Chapter 399 Past Events
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ran paused slightly, a look of confusion on her face, then slowly shook her head and replied in a deep voice, "I don't understand..."
She couldn't understand why Si Jiliang was suddenly so obsessed with her. She also couldn't understand why he would use evil magic and take such a risk to trap her completely in a dream.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ran's eyes darkened, and she looked at Si Jiliang with a serious expression. She then continued, "What I don't understand even more is what your purpose is in doing this?"
Si Jiliang listened to her question, his gaze lowered slightly, looking at a hairband tied around his wrist, his expression unreadable.
He took a desperate gamble and used evil magic to create a fantastical dream for her, but he never expected that it would all fall apart in the end. What he thought was a beautiful dream was like a cage to her, and all she wanted to do was escape.
How ironic!
Thinking of this, Si Jiliang suddenly sneered, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. He reached out and gently stroked his hair ribbon, his face full of lingering affection.
After a long while, he looked up at Jiang Ran, but his eyes held a hint of unfamiliarity.
Jiang Ran frowned slightly, vaguely feeling that he was only looking at someone else through her, but what exactly...?
Just as she was lost in thought, she heard Si Jiliang suddenly say, "I didn't expect your willpower to be so strong. I've lost."
Without any hesitation, he directly admitted his mistake.
Jiang Ran was slightly taken aback when he heard him speak again, saying, "I once thought that as long as I quietly protected you from the sidelines, you would eventually see my existence. After all, Si Yanxiao is just a stranger to you."
"And the twins were just an accident, but I don't know when it started, you and Si Yanxiao became so close, and I was the outsider..."
As he spoke, a hint of self-deprecation crept into his tone.
Hearing him suddenly bring this up, Jiang Ran pursed her lips slightly, looking puzzled, but didn't respond. Instead, she changed the subject and asked, "How do you know how to write talismans in reverse?"
She has now reached the Celestial Master realm, and can even defy fate, yet he still has an opportunity to take advantage of her. There is absolutely no other possibility than rewriting the talisman in reverse.
That's why he's suffering such a severe backlash now.
When Si Jiliang saw that she had suddenly brought up this topic, his eyes flickered slightly, and he replied in a deep voice, "I learned it from an ancient book."
"Impossible!" Jiang Ran's expression hardened slightly as she retorted.
Reverse writing, which is considered the most evil art, is not something that ordinary people who have gone astray can easily learn.
The person who created this technique was right beside me, even inseparable from me in my past life, but I went astray by a single thought...
Thinking of this, Jiang Ran's gaze suddenly darkened, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes, and she coldly questioned, "Who exactly are you?!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the hair ribbon on Si Jiliang's wrist suddenly emitted a strange light. Jiang Ran felt a blur before her eyes, and countless fragments flashed through her mind, all related to her past life.
The bamboo grove, the Taoist priests, and the little disciple who followed him closely—all these had gradually grown from a rebellious youth into the elder's chief disciple who obeyed him without question. Just then, the scene before them suddenly changed. In the main hall, the sect leader and the elders sat high up, while that person stood straight in the center, looking at them without fear, seemingly forming his own faction.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Ran felt a sense of familiarity with the person. She stepped forward to take a closer look at who the person was, but was blocked by an invisible barrier.
The sect leader, as always, stood there, his expression stern and cold, and rebuked, "You rebellious disciple, do you confess your crimes!"
"What crime have I committed?" The man's eyes narrowed, and his tone alone revealed his coldness and disdain.
"You covet your master, your intentions are unclear, what exactly do you want?!"
Jiang Ran was taken aback when she saw the sect leader's displeased expression and heard him reveal the crux of the matter.
In Taoism, the master-disciple relationship is not to be trampled on. Although there are also Taoist couples, the master-disciple relationship is a major taboo.
If what he said is true, then the situation is indeed not to be underestimated.
The man raised his chin slightly and suddenly scoffed, "Who set these rules? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all natural occurrences, and people should not be bound by sect rules!"
"Since Heaven is unforgiving, then I'll defy Heaven!"
"Arrogant!" The sect leader's expression hardened, his already stern face becoming even more sinister: "Then don't blame us for showing no mercy!"
As he spoke, he nodded slightly to the elders beside him. The elders instantly understood, their expressions turned cold, and they formed hand seals while chanting incantations.
Jiang Ran stood on the periphery, looking down, and immediately recognized that they were in the midst of a grand ceremony to summon heavenly lightning.
His expression immediately changed to one of surprise. The person standing in the center showed no sign of backing down, holding a talisman and chanting incantations. Runes had appeared on the talisman.
Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow, a hint of doubt flashing across her face. She wanted to see how he would deal with these leading figures in Taoism.
Upon closer inspection, a look of shock crossed his face. He had actually used a reverse-writing symbol?!
Even though she had cultivated for many years, she had only seen it in ancient books and had never seen anyone actually succeed in trying it.
As expected, when the sect leaders saw his move, they looked at each other, a fierce glint flashing in their eyes, and immediately decided to kill him.
The two forces were evenly matched, and that person was able to barely hold his own against them.
Seeing the changing situation, Jiang Ran's face flashed with a hint of helplessness, and she sighed inwardly, "In the end, this is not a long-term solution."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the man was suddenly at a disadvantage, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his lips. Then his eyes narrowed sharply, his expression changed slightly, and the hand seals he formed became unpredictable, clearly indicating that he intended to perish together with them.
Just then, someone suddenly burst in from outside the door. Jiang Ran was stunned, not expecting it to be herself!
But why does she have absolutely no recollection of this memory?!
What does this incident have to do with her? She always stays out of the way in the Purple Bamboo Grove, so why would she suddenly barge into the Gathering Hall? And under these circumstances?
Just as she was overwhelmed by a barrage of doubts, she heard 'her' stern voice shout, "Stop!"
Upon hearing the sound, the man visibly paused, but then withdrew his hand. The sect leader seized the opportunity and struck him with a spell. The man swayed slightly, but didn't care. He staggered and turned to look at Jiang Ran, a smile playing on his lips, completely different from his previous coldness.
He then called out softly, "Master..."
When Jiang Ran saw the person's face clearly, she was shocked as if struck by lightning. The person looked exactly like the driver, Liang!
Upon realizing this, Jiang Ran felt a splitting headache, and all her past memories flooded her mind in an instant. When she opened her eyes again, the scenes from her previous life had disappeared, and she saw Si Jiliang standing in front of her with a worried expression.
Seeing that she had opened her eyes, he asked repeatedly, "How are you? Are you alright?"
Jiang Ran looked up and stared blankly at the face in front of her that was both unfamiliar and familiar. The past and present scenes overlapped, her eyes flickered slightly, and a strange expression flashed across her face.
Si Jiliang also vaguely sensed that the way she looked at him was completely different. He was slightly taken aback, and an unrealistic thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
“No wonder you can reverse write talismans…” Jiang Ran said, then suddenly sneered, “You are the originator of reverse write talismans, so how could you be subject to this?”
As he spoke, he shook his head slightly, a cold look on his face, and then asked again, "Is that so, Aji..."
Upon hearing that familiar name, Si Jiliang's pupils dilated suddenly, and his face showed surprise: "Master, you...you remember everything?"
Compared to Si Jiliang's surprise, Jiang Ran seemed somewhat indifferent, her expression slightly stern, and she said in a cold voice, "So what if you remember?"
"In your past life, you almost caused the destruction of your sect because of your selfish desires, but I never expected that I would see you again by chance!"
As she spoke, a hint of coldness lingered in her voice, and there was a clear reason why she was so indifferent.
In her past life, she could not let go of their master-disciple relationship. Even though she knew he was wicked, she did not punish him according to the sect rules, but instead begged her senior brother, the sect leader, to expel him from the mountain.
Unexpectedly, he used reversed talismans to establish a heretical cult, and put the 'Xuanqing Sect' in the eye of the storm, causing the century-old Taoist tradition to fall into the hands of righteous people.
At the same time, he ordered his men to commit all sorts of evil deeds, using the name of the "Xuanqing Sect" to his advantage, which led to the loss of popular support. When righteous people came forward to attack, the result was a lose-lose situation.
"If I had another chance, I would never let the tiger return to the mountain again!"
Jiang Ran's eyes darkened, and she spoke again in a cold voice.
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