Chapter 92 "Friend Fu, who are you?"
Fu Tingyun knew that the man surnamed Ling would definitely be restless. When he caught a glimpse of the piece of clothing in the woods during the day, he deliberately revealed the matter of the murals in the underground palace to bait them.
But he hadn't expected the other party to be so impatient, not knowing whether to doubt the truth or to take a step-by-step approach to test the waters, but rushing into action that very night. Such a rush for quick success and instant benefits was clearly not going to lead to anything significant.
If he had known this would happen, he should have released the news later. He looked at the girl sleeping soundly in his arms, touched the red sleep marks on her cheeks, and regret filled his heart.
But it's better to end it as soon as possible. Although the body is real, the identity is fake. The longer they are together, the deeper the entanglement becomes. It will be even more difficult if he becomes the second puppet.
Having made up his mind, he made a seal and pressed it on her forehead, waking her from her sleep.
The girl woke up and heard him say that it was an earthquake. At first she was fine, but then she remembered something and suddenly her face turned pale with fright.
Her reaction further confirmed his guess that she must know something.
Fu Tingyun remained calm and continued to probe, "Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Su. Let's wait a moment. Maybe it will calm down soon."
The girl was obviously not comforted. She couldn't stop shaking all over, even her lips were trembling.
"But the secret realm won't suddenly have an earthquake for no apparent reason. Is some powerful monster about to come out?" she asked.
Fu Tingyun's eyes flickered slightly, and he patted the hilt of his sword, saying in a relaxed tone, "Don't be afraid. This sword has drunk the blood of many real monsters, let alone a fake from the secret realm. Even if we can't defeat it, it's just a failure in the trial."
After a pause, he said, "If you are afraid of pain, I will cast a sleeping spell on you and send you out of the secret realm with one sword. You won't feel any pain at all."
As he spoke, he secretly observed the girl's expression. She forced a smile, but there was no smile in her eyes, and her face was paler than paper.
Su Xiaoyuan was very scared. What she feared most was not the pain or dying here, but dying suddenly here, without having time to say goodbye to her bestie, teachers, and friends, or to arrange her funeral arrangements for her kitten, snake, and snow wolf.
And Fu Tingyun, her puppet is still waiting for her on the boat.
She recalled her first experience of death. It was the end of the first semester of her freshman year. She was happily dragging her luggage to take a taxi to the train station, but a car suddenly rushed onto the sidewalk and ended everything.
Her last memory was the glaring lights in the emergency room and the suppressed cries of her parents.
Thinking of this, she felt as if she was frozen by a huge piece of ice, her whole body numb and stiff, unable to move.
Fu Tingyun was originally observing the girl's reaction calmly, but at this moment he also noticed her abnormality.
Her eyes were vacant and staring, and there was a layer of cold sweat on her pale and blue face, even her hair was wet.
He subconsciously stretched out his arms and hugged her in his arms, patting her back and soothing her softly: "Don't be afraid, everything will be fine, I promise you."
Originally, the purpose of leading Ling to the underground palace was to find out if there was anything strange about her and to observe Su Xiaoyuan's reaction, but he never expected that she would be scared like this.
Su Xiaoyuan seemed to be suddenly awakened from a dream: "Fellow Daoist Fu?"
Fu Tingyun felt the stiffness and resistance of the person in his arms, and then realized that he was just a stranger. He let go of his hand and said, "I'm sorry, seeing that Fellow Daoist Su was scared, I was anxious and crossed the line again."
"It's okay..." Su Xiaoyuan felt something was wrong, but she didn't have time to think about it at this moment.
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said, "Friend Fu, do you know of any way to send a message to someone outside the secret realm?"
"There's a formation in the secret realm that blocks communications," Fu Shiyu said. "Does Fellow Daoist Su have any urgent business?"
"Yes, there is a formation," Su Xiaoyuan muttered to herself, "I'm sorry, I forgot in my haste. If I leave a letter in the secret realm, will anyone find it?"
"The trial process was recorded," Fu Shiyu said, "After the trial, Taiyan Sect members should come in to clean up, and they might find the letter left by Fellow Daoist Su."
Su Xiaoyuan's complexion looked slightly better, but unfortunately, it was forbidden to bring the photo stone into the secret realm. She could only write a suicide note and put it in the Qiankun bag, waiting for Tai Yan's people to find it, hoping that they could help her deliver it to Kaishan.
She quickly took out a pen and paper, wrote a few words in a hurry, folded it up, wrote "Kaishan Shou", and stuffed it into the Qiankun bag.
She covered her face with her hands while writing the letter, but Fu Tingyun could still easily see the contents of the letter.
She wrote a suicide note, mainly arranging her puppets and three spirit pets.
"Why did Brother Su leave a letter in the secret realm?" Fu Shiyu asked.
After writing the suicide note, Su Xiaoyuan's expression improved slightly: "Nothing, just in case."
"What if?" Fu Shiyu asked.
"Accidents and such... Secret Realm Trials sometimes have accidents, right? This earthquake feels very unusual."
"As far as I know, Taiyan's secret realm has almost never had any problems. Does Fellow Daoist Su know something?"
Su Xiaoyuan raised her eyelids in surprise and met the man's eyes. His gaze was as sharp as an ice blade, as if it could penetrate into the heart.
But the system wouldn't allow her to reveal spoilers. She didn't want to utter a bunch of gibberish and be mistaken for a lunatic at a time like this: "I just have a bad feeling. Maybe it's because of the nightmare I just had..."
After the initial panic passed, she gradually calmed down.
Maybe it's not that bad. Although in the book all the characters except the heroine were wiped out, this plot has been advanced and the people who entered the copy have been replaced, so there is still hope of survival.
Let’s not talk about others, just look at Fellow Daoist Fu in front of us. Although he has only the foundation-building cultivation level, his swordsmanship is very powerful, his aura is strong, and he is also a stunning beauty. He doesn’t look like cannon fodder at all.
As we were talking, the earthquake became even stronger and the debris in the tent fell all over the floor. Fortunately, there were not many fragile items.
"Let's pack up the tent and go out for a look." Su Xiaoyuan said.
Fu Shiyu frowned slightly. There was a protective formation set up in the tent. In the event of an accident, it would naturally be safer to hide inside the barrier, unless she knew exactly what would happen.
He didn't say much, just put his things in order and packed up the tent.
When they got out of the tent, they found that their surroundings had been turned upside down.
The roof of the dilapidated temple had been blown off by the hurricane, and the temple was reduced to ruins. There was a huge vortex in the originally dark sky, which rolled in the broken walls, Buddha statues, and candles, and splashed out colorful and dazzling things, like rich oil paint, gradually spraying more and more, turning into a colorful torrent rushing down.
The two were caught off guard and swept into the torrent.
Su Xiaoyuan felt like a piece of broken glass in a kaleidoscope, being shaken back and forth until she almost vomited her dinner.
Fortunately, Fu Shiyu held her hand tightly, and the two of them rolled and floated together in it until everything calmed down, and then they fell heavily on the hard ground with a "bang".
The moment he landed, Fu Shiyu held her in his arms, cushioned his entire body under her, and used his back to bear the entire impact.
Su Xiaoyuan heard a muffled groan and quickly climbed off him using both hands and feet. She helped him up and hurriedly asked, "Daoyou Fu, are you okay?"
Thinking of the injury on his back, she was so anxious that she almost cried.
"It's nothing serious," Fu Shiyu whispered, "Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Su."
Su Xiaoyuan hurriedly and carefully helped him up, making sure that his bones were not broken and his hands and feet could move, then began to look around.
It was a dark, damp dungeon, with a finger-thick iron chain hanging from the gate. By the light of the oil lamp on the wall at the end of the narrow corridor, she could vaguely see that there were also people imprisoned in the cells opposite.
Su Xiaoyuan rubbed her eyes, took a closer look, and almost cried out. The person in the cell was naked, with only messy long hair covering his body. Because he was lying on the ground curled up with his back to the cell door, it was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman.
But she could see the crisscrossing red whip marks on the man's back, an iron collar around his neck, shackles on his feet, and he lay there motionless without any dignity, like an animal waiting to be slaughtered.
The corridor was filled with screams and groans from far and near.
She shuddered.
Although she skipped over the specific descriptions, her eyes inevitably caught some scattered keywords, all of which were the kind that would be mentioned on regular platforms. The scale was so large that she, a freshman, was amazed.
This dungeon was no ordinary dungeon, as it held mortals and monks secretly abducted from the real world by the minions of the great demon, for the demon to train himself and torture for his own amusement.
While she was observing her surroundings, Fu Tingyun was also paying attention to her expression.
Being inexplicably dragged to a strange place, most people would definitely be surprised and confused, trying to figure out where they are. However, the girl's face showed only fear but no surprise or confusion, which showed that she knew where this place was from the beginning.
"This appears to be a dungeon," he said calmly, "I'll try to cut the chain on the door and escape."
Su Xiaoyuan hurriedly pulled him back: "No!"
Fu Shiyu frowned: "Why?"
Because Su Xiaoyuan knew it was impossible, because the heroine in the book who was in the Nascent Soul stage had also thought of this and broke the priceless sword.
Although Fu Shiyu's swordsmanship is good, there is a big gap between the Foundation Establishment stage and the Nascent Soul stage. The sword also looks tattered and is obviously not a good sword. It will definitely break with one strike. It can be kept for self-defense.
But she couldn't say any of this, so she had to make an excuse: "We don't know who the dungeon's owner is yet, and even if we escape from the cell, we don't know what's outside. What if I fail to break it and make a noise that attracts people, which would be dangerous..."
Fu Shiyu nodded: "Friend Su is right. It's my fault for not thinking it through."
Su Xiaoyuan: "The demonic energy here is very strong. Are those things on Fellow Daoist Fu's back... okay?"
Fu Tingyun's eyes flickered. She lacked the common sense of cultivating immortals and exorcising demons, and would be exposed from time to time. For example, a cultivator who had not yet established a foundation could not sense demonic energy.
He was certain that she must know where this place was.
Su Xiaoyuan didn't know she had been exposed: "I don't know where the other three are..."
If only she hadn't offended the heroine before. According to her experience of reading novels, if one can get into the group of protagonists, the probability of survival will usually increase significantly.
She clung to the bars of the cell door and stretched her head to look to the side, but the light was too dim, and she could only see two cells diagonally opposite, and the people in them were not the heroine and her friends.
She tried to lower her voice and called them twice. One of them looked up, but just looked at them with numb eyes and then lowered his head again.
Su Xiaoyuan sighed, retreated to the wall, found a relatively clean place to sit down, and began to take out her Qiankun bag.
Unfortunately, the trial secret realm has many restrictions, and almost all useful elixirs and magic tools are restricted. She searched for a long time and only found various camping tools, daily necessities and a lot of snacks.
At least they can be two full ghosts.
After stuffing the other things back, Su Xiaoyuan picked up a can of milk candy that she and the puppet had developed. It was made from the milk fat separated from refined milk. "Friend Fu, would you like something to eat?"
Eating something sweet when you are anxious can help stabilize your mood.
Fellow Daoist Fu performed a purification technique on his fingers and actually picked up one and put it in his mouth.
Su Xiaoyuan also ate one herself. Although she had no appetite at that time, the sweet food still had some soothing effect.
At this moment, the sound of echoing footsteps suddenly came from the end of the dark and narrow corridor. Upon closer listening, it seemed that the sound was not from the soles of shoes. The "thump, thump, thump" sound was very crisp, more like the sound of horse hooves.
The screams and groans in the cell suddenly stopped, and everyone concentrated and held their breath almost at the same time. The humid air seemed to condense into a huge dark cloud, filling the entire cell and making it difficult to breathe.
She heard a gasp, followed by a shrill voice saying, "I seem to smell a stranger. Could it be that His Highness has captured someone new?"
Another deep voice said, "Don't meddle in other people's business. We just need to do our job well. The banquet is about to start. Hurry up and pick a few intact ones, clean them and send them over. If you're late, you might be chopped into pieces by His Highness."
The word "intact" made Su Xiaoyuan shudder.
She remembered a banquet written in the book.
The devil was overjoyed after capturing the heroine and immediately prepared to crown her "Princess". Before the formal wedding, he held a celebratory banquet that lasted all night and invited the future princess to watch with him. To put it simply, it was a bloody party, and the scene scared the heroine so much that she turned pale.
Su Xiaoyuan tried to skip through the text, but because she read too fast, she still saw organs and internal organs flying all over the screen.
She pulled Fu Shiyu and quietly moved to the corner of the cell, not daring to make a sound. At this time, his large black cloak was very practical, covering both of them tightly.
I just hope those two little monsters are blind and think that there is no one in this cell.
The crisp footsteps came closer and slower, then stopped at the door of their cell.
Su Xiaoyuan's heart almost jumped out of her throat.
She looked out from under the hem of her cloak and found two pairs of feet under the cell door. Strictly speaking, they were not feet, but two pairs of black animal hooves.
The sniffling sound came again, and the shrill voice said, "There's something good here."
The chain on the door rattled.
Su Xiaoyuan was trembling all over. She touched Fu Shiyu's face with her hand and whispered in his ear, "Daoyou Fu...when the prison door opens later, try to escape alone..."
Her cultivation is too low and her physical fitness is poor. Fu Shiyu might be able to fight for a chance of survival with his swordsmanship, but it is definitely impossible with her holding him back.
Fu Shiyu was silent for a few breaths: "Then what are you going to do?"
Su Xiaoyuan smiled weakly: "I'm timid. Even if I knew it was a secret realm, I would still be afraid of being tortured. If you still have time, just slit my neck before running away... Fellow Daoist Fu, you must hold on to the end and don't let Ling Sangrou win. Wait, wait until we get out of the secret realm, I will come to Taiyan to find you, and you must treat me to a delicious meal..."
She took off the Qiankun bag from her waist and put it in his hand: "There might be something in it that you can use, take it."
Fu Shiyu lowered his head and tied the Qiankun bag back to her waist: "You won't die."
Su Xiaoyuan was stunned: "I...I didn't say I would die."
"From now on, we are no longer in the secret realm. The demonic energy and monsters here are real," Fu Shiyu said. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm not a cultivator who came here for a trial."
Su Xiaoyuan's brain was overloaded with information and crashed for a while: "Then you are..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard a "click", the lock opened, and the chain fell off.
The two monsters opened the cell door and walked towards the corner where they were hiding.
"Close your eyes." Fu Shiyu said.
Su Xiaoyuan closed her eyes as he said this without thinking. This inexplicable trust surprised even her.
However, a dry and warm hand still covered her eyes. She faintly smelled the cool and pleasant scent of the man's cuffs and felt very safe.
Then the sound of a long sword clanging and a sharp blade cutting through flesh and blood rang in my ears.
A fishy breeze blew past my nose, and two "plop" sounds were heard, as if two melons fell to the ground.
It was a long time before the sound of a torso falling to the ground was heard.
Su Xiaoyuan felt her waist being gently lifted up, and then her feet left the ground, and a wet and cool breeze quickly passed by her face.
She was stunned for a moment before she realized that it was not the wind, but they were flying quickly.
When the hands covering her eyes loosened, her feet returned to the ground.
They had escaped from the dark dungeon, and were surrounded by a river bank covered with lush vegetation. Gurgling water flowed in front of them, and the water exuded a strong and intoxicating aroma of wine.
Su Xiaoyuan looked up and saw that what was above her head was not the sky, but a dome with gorgeous carvings and colorful paintings. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the paintings were all disgusting scenes.
The sound of soft music came from a palace not far away.
Su Xiaoyuan recalled the question that had been interrupted just now: "Fellow Daoist Fu, who are you?"
Fu Tingyun lowered his eyes and looked into the girl's clear eyes. For a moment, he almost told her the truth. However, if he confessed, there would be many things that could not be explained. In the end, he could only tell her that he was disguised as a puppet.
Will she forgive him, or will she banish him completely in a fit of rage?
And the most terrifying possibility is that she might return to the place he can never reach.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally uttered the answer he had prepared all morning: "I am the spirit of this secret realm."
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The author has something to say: A dog man will accurately find the road to the crematorium at every fork in the road.
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