Chapter 133 Nobody wants to protect you, we all want you dead.
The response to Cui Mianyue was the sound of ten-thousand-year-old ice collapsing and cracking, a deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth, as a surging, overwhelming sword intent swept in, and a sharp sword, wrapped in a storm, hurtled towards them.
Ji Mingran was still pondering Cui Mianyue's words and hadn't reacted when he and Yu Tianxing attacked Cui Mianyue in front of him.
A sudden gust of cold wind whipped up Cui Mianyue's dress and lashed her cheeks. Silent sword shadows swept across the land, the sharp blades drawing ever closer.
With a sharp blade about to pierce her eyelids, Cui Mianyue, anticipating the impending attack, looked up at the newcomer and said unhurriedly, "It's freezing cold."
Ji Mingran's heart skipped a beat.
The cat's bright, cunning eyes widened in an instant: "Junior Brother Tianxing, you must be frozen stiff."
The casual words rang out just seconds before the overwhelming barrage of sword strikes crashed down.
Yu Tianxing stared at her with his dark eyes, his raised sword hovering in mid-air, hesitant to fall.
"That was close." Cui Mianyue patted her chest, feigning lingering fear, and took a step back. "If those who were in the way hadn't all died, I almost wouldn't have been able to suppress more than just you, Junior Brother."
A smile played on her lips, which were stained with deep red blood, as she uttered the same words as Lin Wuqi: "Junior Brother Tianxing, you're really hard to kill."
Facing Cui Mianyue's spell head-on for the first time, Ji Mingran wrapped his arms tightly around Yu Tianxing's neck and calmly sized up Cui Mianyue.
It was the same trick again: the art of words. Ji Mingran rarely saw Cui Mianyue diligently studying astrology and divination day and night like the other disciples of the Nameless Sect. What she devoted more of her attention to was actually this art.
Indeed, their arrogance is unreasonable.
However, Ji Mingran's gaze swept over Cui Mianyue, who was bleeding profusely. This technique had also taken a heavy toll on her, and Yu Tianxing was not without a chance.
A flash of golden light appeared in the cat's vertical pupils. Cui Mianyue swallowed the blood that rose in her throat and said in a low voice, "Miao Wan, bring Lin Wuqi's corpse to my side."
Miao Miaowan sobbed, her eyes showing resistance, but her hands and feet seemed to move on their own as she grabbed Lin Wuqi's hand and dragged the corpse forward stiffly until she stopped next to Cui Mianyue.
The fellow students who traveled together reunited, but one died, one was injured, and two were detained.
Cui Mianyue nodded in satisfaction, "Be obedient."
She turned her head and asked Yu Tianxing with interest, "When did you start to suspect me?"
The black sword trembled slightly as if trying to break free of its restraints. Yu Tianxing held the sword, his handsome face revealing no expression: "The day Senior Brother Heyi died."
"Ah!" Cui Mianyue reflected, "Was I too obvious? Well, junior brother, you are so observant. Even if you didn't notice it that day, you should have realized it just now."
She readily admitted, "I did give Wuqi a hint that something would happen sooner or later, and I also told Miaowan that she was frail and weak, so she has become increasingly haggard these past few days, and it just happened to erupt today."
Ji Mingran had a sudden thought, and then he remembered what Cui Mianyue had said to Lin Wuqi and Miao Miaowan on the day everyone discovered Song Heyi's death.
Therefore, Cui Mianyue's spell manifests in two ways: first, by exerting a latent influence on a person's consciousness, amplifying their emotions, and instigating their behavior; and second, by directly controlling the current behavior of the person being affected.
The death of Song Heyi...
"Junior sister, don't look at me like that. I didn't kill Junior Brother Heyi," Cui Mianyue said. "I didn't even give him a hint before he died. Who knows if it was Senior Sister's doing or Second Senior Brother's grand gesture?"
Ignoring Miao Miaowan's sobs, Cui Mianyue said leisurely, "Senior Brother Tianxing, being meticulous is a good thing, but you've gone a bit too far."
Looking at her immobilized junior brother and vulnerable junior sister, Cui Mianyue raised her arms, took a deep breath, spun around in place, and said in high spirits, "Ah, finally, I might be able to sleep tonight."
She moved too much and accidentally stepped on Lin Wuqi's face.
Sensing her junior brother's gaze, Cui Mianyue nonchalantly kicked the corpse at her feet and said, "Don't look at me like that. Do you really believe the information he gave you?"
She smiled and glanced at Miao Miaowan, whose face had turned deathly pale, before saying slowly:
“Junior brother, the internal strife is real, and it’s true that someone wants to kill you. But there’s one thing he told you that’s a lie.”
"No one will protect you."
"We all want you dead."
Ji Mingran felt that the pulse of the person beneath him seemed to skip a beat.
“They protect you only to use you to kill me. If I die, you won’t survive either,” Cui Mianyue said. “But I’m different. After they kill each other, I can kill you. Either way, you will die.”
The snowflakes fell like cotton wool, gently landing on Yu Tianxing's robes. Ji Mingran tried to sweep them away for him, but the snowflakes remained unchanged despite her actions.
There was nothing she could do about it.
“Junior Brother Tianxing, you’re not much of a talker, but you’re a good listener.” Cui Mianyue looked around, then smiled at Miao Miaowan like a kind and understanding senior sister. “This place is deserted, which is perfect for telling stories. I’ll tell you my tale.”
As if she wanted to reveal the secrets she had suppressed for so long, Cui Mianyue spoke to herself without waiting for anyone's response: "Have you ever thought about why, despite the sect's long history, there are only our master and mistress and a group of instructors, but no senior uncles or senior masters?"
Yu Tianxing and Miao Miaowan remained silent.
Cui Mianyue smiled and continued, "Because they're all dead."
"I only recently learned that there is only one condition to become the sect leader of the Nameless Sect." Cui Mianyue's eyes were vacant as she murmured, "Kill all your fellow disciples."
Feeling the slight tightening of the neck muscles beneath him, Ji Mingran silently nestled against Yu Tianxing's shoulder.
It was unexpected, but not shocking.
Compared to the Dingsheng Sect, the way the Buming Sect raises its young disciples is worlds apart.
Before the sect's grand examination, the junior disciples of the Nameless Sect were already engaged in a silent competition to survive: plundering others' resources to survive until they passed the examination and became official disciples.
In this way, in order to become the sect leader, the formal disciples would have to undergo another elimination process, which is quite reasonable.
“Ah, junior brother, don’t be sad. This is the fate of the disciples of the Nameless Sect. Peeping into the secrets of heaven will inevitably lead to backlash. The Nameless Sect cannot tolerate so many people who can peep into the secrets of heaven, otherwise it would surely suffer annihilation. But to be honest,” Cui Mianyue kicked the snowdrift at his feet, “the infighting among the disciples is also a kind of backlash.”
Miao Miaowan covered her face and cried, her shoulders trembling violently.
Ignoring her emotionally distraught junior sister, Cui Mianyue continued, "Ever since I found out, I've been filled with anxiety day and night, unable to sleep. During the day, I have to feign compliance with Chu Rangyue and Mao Qingyun, who know the truth, and have fun with you bunch of clueless fools. It's exhausting."
“No matter what, like Song Heyi and Lin Wuqi, I don’t want to die.” She chuckled softly, “Who wants to die?”
"Chu Rangyue and Mao Qingyun are locked in a fierce battle, and they've even recruited you. My first target is me. I don't want to die, so I have no choice but to kill them and those who side with them."
"Now you're all dead here. Jiang Chaoxing will only be killed by those two if he goes back. The remaining two will fight to the death. After I go back, I'll take care of the last one, and everything will be perfect."
“So,” Cui Mianyue’s smile gradually faded, a faint sadness appearing in her eyes, “just die now, junior brother.”
Yu Tianxing's drooping eyelashes lifted, and his dark pupils did not look at the person controlling him, but passed through her and looked behind him.
Cui Mianyue's expression changed.
As snowflakes drifted down, a short, stout figure slowly emerged from the snow, the frozen boy staring intently at the newcomer.
Mao Qingyun.
Ji Mingran instinctively ran back, but when they were ten miles apart, his soul was thrown away again.
This time, Ji Mingran managed to stabilize his consciousness and control his soul in advance, and his soul was only pushed away by a few meters.
She was about to move forward again, but her gaze froze after passing a shadow.
Cui Mianyue's eyes widened as she clutched her throat, where a pen was deeply embedded. With a series of gasping sounds, she collapsed to the ground in disbelief.
Her body fell, revealing the person standing behind her. The woman, once so delicate and graceful, had lost her gentle features; her once tender eyes were now cold and indifferent.
“It’s not enough,” Miao Miaowan said.
With his blood-stained fingers curled up, a surge of immense spiritual power erupted, and a beam of crimson white light descended from the sky, instantly piercing through Cui Mianyue's body.
Cui Mianyue's body jerked violently the instant the white light pierced her.
"Hey, hey, save your breath, there's a bigger one on this side." Mao Qingyun pointed his short, thick finger at Yu Tianxing.
"Junior Sister..." Cui Mianyue's eyes rolled back, and before she died, she only managed to utter, "Why..."
"Why?" Miao Miaowan's dress fell onto the face of the dead man, the brush deeply embedded in his throat was pulled out, and blood splattered onto his weak, pale face.
Miao Miaowan didn't blink, as if answering Cui Mianyue and informing Yu Tianxing at the same time.
“You and Heyi, and Senior Brother Jingqi, like jewelry, calligraphy and painting, and fine wine. What you like are just icing on the cake.”
She stood up, lowered her eyes to look at the brush in her hand, and the smile on her lips revealed endless sorrow. "Only I am different, only Senior Brother Qingyun is different. I almost froze to death back then, and he almost starved to death. What it was like to be naked and hungry. Heyi will never understand this."
“I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am today, how can you make me give it up? Even if it’s to my liking, it’s not acceptable.” Miao Miaowan threw down her brush and plunged it into the two staring corpses. “Between Senior Sister and Second Senior Brother, I will always stand on Second Senior Brother’s side.”
“You’re right, and you did the right thing.” Mao Qingyun said with a smile, “The fact that I’m here shows you who really won between me and Chu Rangyue. I’ve said it before, I will never kill someone who shares my stance. It’s a pity that even with you by his side, he’s still so stubborn. Mianyue, you’re really too clever for your own good.”
“But she did do a good thing by keeping you under control, which suits me perfectly.” He nodded slightly to Yu Tianxing, as if to greet him politely: “Junior brother, it’s your turn.”
The black sword that had been struggling to break free from Yu Tianxing's grasp finally found peace.
This isn't right.
As the snow fell heavily, the chill that arose in Ji Mingran's heart was even greater than the icy landscape.
She saw from afar the sharp, merciless starlight descending from the sky.
Ji Mingran lunged forward.
The boy kneeling on the snow was almost buried by the heavy snow. His eyelashes, covered by snowflakes, trembled and lifted slightly.
As if in a hallucination, the girl he longed for was running towards him, and the usually bright and cheerful man was now filled with anxiety.
One piece of bad news after another.
And this one is truly... utterly terrible.
His dark eyes turned sorrowful, and a faint smile played on his lips as he gave her his final smile.
The dazzling light pierced his body like a sword.
Ji Mingran lunged at him, only to grab a handful of air.
She should have thought of something, realized something, and done something, but the moment the bomb pierced through Yu Tianxing, her heart seemed to explode as well.
With a deafening roar, it was completely destroyed.
The blood mist exploded, the boy was torn to pieces, his blood mingled with snowflakes, falling softly, leaving the ground covered in crimson.
As the snow fell heavily, the girl knelt in the crimson snow stained with blood and flesh, her trembling hands repeatedly grasping at the blood-soaked snow, trying to piece her mutilated limbs back together.
Both hands passed straight through the mutilated palms and the severed arm... trembling fingertips gently brushed the edge of a section of the jaw.
Ji Mingran sat slumped on the ground, his body ice-cold. She couldn't touch him, nor could she bring her body together.
"Hang in there, it's not over yet." A gentle voice interrupted her blank thoughts, and she slowly raised her eyes.
Mao Qingyun emerged from the heavy snow, his plump figure slightly swaying as he dragged something along. He complained, "How did you get like this? How are we going to clean this up? Pick it up quickly, not a single piece can be missing."
The short, stout figure staggered across the pale white snow, leaving a long trail of scarlet blood as he dragged the object in his hand.
Ji Mingran's gaze slowly moved downwards.
The mutilated half of the body was bleeding profusely, with a protruding bone sticking out and connecting a third of the skull.
The boy's once stunningly beautiful face, which could attract countless admiring glances with a casual look, is now nothing but flesh and bones, along with an eyeball.
Ji Mingran's clear eyes reflected the desolate and tragic scene of the blood-red snowfield, and his bewildered gaze met those dark eyes.
His eyes were dark, like deep pools in my memory, never easily revealing any emotion.
But why is there such sadness in those dark eyes that are looking at her?
My eyes ached from the cold wind after not blinking for so long.
"Ha." Ji Mingran suddenly burst out laughing. "What's so special about this?"
Just before her eyelashes blinked, she gently raised her hand, which was covering half of her chin, and made a grabbing motion upwards.
The transparent air rippled like waves, twisting in an instant.
Vision blurred instantly, the fluttering snowflakes hovered in mid-air, the wandering spear Qingyun's eyes froze blankly, and Miao Miaowan, who was half-kneeling and coughing up blood, remained still.
The vast space seemed to freeze, like a screen displaying a froze.
With his fingers clenched tightly, his hamstrings tensed, and his wrists bruised and bulging from the excessive force, Ji Mingran pulled back with alternating hands, as if dragging something out of a transparent and distorted space.
Ji Mingran suddenly pulled the chains out of the void as if skinning someone alive. The scene froze slightly, and although the wind and snow had clearly stopped blowing, a low whistling sound echoed across the earth.
"Since we're going to skip to the next page," Ji Mingran said, his hand gripping the chain tightly, his eyes softening as he stared at the black bead.
She wasn't speaking to those eyes.
Even though there was no one in front of her to talk to, she did not stop what she was about to say.
She was certain that what she said would be heard.
"Since you're going to skip to the next page," she said softly, her voice carrying an unyielding chill, "you might as well skip to the next page and take me directly to see him. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't have the patience and will ruin you prematurely."
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