.
But suddenly she realized that the cold hand holding hers seemed to have transformed into something else, slowly crawling into her sleeve and climbing up layer by layer.
The tension in her heart tightened even more.
But in the next instant, a chilling aura shot towards the thing, and the thing immediately seemed to be sulking with someone, and it burrowed even faster.
Meng Chiwan broke out in a cold sweat and tried desperately to break free, but she was as if she were being held down by a ghost and could not move no matter what she did. She could only continue to walk forward mechanically as if nothing had happened.
"Then try her out." As another voice rang out, the icy chill had already climbed onto her neck, as if it would snap her life force in the next instant.
Meanwhile, the young man who had been holding her wrist and following her had also put down the magic spell he was performing.
He smiled silently. Only in the most critical moment can the effectiveness of saving lives be maximized.
However, the opportunity was missed this time.
"That's what my brother said!" The rough voice sounded unusually excited, as if it had received the highest praise.
The chill receded from her neck, returned along the same path, and then transformed back into a hand, taking hers: "Come with me..."
In the pitch black, she couldn't see anything, but she could feel herself being turned around.
And there was something hanging around her neck, light and almost weightless, but extremely cold, like millennia-old iron, the cold air blowing straight into her body.
A girl with a large "sword" etched on her face, each stroke still dripping with blood, cutting into flesh and bone.
Even calling it a face is only because it is indeed an outline that resembles a face, but apart from the character "sword," there are no other facial features on that face. The "sword" is like her facial features.
When she opened her mouth, there was no real mouth; only the bottom stroke of the character "sword" was opening and closing.
The girl's voice changed; her originally rough voice was deliberately hushed, transforming into an incongruous tone: "Girl, who is this person beside you?"
She felt the thing that had been holding her mouth closed loosen, and when she looked down, she realized it was a tentacle of some unknown kind.
She felt a wave of nausea. But then came the feeling of suffocation; the girl was gripping her neck, forcing her to answer.
Her mind raced, and the word "He's dead" was about to slip out. But then the suffocation at her neck suddenly stopped, and the reassuring breath returned to her body.
She turned around and saw that the girl's hands were burning with bright red flames, and the girl stood still, looking at the young man beside her with almost venomous resentment.
"Why are you in such a hurry... I was just asking."
In an instant, she clung to him again, her voice tinged with a smile.
Meanwhile, Yun Xianqing smiled and said to Meng Chiwan, "Don't be afraid. I saw you mouth the words 'I will die' just now, and I was a little touched."
"Don't be afraid, have fun here. If anything happens, I'll save you."
"Girl, remember to think things through next time, and don't disregard your own life."
His eyebrows curved into a smile, as if he were truly just there for a stroll. Then he released her wrist.
Meng Chiwan was stunned for a moment. Just now, she clearly wanted to say "he is dead".
However, she had only known him for a few days, and saving him was already more than enough. She had already chosen him once in her life, and this time, she wanted to live no matter what.
She knew perfectly well that the immortal lord could save her, and she could have said some sweet words to him. But wouldn't that be too insincere? What reason did she have to give up herself for someone else?
Saving him was a forced act; later, giving him the last Derivation Pill was her test and resistance against fate. But when she truly reached this point, she was shocked to realize that she actually didn't want to die.
Yun Xianqing released her wrist. The warmth had faded. She thought, the tide is finally receding completely.
The girl behind him immediately laughed: "I've tested her. She's...an honest girl."
Then, her voice turned somber: "But neither my brother nor she could convince me."
She reached out and gently stroked Meng Chiwan's cheek, breathing into her ear as the "sword" on her cheek spat out blood, which dripped onto her: "And you, it seems your lover has abandoned you again."
She sighed softly, as if feeling sorry for her. The hands slowly reached towards her neck again.
A feeling of suffocation overwhelmed Meng Chiwan again.
Her consciousness gradually faded.
Past scenes flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
But she knew in her heart that Yun Xianqing would not abandon her.
But this time, before Yun Xianqing could make a move, she slowly pried open her hands, panting heavily. She managed to speak with difficulty: "I can... persuade... you."
"He is my...brother."
The girl loosened her grip slightly, but remained skeptical: "Brother? Don't think I know nothing."
"How about...you...let go first, and let me finish speaking..." she squeezed out, word by word.
As the feeling of suffocation subsided, she gasped for breath, as if she had been pulled from the water.
"Speak."
She paused for a moment before speaking: "He is indeed not my biological brother. But I also do not like him. He is not my lover either."
The girl's hands began to wander restlessly over her neck again. The head at her ankle also let out a few strange, excited breaths.
But Meng Chiwan continued, "The first time I saw him, I felt that he looked exactly like my deceased elder brother. So I saved him, carried him back on my back without hesitation, and even gave up my own life to give him the last Yanxi Pill that my mother left me."
"Later I said that he was the only person I cared about in this world... In reality, I was already all alone in this world. But he really resembled my older brother so much..."
"So what?" the girl said indifferently.
“What I mean is, I can help your brother,” she said softly.
The girl immediately stopped what she was doing, then chuckled, her rough voice sounding even more unpleasant: "You'll help my brother? How will you help my brother? What does my brother need help with?"
But she ignored the mockery in the girl's voice and said, word by word, "But your brother said I could. If you really had no grievances or suffering, how could you have been trapped in this house for so many years?"
"In the stories I've heard, there's one sentence that runs through your entire lives."
Then the girl's voice rang out almost simultaneously with hers.
"In the thirteenth year of Chunyi, the entire Lin family was wiped out."
But the girl only snorted coldly after hearing her finish speaking: "Girl, you're only partly right. My brother doesn't entirely believe you can save him. Bringing you here might not necessarily mean you're guaranteed a way out."
"Why don't you give it a try?"
Then, she added casually, "Brother, take her away. But please spare her life, I want to verify for myself whether she's lying to me!"
Then, the phosphorescent flames all around went out instantly.
Then someone else led her forward.
On the other side, Yun Xianqing followed her, holding her wrist, and whispered in her ear, his tone still gentle and warm, like jade striking water: "Miss, did you have fun?"
"I'm not happy, my brother doesn't care about me." She smiled and was then led away.
Yun Xianqing's smile deepened. Even though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was quite pleased: "If your brother doesn't care about you, Yun Xianqing will. From now on, Yun Xianqing will stay by your side every step of the way."
Her voice was soft and gentle, like a soothing drizzle: "Brother, please don't deceive your sister. My life can't withstand being toyed with a few more times."
"Really? But I find it really amusing, after all, we're not on the verge of death yet. Besides, my sister doesn't seem to remember me."
Step by step.
The sound of crunching dead branches and leaves underfoot filled the air. Every now and then, a few crows would caw, and a few drops of some unknown liquid would fall onto her cheeks, then trickle down her neck and into her collar.
It made her tremble all over.
At that moment, she was thinking to herself: Yun Xianqing was truly an unpredictable variable. Saving him might have just brought her more trouble.
Not long after that.
The light gradually rose again. But this time it wasn't phosphorescence, but real firelight, a vast expanse of candlelight.
And the cold hand that had been holding her was put down.
Before the sword grooving stood a young man. He was thin, and unlike his sister, his face was clean and clear.
However, those eyes were empty, as if they had been gouged out for some unknown reason.
A note from the author:
Finally finished writing! Whew! [Panda head emoji]
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