Chapter 67
Chapter Sixty-Seven
I don't know if he remembered my name, but the system's warning sounded in my mind.
[Warning, warning, the host's health is decreasing.]
[Warning, warning.]
I can't worry about whether he can survive anymore, I have to go back to Qingyou Temple.
I turned to leave, my legs no longer obeying my commands, and I began to lose my balance. When I transmigrated to this world, the system had told me that I had one chance to save my life, but only one, and this chance would be useless if the final mission failed.
I had been wondering when I would take advantage of such a precious opportunity, but I never expected it to be at this time, on a very strange night.
That day, I collapsed on the street and lost consciousness. When I woke up again, the world had changed, and I was no longer at Qingyou Temple. My mother, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, appeared beside me.
My mother happily grasped my hand: "Ah Yuan, you're awake?"
Her face looked exactly like my mother in real life, yet I felt a sense of unfamiliarity. I pulled my hand away from hers and asked, "Mother? How did I get here?"
The mother's expression paused only briefly before she happily said, "Sending you to Qingyou Temple was definitely the right thing to do; the curse of vengeance on you has been averted."
The curse of vengeance, is it gone?
It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to react. My mother hugged me, and at the same time, a system notification sounded in my mind.
[While you were unconscious, the system took over your care and implemented a life-saving mechanism. You now only have one life left.]
Please cherish your time; there's not much time left until the finale.
"Managed" means that while I was unconscious, the system was handling the storyline for me? I rubbed my head; I'd slept too long, and it was hard to think straight.
My mother said, "Ah Yuan, lie down first. I've made your favorite food. I'll go get it for you now." Before I could say anything, she left.
The surroundings were quiet and unfamiliar, and I was all alone, sinking into a deep sense of powerlessness. The system's words were a death knell. Even though I knew I should pursue the male lead so I could go home, it meant I had to destroy the relationship between the male and female leads.
I can't do it, and I don't want to. I have my own principles for doing things. This world is constantly instilling in me the concepts of good and evil, dividing good and evil into different species. In many ways, this has become a prejudice.
Because they are different, they all seem to be wrong.
I do not agree with this view.
What kind of world is this? I've been here for over a decade, and the only people I've met are Zhou Xiuqi, Ling Daozi, my master's wife, and the people in the Taoist temple. I've never seen anyone else.
I know very little about this world. Perhaps there are other ways to get out, ways to get out without completing the mission.
I looked up at the sky and muttered to myself, "That's too far-fetched."
I still can't understand why she was reincarnated into this world, given parents who looked like them in real life, but were a loving couple. She was given many emotions she never received in real life. What is the meaning of letting her grow up here?
So ethereal, so fleeting.
I suddenly thought of a poem: "Alone in a foreign land, I am a stranger; on every festive occasion, I miss my family all the more."
Grandma's voice was a little blurry, but her appearance was still clear. If I hadn't gone back, I would have forgotten what Grandma looked like.
I struggled with this decision, going back and forth, debating whether or not to get involved between the male and female leads.
After that day, I stayed in this happy home, receiving love from my mother every day, but I knew it wasn't true love. Daily supplements, daily visits, daily greetings.
It felt so real; everything about it was just like the family I wanted.
Days passed by, and I didn't know when the final day would come. The longer I stayed like this, the more anxious I became.
His personality also began to change; he became increasingly gloomy and quiet.
One day, an older woman ran into the house covered in blood. My mother hurriedly pushed her out, and when I saw her, I panicked even more. I ran up to her and pushed her hand away: "What are you doing?"
My mother looked at me, her hands beginning to tremble: "Push...push...her, A-Yuan, don't..."
The old woman grabbed my clothes and cried out, "So many people have died outside, so many people have died! Your family is alright, please, please take me in, please take me in."
So many people have died. Is this the end? I turned around to push open the door, but my mother grabbed the hem of my clothes and asked, "Ah Yuan, are you leaving?"
His toes hovered over the threshold, and behind him was a mother's pleading voice: "Can't you stay with your mother?"
She seemed cold and heartless, but she wasn't my mother.
Her mother left when she was five years old; she witnessed it herself.
I felt a pang of unease within me. I turned around, took a deep breath, and finally saw her face clearly—a kind and gentle face, one that was impossible to hate. I wanted to look at that identical face and ask the question I hadn't uttered as a child: Why did you abandon her?
Finally, after trembling for a long time, he managed to utter, "No one lives for others."
Stepping out of this room, the shadows and grievances of childhood will eventually become understanding.
The air outside was thick and murky, and every step I took was accompanied by a nauseating, foul stench. The sight almost made my stomach churn: a disemboweled corpse lay on the ground, its intestines spilling out, its empty eye sockets staring straight at me.
My stomach churned, but I managed to hold it in.
"Meng Yuan?" someone called me. I turned around and carefully examined his features. He had grown a beard, his eyes were bloodshot, and his white Taoist robe was stained with blood. I still recognized him; it was Zhou Xiuqi.
He had aged so much.
When Zhou Xiuqi saw that I recognized him, he asked, "Why are you here?"
I said, "What happened here?"
"The birth of a ghost fetus means the end of peace." The woman's voice was calm and steady. A woman stepped out from behind him, and I was certain. That was the female lead. So it was the birth of a ghost fetus; it was all the ghost fetus's doing.
The series has reached its finale, and watching them stand together, they looked so perfectly matched. Their relationship, built since childhood, was not something an outsider like her could easily interfere with.
Without giving it much thought, I became even more determined not to try and seduce Zhou Xiuqi: "Have you all been looking for the ghost fetus these past few days?"
Zhou Xiuqi glanced at the intestines on the ground, then looked away with disgust: "Yes." Zhou Xiuqi usually didn't show such obvious emotions; it seemed this ghost fetus had really angered him.
Xiao Zheyu said, "He is hiding in Lin'an, constantly releasing ghosts to kill people and show off his power."
Zhou Xiuqi gripped the Evil Blade tightly, his face tense.
I said, "Senior brother, I'll go with you to look for it."
Zhou Xiuqi loosened his grip on the sword hilt: "No need, you can go back."
I looked at him, confused: "Why?"
Zhou Xiuqi said coldly, "The ghost fetus is elusive and its methods are vicious; you have no way to deal with it."
I didn't want to argue, so I chose to remain silent.
I chose to separate from Zhou Xiuqi and the other person. Zhou Xiuqi's upright character led to such a tragic end. He chose to sacrifice himself for the world and for his lover. It sounds grand, but it was actually a curse on his lover.
A romantic curse.
If only the ending could be changed, there wouldn't have been so much trouble, and she could have gone home safely. She had so many "what ifs" in her heart, but the most regrettable thing was that there were no "what ifs."
I walked the streets for a long time. Ghosts only appear at night, and dealing with these little ghosts is no problem for me with my magic. Along the way, while dealing with the ghosts, I also searched for the so-called ghost fetus. What kind of person could do such cruel things?
I'm not hungry, I'm not tired, and I'm doing repetitive things like a robot.
"Don't let your evil intentions run rampant."
"It's you again?"
The conversation reached my ears. I sheathed my sword and walked towards the source of the sound. One of the voices sounded somewhat familiar. I hid behind a tree, having a vague premonition. Peeking through the gap, I saw, sure enough, a glimpse of white.
Another voice sounded above her head.
"You're not very strong, come and take it." He contemptuously stretched out his hand, and the silver whip flew out of his hand. However, it was not a whip that would wrap around a person like an ordinary whip. It swung in the air, and wisps of blood mist drifted away. Zhou Xiuqi's fingertip touched it and instantly turned into blood.
He quickly dodged away.
I saw it all; such terrifying magic, no wonder the male protagonist couldn't defeat him in the end.
If things continue like this, Zhou Xiuqi will suffer, so I've decided to go out and take him away.
The mist drifted into Zhou Xiuqi's nose. He covered his mouth and nose in time, but it was too late. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which made my heart tighten. My gaze turned to the red figure in the tree. He lightly tapped his fingertips in the air, and the silver whip lashed the ground defiantly.
The whip shattered the scattered stones on the ground, sending them flying everywhere, forcing Zhou Xiuqi to clutch his chest and retreat. I leaped up on tiptoe, unleashing my Calamity to block the silver whip's continued attack. Calamity was then entangled by Killing Crossing, and I cursed under my breath, thinking how troublesome it was. In the end, I had no choice but to chant an incantation, sheathing my sword while simultaneously casting out talismans.
At the critical moment, the silver whip lashed out at her. She looked up and saw the face of the person in the tree.
The silver whip left marks on the ground; they had vanished. They had moved to another location. I helped Zhou Xiuqi up, and Zhou Xiuqi glanced at her sideways: "You followed me?"
I didn't have the time or inclination for that: "I just happened to be passing by."
Even without medical knowledge, seeing how tightly he was holding it in, I couldn't help but complain, "If you're in pain, just yell a couple of times."
Zhou Xiuqi tilted her head slightly: "I never cry out in pain."
I don't understand: "Never? Never cried out in pain?"
Zhou Xiuqi lowered his eyes, his expression shrouded in a thin mist, making him unfathomable. His voice was weary: "I have no right to complain of pain."
Every sentence is firm, every sentence is negative.
I grew up with him since childhood, watching his outwardly glamorous appearance and his countless hours of sword practice in private. If he failed even slightly, he would practice even harder.
He was terrified of failure.
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