Chapter 108 Holding Hands
Now that everyone had finished watching the play, it was time to retrieve the sacrificial lanterns and board the painted boat.
Therefore, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the boat race for immortality ended. Next, the drums thundered, and in the several layers of dark palaces ahead, the first entrance shimmered with spiritual light amidst the deafening drumbeats. Phoenixes soared into the sky, golden dragons circled, and auspicious clouds scattered.
A white jade staircase, resembling a ladder to heaven, slowly descended from the wide-open golden gate and landed on the water.
At this moment, Cui Xue Ruo, Ye Qing Yu, and Mo Shu Bai, the three people who were appointed as chief priests, took up divine banners and led the crowd down the painted boat to the sacrificial hall.
Only the Venerable One and his disciples, who boarded the painted boat, were allowed to enter the main hall.
Of course, there are also several large spirit crystal mirrors surrounding the lake, broadcasting the various solemn sacrificial activities within to the entire city.
The sacrificial ceremony is divided into three main halls: front, middle, and rear. The first hall was originally presided over by the head priest of the Ziyan Divine Palace. Now that Mo Shubai is present, he naturally becomes the chief officiant.
After he led everyone in three bows to commemorate the martyrs, he went inside. Song Chi wasn't qualified to stand inside the hall beforehand; she only entered the front hall after the flow of people had been orderly made. At this moment, Jin Juan moved.
"Before ascending to the rear hall, be sure to hold the hand of the Immortal Lotus Child tightly. To enter the Yin Palace and break the Demon-Sealing Array, this person's assistance is needed to establish the Gate of Life."
She further explained that this was an ancient seal, rendering divination useless. Moreover, the Demon-Sealing Array was the Immortal Lotus Guardian Array passed down through the Mo family, possessing 640 variations. With her limited abilities, even if she were given a scroll to unseal the seal, she couldn't even complete the first step, the Gate of Life.
Then, we can only turn to Mo Shubai.
Holding his hand or something. A burst of heat rushed into his nostrils; perhaps it was a way to test whether he considered her a younger sister or junior sister or something.
But before, she had both pounced on Mo Shubai and grabbed her hand. She had even given him the Love Lotus twice... Honestly, can grabbing someone's hand really tell you if you treat them like a younger sister?
Anyway, let's shake hands first. Just thinking about this scene makes my head spin, even more so than before when he was pouncing on someone or groping them. Song Chi couldn't help but shake his head. Love-struck thinking is truly terrifying.
She didn't know how other people's romantic obsessions didn't affect their work. But she felt that this thing was severely impacting her efficiency.
He was torn between 'restraining myself' and 'restraining my ass'. When he arrived at the second hall, the thought of how to hold Mo Shubai's hand became a problem, and the night breeze made him much more sober.
Do the task first; the task is the priority.
Because Mo Shubai was chosen by Heaven, she naturally stood in the front row. Even with the prestige of her master, she was still behind the Venerables and some elders of the Immortal Alliance, and could only stand in the outer corridor of the hall. Thus, there was truly an insurmountable chasm between her and Mo Shubai.
The array in the sacrificial hall suppressed spiritual energy. The only way she could contact Mo Shubai was probably by throwing stones at him, like a primary school student would...
Thinking about the consequences of doing so, Song Chi couldn't help but twitch her face. She decided to use telepathy first, so she looked up and stared at Mo Shubai again and again.
By the third glance, perhaps there really was a telepathic connection; before entering the central hall, Mo Shubai turned back and looked at her slightly.
Song Chi immediately glared at him. "Senior Brother, could you at least stand facing outwards when you enter the inner hall?" Her gaze conveyed a lot of meaning, but it was probably only a deity who could understand it. After all, it's not so easy to interpret a look. However, Mo Shubai nodded slightly before turning around.
Then, after coming out of the back corridor of the main hall, they saw Mo Shubai whispering something to his master in the courtyard with lush flowers and trees in front of him.
He then did not follow Song Chi into the hall. Instead, he waited for Song Chi to go with the flow of people, and the two of them stood side by side in the shade of the corridor under the trees to pay homage to the martyrs.
Mo Shubai glanced at her from the shadows, probably asking what she wanted.
But this matter... is hard to say right now. Song Chi exchanged a glance with him, but naturally said nothing.
Just as the Immortal Alliance was reciting the sacrificial text for the final ritual, the golden scroll prompted, "Quickly shake hands!"
Song Chi couldn't help but scratch her palm, then closed her eyes and grasped Mo Shubai's hand. The slightly warm hand trembled, but she didn't pull away. The problem was, she had done many far worse things to Mo Shubai before, and he hadn't stopped her. And he had only slightly squeezed her hand back. Could it be… he really sees her as a younger sister? This is terrible.
Song Chi hesitated slightly, her fingers retracting slightly. But she would still hold on; the mission… was still the most important thing. She was definitely not a simple love-struck fool; her loyalty was always to the mission. But actually, she was a little teary-eyed. Her younger sister… it felt so miserable.
However, she only flinched slightly. Mo Shubai suddenly gripped her hand tightly, and even changed to an even tighter grip, almost completely enveloping her hand, and with great force.
That tightly clenched hand felt like it was squeezing her heart. A buzzing sound filled her head, and she felt like fireworks had exploded in her mind. At that moment, she didn't care about the mission, or even who she was. Her heart pounded irregularly, and Song Chi thought, this must be what they call a butterflies in her stomach. Unbelievable, she was experiencing this too.
So, does this even count as holding a younger sister's hand? Or, is it acceptable for a senior brother to hold a junior sister's hand like this? What kind of senior brother does this…?
Song Chi's mind was in turmoil. She wanted to look up at Mo Shubai to confirm if the final proposition was correct. But honestly, even a gale-force wind couldn't lift her head to look up right now. It was just too embarrassing.
She used all her strength to keep from blushing. Whether she succeeded or not is hard to say. But she certainly succeeded in putting on a stern face.
Venerable Xueqiao listened to the lengthy sacrificial incantation within the hall, finding it somewhat tedious. At his level, even in this place where spirits were forbidden, his divine sense could still survey the area inside and out. Thus, he glanced briefly outside the hall. Shu Bai had just whispered to him that he had some matters to attend to, and he only mentioned that it was alright if he didn't leave the sacrificial hall. This was because sacrificial ceremonies always involved the bestowal of ancient immortals' legacies upon this young generation of chosen ones. Shu Bai was undoubtedly a chosen one, without a doubt. Therefore, Venerable Xueqiao didn't want him to miss such an opportunity.
Shu Bai naturally agreed. Then, he glanced over and saw that the brat was holding her senior brother's hand. Surprisingly, her cheeks flushed, though she kept her head down, her face tightly taut. But what could that hide? In fact, Shu Bai was probably also feeling emotional; even in the dim shadows, his slightly pink cheeks couldn't be concealed. Both of them were probably completely blank-minded... their souls practically detached. In any case, Shu Bai, staring ahead, seemed somewhat unable to contain his emotions.
But you two little rascals, can't you go back and shake hands again? Look at those wolf cubs, their eyes are completely red.
Furthermore, so that brat dragged Xie Lanqing onto the pleasure boat just now, could it be to make her senior brother jealous? But the problem is that Shu Bai generously allowed them to... and now, the two of them are secretly holding hands again.
For a moment, Venerable Xueqiao felt his mind was a bit overwhelmed. So, what on earth were these two playing? Why were they being so tedious?
Also, snap out of it. The eulogy is almost finished; could it be that fate has brought them together, and they're still lost in their emotions...?
Just as he thought this, the final part of the sacrificial text, addressed to Heaven and Earth, was not yet finished. Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted, and countless wisps of mist burst forth from the inner hall, instantly enveloping the entire area. Then, the mist abruptly flowed inward, carrying many talented disciples into it.
However, those two little rascals, Hua Shalan and Wen Yujiu, released their spiritual energy restrictions and, while they were enveloped in the mist, unleashed two deadly attacks on Shu Bai's side.
This was naturally blocked by the white lotus flower, and then he and his third junior sister fell into the thick fog.
During this time, Song Chi's exclamation seemed to be heard, as if he was telling his senior brother to hold on tight and not let go. Venerable Xueqiao was speechless, thinking, how could Shu Bai bear to let go of her hand? He was afraid they had encountered a small obstacle; he hoped nothing bad would happen.
However, since this sacrificial ceremony is extremely auspicious, it's unlikely that there are any evil spirits causing trouble at this time.
As Song Chi was enveloped in the thick fog, she was almost flung off by a chilling force from holding hands with Mo Shubai.
If it weren't for the fairy lotus jumping out and shaking things up, and Mo Shubai suddenly pulling her into his arms, she might have truly fallen under the spell of the evil spirit.
With her level of array formation skills, how could she possibly break through a demon-sealing array with 640 variations?
Of course, that wasn't what she was thinking at the moment. She was already a little dazed from holding hands earlier, and now, nestled in Mo Shubai's warm embrace, which smelled faintly of lotus, it was simply irresistible!
"It seems that the opportunity lies ahead for Third Junior Sister!" Mo Shubai glanced into the distance, then lowered his eyes and smiled as he said this to her.
Just as a golden light shone directly from the center of the distant fog, a pure white array banner jumped out of her ring.
The two landed, and to be honest, all Song Chi could see was thick, milky-white fog everywhere. As for the rest... the array formations, like the sound-based location system, well, sorry, he had to give it all back to the immortal master Mo Shubai.
Mo Shubai took a few steps to the left and right, then nodded with a smile.
"I already know how to break the formation, but since this opportunity belongs to my third junior sister, she needs to throw the formation flag under my guidance. Once we open a gate of life, it won't be difficult."
He explained it this way, and Song Chi felt like a bug, making two "uh-huh" sounds.
Immediately, Mo Shubai was stunned by her incredible speed in determining directions. Then, as if realizing something, he chuckled to himself. "Third Junior Sister is indeed not very skilled in formations."
Look how politely she's being said! She's not just bad at it, she's a complete idiot when it comes to this.
“Next…” He hesitated slightly, but the thick fog trembled abruptly. Mo Shubai’s eyes flickered. “I’ve offended Third Junior Sister, so this formation is a bit unstable, therefore…” As he spoke, he gently took her left hand, controlling the tail flag, and then wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her right hand. He then activated the first formation flag to open the gate of life. With a deft flick of his fingers, he sent two formation flags flying into the thick fog, instantly dispersing a large portion of it.
Then his figure was rapidly carried away by another thick fog. "Third Junior Sister..." He was clearly worried that this fool wouldn't be able to unravel the remaining parts of the formation, hence his anxious tone.
"I can break the formation, Senior Brother, don't worry." Song Chi shouted to him to reassure him.
Whether it was delivered or not was unknown. At this moment, she was able to use the divination method of the escape immortal to quickly break the great formation and enter the magnificent and dark sacrificial hall.
The barrier had barely risen when Song Chi couldn't help but roll on the ground, clutching her head. Putting aside the fact that she had taken Mo Shubai's hand first, making it difficult for him to let go, the way he had just held her and thrown the array flags… ugh! That couldn't possibly be just feelings for her as a younger sister. That look, that warm embrace—if it was still just sisterly affection, it would be too much… But it was also possible he was doing it to help her obtain an opportunity; otherwise, why would he have said he had offended her? So, what kind of feeling was it? *pounding the ground!* Romance really kills brain cells.
After rolling around twice, she thought about unsealing her wood spirit root. Only after the golden scroll prompted her did Song Chi blush with shame. So, once you get hooked on love-struck, look at her—she, a perfectly capable career woman, is quickly becoming irresponsible.
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Author's Note: [doge][doge] Update is here!
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