Chapter 65
Gu Shuo was paying attention to the movements outside, while Su Xuan felt anxious looking at Zong Ning who was covered in thorns.
At this moment, a strange feeling came over Su Xuan. He didn't react at first, until Gu Shuo called out softly, the voice a little serious. Su Xuan realized that there was a force that seemed to be pulling them out of the body.
This force is exactly the same as the force that pulled their souls and bodies into the space-time tunnel in the beginning!
Is it Yan Ningan?
Did Yan Ning'an open the time tunnel again?!
Su Xuan's heart tightened, and he called out to Ye Yun, "Ah!"
Ye Yun naturally also felt that strangeness.
Even Zong Ning noticed it—he quickly glanced at the two dogs, then returned his gaze to Ye Yun, and asked warily, "What's going on?"
Ye Yun did not answer him, but held Zong Ning's hand.
That hand had just strangled his neck, but Ye Yun held it without any fear.
Even Zong Ning was stunned.
Ye Yun curved his eyebrows and smiled.
Mingming's smile was so bright, just like the faint morning light outside the temple at this moment, but that morning light was mixed with a hint of complexity and sadness.
——This smile made Zong Ning feel a little nervous.
Ye Yun said softly, "Teacher Zong, let me call you Teacher Zong... Before I met you, I actually lived alone for a long time. Although I went to the film and television studio after graduating from university, every day I was surrounded by many extras who were waiting for opportunities like me, but they were not family after all... not even friends. So, apart from reciting lines on the set, I rarely had the opportunity to speak because no one would talk to me, and no one would even listen to me."
Ye Yun smiled and said, "But after you get to know me, you should understand... I'm a chatterbox. I actually like talking a lot. How can a person who doesn't talk recite his lines well? I hope to talk to different people every day. When I'm happy, I talk; when I'm unhappy, I talk too. I also like talking to you, although I may seem to be particularly annoyed with you at the beginning, but that's all fake..."
Zong Ning was stunned.
Su Xuan and Gu Shuo fell into silence.
Ye Yun's eyes became red, and his voice became slightly hoarse. "I like to hear you say that I will definitely become an excellent actor. I like to hear you encourage me not to underestimate myself. I like you to praise me for being able to act well in any role, and that one day someone will see me. Even though I know these words are sometimes just said to coax me, I still like it—"
Ye Yun laughed at his own embarrassment when he said this. He sniffed, looked up at Zong Ning, and said, "I also like you who come to pester me every day, I like your persistence, I like you who quietly tuck me in in the middle of the night, and I like you who hug me from behind when I feel wronged because of various things that happened during the day. Teacher Zong, you just look cold, but you are actually a very gentle person, so please, please don't misunderstand yourself."
“Don’t misunderstand yourself, and don’t misunderstand the world.”
"This world is populated by all kinds of people, and all kinds of things happen. Perhaps you've encountered bad people and been hurt, but that's not the whole picture of the world. In the wider world, in the more distant future, you'll meet more kind, interesting, and gentle people, and encounter more things that make you happy and open-minded. If you treat them gently, they will treat you gently in return... So, look at everything more calmly, and also look at the people before you more calmly, okay?"
"Your hands are so cold," Ye Yun said hoarsely, holding Zong Ning's hand. "Someone must have put a piece of cloth in front of your eyes. It was that person who made your hands so cold, right?"
This hand was much colder than the hand Ye Yun had touched more than a thousand years ago, Zong Ning's hand, just like a piece of ice.
The lost body temperature must have been stolen from Zong Ning's body by Qixu.
Qizhong has been inducing and devouring Zong Ning's negative emotions for many years, and it is impossible that there is no impact on Zong Ning's body.
But it doesn’t matter. More than a thousand years later, Zong Ning is still alive and well. He is just sleeping temporarily. The mysterious sorcerer brought them back to more than a thousand years ago, which also means that Zong Ning’s life is there.
——They just need to work together and grab that glimmer of hope.
"Teacher Zong," Ye Yun took a deep breath and said, "Let's work together to take back what others have taken from you!"
Zong Ning subconsciously glanced at Ye Yun who was holding his hand tightly.
Zong Ning didn't understand most of what Ye Yun said, but he could feel some of the more concise and clear things.
...such as body temperature.
This seemed to be the first time he became aware of his own temperature.
At this moment, he could also clearly feel the warmth from the little beggar's palm being transmitted to his hand bit by bit.
Rob?
She said she wanted to "get it back" with him, but she covered his hand first.
He had clearly hurt him just now, but this guy seemed to be completely unaware of fear. No, it’s not so much that he was unaware of fear, but rather that he was willing to take the risk of being hurt by him, and he still exposed his most vulnerable part to him...
A strange feeling arose in Zong Ning's heart.
Suddenly, the hand loosened. Zong Ning was startled and reflexively clasped it tightly.
He sensed something and quickly looked up at the little beggar, whose eyes had begun to fade.
Zong Ning's heart tightened. He pulled Ye Yun closer, stared at him and said, "Are you going to leave this body? Didn't you say you would come with me to get it back? Where are you going?"
Ye Yun's vision was rapidly darkening and his consciousness was fading away bit by bit. He knew that the time had come and that the force was about to completely pull him out of his body.
"Together," he murmured, wanting to shake Zong Ning's hand firmly, "but we can't stay here for too long. We probably have to jump to the next destination first. Teacher Zong, we'll wait for you there, okay? You must come..."
Zong Ning's face darkened. "Leave first? Are you really that insincere when you say you're going together?!"
However, this time, no matter how grumpy and angry he was, Ye Yun's eyelids closed uncontrollably.
Zong Ning finally panicked. He clenched Ye Yun's hand and asked, "You haven't told me who you are, what your relationship is to me, and why you care about me so much?"
Ye Yun closed his eyes, a bitter smile playing on his lips: "...Teacher Zong, none of that matters anymore. The future may change, and we may never meet again. You just need to live well... and hold on to the one you truly love..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Yun fell completely into darkness.
Zong Ning froze in place as he looked at the little beggar who collapsed in his arms.
*
I don’t know if it was because the circumstances of the spell this time were special, but when the few people closed their eyes and opened them again, they didn’t immediately move to the next destination, but appeared in the torrent of time and space.
They returned to their own bodies, each carrying a bag on their backs. Light and shadows flashed around them, and occasionally a picture flew by.
As soon as Su Xuan regained consciousness, he heard two shouts.
The first voice was from Yan Ningan: "Is everyone back?"
The second voice was from Gu Shuo: "Ah Xuan?"
Su Xuan shook his head and said quickly, "I'm back. Where are Dad and Ye Yun?"
Lu Tao responded enthusiastically: "I'm back too!"
Ye Yun whispered, "Well, Mr. Su, don't worry."
Seeing that everyone was fine, Gu Shuo frowned and asked, "Yan Ning'an, what happened there?"
The only reason Yan Ning'an would activate the spell formation without the cooperation of the other five people was that he encountered a very critical situation.
Upon hearing this, Yan Ning'an told the story of what he and Lu Tao had just experienced, which made Su Xuan and the others look gloomy.
——That crouching creature, also called Ran Yi, had clearly been planning to leave the village, but he still spread the plague. Was it just to harvest a wave of emotional energy in the end?
How long had he and Zong Ning been together, and how many times had he done this behind Zong Ning's back?
After all, how did Zong Ning get to know Ran Yi?
Gu Shuo's eyes flashed, and he said, "Look at the scene behind you."
Several people turned around and a picture flashed by quickly. Even if it was just a moment, they could still see clearly that it was the picture of Zong Ning in the temple!
*
In the temple.
Zong Ning froze there.
After a few silent seconds, the little beggar lying in Zong Ning's arms suddenly moved.
Zong Ning came back to his senses from his stiffness, his pupils suddenly constricted. He quickly lifted the little beggar's chin and locked his eyes on the little beggar's face: "You——"
The little beggar looked at him blankly, then looked around in shock, and said in panic: "Where is this place? How did I get here? Who are you?"
The two dogs beside him had experienced the same fainting and waking up. They now surrounded Zong Ning and thought he was a bad guy who intended to hurt the little beggar. They barked at him and showed their teeth.
The two dogs and one person looked completely different from before, and it was clear that they had no recollection of what had just happened...
Zong Ning's words were stuck in his throat, his eyes darkened, and in the midst of this barking, a pair of footsteps stopped not far away.
Zong Ning raised his eyes and met the gaze of Ran Yi who had returned late.
The latter was dressed in white, with some morning dew on his hair.
He turned his back to the morning light, his expression somewhat gloomy. He chuckled and asked, "Are you all awake already?"
Zong Ning pushed the bewildered little beggar behind him, was silent for a moment, and said coldly, "Take the two dogs and go out through the back door."
Although the little beggar was confused, he could sense a strangely tense atmosphere. After climbing up using his hands and feet, he called out tremblingly, "Abai, Ahei, let's go, let's go quickly..."
A spiritual power chain attacked, but was fiercely opened by Zong Ning. The invisible forces collided with each other and made a loud noise. A violent airflow rushed towards the little beggar. The little beggar was slapped forward, screamed, and almost stumbled to the ground. This time, his face was pale, his hands and feet were trembling, and he grabbed the two dogs and ran away!
Ran Yi threw out the spiritual chain again: "Aning, this little beggar and the two dogs don't seem normal. We can't let them go so easily."
Zong Ning stood up, and the overwhelming spiritual power directly suppressed all of Ran Yi's strength.
Zong Ning had never displayed such powerful strength in front of him. When he realized that he could not move for a moment, Ran Yi's face changed slightly and his expression became restrained.
"Aning, what are you doing to me?" He stared straight at Zong Ning and said slowly, "You should have seen the true face of that little beggar and the two dogs, right? You actually attacked me for them?"
Zong Ning didn't answer, but asked coldly: "Where did you go just now?"
Ran Yi paused and said, "I just woke up and went out for a walk to relax. What do you think I did? When did you become so sensitive and suspicious, or -"
Ran Yi said slowly: "Did that little beggar say something to you?"
Zong Ning looked at the man in front of him.
Since he was born into the world more than 20 years ago, this person has been by his side the longest - although it has only been for three short years.
Zong Ning actually doesn't like traveling with companions. He is too lazy to talk to others and prefers to be alone.
To be more precise, after experiencing the experience of being blindly curious about mortals and trusting mortals like a baby when he was first born, and being almost chopped to death like a chicken or a duck, and then spending a full twenty years in escape and hiding, Zong Ning, as a phoenix, became disgusted with this world.
He saw all the fear and cowardice of mortals, and all their calculations and greed.
He hates the hypocrisy and meanness of mortals and all kinds of filth in human nature.
He didn't want to get close to any mortal, or even any living being, not to mention that he couldn't control the words that appeared on his face. The word "virtue" that appeared on his face would only bring him trouble.
Ran Yi appeared at this time - when Zong Ning was extremely disgusted with everything.
He was surprised: "You are actually a phoenix?"
After seeing the words on Zong Ning's face clearly, he laughed and said, "Are you really a phoenix? This is the first time I've seen a phoenix look at people with such indifference! Interesting, interesting——"
He smiled, put his hands behind his back, leaned down slightly, and said to Zong Ning, who was sitting under the tree and looking at him coldly, "Everything you have experienced, I have experienced. Everything you have felt, I also feel the same. Mortals are annoying, right? They are as fragile as ants, but they still try to defeat you and devour you without knowing the consequences. But how can I put it..."
He smiled and said, "There are many interesting mortals in this world. Zong Ning, your name is Zong Ning, right? I am a first-generation Ran Yi fish, so my name is Ran Yi. Come with me on our journey, and I will show you a more interesting side of this world."
In fact, Zong Ning was not interested in Ran Yi. He felt that the appearance of this monster was inexplicable, his enthusiasm was also inexplicable, and his proposal was extremely boring and incomprehensible.
But at that moment, what made him not refuse, and what made him stand up after the silence?
Maybe it is the morning light rising from the top of the mountain, maybe it is a drop of rain falling from the clouds, maybe it is the song of a bird passing through the treetops, maybe it is a flower quietly blooming by the roadside.
Maybe it was something he was still secretly longing for in his heart.
Even if he didn't want to admit it, he had indeed thought about it in his heart -
Perhaps by following this man dressed in white and always smiling, he can grasp the thing that he once longed to grasp when he was first born and saw this world.
…
——Then he saw humans cruelly stabbing and killing their own kind for money. Not satisfied with just robbing the money, they stabbed people until their bodies were full of bloody holes before leaving with a loud laugh.
——Then he saw that humans ignored the people suffering from drought in the struggle for power. One dry body after another fell on the cracked earth. Tears were the last moisture that the earth received.
——Then he saw human beings sinking in desire. For the sake of beauty, they would even ignore the murder of their wives and children, and while corpses were lying in the hall, they were still having sex.
——Then he saw humans rubbing their hands together and saying to them flatteringly: "As long as you can help me become an immortal, I can give you two immortals anything you want. Beauties, money, my wife and children, even someone's life - as long as you ask for it, I will definitely give it to you!"
…
It was even more rotten and muddy than anything Zong Ning had ever seen before. Those stinking and filthy things that looked like corpses made Zong Ning feel cold all over and stiff. It also made him feel nauseous and want to vomit, and he fell into a deeper disgust for all of this.
Ran Yi was right beside him, and he said with a half-smile, "It's very interesting, isn't it, the world."
"A Ning, this is all so interesting."
"Come with me, let's go on together and travel around the whole world, okay?"
As the man said this, Zong Ning followed him in a daze. He never thought about what this man's purpose was.
He said he was Ran Yiyu, but he had never shown his demonic form in front of Zong Ning, nor had he ever displayed any of the abilities that Ran Yiyu should have.
He said that he wanted to show Zong Ning more interesting things in this world, but the dirty and rotten human nature had gradually paralyzed Zong Ning's perception, making him like a walking corpse, following Ran Yi until now.
He forgot he could leave, he forgot he could end it all, he didn't even realize—
There was an endless aura coming from him, flowing towards Ran Yi.
——Even at this moment, the latter was swallowing his breath in big gulps!
Zong Ning stared at Ran Yi and said slowly, "My breath, is it delicious?"
Ran Yi paused, and the invisible aura flowing towards him was temporarily interrupted.
Ran Yishi laughed: "Aning, what are you talking about?"
Zong Ning opened him and strode out of the temple, but Ran Yi's power attacked him again and blocked him!
Ran Yi narrowed his eyes and said, "Where do you want to go?!"
Zong Ning released tremendous spiritual power from his body, rushing towards Ran Yi like a huge wave!
This blow was merciless. Ran Yi was knocked back ten meters, his disguise completely shed. He said slowly, "Is it really that little beggar who told you?"
This sentence acknowledged his identity and also acknowledged that he had just gone out and attacked the villagers.
Zong Ning clenched his hands and asked coldly, "How many times have you done something like this?"
Having said that, Ran Yi no longer concealed his feelings and sneered, "Why don't you calculate how much distance you've walked with me, and how many villages like this we've passed by!"
Zong Ning's fierce blow threw Ran Yi more than ten meters away. Ran Yi was unable to react and hit a tree hard, spitting out blood!
He stared at Zong Ning and said, "It seems that you have been hiding your true spiritual power from me!"
Zong Ning didn't waste any words. His spiritual power turned into tens of thousands of arrows and shot towards Ran Yi. Ran Yi dodged while also attacking with his spiritual power. Suddenly, a strong wind blew up in the whole yard. The invisible force left marks on the wooden pillars of the temple, knocking away mud and tiles, breaking branches, grass leaves and sand, and the wind was whistling!
Ran Yi gradually began to lose the upper hand, Zong Ning's spiritual power suppressed him so much that he was almost pinned to the ground!
Ran Yi's face turned ugly. He didn't expect Zong Ning to be so powerful. He couldn't help but glance at the gap on the left. He gritted his teeth and began to look for a way to retreat, but in the next second he was hit hard by a spiritual power attacking from the left and flew away. Zong Ning's cold voice rang out.
"Just now I wanted to leave, but you stopped me. In that case, don't even think about leaving now."
A stream of spiritual power flew straight up and completely subdued Ran Yi!
Ran Yi's face drastically changed, and he lay on the ground, unable to move. He gritted his teeth, veins popping out on his forehead, and suddenly he sneered, "I stopped you because I thought walking with you for the past three years was quite enjoyable. Zong Ning, I did feed on your disgust, anger, and rage, but I never intended to take your life. I'm a monster that feeds on the emotions of living beings, and you're incompatible with this world. We're the best match."
"Why, do you really think I want to change your view of mortals and the human world? What a joke! This human world is just as you can see, it's full of filth. There's no beauty to speak of! Mortals are just so despicable!"
"Do you think you're the only one who's been preyed upon by them? They've even ripped me open before I even transformed into my human form. If a pack of wolves hadn't suddenly appeared and scared them away, I'd be dead!" Ran Yi said with a ferocious expression, "Humans are meant to be our food. All you have to do is join me in hating and despising them forever. As long as I don't hurt you, why can't we just keep going on?!"
"Why do you want to kill me now? To avenge those despicable villagers? You obviously hate them too, don't you? What are you so angry about now?"
Before Ran could finish his last words, he felt the force that was strangling him increase again, and he could no longer utter a word.
He heard Zong Ning slowly say, "I hate ants, so I don't want to become one. I even less want to walk with an ant and be exploited by him under the guise of a high-sounding scheme."
At this moment, Ran Yi's face turned pale: "You said I... am... an ant?"
Zong Ning suddenly tightened his grip, and Ran Yi's body was squeezed to the limit by the spiritual power——
Zong Ning's strength was far greater than his! If he didn't make a decisive move, he would have no chance of escape. However, to escape in this situation, he would have to drain all his strength. If so, how long would it take him to recover to his current state?
Ran Yi hated Zong Ning immensely. He stared at him intently, his mouth wide open, his face flushed red as he spoke haltingly, "You think... you're not an ant... Yes, I used you... I also spread the plague, reaping the fear and despair of those mortals... But didn't you care?"
He laughed strangely. "Have you ever cared about those people? ... You never looked back at them, no matter if they were mean or those who had been kind to you... Do you still remember the couple who took us in?"
When Zong Ning heard this, his face suddenly darkened: "You——"
"I wonder if they have died of illness after half a year? Hahahaha——" The next second, a powerful spiritual power burst out from Ran Yi's body, directly detonating Zong Ning's power!
This power almost drained Ran Yi, so how could he not be able to check Zong Ning for a moment?
Ran Yi instantly took off his upper body clothes, grew wings, and flew out like an arrow. Zong Ning also transformed into a phoenix and followed closely. However, he was already one step slower because of Ran Yi's full strength to counterbalance him. When he caught up with him, Ran Yi had already disappeared. He only left a sentence, which was carried to Zong Ning's ears by the strong wind.
"Zong Ning, one day I will come back and kill you!"
*
The picture has not appeared since then.
The five people who stayed in the time tunnel fell into silence for a moment.
They were frightened by the conversation between the two and felt a sense of oppression.
Su Xuan said in a deep voice: "That tiptoe is not dead..."
They guessed that the spell on Zong Ning was related to the tiptoe. Without giving them any hints, they tried to change Zong Ning's future by changing the past. This was also the reason why Ye Yun confessed to Zong Ning.
But if this little thing is not dead and threatens to come back to find Zong Ning, then the future will not be changed at all?
After all, Zong Ning had already turned against the heeled creature and killed it, so did their intervention only speed up the process but did not change the result of Zong Ning being cursed?
"Let's continue according to the original plan," Gu Shuo said calmly. "Whether the future will change, and if not, what will we do? We won't know until we reach our true destination."
——And the real destination was probably the night that Zong Ning had long forgotten.
Ye Yun glanced at the colorful lights around him.
Ran Yi finally mentioned a couple, and Zong Ning's expression made Ye Yun feel nervous.
...What happened to Zong Ning? Did he...did he look back at the people he had met? If those people had really died of the plague long ago, what would have become of Zong Ning?
How much time had passed since their destination and the early morning in the temple?
Unfortunately, without pictures, everything is unsolvable.
He withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and his eyes became firm - it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, they will meet again in the future, don't worry about this moment, they will continue their journey soon.
The five of them exchanged glances and waited together for the second half of the journey.
While waiting, Su Xuan suddenly whispered, "If the place where Zong Ning's 'that night' took place, which is also the destination of our time travel, is in the capital... then isn't it possible that the time of our past encounter is very close?"
After all, before Su Xuan went to the capital, he had been living in the mountains and fields. His meeting with Gu Shuo could only have happened in the capital.
Beside him, Gu Shuo heard this and was silent for a moment before responding, "Yeah."
"Zong Ning said that he and I should not have entered the capital at the same time. Maybe it was before, maybe it was after. Of course, it is also possible that there was actually a difference of many years in between..." Su Xuan murmured.
Gu Shuo said softly: "But he knows me."
Su Xuan was stunned and turned his head suddenly to look at Gu Shuo.
"I didn't know he was a first-generation monster before, let alone that he was born more than a thousand years ago. But after I found out, I thought about it," Gu Shuo paused and smiled at Su Xuan, "Maybe he saw me more than a thousand years ago."
"So, the time should be very close." Gu Shuo took Su Xuan's hand and said slowly, "Ah Xuan, maybe we can see myself from more than a thousand years ago."
More than a thousand years ago, Ashuo...
Su Xuan was stunned.
He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, everything went dark again.
When I opened my eyes again...
Yan Ningan breathed a sigh of relief: "This time I'm wearing it, so there shouldn't be any mistakes."
They were in an alley, sitting on the ground in a scattered manner.
There were not many people on the street outside the alley, so their sudden appearance did not cause any unusual movement.
Not only the body and clothes were there, but even the bag and food were there. It was perfect.
Yan Ningan muttered to himself, "Alright, according to the plan, the first step after arriving at the destination is to change the luggage. Hey, it seems that time travel still has an impact on spiritual power. Although the spiritual power has returned this time, it seems to be weakened by half. What about you guys——"
As soon as he raised his head, he saw Su Xuan crouching at the entrance of the alley. He looked around but didn't see the person he was looking for. He turned around and said with a sullen face, "A Shuo didn't come with us. He's gone!"
Only then did Yan Ning'an see clearly—there were only four of them who fell into the alley together!
*
Gu Shuo was awakened by an itch in his throat.
He frowned and coughed lightly. As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard someone beside him calling out, "My dear, you're finally awake!"
Gu Shuo was startled to see a servant lying beside the bed. He excitedly asked someone to bring the medicine and help him up.
Gu Shuo froze as his long hair fell from his shoulders.
He could clearly feel that only half of his spirit core was left in his body.
Without the restraint of a complete spiritual core, the powerful spiritual energy rushed through his body.
Gu Shuo supported his body with his hands and began to cough violently, feeling a fishy smell in his throat.
The servant said in panic, "Sir!"
Gu Shuo raised his hand and coughed for a long time before he could finally raise his hand.
His Adam's apple rolled, and he lowered his eyes, a shadow falling in them. He opened his lips and said in a hoarse voice, "Nothing."
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