Does Senior Sister Shengchen like those wild and untamed types? ...
Blood......
Blood flowed joyfully forward along the straight, gleaming blade.
When it gathers at the tip of the knife, it is like the most translucent and pure red gemstone, falling drop by drop into the dust, silently shattering into magnificent flowers.
Yan Huanyue trembled and hunched over in the night wind, one hand tightly gripping the hilt of the knife, the other frantically pounding her head.
The excruciating pain in her soul felt as if it were about to shred her very being. Although the pain only lasted for a moment, it felt almost eternal.
She gagged a few times, stumbled forward a few steps, tripped over the corpse of the divine messenger's servant whom she had just easily killed, and fell directly onto a slightly barren patch of land under the trees, clutching her knife and curling up in pain.
Just like the first time, she could feel the excruciating pain gradually subsiding, a sign that she was about to recover.
A white cloud drifted in, swirling above her, and slowly extended three wisps of smoke, wrapping around her wrists and waist, flipping her over to face the vast starry sky.
Yan Huanyue had no choice but to open her eyes and see that her hands and feet were tightly bound by those wisps of white smoke. She also saw that under the bright starry sky, another wisp of smoke drifted down from the ethereal clouds and reached towards her head.
She felt no pain, only a throbbing pain, but she could only watch helplessly as the smoke descended urgently onto the top of her head, trying to seep in.
She didn't know what the strange white smoke was trying to do, but she could already feel its cool, damp aura seeping into her mind.
"It's possession, isn't it..."
She gave a cold laugh, the bloodstains on her face gradually drying and causing a slight pain to her skin. The intense pain in her soul, which had not yet completely subsided, surged up with overwhelming anger in her heart, which she could not control at all.
If you can't control it, then let it go. Why live a second life only to be possessed and die in a more miserable way than in your previous life?
The ten fingers, suppressed by the smoke at his sides, quietly curled up, and the excruciating pain in his soul immediately found an outlet. A surge of spiritual energy shot upwards and then suddenly descended.
The white smoke in mid-air and the smoke swirling around her were blasted into pieces, shattering without warning.
Upon seeing this, Yan Huanyue rapidly channeled her spiritual power, piercing several large holes through the white smoke.
The white smoke that had entered her body had to quickly retreat, swirling with the scattered remnants, and then whirlwind into the white paper figure.
Yan Huanyue sheathed her knife, got up, pounced on the paper figure, pushed it over, and punched it repeatedly on the head, smashing it until bamboo shavings flew everywhere, turning the once beautiful paper figure's head into a pile of broken bamboo strips and paper.
The paper doll's voice muffledly said, "You're covered in death energy. I was trying to absorb it for you, not to take over your body. Why are you angry with me?"
His voice was weak; it seemed her attack had managed to hurt him.
Yan Huanyue clenched her fists, her eyes blazing with anger, and said in a deep voice, "Why did you insist on possessing me to absorb death energy? I didn't even chant any incantations to invite you, yet you insisted on possessing me for no reason. What good intentions could you possibly have?"
The white smoke hidden within the paper doll's cavity said, "The deathly aura on your body was summoned by the Three Pure Ones Bell. It turns out that my disciple, unaware of the situation, accidentally triggered the deathly aura on you as well. Just now, I was trying to dispel some of it and spare you some suffering..."
The pale-faced young driver, who had been hiding to the side, dared to move closer when he saw that she was able to speak to someone. He swallowed hard and said:
"Fellow Daoist, the little deity I worship never possesses my body, let alone tries to seize it. If he wanted to seize my body, he would have done so long ago. Why wait until today?"
His true form is still hundreds of miles away, so why hasn't he vanished and escaped? Why must he stay here to explain to you?
Yan Huanyue took out a Shouyuan Pill and swallowed it. The pain gradually subsided. Only then did she slowly realize that the soul in the paper figure seemed incomplete. If she wanted to possess it, it probably wouldn't work.
She slumped to the ground, pressing her temples. "Sorry, I couldn't quite control that aura just now..."
The smoke drifted out from the tattered paper figure, hovered above the two corpses not far away for a while, and then gradually dissipated.
"Fellow Daoist, what happened to you just now? How did you suddenly become like that...?"
Yan Huanyue raised her blood-stained face, "Dying energy invading..."
So I couldn't control my killing intent, but... I don't know if it was just my imagination, but my spiritual power also increased just now...
She tugged at the corner of her mouth and said softly, "I don't know where it came from, I'm trying to get rid of it. I didn't take my medicine today, that's why it's like this. I'm so sorry for ruining your paper doll. How much do you want for a new one? I'll pay you back."
The man laughed and said, “It’s nothing, there’s no need for that. I’m glad you’re alright. I don’t think the little immortal is blaming me. I am Lu Shenchu, a rogue cultivator from Xuanjiang. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?”
Xuanjiang is a method of contracting with willing members of the demon race to invite external objects to assist in their actions. It is a choice made by some people with multiple spiritual roots, who often travel around the world to earn some spare change.
Yan Huanyue sat cross-legged, made hand seals to cleanse the bloodstains from her body, and bowed, saying, "I am Yan Huanyue from the Tianyan Sect."
Lu Shenchu exclaimed in surprise, "I never imagined that you were a member of a major sect in this era. No wonder you were so powerful just now. I had been chasing that scourge for a long time and was unsure of what to do, which is why I needed to ask for help. I didn't expect you to deal with him so quickly."
Yan Huanyue glanced back at the corpse and felt that today's events were strange. She would have to carefully investigate whether there was anything she had not been able to detect deep within the soul.
He replied, "I am ashamed."
After resting for a while, she got up and searched around the mandrill corpse, but found nothing. However, she found a tattered treasure pouch on the other corpse.
He used his blood to open it, and found some pills inside, as well as a small wooden box about the size of a palm.
She used her spiritual power to probe the small box and found that there was still air flowing inside the treasure pouch, so she temporarily put it away and gave the rest of the items to Lu Shenchu.
On the way back with the corpse, Lu Shenchu briefly told her about the actions of the divine messengers and mages under the Divine Light Emperor.
They amass wealth and deceive people into offering themselves to them, or becoming food for the mountain demon.
Upon arriving at the Shenguang Temple, the two leaped inside and placed the messenger's corpse alongside the headless mountain demon on the altar in the main hall.
Yan Huanyue went to the room where the woman from today was being held, and shook off the restriction on the door. As soon as she pushed the door open, something was thrown at her.
She raised her hand to block him and said gently, "Sister, don't be afraid, I'm here to take you away."
As she spoke, she made a hand seal, and a wisp of fire appeared at her fingertips. In the firelight, the woman's face was bruised, and she was clutching a piece of wood that had been detached from the foot of the bed, looking at her with fear and trepidation. "You are...?"
Yan Huanyue said, "I am from the Tianyan Sect, and I have come here to deal with those who swindle and harm the people."
The woman paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into tears, wailing, "When that sorcerer passed by our house, he insisted that I was possessed by an evil spirit and brought me here to oppress me. It was the stableman who let me escape, but when I got home, my husband not only didn't believe me, but also gave me a good beating..."
Lu Shenchu poked his head out from beside Yan Huanyue and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. If I can let you go once, I can certainly let you go a second time. So, do you have anywhere to go this time?"
"I..." the woman bit her lip, "...I still have to go back..."
Yan Huanyue frowned and said, "Since he attacked you, why did you still go back?"
The woman lowered her head and wept silently, appearing very determined. After a long while, she said rather stubbornly, "I want to go back."
This is someone else's private matter, and Yan Huanyue doesn't think she can take on the responsibility for someone else's entire life.
She gave the woman a talisman and said, "Sister, hide it well. This talisman can temporarily help you increase your strength. If he hits you, don't let him get away with it."
Those cowards who bully their own kind are nothing but cowards who fear the strong. If you teach them a lesson, they might keep them in check for a long time.
The woman accepted the talisman and thanked it profusely before carefully hiding it away.
Master Liu was sleeping soundly at night when he suddenly woke up and found himself unable to move.
The foolish stableman, Yan Baoying, and Gouzi's wife stood expressionlessly by his bedside, holding lamps.
Master Liu immediately understood the whole story. It must have been that the coachman had lustful thoughts that made him dare to commit this crime under the very nose of the Divine Light Emperor, attempting to take the two women away.
"What are you doing?" he shouted. "What did you feed me? How dare you be so disrespectful to the mage of the Divine Light Emperor! You are utterly audacious!"
The woman slapped his thick face hard with hatred, "Shameless wretch! What kind of sorcerer are you! How many people have you harmed! That day, the baby brought in, you scalded him to death with incense! And you even said a child was possessed by a demon!"
Master Liu immediately retorted indignantly, "You're talking nonsense! That child's family believes me and are extremely grateful to me. Who do you think you are!"
Upon hearing this, the woman, in a fit of rage, picked up a stool and began smashing it wildly. The powerful Master Liu was left with a bloody face and on the verge of death.
Master Liu didn't even have the strength to cry anymore. He could only gasp for breath and plead weakly like a broken bellows, "I...I was wrong, please forgive me, just give me a beating..."
Yan Huanyue dragged him off the bed and pulled him into the hall where the great deity was enshrined. Upon seeing the two corpses, Master Liu's eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted on the spot.
All those who had been purified within the temple were summoned to the main hall, and upon seeing the divine messenger dead, they were all filled with astonishment.
That was a divine messenger, a god!
Most of them donated all their ill-gotten gains to the temple, peacefully purifying themselves there, waiting for the grand reception every ten days to go to the side of the Heavenly Emperor of Light and live a good life.
Those who had gone there before would appear in their dreams, saying how wonderful and carefree life was in heaven.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd cried out, "Has the Divine Messenger gone back? Is he no longer going to guide us to salvation?"
The others wholeheartedly agreed and began to sob and cry for the divine messenger.
Yan Huanyue sneered, "Accepting and guiding you is nothing more than sending you to fill the bellies of these mountain demons."
She glanced at Master Liu. "Speak up. Don't try to incite these people to fight me. Explain everything clearly. If you don't explain it well..."
With a casual wave of her hand, the enormous black statue inside the hall shattered violently, the fragments blocked by spiritual power and falling behind her.
Master Liu's whole body trembled, and his initial desire to incite the crowd to kill the three evil spirits was completely put to rest.
He tearfully recounted how he and the divine messenger had been used by the mountain demons, acting as their henchmen, swindling money and lives.
Many believers present were deeply convinced of this and had offered everything for it. Now that he says it's all a lie, many people simply cannot accept it.
The believers jumped up and cursed him for such blasphemy, saying he must be a traitor to the Divine Emperor and his messengers. They swarmed up and beat him to death.
Some people cried out and rushed toward the square altar. If Lu Shenchu hadn't thrown out a copper coin to create a barrier, who knows how many martyrs would have been killed by crashing into the altar.
Several women cried until they fainted and then woke up, trying to touch the messenger's blood-stained cheeks, but were blocked by a barrier. One of them said sadly:
"God forbids mortals from touching His holy messengers. If any mortal has betrayed His messengers, then no one is worthy of His gaze anymore..."
Yan Huanyue had a headache, so she simply burned a talisman to put everyone to sleep quietly, waiting for the local government to guide them here the next day.
She and Lu Shenchu led the woman back to Xianghe Village under the cover of night.
Yan Huanyue said, "Sister, can I take you to town or somewhere else to find a way to make a living, or do you want to go back?"
The woman said awkwardly, "People have to be responsible for themselves, I can't trouble you."
Lu Shenchu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, sometimes it's not a big deal to accept a helping hand from someone. Everyone has their bad days. Many people may be able to harden their hearts and not help others, but when they are in trouble, who wouldn't want someone to lend a helping hand?"
The woman lowered her head, the bruises on her face barely visible in the darkness. "They've already helped me up."
The two had no choice but to watch her walk home on her own, and Lu Shenchu also said goodbye to Yan Huanyue.
The next day, Yan Huanyue gave directions to the officials and they went to the temple together. Unexpectedly, the woman returned to the temple on her own.
Yan Huanyue was slightly surprised for a moment, but immediately understood everything.
After receiving the official seal confirming the completion of her mission, she left the Taoist temple without looking back.
The woman chased after him from inside, until she reached a narrow crevice in the mountain, where the morning light, like the softest and brightest silk, fell upon her from afar.
She cried out, her voice trembling with sobs, "Baoying, Baoying, I thought you wouldn't come in person again. You know, don't you? I get beaten and scolded every day, and I even lost a baby. They say it's all my fault for attracting evil spirits... I hate it! I hate it... Maybe I really have become an evil spirit!"
Yan Huanyue turned around and looked at her face full of resentment and venom, as if she saw herself in it.
She took a money bag from her treasure pouch, placed it on the ground, and said softly, "How could I not hate it? Here, take this. Live a good life from now on."
“I have it! I took all the money before burning the mother and child to death... When I woke up in that dark room, my mouth tasted sweet. I haven't had candy in a long time. Was the medicine you gave me sweet?”
Yan Huanyue nodded, turned and left without taking the money pouch.
The woman chased after her for quite a distance, but ultimately could not catch up with her pace.
As she watched the wisp of mist drift away like a dream, she suddenly seemed to remember something and desperately chased after it, shouting, "Baoying, I'm not called Gouzi's wife, I'm called Lü Xinniang..."
In the distant mountains and forests, the girl's voice drifted and ethereal: "Alright, Lü Xinniang."
.
There was a gentle knock on the door.
Pei Xuanzhi looked up at the darkness that had already descended upon the outside world. At this hour, there was no one else but his father who would come.
He put down his pen, put on his snow-white coat, got up and opened the door, but he did not expect that outside the dim candlelight, there was Yan Huanyue, who looked travel-worn.
She looked energetic and full of vitality, her eyes sparkling like the black glass chess piece he had once dropped into the clear stream, though her smile still carried a hint of awkwardness.
When people meet again after a long separation, they often feel a little awkward.
Pei Xuanzhi was unusually flustered and quickly hid behind the door to put on his clothes.
He took a few steps over, picked up the jade belt hanging on the screen, tied it around his waist, and slowly strolled back to the door while coughing.
Yan Huanyue tucked the soft strands of hair that fell across her lapel behind her ear, looked up at him, and smiled:
“I went to Changqing Hall. Senior Brother Su said you moved here. I came in because the gate was open... I originally wanted to come back before your birthday, but it was a bit late. Luckily, I didn’t miss it.”
Pei Xuanzhi was slightly taken aback. He always had a good memory and remembered that she had asked about his birthday, but he didn't expect her to remember it so much.
For Pei Xuanzhi, whose birthday was on the 17th, the concept of birthday was so unfamiliar and vague that he found it hard to understand why this not-so-special day was so important.
His father specially hosted a small banquet for this day, inviting a few fellow students to a small gathering. His fiancée, who had traveled a long way, made a special trip back.
But today was just an ordinary day; nothing happened.
He looked at his fiancée, whom he didn't know very well yet, and gestured for her to come into the room.
His inexplicably familiar actions left Yan Huanyue in a dilemma. Originally, she only wanted to rush over, deliver the gift, and then return to her room to continue investigating the soul.
However, her hesitation was short-lived. She stepped into the room and went straight to the table to sit down.
He closed the door, but then, seemingly feeling it was against the rules, he immediately opened it again.
A cool evening breeze drifted in through the door, and the moon shone brightly in the shallow earthenware jar in the courtyard, its light clear and pure.
He coughed for a while, then stood at the table to pour tea, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Has Senior Sister come back and eaten yet? If not, I'll go and prepare some food for you."
Yan Huanyue said with a smile, "Junior Brother Pei, don't worry about that. I brought you a birthday gift. Come and take a look."
Pei Xuanzhi reached out and placed a cup of hot tea beside her, saying calmly, "I am very content that Senior Sister still remembers this."
Yan Huanyue smiled and said, "Don't always be so polite."
Pei Xuanzhi lifted his robe and sat opposite her, speaking frankly: "I was indeed a little surprised that you rushed back."
Yan Huanyue took a sip of tea. "This is your first birthday since you came back. Oh, and I also brought some dried fish for your kitten. Bring it out so I can pet it... no, let me see if it's been behaving well."
Pei Xuanzhi's eyes reflected the flickering candlelight, and the smile in his eyes was somewhat ambiguous. "Senior Sister, what you miss most is it, isn't it? Unfortunately, I really can't control it, and I can't fight it all the time, so I had to let it go. Does Senior Sister just like that wild and untamed thing?"
"ah?"
Yan Huanyue was somewhat disappointed; she did miss the furry little guy more.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:25:23 on November 2, 2023 and 01:18:32 on November 4, 2023!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: What 1;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: As You Wish, Forgotten Time, Did You Think Seriously Today? 10 bottles; Qingqing 8 bottles; Wuxue, Sixi 3 bottles; Just Look, Dreamy Flowers, Huidudu 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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