Chapter 82
On the snow-capped peak, the moon was large and round, illuminating the entire snow-covered mountain. Every snowflake was crystal clear and sparkling. The falling snowflakes blended with the moonlight.
Two figures suddenly appeared out of thin air atop the snow-covered peak. In this night of swirling snow and a bright moon, Jin Hua stood there, his figure forlorn, as if standing outside the void. He held the powerless Xie Wen in one arm, staring intently into the vast distance, his figure swaying erratically in the snow and moonlight.
He really did take Xie Wen out of that memory scroll.
Xie Wen recalled the last scene she saw in the scroll: Chu Xianyue's broken gaze rushing towards her figure. Everything flashed by rapidly, getting smaller and smaller, until finally turning into a single dot in Xie Wen's eyes.
Xie Wen tried to condense spiritual energy in her hand, but even after using all her strength and sweating profusely, she couldn't condense even a tiny bit of spiritual energy. Finally, her hand fell limply to her side.
Jin Huaran gazed into the distance and said, "Awen, don't waste your energy. Stay obediently in my arms."
As he spoke, he suddenly hugged Xie Wen tightly, forcing her cheek to touch his. His face was even colder than Xie Wen had imagined. Jin Huaran even rubbed his face against hers, like a puppy.
The moon above the snow-capped peak was so big and bright that the snow-covered ground was as bright as day. Jin Huaran helped Xie Wen sit down slowly and let Xie Wen lean on his shoulder. The two of them looked like a pair of celestial lovers, sitting on the snow-capped peak and admiring the moon together.
Jin Huaran: "Awen, is the moon beautiful tonight?"
Xie Wen said slowly, "It's so round, it's so bright I can hardly open my eyes."
"Was the moon this round thousands of years ago among the Feathered People?"
Jin Huaran: "Yes. But soon, our people will also be able to see such a moon."
“I have found a good place for our people. This time it is truly a good place to live without any disturbance, in Buzhou Mountain in the South China Sea. It is said to be the closest place to the heavens.”
Xie Wen: "But isn't the closest place to the Heavenly Realm the Hidden Cloud Divine Mountain?"
Jin Huaran chuckled and said, "Yunyin Divine Mountain is a lie. It's exaggerated and made to seem mysterious, but it's just a mountain hidden by a barrier. They have disciples on the watchtower of Yunyin Divine Mountain, and they let whoever they like see the mountain through the barrier."
Xie Wen asked, "How did you know?"
Jin Huaran smiled. "Isn't it obvious?"
Xie Wen smirked: "Alright, alright, you figured it out at a glance. You're pretty amazing."
Jin Huaran was suddenly taken aback by Xie Wen's words. Xie Wen's gentleness and smile were so rare and precious to him. He hadn't wanted them before simply because he couldn't have them. Unable to have them, he even wanted to destroy her gentleness and smile towards others. But now, for the first time, he tasted what it felt like. So beautiful.
His ears gradually turned red. He turned his head away and after a long while, he suddenly said, "Let's go to the South China Sea together with our people. There, we won't have to live a life of hiding and being hunted by everyone anymore. No one will discriminate against or hate you. We can see our relatives and friends again. Awen, they are waiting for us there. They have always been waiting for us to take them to that good place, to live happily ever after. They won't have to suffer pain and torment all the time anymore."
"Awen, let's go to the South China Sea together." Jin Huaran turned to look at Xie Wen and repeated this sentence. The words were too full of promise and too beautiful, as if he were talking in his sleep.
Xie Wen said, "Okay, if it's really possible, of course I'll go."
At that moment, she saw his clear eyes tremble slightly in the moonlight, as if he hadn't expected Xie Wen to agree so readily. This made Jin Huaran feel like it was all a dream. He subconsciously tightened his grip on Xie Wen's hand, feeling her warmth and her real presence, before finally letting out a slight sigh of relief. This wasn't a dream.
Xie Wen's hand, which was hanging by her side, was suddenly grasped by another hand. She was startled; his hand was as cold as his body. She looked up at him; Jin Huaran was gazing into the distance, his eyes bright, whether from the light reflected off the snow or from their natural brightness, was unclear. It was the first time Xie Wen had seen him with such clear eyes.
Jin Huaran turned to look at Xie Wen. Xie Wen paused, thinking that he had noticed something, but he just smiled at Xie Wen and said, "It's almost dawn. Let's go together."
Xie Wen asked in confusion, "Where to?"
Jin Huaran: "Go to rescue our people, go to that good place where there is no pain and no blood."
Xie Wen's lips twitched into a smile, and he slowly nodded under Jin Huaran's gaze. "Are you going to sacrifice me?" To completely unlock the Heavenly Lock, the sacrifice of a member of the Feather Clan is required.
Previously, Jin Hua Ran didn't know that Xie Wen was also a member of the Feather Clan, and he planned to leap forward and sacrifice himself. Now that he knows Xie Wen is also a member of the Feather Clan, he can also sacrifice himself. At the same time, she is still in his hands and at his mercy.
What will he choose?
Xie Wen sat quietly atop the snow-capped mountain. The full moon in the sky gradually became sharper, and the sky gradually turned twilight blue. The moon became a very small crescent, like a tiny iron hook clamped onto the sky that was about to brighten. The wind and snow intensified, and it was in this wind and snow that Xie Wen heard Jin Huaran's voice. The voice seemed to have traveled a long way to reach Xie Wen's ears.
He said, "No."
Xie Wen's hand trembled.
Jin Huaran didn't look at her, nor did she see it. The crimson light of the red blood bead on Xie Wen's neck was like silk threads, slowly seeping into Xie Wen's body. The red puppet curse mark on her forehead also gradually faded away. As the crescent moon in the sky was completely overshadowed by the rising light, the curse mark on Xie Wen's forehead also slowly dissipated.
The spiritual power of the blood bead poured into Xie Wen's body, forcefully breaking the shackles of the Puppet Curse.
Xie Wen's limp body was filled with power, and she silently summoned Yao Fang.
Jin Huaran stared intently as the sky fully brightened. The wind and snow intensified, snowflakes pelting his face. He turned to Xie Wen and said, "Let's go."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cracking sound rang out. In that instant, Xie Wen plunged the Yao Fang fan deep into Jin Huaran's chest. This time, Xie Wen left no room for mercy; the fan pierced through his heart.
However, it was their two hearts that were bleeding.
She knew she had the same wound on her chest, and her blood flowed from there just like his. In an instant, the snow-capped peak turned crimson, looking down from above like a bright, blood-red flower blooming on the snow.
Jin Huaran's eyes shifted from blankness to hatred. He stared intently at Xie Wen, his gaze completely shrouded in darkness, like the moon in the sky that dimmed completely as dawn broke. Jin Huaran grasped the hand Xie Wen had used to stab him. Whether from the force or the pain, the veins on the back of his hand and neck bulged, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Jin Huaran gripped the fan tightly, and without blinking, pulled it out. With a snap, the blood-soaked fan was casually tossed aside.
Jin Huaran stared at Xie Wen, gripping her hand tightly. Xie Wen was somewhat frightened by Jin Huaran's appearance; it looked as if he was about to devour her alive.
Xie Wen tried to back away, but Jin Huaran stepped forward, closing in. His blood-soaked hands suddenly cupped Xie Wen's head. Jin Huaran's eyes were bloodshot as he fiercely said, "You're insane! You'd rather die with me than kill me? Fine! Then let's die together! I'd be happy to die with you. You'll never escape me for all eternity! You were lying to me! You lied to me!"
Xie Wen, barely clinging to life, sneered, "So what if I lied to you? Stop deceiving yourself and indulging in wishful thinking. If this world is destroyed, how much better off will our people be than humans? We'll all be in the same boat! What you just said is impossible!"
"It's possible!" he suddenly yelled, drowning out Xie Wen's voice, as if trying to cover up some truth and continue deceiving himself. Jin Huaran murmured, "Awen, I'm telling you! Even if it's impossible, as long as we don't have a good time, those humans won't have a good time either!"
Immediately afterwards, Jin Huaran searched his body and found two life-extending pills. He swallowed one himself and forcefully stuffed the other into Xie Wen's mouth. These pills were not true life-extending pills; they could only prolong a person's life for a few hours when they were about to die.
Jin Huaran cast the puppet spell on Xie Wen again. He scooped her up, holding her as if she were a puddle of water, and slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on the direction of the Canglan River. Standing atop the snow-capped mountain, one could vaguely see the eternally unchanging black hole suspended above the Canglan River.
He leaned down and looked at Xie Wen in his arms. Blood kept oozing from the hole in her chest. The blood flowing from their wounds almost soaked their clothes, making them sticky and greasy. In the frigid snow mountain, the blood was blown by the cold wind and gradually froze into frost.
Jin Huaran leaned down, her face pressed against Xie Wen's. This time, both of their faces were icy cold, like two blocks of ice colliding. Blood and tears mingled and mingled, making their faces sticky and sticky.
Xie Wen couldn't tell if the tears were from his eyes or his own, but they had both of their faces wet.
Jin Huaran murmured, "The time has come. Awen, let's go."
In the blink of an eye, she flew over thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. Xie Wen saw the huge "flower" blooming on the snow-capped peak. In her blurred vision, it grew smaller and smaller until it turned into a red dot. The majestic snow mountain also moved away from her and disappeared behind the ever-receding clouds.
Xie Wen's head felt heavy. She instinctively felt like she was teetering on the brink of death. She had no strength to breathe, and even raising her eyes to look at Man Jinhua Ran took all her strength.
However, all she saw was his taut jawline, sharp and resolute.
Xie Wen awaited her inevitable death. She had no other options left; she had done everything she could, yet she still couldn't stop it all.
In the end, she quietly waited for him to lock her up, and then she completely gave up hope.
With her last strength, Xie Wen asked Jin Huaran, "Wasn't the Spirit Transformation Pendant destroyed? How could you open the first lock?" She had guessed from Jin Huaran's confident demeanor that the Spirit Transformation Pendant wouldn't be destroyed so easily. He must have had a backup plan.
Jin Huaran said, "Are you worried about me?"
Xie Wen stared at him, not wanting to waste any more effort. Jin Huaran stopped teasing her and said, "I opened the first lock long ago. When the barrier shattered, I used the Spirit Transformation Pendant. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to see the black hole on the Canglan River. And the Spirit Transformation Pendant you destroyed later was obviously fake."
Xie Wen smirked; she knew it. He was a cunning and calculating man, full of hidden schemes. If he didn't achieve his goal, he'd rather die than not get out.
At dawn on the banks of the Canglan River, everything began to resume its normal rhythm. Ferryboats slowly made their way to both banks, one after another. Since Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue diverted water from the Canglan River to each household, the river level had dropped considerably. However, many more people, feeling blessed by the river's waters, held it in even greater reverence, frequently coming to offer prayers. As a result, more people crossed the Canglan River, and the ferries moored along its banks became crowded, setting sail for each other as soon as it was light.
Just then, Jin Huaran, carrying Xie Wen, soared over the Canglan River. Below, some people standing on the ferry saw them, initially mistaking them for southward-flying geese, but upon closer inspection, they realized they were two people! As they flew past, it seemed as if blood had fallen onto the deck, its bright red color striking.
Flying across the Canglan River on a sword has always been forbidden. After that incident, people revered the Canglan River as a god, believing it to be their protector. They were even more averse to flying directly across the Canglan River, believing it would offend the gods.
The man cried out, "Someone's flying up there!"
What are they going to do?!
More and more people witnessed this scene, and everyone looked up at the sky.
Yun Yan has temporarily taken over the affairs of the Tianyan Sword Sect on behalf of Chu Xianyue. His trip this time was due to another request from the people below the mountain to exorcise evil spirits. Since the barrier was destroyed, evil creatures have been running rampant in the human world, and the number of requests from the people below the mountain has doubled compared to before.
Whenever he had free time, Yun Yan would accept petitions and go down the mountain to exorcise evil spirits. In recent days, he had traveled thousands of miles to many places. He kept accepting prayers and traveling to various places. Only he knew that at the same time, he was also trying to find the traces of his master and senior sister.
He gradually tried to understand them and accept them. But they would never come back, never see him again.
Yun Yan sat in the cabin, preparing to cross the Canglan River to Youzhou. At this moment, the commotion outside made him unable to calm down. He thought irritably that these people outside were utterly boring. It was just someone flying across the Canglan River, why make such a fuss?
He irritably lifted the curtain and glanced casually at the sky. That one glance sent shivers down his spine. He didn't know what he saw, but his pupils suddenly shrank to an enormous size. In his eyes, he saw Jin Huaran carrying Xie Wen, leaping towards the center of the black hole.
Everything happened in an instant; he had no time to do anything, not even to call out "Senior Sister!"
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