Chapter 102 The World Turns, Time Presses On (The End) A dream begins and ends...
The cicada was born with a cry, and then the plague ended.
The Zhuanxu people naturally regarded this girl, who inherited her mother's power, as an auspicious sign and savior. They believed that she had suppressed her brother, who was a plague demon, and that as long as Yu Chan was there, the people here would no longer be taken away by the plague in an instant.
To further verify their beliefs, the clansmen jointly petitioned the female cultivator to send the newborn Yu Chan to Qiong Yin, leaving the two children alone for three days and three nights. If the baby girl remained unharmed, it would prove that she was truly a miraculous medicine sent by Heaven to save Zhuanxu.
The female cultivator looked down at the baby in the swaddling clothes, who was babbling and smiling at her. She originally wanted to reject the request, since the plague had now subsided and there was no need for such a thing. However, as soon as she stepped out of the main hall, she saw her clansmen kneeling in front of the hall. They were pleading with her in the name of their deceased relatives, for the sake of Zhuanxu and for the sake of Puyang.
So that the other lives, which have gone through so much hardship to be born into this world, would not be so easily lost.
As the leader of her tribe, shouldn't she be willing to make some sacrifices?
The female cultivator gritted her teeth, turned around and returned to Yu Chan's bedside. Amidst the grateful cries of her people, she carried her one-day-old daughter to Qiongyin.
At this time, Si You was only one and a half years old. She was so clever and quick-witted that she learned to walk on her own and kept saying "Mother" in a daze.
She held the little cicada to Si You and whispered to him, "This is your little sister, Yu Chan. Your mother is entrusting her to you. From now on, Si You must not only learn to protect yourself, but also protect her."
Si You curiously approached Yu Chan and met another pair of even more innocent eyes. He smiled happily and mumbled "Chan" softly, mimicking the female cultivator's words.
"cicada".
As if sensing something, Yu Chan raised her arm to Si You, and the two tender hands clasped together in the air.
Suddenly, a drop of scalding liquid hit the back of his hand.
Si You raised his head blankly, only to find that the female cultivator was already sobbing uncontrollably. Although he didn't understand what crying meant, he just inexplicably disliked this kind of burning thing.
So he tiptoed shakily, stretched out his fingers, and tried to wipe away the tears from the female cultivator's eyes.
"Ah... Mother... no..."
"No…"
Don't cry, he will protect Yu Chan, forever and ever.
As a result, Si You and Yu Chan spent three days and three nights safely on Qiongyin Peak.
The two children were so obedient and sensible that they did not cry or fuss because of hunger. Fortunately, there were no wild animals in the mountains, so the female cultivator only needed to close the doors and windows tightly and turn off the lights.
For three dark nights, Si You held the little cicada tightly in his arms.
Seeing that Yu Chan was safe and sound, the clansmen were finally relieved. They temporarily gave up the idea of killing Si You to eliminate future troubles, but on the condition that the two children must eat and live together and be bound together for life.
The female cultivator gazed at the towering Jianmu tree on Sanjiu Peak, which seemed to disappear into the distant clouds, and nodded without speaking.
The brother and sister grew up like this. Yu Chan could go down the mountain to play during the day, snuggle in her mother's arms, and occasionally escape to the old woman's room to hear some strange and wonderful stories before excitedly returning to Qiongyin to tell Si You.
But her brother could only wander alone in that mountain full of pine trees.
Although she was playful and often complained about Si You in front of others, she would return to that cabin in the woods every night before the moon was high in the sky.
Fragments of everyday scenes flashed before Xia Zhu's eyes. During this time, the female cultivator did not neglect Si You. On the contrary, she devoted more energy to teaching him than she did to the other three children.
But precisely because of this, Si You's doubts and confusion grew, and he even realized the differences between himself and others far too early.
In countless past events, Xia Zhu could always find the female cultivator watching the two of them from some corner. She was expressionless, but her eyes were deep and unfathomable. She would often sit by the window for a whole night, holding the blue pendant around her neck, until frost settled on her eyelashes.
On a night when she couldn't see the stars or the moon, she went out of her room and climbed Sanjiu Peak alone.
The female cultivator stood before the Jianmu tree for a very long time. If it weren't for the night breeze ruffling her long hair and the occasional glint of light from the talisman on her chest, Xia Zhu would have thought her memory had faltered. Finally, she sighed softly and stepped into the barrier that the Jianmu tree had created.
The scene freezes here, but time within the story continues to flow.
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight burst forth, a panicked figure rushed out of the Jianmu tree. Her face filled with terror, she stumbled and staggered down the mountain, while the Jianmu tree behind her swayed violently, and countless leaves fluttered down and were swept away by the wind.
The female cultivator ran back to her room in one breath, closed the doors and windows tightly, and lay down on the bedding, panting heavily.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she abruptly ripped off the jade pendant from her neck.
The whole process is now complete.
Then, stars flew by and rivers flowed, the sun and moon revolved, and ten thousand years had passed.
Xia Zhu guessed that it was the Isuzu Weaving Mist left at the bottom of the Ruoshui River that allowed her to see this past through the medium of water. After all, she remembered hearing a strange bell sound before going to sleep.
If that's the case, then the divine artifact that the female cultivator so desperately prayed for to manifest was only used for recording, rather than fulfilling her wish of being brought back to life.
While understanding the causes and consequences of the plague, it also revealed much more.
She still felt that the matter was not completely over and that there were still doubts.
What exactly happened after the female cultivator entered Jianmu? What was the beastly shadow that appeared before Si You's death, and...?
The man wearing a mask.
Thinking about this gave her a headache, whether it was based on intuition or by connecting it to various clues from the past. Xia Zhu just felt that there must be some connection between the masked person and Ying Huo.
Actually, another, more certain answer was right on her lips, but she herself was unwilling to mention it.
The man she saw in Siyou's room was Chi You, whom Yu Chan was determined to find even as she clung to her last breath.
Perhaps it is Ying Huo.
Although in legends, Chi You died at the hands of Yinglong, who was part of the Yellow Emperor's camp, before the Battle of Zhuolu.
Of course, she never makes conclusions without reason or evidence. If someone attempts to abandon their past, change their appearance, and live in the world again under a different identity, they will inevitably leave traces.
None of that really matters; what matters is why he did it.
Just when she was completely baffled, Xia Zhu suddenly realized that she could move her hands and feet. She tried to raise her hand and stirred up the black mist in front of her.
As the thick fog dissipated, light leaped into our eyes, and everything around us gradually became clear.
"Ah Zhu, you're awake?"
Hearing Feng Mian's voice, Xia Zhu rubbed her head and sat up, her spine cracking as she woke up. She twisted her neck and realized she was no longer in the room she had gone to sleep in. The people around her were also waking up one by one, as if someone had moved them together one by one.
"What's going on?" Feng Feng said, still groggy. "I think I just saw something incredible..."
Ying Ya and Ji Yinxiu chimed in, and the three of them started chattering away.
Xia Zhu walked past them and looked at someone sitting in the corner.
Ying Huo was frank and did not flinch at all. Their eyes met, and her gray eyes became misty and shrouded in a hazy dream. She was once again certain of her guess.
It seems that apart from her, no one else saw through someone's mask in this memory. Xia Zhu glanced at him sideways and snorted lightly without making a sound, as if to tell him not to expose this clumsy lie for now.
She turned to look at Feng Mian beside her and asked, "Did you bring us all together?"
He was also the first to awaken Xia Zhu.
Feng Mian nodded, his expression softening considerably, and patted the cat that had been obediently squatting at his feet.
"Just as I was falling asleep, it seemed like a drop of water leaked down from the roof. I felt a cool sensation on my face and then I couldn't move, just like I was experiencing sleep paralysis. It was a cat that came over and licked me awake."
He smiled and took out a bag of puppy treats from his bag, picked out a piece and fed it to Miaomiao.
"Later, I felt something was wrong, so I knocked on Xiaofeng's and the others' doors, but there was no response..."
"Yes, yes, yes! After I lay down, I felt really hot and sweaty. I thought if I couldn't take a shower, at least I could wash my face, so I just rinsed off quickly. After lying down, I couldn't move anymore." Feng Feng raised his hand and came over, patting the dog's head on the ground. "What do you guys think happened? Could it be that Isuzu made everyone see these things? But why? What's the point?"
Since Feng Mian did not enter the dream, Feng Feng took on the role of narrator, vividly describing what he saw in the bell.
Just as they were getting into the conversation, they suddenly heard Ji Yinxiu's voice. Xia Zhu looked behind her and saw that the lights in the room were not bright, and the corner of the room was hidden in shadow.
“Come and take a look, Xiao Chou... seems a bit off.”
After hearing this, everyone gathered around and found that Ji Wuchou was still lying on the ground with his eyes closed.
She still hadn't woken up.
Xia Zhu leaned down and heard her long, slow breathing. Staring at her furrowed brows and trembling eyelashes, he thought she did look strange, as if... asleep.
It wasn't that Isuzu pulled me into the past; I was truly fast asleep.
Feng Feng tried patting her shoulder and calling her name softly, but she still showed no signs of waking up.
If a person is in a deep sleep and cannot be woken up no matter what, there is only one possibility besides illness...
“Nightmare…” Feng Mian said softly.
For this group of people, "dream" is not a good word.
"Could it be..." Ji Yinxiu hesitated before speaking, but ultimately did not say it. The group exchanged silent glances.
Ji Wuchou slept in a very upright posture, just like she was, with her hands tightly clasped at her sides. Xia Zhu was taken aback for a moment, then gently pulled her hand over and found that her fingers were curled up, as if she were holding something.
She used some force to pry Ji Wuchou's hands open.
Sure enough, she said that Ji Wuchou looked a bit strange.
Her right ear was empty, but she was clutching the ice crystal earring in her hand.
The air around her visibly vibrated the moment she picked up the ice crystal earrings.
A small silver snake was frozen inside a tiny rhombus-shaped piece of ice, and as it twisted, it seemed to come to life.
"Did you... hear anything?" Feng Feng craned his neck, looking around blankly.
Xia Zhu paused for a moment, then also perked up her ears.
The sound of flowing water could be heard again.
However, unlike last time, she could feel the damp wind whipping up water that slapped against the stone surface, a powerful surge only found in rivers.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and then her body began to float. Xia Zhu heard a woman's voice coming from afar.
"Jiang, go to the water! Don't run too far! Be careful not to get lost!"
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