Chapter 81 Chapter 81 The Nine-Star Reverse Wheel has begun.
Song Yaojie glanced at the Willow Guanyin statue on the wall, winked at her, walked to the wall, grabbed a flower bud of the foxtail lily in the pot on the table, and twisted it.
The heavy stone door slowly slid aside, revealing the dark secret room inside.
Huide was still inside, having been there for a few days, and the stench of decay had already begun to take hold. The bloody odor hadn't subsided. As soon as the door opened, the damp, moldy smell, mixed with the stench of corpses and blood, hit me in the face.
Nan Qiong Shuang loved cleanliness the most, and her stomach was churning.
Song Yaojie gave another quick wink.
She had no choice but to step in with her skirt lifted, carefully stepping over Huide's hand in the pool of blood on the ground, and stood in the darkness.
Outside, the sound of guards ascending the stairs and pushing open doors echoed one after another. Gu Huaijin said quietly, "Check thoroughly. Don't miss a single corner."
Song Yaojie twisted the flower bud again, and the stone door closed smoothly. The moonlight and candlelight were swallowed up by the darkness, a suffocating blackness.
The smell in the secret room was even worse. It was dark and damp, with a musty smell mixed with the lingering smell of drugs, blood, and corpses. It made her dizzy.
She took out a handkerchief, covered her mouth and nose with it, and listened helplessly to the noise outside.
At this moment, in the darkness, she discovered a small glowing hole in the door. She leaned over and found it was a small perforated mirror. Outside, Song Yaojie winked at Qi Zhu, who nodded and placed an incense burner in front of the secret room.
Song Yaojie turned and left, her voice faintly whispering, "...Why are you here again? It's the middle of the night, are you done yet?!"
Gu Huaijin's voice was very calm: "Senior Sister, I still think she is here. After I finish searching, you can rest now."
Song Yaojie argued with him constantly: "I'm so fed up with that woman of yours! How could she..."
Gu Huaijin acted as if he didn't hear anything, stepped over the threshold and entered the main room.
As soon as he entered the room, he stared straight at the wall of the secret room, almost facing her through the small hole.
Her heart skipped a beat.
This man now seemed to have a special ability. As long as she was there, he could spot her among millions of people at a glance.
He walked slowly closer, looking at the wall and the image of Guanyin on it.
She quietly moved away from the small hole.
Gu Huaijin looked at the incense burner by the wall and said to Qi Zhu, "I remember that Senior Sister's incense burner was not placed here."
Qi Zhu lowered his head and didn't dare to speak.
"And there's more." He rested his hands on his knees and looked carefully. "This incense seems to have been lit not long ago."
Song Yaojie followed him in and stood beside him. "This is my place, you can put it wherever you like. Do you think I'm hiding your woman just because I put an incense burner here?"
"Senior Sister." Gu Huaijin raised his head, his forehead and nose still elegant, but his tone was melancholic. "I always smell something bad here. Senior Sister just said several times that she..." He couldn't utter the word "dead" no matter how hard he tried. "Could it be that you were reminding me?"
He said quietly, "Senior Sister has always disliked Jiaojiao, I know that. Even when she was harmed by Heng Huang, it was because of Senior Sister's instigation."
He flirted and, by some strange coincidence, sat down in the armchair she had just sat in. "Right now, I'm too busy to punish Senior Sister. That's why she's still here, with maids to serve her and a courtyard to live in, looking respectable and serious."
Song Yaojie had never seen this side of Gu Huaijin in her life. He was so calm and composed while being so harsh that she couldn't believe it for a moment.
"No matter what, I came here today to get an answer. Even if he was kidnapped by Senior Sister, or..." He paused, "I will not give up until I see it with my own eyes."
There was a stench of corpse in front of the secret room. Song Yaojie heard that he had misunderstood something and trembled with fear. Now - now this was not something that could be misunderstood. If he really thought that she had killed that woman, she would have to pay with her life today.
She stammered, "No, this is absolutely not the case. You said I didn't like her before, and it was targeting her, that's fine, but this is absolutely not the case."
Gu Huaijin said calmly: "Song Yaojie, open the door."
He lowered his eyes, picked up a white piece from the chess box, and rubbed it between his fingers.
But suddenly he was stunned.
On the chessboard, the two sides are facing each other.
Song Yaojie couldn't stand steadily, her legs went weak and she knelt on the ground.
She couldn't get up, but she didn't soften her words. She could go down the mountain soon, and she would never let her efforts go to waste at this moment. "I don't know what you are talking about, Huai Jin."
He sniffed the white seed carefully under his nose, "For so many years, Song Yaojie, you should call me Young Master."
Suddenly, his brows frowned again.
Song Yaojie knelt on the ground, trembling like a sieve. In front of a room full of guards, this arrogant person was so scared that he shed two tears.
"This matter has nothing to do with me. Please, Master, please look into it."
Gu Huaijin remained silent. The moonlight was quiet and insects chirped under the window.
For a long time, he still didn't speak.
Song Yaojie was completely desperate, and her hands gradually clenched into fists on the ground.
He used to be so soft-hearted and kind, why is he so moody now?
He was silent. Was he thinking about which prison to put her in? Or should he go to Lianleitai first?
She had clearly come this far, her revenge complete, and she only needed a sunny day to set the mountain on fire—
Gu Huaijin suddenly said, "Forget it." He threw the chess piece into the chess box, as if all the strength had drained out of him. "Senior Sister, get out. Everyone, get out. I'll have a word with her."
Song Yaojie looked up, "She"?
Nan Qiongshuang leaned against the wall of the secret room, her heart skipping a beat.
Wu Dao muttered to himself, "Is this guy crazy? I've looked around, and he's not here. I really believed his lies."
Song Yaojie was puzzled, but obeyed. The guards and servants in the room retreated silently and closed the door. The moonlight filtered indifferently through the carved window lattices, making the room look like a prison, with clear black and white.
The room was silent for a moment.
Gu Huaijin stood up, holding the small chess piece, and slowly walked to the statue of Guanyin.
"Bright."
Nan Qiongshuang's heart trembled and she closed her eyes.
"Are you here?"
He lowered his eyes: "If you are here, why don't you talk to me."
"Jiaojiao." He touched the painting and carefully rubbed the crack in the wall behind the painting, and sure enough, he touched the stone door.
He placed his hands on the stone door, as if he could interlock his fingers with hers.
"I miss you so much. I've been so anxious these days that the centipede poison has recurred." He clutched the collar of his shirt at his chest, his forehead pressed against the stone door, feeling a chill. "It seems your heart isn't doing well either. Mr. Qu Shu came to see me and said that if this continues, you'll have a long-term heart attack."
Nan Qiong Shuang leaned against the stone gate and took a deep breath.
"Jiaojiao, why don't you want to see me? Did I make you angry in any way? If you didn't want to do what I said last time, we can just not do it."
What does that have to do with you, idiot?
"I know you haven't really liked me. I'm telling you this for no other reason than to advise you not to follow my example. If you're hurt, you need to take care of it. There's no need to drag it along just to avoid me."
"How were you hurt after jumping off the waterfall? How did you manage to survive? Did you encounter any wild animals in the mountains? How many days did you spend in the mountains? Were you scared? That night, I dreamed that you fell into the water, exhausted. There was a piece of driftwood nearby, but you didn't have the strength to climb up. You were so scared..."
How would he know.
"There are two people playing chess on the chessboard, and the Buddhist scriptures are also placed by two people sitting opposite each other. The pages and chess pieces have some of your aura. I know you are here."
"Jiaojiao..." He sighed, his voice coming through the stone door in a muffled voice, as if she had a nightmare before and Gu Huaijin was calling her through the dream, distant, but wanting to save her.
How could she be saved?
"Jiaojiao, if you really don't like me, I can let you go. You can go down the mountain, and you can refuse to take the Forget Worry Powder." He pressed his forehead against the stone door, just like they used to sleep soundly at night with their foreheads pressed against each other. "If you really don't want to..."
He suddenly vomited, and something splashed on the wall.
Nan Qiong Shuang looked out of the small hole in panic, and Wu Dao chuckled in her ears: "Stupid, this man."
Gu Huaijin bit his fist and swallowed the blood foam that was rising up. A straight line of blood flowed from the corner of his lips to his chin.
"If you really don't want to...at least tell me you're safe."
Nan Qiongshuang could hardly stand. She slowly slid down and squatted down against the dirty wall of the secret room, her head buzzing.
Wu Dao laughed loudly, like a devil.
He didn't understand that he could only be saved if she went down the mountain and they never saw each other again.
Both of them can be saved.
It would be great if he could understand.
Nan Qiong Shuang hugged her head. In the darkness, she didn't know if there was any boundary between herself and the darkness. It seemed that her body had been swallowed up and assimilated by the darkness. She could not find the way to the light. No matter how unwilling she was, she had already become the darkness itself.
After Gu Huaijin finished speaking, he was silent for a moment, then turned and left.
Song Yaojie knelt tremblingly outside the main room. When she heard the door open, she lowered her head even more.
Gu Huaijin: "I'd like to trouble you to treat her injuries these days."
Song Yaojie looked up in horror. He knew she was here, but didn't force her out?
"The Hengshan Sect is too presumptuous. I will not let Heng Huang off easily this time. However, the reason they dare to act so recklessly is because of Huide."
"Therefore, let's start with the cleansing of the mountain."
He took a step forward, his white robe brushing against the threshold, and looked up at the moon:
"Tomorrow, I will convene a meeting within the mountain to clearly list Huide's actions, piece by piece. I will investigate his interactions with the Hengshan Sect over the years, his involvement in forming cliques for personal gain, and his abuse of power for personal gain. I will bring him to the meeting for trial. Once he is convicted, I will send him to the appropriate prison."
"As for the Hengshan Sect, we will issue a challenge for the crime of murdering the Young Sect Leader's wife. I hope Senior Sister will invite Huide out tomorrow."
Song Yaojie lost her voice for a moment.
In the past, at such times, she would have yelled at him at the top of her lungs, but now, she didn't even dare to make a sound.
He took two steps, then suddenly stopped, turned around and said, "Oh, Senior Sister."
Under the moonlight, Song Yaojie knelt on the ground and looked up at him. He was facing the light, his white clothes shrouded in shadows, as if he were wearing a dark color:
"In this season, she will also be cold at night."
"Give her another blanket."
That night, Nan Qiong Shuang had a dream.
At night, the stars were hanging in the sky. She fell into the woods from an unknown height, smashing the branches and leaves into pieces. She was covered in a mess of branches and leaves, and was scratched all over by thorny branches.
He was gasping for breath, taking in little air and exhaling much.
The bone was broken, but it didn't hurt. A hot, fishy and sweet substance in her throat surged uncontrollably. She opened her lips and let out a scream. A large pool of blood formed on her collar and slowly seeped out.
I'm probably going to die.
The mountain breeze blew, and the yellow forsythia on the branches swayed slightly towards the stars.
She had no tears and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, she felt someone stretching out his arms from the branches beneath her and hugging her. Both arms passed through her armpits, clasped their hands around her chest, pressed her shoulders, and pressed her into his arms.
A broad embrace. A broad, familiar, stable, warm, and safe embrace.
Gu Huaijin rubbed his chin against the top of her head, and his voice was like coaxing a child:
"Jiaojiao, don't worry, wait for me for a moment."
"I won't leave you here alone."
She opened her eyes in panic, and what she saw was not her white lotus-patterned bed curtains in Muxue Courtyard, but the plain curtains in Shuyuzhai.
She sat up.
"You won't leave me here?"
Where to stay. Tianshan, or the gate of rebirth.
I can't stay on Tianshan Mountain.
As for the gate to the afterlife, will you help me... escape from it?
As long as I get rid of the fog knife and leave the mountain through the secret path, I can escape the gate of rebirth.
You don't know the power of the Wangsheng Sect, how can I drag you into it?
She slowly covered her face, she was very cold.
Song Yaojie didn't even knock on the door at this time, and pushed it open and came in:
"I will activate the Nine Lights Reverse Wheel today."
Nan Qiong Shuang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly heard a rumble of thunder outside. A breeze rustled the leaves, and looking out the open door behind Song Yaojie, the sky was terrifyingly gloomy, as if the dome of the sky was about to fall.
"Today?" Her injuries were indeed strong enough to allow her to leave the mountain, but it would be best if she could recuperate for a few days. However, if the Nine Lights Reverse Wheel was activated, she would be best off immediately.
She murmured, "It's going to rain soon."
"There's nothing I can do," Song Yaojie said. "Last night, Gu Huaijin said he wanted to investigate Huide and ask him to come out of seclusion. I can't wait any longer and must go down the mountain immediately. As for whether the fire can be started or not, I'll just leave it to fate."
Nan Qiong Shuang was silent.
Intellectually speaking, this is indeed the best approach.
Act now to avoid any further complications.
She said, "Then go ahead."
Song Yaojie: "Let's go together. After I open the Nine Lights Reverse Wheel, I can't turn back to ask you for directions or give you the key."
Asking Song Yaojie for the Yin-Yang Key was just a backup plan.
Unsure if she could remain undetected by Wu Dao, she made two plans: after her injuries healed, she would descend the mountain without being discovered; if she was discovered, she would take the Yin-Yang Key.
Now, Wu Dao still hasn't found her.
The Yin-Yang Key is no longer necessary.
She would go straight down the mountain.
She slowly put on her coat and sat in front of the mirror to comb her hair: "Okay, wait a moment."
Song Yaojie hurried out: "I'm going to pack my bags, you hurry up too."
The person in the makeup mirror was not the same as before. She remembered that when she was about to go to Tianshan, she sat in the candlelight, smugly showing off her dense-toothed comb made of seven-ebony fragrant wood to Wudao, saying that she was 90% sure of success.
She was indeed sure of it, and there was nothing wrong with that.
But now, the person in the mirror has a little red at the corners of his eyes, and his eyes are not as sharp and cold as before.
With some water color.
She didn't expect that a Gu Huaijin would shake her so much.
Why? Because he treated her well? Because she had never been cherished?
But think about it, Gu Huaijin didn't even know that Nan Qiongshuang existed in the world.
Nan Qiongshuang looked at the wooden comb Song Yaojie prepared for her and smiled slightly.
This is the best ending.
She left, he lived, and they never saw each other again.
But, when was the last time we saw each other?
It was in the corridor outside Baohe Hall, and she was teasing him with Li Xuanbai.
If I had known that would be the last time...
If she had known that it would be the last time they saw each other, she shouldn't have bullied him like that.
She suddenly remembered the blood that Gu Huaijin vomited on the Guanyin statue last night. It seemed as if it was burning her body through the stone door.
She pushed him too far and tortured a good man.
He was such a good guy...a good person.
He knew that she might be a spy, but still used Huiyuan Dan to save her. Because of his not-so-deep love at that time, he was willing to break the mountain rules to save her. He was whipped seventy times for her, but he didn't even dare to say a word of love.
She made him sick.
The only person who cared about her, cherished her, and would save her from danger at all costs, she actually treated him like this.
She shed two tears.
If I had known that it would be the last time...
If she had known that it would be the last time they saw each other, she would have thought carefully about what to say to him.
Maybe I should tell him to love himself well.
Love yourself.
Nan Qiongshuang was born with this understanding, but Gu Huaijin still doesn't understand it.
She gently put down the wooden comb and pinned a hairpin on herself.
I looked at myself in the mirror for one last moment in silence.
Song Yaojie knocked on the door: "I'm ready. Are you ready?"
The person in the mirror blinked slowly: "Okay."
"Let's go."
*
The nine stars rotate in reverse.
Song Yaojie placed the Yin-Yang key, which was the color of red jade and shaped like a fish tail, into the groove and waited for a moment.
The Yin-Yang key automatically fits deep into the groove and rotates half an inch.
Nan Qiongshuang and Song Yaojie looked at each other.
Soon, a long, heavy roar came from deep underground, one after another, like the footsteps of a giant.
There were several towering trees around, and suddenly several glowing lines shot out from the roots. The light penetrated into the tip of each leaf and the end of the branch. Suddenly, the leaves caught fire.
Song Yaojie took the Yin-Yang Key out of the groove and handed it to her: "Let's go. Do you want to go down the mountain with me, or wait a little longer?"
The fire beside her was already burning, and the slightly warm air brushed against her face, ruffling her loose hair and her long drooping eyelashes.
She thought for a moment: "Wait a moment. You go first." Then she told her the direction of the secret passage.
Song Yaojie: "Aren't you leaving yet?"
She doesn't speak.
Song Yaojie: "Want to say goodbye to Gu Huaijin?"
She dropped her eyes.
Song Yaojie nodded: "Then go quickly. Huaijin has done you a favor."
Nan Qiong Shuang was touched, but she didn't even laugh at her feelings.
She took a deep breath and turned around.
She turned her back to Song Yaojie and suddenly said, "What if I... I found a way to shut down the Nine Lights Reverse Wheel? What do you think?"
Song Yaojie was stunned.
After a while, she smiled and said, "Why, because this is Gu Huaijin's home?"
Nan Qiongshuang closed her eyes.
Song Yaojie smiled: "I really wanted to burn this mountain. I have hated this place for a long time. However, if I must say..."
She moved her arms, put out her hand, and placed it under her eyes.
Nan Qiong Shuang was stunned.
"I actually didn't think you wouldn't report me. I hurt you, why didn't you report me?"
Because I also hurt people.
Moreover, we are the same.
In order to survive, she has to toss and turn between men. It seems that she is playing with men, but in fact she is also played by men.
We have similar destinies, so why not cherish each other?
She didn't say anything.
Song Yaojie held her hand.
She rarely held hands with women, and the warmth of her hand made her uncomfortable for a moment.
Song Yaojie: "Thank you for not reporting me."
Her eyes, which were always stern and cold, were unexpectedly gentle and sincere, like the clear surface of a lake under the sunlight. Nan Qiong Shuang was stunned for a moment.
"You've done me a favor." Song Yaojie smiled, "I've even hurt you before."
"So, if that's your wish..." She sighed, "Then, whatever."
She looked up at the swirling dark clouds in the sky and murmured, "Actually, I've figured it out. I wanted to burn the mountain because I really hated it back then. But I hated Huide, not the mountain."
The slender raindrops fell gently on her face. Song Yaojie's beautiful face was as clean and gentle as a newborn baby. She closed her eyes. The wind was blowing, the rain was falling gently, and the leaves were rustling.
"This mountain, this sky, and these plants have nurtured me for more than ten years."
"I took my anger out on others, and maybe that was too much."
"So," she said softly, "if you can find a way to stop it, then that's fine."
Nan Qiong Shuang held her hand, applying a little force.
"The other half of the Yin-Yang Key can stop it," Song Yaojie said, "but I don't know where the other half is, so I can't find it for you."
"It's okay," she said.
The mountain wind brought with it a heat wave that blew Song Yaojie's hair. She closed her eyes and murmured:
"I was originally the daughter of a woodcutter in the mountains. When I was five years old, I fell seriously ill. It was too late to go down the mountain to find a doctor, so my father brought me up the mountain to ask the people of the Tianshan Sect to help me."
"The one who saved me at that time was Mr. Qu Shu."
"The Tianshan Sect closed the mountain, so after I went up there this time, I never came down again. I stayed there and became a female disciple. Since then, I have stayed there all the time."
"When I was little, I loved the sea of yellow roses at the foot of Hanxue Peak the most. I longed to learn Qinggong so I could jump into the Ice Silk Formation and take a closer look. Later, after I learned it, my master warned me that the Ice Silk Formation was very dangerous and told me not to go in. But I still went in once."
"That time, it was Master who personally rescued me." She opened her eyes and smiled. "You didn't expect that, did you? Huide has done so many filthy things, but the time I was trapped in the Ice Silk Formation, it was he who personally rescued me."
Nan Qiong Shuang found it difficult to understand and laughed strangely.
"There's also Hualongtan. I've actually caught fish there before." Song Yaojie blinked and smiled slyly. "I've also watched the stars from Yuhuan Terrace, got drunk in Butterfly Valley, and skipped stones on the water in Tianchi."
As she spoke, she laughed for a while, then suddenly started to cry, and calmly wiped her tears with her sleeve.
"So, if you want to stay on this mountain, then go ahead." She smiled at her with red eyes, "If you have the ability, it's fine for you to stay."
She slowly released her hand and turned around.
"However, the past is gone. From now on, it will be a brand new world." She carried her bag, looked back and smiled, "How I live in the future depends on my ability."
Nan Qiong Shuang stood there and looked at her quietly for a while.
"Gone?" Song Yaojie said.
Nan Qiongshuang nodded.
Song Yaojie waved her hand, as carefree and relaxed as a swallow. Who would have thought she was so strict and strict when they first met? "Well, let's go. If you want to go down the mountain, do it quickly. If not, help me raise Bai Tang."
Nan Qiong Shuang rubbed her brows behind her: "I hate cats. They shed hair."
Song Yaojie waved and walked away, her figure gradually disappearing into the forest: "Then, leave it to Huai Jin to raise. He will treat all living things well."
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