Chapter 83
Chapter 83
Shang Mang is a ghost; if he doesn't want people to see him, they can't see him. Meng Yuan floated over and landed on his shoulder, putting her hands to her mouth and shouting, "What are you doing here!"
Shang Mang didn't react. Zhou Xiuqi called her over, and Meng Yuan got up and flew away, turning back in the blink of an eye. Shang Mang's gaze slowly moved and landed on her back.
Zhou Xiuqi looked through the crack in the door: "You must not act impulsively."
Meng Yuan nodded, and the group flew inside. The thick smell of medicine filled the air; as they shrank, they inhaled even more of the odor. Meng Yuan covered her nose; this was the smell she disliked most. She quickened her pace and rushed forward.
He heard the emperor's muffled, heavy voice.
She stopped on the screen, squatted down to watch, and saw Xiao Ling holding a bowl of medicine, drinking it in small sips. Meng Yuan thought it looked bitter. It would be okay to drink Chinese medicine all at once, but how bitter must it be to drink it in such small sips?
Xiao Ling remained expressionless. The medicine dregs were almost gone. He took a square box from under his pillow, picked up a small, black mass from it, and lifted it up. Meng Yuan, who was far away, saw the black mass and flinched.
Zhou Xiuqi frowned: "Insects."
Xiao Zheyu said, "He has had no sense of taste since he was a child."
Upon hearing the word "insect," Meng Yuan reflexively thought of Weng Xian's method of raising them. She got up and flew over. Zhou Xiuqi and Xiao Zheyu exchanged a glance and followed her. Meng Yuan flew extremely fast, landing inside the emperor's bedding and using the blanket to cover herself.
The insects wriggled in Xiao Ling's hand. Meng Yuan endured the discomfort as she watched him swallow one after another until his lips began to turn black. He tossed the box to the ground; it was empty, all gone. He turned his face away, and Meng Yuan shrank back, avoiding his gaze. Her heart pounded wildly.
A strong sense of unease materialized the next second as Xiao Ling's enormous hand reached out, grabbed her, and forcefully squeezed her waist. He held her up to his face and began to roughly knead her.
"Eat one less." A deep voice boomed in her ear. Meng Yuan did not struggle. She observed his eyes and, sure enough, they had turned into thin vertical lines.
"I'm afraid you have the will, but not the strength." Meng Yuan gritted her teeth and stretched out her hand to activate the spell.
The explosion was deafening, and Meng Yuan was knocked down by the heat wave. Fortunately, she protected herself and rolled back to her normal size. Without hesitation, she summoned the Calamity.
Along with her, Xiao Zheyu and Zhou Xiuqi also returned to normal. Zhou Xiuqi drew the Evil-Repelling Sword, while Xiao Zheyu stood aside, waving his sleeves as he stood.
Xiao Ling stood up from the bed, coughing continuously: "Sister, sister, I would do anything for you."
Only then did Meng Yuan realize something was amiss; the emperor's feelings for Xiao Zheyu were not simple. Seeing Xiao Zheyu's displeasure, Meng Yuan stood before him, holding the calamity charm: "Where is Kong Fusheng?"
Xiao Ling's throat made a gurgling sound, and his speech became sluggish: "Dead, all dead."
Zhou Xiuqi's sword grazed past Xiao Ling, who seemed to be provoked and grabbed at him with her five fingers: "It's all your fault! If you hadn't come back, my sister wouldn't have treated me like this!"
He became increasingly agitated, and his lips and tongue spurted out, covered with a dense ring of insects.
Meng Yuan felt disgusted by what she saw and quickly stepped back to avoid getting contaminated. She took out two talismans from her purse and activated them. The talismans floated in the air, quickly forming a circle, releasing magical fluctuations.
"I refuse to believe I can't find it." Meng Yuan bit her fingertip, and the blood droplet condensed in the air, floated into the circle, and emitted a dark red light.
Xiao Ling's narrow pupils contracted as she stared at the spot like a hungry wolf. Seeing that her efforts were effective, Meng Yuan dried her hands. The spell continued, the light growing dimmer, turning a dark reddish-black hue.
A cacophony of shouts and cries erupted from all around.
Zhou Xiuqi frowned: "Meng Yuan."
Meng Yuan, supporting herself, replied, "I know."
Xiao Zheyu looked at the mass of black energy and asked, "What kind of magic is this?"
Zhou Xiuqi said, "The Yin-Yang Talisman attracts ghosts. The more Yin the blood, the more ghosts it attracts. She carries a curse of vengeance. What she attracts must not be ordinary."
Soon, there was a rustling and wriggling sound, and strange noises came from all directions.
Meng Yuan felt a tightness and dryness in her throat, a high fever, and a chill all over her body, but thankfully she could sense that many things were rushing over.
"It smells so good...it smells so good..." A soft female voice drifted in.
The sound echoed through the hall. With a thud, Zhou Xiu looked over and saw Xiao Ling lying on the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head. He withdrew his gaze and tightened his grip on his sword. A tall shadow was cast across the hall. Meng Yuan stared at it; it was the ghost immortal from yesterday.
Staggering and unsteady, he walked with unfamiliar steps, yet each step was firm, revealing a strength not to be underestimated. Meng Yuan pointed two fingers, the Yin-Yang talisman shattered, and the door slammed shut.
The tall woman, as if waking from a dream, uttered a soft voice: "How did I get here?" Her innocent appearance was enough to deceive people into believing that she was harmless.
Meng Yuan and the others dared not make any rash moves, remaining standing still and waiting for her to make a move before reacting.
The woman bent down, forcing Meng Yuan to meet her gaze. Her eyes darted around before she said, "I know you."
Meng Yuan also felt that she looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't remember who she was for a moment. The longer she stared at her, the more uncomfortable she felt. Her eyes kept rolling, and her deformed body was hunched over, like a long centipede.
Before, there were only six hands, but now they are so densely packed that it's impossible to tell how many hands there are.
"I saw you in my past life." Her voice was soft and sweet at first, but after a while it became cloying and unbearably uncomfortable. Meng Yuan took a step back, and regardless of whether she really knew her or not, she didn't want to be at this distance right now.
Unexpectedly, the next second, Weng Xian grabbed her hand and froze her in place. Zhou Xiuqi took a slight step, and Meng Yuan cast a glance at him, causing Zhou Xiuqi to stop in his tracks.
Weng Xian rubbed her skin and touched her cheek: "I used to be just like you."
The more she spoke, the stranger it became. Her eyes were cloudy, as if veiled by a mist, and she didn't seem to be scrutinizing people. All you could see was her reminiscing, her constant recollection.
"I used to be just like you," she sighed, her resentment overflowing.
The pressure on her tall frame made her hunch over. She wasn't like this before; she was a happy and beautiful woman.
“I am…” Her misty pupils froze, no longer darting around, and she spoke haltingly, “I am…I am.”
After repeating the steps dozens of times, Meng Yuan finally heard it clearly.
"I am Teng Yu'e."
Meng Yuan's breath hitched. Xinghua Village, that woman from another world, a woman from another world just like her. In her past life, the woman who broke down crying in front of the temple, waking her up. Meng Yuan felt as if a huge cauldron was pressing on her chest, and her breathing became heavy.
A jumble of emotions filled her mind; the news was undoubtedly earth-shattering. She turned to look at Zhou Xiuqi, whose eyes darted around, lost in thought. She then looked at Xiao Zheyu, who remained motionless.
A sense of absurd emptiness washed over her again. Was all of this really real? Teng Yu'e couldn't go back, so what did she do in her past life to be so convinced that she could get out?
"How did you become like this?" Meng Yuan heard herself ask.
Teng Yu'e gave a soft laugh: "To survive, to make this world pay for my death."
Meng Yuan was still oblivious to what was happening when she heard the sound of swords clashing coming from the direction of Zhou Xiuqi and the others.
"Long time no see, you two." The voice was tinged with laughter as the broadsword slashed down mercilessly. Meng Yuan turned around and saw the monk with a bitter smile on his lips, who was none other than Tan Yuhua.
He's still alive!
I thought he was dead in Xinghua Village, but he's still alive.
“He won’t die,” Teng Yu’e said, as if she could see through her thoughts, and turned her to those people: “They won’t die, only we will die, truly die.”
Meng Yuan didn't know how Teng Yu'e had become this inhuman, ghost-like creature, capable of speaking and thinking normally. She should have died long ago when her mission failed. Meng Yuan really wanted to know how she survived.
But even without her asking, Teng Yu'e would tell her.
"To survive, I can only eat insects, become a ghost, and constantly hide from it. One day, I will finally be able to say my name openly."
"I'm going to destroy this place," she whispered menacingly in her ear.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha—"
Meng Yuan heard nothing of value. Even though she came from another world, she was now tormented beyond recognition. Her regret and panic were fleeting. Meng Yuan shook her head slightly, her lips moving slightly.
Teng Yu'e groaned softly as Meng Yuan removed her hand and withdrew the Calamity sword stuck in her back. This sword had clearly missed her vital points. After a slight groan, Teng Yu'e pulled the sword out of the water, unable to pierce a hole.
"Teng Yu'e, where is Kong Fusheng?"
Teng Yu'e gritted her teeth and swung her arm at her. Meng Yuan dodged to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Teng Yu'e's arm extended and retracted rapidly, leaving Meng Yuan no opening to strike.
"Mother!" A loud shout rang out, and Teng Yu'e paused noticeably. Meng Yuan was startled; she actually had a child here. A person ran in from outside, and Meng Yuan recognized him at a glance.
Shen Qingshan of Cuixianglou.
Shen Qingshan ran in and fell to the ground. Teng Yu'e suddenly roared, as if she had been stimulated, and her resentment surged.
Meng Yuan was thrown back more than ten meters, crashing into a pillar and barely coming to a stop before landing on the ground, her back aching. At that moment, the horror in her heart outweighed the pain; she had never expected Shen Qing to harm Teng Yu'e's child.
Shen Qingshan scrambled to her feet, stumbling, "Mother, Mother, I've finally found you."
Teng Yu'e lowered her head and placed a hand on the top of her head.
Shen Qingshan looked expectantly at her mother, whom she had searched for for many years, the mother she had finally found. Her eyes fell on the sky outside. A cracking sound came from her neck; those hands had snapped her neck.
Teng Yu'e laughed like a madwoman.
"I told you, you just need to listen to me, I didn't tell you to come find me." Her voice changed, becoming more feminine.
"Good boy, good boy, good boy," she coaxed, holding his head.
Meng Yuan couldn't describe the thoughts that came to her mind upon witnessing this scene—a mixture of tenderness and murderous intent, and murderous intent and tenderness. Teng Yu'e didn't love this child; Shen Qingshan might even have been a tool.
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