Chapter 257 Give her back to me
Mu Jianjian looked at Shan Chuxue, who was staring at her, pursed her lips, and asked, "Are you really not doing anything?"
After she met Wan Xing, Baili Mochen settled her in this courtyard and left, while Shan Chuxue stayed here watching over her.
"Miss Mu, please let me know if you need anything." Shan Chuxue lowered her eyes.
"I prefer the previous name to this one."
Such a cute little girl... but on the contrary, she's a little liar just like Baili Mochen.
Shan Chuxue did not answer, and lowered her head even further.
Why change your name?
The woman standing in the corner trembled as she recalled that opportunity hidden in the winter snow.
When Shangguan Chuxue was born, the first snowflakes fell in the area. The family elders named her with this character, which symbolizes blessings and good fortune.
However, her talent for cultivation was not high.
Because it is difficult to change one's own physique, one is naturally less adept at mastering the Shangguan family's secret techniques.
In cultivation families, everyone admires strength, and in every trial, she becomes the one most easily abandoned and discarded when danger arises.
It was as if a burden had finally been dropped; there was no disgust or contempt, just simple indifference and nonchalance.
That day, she used a secret technique to transform into a child's appearance during her cultivation. Naturally, no one from her family came looking for her. However, after an unexpected incident, she was captured and taken to the Red Chamber, where she met a boy who was about the same age as her.
The boy saved her from harm, and Shangguan Chuxue also felt her long-lost value when she helped him.
“Single word…” Shan Chuxue paused for a moment, “…it means exactly what it says.”
She had always thought she could clearly remember the neglect and betrayal within her family, but now she realized it was all very distant from that time.
Mu Jianjian, propping her head up, sensed the sorrowful aura emanating from the woman opposite her. She quietly extended her divine sense outwards.
He was talking to her, but he also stood up and walked to the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Shan Chuxue was obviously alert and that her hand was in her sleeve.
Dan Chuxue felt a blur before her eyes saw the girl approaching her with a smile and grabbing her hand with lightning speed.
"Clang, clang—"
She frowned, about to take out the painting her master had given her, but as if the other party could see through her intentions, he slammed her against the wall with a "bang".
Mu Jianjian took out a jade slip from the other person's sleeve, crushed it in front of the other person, and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, I just hope you can be quiet for a while before I leave."
Dan Chuxue was stunned. The other party's series of actions were so fast that she could hardly react, but she could feel a reassuring power coming from the girl opposite her.
Even being placed under house arrest didn't make her smile disappear; her calm and unassuming demeanor could captivate anyone.
She rarely appears in any of the novels from "Dream of the Red Chamber," yet every character she portrays is none other than herself.
Gentle yet strong.
After knocking Shan Chuxue unconscious, Mu Jianjian opened the courtyard gate and looked up, locking her gaze on several cultivators lurking in the shadows.
After dealing with these people, she fixed her gaze on a streak of black ink in front of the courtyard gate.
Hmm... Baili Mochen's secret technique...
They really did have a backup plan.
——
Wan Xing waited anxiously in the courtyard for the arrival of the person. She glanced at the several cultivators who had already fainted in the corner and bit her nails in fear.
Why isn't she here yet?!
Fifteen minutes have passed since the agreed time, and there's still no sign of them. I wonder if it's all over again.
Let's go.
As soon as a woman's voice fell, Wan Xing looked up and saw a woman lying on her clothes covered in a black, viscous liquid.
The woman had indifferent eyes, her hair was piled up like a bird's nest, and her clothes, which were stained with black ink and covered with dirt and grass, looked disheveled without any jewelry.
Wan Xing: ?
"What... what's wrong with you?"
Mu Jianjian ignored the other person's surprise and took Wan Xing's hand to walk outside, saying, "There was a little accident on the way out."
Recalling the weightlessness and unreal sensations of being sucked into this other world, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
She originally thought Baili Mochen had a backup plan, but after she was sucked into another world by the ink, she discovered that Baili Mochen had five backup plans!
Wan Xing: ...
Is this just a minor accident?
She glanced at the red blood dripping from the corner of the girl's clothes.
What would constitute a major accident?
"There's no time to lose, let's leave here now—"
“I heard that Young Master is here,” Wan Xing said suddenly, looking at the girl’s black hair fluttering in the wind. “He’s also in Duyunfang. Are you going to go find him?”
Mu Jianjian stopped in her tracks, and the first thing that came to mind was Nian Qing's image.
"Um... what's wrong?" Sensing that the other person's mood was off, Wan Xing's voice grew softer and softer.
She recalled what had happened in the Mysterious Heaven Realm.
He himself had sneaked out of his clan and fallen into danger, and so had she. Although he didn't know what she had gone through when she disappeared, Wan Xing knew that it must have been a terrible experience.
But Shaojun is clearly in Duyunfang, yet he doesn't come to find her...
"Boom boom boom—"
The clouds that had been lingering in the sky for a long time obscured the sunlight, blocking the light from reaching the earth. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, accompanied by raindrops. In the blink of an eye, the weather changed abruptly and a heavy rain began to fall.
"I don't know where he is, and Duyunfang is so big, it would be bad if we bumped into someone. Let's leave here first and then make some plans," Mu Jianjian said softly.
But is that really the case?
She didn't know, but her mind was in turmoil, and the impulse she had when she first traveled back had gradually faded. Instead, she became increasingly afraid of encountering him.
I don't know how to ask the question, nor do I know how to face the situation.
The rain poured down, and the two carefully jogged along using Qi Condensation Talismans, walking out of the courtyard and about to head to other places, when Mu Jianjian stopped at a corner.
Wan Xing bit her lip and turned her head, "...What?"
"Shh," Mu Jianjian whispered in her ear, "Something's not right here, someone's there."
Her spiritual sense was far stronger than her physical strength, and the fact that the figure she saw had not been detected by the gentleman indicated that the other party's strength far surpassed hers.
Are there still people like this in Duyunfang?
Mu Jianjian and Wan Xing hid in the corner, holding their breath. She hoped that the Qi Condensation Talisman would work and prevent the other party from noticing.
"Did the master say we should evacuate?" A male voice rang out from not far away.
“Let’s go, this place is no longer of any use,” another voice paused, “Fortunately, there’s still a little bit of Manro left…”
The rest of the conversation was unclear, but Mu Jianjian had a general idea of the other person's identity.
What incredible luck...
In a place as vast as Duyunfang, to encounter someone from the Upper Realm who couldn't leave in time is as lucky as being walked down the street and being rooted into a pit by a pig.
She turned her head and gave Wan Xing a warning look, telling him not to make a sound. Wan Xing nodded slightly, as if he understood.
As their voices faded into the distance, Wan Xing patted her chest, "Yuanyuan, you really scared me to death—"
As soon as he made a sound, he lost his breath.
Mu Jianjian frowned and tried to cover her mouth, but it was too late!
A chilling aura emanated from behind the wall, closing in on the two of them. She instantly led Wan Xing away from their original spot, and the place they had just been standing in turned into a crater of dust.
Wan Xing instantly realized he had made a mistake. The other party must have noticed their commotion and hadn't left at all!
“We had no intention of coming here. Since you are leaving, I believe you do not wish to get entangled with anyone.” Mu Jianjian took out the Rain Ruler and placed it behind her. The transparent magic artifact seemed to be covered with a thin film in the rain, refracting specks of light.
At this point, a fight would attract unwanted attention, which would be bad for all four of them, so she wanted to see if there was any room for negotiation.
The girl's cold voice echoed through the neighborhood along with the sound of raindrops, and two male figures slowly walked out in front of them.
“Foundation Establishment and Core Formation…” A cultivator in a black robe stepped forward. “If you are willing to let me search your souls, I will let you go. How about it?”
They had been living peacefully in the Red Chamber, producing Manluo, but now they were all wiped out by those people, leaving only the two brothers. Now they have returned to the upper realm in a very frustrating state, but they have run into two beautiful women...
He licked his lips, his gaze fixed on Wan Xing standing behind Mu Jianjian, pausing for a second.
“We—” the other man hesitated.
"Look at that person behind us, doesn't she carry some wood spirit aura?" Her face contorted, her voice growing increasingly manic. "If we capture her and bring her to the Upper Realm, we'll atone for our sins, and our master will surely reward us handsomely!"
His words were laced with a wicked laugh, making people feel like playthings and jokes to be played with at will, like ants seen in the corner of a wall while walking.
Mu Jianjian took a deep breath, and the membrane covering her body with her true energy to prevent her from getting wet disappeared. At this moment, she was soaked in the torrential rain and reopened her eyes.
Knowing that this battle was unavoidable, they made use of every last bit of their true energy to prepare for the great battle.
"You go first," Mu Jianjian said without changing her expression, secretly transmitting her voice to Wan Xing, "Go find someone."
"It's all because of me, how can I leave you behind first?" Although Wan Xing was pampered and spoiled in the Wood Spirit Clan, she did not want to abandon her friends in the face of disaster. She felt the pressure from the two people opposite her, and her legs trembled but she did not move an inch.
“Their main target is you. Once they reach the Transcendent Realm, we won’t be able to leave.” Mu Jianjian turned her head sharply, her eyes serious and solemn.
Under the girl's gaze, Wan Xing raised his hand and placed it on the wall beside him. In the blink of an eye, lush green plants sprouted wildly and surged towards the other side!
Since the target is her, she can't back down!
"Boom—"
A clap of thunder echoed through the sky, and the instant the lightning illuminated the heavens, their clothes became soaked and felt sticky and heavy, but this did not stop the two from walking.
We can't beat them.
Mu Jianjian gripped the Rain Ruler tightly, trying to make herself feel safer.
Previously, in the Yingzhou Demon Palace, she managed to force the people from the Upper Realm to reveal their trump cards by outnumbering them. Now that Wan Xing's cultivation is inferior to hers, the best approach is for one of them to hold off the other while the other goes to find help. But will the other side really let Wan Xing leave?
As Mu Jianjian pondered this, she suddenly realized that the distance between the four rooms, which was originally no more than a hundred meters, was getting farther and farther away, and the raindrops on her head had stopped for some reason. Her pupils shrank, and she paused, realizing that something was wrong, but it was too late.
"Still too weak." The hoarse male voice fell, and Mu Jianjian looked up and saw a transparent membrane above her head, swaying like a real object in the raging wind and rain, but it did not break.
"bite--"
The surrounding air became thinner, and the flow of time seemed to slow down. Wan Xing frantically touched her mouth and nose, and a suppressed fear rose in her heart. She then realized that this was not the monster that had given her to practice on, but a real case of the weak fighting against the strong.
It's all because of her...
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she squeezed them out, gritted her teeth, and released her inner energy towards a corner. In an instant, a giant tree shot into the sky and rose from the ground!
Mu Jianjian looked up and saw the giant tree supporting a corner of the sky. She quickly seized the opportunity to get behind the man, but her wrist was still grabbed by him in the next moment.
A devastating pressure swept over her face, and even though she instinctively dodged, the true energy still managed to cut a gash in her abdomen.
There was absolutely no time; they couldn't even go looking for traces of the phantom butterfly.
This is the ultimate crushing victory in terms of cultivation level.
"Entering the painting—"
A male voice came from behind, followed by a cracking sound that seemed to come from the sky to the ground. In an instant, hearing returned, and then the cold raindrops began to fall.
The man holding Mu Jianjian's wrist was stunned. He then felt a sense of severing behind him. A scroll made of ink was displayed out of thin air, drawing people's souls into the painting!
Their membranes had been torn at some point!
The man's eyes flashed with anger, which was instantly absorbed into the painting's world.
Mu Jianjian, her consciousness fading, collapsed into someone's arms. Her face, previously stained with ink, had long been washed clean. She struggled to lift her head to see who it was, but to no avail.
“…Senior brother?” Her eyelashes trembled as she murmured, a tear streaming down her face with the rain.
Baili Mochen felt a pang of pain in his heart, and anger welled up in his eyes as he glanced at the painting in front of him, which contained the two men and showed faint signs of cracking.
Forcibly pulling two people into a painting at once, which was already enough to cause his meridians to reverse, was not the time to relax.
Just as he was about to raise his hand, a surge of true energy struck from behind, instantly annihilating the life force of the two men who had been sucked into the painting!
To cross his boundaries and kill someone?
What kind of powerful secret technique and control over one's own true energy must this require?
A fleeting glint of cold light flashed in Baili Mochen's eyes. He turned around with the woman in his arms and saw a man in white pursing his lips and curving them upwards, his gaze as sharp as a knife fixed on him.
Despite the heavy rain, the man's white robes fluttered in the breeze. A closer look revealed that not a single raindrop had fallen on him. His eyes were like crystal washed clean, yet they shone with a murderous intent that seemed to devour people. Within a hundred miles, no one could resist his aura and submit to his power.
Give her back to me.
Chi Wenqing's well-defined fingers reached towards the woman in Baili Mochen's arms, his tone revealing the danger of impending collapse.
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