The empty city was destroyed (27)
Shaoling is a kind and good person; at least in Gu Wusi's eyes, he deserves a better life, instead of rotting away in this stinking quagmire.
She watched helplessly as Shaoling's soul was torn apart. The painful screams pierced her heart, as if a gash had been opened in her heart, and blood dripped down the wound, drop by drop.
She had to tense every muscle, holding the sinister-looking black sword, and watch the torture unfold from beginning to end. At that moment, she felt a hatred even more intense than when she had been locked up and tormented by the maids in the storeroom.
Shaoling's physical body thus became a lifeless corpse before her eyes. The Ghost Calculator said that the body was no longer useful and told her to take it away and dispose of it. He then examined the Crimson Bone Black Sword that had been forged, his eyes filled with mad joy.
Gu Wusi suppressed her inner impulse, bit her tongue, and let the strong taste of blood remind her to remain calm.
Numbly, she stepped forward and hugged Shao Ling's body. He was too heavy, and she could only drag him away from the weapon-refining room.
The body, having lost its three souls, decayed rapidly. She dragged him to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, attempting to find a magical artifact to stop the decay, but to no avail. Whether it was the work of the Ghost Calculator or not, Shaoling's corpse dissipated like the black ash left after a fire, leaving not a trace.
Looking at the clean ground, Gu Wusi suddenly felt her legs go weak and collapsed to her knees with a thud. Her forehead pressed against the cold ground, her breathing rapid and broken, her back trembling violently, as if every bone in her body was groaning.
She had to clutch her chest tightly with both hands, her fingertips turning white from the force. A low whimper escaped her throat, like a wounded wild animal, filled with pain and despair.
The air around them seemed to freeze at that moment, with only Gu Wusi's cries echoing through it. The cries were heart-wrenching, as if she wanted to pour out all her regret and pain at that moment.
Gu Wusi cried alone for a long time until no more tears could flow from her eyes. Only then did she straighten up, sobbing. She caught sight of a reflective bronze mirror, leaned closer to look at herself, and wiped away the tear stains from her face.
She rummaged through drawers and cupboards, trying to find a magical artifact in the treasure trove that could help her kill the fortune teller. She searched for three days and three nights but couldn't find anything satisfactory. She found it laughable herself; how could that vile woman allow something that threatened her to exist on her own turf?
She casually tossed the ritual implement in her hand aside, and it landed among a pile of inconspicuous trinkets. Then, a round object rolled to her feet. She picked it up and saw that it was a bowl with patterns printed inside, and three words were crookedly written on the bottom of the bowl—Ye Yingying.
Gu Wusi had never heard of this name before, but her intuition told her that it wouldn't appear in the Ghost Calculator's Treasure Pavilion for no reason. She followed the clues into the Scripture Pavilion, searched through all the books inside, and finally found the name again in a list of local fires.
This person named "Ye Yingying" used a brush to draw a funny face on the blank page where the Azure Nether True Fire was introduced, and added a sentence: "From now on, it belongs to me, Ye Yingying."
Holding the booklet, she subtly inquired about the identity of Ye Yingying, the "Ghost Calculator." Unexpectedly, the usually indifferent Ghost Calculator suddenly froze, then abruptly threw the booklet to the ground, unleashing a furious outburst at Gu Wusi: "Don't even think that dead man can avenge you!"
Gu Wusi was kicked out of the weapon-refining room by the Ghost Calculator, but she realized that Ye Yingying possessed something that could threaten the Ghost Calculator's life. After several tests, she finally concluded that what the Ghost Calculator feared was the Azure Nether True Fire.
"You knew all this? Then why didn't you tell me?" Shaoling questioned in the illusion.
Enveloped in white mist, every wisp of fog seemed to whisper the secret that Gu Wusi had suppressed for so long.
"What good will it do you to know? What can you change?" Her heart pounded in her ears, still furious at Shao Ling's betrayal by seeking refuge with Ye Yingying. "Isn't it good to be a human being? Why do you keep trying to help them destroy all of this?"
"But the fortune teller..."
"I told you I don't care whether he lives or dies!" Gu Wusi roared. "I hate him, I hate that he turned you into a weapon spirit, I hate that he trapped you in the sword forever."
"But after trying every possible method and finally finding traces of the Azure Nether True Fire, that guy snatched it away."
"You asked me to talk to her, and I did, but what about her?" Gu Wusi sneered. "She didn't even know how to use the Azure Nether True Fire to kill the Ghost Calculator."
"She worked for the fortune teller before I did, but in the end she knew less than I did!"
Mentioning Ye Yingying, Gu Wusi's expression turned cold. For her, the hope of finally killing the Ghost Calculator had long been extinguished.
She closed her eyes briefly to calm herself, and her gaze softened as she looked at Shaoling: "I thought I would never see you again, but now you are standing in front of me, safe and sound."
"Even though this illusion restricts your movements, don't you think it's the best possible outcome?"
When Gu Wusi said this, there was an almost manic obsession on her face. She kept shouting and questioning Shaoling repeatedly, but this only made Shaoling feel more bitter. A bit of pity arose in her eyes when she looked at her.
"Sister Gu, he forced you to do so many heinous things, are you just going to let him go like this?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Wusi paused, then suddenly frowned. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, her shoulders rising and falling with her chest.
After exhaling, she stared into Zhao Yuxiao's eyes, her gaze cold and stern: "He never forced me; I did everything for him voluntarily."
"Huo Shaoling, I've always been this kind of person, even before I met you."
"If you can't accept it, then go back to being your weapon spirit."
A thick fog also enveloped Ye Yingying and Wu Yue's group. Zhan Yan, who stood before them, spoke mysteriously, constantly uttering cryptic words. Wu Yue couldn't fathom what this kinsman from a thousand years ago was thinking until the words "merely rising and falling with this illusion" reached her ears, at which point Wu Yue suddenly understood.
"You were created by him too?" Wu Yue stared directly at Zhan Yan, her tone demanding.
Faced with her aggressive questioning, the Imperial Advisor Zhan Yan simply smiled and remained noncommittal.
But this silence spoke volumes; Wu Yue realized that staying there any longer was futile.
She glared at Yun Yanqiu, her voice filled with suppressed anger: "You knew all along?"
“No.” Yun Yanqiu also looked at her, her face still expressionless. “I just confirmed this.”
The person in front of them was not the "Zhan Yan" they were looking for. The national advisor they had gone to great lengths and many twists and turns to find was just a carefully designed smokescreen.
Wu Yue's anger erupted instantly. Without hesitation, she turned around and rushed out.
"Wait, where are you going?!" Zhao Yuxiao followed closely behind, his eyes fixed on her figure, afraid that she would disappear into the thick fog.
"Back to the inn!" Wu Yue shouted without turning her head, her steps becoming increasingly hurried.
Ye Yingying and Yun Yanqiu quickly followed. Before leaving, Ye Yingying turned back one last time, glanced at Zhan Yan, and asked, "Is that stone in your hand the Soul-Suppressing Stone?"
"Oh? You have a good eye for quality?" Zhan Yan opened his palm and showed her the broken, pure white stone, his tone tinged with self-deprecation. "Unfortunately, it's about to give out."
Having received her answer, Ye Yingying stopped asking questions. She turned around decisively and followed Yun Yanqiu to chase after Wu Yue.
The heavy tolling of bells echoed from the highest point of the palace. The four of them ran quickly through the deserted streets. The thick fog obscured their vision, and all they could hear was the rattling of chains around them.
The closer they got to the inn, the thicker the fog became, but the truth was right before their eyes. Even as the prison guards kept approaching, no one stopped.
At this moment, Ye Yingying finally saw what the prison guards looked like—they were a group of empty shells dressed in luxurious clothes, each of them wrapped in cold iron chains.
Their eyes were cloudy and lifeless, yet they stared intently at their prey, uttering indistinct growls as the chains swung in the air with a chilling sound. Despite this, their movements were clumsy and slow, and Ye Yingying could easily dodge them with a mere sway.
However, Wu Yue seemed to be struggling. She wasn't good at physical activities to begin with, and now she was panting heavily, staggering, and almost twisted her ankle. Zhao Yuxiao keenly noticed her predicament, quickly stepped forward, scooped her up, and steadily carried her on his shoulder.
"Zhao Yuxiao!" The sudden weightlessness made Wu Yue cry out in surprise. She instinctively pounded Zhao Yuxiao's back, but when she saw a prison guard rushing towards her, she frantically grabbed his clothes.
Zhao Yuxiao carried her on his back, his movements still as agile as the wind. He seized the opportunity, lightly touching the ground with his toes, and gracefully weaved through several prison guards, heading straight ahead.
The inn's outline gradually became clearer in the mist. Red lanterns on the four upturned corners of the roof lit up again, their dim candlelight illuminating the way home, just as it had been when they first returned to the inn through the mist. However, the long-braided girl was nowhere to be seen anxiously waiting at the inn's entrance.
For some reason, as they approached the inn, the prison guards gradually stopped moving, and the four of them seized the opportunity and successfully rushed into the inn.
Zhao Yuxiao put Wu Yue down, but before they could even catch their breath, several crisp claps rang out in the hall. The sound echoed in the empty hall, carrying a hint of unsettling mockery.
The group looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yun Yatou leaning against the table with a meaningful smile on her face. She still had her long ponytail, crossed her legs, and her toes swayed slightly, appearing quite relaxed. The shopkeeper, on the other hand, was lying motionless on the opposite table, as if he had fallen asleep.
Seeing the group burst in, Yun's smile widened. She casually stood up, opened her arms, and said with a hint of feigned concern, "You're finally back. I thought you were going to be kidnapped by those guys outside."
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