Raiders of the Sword Spirit

☆, 10th

He suddenly reached under the table and grabbed a young boy by the neck, dragging him out.
The boy’s face turned red as he was lifted up into the air, and he grabbed Jiang Yu’s hands with both of his to try to break free. He kicked his feet in the air, ‘Murder…murder!’
His cry quickly attracted the attention of everyone. Many guests in the restaurant were stunned, but they didn’t dare to go up and dissuade him.
The waiter had a panicked expression on his face and was talking into a walkie-talkie.
Hua Ling took a few steps and rushed over, stopping Jiang Yu: ‘What are you doing! Let him go!’
Jiang Yu didn’t even care about her, and just kept a death grip on the little boy who looked to be only four or five years old. He said indifferently, ‘This guy is the Chaos Monster. Say, what is the meaning of appearing here?’
Hua Ling was speechless and put a hand to his forehead. Then he tapped Jiang Yu on the head lightly and said, ‘Let go first. I know him.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
The waiter led several burly security guards over to them.
Hua Ling took his hand and kept on giving him signals: ’Hurry up, don’t cause trouble.’
Jiang Yu finally let go of his hand.
The little boy fell to the ground, his small dark eyes wide open, tears rolling around in his eyes. Anyone who saw him would feel sympathy.
Jiang Yu looked at his expression and was enraged again. This deceitful little bastard, he looks like he deserves a beating!
At this moment, several tall security guards had already walked up to him: ‘Sir, please come with us.’
Jiang Yu frowned and said, ‘What for? !’
His cold and powerful aura immediately aroused the vigilance of the security guards.
Hualing quickly intervened, ‘It’s a misunderstanding. This child has been naughty before and doesn’t know how to properly express anger. His father is angry with him.’
The security guards’ faces clearly showed disbelief.
Hualing unobtrusively gave the little boy standing behind her a gentle kick.
The little boy grabbed the food on the table and put it in his mouth.
Hualing: ’…
She then casually and quickly gave the little boy another hard kick.
The little boy wiped his mouth, turned around, hugged Hua Ling’s leg, and said in a baby voice, half-stammering, ‘Mom, I’m sorry. Please tell Dad not to be angry…’
Everyone: ‘…’
As they walked away, they all secretly wondered about this strange family…
The waiter stood aside, wondering in his heart, did they bring in children before? Or was the target too small for her to notice… But she was sure that there were only two people who just came in…
Hua Ling glanced at her, her eyes slightly changing, and suddenly snapped her fingers in front of her face –
the waitress said, ‘Uh – I’m sorry, this guest, what can I do for you?’
Hua Ling pointed at the little boy and said, ‘Sorry, it seems we’re missing a set of tableware.’
The waitress glanced at the little boy and immediately apologised humbly, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it was my oversight, I’ll bring it to you right away.’
Jiang Yu withdrew his gaze from the waiter and looked at Hua Ling: ‘Hey, just now—you modified her memory?’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘Well, it saves unnecessary trouble.’
The little boy kept shoving steaks into his mouth while giving a thumbs-up and mumbling indistinctly, ‘Amazing! I give it 32 thumbs-up.’
Jiang Yu glared back at him, suddenly flaring up, ‘Hey! Put that down, that’s my steak!!!’
The little boy sat down proudly next to Hualing, munching on his food and looking at Jiang Yu with a mixture of amusement and defiance.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ His hand once again went to the sword sheath standing nearby.
Hualing coughed: ‘Eat first. We’ll talk about it outside.’
The little boy said sweetly, ‘Mommy, I want dessert.’
Hualing: ‘…’ Even she felt like slashing someone this time.
After finally filling the stomachs of the two, the meal finally ended in an extremely discordant atmosphere.
Jiang Yu, without saying a word, walked to the front, while the little boy happily stuck close to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling called out to the man walking in front like the wind, ‘Jiang Yu, someone is chasing you for debt.’
Jiang Yu pretended not to hear and continued walking like the wind.
Hua Ling narrowed his eyes and said, ‘You know where we’re going?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
In the end, the three of them sat down briefly and peacefully facing the river…to eat ice cream.
Hua Ling coughed and said, ‘Let me introduce you, Jiang Yu, Qingyang.’
Qingyang’s dark eyes twirled around Jiang Yu: ‘Oh~~~ you’re the sword spirit.’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘Oh, you’re the incredibly ugly little monster.’
Qingyang immediately stood up and his voice rose an octave, ‘Who are you calling? You’re the monster!’
Jiang Yu sneered, ‘Everyone knows that the primordial chaos is a hideous creature that looks like a dog, with no face, no eyes, no ears, no stomach, no intestines, and no claws.
Qingyang was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at Jiang Yu and said, ’You really think you’re something, but you’re just a…’
‘Shut up!’ Hua Ling seemed a little angry.
Qingyang pursed his lips and silently turned his head away.
Jiang Yu looked at him coldly, “Go on, why did you stop?”
Qingyang stamped his foot, “What is a sword spirit! It’s neither human nor ghost, it’s nothing! Hmph!”
Jiang Yu sneered, “I thought you could say something shocking, and this is it?!”
Qingyang: ’Hmph.’
Hua Ling suddenly let out a ‘hmm’ and put her hand to her forehead.
Jiang Yu immediately asked, ‘What’s wrong?’
Qing Yang also turned his head and looked at her.
Hua Ling weakly said, ‘You guys…stop fighting. It’s making my head hurt…can I say a few words?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Qing Yang: “…
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling and suddenly asked, ”How do you know Chaos?’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘When Chu Jiang came to the human world to teach me magic, he accidentally ran into him messing around and gave him a good scolding. Chu Jiang had nowhere else to put him, so he threw him at me.’
Qing Yang looked up at Hua Ling and then continued eating his ice cream.
Jiang Yu frowned and said, ‘Legend has it that this monster cannot distinguish right from wrong and only befriends cruel people. You really dare to keep him around.’
Qingyang immediately retorted, ‘You’re the one who can’t tell right from wrong!’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘But it’s just a legend. You should judge a person not by his words but by his actions. Chaos is just a child at heart, not an unpardonable sinner.’
Qingyang smugly said, ‘You heard that~’
Hua Ling turned to Qingyang: ‘I haven’t even mentioned you yet! You still know to come back? You’ve long since forgotten about Sichuan.’
Qingyang felt embarrassed. ‘Well, for your birthday, you should come back to keep you company. I just didn’t think you’d already found… a new servant.’
‘But,’ Qingyang poked Hua Ling and winked, ‘this meal wasn’t cheap, was it? Usually you’re so stingy, I never thought… that even a miser like you would let your hair down. Gee, I’ve never had this kind of treatment before. Is it really just to celebrate your birthday?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu interjected: ‘Your birthday? Why didn’t you say anything?’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘Well…there’s not much to say about it.’
Jian Ling was unhappy again: ‘If you didn’t say anything, how was I supposed to know!’
Hua Ling: ‘Well…now you know.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…it’s already happened. I only found out from someone else.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ It’s really hard to understand the thoughts of large animals. What’s the big deal?
Hua Ling looked at Qingyang, who was buried in his ice cream, and said: ‘You’ve had your fun for a while now, it’s time to come back with me, right?’
Qingyang gave a sheepish grin and held up a finger: ‘Give me another month.’
Hua Ling said indifferently: ‘Not even a day. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble? You think I don’t know about all the things you’ve been doing. If I hadn’t been so busy with… this stupid sword and Chu Jiang’s business, I would have had time to deal with you a long time ago.’
Jiang Yu flared up, ‘Who are you calling stupid!?’
No one paid him any mind.
Qingyang stuffed the last bite of ice cream down his throat, folded his hands together, and said goodbye with a small mouth: ‘Please, please… I really have something very important to do.’
Hua Ling sneered, ‘Something important? Are you going to steal food from the state banquet? Or trick little girls into giving you candy?’
Qingyang said awkwardly, ‘…Well, am I that evil?’
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling both thought to themselves at the same time: Even worse.
Still in the small theatre
Title: Qingyang’s Troubles
Qingyang: Damn it, you liar, author! Where’s the hero? ! Why did he end up with this stupid sword?
Author: Huh? What did you say? It’s too windy, I can’t hear you.
Qingyang pinches the author’s ear: What’s so good about this stupid sword! I’m handsomer, smarter and more considerate than you, you know!
Author: Firstly, no normal person would find a little kid more attractive than a muscular hunk; do you think readers would accept a four or five year old boy as the male lead?
Secondly, in terms of intelligence, I think you’re about the same;
Thirdly, how do you know that Wang is not considerate? Look—
not far away:
Hua Ling: Xiaoyu, this crew is broke and unheard of, let’s quit…
Jiang Yu: Wang!
Jiang Yu wagged his tail, carried Hua Ling’s bag and followed her happily…
Author: Oh no! How could you break the contract! Come back here!
Hua Ling’s voice drifted away: He’s gone far away and won’t be back.
The author turned to the petrified Qingyang, offered him tea and wiped the sweat off his face: Your chance to play the male lead has come! The price is negotiable!
Qingyang slithered over to Hualing: Master, wherever you go, I will go with you!
Author: …

☆, 11th letter

Qingyang said awkwardly, ‘……Er, am I really that evil?’
Jiang Yu and Hualing both thought to themselves at the same time: Even more so.
There was a lull.
Qingyang touched his nose and said with a mature air that did not match his appearance or age, ‘I have an appointment with a friend. Early this month, the fifth day, I need to deliver something to him.’
Hualing snorted, ‘It’s only a few days, you’re planning to disappear for a month, at least?’
Qingyang said awkwardly, ‘Well…it was just a casual remark.’
Hua Ling examined him for a moment and said, ‘Are you serious?’
Qingyang raised three fingers and pointed straight at the sky, ‘I swear to the heavens.’
Jiang Yu couldn’t help but complain, ‘You don’t believe in the heavens, so swearing to the heavens is useless.’
Qingyang: ‘…’
Hua Ling waved his hand and said, ‘Okay, okay, then, you said it. I’ll go with you on this trip. After you’ve delivered the item, you’ll come back with me.’
Qingyang: ‘Okay, I got it.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hualing is baffled: ‘What’s with that face?’
Jiang Yu looks away and catches Qingyang making faces at him behind Hualing’s back: ‘…huh, childish.’
Hualing: ‘…’
Three days later. Dunhuang. Qili Town.
Qingyang leads the way, with Hualing and Jiang Yu following behind.
The young boy, who looked a little old for his age, walked slowly with a serious face in front, while a young man and woman followed slowly behind without asking where the boy was going. It looked a little strange if they were considered a family.
There were very few people on the road, and those who were either looked listless or in a hurry. Even this ‘strange’ family walking on the road did not attract their attention.
Hua Ling looked around and said, ‘Do you guys feel that this town is a bit strange?’
Jiang Yu nodded and said, ‘Along the way, we can see traces of burnt houses everywhere.’
Hua Ling added, ‘And they were burnt to the ground without leaving any ashes. If it weren’t for the blackened marks on the ground and the inexplicable empty grid-like spaces, you wouldn’t be able to see any traces of a fire.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes turned cold, ‘It wasn’t an ordinary fire, it was a fire of calamity.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘After we’ve finished with Qingyang, we need to investigate this matter properly. We can’t just leave it alone after we’ve encountered it.’
Jiang Yu said: ‘Indeed, this matter is definitely not the work of ordinary spirits.’
Qingyang casually entered a teahouse. It was an old-fashioned teahouse with wooden doors, bamboo chairs, and square wooden tables.
He simply found a table and sat down, while Hua Ling and Jiang Yu quietly followed him.
At dusk, there was not a single customer in the shop.
The shopkeeper, an old man, saw them come in, and slowly walked out from behind the counter, adjusting his glasses…but heading towards the front door.
He quickly put the wooden door back in its frame and hung the wooden sign that said ‘closed’.
‘Oh, Qingyang, long time no see.’ Turning around, the old man instantly lost his old appearance and walked briskly to their table. ‘Who are these two?’
Qingyang introduced, ‘My owner, Hualing. My owner’s new favourite, a cheap (bastard).’
Hualing quickly pressed down on Jiang Yu’s hand, which was about to draw his sword.
Qingyang said innocently, ‘Sorry, slip of the tongue, it’s a sword spirit.’
The little old man shook his head, ‘You’re as mean-spirited as ever.’
Jiang Yu looked at him with two eyes: ‘Are you a Daoist immortal? Why are you so weak?’ If it weren’t for the imprint of the Earth God on his body, he really couldn’t tell that he was a Daoist immortal guarding the area. His immortal power was extremely weak, and it was estimated that any powerful mountain spirit or wild monster could take care of him.
The little old man nodded: ‘Mr. Jiang has a good eye. I am Jin Xian, the Daoist immortal guarding Dunhuang. I am ashamed that I am now unable to protect this land.’
Qingyang snorted, ‘It’s all because of a jade demon. He died under the peony, and even as a ghost, he’s still a charmer.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
’ Even Hualing couldn’t help but give Jin Xian a second look.
Qingyang seemed to know what they were thinking: ‘Don’t worry, he’s not a lecher. He was a handsome young man before, and it’s all because of the trouble he’s been through.’
Jin Xian wanted to say something, but stopped himself: ‘Qingyang, you’ve misunderstood Bai Ling about everything that happened…’
Qingyang waved his hand to interrupt him: ‘You don’t need to explain to me. You’re not going to change your mind no matter what I say, so it’s pointless for me to try.’
Jinxian sighed silently and fell silent.
Qingyang felt around in his arms and placed a white jade dragon pendant on the table: ‘Here’s your thing.’
Jinxian silently reached out and took it, as if he had regained a treasure, and carefully placed it in his bosom: ‘Thank you.’
‘Huh,’ Hua Ling narrowed her eyes, “Isn’t this the jade pendant that was stolen at the auction of the entire trading company before? Not bad, Qingyang, I was wondering who was so capable. The largest Asian conglomerate had been looking for the suspect for three months and still hadn’t caught him. I’m impressed.”
Jin Xian stroked his white beard, ’I asked Qingyang to help me with this matter. The way they obtained this jade was not decent, so this can be considered returning it to its owner. Please don’t be angry, Miss Hua.’
Hua Ling said with a straight face, ‘I was just joking with Qingyang, Mr. Jin, don’t take it personally. I presume this is… Miss Bai Ling’s… real body?’
Jin Xian nodded: ‘I won’t go into the details here. I would like to thank you in advance for your help. If there is anything I can do to help in the future, please feel free to let me know.’ After saying this, he even bowed to Qingyang with clasped fists and paid a great respect.
Qingyang quickly helped Jinyan up: ‘It was nothing.’
Hualing suddenly said, ‘By the way, Mr. Jinyan, I want to ask you about something.’
Jinyan said, ‘You mean the houses that were burned down in town, right?’
Hualing nodded and said, ‘Please tell me the details.’
Jinyan seemed to be in deep thought, and after a while he said slowly, ‘I remember it was about six months ago. Suddenly one night an inexplicable fire broke out and burned a house. At the time, the flames were so high that they almost lit up half the sky… Many people in the town went to fight the fire, but the water and fire extinguishers were completely useless. The fire burned all night until the house was reduced to… no, it was burned to the ground, leaving only a few black marks on the ground. Because nothing was left, they didn’t even know the source of the fire. Since then, every half a month, a house in the town will catch fire. Sometimes it was a private house, sometimes a shop, and once it was a family hotel. The cause could never be found, and the fires could never be put out. They would burn until there was nothing left.”
Hualing said, “Have you investigated the cause?”
Jinxian nodded, ’The town formed a special investigation team. They suspect that someone set the fires on purpose. But it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. These fires were extraordinary. I patrolled the town every night until a month ago, when I finally discovered the culprit – but unfortunately, my powers were too weak, and I couldn’t even catch it, let alone see its true face. Every time it appeared, it was only a sudden flash of light, and then it disappeared in the flames, and no trace of it could be found. Even I couldn’t do anything, let alone the humans in the town – they couldn’t even see it.
Hua Ling thought for a moment and said, ‘Do you remember what it looked like? Was it a bird? A beast? Did it look strange or deformed? There are so many fire-elemental monsters…’
Jin Xian said, ‘Vaguely, I remember it looked like a dog or a fox… It was completely black, with flashes of red light.’
‘Flashes of red light?’ Hua Ling seemed quite interested in this description, and she nudged Jiang Yu with her elbow, ‘Any ideas?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Judging from this description, it does resemble…’
Qingyang interrupted: ‘The Huodou!’
Jiang Yu: ‘…exactly. But…the Huodou are mostly servants of the god of fire, so how could they appear here so easily…’
Qingyang sneered: ‘The god of fire, Zhurong, was killed long ago by that old man Ji Xuanyuan. I think you’ve been asleep for too long and have lost your mind?’
Hua Ling gave Qing Yang a cold stare. Qing Yang pursed his lips and obediently stopped making fun of him.
Jiang Yu frowned. His memory of the ancient times was indeed in a state of confusion.
Jin Xian was shocked: ‘Is that a scourge? No wonder…what should we do?’
Hua Ling reassured him: ‘Don’t worry, we’ll handle this. We can’t just let that strange beast do whatever it wants.’
Jin Xian: ‘But this is a Hu Dou. It is said to be extremely difficult to deal with. Now that it is no longer restrained by the god of fire, isn’t it… This is my responsibility. How can I involve you in danger?’
Hua Ling waved his hands repeatedly: ‘It’s not dangerous. Although I only know a little Taoism, my two servants are very powerful. They can capture any ancient sacred beast, monster, or beast, right?’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘Servants?’
Qingyang squints: ‘Half-baked? You’re being too modest.’
Hua Ling: ‘…Are you going to help or not? If not, I’ll go on my own…’
Jiang Yu interrupts her: ‘Nonsense. How can we just let this happen?’
Qingyang nods: ‘Jingxian is my good friend, and I naturally won’t let anything happen to him.’
Hua Ling says: ‘Fine, no need to say any more nonsense. We’ll start keeping watch tonight, and we’ll just wait for the prey to come to the tree.’
Jin Xian hurriedly got up and bowed to the group, ‘Thank you all for your help.’
Hua Ling quickly reached out to help, ‘It’s nothing. We can’t just stand by and watch these innocent people suffer.’
Jiang Yu suddenly said, ‘It’s getting dark. So…’
The group turned to look at him.
Jiang Yu looked seriously at Jin Xian and said, ‘What’s the best food you have here?’
…

☆、Chapter 12

This waiting for the rabbit, he spent the whole three days waiting in the town.
On the third night.
The three of them scattered in three directions to stake out the city – it was a three-pronged situation, a formation.
There was a sudden flash of fire in the southwest, which was the area Qingyang was guarding.
When Hualing and Jiang Yu arrived, Qingyang was frowning at the burning civilian house.
Hualing: ‘Lost him?’
Qingyang snorted, ‘Do you think that’s possible? I planted the Xuan Ying incense on him the moment he appeared. Don’t worry, it was made with Chaos’s own blood as the medicinal ingredient, so it’s colourless and tasteless to other races, except me, of course, who can smell it.’
Hua Ling let out an ‘oh’ and revealed his thoughts: ‘So you were… waiting for us to come and put out the fire? So you don’t know how to do that?’
Qingyang fidgeted and scratched his hair, ‘This is the fire of destruction, how can I put it out? I’m not good at Taoist techniques.’
Jiang Yu snorted, and with a flick of his fingers, the sword flew out of its sheath.
In an instant, the sword’s light dazzled the eyes, and the speed of the sword’s swing was so fast that the naked eye could not catch it.
In a moment, the fire seemed to be uprooted from the house, and clusters of fireballs fell one after the other to the nearby open space, where they slowly died out after landing.
Hua Ling couldn’t help but applaud, ‘That’s some swordplay.’
She probably knew how Jiang Yu did it. He used his sword energy to peel the fire-affected area from the surface of the house along with the flames – this was equivalent to cutting off the entire layer of the fire without damaging the house itself. Peeling off the layer of skin was no big deal.
To do this, not only does the sword need to be fast, accurate and stable, but also requires extreme insight and concentration. And throughout the entire process, Jiang Yu only moved a few fingers. Although he was not proficient in the entire way of martial arts, his sword technique could be considered to have reached the pinnacle.
Even Qingyang was mesmerised this time. He didn’t say anything, but secretly admired him in his heart. He couldn’t help but take another look at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu sheathed his sword and turned to Hualing, ‘Don’t you go and see if anyone in the house is hurt?’
Hualing smiled and nodded, ‘I was planning to do that as well.’
Because the fire had been extinguished in the blink of an eye, apart from the patrol in the town who inexplicably felt a little dazzled, no one else had been alarmed. The whole town was still in a deep sleep.
Hua Ling and the others knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no response and the house was silent.
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling exchanged glances, both feeling that something was amiss. Without caring about being polite or not, they climbed over the wall and entered the house.
Inside the house they found two cold bodies – a middle-aged woman and a girl who looked to be less than ten years old. Both had died peacefully in their beds, seemingly taken from them in their sleep.
Hua Ling carefully examined the two bodies.
‘They didn’t die of suffocation,’ Hua Ling said with a slightly stern expression. ‘There are no external injuries, and there are no traces either. It’s as if the essence was directly sucked out.’
Jiang Yu added, ‘And the soul.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘That’s right. The black and white guardians of death didn’t come to collect the souls, so it must be that the lifespan of these two people in the book of life and death has not yet ended, and their souls have been unconventionally extracted. So… these strange fires were all meant to destroy the bodies and cover up the real purpose of the scourge… or the person behind it.’
Qingyang yawned: ‘You also think that the scourge is being manipulated? Why do you think the scourge is doing this?’
Hua Ling’s face was gloomy: ‘There’s no time to lose, we must hurry up and follow…’
Jiang Yu: ‘What should we do with these two bodies?’
‘I’ll take care of this side.’ Jin Xian poked half of his head out of the ground, and then the whole person slowly floated up from the ground, ‘I heard everything you just said.’
Qing Yang patted his shoulder: ‘I didn’t expect it, I didn’t expect it, you still have the habit of eavesdropping.’
Jin Xian shook his head: ‘It wasn’t intentional. I rushed over as soon as there was a fire here, but you guys were too fast.’
Hua Ling bowed: ‘Mr. Jin, we’ll leave this to you. We’ll go ahead.’
Jin Xian nodded: ‘Go ahead. Be careful, don’t fight head-on, everything can be discussed in the long term.’
Hua Ling patted Qing Yang on the head: ‘Let’s go, this time follow your sense of smell.’
Qing Yang slowly said, ‘Oh,’ and said, ‘Let’s go.’
Hua Ling: ‘What? Why are you standing there? If you don’t change, how can you carry us there?’
Qingyang hesitated for a moment and said, ‘Well, didn’t you just get a new mount a while ago? We can just ride him there.’
Hua Ling was baffled: ‘What’s wrong with you today?’
Jiang Yu let out a derisive laugh, which drew a pair of blank eyes from Hua Ling: ‘Is this funny? Are you watching a show?’
Jiang Yu laughed and shook his head: ‘He’s afraid of revealing his true form and confirming the apt comment that he’s ugly.’
In a flash of lightning, Hualing remembered what Jiang Yu had said during their previous spat, something about a deformed ugly ogre.
Hualing put a hand to her forehead: ‘Jiang Yu, apologise.’
Jiang Yu shrugged: ‘I was just telling the truth.’
Hualing sighed, stroked Qingyang’s head, and said: ‘You really are something, believing everything he says. Chaos was always this ugly, an ancient monster, unique. How can you take offence at this idiot’s aesthetic?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ You’re talking nonsense.
Jiang Yu suddenly grabbed Hua Ling’s waist.
Hua Ling: ‘!?’
Before they could say anything, the two of them had landed safely on Congyuan Sword. At this time, Congyuan was twice its usual size and was half-floating in the air.
Jiang Yu squatted on its shoulder and, looking down from a high position, reached out to Qingyang.
Qingyang waved his hand away and, lightly tapping his feet, landed behind Hua Ling.
Jiang Yu: ‘Hold on tight.’ He said this to Hua Ling.
In an instant, Cong Yuan soared into the sky and in the blink of an eye reached the clouds. Hua Ling’s eyes were quick and his hands were fast as he tightly wrapped his arms around Jiang Yu’s waist. This was the legendary forced sale – you have to hold on even if you don’t want to. At this speed and trajectory, if you don’t grab onto something, you will definitely be thrown out.
This is also the reason why Hualing has always been reluctant to let Jiang Yu use his sword. I guess even chauffeurs can be good or bad… If you get in a car driven by someone who is too casual, you will not be able to walk properly after getting out of the car, and you will also experience side effects such as dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
Jiang Yu’s face twitched as he said, ‘Chaos, show me the way.’
Qingyang yawned, ‘Due north-west, about… 15 to 20 kilometres. Fly, I’ll tell you when we’re close.’ He didn’t feel as uncomfortable as Hualing, because he was used to being carefree when he was alone.
Ten kilometres after leaving Qili Town, they entered a desert area. Apart from miles and miles of yellow sand, the scenery was exactly the same all the way, and it was impossible to tell where one place ended and the next began.
At night, the desert wind is cold and sharp, and it hurts when it blows on your face. Jiang Yuhua was standing a step away, but Hua Ling didn’t care about her appearance at this time, and quietly moved forward a step to lean against Jiang Yuhua’s back. Jiang Yuhua is tall, with broad shoulders and a broad back, which blocks half of the cold wind.
Jiang Yuhua felt Hua Ling’s little movement, and the corner of her mouth slightly rose: ‘Cold?’
Hua Ling let out a ‘hmm’ and didn’t even bother to open her mouth – if she did, it would be full of cold wind.
With her back to Hua Ling, Jiang Yu reached out and touched her hand.
Hua Ling: ‘?’
Hua Ling was born with a cold body, and her hands and feet were always cool throughout the year, not to mention that she was already shivering from the wind.
Jiang Yu leaned slightly to the side, put his left hand around Hua Ling’s waist, and with a gentle push, brought Hua Ling close to him. He unbuttoned his shirt and wrapped Hua Ling in his arms. Jiang Yu was wearing a sleeveless jacket, and had casually put on a T-shirt underneath. Fortunately, the jacket was long and big enough to fit Hua Ling.
The man’s breath lingered on Hua Ling’s nose, and the warmth of his body radiated from his strong chest.
Jiang Yu pulled his jacket closer and looked down at her, ‘Are you still cold?’
Hua Ling shook her head, ‘I’m much better.’
The chaotic 4-year-old on the outside and 4,000-year-old on the inside sat sulkily on Jianwei, his feet dangling in the air as he muttered, ‘Bastard, do you think I’m dead…’ Unfortunately, the wind was too strong, and all his words were blown away in the wind as soon as they left his mouth…

☆, 13th Note

Hua Ling inexplicably climbed out of Jiang Yu’s arms…It turned out that he had fallen asleep and had no idea when it happened…Perhaps it was because this human-shaped pillow was so comfortable and the temperature was just right for sleeping…
It was still the same as ever, with miles and miles of yellow sand all around. Jiang Yu sat on a sand dune, closing his eyes to rest, while Qingyang anxiously circled around.
Hua Ling moved, and Jiang Yu opened his eyes.
Hua Ling looked up at him, ‘Where are we now? Where’s Huodou…?’
Jiang Yu gave a wry smile as he pointed at a certain something that was still moving in a steady circle in the sand sea: ‘You’ve lost your man.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Hua Ling walked over and patted Qingyang on the shoulder: ‘Hey, I heard you lost that thing?’
Qingyang grunted in displeasure: ‘Did you finally get up from your soft lair?’
Hua Ling touched his nose: ‘That’s not how you use that expression. Back to business, what happened? I trust your tracking abilities, so there must have been some unexpected situation.’
Qingyang pointed at the patch of ground at his feet: ‘The scent ends here, I assure you. I’m sure it’s disappeared, I haven’t lost it.’
Hua Ling ran his hand along his chin, surveying the area around him: ‘I believe you. However, it seems there is something very strange here.’
Qingyang shook his head: ‘Don’t look around, I just looked in every direction for a long time and didn’t find any traps, entrances or anything. I even asked the sword spirit to try splitting open the sand here – but there’s just sand underneath.’
Hua Ling closed his eyes and said, ‘Let me sort out the details. I feel like there’s some important information we’ve overlooked.’
Hua Ling asked him, ‘Do you remember what Mr. Jin said about the time of the fire?’
‘Once every two weeks, that’s fifteen days.’ Jiang Yu walked over at some point and said, ‘Today is the first day of the month. That means the last time it happened was during the full moon.’
Hua Ling looked at him with a changed expression, ‘I didn’t think so. You’re quite clever.’
Jiang Yu’s hair stood on end in an instant: ‘What do you mean? Do you always think I’m stupid?!’
‘I didn’t say that. Okay, don’t change the subject.’ Hua Ling pointed at the sandy ground beneath their feet, ‘Help me split it open here.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling was speechless: ‘Okay, okay, I apologize. You are a magnanimous person, so you won’t hold a grudge against a petty person like me, will you?’
Jiang Yu gave her a sideways glance: ‘Hmph, I’ll forgive you this once, but don’t do it again.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu suddenly asked, ‘How deep should I split it?’
Hua Ling thought for a moment and said, ‘A few dozen or a hundred metres?’
Jiang Yu waved his hand at her and said, ‘Stand back. You too.’ The latter sentence was directed at Qingyang.
Hua Ling silently retreated a few zhang. What’s the big deal, it’s just going to split a sandy area.
Jiang Yu let out a light drink, and the sword in his hand plunged straight from the abyss into the sandy sea, leaving only the hilt exposed in an instant. In less than three seconds, the sand suddenly split from south to north, creating a long crack. The sword energy burst out of the crack and shot straight up into the sky. Then the sand layer slowly parted to the sides along the crack, forming a ravine like an underground valley. The sand layers on both sides stood upright like rock walls, supported entirely by the powerful sword energy emanating from Yuan.
Hua Ling let out a shout of approval and leapt into the sand valley.
‘What are you doing?!’ Jiang Yu’s heart sank slightly, but he dared not let go. If he let go now, Hua Ling would be crushed to a pulp by the closing sand walls.
Qingyang reacted extremely quickly, and without dwelling on whether his appearance was presentable or not, quickly changed back to his original form. The ancient beastlet let out a long howl, dove down into the abyss, and firmly carried Hua Ling.
Hua Ling patted the chaotic, round head of the beastlet: ’Good catch.’
Chaos seemed extremely unhappy, and the roar of the beast swirled in his throat.
Hua Ling laughed: ‘Don’t worry. You can see that we are working well together. The tacit understanding is still there, I’m relieved.’
Chaos grunted again.
Hua Ling petted him reassuringly: ‘Don’t worry. I’m not messing around. Okay, there’s no time to lose, you take me down there first. This is a sand wall. It weighs at least the weight of two buildings, and you, Jiang Xiaoge, won’t be able to hold it for long.’
Chaos carried Hualing straight down, and Hualing felt her way along the sand wall from top to bottom. Finally, she gave Chaos a slight smile, pinched his ears, and said, ‘Let’s go, up.’
Chaos let out a ‘roar,’ gave a powerful kick with his four limbs, leaped out of the sand ravine, and landed firmly on the flat ground.
Hualing walked over to Jiang Yu and patted him on the shoulder, saying, ‘You’ve worked hard, Brother Jiang.’
Jiang Yu collected his sword with indifference. When the yellow sand gathered at his feet, it made a loud noise and the three of them were drenched in the rolling sand.
After everything returned to silence, Hua Ling, while shaking the sand off his feet, lectured Jiang Yu, ‘You should finish what you start. Why didn’t you let me stand further away this time?’
Jiang Yu shook the sand off his head and looked innocently into the distance.
Hua Ling was speechless for a moment, and then called a meeting of the two, showing them what he was holding: ‘Feel the sand.’
‘It’s wet,’ Qingyang commented.
Jiang Yu gave it a couple of twirls: ‘Hmm.’
…
Jiang Yu: ‘!!!’
Hua Ling looked at his expression: ‘You’ve got it? The sand from about 20 to 70 metres below the surface is wet. Below 70 metres, it’s all dry again.’
Hua Ling then drew a rather complicated pattern in the sand: ‘I also saw this down there. Do you recognise it?’
Qingyang shrugged, indicating that he had no idea what it was.
Jiang Yu looked at it for a while and said, ‘I vaguely have some recollection of it. Let me think…’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘No rush, take your time.’
Jiang Yu frowned and said, ‘This seems to be a kind of mark of the Demon Race. Although since the war between the gods and demons, the land of Shenzhou and the Western Demon Realm have been blocked by the Nine Heavens Fuxi Barrier, in fact, there is still demonic energy lurking everywhere within the barrier. Every new and full moon is when the demonic energy is most likely to gather and is also at its peak. And this mark can use the power of the new moon to forcibly gather water.’
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘Didn’t you say that you don’t remember anything from the ancient times?’
Jiang Yu looked at her askance and said, ‘It depends on what kind of thing it is. If I don’t even know this common knowledge, how can I have the face to call myself an ancient sword spirit?’
Hua Ling gave a little smile.
Jiang Yu asked suspiciously, ‘What are you smiling at?’
Hua Ling shook her head and said, ‘Back to the topic. So, can we make this assumption: the real hiding place of the evil spirit is actually somewhere with an abundant water source. It is likely that the surface is a lake, and beneath it is a structure such as an ‘underground city’ or some kind of enclosed cave. The real entrance to the underground city is over there. By using an engraving to forcefully divert the lake water here like this, he can release the power of the engraving when he returns from committing a crime and go back downstream from here. The sand layer loses its resistance and regroups, creating the illusion that the scent has disappeared. So even if he encounters a master who can track the scent at this time, he will be able to escape unharmed.
Jiang Yudao said, ‘Assuming there really is such a dungeon, and he is so careful not to let anyone discover its location, then there must be something down there that is of vital importance to him.’
Hua Ling gave him a thumbs-up: ‘You’re on the right track today.’
Jiang Yudao suppressed his anger and said, ‘Say that again… I’m not stupid!’
Hua Ling waved his hand: ‘That’s not the point. I have something else…’
‘Of course that’s the point!’ Jiang Yudao was extremely aggrieved.
Hua Ling hastily bowed: ‘…Jianling, I was blind in the past. Please forgive me.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Just be more polite! This is ridiculous.’
Hua Ling: ‘…Okay, actually I was going to ask you if the location of the water diversion point is related to the activation condition of the engraving. If we know this, then we will also know the location of the dungeon.’
Jiang Yu: ‘There is indeed a condition. The water diversion point must be located directly north of the water source.’
Hua Ling: ‘So, if we head due south, we should be able to find that lake.’
Jiang Yu: ‘That makes sense.’
Hua Ling took out his phone from his bag and opened the GPS map.
Jiang Yu leaned forward to take a look: ‘?’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘You were right. Due south, about 150 kilometers from here, there really is a lake.’
Jiang Yu pointed at the small blue spot on the map: ‘You mean this?’
Hua Ling nodded.
Jiang Yu’s curiosity was completely piqued: ‘What is this magic weapon?’
Qingyang snorted beside him: ‘You’re just a stranger to the world, aren’t you?’
Hua Ling glared at him: ‘Don’t bully the new guy. Why don’t you go sleep for a few thousand years and wake up and adjust to the world?’
Qingyang silently turned his back and poked the sand under his feet… Damn it, partiality, so partial!

☆, 14th note

Hua Ling explained to Jiang Yu, ‘This is not a magic weapon. It is a modern invention…an activity map. It can indicate your current location, help you find where you want to go, and even give you directions.’
Jiang Yu shook his head, ‘I can’t believe it. I really can’t believe it.’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘Yes. All that sorcery and the like, and ghosts and gods, they can’t be thought of because they can’t be seen or touched now. But if they could be seen and touched one day, if one day “technology” got ahead of all that so-called sorcery?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Qingyang suddenly laughed for no reason, “Judging from the temperament of the current sky emperor, he won’t let that kind of thing happen.”
Jiang Yu: ’The current one? Isn’t it… Ji… Xuan Yuan?’
Qingyang yawned, ‘Heh, the sky has long since changed…’
Hua Ling gave Qingyang a cool look.
Qingyang patted the dust off himself and stood up, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, first let’s go clean up that crazy mad beast.’
Half an hour later, the three of them stood in front of the lake.
It was about to get light, but the lake surface still looked pitch black.
Hua Ling looked out a little, ‘This lake…is quite big.
Hua Ling took out the map again: ‘The area of this lake is about… ten square kilometres. From where we are now to the other end… the straight-line distance is at least five kilometres.’
Qingyang said: ‘I’ll go down and have a look first. I’m familiar with the water and have good underwater vision.’
Hua Ling held him back: ‘To save time, let’s go down together. Xiaoyu, Jianling shouldn’t be afraid of water, right?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘I’m fine, but you…’
Hua Ling held up his index finger: ‘Water-repellent technique, you deserve it!’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘It saves Qingyang running back and forth. Let’s go.’
It was even darker underwater than above.
Hua Ling lightly touched his forehead with his index finger… Hmm, the demon with the paper lantern that goes out when it hits water definitely wouldn’t want to come out at this time…
Suddenly, a ray of light broke into their line of sight. Hua Ling squinted, then slowly opened his eyes to adjust to the light.
Jiang Yu held Congyuan in his right hand, and a soft, fluorescent blue light spread faintly from the sword’s body. His left hand naturally reached out and grabbed Hua Ling, and then he led her forward.
Hua Ling: ‘Take a closer look and see if there’s anything different around here. I think there must be some kind of sign at the entrance, or something like a mechanism. For example…that engraving.’
Jiang Yu: ‘That’s right. That formation needs the engravings on both sides to echo each other in order to activate.’
Qingyang looked at him and said, ‘You really know a lot.’
Jiang Yu: ‘… Actually, he also felt strange about why he knew everything about the demons, including being able to recognise these monsters at a glance.
He thought that the answer was probably also in that missing ancient memory.
Hua Ling looked at Qingyang without expression.
Qingyang saw obvious displeasure in Hua Ling’s eyes and thought to himself that he had spoken out of turn again. He simply stopped talking.
After swimming for a while, Hua Ling suddenly pointed at a clump of waterweed at the bottom of the lake, ‘There’s something strange about this grass. Let’s go over there and take a look.’
It turned out that waterweed was rarely seen at the bottom of this lake. There were a few small clumps here and there, but this area had quite a few.
Poking through the waterweed, there was indeed a demon mark hidden underneath.
Hua Ling nodded to Jiang Yu and stepped back a little.
Jiang Yu slashed with his sword, and a crack appeared on the demon mark, followed by the entire mark shattering.
After the mark shattered, water gushed in through the hole—the pressure inside and outside was different. And inside…there really was another world.
Qingyang was the first to go inside, and Hua Ling was in a daze after seeing him go down the hole.
Hua Ling was momentarily stunned, and was right – it was a real dungeon.
However, it had been built floor by floor, so that it was impossible to see the bottom. Each floor had its own buildings – if placed on the ground, it would be like a city with sky-high buildings, very much in the style of the Tower of Babel in ancient Babylon.
Hua Ling stood on the top floor and looked down, narrowing his eyes slightly: ‘Huh, I have a feeling that I have opened Pandora’s Box. I don’t know which godly being has done this.’
Jiang Yu crossed his arms: ‘I can feel the magic, strong magic. It’s on every floor, but the strongest is downstairs.’
Qingyang frowned and nodded: ‘I can feel it too. What’s downstairs is very powerful. We must be careful on this trip.’
His mature expression, which did not match his appearance, coupled with his childlike appearance, looked particularly ridiculous.
Jiang Yu glanced at him and suddenly said, ‘I’m talking to you.’
Qingyang: ‘What?’
Jiang Yu: ‘Can’t you change your appearance?’
Qingyang said unhappily, ‘You think appearance is like clothes, that you can just change it whenever you want?’
Jiang Yu looked at him for a moment and laughed, ‘So it’s because you don’t have enough magical power that you can only maintain your childlike appearance?’
Qingyang: ‘…’
Hua Ling’s voice came from afar, ‘You two, follow me.’ In the meantime, she had already thrown herself a hundred meters ahead of the two of them.
As soon as Hua Ling finished speaking, Jiang Yu leaped…
Although the small headroom affected the coolness of his mid-air leap, it did not affect the speed with which he landed in front of Hua Ling.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling with a blank face and said, ‘Why are you walking so fast alone?’
Hua Ling said, ‘Did your head hurt? That was a loud noise.’ It turned out that when Jiang Yu made that mid-air leap, he forgot to consider the height of the space on the top floor.
Jiang Yu said, ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘So, being cool also requires the right time, place and people.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Qingyang, who had caught up with them at some point, said: ‘You two lovebirds, do you hear anything?’
Hua Ling glanced at the dark corridor on the second level: ‘What do you think it is?’
Qingyang looked up at Jiang Yu and gave him a thumbs-up. ‘Brother, you’re brave and skilled, I give you 32 thumbs-up. Does your head hurt?’
Jiang Yu walked away with a dark face.
They walked along the dark corridor on the second level, and the lamps on the wall lit up one after the other…Although the light was not bright enough, it was enough to let them see the strange scene in front of them.
Hua Ling: ‘!!!’
This is basically a huge… cage. The long corridor is lined with stone cells, one after the other, all sealed with runes. Behind each cold iron bar is a trapped beast, either lying or sitting. They all have desperate expressions in their eyes, listless and seemingly having long since given up on the idea of escaping from their cages.

☆, Chapter 15

They walked along the dark corridor on the second level, and the perpetual lamps on the wall lit up one after the other…Although the light was not bright enough, it was enough to let them see the strange scene in front of them.
Hua Ling: ‘!!!
This is basically a huge… cage. The long corridor is lined with stone cells, one after the other, all sealed with runes. Behind each cold iron bar is a trapped beast, either lying or sitting. They all have desperate looks in their eyes, listless and seemingly having long since given up on the idea of escaping from their cages.
Qingyang walks up to Hua Ling and whispers, “These are all the people of the Demon Race.”
Hua Ling: ’…’
Qingyang gritted his teeth and said, ‘That damned Ji Wuchang, I knew he was a man of no honour, sooner or later I’ll kill him.’
Jiang Yu asked, ‘Who is Ji Wuchang?’
Qingyang said coldly, ‘The current Heavenly Emperor.’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment and said, ‘Let’s go quickly, we have urgent business at the moment, don’t delay here.’
Qingyang glanced at the runes and talismans wrapped around the steel and dark iron cages, closed his eyes, and quickly followed behind.
Hua Ling looked down from the edge of the floor and then looked back at Qingyang, ‘Please, save time. I think what we’re looking for… should be at the bottom. Let’s go straight down.’
Qingyang didn’t say much, bent his knees, and directly transformed into his original form, allowing Hua Ling and Jiang Yu to sit on it.
Before they had even reached the bottom, they could feel the heat in the air—the kind of heat that could ignite skin and blood.
Jiang Yu had already drawn the sword from its sheath and held it in his hands.
A few hoarse hisses rolled out of Chaos’ throat.
Hua Ling felt three talismans in his sleeves, and, pinching them between his fingers, he concentrated and chanted the incantation.
A refreshing coolness descended from the sky and fell upon the three of them, forming a thin protective film that blocked the scorching heat from the outside world.
A comfortable gurgling sound came from Chaos’ throat again.
Jiang Yu grunted, “I’m not afraid of the heat.”
Hua Ling smiled, “The ancient divine sword was not forged easily, I don’t want you to be roasted here.”
When they reached the bottom completely, even the ground was a whole burnt red colour.
Hua Ling looked around, ’Huh, even the style of painting here is different from above. Oh, the main character is coming out.’
The large black dog with flame markings all over its body stood guardily at the only door at the bottom of the level, staring at the three of them.
If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move.
There was a difference in rank, and the side under pressure found it hard to remain calm. The first to lose his temper was Huodou. He pounced on Hualing with lightning speed, opening his mouth and releasing a dozen black fireballs. It seemed that he was truly at his wits’ end, and wanted to fight to the death with his enemy.
Hua Ling raised her hand and felt for the talisman hidden in her sleeve. She was about to cast the spell of the Underworld when several flashes of swordlight scattered all the black flames. Then Jiang Yu’s tall figure appeared, blocking Hua Ling’s path.
Huo Dou took a step back, driven back by the murderous aura emanating from him.
Hua Ling said, ‘Er…thank you.’ Although she was confident that the talisman should have sealed Huo Dou’s movements.
Jiang Yu slightly raised his right palm, and hundreds of phantom swords suddenly appeared from the single one.
Hou Dou suddenly turned around and quickly ran into the door.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Qingyang yawned boredly, ‘Chase? No chase?’
Hua Ling nodded wordlessly, ‘Since we’re already here, of course.’
The temperature behind that door was incomparable to the outside. If the outside was an oven, the world inside the door was a furnace…
The heat-averse Chaos took a step, but then obviously didn’t want to move any further. His eyebrows were knotted together and he felt like he couldn’t undo them…
Hua Ling looked back at him and said, ‘Why don’t you wait for us outside the door?’
Qingyang gritted his teeth and shook his head.
Hua Ling thought for a moment, then took out the ‘Record of Strange Events in the Three Realms’ from his bosom and said, ‘Come inside.’
Qingyang shook his head again, ‘No…it’s dangerous, I don’t want to…’
Hua Ling sighed, bent down, and patted his head, ‘Don’t be stubborn, you’re afraid of fire, aren’t you? Jiang Yu and I can handle it.’
Jiang Yu nodded, ‘That’s right, the weak and sick should stay out of the way.’
‘Jiang Yu!’ Hua Ling glared at him and then turned back to Qingyang, “You go, we can handle things here.”
Qingyang wanted to say something else, “Hua Ling…”
Hua Ling looked at him, “Obey.”
Qingyang hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded, “Okay. Call me if there’s anything.”
Hua Ling held the book in his left hand and held his right hand in a fist. The pages of “Anecdotes from the Three Realms” turned by themselves, and Qingyang “whoosh” dived into the book.
Hua Ling closed the book and turned to Jiang Yu’s gaze: ‘What kind of look is that?’
Jiang Yu teased, ‘I was wondering how many demons and monsters you’ve hidden in this book.’
Hua Ling took the book into her arms and repeated, ‘Yes, how many are there?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
There was only a straight ‘bright path’ leading to another ‘giant door’ inside the door—a tall, black stone archway with a strange shape.
The two walked up to the arch, and Hua Ling tugged Jiang Yu, who was walking in front of her, ‘Be careful.’
Jiang Yu nodded and took the lead in stepping through the arch, walking towards the other side of the door.
Hua Ling followed, and also stepped through the arch.
Just as she stepped inside the door…a strange silver liquid appeared from nowhere and poured down from above her…
‘Hua Ling!’ At that moment, Jiang Yu pounced over to embrace her in his arms, before leaping out of the archway.
Hua Ling had noticed the silver liquid the moment it appeared. Her first reaction was to summon the enchantment circle. Although she was fast, the strange liquid came suddenly after all, and some of it splashed onto the two of them.
In that instant, Hua Ling’s pain-induced connection to the world could no longer be maintained. If she hadn’t held on for dear life, she would have fainted from the pain. In the flash of a lightning bolt, she understood what it was.
‘Hua Ling, Hua Ling!’ Jiang Yu himself didn’t feel anything special about the liquid, but he felt Hua Ling suddenly slip away as if she had lost her strength. And just by looking at Hua Ling’s pale face and her head covered in cold sweat, he knew that she was seriously injured.
Hua Ling sat up with great effort: ‘It’s nothing…just let me rest for a bit.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Don’t move around.’
Hua Ling didn’t even bother to speak, closing her eyes and indulging in her own thoughts.
Jiang Yu didn’t know anything about medicine, and couldn’t see where she was hurt, so he was almost desperate, scratching his head: ‘Should I…give you some of my energy?’
Hua Ling spoke softly and slowly: ‘No need.’
Hua Ling rested for a moment, and her breathing gradually slowed.
Jiang Yu looked at her face carefully and said, ‘What exactly was that thing? Why didn’t I react to it?’
Hua Ling shook her head and said after a moment, ‘I don’t know either.’
Jiang Yu observed her expression for a moment before frowning and saying, ‘Where exactly were you hurt? No, I’d better take you out.’
Hua Ling held his hand down and took out the paper crane Chu Jiang had given her from her bosom, gently blowing on it. The paper crane leapt from her hand, twirled in the air and began to burn slowly, finally burning out.
Jiang Yu: ‘You notified Chu to come and help?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Just in case.’ Her current state was really not good to speak of.
‘Hahahaha, it smells good! I haven’t smelled such pure spiritual energy in a long time.’ A deep voice resonated throughout the stone chamber.
The entire stone chamber was dimly lit, but as the man spoke, the crystal lamps chiselled into the walls suddenly lit up one after the other, and finally the entire stone chamber was brightly lit.
Hua Ling and the others saw a flame-shaped magic circle carved into the ground in the centre of the stone chamber, and around the circle were written things that looked like runes or spells in strange and unusual characters.
Then, a human figure gradually appeared in the centre of the formation…
‘Interesting, interesting, I never thought that someone could break in here.’ The man was about the same height as Jiang Yu, with long silver hair that fell to his shoulders, a deep-set profile, eyes the colour of reddish gold, and a bare upper body. His broad shoulders and back were covered with knotted muscles, and a long crimson robe wrapped around his waist and fell to his ankles. The evil spirit was obediently lying at his side.

☆, Chapter 16

‘Interesting, interesting, I never thought that someone could actually break in here.’ The man was about the same height as Jiang Yu, with long silver hair that fell to his shoulders, a deep-set profile, reddish-brown eyes with a hint of gold, his upper body naked, his broad shoulders and broad back covered in knotted muscles, and a deep red robe wrapped around his waist that fell to his ankles. And the evil beast was now obediently crouching at his side.
His identity was self-evident.
Hua Ling frowned. She didn’t expect that he was actually still alive.
Jiang Yu’s expression changed drastically, and suddenly a palm wind swept Hua Ling a dozen feet away, followed by a golden barrier that isolated her from Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu stood with his back to Hua Ling, holding the Sword from the Abyss in his hand: ‘Go!’
The silver-haired man laughed loudly, his arrogant laughter resounding through the heavens. ‘You have guts. I will leave you in one piece. I will take your soul, but the woman behind you looks even more delicious.’
Jiang Yu’s expression turned cold. ‘Don’t even think about touching her.’
‘Hahahaha, it’s not up to you. I will deal with you first, and then her.’
The silver-haired man flicked his fingers, and a sea of flames rolled towards Jiang Yu…
Hua Ling was sent several zhang away when her hand touched the barrier.
‘Rotten…’ She encouraged herself to stand up, her eyes changing rapidly. With this body, she can’t do anything, so she needs to use that…
The sky-piercing flames rolled towards Jiang Yu in 360 degrees without any dead ends. Jiang Yu raised his stance, gathering his qi in the sword body, and the sword qi soared, suddenly erupting. Its sharp sword light instantly dispersed the flames.
The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow: ‘Huh?’ He changed his pace slightly, and in an instant, he moved to Jiang Yu’s front and slashed down at him with his raised palm. His palm wind carried with it scorching flames, and the stone pillars and floor that were swept by his palm wind were all burned to ashes.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged hundreds of moves. After another palm strike, the two slid back several zhang each.
The silver-haired man let out a long howl into the sky, ‘Hahahaha, good, you are very good. I never thought that a mere sword spirit could be so powerful.’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘It is my honour to have exchanged moves with the god of fire, Zhurong.’
Due to the battle with him, Jiang Yu’s bones and veins had been invaded by the flames, and his chest was burning with pain. His vision shifted to Zhu Rong’s bare ankle, where a heavy charm chain was attached, which to a large extent restrained his divine power. It must have been specially designed to prevent him from breaking free. Under such circumstances, his strength was still terrifying, and it was hard to imagine what he would be like in his prime.
He turned back and saw Hua Ling pressing his hands against the barrier, doing something he didn’t know. He was exasperated and said, ‘Why haven’t you left yet? !’
He wanted to say something else, but the next wave of Zhurong’s attack arrived, so he had to focus on the enemy first.
At this moment, there was a sudden ‘bang’ and Qingyang appeared next to Hualing: ‘Damn, why is it so hot here…!!!’ When he saw Jiang Yu and Zhurong in the barrier, all his complaints suddenly stopped…
It turned out that he had vaguely sensed Hualing’s unstable and suddenly weakened aura in ‘Anecdotes from the Three Realms’, so he came out to find out what was going on.
Qingyang saw a vermillion talisman on Hualing’s forehead flickering. He grabbed her hand and whispered, ‘Are you crazy? Do you want to do it here? Do you know the consequences?!’
Hualing shook his hand off and said, ‘I know what I’m doing. You, on the other hand, should go back to the Cloud Realm immediately. Zhurong and your attributes are exactly opposed to each other. Staying here won’t help.’
Jiang Yuyu glanced at the appearance of Qingyang, and immediately shouted at them, ‘Qingyang, take Hualing away!!!’
Qingyang glanced at Jiang Yuyu and turned back and said, ‘He’s right, I can’t let you do whatever you want.’ Then he transformed into a beast shape, grabbed Hualing with one paw, and soared outwards.
Hualing said sternly, ‘Qingyang, put me down.’
Chaos just kept running out of the door, ignoring him.
Hua Ling frowned: ‘You want to disobey my order?!’
Qingyang: ‘…
Hua Ling: “Fine, fine, I see you haven’t tasted this for a long time…”
As soon as Hua Ling finished speaking, several black chains appeared from the void and quickly and accurately wrapped around Chaos’ body and limbs. Chaos fell heavily to the ground and was unable to move at once.
Chaos roared, ‘Hua Ling…you…’
Hua Ling waved his hand, and Chaos was re-absorbed into the ‘Record of Strange Tales of the Three Realms’.
Hua Ling lightly touched the cover of the ancient book with his hand, and whispered, ‘Sorry.’
Meanwhile, within the enchanted circle…
Jiang Yu wiped the bloodstains from his lips with his hand, and looked indifferently at Zhurong, who was looking down at him with disdain.
He was well aware of the disparity in strength between the two sides, but…
Jiang Yu closed his eyes. Suddenly, the body of Yuan Jian was filled with light, surrounded by sword energy, which gradually condensed into a black and gold rising dragon pattern…
Zhurong frowned slightly and suddenly retreated a few zhang, summoning divine fire with both hands, which slowly formed a barrier of flames around him.
Jiang Yu’s gaze was fierce. With a light shout, he controlled the sword overhead and threw it from Yuanyuan at the opponent in one go… The ground beneath Jiang Yu’s feet cracked due to the sword energy, and the cracks followed the trajectory of the sword energy, extending from Jiang Yu’s feet to the place where Zhu Rong was standing. The black and gold rising dragon roared and pounced on Zhu Rong, and then wrapped his entire body in the cold sword energy…
Zhurong crossed his arms in front of him and used his best efforts to deploy the Fire Array to defend against the sword energy. Even so, he was still forced backwards by the sword energy for tens of metres, leaving deep imprints of his feet on the ground. However, the sword energy gradually penetrated through the Fire Array. Zhurong’s expression tightened slightly. It was already too late to change his stance to defend against it. The sword energy pierced through Zhurong’s entire body the moment it penetrated through the barrier…
The ancient wolf god fell to his knees in a sorry state, his bronze muscles covered in wounds from which golden red blood dripped onto the ground…
‘Heh…heh…what a move, mutual destruction…’ Zhurong looked up, blood staining half his face, but his gaze fell on Zongyuan, who lay quietly not far from him.
It turned out that Jiang Yu’s move was to merge his body with the sword, becoming one with it, and using his primordial spirit to maximise the sword’s intent… His sword energy was so sharp that it could break through the strongest enchantments in the world.
Zhurong slowly supported himself as he got up, walked over to Congyuan’s sword, and slowly crouched down, reaching out to pick it up from the ground.
A golden needle pierced the back of his hand and stuck to the ground beside his feet. The cold, icy pain made him flinch. Then a pair of light blue and golden cloud-treading shoes appeared in his line of sight…
Hua Ling picked up the ground’s dull-coloured Zongyuan.
She gently ran her fingers over the cracked sword, sighing, ‘You never knew how to take care of yourself.’
Zhu Rong had already stood up and was looking at the woman in front of him, who had an extraordinary air about her. The woman was wearing a robe with wide, flowery sleeves, a white jade hairpin with phoenix patterns holding her hair back, and her long, dark hair fell straight to her waist. There were no extravagant ornaments on her, but she still had an air of nobility about her. A vermillion inverted jade rune pattern was drawn between her brows, which was beautiful but not demonic.
Zhu Rong wiped away the bloodstains from her eyes and looked coldly at the woman in front of her: ‘I said she looked familiar. Long time no see, Ji Hualing.’

☆, Chapter 17

‘I said it looked familiar, long time no see, Ji Hualing.’ Zhurong wiped away the bloodstains from his eyes and looked coldly at the woman in front of him.
Hualing ignored Zhurong and summoned an ice-blue sword case. Even before it got close to the sword case, Zhurong could already feel the chilling cold emanating from it. Hua Ling carefully placed the sword in the sword case and then waved her hand lightly to withdraw it.
After doing so, Hua Ling looked up and slightly bowed to Zhurong, ‘Long time no see, God of Fire. I never thought you were really still alive.’
Zhurong narrowed her eyes, ‘Was that just now… the legendary Sword Case of Suixing Bingpo?’
Hua Ling smiled, ‘Good eye.’
Zhurong surveyed her for a moment: ‘No wonder I didn’t recognise you at first glance. I think it’s because you have sealed your divine power in the Xuantian Sect’s Gui Seal for so many years…’
Zhurong silently looked at her for a moment.
Hua Ling laughed again: ‘What’s wrong?’
Zhurong shook his head in disbelief: ‘Strange, strange. The mighty god is hiding in this mortal body, hidden from the world. The reason…’
Hua Ling interrupted him, saying, ‘From the look of you, it seems you already have the signs of entering the demon realm. You sent Huo Dou to capture people’s soul essences and wreak havoc on the world, just to escape from here? Do you even remember your own identity?’
When it came to entering the demon realm, the evil energy around Zhurong suddenly surged. ‘Hahahaha—don’t even mention identity to me. The heavens have forsaken me, so I might as well become a demon!’
Zhu Rong’s silver hair flew about, his aura surging upwards, and he pointed a finger at Hualing: ‘You, good, you’ve come at the right time! Just what I need is pure spiritual energy to help me become a demon, and the primordial spirit of a god like you is just perfect, just perfect!’ He waved his large hand, and several streams of black flames transformed into sharp swords that shot towards Hualing together.
Hua Ling lightly tapped her feet together and backed up, easily dodging his attack, before she stopped in her tracks and said, ‘You already know my identity, and you still think you can defeat me? Besides, you have already been seriously injured by me…’
‘Hahahaha…’ Zhurong laughed again, looking up at the sky. ‘Seriously injured?’
He narrowed his eyes slightly, examining Hua Ling, and slowly said, ‘Tell me, who do you think is more seriously injured, you or me? When you first came in, didn’t you already taste the taste of being cleansed of your spiritual marrow?’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘Really? Then you might as well try.’
As soon as she said ‘try,’ she appeared behind Zhurong, and the black and gold thread as thin as silk in her hand had already wrapped around his neck.
Zhurong’s mouth curled up, and he clamped the thin thread around his neck between two fingers, ignoring the blood that instantly poured from his fingertips. With his right hand, he turned it around and viciously strangled Hua Ling’s neck…
His weapon was firmly held in place, so Hua Ling was lucky to be able to throw away the thin thread and quickly step back, avoiding Zhu Rong’s attack.
Zhu Rong took off the black gold thread around his neck: ‘Seeing is believing. Is this the “Blood Rain”? As thin as a hair, it can be curled and deformed at will. It is said that its sharpness is not inferior to any famous sword in your hands?’
Hua Ling smiled faintly: ‘You’re too kind. But there are also many swords that can cut through the Blood Rain.’
Zhurong threw the blood rain onto the ground: ‘The sword known as the world’s hardest and sharpest sword, Congyuan, was unable to do anything to me. I advise you not to think that you can deal with me with just a sword.’
After Zhurong finished speaking, he drew a circle with his right hand, which instantly expanded several times and became a huge black fire cover, which was snapped down directly at Hua Ling’s head.
Hua Ling put her fingers together in front of her chest and chanted a spell… The air around her suddenly gathered together, forming countless ice crystals that were nailed onto the black fire cover…
So when the black fire cover finally landed around Hua Ling, it had become an empty frame that was emitting black smoke.
Zhu Rong suddenly closed his eyes and chanted a spell, and a huge black hole appeared in front of him, and the hole was slowly expanding. At this moment, an eye suddenly came close to the hole and stared straight at Hua Ling.
Hua Ling was momentarily stunned by the gaze of that thing, and when she came back to her senses, she said, ‘Stop, Zhurong. Summoning this guy out, you and I can’t handle it.’
Zhurong paid no heed and continued chanting.
Hua Ling was furious and was about to gather her energy to summon a binding enchantment when she suddenly felt a hot, fishy sensation in her throat… She raised her hand to cover her lips, but a few strands of blood still slipped through her fingers.
Zhu Rong laughed mockingly at all this, and was about to say something when he suddenly felt a chill in his chest…
He slowly lowered his head and saw a jet-black sword tip emerging from his chest, bringing with it his blood, which fell drop by drop onto the floor.
Hua Ling wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, ‘Chu Jiang, you’re late again.’
Chu Jiang drew his sword neatly and said, ‘It’s not too late, fortunately, I didn’t come to collect your corpse.’
Zhu Rong covered his chest and slowly knelt to the ground due to the loss of strength. The chanting of the spell was interrupted halfway through, so the black hole opened and slowly closed, shrinking back into the void.
Chu Jiang walked over to Hua Ling and suddenly stamped his foot, exclaiming in surprise, ‘You…you unsealed it?’
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘The situation was urgent, so I had no choice.’
Chu Jiang frowned and said, ‘But won’t that…’
Hua Ling shook his head, ‘I only need to hold it for a moment, I know what I’m doing.’
Chu Jiang’s eyes betrayed strong disapproval, and then he pointed his thumb in the direction of Zhurong: ‘What are you going to do about that one over there?’
‘I have something to ask him,’ Hua Ling said, and walked over to Zhurong.
Zhurong looked up at Hua Ling, who was standing in front of him: ‘…Well, since ancient times, the victors are kings and the vanquished are criminals. I admit defeat.’
Hua Ling looked down at him: ‘We all thought you were dead, and we never imagined that you had been imprisoned here all along.’
Zhurong gave her a lazy look: ‘Crocodile tears.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Back then… when you had your accident, I was far away at the Battle of Zhuolu. After the dust had settled, I was only told that you had been executed.’
Zhu Rong seemed to be lost in thought: ‘…
Hua Ling continued: “I have always believed that you were innocent.”
After a long time, Zhu Rong slowly spoke: ’You later found out about the tricks of that Ji Wuchang kid.’
Hua Ling nodded.
Zhu Rong laughed mockingly, ‘Now that he has got what he wanted, it is a foregone conclusion. What else is there for me to say or think?’
Hua Ling said, ‘You have been here for thousands of years, why do you suddenly want to go out?’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘If you don’t want to say it, I will say it for you. Because you discovered the source of evil, you thought of the path to becoming an evil. Because all the talismans that trapped you here were only effective against the blood of ancient gods. Not to mention the God-Blood Purification Ritual in front of the door – the purer the God-Blood in your body, the greater the damage. If I hadn’t sealed all my power in the Xuantian Sect Seal, I would have died there. Therefore, even if you break free from these talismans, you will never be able to pass the God-Blood Purification Ritual, given your ancient Divine God body.
Zhu Rong looked up at her: ‘You are right. I did discover the Demon Source underground here.’
Hua Ling nodded, and without beating around the bush, she went straight to the negotiations: ‘I’m going to unseal the source of evil now, but because I lost too much energy in the previous battle, I need you and Chu Jiang to help me. Once the seal is lifted, you can use the power of the source of evil to transform into a demon, and the shackles on you will naturally be unable to harm you anymore.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…why should I trust you?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘If you believe me, you will have one more option for a quick solution. If you don’t, you will remain trapped here. Although I admire your past deeds, I will not stand by and watch you kill innocent people again. If I have to, I will kill you myself.’
Zhu Rong was silent for a while, then said, ‘Fine, we have a deal.’
Hua Ling: ‘I have one more condition, but you don’t have to agree.’

☆, 18th Note

Hua Ling: ‘I have one more condition, but you don’t have to agree.’
Zhu Rong: ‘Tell me.’
Hua Ling: ‘If you succeed, I want you to stay temporarily in my book, the Record of Strange Tales from the Three Realms.’
Zhu Rong sneers: ‘Don’t even think about it. In the end, it’s just a different place to imprison me?’
Hua Ling shakes his head: ‘You can think about it, there’s no rush to make a choice. If you go out of here, Ji Wuchang will definitely send someone to pursue you with all his strength. And the space of this Record of Strange Tales from the Three Realms is not within his control.’
Zhu Rong laughed heartily, ‘Do I fear him? The first thing I’ll do when I get out is crush this sinister brat to dust. It would be perfect if he were to come to me!’
Hua Ling looked at him coldly, ‘You really don’t know what’s going on outside. Why do you think I want to hide in this world and be an ordinary person?’
Zhu Rong raised an eyebrow, ‘He wants to kill you now?’
Hua Ling didn’t say anything, which was taken as a tacit agreement.
Zhu Rong: ‘…
Zhu Rong frowned, as if pondering something.
Hua Ling continued, ‘A gentleman takes his revenge ten years from now. You’ve survived thousands of years, so why rush?’
Zhu Rong slowly digested these words, and suddenly the light bulb above her head flickered on. ‘What do you mean?!’
Hua Ling said, ‘Literally.’
Zhu Rong looked at her for a moment, ‘Interesting, really interesting. You seem to have changed a lot over the years.’
Hua Ling was silent for a while, ‘People always have to change.’
Zhu Rong said, ‘Oh…but you’re not a human being.’
This remark can actually be interpreted in various ways by the listener.
Hua Ling said, ‘This, is, just, a, way, of, speaking.’
Zhu Rong lowered his head and pondered for a moment…
…and then there was no response.
Hua Ling said, ‘In that case, let’s first unblock it, and then you can come with me to the book personally and take a look, and then it’s not too late to make a decision.’
Zhu Rong immediately said, ‘Okay.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Chujiang, who had been left waiting for a long time, said, ‘Hurry up, guys, I charge by the hour, 1,000 gold per minute!’
Zhu Rong was puzzled, ‘?’
Hua Ling shrugged at him and said, ‘The tragedy of being a henpecked husband.’
Zhu Rong’s gaze turned to Chujiang with sudden sympathy.
Chujiang, ‘…’
Zhu Rong suddenly turned to Hua Ling and said, ‘By the way, who is this kid? He’s a new face.’
Hua Ling turned to Chujiang and said, ‘Why don’t you introduce yourself?’
Chujiang, ‘…’
Chu Jiang bowed slightly to Zhurong: ‘I am Chu Jiang, in charge of the second hall of the Underworld.’
Zhurong: ‘?’
Zhurong obviously didn’t understand. In his era, complex institutions like the Underworld had not yet been established.
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘In short, he is in charge of the dead.’
Zhurong nodded: ‘Oh!’
After a while, Zhu Rong said angrily, ‘If it weren’t for the fact that my divine power was bound by that Ji kid, I would never have lost to someone who manages the dead!’
Chu Jiang: ‘…’
The source of evil was directly below the flame formation in the centre of the stone chamber.
Hua Ling and Chu Jiang nodded, and Chu Jiang bit his index finger and wrote in the air at great speed – red runes formed a formation on the source of evil in sequence…
Hua Ling once again summoned the Suixing Bingpo sword case, took it out of the abyss, and placed it in the centre of the magic source.
Zhurong Qi Dao asked, ‘What are you doing…?’
Hua Ling gave a concise reply, ‘Repairing the sword.’
Although Zhurong was still suspicious, he did not pursue the matter further.
Zhurong stood with his arms folded, ‘What do I need to do?’
Hua Ling placed the sword and stood up, ‘I will activate the magic array later, you and Chu Jiang just lend me your spiritual energy.’
Zhu Rong nodded to show that he understood, and then stood in the position Hua Ling had indicated.
…
Halfway through the ritual, Hua Ling’s breathing gradually became unstable, and suddenly she spat out a mouthful of blood. Chu Jiang opened his eyes and looked at her worriedly.
Hua Ling shook her head, indicating that he should not interrupt.
By the time the ritual was over, Hua Ling was already sweating profusely, and she stumbled backward two steps. Chu Jiang immediately appeared behind her and supported her.
He directly felt Hua Ling’s pulse, and then exclaimed in shock, ‘How did you get hurt so badly?!’
Hua Ling tugged at the corner of his mouth, imitating Zhu Rong’s previous tone, ‘If it weren’t for that Ji kid’s underhanded trick, how would I have gotten into such a mess!’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
‘That brat who controls the dead,’ Zhu Rong interrupted, ‘have you heard of the Soul-Washing Bone? She was doused with it when she entered the door.’
Chu Jiang froze for a moment. ‘You mean…that thing that washes away the soul?’ Although he had never seen it with his own eyes, Chu Jiang knew how powerful it was.
Hua Ling nodded. ‘If I knew how to use spatial magic like you, I wouldn’t have suffered this loss.’
Hua Ling took a slow step forward, and Chu Jiang understood what she meant. He quickly helped her walk into the formation.
Hua Ling crouched down and carefully checked on Zi Yuan’s situation.
Chu Jiang asked, ‘How is it?’
Hua Ling nodded slightly and carefully retrieved the sword case from Yuan. ‘Everything went well. Fortunately, with this magic, the cracks in the sword will slowly heal themselves, otherwise with those crude tools in the human world… I don’t know how long it would take to repair it.’
Zhu Rong coughed lightly next to him, brushing his presence angrily.
Hua Ling turned to him and smiled slightly, ‘How do you feel?’
Zhu Rong showed off his free limbs and looked smug.
Hua Ling: ‘…efficient.’ He thought that before, he was beaten by Chu Jiang and couldn’t even stand steadily, but in an instant, he was able to convert the evil energy into his own and successfully enter the demon state. Even Hua Ling couldn’t help but admire him—Zhu Rong is truly worthy of the name, and he is indeed thick-skinned.
Zhu Rong humbly bowed and said, ‘Thank you.’
Hua Ling looked at the broken shackles at his feet in silence, ‘You had a thousand ways to escape without breaking the chains, but you chose the stupidest one.’
Zhu Rong was displeased and looked at her like an idiot, ‘Why bother with all that trouble when something that breaks with a single tug can be broken that easily?’
Hua Ling said with a facial paralysis, ‘Yes, it’s so convenient to break free with brute force that Ji Wuchang will immediately know that you have broken free from the chains and escaped.’
Zhu Rong was dumbfounded: ‘…’
Knowing that this idiot has never thought about it, Hua Ling put his hand on his forehead and took out the ancient book from his bosom: ‘You, hurry up and go to the “Record of Strange Tales from the Three Realms.”
Zhu Rong started to play the bad guy: ’Oh, but… I want to see what it looks like outside.’
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘You’ve blown your chance. Choose: one, hide in there now; two, you can have fun on your own, Chu Jiang and I are leaving first.’
Zhu Rong said with grievance, ‘You said you were going with me!’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then suddenly threw the book at Chu Jiang and casually made a hand seal: ‘Go, go, go! Chu Jiang, I’ll leave the rest to you.’
Chu Jiang frowned: ‘Your injury…’
Hua Ling said helplessly, ‘I’ll be back after I throw this idiot in. It won’t take long. You leave quickly, go back to the pharmacy and wait for me, don’t let anyone find out.’
The idiot Zhu Rong said, ‘…’
Hua Ling pointed and the two of them suddenly turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared into the book.

☆、Chapter 19

Hua Ling pointed and the two of them suddenly turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared into the book.
‘Er…‘ Zhurong looked at the vast and boundless world, stunned for a moment, “This is… the world in the book?”
’The tip of the iceberg,’ Hualing kindly added.
The two were on the top of a mountain, at the highest point, with their hands on the white clouds. It was truly a place of green mountains and clear water, with hidden traces of immortals.
A fiery red shadow flashed past their heads.
Zhurong kept his head up: ’…I just seemed to see Bifang.’
Hua Ling shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘Believe me, it wasn’t a hallucination.’
Zhu Rong let out an excited ‘ow’ and then took two steps forward, excitedly pointing at the trees in the mountains like he was showing off a treasure to Hua Ling—a black and green beast with a single hornless leg that looked like a cow was glaring at him, chewing on a handful of grass as its upper and lower lips slowly moved.
‘Kui… Kui Kui Niu!’ Zhu Rong stepped a few paces in front of the Kui Niu and was about to reach out and touch its head when the Niu’s long tail snapped and hit Zhu Rong in the face. Then it turned its head, its rump facing him, and walked away swaying.
Zhu Rong: ’…’
Hualing pointed to the distant pool: ‘I didn’t realise you were so interested in these strange beasts. Kunpeng lives at the bottom of the pool, do you want to go say hello?’
Zhu Rong nodded repeatedly, with a red bar drawn by the kui ox, and followed Hualing to the pool happily…
“Master? Why are you here?’
Halfway there, he suddenly heard a loud shout from above him, and Hualing and Zhurong looked up together – it was the fly that Hualing had subdued before.
He slowly landed in front of Hualing and looked her over carefully: ‘You’re hurt.’
Hualing tilted her head: ‘Are you used to living here?’
The fly nodded: ‘This is a very nice place, I like it very much. Many places are exactly like my hometown, which makes me miss it very much.’
Fei looked at her again: ‘Who could have hurt you like this?’
Hua Ling teased, ‘Speaking of which, this is a good opportunity for you to strike back.’
Fei stamped his front legs: ‘Am I that kind of despicable person?’
Hua Ling looked at him mockingly.
Fei lifted his front hoof and touched his nose: ‘Okay, I’ve reformed.’
Then he suddenly looked serious and said, ‘Since I’ve recognised you as my master, I should serve you. You’re in danger again, so you should call me out.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘I was careless. Besides, there’s nothing you can do to help.’
Hua Ling saw that he was unhappy, so he added, ‘I’ll remember next time.’
A puff of air escaped from Fei’s nostrils: ‘You remember what you said. Oh, yes. That Chaos fellow has been complaining about wanting to get out ever since you threw him in here. My ears are almost starting to get calluses from the noise, so you’d better go take a look.’
Hua Ling gave a wry smile: ‘Thanks.’
Fei seemed to have just noticed the extra person by Hua Ling’s side, turned his head to take a look at Zhurong, and waved his huge beast head: ‘New here?’
Zhurong: ‘…’
‘No, I know you! You’re the god of fire, Zhurong!’ Before, because Zhurong was carrying demonic energy, Fei didn’t pay much attention to him. After a closer look, his expression suddenly became full of caution, “What are you doing here? What are your intentions?”
Zhurong was very dissatisfied with his attitude and turned directly to Hualing, “Hey, who is this ugly guy?”
Hualing: “…”
Fei roared, ’You’re the ugly one, and your whole family is ugly!’
Black flames had already begun to gather around Zhurong, and he narrowed his eyes: ‘Say that again!’
Hua Ling quickly stepped between the two of them: ‘Stop, stop, stop – that, let me introduce you, this is Fei, and this is the god of fire, Zhurong, but he’s gone mad now, so you can, roughly, consider him a companion.’
Feng said, ‘Hmph, he has shed the blood of countless of my demon people. How could I possibly recognise him? Never!’
Zhu Rong said, ‘Ugly monster, get lost, don’t get in my way. I don’t want to be seen with you scum.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
Seeing that they were about to fight, Feng suddenly shook his head and said to Hua Ling, ’Master, I’ll go first. Remember to summon me if you need me.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘You go ahead.’
Zhurong snorted: ‘He’s afraid that I’ll beat him up and he’ll run away in a hurry.’
Hua Ling was speechless and put a hand on his forehead.
Fei had already gone a long way away, and Zhurong was still muttering: ‘Hmph, rude guy. I’m tolerant and have a lot of patience, so I won’t argue with you, otherwise you think you have a few lives…’
Hua Ling quickly interrupted him, saying, ‘There are 7749 worlds of varying sizes in this book, and we are currently in the Lushan Realm. I am going to the Guiyun Realm to find Chaos. Are you coming with me or are you going to wander around on your own?’
Zhu Rong excitedly let out another long ‘ow’ sound and skipped straight to the main point: ‘Forty-nine worlds? ! These…are all spaces you created?’
Hua Ling shook her head, her eyes a little tender, as if filled with infinite nostalgia. After a moment, she said, ‘A long-lost friend gave it to me.’
Zhu Rong slapped his thigh, the sound echoing through the heavens and earth. ‘What a generous gift!’
Hua Ling was at a loss for words.
Zhu Rong glanced back at Hua Ling, then looked at her several more times, before shaking his head and finally giving her a thumbs-up.
Hua Ling: ‘…
Hua Ling felt like she almost understood this guy’s way of thinking.
Sure enough, Zhu Rong curiously came up to her and winked at her, ‘What other treasures did you lie about? Show me!’
Hua Ling turned around and left.
Damn it, why has no one ever told her that Zhu Rong is like this? She’s so stupid that she doesn’t have any friends!

☆, Chapter 20

The biggest difference between the Cloud Realm and the Mountain Realm is the presence or absence of mountains.
The Lu Mountain Realm is full of rolling hills, endless and ever-changing, with different views from different angles and different heights. The Guiyun Realm is all about clouds, streams, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.
Hua Ling took the clueless Zhurong for a long walk around the Lu Mountain Realm, satisfying someone’s incredibly strong curiosity, before heading to the Guiyun Realm. Hua Ling’s important little friend, Qingyang, had been left here for a long time.
Qingyang was lying under a shatong tree near the Chishui River, still in the same position as Hua Ling had thrown him in, surrounded by a circle of chirping little fire beasts.
Hua Ling shook his head, picked up a few that were playing with the tail of the chaos, and helped to push down the two that were squatting on his head and playing around. ‘You guys can stop now. You bully the weak and are afraid of the strong. Usually, I don’t see any of you dare to ride on his head.’
Firelight Beast No. 1 looked up: ‘Chi-chi – Hualing, you came to see us?’
No. 2: ‘Chi-chi – look at us, look at us! You haven’t been here for a long time!’
No. 3: ‘Chi – is there anything delicious, delicious, with chocolate?’
No. 4: ‘I want cake, chi!’
Hualing was unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. She reached out and lightly tapped the charmed chain binding Qingyang, and it immediately disappeared without a trace.
Chaos’s first action after getting up from the ground was to stomp a hoof at Hualing.
Under normal circumstances, Hualing naturally wouldn’t pay any attention to this kind of petty fighting, and she could dodge it with her eyes closed, or block it with a finger. Chaos naturally knew this, so this subconscious action was just to vent his dissatisfaction…
However, when he saw Hua Ling really being kicked several zhang away, rolling several times, and then lying on the ground motionless, Qingyang was dumbfounded…
Qingyang rushed to Hua Ling’s side in a flurry, and he returned to being a little boy again. His tongue even tied up when he spoke: ‘Hua, Hua Ling…’
Zhurong, who was standing aside watching the show, seized every opportunity to pour cold water: ‘You’ve already been injured enough. This kick of yours has made things even easier.’
Qingyang’s eyes reddened. ‘I, I was just momentarily angry… I didn’t know… Hualing, speak, don’t scare me… Hualing…’
Hualing finally came back to her senses from the dizziness, and almost fainted again from the swaying.
Hualing raised her hand with difficulty and touched his head: ‘Stop swaying, if you keep swaying I’ll really die from it.’
Qingyang saw that Hualing had woken up, and tightly grasped her hand, tears welling up in her eyes.
Hua Ling lay on her back, her gaze shifting to Zhurong.
Zhurong looked down at her.
Hua Ling said, ‘Have you thought it over?’
Zhurong nodded, ‘I’ve made up my mind.’
Hua Ling: ‘?’
Zhurong stood with her arms folded, pointing one finger in the direction of the land mass, spitting out her words as she went: ‘I’ll take all that mountain territory! I’ll set up camp, recruit followers, and then go back to the heavens and kick his ass!’
Hua Ling silently turned his head away, muttering to himself, ‘I don’t know this guy, I don’t know this guy…’
Zhu Rong suddenly remembered something and looked at Hua Ling warily, ‘Although I live here, don’t you dare try to use me. I’m not one of those cheap foreign beasts!’
Hua Ling immediately waved his hand to send his guest away, ‘That’s just as well. I wish you every success and hope you can build your base camp soon. Goodbye.’
Zhu Rong puffed out his nostrils and walked away humming.
Qingyang withdrew his gaze from Zhurong’s back and asked Hualing, ‘Who exactly is this idiot?’
Hualing thought for a moment and decided to remain silent. The truth is always cruel, but it is still possible to leave some room for fantasy when necessary.
Hualing closed her eyes and whispered, ‘Qingyang. I really can’t walk anymore this time. You carry me back.’
After a moment,
One hand went around Hua Ling’s knees, and the other was placed under her shoulders. She was picked up and carried.
Hua Ling opened her eyes and asked, ‘What? Your magic has returned?’
The young man with the beautiful eyebrows and eyes looked down at her and smiled, ‘I’ve been locked in this world of books for a long time, so I’ve recovered some of my magic. I can still do this.’
Hua Ling closed her eyes and said, ‘It’s hard to recover some of your magic, so why rush to use it again? It’ll be used up quickly if you keep changing like this.’
Qingyang smiled: ‘It’s rare to be able to show your true face to someone, so naturally you want to show it off, so that you don’t get called ugly all the time.’
Hua Ling sighed: ‘Unfortunately…that person can’t see it now.’
Qingyang was in the world of the book and didn’t know what had happened, so when he heard this, he raised an eyebrow: ‘Something happened to Stupid Sword?’
Hua Ling gave a ‘hmm’: ‘He was beaten back to his original form by that idiot just now. It’s estimated that he won’t wake up for a while.’
Qingyang: ‘…I’m more and more curious about his identity.’ He also had a vague idea of Jiang Yu’s strength. Who on earth could beat him up?
Hua Ling earnestly advised, ‘Curiosity killed the cat. You’d better think of him as a moron with a cheat.’
Qingyang: ‘…
In the words, the two had already walked to the exit connecting the world of the book to the outside world.
Qingyang’s five fingers slightly opened, and he waved them towards the tiny exit – the hole suddenly expanded several times, sucking the two of them in…
A familiar fragrance filled his nose, and the setting sun climbed in through the window, painting the entire room a pale warm golden colour.
The young Lord of the Underworld, dressed in black, sat by the window and gave Hua Ling a small smile: ‘Welcome home.’
——Don’t go away, I promised to give you an extra chapter in the next chapter, uh, the author is working hard to type——

☆, Chapter 21: Fairy Tale

Hint: This chapter is not related to the plot of the main story, and is purely the actor’s voluntary work. Bo Junyi…laughs.
Daily Life 1: Zhurong’s First Shopping Trip
Considering that Zhurong had been in prison for thousands of years, Hualing decided to be kind and take him out for a stroll. And then…there was no then. Hualing followed him non-stop, and had only two things to do: apologise and pay compensation.
Zhu Rong shared his first impressions with Hualing and showed off his newly acquired modern Chinese: These mortals have truly degenerated. They not only fail to be grateful for the honour of having the Emperor dine with them and view their humble creations, but they even dare to shout at the Emperor?
Hualing pouts, feeling a little insulted. If I were the one who had been served 20 free meals and then complained about everything, if I were the one whose freshly painted oil painting had been ruined, if I were the one whose robot had been flattened by someone’s foot after a day of hard work, then I would not be able to solve the problem by shouting. I am the one who is really drunk! Asshole!
————————————————————————————————
Day 2: Qingyang’s troubles
Qingyang has been very troubled recently…
Hualing: ‘One of you, please pass me the Schisandra fruit on the cupboard.’
Qingyang, who was standing closest to the medicine cupboard, felt a sudden rush of joy. He looked up – the Schisandra fruit was on the top shelf…
He looked left and right, found the nearest stool, dragged it to the medicine cupboard, and was about to climb up on it when Jiang Yu slowly walked over, reached up and took the porcelain jar containing the Schisandra fruit directly from the cupboard and brought it to Hualing.
Hua Ling, who was too busy to help, happily petted Wang Jiang’s head: ‘Thank you, Xiaoyu!’
Qingyang: ‘…’
…
Hua Ling, Jiang Yu, and Qingyang went to the movies together.
They were stopped at the ticket gate.
The staff looked apologetically at Hua Ling and Jiang Yu: ‘Sorry, this movie is not suitable for children under the age of 13.’
Qingyang suddenly felt a thousand wild horses running through his heart… Adding two zeros at the end of the sentence doesn’t make it any less urgent! How old am I?
Hua Ling looked at Qingyang with a complex face, then took the two of them to a secluded place… and summoned Zhurong.
Hua Ling gave Zhurong some pocket money: ‘Please take little Qingyang for a walk, we’ll be right back.’
Zhurong was so excited that he let out a ‘woof’ and took Qingyang by the collar and ran off.
Qingyang, who was dizzy from the bumping, said, ‘…’
You cheats, where’s the height difference you promised? T-T
————————————————————————————————————
Daily 3: Activities after the clinic closes
Zhu Rong and the others followed some patients from the clinic and learned a game that was said to be all the rage – called Three Kingdoms Killing.
After closing time, Zhu Rong, Jiang Yu, Qingyang, and Fei dragged Hualing to play Three Kingdoms Killing.
They briefly explained the rules to Hualing, and each one of them was eager to crush Hualing in the game.
Five players, two rebels, one loyalist, and one insider.
Hualing drew the role of the lord, and she calmly chose Yuan Shao as the lord.
Zhu Rong gave a hee-hee laugh.
Qing Yang gave a sly smile.
Jiang Yu looked like he had a face paralysis.
Fei had a lot of question marks on his face.
The game started. Yuan Shao immediately played an AOE, instantly killing everyone on the field.
Four pets: ‘…’ Newcomer luck, newcomer luck.
Second game.
Hua Ling draws the lord again. This time she chooses Sun Huanyuan.
Three kills, one sky halberd, one out of nothing, and one handy.
She takes one kill from the next player, Lu Bu (Jiang Yu), out of nothing—handy, plus one kill—and then takes a peach from Lu Bu’s hand.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
And then… there was no after. Jiang Yu and Zhu Rong both played back-to-back reversals. The lord once again killed everyone in the first round.
Everyone: ‘…’
The third game.
Hua Ling still drew the lord. This time… she chose Huang Gai.
Three minutes later…
Fei got up: ‘I need to go back and tell the kids a story.’ Instantly, he disappeared back into the book.
Qingyang yawned: ‘Anyone want to go get some late-night snacks?’
Jiang Yu immediately stood up: ‘Let’s go!’
Zhu Rong dejectedly went to the computer to find a place.
Hua Ling sneered: ‘You’re still too young to fight me.’
A gust of wind blew, and a talisman paper under Hua Ling’s seat floated silently to the ground. It read: Lucky S.

☆, 21st letter

Jiang Yu had a long dream.
He dreamed of the Demon Realm. Everything there was familiar to him, and the atmosphere there reassured him.
He dreamed of the Battle of Zhuolu – endless war, blood, shouts, and despair.
He dreamed of a red-haired man of great stature leading a group of demons to confront the Heavenly Emperor. They fought for 49 days and 7 times, with neither side prevailing.
Someone was talking to him in the dream.
‘Father is old, and I can already see the end of this battle.‘
’My son, it is time to hand over the Demon Clan to you.‘
’Report – General Lu Cun is dead in battle, General Wu Qu is missing, and the entire Xing Qiu Department has been wiped out. Please give your orders, young master!‘
’Report – the nine stars and seventy-two formations have been lost… Your Majesty…has been sealed by Ji Xuanyuan.‘
’Listen to my orders, generals of all departments, charge with me!’
The red-haired man finally turned around. His silhouette was deep and heroic, but his brow was slightly furrowed and his eyes were dark and unclear. It seemed that he had many things to say to him, but in the end he chose to remain silent.
In the twinkling of an eye, he thought of the identity of the red-haired man, the Demon Lord Chiyou, his father.
Jiang Yu opened his eyes and looked blankly at the dark dome. This was the sword world within the sword of Yuanyuan. He could feel Hualing’s presence, as well as the faint fragrance of medicine. She was quietly keeping watch over him.
Jiang Yu did not speak, nor did he try to move. He needed some time to sort through the memories he had regained.
…
Three days ago. The sword mound.
‘Pat-pat,’ the regular sound of metal clashing was Chu Jiang opening the lid of his pocket watch.
Hua Ling carefully poured the boiling spirit essence onto Congyuan: ‘Why are you still here?’
Chu Jiang spread his hands: ‘Who told you to come and infuse the spirit as soon as you could walk… Sigh, although I can’t stop you from being reckless, you can’t stop me from helping you collect your corpse.’
Hua Ling exposed him: ‘You should have just confessed. You’re afraid that after I die, I won’t be able to find a chess piece like me to make the most of you.’
Chu Jiang shook the pocket watch in his hand and gave a devilish smile in response, ‘We understand each other, and we know that silence speaks volumes at this moment.’
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘If you make that face again, I’ll tear your face off.’
Chu Jiang stopped smiling, ‘There was a moment just now.’
Hua Ling: ‘?’
Chu Jiang sighed, ‘It makes me miss the powerful God of Killing back in the day.’
Hua Ling sneered, ‘Back then? You were just a baby who hadn’t weaned, so what would you know.’
Chu Jiang suddenly looked serious and said, ‘Seriously, although Zhengyuan Jindan suppressed your injuries… but you previously unsealed it, so you should know… this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.’
Hua Ling stopped what she was doing and said, ‘Sooner or later, it had to be unsealed, it’s just a little earlier than planned. You need to hurry up over there, we don’t have much time.’
Chu Jiang: ‘…’
Hua Ling lowered her head and carefully inspected the sword…the cracks caused by the divine flames were slowly repairing. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand and carefully placed the sword back in the sword case.
As soon as Hua Ling turned around, she saw Chu Jiang sitting on the side, lost in thought.
Hua Ling walked up to Chu Jiang and flicked him on the forehead with his finger: ‘What’s with that expression? A man of great achievements doesn’t care about trifles. A big man who acts like a woman is very annoying.’
Chu Jiang rubbed his reddened forehead: ‘…this is not a trifle. Anyway, thank you.’
Hua Ling raised the corner of his mouth: ‘You’re welcome. It’s good that you remember our agreement.’
Chu Jiang nodded: ‘Of course.’
His gaze shifted to the sword case behind Hua Ling: ‘But I really can’t believe you could think of this method back then. You’re really something, you even fooled the old man, didn’t you?’
Hua Ling was silent for a while, as if lost in his memories: ‘I could never guess what was going on in his mind. Maybe…he was just turning a blind eye.’
…
Jiang Yu opened his eyes the moment that unfamiliar aura intruded into the space from the abyss.
“Come out.’
The young man in the navy-blue robe with wide sleeves grunted lightly and gradually took shape.
Jiang Yu looked him up and down for a moment before saying, ‘Ugly?’
Qingyang was furious: ‘You’re the ugly one! Your whole family is ugly!’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘You didn’t inherit your body and hair from yourself, so I don’t blame you.’
Qingyang took a deep breath to control the urge to punch him: ‘…’
Jiang Yu said, ‘What are you doing here?’
Jiang Yu was lying down, while Qingyang was standing, so Qingyang looked down at him, which turned into Qingyang condescendingly looking down at him: ‘Oh, I’m here to laugh. Usually so awe-inspiring and unbeatable, but there comes a time when you get beaten up and can’t face people.’
Jiang Yu closed his eyes again: ‘Finished watching. You can leave now.’
Qingyang ran his hand along his chin and said, ‘You probably don’t know, but Hualing is injured.’
Jiang Yu’s eyelashes twitched slightly.
Qingyang keenly noticed this detail and then grinned and said, ‘It is said that she has been tirelessly guarding someone for three days.’
Jiang Yu suddenly opened his eyes and glared at him, ‘So what are you still doing here? Why don’t you let her go rest?’
Qingyang walked around him and said, ‘Why? She has become weaker, so I can take advantage of the situation.’
Jiang Yu instantly stood in front of Qingyang, grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. ‘Say that again.’
Qingyang grinned and leaned into his ear, ‘Don’t you know the meaning of a blood pact? According to the agreement, I can feed on her spiritual energy, and once her spiritual energy is weaker than mine, I can turn the tables.’
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes, ‘Before that happens, I’ll kill you first.’
“Bang!’
Qingyang suddenly changed back into the appearance of a young boy again, slipped out of his hands, and tilted his head slightly: ‘In that case, I’ll just have to wait and see.’
After saying this, Qingyang’s body gradually became transparent and he left the inner world of Congyuan.
Qingyang’s interference had stirred up all the little knots and discomfort in Jiang Yu’s heart, but fortunately, he no longer acted like an ostrich.
Hua Ling was leaning back on the sofa, closing her eyes to rest. Half asleep, she seemed to have a telepathic connection with the person. She opened her eyes and saw the man crouching in front of her, holding a blanket in his hands. When he saw Hua Ling wake up, he quickly threw the blanket aside, looking embarrassed.
Hua Ling gave him a small smile and said, ‘Long time no see.’

☆、第贰拾贰札

Hua Ling was leaning back on the sofa, closing her eyes to rest. Half asleep, she seemed to have telepathic powers. She opened her eyes and saw the man crouching in front of her, holding a blanket in his hands. When he saw Hua Ling wake up, he quickly threw the blanket aside, looking embarrassed.
Hua Ling gave him a small smile, ‘Long time no see.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a while, ‘You seem to have lost some weight.’
He reached out and touched her forehead, ‘You don’t look well.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Your illusion, I’m just a little sleepy.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: ‘I heard you got hurt again.’ He emphasized the word ‘again’ when he said it.
Hua Ling looked at him without saying anything.
Jiang Yu: ‘After that, what happened?’
Hua Ling told him roughly what happened with Zhu Rong, focusing on him and lightly mentioning that Chu Jiang had subdued the injured Zhu Rong with one move, while omitting what had happened to her.
Jiang Yu sighed, ‘Chu really is good, I underestimated him.’
His words implied something, and Hua Ling knew that he thought Chu Jiang had repaired the Yuanyuan. She smiled slightly and didn’t say anything.
Jiang Yu suddenly asked, ‘At that time, why didn’t you run?’
Hua Ling smiled and suddenly reached out and stroked his handsome side face: ‘You are my sword spirit, how could I abandon you?’
Jiang Yu sighed: ‘The sword spirit exists to protect its master. I am your sword, and I will be used when the time comes.’
Hua Ling looked into his deep purple eyes: ‘I have never thought of it this way. Since you and I know each other, it is fate. I am willing to treat you as a friend, a confidant, and a family member. No matter what happens, I will never abandon you.”
Jiang Yu was slightly moved, and after a long while, he said awkwardly, “You… are really a strange woman.”
The two looked at each other quietly for a moment, and then Jiang Yu suddenly said, “I want to tell you something.”
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, and then nodded, “Go ahead.”
Jiang Yu said seriously, “I remembered something from the past.”
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow, as if quite interested, ’Oh? What did you remember?’
Jiang Yu paused for a moment: ‘I don’t belong here.’
Hua Ling listened attentively.
Jiang Yu: ‘I mentioned before that the entire world, including the divine world, is protected by the Nine Heavens Fuxi Boundary. Do you remember?’
Hua Ling nodded.
Jiang Yu: ‘The entire world, including the divine world, is protected by the Nine Heavens Fuxi Boundary. Do you know what is beyond that?’
Hua Ling said: ‘It’s the Demon Realm, isn’t it?’
Jiang Yu: ‘That’s right. That’s where my hometown is.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu took her silence as a sign that she was too surprised to process the news.
He continued, ‘My father is Chiyou.’
Hua Ling: ‘Puff…’
Jiang Yu was out of character for a second and said discontently, ‘What are you laughing at?!’
Hua Ling waved his hand, ‘No, I saw your serious expression and thought you were going to say something.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling patted him on the shoulder: ‘I don’t discriminate against demons. You see, many of my friends are demons, like Qingyang, and the flying demon I subdued before… Of course, I won’t discriminate against you because of your birth.’
Jiang Yu instantly exploded: ‘What’s wrong with my birth? ! I am the noble lord of the demon race, why should I need others to speak for me? You should be grateful that I don’t discriminate against you, hmph!’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘That’s settled then, what are you still moping about?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…nothing.’ When she put it like that, it did seem like nothing.
No!
Jiang Yu said unhappily, ‘No! I’m not happy because…I remember clearly that I was going to fight the old Ji for 300 rounds, but for some inexplicable reason, I’ve become a sword spirit! Damn it, this half-baked form is so weak, it’s less than one thousandth of my previous strength!’
Hua Ling said, ‘Er…one thousandth is a bit of an exaggeration…’
‘That’s not the point!’ Jiang Yu snapped, ‘The point is, in this state, how are we going to take care of Ji Laotou!’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, ‘There’s something you probably don’t know yet…If you mean Ji Xuanyuan when you say “Ji Laotou”, he’s been gone for a long time.’
Jiang Yu froze for a moment, and angrily said, ‘What do you mean gone?’
Hua Ling: ‘…literally. The Celestial Realm has long since changed hands.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…what? What about my people? What’s happened to them?’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘As you know, the land of China is now protected by the Nine Heavens Fuxi’s enchantment. As for the Demon Realm and even the situation in the Western Demon Realm, no one knows since the last war between the gods and demons.’
Jiang Yu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, ‘After all these years, the whereabouts of my clan members are unknown, and I have even been lying here for so many years for no reason… When I catch the person who did this to me, he is a dead man!’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu suddenly calmed down again, ‘Okay, that’s not the point. Actually, I want to tell you…’
Hua Ling was a little uncomfortable with his sudden mood swings and tried to test him, ‘So you want to resign?’
Jiang Yu is not calm again: ‘……Do I look like someone who doesn’t keep their word?!’
Hua Ling: ‘Er…’
Jiang Yu is silent for a moment: ‘I am already your sword spirit, and naturally I will protect you to the end and will not leave your side. However, if you are not busy in the store, don’t keep me locked up like you did before. I need to go and find the rest of my memories! I feel like I’ve forgotten something very important.’
Hua Ling: ‘Oh…’ Actually…before, it was also out of necessity. I was afraid that if he suddenly woke up, he wouldn’t be able to adapt to the changes in the world, so I let him stay in the shop to ease the transition…
Jiang Yu squints: ‘What do you mean by “oh”!?’
Hua Ling says in a good-natured manner: ‘Yes, okay, I understand.’
Jiang Yu: ‘That’s it!?’
Hua Ling tentatively asks: ‘So…about the memories and stuff, I’ll go with you to find them?’
Jiang Yu is speechless for a moment: ‘You…never mind.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘I’ve said it before, I’ve never treated you like a servant. If you want to do something, just go ahead and do it, you don’t actually need to ask me.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a moment, then suddenly said seriously: ‘At first, I was unwilling to be forced to sign a blood pact with you. But now, I just want to tell you that I will protect you for the rest of your life, not just because of the blood pact.’
Hua Ling smiled again. ‘Then remember what I said today. I never wanted to bind you with the blood pact. If one day you want to leave, you can go at any time.’
Jiang Yu frowned. ‘Woman, you don’t understand…’
Hua Ling lightly placed her index finger on his pale lips. ‘You have given me your word, so consider this a return gift.’
Jiang Yu took her hand and slowly moved it away from his lips, the corner of his mouth slightly upturned. ‘Stupid woman.’

☆, Chapter 23

Because of the previous long trips, the pharmacy had been closed for more than half a month. After it reopened, it was so busy that for a while, there was no time to breathe. Unavoidably, Jiang Yu and Qingyang both ended up doing odd jobs in the front hall.
There were generally four types of customers in the shop.
The first type were Hua Ling’s regular customers, who had decided to go to Hua Ling for all their illnesses, big and small, so when Hua Ling left for a few weeks, they were as restless as if they had lost their peace of mind.
‘Doctor Hua, you’re finally back. My daughter-in-law recently stopped taking her calming tea for a week, and she’s been so restless. Her temper is getting worse every day, and she’s making a mess of the house.‘ Old Wang from the town sat in the lobby, waiting for Hua Ling to pick up his medicine, while complaining non-stop.
’Drinking calming tea for a long time is not a solution. Your wife is actually suffering from a psychological effect. I’ve reduced the dosage slightly, so if we slowly reduce it, we can slowly wean her off it.’ Hua Ling wrapped up the herbs and asked Jiang Yu to give them to Lao Wang.
Jiang Yu handed the herbs to Lao Wang with a cold face and said indifferently, “Kill the chicken and give the dog away, once and for all.”
Lao Wang: “…
Hua Ling quickly saved the situation: ”Uncle Wang, don’t mind him, this is my cousin. He doesn’t have much education and often makes a fool of himself.’
Lao Wang quickly nodded: ‘The young man looks like a decent person. If he works hard with your sister, he will have a bright future.’
Qingyang passed by with a tray of medicine, and said in a baby voice: ‘He is really stupid.’
Lao Wang: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling quickly stopped Jiang Yu’s hand, which was about to lift Qingyang’s collar: ‘Xiaoyu, come here and help me pound the medicine.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
The second type of person was attracted to Xiao Baozi Qingyang.
Qingyang had returned to his appearance as a four or five year old boy. His eyes were dark green and his hair was flaxen. The neighbours and townsfolk who had seen him before all thought he was a mixed-race child. Word spread quickly and people would come to the shop to tease him, as if they were amused by something rare. He was small and plump, with a round face like a meat bun. Every time he delivered the herbs to the customer, he would inevitably be pinched. The town is remote, and some people have never seen a foreigner in their lives, let alone a mixed-race person. At this time, Qingyang would run up to Hualing’s legs with his red and flushed little face, and reach out of sight of the guests, with three big black characters written on the palm of his hand: ‘Grease fee, if you don’t pay, I’ll make trouble.’
Hualing: ‘…’
Jiang Yu, on the other hand, had a different scene. He was tall and handsome, and with a stern face, he stood in the middle of the hall like a war god from the primeval flood. There were quite a few young women and young girls whose intentions were not on the wine, and under the guise of seeking medical treatment, they would come to the shop and ask Jiang Yu all sorts of questions. The bolder ones would even go so far as to hit on him, shamelessly taking advantage of him. The men who came to seek medical treatment, especially the bachelors, would be envious when they saw this, but they dared not act blatantly, so they would just give him dirty looks.
There is also a type of patient who is also a regular. There were always men who used to run to the pharmacy every other day. When they came, they would complain about minor problems such as cuts, bruises, headaches, toothaches, and eye pain. They would always find some excuse, and then when they came, they would use the excuse of seeking medical treatment to badger Hualing for a long time.
This young man in his thirties with a moustache was sitting in a cane chair, arms folded, grunting.
Hualing was picking glass shards out of his palm while saying in a patient tone, ‘Just bear with me, it won’t take long.’
The young man with the moustache is the town’s contractor. He started working at the age of 15 and has since built several town projects. He is now a well-known figure in their area.
The man looked at Hua Ling without any hesitation: ‘Hua Ling, where have you been all this time? I’ve been waiting for you for so long. You seem to have lost weight.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘I went travelling. I wanted to take a holiday too.’
The man stared blankly at Hua Ling’s smile, and for a moment, he was still in shock.
‘Oww…’ A scream resounded through the entire room, attracting all kinds of attention.
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu with a black line on his head and said, ‘What are you doing?’
Jiang Yu put the empty alcohol bottle in his hand aside and said expressionlessly, ‘Disinfection.’ After that, he walked away indifferently.
Hua Ling quickly took the gauze and helped him absorb the alcohol: ‘Sorry, my cousin is a novice.’
The man gritted his teeth and gnashed his teeth while still generously waving his uninjured hand: ‘It’s okay, it’s okay, a real man, a little pain is not worth mentioning.’
Hua Ling: ‘…still, the expression is more honest.
After sending off the contractor, a man with a strong smell of alcohol came.
The smell of alcohol spread to every corner of the store as soon as he entered. Hua Ling saw that he could hardly walk steadily, so he went up and helped him a little, letting him sit down and rest.
The man was dressed like a gentleman, in a white shirt and black trousers, with black-framed glasses. He was said to be a writer, not a very famous one, living a frugal life with a pen in his mouth.
Hualing poured him a cup of hangover soup: ‘Staying up late again to finish a draft?’
The man didn’t take the soup, but grabbed her hand, his red eyes looking at her without focus: ‘Hualing…you’re back.’
Hua Ling pulled her hand away without saying a word and replaced it with the decoction: ‘Another writer’s block?’
The man gulped down the decoction and grabbed her hand again: ‘I’m suffering…my head hurts…’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘You drink too much. I’ve told you before that it’s bad for your liver and can trigger a heart attack. There are many cases of sudden death due to alcohol abuse.’
The man frowned, ‘I know…but I can’t write. It’s hard to hold back the words…I feel like vomiting when I look at the computer…but if I don’t write, I won’t have anything to eat…’
Hua Ling advised kindly, ‘In fact, you don’t have to think about everything so absolutely. You can find a part-time job. You can write when you’re inspired, and when you’re not, changing the environment and mood can also help you create better.’
The man sighed, ‘I understand what you’re saying, but I just can’t…’
A glass of ice water fell from the top of the man’s head…
Hua Ling: ‘…’ She should be grateful that Jiang Yu didn’t use a basin!
The man stared at Jiang Yu in disbelief: ‘What are you doing?’
Jiang Yu said concisely: ‘Getting sober.’
The man: ‘…’
Jiang Yu looked at him and said, ‘Are you sober now?’
The man: ‘…’
Hua Ling lowered her voice and told him to leave: ‘Jiang Yu, go to the back and dispense the medicine, don’t make trouble here.’
Hua Ling took a dry towel and handed it to the man. The man hastily wiped a few times and got up to leave.
…
After the tenth time something like this happened…
Hua Ling finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
After closing the shop that day, she patiently kept Jiang Yu company while he locked up, and then asked him to sit down in the front room: ‘Come, Mr. Jian Ling, I want to talk to you about life.’
Jiang Yu asked with a face full of paralysis, ‘Do you want something?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Qingyang came running with a bunch of ice grapes in his hand to join in the fun: ‘What? A meeting? I love it!’
Hua Ling’s eyes curved and she gave a small smile: ‘Oh, so I’ll talk to you first?’
Qingyang ran upstairs in a hurry.
Hua Ling didn’t beat around the bush with him either, getting straight to the point: ‘In fact, those people… are basically very kind and don’t have any ill intent.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and spoke in a strange tone: ‘No ill intent? You enjoy that feeling?’
Hua Ling sighed and said, ‘Let me put it this way: there are some things you know you can’t keep for yourself, but you feel it’s good to be able to look at them from time to time. Can you understand that feeling?’
Jiang Yu said with a blank face, ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
Hua Ling shook her head and said, ‘Some illnesses are visible, while others are not. Naturally, everyone here is a patient because they need help. For many people, it is more like a spiritual sustenance. For example, Lao Wang’s wife had nervous insomnia due to family changes, but she actually got better after taking medicine for a while. Now I give her some nourishing teas that replenish blood and vital energy. But she keeps thinking they are calming teas, and if she misses a dose, she will be sleepless again. For example, the writer you drove away before, the pressure of life and dissatisfaction with his career over a long period of time have put him at the breaking point from time to time. All he needs is someone to listen to him. Whenever he is about to explode, finding an outlet to vent can somewhat relieve his depression. But what if that outlet is blocked?”
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then suddenly nodded and said, “This time I was wrong.”
Hua Ling: “…”
Jiang Yu was dissatisfied: “What kind of expression is that? !”
Hua Ling: “In my lifetime, I can hear you admit your mistake! It’s so hard!”
Jiang Yu frowned.
He suddenly realised that he didn’t really like the phrase “in my lifetime”.
There are certain qualities about Hualing that transcend her age, such as her mastery of the art of divination, her calmness in the face of change, her thoroughness in considering matters, and her mature attitude towards thinking about things, which sometimes make him forget that she is also just a mortal. And the lifespan of a person is very short for them. A hundred years will pass in the blink of an eye…
Hualing poked at his knotted eyebrows: ‘They’re all knotted up. What were you thinking about so intently?’
‘Right, what’s on your mind? Hurry up and tell us, so we can cheer up a bit.”
Hua Ling looked at the empty corner: “…Qingyang, you’re next. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been hiding there listening at the walls.”
Qingyang’s voice came from afar: “I’ve gone far away. I won’t be able to come back.”
Jiang Yu suddenly whispered: ’Mortal beings, what fragile creatures they are.’
Hua Ling heard this and smiled: ‘It is very fragile. But it is also very interesting. If you get in touch with it more, you will naturally be able to appreciate it.’
Jiang Yu glanced at her: ‘I already have a deep appreciation for it.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
’Bang!‘
A loud noise pierced the silence of the night.
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling’s gazes swept towards the courtyard together.
’It’s over by the gate.’

☆, Chapter 24

A loud noise pierced the silence of the night.
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling’s gazes swept together to the courtyard.
‘It’s over by the gate.’
Hua Ling quickly ran to the gate…
Jiang Yu was already waiting there, and in his hand he was holding a small white fox that was covered in blood and had fainted. He held it out in front of Hua Ling and waved it around: ‘Another one of your old acquaintances?’
Hua Ling frowned: ‘Let’s go inside first and treat his wounds.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…really.’
…
Although he was wrapped in bandages, it didn’t affect the little white fox’s appetite at all. Hua Ling didn’t count exactly, but he had already eaten ten bowls of white rice by eye…with pickles.
‘Is there more?’
The little white fox reached out heroically, and the empty bowl almost poked Hua Ling in the chin.
Hua Ling was dumbfounded: ‘Have you been hungry for a year?’
The little white fox looked at the empty bowl with longing eyes: ‘Huh? Is that all there is…’ with a rather regretful tone.
Hua Ling signalled Jiang Yu with his eyes to serve the rice.
Jiang Yu instantly flared up: ‘Why should I serve this fox?!’
Hua Ling was speechless and took the bowl to prepare to serve it himself. Jiang Yu suddenly snatched the bowl away and turned around to leave.
Hua Ling: ‘…’ This is going to be so awkward.
The white fox sat up straight with a curious expression on his face and poked his head out: ‘Hey, you little lover has a lot of character.’
Hua Ling turned his head and looked at him with a cold face: ‘Are you healed?’
The white fox immediately grunted and huddled down a little under the quilt, his voice still trembling: ‘It hurts…’
Hua Ling laughed coldly and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him out of the quilt: ‘Stop acting. I’ve already bandaged your wound, so you can go back to Jiujiang.’
The white fox immediately used both paws to grab Hua Ling’s hand, looking pitiful, ‘No, no, no, let’s talk about this.’
Hua Ling narrowed his eyes, ‘Chu Jiang should have told you not to leave your post without permission unless it’s important.’
The white fox’s eyes were brimming with tears, ‘I’m about to die, isn’t that important?’
Hua Ling snorted, ‘With his personality, how would he take such a coward as his subordinate?’
White Fox: ‘…’ Cherish life is also a virtue, how would you outlaws understand.
‘What are you doing?’
Jiang Yugang just came in with a rice bowl in his hand, and saw the scene of White Fox with tearful eyes holding Hua Ling’s hand, his face instantly turning black.
Hua Ling lightly pulled his wrist out of White Fox’s hand and placed it on his furry head, patting it twice: ‘I was asking him how he got hurt. Go on, who bullied you.’
White Fox: ‘…’
White Fox wiped the water droplets hanging under his eyes, and in a second, his face turned numb: ‘The reason I came this time is because… Jiuying.’
Hua Ling frowned imperceptibly, his expression subtle: ‘…What did you say?’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: ‘…What?’
White Fox repeated loudly again: ‘Nine, infant!’ Are these two deaf?
The Jiuyin is a water and fire monster with nine heads, which cry like babies. It caused havoc on earth and was said to have been killed by Houyi.
A monster that should have died long ago has reappeared on earth…
Hua Ling rubbed his chin: ‘You’ve notified Chu Jiang of such an important matter?’
Bai Hu touched his nose: ‘…I couldn’t get in touch with him, so I came to you.’
Jiang Yu: ‘?’
Hua Ling explained to him: ‘That’s Chu Jiang’s jurisdiction. He is Chu Jiang’s guard, and he is ordered to guard Jiujiang.”
Jiang Yu nodded, looked at Hua Ling, and said indifferently, “Oh, so you always help Chu wipe his ass? Anything he can’t handle is handed over to you?”
Hua Ling: “…In terms of results, I think it’s more appropriate to help each other.”
Jiang Yu was silent.
Bai Hu quickly finished eating, but kept stealing glances at the two of them.
Hua Ling sighed and continued, turning to White Fox and asking, ‘So, you’re saying that the Nine-Eyed Demon appeared in Jiujiang to cause trouble, and you couldn’t stop it, so you got beaten up and had to escape here?’
White Fox put down his chopsticks and hung his head in shame, ‘Er…don’t use such an unpleasant word as “escape”. As soon as I realised the situation was getting out of control, I came here to warn you.’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘So you did escape.’
White Fox: ‘…’
Hua Ling raised her chin: ‘Tell me about the current situation.’
White Fox wiped his mouth and said seriously: ‘There have been repeated incidents of citizens going missing in Jiujiang City recently. I sent Foxfire to investigate and found that this guy uses the sound of a baby crying at night to attract citizens to him before devouring them. I risked half of my life to cut off his head and temporarily forced him back into the river. I just don’t know when he will appear next time. I left Foxfire and Foxwater in the city to keep watch.’
Hua Ling got up: ‘This is really strange. If Chu Jiang is not here… There’s no time to lose, we should set off now. Once he has regained his full strength, it will be difficult to subdue him again.’
Jiang Yu took her hand: ‘You don’t have to go.’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘That’s not an option, we can’t just let…’
Jiang Yu interrupted: ‘I’ll go instead.’
Hua Ling froze for a moment, shook her head and laughed: ‘…you.’
Jiang Yu frowned unhappily and said seriously, ‘I won’t let you…get hurt again.’
Hua Ling shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘Ah—what to do, my thoughts happen to coincide with yours. To be honest, I can’t possibly let you go alone either.’
Jiang Yu waved his hand, ‘No way, I said…’
‘If you don’t listen, I’ll seal you up,’ Hua Ling said nonchalantly.
A big cross appeared on Jiang Yu’s forehead: ‘Bitch, dare you change tactics?’
Hua Ling reached out and touched his head, smiling, ‘Since this trick still works, why would I change it?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
A bowl of food quietly reached between the two of them.
White Fox said innocently, ‘I didn’t mean to interrupt you two… But can one of you help me serve another bowl of food?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’

☆, Chapter 25

Early the next morning, the three set off for Jiujiang to investigate the Jiuyin incident.
Qingyang, who had missed the main event last night, originally wanted to go, but Hua Ling said that ‘someone must stay behind to watch the shop’ and so he was left behind at the apothecary’s.
White Fox rubbed his still-aching arm and head while yawning, ‘Ah, why do I have to do this kind of thing so early in the morning?’ Foxes are nocturnal creatures, so they generally don’t want to move during the day, and mostly sleep.
Therefore, for the white fox, being dragged out of the warm bed at sunrise to start a long journey is no different from hell. And thanks to someone’s unique way of flying with a sword, he feels like he’s going to throw up the food he ate last night. What a hell in hell!
Hualing gave him a gentle kick: ‘How old are you, still acting like a baby?’
The white fox shook his fur unhappily: ‘Who’s acting like a baby? !’
Hua Ling looked at him askance and said, ‘He can’t even manage his own territory properly, and yet he has the nerve to complain.’
The white fox slammed a paw on the ground, raising a cloud of dust. ‘Slander! Under my jurisdiction, nothing has ever happened in this area for 500 years. Who knows where this monster came from?!’
As the three of them talked, they had walked to the edge of the Yangtze River. The water was calm, without a ripple, and nothing could be seen from the surface of the placid river.
The white fox said, ‘He previously submerged back into the water from here.’
Hua Ling closed her eyes, formed a hand seal with one hand, and slightly extended the other hand forward towards the surface of the river…
After a moment, she opened her eyes and shook her head, ‘I can’t sense any abnormal breath.’
‘Jiang Yu, have you sensed anything unusual?’ Hua Ling looked up and asked Jiang Yu, who had just returned from a patrol of the river surface.
Jiang Yu shook his head and said, ‘I can only feel a faint trace of demonic energy, but…it seems to have covered the entire river surface, so there’s no way to pinpoint its location.’
Hua Ling stroked her chin and said, ‘Interesting, interesting. I guess Jiuyin isn’t too stupid after all.’
She glanced at White Fox as if she hadn’t noticed, and said, ‘No wonder someone got tricked.’
White Fox: ‘…
Jiang Yu interrupted, ’What are we going to do next?’
Hua Ling: ‘Since he is injured, he will need more “food” to help him recover… and the stronger the spiritual power, the more he can satisfy his needs.’
Jiang Yu suddenly had a bad feeling: ‘You’re not going to…’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Yes, that’s the one.’
Jiang Yu snorted: ‘I object!’
Hua Ling said indifferently: ‘Objection overruled.’
Jiang Yu frowned lightly: ‘If I’m to be the bait, I can go.’
Hua Ling waved his hand: ‘You are not human, so you are not in his hunting range. Besides, he is so cautious and slippery, and your fierce sword energy that cannot be concealed will definitely arouse his suspicion. If we scare him away, it will be more inconvenient for us to move in the future.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Besides, have you forgotten the way he lures humans?’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: ‘The sound of a baby crying…’
Hua Ling said, ‘That’s why it’s not easy for me to make him wary. A woman’s maternal instinct can easily be aroused by the crying of a baby. If I’m not wrong, most of the previous victims should be women.’ She turned to the white fox for confirmation.
The white fox nodded, ‘That’s right. A total of 15 people have gone missing, 12 of whom are women between the ages of 20 and 35.’
Hua Ling spread her hands: ‘Okay, that’s settled. Anyone who objects, seal it up!’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: ‘…Then I’ll go with you, and you let me go back into the sword.’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘No, you’ll go with White Fox.’
Jiang Yu snapped: ‘Why? ! You won’t let me do this or that, and now you won’t let me die.
Hua Ling said, ‘If you follow me, I’m afraid that thing won’t come out easily. Besides, I have other things that I need you to do. To make sure that nothing goes wrong, we must be fully prepared this time. The monster Jiuyin is no easy opponent.’
Jiang Yu frowned in annoyance and said no more. She never changed her mind about the things she decided, and it was futile for him to say more.
Hua Ling turned to the little fox standing nearby and said, ‘White Fox, I need your help with something.’
The white fox raised one paw: ‘Evacuate the crowd, right? I know.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘You will set up a barrier along the entire river, and I hope that no one will break in.’
The white fox patted his chest with confidence: ‘Don’t worry, this little thing is not difficult for me.’
Hua Ling pondered for a moment, beckoned Jiang Yu to come closer, and said:
“There is another thing I want to ask you.’
…
The sun was setting, and the pinkish-golden afterglow cast on the surface of the river was like a layer of gold plating, extremely dazzling.
A young woman by the river was painting a picture of the sunset. She applied the coloured paints bit by bit to the canvas.
The gusts of wind from the river blew her long, black hair around, but she pinned the messy locks behind her ears and continued to concentrate on her painting…
The last ray of light disappeared as the water and sky met, and night fell.
A piercing cry of a baby pierced the silence of the night.
The young woman looked up and looked around, but she didn’t see any child or baby. She paused for a moment, then continued to concentrate on the canvas. A few more strokes and she would be done.
Intermittently, the baby’s cries came from the wind, getting louder and louder…
The woman put down the paintbrush in her hand and frowned as she listened. She glanced at the bushes to the right, as if it came from there…
The sky had completely darkened, and the cold wind was blowing. She subconsciously pulled her collar up and walked towards the grove.
As soon as she entered the grove, a strange, sweet smell hit her.
The woman felt a little dizzy and reached out to hold onto a tree trunk.
‘It smells so sweet…’ A hoarse voice came from behind her.
The woman suddenly turned around, and a scaly head resembling a dragon or a snake was resting on her shoulder.
‘Ahh…’ The woman screamed, backed away, and in her panic, bumped into something. She reached out and felt a slimy, cold sensation in her hand, as if there were countless…tiny, sharp touches.
Looking back, there was another head.
Looking up again, nine heads were hiding among the trees, each with a different expression, but all of them greedily staring at her. Looking at the prey that was about to be within reach, it was inevitable that she felt pleased in her heart. The nine-headed monster no longer hid, and directly revealed its true form to everyone.
‘Be a good girl and be my midnight snack…hahahahahaha…’ The hoarse laughter resounded through the forest, even shaking the leaves.
Hua Ling smiled, lifted her hand and lightly brushed her sleeve: “I don’t know who is the food on the plate.” As soon as she finished speaking, nine Vajra Talismans flew out of her sleeve and shot at the nine heads without missing.
The nine heads all let out a miserable screech in unison…
‘Damn woman!’
A huge navy-blue snake’s tail suddenly shot out of the river and lightning-fast attacked Hua Ling.
Hua Ling retreated rapidly, but when she reached the edge of the forest, she was suddenly stopped by a barrier.
Hua Ling: !
In the split second she hesitated, the tail of the nine-headed dragon caught up with her. Despite its enormous size, the tail was incredibly agile. It quickly curled around Hua Ling, hoisting her up into the air.
The huge snake tail was covered in barbs, which were sharp enough to cut through metal. This was not surprising, as the nine-headed dragon was an ancient monster…
However, the strange thing was…
Hua Ling looked at the barb that was deeply embedded in her shoulder blade and said indifferently, ‘Jiuyin, I underestimated you. I never thought you would have mastered the Blood Strike technique.’
In case of any unexpected situations, she had previously set up a demon-repelling barrier around her body. However, she never expected him to have mastered the evil technique to break her barrier. No wonder the Nine Vajra Demon-Subduing Mantras were unable to seal his movements.
‘Damn it—damn it all! You, you set a trap!’ Jiuyin roared furiously over there.
Hualing was speechless. Wasn’t this only natural?
Then she discovered the reason for Jiuyin’s rage—outside the forest, Jiang Yu and the white fox were trying to break through Jiuyin’s barrier.
Ah, these guys really don’t follow the script…
Under the impact of Yuan’s powerful sword energy, cracks had appeared on the surface of the strange dark purple barrier.
Jiuyin let out another long howl, ‘Women, since you like to play hide-and-seek so much, I’ll play along with you!’
A huge black hole appeared in the middle of the river, and Jiuyin rolled Hua Ling into it and jumped in. Then, just as it had appeared without warning, the black hole disappeared into thin air…
Here, Jiang Yu and the white fox, who had just broken through the barrier, attacked with all their strength in one go, but they didn’t even get a glimpse of the nine-eyed demon.
Jiang Yu sheathed his sword and stared gloomily at the calm river surface. ‘Damn it…’
White fox: ‘…Why do I feel like the more trouble I get into, the worse it gets?’
Seeing Jiang Yu staring at the river surface with a gloomy expression, the white fox said soothingly, ‘Don’t worry, Hualing is not someone who can be easily…’
Jiang Yu interrupted, ‘I know.’ But Jiuyin… as Hualing said, is definitely not someone to be trifled with.
Now that he has recovered his memories of the Demon Realm, he also remembered that back then, Jiuyin abducted one of the three Demon Realm magic weapons, the Xu Hua Mirror, and fled to the human world, and the Demon Realm sent out four Demon Generals to capture Jiuyin. However, soon afterwards, the war between gods and demons broke out, and the Demon Realm was unable to spare any forces to pursue Jiuyin. Later, they heard that Jiuyin had been killed by Houyi, so they did not continue to pursue him. But the Xu Hua Mirror also disappeared at that time.
Unexpectedly, he is still alive.
Perhaps, the Xu Hua Mirror is still in his hands. If so, things have become quite tricky.
The white fox’s voice drew his attention back: ‘Look, this is it!’
On the surface of the river, tiny crystals like broken diamonds slowly appeared, extending from a point in the river to the shore.
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘No wonder she told me to set up a formation here before. She said before that the reason we would not be able to detect his presence no matter what was because he was hiding in the gaps in space, or in another parallel universe. And the entrance is in this river. This is the clue Hua Ling left behind. These star stones can show us the way.’
The white fox was excited: ‘Then… there’s no time to lose.’
Jiang Yu grabbed his shoulder, his expression inscrutable: ‘Wait, we can’t go in now. You lead the way, I need to go to the Underworld. Hualing told me that to travel between realms, we must first find someone who knows spatial magic.’
Baihu shrunk back, suddenly feeling a chill creep up his spine: ‘…so she was telling you to go find…’ The only person Hualing knew who was skilled in spatial magic…
Jiang Yu glanced at him and suddenly asked suspiciously, ‘Have you really gone to find Chu before?’
Baihu’s eyes flickered slightly: ‘Yes, didn’t I find him?’
Jiang Yu grabbed his ears: ‘How dare you lie!’
Baihu held up his paw: ‘It hurts, it hurts, hero, please calm down…’
Jiang Yu folded his arms and said indifferently, ‘Go on, what have you done wrong that you dare not tell your boss?’
The white fox was sweating like rain: ‘Eh…this, that, that, it’s a long story, so…’
Jiang Yu’s patience ran out after three seconds, and he dragged the white fox by the collar and left: ‘Fine, you can tell Chu yourself. Show me the way, or I’ll chop you up.’
White Fox: ‘…’ I really want to complain to the city management, there’s a mad dog here…
Two hours later. In a rice paddy on the outskirts of Jiujiang City…
Jiang Yu is speechless for a moment: ‘Hey, stupid fox…why is it so troublesome to go back to the underworld, is there no shortcut! I saw a ghostly official come to the store to find Chu last time, and he just appeared and disappeared. Why did you have to come to this kind of place to turn over someone’s rice paddy!
The white fox hung a black thread from its head and continued to look for the ‘key’ to the entrance, while endless thoughts went round and round in its mind. Ghostly officials have the permission of the Lord of the Underworld and have the privilege of freely entering and leaving the underworld. You think you can just come and go as you please in the underworld? Ordinary underworld officials have to apply for permission at various levels before they can obtain the right to enter and leave once they have been approved.
But then again… The white fox also felt depressed… Who exactly decided to hide the ‘key’ in such a place? Why couldn’t it be a clean and bright temple? Or an ordinary apartment? A bank would be fine… Even a tree hole is better than a damp and dirty place! Poor him, with his white fur, it’s all been stained with mud and turned shit… Er, chocolate brown.
Similarly covered in mud and with leaves on his head, Jiang Yu stared at the white fox’s back and said in a bad mood, ‘I’ll kill you sooner or later.’
White fox: ‘…’ I wonder if there is such a thing as life insurance in the underworld?
‘Ah——’
Jiang Yu’s attention was drawn by a high-pitched female scream, and he looked back. A village woman was pointing at them in a daze. She seemed so shocked that she couldn’t speak.
Jiang Yu reached out: ‘That…’
‘Thief! Someone’s broken into the rice fields!‘ The woman, who had come back to her senses in the split second it took to say that, ran full speed along the country lane to alert the villagers.
Jiang Yu: “…”
White Fox: “…”
The lights in the village went on one after the other, and then people carrying shovels and spades came out of their doors.
’Where?‘
’Where is the thief?”
The two people crouching in the rice fields: “…”
Jiang Yu: ’Why aren’t you looking?’
White Fox: ‘I’m looking, I’m almost there…’
Jiang Yu looks at the crowd gradually running towards him and stands in front of White Fox: ‘Keep looking, I’ll hold them off.’
White Fox: ‘Hey, don’t fight with them.’
Jiang Yu’s veins bulge: ‘Nonsense, am I the type to do that!’
White Fox: ‘…’ It looks like it’s quite similar.
‘Thief, come out!’
“Don’t try to hide, come out!’
‘Surrender!”
The white fox rummaged around quickly under his feet, while thinking to himself: Is this a period action movie? Even these lines are appearing.
Jiang Yu walked indifferently up to the group of people.
Perhaps because he was tall and his aura was too powerful, he actually made the leading villager stop in his tracks.
Jiang Yu looked at the various weapons they were holding and frowned slightly.
The villagers in the front row all had trembling voices. ‘What… what were you doing sneaking around in the fields in the middle of the night?’
Jiang Yu gave him a cold stare. ‘What else?’
The villagers thought he was going to turn to robbery, and they were all nervous, sweating and apprehensive, afraid that they would be the first to go. This man was clearly not someone who could be dealt with by a few cold weapons.
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘Of course I’m looking for something.’
The villagers fell over in laughter.
However, this reason obviously could not convince these villagers, who were in an agitated state after being woken up in the middle of the night: ‘Who would answer if you asked someone to return something you found in the middle of the night in the field? Everyone said, didn’t they?’
So the crowd once again echoed with one voice, expressing their absolute disbelief that Jiang Yu was innocent.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ What can he say? He doesn’t believe this unbelievable story either.
So there is a long pause.
Jiang Yu looks at the villagers, who are getting more and more nervous, and wonders how he can surrender without breaking the fragile humans‘ arms, legs and ribs…
’Honey, I found it!’ A sweet, clear voice rings out behind Jiang Yu.

☆, Chapter 26

So everyone else echoed, expressing their absolute disbelief that Jiang Yu was innocent.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ How could he put this into words? This kind of unbelievable thing, even he didn’t dare to believe it.
So there was a lull.
Jiang Yu looked at the villagers, who were becoming more and more nervous, pondering how to surrender without breaking these fragile humans‘ arms and legs and breaking their ribs…
’Honey, I found it!’ A sweet, clear voice sounded from behind Jiang Yu.
The villagers‘ attention was quickly drawn to her.
’Dear?’ Jiang Yu felt like exploding…
He stiffly turned his head…and stiffened even more.
Walking out of the field was a blonde girl wearing a white fox fur coat…her beautiful face was like jade, her skin white as snow, her slightly curly hair hanging softly around her chest, the fox fur just covering her hips, revealing her slender, fair legs.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
The white fox walked over to Jiang Yu and cooed, wrapping her arms around his. ‘Look, I found it!’
She held something in her hand and passed it to Jiang Yu, beaming like a child showing off her treasures. It was a sparkling diamond ring.
Jiang Yu’s face grew darker and darker…
The white fox quickly turned to the villagers and said, ‘Hey, what are you doing… Honey, are they… are they going to rob… rob us? Her words were spoken in a six-part, delicate, four-part, pitiful tone, and coupled with her ink-black pupils, it made anyone feel that offending the girl in front of them was a sin.
The villager standing closest to the front put down the shovel in his hand awkwardly and laughed loudly, ‘Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. I’m sorry little girl, we thought you were here to steal… Hey, it was us who were reckless, don’t be offended, don’t be offended haha, hahaha…’
Jiang Yu closed his eyes and silently recited the word ‘forbearance’ in his heart.
The corners of the white fox’s mouth turned up 30 degrees, revealing a cute smile: ‘Ah, I see. We are the ones who are sorry for disturbing you. I had a fight with my fiancé earlier and threw away the diamond ring in a fit of anger. It wasn’t easy to find it after searching for half a day…’
In keeping with the context, two faint blushes appeared on the white fox’s face, before she took Jiang Yu’s hand and said, ‘Dear, let’s not fight anymore, okay?’
The white fox statue cracked open slowly…
The villagers gradually dispersed, each going home.
The white fox darted several zhang away, keeping a safe distance from Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu’s smile did not reach his eyes: ‘Dear, what are you doing so far away from me? Didn’t we agree not to fight?’
The white fox took a few steps back: ‘Don’t come any closer!’
Jiang Yu had already placed his hand on his sword: ‘You’re telling me not to come any closer? This is so rude, it’s breaking my heart!’
The white fox stood far away, trying to reason with him: ‘No, no, no, hero, we can talk about this. I did help you out, so even if you don’t feel grateful, you can’t repay me by turning against me…’
Jiang Yu repeated his words with a smile: ‘Cross the bridge and tear it down? Reward a favour?’
The white fox waved his hands repeatedly: ‘No, no, no… Let’s talk about it. It’s not gentlemanly to get violent. It’s not gentlemanly…’
Underworld: Second Hall.
The well-dressed man sitting behind the rosewood low table half-closed his eyes, lazily propped his chin, and looked down condescendingly at the white fox, who was trembling on the ground.
‘Oh, White Fox, long time no see.”
The white fox, with inexplicable growths on its head, is so close to the ground that its head is almost touching it. “Your Majesty, I have failed in my task, please punish me.”
Chu Jiang smiles: “I thought you were having so much fun that you forgot about your duties.”
The white fox counts all its fur, and a chill runs down its back to its neck: ’No, no, I have been looking for it as you commanded, looking…’
‘So, have you found it?‘
White Fox: “…”
’Hey, when are you two going to finish catching up? Do you think I’m dead?’ Jiang Yu, who had been left hanging for most of the day, was close to losing his temper.
Chu Jiang glanced at him and said, ’Eh? What are you doing here?’
Jiang Yu drew his sword with a ‘swish’: ‘I should have killed you a long time ago!’
Chu Jiang didn’t even bother getting up, waved his hand, and said, ‘Oh, but I’m the only one who knows how to use space magic. Although you can try to find someone else, can Xiaohualing wait that long? Ah, by then, will he have already been eaten… Anyway, will he already have broken limbs by now…’
Jiang Yu immediately flew into a rage, grabbed Chu Jiang by the collar and dragged him out of his seat…
The Ox-Head and Horse-Face beside him whirled up, and the three-pronged fork was placed on Jiang Yu’s neck.
Chu Jiang waved his hand: ‘It’s fine, you can leave.’
The Ox-Head and Horse-Face looked at each other, hesitating for a moment.
Ox-Head: ‘King?’
Horse-Face: ‘But…’
Chu Jiang said indifferently: ‘Leave.’
Niutou and Mianmian obediently retreated outside the hall.
Chujiang waved away Jiangyu’s hand and straightened his clothes: ‘Let’s go.’
Jiangyu: ‘… This guy has a problem, right? Just a moment ago, he could have just walked away. He has to like having a knife at his neck in order to speak properly.
Chujiang passed by the white fox and paused: “You come with us.”
The white fox’s forehead “bang” made a loud noise on the white jade floor: ’Yes!’
…
But Jiuyin, as soon as it entered its territory, could not wait to eat Hualing.
Its huge tail smashed Hualing into the ground… Sand and stones flew, the ground cracked and the sky collapsed.
Jiuyin laughed wildly, and three of its heads pounced swiftly at Hualing, who was lying on the ground unable to move.
‘Ahhh…’
This was definitely not Hualing’s cry.
Jiuyin shook his head and took a few steps back, ‘Woman…woman, what kind of evil spell did you use…?’ Multiple cracks suddenly appeared on the three heads closest to Hualing, extending all the way to the tails. Blood burst out of the wounds and dripped onto the ground.
Hualing slowly sat up from the ground with a slight smile on his face, ‘What do you think? Isn’t the Blood Assault technique I practiced to restrain you just right?’
Hua Ling slowly took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the blood from his hands.
The remaining six heads, which were still functioning normally, all stared in disbelief: ‘The formation against the blood attack…who are you really?’
Hua Ling’s right hand slowly moved away from the wound on his shoulder, where the bleeding had stopped.
Jiuyin gasped for breath and stared at Hua Ling warily: ‘You…pretended to be captured by me…on purpose?’
Hua Ling stood up and stepped closer to Jiu Ying, step by step.
Jiu Ying suddenly swung his huge tail at Hua Ling, who jumped back quickly, pointing his toes.
His attack failed, and Jiu Ying took advantage of the chaos to escape into the darkness.
Hua Ling carefully surveyed the situation around her. This seemed to be a multi-dimensional space. And the reason why the Nine-Eyed Dragon could quickly blend in with the darkness was that it could freely travel back and forth in this multi-dimensional space. As far as she knew, the Nine-Eyed Dragon did not have the ability to freely travel through space. The fact that it could do so, including hiding the huge space in the river earlier, must have relied on some kind of magical device. Therefore, she had asked Jiang Yu to go get Chu Jiang beforehand. Only someone familiar with spatial magic could break this spatial technique. And in order to achieve this goal, someone needs to cooperate from the inside and outside to contain the movements of Jiuying. She is naturally the best candidate.
At this moment, Jiuying must be hiding somewhere, watching her and looking for an opportunity to attack again.
Hua Ling sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation. In this way, as soon as Jiuying appears, she will be able to sense his location as quickly as possible. Moreover, it will be convenient for her to regain her strength…
Her injuries from the battle with Zhurong had not healed, and she had just forced herself to use the formation of the blood-reversing strike, which was a bit too much… She risked using this technique just to temporarily force Jiuyin to retreat and buy some time. After that, it was up to them…
The time in the different world could not be compared to the outside world.
She didn’t know how long it had been, and Hua Ling gradually felt a little sleepy. Then she noticed something wrong… Jiuyin had poisoned the air.
Hua Ling tried to stand up, but she couldn’t muster any strength. As soon as she exerted herself, her legs and feet went weak and she fell to the ground. ‘Damn it…’
The breath of the nine-eyed demon suddenly became more and more obvious, getting closer and closer…
‘You’re really careless,’ said a pair of small, immature hands that reached out from the void and slowly helped Hua Ling up from the ground.
Because of this sudden change, the breath of the nine-eyed demon disappeared again.
Hua Ling was speechless. ‘Why did you come? I told you to stay and watch the shop, didn’t I?’
Qingyang patted his chest and gave a look of ‘what do you think of me?’ ‘I was worried about you, so I hid in the “Record of Strange Events in the Three Realms” and followed you.’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then sat back down. ‘So, what about the shop?’ She patted the empty space next to her, indicating that Qingyang didn’t need to stand there like an idiot.
Qingyang sat down next to her and said, taking credit for himself, ‘I asked Zhurong to come out and help you keep watch. How about that? Am I smart?’
Hua Ling closed her eyes and painfully put her hand on her forehead.
Qingyang saw a different expression on her face and became nervous, ‘What’s wrong with you? Is it because of the poison?!’
Hua Ling opened her eyes and looked at him smartly, her finger fiercely flicking Qingyang’s forehead.
Qingyang covered his forehead with a ‘ow’ sound and said, ‘What are you doing?!’
Hua Ling looked at him coldly and said, ‘You still have the nerve to say that. You actually let that idiot Zhurong go to the store?!’
Qingyang: ‘…?’
Hua Ling suppressed the urge to strangle him and said sarcastically, ‘With his self-centred personality, I’m afraid he’ll offend all the customers.’
Qingyang: ‘…
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow and continued to pour cold water: ‘If any customer is dissatisfied and upsets him, he might just set the store on fire.’
Qingyang: ‘Er…’
Hua Ling glanced at him: ‘But it’s okay.’
Qingyang looked at her with hope.
Hua Ling gave him a small smile: ‘All the damage costs will be charged to your account.’
Qingyang’s glass heart instantly shattered into slag.
Qingyang glanced at her: ‘How’s your injury?’
Hua Ling glanced at the wound on his shoulder: ‘It’s not a problem, it’s just a superficial wound, and the bleeding has stopped.’
Qingyang: ‘No, I mean, what kind of poison did you get? Don’t you need to get the poison out?’
Hua Ling’s face instantly turned black again: ‘How can you say that?’

☆, Chapter 27

Qingyang looked at her and said, ‘How’s your injury?’
Hua Ling glanced at the injury on her shoulder and said, ‘It’s not serious, just a superficial wound, and the bleeding has stopped.’
Qingyang said, ‘No, I mean, what kind of poison did you get? Don’t you need to get the poison out?’
Hua Ling’s face instantly turned black again, and she said, ‘You still have the nerve to say that?’
Qingyang said, ‘?’
Hua Ling pounded his chest in remembrance: ‘If you hadn’t come and messed things up, I would have caught the Nine-Eyed Baby. Now, as soon as you arrived, the coward ran off without a trace. You ruined a great opportunity.’
Qing Yang was slow to catch on: ‘…so, you mean to say that you were actually pretending to be poisoned to lure him out?’
Hua Ling looked at him askance: ‘What else? Since ancient times, medicine and poison have been closely related. Do you think that a poison of this level can poison me? You haven’t learned your lesson, and you’ve been with me for so long.’
Qingyang was tamed and dejected: ‘Well… I was just considering that in your current… state, your abilities in all aspects will be discounted.’
Hua Ling said indifferently: ‘Remember this: If this poison doesn’t work on you, then it will definitely have no effect on me at all.’
Qingyang: ‘…’ Just now, was he being underestimated?
Qingyang said unconvinced, ‘With your skills, do you think you can capture the Nine-Eyed Baby? If you had that strength, you wouldn’t have been injured.’
Hua Ling looked at him with an idiot’s expression, ‘It’s because you can’t beat them head-on that you need to set traps to lure the enemy in. It’s hard for anyone to remain highly cautious in the face of an imminent victory. Besides, this kind of talent doesn’t belong to the Demon Race.’
Qingyang: ‘…’ Just now, was he being indirectly scolded?
With nothing to do, Hualing relaxed and leaned against the wall, muttering to herself, ‘What a pair of useless teammates! Neither of them is sticking to the script, so how can this play continue…’
I heard you, I heard you! You were saying that on purpose! Qingyang suddenly turned his head and glared at Hualing—
Hualing looked into the distance, lost in thought…not giving him a second thought.
Qingyang: ‘…Why did he have to follow so stupidly? Why…
Two hours have passed…
Just as Qingyang is about to lose his patience, Hualing suddenly says, ‘I’m going to take a nap. If Jiang Yu and the others come, wake me up.’
Qingyang glares at her, ‘How do you know they’ll definitely come?!’
Hualing yawns, ‘Because if they don’t, we’ll be stuck here for good.’
Qingyang: ‘… Is that a reason? Is that how you explain cause and effect? !’
Hualing slowly lies down on the spot.
Qingyang: ‘Hey, you…’
Hua Ling whispered, ‘Shh, don’t make a sound.’
Qingyang: ‘… He actually just wanted to ask… if he needed a pillow…
Qingyang didn’t say anything else. He knew that although Hua Ling didn’t say it, her injuries weren’t as optimistic as they seemed. She had chosen to sleep now because she had no choice. This would help her regain her strength the fastest, so that she could deal with whatever the future held… in battle.
As usual, she didn’t want to cause her companions any worry, and carried everything on her shoulders.
Qingyang waited quietly until her breathing became even, shook herself to return to her original form, and then quietly let Hualing rest her head on her shoulders. She then curled her large tail around Hualing and gently covered her with it…
When Hualing woke up, she felt that she was moving at a constant speed, and that the movements were so small that they were not easily noticeable, even though they did not affect the speed at all.
Then she realised that she was lying on someone’s back.
‘You’re awake,’ the someone said, noticing her movement at the first opportunity.
‘Hmmm…‘ Hua Ling straightened her hair, “When did you guys come? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
’We just got here,‘ Chu Jiang, who was at the front of the line, replied, “We didn’t want to wake you up because you were sleeping so soundly.”
’…Put me down,’ Hua Ling patted Jiang Yu’s shoulder.
Jiang Yu ignored her and continued carrying her on his back. His voice was low and gentle, ’Don’t move, just keep sleeping.’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘If you sleep any longer, you’ll turn into a pig.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, ‘Then get some rest.’
Hua Ling froze for a moment, and after a while, she gently rested her head on his back and said, ‘Thank you.’
After a while, Jiang Yu suddenly asked, ‘How’s your injury?’
Hua Ling leaned her face against his back, feeling a slight warmth through her clothes. She paused for a moment and said, ‘It’s okay, it doesn’t matter.’
Jiang Yu let out a laugh, as if he were a little helpless: ‘I knew that would be the answer.’
Hua Ling: ‘…it wasn’t a problem in the first place.’
Jiang Yu didn’t respond, and I don’t know what he was thinking.
At first glance at the surrounding scenery, it was already in another space.
The previous one was a black box with dark, smooth walls on all sides, like solitary confinement, while this space was like a vast starry sky. Beneath their feet was a transparent path, and only when they stepped on it did crystalline water marks appear on the ground, accompanied by a crisp knocking sound.
It was hard to imagine that a wretched and sinister monster like the Nine-headed Baby Dragon would have such a tasteful space.
Hua Ling: ‘You really should have woken me up earlier. The spaces here are complicated and intertwined, do you know where you’re going?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Qingyang spread his hands and pointed at Chu Jiang, who was walking in front of them.
Chu Jiang suddenly reached out and grabbed the white fox that was huddled in front of him, and pushed it in front of Hua Ling: ‘He said he could follow the scent to find the location of the Nine-Eyed Monster.’
Hua Ling put his hand on his forehead: ‘…and the result?’
Jiang Yu suddenly interrupted, ‘We’ve been walking around for three hours.’
Hua Ling: ‘…The fundamental reason is that you’re all walking in the wrong direction.’
The group fell silent for a moment, and then gradually stopped, their gazes fixed on Hua Ling.
The white fox didn’t dare to look up at Chu Jiang’s face at all, and trembled as he lowered his head to study the ground, even though there was nothing there, just his own two white, furry…paws.
Hua Ling walked up to him and tapped him on the head gently, ‘Jiuyin is not stupid enough to make such a mistake. If he is so timid and cautious, how could he let you find him by following the scent?’
White Fox: ‘…uh.’ Is this mocking him for being dumber than Jiuyin…
Chu Jiang laughed, ‘Oh? Then what did you do to him?’
Hua Ling bit her index finger, and bright red blood oozed from the wound. Then, several people saw at the same time that the blood drops formed a thin red line that extended to the other end of the space…
Chu Jiang gave her an admiring look: ‘The blood-attracting method?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘That’s right, I planted it on him when I was injured before and he wasn’t paying attention.’
Chu Jiang glanced back at the white fox: ‘Learn from this.’
White Fox: ‘…Big brother…not everyone can use that kind of advanced technique.
Hua Ling looked at Chu Jiang and said, ‘Can you sense the existence of other spaces in that direction?’
Chu Jiang closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again: ‘Yes. And there’s more than one.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Let’s go. Follow the clues and see where that evil spirit is going to escape to.’
The group walked to the end of this space. It didn’t look any different from the rest of the place, with the same view of the sky and the stars.
Chu Jiang raised his hand and lightly brushed the void, and suddenly a gap appeared out of thin air.
Chu Jiang stepped aside, motioning for them to go first: ‘The other side is another space.’
…
At this point, silence speaks volumes. Qingyang’s reaction.
Applause is allowed here. Baihu’s reaction.
Jiang Yu suddenly turned to Hua Ling and said, ‘You told me last time that there was a word to describe this, called tu… what was it?’
Hua Ling: ‘Local tyrant.’
Chu Jiang was the last one to enter, and as soon as his toes touched the ground, the passage behind him immediately closed.
Chu Jiang looked around, and suddenly his eyes lit up. ‘What a big night pearl! It’s even bigger than the one the Dragon King gave me last time. The lighting in the bedroom is not good enough, so it can be taken back as a lamp. Huh? This armoured man is really lifelike, and Chu will definitely like it.’
Everyone: ‘…
Hua Ling’s eyes showed a hint of sarcasm: ’I’m more and more curious about what Jiuyin has been doing all these years. He knows how to accumulate wealth!’
This is a truly ‘golden’ space, both in the literal and figurative sense.
The space itself is not large, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a large room. However, this room is paved with gold and has a sky of multicoloured glazed jewels, and it houses all kinds of treasures.
Hua Ling held up her index finger, and the slender red thread led all the way to the other corner of the room: ‘Over there.’
The group followed her finger—the red thread—to the other side of the connection.
Everyone: ‘…’
‘This is really a bad taste,’ Chu Jiang said, shaking his hands.
At the end of the red thread was a huge bronze tankard with a tortoise shell.
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘We’ll break it into a hundred and eight pieces later.’
‘You don’t want to touch anything in here,’ Chu Jiang said suddenly.
He was talking to the white fox, who was walking last. It turned out that the little white fox looked left and right, the more he looked, the more secretly pleased he was, preparing to take some sheep along while walking. He was calculating that even if he lost his job this time, he could still get some pension.
On hearing this, the white fox embarrassedly withdrew his hand: ‘Er…’
Chu Jiang turned to look at him and shook his head slowly, with an expression of pity: ‘This room is full of traps, and behind every treasure there is a different space. If you touch it, you will fall in. By then, it will be difficult to save you. After all, these multiple spaces are like a maze, and it will be quite difficult to search them one by one.’
The white fox was still shaken: ‘…such an important thing…’ Why are you only telling me now!
Chu Jiang shrugged: ‘I thought…no one would fall for such an obvious trap.’
After all, the entire space was blatantly and clearly shouting, ‘Come and get me!’ It was just a matter of time before someone fell for it. It was impossible not to have problems.
Bai Hu lowered his head in silence: ‘…’ Damn it, didn’t you come up with this idea? I’m resigning as soon as we get back! Working for a boss like this is just asking for abuse!
Hualing suddenly said, ‘So it’s just empty space? I was wondering what kind of poison you’d used to make it so hard for me to recognise.’
Qingyang yawned bored, ‘Hey, how much longer do we have to walk? Have you considered the kids’ stamina?”
Jiang Yu, walking behind him, kicked him unintentionally, “No one’s forcing you to come along… You can go back to the book by yourself.”
Qingyang immediately glared at him…
White Fox: ‘…’ It turned out that… he was really the only one who fell for it.
When he got closer to take a look, the bronze armor was about three people tall. Every part, the proportions of the facial features, the expression on the face, and even the texture of the clothes were all very finely crafted. Hua Ling surveyed it for a moment and asked Chu Jiang, ‘Is the next spatial entrance here?’
Chu Jiang frowned, ‘That’s right. You guys step back a bit.’
Chu Jiang gently placed his hand where the red lines connected —
‘Po…’ Hua Ling couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Chu Jiang looked back at her, his eyes full of unreadable expressions.
Hua Ling waved her hand and forced herself to suppress her laughter, “Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t hold back for a moment.”
Everyone: “… It’s better not to explain.”
A moment later, Chu Jiang withdrew his hand. The passage had been opened, but from here, it was dark and completely impossible to see what was on the other side.
Chu Jiang turns around and looks down at the white fox, who is intently studying the floor. ‘You were laughing just now, weren’t you?’
The white fox shakes his head vigorously to show his innocence. After a moment, he raises his head. He has a frozen facial expression, except for the slightly twitching corners of his mouth…
Everyone: ‘… “The acting is so bad, it’s better to just confess.”
Hua Ling walks over to the passage in front of Chu Jiang and peers over. ’Wow, it’s so dark, is there a black hole on the other side?’
She had just reached out her hand, when suddenly, behind that black passage, a huge gap in the space appeared out of thin air, and rapidly expanded at an unbelievable speed.
Hua Ling’s heart leapt, and she was about to step back, when suddenly, an extremely strong gravitational force sprang up in the space, firmly grasping Hua Ling and dragging her in.
‘Hua Ling!’ Jiang Yu’s reaction was the fastest. At the moment that strange force grabbed Hua Ling, he grabbed her hand…and was then dragged into the strange space together with her.
After Hua Ling was dragged into that space, the passage suddenly closed instantly—even Chu Jiang’s immediate casting of spells to hold the opening of the passage was completely useless. The gap had completely disappeared just as it had appeared out of thin air.
Chu Jiang: ‘…Tut.’
Chu Jiang tried to chant several spells to search for the location of that strange space, but apart from the silence all around, there was no response.
Qingyang anxiously moved closer, trying to feel behind the black hole space, but he felt nothing—except the bronze armoured figure.
‘What the hell is that?!‘ Qingyang asked, frowning as he couldn’t make head or tail of it after fumbling for a long time.
Chu Jiang shook his head: “It’s a space called ”nothingness’, which can move at will and remain undetectable. It usually attaches itself to another space and exists like a shadow. A different world like this one, which contains multiple spaces…is most likely to produce something like ‘nothingness’.”
If it weren’t for the height difference, Qingyang would probably have gone up and grabbed him by the collar: ’What do you mean? You mean you can’t find them?’
Chu Jiang was obviously in a bad mood after this sudden turn of events, but he still explained, ‘There is a way to try…but it will take a long time, and if the “nothing” moves again in the meantime, then the search will become an infinite dead end. But if…they can find a way from within…to devour the space, the chances of success will be much higher.’
Qingyang was silent for a moment, ‘I don’t think Hualing will just sit around and wait for death, but she’s not good at spatial magic. So, we have to be prepared for the worst.’
Chu Jiang nodded, ‘I know. Come here and set up the formation for me.
The white fox raised his head with a tinkling sound: ‘Er…can I help in any way?’
Chu Jiang looked at him for a moment and shook his head: ‘Your cultivation base is too low, you can’t help.’
White fox: ‘…Really, I should just resign as soon as possible.’
At the same time, in another space…
‘Hua Ling, Hua Ling!’
Hua Ling opened his eyes and Jiang Yu’s enlarged handsome face immediately came into view. It was the first time he had seen an anxious expression.
‘This space is so unfriendly. Give me a hand, I fell in here just now in the wrong position and twisted my back.’ Hua Ling held out her hand.
Jiang Yu frowned and helped Hua Ling up.
Hua Ling grinned and poked him in the middle of his brow, “Why that expression?”
Jiang Yu said, “You just fainted.”
Hua Ling didn’t care, ’Well, I was slightly shocked when that force dragged me into this space. I’m fine.’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘Did your old injury recur?’
Hua Ling patted the dust off her body and said, ‘No. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Let’s go and find out what’s going on in this space that “eats people”.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a while and said, ‘I find that your personality is also quite bad. You keep everything to yourself and fight alone.’
Hua Ling said, ‘You want a beating? Okay, okay, I know what I’m doing. At least have a little faith in your master.’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘Forget it. I knew you wouldn’t listen. Don’t worry, I’ll help you bury the body…’
Hua Ling: ‘…
This space is different from everything I’ve seen before. Although it’s not vast, it’s complete in a way: mountains, rivers, plains, and lakes. Even the air is fresh, like a completely undeveloped Shangri-La.
‘Wow,’ Hua Ling looked around for a while, “what a great place. It seems like there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Since we’re here, we might as well settle in. Let’s go, Jiang Xiaoyu, let’s take a walk.”
Jiang Yu: “…You really aren’t in a hurry.”
Hua Ling lightly shook his index finger: ’Leave the worrying to the people outside.’
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling walked along the edge of the space with Jiang Yu wielding the sword. Hua Ling told him to stop from time to time, to touch this tree, tap that stone… After about an hour, they had explored the entire space. Finally, they stopped on the grass by the river.
Hua Ling lay down on the grass full of wild flowers: ‘It’s so comfortable. Look, not even the clouds in the sky are moving.’
Jiang Yu sat down next to her: ‘Do you know what’s going on in this space?’
Hua Ling raised the corners of her mouth slightly: ‘To be honest…’
Jiang Yu waited attentively for the rest.
Hua Ling took a deep breath: ‘The air here is so fresh. Usually, when you stay in an environment full of exhaust fumes, you don’t have the chance to come into contact with such an original place!’
Jiang Yu: ‘… Don’t speak in the middle of a sentence, you jerk!
Hua Ling closed her eyes: “As for this space…”
Jiang Yu pricked up her ears.
’Completely, I don’t know what’s going on. No clue.’
Jiang Yu suddenly got up and walked towards the river.
Hua Ling lazily said, ‘Hey, where are you going?’
Jiang Yu seemed to be trying hard to control his temper, ‘Get some water, aren’t you thirsty?’
Hua Ling said, ‘Hey, you’ve been good today, I’ll give you a reward when we get back~’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
After a long time, a refreshing touch was placed on Hua Ling’s lips.

☆、Chapter 28

After a long time, a clear and moist sensation was felt on Hualing’s lips.
Hualing opened her eyes and saw Jiangyu holding a large leaf in his hands, which he brought to Hualing’s lips.
Jiangyu placed his arm behind Hualing’s head and helped her sit up slightly, so that she could drink. Hualing took a few sips from Jiangyu’s hand and felt her throat become much clearer.
She looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘You were gone for a long time, I almost fell asleep.’
Jiang Yu gave a ‘hmm’ and said, ‘I went to try it.’
He paused for a moment before saying, ‘As expected, this space cannot be destroyed from the inside.’
Hua Ling shook her head with a smile, ‘I guess you went all out… Give me your hand.’
Jiang Yu: ‘?’
Hua Ling simply pulled up his right hand, which was hanging by his side, and his palm was covered with deep and shallow burns.
Jiang Yu tried to pull his hand back, but Hua Ling held it firmly.
Hua Ling wouldn’t let him move, carefully examining the wounds on his palm, and then shook his head: ‘You…are so silly, summoning the Black Dragon Sword Qi again?’
Jiang Yu didn’t say anything, which was considered a tacit admission.
Hua Ling took out a small box from her bosom. As soon as she opened the lid, a pleasant fragrance of medicine filled the air. She gently applied the ointment to the wound evenly, and then took out a roll of bandages from her bag and carefully wrapped it around Jiang Yu, circle after circle.
When Jiang Yu looked down, he could just see Hua Ling’s long eyelashes. She was concentrating on bandaging his wound, and her eyelashes trembled slightly with each blink. Jiang Yu stared for a moment, then looked away again.
Hua Ling tied the bandage neatly, ‘Done.’
Jiang Yu withdrew his hand and looked at it over and over, ‘It’s nicely wrapped.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu shifted his gaze from his hands to Hua Ling’s face and suddenly said, ‘Hey, what do we do now?’
Hua Ling deliberately asked in surprise, ‘Huh? It’s rare that you would ask my opinion.’
Jiang Yu’s hair stood on end and he snapped, ‘I’ve always listened to your opinion, okay?!’
Hua Ling was amused by his expected reaction and said, ‘But this is the first time you’ve taken the initiative to ask.’
Jiang Yu frowned impatiently and said, ‘So? What do we do now?’
Hua Ling pondered for a moment and said, ‘Actually, I think I know what’s going on in this space.’
Jiang Yu perked up.
Hua Ling continued, ‘I heard Chu Jiang mention before that a strange space like this one, which contains multiple spaces, is very likely to arise. It can move around at will and is mostly attached to another space. I think what we’ve encountered is probably this kind of mutated space.’
Jiang Yu’s face gradually turned black. ‘I have a bad feeling about this. Could it be…’
Hua Ling patted him on the shoulder lightly: ‘You’re a good boy – that’s the “could be”.
Jiang Yu: “…
Hua Ling spread his hands: ”In short, we’re trapped here. Since we can’t get out on our own, of course we’ll just have to wait for someone to rescue us. But judging from the strange habit of this space of moving at any time… I think it’s more realistic to consider what happens next.’
Jiang Yu was at a loss: ‘What happens next?’
Hua Ling spread his hands: ‘I can see that this place is beautiful, quiet, and has good air. It is completely fine to be self-sufficient and recuperate.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling put his hand on his forehead in a thoughtful manner, with a serious expression: ‘Well, if you want to reproduce offspring or something, that’s not a problem either.’
Jiang Yu began to doubt that something was wrong with his ears: ‘…reproduce, what?’
Hua Ling’s mouth curled up slightly, innocently saying, ‘Offspring~’
Jiang Yu inexplicably and suddenly blushed, ‘What are you talking about?!’
Hua Ling pointed his index finger out playfully and poked him lightly in the face, ‘Eh, no need to overreact like that, I was just joking. It’s not like we have nothing to do, just lightening the mood.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ Ouch! Suddenly, there was a strong urge to yell.
Hua Ling stood up and patted the grass clippings on his body. ‘I’m just killing time. Let me show you my “Secrets of the Mountains and Seas” notebook. I haven’t shown it to you yet. You were wondering where I threw the phoenixes and the fire dragons, weren’t you?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ The topic changed so quickly.
Hua Ling saw that he was still in a daze, so he reached out and waved his hand in front of his eyes, ‘Xiaoyu, are you listening?’
Jiang Yu raised his hand and grasped Hua Ling’s hand, slowly moving it away from his eyes, ‘I’m listening.’
Hua Ling smiled, ‘I didn’t think you’d react for half a day.’
Jiang Yu was speechless and choked, and after a pause, ‘So…shall we go?’
Hua Ling spread her hands to the sides, and the ‘Record of the Secret of the Three Realms’ floated into the air. As soon as the ancient book appeared, the pages automatically turned.
Hua Ling muttered a spell, and the ancient book gradually began to emit a golden glow. Then the two of them were instantly sucked into the book.
After they had come to a stop, Jiang Yu looked around—green mountains and clear water, birds singing and flowers blooming.
He looked down at Hua Ling beside him and asked, ‘Is this the world in the book?’
Hua Ling laughed and said, ‘It’s just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, this world in the book is similar to the multiple spaces in the Nine-headed Serpent in that they are both made up of multiple spaces. However, compared to the Nine-headed Serpent’s spaces, which are arranged in an irregular manner, this world in the book is more regular. Each page is a space. And users and residents here can freely enter and exit each space because each space has a teleportation point.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and said, ‘I thought you weren’t good at spatial magic?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘It is true that I am not good at it. But this one is exceptional, and it does not require any advanced spatial magic to support it. To use this space, one only needs to know the rudimentary incantations to enter and exit the space.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘In that case, this book of yours is like a rare treasure. How did you obtain it?’
Hua Ling’s eyes drooped slightly: ‘A deceased friend gave it to me.’
After saying just that, Hua Ling fell silent. It was as if he had fallen into some kind of deep thought, or perhaps reminiscing.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling, who had suddenly fallen silent, and felt a sudden twitch in a certain part of his heart. He realised that he didn’t like the expression on Hua Ling’s face when she had mentioned ‘that old friend’ just now – it was too gentle, too affectionate. It was an expression he had never seen before.
Jiang Yu coughed lightly, ‘You mentioned just now that the world within this book is very similar to the multiverse of the Nine Babies. I feel the same way.’
Hua Ling came back to the present, looked up at Jiang Yu, and waited quietly. She knew that Jiang Yu had more to say.
Sure enough, after a moment’s pause, Jiang Yu said, ‘There’s something I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. It’s something I remembered after I recovered my memory.’
Hua Ling nodded, indicating that he could say whatever he wanted.
Jiang Yu said, ‘Before the war between gods and demons, Jiuyin fled to the human world with one of the Demon Realm’s treasures, the Xu Hua Mirror…’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise: ‘Even someone like Jiuyin was able to successfully steal the Demon Realm’s “treasure”! The mighty Demon Realm, did it not even have someone who could stop him?’
Jiang Yu’s forehead veins stood out, and he almost exploded with anger again. After calming down a little, he said, ‘At that time, the war between the gods and demons was imminent, so who had the heart to pay attention to his little actions. Furthermore, he was in a key position at the time and was quite valued. Who would have thought… Never mind, that’s not the point. You should have heard about what happened afterwards. Legend has it that he was killed by Houyi.”
Hua Ling nodded: “Yes, that’s what the legend says, and I don’t think Houyi would have missed. So I’m also very surprised that he would suddenly appear here this time.”
Jiang Yu said: ’Houyi may not have missed, but the reason why he was able to reappear on earth and deceive the world was because he possessed the Xu Hua Mirror.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘Why is that?’
Jiang Yu said: ‘The reason why the Xu Hua Mirror is the Demon Realm’s most precious treasure is, first of all, its ability to infinitely create space.’
Hua Ling’s face changed slightly: ‘What are you talking about?!’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘You heard me right. One of the Xu Hua Mirror’s abilities is infinite space. Its second ability is to separate the soul from the body, so long as the soul is there, it can recreate the body.’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then said, ‘No wonder it is called one of the Demon Realm’s most precious treasures…’
She lightly touched her forehead with her index finger, and said, ‘In other words, what Houyi chopped off was only the guy’s physical body?’
Jiang Yu said, ‘Most likely. I can’t think of any other reason why he is still alive.’
Hua Ling rubbed her chin and said, ‘In that case, to completely seal this guy up, we must first retrieve the Xu Hua Mirror?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘In theory, yes. But if we can seal the Nine-Eyed Monster and the Mirage of Vanity together, that would also be fine. That said, I still prefer to retrieve the Mirage of Vanity and then just chop this guy up.’ After all, the Mirage of Vanity is quite powerful, and its uses are unknown, so it would be a pity to seal it up.
Hua Ling gave a thumbs-up: ‘You’ve got guts. I thought, considering that he is after all your Demon race’s subject, you would show some mercy.’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘Back in the Demon Realm, he already committed multiple capital offences. Killing him a hundred times would not be enough. What’s the point of keeping scum like him around, who will cause trouble no matter where they are thrown?’
Hua Ling applauded, ‘Go get “em, little prince! I have high hopes for you! So, the important task of killing the scourge and benefiting the people is entrusted to you!”
Jiang Yu: ’…

☆, Chapter 29

Hua Ling and Jiang Yu walked along the clear river.
Jiang Yu: ‘Where are we going now?’
Hua Ling chuckled: ‘We have nothing to do. Let’s just wander around. There’s no other choice now, except waiting for Chu Jiang and the others to cast a spell from outside to break the barrier.’
Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment, nodded slightly, and followed behind, walking quietly next to Hua Ling.
“Hey, Hua Ling! Long time no see!’
A rough and loud voice came from the sky.
Uh, this voice is… Hua Ling and Jiang Yu looked up together.
Hua Ling’s mouth twitched: ‘Oh… it seems like it’s only been a few days, not long at all… Anyway, why do I keep running into you everywhere…’
The white-headed, bull-bodied giant monster with the python tail instantly landed in front of the two, raising a cloud of dust.
Fei revealed a slightly hurt expression: ‘Eh… “What do you mean you can run into you anywhere”? Do you really not want to see me?’
Hua Ling was a little embarrassed: ‘Er… that’s not what I meant…’ Although he knew in his heart that the monster was simply expressing the literal meaning…but don’t use a tone that is so easily misunderstood, you jerk!
Jiang Yu stood to one side, pulled down his face in a flash, and said with a face full of expression, ‘What she means is that if you’re ugly, you shouldn’t come out and scare people all the time. Stupid cows should just go back to the fields and not wander around.’
Fei let out a long howl, ‘Say that again, I’m not a cow!’
Hua Ling raised her hand and gave Jiang Yu a violent tap on the head.
She waved her hand at Fei and said, ‘Okay, what are you doing here? I thought you were always in the Spirit Realm. Last time, you went all the way to the Lu Shan Realm.’
Fei lifted its front hoof and touched its head, looking a little embarrassed. ‘Well…is that a problem? Didn’t you say before that you could travel freely in the world of books?’
Hualing was taken aback by the fierce-looking monster’s expression, which looked like it was blushing. She turned away, coughed, and said, ‘But yes, but… in the Lu Shan Realm and Su Luo Realm, there are mostly old and weak, er, peace-loving smaller monsters. Wouldn’t they be scared if you suddenly appeared?’
Fei said dejectedly, ‘What do you mean? Do you also think I’m ugly and scary? ! And…did you just say old, weak, sick, and disabled? This is blatant discrimination. Aren’t you afraid the monsters will rebel?
Hualing explained, ‘As far as I know, monsters of your level rarely appear in these areas.’
Feng made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound and shook his head, ‘That’s where you’re wrong. Not only do I often hang out in these places, I’ve also made a lot of friends. Don’t look at me like this. I’m very popular, especially with children, who like to come and play with me.’
Hualing: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Fei waved its hooves: ‘What kind of expression is that on your faces? ! Don’t believe me? !’
Hua Ling: ‘Er…no. I think you must have your own merits.’
Fei tilted its nose upwards, and its tail swung back and forth in the air: ‘That’s right, just think about who I am!’
Hua Ling whispered in Jiang Yu’s ear: ‘Hey, was this guy really popular in the Demon Realm before? Didn’t he say that he was some kind of beast that guarded the mountains in the Western Lands?’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘I don’t know. There are only a bunch of random graves in the West, where’s the mountain? And these low-level magical beasts are usually either used as mounts or as watchdogs. I’ve never heard of any flying foxes that can get a government position.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I see. So the locking skills of these creatures include bragging without thinking?’
Jiang Yu spread his hands: ‘I think this is a completely individual phenomenon.’
The veins on the forehead of the flying fox bulged: ‘…’ Hey, hey, I heard everything… You did that on purpose!
‘Little flying fox, you’ve finally come over, we’ve been waiting for you~’ A biffon circled a few times at low altitude, and ‘popped’ down in the exact centre of the flying fox’s forehead.
‘Hey, little Bifeng! Isn’t this a coincidence… you ran into Hualing, so say hello to her. Is everyone here?‘ Because the fly’s one eye is in the centre of its forehead, when it looks at the bunting, its expression becomes a textbook roll of the eyes – a big, white one in the centre of its head.
’Puff…’ Hualing really couldn’t hold back.
Even Jiang Yu twitched the corner of his mouth and turned his head to the side.
Fei: ‘…’ These two are really enough! In an instant, I feel like I won’t love them anymore…
He shivered, quickly turned around, and with his bottom facing Hua Ling and the others, shouted at Bi Fang, ‘Bi, let’s go!’
Bi Fang blinked, suddenly flapped his wings, and flew directly past Fei to Hua Ling’s side: ‘Long time no see, Hua Ling~ When did you get here?’
Fei: ‘…’
Hua Ling smiled at Bi Fang: ‘I just got here a while ago. It’s been a long time, you look pretty spry.’
Bi Fang circled above her head, suddenly flapped his wings and pointed at Jiang Yu standing nearby: ‘Eh? A new face. Who is this? Your new lover?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ She regretted not having taken the time to teach these monsters proper Chinese grammar.
Jiang Yu immediately seized the point: ‘New?’
Hua Ling puts her hand on her forehead: ‘Bifang, when did you see me have a lover?’
Bifang flutters his wings cutely and lands on Hua Ling’s shoulder: ‘Ouch~ what about Xiao Qingyang? Don’t you two go out together all the time?’
Hua Ling suddenly feels like the more she tries to explain, the worse it gets: ‘How many times do I have to say it, Qingyang is just my servant. And I’m not a pedophile!’
Bifang tilted his head: ‘Who doesn’t know that Qingyang is only in his temporary form, and he is still a handsome guy with a good pedigree. Besides…can a servant not be a lover?’
Hua Ling ignored Bifang and turned to Jiang Yu, saying, ‘Xiaoyu, let’s go, I’ll show you the rest of the place.’
Jiang Yu imitated him with a face-paralyzed expression, ‘Can’t a servant be a lover?’
Hua Ling automatically blocked out his question, which was half-joking, and said, ‘…Anyway, you just said that Bi Fang is going to tell “you guys” a story?’
Bi Fang was young after all, and his train of thought was instantly led away. He said cheerfully, ‘Yes, yes, the other day, Xiao Tian found a roll of good-looking purple bamboo slips that glowed, but when we opened them, we didn’t recognize a single word. We were curious about what it said, so we happened to see the big guy passing by and he said he knew the words on it, so we asked him to read it to us.”
Zizhujian? Hualing’s face turned black: “That scroll of bamboo slips, where did you get it?”
Bifang didn’t know why Hualing suddenly changed his face, so he said carefully: “…uh, Guiyun Realm, Bishan Cottage.”
Hualing seemed to have a headache, frowning and saying: ’I remember, I set up a barrier there…’
Bi Fang: ‘A barrier?’ Apparently they had not encountered any obstacles when entering or leaving.
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then said, ‘I know…it’s that idiot!’
Bi Fang: ?
After listening for a long time, Jiang Yu was at a loss: ‘What’s going on? Where is this Bishan Xiaoju?’
Hua Ling said with annoyance, ‘I forgot that idiot is from an ancient and righteous god after all, it’s not difficult for him to break a barrier of that level.’
Jiang Yu caught the drift: ‘You mean… you set up a barrier there? And the purple… bamboo slip, you put that there too?’
Hua Ling nodded.
Bi Fang felt slightly guilty, and immediately began to distance himself: ‘Er… it wasn’t me who took it out. It was Xiao Tian.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Never mind, I don’t blame you. Now who has the bamboo slip? Take me there.’
Bi Fang nodded: ‘Oh, yes – come with me. Don’t worry, we haven’t broken the bamboo slip.’
Jiang Yu suddenly interrupted: ‘Is it something very important?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment: ‘…very important.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a moment, and suddenly asked: ‘It was also what you said before…your friend gave it to you?’
Hua Ling felt a little oppressed, but still answered seriously: ‘That’s right.’
Jiang Yu didn’t say anything else.
Hua Ling felt Jiang Yu’s emotions ebb and flow slightly, and tentatively asked, ‘What’s wrong?’
Jiang Yu shook his head and said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s go get the bamboo slips first. Isn’t it very important?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ This sword spirit is inexplicably being difficult again.
Forget it, I’ll explain to him later. Right now, the priority is to find the bamboo slip.
The group walked straight down the river to a verdant bamboo forest. From afar, they could already hear the sounds of children playing in the forest…
As soon as Hua Ling entered the forest, he saw the bamboo slip being tossed around by several fire beasts. The smallest one tried to reach it but never quite made it, while the surrounding beasts kept cheering.
As soon as Bifang saw this, he broke out in a cold sweat. He didn’t dare to turn around and look at Hualing’s face. He quickly flew over, curled his long tail around the purple bamboo slip, and firmly wrapped it.
He was about to fly back to Hualing’s side and hand the slip to her when a white shadow suddenly sprang out from the side and grabbed the little Bifang in its palm. And in a few swift movements, the white shadow was already standing on top of a green bamboo.
After the white shadow had stopped moving, it looked like a cat or a dog, with a white head and golden mane. It had a dignified appearance, and looked down at the other monsters with a certain air of superiority.
Bifang was so shocked that he couldn’t use his tail, and the scroll was easily snatched away.
The monster laughed: ‘Hey, I won. You have to lose if you bet, so give me the fruit you got today.’
Hua Ling could no longer hold back her anger. She drew her finger across the air, and the monster was instantly dragged down as if bound by an invisible rope, and slammed to the ground.
‘Damn it! Who is so unruly as to dare to ambush me?!’ The monster didn’t care how embarrassing his situation was, and his first reaction after getting up was to find the sneak attack.
‘Haha, you’ve improved a lot since I last saw you, little celestial dog [Note 1].”
The monster turned its back on Hualing, so it didn’t see her at first. However, as soon as it heard the voice, it stiffened for a moment. Then it slowly turned around, with a flattering expression on its face: “Hua… Hua Ling, what brings you here?”
Hualing snorted: ’If I didn’t come, you would have turned this place upside down, wouldn’t you?’
A cold drop of sweat slowly appeared on Xiaotiangu’s forehead. He didn’t have time to wipe it away, and quickly explained, ‘Er, what are you talking about? I was just…just playing around with them, right?’
Hua Ling’s lips curled up slightly, as if in a sneer, ‘Playing around? Who gave you permission to touch my things?’
Xiaotiangu blinked in bewilderment, ‘Huh? What?’
He suddenly came to his senses, and looked down at the bamboo slip in his hand. ‘This…this is yours?’
Hua Ling: ‘What else? I did say that the Bishan Retreat was off-limits.’
The little celestial dog looked confused: ‘…uh.’ He had absolutely no recollection of that.
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘Forget it. I knew you’d just take it in one ear and out the other. When you first arrived here, I explained which places you could go and which you couldn’t.’
The little celestial dog hung his head in shame: ‘…
Hua Ling held out her hand: “Give it to me.”
The little celestial dog froze for a moment, then quickly handed over the bamboo slip.
[Note 1] Tengu: The tengu here is not the tengu from Japanese mythology. It comes from Shan Hai Jing: There is a beast in the Yin Mountains, called the tengu, which looks like a raccoon but with white hair and the sound of a pomegranate. It can ward off evil. This record predates the Japanese tengu.

☆, 30th entry

Hua Ling held out her hand: ‘Give it to me already!’
The little tengu froze for a moment, and then hurriedly handed over the bamboo slip.
Hualing let out a sigh of relief as she took the unbroken purple bamboo slip from the little tengu’s hands.
She glanced over at the fly that was standing nearby and said, ‘You say you know the writing on this?’
The fly suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and looked away sheepishly, ‘Er…’
The bi immediately chimed in, ‘Yes, yes, the fly tells us stories every day, and the stories on it are so interesting.’
Bi: ‘…the various ways of getting into trouble.’
Hualing smiled: ‘Oh? What kind of stories did he tell?’
Bi suddenly felt the temperature in the air drop a few degrees, and the cold sweat started to come in even more profuse streams…
Bi Fang flapped his wings excitedly and spoke very quickly: ‘Bi just told an interesting story yesterday! Once upon a time, there was an evil quack doctor who teamed up with a sword spirit that was foolishly loyal to the point of killing demons without blinking an eye to deceive the emotions of the demons. The demons were unwilling to submit, and they rose up in revolt as a group, finally destroying their devious schemes. Afterwards, that stupid quack doctor and that stupid sword were beaten to a pulp and rolled back to the divine realm, never daring to come out and wreak havoc again… Ah yes, the day before yesterday he told an even more interesting one, it’s um—ummm…’
Suddenly, he clamped Bi Fang’s beak tightly between two fingers: ‘Ahaha—whatever, all this nonsense is just made up to amuse children…’
Hualing raised the corners of her mouth, and glanced at Bi Fang with a half smile: ‘An evil quack doctor?’
Jiang Yu’s face was expressionless, as he slowly rubbed the tip of his finger against the body of Yuan Jian: ‘A stupid sword spirit that doesn’t bat an eyelid when killing demons?’
Fei’s face had gone from cold sweat to a rain of sweat. ‘…’
Hua Ling added, ‘You just said “made up”? In other words, you don’t actually know any of the words on it?’
Fei hung his head and answered honestly, ‘Yes… These characters are really strange. They look like demon writing but they’re not.’
After Fei’s face had turned from red to white and then to blue, Hualing felt that she had bullied him enough and changed the subject: ‘In consideration of the fact that you were kind enough to play with these children, I will forgive you for deceiving me in the first place and for slandering me behind my back.’
Fei: ‘…Why do I feel like I’ve been made a fool of?
’…I recognise these characters,’ Jiang Yu interrupted coldly.
Hua Ling was shocked, and only then did she realise that Jiang Yu had slipped the bamboo slip out of her hands at some point. ‘When did you…’ Over this period of time, she had clearly felt Jiang Yu’s strength improve by leaps and bounds.
Jiang Yu smirked: ‘Just kidding, who do you think I am?’
Hua Ling: ‘…You said you recognised the characters?’
Jiang Yu nodded solemnly: ‘This is ancient demon writing, passed down only among the royal family. Therefore, very few people know it.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow slightly and murmured, ‘No wonder… So, what does it say?’
Jiang Yu suddenly looked up and looked at the demons indifferently. The onlookers quickly dispersed on their own, and in less than a moment, they were all gone.
Jiang Yu then continued, ‘It says how to use this book.’
Hua Ling was stunned for a moment: ‘Eh?’
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes: ‘You seem surprised? What did you think it was?’
Hua Ling paused for a moment: ‘…uh, no. I just didn’t expect that this space came with an instruction manual. So, what does it say? You have some time now, so you can translate it for me slowly.’
Jiang Yu said, ‘I think you already know the basic usage. But do you know that you can freely add or delete pages in this book?’
Hua Ling: ‘!’
Hua Ling said, ‘Do you mean that the space in this book can also be infinitely increased? Add as much as you want?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Yes, that’s basically how it works.’
Hua Ling’s eyes suddenly lit up: ‘So…how do you increase the space?’
Jiang Yu looked down for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: ‘There are two ways. One is to go to the Guixu Realm and create it yourself, but this method is more repetitive and takes longer. The second method is quite fast, and it feels a bit like getting something for nothing…as long as you master the correct incantation, you can directly absorb other spaces.’
Hua Ling suddenly understood the meaning of his smile and nodded, saying, ‘In that case, we can go out.’
Jiang Yu smiled and nodded, then frowned and looked at the bamboo slips…his expression gradually turning gloomy.
Hua Ling asked, ‘What’s wrong…is there a problem?’
Jiang Yu looked embarrassed, ‘When have you ever seen me use magic?’
Hua Ling: ‘…It’s true, no matter when, he always just uses brute force to solve problems.’
Hua Ling patted him on the shoulder lightly and said, ‘It’s okay, just translate the incantation. I’m quite familiar with the magic arts, even the demon arts, and as long as it’s not too difficult, I should be able to understand it quickly.’
Jiang Yu was silent on hearing this, and it seemed from his face that it was even more difficult. After a long while, he said, ‘This incantation…can’t be translated at all.’
Hua Ling was not giving up: ‘Why? How will you know if you don’t try?’
Jiang Yu coughed: ‘Okay, then you listen carefully.’
Hua Ling: ‘…Okay.’
Jiang Yu: ‘!#&!*!……*¥&#——#¥(¥*&¥(#——)’
Hua Ling: ‘????’
Jiang Yu’s face is expressionless: ‘I’m done.’
Hua Ling had a black line on his face: ‘……Is this called translation? Are you sure this is called translation when it is even more incomprehensible than Martian text?!’
Jiang Yu shrugged: ‘I already said, there is no way to translate this incantation. This is different from ordinary magic. The incantation is completely written in ancient demon language, and the meaning can only be understood but not explained. Therefore, I cannot convey the trick in words that you can understand.’
Having heard this, Hualing had to give up: ‘Okay… It seems that we can only count on Chu Jiang and the others.’ Since they were following an isolated school of thought, they were naturally aloof and had no friends.
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then said, ‘I can give it a try. Even if it doesn’t work, there’s no harm done.’
Hualing’s heart stirred: ‘This technique… If something goes wrong, there won’t be any bad consequences, will there?’ She knew that some of the demon clan’s magical techniques were very dangerous. A slight mistake could cause the practitioner to go mad or, in severe cases, directly turn against the practitioner. She wondered which category this spatial magic technique belonged to…
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘Don’t worry, it won’t be like that. This isn’t some kind of sinister spell.’
Hua Ling felt slightly relieved and was about to nod when she heard Jiang Yu say, ‘But…’
Hua Ling: ‘But?’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘I just feel that I will lose a lot.’
Hua Ling was puzzled: ‘What kind of loss? Is there any other danger?’
Jiang Yu said indifferently: ‘If it doesn’t work, it will be a great loss of face.’
Hua Ling was speechless for a moment: ‘…It’s fine, you’ve already lost face here a long time ago. It’s not that bad this time.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling wasted no time and immediately returned to the previous space of ‘nothing’.
This time, his mood was completely different from when he was trapped before. Hua Ling looked around with interest, nodded and praised, ‘What a beautiful mountain, water and field. The little ones will like it when it’s collected.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling patted him on the shoulder and said seriously, ‘Don’t worry, if anything goes wrong, I’m here for you. Just go for it.’
Jiang Yu suddenly snapped, ‘You make it sound like I’m going to go wrong!’
Hua Ling innocently spread his hands: ‘I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just a precaution.’
Jiang Yu let out a ‘huff’, fell silent for a moment, and suddenly said, ‘Before that, I’m curious about one thing. Can you answer honestly?’
Hua Ling looked back at him seriously: ‘Tell me first.’
Jiang Yu said, ‘Do you feel that there is a sense of déjà vu when using the Secret Records of the Three Realms?’
Hua Ling looked at him for a while, trying to figure out what he meant: ‘Are you saying that this space is similar to the space of the Nine-Eyed Child?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Do you remember what I told you about the capabilities of the Mirage of Vanity?’
Hua Ling said: ‘What exactly are you trying to ask?’
Jiang Yu looked at her: ‘You said that this book was a gift from a friend. And that the purple bamboo slips were also his property. The slips of bamboo were written in ancient demon script… Who exactly is this friend of yours?’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘What are you trying to say?’
Jiang Yu decided not to beat around the bush: ‘He is a demon, and he is not of lowly status. Why do you know him?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment: ‘I can assure you of one thing. He has nothing to do with the theft of the Xu Hua Mirror. And he has nothing to do with the Nine-Eyed Demon.’
Jiang Yu also fell silent for a moment, before nodding: ‘If you don’t want to tell me his identity, that’s fine, I won’t force you. Since you say so, I won’t pursue it any further.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Sorry, I don’t want to talk about it for now.’
Jiang Yu frowned imperceptibly, and that inexplicable feeling of anxiety and discomfort came back. He didn’t like this feeling, nor did he like the tenderness and protection in Hua Ling’s gaze when he talked about that person.
As if sensing his anxiety, Hualing suddenly gently took his hand and said, ‘It’s not a deliberate concealment. Later… I’ll tell you slowly. For now, let’s figure out how to get out of here. If we can restrain Jiuyin soon, it will prevent him from harming anyone else.’
Jiang Yu closed his eyes. He shouldn’t be so anxious, even though he vaguely understood the reason for his ups and downs. With a major enemy at hand, it was really unprofessional of him, as a sword spirit, to argue over trivial matters. He quickly averted his gaze and focused on the incantations. After a moment, he gathered his energy and began to chant the incantations – and the dark black runes slowly floated out of the ‘Secret Record of the Three Realms’ and flew to every corner of the space they were in… Until the runes had covered every corner, suddenly the entire space twisted, folded, and shrank as if being sucked into a whirlpool, and finally it was all sucked into the secret record.
And at the moment the space disappeared, they fell into a magic formation…
Hua Ling waved his hand at the flickering bluish light coming from the magic formation and greeted the person outside the formation, ‘Hey, should I say long time no see?’
The person who set up the formation was Chu Jiang.
Chu Jiang put his hand down and stood up, ‘This formation is not yet complete.’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘We couldn’t wait any longer, so we decided to get out on our own. We saved you a lot of trouble, didn’t we?’
Chu Jiang: ‘…’ No, actually, the most important thing about this formation is the preliminary preparations. Hua Ling’s appearance is the same as telling him, ‘Sorry, all your previous efforts were in vain.’
Hua Ling immediately noticed the subtle change in his expression and clasped his hands together, saying, ‘Sorry for causing you more trouble.’
Chu Jiang quickly waved his hands, ‘Not at all. It’s good that you’re out.’
He surveyed the two of them, who were unharmed, for a moment, ‘Say…how did you get out? I remember that you…aren’t good at spatial spells.’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘It’s all thanks to my book, the Secret Records of the Three Realms.’
Chu Jiang was surprised, ‘Oh? What do you mean? Could it be that the magic weapon has another secret?’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘Let’s put it this way, my book and the Nine-Eyed Baby’s multi-dimensional space are similar in a way.’
Chu Jiang’s expression was subtle: ‘It is said that you cannot judge a book by its cover, but it seems that now you should extend that to not being able to judge a thing by its appearance.’
Hua Ling was new to Chu Jiang. He knew that Chu Jiang had been tossing and turning for a long time over this magic formation, and once again apologized, saying, ‘I’ve kept you busy for nothing.’
Chu Jiang smiled and said, ‘What are you talking about? It’s only natural that it’s better if you can come out sooner. Without further ado, let’s continue on our way. By the way…is the rabbit still waiting for us there?’
Hua Ling’s mouth curled up slightly, and he hooked his index finger, and the red line appeared again: ‘Don’t worry, everything is under control. Let’s go, we’ve wasted a lot of time, let’s go and take that thing down now!’

☆、The 31st Letter

Hua Ling’s new knowledge of Chu Jiang is that Chu Jiang must have been tossing and turning for a long time with this formation. Once again, he apologised, ‘I’ve made you work for nothing.’
Chu Jiang smiled and said, ‘What are you talking about? It’s only natural that it’s better if you can come out sooner. Without further ado, let’s continue on our way. By the way…is the rabbit still waiting for us there?’
Hua Ling’s mouth corners twitched slightly, and he hooked his index finger, and the red line appeared again: ‘Don’t worry, everything is under control. Let’s go, we’ve wasted enough time. Let’s go get that guy now!”
At this moment, Jiuyin, who didn’t know that he was about to be taken down, was frantically searching for medicine to heal his wounds. He had previously been tricked by that woman, and the magic power in his body was rampaging wildly like a madman. It made him feel like pins and needles were pricking his body, not just a normal tingling, but a pain that was like a thorn going round and round with his blood circulation. The pain was so unbearable that he wanted to smash his head against the ground and hack his way through a wall to relieve it.
‘Damn it—damn it!!! Damn you woman, how dare you ambush me!!!”
Jiuyin was clearly driven to the verge of losing control by the pain, cursing and swearing as he rummaged through the drawers and cupboards—he had tried several supposedly miraculous remedies, antidotes, and panaceas, but none of them worked, and his injuries showed no sign of improving!
He didn’t know what was so strange about that woman’s blood, but the attack by the counter-blood had caused him injuries that could not be relieved in any way.
‘Woman! I will definitely dismember you into a million pieces! No, I will make your life worse than death—‘ Jiuyin’s python tail swept across the room, knocking over a pile of bottles and jars that shattered on the ground.
’Oh? How will your life be worse than death?’ A cold voice sounded leisurely.
Jiuyin froze for a moment, and all nine of his heads suddenly turned to the source of the voice.
He then realised that his barrier had suddenly been ripped open, and the uninvited guests had already taken up a position at the entrance, as if they were waiting for a rat in a trap. Hua Ling was leading the way, with a smile on her lips, leaning casually against the side with her arms folded. She had been watching the show for a long time.
Jiuying was furious: ‘You, you… How did you…’
‘You want to ask how we got in?’ Chu Jiang smiled slightly, and the next second his figure disappeared into thin air, before suddenly appearing behind Jiuying. “That’s how we got in.”
With just a slight shake of his sleeve, the three heads of Jiuying were instantly tied into a dead knot, unable to move.
Jiuying noticed when he appeared behind him and tried to dodge, but his body’s speed response couldn’t keep up, and he was still instantly grabbed by Chu Jiang by the three heads.
Chu Jiang let out a soft ‘tsk’ sound, seemingly quite dissatisfied: ‘Only three.’
Nine-Eyed Baby: ‘!!!’ The difference in strength was too great, he was no match for this man. It was best to just leave…
As soon as Nine-Eyed Baby made a move, Chu Jiang grabbed his tail: ‘Eh? Don’t go, I’m bored, it’d be nice to find someone to spar with.’
As soon as Nine-Eyed Baby reacted, he twisted the remaining six heads and bit at various parts of Chu Jiang’s body in unison.
Chu Jiang extended his finger and gave the head closest to him a gentle tap, and the Nine-Headed Dragon was instantly frozen in place.
Chu Jiang shook his head regretfully, ‘Although I wanted to get some exercise, beating up a child is really not very interesting.’
The poor Nine-Headed Dragon, with such a huge power gap, didn’t even have the slightest chance of resistance. The Nine-Headed Dragon could only open its eighteen eyes wide and glare angrily at Chu Jiang.
Chu Jiang’s technique was so clean and decisive that even Jiang Yu couldn’t help but praise, ‘Beautiful.’
Hua Ling turned to Qingyang and White Fox, who were standing at the entrance, and said, ‘You two guard the entrance, in case he suddenly tries to escape.’
Qingyang and White Fox nodded, bracing themselves for the task.
Hua Ling looked around and said to Jiang Yu, ‘Have you found the location of the Xu Hua Mirror?’ Before they came, they had already discussed with Chu Jiang the reason why the Nine-Eyed Baby was not dead, so they decided at the beginning to divide the work: Chu Jiang was responsible for restraining the Nine-Eyed Baby, while Hua Ling and the others were responsible for retrieving the Xu Hua Mirror.
Jiang Yu’s mouth curled up slightly: ‘Of course. You know who I am.’
He suddenly struck with lightning speed. A clear whistle came from his hands, and the sword energy shot straight into the void, heading towards the centre of the roof.
There was a loud noise, and it seemed that the sword energy had hit something in the air. The sword energy suddenly bounced rapidly in all directions like an explosion…
Slowly, a black crack appeared in the void. Following that crack, small black cracks appeared one after the other, and finally, they slowly filled a transparent spherical object.
Jiang Yu retracted his sword, leaped into the air, and delivered a horizontal kick at the transparent spherical object. For a moment, the black aura suddenly dissipated, and the transparent protective shell instantly disintegrated…
Jiang Yu grasped the round crystal mirror that was floating in midair in his hands and landed steadily back on the ground.
Hua Ling said, ‘I’m surprised that you can sense it.’
Jiang Yu nodded and said, ‘I also find it strange. Since my memory has gradually returned, I have noticed that my resonance with the demonic aura has also strengthened. As long as there is demonic aura, I can sense it immediately. The Xu Hua Mirror is the most precious treasure in the Demon Realm, and it naturally possesses demonic power.’
Hua Ling leaned forward to take a closer look at the mirror in his hands: ‘This is the legendary Xu Hua Mirror?’
The entire mirror seems to be made of some kind of crystal, with delicate carvings around the edges. However, apart from its exquisite beauty, there is nothing else special about its appearance.
Jiang Yu pulled a cloth out of nowhere and carefully wrapped the Xu Hua Mirror in it: ‘Don’t look at it, this thing contains powerful magic, and mortals can easily be bewitched by it.’ With a flick of his fingers, the Xu Hua Mirror disappeared.
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Hurry like that, it makes people think you’re hiding it because you don’t want to part with it.’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘No. This thing is inherently evil, you’d better…’
Hua Ling reached out and poked him lightly between the eyebrows: ‘Just kidding, you’re taking it seriously.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
’Ahem, guys.’ Chu Jiang was already bored of teasing the stupid snake, ’What should we do with this big snake?’
Hua Ling then looked over to Chu Jiang. The nine-headed snake was already too weak to struggle after being played with by him. It was now lying on the ground, gasping for breath, like a fish on a chopping board.
Hua Ling walked over to it and asked, ‘Have you found out where the source of evil is?’
The source of evil again? Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly on hearing this and said nothing.
Chu Jiang shook his head as if in difficulty: ‘As you know, extracting confessions is not my forte.’
Hua Ling looked at him and said: ‘You mean, this is my forte?’
Chu Jiang touched his chin and said: ‘Hard to say.’
He made a gesture of invitation and said: ‘It would be safer if you did it yourself.’
Jiuyin was sealed up and could only glare at the two men who were chatting as if they had nothing better to do with their time with nine pairs of eyes.
Hua Ling shook her head and said: ‘No need to waste time. This evil beast won’t tell the truth.’
She bowed, ‘Please, Lord Chu, just use that move.’
Chu Jiang lightly pressed the knuckles of his index finger against his forehead, ‘You really do know how to cause me trouble.’
Hua Ling folded her hands together, her eyes shining, ‘Please, please~’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Chu Jiang coughed, ‘…I know. And…please don’t pout when you beg. It doesn’t suit you.’
Hua Ling’s mouth curled up, ‘So this move is so effective on you? I’ll remember that.’
Chu Jiang: ‘…’
Chu Jiang turned to Jiu Ying, who locked eyes with him for twenty seconds…
Chu Jiang gave a small smile.
Jiu Ying: ‘?’
In that instant of eye contact, all of Jiu Ying’s eighteen gazes turned from various emotions of hatred to dullness.
Hua Ling couldn’t help but clap his hands in praise, ‘You really have improved in the past three days. Your “hypnotism” has become even more refined and skilled.’
Chu Jiang made a face as if he had a toothache: ‘How can you give a name like that to a perfectly normal soul-stealing technique? It sounds so ambiguous no matter how you hear it.’
Hua Ling shook her head and criticized, ‘You have too complicated a mind.’
Chu Jiang: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling suddenly glanced at Jiang Yu: ‘What’s wrong with you?’
Jiang Yu frowned slightly: ‘What do you mean?’
Hua Ling observed his expression inquisitively: ‘You don’t seem very happy, do you?’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘That’s your illusion. Let’s go, aren’t we going to find the so-called… source of evil? Speaking of which… how did you know there was a source of evil here?’
Hua Ling’s words were concise and to the point: ‘Because of the evil aura. Can’t you feel it too?’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘This is the space of the Nine-Eyed Baby, so it’s normal to have evil aura.’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘Why are you so curious today? The feeling of the source of evil is ultimately different from this ordinary evil energy. Isn’t it?”
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, “You’re right.” It’s just that…
Hua Ling observed his expression for a moment and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Yu shook his head, “Let’s go. You want to seal the source of evil, right?”
Hua Ling nodded, “Yes. There’s no time to lose.”
Hua Ling suddenly looked at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu also looked at her, ’What?’
Hua Ling: ‘I was thinking, just now you said that your perception of demonic qi is now stronger than before. Are you also able to perceive the exact location of the source of evil?’
Jiang Yu repeated a word: ‘Also?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Just like the Nine-Eyed Baby.’
Jiang Yu said: ‘I have not previously come into contact with what you call the source of evil. I only remember the time before when I was in the cave with the flying demons… But then I lost consciousness, so I don’t have a clear understanding of its nature. I could only vaguely feel that the magic contained in this source of evil was indeed different from ordinary magic, and I could also roughly sense its location. But for some reason, this perception always feels like looking at flowers through a fog, indistinct and hazy, as if there is something in between, and I can never see clearly.”
Hua Ling paused for a moment and said, ’It’s because of the seal. Since ancient times, the source of evil has been under the seal of the Xuanyuan clan, and it was only recently that the seal began to loosen.’
Jiang Yu nodded and said, ‘That should be it. We’ll know for sure if we go and take a look. Let’s go.’
Hua Ling nodded and signalled Chu Jiang.
Chu Jiang gave Jiuyin a gentle kick, and Jiuyin instantly fell into a suddenly opened gap in the space.
The several of them one by one stepped into the gap, and saw that the entrance was about to close…
Qingyang’s voice suddenly sounded faintly from behind them, ‘Hey, we’re still here…’
The three of them turned their heads at the sound, and a few metres away, the white fox and the young boy were looking at them with resentment.
It was really quite a weak sense of presence…
Hua Ling laughed: ‘Don’t walk so slowly, or I’ll really leave you behind!’
Qing Yang continued to glare at her resentfully. You’ve completely forgotten, haven’t you?
Hua Ling turned around and called out to the group, ‘Okay, don’t waste any more time, let’s go!’
Qing Yang suddenly rushed up to Hua Ling, grabbed her sleeve, and followed her.
The white fox, left in the corner, said nothing. ‘…’ Indeed, I should have quit earlier!

☆, Chapter 32

The strange green-black light flickered, blatantly revealing its ambition to everyone through the hazy mist-like barrier.
Jiang Yu stared at it for a while, ‘Is this the source of evil?’
Jiang Yu placed his hand on the mist-like barrier. Strangely, the source of evil itself was as silent as a pool of stagnant water, but it seemed to have suddenly come to life, suddenly surging towards Jiang Yu’s palm.
‘This…’ Even Jiang Yu was quite surprised by this scene.
Hua Ling exchanged a look with Chu Jiang without saying a word, then walked up to Jiang Yu and patted him on the shoulder: “We need your help to seal the source of evil.”
Jiang Yu nodded: “What do you need me to do?”
Hua Ling pointed to the spot where he was standing: “Don’t move.”
Jiang Yu obediently stood there.
Hua Ling turned his head and looked at the white fox and Qingyang beside him: ‘You two, keep an eye on that crippled snake.’
Jiuying: ‘…’
Qingyang playfully gave a salute: ‘Yes, sir!’
Hua Ling raised his left hand, and his right index finger made a light swipe at his wrist. Bright red drops of blood fell to the ground.
Jiang Yu frowned slightly, and moved half a step…
Hua Ling gave him a gesture to indicate that it was fine.
As he had done many times before, once the blood hit the ground, it began to flow on its own, slowly forming a formation.
Once the formation was complete, golden-red light particles slowly began to appear. Hua Ling quickly tore off a piece of cloth from the corner of his shirt and wrapped it around the wound.
‘Xiaoyu, do you see the circle at your feet? Stand inside it,’ Hua Ling instructed Jiang Yu, as he arranged his stance, ‘and don’t step outside the circle during the spell.’
Jiang Yu was puzzled: ‘What is this for?’
Hua Ling said, ‘We will use the sword energy of your ancient divine sword to temporarily suppress the demonic energy, so that it can be sealed.’
Jiang Yu nodded, but still had some doubts in his heart. However, he still stood as Hua Ling commanded.
At this time, Chu Jiang stood at the other end of the formation and nodded to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling concentrated his energy and began chanting the incantation…
His wounds from the previous battle had not yet healed, and the hole he had made when trapping the Nine-Eyed Dragon had added to the pain. This time, activating the formation was even more difficult than the previous two times.
Hua Ling’s face gradually turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead…
Jiang Yu suddenly spoke up in the midst of the formation, ‘Hua Ling, what are you trying to do? This isn’t sealing it, is it? All the demonic energy has rushed into the Abyss. Forcing the seal to be broken, do you know the consequences…‘
The spell was in the crucial moment, Hua Ling heard Jiang Yu’s words, his heart moved, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, instantly staining a patch of his chest red.
Jiang Yu: “!!!”
’Don’t move.’ These were the words Chu Jiang shouted at Jiang Yu, ’hold your breath and concentrate. Moving at this time will only increase Hua Ling’s burden.’
Jiang Yu’s brows were knitted together, but he also knew the gravity of the situation. He stared at Hua Ling for a moment, then gathered his thoughts and assisted in guiding the demonic energy into the Abyss.
After about an hour, the golden-red light of the formation gradually dimmed, and finally slowly faded away…and the source of the demon energy also seemed to have never appeared, disappearing without a trace.
When the formation was completed, Hua Ling slowly exhaled and opened her eyes slowly.
She had just taken a stumbling step when Jiang Yu appeared beside her and supported her.
Hua Ling looked up at his gloomy face and whispered, ‘I’m sorry…’
Jiang Yu lowered his head, his gaze meeting hers, but he said nothing.
She accepted his anger with an open heart, her lips slightly parted: ‘I didn’t mean to hide it, it’s just that…’
‘That’s enough,’ Jiang Yu suddenly interrupted her, ‘I’m very angry. You owe me an explanation, but…’
He reached out, went around Hua Ling’s knees, and with a little effort, picked her up in his arms.
‘Now, you just need to rest.’
Hua Ling’s lips curved up slightly, and she closed her eyes wearily, leaning into Jiang Yu’s embrace.
Qingyang had silently walked up to the two of them without knowing when. He stood on tiptoe and gently touched Hua Ling’s hand: ‘It’s so cold.’
Jiang Yu gave him a sideways glance and said, ‘Go away, kid.’
Qing Yang, unusually, did not argue with him. He looked up at him, his eyes full of hatred.
After a few moments of staring at Jiang Yu, he turned around without saying a word and returned to the book ‘The Secret Records of the Three Realms’ in Hua Ling’s arms.
After concealing the remaining aura of the on-site formation, Chu Jiang dragged the Nine-Eyed Dragon towards Jiang Yu and the others with a talisman chain.
Chu Jiang said, ‘I will take custody of this guy. Hua Ling will decide what to do with him when she wakes up, whether to kill him or seal him up.’
Jiang Yu looked away from Hua Ling’s face, looked at Chu Jiang indifferently for a moment, and then said, ‘You knew about this a long time ago?’
Chu Jiang did not beat about the bush either, and nodded readily.
Jiang Yu suddenly grabbed Chu Jiang by the collar. He looked Chu Jiang straight in the eye and said, word for word, ‘So, every time she came back before, she would be weak and sleep for a few days, and it wasn’t just because she was injured.’
Chu Jiang said frankly, ‘That’s right.’
A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Jiang Yu’s eyes. ‘You…’
Hua Ling suddenly took Jiang Yu’s hand. ‘Jiang Yu, he has nothing to do with this.’
The two men looked at each other quietly for a moment, and Jiang Yu took a deep breath before slowly letting go of his hand.
Chu Jiang straightened his collar and said nonchalantly, ‘Are we going back to the medicine hut?’
He was talking to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling opened her eyes and was about to nod when she suddenly paused. ‘We can’t leave this space here. If an ordinary person passes by and accidentally falls into the space, the consequences will be unimaginable.’
She took out the book ‘Secrets of the Three Realms’ from her bosom and looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘Xiaoyu, record all these spaces in the book.’
Jiang Yu nodded and took the ancient book.
The group first exited the multiple spaces and returned to the Yangtze River. Jiang Yu gently carried Hua Ling to the forest by the river, let her lean against the tree and rest, and then used his own magic to draw the multiple spaces hidden in the river and above the river surface into the book one by one.
When he was finished, he returned to Hua Ling’s side and handed her the ancient book. ‘It’s done.’
A breeze blew, lifting a few strands of her hair. However, the person under the tree did not respond.
‘Hua Ling? Hua Ling!’
…
“What’s wrong with her?’
Hualing had never woken up since she fell into a coma by the river. Jiang Yu knew that it was unreasonable to take out his anger on others, but he just couldn’t help being irritable. So as soon as Chu Jiang returned, he was once again held by the collar.
Chu Jiang signalled Jiang Yu’s hand with his eyes, ‘How can I get the medicine if you do this?’
Jiang Yu let go of him, turned around and sat back down by the bed, mumbling, ‘Sorry.’
Chu Jiang took out a small carved jade medicine bottle from the wide sleeve of his shirt. The bottle was tilted and a pill the size of a pinky finger was poured out. It was pearl-coloured, radiant and exuded a strange medicinal fragrance.
‘This pill was made by Hualing for me before… saying that it was just in case,’ Chu Jiang handed the pill to Jiang Yu, shaking his head helplessly, ‘I never thought that in the end it would be used on herself.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, took it, and placed it in the palm of his hand: ‘What is this pill?’
Chu Jiang: ‘Soul-strengthening Pill.’
Jiang Yu: ‘!!!’
Chu Jiang’s expression was tinged with sadness: ‘The previous Soul-cleansing Pill injured her primordial spirit. She probably didn’t tell you.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…No. Injured the primordial spirit, so she really is…’
Chu Jiang lowered his eyes: ‘When she wakes up, you can ask her yourself. It seems that your memory has recovered quite a bit.’
Jiang Yu did not reply, and simply fed the pill into Hua Ling’s mouth.
Chu Jiang took a talisman crane out of his sleeve and placed it on the table nearby: ‘I still have important things to do, so I’ll be going first. If anything happens, you can send a message to me with the talisman crane.’
Jiang Yu sat with his back to him and nodded a little after a while: ‘Thank you.’
Jiang Yu looked down at the pale sleeping face of the woman in front of him, and time seemed to stand still.
He reached out and gently brushed the hair that was sticking to her lips behind her ear.
After all these years, she has not changed at all.
He remembered…
Back then, when he first met her on the battlefield.
At the time, she was in a terrible state, and he was arrogant and defiant.
—————–I’m back after a long time! Little Theatre Split Line ——————
‘Sword Spirit’ NG Highlights
NG·1: Who’s more childish?
Jiang Yu grabbed Chu Jiang by the collar, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes. ‘You…’
Chu Jiang let out a look of pain, turned his head silently, and said in a low voice, ‘I loved you…’
Jiang Yu slowly turned to stone.
After a moment of being frozen, he suddenly let go of Chu Jiang and ran to complain to Hua Ling, who was cooling off in the shade of a tree: ‘He…he’s not following the script!’
Meanwhile, Chu Da Shao leisurely straightened his collar, took the tea and fruit tray from the person next to him, and began to eat with grace, giving a disdainful glance at the pitiful Jiang Xiaokui under the tree.
Hmph, to deal with unreasonable people, you have to be more unreasonable than they are!
Narrator: Mr Chu, how idle are you…
NG·20 million didn’t expect
Chu Jiang to drag the nine-eyed demon bound by the charmed chain towards the crowd…
‘Pop!’ Just as Chu Jiang dragged the nine-eyed dragon bound by the charmed chain, the chain snapped.
Chu Jiang: “…”
Nine-eyed dragon: “…”
Director: “Props master, replace the chain.”
N minutes later.
Director: “Everyone ready, action!”
Chu Jiang dragged the nine-eyed dragon bound by the charmed chain towards the crowd…
He took a step, and “pop!” the charmed chain died a glorious death once again.
Chu Jiang: ’…#
Jiuying winced with guilt.
When the fifth chain broke, Chu Jiang’s patience snapped.
‘Hmph,’ he said, not even using his voice, because he didn’t even open his mouth.
The temperature in the entire studio dropped by more than five degrees.
Jiuying confessed his crime inopportunely: ‘Yes… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have given up and overeaten just because my part was cut…’
Unexpectedly, the shot was finally approved – at the cost of Jiuying having a layer of skin rubbed off from his chest to his knees – he used difficult muscle movements to advance and complete the action of being dragged with Chu Daishao, and won the unanimous recognition of the entire crew for his strength and acting skills…
NG·Three Jiang Yu’s little plan
Jiang Yu took the pill from Chu Jiang’s hand and turned to look at Hua Ling, who was lying on the bed. His eyes suddenly lit up, and his tail stuck out and shook.
He quickly threw the pill into his mouth, and then slowly leaned closer to Hua Ling’s lips.
Just as their lips were about to meet, Hua Ling suddenly opened his eyes.
Jiang Yu blinked innocently at Hua Ling’s expressionless face and got stuck.
Hua Ling pushed Jiang Yu away and sat up, shaking her head sadly. ‘Xiaoyu, I told you not to be so greedy. I’ll buy you Maltesers when we get home. You’re making it difficult for the props master and the director.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’

☆, 33rd entry

Hua Ling was awakened by the smell of burnt medicine.
She moved her neck and turned her head towards the window. It was already sunset, and the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the window frame a warm orange colour.
The senses of her body gradually returned as her mind cleared – there was really only one sensation. It was pain, pain all over her body, and even moving a finger was exhausting. She knew this was a consequence of injuring her primordial spirit.
The door creaked open, and the smell of burnt medicine intensified.
Hua Ling turned her head and looked towards the door.
Qingyang, a small man, entered, holding a large bowl of medicine. He carefully walked to the bed and placed it by the headboard.
He held Hua Ling’s cold fingers in his small, soft hands and said, ‘You’re awake.’ His eyes were full of worry.
Hua Ling withdrew her gaze from the door and reached out, patting him reassuringly on the head to show that she was fine.
Qing Yang stared at Hua Ling for a moment, then bit her lip and said, ‘Don’t worry, the sword spirit is cooking congee in the kitchen.’
Hua Ling smiled, her voice a little hoarse, ‘I’m not worried.’
Qing Yang: ‘… But your eyes say otherwise.’
Qing Yang held up the medicine bowl by the bed, ‘I’ll feed you your medicine.’
Hua Ling took the bowl from him and laughed, ‘I’m not disabled yet.’
She stared at the dark, blurry mass in the bowl, ‘Is this the recipe…that I gave Chu Jiang before?’
Qingyang shook his head, ‘I don’t know, the stupid sword spirit locked me in the Secret Records of the Three Realms and wouldn’t let me out. By the time I managed to break free, he was already brewing the medicine.’
Hua Ling laughed softly, ‘Seeing as it’s the first time he’s brewed it…’
Qingyang didn’t hear clearly: ‘What?’
Hua Ling shook her head and finished the medicine in the bowl.
Hua Ling put down the bowl and looked up, only to find Qingyang staring at her face.
‘What are you looking at?’ Hua Ling asked indifferently, ‘I didn’t drink it, so there’s nothing on my face.’
Qingyang paused for a moment and said, ‘Do you want some sugar?’
Hua Ling couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, ‘Are you waiting to see the expression on my face when the bitterness makes me frown?’
Qingyang was caught off guard and handed her a piece of osmanthus cake that she had been hiding in her hand without saying a word: ‘Hey, you’re always so calm, so I thought I’d see a different side of you.’
Hua Ling took the osmanthus cake: ‘Thanks. Qingyang, not everyone is afraid of bitterness.’
“Maybe it’s not that they’re not afraid, but that your tolerance happens to be a little stronger than others.’
Hua Ling looked up at the sound of his voice. Jiang Yu leaned against the doorway with a tray in his hands, his gaze fixed on her.
‘You’ve finally woken up.’
Jiang Yu waved his hand, indicating that he should get lost immediately.
Qingyang angrily said, ‘What are you doing! It’s not enough that you locked me up for so many days, and now you won’t even let me talk to Hua Ling for a while.’
Jiang Yu looked down at him condescendingly and said, ‘You have three seconds.’
Qingyang rushed over and put his arms around Hualing’s shoulders. ‘Hualing, do something about him, he’s always picking on people. He’s arrogant and useless, just like a sword spirit.’
Hualing thought to himself, ‘I’m in a difficult situation myself. Who knows if I can beat him at this moment, and if I say the wrong thing, I might get beaten up together with him.’
‘Three…’ Jiang Yu placed the steaming green vegetable porridge on the bedside table.
Qingyang’s face fell. ‘Hualing…’
‘Two…’ Jiang Yu dragged a chair from the table and slammed it in front of the bed.
Hualing coughed lightly and said with deliberation, ‘Xiaoyu…’
‘One.’
Jiang Yu snapped his fingers.
Qingyang:!!!
The moment Jiang Yu snapped his fingers, Qingyang was frozen in place. Not only that, but he was so irritated that he wanted to protest, but he couldn’t say a word, not even make a sound.
Jiang Yu slightly raised his hand, and a gap in space suddenly appeared in the room. Jiang Yu lightly waved his hand, and Qingyang was thrown in.
Hua Ling slightly propped up her upper body and said, ‘Hey, don’t go too far.’
She was weak and her hand that was supporting her body was still trembling slightly.
Jiang Yu frowned slightly, walked over, took out the pillow and stood it by the bed, so that she could lean on it. The whole time, she didn’t say a word.
Hua Ling was still thinking about the poor little chaotic child: ‘Qingyang…’
‘Eat first,’ Jiang Yu interrupted indifferently, pulled out a chair and sat down, picked up the porridge on the bedside table, and said, ‘I locked him back in the Secret Records of the Three Realms.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow. She could summon space freely without having to take out a book?
A spoonful of warm congee was brought to Hua Ling’s lips.
Hua Ling said embarrassedly, ‘I can do it myself…’
She was forced to eat the congee. Hua Ling had no choice but to swallow what was in her mouth first.
‘It tastes good,’ she commented sincerely. ‘It’s okay, I can do it myself…’
Well, it seems that young friend Jiang is determined not to finish the congee today and refuse to talk to her.
Hua Ling took a few silent mouthfuls to indicate that she had had enough.
Jiang Yu asked doubtfully, ‘Not to your liking?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ In fact, her stomach was burning with fever, and she didn’t want to eat anything at all.
Jiang Yu immediately understood from her expression and got up to set the bowl aside. He looked down at Hua Ling with a frown, as if pondering what to do with her.
Hua Ling pointed to the chair next to her: ‘You sit.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…go back to sleep.’
He was about to turn and leave when Hua Ling quickly grabbed the hem of his shirt.
‘Don’t make the patient work so hard,’ Hua Ling complained half-jokingly. The movement of pulling and pushing had made her break out in a light sweat. It had been so long since she had felt so weak that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be powerless.
Jiang Yu shook his head, helped her lie down, and then sat down.
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘You don’t have any questions for me.’
Jiang Yu leaned back in his chair and looked at her for a while, ‘In fact, there are a lot. So much so that I don’t know where to start.’
Hua Ling shook her head and laughed, ‘There’s no order of priority. Just ask, I will know what to say and I will tell you everything.’
‘Tell you everything?’ Jiang Yu repeated, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, ‘Are you sure you can do that?’
Hua Ling sighed, ‘…I’m sorry.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Humph.’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then asked, ‘How much have you remembered?’
Jiang Yu looked straight into her eyes: ‘Not much. But it’s not a little either. The ancient memories are still incomplete. What I remembered this time is about you.’
Hua Ling gave a ‘hmm’ and slightly lowered her eyes: ‘Then what?’
Jiang Yu: ‘I remember how we met. And then? I want to ask you too! What happened afterwards? How did I inexplicably become this sword spirit? Where did you go afterwards? I looked for you for a long time but couldn’t find you.’
Hua Ling thought for a moment and knew where his memory had broken off.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Jiang Yu suddenly raised his hand and made a ‘stop’ sign. ‘If you’re going to make up a story again, I’d rather you just tell me you don’t want to talk about it.’
Hua Ling shook her head. ‘I told you, I didn’t mean to lie. But since your memory hasn’t recovered yet, it’s not helpful for me to say more. Think about it, if I had told you all this when we first met, would you have believed me?’
Jiang Yu imagined it for a moment… Indeed, as his memory returned, he would only feel that things were becoming more and more bizarre and unbelievable, and anyone who heard it would think he was making up stories.
‘Okay,’ Jiang Yu reluctantly accepted this explanation, ‘I reluctantly accept your explanation. Then why didn’t you tell me that you did all this to help me recover my memory.’
Hua Ling simply said, ‘The reason is as stated above.’
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes and shook his head: ‘That’s a very vague answer. Let me rephrase the question. What is the connection between the magic sources and me? Why did you go to such lengths to trick me into going to these magic sources and unseal them one after the other so that I could absorb the magic? And my memory gradually returned as my magic power increased.’
That really hits the nail on the head.
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Your speculation is correct. These magic sources do have a great connection with you. Let’s put it this way, these magic sources are yourself.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment. ‘You mean to say that my primordial spirit was split and sealed. This also explains why I have become the half-baked person I am now.’
Hua Ling looked at him in surprise. ‘It seems that your IQ has also recovered along with your memory.’
A tic appeared on the corner of Jiang Yu’s forehead. ‘Can you stop trying to provoke me? You have a bad habit and you need to change it.’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘Speaking of which, I was wondering before. Why is it that although your memory has been sealed, your temper hasn’t changed in thousands of years, and you’re just as grumpy as ever?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Hua Ling pretended to think for a while and said, “To put it nicely, it’s hard to change one’s nature, and to put it bluntly…”
Jiang Yu really flared up: “Shut up! Get to the point and stop changing the subject!”
Hua Ling said innocently, ’What I said was all about business.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a moment and suddenly smiled.
Hua Ling: ‘?’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘You said I, has your bad habit of finding fault and your evil taste of stirring up trouble ever changed?’
Hua Ling spread her hands: ‘That’s even then.’
Jiang Yu said seriously: ‘Enough with the circles. You haven’t answered, what happened afterwards, why did I become the sword spirit, and why was I sealed?’
-Trailer·Author’s and self-criticism——————
It’s called a trailer, so it’s probably an explanation of the plot and where it’s going:
The part that Jiang Xiaoji remembers will be explained in a special reminiscence chapter later—the story of their ancient times.
Then the next chapter will be a solution to the mystery (part 2).
Hua Ling, this dishonest person, has hidden a lot of things. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
And then… Jiang’s current state: 10% blackening, 35% counterattack
Anyway, Hua Ling’s identity was vaguely mentioned earlier, but does anyone remember?
PS:
This chapter is a draft… I rushed to publish it. There are typos in the visual inspection… Please help catch the bugs. Also, the National Day is over, and I may resume alternate-day updates next. Everyone~

☆, Chapter 34

Jiang Yu: ‘Enough with the circles, okay? You haven’t answered what happened next, why I became a sword spirit, and why I was sealed.’
Hua Ling paused for a moment, about to speak, when Jiang Yu suddenly interrupted, ‘No rush, start from the beginning. First, tell me, where did you go after that?’
Hua Ling smiled, ‘Where did you lose track? Was it the first time I left the Demon Realm?’
Jiang Yu froze for a moment, ‘The first time? There can’t be a second or third time…”
Hua Ling spread her hands: “So, I guessed right?”
Jiang Yu frowned: “Get to the point.”
Hua Ling tilted her head: “Well, what’s the point?”
Jiang Yu said smugly: ’Naturally, it’s how I caught you back. Prisoners of war should just accept their fate and not waste their efforts. You started a dye shop after just a little bit of trouble, and you even dreamed of escaping… Well, forget it.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ She really changed her face in three seconds. I don’t know who just now was asking her urgently where she went…
Jiang Yu glared at her, ‘What expression is that! Tell me the truth quickly.’
Hua Ling shook her head with a smile, tenderly cutting in: ‘That won’t work. I haven’t lost that memory anyway, and once you’ve recovered all the split off essences, you’ll slowly remember it yourself.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…You.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow, ‘What about me?’
Jiang Yu took a deep breath and said slowly, ‘I forgive you, for the sake of your illness.’
Hua Ling said, ‘I allow you not to forgive me. What do you want?’
Jiang Yu really wanted to let out a long cry. Every time he spoke with her for less than three sentences, he felt a sense of depression that was suffocating him.
He waved his hand in frustration and said, ‘Fine, let’s skip it. Sooner or later, I will remember.’
He suddenly glanced at Hualing, his expression inscrutable: ‘I’ll deal with you then.’
Hualing smiled and said nothing.
Jiang Yu said, ‘Back to the question at the beginning. You can tell me that, can’t you? If you keep stalling, I’ll really strangle you.’
Hualing shook her head and sighed, ‘I’m just afraid you won’t be able to let go.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Seeing that the bullying was almost over, Hua Ling said seriously, ‘What happened later is not complicated, but complicated… Because of the Demon Lord, after your father’s accident, you led the army to seek revenge from the Celestial Realm, but you were defeated… by the Celestial Realm’s Lord of Killing, captured, and then sealed.’
Jiang Yu was surprised and said, ‘Given my personality, it is already a strange thing that I was willing to be captured rather than commit suicide after being defeated.
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘If you lose the battle, you want to kill yourself? Why can’t you bear the humiliation and wait for your comeback? You know that fortune turns, and opportunities will always be reserved for those who are determined.’
Jiang Yu shook his head and said after a long pause, ‘No way. Forget it…you wouldn’t understand if I told you.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
Jiang Yu suddenly said unhappily, ’What the hell is this Shousha Shenjun? How could I have lost to a mere god general? !’
Hua Ling: ‘…He is not just any god general. He is also known as the God of War. His strength is second only to the Emperor of Heaven.’
Jiang Yu: ‘That’s still impossible. If it wasn’t for that treacherous old man Ji Xuanyuan cheating, how would my father have fallen for his tricks? If that so-called God of War is not even as good as that treacherous old man, how could I have lost to him… It must have been them playing dirty tricks again. There really aren’t any good people in the Heavenly Realm.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
Jiang Yu glanced at her: ’I wasn’t talking about you.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘There’s something I don’t understand. If they sealed me, why did they turn me into a sword spirit?’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘That’s hard to say. I guess they saw that you had a good bone structure and were a good material for spirit imprinting. Or maybe the god king was moved by pity and couldn’t bear to let you lose your form and spirit after all…’
‘No way,’ Jiang Yu sneered, ‘Spirit imprinting is not an easy task. You can believe that such a laborious process would be motivated by pity?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly: ‘I don’t believe it…so I was just saying that.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling guessed as he saw him silent, ‘Wanting revenge?’
Jiang Yu looked at her, ‘I don’t know. It’s impossible to say that I don’t hate. I hate that I can’t personally slice that old thief Ji Xuanyuan up a thousand times. My father’s debt, and the countless blood debts of the Demon Clan, he doesn’t have enough lives to repay. But it’s been so many years, and even he is dead.’
Hua Ling: ‘…hmm.’
Hua Ling suddenly took his hand: ‘Don’t be sad. Once you have recovered your soul, the Fuxi enchantment will not be able to stop you. At that time, you can go back to the Demon Realm. I think they, the people of the Demon Realm, have been waiting for you.’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘What about you?’
Hua Ling: ‘…What about me?’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a while, then said seriously, ‘Do you want to go back with me?’
Hua Ling: ‘…
Jiang Yu turned her hand over and held her cold fingers in the palm of his hand. ’Is it related to what happened back then that you’ve hidden your divine power in the human world? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you and Chu Jiang suddenly appeared at the sword grave, do you?’
Hua Ling sighed: ‘Yes, it is no coincidence. Because the seal has finally loosened.’
Jiang Yu: ‘You unsealed me, so the Celestial Realm couldn’t possibly not know.’
Hua Ling did not answer directly: ‘It would be easy for them to know. But there are many ways to keep them from knowing.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Why?’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘What?’
Jiang Yu stared at her in silence, determined to get an answer.
Hua Ling let out a sigh, ‘You saved my life.’
Jiang Yu was quiet for a moment, ‘Is that why?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu smiled a little, ‘Let’s change the subject. Jingshui Township, Dunhuang, Jiujiang…did you know from the beginning that my primordial spirit seal was in these places?’

☆, 35th entry

Jiang Yu smiled a little. ‘Let’s change the subject. Jingshui Township, Dunhuang, Jiujiang…did you know from the beginning that my primordial spirit seal was in these places?’
Hua Ling looked at him for a moment. ‘It seems that you have recovered more than just your memory. Even your brain seems to be working a lot better.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. ‘So, you admit it?’
Hua Ling pretended to be stupid. ‘Admit what?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘Cough…yes, I know everything.’
Hua Ling held up his index finger: ‘I know what you’re thinking, don’t get me wrong.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Oh? What am I misunderstanding?’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘You’re thinking, did I deliberately arrange for He Shi, Qingyang, and White Fox to create some unexpected events to lure you to the Demon Source, right?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ You’ve hit the nail on the head.
Hua Ling: ‘I know where the seal is. The unsealing ritual can only be performed when the seal loosens one by one. However, I don’t know when the seal will loosen in advance, but I know that once the seal of the Demon Source loosens, it will inevitably attract some demons and monsters to go there to draw power, so I asked them to pay attention to the seal’s movements at any time.’
Jiang Yu waved his hand: ‘Forget it. In view of your good intentions to help me, I forgive your deception.’
Hua Ling: ‘…So, these events were not designed in advance!’ Hey, listen to what people are saying, you jerk.
Jiang Yu said sternly, ‘Why didn’t you say that unsealing is such a dangerous thing? Every time you activate that formation, you will be hurt by the backlash of the seal, right?’
Hua Ling: ‘…It’s not that serious. It’s just that the caster will be particularly tired.’
Jiang Yu gave her forehead a little tap: ‘In the past, I could fool you easily, but now you can’t lie to me anymore, I know everything.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘I’ll figure out how to seal it myself. Don’t get involved.’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘No one can help you now except me.’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘Why? If someone from the Divine race must activate the formation, that guy Chu Jiang…’
Hua Ling still shook her head: ‘It’s useless. Only a true god with Xuanyuan divine blood can activate this formation.’
Jiang Yu: !!!
Jiang Yu was stunned for a long time: ‘You, you are…’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I have the blood of the ancient main god flowing in my body. That’s why I was seriously injured by the god’s marrow cleansing technique in Dunhuang last time.’
Jiang Yu was silent: ‘…What is your relationship with…Ji Xuanyuan?’
Hua Ling put the hair that blocked her vision behind her ear and smiled: ‘I knew you were going to ask this. The first generation of gods were all of the Xuanyuan main god lineage.’
Jiang Yu was speechless for a moment: ‘…what energy.’ He really didn’t know how to respond.
Hua Ling knew that he had missed the point, but he didn’t bother correcting him and simply changed the subject: ‘You still have two fragments of your primordial spirit left.’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘So that guy Zhu Rong should also be of the bloodline of a true god. Just let him unseal it.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Unfortunately, apart from brute strength, he knows nothing about the art of magic.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling patted his hand: ‘It’s okay, there are only two seals left. At worst, you can rest more this time. …And there will still be plenty of time to recuperate afterwards.’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘No, I can’t agree to this.’
Hua Ling wanted to say something else, but Jiang Yu lightly pressed her lips with his index finger: ‘For now, you just need to rest well.’
Hua Ling smiled helplessly. He was right. With her current body, even if she wanted to do something, she just didn’t have the strength.
She closed her eyes obediently, ‘I’ll sleep a little longer.’
Jiang Yu nodded and tucked the quilt around her, his movements surprisingly gentle.
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu, who had sat back down, with confusion, ‘You’re going to stay here?’
Jiang Yu’s expression flickered with embarrassment, and he impatiently said, ‘Nonsense. You sleep.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
…
When Hua Ling woke up again, the room was still a little dark, but there was light outside the window.
Hua Ling lifted the curtain and shielded her eyes from the sudden sunlight with her hand – it was already sunset.
‘I actually slept for so long?’ Hua Ling sat up from the bed.
Her body wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had been yesterday, but she still felt weak.
Jiang Yu was no longer in the room, but there was a faint smell of food coming from the kitchen downstairs.
Hua Ling’s mouth curled up slightly. This guy has even learned to take care of others.
I can’t do it anymore. If I lie down any longer, I’ll grow mushrooms.
Hua Ling decided to take a shower first, freshen up, go downstairs for dinner, and take a look at the store’s business. She was not some delicate young lady who needed to stay in bed.
Hua Ling soaked in the hot water, closed her eyes, and let out a comfortable sigh.
Jiang Yu finally asked about her relationship with Ji Xuan Yuan…Her statement wasn’t really a lie. Out of selfishness, she really didn’t want to say. Although…he would find out sooner or later. The next destination…Southern Xinjiang?
They didn’t have much time.
The towel hanging on the wall seemed to have been slightly blown by the breeze.
Hua Ling opened his eyes instantly, rolled the towel into his hands, wrapped it around his body quickly, stood up, and swept his fierce gaze to the centre of the bathroom.
‘Since you dare to break in, why don’t you just show yourself.’
A strong wind suddenly blew from beside the wash basin. After the wind died down, a man wearing silver armour and holding a long spear stood on the white tiled floor.
He gave Hua Ling a bow: ‘Long time no see, God King.’
Hua Ling frowned: ‘You should change your title. Ying Zhao, I left the celestial realm long ago. What is the purpose of this visit?’
Ying Zhao: ‘…’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘You’re not the type to dawdle.’
Ying Zhao gave a bow: ‘Sorry.’
The spear brushed against Hua Ling’s throat, not missing the spot by even the slightest bit. It was so fast that no one could see how he made the move.
‘Hua Ling, come back to the Celestial Realm with me.’
Hua Ling laughed to herself as if she had heard something funny: ‘Go back to what? To die?’
She didn’t care about the spear pointing at her. Her throat trembled slightly when she laughed, and the sharp blade dragged a slender red line across her neck.
Yingzhao’s eyes flickered slightly, and the spear moved a few millimetres backwards.
Yingzhao frowned and said, ‘Do you know that what you are doing is an act of open treason?’
Hualing slowly arranged his wet hair, and said, ‘I am rebelling, so what are you going to do about it?’
Yingzhao said, ‘You…’
Hualing looked at him coldly and said, ‘Ji Wuchang sent you?’
Yingzhao shook his head and said, ‘But Your Majesty has already taken action… now the entire Heavenly Realm is hunting for you.’
Hua Ling lowered her head and pondered: ‘He moved quickly enough. Never mind, I didn’t expect to hide it from him for long.’
Ying Zhao saw that she hadn’t listened to a word he’d said, and hurriedly said, ‘If you go back now and confess, you can still avoid the death penalty. If you continue to be stubborn…’
‘Ying Zhao,’ Hua Ling interrupted, ‘you don’t know that person at all. It has nothing to do with whether I betray or not, that person is definitely going to kill me.’
Ying Zhao was at a loss, clearly not understanding why Hua Ling would say that: ‘How can this be…you two aren’t…’
‘Besides,’ Hua Ling gestured for him to stop, “I’ve already made one mistake, so I don’t want to make another.”
Yingzhao frowned.
Hua Ling continued, “You were in such a hurry to come here that you didn’t even have the patience to wait for me to finish my bath. Do you want to get there before they do? Will the Twelve Days be able to set out on their journey?”
Yingzhao looked at her silently. She was still the same as before, decisive and able to predict the future.
Hua Ling saw his tacit approval and pondered that this place was definitely not a place to stay any longer…
Yingzhao shook her head: ‘There’s no time left, you must come with me.’
As she spoke, her posture changed and she tried to forcibly restrain Hua Ling.
Hua Ling suddenly had a flash of insight and said, ‘Stop!’
This sentence was obviously not directed at Yingzhao.
‘Bang-clang-’
There was a sudden loud noise in the bathroom.
‘Umm…’

☆、Chapter 36

“Bang-clang-’
A loud noise suddenly erupted in the bathroom.
‘Umm…’
The bathroom floor split apart and caved in, forming a large pit. Ying Zhao was held down by Jiang Yu, who had suddenly appeared, and his head was pressed into the ground, unable to move.
If Hua Ling had not suddenly told him to stop, he was afraid that the sword in Jiang Yu’s hand would have been used on Ying Zhao’s neck.
Jiang Yu looked up at Hua Ling and said, ‘What’s going on? Chasers sent by the Divine Realm?’
Ying Zhao: ‘…’ Is this the awakened Demon Lord? Even if the seal has not been completely lifted, this formidable power…
Even Hualing is slightly surprised. Ying Zhao has served before the Heavenly Emperor for many years, and his strength is also outstanding among the Divine Generals…I never expected that Jiang Yu has already recovered to this extent.
After a long time without an answer, Jiang Yu said unhappily, ‘Hey, I’m asking you a question!’
Hua Ling coughed and walked up to Ying Zhao: ‘Ying Zhao, I’m not going back with you. Report it however you like. Jiang Yu, let him go.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Huh? ! Are you going to let the tiger go back to the mountain?’
Hua Ling: ‘…let him go.’
‘Hmph,’ Jiang Yu let Ying Zhao go, stood up, stood with his arms folded to the side, and said no more.
Ying Zhaoyang stood up unsteadily: ‘Hua Ling…you’d better watch yourself. They’ll be here soon.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Ying Zhaoyang sighed, and his figure gradually disappeared.
Hua Ling: ‘Pack up and leave for Nanjiang immediately.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu strangely: ‘What are you daydreaming about?’
Jiang Yu stared at the floor awkwardly: ‘Can you put your clothes on first?’
Hua Ling was taken aback and burst out laughing. ‘Eh? I never thought you were so simple.’
Jiang Yu: ‘What are you laughing at?’
Hua Ling suddenly had the idea of teasing him a little, and deliberately leaned over to his ear and whispered, ‘What, have you never touched a woman in all these years?’
Jiang Yu instantly flared up: ‘None of your business!’ A blush gradually crept up his ears.
Hua Ling laughed and patted him on the shoulder: ‘Hey, you haven’t practiced enough.’
After saying this, Hua Ling walked around Jiang Yu and walked out of the bathroom to change clothes on his own.
Jiang Yu took his eyes off her, closed his eyes, and this stupid woman…

‘Hey, what’s going on with going to Southern Jiang?’ Jiang Yu propped his chin up and watched Hua Ling pack his luggage.
Hua Ling sorted the medicine bottles and herbs and packed them: ‘Well, staying in a “on the go” state can buy some time. I’ll go check in on the seal over there.’
Jiang Yu: !!!
Jiang Yu: ‘I didn’t mean…’
Hua Ling pretended to be sad: ‘Eh…do you want to see someone die and not help?’
Jiang Yu: ‘What…what do you mean by not help!’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘You see, the unsealing has been noticed by the Divine Realm, and now they have sent pursuers. There is no end in sight for this chase.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling spread his hands and continued, ‘There is only one way to get rid of the pursuers.’
Jiang Yu’s face twitched, ‘Beat them up.’
Hua Ling patted him on the head, ‘Smart.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘That’s what I’m saying. If you don’t have the power to absolutely overwhelm them, how can you beat them up? Ah, I’m not talking about these fish. I’m talking about the power to at least compete with the Heavenly Emperor. What do you think?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ Is it okay to make such a happy declaration of rebellion?
Hua Ling: ‘So, you see, apart from completely unsealing it, you simply don’t have any other options. You are my sword spirit, so you should at least guarantee my personal safety, right?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’ Why does it feel like I’m being cheated again?
Hua Ling patted him on the shoulder: ‘So without further ado, let’s hurry up and go.’
…
Yunnan Province. Lancang River Basin.
‘Ah, I’m exhausted and starving. Let’s find somewhere to stay,’ Hua Ling said. Qingyang dragged his tired little body behind Hua Ling and climbed up the hill along the muddy path.
For this trip, they relied entirely on human-powered transport – cars, planes, and old oxen pulling rickety carts. In a crowded situation, it was easier to hide their breath.
Arriving here day and night was really a bit too much for Qingyang, whose body was only four years old.
Not to mention the fact that once they got off the bus, they had to keep walking up the mountain without stopping…
Qingyang wiped away a bead of sweat and said, ‘It’s full of tears!’
As the sky grew dark, Hualing glanced back at Qingyang and said to Jiang Yu, ‘You carry him. We have to hurry. We must reach the village before sunset.’
Jiang Yu nodded. He could also feel the breath of various poisonous insects and strange beasts lurking in the mountains.
But…
‘Why don’t you just put him in your book?”
Hua Ling shook his head: “We’ll go into the village as a family of three, disguised as a family.”
Jiang Yu’s head lit up like a light bulb. A family!
He picked Qingyang up and swung him onto his back. He suddenly glanced back at Hua Ling and said, “I’ll carry you too?”
Hua Ling: “I appreciate your kindness, but no.”
Jiang Yu turned back with a disappointed look on his face and strode briskly towards the village at the foot of the mountain.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Tongjia Village.
As soon as he looked up, he saw the three large characters engraved on a moss-covered stone tablet at the entrance to the village. It had probably faded before and been repainted in vermilion.
Two men wearing dark blue turbans were smoking dry tobacco at the entrance to the village. One had grey hair and the other looked to be in his prime. They saw Hua Ling and the others in the distance and the middle-aged man stood up and waited for them to approach in silence.
Hua Ling smiled at him and said, ‘Hello, our family is here to visit a friend. Tong Qing, he lives here, right?’
The middle-aged man’s expression froze for a moment, and then he nodded and said, ‘Well, but he’s not in the village at the moment. You can stay in the village first, and wait for him to return.’
Hua Ling nodded and said, ‘Thank you, we’ll be troubling you then.’
Most of the people in the village dressed in a similar fashion, wearing black or blue patterned cloth clothes, with a brocade headscarf, and some women wore silver jewellery.
Hua Ling and the other two followed the middle-aged man into the village.
The villagers stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on Hua Ling and the others. Hua Ling smiled at the villagers, one by one, in a friendly manner.
A little girl who was playing with a ball suddenly bumped into Hua Ling’s leg and fell to the ground.
Hua Ling reached out to help her up: ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine…‘ The little girl looked up and gave Hualing a sweet smile, “Thank you, sister.”
Hualing stroked her head and was about to leave when the little girl suddenly reached up and grabbed Hualing’s pant leg.
Hualing was taken aback and looked down at her.
’Big sister,’ the girl leaned close to Hualing, embraced her leg, and looked up at her, “You smell really good.”
Hualing’s eyes flashed with an unpredictable expression, but then she smiled again, ’Really? What do you smell like?’
A woman next to her suddenly came over, took the little girl away, and apologetically bowed to Hualing: ‘Sorry, the child is being difficult and has delayed your time.’
Hualing smiled and waved her hand: ‘No, you are the one who is overstating it.’
The little girl suddenly opened her mother’s hand again, took a few steps to Hualing, took out a small tangerine from her pocket, held it up with both hands, and handed it to Hualing: ‘Sister, this is for you. Daddy planted the tangerines, they are very sweet.’
Hua Ling took the tangerine from the girl’s hand, put it in her sleeve, and then patted her head: ‘Thank you!’
‘Hey, Hua Ling, if you don’t hurry up, I won’t wait for you anymore,’ Jiang Yu called out to Hua Ling from afar.
Hua Ling gave a quick response while smiling at the girl, and quickly caught up.
The man led Hua Ling and the other two up to a stilt house. ‘You three can stay here for now. Tong Qing’s room is just across the hall. If you need anything, just let me know. This place isn’t as good as the city, but the basic necessities are all here. You can unpack first, and then come to my house for dinner later.’
Jiang Yu wanted to say no, but Hua Ling stood in front of him without saying a word, stopping him in time.
Hua Ling thanked the man again, and the man waved his hand: ‘I’ll come and pick you up later.’
Hua Ling closed the door.
‘Ah… it’s back.’ As soon as Qingyang entered the room, he collapsed in a chair.
There was a kettle on the table, and Qingyang lifted the lid to see that it was full of water.
‘You’ve really thought of everything.’ Qingyang took a teacup that was hooked onto the table, turned it over, poured the water and was about to bring it to his lips.
Hualing snatched the teacup out of his hands.
‘Ah, Hualing, what are you doing? I’ve been working so hard, and you won’t even let me have a sip of water?’
Jiang Yu laughed coldly with his arms folded, shaking his head: ‘You’re so stupid.’
Qingyang was furious, slapping the table: ‘Stupid Sword, what did you say?!’
Jiang Yu snorted, too lazy to bother with him, and walked over to the window to observe the situation outside.
Hua Ling silently took a talisman out of his bosom and slowly immersed it in the water.
The water surface suddenly fluctuated for a moment, and then the water gradually turned black…until it turned completely black, a black object suddenly leaped out of the water and fell on the table, and then struggled to crawl over the edge of the wooden table. As soon as the object emerged from the water, the water returned to its clear state. Hua Ling ‘snap’ stuck another talisman on the object, which struggled for a while, and then slowly stopped moving.
A circle was drawn in vermilion in the centre of the paper charm. The object on the table slowly floated up, passed through the paper and floated to the top of the paper, finally stopping in the circle and not moving.
The object was about half the size of a small fingernail, shiny and black all over, and seemed to have many pairs of tiny legs.
Qingyang was horrified: ‘What is this thing?’
Jiang Yu walked over from the window at this time and nodded to Hua Ling, ‘There are probably five surveillance points, but no one is patrolling at the moment. I have set up a barrier inside the house.’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘Thank you for your hard work. On the importance of lifting the ban—I have been relieved since you have become stronger and your intelligence has improved.’
Jiang Yu suddenly exploded, ‘What do you mean by your intelligence has improved?!’
Hua Ling ignored him and turned back to answer Qing Yang’s question, ‘This is a gourd insect.’
Qing Yang:!!!
Hua Ling comforted him understandingly: ‘No wonder you haven’t seen it before. I don’t think the demons have this kind of nonsense. The art of raising gui began in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period and is an evil technique unique to the Chinese mainland. It’s normal that you haven’t seen it before.’
Qingyang: ‘…I was feeling hungry a moment ago, but now I can’t eat anything.’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘Go to the Secret Records of the Three Realms and take whatever you want to eat. There’s no shortage there. Just hurry up.’
Qingyang thought for a moment and said, ‘I’ll go draw some water.’ After that, he disappeared.
Jiang Yu sat down in front of Hualing and said, ‘This village is full of strange things.’
Hualing nodded and said, ‘No wonder I haven’t heard from Tongqing. I think he’s long gone missing.’

☆、第37札

Jiang Yu sat down in front of Hualing and said, ’This village is full of strange things.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘No wonder I haven’t heard from Tongqing. He must have disappeared a long time ago.’
Jiang Yu: ‘In your opinion, is this related to the loose seal?’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘I can’t say. Let’s observe for a while.’
While they were talking, Qingyang had already emerged from the book world.
Hua Ling: ‘That was quick.’
Qingyang opened Hua Ling’s backpack and poured in the freshly picked peaches, oranges and apples.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
He wiped the sweat from his brow and, from somewhere, produced a large bottle of water, which he handed to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling: ‘Ahem, you’ve worked hard, so drink first.’
Qingyang said, ‘I’ve already had enough by the river. I got this especially for you.’
Hua Ling: ‘…So you really are very fast.’ She had only just spoken a few words to Jiang Yu…and for some reason, the image of a young boy rising after guzzling water by the river and knocking down a pile of fruit with one blow appeared in her mind…
Qingyang bowed, ‘You flatter me.’
Jiang Yu: ‘… I really can’t tell if this is a compliment.’
The fruit is stuffed… like it’s been starving for a month…
Right… fruit.
Jiang Yu suddenly looked at Hualing and said, ‘What did that girl just give you?’
Hualing smiled, ‘Yes, good reminder.’
She took out the tangerine she got from the little girl from her pocket.
At some point, it had been wrapped in a layer of talismanic paper.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘Again, it’s a curse?’
Hua Ling nodded and placed the tangerine on the table: ‘Xiao Yu, I’ll borrow your sword energy.’
Jiang Yu understood, and with a finger, he made a slash in the air, and the tangerine, along with the paper, was split in half.
A green jade-coloured bug, about twice the size of a silkworm, slowly crawled out of the flesh of the fruit. It was affected by the spell and was moving quite slowly.
Qingyang curiously came forward: ‘What is this?’
Hua Ling: ‘I have seen this kind of insect in books before. It is called the green-blooded insect. This kind of insect parasitises in the human body and feeds on human blood. The larvae are invisible to the human eye, so it is convenient for the practitioner to cast the spell. I used a charm to make it visible. Now you can see that it is the colour of emerald jade, which means it is still a larva. When it turns completely red, it will have grown into an adult. The adult is also called the ‘red blood worm’, and it will burrow into a person’s brain and eat away their brain matter until there is nothing left, turning the host into a ‘living dead’ that can be used by the person who cast the spell.”
After Hua Ling finished speaking, he took out another talisman and placed it “snap” on top of the green blood worm. As before, the worm was sealed within the vermillion circle on the talisman.
Qingyang had been very close, but now he unconsciously took three steps back: ‘That’s disgusting. Something so evil, I can’t believe it was thought up by a mortal.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘So there’s a saying that the human heart is the most terrifying thing.’
Qingyang frowned: ‘I never thought that such a naive and cute little girl would use such a sinister trick so soon. You can’t judge a book by its cover.’
Hua Ling sighed: ‘I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you. I don’t think the “little girl” is a little girl.’
This time even Jiang Yu could no longer remain calm and interrupted, ‘What do you mean?’
Hua Ling: ‘I heard that there is an ancient method in the Miao region of raising a human to be a ghouli. Every few decades, the tribe will designate a few girls and raise them with ghouli from birth. They call these girls “human ghouli”. Because this method is extremely vicious and cruel, the power gained after success is many times more powerful than ordinary ghouli. However, because these girls feed the insects their bodies, their bodies are destroyed by the insects for many years, so they will never grow up and will always remain small children.”
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: “You suspect that the girl just now was…”
Hua Ling nodded: ’Although she spoke and acted like a little girl, her eyes carried the vicissitudes and cunning of an adult. Of course, this alone is not enough to draw a conclusion. However… in the short few minutes we met her, she successively placed three kinds of insect on me.’
Jiang Yu: !!!
Qingyang was eating an orange and choked, his neck veins bulging, staring at Hualing with bulging eyes.
Hualing shrugged: ‘Like you, I didn’t notice at first.’
Jiang Yu had already stepped next to Hualing: ‘Where did you get it? Let me see?’
Qingyang also jumped off the chair, looking at Hualing helplessly
Hua Ling laughed, ‘Don’t worry, nothing has happened yet. Do you remember the first thing she did when she met us?’
Jiang Yu immediately responded, ‘You mean…she cast the spell the moment she ran into you?’
Hua Ling avoided Jiang Yu’s hand that tried to reach out to feel, ‘Be careful. Don’t come into direct contact with me, I’m afraid you’ll catch the spell too.’
Jiang Yu frowned, ‘I’m not afraid of that, that thing is over there, I’ll crush them one by one.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘A gubug is not just any ordinary insect. Once you’ve been enchanted, as long as the spell hasn’t been undone, the gubug will never go away.’
Hua Ling rolled up his pant leg and showed the two men—they could see a strange, blood-red mark on the fair skin of his ankle, like a tattoo, curling and extending, as if it were gradually crawling upwards.
Jiang Yu’s brows furrowed even more tightly, and a hint of anxiety crept into his voice: ‘What is this? !’
Hua Ling sighed: ‘I don’t know. I haven’t studied the art of enchantment in depth. I used magic to suppress it for now, hoping to buy some time to figure out a solution. I was careless. I’m still a mortal in this state, and if I’m not careful, I’ll fall prey to these evil ways.’
Jiang Yu crouched down and took hold of her ankle. Hua Ling was shocked and immediately tried to back away, but Jiang Yu firmly held her foot in her hand, preventing her from escaping.
Hua Ling: ‘What are you doing? I told you not to touch me!’
Jiang Yu ignored her and reached out his hand, gently covering the skin that had been bewitched – a fluorescent blue light wrapped around Hua Ling’s ankle, and then slowly seeped into the skin, forming a pale blue circle around the vermillion lines.
Hua Ling froze for a moment, and then said, ‘Your magic has also returned.’
Jiang Yu looked up at her and said seriously, ‘You haven’t recovered yet, so don’t try to use magic again. I’ll be by your side, so you can leave it to me.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu was afraid that she would try to be brave, so he added, ‘Trust me.’
Hua Ling came back to her senses and gave a small smile, ‘Of course I trust you. Well, I’ll entrust my life to you.’
Jiang Yu coughed uneasily, turned her face away, and said in a muffled voice, ‘Well.’
Qingyang: ‘…’ Damn it, do you not see me here?
Jiang Yu remained in the crouched position, looking up at Hua Ling: ‘You said there were three kinds of curses? What else?’
Hua Ling rummaged in her pocket and took out a crystal of ice: ‘Here, this is it. She tried to leave it on me before she left. I was already on my guard against her, so I didn’t let her get away with it.’
Inside the crystal of ice was a strange insect that looked like a spider. It was strange because although it looked like a spider, it had five pairs of abdominal feet and a black stripe on its ice-blue body.
Even during the few minutes of explanation, Qingyang felt creepy, and his back was cold from time to time. ‘What is this… what is it this time?’
Hua Ling placed the mysterious ice on the table: ‘This is called ice silkworm poison. This is not as dangerous as the previous green blood poison, and it is probably not as strong as the unknown poison I have. The person who has been infected with the parasite will be infected with a cold poison, which will strike once every night. When it strikes, it is like falling into an ice cellar, and the coldness penetrates to the bone marrow. This kind of parasite seems to be generally used for things like extorting confessions and collecting debts…‘
Qingyang: “…You call this not dangerous?”
’Knock, knock, knock…’ There was a sudden knock on the door.

☆, Chapter 39

Jiang Yu got up to open the door, and sure enough, the man was standing there.
The man rubbed his hands together and looked slightly embarrassed, ‘Dinner is ready. Are you guys packed? Shall we go to my place now?’
Jiang Yu turned his head and exchanged a silent look with Hua Ling.
Hua Ling got up and walked to the door, smiling at the man, ‘Thank you. Oh, yes, I came in such a hurry that I didn’t have time to introduce myself. My name is Hua Ling.’
She pointed to Jiang Yu beside her and said, ‘This is my husband, Jiang Yu.’
She waved at Qingyang at the table and said, ‘Yangyang, come here.’
Jiang Yu and Qingyang both got goose bumps.
But Qingyang obediently ran over to Hualing, hugged her leg, looked up at the man, half innocent, half curious.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling patted Qingyang on the head and said, ‘Say hello to your uncle.’
Qingyang looked up, smiled shyly, and said softly, ‘Hello, uncle.’
Jiang Yu looked at him indifferently as he pretended to be good, completely speechless.
The man seemed to find Qingyang cute, and squatted down, wanting to pinch his face. Qingyang quickly hid behind Hua Ling.
The man’s hand awkwardly froze in mid-air.
Hua Ling smiled apologetically, ‘Sorry, the child is a bit shy.’
The man stood up and rubbed his hands together. ‘Haha, your son is really cute. By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tong Yiming.’
Jiang Yu’s gaze fell on his hands, wondering what he was thinking.
Hua Ling, on the other hand, naturally reached out and shook his hand: ‘Thank you for your care.’
As the few of them were just walking down from the stilt house, they met a middle-aged woman hurrying over, her face full of anxiety: ‘Village chief, it’s bad…’
Tong Yiming waved his hand and said sternly: ‘What is it? Don’t panic.’
The middle-aged woman paused for a moment, looked at Hualing and Jiang Yu, who were following Tong Yiming, and looked hesitant.
Hualing and Jiang Yu glanced at each other.
Hualing said, ‘Tong… Village Chief, we’ll wait for you up ahead.’
Hualing picked up Qingyang, who had been holding her hand, and walked forward. Jiang Yu, expressionless, quickly snatched Qingyang from her and held him in her arms. It really was a case of ‘snatching’.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Qingyang pursed his lips and, without hesitation, let out a cry of ‘mama, hug.’
Hua Ling was on the verge of putting her hands on her forehead. Give me a break, she thought to herself. Do the big and the little not find the current situation complicated enough…they just know how to make trouble.
Fortunately, the village chief Tong soon finished talking to the middle-aged woman and walked over to them. The two, who had been on the verge of a fight, immediately returned to their acting roles.
Hua Ling looked thoughtfully at the middle-aged woman’s back as she hurriedly left.
Tong Yiming walked over and said, ‘Sorry to keep you waiting.’
Hua Ling shook his head and said, ‘You’re the one who is the village chief, you’re too polite. I didn’t realise you were the village chief, you don’t have any airs and graces.’
Tong Yiming let out a hearty laugh. ‘It’s all because the villagers think highly of me. You don’t need to be formal, just call me Brother Tong or Yiming.’
Tong Yiming’s family consisted of four people. The white-haired old man sitting at the entrance of the village was Tong Yiming’s father. There was also Tong Yiming’s wife and son.
The few of them sat around the small dining table eating. The lights in the hall flickered due to the unstable voltage, giving the feeling that it was about to die.
Hua Ling noticed that this family was quiet and reserved. Tong Yiming’s wife, son and father barely spoke to each other, apart from the brief greeting they exchanged when they entered the room. At first, Qingyang tried to tease Tong Yiming’s son, but when he discovered that no matter what he did, whether it was making faces or talking to him, the boy just stared at him with big, dark eyes, he gave up.
At the dinner table, only Tong Yiming was chatting with Hualing and the others, while the remaining three just ate in silence. The atmosphere was not awkward, but it always felt a bit strange.
Hualing suddenly remembered something and said, ‘Brother Tong, I want to ask, do you know what Tong Qing went to do? When will he be back?’
Tong Yiming paused for a moment and said, ‘He didn’t say specifically. He said he might be gone for about ten or fifteen days. It’s unfortunate that you arrived just a few days after he left.’
Hua Ling nodded with a hint of regret: ‘In that case, we’ll just have to wait until he returns.’
Tong Yiming looked at her for a moment, then suddenly asked, ‘What is it that you want with him this time?’
Hua Ling took in his expression, and after a moment of thought, she said, ‘Well, to be honest, I’m a doctor. Tong Qing sent word to me earlier, saying that a strange disease had been discovered in Tongjiacun, and asking me to come and take a look. I’m ashamed that I’ve only found the time now.’
Hua Ling observed the expressions of Tong Yiming’s family carefully as she spoke, and noticed that when she said ‘strange disease,’ Tong Yiming’s wife had involuntarily hugged the child in her arms tighter. Ever since entering the village, she had noticed an incongruity in the village, but she was not sure what it was because she had not investigated it. However…based on her previous experiences of being haunted, Tong Qing’s unexplained disappearance, and Tong Yiming’s distracted expression, she had some initial guesses.
Sure enough, after Hualing said this, Tong Yiming was silent for a moment. ‘Well, half a year ago, there was indeed a strange epidemic in the village… We have asked local doctors and doctors from the provincial capital to come and take a look… But none of them could find the cause of the disease…’
Jiang Yu suddenly glanced at Hualing, his eyes clearly saying, ‘You got it right.’
Hualing nodded: ‘Can you tell me more about the situation? Are there any patients in the village? I think I can go take a look.’
Tong Yiming’s expression showed a trace of extremely hard-to-detect struggle, but he quickly covered it up.
He smiled and said, ‘It’s rare for Doctor Hua to bother to make this trip. The reason I said it was an epidemic…is that the disease did become epidemic for a while, but after the autumn, the situation was brought under control. It’s strange to say, but the disease came quickly and went quickly as well.’
Hua Ling paused, then nodded in agreement, ‘Oh, that’s indeed possible.’
Apparently, the negotiations had broken down. Hua Ling felt a little regret in her heart, and she exchanged a glance with Jiang Yu without saying a word.
She had wanted to resolve the matter peacefully, but now it seemed that was no longer possible.
Just then…
‘Bang!’
Without warning, Qingyang suddenly fell headfirst onto the table without making a sound.
“Yangyang!’
Hua Ling anxiously got up, wanting to check on Qingyang’s condition. However, as soon as she stood up, she felt dizzy and started to spin… She quickly put her hand on the table to support herself.
She turned her head and stared at Tong Yiming with disbelief on her face, ‘You… all…’
Before she could finish her sentence, she also collapsed unconscious, just like Qingyang.
Jiang Yu obviously lasted a little longer than them. He struggled to support his body and moved next to Hua Ling to check on his condition.
Tong Yiming had already risen and walked expressionlessly up to them, looking down at Jiang Yu, who was kneeling on the ground.
Jiang Yu stood in front of Hua Ling, looked up at him, and with difficulty asked, ‘Why?’
‘I’m sorry,’
he said, only three words.
Jiang Yu finally couldn’t hold on any longer and fell into a darkness…
“Village Chief, are you sending them over now?’
‘Yes, immediately tell Wu Zi and Ah Xiang to set off, and make sure they return before dark.‘
’This isn’t a solution that will last forever…‘
’It’s better to delay things for a while…if it’s really not possible…‘
’Hey…at least we don’t have to choose a new sacrifice this month.‘
’If anyone is to blame…it’s just your bad luck.‘
…
’Dripping…’ The sound of water dripping onto the ground was exceptionally clear in the empty, long and silent cave.
Jiang Yu gently cut the thick rope binding Hua Ling’s hands and feet, and helped her sit up from the ground.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling’s face, lifted his hand and gently wiped the dirt on her cheeks, and then stopped at a small cut made by something or someone.
“Tsk, these bastards, I’ll deal with them one by one later,’
Hua Ling was amused by his serious expression and patted him on the head: ‘Don’t get the wrong person to clean up.’
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu sighed and turned his gaze to the depths of the cave.
Hua Ling followed his gaze and looked over: ‘What heavy miasma…and evil energy.’
Hua Ling suddenly glanced aside and said to the ‘mushroom’ crouching over there, ‘Qingyang, what are you doing?’
Qingyang turned around and held up a white object in his hand for Hua Ling to see.
Hua Ling: !
‘What is this…’
It was a Qing Dynasty copper coin. Tong Qing was a demon, and his true body was the number of Tongbao coins. Hua Ling recognised at once that this was the coin on his body.
Hua Ling took the coin from Qing Yang’s hand, her face turning grave. ‘This belongs to Tong Qing. He must have discovered the changes here early in the morning and wanted to warn me, but he didn’t make it in time…’
Hua Ling said this, and slowly…she squeezed the copper coin in her hand. The force was so great that she didn’t feel her fingernails piercing her palm. Bright red blood dripped onto the ground drop by drop along her knuckles…
Qing Yang looked up at her worriedly, ‘Hua Ling…’
Jiang Yu walked silently over to her, took her hand, slowly but firmly opened her fingers, and then held her hand: ‘Don’t worry, maybe the situation isn’t as bad as you think…’
Hua Ling lowered her head: ‘I’m sorry… I’ve lost my temper. I’m the one who told him to stay here no matter what. If only I could… contact him earlier…’
‘It’s not your fault. It happened so suddenly, who could have predicted it.’ Jiang Yu hesitated, gently placing a hand on Hua Ling’s head, ‘We’ll go find him now.’
Hua Ling nodded, taking the copper coins into her bosom.
The author has something to say: First update

☆, Chapter 40

‘By the way, Hua Ling, was what Tong’s family served really poison or a kind of insect?’ Qingyang couldn’t help but ask, curious. Hua Ling had already predicted that the meal would be a trap before they left, so the three of them had already taken antidote pills beforehand, and Jiang Yu had also released a barrier around them beforehand to keep the insects away.
‘Medicine. It’s a little more powerful than normal sleeping pills,’ Hua Ling replied, “but they really do have unavoidable reasons.”
And from the first bite of the meal, Hua Ling noticed, and signalled Jiang Yu and Qingyang with her eyes, playing along with the villagers. On the one hand, don’t alert the enemy, and on the other hand, this will also quickly and smoothly get to the source of the incident, saving a lot of trouble.
‘Why are you still defending them?’ Qingyang couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t be as calm as Hualing, who had been tricked and was still so composed. All he wanted now was to beat Tong to a pulp.
Hualing shook her head. ’If he really wanted to torture us, he could have just released some poisonous insects, just like the insect girl before. In this village, if I’m not mistaken, everyone knows how to use insects, not to mention that he is the village chief.’
Qingyang: ‘But…but he also drugged us! And now he’s left us here to be fed to…whatever that monster is.’
Hua Ling said: ‘That’s why I said he had no choice. Didn’t you hear him say something about a sacrifice? Put yourself in his shoes. The lives of an entire village are in his hands. Think about it. Sacrificing a few people can save most of the others. If you were him, what would you choose?’
Qingyang shrugged: ‘Okay.’
Hua Ling waved her hand, summoning the lantern demons. This time, she summoned five at once. Just from the concentration of miasma at the cave entrance, one could tell the level of the threat they were about to face. Hua Ling dared not be careless. The cave was dark and lightless, with the enemy in the dark and them in the light. This time, they must be able to see every situation without blind spots.
‘Hua Ling,’ Jiang Yu suddenly took her arm, looking at her sternly, ‘you promised me not to act recklessly.’
Hua Ling looked up at him: ‘I didn’t. We don’t know who our opponents are this time. It’s always good to be careful. Don’t worry, I haven’t messed with the magic. These little monsters have always been by my side on standby, I just called them out, it doesn’t cost any mana.’
Jiang Yu looked at her with a face of obvious disbelief.
Hua Ling sighed: ‘Don’t worry. I still need to save my strength to unseal you, how would I mess around.’
Jiang Yu suddenly pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. ‘I’m not worried about that, you know that.’
Hua Ling was surprised. This was the first time Jiang Yu had explicitly revealed his feelings, and for the first time, he clearly made her feel his strong unease.
Hua Ling did not hesitate, wrapping her arms around Jiang Yu’s broad back. ‘I’m sorry.’
Jiang Yu trembled slightly, and then heard Hua Ling whisper, ‘I’m sorry for making you worry so much.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling looked up at Jiang Yu’s handsome face, which was close at hand, and said, ‘I won’t mess around this time. You can trust me.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a moment, and finally sighed like she had conceded. She lowered her head and buried it in her hair, mumbling, ‘I believe you.’
‘Ahem… you two…’
Qing Yang rolled his eyes next to them.
“Have you forgotten that I’m not the only one watching?’
Jiang Yu let go of Hua Ling, paid no attention to Qingyang, and took Hua Ling’s hand and walked forward.
Hua Ling walked past Qingyang and patted his shoulder: ‘Don’t be a child, hurry up and follow.’
Qingyang was infuriated and stamped his foot. Damn it, sooner or later I’ll show this stupid sword what for. Hmph, revenge is a dish best served cold. Qingyang cursed in his heart, but quickly followed behind.
The further they went into the cave, the thicker the miasma became.
Jiang Yu turned to look at her and asked, ‘Can you still bear it?’ Qingyang was a demon, and he was the sword spirit, so neither of them were afraid of the miasma. However, Hua Ling was, after all, a mortal.
Hua Ling nodded, ‘It’s fine. As long as you have your barrier, this miasma can’t get close to me.’
As soon as he finished speaking, something broke the air and flew straight at Hua Ling.
Jiang Yu’s expression hardened, and he stepped in front of Hua Ling. He saw the cold light of Yuanyuan Sword flash, and the thing was split in half from the middle, falling to the ground. It wriggled a few times, and then slowly stopped moving.
Qingyang covered his nose and took a closer look: ‘It stinks, what is this thing?’
He saw the thing on the ground that had been split open, which looked like a giant caterpillar. The purple-black skin had strange white spots on it, and it was about a metre long and as wide as two adult men’s arms. From its split open belly, there were still purple-black small meat worms of different sizes coming out…
Qingyang only took one look and ran back to Hualing’s side, dragging her hand, ‘Hurry up. I’m going to throw up.’
Hua Ling teased, ‘Who told you to look? This is what happens when curiosity kills the cat.’
Qing Yang: ‘…I’m not a cat.’
Jiang Yu shook the sword lightly in his hands to get rid of the juice that had dripped onto it, and then sheathed the sword. Then he looked indifferently into the depths of the cave.
Hua Ling: ‘That thing has probably already noticed us. It’s probably just testing our strength.’
Jiang Yu nodded and commented with four words: ‘crafty.’
Hua Ling saw Qingyang’s pale face and couldn’t help but tease him, ‘What’s wrong? A bug scared you like that?’
Qingyang fidgeted and plucked at his hair, ‘Geez, I hate bugs.’
‘Why don’t you just go back to the book?’ Hua Ling tentatively suggested.
‘Do you take me for someone who would run away from a fight?’ Qingyang was unhappy.
Hua Ling: ‘…’ In fact, she really was just making a well-intentioned suggestion, not trying to provoke a reaction. But judging by the result…
After saying this, Qingyang took the lead and rushed to the front: ‘You two, if you walk too slowly, I’ll leave without you!’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘Take care, I won’t see you off.’
Qingyang: ‘You!’
Jiang Yu suddenly said solemnly, ‘Here it comes!’
Qingyang was quick to react. As soon as Jiang Yu finished speaking, Qingyang turned around and sent a burst of cold air from his palm…
The poisonous spider, which had instantly been frozen into ice, fell clumsily to the ground with a loud noise.
This was the first time Jiang Yu had seen Qingyang fight, and he was very neat and tidy, without any hesitation.
‘Not bad,’ was a genuine compliment.
Qingyang snorted, “If I wasn’t in this condition, I could fight you and it would be hard to say who would win.”
Jiang Yu said disdainfully, “You? It’s still a thousand years too early. Compliments just make you arrogant.”
Hua Ling groaned, ’Please, I beg you, don’t start a fight at a time like this.’
The spider was obviously much larger than the caterpillar.
Hua Ling sighed as he looked at the corpse of the spider: ‘It’s not going to keep playing with us like this, is it?’
His words came true.
Poisonous spiders, poisonous centipedes, poisonous scorpions, poisonous toads, poisonous worms…
They had been walking in these winding caves for almost half an hour. There were many branches and paths, and they had to be on the lookout for poisonous insects and beasts that appeared from nowhere at any time. They could not relax for a moment, and it was really…very annoying.
Even Hualing was impatient. When would this end? Just come out and fight us directly. No…just come out and accept being beaten up by the group.
Jiang Yu suddenly stopped the two of them: ‘There’s a big guy up ahead.’
Hua Ling gave a ‘hmm’ in response: ‘I can feel it.’
‘Wow—’ From the other end of the cave came the sound of a baby crying.
But it wasn’t like an ordinary baby’s cry. It felt like the release of pent-up energy, a cry that was neither crying nor not crying, and in the midst of the cry there seemed to be a hint of mockery. It made those who heard it shudder and their hearts ache.
‘Umm…’ Hua Ling’s face changed, and she suddenly said, “Block your ears, don’t listen to his crying!”
Jiang Yu Qingyang immediately sealed his hearing after hearing Hua Ling’s words.
Jiang Yu turned his head and looked at Hua Ling, and said in sign language, “What’s wrong with you?”
The sound just now echoed in Hua Ling’s mind for a long time. After a moment, Hua Ling felt dizzy and nauseous. She quickly pinched a trick to calm her mind.
After calming her mind, she looked up and said to Jiang Yu in lip-reading as well: ‘The baby’s crying has the effect of disrupting the body’s internal balance system, which can lead to confusion in the five senses and the body, and hallucinations. You must be careful.’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘How do you feel now?’
Hua Ling nodded and said, ‘I’m fine. I’ve also sealed my hearing. This person in front of us is no ordinary person, so we must be careful.’
Jiang Yu patted her shoulder to show that she could rest assured.
The lantern demon’s light illuminated the passageway they were in. At the corner of the cave, a shadow gradually appeared on the wall and slowly crept towards them.
Jiang Yu and Qingyang each took a step forward, blocking Hua Ling’s path, waiting for the enemy to walk right into their trap.
When the creature turned the corner and actually appeared in front of them, the three of them had really mixed feelings.
What came face-to-face with them was a smiling face, a huge smiling face that could almost block the entire passage. And, to be precise, it was the smiling face of a baby. The two eyes that were crescent-shaped, as well as the wide crescent-shaped mouth, exhaled and inhaled, and a strange black gas kept rising from it. There were no eyebrows or nose. The bald head is so shiny that it could be used as a mirror. The strangest thing is that there is a small human-like object poking out of the top of the creature’s head, but it is too far away to see clearly at the moment. He slowly crawls past the hole/cave turn – first two hands, then the torso, then two more hands! Finally, there are the legs. This creature has four hands.
Qingyang grimaced, ‘I want to vomit now.’
The author has something to say: second update

☆, Chapter 41

Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘You’d better hold on, and improve your psychological endurance at the same time. Otherwise, I don’t think you’ll last until you reach this guy’s boss, and you’ll already be on the ground.’
The monster, which could no longer be called a baby, suddenly stopped in place when it saw the three of Hua Ling.
However, the monster’s movements only stopped for three seconds. Because three seconds later, the thing suddenly disappeared from its original location.
Jiang Yu turned around and hugged Hua Ling, and instantly slid backwards ten metres. Qingyang also reacted instantly, but he chose to hang upside down from the cave ceiling, relying on his current small stature.
A large pit was smashed out where the three of them had been standing—of course it was the monster’s doing. He was struggling to pull his big, flat face out of the dusty giant pit.
‘Thank you,‘
Hua Ling said in sign language, although Jiang Yu might not be able to see it, he was paying full attention to the movements of the monster.
’No need,”
Jiang Yu’s voice suddenly appeared directly in Hua Ling’s mind.
Hua Ling looked up and saw a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. Yes, there is nothing to recover from. As his magic power recovers, naturally he will remember more and more spells.
‘This guy is fast, and doesn’t seem to play by the rules. I want to seal his movements before he acts,‘
Jiang Yu’s voice continued in her head.
Hua Ling nodded, she fully agreed with Jiang Yu’s tactics. Against an enemy like this, you have to strike first.
Jiang Yu put her down.
’Don’t fight if you’re not healed. Stay away and protect yourself.”
Hua Ling smiled, ’Okay.’
From the bottom of the sword, a surge of sword energy suddenly arose, and the sword body, as a result of the enhancement of the sword intent, emitted a clear dragon’s roar.
Dozens, or even hundreds, of sword energies pierced the air and nailed the giant infant, who had just raised his head, to the ground.
The giant infant felt the pain, blinked blankly, and then suddenly let out a shrill scream—
…
Hua Ling wanted to swear.
It was a moment so intense that it was not an exaggeration to describe it as the earth cracking and the sky collapsing. The mountain rocks were shattered together, from the ground to the cave walls to the cave ceiling, nothing was spared. Countless boulders, rocks, and pebbles rained down like a rain of plums… And the giant baby was also able to move again thanks to the fracturing energy of the entire ground, although it was still pierced with countless sword pillars formed from sword energy.
Hua Ling dodged aside to avoid the falling boulders, but he was still covered in dust—perhaps that was the source of his foul language.
Qing Yang, who had also been shaken off his feet, ran over to Hua Ling, patting the dust off his head and body as he looked up at Hua Ling, ‘Hua Ling, are you okay?’
Hua Ling looked down at him, squinting, ‘I’m fine. But are you slacking off?’
Qingyang said with righteous indignation, ‘I came over to protect you!’
Hua Ling looked at him without saying anything.
Under his stern gaze, Qingyang finally smiled awkwardly, ‘I’m not just watching, it seems like there’s no room for me to intervene.’
Hua Ling sighed, ‘Forget it…’
Qingyang: ‘…
Qingyang was depressed. He had actually told the truth, and Jiang Yu didn’t seem like someone who would cooperate. If he joined in at this time, it might even disrupt the other person’s formation.
Hua Ling looked at his dejected appearance with amusement and reached out to pat him on the head: ‘I understand. Then I look forward to your performance.’
Qing Yang instantly perked up: ‘Of course!’
Seeing that his first strike had failed, Jiang Yu immediately gave the monster a second strike – it entered from the top of Yuan from the giant baby, passed through his jaw, directly piercing his entire face, and then dug deeply into the ground. The force was so great that it firmly closed his entire mouth and pinned it shut – you know how to use sonic attacks? Then seal your mouth.
Hua Ling couldn’t help but applaud when he saw this. The entire operation, from tactical changes to implementation, was completed in an instant without a moment’s hesitation.
However, just then, the thing that looked like a puppet on the top of the giant baby suddenly let out a sinister laugh of ‘jiejiejiejie’, and it suddenly came out of the giant baby’s body. As it came out of the giant baby’s body, the huge body suddenly shrank rapidly as if it had lost air, and finally turned into a thin skin.
Hua Ling’s expression tightened, and he secretly thought, ‘This is bad.’
‘Jiang Yu, be careful! The ‘puppet’ is the real body of the giant infant.”
However, the puppet suddenly turned around and darted towards Hua Ling like an arrow…
Hua Ling was about to seal the formation with his fingers when Qingyang suddenly transformed into his original form and blocked in front of Hua Ling. With a beastly roar, he slammed a paw at the flying puppet…
Under the tremendous force, the puppet was slammed into the side of the rock wall.
‘Well done,’ Jiang Yu arrived shortly afterwards, “Help me buy ten seconds. This thing has really annoyed me.”
Qingyang didn’t waste any words, and let out a “woof” to show that he understood. Of course, since he was in the form of a beast, all the words he could say would be a roar, nothing more.
Jiang Yu gathered his energy—a ball of black flames gradually rose from the palm of his hand…
The puppet seemed to sense danger and struggled with all its might to escape from the rock wall…
However, Qingyang smashed it back into another pit with a slap…
Hua Ling couldn’t help but put a hand to his forehead: ‘It’s like beating up a child.’
Jiang Yu had already formed the black fire in his hand. He said, ‘Go,’ and the black flame, as if it had legs of its own, rushed straight at the puppet in the wall.
The moment the black flames touched the puppet, it suddenly let out a shrill scream, and then slowly began to be enveloped in the flames, until it was burnt to the point where not even ash was left.
Jiang Yu was about to withdraw his palm indifferently, but Hua Ling, who had come forward, caught it.
Hua Ling: ‘Your hand…eh?’
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of being burnt by the flames on the smooth palm.
Jiang Yu’s low laugh could be heard.
Hua Ling was stunned for a moment, and then said, ‘You can already summon magic fire with ease?’
Jiang Yu nodded, and there was a hint of smugness in his eyes.
Hua Ling’s eyes also expressed joy, ‘That’s great. You’ve recovered faster than I expected.’
Qingyang had already returned to his childlike appearance, and he pouted, ‘Hmph, so what?’
Hua Ling heard his grumbling complaint and laughed, patting Qingyang on the head: ‘You’ve been very good today.’
Qingyang pushed Hua Ling’s hand away and glared at him: ‘Don’t treat me like a child just because you’re used to seeing me like this.’
‘Are you angry? Why?’
Hua Ling was a little taken aback. Qingyang rarely got angry with her like this.
Qingyang frowned and turned his head away: ‘Let’s go.’
Hua Ling was a little embarrassed: ‘What’s wrong with him?’
Jiang Yu glanced at Qingyang walking in front of him and didn’t say anything.
Hua Ling shook his head helplessly and said, ‘Forget it, there’s no time for that now. Let’s solve the problem at hand first. By the way, do you think the thing that just came out could be the little boss?’
While Hua Ling was asking, Jiang Yu had already walked over to the shriveled corpse of the demon baby and knelt down to take a look…
After listening to Hua Ling’s half-joking question, Jiang Yu did not pick up on the hint, but instead changed the subject directly: ‘Hua Ling, the person who manipulated the Gu Ying just now… was using puppet techniques.’
Hua Ling walked over to him and fell silent for a moment: ‘…I know.’
Qingyang noticed that the two had stopped by the corpse of the baby demon, and as he didn’t want to continue alone, he returned silently.
Jiang Yu shifted his gaze away from the baby demon, stood up, and looked down at Hua Ling’s eyes. ‘Hua Ling, have you noticed that this thing…’
‘The true appearance of this thing… is a real human baby, right?’ Hua Ling completed Jiang Yu’s unfinished sentence.
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘That’s right. As soon as that doll left the baby doll, I felt that something was wrong… Now it seems… the feel of the skin, the size of the bones, and the aura of this thing… it is indeed the child of an ordinary human. I just don’t know… what method was used to make it a baby doll.’
Hua Ling’s eyes flashed with cold light, and the emotions of anger that she could not hide welled up in her eyes. She had heard about the process of making a gu ying in her early years…The process can be described as inhumane, and the cruelty of the methods is beyond imagination.
Jiang Yu pondered, ‘I now suspect that those who were captured may not have been used as “sacrifices” at all, to be eaten and so on…’
Hua Ling looked grave: ‘We’re thinking the same thing. Maybe they’re being used as an “army”… or maybe not.’
Qingyang’s expression changed, and he became fully engrossed, his ears standing on end.
Hua Ling suddenly glanced back at him: ‘Oh, aren’t you angry anymore?’
Qingyang: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Why does my mind jump like that?
Hua Ling turned back to the topic: ‘Back to the topic. I feel that this incident may not be as simple as the Demon Source.’
Jiang Yu and Qingyang: ‘…’ They couldn’t understand a face change in a second.
Hua Ling pondered for a moment: ‘That said, can you feel the movement of the Demon Source? I feel that the power of the seal has not weakened…’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Indeed it hasn’t. But the Demon Source here gives me a strange feeling… It’s different from before.’
Hua Ling paused: ‘Where is it different? Can you be more specific?’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘I can’t say.’
Hua Ling: ‘…If you feel something is wrong, let me know immediately, because you are the only one who can feel the subtle differences. For me, the only difference is whether the seal has weakened or not.’
Jiang Yu thought for a while and said: ‘How should I put it…I feel that just because the power of the seal has not weakened does not mean that the magic source has not awakened and moved. In that case…do you understand?’
Hua Ling: ‘I can only say that I understand the literal meaning. As for what is going on, I can only say that I have no idea.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Forget it, let’s take things one step at a time.’
Hua Ling stroked his chin: ‘Maybe, the one inside the cave knows the answer.’
Qingyang’s face turned dark: ‘You two, dare you be less reliable?’
The two of them turned their heads: ‘Do you have a more reliable suggestion?’
The author has something to say: Three o’clock~~

☆, Chapter 42

Qingyang looked at the two of them for a moment with unfathomable depth, and said a piece of nonsense: ‘If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you get the tiger cub?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling sternly lectured, ‘Qingyang, you are too dependent, which is detrimental to the development of your intelligence and physical strength.’
Qingyang: ‘…’, instantly reduced to a young man with two shortcomings.
Jiang Yu nodded in agreement, ‘Yes, you are not smart to begin with, and if you keep being so lazy, you will really become a pig.’
Qingyang glared at Jiang Yu angrily, ‘You——’
‘Cuckoo——cuckoo——’
A sound similar to that of small metal objects rolling and rubbing against each other resounded in the cave…
The three of them stopped talking and looked into the cave/hole/depths at the same time.
From the sound, they could deduce that the object was slowly approaching them at a strange slow speed… and that it was very light in weight and should not be larger than the size of a palm.
‘Ah! That’s enough!’ Qingyang said irritably. ‘It’s been two whole hours since we entered the cave! Two hours!!!
Hua Ling slowly arranged her dishevelled hair: ‘Indeed. It feels like a game. Like a game of a well-fed cat teasing a mouse. But…’
Hua Ling paused.
‘We are not mice. He will soon find out.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes were fixed on the mouth of the cave/cave bend, and his hand was on the surface of the abyss: ‘Here it comes.’
The gurgling sound got louder and louder.
Then what appeared in front of them was a copper coin.
‘Hualing!‘
Jiang Yu watched Hualing move and tried to call out to her. However, Hualing had already moved quickly to step on the coin, then picked it up from the ground.
’Hey, you’re not afraid of getting a curse now.”
Qingyang followed from behind, but after seeing what Hualing was holding, he automatically muted his voice.
Jiang Yu glanced at Hualing: ’This is also…on Tongqing?’
Hua Ling nodded without saying a word and took the coin into her bosom as well.
Cluck cluck –
cluck cluck cluck –
Soon there was a second and then a third coin, rolling over and over…
Qingyang: ‘…’
He could already feel the low pressure around him, the kind that makes you want to back away.
Hua Ling was tapped lightly on the left shoulder. She turned her head and met Jiang Yu’s gaze.
Hua Ling smiled for a moment, ‘I know what you want to say. Now that there is chaos, it is exactly what the other party wants.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, ‘Don’t worry. I’m here.’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘Let’s go. He is using Tongqing’s life to blackmail me, so he must want something. Let’s go meet the old guy and see what kind of tricks he is playing.’
Sure enough, the rest of the way was unimpeded.
Hua Ling and the others walked quietly along the winding cave for about fifteen minutes before stopping in front of a huge stone door.
Hua Ling looked up at the huge stone door, which was at least twenty metres high, and snorted, ‘Not a small feat. It’s quite a good disguise as a cave.’
Jiang Yu placed his hand on the door and looked at her sideways, ‘Are you ready?’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Anytime, anywhere.’
Qingyang stood on tiptoe next to her, trying to make himself look important: ‘Me too…’
‘Bang!’
The stone door made a loud crash.
One palm.
Just one palm on the door, and the huge stone door, which weighed more than a thousand gold coins, was slowly pushed open by Jiang Yu’s palm power.
Qingyang: ‘Hey… listen to what people are saying…’ Ah!!! This guy must have done it on purpose!!!
As the stone door slowly opened, an indescribable and strange smell overflowed from behind it…
Hua Ling took three steps back and covered her nose with her hands. Even with Jiang Yu’s enchantment protecting her, the smell was still so strong that it was hard to ignore.
What is this smell…
Hua Ling’s eyes flickered slightly, and suddenly she pulled out a small vial from her bag and poured out three light red pills, distributing them to Jiang Yu and Qingyang: ‘Swallow these quickly.’
The two men didn’t say much, and simply took the pills and swallowed them.
Jiang Yu looked down at Hua Ling: ‘I’m fine, but can you still handle it? This mixture of insect poison, miasma, and corpse poison, even with the protection of the enchantment, is still…’
Hua Ling shook the small vial in his hand: ‘If it weren’t for this situation, I would never have taken out my treasured item. Do you think this pill is easy to make? It takes a hundred years to make one. The three of us just used three seconds to swallow three hundred years. If we can’t resist this kind of bullshit poison, we would be ashamed of our title of “Divine Doctor”.’
Qingyang couldn’t help but complain in a low voice: ‘When did you become a Divine Doctor? Self-proclaimed?’
Hua Ling looked at him askance and said, ‘All I can say is that you don’t know me at all. This is really sad, raising you all these years for nothing.’
Qing Yang: ‘… First you were a young idiot, and now you’ve turned into a ungrateful brat!
’Creak!’ The stone door had opened completely, and now it had reached the corner, making a harsh sound as it rubbed against the wall.
Inside the suddenly opened door was a spacious hall.
The hall was filled with smoke, making it hard to see the details. A long string of palace lanterns hung neatly on the stone walls on both sides, flickering in the smoke, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
‘You have come a long way, but I am unable to come out to greet you. My apologies.’
A clear, yet sweet voice came from the depths of the hall behind the door.
It was a woman’s voice.
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow. The big boss they were about to face was a woman. This was something she hadn’t expected. Judging from the expressions of Jiang Yu and Qingyang, it was clear that the pace of this incident had also taken them by surprise.
‘Why are the three of you still lingering outside the door, reluctant to come in? Is it because this place is too poor?’
The woman’s voice carried a hint of leisure and laziness. Seeing that Hua Ling and the others hadn’t moved, she spoke again.
Hua Ling smiled. Although there was smoke and an unseen distance between them, she knew that the other party could definitely see their every move. So Hua Ling gave a dashing salute and said, ‘Since you are so hospitable, we will intrude.’
After saying this, Hua Ling took a step into the hall.
Jiang Yu and Qingyang followed closely behind.
The woman laughed, her soft voice continuing, ‘You have courage, I like that.’
As soon as the woman finished speaking, the stone door behind the three of them slammed shut with a loud noise and closed—without warning.
Hua Ling shrugged and said aloud, ‘Your Highness is really narrow-minded. Since we dared to enter your hall, do you still fear that we will escape?’
Jiang Yu silently praised Hua Ling.
The woman’s voice slowly came again, ‘Haha, you’ve misunderstood. I just don’t want anyone to disturb—our conversation.’
Jiang Yu touched Hua Ling’s fingers lightly next to her, indicating that she should look at the sides of the hall –
the lingering poisonous mist in the hall was a dark purple colour, successfully blocking most of the view.
So if you don’t look closely, it may be difficult to notice – hidden behind the thick fog, there is a vague gathering of something, or rather, it is lurking in the dark, in the corner. It is just that there is a dead silence at the moment, and it is not eye-catching.
Hua Ling’s mind raced as she came up with an idea. She nodded slightly to Jiang Yu to indicate that she had already made a calculation.
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and firmly grasped Hua Ling’s hand.
‘Stay close to me,’ he said succinctly.
Hua Ling’s heart warmed, and she slightly tightened her fingers.
They walked to the end of the hall and saw an agarwood throne, high above the jade steps. In front of the steps was a golden furnace with auspicious clouds and smoke curling up. On the throne sat a graceful and enchanting woman, leaning at an angle. Her face was indeed impeccable, and she could be described as a beauty that could enchant the fish and make the geese fall, peerless in the country.
‘You really are a beauty,’
Hua Ling did not avoid the topic and praised her directly. But he only said the first half of the sentence.
Unfortunately, he was a pervert.
The second half of the sentence came to mind at the same time for the three of them.
The woman’s red lips parted slightly: ‘I saw that you three were graceful and extraordinary, very different from ordinary people. So I wanted to get to know you. Now it seems that you really are outstanding.’
Hua Ling looked up, meeting the woman’s gaze with an unyielding expression. Her gaze rested on the black flowing cloud mark in the woman’s brow.
Fallen immortal.
When a mortal god falls into the ways of evil, the mark of supreme godly power and honour will turn into the mark of a fallen immortal.
Hua Ling’s gaze fell once more upon the woman’s wide brocade robe with its intricate patterns… She frowned imperceptibly. It seemed that things were more complicated than she had imagined.
However, the next second, Hua Ling smiled at the woman, ‘Since you have the heart to make friends, why do you resort to bullying and blackmail?’
The woman nonchalantly flicked her fingers, tilted her head, and said, ‘What do you mean?’
Hua Ling still had a smile on his face, but in his heart he silently recited the word ‘forbearance’. Then he took out the copper coins in his pocket and spread them on his palm: ‘I have a friend who has been your guest for a long time, and we are very worried about him. Now, can you please return him to us?’
Hua Ling deliberately pronounced the word ‘return’ harshly.
The woman gave a charming smile and said, ‘Oh? The friend you’re talking about…is he?’
She extended her slender, jade-like fingers and pointed in midair—
Hua Ling and the others followed her fingers and looked back to the centre of the hall.
At some unknown time, there had been an additional thick, tree-like object in that place, like a pillar.
The purple mist there gradually dispersed…so Hua Ling and the others were able to see the situation clearly…
Hua Ling:!!!
Jiang Yu & Qingyang:……
‘You!‘ Hua Ling lost his composure in that instant, and with a wave of his hand, a bolt of lightning flashed with wind blades and slashed straight down at the woman’s head…
The woman raised her hand and lightly waved it in midair, and the lightning immediately disappeared without a trace.
’Heh, it’s just a little bonus program, why get so angry so easily.’

☆, Chapter 43

In the centre of the hall stood a giant tree with twisted roots.
But it could no longer be called a tree. Because this tree could be described as a giant nest of curses. From the roots to the crown, the intertwined branches were covered in all kinds of curses of different shapes, sizes and colours. They were building nests recklessly among the roots, trunk and branches, burrowing in and out…
From the branches of the canopy that have not yet been covered in insects, a series of Qing Dynasty copper coins can still be seen hanging upside down on the branches…
This Qing Dynasty Tongbao Qian tree is the original form of the Tongqing.
Facing this scene, it is simply impossible to remain calm and rational. Despite having prepared myself mentally beforehand, when I saw the tortured Tongqing for myself…Hualing’s heart felt as if it were being burned by fire and scalded by boiling oil…
Jiang Yu felt Hua Ling’s breathing become unstable, and her mana was on the verge of a revolt… He immediately stepped forward and pressed down on Hua Ling’s left hand, which was clasping her fingers together. ‘Hua Ling, she just wants to see you like this.’ Do you really want to let her have her way?
Hua Ling looked up and silently locked eyes with Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu was startled to see tears in her eyes.
He knew that Hua Ling was blaming herself.
“Hua Ling, don’t do this.’
Hua Ling’s hands were trembling, and it was not just her hands that were trembling. Anyone who saw this situation could not help but feel shaken. Not to mention that… she had put Tong Qing in danger with her own hands.
‘Hua Ling, if you lose to her here, you will truly be ashamed of the sacrifice that Tong Qing made…’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, took a deep breath, covered her face with her hands, and whispered, ‘I know… I know.’
In her ears was the sound of the worms nibbling on the roots of the tree…to Hua Ling, it sounded as if those worms were gnawing on her heart. Piercing her wrist bone.
Hua Ling clenched her fist, and bright red blood dripped from the palm of her hand onto the ground. The worms that had been parasitising the money tree seemed to have smelled something delicious, and suddenly a large black swarm of worms quickly crawled towards the few drops of blood at Hua Ling’s feet.
‘Huh?’ The woman on the agarwood throne watched this scene in the hall from afar, a strange look flashing in her eyes, before the corners of her mouth slowly curled up, bringing a strange smile.
Jiang Yu frowned, tore off a foot of clothing, took Hua Ling’s hand, and quickly wrapped the wound for her. Then he drew his fingers together and swept a burst of energy through the gathering blackness, and in the blink of an eye, the insects turned to ashes.
Hua Ling looked down and said, ‘I’m sorry.’
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and gently lifted her chin, making her look into her eyes.
‘Don’t say you’re sorry. You’re always used to carrying things on your own. I just hope you remember that you’re not alone anymore.’
Hua Ling said after a while, ‘You’re right. I’m sorry…’
When she met Jiang Yu’s expression of speechlessness, Hua Ling quickly added, ‘Okay, I’m not sorry. You’re right, I can’t lose to someone like this. It’s not worth falling into her trap.‘
Jiang Yu gently placed her hand on Hua Ling’s head, with a gentle force.
Hua Ling suddenly turned around and walked step by step towards the woman who was still high above.
’I do have one thing I don’t understand, can you please enlighten me?‘
From a distance of less than three metres away, Hua Ling stopped and looked directly into the woman’s demonic blue eyes.
’The descendant of Shennong, bearing the power of the ancient divine blood, whose body is as noble as the Xuan Yuan clan, why has he fallen so low?’
The woman’s expression changed in an instant.
Hua Ling looked at her and continued, ‘What do you think the great god Shennong would feel if he knew that his people had fallen to this state?’
The woman looked at Hua Ling with a gloomy face. After a long while, she said sternly, ‘Who are you?’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘In terms of etiquette, you should answer my question first.’
The woman looked at Hua Ling with a gloomy face for a long time, and then she said, ‘I understand.’ She suddenly stood up, changing her previous appearance of leisure and laziness, and looked as if she were facing a great enemy.
Hua Ling smiled again and said along with her, ‘Understand what?’
The woman pointed at Hua Ling and said, ‘No wonder, no wonder my insects like your blood so much, it turns out that you…you are not human!’
‘Puff…’ Faced with this divine plot development, Qingyang, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn’t hold back his laughter. In particular, the line “You’re not human” sounded like a rebuke no matter how you heard it, and it was just so funny.
Hua Ling glanced at Qingyang, who immediately lowered his head and studied the pattern on the bluestone slab with a blank face. Okay, now really wasn’t the time to laugh.
‘Was it Xuanyuan… or Fu Xi?!’ The woman fixed Hua Ling with a gaze that was hard to tell whether it was desperate or crazy. “Yes, only the blood of the Three Sovereigns can make my insects so restless.”
Qingyang: “Take a guess!” The woman’s mood swings were really not flattering, and she was a goddess in one second—she was sick.
Hua Ling gave him a clear warning look this time.
Qingyang immediately lowered his head and continued counting the patterns.
‘Hahahaha…’ The woman didn’t seem to care about Hua Ling’s answer, and went on about her business, acting like a madwoman, ‘I’ve finally waited for this day. I originally only thought that you few people had magical powers and extraordinary physiques, and would definitely make good nourishment. Who would have thought that the blood of the Three Emperors, which I have been looking for for so long, would actually come to me on its own.’
Hua Ling looked at the woman indifferently, ‘You just said that you want to use me as nourishment for your broken worms?’
The woman sneered.
‘Yes, you, you, you,’ she pointed at Hua Ling and the other two, ‘none of you will escape today.’
As soon as the word ‘escape’ fell, the woman’s left hand suddenly turned into several striped snakes, each choosing a tricky angle and biting towards Hua Ling’s neck with lightning speed.
“Ah—’
This scream of agony naturally did not come from Hua Ling.
The woman covered her hand, which was wrapped in black flames, and glared angrily at Jiang Yu, who was climbing the stairs: ‘I forgot. You can summon this strange flame…’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow. She didn’t even know about the magic flame.
Anyone who had participated in the Battle of Zhuolu should be familiar with the magic flame. After all, Chiyou’s move ‘Flames of Heaven’ had been the nightmare of many generals… If she remembered correctly, almost all of the Shennong tribe had participated in that battle… Except…
In the twinkling of an eye, Hua Ling thought of the woman’s origin. No wonder she didn’t remember her before.
The woman spat, gathered a purple aura in her right hand, and made a strong slash on her left arm—purple-black blood splattered out, and the lit snake heads and bodies fell to the ground one after another, until they were burned to ashes by the demonic flames…
The woman looked up, paying no heed to her left arm, which was still bleeding, and reached out her right hand into the void. Suddenly, a fluorescent blue snake-headed carved staff appeared in her hand.
As soon as Hua Ling saw the staff, he pointed his toes and swept backwards, while at the same time saying to Jiang Yu and Qingyang, ‘You, don’t go within three zhang of her.’
The woman’s staff lightly tapped the ground—the ground, which had just been fine, suddenly turned into a pool of black swamp, emitting a pungent, fishy smell. Not only that, but strange purple-black bubbles were also rising from the entire surface of the swamp.
It could be seen that the black swamp was rapidly spreading and eroding around the woman’s position as its centre. Wherever the black liquid passed, the ground was melted, and the stone pillars all tilted and collapsed…
Jiang Yu and Qingyang followed Hualing’s movements as he moved quickly, and the three of them gathered together.
Hualing frowned, and after conjuring a spell, he just made a start, but was then pushed down by Jiang Yu, who had leaned over: ‘I’ll do it.’
Jiang Yu drew his sword from its sheath and made a sweeping motion around him – the sword’s wind left a deep sword mark in the ground wherever it went. At the same time, a barrier made of sword energy was erected around them, keeping the black swamp at bay.
‘Pat-pat-pat,’ the woman looked down at them from the top of the high jade steps, clapping her hands lightly and meeting Hua Ling’s gaze. ‘You sword spirit, you’re pretty good. I almost feel bad killing you.’
Hua Ling turned to Jiang Yu and said, ‘Hey, someone has their eye on you. What do you say?’
Jiang Yu’s mouth curled up slightly: ‘A femme fatale like that, I’m afraid I’m not lucky enough to enjoy her.’
He glanced at Hua Ling suddenly and leaned down to whisper in her ear, ‘But someone like you, I might consider.’
Hua Ling looked at him in surprise, ‘Is it possible that recovering your memory can also change someone’s personality?’
Jiang Yu laughed out loud, ‘Why don’t you say… I am like the red I rub against, and I am as black as the ink I rub against.’
Qingyang interrupted in a sulky voice, ‘Subtext, Hua Ling, you are very sinister.’
Hua Ling: ‘…Qingyang, are you itching for a beating today?’
Qingyang coughed, ‘Speaking of which… I took the opportunity while you two were flirting to think seriously… Do we have to keep hiding in this barrier?’
The author has something to say: Second chapter ~~~ Jiang Xiaoge’s degree of completion of being腹黑 is 30

☆, Chapter 44

‘Hide?’ Hua Ling smiled, ‘That’s not my style. And it’s even less Xiaoyu’s style, right?’
As Hua Ling said this, Jiang Yu’s sword had already been unsheathed.
But it was just a blink of an eye, and as soon as it was unsheathed, it disappeared.
The woman took in the scene with her eyes, her expression changing slightly… She suddenly turned around, raising her staff—but she was still a step too late, as Congyuan appeared out of thin air behind her and plunged straight at her heart.
‘Umm…’ Although the woman had noticed Jiang Yu’s attack the first time around and dodged to the side, she was unable to completely avoid the sword. Congyuan sank into her left breast and slanted out from behind her. Although it did not hit the woman’s heart directly, it also caused her to be seriously injured.
Jiang Yu let out a ‘tsk’ and waved his hand, summoning Congyuan back.
As Congyuan was pulled out of the woman’s body, purple-black blood spurted from her chest, splashing three feet away…
The woman stared at Jiang Yu with hatred, ‘You…cough…’ Before she could finish speaking, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Hua Ling turned her head and whispered in Jiang Yu’s ear, ‘This has injured the lung.’
Jiang Yu’s mouth curled up, and she glanced at her obliquely, ‘I still have some common sense.’
Hua Ling spread her hands, ‘Sorry, occupational disease. Anyway, you went to so much trouble to injure someone’s lung, not impressive.’
Jiang Yu’s forehead veins appeared, ‘Shut up!’
While the two were talking, the woman slowly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her hand and muttered a spell.
‘Hua Ling!’ Qingyang suddenly pointed behind them at the Tongbao Money Tree.
Although Hua Jiang were arguing, they were always on the lookout for the woman’s movements. They kept their eyes and ears open, and when the woman was chanting the spell, they heard a strange noise behind them. So when Qingyang spoke, the two of them turned their heads together.
They saw that the roots of the money tree, which had been firmly planted in the ground, suddenly pulled out one by one, and then the entire tree began to slowly move towards Hua Ling and them.
‘Xiaoyu, keep an eye on that woman,’ Hua Ling said without turning around, ‘Qingyang and I will take care of this side.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Okay.’
The money tree stopped in front of Hua Ling and them, and then there was no more movement.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
“——Coo… coo-coo…’
The money tree shook its branches and suddenly made a low, strange sound.
Hua Ling: !!!
Qingyang noticed Hua Ling’s strange expression and tentatively asked, ‘Hua Ling?’
Hua Ling: …
Qingyang grabbed Hua Ling’s sleeve and said, ‘What’s wrong?’
Hua Ling came back to his senses and looked down at Qingyang, ‘Tong Qing is still conscious. He was telling me to kill him just now.’
Qingyang: !!!
Qingqing Tong. Qingyang did know him, having met him several times when he was still with Hualing. He had the impression that he was a quiet, gentle, and wise man. Now he had encountered such a thing, it was truly heartbreaking. He didn’t need Hualing to say it; he knew that she must be feeling heartbroken, suffocated by a sense of guilt and responsibility. Yet she had to remain calm.
The word ‘weak’ was never in Hualing’s vocabulary.
‘Hua Ling,’ Qingyang suddenly walked up to her and took her hand, looking up at her, “there must be another solution.”
Hua Ling paused for a long time before replying, “At this point, there is nothing we can do. We can only see if we can first undo the jinx.” Xiaoyu!
Jiang Yu was fighting the woman over there, their dense sword energy entwined.
Hua Ling knew that although Jiang Yu was fighting the woman, he must have heard her conversation with Qingyang.
‘Kill her.‘
Hua Ling said only three words.
Hua Ling had always been decisive in his actions, but this ruthless and cold side of him was the first time Jiang Yu had seen it.
’Naturally,‘ he replied after a pause.
’Hahahaha—very good, very good.’ The woman heard Hua Ling’s words and said, “Kill me, and that tree won’t survive either! Not just him, but these people won’t survive either!”
The woman’s eyes were gloomy, and she held her staff upright and swung it forward—
A rustling sound gradually filled the hall. Something—as if awakening from every corner—surrounded them.
The purple poisonous mist in the hall slowly faded, and Hua Ling and the others could see clearly that those slowly approaching them were people.
They moved like zombies, sluggish and strange, ordinary people. Judging from their attire, they looked like people from Tongjia Village.
Hua Ling turned his head and looked at the woman standing at the top of the stone steps: ‘Are these the previous “sacrifices”?’
The woman smiled slightly: ‘Not bad.’
Hua Ling: ‘…You actually turned them all into “gu people”.’ These people slowly moving about, like the gu infants before them, were all forced to be sacrificed alive and then put under a spell to become this way—it is not an exaggeration to say that they are human weapons with no thoughts and only obey the will of the practitioner.
Hua Ling looked at their hollow eyes and strange expressions, as if he could hear the wails of the people in the process of making the gu people.
Hualing looked at the woman indifferently: ‘With such a vicious heart and such cruelty in breaking the hand, she truly is ashamed of the position of “priestess” and the blessings of the blood of Shennong.’ Looking at the woman’s attire, Hualing had long suspected, and when the woman took out her staff, she finally confirmed her identity—each tribe of the Shennong tribe would elect a manager, and they were the only ones who could receive the oracle. Such people are mostly given the power of divine blood and appointed as high priests, bearing the responsibility for the survival of the tribe.
‘Heh—hahahaha,’ the woman laughed to the sky, ‘Those who abandon me, the past cannot be retained! The so-called immortals are all dictators and hypocrites who claim to be compassionate! Since the world is so cruel, why should I be righteous?’
Hua Ling frowned.
The ‘walking dead’ were getting closer and closer, and finally stopped outside the barrier, surrounding the three of them.
‘Hmph, I don’t believe you can hide in that broken barrier forever. I have plenty of time anyway. No rush, let’s take our time and have fun!’ The woman put away her staff and leisurely leaned back on her aloeswood throne. She looked like she was just waiting for the show to begin.
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘Heh, joke. These riffraff can be dealt with in one fell swoop.”
Hua Ling stopped him, saying, “Wait.”
Jiang Yu paused, and then said, “Hua Ling, if they are left like this, even if they are rescued, most of them will not survive.”
Hua Ling knew full well that these people had been deprived of their bodies and consciousness by the parasites. To be honest, apart from still having some yang energy and being able to walk and move, they were more or less dead. But they were still alive after all, even if they were hanging on by a thread.
If they intervene, they will indeed be the ones to kill them.
Hua Ling sighed, lowered her head and looked outside the barrier, but her eyes met those of the little boy standing closest to her. The little boy’s eyes were vacant and lifeless, his entire body oblivious as he stared into the void ahead. A tear suddenly appeared in his left eye. The tear silently rolled down his cheek and chin, and then fell silently to the ground, disappearing into the soil.
Because his target was so small and inconspicuous, Hualing wondered if she was the only one who had seen it…
Hualing was silent, not knowing what to think. After a while, she suddenly said, ‘Let me do it.’
Jiang Yu: ?!
Hualing gave a self-deprecating smile, stared at her hands, and whispered, ‘All these years of hiding in the human world, practicing the art of medicine and healing, I have only been trying to save people. I thought I could wash away the smell of blood on my hands, but it turns out I can’t escape the fate of killing…’
Jiang Yu looked at her in surprise and didn’t say anything. Hua Ling’s words were incoherent, and he didn’t understand them. But when he heard them, his heart suddenly jumped. He naturally had many questions for Hua Ling, but if she didn’t take the initiative to talk about it, he wouldn’t pursue it. He vaguely felt that the answer could be found in his memories, which had yet to be retrieved.

☆, Chapter 45

‘You want to shoulder it alone again?”
Hua Ling turned her head on hearing this. Jiang Yu had walked up to her at some point and was looking down at her.
If Hua Ling didn’t mention it, Jiang Yu wouldn’t ask. But that didn’t mean he agreed with Hua Ling’s approach. Although he knew very well that Hua Ling was not a weak woman in need of protection, and although she often displayed a toughness that was admirable and impressive, it was precisely that that made him feel even more pity for her. Not everyone can be so strong from the start. The twists and turns along the way are naturally imaginable. All strength is supported by countless pains.
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘No. The woman’s use of the ghou technique not only manipulates the living, but also binds their souls to this body. Even if you destroy their physical bodies with your sword energy, their souls will still not be able to be contacted, and over time they will become bound spirits. They suffered so much during their lifetime, and after death their souls still cannot find peace, which is too miserable.’
Seeing that Jiang Yu was silent, Hua Ling took the initiative to reach out and shook Jiang Yu’s hand. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not just showing off.’
The warmth and firm strength in the palm of her hand showed the resolve of her master.
Jiang Yu looked at her for a while and said, ‘So what are you going to do?’
Hua Ling only said three words: ‘The Rebirth Mantra.’
Jiang Yu frowned, and then immediately rejected: ‘No. This is too draining of spiritual energy. In your current condition…to forcibly liberate so many souls at the same time…’
Hua Ling also fell silent. What Jiang Yu said was the truth. If she were in her best condition, it might not be a difficult task, but now…it was indeed a relatively awkward time. She was in poor condition, and she also had to plan for the subsequent unsealing.
Hua Ling was rarely unsure of what to do, and she subconsciously touched her forehead, even though there was nothing there now… Should she release the Xuantian Sect Gui Seal again? But if she did, she might…
Jiang Yu grasped her wrist and said sternly, ‘What are you trying to do?!’
Hua Ling froze for a moment.
Jiang Yu’s penetrating gaze fell on her face: ‘I heard Chu say that your seal seals away your divine power, and it should not be forcibly released unless absolutely necessary. The reason you were lying there for so many days after returning from Dunhuang last time was also because you released that seal, right?‘
Hua Ling: “…”
Jiang Yu: “No.”
Hua Ling was amused by his strong tone and teased, “Oh, is this going to be a reversal of the rhythm? Don’t forget, I am your master now~ In what capacity are you saying ”no’?”
Jiang Yu was not joking with her, his dark purple pupils intently looking into her dark eyes: ’You want to know?’
Hua Ling and he looked at each other for a moment, before she finally turned away silently and whispered, ‘But…there is no other way. I do have a pill that can temporarily increase your mana…’
Jiang Yu: ‘Don’t even think about it.’
Hua Ling sighed silently, ‘You suddenly becoming so strong is very uncomfortable.’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘I feel like I should have been like this all along. The previous me, who was obedient to you, was the one that made you uncomfortable, wasn’t it?’
Hua Ling was dumbfounded: ‘Compliant? You can say such a cheating thing.’
Jiang Yu was furious: ‘Isn’t it?’
Qingyang suddenly interrupted: ‘Both of you.’
Hua Ling and Jiang Yu turned to look at him at the same time.
Under the pressure of the two extremely oppressive gazes, Qingyang swallowed and pointed at his side with his finger: ‘What I want to say is that…that thing has broken through the barrier.’
Hua Ling:!!!
Jiang Yu: …
The two looked in the direction of Qingyang’s finger, and saw that a powerful root of Baotong Qianshu had penetrated the soil outside the barrier and broken through from the inside…
Jiang Yu stared at the giant/root, which was moving restlessly, and raised an eyebrow: ‘Wow, it’s actually managed to get this far, which is also worthy of praise. The bottom is indeed the weakest point of the barrier. Unfortunately, I will cut down as many of these things as come.’
As soon as Jiang Yu finished speaking, the tree root that had just broken through the ground and had not yet had a chance to wreak havoc was cut into several pieces and fell to the ground. And in the short span of a second, it was as if he had never drawn his sword at all, as it remained safely in its sheath. No one saw how his sword came out of the sheath and returned to it.
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, tacitly approving of Jiang Yu’s actions.
Jiang Yu’s back was turned to Hua Ling: ‘I thought you would stop me.’
Hua Ling whispered, ‘I don’t think I’m irrational enough to lose my judgment of the overall situation.’
Jiang Yu didn’t know what expression he was making, and it was only after a while that he said, ‘I’m sorry.’
This apology was indeed for the action in the next second—after failing to attack with the money tree, not only did he not restrain himself, but he intensified his attack.
Five powerful roots suddenly shot out in five directions, three of them attacking Jiang Yu and two directly attacking Hua Ling.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Hua Ling dodged to the side, avoiding a fierce blow, but he did not make any move to attack.
This time, he could see the sword light flash past, and all the attacking roots were once again chopped into pieces and fell back to the ground.
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘You still don’t plan to attack? He is no longer the Tong Qing you knew.’
Hua Ling: ‘…I know.’ Knowing is knowing, but it is really not easy to suddenly harden your heart and face your former companions with swords.
As they spoke, the roots seemed to have reformed, and this time they launched another attack with twelve roots.
Hua Ling frowned and suddenly said out loud to stop him, ‘These roots are not quite right. Don’t treat them as fragments, as this will encourage them to regenerate.’ Hua Ling looked up and glanced at the woman standing high above, a strange smile on the corner of her mouth. So that was the idea from the beginning.
Jiang Yu immediately retracted his sword after hearing Hua Ling’s words.
While dodging the roots that had doubled in number again and become twenty-four in total, Jiang Yu mocked, ‘This is really never-ending. Is she going to use these scraps of monsters to waste us to the end? Don’t even think about it!’
Hua Ling: ‘…Jiang Yu, wait.’ Hua Ling saw Jiang Yu’s eyes and understood what he wanted to do, so he immediately spoke to stop him.
Jiang Yu: ‘Hua Ling, don’t be stubborn. What he’s doing is no different from death.’
Hua Ling shook his head, blocking Tong Qing’s position: ‘He’s not. He just spoke to me. Tong Qing still has his own consciousness.’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘Get out of the way.’
Hua Ling still shook his head: ‘Jiang Yu. Let’s not argue about this, okay? That woman is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between us.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Who wants to argue with you? I’m just…’
‘Hey, I can’t listen to this anymore. Since when did you become such a nag?’ A loud voice suddenly appeared in the barrier, interrupting the standoff between Hua Ling and Jiang Yu.
‘Zhu Rong?!’ Hua Ling looked at the red-haired fire god who had suddenly appeared out of thin air, half surprised. ‘Why did you come out?’
Zhurong dug into his ears and impatiently said, ‘I have specially come out to help you out of this mess, so you should be grateful.’
It was enough to deal with Jiang Yu, and Hua Ling didn’t want to unnecessarily burden himself, so he immediately accepted the good advice, ‘…thank you.’
Zhurong laughed heartily, ‘Ha ha,’ a few times: ‘See, when you get into trouble, you still have to rely on me to solve it. You can just owe me this favour for now.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ After many days, this person is still the same as ever – two, as well as, doing things my own way.
Zhurong glanced around at the goblins and the goblin tree with its huge target, and suddenly snapped his fingers. Flames sprang up one after the other, and in less than a moment, they surrounded all the goblins and the tree of Tongbao money.
Hua Ling’s heart jumped: ‘You…’
Zhu Rong glanced at her and interrupted, ‘I use the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.’
Hua Ling understood and solemnly thanked him before waiting quietly for Zhu Rong to cast the spell.
The difference between the Karmic Fire and ordinary flames or the Fire of Tribulation is that while the other flames are all about destruction, the Karmic Fire is about purification.

 

☆, Chapter 46

The red lotus karma fire of Zhurong. The crowd, which was slowly moving, and the money tree, which was waiting to attack, were frozen in place. Although those people’s eyes were vacant, they were reacting instinctively to the burning karma fire, and their faces showed signs of pain. For a moment, the sounds of wailing in the hall rose and fell…
‘Zhurong!’ Hua Ling couldn’t help but take a step forward.
Zhurong lifted his hand: ‘Don’t worry, just watch.’
He saw those people tremble violently, and then black liquid slowly oozed from their skin, more and more, leaving a trail along their bodies. After the black liquid had run out, slowly from the cuffs, collars, hems of their clothes, and the trouser legs, poisonous creatures such as venomous snakes crawled out rapidly… However, they were unable to crawl out of the outer edge of the karma fire and were incinerated to ashes.
After the parasites were completely destroyed, the fire gradually extinguished itself. Those who had previously been controlled by the parasites fell to the ground one after the other. Judging from their appearance, it seemed that they had not been hurt by the fire at all. Not only that, but when the fire touched the ground, it spread in all directions, and even the poisonous swamp summoned by the woman before was completely burned by the fire…
‘Damn it! How dare you ruin my plan! I won’t let you go today!‘ The woman, seeing this sudden change, lost her composure and swooped down, her staff in hand, aiming for Zhurong’s neck.
Zhurong didn’t even look, but with a single hand motion, he grabbed her staff.
’Long time no see, Ban Ruolan.”
The woman tried her best to pull the staff back, but Zhurong held it firmly, not budging an inch.
The woman sneered, ‘I wondered who was spoiling my fun, and it turned out to be you. I thought you were locked up long ago. How come you’re out again, attacking people?’
Zhu Rong said indifferently, ‘I never thought that that little girl from back then would become so ruthless.’
Hua Ling stepped forward and said, ‘Zhu Rong, do you know her?’
Zhu Rong nodded, ‘She originally belonged to the Qishan tribe of the Shennong clan. Back then, she was ordered by Shennong to guard the southern border, and inherited the witchcraft and sorcery to defend against the invasion of the demons. For some reason…it turned out like this.”
Ban Ruolan sneered, her face full of resentment and cruelty: ’Huh…later? Where did the later come from? My Qishan tribe sacrificed many people just to fight the demons with all our strength. But after the battle between gods and demons, the sky emperor turned his face and disregarded the lives of our tribe. He tore down the bridge after crossing the river and abandoned our tribe like worn-out shoes. It’s really chilling. If only he had turned his back on us, that would have been fine, but then he even sent twelve heavenly generals to attack our Qishan tribe in the night. I was away on duty at the time and luckily escaped, but all my people were killed in one night. Since heaven and earth are so cruel, why should I care? As long as this hatred is not avenged, the spirits of my people will never rest in peace.’
Zhu Rong was silent for a moment. Ban Ruolan’s deranged appearance today reminded him of the day he tried to escape from the Ten Hellish Prisons with the help of the Demon Source.
Hua Ling frowned. If it was after the war between the gods and demons… At that time, the position of the Heavenly Emperor had already changed hands. Although Ji Wuchang had always been cold and ruthless, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, he would never waste his time on useless things… Could it be that the Qishan tribe knew some secret? Or was Ji Wuchang trying to take something from them?
Hua Ling stepped forward: ‘So you want to form an army of immortals to kill and injure the Heavenly Court.’
Bainuo Lan grunted in acknowledgement.
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Just because you want revenge, you can harm and kill these innocent lives? It’s a shame that you are still a descendant of Shennong, and it’s fine if you don’t take it upon yourself to relieve the suffering of the people, but you even harm all living beings.’
Ban Ruolan gave a seductive smile: ‘Innocent? Are my dead tribespeople innocent? Who will be responsible for their unjust deaths?’
Zhurong spread his hands and summoned black flames: ‘Why are we talking such nonsense to her? Just get rid of her to prevent any future trouble.’
‘Heh, if you’re so capable, then come and try.’
Ban Ruolan thrust her staff into the ground with all her strength—instantly the entire hall felt like it was shaking. After the tremor, the floor suddenly broke in countless places in the hall, and several huge, dark, giant gu worms suddenly broke through the ground. Each worm was about 20 meters high, and the width of its body was not even enough for five people to embrace.
Hua Ling frowned: ‘You actually kept so many gu kings. This kind of gu king has always needed the blood of living people to raise it…not to mention raising it to this size. You…’
Ban Ruolan let out a ‘huh’ and said, ‘You have good eyes. You know quite a lot.’
‘Demon girl, you’re looking for death,’ Zhu Rong said, and then a set of flaming palm techniques were directed at Ban Ruolan, without any regard for the Gu Wang approaching beside her.
Ban Ruolan covered her face with her hands and smiled seductively, ‘If you’re capable, come at me. Even if you are the body of the ancient main god, if you get even a drop of the poison from my Gu Wang, you will still die! Hahahaha…’
Zhurong lightly tapped his feet on the ground and immediately flew forward, catching up to him: ‘Trivial skills, and you still dare to harm me. Today, I will let you see the difference in strength between you and me.’
Hua Ling followed closely, and Jiang Yu reached out and stopped her: ‘You stay here and don’t move. With Zhurong and me, we are more than enough to deal with that woman.’
‘Qingyang,’ Jiang Yu looked back at the chaos beside him.
Qingyang nodded: ‘Don’t worry.’
Jiang Yu raised her hand and gently touched Hualing’s cheek: ‘Be good.’
After saying that, Jiang Yu, armed with the Sword of Yuanyuan, slashed directly at the endless stream of Gui Wang emerging from the ground.
Hualing was clearly taken aback, and the words ‘be good’ kept circling in her head… However, the expression and posture of Jiang Yu when she spoke just now slowly overlapped with her memory of the young master of the Demon Realm who was all-powerful.
Hua Ling came back to her senses and looked up into the air: ‘Jiang Yu, be careful of those poisonous insects, don’t let their body fluids get on you.’ They were so poisonous that just one drop could kill ten whales.
Jiang Yu nodded slightly, said no more, and with a single swipe of his sword, he cut off the head of a king of insects, then after a few more swings, he went on to deal with the next one…
Hua Ling looked around, clapped his hands, and said, ‘Qingyang, we can’t just stand here and wait for things to happen. Come help.’
Qingyang: ‘Eh? But Jiang… didn’t the sword spirit tell you not to act without authorization? You’d better stay here, it’s safer. Besides, your injuries aren’t healed yet, you shouldn’t fight.’
Hua Ling laughed and said, ‘Didn’t you hear Xiaoyu say that we should leave the fighting to them? As for us… we have other things to do, of course. Look carefully, those poisonous gu worms…”
Qingyang heard this and turned his gaze to the gu worms in the hall.
Qingyang:!!!
Hua Ling smiled: “Did you find it?”
Qingyang: “…How could this be.”
The gu worms that had been beheaded seemed to have countless lives, always resurrecting again and again, and the severed limbs that had been chopped into pieces could always come together on their own after a short while, and the wounds could slowly heal. If they continued to kill like this, when would there be an end…
Hua Ling patted Qingyang on the shoulder and said, ‘Don’t worry. I have a plan. Come with me.’
Qingyang followed Hua Ling with a lot of doubts to the southwest corner of the hall.
Hua Ling waved her hand and pointed to a dark red rune printed on the wall and corner.
Qingyang: ‘This is…I understand! She is using the magic circle in this hall to make these insects resurrect infinitely?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘This is an ancient spell that can cause these insects to be resurrected infinitely for a short period of time. But as long as these runes are destroyed, her spell will be unable to sustain itself.’
Qing Yang: ‘Okay, I’ll go find all the runes in this hall now.’
Hua Ling nodded with a smile: ‘If I’m not wrong, it would take at least fifty runes like these to maintain such a large formation. I’ll take care of this side, you go to the other side.’
At the end of the hall, Zhurong blocked Ban Ruolan’s way.
‘Hmph, still trying to escape?’ Zhu Rong stood with his arms crossed, the black flame sword summoned in his right hand pointing at Ban Ruolan’s throat.
Ban Ruolan looked at him without saying a word, and suddenly she gave a faint smile.
Zhu Rong’s heart alerted him, and when he looked up, he saw a large wave of unknown black powder pouring down from the top. His instinct told him that he must not get any of the black dust on him, but even if he wanted to dodge, he could no longer keep up with the speed.
A burst of energy swept past, pushing Zhu Rong to the side, narrowly avoiding the falling black powder.
Zhu Rong turned around and nodded to Jiang Yu: ‘Thank you.’
Jiang Yu also nodded slightly: ‘Be careful. Although this woman is no match for you in a head-on fight, she is full of tricks and is good at poisoning people, only using underhanded methods.’
Zhu Rong shook his head: ‘After being locked up for so long, I’ve become rusty when facing the enemy. Thanks for the reminder.’
Ban Ruolan fingered her long curly hair that hung down by her ears, and looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘Haha, I think you should worry about yourself first.’ Ban Ruolan waved her staff, and the Gu Wang that had just been indiscriminately biting everyone suddenly turned around together and attacked Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu moved his body and dodged this swift attack. He swung his sword back and chopped several of the Gu Wang into pieces.
However, this time, the severed limbs did not quickly gather back together.
‘Eh? !’ Ban Ruolan frowned slightly and took a step forward, ‘…why is this happening?’
Her gaze suddenly swept over Hualing, who was busily shuffling around in the corner of the hall, and venom flowed from her eyes: ‘It’s her again…again and again, she ruins everything for me!’
A strong aura of hostility suddenly emanated from Ban Ruolan’s body. She took out her hairpin and cut her wrist, and the purple-black blood quickly gathered in the air to form a strange rune. Ban Ruolan pointed at Hualing and shouted, ‘Go!’
‘Hua Ling!‘ Jiang Yu saw that things were not good, and his body moved, and in an instant, he also lunged in the direction of Hua Ling…

☆, 48th Note

’The last one!’ Hua Ling reached out and wiped the rune in the corner of the wall, and the swarming insects in the hall instantly dissipated.
At this moment, she also heard movement behind her, and she turned around to summon a barrier to resist…
It turned out that Ban Ruolan had summoned the Gu Shen with her own blood, risking death in retaliation, and was determined to take Hua Ling’s life. The so-called Gu Shen is not a physical poison, but a curse of the darkest evil. It can be described as the pinnacle of the Gu technique.
A powerful and unpredictable aura of evil mixed with extreme poison circled in the air before diving straight down towards Hua Ling.
Jiang Yu followed Ban Ruolan’s movements as she acted, and then took the lead, holding Hua Ling in his arms, trying to shield her from the attack.
Hua Ling hurriedly said, ‘Jiang——’
‘Boom——’
At the moment the curse of the Gu Shen hit them, a huge green-black smoke rose into the air, accompanied by a loud noise……
Hua Ling’s first action was to tightly embrace Jiang Yu with her back hand.
‘Jiang Yu…‘ Even her voice trembled with a hint of fear. On the one hand, she was worried, but on the other, she didn’t dare to confirm his injuries.
’Don’t worry. I’m fine,’ Jiang Yu patted her back lightly to show his comfort. In fact, he himself felt a little strange inside, because his body didn’t feel any strange at all. It was more like he was completely unharmed.
After the smoke and dust cleared, Jiang Yu turned around and faced the hall. Hua Ling also looked up from his arms…
Hua Ling: !!!
Jiang Yu: …!
A huge beast with a huge body was lying in front of the two of them, blocking all the attacks. That was why the two of them were unharmed.
Hua Ling almost pounced over: ‘Qingyang!!!’
Black blood kept flowing from the body lying on the ground. He slowly opened one eye and said, ‘Hua Ling…you’re fine…that’s good.’
Hua Ling was overcome with grief, tears welled in his eyes, and he choked as he said, ‘Qingyang…’
His dark, chaotic eyes were filled with Hua Ling’s figure: ‘…Hua Ling, don’t be sad…I haven’t been able to help you before…this time…finally…I’m very happy…’
Jiang Yu crouched next to Chaos to check his injuries. After a moment, he looked up and said, ‘Hua Ling, there is a poisonous gas rushing around inside him, destroying his meridians and blood flow. If this continues, I’m afraid…’
Hua Ling closed her eyes: ‘He was hit by a curse. Only by killing that woman can the curse be lifted.’
Hua Ling took out a jade box with a lock from her bosom, opened it, and there was a snow-white pill inside. She took out the pill and fed it to Qingyang.
The Chaos head moved slightly, as if trying to spit it out: ‘Hua Ling! This isn’t…’
Hua Ling gently tapped the acupuncture point on Chaos’s neck to help him take the pill.
“Qingyang, you rest well,’
After saying this, Hua Ling gently placed his hand on the centre of Chaos’ forehead. Chaos suddenly felt a wave of sleepiness, and in less than a moment, his eyes closed. Seeing Qingyang fall into a deep sleep, Hua Ling stored him in the “Secret Records of the Three Realms”.
Hua Ling silently took the ancient book into his arms, looked towards the end of the hall where Ban Ruolan was entangled with Zhurong, and said coldly, ’This woman, absolutely cannot be let go.’
Jiang Yu took her hand: ‘What are you doing?’
Hua Ling looked at him without saying a word. However, her eyes said it all.
Hua Ling and Jiang Yu stared at each other for a moment. After a while, she turned her head away and gritted her teeth, trying to pull her hand out of his grasp…
Jiang Yu held on tightly, not letting her go: ‘Calm down.’
Hua Ling gritted her teeth and whispered, ‘How can I calm down…’
Jiang Yu took Hua Ling’s shoulders and made her look at him: ‘I understand that you are desperate to personally avenge Qingyang. But…you have forgotten what you promised me.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu looked her earnestly in the eyes: ‘Don’t worry. I will repay you double.’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: ‘I’m sorry, I was just worried…’ Yes, she had to save her strength for the subsequent unsealing.
Jiang Yu said, ‘Take care of yourself.’
At the end of the hall, Zhurong carried the flames in one hand and fought with Ban Ruolan with his bare hands… However, Ban Ruolan summoned the five poisonous insects to prevent Zhurong from getting close to her. In terms of strength alone, Zhurong was naturally superior to her, but since he could not get close to her side, the fight between the two was still a draw after a long time.
Zhu Rong angrily said, ‘You evil woman, have the courage to fight me in an open and fair battle. Playing dirty is no way to…’
‘Eh? When did I ever say I was some kind of hero?’ Ban Ruo Lan cut Zhu Rong off directly, her tone full of mockery, ‘As for you, since you boast of being so brave, why are you afraid to come forward and fight my poisonous insects?’
Zhu Rong was so enraged by her words that smoke began to billow from the top of her head.
‘There is no need for the God of Fire to get angry with this insidious and cunning person.’ Accompanying Jiang Yu’s words was an unprovoked count of invisible sword energy, so fast that neither Ban Ruolan nor Zhu Rong could capture it with their eyes…
After the sword light passed, there was no longer any poison insect poison gas protecting Ban Ruolan’s body.
Zhu Rong’s eyes narrowed, and taking advantage of the moment when Ban Ruolan was stunned, she struck her palm into her chest…
Ban Ruolan let out a ‘whoosh’ and spat out a mouthful of blood, before her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.
It turned out that Zhu Rong’s attack had already severely damaged her heart and meridians, and the Red Lotus业火 (karma fire) had been driven into her meridians. Now the karma fire travelled along her bloodstream throughout her body, giving her a true taste of what it feels like to have her insides burn…
Due to the purifying effect of the karma fire, she was unable to summon the poisoned insect curse even though she wanted to.
Ban Ruolan sneered a few times, coughing up blood continuously: ‘Good…good…I never thought that after all my hard work, I would fall at the hands of you lackeys of the heavens today. I curse you, and I curse you to be like that bitch Ji Wuchang, to spend your whole life seeking but never obtaining, to be abandoned by everyone and never have peace! Hahahaha…’
Zhu Rong: ‘…she has cut her own heart veins.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
It was strange. After Ban Ruolan’s spirit left her body, her body withered at an alarming rate and turned to dust, and her corpse also turned into a skeleton in an instant.
Zhu Rong froze for a moment, ‘This…’
Hua Ling walked over to the two of them and looked at the skeleton on the ground, ‘I think her life was over early. But she was only able to continue to maintain her physical body by relying on her sorcery.’
Hua Ling thought for a moment, then turned to Zhurong and asked, ‘What do you know about the Qishan tribe? Do you know why Ji Wuchang sent people to wipe out his entire tribe?’
Zhurong shook his head: ‘There are indeed many suspicious points. But at that time, I had already been thrown into the Ten Purgatories for Immortals, and I knew nothing about what was going on outside. Therefore, I only heard about the Qishan tribe being wiped out overnight until now. If even you don’t know, how would I know?’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Ji Wuchang has always been quick and leaves no traces. I’m not so idle that I would spy on his every move. Never mind, we’ll talk about this later. Let’s go find the source of evil now. If I’m not mistaken, Ban Ruolan has used the source of evil to some extent to turn the villagers into an army of gu people on a large scale this time. By the way, Zhurong, can I ask you to do me one more favour?’
Zhurong’s attitude changed in an instant, and she quickly became arrogant: ‘Hmph, if you want me to help you, beg me.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu ignored the fire god, who was sticking his nose in the air, and said to Hua Ling, ‘Do we need to relocate these villagers first?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘It’s hard to say that there won’t be any poisonous insects or monsters left here. Sending them back to the village first can also help them return to normal sooner… I hope they can still return to normal. Anyway…’
Hua Ling suddenly looked up at Zhurong, who was hanging on the side, and said, ‘Anyway, I have to thank you this time. If it weren’t for you, these villagers…and Tongqing would not have been saved.’
Zhurong had finally reached a step and hurriedly followed it down: ‘Hmph. I did it on a whim, so you’re lucky.’
Jiang Yu looked at Baotong Qianshu, who was still standing in the middle of the hall but was unaware of anything, and said, ‘What will happen to him in the future?’
Hua Ling said sadly, ‘Although the poison has been cleared, the real body has been seriously damaged. It is estimated that it will remain in this state of ignorance for the next one or two hundred years…If we can find a place that gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and let him slowly absorb it there, perhaps he will recover more quickly.’
Zhu Rong suddenly said, ‘Spiritual energy of heaven and earth…I know a place where he can be placed.’
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘Where?’
Zhu Rong: ‘Hey, hey…come on, let’s make a deal. You can give me the Water and Cloud Realm too.’
Hua Ling: ‘…okay. But don’t bully the monsters in the Water and Cloud Realm. They’re not any stronger than you, so you have to be more tolerant.’
Zhu Rong waved his hand impatiently: ‘Who has the time to bully them? As long as they’re obedient and follow me, they’ll naturally have food and drink!’
Hua Ling: ‘…so, where is this place you’re talking about?’
Zhu Rong laughed: ‘Isn’t it in your Secret Records? You’ve forgotten, there is a place that can be described as receiving the light of the sun and moon, and shaping the foundation of all things.’
Hua Ling gave a little tap on his forehead: ‘Confused. Thanks for the reminder!’
Zhu Rong walked to the middle of the hall and looked around at the villagers who were mostly lying on the ground. He said to Hua Ling, ‘You and Sword Spirit boy hurry up and find that what is the source of the evil. I will send the villagers back safely. And your sweetheart, after this is over, I will go with him to that secret realm. I believe that in less than a hundred years, he will be able to jump around again.’
Hua Ling had a black face: ‘Tong Qing is my friend, don’t say anything.’
Zhu Rong pretended to slap his own face in a very insincere manner: ‘Hey, sorry. I forgot that your little lover was there. Hey, young swordsman, just pretend that I didn’t say anything and that you didn’t hear anything. Don’t worry, from what I’ve observed, no matter how many little hearts and treasures Hualing has, your status as the main wife will never waver!’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ This is really making it worse.

☆, Chapter 49

After Zhu Rong left, the two of them looked at each other for a moment.
Jiang Yu was the first to speak, asking, ‘You said you have a clue about the source of the evil, and it’s not just for show.’
Hua Ling was speechless for a moment, ‘…This is your style, isn’t it?’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, not saying anything. He suddenly walked up to Hua Ling and crouched down, reaching out to feel her ankle.
Hua Ling was startled by his sudden action and involuntarily took a step back, ‘What are you doing?’
Jiang Yu held her ankle, preventing her from escaping. He looked up at her and explained, ‘I want to see how the parasite that previously infected you is doing. We can’t go back to the village for a while… Why are you reacting so strongly?’
Hua Ling paused for a moment, ‘…it’s just that you moved so suddenly.’
Jiang Yu glanced at her, smiled meaningfully, and then stopped talking, looking down and gently rolling up her pant leg to check the injury.
‘The parasite hasn’t spread for now. But we still can’t be careless.”
Hua Ling shook her head: “It’s fine. If it wasn’t temporarily sealed up, how could it have spread? Let’s wait until we understand what’s going on and then go find the kid to get rid of the parasite.”
Hua Ling bent down, lowered her pant leg, and looked up at Jiang Yu: “By the way…” When Hua Ling said this, Jiang Yu happened to look up from her feet and look up at her. Their gazes met, and their noses brushed against each other slightly…
Hua Ling was stunned for a moment, and immediately stood up after she came back to her senses: ‘I want to ask you, do you feel any unusual movements in the Demon Source?’
Jiang Yu slowly got up, looked at Hua Ling, smiled in a nonchalant manner, and answered irrelevant questions: ‘Why are you nervous?’
Hua Ling: ‘…what am I nervous about?’
Jiang Yu smiled: ‘Yes, what’s there to be nervous about. Right?’
Hua Ling: ‘…this guy has learned bad habits.
Hua Ling coughed, ‘You haven’t answered my question.’
Jiang Yu ran his hand along his chin, ‘I remember someone just now swearing to Zhurong that they would go find the source of evil, but now they’ve lost their confidence.’
Hua Ling leaned over half-jokingly and half-playfully, ‘In front of the true owner of the source of evil, I would never dare show off. I hope you will not be stingy with your teachings.’
Jiang Yu reached out and lightly tapped her forehead: ‘When it comes to being precise, who can match you. Yes, I did sense some fluctuations in the Demon Source. Especially after Ban Ruolan’s death. Hualing, tell me what you think. I know you noticed it too.’
Hualing smiled slightly: ‘I remember you saying before that the Demon Source here in the Southern Frontier is different from the previous ones. You said that the power of the seal has not weakened, but the Demon Source has indeed awakened.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘That’s right. I did say that.’
Hua Ling said, ‘So I deduced that it wasn’t the sealing power that had not weakened…but rather, Ban Ruolan used a method to make us think that the seal had not weakened, so that she could frantically draw out the power of the Demon Source for her own use without being detected by the Celestial Realm.’
Jiang Yu said, ‘That’s what I thought too.’
Hua Ling continued, ‘I heard that there is a blood-sealing technique in the witchcraft that can completely replicate the sealing effect, creating a perfect “fake” seal to deceive people. I think this is most likely the technique that Ban Ruo Lan used.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘You really know a lot.’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘Haha, do you feel like you underestimated me again?’
Jiang Yu shook his head and laughed, too: ‘Not really. Countless bloody lessons have taught everyone that underestimating you is going to cost you dearly.’
Hua Ling paused for a moment: ‘…why do I hear irony in this statement?’
Jiang Yu said with righteous indignation: ‘That must be your illusion.’
Hua Ling: ‘…too quick a response. On the self-cultivation of actors, Xiaoyu.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Yes. I will follow your teachings.’
Hualing was speechless and choked: ‘Forget it, let’s get back to business. After Banna’s death, her blood mark must have changed, so you felt the fluctuation of the source of evil.’
Jiang Yu applauded: ‘Good deduction! Continue.’
Hualing: ‘…Have you had enough fun?’
Jiang Yu spread his hands: ‘Occasionally cooperate with you, why, not used to it?’
Hua Ling was at a loss for words. ‘Fine. I’ll leave the rest to you. Now, finding the location of the source of evil shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?’
Jiang Yu laughed, ‘Oh? Finally, it’s my turn?’
Hua Ling said that it was safer to pretend to be looking at the scenery when dealing with Jianlingjun, who was not in a normal state.
Jiang Yu held out his hand to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling: ?
Jiang Yu naturally took her hand when she didn’t respond.
Hua Ling: ?!
Jiang Yu: ‘Follow me, don’t get lost.’
Who’s getting lost! I’m not a child. Hua Ling was about to lose her temper. As Jiang Xiaoyu’s memory gradually returned, her nominal ‘master’ was becoming increasingly powerless. And she always felt that her position had switched with Jiang Yu’s, and now it was more likely that she would be made angry by him. It really was… thirty years of hardship followed by thirty years of prosperity. If you mess with people, you have to pay back sooner or later…
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu walking in front of her, and her gaze fell on the hands they were holding. After a few thoughts, she didn’t pull her hand back, but gently held it.
Jiang Yu naturally felt it. He didn’t say much either, just held his hand a little tighter, as if he was afraid Hua Ling would run away.
‘Speaking of which,’ Jiang Yu asked curiously as he split the rocks blocking his path with his sword, “where did Chu go? I haven’t seen a single trace of him from beginning to end.”
Hua Ling: “Chu Jiang had some business to attend to over there and couldn’t make it this time. What, after all this time, have you developed a dependency?”
Jiang Yu gave her a sideways glance: ’I’m worried about you.’
Hua Ling knew what he was thinking and reassured her, ‘Unsealing the seal won’t affect anything even if he’s not here. I was fine before all by myself.’
Jiang Yu frowned and was about to say something, but Hua Ling raised her hand to stop her, ‘And don’t worry, thanks to you escorting me the whole way, I didn’t waste a single bit of mana, so I have enough energy to deal with the unsealing.’
Jiang Yu still looked a bit uneasy, ‘How long will it take to deal with his side of things?’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘I don’t know. It seems to be a bit tricky, at least ten days or half a month. We can’t wait, the sooner the better. You know the reason.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then turned to her: ‘The physical matter…you didn’t lie to me?’
Hua Ling spread her hands: ‘Am I that lacking in credibility now? At least trust me a little. Hey, what a miserable master who can’t even trust his sword spirit…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Okay, I’ll trust you for now. If you dare to lie to me again…’
Hua Ling patted his chest: ‘Don’t worry. A gentleman’s word.’
After a while, Jiang Yu said, ‘I’ve learned one thing from you.’
Hua Ling:
Jiang Yu: ‘You can mess around with food, but you can’t mess around with your promises.’

☆, Chapter 50

Hua Ling: ‘…’ It seems that her credibility has reached its limit.
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out to stop Hua Ling: ‘We’re here.’
‘We’re here?’ Hua Ling looked around uncertainly. There were piles of rocks everywhere, the yin energy was concentrated, and the feng shui was blocked, so it really didn’t seem like a good place to seal something.
Jiang Yu pointed at the ground.
Hua Ling looked at the rocks at her feet. Could it be that there was another world underneath?
‘Let’s split it open and take a look.”
After saying this, Hua Ling consciously moved three zhang to the side to avoid being accidentally injured.
Jiang Yu didn’t waste any words either, swinging his sword in a horizontal and then a vertical slash—at first, there was no movement, but three seconds later, the ground suddenly sank as a whole… He saved himself the trouble and simply abolished this layer. Hua Ling didn’t expect him to make such a big move beforehand, and his feet floated, causing him to sway twice as the ground shook.
Jiang Yu arrived at Hua Ling’s side in one fell swoop, reached around her waist, and lightly tapped his toes on the falling rubble as he said, ‘Let’s go.’
Hua Ling noticed that Jiang Yu’s body movements were truly extraordinary. He was dodging and weaving through the rubble with a person, and not only did he not get hit by a single piece of gravel, he didn’t even get a speck of dirt on him. Even military commanders who had been fighting for many years didn’t have such good skills.
The two of them safely reached the lower level of the cave, and Jiang Yu pointed to a cave with a sealed door in the barrier: ‘This is the entrance.’
Hua Ling nodded as he looked at the barrier: ‘This is the Bloodseal Technique—one of the most impenetrable barriers in legend.’
Jiang Yu walked up to the cave entrance and tore open the barrier with one hand: ‘Unfortunately, the practitioner is nothing but an empty shell after death.’
Hua Ling:!!!
When the Blood Seal Technique completely disintegrated, Jiang Yu knew that she had sensed the powerful magical energy of the Demon Source inside the cave.
Hua Ling followed Jiang Yu into the cave: ‘I never thought that Ban Ruolan could unseal the Demon Source to such a state. She is worthy of being a descendant of Shennong.’
Jiang Yu turned to look at her and slightly raised the corners of her mouth: ‘In a way, she has helped us.’
Hua Ling nodded, bit her index finger to draw the unsealing formation, and then looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘Go in.’
Jiang Yu thoughtfully said, ‘I wonder what will come to mind this time.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu glanced at Hua Ling, turned around and walked into the formation, stood in the position of the eye of the formation, and closed her eyes and concentrated. Hua Ling also gathered her energy and concentrated, and began to chant the incantation…
An incense stick’s worth of time passed. Hua Ling let go of her left hand, which had been holding the incantation, opened her eyes, and secretly wiped away the blood at the corner of her lips. Slowly, she withdrew her mana, and only after she had recovered did she walk over to Jiang Yu, trying her best to keep her pace light.
Hua Ling walked up to him and said, ‘How do you feel? Is your body okay?’
Jiang Yu slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, ‘What’s going on?’
Jiang Yu looked at her in silence for a moment, then suddenly reached out and dragged her into his arms, hugging her so tightly that he was about to clench his teeth. ‘How can you pretend to be so calm?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
After a while, Hua Ling reached out and gently pushed Jiang Yu’s shoulder: ‘Be gentle, you’re choking me.’
Jiang Yu loosened his grip a little, but didn’t let her go: ‘…I really want to bite you to death.’
Hua Ling was speechless for a moment: ‘…did you remember something?’
Jiang Yu gripped her shoulders and gritted her teeth, ‘What do you think?!’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment: ‘That’s why I’m asking you, I just don’t know.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Have you lost your memory too?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu waited for a long time for a reply, and finally snapped, ‘Fine, I’ll ask you. What is our relationship? Are you embarrassed to pretend to be so high and mighty with me?’
Hua Ling was embarrassed: ‘When did I ever adopt a “high profile”… Okay, I understand. Well, you didn’t have amnesia before, and it wasn’t appropriate for me to pretend to know you when I arrived, was it? I didn’t explain all the reasons before… I did tell you before.’ She actually didn’t expect him to remember this part of the memory first…
Jiang Yu stared at her for a long time, then suddenly sighed and said, ‘I’m sorry for making you wait so long.’
Hua Ling choked for a moment, then quickly said, ‘Uh, it’s okay…actually…’
Jiang Yu interrupted her and asked directly, ‘Why did you avoid me?’
Hua Ling was baffled, ‘Avoid you?’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, ‘You have intentionally or unintentionally avoided me during all the previous attempts. You can’t say you didn’t see my intentions.’
Hua Ling, ‘This…’
Jiang Yu: ‘Because of Chu Jiang?’
‘No.’ Hua Ling answered quickly this time.
Jiang Yu was not going to let her off the hook: ‘Then what is it?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu sighed and whispered, ‘Since I’ve remembered, let’s just talk about it. Your eyes don’t lie, and I believe all those worries and concerns are genuine. But your attitude always shows resistance. You politely resist me, and every time I try to get close, you take evasive action.’ There was another thing he didn’t say, and it occurred to him that ‘The Secret Records of the Three Realms’ was a birthday gift he had given Hualing. He still remembered the look in her eyes when she mentioned ‘that old friend’. It was all there for the world to see, and it was impossible to lie about it.
Hualing didn’t expect him to be so straightforward. She hadn’t prepared an answer, so she couldn’t reply for a while.
Jiang Yu couldn’t help but speculate when he saw her silence: ‘Did something happen later? Did I do something…bad?’
‘No.‘ Hua Ling looked up and took the initiative to hold out her hand and shake hands with him. “I was probably just afraid. I was just worried that one day, you would leave me again.”
Jiang Yu thought about the years she had waited silently, and her persistence in unsealing his curse despite the risk to her life.
’I’m sorry,’ Jiang Yu reached out and gently stroked Hua Ling’s face. “Forgive me.”
Hua Ling shook her head and placed her hand over his palm. ’Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault.’
Jiang Yu’s palm gradually slid down, stopping at Hua Ling’s chin, and he applied a slight amount of pressure… He tentatively lowered his head and lightly touched Hua Ling’s lips. It was just a superficial, fleeting intimacy. Then he left, nose to nose, and waited quietly for a moment. It seemed like he was testing Hua’s reaction, giving her a chance to escape.
After noticing that Hua Ling didn’t make any movements and didn’t receive any resistance, Jiang Yu once again pressed his lips towards Hua Ling. This time, the kiss was no longer as polite and restrained as before. Jiang Yu’s lips were warm and powerful, invading with an irresistible strength and a familiarity that came naturally. This was not their first kiss, but after so many years apart, it seemed like they had waited too long for this moment of intimacy. As Jiang Yu’s lips and tongue teased her, Hua Ling felt like she couldn’t even catch her breath. She felt dizzy, her limbs were limp and she couldn’t muster any strength…

☆, 51st letter

It wasn’t until Hua Ling almost thought she was going to suffocate like this that Jiang Yu let her go. Hua Ling slowly adjusted her breathing and buried her head in Jiang Yu’s shoulder. The two embraced quietly, neither speaking. This embrace that spanned thousands of years was really too long overdue for them.
After a long while, Jiang Yu suddenly asked, ‘What are you going to do after this?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, ‘After what?’
‘After the seal is broken. Will you come back to the Demon Realm with me?’
Jiang Yu’s fingertips gently ran through Hua Ling’s hair, slowly combing it.
Hua Ling leaned quietly in his arms, not sure what to think, and did not answer for a while.
After a long time without an answer, Jiang Yu frowned and said, ‘You don’t want to? Why? If you stay here, the people of the Divine Realm will never let you go. Or… do you still want to go back and confess your sins? Or… do you have any other concerns?’ He thought of the Divine General who had come to persuade him earlier… He knew nothing about what Hua Ling had done in the Divine Realm.
Hua Ling sighed, ‘No. I’m just overwhelmed with emotion.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly: ‘So, I take that as a yes?’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘I can go back with you.’ If your mind has not changed by then.
Jiang Yu seemed relieved: ‘Let’s go back to the village. We’ll get rid of the hex on you first.’
‘Eh—what are you doing?’
Jiang Yu suddenly picked Hua Ling up in his arms, and this sudden movement startled Hua Ling.
Jiang Yu’s mouth curled up slightly, and he lowered his head and gently rubbed his forehead against Hua Ling’s: ‘Don’t be stubborn. I know you’re tired. You were deliberately pretending to be relaxed just now, but you can’t even stand steadily, can you?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu sighed and shook his head helplessly: ‘Before, I was able to be fooled by you. In the future, if you want to lie to me, it will be much more difficult.’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘Yes, thanks for the reminder. I’ll try to be more careful so you don’t catch me out.’
Jiang Yu was momentarily taken aback: ‘You…’
Hua Ling patted him on the shoulder: ‘Since you’re so concerned, I won’t let you down. I’m going to get some sleep. Wake me up when you’re ready.’ With that, she leaned back against Jiang Yu’s shoulder and fell into a deep sleep. It had been really tiring to keep up the pretence.
When Hua Ling woke up, she found that they had returned to the cabin they had stayed in before.
She sat up and noticed Jiang Yu standing by the window looking outside. His profile was calm, and she wondered what he was thinking.
‘What time is it?’ Hua Ling lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
Jiang Yu came over and sat down by the bed. He reached out and tidied Hua Ling’s messy hair.
‘It’s only 3am, you should sleep a little longer. I just looked around the village, but I didn’t find any trace of the girl. We’ll ask the village chief in the morning.”
Hua Ling shook her head: “There’s no rush.”
She glanced at Jiang Yu and suddenly held out her hand to him: ’You’ve put away the Secret Records of the Three Realms? I’m worried about Qingyang’s injuries, will you go with me to take a look?’
Jiang Yu sighed: ‘You’re always like this, you start worrying as soon as you can move a little. With Zhurong watching him, what else could you possibly worry about?’
Hua Ling was full of black lines: ‘It’s precisely because Zhurong is watching him that I’m not at ease.’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘Forget it, let’s go. You won’t be at ease healing your wounds without seeing him anyway.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Those who know me best are Xiao Yu and I.’
Jiang Yu silently took out the book ‘Secrets of the Three Realms’ from his bosom and took Hua Ling’s hand, saying, ‘No, this is well known.’ As soon as the words fell, the two were pulled into the book by a glimmer of light.
Jiang Yu: ‘So in the long run, everyone has reached a consensus—to keep you quiet, you can only go along with it.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
While talking, the two had already landed in the Guiyun Realm.
This place is shrouded in smoke year-round and is as beautiful as a fairyland.
Jiang Yu took his hand and led the way to a wooden house at the foot of the mountain: ‘Let’s go.’
Hua Ling was surprised: ‘How did you know he was here?’
Jiang Yu: ‘Actually, I came to check on him while you were asleep. I didn’t want you to worry when you woke up.’
That was so awkward. Hua Ling cut him off: ‘You could have just said you were worried about him too. Qingyang would have been happy to know that.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
“So, how is his injury?’
Jiang Yu glanced at Hua Ling: ‘Although the injury was serious, there was no danger to his life. According to Zhurong, he just sent someone to ask Biexia to help him diagnose the injury, and they said the poison had been neutralised.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘That’s good.’
Jiang Yu silently gazed at her.
Hua Ling felt something, and looked up: ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
Jiang Yu: ‘Don’t you have something to explain?’
Hua Ling was puzzled: ‘Explain what?’
Jiang Yu narrowed her eyes: ‘For example, what was the pill you gave him? Why did Qingyang lose his composure when he saw it?’
Hua Ling: ‘…the expression “lose one’s composure” is a bit exaggerated, dear.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Don’t change the subject.’
Hua Ling sighed slightly: ‘Fine. What do you want me to say, that the pill is a miraculous medicine that I spent five hundred years refining, and that it cannot be used unless absolutely necessary?’
Jiang Yu looked at her in silence for a long time: ‘Really? That’s all there is to it.’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘Is there any other way to put it? Do you have an innovative way?’
Jiang Yu looked at her: ‘Okay. I’ll accept this for now… If you dare to lie to me…’
Hua Ling suddenly grabbed Jiang Yu’s hand and said seriously: ‘Xiaoyu.’
Jiang Yu: ?
Hua Ling: ‘I was wondering if you have a paranoid delusion.’
Jiang Yu heard this for the first time and was at a loss for a moment because he didn’t understand it. Then, after understanding the literal meaning in five seconds, he instantly exploded: ‘You’re the one with a paranoid delusion!’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘Why don’t you say the second half of it – your whole family has a paranoid delusion.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
The two of them had a back-and-forth argument, and soon they had reached the front of the cabin.
Hua Ling raised his hand and tried to knock on the door – before his hand had even dropped, Jiang Yu had already kicked the door open with a single kick.
Hua Ling: ‘…’ Unnecessarily escalating the game?
As soon as the door was pushed open, the strong smell of medicinal herbs hit them.
‘Ugh…’ Jiang Yu was just about to enter the door when he was hit square in the face by something.
Hua Ling reached out and caught the book that had hit him – and then looked along the source of the attack to see…
A cold-looking woman in a pure white feathered robe was sitting in front of a low table glaring at Jiang Yu, as if she had been reading a book and had been interrupted by Jiang Yu’s rude door-opening action.
‘No hands? Can’t you knock?’ The woman spoke in a straightforward and sharp manner, showing no mercy at all.
Hua Ling walked out from behind Jiang Yu and sheepishly greeted the woman, ‘Hey, Evil Spirit, long time no see. My…Jianling doesn’t know the rules, so don’t be offended.’
Jiang Yu snorted, ‘Small-minded.’
The woman shot two glares at him, ‘What did you say? Say it again if you dare!’
Jiang Yu said, ‘Hmph, I said you woman…um.’
Before Jiang Yu could finish speaking, Hua Ling gave her a hard kick, and she was instantly too sore to say anything.
The woman seemed to finally notice Hua Ling’s presence and said, ‘Oh. I haven’t seen you for a while, and you’ve gotten yourself into this sorry state? It’s as if you’ve been taken by ten men.’
Hua Ling: ‘…So, you must have a strong mental constitution to speak with Bixie.
Otherwise, you’ll easily suffer internal injuries.
While she was speaking, the woman had already walked up to Hua Ling, grabbed her wrist, and felt her pulse.
She looked up, frowned at Hua Ling and said, ‘What on earth have you been up to lately?’
Hua Ling suddenly pulled back her wrist and smiled, ‘Nothing, just breaking a few seals, it took a bit of effort. I’ll be fine after a period of rest.’
Pi Xie still frowned at her, and Hua Ling smiled slightly as she looked back at her.
Pi Xie was silent for a moment, and sneered, ‘You’re a doctor yourself, you must take good care of your own body. That’s why they say, doctors shouldn’t treat themselves. It means that you rely on your knowledge and act recklessly, right?”
Jiang Yu, who had heard something fishy from the side, took a step forward: “What did you say about her health?”
Bixie glanced at him, gave a sarcastic smile, and was about to speak when he saw Hua Ling, who was standing behind Jiang Yu, shake her head imperceptibly.
Bixie looked at Jiang Yu and said indifferently, ’The legendary sword spirit is you, isn’t it?’
Jiang Yu: ‘You haven’t answered my question.’
Bixie: ‘Hua Ling has been unsealed all for your sake. Since you know that she likes to meddle and is stubborn, you need to keep a closer eye on her. Don’t let her waste her health by pretending to be heroic and great for no reason.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then said, ‘I know. What did you say about her health just now? Is there anything wrong with it?’
Pi Xie shook his head slowly: ‘Although she is much weaker than usual, she is not in any danger for the time being. I will write you a prescription. Go back and make sure she takes her medicine on time. This is what I hate about her. She thinks she knows a little bit about Chinese medicine, so she completely ignores her own health.’
Jiang Yu nodded with rare humility: ‘I will make sure she takes her medicine.’
Pi Xie sighed: ‘How many seals are left?’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘There is only one left.’
Bixie: ‘That’s good. After the seal is broken, you should rest well and not exert yourself.’
Hua Ling nodded repeatedly: ‘Yes, yes, you are right.’
Bixie pointed at her and said, ‘That’s nonsense. Don’t just take my advice in one ear and out the other.’
Hua Ling said innocently, ‘I was listening to your advice seriously.’
Bixie gave her a blank look and said, ‘Are you here to see Qingyang? Follow me.’

☆, Chapter 52

Jiang Yu and Hua Ling exchanged glances, and followed Bixie around the screen to the back room.
‘Hua Ling…?’
Qingyang could sense Hua Ling’s presence as soon as she entered the room. Although she couldn’t move or get out of bed, she still felt very close to her.
“It seems…you’ve successfully dealt with that poisonous woman.’
‘Oh, Qingyang, it’s been a long time… Ah, that’s not right.’ Hua Ling walked over to the bed and waved at him. “Are you feeling well?”
Qingyang propped himself up and tried to sit up, but Hua Ling pressed his shoulder down. “You lie back and rest.”
Qingyang looked at her and said, ’You look pale.’
Hua Ling laughed and said, ‘You’re not in any position to lecture me about being sick.’
Qing Yang looked at Jiang Yu behind Hua Ling and said, ‘What did you do to her?’
Jiang Yu looked down on him with a detached tone, ‘It’s none of your business what I did to her.’
Qingyang glared at him: ‘You…’
Hua Ling waved her hand: ‘You two, can you stop it? Jiang Yu, don’t be so mean-spirited, you’re still sick. And you…’
She glared at Qingyang: ‘Sick people should rest properly and not worry all the time. If you have the energy to worry about this and that, first think about how to quickly get better.’
Qingyang pursed his lips, slightly unwillingly: ‘Oh…’
Jiang Yu glanced at the two of them and turned to leave.
Qingyang looked at Hualing and said seriously, ‘You shouldn’t have given me the Millennium Snow Ginseng Pills.’
Hualing smiled and helped him tuck in his quilt, ‘What nonsense are you talking about? Medicine is only valuable when it treats the right symptoms. You can trade one pill for your life, you’ve made a profit.’
Qingyang: ‘But…’
Hualing interrupted, ‘There’s no “but”. Sooner or later, you’ll need to use the medicine, so why not just leave it there and let it rot?’
Hua Ling patted Qingyang gently through the quilt, ‘You just need to think about getting better soon. I have to go first, I still have some things to take care of, I’ll come back to see you some other day.’
Qingyang nodded. As she turned to leave, she suddenly asked, ‘I heard that Tong Qing was also saved?’
Hua Ling’s feet paused slightly, she nodded lightly, and then walked out.
There was no sign of Jiang Yu in the room, so Hua Ling looked at Bixie, who was still sitting in front of the low table, and asked, ‘Where is Jiang Yu?’
Bixie looked up and nudged his chin gently towards the window. Hua Ling looked out the window on the southwest side and saw Jiang Yu standing by the river at a glance.
Hua Ling: ‘Where did Zhurong go? In fact… I have another friend who is injured. I don’t know if Zhurong asked you to go and take a look?’
Bixie put down the book in his hands: ‘Is it the Tongbao Qianshu who was previously possessed by the insect?’
Hua Ling nodded, hesitating, ‘How is his condition?’
Pi Xie got up: ‘He’s not here. I asked Zhu Rong to take him to the medicinal spring. His condition is quite special, and he needs to soak in the medicinal spring for 77 days and 49 nights to get rid of the parasite poison in his body. Come with me, he’ll ask about your condition first when he wakes up.’
Pi Xie shook his head: ‘What exactly happened to you…’
Hua Ling sighed: ‘Thanks…what, you said he woke up?
Pixie shook his head in confusion: ‘Really? Is there a problem?’
Hua Ling said in a daze: ‘…He, he wasn’t seriously injured in the soul, and he lost his mind completely…Zhurong said that this condition would take at least a hundred or two hundred years to recover…’
Pixie: ‘Listen to him ramble. He knows nothing.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
Although I don’t know what method Pixie used to wake Tong Qing up, Hua Ling knows that if it wasn’t for her, Tong Qing would definitely not have regained consciousness so quickly.
‘Xie, thank you! I really…‘
’Okay, enough of this nonsense,‘ Pixie interrupted her directly, “are we going or not?”
’Yes, of course we are, let’s go now!”
Hua Ling followed Pixie out the door, and Jiang Yu felt her breath and moved a few steps lightly to get to her side.
Jiang Yu looked down at Hua Ling, who had walked up to him, and asked, “Have you calmed her down?”
Hua Ling laughed, ’If you hadn’t been causing trouble, I wouldn’t have needed to calm her down.’
Jiang Yu shook his head and laughed, too, reaching out to take Hua Ling’s hand.
‘It’s cold,’ he frowned, suddenly stepping closer and bending down to press his forehead against Hua Ling’s. ‘Are you cold?’
‘Hey—’ Bixie reminded the two to be mindful of their surroundings and not be so inconsiderate.
Hua Ling shook her head slightly. ‘Let’s go see Tong Qing.’
Jiang Yu looked into her eyes. ‘Are you feeling unwell? Don’t keep it to yourself.’
Hua Ling and he looked at each other: ‘Really not.’
Bixie: ‘…Hey.’
Hua Ling turned to Bixie: ‘Let’s go.’
Bixie grunted, and the next second he turned into a huge beast with a pure white head, a lion’s body, and a phoenix’s tail.
Jiang Yu glanced at it: ‘So Bixie looks like a cross between four animals.’
‘Bang!’ The huge beast swiftly kicked Jiang Yu ten metres away with one hoof.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
‘Hoo…’ the beast let out a sound of discontent.
Hua Ling quickly reassured him, “Don’t take him seriously. He’s always like this, talking without thinking.”
Bixie “hoo” turned his head towards Hua Ling and stamped his hoof.
Hua Ling carefully placed his hand on her head and patted her gently.
Jiang Yu walked back while patting the dust off his body, “He’s got a temper.”
Hua Ling angrily said, ’Shut up!’
In the end, the evil-warding horse, labelled ‘stingy’, let the two of them sit on its back, and then gave a mighty kick with its hind legs, soaring straight up into the sky…
Jiang Yu: ‘Where are we going?’
Hua Ling: ‘Yaoquan. The entrance to that place is a bit unusual, so we can’t just teleport there.’
The so-called Yaoquan is made from a hundred herbs, and is said to be able to cure all diseases and regenerate flesh.
This medicine spring is actually located on an island in midair. And on this island are planted all kinds of strange flowers and exotic trees. Even if Jiang Yu doesn’t know about medicine, he understands that these strange flowers and trees must be all kinds of precious medicinal herbs.
Hua Ling glanced at Jiang Yu and said, ‘Don’t touch the flowers and plants on this island. Some medicinal herbs are inherently highly toxic.’
Jiang Yu looked down at her and smiled, ‘I know.’
The two followed Bixie behind them, through a forest of ancient trees with twisted branches, and arrived at a thatched hut. Pushing open the door, they looked around and saw springs of all sizes. A rough estimate would be no fewer than a hundred.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling could tell what he was thinking from his expression. She nudged the still stunned Jiang Yu with her arm: ‘You still think that the so-called medicinal spring only has one spring?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Even I didn’t know that there was such a secret place in the “Record of the Secret of the Three Realms.” He remembered that when he first gave the book to Hua Ling, he had never seen such a place.
Hua Ling nodded with a smile: ‘It wasn’t there originally. This medicinal spring was developed by Bixie for various experiments. There are many precious medicinal herbs here that are rare even in the Three Realms, so it can be considered her private “treasury”. When it comes to medical skills and pharmacology, I’m a long way behind her.’
Jiang Yu said: ‘Haha, it’s even better than your medical skills. Even I’m a little curious.’
Bixie had already returned to her cold and beautiful appearance and glanced back at the two of them: ‘Hey, did you come to admire the view or visit the sick?’
Jiang Yu whispered in Hualing’s ear, ‘That’s the kind of temper she has, really not to be admired. I feel that I have a hot temper that is difficult to tame, and today I have learned that there are mountains beyond the mountain and people beyond the people.’
Hualing couldn’t help but laugh, ‘Wow, not bad, you’re quite self-aware.’
Bixie suddenly stopped in his tracks: ‘We’re here. He’s just ahead at the medicinal spring.’
Hua Ling looked up and sure enough, he saw a head poking out of the medicinal spring in the distance. And who was guarding it but Zhu Rong?
Hua Ling took a step forward, but was suddenly stopped by Jiang Yu.
Hua Ling: ?
Jiang Yu: ‘It’s not convenient for you to go over there right now.’
Hua Ling was baffled: ‘Why?’
Bixie suddenly interjected, ‘He means he doesn’t want you to see another man’s body. Right, petty?’ The last sentence was directed at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘You really…please, please, you have to let me go over and say a few words to him. Besides, he’s completely immersed in the medicinal spring, so I can’t see more than his neck and shoulders, even if I wanted to.’
Jiang Yu glared at her: ‘Do you want to see something else? !’
Hua Ling was amused by his expression and patted the back of his hand: ‘Okay, okay. We’re here to visit the sick, can you stop leaning so much?’
Jiang Yu snorted and after a long pause, he said in a muffled voice, ‘You go over there. I’ll wait for you here.’
Jiang Yu and Tong Qing did not know each other, so he thought that going over there would disturb the two people’s conversation. Fortunately, he just waited outside the medicinal spring.
Hua Ling followed Bixie to the edge of the medicinal spring. Zhu Rong and Hua Ling exchanged a glance, then let the way clear, and followed Bixie out of the medicinal spring.
The young man soaking in the medicinal spring seemed to have noticed something, as his eyes, which had been tightly shut, suddenly opened, directly meeting Hua Ling’s worried gaze.
‘Hua Ling… I never thought I’d see you again,’ Tong Qing’s mouth curled up into an upward arc.

☆, Chapter 53

Hualing’s eyes mist over: ‘You’re stealing my lines. As long as you’re fine, that’s all that matters. Tongqing… I’m sorry. If only I’d noticed earlier…’
Tongqing shakes his head: ‘Don’t say that. That was my job. I was too late to warn you and the woman caught me. It’s a shame, but I lost to her.’
Hualing sighs: ‘She has the Divine Blood of the Shennong, so it’s only natural that you couldn’t defeat her. I’m sorry that you had to go through all this.’
Tong Qing: ‘I’m fine, don’t be like that.’
Hua Ling: ‘How does your body feel now?’
Tong Qing smiled and said, ‘Much better. Thanks to Doctor Evil’s excellent medical skills, the remaining toxins in my body should be cleared up soon.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘Doctor Evil?’ She was certain that Tong Qing had not known about Doctor Evil before.
Tong Qing’s face suddenly and strangely turned slightly red.
Hua Ling understood and did not tease him, but instead urged him, ‘Then rest well. I think from now on, you should stay here.’
Tong Qing frowned, ‘Why? When I’m better, I can still help you…’
Hua Ling shook her head, ‘No, Tong Qing. I want you to stay here. Life here is peaceful and comfortable, and I think you’ll like it. You’ve done enough over the years…’
Tong Qing, ‘You don’t think I’m in the way, do you?’
Hua Ling said solemnly, ‘Of course not! I just don’t want you to get hurt again… Please consider this a request from me, and stay. And this time, you were possessed by a parasite, which caused serious damage to your primordial spirit. In this secret realm, apart from the medicinal springs, there is also a gathering platform where you can practice. By training there, you can absorb the light of the sun and the moon, which will help you repair the damage to your primordial spirit as soon as possible.’
Tong Qing was silent for a moment, then said, ‘Hua Ling, you saved my life. If it weren’t for you, I would have died long ago, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I hope to be able to help you, in any way I can, as long as you don’t mind.’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘You’ve already done enough. Just consider it my request, okay?’
Tong Qing was silent for a moment before slowly nodding, ‘Okay, I’ll stay here for now. But I’ll be on standby, if you need me, just call me.’
Hua Ling: ‘Good. That’s settled. You take care of your injuries, I have to go, I’ll come back to see you in a while.’
Tong Qing nodded: ‘Okay, go do your thing, don’t worry about me. I know you have a lot to do.’
‘Okay…take care.’
Hua Ling walked out of the medicinal spring and nodded to the person debugging the medicinal formula: ‘I’ll go then, please take care of Qingyang and Tong Qing.’
“Hua Ling,’ Bixie suddenly pointed at the object in his hands and turned to look at her, saying seriously, ‘I know you have something you want to do, and I won’t stop you. But don’t get too carried away. If something happens to you, more than one person will be saddened.’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t get carried away.’
Bixie shook his head and stood up, ‘I’m not going to help you collect your body anyway. Do what you think is right.’
Hua Ling laughed again, didn’t say anything more, gave her a fist salute, pushed open the wooden fence of the thatched hut, and walked out.
As soon as she walked out, she saw Jiang Yu and Zhurong fighting happily…
Hua Ling was at a loss for words: ‘Hey…you guys…’
When Jiang Yu and Zhurong saw Hua Ling come out, they coincidentally stopped and fell back to the ground.
Zhurong walked over casually and patted Hua Ling on the shoulder, wondering, ‘Huh? In one day, you’ve lost a lot of weight. Did you take some kind of whitening agent?’
Hua Ling’s mouth twitched slightly: ‘It’s probably your illusion.’
Jiang Yu walked back to Hua Ling’s side: ‘Have you finished here? Let’s go back then, without any more delays. Let’s go find Tong Yiming now.’
When Zhurong heard that they were leaving, he immediately looked reluctant: ‘Hey, little sword spirit, don’t go, we haven’t finished yet. I can see that you’ve improved a lot, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had such a good fight.’
Idiot. This was the word that came to Hua Ling and Jiang Yu’s minds at the same time.
Jiang Yu said, ‘We have urgent business today, so Hua Ling and I will go back. We can spar again some other time.’
Zhu Rong was not giving up: ‘I’ll go with you. I won’t bother you with my nonsense. When you have time, you can spar with me?’
Hua Ling was speechless and simply said no.
Zhu Rong was not going to give up: ‘Why? On what basis?
Hua Ling was at her wits’ end. “You stay here and guard Tong Qing until he recovers. What did you promise me earlier? Do you still want the Water and Cloud Realm?”
Zhu Rong said angrily, “Fine, fine. We’ll talk about it next time.” After saying this, as if she was annoyed by looking at Hua Ling one more time, she simply turned her back on her and walked away.
Hua Ling let out a sigh of relief and said to Jiang Yu, ‘Let’s go, let’s go back.’
Jiang Yu nodded and directly used a spell to drag Hua Ling out of the ‘Three Realms Secret Records’. When they returned to the stilted wooden house, the sun was rising in the east just outside the window, and the sound of a rooster crowing pierced the morning silence, signalling the end of the night.
Hua Ling smiled at Jiang Yu and said, ‘Just in time.’
Jiang Yu was in no mood to joke with her, and pulled her directly towards the village chief’s house.
‘Tong Yiming, come out!’ Jiang Yu didn’t care if she would wake up the others, and kicked open the village chief’s door.
Hearing such a loud noise, Tong Yiming, who hadn’t buttoned his shirt properly, rushed out of the bedroom directly. When he saw the two of them, he was obviously taken aback: ‘You…’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘We have already killed the monster in the cave, so you don’t have to worry about sending offerings in the future.’
Tong Yiming had obviously just woken up, and he hadn’t fully come to yet after such a big change, so he didn’t know what to say for a while.
After a long while, until Jiang Yu frowned impatiently, Tong Yiming let out a sound, ‘You…’
He subconsciously took a step back, probably thinking that Hualing and the others had returned for revenge. Hualing stepped out from behind Jiang Yu and took a step forward, ‘Village Chief, don’t worry, we’re not here for revenge, and we’re not here to take your life.’
Tong Yiming: ‘…’
Jiang Yu impatiently said, ‘Why are you still wasting words with him? Just tell him to hand over the girl with the curse.’
Tong Yiming also sensed that the two men were not hostile, so he calmed down and looked at Hua Ling and said, ‘Come in and sit. I will explain the circumstances of this matter to you. This time, I really…owe you both a lot.’
Jiang Yu was about to say something, but Hua Ling quietly reached out to stop him and nodded to the village chief, ‘That’s right. I also want to know the ins and outs of this matter.”
Tong Yiming told them that half a year ago, people in the village had gradually fallen ill with a strange disease. And, as he had told Hua Ling before, neither the local doctors nor the major hospitals in the provincial capital could find anything wrong. However, the villagers were gradually weakening one after the other. Tong Yiming began to suspect that they were not sick, but had been affected by a curse or some kind of black magic. But logically speaking, almost everyone in the clan knew black magic, just to varying degrees of proficiency. But even as the village chief, he could not see anything at all.
So Tong Yiming and the others began to investigate the matter, and finally discovered that all the villagers who had contracted this strange disease had been to that cave. That cave was usually only used for village sacrifices, but now that there were fewer sacrifices, keeping the cave was just a tradition. However, every month the village would take turns sending someone there to clean it and replace the sacrificial offerings.
After they discovered the common characteristics of these patients, they began to organize the village’s elite team to conduct a thorough investigation of that cave. They first discovered in the cave some extremely poisonous insects they had never seen before, as well as some strange poisonous beasts. It was also during one of these in-depth investigations that he ran into Ban Ruolan. When he first encountered the woman, he thought he was definitely finished. But he suppressed his fear and began to negotiate with Ban Ruolan. As long as he could save the lives of the people in his tribe, he was willing to cooperate with the woman and help her achieve her goal. Ben Ruolan’s condition was simple: he had to select ten physically strong ‘living sacrifices’ every month to come to the cave, and she would then guarantee that no one from Tongjia Village would be harmed.
Hualing was silent for a moment: ‘So, every time someone passes through Tongjia Village, they will definitely be sent to the cave as a sacrifice… What if there aren’t enough people? What will you do?’
Tong Yiming was silent for a moment: ‘Go to nearby villages and towns to capture…’
Jiang Yu sneers: ‘You really won’t stop at anything to save yourself. Your lives are important, but other people’s lives are not?’
Tong Yiming: ‘…I know I have committed many sins. But as long as I am the village chief of Tongjia Village, I will protect everyone. For this reason, I will spare no expense.’
Hua Ling shakes his head: ‘Now that the matter has been resolved, I hope you will never again have the heart to harm others. I am not going to kill you, and the people of Tongjia Village need you.’
Tong Yiming also fell silent for a moment, before saying, ‘Thank you. By the way…how did you defeat that woman? Her strength is beyond the reach of mere mortals…’
Hua Ling said, ‘You don’t need to know the details. There is one thing I need your help with.’
Tong Yiming said, ‘Just tell me.’
Hua Ling said, ‘We’re looking for a girl. She was the one who came to greet us when we entered the village and gave me something.’
Tong Yiming suddenly fell silent.
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow, ‘What, is it inconvenient?’
Tong Yiming shook his head and said, ‘To be honest with you, that girl was actually possessed by part of Ban Ruolan’s consciousness. She was responsible for surveillance in the village. She suddenly fell unconscious last night and was sent to the provincial hospital. I think it’s because you killed Ban Ruolan that the girl was no longer under control. But because she had been possessed for a long time, her body was overwhelmed and that’s why she collapsed…’
Hua Ling was a little depressed: ‘Did that girl know how to use the gu technique?’
Tong Yiming shook his head: ‘Basically no. She was young and her family had not yet had time to teach her these things… and then she was possessed for a long time… it’s really sad. Why do you ask?’
Tong Yiming looked at the two men’s gloomy faces and suddenly realised: ‘She put a hex on you?’
Hua Ling nodded.
Jiang Yu frowned and asked: ‘Since the person who cast the hex is dead, why hasn’t Hua Ling’s hex been lifted?’
Hua Ling sighed: ‘Because the body of the little girl was used when the spell was cast. So as long as the girl is alive, the effect of the curse will continue. Am I right, village chief?’
Tong Yiming nodded.
Jiang Yu punched the table: ‘So do I have to carry this curse with me forever? !’
Tong Yiming looked at Hua Ling: ‘Would you mind if I take a look at the curse you have? Maybe I can find out if there is a cure for you.’
Hua Ling nodded and rolled up the hem of his trousers slightly.
Tong Yiming glanced at the red lines on Hua Ling’s ankle and his face changed slightly.
He looked up at Hua Ling and said, ‘Can I borrow a moment to speak?’

☆, 54th Note

Hua Ling glanced at Jiang Yu and said, ‘Okay, let’s go inside and talk.’
Jiang Yu followed suit, but Hua Ling reached out to stop him.
Jiang Yu frowned and said, ‘Hua Ling.’
Hua Ling shook his head and said, ‘It’s fine. You just wait here for me.’
Tong Yiming also agreed, saying, ‘Yes, we need to be careful here to break the curse. The fewer people present, the better, otherwise they will disturb us. It wouldn’t be good if something goes wrong.’
Jiang Yu nodded after a moment of silence and said, ‘Okay. I’ll wait for you here. Call me if you need me.’
Hua Ling nodded and followed Tong Yiming into the back room.
‘Village Chief, now that there are only the two of us, you can speak freely,’ Hua Ling sat down at the table and looked at Tong Yiming. She already had a vague guess in her mind… If she was right, then the charm should be…
Tong Yiming sighed and said, ‘Before that, I have a question for you. What is your relationship with that young man outside?’
Hua Ling’s face darkened slightly. Is it really like this…
Tong Yiming saw that Hua Ling didn’t answer, so he continued on his own, ‘Is that so… I understand. If you don’t want to lose your life, I advise you to keep your distance from that young man. Of course, I mean keep your distance, you should understand.’
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘Does that mean that as long as I feel emotions, the parasite will grow inside me?’
Tong Yiming nodded: ‘That’s right. And the more your emotions fluctuate, the deeper your feelings, the faster the growth rate of the poison will be.’
‘What a nasty habit, this poison. The person who invented this poison technique must have been very unloved,’ Hua Ling said with a poker face.
Tong Yiming frowned: ‘Don’t take it lightly. There is no cure for this curse yet. The only person who might know the cure… she’s dead. But as far as I know, as long as you don’t let your emotions get the better of you and remain calm and collected, you can suppress the development of the curse. I just looked at the wound where you were bitten by the curse, and you used a barrier to suppress the spread of the curse, didn’t you? It’s useless… this kind of curse will only attack when you get emotional, and it can’t be sealed with a barrier.’
Hua Ling ran his hand along his chin. ‘In that case… Thanks, I understand. I just have one question. If I just leave it alone, how long will it take for the poison to spread to my heart?’
Tong Yiming: ‘…I don’t know. It depends on whether you can control your emotions. But…when this red pattern spreads all over your body…’
Hua Ling got up: ‘I understand. It seems there’s still time.’
Tong Yiming: ?
Tong Yiming couldn’t help but ask, ‘Why aren’t you at all…’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘You want to ask why I’m not at all worried?’
Tong Yiming: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘There’s no point in getting anxious. It’s better to use that energy to think about how to finish what you’re doing as quickly as possible.’
Tong Yiming closed his eyes: ‘You really are… you’re different from anyone I know.’
Tong Yiming thought for a moment, and then, with a determined look, said: ‘Come with me, I have something for you.’ Tong Yiming turned around and walked to the bookcase in the corner, reached in and pushed aside a few books, and then fiddled with his hands in the cabinet for a while.
‘Wow”—the bookcase and the entire wall suddenly turned a full 180 degrees—there was a recessed compartment in the wall behind the bookcase, and in the compartment was a black porcelain jar. Tong Yiming took the jar out of the compartment and placed it on the table.
Hua Ling leaned forward: ’What is this?’
Tong Yiming took out a crystal clear box from the black porcelain jar. Hua Ling saw that it contained a crystal clear insect, except that there were red markings on its body.
Tong Yiming handed Hua Ling the box containing the insect: ‘The treasure passed down from generation to generation in our clan – the Lingxue Gu. Wear this on your body to suppress the onset of the Gu poison in you. But it is only a temporary solution, a stopgap measure. And if you wear it, it will prevent you from being infected again in the future, and protect you from all poisons.”
Hua Ling did not take it, but asked in return, “Why give me such an important treasure?”
Tong Yiming sighed and said, ’You saved my villagers from a great calamity, so let us express our gratitude in this way; it is also a way of…making amends. After all, you were infected with this parasite because of us.’
Seeing that Hua Ling had not moved, Tong Yiming bent his knees and was about to kneel. Hua Ling quickly got up and held out his hand to help him up: ‘Eh, Chief, you mustn’t… Okay, then I’ll accept it, thank you for your kindness. If the day comes… I will ask someone to return it.’
Tong Yiming shook his head: ‘…I hope you can find another way to remove the curse.’
‘Pang!’ There was a loud noise outside the house.
Hua Ling’s face changed, and he stopped Tong Yiming, who wanted to go out and check it out: “Village Chief, you and your family stay inside. No matter what happens, don’t come out.”
Tong Yiming’s expression hardened: ’What the hell is going on outside? No… I have to go out and take a look, in case the villagers…? Tong Yiming suddenly found that he was frozen in place. He desperately tried to move, but his hands and feet didn’t listen to his brain.
Hua Ling removed his hand from Tong Yiming’s shoulder: ‘Sorry, I had to resort to this. It’s too dangerous out there, and you can’t handle it. Don’t worry, Jiang Yu and I will distract them, so the villagers won’t be affected. The body freeze will automatically release in three hours.’
Tong Yiming’s eyes followed Hua Ling’s back as he walked away: ‘Who… are they?’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘There are some things it’s better not to know.’
…
Hua Ling had just pushed open the door when he felt a gust of wind. Jiang Yu stood with his arms folded, facing off against three heavenly generals wearing divine armour and standing on auspicious clouds.
Jiang Yu reached out to protect Hua Ling behind him: ‘What are you doing out here? Go back inside.’
Hua Ling shook her head, walked up to her, and took her hand: ‘Let’s go, a fight here will involve these innocent people.’
Jiang Yu glanced at her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and left in a flash of lightning, wielding his sword…
Several heavenly generals immediately soared up into the clouds and chased after them: ‘Sinner Hua Ling, surrender now!’ The three of them split into three lines to encircle Jiang Yu and Hua Ling. However, Jiang Yu was skilled at wielding his sword, agile and light, and after a few twists and turns, he had distanced himself from them.
Hua Ling suddenly let out a laugh.
Jiang Yu’s face was dark with lines: ‘You still have the mood to laugh…’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Did you hear what they shouted? “Surrender”? I thought I heard the lines from some lame wuxia drama from some era. Could it be that they expect us to stand still like scarecrows and let them stab us?’
Jiang Yu also laughed, and a slight tremor in his chest passed to Hua Ling from where the two were leaning against each other.
‘You have to forgive these living puppets for their intellectual shortcomings. I don’t think anyone with any intelligence would follow the current Heavenly Emperor.”
Hua Ling nodded: “Eh, well said. Thanks for the compliment~”
Jiang Yu shook his head fondly.
Hua Ling looked up at him: “There are few people in the valley ahead, let’s stop here. We have to get rid of these three here, they’ve discovered our whereabouts.”
Jiang Yu nodded: ’I know.’
Hua Ling: ‘Can you hold out for a while? I’ll go get Zhurong to help.’
‘No need. I’m already here.’ A ball of black flames suddenly ignited beside the two men, and a certain god grinned, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth as he gave the two men a surly smile, ‘There’s a fight, how can I miss out?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
‘Hey!’ Not getting the welcome he had imagined, or the grateful tears, or the warm welcome, Zhu Rong instantly became unhappy, ‘Why aren’t you guys saying anything!’
Jiang Yu: ‘Saying what?’
‘Oh!’ Hua Ling dryly clapped his hands three times: ‘Ah, so happy. Thanks to the Fire God for your help.’
Zhu Rong went crazy: ‘It makes me so mad! I’ll go kill those three scumbags right now!’
‘Ah… you’d better not fight three at once.‘ Just as Hualing extended his hand, Zhurong had already dashed to the three generals.
’Fire God Zhurong is here! You nameless rats, come up and die!”
The three generals, seeing the unexpected guest, all stopped at the same time and quickly formed a formation, surrounding Zhurong.
The green-shirted general said, ‘Fire God Zhu Rong? ! I thought you were dead!’
The blue-shirted general said, ‘Liuhe, don’t waste time talking to him. He’s a traitor, so let’s take him down.’
The purple-shirted general didn’t say anything, but nodded slightly to show his agreement.
The three generals exchanged a look without saying a word.
‘Tiangang Fumo Circle…’
Zhu Rong: !!!
‘What the hell is this?!‘ Zhurong suddenly found himself trapped in nine golden, invisible rings. He tried to break free, but the rings only tightened around him.
’Sneaky rat, if you’ve got the guts, let’s fight like men. Playing tricks is no way to be a hero.‘
’Hmph, they never said they were heroes,’
Jiang Yu’s voice suddenly came from behind one of the divine generals.
The divine general in the green shirt’s expression changed: ‘Taiyin, behind you!’
Before the divine general in the blue shirt could turn around, he was stabbed in the back with a sword.
‘Ugh—bastard.’ He covered the wound and stabbed Jiang Yu with a backhand spear. However, in this counterattack, his hand left the formation that maintained the Circle of Subjugation, and the Circle of Subjugation immediately weakened. Zhurong took advantage of this gap and mobilised all his divine power to break free—the Circle of Subjugation broke with a loud noise, and at the same time, the Purple Shirt God General and the Green Shirt God General were thrown back several zhang due to the rebound of their magical power.
Zhurong let out a long howl and the next second, he had dodged to the front of the Purple Shirt God General. The Purple Shirt God General was shaken by his aura and drew his sword to strike, but Zhurong knocked the sword out of his hand with one hand. With the other hand, he quickly reached forward and grabbed the General by the neck.
‘Uhh…’ The Purple Shirt God General’s face turned purple with anger, and he couldn’t say a word, his legs flailing helplessly in the air.
The Green-clad God General raised his spear in the air and was about to throw it at Zhurong’s chest. Suddenly, he felt a tingling in his palm. He looked down and saw that a rune had appeared on his wrist. He turned his head and saw Hua Ling withdrawing his hand and smiling at him. ‘You’re up against me.’
Three against three, that’s fair.
Hua Ling smiled slightly, ‘But can we make this quick? If it drags on, my wife might not be happy.’
The angry Qing Shan god general said, ‘Don’t look down on people!’ He slapped his left hand hard on his right wrist, instantly dispelling Hua Ling’s talisman. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the spear in his hand changed from one spear to ten, to hundreds, and even more… However, these were all afterimages of the spear dance he performed—because the speed was too fast, the naked eye could not catch the trajectory of the spear in time, and only the afterimage remained.
‘Wow,‘ Hua Ling’s eyes revealed sincere admiration, “you’re very good with the spear. Such a talented person, why would you help the evil…”
’Shut up! Don’t talk nonsense. Go,’ the Green Shirted Divine General shouted, and the spear shot straight at Hua Ling’s face.
Hua Ling’s footwork changed slightly, and he dodged his attack a few times.
The Green Shirted God General narrowed his eyes: ‘You can actually keep up with the speed of my spear.’
Hua Ling patted her chest: ‘Hey, I almost got stabbed. I hope you’ll show mercy.’
The Green Shirted God General: ‘You—are looking for death!’
Hua Ling suddenly looked stern, remaining in place, allowing the spear to charge towards her chest.
Bright red blood, drop by drop, dripped down the tip of the spear…
The Green Shirted God General: !!!
‘Ugh…’ In the flash of lightning, the Green Shirt God General suddenly covered his chest in pain and collapsed to the ground.
It turned out that when the tip of the spear was less than an inch from Hua Ling’s chest, she suddenly raised her hand like lightning, allowing the tip of the spear to slice her palm, but firmly grasping the unstoppable spearhead. Then, a thorn in blood suddenly appeared in Hua Ling’s hand, and she pushed with all her strength, thrusting the thorn into the god general’s chest.
‘You—’ The god general raised his hand, feeling his strength slowly drain away. His vision became blurry, and his hearing gradually declined. He struggled to look up at Hua Ling, ‘This—this is—’
‘Bloodthirsty Tribulus. I don’t suppose you’ve even heard of it at your age.’ Hua Ling looked down at the god general, who had collapsed at his feet, with indifference.
The dying god general reached out to Hua Ling, but before he could touch him, he slumped over…
Hua Ling squatted down and turned the god general over, pulling the bloody thorn from his chest.
‘A bloody thorn, like blood. Forged on a whim, I never thought it would one day become such a vicious killing weapon.’ She shook her head and put the tiny thorn back in her sleeve.
She looked up at Jiang Yu and Zhurong – they were almost done too. Sure enough, Jiang Yu pulled the sword out of the god general’s throat, casually shook off the blood, and sheathed the sword. As for Zhurong – he was crouching next to the long-dead blue-shirted god general, reaching under the god general’s armor and feeling around inside the undergarment, not sure what he was feeling. And one of his hands had already reached the crotch of the other person’s pants…
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling walked up behind Zhurong, who was still busy with his work without noticing anything, and gave him a gentle kick: ‘Hey, what are you doing? Indecent/obscene/deadly? I didn’t know you had this hobby.’

☆, 55th note

Zhurong paused, turning to Hualing mechanically: ‘What did you just say?’
Hualing shrugged: ‘I said you have a special hobby of offending, insulting, and killing people.’
A series of tic-tac-toe shapes appeared on Zhurong’s head: ‘Ah, this really pisses me off. It’s true that every time I see you, we don’t see eye to eye.’
Jiang Yu restrained Zhurong’s hand, which had suddenly attacked Hualing: ‘A gentleman uses his mouth, not his hands.’
Zhu Rong’s anger was still soaring to the extreme, and he stared at Hualing with bloodshot eyes.
Jiang Yu sighed, turned back to Hualing and said, ‘You too, be a little more reasonable. When this guy goes berserk, I can’t guarantee that I can stop him.’
Hualing shrugged, ‘Well, okay. To be honest, are you looking for this?’
Hualing suddenly extended his left hand in front of Zhu Rong and spread it open—there was an intricately patterned waist plaque in the palm of his hand. Zhu Rong’s eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it. Hua Ling suddenly withdrew his hand.
Zhu Rong missed out, and glared at him angrily again, ‘You!!!’
Hua Ling shook his head, ‘Why don’t you just give up? What, do you want to sneak into the Southern Heavenly Gate and assassinate Ji Wuchang?’
Zhu Rong stuck out his neck, ‘What do you mean sneak in! I’ll go in there in a righteous and honorable way!’
Jiang Yu put his hand to his forehead, ‘…’ Oh, he was caught in the first sentence.
Hua Ling ground Zhu Rong to the ground – with a hard squeeze of his fingers, he crushed the waist token to smithereens. The powder between his fingers scattered in the wind…
Zhu Rong grabbed Hua Ling by the collar: ‘You’re just going to mess with me, aren’t you?’
Hua Ling looked at him coldly as he raged: ‘You’re still an ancient god, after all. I thought your usual arrogance was just your personal style, but I never realised you really don’t have a brain.’
‘What did you say? Say that again if you dare!’ Zhu Rong roared, spitting in Hua Ling’s face.
Hua Ling calmly wiped his face and said, ‘I said, you don’t have a brain. After being locked up for so many years, you’ve finally made it out, and you’re in a hurry to die.’
Zhurong panted, staring at Hua Ling without saying a word.
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘Do you know how many troops are around Ji Wuchang? How many experts are protecting him? Do you know where he lives? What traps are waiting for you ahead? You want to break into the Heavenly Court alone without knowing anything? Two fists are no match for four hands. You couldn’t even break through the Demon-Subduing Circle just now, so I reckon you’ll be crushed to dust before you even touch Ji Wuchang’s toes.”
Zhurong still stared at Hualing, silent.
Hualing continued, ’Those three Divine Generals were just minor players at the end of the line. Do you think all Heavenly Generals are that easy to deal with? Apart from anything else, if I regain my divine power, you won’t even be able to defeat me.’
Zhurong had just regained a little bit of his senses, but after hearing these words, he was once again on the verge of losing control.
Hua Ling looked at him indifferently and said, ‘Think about it for yourself. The words may be coarse, but the reasoning is not. I don’t want you to die in vain. A gentleman takes his revenge ten years from now. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.’
Zhurong suddenly heard a ‘ding’ sound in his head. He looked at Hua Ling and said, ‘You had a plan all along?’
Even Jiang Yu turned his head and gave Hualing a glance, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
Hualing: ‘That’s all I have to say. You can think about it.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…Okay, I’ll see you through to the end. Let’s see what you can come up with.’
Hualing raised the corners of her mouth and said nothing more. She tilted her head, and happened to see Jiang Yu looking at her the whole time.
‘What’s wrong?’ Hualing asked, looking up, ‘You have such a serious expression.’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘Nothing.’
Hua Ling suddenly remembered something and turned back to Zhurong and said, ‘Ah, yes, I want to trouble you…’
‘I know,’ said Zhurong, as the flames in his hands split into three and fell onto the three divine generals. Within half a moment, the bodies were burned to the point where not even ashes were left.
Hua Ling said to the two of them, ‘Since three divine generals have already caught up, there is no guarantee that we will not be caught up by other divine generals. Since Zhu Rong is here, let’s hurry to the last Demon Source now.‘
Zhu Rong immediately spat out, “What do you mean, ”while I’m here’? You should say, ‘because I’m here,’ right?”
Hua Ling raised his hand, “Yes, yes, the success of this trip depends entirely on you.”
Zhu Rong: “Hmph!”
Jiang Yu held Hua Ling back, “I didn’t have time to ask you just now. Is the curse incurable?”
Zhu Rong looked at Hua Ling in surprise, ’You’ve been cursed? When?’
Hua Ling ignored Zhurong and pulled a red string from around her neck – at the end of which was tied the Lingxue Gu that Tong Yiming had given her earlier. She explained to Jiang Yu, ‘I know I can’t hide it from you. This is the Lingxue Gu that Tong Yiming gave me, which can resist all poisons and prevent the invasion of the Gu poison. Wearing this can delay the onset of the Gu poison. While we have this time, we can find a way to remove the Gu poison.’
Jiang Yu frowned and whispered, ‘Did he tell you what’s going on with this curse? What happens when it strikes?’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘He’s not really sure. He just knows that the curse is temporarily suppressed by the Lingxue Cang.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a long time: ‘You’re not lying to me?’
Hua Ling sighed helplessly: ‘Am I really not worthy of your trust?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Sorry, that’s not what I meant.’ He wanted to explain, but didn’t know where to start. For some reason, subconsciously, he always felt that Hua Ling would deceive him. This subconscious perception even he didn’t know where it came from.
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Okay, I’m not angry. Let’s hurry up and go, don’t delay.’
Jiang Yu sighed: ‘This is the second seal that has been broken in a row.’
Hua Ling smiled apologetically at him and said, ‘I promise that I will get plenty of rest afterwards. Besides, this time, we have the Lord of Fire with us, which will help to lighten my load a lot. Right, Lord of Fire, I’m counting on you!’
Zhu Rong: ‘… Why do I feel like I’m being mocked? Is it just my imagination?
Zhu Rong followed the two in front of him dejectedly and asked in a gruff voice, ’Hey, where is that last magic source?’
Hua Ling: ‘Mount Nuzhou.’
Zhu Rong raised an eyebrow: ‘Mount Nuzhou? Isn’t that the territory of Zhuoyin?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Exactly.’
Zhu Rong’s face instantly fell: ‘I don’t like that guy. I hate his rigid and emotionless appearance the most.’
Jiang Yu interrupted: ‘Are you talking about Zhuoyin, the Dragon that Holds the Candle?’
Hua Ling: ‘What, you’ve heard of him too?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘I’ve heard of him. I’ve heard that he has a strange temper, is old-fashioned, and is very unreasonable.’
Hua Ling stroked his chin: ‘Hmmm… So his reputation has already spread to the Demon Realm. He’s clearly an eccentric shut-in…’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Zhu Rong’s head was full of question marks: “Hmmm? What does ”shut-in’ mean?’ Zhu Rong, who had been imprisoned for many years, was seriously out of touch with the times.
No one pays him any attention.
Jiang Yu frowns and asks, ‘So we go to Mount Buzhou and have to fight this guy first?’
Hua Ling shakes his head, ‘That’s not necessarily the case. It depends on his mood that day, and of course our luck.’
Zhu Rong: ‘Hey, hey—I’m asking you guys a question…’
Jiang Yu: ‘Look at your expression…what, is this guy hard to deal with?’
Hua Ling strokes his chin, ‘Well…not in that sense. Of course, if we run into him when he’s in a bad mood
Zhu Rong was completely furious, and a ball of black fire rolled straight towards Jiang Hua and the other. ‘I said, what the hell does it mean to be a “otaku”?’
…
North of Mount Kunlun – Mount Bu Zhou.
‘Achoo,’ Zhu Rong wiped his nose and complained, ‘Wow – this place is so gloomy and cold, it feels really uncomfortable.’
Hua Ling said darkly, ‘Who told you to come up here topless? We asked you to wear clothes before, but you didn’t listen.’
Zhu Rong’s ever-changing outfit – a loincloth, period.
The Pamir Mountains are characterised by rolling hills and a high topographic difference, with high mountains and deep valleys. Along the way, it is either vast grasslands or lush green cliffs, spreading lush greenery. But it also looks vibrant in a different way. However – once you enter the area of Mount Buzhou, it’s like stepping into another dimension.
The sky changed dramatically. Gone was the bright sunshine and the green fields – instead, the sky was covered in dark clouds, the peaks were steep and the rocks were strange. The whole mountain was nothing but barren rocks. What’s more, the temperature in the mountains was obviously more than ten degrees lower than outside, and the lower you went, the colder it got. Strangest of all, there were not only no plants, but not a single living creature to be seen in the whole mountain. It was empty and quiet, with only the sound of the wind whistling.
Zhurong poked Hualing, who was walking in front of him, with his finger and said, ‘Hey, isn’t this guy the Candle-bearing Dragon? Why can’t I see any fire here? It’s eerie and dark.’
Hualing shrugged and said, ‘You don’t know. It is said that this guy, the Candle-bearing Dragon, made a promise with someone, and as long as that person doesn’t come back, he won’t light any fire.’
Zhu Rong suddenly became a bit nosy: ‘Who is that person?’
Hua Ling glanced at him and said with a profound air: ‘Well…’
‘Mmm,’ Zhu Rong listened attentively and nodded frequently.
After a full three minutes, waiting to whet Zhu Rong’s appetite, Hua Ling said, ‘Well, I don’t know. Because this guy, Zhu Yin, is so boring, who has the leisure to care about his gossip?’
Zhu Rong fell over, seriously injured internally…

☆, 56th Note

There was no sign of any living creatures along the way, only boundless silence. Apart from the wind, the sound of muffled thunder could be heard in the air from time to time.
Zhu Rong kicked at the gravel along the way, bored: ‘Hey, Hualing, are we going straight to the source of the evil?’
‘I’m afraid it won’t be that easy,’ Jiang Yu, who was walking in front of them, suddenly turned back to Hualing and said, ‘Am I right?’
Hua Ling ran a hand over his nose and said, ‘Well. Whether you like it or not, we’re going to pay our respects to Zhuoyin today.’
Zhu Rong froze for a moment and said, ‘……Huh?
Hua Ling shrugged, “Zhuoyin guards the last seal. Only he has the ”key’ to enter the Demon Source.”
Jiang Yu had a look of “I knew it” on his face, while Zhu Rong had a look of “I’ve been had” on his face…
Zhu Rong suddenly sat cross-legged in the middle of the road: ‘Well, I’ll just wait here for you. I wish you a successful expedition and a safe return soon.’
Hua Ling, with a face full of black lines, walked up to him and gave him a kick: ‘You’re here already, so don’t be a coward. By the way…what grudge did you really have with Zhuoyin? Why are you so afraid of him?’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
Hua Ling paused for a moment: ‘Did I hit the nail on the head?’
Zhu Rong looked embarrassed.
Hua Ling stroked his chin and said, ‘Okay, before we go up the mountain, I’ll give you a chance. Tell the truth, did you steal someone’s wife or burn someone’s house?’
Zhu Rong’s fur stood on end at this: ‘Steal peat! Do I look like that kind of person?!’
Jiang Yu added fuel to the fire and nodded: ‘Yes, very much so.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
Hua Ling said sternly, ‘Go on. Depending on the severity of the situation, I will decide whether to let you continue to follow me up the mountain. After all, I don’t want to spoil the pot of porridge because of one rat turd.’
Zhu Rong angrily said, ‘Who are you calling a rat turd?!’
Jiang and Hua silently looked at Zhu Rong. Don’t make your disgusted expression so obvious!
Zhu Rong sighed: ‘This isn’t a complicated matter. Back then, I borrowed the pearl in the left eye of a fugitive I was tracking in the Demon Realm… and then I accidentally lost it…’
Hua Ling: ‘…
Jiang Yu: “…
Zhu Rong saw that the two were silent and sighed again: ”It’s not that serious, but I just don’t have the face to see him again.’
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu and said: ‘I think we need to think about this for a long time.’
Jiang Yu nodded in agreement: ‘The development of events has exceeded our expectations.’
Zhu Rong: ‘Hey! Don’t just talk to yourself!’
…
Hua Ling shrugged at Zhu Rong: ‘So I want to ask, how many years have you owed that person the Pearl? And you never went to explain or apologise during that time? Ah…of course you couldn’t have gone, you were locked up the whole time.’
Zhu Rong sheepishly said: ‘Er…about 8,000 or 9,000 years?’
Hualing put a hand to his forehead, looking torn between two options. ‘Why did I save such a moron? He’s good for nothing but trouble.’
Jiang Yu interrupted, ‘Hualing, I was just thinking… that rumour might actually be true.’
Hualing: ‘…rumour?’
Jiang Yu nodded.
A light bulb went off in Hualing’s head: ‘You’re right, it might be true.’
Zhu Rong looked impatient: ‘Hey, what are you two playing at?’
No one paid him any mind.
Hua Ling smiled and said to Jiang Yu, ‘Wow, not bad. Thanks to your prompting this time, I’ve come up with a way to kill two birds with one stone and quickly solve the problem.’
Jiang Yu also nodded with a smile, ‘Exactly.’
Zhu Rong roared, ‘What the hell are you guys talking about? !’
The two suddenly turned their heads together and looked at Zhu Rong. Zhu Rong felt intimidated by their gaze and involuntarily took a step back.
“What… are you looking at me like that for?’
Hua Ling quickly made a hand sign: ‘Sorry. In order to lift the seal, you will have to sacrifice for now.’
Zhurong felt something was wrong and moved lightning fast to interrupt Hua Ling’s spell, but was stopped by Jiang Yu, who had teleported in front of him. The next second, Hua Ling’s spell was complete, and the nine golden circles had firmly bound Zhurong.
Damn it, it’s the Tiangang Fumo Circle again.
Zhurong looked at Hualing with a mixture of tears and laughter, ‘Now you can tell me the truth. Why did you tie me up?’
Hualing patted Zhurong on the shoulder and said with great earnestness, ‘Do you remember when I told you why the Zhou Mountain was always dark and without daylight, and why there was no fire?’
Zhurong replied mechanically, ‘Isn’t it said that… this guy Zhuoyin made a promise with someone, and as long as that person didn’t come back, he wouldn’t light a fire…’
Zhurong: !!!
Hualing smiled, ‘Have you come back to your senses?’
Zhurong trembled at her smile: ‘Could it be…’
Hua Ling nodded lightly: ‘Yes, it could be.’
Zhurong: ‘…
Hua Ling walked slowly around Zhurong and shook her head: “I never thought that the legendary figure who valued his face above the sky would be right in front of me.”
Zhurong was dejected: ’That’s not right… I didn’t make any promises with him. There must be some mistake.’
Even Jiang Yu couldn’t help gloating: ‘As the saying goes, it’s only natural for information to be distorted in the process.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
Hua Ling looked at Zhu Rong and said, ‘Do you know what Zhuoyin used to light the fire? It was the pearls in his eyes. “As long as that person doesn’t return, the fire will not be lit.” What do you think this means?’
Jiang Yu suddenly said, ‘I bet fifty cents that Zhuoyin spread this rumour himself.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I have this theory too.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
Hua Ling hooked his finger and tightly encircled Zhu Rong’s golden circle. Suddenly, a slender rope extended—as if it had eyes—and precisely wound around Hua Ling’s wrist.
Hua Ling tugged on the charmed rope: ‘Let’s go, little fire god. In the world of crime, sooner or later you have to pay the debt. You made people wait for so long, so it’s only reasonable that you should go and apologise.’
Zhu Rong was overcome with emotion: ‘…’ If I had known, I would never have followed them here on a whim. You reap what you sow.
At this point, there was nothing to do but face it. It was a matter of cutting the losses. Better to do it quickly, Zhu Rong said to Hualing, who was walking ahead of them: ‘Hey, can’t you just use some imperial sword technique or cloud-soaring spell to fly to the top of the mountain quickly? That way, the target would be more obvious, and it would be faster than climbing up the mountain one spot at a time looking for his trail.’
Hua Ling turned around and looked at Zhurong with an idiot’s expression: ‘Haven’t you noticed?’
Zhurong was confused: ‘Noticed what?’
Jiang Yu: ‘Since entering the territory of the Mountain of Imperfection, no teleportation or spatial techniques can be used.’
Zhurong: ‘…I, of course, know that! I just feel that sword techniques like imperial sword techniques are not included in this scope!’
Hualing puts a hand to her forehead: ‘There’s a saying, “Silence is golden,” and your comments only serve to show how little you know about the art of magic.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
After climbing for about four-fifths of the way, and about to reach the top of the mountain… a bolt of thunder suddenly fell from the sky, directly in front of the three of them. The hard rocks on the ground cracked, sending up a cloud of dust, accompanied by the light smoke from the friction of the lightning and fire…
Zhurong froze for a moment, and then heard a voice in the air like a loud bell: ‘Zhurong, my friend, are you finally willing to come and see me?’
Zhurong looked up: ‘…Zhuyin.’
Hua Ling drew a finger through the air, and the nine restraints on Zhurong’s body were immediately released. Hua Ling and Jiang Yu consciously stepped aside, giving the stage to the two protagonists. Zhurong noticed that the restraints on his body had been released, and as he turned his head, he noticed that Hua Ling had retreated three zhang away. The blue veins on his forehead were rising: ‘Hey, you’re not being a good friend.’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘Can’t help it. You made your own mess, so you better clean it up yourself.’
Zhurong choked for a moment and asked even more quietly, ‘Hey, do you think… he’s going to be really angry? He was just going to strike me with lightning…’
Hua Ling looked at Zhurong sympathetically and thought to himself: If I were going to strike you, you would already be overcooked on the outside and tender on the inside, and I wouldn’t have to purposely strike you sideways to get your attention… This idiot is truly hopeless. The most insensitive person is none other than Zhurong.
‘Boom!’ Another flash of lightning, and a huge green dragon suddenly appeared in front of the several people. The green dragon bowed its head slightly, looking down at Zhurong at its feet.
Zhurong spoke with difficulty, ‘……Zhuyin. I’m sorry, I…’
Zhuyin looked at him coldly without saying a word, his dragon whiskers fluttering up and down in the air – not sure if it was because he was angry or because of the gusts of wind in the mountains.
Zhurong looked up and met his gaze, ‘……I, I have no face to see you. Mingzhu, her whereabouts are still unknown. You…you can scold me, or even beat me up.’
The Azure Dragon tilted its head towards the sky and let out a long dragon’s roar – a sound that shook the entire valley and made people feel uneasy. After a while, the Azure Dragon lowered its head again and looked Zhu Rong in the eye: ‘You can come and tell me if you’ve lost Mingzhu. But why are you avoiding me?’
Zhu Rong shook his head: ‘I’m ashamed of myself. I really don’t have the face to see you.’
Zhuyin looked at him and said: ‘We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.’
Zhurong choked for a moment and said with difficulty, ‘I know… I’m sorry.’
Zhuyin narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a moment, ‘Are you possessed?’
Zhurong nodded and told him in detail about the past, including being imprisoned at the bottom of the lake and how he managed to escape. Zhuyin listened quietly without saying a word. After Zhurong finished, he looked at him and waited quietly. He knew that Zhuyin had something to tell him.
After a while, Zhu Rong said, ‘Back then, after the war between the gods and demons, I learned that you had been executed by the Heavenly Emperor. However, I believed that you must still be alive, somewhere in this world. I thought that you would come back to see me one day, so I have been waiting here…’
Zhu Rong’s eyes gradually reddened, and his voice was hoarse: ‘I’m sorry that I couldn’t come to see you sooner.’
Candle Shade waved its long tail: ‘I’m relieved to see that you’re safe.’
After saying this, Zhuoyin suddenly turned his head towards Hualing, who was standing aside, and said, ‘Hualing, thank you for bringing Zhuoyin here.’
Hualing shook her head and said, ‘It was also a coincidence.’
Zhuoyin looked at her and said, ‘We haven’t seen each other for 8,000 years, right? You…are much weaker.’

☆, Chapter 56

Hualing did not avoid the issue and nodded with a generous smile, ‘Yes, I never thought that I would reunite with you in this pitiful state, and I’m sorry to have made you laugh.’
Candle Yin groaned for a moment, ‘Have you made a decision?’
Hua Ling nodded.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling with an ambiguous meaning and said nothing.
Candle Yin turned his head and looked at Jiang Yu standing next to Hua Ling: ‘I presume this is the Demon Lord?’
Jiang Yu’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and then he bowed to Candle Yin: ‘I am Jiang Yu.’
Candle Shade closed his eyes: ‘Never mind. Hualing, you come with me.’ The green dragon turned around and soared straight up into the sky.
Hualing turned to Jiang Yu and said, ‘Candle Shade has lifted the restriction on soaring. Yu Jian, let’s follow.’
Jiang Yu withdrew his gaze from Candle Shade and suddenly reached out and grasped Hualing’s hand.
Hualing: ‘…What’s wrong?
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling without saying a word. For some reason, he had a bad feeling. In that split second, he suddenly felt a little reluctant to lift the seal. As for the reason… even he himself did not know.
Zhu Rong had already soared into the sky, overlooking the two people on the ground: ‘Hey, what are you two dawdling about? Hurry up and follow!’
Hua Ling covered the back of Jiang Yu’s hand with the other hand and patted it gently, ‘Don’t think about it. We’re just one step away, let’s go.’
Jiang Yu calmed down, nodded, and then reached out to hold Hua Ling’s waist, leaping onto the abyss, soaring on his sword, chasing after the remnant shadow of the Candle Demon…
Hua Ling pointed his finger at a bright slit in the sky that contrasted greatly with the surrounding dark clouds: ‘That’s the entrance.’
Jiang Yu applied force to his feet and flew at high speed from Yuan towards the slit. A moment later, he disappeared into the slit with a ‘whoosh’. Zhurong followed closely behind him, exclaiming, ‘Hey, although I said not to dawdle, you two don’t need to suddenly become so different from each other, do you?’ The answer he got was silence, as well as the sound of the wind in the valley, which sounded like it was weeping.

☆, Chapter 57

‘Eh? Don’t be so stingy, wait for me!’ Zhurong saw at a glance that the slit was slowly closing, so he quickly sped up and chased after it in the clouds.
‘Tsk, that was close.’ Zhu Rong just narrowly missed the edge of the slit and darted in, and the entrance immediately closed. Zhu Rong wiped the small cut on his face slightly unhappily, what the hell, letting someone in and not properly waiting, having to come up with these inexplicable tricks, playing with people’s hearts, right.
Hua Ling looked back and saw his expression and laughed, ’You’re slow yourself, and you’re blaming others? The gap opened by Zhuoyin leads to the Realm of the Void, and the last Demon Source is sealed here. Only Zhuoyin can enter and exit freely, so when he enters, the entrance will automatically close.”
Zhu Rong nodded, so that’s how it is, I wrongly blamed Zhuoyin… No! Didn’t that guy know to fly more slowly and wait for them to enter together?
Hua Ling saw through his thoughts at a glance and sneered, ’He probably didn’t think you had degenerated to this extent.’
Zhu Rong: ‘…’
Candle Yin’s voice came from ahead: ‘If you’re ready, come over here.’
Jiang Yu looked at Candle Yin, who was standing in front of a huge stone door, without saying a word.
Hua Ling took the initiative to hold his hand and said, ‘Let’s go.’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a moment and nodded slowly.
Zhu Rong, who had been left far behind, reached out and complained, ‘Hey, don’t leave me behind again, asshole!’
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling came to a stop in front of the huge stone door. Jiang Yu looked up at the stone door, which was covered in runes, and just standing outside it, he could feel the powerful divine energy of the seal.
Candle Shade looked down at Hua Ling: ‘From here on, I cannot go in with you. Hua Ling, this is the last seal… You should know that apart from the seal, there are also many traps and the heavenly generals guarding the seal…’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘It’s good that you brought us here. We’ll take care of the rest. Thank you very much.’
Candle Yin shook his head: ‘Be careful.’
Hua Ling looked back at Jiang Yu beside him: ‘Are you ready?’
‘Of course.’ Jiang Yu smiled composedly, placed his left hand on the huge door, and pushed hard — the huge stone door opened with a loud noise.

☆, Chapter 58

Zhu Rong also landed in front of the giant stone door, watching the two people who disappeared into the darkness behind the door.
‘Zhu Rong, have you thought it over? Do you really want to go?’ At this time, Zhuoyin, who was standing aside, suddenly spoke up, ‘You don’t actually have to follow this mess. The possible impact of the Demon Lord’s unsealing this time may be much deeper than you can imagine. What happened back then was not that simple either.’
Zhurong looked up and smiled at Zhuoyin, saying seriously, ‘These things have nothing to do with me. The two of them have done me a favour, and I’m only doing this to help them out as friends.’
Zhuoyin shook his head: ‘Since you’ve made your decision…take care.’
Zhurong bowed to Zhuoyin: ‘See you again soon!’
The door to the boulder slowly closed with a creak after Zhurong entered. Zhuoyin looked up at the sky. After waiting for so many years, is it finally going to begin…
…
‘Hualing.’
Hualing suddenly heard Jiangyu’s voice in her head, and at the same time felt a stronger force than before coming from her right hand.
Hualing also shook Jiangyu’s hand, sending back the message in the same way: ‘Yes, I know. This part of the road is paved with several enchantments—no sound, no light, and complete silence. The intention is to cut off our five senses and drive people’s spirits to the point of collapse.’
Jiang Yu gave a ‘hmm’ and said, ‘Don’t let go of my hand. It’ll be troublesome if we get separated here.’
Hua Ling chuckled lightly and said, ‘I know. By the way…has that guy Zhurong caught up yet?’
‘Nonsense! What do you think we are?’ A sudden burst of shouting appeared in both of their minds at the same time.
Hua Ling: ‘…
Jiang Yu: “…
Hua Ling reached out his hand behind him and said, ”Here, do you want to hold hands too?’
Zhu Rong: ‘No thanks! I’m not that useless.’ The main reason was that he could already feel the murderous intent coming from Hua Ling’s side…
Hua Ling: ‘Oh, okay then, just watch your step.’
Jiang Yu added indifferently, ‘We won’t come looking for you if you get lost.’
Zhu Rong’s eyes widened, and the word ‘Shut up!’
The three of them walked in the dark for half an hour before Jiang Yu stopped and stopped Hua Ling behind him. Zhu Rong frowned and stopped too.
A melodious sound suddenly came from somewhere – not through their ears, of course, but it invaded their brains directly, just like their conversation.
Hua Ling’s voice came at the same time: ‘Guys, if possible, please temporarily block your auditory nerves. This sound can confuse people’s minds and drive them crazy through the auditory nerves.’
Zhu Rong: ‘But in that case, how are we going to find out where the enemy is?’
Hua Ling: ‘Concentrate all your spiritual energy on your optic nerve. This will temporarily improve your eyesight a thousand times, but afterwards you will be very tired. But in order to deal with this enemy, there is no other way.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Understood. You two just block your auditory nerves, and leave the fighting to me.’
‘No—let me.’ Zhu Rong’s voice.
Hua Ling: ‘Zhu Rong?’
Zhu Rong: ‘Hey, I know you need to conserve your energy for later, when you need to unseal it. Jiang…is also an indispensable combat force. After thinking about it, this kind of messy stuff can only be solved by a person like me who is free to do it.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Then I’ll go with you…’
Zhu Rong: ‘No! Preserve combat effectiveness. I’m enough here. You go first, don’t get in my way.’

☆, Chapter 59

After Zhu Rong finished speaking, he slowly opened his eyes, which he had closed temporarily to accumulate his energy. At this point, he was completely ready. He surveyed the spiritual energy gathering in his eyes and instantly discovered the source of the music.
He saw a woman standing three zhang away, holding a pipa in her arms. She was beautiful, with radiant colours and auspicious clouds surrounding her, like a celestial being.
Not like, she was one.
‘So it’s you, Nüying. No, I should say it’s just the scattered soul of Nüying.’ Zhurong shook his head and said with a heavy voice, “I never thought that after you died, your soul would still be detained here by Ji Wuchang…”
The woman’s eyes were vacant, staring blankly ahead, while her hands mechanically plucked the strings of her lute.
Zhurong said to Jiang Yu and Hua Ling, ’What are you waiting for? Let’s go!’
Jiang Yu nodded and dragged Hua Ling away. Hua Ling was uneasy and looked back at Zhu Rong.
Zhu Rong gave her a mischievous smile and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll catch up soon.’
Zhu Rong turned his head and looked at the woman Ying who was still standing in the same place, mechanically plucking the strings of the zither. Her eyes were like deep pools, unruffled and deathly quiet.
‘That bastard Ji Wuchang,’ Zhu Rong’s anger soared, “don’t worry, I’ll let you go now.”
Zhu Rong summoned the black flame, and with a push of her right hand, it was hurled at Nuying. However, it suddenly stopped three feet away from Nuying’s body. To be more precise, it was repelled.
Zhu Rong looked closely—it turned out to be a barrier. A faint rainbow light flashed around Nuying.
Ordinary fire attacks are ineffective… What about physical attacks?
Before he knew it, Zhu Rong had already thought of this and dodged to the side, sweeping a heavy kick towards her neck. Nüying suddenly stopped playing and gathered her energy in her hands, blocking Zhu Rong’s kick with her white jade lute. Zhu Rong was instead forced back a step by the divine power of the lute.
Interesting. His agility and speed were considered among the best among the generals of the gods, and yet Nüying was able to keep up with him and block his attack. Zhurong smiled. It had been a long time since he had encountered such an interesting opponent. Just the scattered soul had such strength, and it was hard to imagine what Nüying had been like in her lifetime.
Zhurong quietly watched Nüying, who was still standing in the same place, gently plucking the strings of the pipa. If it was in the form of a spirit…the divine fire should be able to purify it. And the divine fire was not afraid of being blocked by enchantments.
Zhurong gathered his energy, opened his hands to the sides, and began to summon the divine fire. The temperature in the air gradually rose, and Zhurong’s body began to glow reddish.
‘Huo—’ A golden-red flame appeared in Zhurong’s palms, and a flowing ring of flame formed in the air. The hot air instantly filled the entire tunnel. Nüying’s hair was blown back by the strong wind from the flames. She remained expressionless, her fingers moving slightly, but the melody of the music changed –
Zhu Rong frowned and waved his hand, and the divine flames immediately surrounded Nüying. Zhu Rong clenched his right hand, and the circle of flames immediately shrunk, completely enveloping Nüying in flames.
However, even as she was burned by the divine flames, there was no change at all in Nüying’s expression – her eyes were vacant and expressionless. She just moved her fingers faster and faster on the strings of the zither…
Zhu Rong vomited blood. He lifted his hand indifferently and wiped the blood from his lips. So that’s it, this new tune that Nüying has chosen can directly invade the organs and lungs of people to destroy their internal mechanisms. Zhu Rong smiled, but he understood more or less.
‘Bang!’ The sound of the pipa hitting the ground. Nüying’s three souls had already been purified by the burning of the divine flames.
‘Zhurong, thank you.’ In the distance, Zhurong seemed to hear Nüying’s voice. The divine flames slowly dissipated, leaving only a white jade lute on the ground. Zhurong walked over to the white jade lute. The former divine instrument was still as shiny as ever, but its owner had completely disappeared from this world. Many years later, who would still remember that ancient deity who had once had a formidable battle record but a heart that cared for the world?
Zhurong shook his head and withdrew the spiritual energy that had been concentrated in his pupils. Immediately, an indescribable sharp pain spread from his eyes to his brain—as if he had been pricked by a thousand thorns, or scorched by raging flames.
Drops of cold sweat trickled down Zhurong’s forehead and onto the ground. Supporting himself against the wall, Zhurong knelt down and panted slightly—just as Hualing had said, using that method would leave the body very ‘tired.’
At this time, due to his sudden physical weakness, the injuries to his internal organs sustained during the previous battle with Nüying began to act up. Zhu Rong vomited again, covered his chest, and slowly leaned against the wall. He laughed to himself, is it really as Hualing said, am I getting old?
Sorry, Hualing…it seems that I won’t be able to catch up as promised for the time being.

☆, Chapter 60

Hua Ling and Jiang Yu walked forward for about half an hour, and then suddenly a beam of light appeared before them – first a single beam, then the area gradually expanded, and finally the entire world returned to light.
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling glanced at each other.
Jiang Yu: ‘We’ve already walked out of that barrier.’
Hua Ling nodded, and suddenly looked back at the dark tunnel behind them.
Jiang Yu looked down at her: ‘Are you worried about Zhurong?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘Don’t worry. Zhurong will definitely follow. He’s very strong.’
Hua Ling let out a breath and forced herself to turn back: ‘Let’s go.’
Jiang Yu surveyed the surroundings: ‘What the hell is this place? How come…’
Hua Ling picked up where he left off: ‘How it looks like a fairyland.’
The place they were in now was like…an exquisitely crafted garden: pavilions and towers, small bridges and flowing water, strange flowers and exotic trees in the garden, surrounded by auspicious clouds, quite the atmosphere of a fairyland.
Hua Ling’s eyes twitched slightly as he observed the surroundings: ‘Don’t be careless, there may be all kinds of traps here.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘I know.’
Hua Ling said: ‘Anyway, let’s go first. I think the stone tablet at the end of the bridge should be the teleportation point.’
The two men cautiously observed the situation while advancing. After passing through the pavilion, the entire garden suddenly became foggy…
Hua Ling narrowed her eyes and whispered, ‘Is this when the action begins?’
The fog was strange and getting thicker.
Hua Ling frowned, about to speak when she suddenly noticed that the hand that was holding Jiang Yu was suddenly empty.
‘Jiang Yu?!’
The entire courtyard was silent, with only her own echo remaining.
Hua Ling steadied her nerves. What was going on? How had the other party managed to separate her from Jiang Yu without her noticing? She mustn’t panic. Presumably, Jiang Yu was also anxious to ascertain the other party’s location, just as she was.
She had to calm down first. Instead of looking for Jiang Yu, she should find this tricky enemy. After all, she hadn’t sensed the presence of this enemy at all. It seemed that this was someone who was very good at concealing themselves. Perhaps… they were also very good at assassination.
In the thick fog, a figure suddenly appeared. And it was walking towards Hualing, getting closer and closer.
No way, a direct frontal attack? Did I guess wrong?
A cold drop of sweat slowly slid down Hualing’s forehead, and suddenly she drew a short, blood-red dagger from her sleeve. The man continued to walk at a leisurely pace, not even faltering at the murderous aura Hualing deliberately emitted.
After the man entered the range of the short dagger’s attack, Hua Ling quickly slashed the dagger diagonally, but it just missed the man’s neck.
‘Jiang Yu?!’ What’s going on?

☆, Chapter 61

Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu: ‘Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere…’
Something was wrong. The way Jiang Yu looked at her was more hatred than disgust.
However, the man in front of her, the feeling, the breath all told Hua Ling that he was Jiang Yu himself.
Hua Ling steadied her nerves and said, ‘Jiang Yu, do you still recognise me?’ Could it be that he had been controlled by some puppet technique or the like?
Jiang Yu gave a cold smile and said, ‘How could I not recognise you, Ji Hualing. Or should I call you – Sui, Sha, Shen, Jun.’
Hua Ling’s face changed.
She was stunned for a long time before she found her voice again: ‘You…remember everything?’
Jiang Yu gave a sarcastic smile and said, ‘Isn’t this what you wanted? Or did you hope that I would always be a puppet at your mercy?’
Hua Ling shook her head sadly: ‘No… I didn’t…’ Hua Ling suddenly realised that it was futile to explain.
Her heart suddenly felt cold…
Hua Ling looked down at the sword that had sunk into her chest, and her thoughts seemed to have stopped spinning. Finally, has this day come?
Jiang Yu suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear: ‘What does it feel like to be stabbed by a sword forged by your own hands?’
Hua Ling’s pupils contracted slightly…So he knew everything. Indeed, what was there to explain? Hua Ling closed her eyes slightly. If he wanted her life, why not give it to him?
‘Remember, go to Chu Jiang…’
Consciousness fell into darkness…
‘Hua Ling…’
In the haze, it seemed someone was calling her.
‘Hua Ling!’
Who was it?
‘Hua Ling!!!’
Hua Ling suddenly opened her eyes.
Gradually, her blurred vision became clearer – she saw Jiang Yu’s worried eyes.
In a flash, Hua Ling suddenly understood – it turned out to be an illusion. She raised her right hand to cover her eyes, and self-deprecatingly raised the corners of her mouth. She was actually fooled by such a low-level trick, she really is…
Jiang Yu seemed to finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw Hua Ling wake up. He worriedly touched Hua Ling’s forehead: ‘Your temperature is so low, are you okay? What did you see in your hallucination? You seemed to be in…a lot of pain.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Well…I saw that I caused everyone to suffer, and that you were hurt because of me.’
Jiang Yu shook his head as if he had expected this: ‘You’re always like this, putting too much pressure on yourself.’
Hua Ling didn’t say anything, looking at Jiang Yu: ‘What happened? The practitioner…you solved it?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘He was very weak, but he just relied on illusions to confuse people. But it is said that this illusion array can make people see the most frightening thing in their hearts. But thanks to this, I was able to successfully dispel the illusion.’
The most frightening thing in my heart…
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘So what about you? What did you see?’

☆, Chapter 62

Jiang Yu seemed a little embarrassed and touched his nose, before sighing: ‘I saw you because of the unsealing…’
Hua Ling added, ‘die?’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘Don’t say that word.’
Hua Ling laughed, shaking her head: ‘You… don’t worry, I promise you, I will definitely be fine. Unsealing will not be such a big risk.’
Jiang Yu looked at her, nodding after a moment: ‘Hm.’
Hua Ling propped herself up with her hands and tried to sit up. Jiang Yu quickly helped her to lean against the stone pillar behind her.
‘Are there any other discomforts in your body?’ Jiang Yu still looked very worried.
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘No more.’
She just wanted to give Jiang Yu a reassuring smile, but her expression suddenly changed slightly, and she immediately raised her hand to cover her mouth. Even so, there was still a trace of bright red that ran down her fingers. At the same time, a sharp pain came from her chest.
‘Hua Ling!!!’
Hua Ling quietly wiped away the blood on her lips, but did not dare to reach out and hold her chest, for fear of increasing Jiang Yu’s worries. She sat cross-legged, clasped her hands in a prayer position, slowly calmed her breathing, and concentrated on regulating her qi.
She knew that it was the poison of the gourd spirit. The things she had seen in the illusion had caused her emotions to fluctuate greatly, prompting the sudden outbreak of the poison.
However, even if he didn’t say it, Jiang Yu also guessed it. He pressed Hua Ling’s pulse points and sent his true energy into her body to help her regulate her breathing: ‘Did the poison of the gourd spirit attack before?’
After a moment, the turbid energy that had been rushing around her chest was forcibly suppressed by Hua Ling. She opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Yu: ‘It’s okay, it’s fine.’
Jiang Yu’s eyebrows were knitted together in a frown. ‘How could it be alright? This curse… How could it suddenly strike? Are you hiding something from me?’
What a keen intuition.
Fortunately, Hua Ling played along. ‘I suppressed it with a barrier earlier… But in fact, this curse cannot be suppressed with a barrier.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Why are you telling me this important matter only now? !
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘It’s no use telling you. Do you know the antidote?’
Jiang Yu: ‘And?’
Hua Ling: ‘Hm?’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘Don’t play dumb. If there’s no antidote for this poison… what will happen? How much time do we have left?’
Hua Ling: ‘Well… after this is over, we’ll have to find the antidote as soon as possible.’
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and gently lifted Hua Ling’s chin so that they were looking at each other. ‘Hua Ling, I sometimes get the feeling that you don’t care about your life at all. It’s like you’re always ready to die. Why?’
Hua Ling looked him earnestly in the deep purple of his pupils. ‘Why would you have such an illusion?’
A flash of disappointment quickly passed through Jiang Yu’s eyes. He let go of her hand, stood up, and turned his back on Hua Ling. ‘Forget it, let’s not delay. Hurry up and finish and then I’ll find a way to remove the curse.’
Hua Ling also stood up, following Jiang Yu in silence, without saying a word about what had just happened. Because…she couldn’t say anything. Looking at Jiang Yu’s despondent back, Hua Ling could only say in her heart…I’m sorry.

☆, Chapter 63

Crossing the bridge, the two walked to the stone tablet Hua Ling had mentioned earlier.
Jiang Yu finally turned around, glanced at Hua Ling, sighed, and took the initiative to hold her hand, saying, ‘I don’t know what will happen after passing through the portal, so don’t get separated.’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘Yes. We should place our hands on these glowing characters.’
Jiang Yu nodded to Hua Ling, and the two of them pressed their hands on the glowing text together.
Hua Ling felt like she was being pulled into the stone tablet by a strong force… After a dizzying spin, the world in front of her changed again.
Jiang Yu looked up at the crisscrossing paths in the space: ‘This…’
Hua Ling said solemnly, ‘The paths in this space are three-dimensional and on different…planes. Generally speaking, this is actually a huge…’
‘A maze.‘ Jiang Yu looked at the roads leading in different directions, with no end in sight, with a complex expression. Looking up, he could just see the steps in the opposite plane, facing them upside down… There were delicate crystal lotus lamps on the road for lighting—but from their direction, they were all facing down, just like chandeliers on the ceiling.
’The craftsman who designed this maze… is really a master of his trade,’ Jiang Yu sighed.
Hua Ling looked carefully around the surrounding paths, then turned to Jiang Yu and said, ‘If we take the wrong path, we might get trapped here for days.’
Jiang Yu looked away from a pavilion on a distant facade and nodded in agreement: ‘Or even longer.’
Hua Ling: ‘This isn’t going to work. We need to find some help.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Huh? Do you have someone under your command who is good at pathfinding?’
Hua Ling shook his head helplessly: ‘Don’t use the word “underling”. We’re all friends. Wait here, I’ll go to the Secret Records of the Three Realms and find her, I’ll be right back.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Okay.’
Secret Records of the Three Realms – the Earth Spirit Realm.
As soon as Hua Ling entered, he saw a group of small fire-lighted beasts bullying a spirit monkey. They immediately dispersed when they saw Hua Ling. Hua Ling shook his head helplessly, picked up the spirit monkey, patted the dust off it, and then put it back on a large tree: ‘Go.’
The spirit monkey said ‘chi chi’ to thank Hua Ling, and with its tail lightly hooked on a branch, it jumped to another tree in one leap…
Hua Ling turned around and caught a fire beast that was jumping up a tree: ‘Hey, don’t run, I want to ask you something.’
The little fire beast said, ‘Um, okay, I’ll tell you. But don’t hit me later.’
Hua Ling was speechless: ‘When have I ever hit you? Don’t overthink it.’
The little fire beast grunted, ‘Go on, what is it?’
Hua Ling: ‘Where is the sky dog? Take me to him.’
The little fire beast huffed, ‘I know, just follow me.’
At this time, the sky dog was leisurely lying under the grapevine, stealing grapes to eat. When he saw Hua Ling coming, he almost choked and rolled his eyes.
Hua Ling sighed, ‘Don’t hide. I won’t tell Master Banyan that you stole his grapes to eat. I don’t think I need to say it, he actually always knows.’
Sky dog: ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘Okay, no more nonsense. You come with me first, I need your help. We’ll talk as we walk.’
The little dog’s eyes lit up: ‘Oh? I can be useful? Let’s go!’
He took a few steps, then suddenly threw the grapes he hadn’t finished eating in his hand to the fire beast: ‘You can have them.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’

☆, Chapter 64

Jiang Yu had memorised the surrounding terrain and roads in his mind in less than a moment. He closed his eyes and simulated the results of various routes in his mind…
‘Boom—’ A burst of white smoke dispersed, and the little sky dog flapped its wings curiously surveying the space. ‘Wow, Hualing, this is the first time I’ve seen such an interesting maze.’
Hualing nodded: ‘Don’t just play around. Hurry up and find the way out, as we just said, no problem, right?’
The little sky demon patted his chest: ‘No problem. Just wait for my good news, see you later!’ As soon as he had finished speaking, the little sky demon flapped his wings and darted off into the leftmost fork in the road, entering the first 180-degree twist.
Jiang Yu opened his eyes: ‘That was fast.’
Hualing sat down next to him: ‘Just wait for good news, he’s an expert at this. Take this opportunity to gather your strength.’
Jiang Yu suddenly looked at Hua Ling and said, ‘Show me the wound where you were bitten.’
Hua Ling: ‘…Okay.’
She bent down, rolled up the hem of her pants, and pushed the hem of her right leg from her ankle to her knee. The strange and enchanting red pattern had already climbed up her ankle and covered the entire right calf of Hua Ling.
Jiang Yu: !!!
Hua Ling explained, ‘Now the entire right leg below the knee is covered in the pattern.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…and the rest of the body?’
Hua Ling: ‘Not yet.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Hua Ling: “Come on, we still have time.”
Jiang Yu frowned, “The poison is acting up a bit quickly, we’ve only been gone from Tongjia Village for two days.”
Hua Ling: ’Plus the day we were delayed in the cave and the day we stayed in the village. That’s four days.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Are there any other discomforts?’
Hua Ling shakes her head: ‘Apart from the reaction when the gu poison attacks, there is nothing else.’
‘Tsk,’ Jiang Yu frowns, ‘I don’t know what the pattern is for the gu poison to attack.’
Hua Ling: ‘I hope it doesn’t happen too often.’
Jiang Yu: ‘I think it will take some time for Xiaotian Gou to come and go. You should get some sleep, rest up, and try to regain some strength.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Okay.’ She lay down on the spot and rested her head on Jiang Yu’s lap.
Jiang Yu looked down at her: ‘Go to sleep, I’ll keep watch.’
Hua Ling closed her eyes and fell asleep peacefully…
Jiang Yu took off his jacket and covered Hua Ling with it. In a short while, Hua Ling’s breathing became slow and even. Jiang Yu looked down at her sleeping face and sighed silently. There was a strange unease in his heart that he could not dispel no matter what, and even he did not know what was going on…
After about five hours…
‘Hua Ling… Hua Ling, I found it!’ The Tengu’s voice came from afar.
Hua Ling opened her eyes: ‘He’s back?’
Jiang Yu helped her sit up and looked at the tengu, who had run up close: ‘Hua Ling was right, you really are an expert.’
The tengu’s tail was almost touching the sky: ‘Of course, back in the day when I was a thief… Well, anyway, this is what I’m best at. Okay, you guys come with me! Speaking of which… the craftsman who designed the maze is really a masterful craftsman!’
Hua Ling laughed, and turned to Jiang Yu: ‘It seems you both think alike.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Tengu looked confused: ‘Eh? What?’
Hua Ling patted him on the head: ‘Nothing, it’s all up to you! Let’s go.’

☆, Chapter 65

Tengu: ‘Follow me, guys, this way.’
Jiang Yu raised his two fingers and was about to summon Congyuan when Hualing held his hand: ‘It’s best not to use swordsmanship in this space.’
Tengu turned back: ‘Hualing is right, using Tengxiang will disrupt the balance of the space and make the path more complicated. By then, it will be impossible to find the exit.’
Jiang Yu let go of his hand: ‘Okay, got it.’
The three of them quickly walked towards the inner space to the left. As soon as they climbed the steps on the facade, they heard a loud rumble behind them. Hua Ling looked back and saw a huge spherical rock rapidly approaching the three of them… The size of the boulder was roughly equivalent to a ten-storey building. And the road it had crushed was completely shattered. All that was left was a void…
Hua Ling frowned: ‘In other words, there is no turning back… Everyone run! Xiaotian Gou, we only have one chance, is that okay?’
The Tengu in the lead responded with a ‘woof’: ‘Don’t worry! Just follow me.’
The boulder behind them crushed down on the three of them with lightning speed, while Hua Ling and the others gathered their spiritual energy at their feet and increased their running speed to the extreme. Slowly, they pulled a little distance away from the boulder.
Hua Ling: ‘Good, just keep this speed and rush to the exit in one go.’
‘Oh!’
Hua Ling: !!!
Hua Ling felt a steady stream of warm spiritual energy coming from Jiang Yu’s hand as she shook it.
Hua Ling looked sideways at Jiang Yu, who happened to be looking at her. ‘I’ll save you some energy, you’ll need it to unseal it later.’
Hua Ling raised the corners of her mouth: ‘Thank you.’
When they entered the three-dimensional space again, the huge rock that had been following them suddenly disappeared. Hua Ling’s expression changed: ‘Stop!’
Tengu heard this and applied the brakes, turning back to look at Hua Ling: ‘What’s wrong?’
Hua Ling: ‘Take a closer look ahead.’
Five zhang away, the earth suddenly cracked, and a gurgling sound came from the crack…
Tengu: ‘What is this? Just now, I didn’t see this when I walked this way…’
Accompanying the gurgling sound was a strange viscous greenish-yellow liquid, which spread out from the crack and slowly eroded towards Hua Ling and the others. Where the liquid flowed, the ground was melted.
Hua Ling: ‘Retreat!’
At that moment, the rumble of the boulder behind them resounded once again… ‘A tiger in front and a wolf behind’, this situation was destined to trap Hua Ling and his party in a desperate situation.
‘Rumble…’ In an instant, the boulder had already crushed over the place where Hua Ling and the others were standing, crushing over the greenish-yellow solution, and finally getting stuck in the crack in the ground where it had previously cracked.
‘Ah… saved.’ Tengu wiped the cold sweat from his head. It turned out that at the last minute, Jiang Yu summoned Congyuan, embraced Hualing, carried Tengu, and jumped onto Congyuan. The three of them floated in midair, looking down at the scene below…the road was completely blocked, with no way forward or backward.
Hualing frowned and pondered for a moment, then sighed, “I see…we’ve been tricked.”
Jiang Yu and Tengu turned to look at her upon hearing this.
Jiang Yu: ‘What’s going on?’
Hua Ling turned back to look at him: ‘This is not a cleverly constructed maze at all – we are in the belly of a monster.’
‘Huh??’ Tengu exclaimed in a small voice, ‘What monster? How do you know?’
Hua Ling: ‘To be precise, we are in the belly of the gluttonous beast.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: ‘I see, I understand.’
Tengu looked confused: ‘What’s going on? What do you understand?’
Hua Ling explained: ‘Legend has it that the ancient monster Taotie has a multi-dimensional space inside its stomach, where the dimensions overlap and interweave. Any living thing that is swallowed by it will unknowingly lose its way and its sense of self, and will eventually be digested in despair.’
Tiangu: ‘…That actually sounds really evil/animalistic.’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘That’s why he’s known as one of the five most ferocious beasts. To be honest, his exclusive hobby is quite evil and fun.’
The Tengu’s face fell. ‘A hobby of its own… So what do we do now? Wait to die?’
Hualing shook her head and laughed. ‘Wait to die? That’s not in line with my aesthetic sense.’
Hope flared up in the Tengu’s eyes. ‘Do you have any good ideas?’
Hualing said, ‘No matter how powerful a monster is, it must have a weakness, and the Taotie is no exception.’
The Tengu put its paw on Hualing’s thigh and wagged its tail like a dog. ‘I’d like to hear more.’
Jiang Yu gave Tengu a sideways glance and swept his paw away with a raised hand.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Tengu: ‘…’
Hua Ling coughed lightly: ‘Although Taotie’s stomach is full of highly corrosive acid that can eat away at any creature that falls into it, there is one place in his body where the acid cannot get to.’
Jiang Yu: ‘His heart.’
Hualing nodded: ‘That’s right. If we can destroy his heart, we’ll be out of his stomach.’
The Tengu raised its paw and scratched its head: ‘What does his heart look like?’
Hualing: ‘I can’t say. I’ve never seen it.’
The Tengu: ‘…What’s the point of saying that?’
‘But,’ Hualing smiled and added, ‘although I don’t know what his heart looks like, I do have a way to find out where it is.’
Tengu was anxious from being tortured by Hualing’s questions, and tugged at her sleeve, ‘Tell us, what is the method?’
Hualing said seriously, ‘I need your help.’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘What do you want now?’
Hualing said, ‘Of course I want to find Taotie’s heart. I need to perform the Five Elements Seal. I need your help.’
Jiang Yu frowned.
Hua Ling knew from his expression what he was worried about and quickly explained, ‘Don’t worry, this seal can be completed by several people, and the more spiritual energy you have, the less it will drain you. That’s why I asked you to help.’
Jiang Yu finally nodded, ‘Okay.’
Tengu asked curiously, ‘What is this…five element seal? What the hell is it?’
Hua Ling: ‘The five element seal can temporarily seal the activity of all his internal organs—including the rock that attacked us and the strong acid. But—it cannot seal the activity of his heart.’
The sky dog suddenly understood: ‘So the activity of the heart will stand out at that time, and we will be able to find it quickly.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘But this seal will not last long, at most half an hour. We have to find the heart within half an hour.’
The sky dog patted his chest: ‘No problem, leave it to me.’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘There is no time to lose, let’s start sealing it now. First, we have to stand in a triangular formation. Jiang Yu, you will stretch a little further from Yuan, and you two will stand at each end. I’ll go due south.”
After saying this, Hua Ling took out a paper crane from his bosom, placed it in the palm of his hand and gently blew on it. The paper crane suddenly changed from the size of a palm to the size that could hold two or three people. Hua Ling jumped onto the paper crane and flew to a place three zhang away from Jiang Yu and the others.
Hua Ling saw that they had all taken their positions, so he softly recited a spell, formed a hand seal with one hand and drew a formation in the air with the other. Blue runes slowly appeared on the plane between the three of them…
A moment later, the rune formation was complete. Hua Ling looked up at the two men opposite him and said, ‘There is a circle in front of you. Place your palms flat inside the circle. When I say start, channel your spiritual energy.’
Jiang Yu and Tengu placed their hands inside the blue circle of light as they were instructed.
Jiang Yu nodded at Hua Ling.
Tengu also looked up and said, ‘Okay.’
Hua Ling closed his eyes and gathered his spiritual energy: ‘One… two… three, start!’
As the three men infused their spiritual energy, the blue rune formation expanded from the flat space to three-dimensional space at extreme speed, and expanded towards the entire belly of the Taotie… In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the runes had already filled the entire belly of the Taotie.
Hua Ling opened his eyes: ‘Five Elements – Seal!’
The blue runes suddenly burst into a flash of light, and then the runes disappeared with the light in every place where they had been imprinted – whether it was the floor, the ceiling, or some other oddly-shaped object…
Hua Ling withdrew his hand: ‘Okay.’
The paper crane fluttered its wings lightly, carrying Hua Ling back to the surface of the abyss.
Hua Ling patted the Tengu’s shoulder: ‘The next part of the work is up to you. Find the location of the Taotie’s heart.’
The Tengu said, ‘No problem.’ Then it sat cross-legged.
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘That’s convenient?’
The Tengu laughed: ‘Hey, don’t underestimate my tracking abilities.’
He bit his finger and drew a mark on each arm, then folded his hands together, crossed his fingers and made a strange gesture.
‘Boom-boom,’ suddenly three miniature Tengu appeared under his feet.
The tengu placed their hands on their heads, closed their eyes, and muttered something like a spell silently… After a moment, they opened their eyes and patted the heads of the three mini-tengu: ‘Go, find out where that thing is!’
The three mini-tengu sprang up and ran in three different directions. They stepped on the void as if they were stepping on solid ground, and they were extremely fast. They disappeared in an instant…
Hua Ling curiously asked, ‘What are these “Tengu”?’ Blood Oath Spirit Beasts?”
The Tengu raised its paw and scratched its nose. “Well…that’s one way to look at it. They are spirit beasts, but they are also me. I can divide my soul into as many as I want to create these Tengu to help me conduct rapid search operations.”
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow. “Souls? That should be very dangerous.”
The Tengu smiled confidently. ’Two or three are a piece of cake and pose no threat.’
Hua Ling nodded in agreement: ‘In that case, this skill is quite convenient.’
The three rested on the bank of the abyss for just a short while, and a miniature tengu had already run back this way.
Jiang Yu stretched his arms: ‘It’s pretty fast too.’

☆, Chapter 66

Tengu broke the spell on the mini-Tengu, organised the information collected in his mind, and then opened his eyes and looked at Hualing: ‘Let’s go, I found it.’
Hualing smiled and patted his head: ‘Thanks to you this time, Tengu. Lead the way, we’ll go over with our swords.’
Tengu nodded: ‘Jiang Xiaoyu, this way?’ Ah——
Tengu covered his head, which had been smashed and bruised, and glared at Jiang Xiaoyu with tears in his eyes: ‘What did you do?’
Jiang Yu indifferently retracted his fist and said, ‘Do you also call Jiang Xiaoyu?’
Tengu: ‘…’ Hmm… What a proud sword spirit, I don’t know how Hualing can stand him.
…
Following the path pointed out by the Tengu, the three of them used their swords to arrive in front of a columnar building wrapped in heavy chains.
Hua Ling looked up at the column wrapped in chains, which reached from the ceiling to the centre of the earth: ‘This is where the heart of the gluttonous beast is?’
The sky dog nodded: ‘That’s right. These chains are there to protect its heart, and the column inside is its heart.’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘This is the first time I’ve seen a heart that looks so strange.’
The sky dog waved its claws and shook its head: ‘After all, it’s an ancient and ferocious beast, so it can’t take the ordinary route.’
A strong sword energy collided with the chain without warning – but after the gust of wind, the chain was undamaged and did not move at all. Not only that, the sword energy was bounced back at the same speed, sweeping straight towards Hua Ling. Jiang Yu reached out and pulled Hua Ling into his arms, ducking to the side to avoid the sword energy.
The sky dog watched with a cold sweat on his face: ‘…not so scary. I didn’t expect this chain to have this effect.’
Hua Ling commented indifferently, ‘It seems that if you can’t break these chains in one go, what just happened will happen again—all ineffective attacks will be returned intact.’
Jiang Yu withdrew his hand and turned to Hua Ling and said, ‘I agree. These chains are no ordinary chains, so it’s best to solve this in one move. I want to use that move, Black Dragon Break, to quickly destroy the entire pillar along with the chains. You guys move a little further away so you won’t get caught in the blast.’
Hua Ling: ‘You be careful.’
Jiang Yu lightly touched her face with the palm of his hand: ‘It’s fine.’
Hua Ling nodded, once again summoned the talisman paper crane, picked up the little tengu and jumped on it, and then flew on the talisman paper crane to a place twenty zhangs away from Jiang Yu.
The tengu looked at Jiang Yu, who was summoning the black dragon sword energy in the distance, and asked Hua Ling with his head raised, ‘Are we really not going to help him?’
Hua Ling’s eyes fell on the reliable back figure in the distance, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly: ‘Don’t worry. He’s very strong. If we go over there, we’ll just get in the way.’
‘…Huh?’ The sky dog looked at Hua Ling in surprise.
Hua Ling: ‘Just watch.’
Only after listening to Yuan gave a long sigh, the black sword qi shot up into the sky, turning into a dragon that tightly wrapped around the pillar, and then the black dragon of sword qi changed climbed along the pillar, while constantly piercing through the pillar.
‘Boom!‘ A loud rumble accompanied by a storm came from the direction of the iron pillar.
’What… what’s going on?’ Tengu’s eyes widened. From here, all he could see was a white cloud of dust…
Hualing pointed her finger up: “Look over there.”
Tengu: ’!!!’
Starting from the top of the pillar, the iron chains broke off in sections, crumbling, and then the lime-coloured pillar itself was revealed, with cracks running from top to bottom… In less than a moment, the entire pillar had collapsed.
The Tengu was stunned for a long time: ‘…so, so powerful.’
Hualing’s eyes suddenly changed slightly: ‘Be careful, this place is going to collapse.’
As soon as he finished speaking, cracks began to spread from the ceiling, gradually spreading from the column’s position, covering the entire space, and accompanied by a strong sense of vibration. Crushed stones smashed down, piece by piece…
Tengu suddenly grabbed Hua Ling’s sleeve, ‘Be careful, above!’
Hua Ling looked up, and a huge stone about ten square meters in area fell directly on top of them…
‘Boom…’
“Hua Ling, are you guys okay?’
‘Ah, we’re fine. And you?”
At the last minute, Jiang Yu set up a barrier around the three of them to protect them from the impact of the collapsing space.
After the space disappeared, or rather, after the glutton disappeared, they realised that they were in a hall that resembled an altar. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of eternal lamps were scattered all around the walls of the hall – one after the other, embedded in the walls. The position where they were standing happened to be the entrance to the hall. In the centre of the hall is a towering altar, with green and blue jade steps leading up to its top. At the bottom of the steps, on the left and right, are two white jade statues of a paixiu and a bixie.
Hua Ling looked up at the altar: ‘Looks like we’ve finally found it.’
Jiang Yu helped her to her feet and looked up at the altar too, but didn’t say anything.
Hua Ling turned to the tengu and said, ‘You go back to the Secret Records of the Three Realms first, we’re fine here.’
The sky dog raised its front paw: ‘Okay, I’ll go first. See you later.’ After saying this, it disappeared without a trace.
Hua Ling: ‘Let’s go, this is the last one.’
Jiang Yu tugged Hua Ling.
Hua Ling looked back doubtfully: ‘What’s wrong, you’re not going to chicken out at a time like this, are you?’
Jiang Yu looked at her: ‘How’s your body…?’
Hua Ling stretched her arms: ‘No problem, I’m in great shape. Let’s go.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
On the altar, a pre-carved magic circle on the ground was glowing a golden red.
Jiang Yu looked at the magic circle for a moment and said, ‘This… seems a bit different from the magic circles I’ve seen before.’
Hua Ling also looked at the magic circle and after a moment of silence, she said, ‘Well, because this is the last magic circle… Jiang Yu, stand in the centre of the magic circle and insert Zanyuan into the circle in the middle.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling walked over to the centre of a smaller talisman array next to the magic circle and sat cross-legged: ‘What are you still doing?’
Jiang Yu walked over in her direction, crouched down, and looked Hua Ling in the eye: ‘Promise me you won’t overdo it.’
Hua Ling gave him a small smile: ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.’
Jiang Yu nodded, turned his back, walked to the centre of the magic circle, inserted the talisman from Yuan into the circle, and then stood in the corresponding position himself.
Hua Ling: ‘Remember, don’t move before it’s unsealed. This time it might hurt a little, so bear with it.’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘That’s fine.’
Hua Ling raised her right hand, with her index and middle fingers joined, and placed them vertically in front of her chest. She shouted clearly: ‘Open!’
Suddenly, the golden-red light of the formation soared, and the circle of runes at the outer edge of the formation suddenly rose from the ground into the air, and began to spin and transform rapidly.
At the same time, a vermillion inverted-hook talisman pattern gradually appeared on Hua Ling’s forehead. Jiang Yu could feel that with the appearance of this mark, she also exuded tremendous divine power.
Jiang Yu: !!!
This is the divine power that Chu Jiang mentioned before, which Hua Ling sealed within her body? But didn’t he say that if it was rashly unsealed…it would be very dangerous?
However, something even more strange immediately diverted Jiang Yu’s attention. The runes that had previously been hovering outside the formation suddenly rushed towards the Sword of the Abyss, which was inserted into the formation. The Sword of the Abyss let out a long, clear whistle, and then absorbed all the runes into its body. After all the runes had been absorbed by the Abyss, the Sword of the Abyss seemed to come to life. Jiang Yu could even feel a tremor in the sword that was similar to the beating of a heart.
What was even more strange was that the Zongyuan sword itself floated up from the ground and into midair, and then—little by little—slowly disintegrated, gradually turning into scattered light points.
Those light points flew towards Jiang Yu himself, and then, one after the other, they merged into Jiang Yu’s body.
‘Ugh!’ Jiang Yu suddenly dropped to one knee, and cold sweat gradually seeped from his head. He understood why Hualing had said, ‘It’ll hurt a little, so bear with it.’ The moment the light points began to sink into his body, he felt a sensation of his bones, meridians, and even all of his internal organs being split apart and reshaped, accompanied by continuous, excruciating pain. The excruciating pain slowly eased after all the light points had disappeared inside him. Jiang Yu slowly took a deep breath and adjusted his breathing, but what followed was a continuous influx of images into his brain…
Jiang Yu: !!!
This, these are…
Jiang Yu covered his head and slowly knelt to the ground…
Half an hour later, Hualing let out a breath and withdrew her hand. Bracing herself, she stood up unsteadily.
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and looked at Jiang Yu in the formation not far away. Was the impact still…too great? Yes, remoulding the body was a difficult process.
Hua Ling slowly walked over to Jiang Yu, knelt down on one knee, and reached out to check on him…
Everything was normal, just waiting for him to wake up. Hua Ling used her sleeve to wipe the sweat on Jiang Yu’s face and forehead little by little, and then held Jiang Yu’s hand and passed the spiritual energy little by little.
…
Jiang Yu slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the intricately carved ceiling of the hall, and then he felt the spiritual energy flowing into his body from his right hand. Jiang Yu slowly turned his head and saw Hua Ling kneeling beside him. She was wearing a Huayun robe with wide sleeves, a white jade phoenix comb holding her hair, and her long black hair fell straight to her waist. Her dark eyes gazed at him tenderly.
Hua Ling withdrew her hand, and her dark eyes met Jiang Yu’s deep purple pupils: ‘You’ve woken up.’
‘Bang!’
In an instant, Hua Ling was choked by Jiang Yu and firmly pressed to the ground. The force was so great that it created a huge pit in the ground, and for a moment, the sand and stones flew, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Hua Ling coughed lightly twice, looked fearlessly into the suddenly furious man’s eyes, and said indifferently, ‘You’ve remembered everything.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes were full of hatred, but his voice was as calm and indifferent as Hua Ling’s: ‘Ah, I remember everything. What kind of tricks are you playing this time? Ji, Hua, Ling!!! No, perhaps I should call you, the God of Killing.’

☆, Chapter 67

Jiang Yu gritted his teeth and locked eyes with Hualing. There was not a hint of panic in the other person’s eyes, and there was even a touch of the expected indifference. It was this indifference that made him even angrier, and the pain of being toyed with came back with the memory.
Jiang Yu tightened his grip and smiled, ‘After all these years, you haven’t changed at all.’
Just like before, he treats people’s hearts as playthings, trampling them at will.
Hua Ling coughed, and his eyes moved from Jiang Yu’s face to the dome of the hall behind him. He just said, ‘This place is going to collapse. Whether you want to take revenge or settle old scores, let’s wait until we get out of here.’
With just those words, she once again angered Jiang Yu: ‘Do you think I’ll still listen to you?’
…
Over the years, she has remained unchanged.
He finally remembered…
Back then, he first met her on a vast battlefield.
At the time, she was in a sorry state, and he was arrogant and defiant.
…
‘Report…‘ A demon general in full armour teleported a few times, moving from the hill a hundred metres away to Jiang Yu’s side, and kneeling down on one knee. “Your Highness, enemy prisoners have been found ahead. What should we do with them?”
Jiang Yu was looking at the topographical map and didn’t even look up when he heard this: “Prisoners of war? Do I really need to be notified of such trivial matters?”
’This…’ The demon general hesitated for a moment, ’It’s a woman.’
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu looked up with a smile: ‘What’s wrong with a woman? Is she so beautiful that she’s moved your compassionate heart?’
The demon general immediately said with a solemn face: ‘Your Highness, I think she is a doctor, and as a woman, she is not an enemy general. Please give your orders, Your Highness.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘A doctor? Running so far forward? Now that you mention it, I’m suddenly curious. Take me over there to have a look.’
The Demon General bowed: ‘Yes, Your Highness.’
…
Jiang Yu looked down at the pile of dusty, puffing ruins and glanced up at the Demon General.
The Demon General looked embarrassed: ‘I was just lying on these ruins. I saw that she was unconscious, so I didn’t tie her up.’
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘Is she injured?’
The Demon General nodded: ‘She’s badly injured.’
Jiang Yu: ‘She shouldn’t have gone far. Have someone search for her.’
Jiang Yu looked around, and his gaze suddenly stopped on a collapsed stone pillar. He walked over silently, bent down, reached out, and lifted it gently—
‘Hey, I thought I hid it really well.’
The woman’s voice was cold and calm, without a hint of panic, let alone the trepidation of facing an unknown fate.
Jiang Yu suddenly became interested in this indifference. The stone pillar was completely lifted, and he finally saw the owner of the voice.
Radiant and reserved, with an extraordinary bearing. This was the first impression in Jiang Yu’s mind.
Although the woman was dressed in an ordinary way, in plain white silk, with her hair lightly tied with a thin hairband without any decorations, and even with dust and bloodstains on her face and body, Despite this, she still could not hide her noble appearance. Although she was a woman, her face was delicate and pretty, and she looked gentle and weak, but Jiang Yu could only describe her as dignified. The indifferent tone of her voice and the expression between her brows were not those of an ordinary doctor.
The woman smiled at Jiang Yu: ‘General, aren’t you going to tie me up?’
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu came back to his senses. He had been inexplicably stunned for a moment, and upon thinking about it, a strange anger arose in his heart – it was the first time he had been distracted by a woman, especially on the battlefield.
Jiang Yu turned indifferently and beckoned his subordinate, the Demon General, forward: ‘Take her away and put her in the Ten Evils Prison for trial.’
The Demon General obediently stepped forward to take his orders: ‘As you command.’
Thinking back, it was that fleeting glimpse in the midst of the chaos of the battlefield that sowed the seed of evil in his heart.
…
Hua Ling raised her finger and gently drew a mark on the wall—the tenth one already. It had been ten days since they had brought her back and locked her up in this dark dungeon. In those ten days, not a single person had come to the dungeon, and there had been neither interrogation nor torture, as if she had already been completely forgotten. But she knew very well that this was impossible. The other party wanted to wear her down, engage in a psychological battle to see who would crack first.
This prison was made of extremely dark iron, impregnable. And there was a thick coil of binding magic rope tied to the iron pillars around the perimeter—to suppress her supernatural powers.
Hua Ling leaned against the wall and looked boredly at the ceiling of her prison. This young master of the demon world was quite patient, not at all impulsive like his appearance would suggest.
But thanks to them, his injuries have almost healed. Shall I go scout around a bit? Hua Ling’s eyes looked darkly out of the cage – it was still dark, with only a wall lamp emitting a faint blue light.
Hua Ling stood up and walked towards the heavily bound prison door.
Hua Ling extended his right hand and just as it touched the prison door, a flash of electric light enveloped his hand.
Hua Ling smiled, withdrew her right hand, which had been burnt, and said aloud, ‘Not only are there bounding immortal ropes, but there is also such a strong enchantment. Do you really need to be so careful with a prisoner, young master?’
In the darkness, a figure gradually emerged, and its shape gradually became clear—it was Jiang Yu. He walked slowly up to Hua Ling: ‘Huh? Not bad, you can sense my presence despite the thick enchantment and bounding immortal ropes. You really are…not an ordinary person.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Yu disappeared from outside the cage. The next second, he appeared directly in front of Hua Ling, looking down at her.
Hua Ling looked up, not avoiding eye contact with him: “Why is the young master in the mood today to personally interrogate me?”
Jiang Yu suddenly leaned down/close to her ear: ’Did you just try to escape?’
Hua Ling suddenly felt a powerful magic force press down on her, making her unable to move for a moment.
Hua Ling raised the corners of her mouth and laughed indifferently, ‘How could that be? There are traps everywhere and heavily armed guards. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have the strength. Young master, you’re worrying for nothing.’
Jiang Yu also laughed, his eyes curving into crescent moons. ‘While you’re saying that, can you move this dangerous thing out of the way first?’
It turned out that the moment Jiang Yu bent down, a slender golden needle had been pressed against his chest. If he had moved even an inch further, the needle would have sunk into his flesh.
Jiang Yu said indifferently, ‘The poison on this needle is enough to kill more than ten beasts, isn’t it?’
Hua Ling’s fingers twitched slightly, and the golden needle was put away in his sleeve. ‘Young master is worthy of the name, truly perceptive. Since I have put away my weapon, young master need not be so paranoid.’
A distance of just a few millimetres separated Hua Ling from the five sharp blades formed from magical energy. If she had moved even slightly just now, those blades would have pierced her head without hesitation.
Jiang Yu smiled, straightened up, and waved his hand to dispel the materialised demonic energy. ‘To be honest, this is the first time someone has dared to fight me when they are clearly at a disadvantage. This is the first time I have met such a bold prisoner. Judging from the weapon you are using, it is quite in line with your identity as a doctor. But are you really just a doctor?’
Hua Ling smiled and shrugged his shoulders: ‘What does the young master think?’
Jiang Yu snorted, ‘Shouldn’t doctors be in the rear supporting the troops? What are you doing here alone at the front?’
Hua Ling stood up, ‘Hiding behind people and waiting for them to protect you is not my style. I’m only here to treat the wounded. War is not my business.’
Jiang Yu nodded, ‘That’s an inspiring declaration, but… is that really the case?’
Hua Ling looked at him, ‘You should tell me now, shouldn’t you? Why did you capture me?’
Jiang Yu smiled: ‘From the look of you, I’d say you’re the type of person who uses their head. What do you think?’
Hua Ling spread his hands: ‘If you want to find out information, you’ve got the wrong person. As I said, war and all that is none of my business. You can come to me if you want to heal the wounded, but if it’s anything else, I’m sorry, I can’t help.’
Jiang Yu looked amused as Hua Ling walked towards the cell door: ‘Sorry? So, what are you going to do?’
Hua Ling did not answer, but directly reached out her hand and stretched it towards the lock on the prison door.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow.
Due to the repulsive effect of the barrier, Hua Ling’s hand was instantly severely burned, but she didn’t care at all, as if she couldn’t feel any pain at all, and her expression did not even change. With just this reach, she grasped the lock made of stainless steel.
The golden needle in the middle of the lock slid out. Hua Ling inserted the needle into the lock with a flick of her finger, and in just a moment, the lock was opened. Hua Ling pushed the door open and stepped out.
Jiang Yu praised, ‘Not bad, not bad, you actually thought of such a simple way to get out of here. However, the price is a right hand, is that really okay?’
Hua Ling turned around and gave a faint smile, covering her blackened right hand with her left hand, and instantly gathering spiritual energy in her palm. The spiritual energy molecules densely covered the burnt area, and the blackened skin on her right hand was slowly recovering, and the wound was slowly healing…
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Hua Ling ignored the person behind her, treating her right hand while walking towards the exit of the dungeon.
‘Hey, you really do whatever you want, don’t you? I don’t seem to have said that I’m letting you go, do I?’ Jiang Yu leaned against the door to the dungeon, blocking Hua Ling’s way with one hand.
Hua Ling glanced at him and said, ’I’m telling you now, I want to go back to the Divine Realm. This is my wish, and what you do is your business. You can break my hands and legs and tie me up if you want.’
Jiang Yu shrugged his shoulders: ‘Don’t say we’re so barbaric. Do you think we’re the same as those petty people in the divine realm? They’re prone to causing permanent disabilities or brainwashing and manipulation. In all these days, have we ever taken the law into our own hands?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, raised his hand, opened Jiang Yu’s hand blocking the door, and walked out without looking back.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling’s receding back and stroked his chin. This woman is interesting.

☆, Chapter 68

When Jiang Yu once again blocked Hua Ling’s path, Hua Ling’s expression hardened, and twelve golden needles suddenly flew out of her sleeves, piercing twelve of Jiang Yu’s vital points.
Jiang Yu instantly dodged the fierce attack, ‘You are a bit more impatient than I expected.’
‘But,’ Jiang Yu leaned in, close to Hua Ling’s ear, ‘you can’t match my speed.’
Hua Ling: !!!
But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Yu had dodged all of her tricky attacks from every angle, and then appeared behind Hua Ling, pinning her hands. Her hands were pressed behind her in a twisted position… A drop of cold sweat slowly slid down Hua Ling’s forehead.
Hua Ling closed her eyes: ‘I am no match for you. Kill me or torture me, as you wish. But I don’t have any information you want.’
Jiang Yu chuckled softly: ‘I’ve changed my mind. You can stay and be my military doctor.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu: ‘But I won’t restrict your personal movements. If you can defeat me, you can go free.’
Hua Ling: ‘Heh, what makes you think I’ll save your demon people?’
Jiang Yu shrugged: ‘You don’t care about war, but you can be found to heal the sick and save lives – didn’t you say that yourself? Besides, a doctor has a heart for his patients, so would you really let someone die?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu let Hua Ling go with a smile: ‘It’s settled then.’
Hua Ling rubbed his wrists and looked up at him, ‘I never thought that you, the young master of the Demon Clan, also have a personality. How dare you keep an enemy by your side and let her hold such a position as military doctor? If I were to put a little poison in your water supply, in no time, your entire army of 100,000 could be wiped out.’
Jiang Yu smiled arrogantly, ‘If you dare, go ahead and try.’
Hua Ling also smiled, ‘Fine, I accept your conditions.’
Jiang Yu nodded, ‘Good.’
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and gently lifted Hua Ling’s chin. ‘Woman, tell me your name.’
‘Hua Ling.’
Jiang Yu raised the corner of his mouth. ‘Then Hua Ling, from today onwards, please look after me.’
‘Reporting…’ A general covered in blood suddenly hurried to Jiang Yu. ‘The surprise attack unit encountered a local trap. General Zuo was seriously injured and is in a coma, three team members are missing, and the remaining seven team members… all died in the line of duty.’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘What kind of person could have injured Zuo Ling so badly?’
‘I don’t know. I came as soon as I received the news.’
‘Where is Zuo Ling now?’
‘He has been taken back to the general’s residence, and the demon doctor is currently examining him. But…’ The demon general looked up at Jiang Yu, ‘the situation doesn’t look good.’
Jiang Yu turned to Hua Ling and said, ‘It seems you have something to do right away. Come with me.’
Hua Ling followed Jiang Yu to Zuoling’s residence. As soon as the servants saw Jiang Yu from afar, they immediately came out to greet him on their knees.
Jiang Yu waved his hand: ‘Save all the formalities. Show me Zuoling.’
‘Yes, Your Highness. Please follow me.’ The one who showed the way was the butler of Zuoling’s household. He was quite old, but he was still walking briskly.
There was a crowd of people standing outside and inside Zuoling’s bedroom: maids and servants rushing in and out with water and medicine, as well as the demon doctors who were flustered inside the room.
When they saw Jiang Yu arrive, they all hurriedly knelt down to pay their respects. Jiang Yu waved his sleeve: ‘Skip it. How is the injury? Heyu, you tell me.’
The one who was called upon was the oldest-looking demon doctor. He stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Yu: ‘I am ashamed… The left general has several knife wounds and sword wounds, and his skin is lightly burned… However, these wounds are not difficult to treat… The problem is…’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘The problem is?’
The demon doctor He Yu let out a long sigh and shook his head: ‘He was poisoned with a strange poison, and we really can’t see where it came from. Even with all my life’s learning, I cannot discover the formula for this poison, let alone concoct an antidote…”
Jiang Yu glanced at Hua Ling.
Hua Ling nodded: “Let me have a look.”
Jiang Yu waved his hands at the group of demon doctors: “Step aside.”
Upon hearing this, the demon doctors looked up at Hua Ling, their hearts filled with countless questions, but they respectfully stepped back as Jiang Yu had commanded.
Hua Ling walked over to the bed, opened the eyes of the unconscious Demon General, and then pressed down on his tongue to carefully observe his throat…
The Demon Physicians looked at each other, turned to Jiang Yu, and saw him calmly pacing over to the window, picking a random fruit from the fruit bowl and eating it while watching Hua Ling examine Zuo Ling.
After examining Zuoling’s facial features and complexion, Hua Ling then leaned over his chest and listened to his heartbeat… After doing all this, she looked back at the group and said, ‘He was poisoned with a nerve-damaging toxin that destroys the body’s internal tissues and functions. The muscles of his heart have already been damaged, and cardiac arrest could occur at any time… Even if we start making the antidote now, we don’t know if we can make it in time.’
The demon doctors were stunned, their expressions stiff, unsure of how to react.
He Yu stroked his beard and said, ‘Just a simple examination and you’ve already understood this much. This female doctor is no ordinary person.’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said with certainty, ‘But you still have a way out, don’t you?’
Hua Ling met his gaze and nodded slightly. ‘Although it is a bit complicated to operate, there is still a way—to directly strip the toxin from the body. Although it cannot detoxify, it can at least buy some time for preparing the antidote.’
He Yu’s eyes widened, as if he had heard something unbelievable. ‘Strip the toxin directly? ! The toxin has already penetrated deep into the organs, how is this possible?’
Hua Ling ignored him and said, ‘Everyone, please help me. Please prepare at least five buckets of hot water immediately. Use those big wooden buckets, the kind where a person can sit in.’
The servants and maids said, ‘Yes, we’ll go prepare right away.’
Hua Ling took out a piece of paper and a pen from his repair kit and quickly wrote down the names of dozens of medicinal herbs. He handed it to one of the demon doctors and said, ‘I wonder if the Demon Realm has these medicinal herbs?’
The demon doctor scanned it and nodded, saying, ‘We have them all.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘Good, please prepare five portions according to the measurements written above, and soak the herbs in a wooden bucket.’
Jiang Yu saw that the demon doctors were still standing there, and raised an eyebrow: ‘What are you doing, go!’
‘Yes…yes! I will go now.’
The group immediately hurriedly left the bedroom, and Jiang Yu and Hua Ling were left alone in the room again.
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘Looks like I did the right thing by keeping you.’
Hua Ling, however, solemnly looked at Zuo Ling, who was lying unconscious on the bed, and said, ‘You can thank him when he’s rescued.’
Jiang Yu gave a subtle smile and said, ‘When did I say I wanted to thank you?’
The servants were very efficient when it came to action. Within half an hour, a young servant stumbled into the room and said, ‘Sir, everything is ready.’ As soon as the words fell, a group of young servants carried five wooden buckets full of medicine into the bedroom one after the other.
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Good. You all go out.’
She turned to Jiang Yu: ‘You stay and help me.’
Jiang Yu understood. He stood up, slightly raised his hands, and Zuoling on the bed was steadily lifted up by the magical energy and then steadily placed into one of the wooden buckets.
Hua Ling stood in front of the barrel and placed her hands on Zuoling’s back. She looked up at Jiang Yu and said, ‘Help me hold him down for a while.’
Jiang Yu nodded and held Zuoling’s shoulders.
Hua Ling gathered her energy and concentrated it in her palms. The spiritual energy passed through Hua Ling’s palms and entered Zuoling’s body, searching for the toxins.
‘Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Hua Ling closed his eyes and began to use his spiritual energy to search for the toxin – and found it! He fused the toxin with the spiritual energy ball that had infiltrated Zuoling’s body, and then pulled it out of his body in one go…and then continued to search for the next one…
Jiang Yu noticed that the water in the wooden bucket was gradually turning black. Is this the toxin in Zuoling’s body…
After the water in the wooden bucket had completely turned black, Hua Ling opened his eyes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to Jiang Yu, ‘Change another bucket.’
The whole process was repeated like this. Without changing the bucket of water, the colour of the toxins in the water slowly became lighter, until the fifth bucket of water was changed, and the water was still as clear as it was at the beginning. Hua Ling finally withdrew his hand and let out a long sigh: ‘Okay. This way, there is no danger to life.’
Jiang Yu suddenly put a piece of brocade cloth, which he got from somewhere, into Hua Ling’s hands: ‘You have worked hard.’
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu in surprise, but took the brocade in his hands and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The Demon Doctors returned to the bedroom. After He Yu had taken Zuo Ling’s pulse, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face: ‘The heartbeat has returned to normal, and the high fever is gradually subsiding…’
Hua Ling: ‘For now, the onset of the poison has been delayed. Next, we need to prepare an antidote to completely remove the remaining poison from the body.’
He Yu looked at Hua Ling: ‘Do you know how to prepare the antidote?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I know a prescription that specifically suppresses this toxin that damages the nerves. But…’
Jiang Yu glanced at her: ‘But you can tell me.’
Hua Ling: ‘Some of the ingredients in this prescription are hard to come by. I don’t know if the Demon Realm has these rare medicinal herbs.’
Hua Ling wrote down the prescription and handed it to He Yu.
He Yu frowned and said, ‘Forgetful Herb, Thousand-Year Blood Spring, and Osmanthus Heart Flower…these three are indeed rare medicinal herbs. I managed to obtain Forgetful Herb and Osmanthus Heart Flower many years ago, and they are now stored in the imperial pharmacy of the Demon Capital. But Thousand-Year Blood Spring…’
Jiang Yu looked up at He Yu and said, ‘Just tell me if you know where to find this thing.’
He Yu nodded: ‘I know…but…’
Jiang Yu interrupted: ‘Just say it.’

☆, Chapter 69

He Yu looked up at Jiang Yu and said with some difficulty: ’Your Highness, I heard that the Millennium Blood Spring is buried at the deepest part of the Abyss of Extremes. The Abyss of Extremes is…the deepest part of the crack between the Divine Realm and the Demon Realm…Before, there were also people who went there for the Millennium Blood Spring, but none returned. It is said…’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘What are you mumbling about, speak.’
He Yu shook his head: ‘Legend has it that the creator god Pangu is sleeping there…’
Jiang Yu smiled: ‘Interesting. In that case, I’m even more eager to find out.’
Jiang Yu suddenly turned to Hualing: ‘Dare you go with me?’
Hualing tidied the stray hair around her ears: ‘If I go with you, will you let me go?’
Jiang Yu’s smile was insincere: ‘What do you think?’
Hua Ling shrugged: ‘Well, then, Your Highness, please go by yourself (╯ ▽ ╰)╭ I won’t get involved in such a troublesome matter.’
…
That being said…
Jiang Yu glanced back at Hua Ling, who was keeping five paces away from him: ‘Did someone say that she didn’t want to get involved in such a troublesome matter?’
Hua Ling casually kicked the gravel at his feet to one side: ‘Well, because there’s something even more troublesome—the Millennium Blood Spring must be processed immediately after it’s taken out, otherwise it will immediately lose its medicinal value. I think it’s better if I do this kind of thing myself. It’ll save Your Highness a trip for nothing.’
Jiang Yu snorted, turning back without comment: ‘We’re about to enter the gap between the two realms next, woman, so keep up. I don’t have time to protect you.’
Hua Ling shrugged nonchalantly, ‘To be honest, I didn’t expect anything either.’
Darkness suddenly descended, enveloping the two.
‘Hey—is this dark place the Abyss of Extremes?’ Hua Ling snapped his fingers, and five orange flames floated out of the darkness.
Jiang Yu waved his hand, extinguishing the flames in an instant, ‘Don’t light a fire. I don’t know what kind of things it will attract.’
Hua Ling laughed softly: ‘I never thought Your Highness would be afraid of anything.’
Jiang Yu ignored him and quietly surveyed the surroundings. There were sheer cliffs on both sides, and the winding road led to an invisible end. Jiang Yu reached out and touched the cliffs on both sides. The temperature was even colder than polar ice.
Hua Ling walked up to him and said seriously, ‘Why do you think it’s so cold here? It’s more like it’s already incredibly cold.’
Jiang Yu withdrew his hand and said, ‘It’s as if they want to use this temperature to seal something.’
Hua Ling said, ‘Exactly. We’d better be careful not to disturb that thing. I think the legend that He Yu mentioned…may not be groundless.’
Jiang Yu said, ‘…’
Hua Ling: ‘If it really is that person, we won’t be able to deal with it even if we join forces.’
Jiang Yu smiled: ‘We join forces? You seem to be very confident in your own abilities?’
Hua Ling also smiled: ‘In a sense, yes.’
‘Roar—’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Eh, it’s too late, it’s still here.’
Jiang Yu seemed to be unconcerned: ‘Tsk, I told you not to raise the fire.’
Hua Ling: ‘I told you you were too late (╯▽╰)╭’
‘Ow…’ The shaggy giant let out a mournful cry and fell to the ground, with a glowing golden needle stuck in its neck.
Hua Ling walked over to the giant beast, knelt down, pulled the golden needle from its neck, and put it in her sleeve. Then she poked the giant beast’s furry head: ‘Hey, young master, do you know what this is? To be honest, this appearance quite suits my aesthetic…’ It was a magnified version of a short-nosed cat, except that it had an extra horn on its head.
Jiang Yu glanced at the unconscious creature on the ground and shook his head. What surprised him was Hua Ling’s speed. He hadn’t felt it before when she had been suppressed in the dungeon and her divine power had been suppressed… Was this her normal strength?
Hua Ling patted the hem of her robe and stood up, ‘Let’s find a way to go around. If we have to deal with these things along the way, it will take a lot of time, not to mention that I’m afraid the noise will wake up… those who shouldn’t be woken up.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Detour? There’s only one road here.’
Hua Ling didn’t say anything, but raised her hand and pointed to the side of her body — there was a sheer cliff next to her.
…
So the two of them walked quietly one behind the other on the cliff — of course, at an angle parallel to the ground.
Jiang Yu: ‘I’m curious about something.’
Hua Ling: ‘I can’t promise to answer every question.’
Jiang Yu: ‘With your skills…how did you get injured on the battlefield?’
Having seen Hua Ling’s earlier move, Jiang Yu immediately judged that half of the Demon Generals would never be able to injure her. No wonder she dared to go to the front line alone.
Hua Ling smiled at Jiang Yu after a moment of silence: ‘Your father’s skills are truly formidable. I only got a little closer and was caught in the blast of his Black Dragon Break.’
Jiang Yu: ‘… It’s more like she survived her father’s Black Dragon Break. You have to understand that none of the generals on the battlefield could survive if they got caught in the Black Dragon Break.
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu’s silent back and smiled silently, “Are you thinking… that I didn’t die?”
Jiang Yu: “Hmph, lucky for you.”
Hua Ling: ’… He had already thought of a good response, but it didn’t come in handy at all.
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and stopped Hua Ling: ‘There’s murderous intent.’
Hua Ling: ‘… I feel it, and it’s not just any murderous intent.
Hua Ling narrowed his eyes and his hand already slipped into his sleeve.
’Hee hee hee hee—I wondered why the wind smelled so sweet today, and it turns out that there are two little brats with pure spiritual energy here~’ A sweet, syrupy laugh drifted towards the two of them, mixed with a faint fragrance.
Hua Ling: ‘Don’t breathe in, that fragrance is poisonous.’
‘Huh? The little girl is quite something, she even knows about this poison, I’m very impressed~’ A voluptuous woman with heavy makeup appeared before the two without warning.
Jiang Yu suddenly struck, blocking more than ten attacks from her busy line of sight. The woman struck very quickly, without even changing her footwork.
The woman raised an eyebrow: ‘Oh, the little kid’s pretty good too~’
Jiang Yu blocked Hua Ling’s retreat and took a step back to put some distance between them.
Hua Ling noticed with sharp eyes that the woman had no shadow.
Hua Ling pulled Jiang Yu without saying a word: ‘Jiang Yu, this woman…’
Jiang Yu nodded slightly: ‘I know.’
The woman in front of them was just an illusion. However, what was truly terrifying was the person behind the illusion. Because the illusion was so real—and both the poison gas and the flying sword attack that followed were real, not illusions. Only an illusionist at the pinnacle of their craft could achieve this—so realistic that the real and the fake are indistinguishable.
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling exchanged a silent glance. In any case, they must first break through this illusion and then find the real person. Otherwise, they will be trapped in this illusion—in an infinite loop until they are exhausted.
Jiang Yu and Hua Ling struck at the same time. Jiang Yu grabbed the woman’s neck with lightning speed and pushed her off the steep cliff face into the deep valley, where she crashed into the ground. The force was so great that the ground cracked open, sinking downward to form a deep pit.
Hualing bit her index finger and quickly made a seal. Sealing runes flowed rapidly from her fingertips, forming a huge sealing array that pressed down on the two people on the ground… As the sealing array fell, Jiang Yu slid out of the way.
The sealing array landed on top of the woman, and the seal automatically opened. The woman’s body gradually became transparent… Just before she disappeared, the woman revealed a strange smile: ‘You two brats, you’re pretty good.’
When she said the last few words, her voice was no longer the sweet, syrupy tone of a woman, but a low, masculine voice. After saying this, the woman completely disappeared from the centre of the magic circle…only the vermillion runes were deeply imprinted in the cracked ground.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling walked over to Jiang Yu and sighed: ‘We’ve been completely underestimated.’
Jiang Yu paused and turned to look at Hua Ling: ‘After the Millennium Blood Spring is taken out, what do we do with it?’
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘Well…it will of course be disposed of in a special way.’
Jiang Yu was persistent, ‘What do you mean by “special”?’
Hua Ling waved his hand, ‘Hey, you can’t do it. I appreciate your good intentions. But I must go myself.’
Jiang Yu’s face was expressionless, ‘I’m afraid you’ll slow me down. It’s more convenient for me to act alone.’
Hua Ling tilted his head and smiled: ‘Really? But since His Highness doesn’t have time for me anyway, there’s no such thing as holding you back… If you really think I’m holding you back, just leave me behind and run away, right?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling patted Jiang Yu’s shoulder lightly: ‘Don’t dawdle. Or… did you fool His Highness with such petty tricks?’
Jiang Yu snorted: ‘Ridiculous.’
Hua Ling spread his hands: ‘If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, you won’t get the tiger’s cub. Your Highness is not afraid, so how could I be a coward?’
Jiang Yu’s eyes were fierce: ‘What do you mean, “I” and “all” are not afraid?’
‘That’s not the point,’ Hua Ling waved his hand, lightly tapped his foot on the ground, and leaped back onto the cliff to continue on his way.
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Jiang Yu followed up, suddenly saying, ‘Not only are you skilled in medicine, you’re also quite skilled in the use of magic.’
Hua Ling didn’t turn his head, ‘Thank you for your praise, Your Highness, but no matter how much flattery I get, I will never betray my country.’
Jiang Yu: ‘You!’
Hua Ling took advantage of the situation to pursue, ‘And judging from the situation… Your Highness will have to flatter me a lot in the future.’
Jiang Yu angrily said, ‘…Shut up!’
The author has something to say: I don’t know if you can see it… From the Abyss of Extremes… the sword Hua Ling later forged was called ‘From the Abyss’. The Emperor of Imagination can let his imagination run wild~

☆, Chapter 70

The two walked in silence, one in front of the other, for about half an hour.
Jiang Yu suddenly said in a muffled voice, ‘Hey.’
Hua Ling: ‘I don’t go by “Hey”.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…you shouldn’t just be able to throw golden needles.’
Hua Ling: ‘Take a guess.’
Jiang Yu was at a loss for words. After a moment, he said, ‘Don’t hold back later. You can see for yourself the strength of the enemy we will face.’
Hua Ling: ‘Hm.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
A long, transparent tentacle-like object suddenly shot out from the end of the deep valley and wrapped itself around Hua Ling’s right wrist.
Hua Ling: !!!
Hua Ling was about to use his strength to chop the tentacle when it suddenly tugged violently, and it actually pulled Hua Ling off the cliff and dragged him into the deep valley at an unpredictable speed.
‘Tut,’ Jiang Yu reacted immediately and went to pull Hua Ling’s hand, but he missed by a little and failed to do so. He frowned and without hesitation, he used both feet to push against the rock wall and leaped into the valley.
‘Pop!’ Jiang Yu used this momentum to leap and catch up with the speed of the tentacle, and grabbed Hua Ling’s hand.
Hua Ling was speechless: “It’s enough to fall into the trap by yourself, what are you doing following me?”
Jiang Yu was silent for two seconds: “You were deliberately caught?”
Hua Ling sighed helplessly: ’Half and half. I was just about to praise us for having tacit understanding… You’re too impatient.’
Jiang Yu’s face turned suspiciously red: ‘Shut up!’
Hua Ling consoled, ‘Forget it, this will save us time.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
From the bottomless pit, as the two of them delved deeper, the temperature became lower and lower, and the breath exhaled with each breath instantly turned to ice slag. Hua Ling’s hair also began to gradually climb with a thin layer of icicles.
Jiang Yu glanced at her: ‘Are you okay?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I’m fine. You take care of yourself and don’t let the cold invade your heart and lungs.’
Just as they were talking, the tentacle dragged Hua Ling around a corner, and the two of them were suddenly dragged into a chamber that looked like a giant ice cellar—the only decoration in the entire room was countless ice crystals hanging upside down and densely falling from the ceiling.
At the last moment before Hua Ling crashed into the ice wall, she suddenly pulled out a long, snow-white sword from nowhere, and with a slash, she severed the tentacle binding her right hand. Then she stabbed the sword into the ice wall, slowing her momentum as she rushed towards it. Jiang Yu followed Hua Ling’s lead and stood on the ice wall.
Hua Ling slowly pulled her sword out of the ice wall and looked back at Jiang Yu, ‘You didn’t just try to wait for me to crash into the ice wall and turn into a meat pie, did you?’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, ‘How could I? I saw that you were ready to act a long time ago, so I gave you a chance to show off.’
Hua Ling gave him a sideways glance. Did he just notice the subtle movement of her fingers?
Jiang Yu spread his hands and pointed at the ground, ‘Hey, now is not the time for infighting, is it?’
Hua Ling looked down at the ground and her face turned pale. ‘What is this thing? It’s disgusting. It doesn’t look very powerful either. You can handle it.’ Hua Ling said this and even patted Jiang Yu’s shoulder as if he were serious.
On the ground was a ball of flesh with many tentacles growing out of it—that was a rough summary of the appearance of that thing. It was really a ball of flesh lying on the ground, with no visible facial features and no limbs like those of a human. The only feature that could prove that it was a living organism was the kind of tentacles that grabbed Hua Ling everywhere on its body—all transparent, long and short, some curled on the ground, some long and dancing in the air.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling with a smile. This thing is quite ugly… But it’s so embarrassing, you can only say that women are women after all.
However, Hua Ling was right about one thing: this thing was not very lethal and looked pretty silly. After dragging them into this place, there was nothing else to do—except to foolishly flaunt its tentacles in place.
Hua Ling had an expression of being unable to bear to look at it: ‘Gee, why don’t you kick this thing out the door first, it’s creepy. Speaking of which, the Millennium Blood Spring we’re looking for is right where that thing is lying—underneath.’
Jiang Yu’s expression hardened, and he looked intently. Sure enough, there seemed to be a red liquid flowing beneath the thick layer of ice. Jiang Yu was as light as a swallow, and with a single tap of his toes, he landed beside the monster in an instant.
The monster finally sluggishly sensed someone approaching, and its tentacles all attacked Jiang Yu at the same time. Jiang Yu didn’t even bat an eyelid, and lifted his leg and gave it a kick—the monster had already been kicked out the door. And it was slammed hard into the mountain wall, and it was estimated that it would be a while before it could get out on its own.
Jiang Yu looked up at Hualing and said, ‘You can come down now.’
Hualing landed and casually gave a fist salute, ‘Thanks.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Hey, that’s not very sincere.
Hua Ling ignored him and squatted down to check the situation under the ice.
Seeing her strange expression, Jiang Yu asked, “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
Hua Ling shook her head, not really sure. “Nothing. Let’s hurry to the Blood Spring and leave. This place is not a good place to stay.”
Jiang Yu nodded, ’I know that without you having to tell me. How?’
Hua Ling took a crystal clear vial from her bosom and then took out a dagger and lightly cut her wrist. Blood flowed out of the wound, and Hua Ling caught a few drops of blood in the vial and muttered a spell softly. The blood seemed to come to life and instantly adhered to the entire bottle wall, forming something like a protective film.
Jiang Yu looked puzzled: ‘Is this the measure you were talking about? What do you mean, does this blood spring also test your blood to neutralize it?’
Hua Ling was at a loss for words: ‘No. The blood spring will quickly deteriorate if it leaves this place, resulting in the loss of its medicinal value. Only by wrapping it in divine blood and preventing it from coming into contact with the outside world can its medicinal properties be preserved.’
Jiang Yu let out an ‘oh’ and said she understood. But then she suddenly asked, ‘How do you know? Have you been here before?’ It didn’t look like it from the way she was acting.
Hua Ling shook his head and said concisely, ‘It is recorded in the divine race’s pharmacopoeia.’
Jiang Yu was instantly displeased: ‘What do you mean? Is the demon race’s medical skills lagging behind?’
Hua Ling was speechless: ‘…’ Young master, do you have to count this?
In order to quickly distract the young master’s attention, Hua Ling waved at him: ‘Come help.’
Jiang Yu walked over to her and crouched down: ‘How?’
Hua Ling pointed at the thick layer of ice beneath their feet: ‘Chisel a hole in it. Be careful with your hands and feet, and don’t make too much noise, just a small hole will do.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Oh.’
He raised his hand and smashed it cleanly and decisively into the ice. At first, there was no movement on the ice after the blow. However, after a moment, the ice suddenly cracked with a ‘crunch’ sound, and then many cracks extended in all directions from that crack, and finally, with a ‘crack,’ a large hole directly shattered.
Jiang Yu looked at Hualing with satisfaction.
Hualing pointed at the half-broken ice surface in disbelief, ‘You call that a small hole?!’
Not getting the response he intended, Jiang Yu was unhappy, ‘This is not convenient for getting medicine. And just now I deliberately suppressed the sound, and I only used internal strength for that punch, so there was only the sound of ice breaking, which is not considered loud.’
Hua Ling waved her hand: ‘Forget it. I’ll get the blood spring first.’
Jiang Yu was depressed by her dismissive wave, but fortunately, she walked outside and gave the unlucky meatball monster a supplementary kick.
Hua Ling heard the noise behind her and just found it funny. This person is obviously the young master of the Demon Realm, second only to one person and above ten thousand people, who would have thought that behind his back he is so childish. Hua Ling immersed the small bottle in the blood spring and took out a bottle of blood spring.
She suddenly felt something was wrong—the moment she put her hand into the blood spring. Something beneath the blood spring was about to gush out.
Hua Ling did not dare to stay any longer, immediately got up and ran towards Jiang Yu outside the house, ‘Jiang Yu, quickly leave this place.’
Jiang Yu turned around on hearing this and saw Hua Ling’s solemn expression. He was stunned for a moment, ‘What…’
Jiang Yu suddenly moved, and even Hua Ling didn’t see his movements at all. She felt a gust of wind that swept her three zhang outside the cave.
‘Hahahaha—not bad. I never thought that there would be someone in this world who could block my palm.’ The deep voice directly penetrated Hua Ling’s eardrums, and it even had the power to shake the heavens and earth.
Hua Ling turned back in a panic—and was suddenly dumbfounded. Blood dripped onto the ground. Jiang Yu’s left shoulder had been pierced straight through. From Hua Ling’s direction, all he could see was the man inside leisurely and slowly withdrawing his hand that had pierced Jiang Yu’s shoulder blade.
Jiang Yu stumbled back a step, turned to Hua Ling and yelled, ‘What are you still doing here, go!’
“Hahahaha, not bad kid. Since you still have the strength, you can play with me.’
Jiang Yu shook his left hand indifferently, and the blood along the way splashed directly onto the rock wall behind him. He finally turned his head to take one last look at Hua Ling, and conjured a black dragon-like aura in his hands, which he pressed against the man in the ice cellar.
Hua Ling:!!!
A loud noise came from inside the room—mixed with an even stronger smell of blood.
Hua Ling smiled wryly, ‘This young master of the Demon Realm, his head is really not working well.’
To be fair, she had no right to judge Jiang Yu. In theory, this should be a perfect opportunity… If Jiang Yu is killed here, the Demon Realm will also be dealt a heavy blow…
Hua Ling laughed to herself, took the vial into her arms, and walked towards the ice chamber…
The author has something to say: Jiang Xiaoge is chasing after the girl with his life… The effect is remarkable, and Hua Ling has been bought off by this reckless move.

☆, Chapter 71

‘Tic-tac—tic-tac—‘
That was the sound of blood dripping onto the ground. Because of the height and width of the ice cellar, the sound was infinitely amplified, as if it were close to Hua Ling’s ears.
’Stupid… woman. What are you doing back here?’ Jiang Yu’s voice came from the corner.
Hua Ling looked over there, and the back of the red-haired giant blocked her entire view, but even if she didn’t look, she could guess what kind of scene it was.
Hua Ling smiled: ‘I came here especially to laugh at you.’
While saying this, Hua Ling simultaneously reached into her sleeves with both hands and pulled out a long, thin thread—the thread was as thin as silk, yet it glistened with a cold silver light. Hua Ling lightly wrapped the end of the thread around her wrists, leaped forward, and landed on the shoulder of the red-haired giant.
The giant looked back at Hua Ling strangely and then swept a fierce palm towards Hua Ling’s forehead. Hua Ling performed a backflip as she dodged, and with both hands moving at the same time, the silver thread quickly and accurately wrapped around the giant’s neck. She quickly slid backwards, and the silver thread in both hands was released at the same time, pinning it to the two corners on the other side of the ice cellar, one on the left and one on the right.
Because the length of the thread was ultimately limited, the giant was also dragged to the ground under the tremendous drag force, and then slid backwards for several zhang. However, the giant responded quickly. He climbed up with a light movement that was seriously out of proportion to his body, stabilised his body, and then quickly grabbed the silver thread wrapped around his neck with his hands and began to pull hard. The silver thread made a harsh ‘sizzling’ sound.
Hua Ling frowned. It was made of pure black gold and heavenly maiden silk, and its sharpness was comparable to that of most divine weapons. It had not even cut his neck open, let alone severed it… Judging from this, with that person’s terrifying strength, it was only a matter of time before he could break free from the silver thread’s restraint. The most important thing at the moment was to get the young demon lord to escape quickly.
Hua Ling flashed past the giant and quickly came to Jiang Yu’s side.
Jiang Yu’s face was covered in blood, and he was leaning against the corner of the wall, propped up, looking at Hua Ling: ‘Why did you come back…’
Hua Ling ignored him and quickly checked the wounds all over his body. The worst one was the shoulder blade that had been pierced by the giant’s hand. The bone was completely shattered, and the muscles and meridians inside had also been destroyed. There were also other wounds of varying sizes all over his body, his left leg bone was broken, and his forehead had been split open by a three-centimeter long gash.
It was truly a sight to behold.
Hua Ling took out a medicine bottle from her bosom and sprinkled most of the powder on the wound on Jiang Yu’s left shoulder, and then sprinkled the powder on the other wounds as well. Jiang Yu frowned and groaned.
Hua Ling looked up at him and said, ‘This medicine works best. Bear with it.’
She pressed her hands against the bloody hole in Jiang Yu’s left shoulder and began to gather spiritual energy to stop the bleeding.
Jiang Yu looked up at Hua Ling’s focused eyes and asked again, ‘Why did you come back?’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘If you still have the strength to speak, it seems you won’t die.’
Jiang Yu looked up, past Hua Ling, and saw the giant standing in the center of the ice cellar, fighting with the silver thread. ‘Do you know that he is…’
Hua Ling interrupted him, ‘I know.’
The bleeding had finally stopped, and at least there was no danger to his life. Hua Ling went around Jiang Yu’s bent arm and helped him up: ‘Can you walk?’
Jiang Yu nodded, somewhat self-deprecatingly: ‘I really didn’t expect to have to rely on a woman to save me.’
Hua Ling was speechless: ‘What’s with the man-woman stuff? You’re so proud, you’re easily hurt.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…huh. I owe you this time.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘Oh? So if I save your life, you’ll let me go back?’
Jiang Yu didn’t say anything.
Hua Ling laughed silently, and led Jiang Yu towards the exit.
‘Boom…’
As soon as he said it, the giant had already broken free of the silver thread binding him, and due to his brute strength, he had also torn down a wall of the ice cellar.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
The giant touched his neck and looked at Hua Ling playfully, ‘The little girl is interesting. Will you stay and play with me?’
Jiang Yu pushed Hua Ling away indifferently, ‘You go first. If we keep stalling like this, neither of us will be able to leave.’
Hua Ling didn’t know why, but a fire came over her, and she quickly made a hand seal with one hand.
Jiang Yu said, ‘You!’
Hua Ling turned her wrist and sent Jiang Yu flying into the corner with a palm wind, ‘You rest well.’
The giant watched them settle things without any panic, then lowered his head and walked up to Hua Ling, who was in front of him: ‘Oh? You want to go one by one?’
Hua Ling bowed to the giant: ‘Great God Pangu, I know that you have been forced to guard here since the creation of the world and are very bored. Hua Ling is not talented, and is willing to spar with the great god. If by chance I can get one move or two under the great god, I wonder if the great god could be gracious and let the two of us go.’
The red-haired giant looked down on Hualing, who was not even as tall as his waist, with a displeased expression on his face: ‘Hmph, insolent brat, you can talk big, but let’s see if you can withstand my moves.’
While Pangu was talking, Hualing had already gathered her energy and formed it into a shape. Her lips moved slightly as she summoned an ice-blue sword case. A pure white long sword popped out of the sword case and jumped into Hualing’s hands.
Hualing let out a soft cry, and her slender fingers lightly traced a path along the blade. The long sword let out a long, mournful howl, resonating with Hualing’s spiritual energy, and the sword’s aura suddenly increased several times.
Pangu frowned, and took up a defensive stance.
Hualing gathered her energy and pointed the tip of the sword straight at Pangu’s brow. The sword’s tip trembled, moving with the wind. The sword’s momentum was extremely fast, and its radiance was so bright that it seemed to be chasing the bright moon.
This sword came very quickly, and Pangu changed his stance three times before he managed to avoid it. He seemed slightly annoyed, and immediately tried to block Hua Ling’s sword. However, Hua Ling took advantage of the situation to slightly change the position of her wrist, and she slashed the long sword past Pangu’s lower elbow.
This time, the sword was obviously much sharper than the silver wire that had bound Pangu before, instantly slicing off a thin piece of flesh from Pangu’s elbow.
Blood spurted out and splattered all over the ground.
Pangu covered his elbow and retreated three zhang, his eyes staring coldly at Hualing.
Hualing’s heart skipped a beat. She knew that Pangu was about to get serious.
Sure enough, there was a loud clap of thunder in the air—the entire ice cellar was instantly filled with dark clouds. As soon as Pangu reached out, a huge black axe appeared in his hand.
Jiang Yu, who was watching from afar, looked shocked: ‘…the Axe of Creation. Hualing!’
Before Pangu could move, Hualing had already begun to summon the enchantment. She knew that if she were hit by the axe, she would surely die there and then.
Sure enough, the first thing Pangu did after getting the axe was to swing it horizontally in a no-nonsense motion.
Hualing put her hands against the enchantment, using most of her spiritual energy to resist the impact of the huge axe.
After Pangu made the first chop, he did not continue with the second chop. Instead, he swung the axe, rested it on his shoulder, and looked down at Hua Ling condescendingly.
Hua Ling quietly stared back at him. After a moment, a trace of bright red spilled from the corner of Hua Ling’s lips. First, there were tiny cracks in the barrier like spider silk, and then the cracks quickly covered the entire barrier, and then—the barrier completely shattered.
Hua Ling fell to one knee, panting, and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. As expected of the creator god, he easily broke her strongest barrier with a casual slash.
Their strength was too far apart, and they didn’t stand a chance.
Hua Ling glanced back at Jiang Yu, who was sitting in the corner under a freezing spell, and her thoughts raced.
‘Three Axes.’ At this time, Pangu suddenly spoke, “If you can survive my three Axes, I will let you go. How about it?”
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, “Deal.”
Jiang Yu closed his eyes and concentrated on his energy…
Pangu smiled and said, ’Good, you have spirit. The second Axe, catch.’
The second axe was of a completely different level of strength and speed to the first, and it came down vertically from Hua Ling’s head without any warning.
Hua Ling had long been mentally prepared. And after that first axe, she understood deeply that there was no way to block the Pangu axe head on impact – it would be tantamount to suicide. Since she couldn’t block it, she could only dodge.
Before Pangu even swung the axe, Hua Ling had already calculated in her mind the evasive routes to take to avoid his attacks from every angle. When the axe appeared above Hua Ling’s head, there was only a shadow of Hua Ling left.
Pangu raised the corner of his mouth, changed the route of his attack according to Hua Ling’s shadow, and chased after Hua Ling’s figure.
Hua Ling had expected this move from Pangu. While avoiding the axe, she used the force to perform a somersault into the air, and shot a grappling hook from her sleeve, which popped up directly along the dead angle behind Pangu’s head and hooked onto the ice wall behind him. Hua Ling then used all her strength to retract the grappling hook in her hand, and the entire person directly flew over Pangu’s head and onto the ice wall.
After Hua Ling stood firm on the ice wall, she was about to speak when she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest and vomited a mouthful of blood. What was going on? She had clearly completely avoided the attack. How could she still…
Pangu turned around slowly, looked up at Hua Ling, and smiled, ‘Isn’t it strange how you got hurt?’
Hua Ling coughed lightly and didn’t say a word.
Pangu appeared to be quite patient: ‘You didn’t need to be hit by the axe, but even being swept away by the force of the wind created by the Pangu Axe would have killed or injured you. An ordinary immortal would have died long ago, but you were able to withstand my two axes in a row, which is no mean feat.’
Hua Ling summoned the spiritual energy in her body to alleviate the heavy damage to her internal organs, while she recovered, she secretly thought of a countermeasure. According to Pangu’s personality, this third axe was in a completely different league to the previous two. What should she do…
Seeing that she had been silent, Pangu picked up the giant axe and rested it on his shoulder. He moved his neck from side to side a little, then gave Hua Ling a finger-tip salute and said, ‘Third axe, get ready.’
In fact, there was no other way—she still had to dodge. This time, Hua Ling did not use the flamboyant enchantment she had just used, but instead conjured a thin enchantment that could be applied to the surface of the skin, made from a mixture of refined spiritual energy and runes.
Although this barrier seems thin and is not as powerful as the one used before, it will not be broken by a single powerful physical attack, causing the practitioner inside the barrier to be seriously injured. Against an opponent like Pangu, who cannot be stopped no matter what, using this barrier can actually reduce the effectiveness of the attack on the practitioner. This is because this barrier will not break due to being unable to withstand the attack.
Hua Ling opened his eyes and intently observed Pangu’s movements, predicting the trajectory of Pangu’s axe attack.
However, this attack once again took Hualing by surprise—an attack that was impossible to see. Hualing had never imagined that Pangu, despite his large frame, could be so fast and agile. By the time he suddenly appeared in front of Hualing, there was no way to avoid the attack. Hualing could only tilt his body backwards and stomp his feet together towards the centre, sending his feet and spiritual energy flying, which in turn caused him to stomp on the blade of the axe, temporarily slowing down Pangu’s attack. Then, taking advantage of the momentum of the attack, he quickly moved his entire body backwards and bounced upwards into the air.
However, Pangea’s feet were swift, and he managed to catch up to Hua Ling in an instant. And since Hua Ling was now in the air, there was nowhere for her to hide. Pangea casually raised his giant axe and swung it horizontally at Hua Ling’s back.
‘Clang!’ The crisp sound of the weapons colliding resounded throughout the cave.
The purple-black demonic energy wrapped around Hua Ling, safely taking her out of the range of Pangea’s axe and allowing her to land safely.
Hua Ling was shocked: ‘Jiang Yu, you broke free from the spell? You…’
When she saw the state of Jiang Yu, she could no longer say a word. Warm liquid dripped onto Hua Ling’s hands, and for a moment, she felt burning pain. Without saying a word, she reached out and took Jiang Yu, who was covered in blood and unconscious, into her arms.
‘Idiot. Really, why did you save me… But I’m just a… prisoner of war…”
Pangu watched the two from afar, waved his hand, and put away the Pangu Axe.
He walked slowly up to Hua Ling, looked down at them, and said, “As agreed. You have taken three strikes, now you may go.”
Hua Ling did not look at him, nor did she answer. She quietly laid Jiang Yu flat on the ground, and her fingers trembled as she felt for his neck. There was still a faint pulse, and finally some light appeared in Hua Ling’s eyes. She spread her hands out, placed them flat on Jiang Yu’s body, and then closed her eyes.
Pangu watched in amazement as Hua Ling’s spiritual energy suddenly surged, and a vermillion inverted jade seal gradually appeared on her forehead. And this spiritual energy flowed into Jiang Yu’s body through Hua Ling’s palms.
Pangu:!!!
And at that moment, a miracle happened. Jiang Yu, who had been bleeding profusely, saw the blood flow from his wounds gradually slow down, and finally stop. Not only that, the wounds began to slowly heal at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to capture…
Pangu suddenly shouted, ‘Stop!’
Hua Ling turned a deaf ear.
Pangu suddenly flashed in front of Hua Ling, elbowing her into the wall to block her way.
Pangu looked into Hua Ling’s dark pupils and said, ‘Do you want to die?’
Hua Ling coughed softly and said indifferently, ‘I don’t want to die, I just want to save someone.’
Pangu loosened his grip, but still held Hua Ling in place. ‘Ji Xuanyuan, who is he to you?’
Hua Ling looked at him and said, ‘He is my father.’
Pangu said, ‘You are Ji Hua Ling?!’
Hua Ling was baffled. How did he know her?
Pangu let go of her hand and said, ‘I didn’t realize you had grown up so much.’
Hua Ling felt even more puzzled. What was this strange scene of supposed family recognition? She didn’t remember having any involvement with Pangu… In her memory, there was no such person. Not to mention, today was supposed to be the first time they met.
Pangu saw her face full of confusion, so he didn’t insist, but simply told her, ‘Insofar as my relationship with your father is concerned, you should call me adoptive father.’
“Boom…’
It was like a bolt of thunder, a thunderbolt, rolling thunder. Hua Ling was instantly scorched on the outside and raw on the inside by the thunder.
Pangu frowned unhappily.
Hua Ling immediately complied, ‘Godfather.’ If he got angry again, she and Jiang Yu would really be dead meat today.
Hua Ling looked worriedly at Jiang Yu lying on the ground and took a step to go over to him. Pangu stopped Hua Ling.
Hua Ling explained, ‘Godfather, my friend is badly injured. I must treat him.’
Pangu just shook his head: ‘Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.’ With that, Pangu turned around and walked over to Jiang Yu.
Hua Ling: ?
Pangu held out a hand and placed it on Jiang Yu’s head. Suddenly, Hua Ling felt a strange spiritual energy from Jiang Yu flowing back up Pangu’s palm.
Hua Ling anxiously took a step forward: ‘What!?’
Pangu said, ‘Don’t worry! Just watch.’
As the spiritual energy flowed back, the wounds on Jiang Yu’s body gradually began to heal. And the pale complexion gradually began to regain its blood colour.
Hua Ling:!!! This is similar to her technique. Except that her technique uses her own spiritual energy to supplement the opponent’s, and this…she can’t see what’s going on.
In no time at all, all the large and small wounds on Jiang Yu’s body slowly healed.
Pangu withdrew his hand and looked up at Hua Ling and said, ‘It’s done. Your friend is fine. I just summoned back the damage caused by the Axe of Creation.’
Hua Ling was dumbfounded: ‘Is that even possible? ! … No, uh… We’re not that kind of couple…’
Pangu waved his hand dismissively: ‘No need to explain. I understand. I am very moved by the fact that you are willing to sacrifice your lives for each other without hesitation. It is not easy to find the one you love for a lifetime. Although you are different as gods and demons, as long as the emotional foundation is solid, these obstacles in identity are not a problem…’
Pangu was talking to himself, and Hualing was completely lost, having completely lost the desire to explain.
After gossiping about Jiang Yu and Hualing’s relationship, Pangu began to gossip about the purpose of their trip: ‘Why do you want to get the thousand-year-old blood spring? Who is going to die?’
It really hit the nail on the head, and the words were blunt and unrestrained…so blunt and unrestrained that they didn’t have to care about other people’s feelings at all.
Hualing coughed lightly, ‘A wounded…demon general.’
Pangu paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, ‘It really is like the saying goes, “A daughter married off is like water poured out”. So soon you’re helping your husband’s family, turning your back on your own.’
Hua Ling was at a loss for words, completely exasperated by him. Relaxing, she felt a tearing pain in her chest, and Hua Ling suppressed a cough as she coughed twice.
Pangu slapped himself on the forehead, ‘What a memory, I’d forgotten you were injured. Here, my dear daughter, let your father help you heal.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ This familiarity, she really treats her like a daughter.
Pangu healed Hua Ling’s injuries in the same way as before, and Hua Ling felt that her chest no longer felt suffocated, and she felt much better. Her other multiple external injuries had also completely recovered. The creator god is worthy of the name creator god, even the way he heals injuries is so unique.
‘Umm—’ Jiang Yu suddenly let out a soft grunt.
Hua Ling hurriedly ran over: ‘You’re awake?’
Jiang Yu blinked, looked at Hua Ling blankly, and asked, ‘What happened to me?’
Hua Ling: ‘… Did Pangu take back his memories when he took back the damage?’
As it turned out, Hua Ling had been worrying for nothing. After a dazed five seconds, Jiang Yu suddenly sat up, reached out his hands, and grasped Hua Ling’s shoulders.
Hua Ling was startled.
Jiang Yu looked up and down at Hualing: ‘Are you, are you okay? Where’s Pangu?’
Hualing shook her head to indicate that she was fine, then silently pointed behind her—Jiang Yu followed her finger’s direction and saw Pangu sitting in the back. Pangu reached out and greeted Jiang Yu, ‘Yo!’
Jiang Yu instantly petrified, ‘…’
Hua Ling patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder in a fatherly manner and said with deep meaning, ‘Everything is possible. This great god…has a rather…well, easygoing (changeable) personality, and he plays his cards rather unconventionally (a bit neurotic).’
Jiang Yu looked at Pangu indifferently for two seconds and nodded, ‘I understand.’
Hua Ling: ‘Let’s go back. If we’re late, there might be changes.’
Jiang Yu nodded, ‘Okay.’
When Pangu saw that the two were leaving, his melancholy aura was bursting out, and his tone was full of resentment: ‘My dear daughter…’
Jiang Yu had a look of being struck by lightning on his face: ‘…
Hua Ling coughed and patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder: “I just recognised him.”
Hua Ling gritted his teeth and introduced him to Jiang Yu: “My adoptive father.”
Jiang Yu: “…
Pangu had the expression of someone who had just met his son-in-law: ”Jiang, my daughter is in your hands.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder.
Jiang Yu coughed: ‘…… Okay.’
Hua Ling was momentarily at a loss. What was okay? How crazy was this conversation…
Pangu nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand: ‘Okay, since you are in a hurry to save people, I won’t keep you. Remember to visit me often. I am a lonely father…’
Hua Ling stiffly pulled the corners of his mouth and replied, ‘Okay. Definitely.’
…
Thanks to the golden amulet of life granted by the god Pangu, getting out was much smoother than getting in. The road was clear, and there were no more shrimp soldiers or crab generals to pick out and cause trouble.
Jiang Yu sighed, ‘Having a father with connections really makes a difference.’
Hua Ling: ‘…do you really mean that about me? Young master, your highness.’
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling with a smile: ‘So we can be considered…friends now?’
Hua Ling stammered in response.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Yu suddenly said, ‘Thank you, for coming back at that time.’
Hua Ling shook his head, ‘I should be thanking you. I never thought you would block that axe. I…’ After a long pause, Hua Ling couldn’t quite continue.
Jiang Yu continued, ‘Are you moved? If you are, stay and work for His Highness.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
The author has something to say: Hua Ling was completely bought off by this guardian. (╯▽╰)╭ Also, Pangu is a great god of split personality.

☆, Chapter 72

Hanyu and his entourage were surprised to see Jiang Yu and Hualing return safely, and they had even brought back the Millennium Blood Spring. They could not help but burst into tears. ‘Your Highness, you have finally returned safely. When Feiyu was doing your fortune reading before, he saw that your Ziwei Star had deviated from the palace and was flickering, and he thought…’
Jiang Yu raised his hand and threw the pill bottle containing the Millennium Blood Spring to Hanyu: ‘Cut the small talk and let’s make the medicine.’
He Yu nodded repeatedly, received the medicine with trepidation, and led a group of demon doctors out.
Hua Ling sat in a rattan chair by the bed, looking a little lazy and distracted, and not at all like he wanted to talk.
‘Are you okay?’ Jiang Yu’s gaze fell on the window, but his words were directed at Hua Ling.
Hua Ling smiled: ‘I’m fine, what could possibly happen to me?’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: ‘My injury…you healed it, didn’t you?’
‘No, it was Pangu.”
Jiang Yu glanced back at Hua Ling: “You denied it too quickly.”
Hua Ling twitched the corner of his mouth: “Does the young master like to be suspicious?”
Jiang Yu suddenly walked up to Hua Ling, lowered his head, and looked at him intently. The two were nose to nose, with only a finger’s width between them, and Hua Ling uncomfortably stepped back a little.
Jiang Yu looked into Hua Ling’s eyes: ’That mark on your forehead… it hasn’t dispersed yet.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow and didn’t say anything.
Jiang Yu wasn’t going to let her off the hook: ‘I heard that the Shenzu have a kind of…engraving called the Xuantian Zonggui Seal, which can accumulate and seal some divine power for a long time, and can be released instantly when it’s time to use it. But it does a lot of damage to the body. It can be described as a double-edged sword with abnormal sharpness.’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘You know quite a bit.’
Jiang Yu’s expression showed no sign of joking: ‘Why…have you gone to such lengths for me. You always wanted to escape, didn’t you? At that time…it was your perfect opportunity.’
Hua Ling nodded with a hint of regret: ‘Yes, I’m so sorry. I actually missed this golden opportunity.’
Jiang Yu followed up her words: ‘Now you won’t get the chance.’
Hua Ling laughed: ‘I don’t know who said it, but as long as I can defeat him, I can come and go as I please.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘That still holds true. And don’t try to change the subject.’
Hua Ling was at his wits’ end and shrugged: “Okay, what kind of answer do you want to hear? Little, master, great, person.”
Jiang Yu: “The truth.”
Hua Ling looked at him seriously: “The truth is that you saved my life, and if I took advantage of the situation and ran away, that would be a despicable act.”
Jiang Yu’s expression showed three obvious signs of disbelief: ’That’s it?’
Hua Ling gave a wry smile and nodded, saying, ‘That’s all.’
Jiang Yu raised his hand and leaned towards Hua Ling’s cheek, and Hua Ling dodged backwards. However, Jiang Yu’s hand stopped and made an imaginary tearing motion in the air.
“Sooner or later, I will uncover this mask of yours with my own hands.’
Hua Ling raised her hand to separate Jiang Yu’s hand: ‘I’ll wait and see.’
Jiang Yu looked down at her: ‘You go rest first, I’ll send someone to arrange a room for you.’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘I’d better stay here. That Fang Zi is also the first time I’ve used it. I’ll stay here to observe the patient’s condition, just in case something goes wrong.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: ‘Okay. You’ve worked hard.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘Wow, just one trip outside and the young master seems like a different person. Could it be that he’s been switched? Or…has he been made stupid by Pangu?’
Jiang Yu ignored her mockery and turned to look out the door…
There was a rustling of footsteps outside, getting closer and closer, and then the Demon Doctor entered the room one after the other.
He Yu entered the room carefully, carrying a small wooden table, on which was a bowl of light red medicine.
Jiang Yu glanced at Hua Ling, who got up and walked over, picked up the bowl of medicine and sniffed it lightly.
‘The heat is just right. Let the patient take it while it’s still hot.’
He Yu nodded, carrying the bowl of medicine to the bedside. The other young demon doctor helped the unconscious Zuo Ling up, and the two of them waited on him until Zuo Ling slowly drank the medicine.
Hua Ling looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘You, on the other hand, don’t have to go and help? With the war going on, don’t you have to set things up?’
Jiang Yu thought for a moment: ‘I’ll come back later then.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘You go ahead and don’t need to stay here. Don’t worry, we went to all that trouble to get the medicine back, I’ll definitely make sure he’s fine.’
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling: ‘Thank you.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Curing people and saving lives, just doing my job.’
Jiang Yu came back again in the evening.
Seeing Hua Ling leaning against the table reading a book, Jiang Yu frowned: ‘Why are you still here? Your room has been cleaned up, didn’t Qingyun come to tell you?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘Oh, he came, but I told him to go away.’
Hua Ling looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘You smell of blood.’
Jiang Yu looked down and saw the bloodstains on her battle armour, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. She had been here trying her best to save his people, while he had been slaughtering her compatriots on the battlefield. Jiang Yu was stunned for a long time before she said, ‘I’m sorry.’
Hua Ling yawned, casually put the book aside, stood up, and said, ‘Zuo Ling is fine. I’ll go back and rest first.’
As he walked past Jiang Yu, Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and grabbed Hua Ling’s hand. ‘Are you angry?’
Hua Ling pulled his hand back. ‘Young master, please respect yourself.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Jiang Yu glanced at Zuo Ling, who was breathing evenly and sleeping soundly, and turned to Hua Ling and said, “I’ll walk you back.”
Hua Ling found this funny. ’Why, are you afraid I’ll be eaten by someone?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
They were both silent the whole way.
Jiang Yu and the others were stationed at an important stronghold of the Demon Race. After all, it was a battlefield, so the camp was almost full of men. Jiang Yu was afraid that Hua Ling would find it inconvenient to come and go, so he specially sent someone to build a bamboo house in the bamboo forest by the river as Hua Ling’s temporary residence.
The bamboo building is surrounded by bamboo, which borders the river. At night, you can hear the sound of the water and the occasional cry of a night crow.
Hua Ling looked around casually and nodded, ‘Not bad, a quiet place with a winding path. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble.’
Jiang Yu saw Hua Ling off to the door of the bamboo building.
Hua Ling stopped, put her hand on the door, and turned her back to Jiang Yu: ‘Young master, I won’t invite you in. I’m tired after a long day and I want to rest.’
Jiang Yu stood still: ‘Everything is ready inside. If you need anything else, tell Qingyun. He lives in the thatched hut closest to the river.’
Hua Ling turned around and looked at Jiang Yu. The soft moonlight hit Jiang Yu’s face directly, and Hua Ling wondered if it was her own illusion, but when she looked at him in the light, his eyes seemed to have a gentle expression.
Hua Ling finally let out a slow breath: ‘I’m not angry. I understand that this is a matter of our positions. On the battlefield, if you don’t kill the enemy, you will be beheaded by the enemy. This is only human nature, I understand. But you can’t expect me to accept it happily.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then nodded: ‘I understand… I’m sorry, I’ve put you in a difficult position.’
Hua Ling looked away: ‘You can go back.’
Jiang Yu glanced at her: ‘You rest well.’
Hua Ling closed the door, and cold sweat gradually appeared on her forehead. She slowly leaned against the door and sat down, burying her head in her arms. This was a miscalculation. It feels like you’ve lost a wife and an army at the same time…
Time flies. In the blink of an eye, Hua Ling has been in the Demon Army barracks for more than a month. Everyone now knows that there is a wonderful doctor in the army, and it is said that she is a woman, and a woman of stunning beauty. For a time, Hua Ling was very popular in the barracks. The Demon doctors, including He Yu, went from being extremely busy to drinking tea, playing chess, and chatting about gossip, while Hua Ling was often so busy that she didn’t even have time to drink a glass of water.
In the face of the above situation…someone must be unhappy. First, there are the group of demon doctors who have been rejected, whose hearts of glass have shattered all over the place; second, there are the demon generals who have been unable to see Hua Ling even for a moment because their injuries are not serious enough and have often spent half a day waiting in line, and who have been sent away after being randomly given a few doses of medicine by the medicine boy; and most importantly, the young master is very unhappy!
Jiang Yu came to find Hua Ling several times and found that she was surrounded by a sea of people, so he was forced to sit outside the tent and play chess with a bunch of old men. What’s most infuriating is that those bastards were oblivious to his presence, not even bothering to look at him, and on one occasion, he was even forcibly sent outside the tent. How could this be tolerated!
After being kicked out of the tent for the tenth time to drink herbal tea and play chess with the old men, Jiang Yu was completely furious.
‘You bunch of bastards, are you rebelling?’
In an instant, the demonic music filled his ears, and the group of demons, who had been in an uproar, instantly quieted down. They looked at each other, not knowing why they had offended their young master.
Jiang Yu, with a gloomy face, pushed away the passers-by A, B, and C who were blocking the way. The remaining demon generals, without him having to do anything, automatically stepped to the sides with a ‘swish’, making a ‘broad avenue’ for him. Jiang Yu didn’t even look at them, and walked straight up to Hua Ling, who was applying medicine to one of the demon generals, and took her hand in a firm grip.
Hua Ling frowned and made some effort to break free from his grip, ‘What are you doing, can’t you see I’m busy?’
Jiang Yu was persistent and once again grasped Hua Ling’s hand: ‘Come with me. You’re off duty today, so keep me company.’
The demon generals all looked at each other, speechless.
Hua Ling said, ‘Hey, your men are still injured, so you’re just going to ignore them?’
Jiang Yu’s temper flared, and he yelled outside, ‘He Yu, are you guys faking being dead? Get your asses in here and help!’
The demon doctors were old but not deaf, and as soon as Jiang Yu finished speaking, they came in quickly, their hands and feet nimbly moving.
Jiang Yu pointed at the surrounding demon generals and said, ‘You, quickly deal with the wounded. If there are still people here when you return, you will answer for it with your heads!’
After saying this, he didn’t even look at the colourful faces and various expressions of the crowd, and simply dragged Hualing away.
As soon as the two men left the tent, it exploded with chaos…
‘Oh dear, I wondered why a woman of unknown origin appeared halfway through the journey, it turns out she is the boss’s…’
‘Hey, didn’t you…be careful, if the boss finds out, he’ll chop your head off…’
‘This is so sad, I finally found a woman I like, but she’s one I can’t touch…’
“By the way, I’ve never seen the young master bring a woman back before, this woman, she’s no ordinary woman…’
‘I heard that this woman is from the Divine Race… Shh…”
He Yu coughed, “Everyone…do you still need to heal your wounds?”
The demon generals all said, “Yes!”
Jiang Yu buried his head and walked all the way, and Hua Ling let him drag him along as he asked lazily, “Young Master, are you in such a hurry? Is someone chasing you for debts?”
Jiang Yu dragged Hua Ling all the way to the river before letting go.
Hua Ling looked at him coldly with arms folded, ‘What do you want?’
Jiang Yu instantly exploded, ‘Can’t I find you if there’s nothing?’
Hua Ling was amused by his aggrieved expression, ‘If there’s something to say, say it, if not, I can go.’
Jiang Yu froze for a moment, and then immediately blocked Hua Ling’s way, ‘Wait. You…accompany me to a place today.’
Hua Ling curiously asked, ‘Where?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…you’ll know when you go.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’ What’s the point of all the suspense?
Jiang Yu suddenly spread his palm, and a book that looked like a handwritten manuscript appeared in his hands.
Hua Ling: ?
Jiang Yu’s finger moved slightly, and Hua Ling felt like there was a strong push, or a grasp, trying to draw her into the book.
Hua Ling: !
Jiang Yu had arrived next to her without knowing when, and took her hand, ‘Let’s go.’
But in the blink of an eye, the world had changed. A landmass like an island was floating in midair, and multicoloured clouds and mist were crossing the sky. She and Jiang Yu were standing on the waist of an unknown mountain, with lush weeds at their feet. Hua Ling only glanced briefly and discovered several kinds of precious medicinal herbs. Mountain springs flowed along the mountain path to the foot of the mountain, where they merged into a river of turquoise blue silk at the foot of the mountain.
Hua Ling looked at the strange and different scenery all around him: ‘Is this a world from a book?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Come, I’ll show you around.’
Jiang Yu kept holding Hua Ling’s hand. Hua Ling looked down at the joined hands, and when he looked up, he saw Jiang Yu’s beaming profile. For the first time, he didn’t want to break free, but let him hold on quietly.
Jiang Yu obviously sensed Hua Ling’s indulgence and unobtrusively curved the corners of his mouth. ‘
Jiang Yu led Hua Ling to the pavilion on the mountainside, where Hua Ling immediately saw a circular rune array engraved in red on the stone slab floor.
Hua Ling quickly responded, “A teleportation array?”
Jiang Yu nodded, ’Correct.’
Hua Ling followed Jiang Yu to the teleportation array. The rune array emitted an orange-red halo, which disappeared after a moment. Hua Ling knew that they had been transported to another place. The place was surrounded by clouds and mists, with only a little undulation in the mountains. The foot of the mountain was connected to a lake as smooth as a mirror, forming a seamless whole. The lake was shimmering and sparkling, with a small pavilion floating on the water. Although this place is also surrounded by mountains and water, it is a completely different feeling from just now. If you want to say the difference, it is one static and one dynamic.
The mountains are shrouded in purple mist, and there is a thatched cottage halfway up the mountainside. The emerald green bamboo fence simply surrounds a small courtyard, and there are some rare flowers and plants planted in the courtyard. The setting is quite elegant and interesting.
Hua Ling looked up at Jiang Yu, who was walking next to him, and said, ‘Is this another space?’
Jiang Yu nodded with a smile, ‘Yes, you are quite perceptive.’
Hua Ling: ‘Just a general deduction.’
Jiang Yu explained, ‘Each page in this book is a different space.’
Hua Ling: ‘In that case, this book of yours is truly a rare magic weapon.’
Jiang Yu smiled, not saying anything.
He led Hua Ling closer to the thatched cottage, and Hua Ling was surprised to discover that this was no ordinary thatched cottage. Every decoration and arrangement had been carefully thought out.
Jiang Yu: ‘Do you like it?’
Hua Ling nodded in praise: ‘Just looking at it is quite pleasing to the eye.’
Jiang Yu laughed: ‘I’m glad you like it.’
This sounded strange no matter how you heard it, so Hua Ling couldn’t help but look up at him and say, ‘What do you mean?’
Jiang Yu spread his hands: ‘It’s what it means. It’s naturally great that you like the gift I gave you.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu saw that she hadn’t said anything for a long time and asked, puzzled, ‘What, are you dissatisfied with something?’
Of course she was satisfied. It was more like she was so satisfied that she was a little frightened.
The author has something to say: ‘Anecdotes from the Three Realms’ get√

☆, Chapter 73

Hua Ling hesitated and said, ‘This isn’t very good…’
‘What’s wrong with it?’ Jiang Yu interrupted, “Just consider it a belated thank you. Thank you, and Zuoling, and everything you’ve done for the Demon Clan this time.”
Hua Ling was flabbergasted. It was as if he wasn’t the one who had insisted on keeping her here.
Jiang Yu waited for a moment, but didn’t get any response, and instantly felt aggrieved. He angrily said, “Do you want it or not?!”
Hua Ling nodded wordlessly, ’Fine, I’ll take it. Thank you.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…Really, he’s gone too far. Do you know how much time I’ve spent fixing all this…’
Hua Ling: ‘……’ This personality is so awkward.
Jiang Yu muttered a few words, but a smile slowly spread across his eyes.
Jiang Yu took Hua Ling’s hand and said, ‘Let’s go, I want to show you somewhere else.’
This space is made up of thousands of mountains and dense forests. There is an endless sea of forest, and as the breeze blows, the branches sway gently, creating a wave of green that continues endlessly, spreading towards the end of the line of sight. In the centre of the forest is a concave plain, with a hundred-zhang waterfall pouring down like the Milky Way, creating a deafening roar and a sky full of water mist.
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu with a questioning expression. She believed that Jiang Yu had not brought her here just to show her a waterfall.
Jiang Yu smiled at her and suddenly put his arm around her waist. He lightly tapped his toes on the branches, slightly changing his steps a few times, and in a few jumps he swept across the vast forest and brought Hua Ling down to the edge of the deep pool in front of the waterfall. As soon as he landed, Jiang Yu let go of her hand, so Hua Ling had nowhere to put her hands even if she wanted to rebuke him.
Because they were standing closer to the waterfall, the warm water vapor hit them in the face. Hua Ling’s eyes widened slightly, and then she walked to the edge of the deep pool and put her hand in the water. The temperature, which was slightly higher than the human body temperature, felt just right, comfortable and relaxing.
Hua Ling couldn’t help but sigh, ‘I never thought you would find such a treasure trove. If you weren’t still here, I would hate to not go down and take a dip right now.’
Jiang Yu laughed, ‘Why not? It would be quite a treat for me to go down and take a dip with you.’
Hua Ling simply ignored his teasing, ‘Fine, since you went to all this trouble, it would be ungrateful of me not to accept your generous gift.’
Jiang Yu’s mouth curled slightly: ‘Exactly.’
Hua Ling asked with a smile, ‘I’ve thought of it, let’s call this book “The Secret Records of the Three Realms”.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘The Secret Records of the Three Realms? It’s all-encompassing and contains hidden mysteries, so it’s a good name. Okay, let’s call it The Secret Records of the Three Realms, and I’ll inscribe these words on the cover for you tomorrow.’
Hua Ling gave him a sideways glance: ‘Really? Can your handwriting be seen?’
Jiang Yu flared up: ‘Why can’t it be seen! Go outside and ask me what the market price of my calligraphy is, and how many people are begging for it.’
Hua Ling was really opened up: ‘Are there people who specifically beg you for your calligraphy? !’
Jiang Yu snorted and didn’t want to answer.
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘Okay, then you have to help me write it well when the time comes.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Humph.’
Hua Ling solemnly bowed to Jiang Yu: ‘Brother Jiang has treated me with sincerity and given me a generous gift. I am truly grateful. If there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to ask.’
Jiang Yu ignored her deliberate teasing and said seriously: ‘Conditions in the army are tough, and I can see that you are often too busy to take care of yourself. I want you to carry this with you at all times. It will be quite convenient if you want to find a place where no one is around to take a break and relax for a while. There are only a limited number of people on the march, so there are bound to be many inconveniences. Although you never complain. With this hot spring, you don’t have to make a special trip to bathe in the river in the middle of the night.”
Upon hearing the last sentence, Hua Ling’s cheeks flushed instantly: “You… you followed me? !”
Jiang Yu gave a mischievous smile: “I happened to meet you.”
Hua Ling: ’You…’
Jiang Yu finally let out a laugh: ‘Don’t worry, I was far away and didn’t see anything. Besides, I avoided you as soon as I saw you taking a bath.’
Hua Ling felt the veins on his forehead rise, and his eyes became dangerous: ‘Why do I feel a hint of regret in your tone?’
Jiang Yu said innocently, ‘That must be your illusion.’
In response to this confession, which was devoid of sincerity, Hua Ling’s reaction was to give him a big white look.
Jiang Yu suddenly looked at Hua Ling seriously, ‘I have a question I want to ask you…’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘You’ve never been one to mince words, so why are you suddenly so hesitant?’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about how to ask.
Hua Ling didn’t rush him.
Jiang Yu considered for a moment, ‘After this battle…is over, will you go back to the Demon Realm with me?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then laughed and said, ‘You’re asking if I’m willing… meaning I have a choice?’
Jiang Yu sighed, ‘No. Even if you don’t want to, I’ll still take you back.’
Hua Ling kept smiling, ‘Then why ask me?’
Jiang Yu was unhappy, ‘Do you really hate… being around me?’
Hua Ling laughed and shook her head, reaching out to tap Jiang Yu’s forehead, ‘Next time you want to ask, wait until I’m not a prisoner of war.’
Jiang Yu: ‘I didn’t think of you as…’
‘But,’ Hua Ling interrupted, ‘that’s why I’m here.’
Jiang Yu was silent, because Hua Ling was telling the truth.
‘Forget it, your reaction was also within my expectations,’ Jiang Yu shook his head and laughed helplessly, ‘you will always have the day when you say you are willing. I am confident about this, let’s take it slow.’
Hua Ling’s mouth curved up slightly, without saying a word.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling and said, ‘I’ll go back to the barracks first. Didn’t you just say you wanted to soak in a hot spring? Then soak to your heart’s content. Don’t go back to the barracks today, just rest. If you want to go out, just recite this incantation…’ Jiang Yu said, leaning over and whispering an incantation into Hua Ling’s ear. The man’s warm breath spread along the ear lobe and down the neck. Hua Ling raised her hand to cover her ears and took a step back.
Jiang Yu, who had finished reciting the incantation, had already disappeared from his spot. Jiang Yu felt a little better as he thought about her slightly red face and embarrassed expression.
…
Hua Ling chose a place with an appropriate shade of depth to sit down and rested her head on a boulder on the shore.
The five-coloured stone bracelet on her hand suddenly shone with a strange light. Hua Ling frowned and gently stroked the largest celadon stone with her finger.
‘What is it?‘ Hua Ling’s tone was rather impatient. “Didn’t someone already send the item back to you?”
’Is this the way you speak to your father?‘ An indifferent and majestic male voice came from the bracelet.
Hua Ling closed his eyes and didn’t say anything.
’Hurry back when you’re done,’ the man added.
Hua Ling was silent for a while. ’You now have such a big advantage, and it doesn’t really make much difference whether I come back or not.’
The man paused for a moment, then said, ‘What? Is there something there that you don’t want to leave behind?’
Hua Ling didn’t answer for a while, and after a while she said, ‘It’s none of your business. Don’t bother looking for me if there’s nothing wrong. I’ll come back when I’m supposed to.’
Then, without waiting for the man to say anything, Hua Ling made another light swipe of her finger, and there was no sound from there anymore.
Hua Ling tilted her head back and leaned against the boulder, her eyes staring blankly at the sky above.
…
Hua Ling was awakened by the water.
She had sat in the hot spring for a long time, and because the water was so comfortable, she had fallen asleep without realising. After falling asleep, her body slipped into the water uncontrollably, and she choked on some water, which woke her up.
Hua Ling got up and walked out of the hot spring, and she gave a self-deprecating smile. If only she could stay in a place like this forever, without having to think about anything. Of course, this kind of thing could only happen in dreams…
It was late at night when she emerged from the ‘Secret Records of the Three Realms’. With her sharp eyesight, she noticed that the barracks were still brightly lit, and it seemed that there was a lot of noise and people coming and going. Hua Ling had a sudden thought, so instead of going back to her residence, she walked in the direction of the barracks.
Before she even entered the barracks, from afar, she saw a soldier running over, panting, ‘Doctor Hua… Doctor Hua, you’re finally… finally back.’
Hua Ling reached out to help him up, ‘What’s wrong?’
The soldier finally caught his breath and anxiously said, ‘Your Highness, Your Highness is injured, you must go and see him.’
Hua Ling’s heart skipped a beat, but his face did not show it. He simply said, ‘Lead the way.’
Following the soldier to the main tent, Hua Ling immediately saw several major demon generals hovering outside the door, each with a frown and a sigh, all of them anxious and impatient.
Hua Ling lifted the curtain and walked in: ‘What’s going on? Where are you hurt? How did you get hurt?’
It’s no wonder that the group of generals outside the tent looked depressed. Even Hua Ling herself, upon hearing the news, couldn’t believe it at first—even someone as powerful as Jiang Yu, how could someone hurt him? Except for Pangu, of course, who was in a different league.
Hua Ling immediately thought of a few people, but…would that person let them act so early?
The demon doctors in the tent all looked relieved when they saw Hua Ling return. He Yu stood up from the side of Jiang Yu’s bed and stepped back a little, ‘Miss Hua, come and have a look.’
Jiang Yu leaned against the bed, his face slightly pale, and indeed with an expression of impatience, ‘What’s the big deal? You’re both so distracted, how much progress have you made?!’
Hua Ling didn’t waste any words and sat down on the bedside. ‘Cut the crap, let me see the wound.’
Jiang Yu looked reluctant and waved his hand at the group of demon doctors who were still standing around stupidly. ‘Go back, all of you, you’re in the way.’
He Yu made a polite bow: ‘Yes, yes, Your Highness, don’t be angry, we’ll withdraw now.’
After saying this, he turned to the group of demon doctors and waved his hand, indicating that they should scram. The group of demon doctors left one after the other.
Hua Ling gave him a sideways glance: ‘You’re still so fussy even though you’re injured. It seems that the injury isn’t serious enough.’
Jiang Yu reluctantly lifted the quilt covering his abdomen, opened his clothes, and showed Hua Ling the wound.
Hua Ling: !!!
It was a very thin wound, about two fingers long, running from the side of his waist to his abdomen. There was a dark circle of bruising around the wound, and the skin around it also showed signs of being burned.
Jiang Yu explained, ‘They were trying to apply medicine just now. The burn happened when they were applying the medicine…’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘I know, the wound rejects the medicine instead.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Hua Ling looked up at Jiang Yu’s dark purple pupils, ’First, you tell me, how did you get this wound?’
The author has something to say: Jiang Xiaogong version 1.0 is still quite sinister ╮(╯▽╰)╭ Jiang Xiaogong said it in a subtle way, and then was rejected in a subtle way…

☆, Chapter 74

Jiang Yu’s face looked a little unnatural, as if he didn’t want to answer.
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow at him, ‘What, don’t want to say it yet?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling gently pressed her finger against the edge of the wound. Jiang Yu suddenly frowned, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t let out a sound.
Hua Ling got off the bed and went to the medicine cabinet to get the medicine. She quickly picked up a few types of medicinal herbs and walked over to the stone table. She put the herbs into a medicine cup and crushed them. Then she took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, removed the cork, and poured the liquid in the bottle into the crushed herbs, mixing them well. After pounding the medicine, Hua Ling took out clean gauze from the cabinet next to her.
She took the gauze and medicine cup and walked back to the edge of the bed. She placed the two items on the low table next to her, then sighed and looked at Jiang Yu seriously and said, ‘The reason why your wound cannot heal and applying medicine will instead cause burns is because there is a hidden weapon in the wound. I am going to suck/it out now, it will hurt a bit, so bear with me.’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘A hidden weapon?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘That person…uses hidden weapons. All the other moves were just to distract you. You thought it was a normal knife wound, but in fact, the wound was caused by a hidden weapon. You did dodge that blow.’
Jiang Yu frowned: ‘You know the person who attacked me?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, shaking his head: ‘We’re not close, and I don’t really know her. But I do know her style of using weapons…’
‘Never mind that.’ Hua Ling folded his hands and gently placed them on Jiang Yu’s wound, looking up at him. “Are you ready?”
Jiang Yu nodded. “There’s no need to be ready, you can start at any time…” Before he finished speaking, a cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead, because Hua Ling had started.
At this time, Hualing’s subordinates had already gathered their spiritual energy and concentrated it at the wound, drawing the concealed weapon that had penetrated Jiang Yu’s abdomen towards the wound…This operation required great skill and precision in the use of spiritual energy, so Hualing didn’t have the energy to pay attention to Jiang Yu’s reaction at this time.
She knew full well the amount of pain this process of drawing out the concealed weapon would cause Jiang Yu…Because, to put it bluntly, this was a tug-of-war between her and the concealed weapon. If she relaxed even a little, the hidden weapon would invade Jiang Yu’s flesh at an even more terrifying speed than before… So she had to be fully concentrated and not be distracted for a moment.
The whole process lasted about half an hour. Just as the dark hook-shaped object had just revealed a corner from Jiang Yu’s abdominal wound, Hua Ling quickly used her fingers to firmly grasp the head of the hidden weapon and drag it out of Jiang Yu’s body…
Hua Ling threw the three-inch long black snake hook aside, then placed his hand back over Jiang Yu’s wound…
Jiang Yu let out a breath from the intense pain… Then he looked up at Hua Ling, ‘What now?’ Although he was trying to remain calm, his hoarse voice revealed his current weak state.
Hua Ling did not look up, focusing on the wound, and only shook her head: ‘Don’t force yourself to talk, just rest well.’
Jiang Yu really only felt exhausted and exhausted, so he no longer demurred, closed his eyes and rested quietly. He only felt a burst of clear spiritual energy slowly seeping into his body from the wound, relieving the constant tearing pain in his internal organs and an inexplicable burning sensation…
I don’t know how long it took, and a cool, moist touch rested on his forehead.
Jiang Yu slowly opened his eyes and met Hua Ling’s worried gaze. Jiang Yu clearly saw his own reflection in her eyes.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Hua Ling averted her eyes, but still carefully wiped away the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, face, and neck with a damp brocade handkerchief.
Jiang Yu suddenly raised his hand and grasped Hua Ling’s. Hua Ling tried to pull her hand back, but Jiang Yu added a little strength and did not let her break free.
Hua Ling sighed, ‘The bleeding from the wound and internal organs has stopped. I need to apply medicine to help you now.’
Jiang Yu looked at her silently for a moment, then smiled and finally let go of her hand, ‘You’ve worked hard.’
Hua Ling didn’t say anything, took the medicine jar placed nearby, and used a bamboo piece to dip the ointment and apply it evenly to the wound. As Hua Ling had said, after the hidden weapon was removed, there was no more burning of the wound.
After applying the medicine, Hua Ling took the gauze nearby and bandaged Jiang Yu’s wound. Because the wound was on his side, when Hua Ling bandaged him, his cheek inevitably came very close to his chest. From her angle, she could just see the thin layer of evenly distributed muscles on his chest. Hua Ling turned her head slightly, but the masculine aura of the man always lingered at the tip of her nose.
‘You’re blushing,’ his deep voice came from overhead, with a hint of laughter in it.
Hua Ling could neither rebuke nor defend herself, and after a long pause, she could only manage two words: “Shut up.”
Jiang Yu saw that it was time to quit, his mouth curling up slightly, and he let Hua Ling help him bandage his wound with stiff hands and feet.
Hua Ling bowed his head to collect the remaining gauze and medicine cup, and instructed, ‘The wound cannot get wet, and don’t press on the wound when you sleep. Try not to make too big of a move these few days.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, and suddenly leaned close to Hua Ling’s ear and whispered, ‘What is a big move?’ His voice was five parts lazy and five parts hoarse. Paired with his face, it was just the right amount of seduction.
Hua Ling drew a foot away from him with a ‘swish’ and said coldly, ‘For example, if you accidentally make me unhappy and I have to give you another slap, you’ll probably be bedridden for the next two weeks.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Considering that he can’t beat Hua Ling in their current situation, if she were to defeat him by accident, she would definitely have to run away. With the idea that small forbearance leads to great success, Jiang Yu lay down depressed. However, his eyes were still spinning around Hua Ling, trying hard to silently brush his sense of presence.
After Hua Ling finished tidying up the medicine pot and other things, she didn’t care about him and went out without looking back.
Jiang Yu depressedly pulled up the quilt and covered his head…
‘Hey, get up and drink your medicine.’ I don’t know how long it took, and in a daze, Jiang Yu suddenly heard the familiar voice in his ear.
Jiang Yu lifted the quilt with disbelief: ‘Why did you come back?’
Hua Ling was puzzled: ‘I went to boil the medicine.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes fell on the porcelain bowl in her hand, and he instantly came to his senses. Oh, so he wasn’t rejected. Jiang Yu’s mood instantly turned from gloomy to cloudy, and he deftly sat up from the bed.
Hua Ling glanced at him: ‘That movement just now could easily pull on the wound.’
Jiang Yu twitched the corner of his mouth, but didn’t say anything. In fact, he had already done so, and he was quietly digesting the consequences.
Hua Ling keenly noticed the wrong expression on his face and smiled, ‘You really did it to your wound, didn’t you?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Hua Ling handed Jiang Yu the medicine bowl and said, ‘Drink the medicine. It’s still warm.’
Jiang Yu didn’t reach out to take it, but looked at Hua Ling with expectation in his eyes. Everyone knew Hua Ling’s intentions.
Hua Ling understood and smiled, ‘Young master, let me remind you. You hurt your waist, not your hand.’
Jiang Yu frowned, ‘I just pulled on the wound, and now even moving hurts.’
Hua Ling’s smile was inscrutable, ‘Really? In that case, I’ll let He Yu come in and serve the young master his medicine.’
Hua Ling said this and then started to walk towards the door.
As soon as Jiang Yu saw Hua Ling about to leave, he paid no attention to pretending to be weak and quickly reached out to grab the hem of Hua Ling’s robe, almost falling off the bed as a result.
‘Umm…’ This time it really hurt, but Jiang Yu managed to reach Hua Ling’s clothes, ‘Don’t go…’
Hua Ling quickly put the medicine bowl aside, helplessly helped him up, and took the jade pillow and put it behind him so that he could sit more comfortably.
After doing so, Hua Ling picked up the medicine bowl that was set aside and spooned some medicine into his mouth. ‘I give up,’ he said with a smile.
Jiang Yu drank the medicine contentedly.
Hua Ling put down the medicine bowl and looked at Jiang Yu. ‘How did you get hurt?’
Jiang Yu was taken aback. ‘Are you still obsessed with this question?’
Hua Ling was baffled. ‘I’m not obsessed. I’m just wondering. With your skills, it’s impossible for you to get hurt by her.’
Jiang Yu looked embarrassed. ‘I thought it was you. That woman dressed up as you and suddenly appeared on the battlefield. I thought…’
Hua Ling sighed. ‘You thought I was going to run back?’
Jiang Yu nodded in acknowledgement.
Hua Ling thought for a moment. ‘You said she…dressed up as me?’
Jiang Yu nodded. ‘It was almost convincing. In terms of appearance, there was basically no difference. But when I got closer, I knew it wasn’t you.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Yu explained, ‘Well…it just didn’t feel the same.’
Hua Ling smiled, ‘She is indeed good at changing her appearance to confuse people, not only her appearance, but even her personality can be completely copied. But…you were able to recognise her, so you deserve praise.’
Jiang Yu’s voice rose slightly, ‘Of course! How could I not recognise her!’
Hua Ling shook his head, ‘Okay, so you were too close and not on your guard, so you fell for her trick?’
Jiang Yu touched his nose: ‘Let’s say that’s the case.’
Hua Ling, however, did not let him off the hook: ‘Let’s say?’
Jiang Yu frowned impatiently: ‘Although I knew it was a fake, I still couldn’t bring myself to do it in front of that face. I hesitated for a moment, and the woman got the better of me.’
Hua Ling was taken aback by Jiang Yu’s blunt words, and then coughed awkwardly, averting his gaze.
Jiang Yu, on the other hand, did not avoid the issue at all, looking Hua Ling straight in the eye: ‘From what you’ve said, it seems that you know this woman quite well. Who is she?’

☆, Chapter 75

Hua Ling sighed helplessly, ‘You said that you saw her on the battlefield, and that she deliberately lured you to chase after her so that she could get her hands on you, right?’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘That’s what I just said.’
Hua Ling: ‘Have you heard of the names of the three great gods of the divine world?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘I have fought Jiuyao before. He is a worthy opponent who acts with integrity. I have only heard of the other two by name, I have never met them before… One is Suisha, and the other is Taiyin?’
Hua Ling poured Jiang Yu a cup of warm water and handed it to him: ‘That’s right. The three great gods each have their own responsibilities: Jiuyao is good at deploying troops and setting up formations, Suisha is in charge of the weapons of the celestial realm, and Taiyin specializes in assassinations and likes to do things that are not allowed in public.’
Jiang Yu smiled: ‘From the way you put it, it seems that you don’t like this Taiyin God very much. So you’re trying to tell me that the woman I fought was Taiyin?’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘That’s right. The hidden weapon you were hit with is called the “Firebrand Hook”, and it is the unique weapon of the God of the Dark Moon. This thing will go deep into your body along with the wound, destroying your internal organs and even your meridians. And normally, after being hit with this hidden weapon, there is no way to remove it. Because this hidden weapon will travel around your body on its own until it destroys all the functions of your body and tortures you to death. And, as you can see, the wound will not heal because of the special nature of this hidden weapon.’
Jiang Yu ran his hand along his chin and looked at Hua Ling with a half smile, ‘Luckily I met you, right?’
Hua Ling sighed, ‘This is not the time to show off. I’m just telling you that this woman’s hands are always vicious. And to be honest, it’s lucky that you were just hit by this hidden weapon today and I found it. If it had been a few days later…there would be nothing I could do.’
Jiang Yu laughed, ‘I’m not worried, you’re still here.’
Hua Ling sighed, suddenly silent, her eyes dark and unfathomable, wondering what she was thinking.
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and gently touched her forehead. Perhaps because of her injury, Jiang Yu’s fingers were slightly cold. Hua Ling suddenly came back to her senses and uncomfortably averted her gaze.
Jiang Yu said helplessly, ‘What are you thinking about so intently that your eyebrows are furrowed?’
Hua Ling hesitated and said, ‘If Taiyin makes a move, it means that…the Heavenly Emperor has set his sights on you.’
Jiang Yu seemed to find this a bit amusing: ‘The two sides have been at war for a long time, shouldn’t he have seen me as a thorn in his side a long time ago?’
Hua Ling nodded and shook his head: ‘That’s true, but now he’s specifically sent Taiyin to deal with you alone. He never does anything unnecessary, so you have to be careful.’
Jiang Yu’s deep purple pupils locked onto Hua Ling’s gaze, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly at a 30-degree angle: ‘Are you worried about me?’
Hua Ling: ‘…Maybe. I’m not joking with you. And don’t underestimate Taiyin either. The title of the three great gods is not a title for nothing.’
Jiang Yu smiled: ‘Then tell me, how does she compare to Jiuyao?’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘It’s hard to say. Jiuyao and she are completely different types. Jiuyao is good at facing the enemy head-on, while Taiyin is best at silent assassinations. If they fight head-on, Taiyin is definitely no match for you. But…’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘I understand. Don’t worry, her methods are not up to scratch. The only reason I was caught today was…never mind. Anyway, it won’t happen again. Don’t worry.’
Hua Ling coughed awkwardly, ‘What do I have to be relieved about…’
Jiang Yu smiled and didn’t say anything.
Hua Ling was creeped out by his gaze and quickly got up from the couch: ‘You rest well, I’ll come see you again tomorrow.’
Jiang Yu suddenly held her hand: ‘Stay with me.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu innocently explained: ‘Didn’t you say it? Be careful of Taiyin’s ambushes. I’m injured now and have limited mobility, so if she comes to finish me off, I definitely won’t be able to defend myself.’
Hua Ling was speechless for a moment, and with a black line on his head, he answered, ‘Okay, I’ll stay. I’ll be in the outer room, if you need anything, just yell, I’ll definitely hear you.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, ‘What are you doing in the outer room?’ He moved towards the bed, making room for one person, and even casually patted the empty space next to him.
‘Getting a little too much, aren’t you?’ Hua Ling gave him a glare, stopped paying attention to him, and turned around to go to the outer room.
Hua Ling lay awake on the couch in the outer room for half the night, and then suddenly sat up. She went over to Jiang Yu’s sleeping form quietly, and saw that he was breathing evenly and sleeping deeply. Hua Ling shook her head helplessly and laughed softly, wondering why she had trusted him so much.
Hua Ling walked outside the tent. The Demon soldiers guarding the door wondered, ‘Doctor Hua, are you going out so late at night?’
As soon as he finished speaking, the two demon soldiers fell silently. Hua Ling had cast a spell on them in an instant, causing them to fall into a deep sleep. She made another hand gesture, mouthing a chant as she did so, and instantly an invisible barrier enveloped the main tent where Jiang Yu was.
After doing all this, Hua Ling bypassed the main route patrolled by the demon soldiers, suddenly picking up her pace, and chased after them into the forest to the west of the camp…
Hua Ling stopped at the top of a barren rocky hill, walked to the edge of the cliff, and said indifferently, ‘Taiyin, aren’t you going to say hello to me?’
‘Haha,’ a soft voice came from behind the rock, and then a woman wearing a black cloud-like dress walked out, ‘Long time no see, Ji Hualing. No, I should call you the Lord of the Killing God.’
Hua Ling looked at her coldly, ‘You came to assassinate Jiang Yu?’
The woman slowly walked a few steps closer, deliberately or unintentionally running her fingers around the bun of hair that hung down by her ear. ‘Well, guess?’
Hua Ling said coldly, ‘Go back, don’t meddle here.’
Taiyin slowly walked around Hua Ling once, and sighed, ‘I wondered why the kid was still alive and kicking, and it turns out you saved him.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Taiyin shook his head: ‘No wonder the Emperor Lord told me to kill him. It turns out to be the root cause of why our God of Death doesn’t want to leave.’
Hua Ling frowned and said, ‘Go back and tell the Emperor Lord that if he has time to mind me, he might as well keep a closer eye on Ji Wuchang.’
‘Emperor Lord?’ Taiyin’s corner of his mouth curled up into a strange smile, ‘Is it really a good idea for you to call him that?’
Hua Ling: ‘…none of your business.’
Taiyin placed her slender, delicate fingers on Hua Ling’s shoulders and leaned in to whisper in her ear, ‘I’ll take that boy’s head. I’ll see if you can guard him twenty-four hours a day.’
Hua Ling slowly but firmly pushed Taiyin’s hands away and smiled, ‘You seem to have got one thing wrong. Jiang Yu doesn’t need me to guard him. If you’re not afraid of death, you can try to assassinate him again.’
Taiyin frowned, ‘You!’
Hua Ling gave her a wry smile and said, ‘You’ll have to fend for yourself.’
Without waiting for Taiyin to say anything, Hua Ling used the Teng Xiang technique to leave the hilltop.
Hua Ling returned to the military tent, where the two guards were still sound asleep at the door. Before entering, Hua Ling gave a soft snap of his fingers. The two guards at the door slowly woke up, confused, not knowing what had happened…
Hua Ling approached Jiang Yu’s room, but saw him sitting on the couch, closing his eyes to rest.
Jiang Yu opened his eyes and looked at Hua Ling: ‘Where have you been?’
Hua Ling did not change his expression or his breathing, and spread his palm out – on it lay a few herbs that glowed a pale blue fluorescence: ‘This is Qingyu Tao. I didn’t think I’d be so lucky as to find it. This herb is most effective at treating the damage to the organs caused by the ‘Firebrand’.
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Don’t go out to collect herbs in the middle of the night in the future. It’s not safe here, as it’s close to the battlefield.’
Hua Ling took the herb and went to the stone platform to process it, replying, ‘This herb can only be picked in the middle of the night. In daylight, it looks exactly like the common Spirit Lily. The only way to tell them apart is at night—after absorbing the moonlight, it emits a pale blue fluorescence.’
Hua Ling mixed the medicine, took a new bandage and walked over to the bed. ‘It’s time to change the medicine. This time, I’ve added Qingyu Tuo, so the injury should heal faster.’
Jiang Yu remained silent as Hua Ling applied the medicine. After a long while, he suddenly asked, ‘You set up the barrier outside the tent?’
Hua Ling looked up at him and said, ‘You noticed? Yes.’
Jiang Yu nodded, ‘This kind of barrier—it consumes a lot of spiritual energy, doesn’t it?’
Hua Ling smiled indifferently, ‘It’s fine. If I left and you were ambushed right after, I would be blamed no matter what.’
Jiang Yu: ‘Thank you.’
Hua Ling was stunned for a moment, then teased, ‘Oh, so the young master can say “thank you” too? I’ve learned something today… Alright.’
Jiang Yu looked down at the wrapped wound, ‘…’
Hua Ling asked doubtfully, ‘What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?’
Jiang Yu shook his head and suddenly reached out and took Hua Ling’s hand. ‘What should I do? I don’t want to let you go anymore and more and more.’
Hua Ling pulled back his hand and looked at him askance. ‘From beginning to end, did you ever intend to let me go?’
Jiang Yu shook his head and spread his hands, looking like a scoundrel. ‘Absolutely not.’
Hua Ling: ‘…then what nonsense are you talking.’
Jiang Yu laughed: ‘Hua Ling, when the war is over, just come back to the Demon Realm with me.’
Hua Ling: ‘…my answer is the same as before.’
Jiang Yu held Hua Ling’s hand down, so that she couldn’t escape, and leaned over suddenly and whispered in her ear: ‘I’m in no hurry at all right now. I have all the time in the world, and I’ll wait patiently until the day you say yes of your own accord.’

☆, Chapter 76

As Hua Ling had said, Qing Yutao’s treatment for the damage caused by the ‘Firehook’ was miraculous, but after lying on the couch for a day, Jiang Yu was already able to move freely.
‘Reporting, young master, something bad has happened.’ A burly man with a height of nine feet and full body armour suddenly burst into the main tent, rushing straight to Jiang Yu’s couch.
Hua Ling had just finished applying medicine to Jiang Yu’s wound when she glanced at the demon general and turned to leave.
Jiang Yu reached out to stop her: ‘It’s fine, you can stay here.’
Hua Ling paused, gathered up the bottles and jars, and quietly stepped aside.
Jiang Yu frowned, got out of bed, put on his robe, and walked over to the desk, where he sat down. ‘What’s wrong, Liao Yuan? You’re not like yourself, acting so flustered. What’s the matter?’
‘My lord,’ said the demon general named Liao Yuan, kneeling on one knee and bowing, ‘33, 27, 21, 16, 12, and 5 strongholds have all been breached by the enemy at the same time.’
“Pop,’
A loud crack, and the medicine bowl in Jiang Yu’s hand shattered into pieces. The dark green and black medicine dripped onto the mahogany table one by one along his knuckled hands.
Jiang Yu seemed oblivious, slowly standing up: ‘When did this happen?’
Liao Yuan’s forehead was covered in cold sweat: ‘Back, back to the young master…it happened at 2 am last night.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘A surprise attack? … Where are the generals of the three armies? Why wasn’t this reported in time after such a major incident?!’
Liao Yuan was silent for a moment: ‘My lord, when I discovered it, all three armies had been wiped out. The generals were nowhere to be found… The messenger who came to report the news just had time to pass it on to me before… he died in the line of duty.’
Jiang Yu frowned.
Hua Ling: ‘…
Jiang Yu took a rolled-up parchment from the desk and unrolled it to spread it on the desk – it was a detailed military map.
Jiang Yu stared at the map for a long time, and sneered, ‘It just so happens to be these three strongholds. The enemy knows our weaknesses like the back of his hand.’
Liao Yuan looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘I also feel that there is something fishy about this. Young master, what should we do now? Should I send more troops over?’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘If these three places are lost, they are lost. The enemy will definitely set up an ambush there. It is now pointless to send reinforcements over, it would be like a lamb entering a tiger’s mouth. Let’s rearrange the formation. Liao Yuan, come here.’
Liao Yuan got up and glanced at Hua Ling, as if he had some concerns.
Hua Ling saw Liao Yuan looking at her and immediately understood. She turned around and walked towards the outer room. When she reached the door, Jiang Yu suddenly asked, ‘Where are you going?’
Hua Ling paused and replied, ‘I’m a bit tired, I’ll go back and get some sleep.’
Seeing that Jiang Yu was no longer stopping her, Hua Ling lifted the curtain and walked out on her own.
Jiang Yu saw Liao Yuan looking thoughtfully at Hua Ling’s back and said unhappily, ‘What are you doing, come here.’
Liao Yuan snapped out of his thoughts, walked over to Jiang Yu, and Jiang Yu pointed his long fingers at the map: ‘We will rearrange our formation, use the enemy’s plan against them, and lure the enemy deeper in. Like this…’
…
Hua Ling lay outside her thatched hut by the river, expressionless as she looked up at the dark clouds overhead. The sky was dark with clouds, and it was going to rain. Hua Ling had no intention of going back inside. He rolled over, lying on his side on the riverbank, and closed his eyes.
In the tent. Jiang Yu rolled up the map and looked at Liao Yuan: ‘Do you understand?’
Liao Yuan bowed respectfully: ‘I understand, I will get on it right away. However, there is one thing I do not understand, please enlighten me.’
Jiang Yu closed his eyes: ‘You want to ask about Hua Ling?’
Liao Yuan lowered his eyelids in silence, and it took him a while to speak: ‘Only a few generals, you, my young master, and the military map with the important markings know about our strategic deployment this time. Although Miss Hua is a great doctor, she is not of our clan after all. I think…’
Jiang Yu interrupted: ‘I know what you want to say. Liao Yuan, these words…don’t let me hear them a second time.’
Liao Yuan was stunned for a moment: ‘Young master!’
Jiang Yu waved his hand: ‘Leave.’
Liao Yuan: ‘…yes.’
Jiang Yu sat quietly at the desk for a while, and outside came the sound of rain falling…and the sound of muffled thunder. Jiang Yu frowned, got up and walked out.
Hua Ling opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Yu, who was standing quietly beside her: ‘What are you doing out here? Your wound hasn’t healed yet, you can’t get wet.’
Jiang Yu looked down at her: ‘Then come back with me.’
Hua Ling was silent for a long time: ‘Jiang Yu, it’s good that you’re here. I want to tell you…’
Jiang Yu suddenly interrupted: ‘Come back with me! We can talk about it later.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu suddenly grabbed Hua Ling’s hand and led her back to the barracks without saying a word.
Hua Ling let out a low sigh, ‘What’s the point?’
Jiang Yu paid no heed and pulled her back to the main tent.
He casually unbuttoned his soaked shirt and threw it aside.
Hua Ling glanced at the gauze that had been wrapped around his wound and saw that it was soaked in blood. Hurriedly, she rummaged through the medicine bottles and took a clean piece of brocade to Jiang Yu’s side.
Jiang Yu glanced at her and sat silently on the couch.
Hua Ling carefully cut open the gauze and used the brocade cloth to gently wipe the rainwater from his abdomen.
Jiang Yu suddenly took Hua Ling’s hand and said, ‘Hua Ling, don’t go.’ There was an unbearable emotion suppressed in his voice.
Hua Ling: ‘…
Hua Ling struggled a little, but he couldn’t break free, so he put some strength into his hand. When Jiang Yu saw this, not only did he not let go, but he grabbed Hua Ling’s arm and pulled hard. Hua Ling’s feet momentarily lost their balance, and she was actually pulled down onto him.
Jiang Yu put his arms around her and locked her in his embrace.
‘Don’t go,’ Jiang Yu whispered, his low, magnetic voice right by Hua Ling’s ear, stirring her thoughts inexplicably.
Hua Ling looked up at Jiang Yu, and Jiang Yu was doing the same thing. Because of this subtle movement, the tips of their noses lightly brushed against each other. Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered slightly, and before Hua Ling could react, he had already lowered his head and sealed Hua Ling’s lips. Hua Ling froze for a moment, trying to push Jiang Yu away, but the hand that was pushing his shoulder was firmly grasped in Jiang Yu’s palm.
After a moment, Jiang Yu noticed that the person in his arms was no longer struggling. His heart stirred, and instead of letting her go, he deepened the kiss…
‘…Ahem.’ When Jiang Yu was finally willing to let Hua Ling go, she had a slight blush on her cheeks and was leaning against Jiang Yu’s shoulder, breathing lightly.
Jiang Yu reached out his hand, gently lifting her chin, and looked earnestly into her inky black eyes, “Hua Ling, I like you.”
Hua Ling: ’…
As expected, there was no response. Jiang Yu was not impatient, however. From that kiss just now, he had already learned what he wanted to know, and there was no rush.
Hua Ling reached out her hand and slowly pushed Jiang Yu away, stepping out of his embrace. She looked down at the wound on his side and said, ‘The wound has opened up. It’s all your fault for messing around.’
Jiang Yu smiled and said, ‘Then could you please help me apply some medicine again — oops.’
Hua Ling glared at him and pushed him away, right onto Jiang Yu’s wound, and cold sweat immediately ran down Jiang Yu’s forehead.
Hua Ling ignored Jiang Yu and took the ointment she had prepared earlier from the medicine box and applied it to Jiang Yu’s wound.
After applying the ointment, Hua Ling took some clean gauze from the side table. As she looked up, she caught a glimpse of the faint smile on the corner of Jiang Yu’s mouth. She said coldly, ‘If you keep messing around like this, you won’t be able to heal this wound.’
This time, Jiang Yu cooperated and obediently replied, ‘Okay, I’ll listen to you. I won’t mess around.’
The corner of Jiang Yu’s mouth rose slightly. He reached out his hand, gently rubbed Hua Ling’s head, and then gently pushed the messy hair that hung down by her ears behind her head. Hua Ling kept her head down and quietly helped Jiang Yu wrap the gauze, so Jiang Yu didn’t see the flash of sadness in Hua Ling’s eyes.

☆, Chapter 77

The war was in a critical situation, so as soon as Jiang Yu was able to walk, he hurried to the newly set up stronghold overnight. Before leaving, Hua Ling, ignoring the strange looks of the demon generals, saw him off all the way to the crossing ten li outside the military camp.
Jiang Yu reached out his hand and placed it gently on Hua Ling’s head: ‘Go back, if you go any further, you will enter the range of the two armies fighting.’
Hua Ling looked at him in silence for a moment, nodded, and said, ‘Take care.’
Jiang Yu’s heart stirred, and suddenly he reached out and took Hua Ling’s hand. ‘You won’t go back on your word, will you? Wait for me when I come back.’
Hua Ling smiled. ‘You mean you’ll let me go if I beat you? Fine, I’ll wait for you to come back, and then I’ll beat you.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll definitely oblige. As long as you’re up to it.’
Hua Ling stood by the roadside, watching Jiang Yu and his entourage gradually get further and further away, until they finally disappeared from view…
She sighed silently, ‘Sorry, it seems I’m going to break our appointment.’
…
‘You’ve finally come back.’
In the large courtyard, there was only one person sitting under the huge illusionary tree, facing a jade chessboard, arranging troops and defending himself.
Hua Ling stood far away, looking at the man in white with long snow-white hair and ink-black hair indifferently: ‘You made all these tricks just to make me come back?’
The man laughed, threw the chess piece in his hand casually, looked up at Hua Ling, and said, ‘Why, are you really happy here?’
Hua Ling still had an expressionless face, ‘I just simply… hate the air here.’
The man shook his head, stood up, and slowly walked towards Hua Ling, ‘It really makes your father sad when you talk like this.’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘Go find someone else if you don’t want to be sad.’
The man frowned, and finally a hint of impatience appeared between his brows: ‘Are you still holding a grudge against me because of Hua Yun?’
Hua Ling raised the corners of his mouth: ‘You don’t deserve to mention that name. But…why do you suddenly want me to help you? Aren’t you determined to win everything?’
The man sighed: ‘Hua Ling, I have explained to you many times about your mother’s matter. It was really out of necessity.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I know, for you, killing someone is just a trivial matter.’
The man said sternly, ‘What’s going on now? Can’t you tell the difference between a trivial matter and an important one? Don’t you understand what the big picture is?’
Hua Ling said, ‘Sorry, I really don’t quite get it, having lacked parental guidance since childhood.’
The man said, ‘You…you should know why I’ve summoned you this time.’
Hua Ling shrugged, ‘Sorry, forgive my stupidity, I don’t know what Your Majesty wants to advise me.’
The man threw a roll of bamboo slips at Hua Ling’s feet and said, ‘Explain.’
Hua Ling didn’t even look at it, still staring at the Heavenly Emperor: ‘I don’t know what Your Majesty wants me to explain.’
The man pointed at the bamboo slips at Hua Ling’s feet: ‘I told you to send back the map of the military stronghold, what is it that you and I have, hmm?!’
Hua Ling: ‘Isn’t it clearly drawn with every city and fortress? And…you have already successfully captured three of the other party’s strongholds.’
The man angrily said: ‘If I hadn’t sent Taiyin to scout, I really wouldn’t have known that they would set traps in those places!’
Hua Ling: ‘Oh.’
The man took a deep breath: ‘Hua Ling, what exactly are you thinking?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then suddenly said seriously: ‘Fine, let me ask you the same question: why do you want to exterminate the demons? I only realised this when I went there this time… Is it because of the ownership of the nine realms of Shenzhou? Because you think they are taking up too much space and infringing on your rights?’
The man narrowed his eyes: ‘Hua Ling, you have let your father down.’
Hua Ling: ‘I’m just stating the facts, and I’m just asking you to answer.’
Man: ‘That’s right. Then do you know what consequences it will have for us if the Divine Realm of the Nine Worlds is occupied by the demons? Do you know how many innocent people will lose their homes? And how many people will die because of famine?’
After a while, Hua Ling nodded: ‘That’s why I’m asking you if that’s the reason. But as far as I know, it’s the same for the demons. No matter who wins or loses this war, innocent lives will always be involved.”
The man crossed his arms and said, ’To be kind to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself. I think you’ve gone crazy studying medicine. Don’t put the cart before the horse. Save the world and save the people? For you, the people are your clan. Don’t forget that.’
‘I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong, but I don’t like the fact that you’ll stop at nothing to achieve your goal. I can’t think of a better way, but I don’t want to join the massacre either… Suit yourselves. I don’t want to be involved in this matter, and you don’t need to come to me. As I said before, I’m going to go and confirm it with my own eyes, and then give you an answer. Now that I’ve confirmed it, I want to know, and that’s my answer. If Taiyin strikes again, I won’t care about your face either.’ Hua Ling waved his hand, as if he was tired, or disgusted, and turned to leave.
‘Hua Ling, stop right there,’ the man’s authoritative voice came from behind.
Hua Ling stopped and sneered, “Finally showing off your Emperor of Heaven airs?”
The Emperor of Heaven shook his head, “Hua Ling, you have disappointed me.”
As soon as the words fell, a divine general wearing the armour of the God of War and holding a halberd and heavenly spear appeared behind Hua Ling. As soon as Hua Ling turned around, a long sword as thin as a cicada’s wings shook out of his sleeve, and he instantly exchanged moves with the divine general.
After 200 rounds, the divine general’s spear was pointed at Hua Ling’s throat: ‘Hua Ling, you don’t know the difference between right and wrong.’
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘Jiu Yao, I have my own considerations. Foolish loyalty is not the path I should take.’
The divine general frowned and turned to look at the Heavenly Emperor.
The Heavenly Emperor turned his back and waved his hand, ‘Lock her up in the heavenly prison. No one is allowed to visit without permission.’
Hua Ling looked at the back of the white-clad man in the distance and said two words with neither humility nor arrogance: ‘ward off evil.’
The man flicked his robes lightly, as if he was unwilling to even look at her again: ‘As long as you behave, I will release them.’
Hua Ling didn’t say anything, and silently allowed Jiu Yao to escort her down.
Jiu Yao was quiet the whole way, until they reached the entrance to the prison, when he suddenly snapped, ‘Hua Ling, what on earth are you thinking?
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘Jiuyao, if you go to the Demon Realm yourself and take a look, you will understand. I can only say that our positions are different, but in the final analysis, they are just like us. They are just trying to survive and find a way to settle down.’
Jiuyao shook his head: ‘That way of thinking is wrong in itself. An enemy is an enemy. If you don’t kill them today, they will kill you tomorrow.’
Hua Ling pulled the corners of his mouth, and in the end, he just said, ‘Maybe.’
…
Because Jiang Yu personally commanded the formation at the front line, the morale of the Demon Army was greatly boosted, and within one day, they were able to reverse the disadvantage. Not only did they recapture the three strongholds they had previously lost, they also pushed the front line nearly 100 zhang in the direction of the Heavenly Army.
However, when they returned to camp, the person who had longed to see each other again soon had already disappeared.
Hua Ling had left completely, not even leaving a letter for him. However, on the table in the main camp were neatly arranged the prescriptions for the medicines, each with a detailed description of its efficacy and use.
A group of demon generals and demon doctors stationed in the camp knelt in trepidation, not daring to breathe, waiting for the storm to come.
Jiang Yu stared quietly at the prescriptions for a while, before finally leaning back on the couch wearily and closing his eyes…
After a long time, long enough for the demons’ legs to start going numb, Jiang Yu slowly said, ’Assign a group of the best trackers from the surprise attack unit to find her. Even if you have to turn the world upside down, you must find her for me.’

☆, Chapter 78

Jiuyao stood outside the cold prison, his expression indifferent as he looked at the woman who was locked to the wall, covered in bruises.
‘Hua Ling, why are you doing this?”
Hua Ling looked up at the man standing tall outside the cage: “It’s you…”
Jiuyao took two steps closer: “Just go to the Emperor and admit your mistake. Just do what he wants, and you won’t have to suffer like this.”
Hua Ling smiled: ’You know it’s just suffering. So it’s not a big deal for me. Jiuyao, we grew up together, and you know my personality, so there’s no need to persuade me.’
Jiuyao shook his head: ‘I don’t understand.’
Hua Ling looked up, unconcerned, at the intricate iron chains on the top of the prison: ‘Everyone pursues different things and has different beliefs. Just like you, you chose loyalty and chose to stand by his side.’
‘Hua Ling…’
Hua Ling withdrew his gaze and looked slowly at Jiuyao: ‘Jiuyao, can you do me a favour? Even if it’s for… the many years we’ve been friends.’
Jiuyao nodded: ‘Speak.’
Hua Ling’s eyes pleaded, ‘That person promised me that he would spare Bixie and Qingyang…but I don’t know if I can believe what he said.’
Jiuyao: ‘…
Hua Ling: “I have an ancient book in my arms. Will you take it with you? I will tell you how to use it. Can you help me find Bixie and Qingyang and let them enter the world in the book?”
Jiuyao looked at Hua Ling for a while, and finally nodded. A strong golden light flashed around him, and the next second he was already next to Hua Ling.
Jiuyao took out the ‘Secret Records of the Three Realms’ hidden in Hualing’s body, and Hualing told him the incantation to open the world in the book.
‘Then…how do I explain to the two of them what happened to you?’
Hualing thought for a moment and said, ‘Just say that I have important business in the Demon Realm and will go back to them after I’m done.’
Jiuyao nodded: ‘Good.’
‘Jiuyao,’ Hua Ling called out to him as he watched his departing back, ‘thank you.’
Jiuyao did not turn around, but nodded slightly: ‘Take care.’
…
I don’t know how many days have passed. Has Jiuyao succeeded? Hua Ling once again woke up from her coma, staring wordlessly at the void of darkness before her. The bone-piercing nails on her body had blocked most of her divine power, to the extent that her perception of time had weakened.
Hua Ling suddenly looked up in the direction of the prison gate: ‘Since you’re here, come in.’
The person who had come was the white-clad Heavenly Emperor.
Father and daughter looked at each other indifferently through the cold prison bars.
Hua Ling gave a faint smile: ‘I won’t waste time with empty words. You’re here for the key to the weapons vault?’
The Heavenly Emperor just smiled: ‘I don’t need a key to get into the weapons vault. I came here to ask you…what did you use to convince Jiu Yao to betray me?’
Hua Ling raised the corners of his mouth in a sarcastic way, ‘Betray? You also know that the Nine Stars have been loyal to you for many years, shielding you from harm. They would never dare to go against your orders. So, may I ask, how did they “betray” you?’
The Heavenly Emperor looked at Hua Ling with a gloomy expression.
Hua Ling pretended to think for a moment, then after a while, he said with an ambiguous meaning, ‘Oh,’ ‘I asked the Nine Stars to help me look after my two friends for a while. But—didn’t you personally give your permission? You said that as long as I was punished, you would let them go. The Emperor has always kept his word, so you won’t go back on it, will you?”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes: “So it really was you? I wondered why he had the nerve to disobey my orders.”
Hua Ling snorted: “So—what have you done with Jiuyao?”
The Emperor laughed: “You’re worried about him?”
Hua Ling smiled: ’He’s your subordinate, why should I worry about him.’
The Heavenly Emperor closed his eyes. The next second, he suddenly leaned over and whispered in Hua Ling’s ear: ‘Are you really not afraid that I might kill him if I lose my temper?’
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘You won’t. You still need him to help you attack the Demon Realm. As long as there is still the slightest bit of use for you, you won’t act lightly.’
The Heavenly Emperor looked down at her and said, ‘You talk as if you know me very well.’
Hua Ling looked back indifferently and said, ‘Maybe I know a little more than you think.’
Heavenly Emperor: ‘Hua Ling, I’ll ask you again. Are you really not coming back to help your father?’
Hua Ling looked a little tired and simply closed his eyes: ‘My answer remains the same.’
The Heavenly Emperor sighed and swept away: ‘You do as you please.’
As soon as he had left, the twenty-four bone-piercing nails on Hua Ling’s body emitted a golden light. Hua Ling’s head suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and the blood-stained clothing was once again soaked in sweat…
…
Hua Ling… Hua Ling…
‘Hua Ling!!!’
Hua Ling suddenly opened his eyes. There was a vague shadow in front of him.
Although he couldn’t see clearly, the familiar and reassuring aura told Hua Ling the identity of this person.
‘Why did you…run here…’ Hua Ling weakly pulled out a smile, looked up, and directly met those deep purple pupils. ‘How did you know…that I was here…’
Jiang Yu didn’t dare to look at Hua Ling’s wounds again, and carefully held her face in his hands. ‘Don’t talk for now. I’ll help you remove these annoying nails first.’
When Jiang Yu saw Hua Ling just now, he didn’t even recognise her. He only felt his heart being stabbed fiercely, and blood was gushing out of the wound. The woman before him was covered in wounds, her clothes in tatters, and her vital points sealed by strange talismans. Jiang Yu knew that they must be some kind of immortal weapon used to seal her magical power. In addition, she was covered in large and small burns and sword wounds, and her whole body was red with dried and dripping blood. Finally, she was awakened from her coma, and she smiled weakly at him with a pale face.
Jiang Yu raised his hand and tried to pull out the nails. He used 100% of his true power on his fingers, but the nails did not budge.
Hua Ling stopped him and said, ‘It’s useless. There is no way to activate the bone-piercing nails with your demonic energy. Only the purest immortal energy can undo the bonds they have placed on me.’
Jiang Yu anxiously said, ‘What should I do? I—’ He looked up at the steel locks that were binding Hua Ling’s limbs.
‘I’ll take you here first, and then we’ll figure out how to get rid of these nails.”
Hua Ling looked up at him: ’Jiang Yu, you hurry back to the Demon Realm. This must be a trap. How did you hear that I was imprisoned here? You just barged in, and you didn’t even encounter any Divine Generals along the way, did you? Do you know that…there are only a few people in the entire Divine Realm who know about this, and it must be the Heavenly Emperor who released the news, just to lure you here and annihilate you all in one fell swoop.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow in a handsome manner and said, ‘So what if it’s a trap? Let me just leave you alone? No way! No matter what, I will save you from here today.’ With that, he raised his hand and smashed the mysterious iron and steel locks that bound Hua Ling’s hands and feet. After the firelight of the metal and stone, the steel locks broke into two pieces.
Jiang Yu picked Hua Ling up in his arms and said, ‘Let’s go.’
Hua Ling shook her head and said, ‘Jiang Yu, maybe the Divine Realm masters are already waiting outside to ambush us. You still have a chance to escape, so you don’t have to risk your life for me… Besides, even if you’re not thinking about yourself, what about the people of the Demon Realm? They’re all waiting for you to go back…’
Jiang Yu ignored her and walked straight towards the gate of the Heavenly Prison, hugging her. The design of this prison was very strange, and no spatial magic could be used here. In fact, he knew that this was a trap. Because along the way, he really didn’t encounter any powerful Heavenly Generals. A few minor Heavenly Generals could easily be dealt with without even lifting a finger. Such an important place as the Heavenly Prison should, in theory, be heavily guarded, yet he had broken in all the way here without any problems.
As expected, as soon as he left the prison, he saw Jiuyao and the others waiting outside. Hua Ling took a quick look and saw that, apart from Jiuyao, the leader of the Three Divine Lords, even the Twelve Divine Generals were there.
‘Jiang Yu…’ Hua Ling said worriedly, ‘I think you should…’
Jiang Yu suddenly pulled off his Cloud-Soaring Cloak and wrapped it around Hua Ling, tying her firmly in front of him with the cloak straps.
‘You rest a little, I’ll be done here in no time.”
With that, he walked up to Jiuyao and bowed slightly: “Jiuyao Shengjun, long time no see.”
Jiuyao didn’t waste any words, simply returned the bow: “Please.” After saying that, he already drew his weapon – a long spear with an entirely black surface.
And he waved his hand at the twelve generals behind him, who were itching to get started: ’You stand down, I’ll fight this battle. If I lose, no one is allowed to make things difficult for them.’
‘But, my lord…‘
’That’s final. Anyone who disobeys will be killed by me first.”
Jiang Yu laughed, “My lord is truly a true gentleman. I have long wanted to fight you alone. If that’s the case, please.”
As soon as Jiang Yu finished speaking, a seven-foot long sword suddenly appeared in his hands. He immediately began to channel his inner energy. The moment the energy entered the sword, a flash of silver light appeared on the blade, and it instantly turned into a broad sword with a dark yellow colour.
Jiang Yu then sent the long sword forward, and shouted, ‘Go!’
The long sword flew out of his hand, making a whooshing sound as it left the ground, and then sped directly towards Jiu Yao.
At the same time, Jiuyao also used his phantom body technique, avoiding the long sword attack at his fastest speed, and quickly galloping in the direction of Jiang Yu. He held the spear in one hand, his eyes emitting a fierce light. The tip of the spear aimed directly at Jiang Yu’s neck.
Jiang Yu seemed to have anticipated the opponent’s reaction, and immediately hooked his finger back, whereupon the broad-bladed sword immediately spun and flipped backwards, passing through from the diagonal rear of Jiuyao.
In the flash of lightning, it was a contest of who was faster—
it seemed as if time had come to a standstill, and all that could be heard was the tearing sound of the weapon sinking into flesh and blood. A long, slender wound appeared on Jiang Yu’s neck, and bright red blood flowed down his neck, with some of it dripping onto the ground.
However, the right hand that Jiuyao was holding the spear with had the entire scapula pierced by the broad blade, preventing him from moving even a little.
Jiang Yu cupped his fist towards Jiuyao and said, ‘Thank you, Divine General. Then he picked up Hua Ling and quickly swept out of the encirclement of the heavenly soldiers and generals, disappearing in an instant.”
The heavenly generals quickly surrounded them: “God Lord!”
Jiu Yao raised his left hand, which was uninjured, and pulled the broad-bladed sword from his shoulder blades. Blood splattered the ground with his movements. He didn’t seem to be afraid of the pain at all, just looking up at the direction where Jiang Yu and Hua Ling had disappeared, his eyes dark and uncertain.

☆, Chapter 79 Prequel (XI)

The cold wind whistled past her ears, and Jiang Yu pulled the cloak around Hua Ling to keep her warm. Hua Ling opened her eyes and saw Jiang Yu’s handsome, expressionless profile.
She whispered, ‘Jiu Yao let you go?’
Jiang Yu nodded.
Hua Ling stopped talking, rested her head on Jiang Yu’s shoulder blades, and closed her eyes. She was really tired.
After a while, Hua Ling heard someone softly calling her.
‘Hua Ling, wake up. Can you hear me?’
Hua Ling slowly opened her eyes. As her vision gradually cleared, she saw Jiang Yu’s anxious expression.
The first thing to return was the sense of pain. Hua Ling was momentarily unable to speak due to the sudden pain. She quietly surveyed the furnishings around her, and then her realization fell back on Jiang Yu’s face.
Jiang Yu seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, and immediately dispelled her doubts: ‘This is the Demon Palace. I brought you back here first. You were seriously injured, and I couldn’t leave you near the barracks.’
Hua Ling nodded slightly.
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘Hua Ling, I need you to tell me how to remove the bone-piercing nails on your body. I tried using magic to forcibly remove them, but as soon as I channeled my energy, they sank in even deeper. This made me afraid to try anything else. Hua Ling, tell me the incantation, you must know it.’
Hua Ling nodded lightly again, and then her right index finger twitched slightly.
Jiang Yu understood what she meant, and Hua Ling’s finger twitched slightly, slowly writing and drawing the incantation with her finger.
Jiang Yu watched carefully, carefully writing down each spell.
After Hua Ling finished writing, she looked up at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu nodded at her: ‘I’ve written it down. I’ll help you remove these bone-piercing nails now. You…just bear with me.’
Hua Ling smiled silently.
Jiang Yu concentrated her energy and began chanting the spell.
When the incantation was complete, the bone-piercing nails on Hua Ling’s body suddenly emitted a faint blue light together, and then they were separated from her flesh at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to capture… At the moment they left Hua Ling’s body, she suddenly groaned, and then beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. After leaving Hua Ling’s body, the bone-piercing nails began to spontaneously combust, and they too were surrounded by a faint blue flame, until they burned out and turned to ashes.
Jiang Yu immediately stepped forward, took Hua Ling’s slightly trembling hand in his, and slowly channeled his true energy into her body to help her open up the meridians that had been blocked for a long time and relieve the pain in her wounds. With his other hand, he gently placed it on Hua Ling’s forehead and carefully wiped away the fine sweat on her face.
Hua Ling took two deep breaths before her breathing finally calmed down. She spoke with difficulty, ‘Thank…you.’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘Don’t say anything. Just lie back and rest.’
After a while, seeing Hua Ling’s expression of pain slowly fade, Jiang Yu knew that her spiritual energy had begun to circulate on its own, and he stopped channeling his true energy. After all, his demonic energy and the immortal energy in Hua Ling’s body were opposed to each other, and channeling too much of it would be bad for her.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling’s pale face and was silent for a moment before saying, ‘I want to clean your wound and apply medicine.’
Hua Ling knew that she was in no condition to move, and healing magic was difficult to perform in her current state. And the wound really couldn’t be left alone like that. Hua Ling finally nodded slowly.
Jiang Yu let out a sigh of relief, ‘Wait a moment.’
Jiang Yu turned around and walked out of the bedroom, presumably to prepare clean water and external wound medicine.
Hua Ling closed her eyes wearily. Breaking with the Heavenly Emperor was something she had long expected, she just didn’t know it would be in this way. The only person she felt sorry for was Jiuyao, who had been innocently dragged into this power struggle.
Jiang Yu soon returned, carrying clean gauze and a medicine bottle in his hands.
Hua Ling’s injuries were scattered almost all over her body, and it was extremely troublesome to deal with them while she was still wearing her clothes.
Jiang Yu was also a gentleman, and instead of asking Hua Ling to take off all her clothes, he chose a more troublesome method. He carefully tore open the fabric covering each wound, cleaned it, applied medicine, and then wrapped the wound. However, even so, a lot of skin was still exposed, such as the waist, abdomen, and chest. Jiang Yu’s gaze was very disciplined. After dealing with the wounds, he pulled the brocade quilt aside to cover Hua Ling, and did not linger on the jade/body lying before him.
After the wound was cleaned and dressed, Hua Ling suddenly felt much fresher. Jiang Yu must have also used an excellent and precious wound medicine on her, because after the medicine was applied, the wound quickly sent a cool and comfortable feeling, and the pain was greatly reduced.
Jiang Yu gently placed his hand on Hua Ling’s hair: ‘Sleep well. I’ll be right here.’
Hua Ling gave him a small smile, then nodded and closed her eyes.
Thanks to Jiang Yu’s healing elixir and his meticulous care, on the third day Hua Ling was able to get out of bed.
And as soon as she was able to get out of bed, her first request was, ‘I want to bathe. No, I want to go to the hot springs in the Secret Records of the Three Realms.’
Jiang Yu hesitated a little, ‘Your injury…’
Hua Ling smiled and pulled open her collar, ‘It’s okay, the wound has already healed.’
She removed the gauze covering the collarbone, and the wound underneath had already healed, with new skin of a light beige colour growing back.
Jiang Yu shifted his gaze unnaturally, ‘Okay, then don’t soak for too long.’
He thought about it for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, ‘I’ll go with you.’
Hua Ling looked at the hint of beige colour slowly crawling up his ear lobe with a smile, ‘Are you shy?’
For once, Jiang Yu couldn’t find anything to say in reply, so he could only grunt and lead Hua Ling to the world of ‘The Secret Records of the Three Realms’.
Their landing coordinates were set directly next to the hot springs.
Jiang Yu put Hua Ling down in his arms and walked quickly in the direction of the forest: ‘I’ll be over there in the forest. If you need anything, just call out. We agreed that we can only soak for half an hour.’
Hua Ling nodded in agreement, smiling as she watched Jiang Yu’s unsteady but hurried steps as he walked outside. She also did not mind the presence of the man, and she took off her clothes/belt generously, before stepping into the hot spring. As before, Hua Ling found a place near the shore by a huge rock and sat down, resting her head on the rock.
Jiang Yu waited in the forest for more than half an hour, but Hua Ling did not come out. Worried, he turned in that direction: ‘Hua Ling?’
He called her name several times, but there was no response. Jiang Yu was anxious, and in an instant, he quickly walked back to the hot spring.
“Hua Ling!’
However, Hua Ling had been leaning against a boulder before, and because the water was so comfortable, she had fallen asleep. She was suddenly awakened by Jiang Yu’s shouting, and in a panic, she subconsciously turned around and stood up from the water.
Jiang Yu was walking over here, and their gazes met.
Hua Ling saw that he was full of anxiety, and immediately understood. First, she apologized, ‘Sorry, I fell asleep…’
Then she saw Jiang Yu staring at her with a strange expression on his face, without saying a word. It was only then that she realised that her entire upper body had been exposed to him.
Hua Ling quickly averted her gaze and slowly submerged herself in the water.
Jiang Yu, however, remained motionless, standing where he was, staring at her, not sure if it was because of shock or something else.
Hua Ling coughed softly, and Jiang Yu suddenly came back to his senses and immediately turned his back, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.’ However, the hoarseness and a trace of trembling in his voice betrayed his emotions at the moment.
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu’s embarrassed appearance, and her awkward emotions strangely slowly subsided, replaced by a soft emotion.
‘Jiang Yu,‘ she suddenly called out.
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment: “What?”
’I’ve thought about the answer to the question you asked me earlier.‘ Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu’s tall and reliable back and suddenly made up her mind.
Jiang Yu’s body stiffened suddenly.
’Okay. I’m willing to stay in the Demon Realm,’ Hua Ling said firmly.

☆, Chapter 80 Prequel (12)

Jiang Yu suddenly turned around, his eyes locked with Hua Ling’s gaze: ‘Are you serious?’
Hua Ling laughed, ‘Of course. A gentleman’s word.’
Jiang Yu also laughed, ‘Now it has to be changed to “a woman’s word”.’
Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and took Hua Ling’s arm: ‘You’ve been soaking for too long, and your body has not yet recovered. It’s not suitable to stay in the hot springs all the time. Come on, let’s go back.’
Hua Ling nodded, ‘Okay.’
Jiang Yu turned his back and waited quietly for Hua Ling to get dressed, without the slightest hint of impropriety…
Hua Ling got dressed and walked up to him. She saw the slight redness at the base of his ears and realised that he was not as calm as he appeared.
For some reason, Hua Ling suddenly felt like teasing him.
She stuck out her finger and poked Jiang Yu’s chin. ‘As the saying goes, a gentleman remains calm in the face of temptation. Your Highness has opened my eyes today, I admire you.’
Jiang Yu sighed helplessly and held Hua Ling’s mischievous finger. ‘Hua Ling, don’t provoke/provoke me anymore. You haven’t recovered from your injuries and are weak, and I don’t want to hurt you. Do you understand?’
Hua Ling was taken aback by his blunt confession, withdrew her finger, and casually played with her hair to hide it. ‘Well, I know that the war is urgent now, so you don’t have to stay here with me all the time. An army cannot do without a general for a day, you don’t need to delay your important business because of me.”
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling in silence, but did not answer immediately.
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: “What, are you afraid that I will run away?”
Jiang Yu sighed: ’I am not at ease. Last time I went out to war, you left without warning, and then you even encountered this kind of thing. I am afraid…’
Hua Ling held out her hand and firmly grasped Jiang Yu’s: ‘I’ll be waiting for you in the Demon Realm. No matter what happens, I will never abandon you again. Trust me.’
Jiang Yu looked into Hua Ling’s dark eyes and said seriously, ‘Hua Ling, I believe that what you are saying at this moment is not an empty promise. I am willing to believe in you. I want to stay and stay with you until you recover. Although the Demon Realm is safer, it is still difficult to prevent every eventuality. For example, the woman who infiltrated our army to assassinate me last time, Taiyin, right? I believe that with her strength, it would be easy for her to infiltrate the Demon Realm.”
Hua Ling shook his head: “In some ways, you are also unexpectedly stubborn. In a sense, you are quite like me.”
Jiang Yu laughed: “You know, so you don’t need to persuade me. Let’s go, this is your first time in the Demon Realm, so take this opportunity to show you around.”
Hua Ling thought there was nothing else to do, so he gladly agreed.
After the two walked out of Jiang Yu’s bedroom, Hua Ling noticed that the furnishings here were not much different from those in the immortal realm. The same pavilions and towers, small bridges and flowing water, drifting clouds and water pavilions. This palace of demons was not what Hua Ling had imagined. Rather than being solemn and awe-inspiring, it was quiet and peaceful. He had never expected that Chi You’s taste would be so unique.
Jiang Yu led Hualing to a small hill behind the Demon Palace. From this location, they could overlook the entire palace. Hualing looked at Jiang Yu doubtfully. Judging from his character, the so-called tour should not just be of the Demon Palace.
Jiang Yu was quiet, just quietly looking in the direction of the sky, as if he was waiting for something.
Hua Ling noticed that there was a flame-shaped demon mark on Jiang Yu’s right arm, which was emitting a golden-red fire at the moment.
‘Jiang Yu…that on your hand is…a summoning mark?’
Jiang Yu glanced back at Hua Ling and smiled, ‘That’s right. It’s here.’
As soon as the words fell from his lips, a tall, snow-white steed came running towards the two of them on auspicious clouds in the sky. It was handsome, noble and elegant, with a pair of broad wings on either side of its body and a long, pure white horn on its head.
Hua Ling looked at Jiang Yu in amazement, ‘This is… the legendary unicorn? I thought they had long since become extinct.’
Jiang Yu smiled, reaching out to pet the unicorn’s head affectionately as it ran up next to him: ‘I used to think so too.’
The unicorn was very spiritual, rubbed up against Jiang Yu intimately, and then looked up, turning its gaze to Hualing, who was standing nearby.
It looked at Hualing without saying a word, and Hualing returned the look with an open and generous expression. After a moment, the unicorn tilted its head in the direction of Jiang Yu and let out a soft hum. Jiang Yu laughed, and turned to Hualing, ‘It says it thinks you’re very special and is very happy to meet you.’
Hua Ling bowed slightly and said, ‘I’m honoured.’
The tall unicorn walked up to Hua Ling, and she had to look up to see its eyes. Suddenly, the unicorn bent its front hooves, and it was on its knees. In this way, its entire body suddenly became a lot shorter. And this height was just right for Hua Ling to look at its eyes.
Jiang Yu also walked over and said, ‘You can try petting its head.’
Hua Ling was delighted and said, ‘Can I?’ She carefully extended her right hand and gently placed it on the unicorn’s head. The unicorn closed its eyes contentedly and then gently rubbed against Hua Ling’s palm.
Seeing how willing it was to get close to her, Hua Ling’s eyes lit up with joy.
Jiang Yu came over and sat on the unicorn’s back with a somersault. He reached out to Hua Ling and said, ‘It’s inviting you to take a trip to the Demon Realm with it.’
Hua Ling smiled and shook Jiang Yu’s hand, and Jiang Yu gently pulled Hua Ling close to him. Then he leaned slightly forward, put his arms around Hua Ling’s waist, and with a bit of effort, lifted her onto the back of the unicorn, so that she sat in front of him.
Jiang Yu patted the unicorn’s head lightly and said, ‘Let’s go.’
The unicorn let out a high-pitched roar and took off into the sky with wings flapping…
Hua Ling realised that the Demon Realm was really quite different from what she had imagined. There was no poisonous miasma or rampant monsters. If anything, it was a bit like the Human Realm. It was full of birdsong and flowers, green and vibrant. All kinds of strange and exotic beasts roamed the vast mountains and rivers.
However, this green land is not very extensive – generally speaking, the Demon Realm is centred on the Demon Palace, and thousands of miles of land radiating outwards is full of greenery and vitality. However, this unexpected area is really a wasteland…yellow sand fills the air, blowing up and down, and the bones of animals are visible everywhere.
Hua Ling frowned and turned to Jiang Yu, ‘How could this be?’
Jiang Yu sighed and said, ‘The existing water sources in the Demon Realm can only support such a large area of land as you can see. Apart from that, it is a wild land where most creatures and demons cannot survive.’
Hua Ling leaned lightly on his shoulder, a little tired, and said, ‘This is why you are pushing your territory towards the Human Realm, isn’t it?’
Jiang Yu nodded and said, ‘Father’s idea is to introduce the water sources of the Human Realm into the Demon Realm to see if they can successfully merge and solve the problem of the depleted water sources in the Demon Realm.’
Hua Ling shook her head and sighed, ‘The Divine Realm will naturally think that you want to expand into the Human Realm. They are afraid that your power will grow, so they are blocking you and have started this war.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, ‘We cannot lose this battle. The future of the people of the Demon Realm, the key to the survival of the Demon Realm, is in this battle, and it is on our shoulders.’
Hua Ling looked up at him and reached out to touch his lightly furrowed brow, ‘I understand.’
Jiang Yu suddenly tightened his arms, hugged Hua Ling, and slowly buried his head in her shoulder: ‘Will you stay with me? Until the end of this war? I don’t know how long this fight will take, and I may not have a lot of time to spend with you.’
Hua Ling laughed softly, ‘Don’t say silly things. I will naturally stay with you, as a military doctor. Where you are, I will be. I am willing to advance and retreat together with you. But I will not wish you luck in attacking the gods. I hope you understand this.’
Jiang Yu kissed Hua Ling’s forehead lightly: ‘I understand. Thank you, Hua Ling.’

☆, Chapter 81 Prequel (XIII)

Under Jiang Yu’s careful care, Hua Ling’s injuries healed quickly. However, the battle between the two armies became increasingly stalemated. On the tenth day Hua Ling arrived at the military camp, there was bad news from the front line – the Demon Lord Chiyou was trapped in the Xuanyuan Demon Suppression Array. It was impossible for anyone inside to get out, unless the Demon Lord could kill Ji Xuanyuan, who was also in the array facing him. And those outside cannot break in. Anyone who tries to break through the formation dies under the spiritual blood curse outside the formation.
Jiang Yu did not become angry or panic when he heard the military report from the front line. He was, rather, exceptionally calm. He simply instructed his subordinates, ‘Seal the news. Hua Ling must not know.’
His personal bodyguard was stunned for a long time, but he still bowed his head and accepted the order. When he saw him get up and go out, he followed a few steps behind: ‘Your Highness, are you going to rescue His Majesty single-handedly?’
Jiang Yu looked at him and said, ‘No one is to follow. A crowd will only get in the way, and it’s a waste of life to go.’
The bodyguard wanted to say something else, but Jiang Yu raised his hand: ‘You’re not even listening to me?’
The man quickly knelt on one knee: ‘I dare not.’
‘Take care of Hualing for me.’ As soon as Jiang Yu finished speaking, he was already gone.
The watchtower outside the barracks.
Hualing saw Jiang Yu’s figure disappear into the darkness in the distance, and shook her head. He said he would advance and retreat together, but in the blink of an eye he had left her behind to take risks alone. As soon as she heard the news, she knew Jiang Yu would do this. She sighed in silence and followed him quietly.
Hua Ling followed Jiang Yu quietly. After walking for several hours, the two of them could already see the huge light array emitted by the Xuanyuan Demon Suppression Array in the distance.
Hua Ling was suddenly pushed back several zhang by a recoil. She looked closely and noticed that there seemed to be a transparent barrier in front of her. Jiang Yu, however, seemed to have encountered no obstacles and had entered the barrier directly. At that moment, he had almost disappeared from her sight.
Hua Ling was not discouraged. She walked to the edge of the barrier, gathered divine power in her palms, and reached out to try again. However, this time she could see the lightning on the barrier, and her palms and forearms were almost paralyzed.
Hua Ling sneered. It seems that this is the trap of the Heavenly Emperor, a trap to wipe out Chi You and his son.
“You think that such a trivial barrier can stop me.’
In an instant, Hua Ling’s body suddenly exuded a powerful aura of evil, and the colour of the mysterious seal between her eyebrows also turned, as if it were about to drip with blood. For some reason, in that instant, the ground was lashed by a fierce wind, and the sand and stones were flying about.
‘Oh, it’s been a long time since I saw you make such a big deal. What grudges and hatred? Don’t be so angry,’ a seductive voice suddenly appeared, close at hand.
Hua Ling calmed down and said indifferently, ‘Taiyin, don’t get in the way here. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not remembering old friendships.’
Three feet behind Hua Ling, a black and purple mist slowly dispersed, revealing the form of a voluptuous and beautiful woman in black, who walked slowly to Hua Ling’s side. 1
‘I told you not to get so angry. What if you get angry and damage your health?‘ The beautiful woman held out her finger, as if she intended to stroke Hua Ling’s chin, but her hand was slapped aside.
Hua Ling sneered, “Taiyin, did the Emperor ask you to delay me?”
’Tut tut…’ Taiyin held up her slender fingers and shook them lightly, “You guessed wrong.”
Hua Ling: ’…’
Taiyin’s mouth curled up in a faint, indistinct smile: ‘It wasn’t me, it was me, us.’
Hua Ling suddenly frowned lightly: ‘Jiu Yao is here too?’ After she finished speaking, she immediately looked behind her—and sure enough, she saw Jiu Yao there.
He was just standing there expressionlessly, exuding a chilling murderous aura, but his eyes were a dark black, without any light in them.
Hua Ling frowned and said, ‘What have you done to Jiu Yao!?’
Taiyin shook his head: ‘You should ask yourself that. What did you do to Jiuyao? If you hadn’t repeatedly tempted Jiuyao to disobey the order of the Heavenly Emperor, he wouldn’t have angered the Heavenly Emperor and caused him to deprive Jiuyao of his spiritual awareness, turning him into a killing weapon. But, I think this is a better fit for him. Before, I always felt that he was too indecisive, making a lot of wrong decisions and letting go of people he shouldn’t have. Now that he is free of all those messy emotions, he is able to unleash his true power.”
Hualing was silent for two seconds, then whispered in the direction of Jiuyao, “Jiuyao, I’m sorry. Don’t worry, once I’ve finished here, I will definitely help you seek justice and recover.”
Taiyin laughed, ’Seek justice? I’m curious how you plan to do that. You’d better think about how to escape as much as you can.’
‘Jiu Yao, take her down,’ Taiyin giggled and gave the order to Jiu Yao, “Oh yes, don’t accidentally crush her to death. The Heavenly Emperor wants us to catch her alive. Of course, as long as she doesn’t die, it doesn’t matter if she suffers a little more.”
Jiu Yao also didn’t say anything, suddenly gathering his energy, a huge circular protective shield formed by killing energy with a diameter of at least three zhang surrounded him. And a long spear completely black in colour also appeared in his hands.
Hua Ling did not dare to take this lightly. She also mobilised the divine energy within her body at the first opportunity. The golden-orange divine energy enveloped her entire body like a cloud. She raised her palm upwards, slightly spreading it, and an invisible sword also appeared within her palm at the same time.
Although the two of them, Jiu Yao and Hua Ling, had both set up their stances, neither of them rushed to make a move. On the contrary, they both remained motionless, just staring and observing each other.
The sky was gradually changing. There were still a few stars, but they had now turned into a thick, pure black that enveloped the land they were facing. It was like layers of dark clouds, but it was much more terrifying than dark clouds, because behind this pure black was endless murderous intent, from the emotionless, purely weapon-wielding Divine General Jiu Yao.
After a moment, Jiuyao suddenly moved, and his body disappeared from its original position. Hualing also moved immediately, leaving her original position. The next second, a huge ravine appeared where she had been standing. It had been cleaved open by the spear in Jiuyao’s hand.
Jiuyao saw that his first attack had failed, so he immediately turned around to chase after Hualing’s figure and launched a second attack on her from behind. The two figures, like two arrows breaking through the sky, rapidly approached each other. Where their figures swept past, the dust flew, the sand and stones were blown about, and the two were enveloped in this sky-high sand and dust, making it increasingly difficult to see their movements.
The aura emanating from the two of them caused Taiyin to raise an eyebrow in surprise. She summoned a protective barrier, backed up a few paces, and hid in a high place to watch the show. In terms of close combat, she was far from being a match for Jiuyao and Hualing.
“Boom!’
Amidst the dust and fog, a deafening loud noise rang out in the air about ten zhang above the ground. Then, the dust and fog in the air was pushed by an invisible airwave and spread out in all directions. The trees on the hillside not far away were actually broken by this airwave.
This airwave was the result of the collision between the attacks of the two people, Jiu Yao and Hua Ling. Hua Ling’s shadowless sword in his hand collided head-on with Jiu Yao’s spear. However, this first exchange was evenly matched, and the two of them retreated one step each, but neither was able to cause any harm to the other. Obviously, in the exchange just now, they were just testing each other’s strength and making a judgment. Hualing had no intention of harming Jiuyao, so he was more or less concerned when he made his move, and he showed mercy everywhere; Jiuyao, however, was different. His moves were ruthless, and if he was hit, he would either die or be injured. Hua Ling finally had to accept the reality that Jiuyao had now truly become a weapon that only knew how to kill.
This was his true strength after showing no mercy, and it was very strong. If she did not respond carefully, she would likely lose this battle. She could not afford to lose here, Jiang Yu was still in danger, and she could not stop here. The only thing to do was to fight seriously.
Hua Ling silently said sorry to Jiuyao in her heart, and then her eyes and posture changed.
She could see that the palm of her left hand was beginning to turn black, and a cold, sinister aura instantly enveloped her entire body. Even the air around her seemed to have frozen.
At the same time, Jiuyao once again began to attack.
Hua Ling also raised her shadowless sword high in the air. An endless amount of spiritual energy surged into the sword in an instant. Although the sword had no shape, it was now emitting a strong light, and the blade itself was also glowing brightly. The black aura that had previously emanated from Hualing’s palm slowly enveloped the shadowless sword, and then a powerful sword aura that was completely different from before slammed towards Jiuyao. Where the sword aura passed, the sand and gravel were reduced to dust, and the sword aura also seemed like a snake shadow, rapidly biting towards Jiuyao’s arm holding the spear.
Just by looking at the traces this sword can leave in the void, one can tell how powerful this sword is.
Jiu Yao’s reaction was also very quick. In an instant, all the fighting spirit around him surged to his right hand holding the spear. With a single turn of the hand, he slammed it downwards towards the void. One could only hear a clear and long sound from the spear. That horizontal slash seemed to be like a mountain pressing down, or like the momentum of a thousand thunderbolts, and it actually shattered Hua Ling’s sword energy.
‘Boom!”
A terrifying wave of air swept across the sky. If there had been other divine generals and demon generals present, the force of this collision would have been enough to blow many of them to pieces.

☆, Chapter 82 Prequel (14)

Hua Ling thought to herself that this would not do. In this state, Jiuyao was almost as good as her in close combat. If they continued fighting, it would just turn into a protracted battle. They could afford to waste time, but Jiang Yu could not afford to delay.
She could only use the next move to determine the outcome. Hua Ling looked up and glanced across the valley. She knew that Taiyin was hiding over there. Although she had concealed her figure, she could not completely hide her aura. Fortunately, she had not run too far and was still within range.
Although this move will consume at least half of her spiritual energy, there is no other good way at the moment.
Hua Ling closed her eyes and suddenly stopped moving at high speed. Jiuyao was originally moving with her speed, but when she saw her body suddenly stop, she also stopped. I could see Hua Ling’s mouth move slightly as she gathered her energy and concentration and began to chant a spell. The temperature around her began to drop suddenly, to the point where the condensation of moisture in the air could be seen with the naked eye as tiny specks of ice.
Jiuyao had already extended his spear, about to pierce Hua Ling’s throat, but he instinctively sensed the danger and, using the spear as leverage, threw his body backwards, retreating several paces in a hurry.
However, it was already too late. In just a split second, his battle armour had started to freeze from the soles of his feet, and then all the way up, and in just a few seconds, the entire armour had been covered in a thin layer of ice.
Jiuyao summoned all his spiritual power to resist the cold, but it was useless. One layer of ice was followed by a second, and a third, piling up and wrapping him in thickly… In no time at all, Jiuyao had turned into a huge ice sculpture and fell heavily to the ground.
Taiyin, who had been hiding in her defensive barrier watching the show, saw that something was wrong and immediately tried to use her teleportation technique to leave the battlefield. However, as soon as she took a step, a wall of ice appeared in front of her, blocking her way. Taiyin took a step back, and as soon as she turned around, another wall of ice immediately appeared in front of her. No matter which direction she went, there was always a wall of ice in front of her.
Taiyin finally gave up, because there was already a thick wall of ice surrounding her.
At that moment, she noticed Hualing’s shadow reflected in the ice wall. Not just one side, but every side of the wall had her shadow.
Taiyin: ‘…’
‘Taiyin, I have given you every opportunity again and again. And you have let me down again and again. Since you were the first to be unkind, don’t blame me for being unjust.’ Hualing’s voice came through the ice wall, indifferent and distant.
Taiyin’s face was gloomy, her eyes full of hatred: ‘Hualing, don’t pretend to be a great benefactor. You always do this, condescendingly evaluating the faults of others. You have been blessed with the blood of the Divine God since childhood, so how would you know the bitterness I have endured to climb step by step to where I am today.”
Hua Ling shook his head and sighed lightly, ’Taiyin, you chose your own path. I never intended to compete with you, but you are too jealous and unable to see your own faults. Today, I will send your seal to the Eastern Divine Tree Forest, and if one day your heart demon dissipates, the seal will be lifted.’
‘Hahahaha…’ Taiyin laughed hideously, “Hualing, you are so arrogant! Who do you think you are, and what makes you decide other people’s destinies? I curse you, and I curse you that the things you care about in this life cannot be realised, and that your life’s hard work will go to waste!”
Taiyin’s curse dissipated under the heavy ice, and Hualing shook her sleeve, and the ice was sucked into a suddenly appearing space.
Hua Ling took a few steps, then stopped, and put a hand on her chest… The spell had depleted her spiritual energy, and she had also accidentally aggravated her old injury…
Hua Ling took a difficult breath, then walked over to the ice-bound Jiuyao. She crouched down and gently placed her hand on the ice: ‘I’m sorry, Jiuyao, you’ll have to stay here for a while. After I’ve finished what I need to do over there, I’ll undo the Soul-Devouring Curse for you.’
Hua Ling took out the ‘Secret Records of the Three Realms’ and temporarily placed Jiuyao inside.
In the distance, the Xuanyuan Demon Realm suddenly sent out a strong tremor that could be felt thousands of miles away. In an instant, there was the momentum of the earth shaking. A huge roar spread thousands of miles away.
Is that Jiang Yu?
Hua Ling stood in front of the barrier blocking her, raised her right hand slightly, and an ice-blue sword case appeared behind her. The sword case opened, and inside was a dull, pure black sword. Dense runes were engraved on the body of the sword.
Hua Ling ran her fingers along the blade, and the runes lit up one by one, emitting a strong golden light.
“Forbidden Curse: Breaking the World,’
Hua Ling’s entire body soared into the air, and he slashed down at the barrier with one sword. In an instant, all one could hear was the loud roar produced by the collision of the sword energy and the barrier…
Cracks appeared all over the hemispherical barrier, and then in an instant, it fell apart.
Hua Ling saw Jiang Yu, and the Demon King, Chi You. Jiang Yu had already collapsed to the ground unconscious, while the Demon King was still struggling to resist, fighting against Ji Xuan Yuan. However, he was clearly at a disadvantage and defeat was only a matter of time. Hua Ling had already predicted this outcome before entering the Xuanyuan Demon-Subduing Formation. After all, this Xuanyuan Demon-Subduing Formation could be said to be Ji Xuanyuan’s winning magic weapon against the demons. Any demon, no matter how strong they are, as long as they enter this formation, their demonic energy will be greatly suppressed, and they will not be able to exert even half of their strength, so naturally they can only be slaughtered.
Chi You sensed Hua Ling’s immortal aura and swung his palm, sending the black flames of the Demon Realm surging towards Hua Ling. Hua Ling summoned a wall of ice to block the flames and explained to Chi You, ‘My lord, do not be angry. I am Jiang Yu’s friend. The barrier is broken, and I will teleport you out next.’
Ji Xuanyuan had obviously seen Hua Ling too, and a bolt of lightning came crashing down from above her head, which Hua Ling deftly dodged. Ji Xuanyuan, who was in a commanding position, looked at her indifferently: ‘Hua Ling, have you made up your mind to betray the divine realm? You can save them for a while, but can you save them forever?’
Hua Ling looked up at him for a moment, not saying anything. After a while, she made a gesture, and suddenly a huge teleportation array unfolded in the area centred on her.
Ji Xuanyuan sneered, ‘You wish to leave? You’re dreaming!’
The golden-hilted divine sword in his hand suddenly sent out a huge burst of sword energy, rushing straight at Hua Ling. Hua Ling had no choice but to raise her hand to block. In the instant she resisted, Ji Xuanyuan made a hand sign, and Hua Ling’s teleportation array was instantly destroyed by him.
Hua Ling: ‘…’ It takes time to activate this formation, but Ji Xuanyuan obviously won’t give her that time.
‘Take Yu away,’ said Chi You suddenly. ‘I’ll hold Ji Xuanyuan back.’
Hua Ling was stunned for a moment. ‘Demon King…what about you?’
Chi You waved his hand. ‘Go, the Heavenly Army is coming this way. If we delay any longer, no one will be able to leave.’
Under the current circumstances, this proposal is indeed the most feasible.
Hua Ling shook his head and helped Jiang Yu up: ‘My Lord…is there anything you want me to convey to Jiang Yu?’
Chi You slowly shook his head: ‘Help me keep a close eye on Jiang Yu and tell him not to take reckless revenge.’
Hua Ling lowered his eyes: ‘Okay.’
The teleportation array was activated once again, and Chi You suddenly flashed over to Ji Xuanyuan’s side and engaged him in a tangled battle. Ji Xuanyuan was unable to divide/split his body, and could only watch helplessly as the fish that had fallen into the net escaped again…
‘Come on, we haven’t fought like this for a long time. Today, I want to fight with you to my heart’s content.’ Chi You’s magic blade in his hand touched Ji Xuanyuan’s throat, and his red hair, which had scattered, flew in the air, leaving a dashing and heroic back.

☆, Chapter 83 Prequel (15)

Jiang Yu was seriously injured.
He had multiple bruises and broken bones, as well as several sword wounds, and burns of varying severity to his internal organs. He had completely lost consciousness.
Hua Ling did not take him back to the military camp, but instead sent him directly back to the Demon Realm.
The military camp was not safe, and there could be enemy troops or assassins sneaking in at any time. Moreover, after the Demon King’s death, there was no leader, and Ji Xuanyuan would definitely seize this opportunity to take advantage of the victory and destroy the Demon strongholds one by one, driving out and killing the generals who were still holding out.
Although what she did was more or less a sign of abandoning the generals who remained on the front line, at this critical juncture, Hua Ling could not afford to be distracted by these side issues. The safety of Jiang Yu was the top priority at the moment.
Jiang Yu lived a simple life and preferred to be left alone, so there were not many people serving him in the Demon Palace. He only had one maid named Cuiyun, and she was the one taking care of Hua Ling while he stayed in the Demon Palace to recover from his injuries.
‘Sister Hualing, what is this…’ Cuiyun was shocked when she saw Hualing carrying a bloody man into Jiangyu’s chambers. When she saw the man’s face, her face turned pale. “Young master… how did young master become like this? Who did this to him?”
You have to know that, in the Demon Realm, apart from the Demon King Chiyou, Jiangyu is the most powerful. Cuiyun really couldn’t imagine anyone being able to beat him to such a state.
Hua Ling helped Jiang Yu onto the bed and said three words: ‘Ji Xuan Yuan.’
Hearing that person’s name suddenly, Cui Yun was at a loss for words. Naturally, she had heard many rumours about that person, but she never imagined that the person she looked up to and admired would be defeated in such a tragic way.
Hua Ling glanced back at her: ‘Cuiyun, you help me prepare these things now. Be quick about it and try to avoid the prying eyes of others. I don’t want the news of Jiang Yu’s injury to spread.’
Cuiyun nodded vigorously: ‘Sister Hua Ling, you go ahead.’
…
The light in the room flickered, and Hua Ling sat quietly under the lamp, watching the sleeping side profile of Jiang Yu.
She still remembered the spirited look on his face when she first saw him, and now he was lying here, battered and bruised. In fact, she knew that this incident was not simple. Of course, killing Chi You and dealing a heavy blow to the Demon Realm had been within Ji Xuanyuan’s plan from the beginning. But at that time…at the moment when they faced off against Ji Xuanyuan in the Xuanyuan Demon Suppression Array, Hua Ling knew full well that he had at least three ways to make sure they didn’t escape.
But he chose to let her and Jiang Yu go without a word. This was Ji Xuanyuan’s warning to her, as well as a threat. She knew exactly what that man was thinking. He wanted the Tibetan Military Pavilion in her hands, and only she could open the door to the Tibetan Military Pavilion for him.
The reason she became the leader of the Three Divine Lords was largely because she had control over the divine weapons of the heavens—including the peerless divine swords she forged.
In her early years, she was obsessed with forging weapons and forged countless swords in her life. Some of these sharp swords could be said to possess the divine power to split the sky and earth. Since the beginning of time, no one who forged swords has been able to surpass Hua Ling.
However, someone with ulterior motives happened to take advantage of her obsession. Over the years, disputes broke out, rivers of blood were shed, and countless people died under the swords she forged. Hua Ling finally realised that her ‘talent’ brought nothing but fear, tempted ambition, and left a trail of devastation. So she managed to climb to the position of the Three Divine Lords, retrieve those divine weapons, forge the Hidden Weapons Pavilion, and seal those weapons.
Over the years, no one has been able to set foot in the Hall of Hidden Weapons again. She also changed her career and learned the art of Chinese medicine, saving lives and living a carefree life.
If it weren’t for that man who had previously captured her best friend and attendant, she would never have returned, let alone infiltrate the Demon Realm to collect information at his request and ‘coincidentally’ appear on the battlefield.
She had also planned to save Bixie and Qingyang and then disappear without a trace.
But…
Meeting Jiang Yu was a variable she had not considered.
Hua Ling sighed, reached out her hand, and gently placed it on the side of Jiang Yu’s face.
She had promised him that she would never leave again, and that no matter what the situation, she would stand by his side. He had chosen to believe her again at that time.
Hua Ling’s eyes were filled with a complex mixture of emotions, which finally boiled down to one feeling called ‘reluctance’. Her gaze lingered on his face for a long time, and finally she bowed her head and gently placed a kiss on his lips.
‘Sorry, I have to go back on my word.”
…
Hua Ling retreated from Jiang Yu’s bedroom and closed the door.
Cui Yun, who had been waiting at the door, immediately came forward: “Hua Ling, the young master’s injuries…”
Hua Ling nodded gently: ’Don’t worry, it’s all been taken care of. Just follow what I said and feed him medicine and change his bandages every day on time. He’ll be healed in ten days or half a month.’
Cui Yun was delighted: ‘Thank you, Sister Hualing! Oh, no…so you’re not going to stay here?’
Hualing shook her head: ‘No, I have other urgent matters to attend to.’
Cui Yun felt a little disappointed: ‘The young master will be anxious when he wakes up and doesn’t see you…’
Hualing: ‘…
Cuiyun waved her hand: ‘Sister Hualing, I didn’t mean anything. If you’re busy, you can go first. I know that whatever it is must be urgent… I think… the young master will understand. Just leave it to me.’
Hualing nodded: ‘Thank you, Cuiyun. Please… take good care of him.’
Hualing glanced back, sighed slightly, and moved her feet. She was already several zhang away.
Cuiyun had a bad feeling for some reason and hurriedly followed her, ‘Sister Hualing…’
However, Hualing had already disappeared.
…
The main tent of the Demon Army.
‘Who is it?!’ The burly Demon General keenly sensed the breath of the man outside the window. Before the rest of the people could react, he had already leapt out the window and chased after the man’s scent.
In just a moment, the two had entered the mountainous area, one in front of the other.
What quick feet. The deeper Liao Yuan chased, the more surprised he became. He was one of the fastest in the army, but he never imagined that the man he was chasing was even faster. And sometimes it felt like the man was deliberately waiting for him. After all, he didn’t know the other person’s background, and now Jiang Yu had disappeared, leaving the army without a leader. Was it really a good idea for him to track the man down alone?
‘General Liao Yuan, why have you stopped?‘ A person stepped out of the shadows.
’It’s you! Liao Yuan looked at the person suspiciously, his hand already unconsciously resting on the sword at his waist. ‘Tell me, where have you taken His Highness?’
Hua Ling smiled: ‘General Liao, don’t worry. I mean you no harm.’
Liao Yuan frowned at her, not saying a word.
Hua Ling sighed: ‘Jiang Yu was injured in the Xuanyuan Demon-Subduing Formation, so I sent him back to the Demon Realm to heal his wounds.’
Liao Yuan was shocked, and her hand unconsciously let go of the hilt of her sword. ‘Your Highness was injured? Is it serious? Your Highness went to save the Demon King… In the end, did you save the Demon King?’
‘It wasn’t a minor injury, but he’s fine now, General, don’t worry.’ Hua Ling paused for a moment, and then added, ‘As for the Demon King… I’m afraid he’s already…’
Liao Yuan froze in place.
Hua Ling shook his head and said, ‘The situation is urgent, and I believe the general understands. I have come to speak with you. Please listen carefully and patiently. I will leave after I finish.’
Liao Yuan was silent for a moment, then nodded, ‘Speak.’

☆, Chapter 84 Prequel (16)

When Jiang Yu woke up, he saw the carved dome of his bedroom.
His memory stopped at the moment he was hit by Ji Xuanyuan’s Dragon-Breaking Slash. After that, there was a blank.
‘Someone come in.’ The voice was actually hoarse.
Soon someone hurriedly pushed the door in, and it was Cui Yun, holding a tray in her hands, with a bowl of medicinal herbs on it.
‘Your Highness, you’re awake!’ Cui Yun’s voice was full of joy.
Seeing that Jiang Yu was about to get up, she quickly put the tray she was holding aside, then propped up the jade pillow and helped Jiang Yu lean against the head of the bed.
Jiang Yu glanced at the medicine bowl that had been set aside.
Cui Yun immediately reacted, and handed him the bowl of medicine: ‘Your Highness, drink it while it’s still hot.’
Jiang Yu took it and held it, but he didn’t drink it immediately. Instead, he frowned and asked, ‘Where is Hua Ling? Did she bring me back to life?’
Cuiyun nodded repeatedly: ‘Yes, Your Highness was seriously injured at the time… I still thought…’ Cuiyun’s voice trailed off, and she seemed to be a little choked up when she talked about this.
She sighed lightly: ‘Fortunately, Sister Hualing is an excellent doctor.’
Jiangyu glanced at her and repeated the question he had just asked: ‘Where is she?’
Cuiyun froze for a moment: ‘Er…she, she said she had something urgent to attend to and left…’
Jiang Yu’s eyebrows formed a pretty knot: ‘So…you just let her go? Have you forgotten everything I told you before?’
Cui Yun was shocked by his tone and immediately knelt on the ground, ‘Cui Yun knows she is wrong, please forgive her.’
Jiang Yu seemed a little depressed and a little helpless.
He was quiet for a moment, and finally waved his hand, ‘Forget it, I don’t blame you. She didn’t say anything?’
Cui Yun shook her head.
Jiang Yu drank the medicine in his hand, and Cuiyun hurriedly went up to take the empty bowl from him.
‘How is the Demon King…?’ After a long silence, Jiang Yu asked slowly, not moving until Cuiyun had tidied up the medicine bowl and was about to get up and go out.
Cuiyun was silent for a long time, shaking her head: ‘Sister Hualing didn’t say…and there have been no military reports sent to the Demon Palace recently. Sister Hualing asked me to keep it a secret, and I think the generals don’t know that Your Highness is here.’
Jiang Yu closed his eyes. He didn’t even need to think about it; he already knew the answer. But he couldn’t help hoping until he heard it with his own ears.
He was quiet for a moment, then nodded: ‘I understand. You may leave now.’
Cui Yun bowed respectfully: ‘Your Highness, rest well.’
‘Stop!’
‘How can you just barge in here, where Your Highness is sleeping!’
‘Get out, or I won’t be polite!’
…
There was suddenly a commotion outside the door, and even the sound of weapons clashing.
Just as she was about to push the door open, she was pushed back. The tray in her hand was knocked away, and the bowl of medicine smashed to pieces on the ground.
Cuiyun frowned slightly, about to lose her temper, but then she saw the man who had barged in, covered in armour and covered in blood… Coupled with his tall and powerful figure, he looked like a blood-soaked demon from the battlefield.
‘Your Highness, I have finally found you.’ The military officer knelt heavily in front of Jiang Yu’s bed, “General Lu Cun is dead in battle, General Wu Qu is missing, and the entire Xing Qiu Department has been wiped out. The Nine Stars and Seventy-two Battles have been lost… Your Majesty…has been sealed by Ji Xuanyuan. Please, Your Highness…show yourself!”
Jiang Yu felt dizzy and his vision went dark.
But he quickly calmed his rapidly sinking heart, and after a while of silence, the blackness in front of his eyes slowly faded away.
He said hoarsely, ‘Where are the remaining soldiers?’
“Your Highness, the remaining soldiers retreated to Qujiangjie. Our morale has suffered a major blow, and we have been unable to find Your Highness. There have been rumours in the army…’
Jiang Yu nodded, threw back the covers and got out of bed: ‘I’ll go with you now.’
Cui Yun, who was watching anxiously from the side, hurriedly took a few steps and stood in front of Jiang Yu: ‘Your Highness is seriously injured and has not yet recovered. You must not risk your life at this time!’
Jiang Yu glanced at her: ‘The generals are fighting hard on the battlefield, fighting bloody battles. You want me to hide here like a coward?’
Cuiyun bit her lip, ‘But…’
Jiangyu waved his hand, ‘Don’t say anything.’
Cuiyun hesitated for a moment, but then plucked up the courage to say, ‘Sister Hualing said that His Highness must stay in bed for the next month or so until he has fully recovered, otherwise he may suffer a relapse. And…’
Jiangyu waved his hand, looked at her indifferently, and gave a half smile, ‘You really do listen to her. Why don’t you follow her in the future?’
Cuiyun immediately knelt down: ‘Your Highness is discerning. Cuiyun has no intention of betraying Your Highness. I just don’t want Your Highness to put yourself in danger and not value your life.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘Oh, you’ve learned to speak sarcastically. It seems that someone has taught you well… Or should I lament that those who associate with evil people become evil?’
Cuiyun lowered her head and did not dare to continue speaking.
Jiang Yu didn’t even look at her, and walked past her directly, picking up the battle armour hanging nearby and putting it on with ease.
Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Cuiyun got up and stood in front of Jiang Yu, her hand resting on the white jade flute at her waist—her weapon. If this was the only way to keep His Highness, she was still willing to do it.
As he walked past Cuiyun, he whispered, ‘If I don’t come back…you should go back to Qishan. You don’t need to stay here and be buried with the Demon Realm.’
‘Your Highness!’ Cuiyun looked up, and when she looked at Jiangyu, it seemed as if there were tears in her eyes.
Jiangyu simply followed the general out, without looking back.
…
The battlefield at Qujiang.
Jiangyu rode on a tall warhorse, slowly driving the horse to the front of the local camp, which was huge in area and imposing in appearance.
He never imagined that he would see her like this again. This was not any situation he had imagined, but the one he least wanted to see.
At a glance, he saw the familiar shadow in the crowd—Hua Ling, in a handsome set of war armour, his long sword resting on the ground, standing with a look of indifference—next to his father’s murderer.
Jiang Yu opened his mouth several times, several times, before he tried his best to hide the tremor in his voice and said slowly, ‘Hua Ling…’
Hua Ling bowed indifferently to him, ‘I have heard of your name for a long time, young master of the Demon Race.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Ji Xuanyuan tilted his head and said, ‘Ling’er, why are you wasting words with him?’
Hua Ling’s eyes flickered imperceptibly, but when he looked at Jiang Yu, they returned to their unchanging coldness.
Then he raised his arm, the long sword shook, and it pointed remotely at Jiang Yu’s neck: ‘The Divine Race pays its respects. Please show your moves.’

☆, Chapter 85 The Final Chapter ·1

Jiang Yu acted as if he didn’t know Hua Ling, and his gaze first fell on the God of War armor on her body, and then slowly moved to the weapon in her hands.
‘I’ve never seen this sword before.’ His tone remained indifferent, and even his eyes still showed tenderness, as if he were catching up with an old friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Hua Ling’s eyes flickered slightly, and he did not respond.
What answered Jiang Yu was a fierce wind-breaking slash…
His arm was slashed open, a long wound, and the blood dripped onto the yellow soil at his feet. This was the result of him dodging sideways at the last second. If he hadn’t, his left arm would have already hit the ground by now.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling: ‘Have you forgotten what you promised me? If you have any difficulties, you can tell me… I said that no matter what happens in the future, we will face it together…
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, and when she looked up at Jiang Yu again, her eyes were full of murderous intent: ‘Draw your sword.’
Jiang Yu was quiet for a moment: ‘Hua Ling, this is the second time. There can be no third.’ If you are lying to me…’
‘Jiang Yu,’ Hua Ling finally answered directly, “do you know who I am? If I said… I know the entire plan to seal Chiyou, would you not pick up the sword in your hand?”
She wore a smile on her face, but the words she spoke were heart-rending, aimed at Jiang Yu’s heart, but also at her own.
Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered slightly: ’Hua Ling…this kind of thing, don’t joke about it.’
Hua Ling shook his head: ‘People always have to face reality.’
‘I’ll ask you one last time, are you serious?’ Jiang Yu lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking. If it wasn’t for the clarity of his words, Hua Ling would have almost thought he wasn’t talking to her.
Hua Ling nodded slowly: ‘That’s right.’
‘Good.’ Jiang Yu was quiet for a moment, only uttering that one word. Then he suddenly raised his hand and waved it, and the ground beneath Hua Ling’s feet suddenly split open, revealing a deep ravine.
‘I have long admired your reputation, Star God. Show me your best move.’ The pitch-black weapon was pointed directly at Hua Ling. When the man looked at her again, there was no longer any emotion in his eyes. It was as if, just as he had carved the trench in the ground, the past, like yesterday, was dead.
Hua Ling unconsciously lifted the corners of her mouth slightly, her tongue slightly bitter – hey, wasn’t this exactly the result she wanted?
…
The past is vividly clear in his mind. After recovering his memory, it is playing over and over again in Jiang Yu’s mind like a film projector.
His heart was foolishly misplaced, and in the end, he ended up with a broken country and a ruined family. Even his magic source was cut into pieces and sealed everywhere. And he himself had his memory erased, fell into evil ways, and became the sword spirit of this woman, serving her in slavery.
And the culprit had the nerve to ask him casually, ‘Do you remember?’
Jiang Yu grabbed Hua Ling’s neck, but his voice was as calm and indifferent as Hua Ling’s: ‘Yes, I remember everything. What kind of tricks are you playing this time? Ji, Hua, Ling. No, perhaps I should call you, the God of Killing.’
Hua Ling said indifferently, ‘I don’t want to play any tricks either.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes were red, and he stared at Hua Ling, unable to say anything for a while.
‘Was that… all an act?’ Jiang Yu asked Hua Ling hoarsely after a while.
Hua Ling suddenly raised his hand and wiped his slightly reddened eyes: ‘Which?’
Jiang Yu snapped his head away: ‘Don’t touch me!’
Hua Ling withdrew her hand.
Jiang Yu paused for a long time, not knowing what to think, and only then said, ‘It was just before…never mind.’
Jiang Yu suddenly released the hand that was choking Hua Ling’s neck.
Hua Ling sat up, stroking her neck and coughing softly. A circle of purplish red finger marks stood out on her fair neck, and one could imagine how hard Jiang Yu had just been choking.
Jiang Yu stared at the circle of marks on her neck for a long time, ‘If you wanted to kill me in the first place, why did you save me? Why go to all this trouble…to help me rebuild my body?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, ‘In the beginning, I was the one who wronged you. I want to make amends.’
Jiang Yu stared at her fiercely, ‘Because of guilt? Because you were in the wrong?
Hua Ling paused for a long time before slowly nodding: ‘Yes.’
Jiang Yu withdrew his gaze from her, a quick flash of disappointment in his eyes, perhaps mixed with some other emotions. But whatever the emotions were, he quickly hid them.
He looked down at Hua Ling, who was sitting on the ground, and said: ‘I’ll only ask you one question. Answer me honestly.’
Hua Ling covered her mouth and coughed twice lightly, and after a moment nodded: ‘Okay.’
‘Tell me…was it true or not that you knew about the plan to seal my father back then?’ Jiang Yu stared hard at Hua Ling’s face, as if unwilling to miss any of her subtle expressions.
Hua Ling gently tugged the corners of her mouth: “You’re still thinking about this.”
Jiang Yu gritted his teeth and said, “Yes or no?”
Hua Ling was silent for a long time, looking up at Jiang Yu: ’Does it matter whether it is or not?’
Jiang Yu looked at her for a moment, and said indifferently, ‘I understand. Hua Ling, no matter how skilled a person’s acting skills are, or how well they can hide things, some things will never change. You have deceived me many times, and I still don’t know which of your words are true and which are false. But I think you are the kind of person who will admit what you have done. Am I right?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Hua Ling coughed lightly, but did not look at him again.
Jiang Yu looked at her indifferently, ‘Don’t think that I will let you off just because of this. And don’t think that I will forgive you. We will slowly settle the score over the years.’
Hua Ling smiled indifferently, ‘I know. As for your revenge game, I’m happy to play along.’
Jiang Yu was choked again by her senseless attitude, and he whispered, ‘I really want to strangle you like this.’
Hua Ling didn’t hear it, and looked at him doubtfully.
Jiang Yu looked at the distant lightning and thunder, and a playful smile suddenly curled the corner of his mouth. ‘You said you’ve touched some unlucky omen again, and that’s why the people in the heavens want to kill you?’
Hua Ling didn’t say anything.
Jiang Yu ran his hand along his chin. ‘I remember you saying before that the current Heavenly Emperor is…what’s his name again…Ji Wuchang. That name sounds familiar…It’s like the younger son of Ji Xuanyuan, right? Your younger brother?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling and said, ‘What do you think would happen if I tied you up and took you to Ji Wuchang right now?’
Hua Ling shrugged, as if it were none of her business, ‘Hua Ling is your prisoner, so I am at your disposal. However, I do not recommend that you go there yourself, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble. I think you are not so sleep-deprived that you would not know how to handle such a trivial matter. Just leave it to your subordinates.’
Jiang Yu had wanted to see Hua Ling’s embarrassed expression, but unexpectedly, she was provoked again by her words.
Jiang Yu let out a ‘tsk’ and suddenly reached out, pulling Hua Ling up from the ground. ‘Come back to the Demon Realm with me.’
Hua Ling raised an eyebrow: ‘Your Highness is indeed decisive, but how can you be sure that the Demon Realm still exists?’
Jiang Yu looked at her indifferently: ‘No matter what it has become, it is still my hometown. Even if it has been razed to the ground and turned to ashes, I will restore it to the Demon Realm as I remember it.’

☆, Chapter 86 The Final Chapter ·2

The sky was filled with yellow sand, the ground was littered with rubble, and everything in view was a desolate wasteland. The Demon City, which sat in the distance, was a scene of utter devastation, with broken walls and crumbling ruins.
Jiang Yu grabbed Hua Ling by the neck and dragged her to him. ‘Why has the Demon Realm become like this?’
Hua Ling looked at him indifferently and said, ‘I thought you were prepared for this.’
‘You!’ Jiang Yu was furious, and he couldn’t help but apply a little more strength to his grip.
Hua Ling’s face gradually turned pale, but her expression remained calm.
Jiang Yu took a deep breath, pushed Hua Ling away, and strode forward. Thus, he did not notice Hua Ling’s unnaturally pale lips or the blood that had leaked from the corner of her lips and was being quietly wiped away.
Hua Ling coughed lightly as she covered her neck, looked at Jiang Yu’s hurried back, and sighed, following him.
There was no one in sight. No, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of life.
A land of the dead. This was Jiang Yu’s understanding of the land before him, which was both familiar and strange.
In theory, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. After his father and he had an accident, it was only reasonable that the Demon Realm would be in danger. However, the sight of this desolate and barren land always made him feel that something was wrong…
Jiang Yu scanned every corner of the palace.
Suddenly, he turned his head to look at an inconspicuous room in the corner.
A moment ago, a dripping sound had come from there. It was very faint, but it had not escaped his keen hearing.
Jiang Yu’s mind flashed, and the next second he flashed to the door of the room. He stood quietly in front of the door for a moment. The sound of dripping water was just that, and then it disappeared again.
Jiang Yu pushed the door. The door was locked from the inside.
Interesting. Jiang Yu pushed open the door with one hand.
The room was empty.
Jiang Yu scanned the room with his eyes, and then his gaze fell on a white jade plate on a tripod in the corner.
On the plate was a bowl of clear water. At first glance, there was nothing unusual about it. But where would there be a bowl of still water in a deserted palace that had been abandoned for many years?
Jiang Yu reached out his finger to dip his finger into the water, but Hua Ling grasped his hand.
Jiang Yu turned his head and looked at Hua Ling with an inscrutable expression: ‘Huh, you really know.’
Hua Ling: ‘No. This water looks strange at first glance, and you’re not afraid of tricks.’
Jiang Yu seemed to have heard a joke: ‘Tricks? I’ve been tricked into losing my country and my family, so how can I still be tricked?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu was about to shake off Hua Ling’s hand when Hua Ling’s subordinate applied some strength: ‘Spells with a water connection are likely to be spatial spells. Don’t touch them, you might be thrown into some strange space.’
Jiang Yu slowly withdrew her hand and looked at her with a half smile: ‘You’re quite familiar with this. So do you want to tell me what you’re up to this time?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu looked at her and said, ‘Since you’re so familiar with it, I’ll undo the spell. That way, I can see what you’re up to. Since you’re a prisoner, you can’t just stay here for free, can you?’
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, and then said, ‘…Step back.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, and sure enough, she stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation.
Hua Ling took a deep breath, opened her palm, and placed it flat on the water’s surface.
At first, the surface of the water remained calm, without any unusual reaction. However, after a few moments, ripples began to spread outwards from the centre of the pool of water, becoming more and more obvious…
Hua Ling suddenly reached out a hand towards Jiang Yu, who was standing nearby, ‘Give me your hand.’
Jiang Yu glanced at her, then lowered her eyes and focused her gaze on her slender, pale hand…
Hua Ling’s attention was focused on the tray of water, and she didn’t notice Jiang Yu’s expression. She just urged, ‘Hurry up! The formation is about to start.’
At that moment, a blinding white light suddenly came from the tray of water.
Hua Ling saw that Jiang Yu didn’t react, and she was about to turn around and urge her. A hand, strong and forceful, encircled her waist.
Hua Ling was slightly startled, and when she looked up, she saw Jiang Yu’s expressionless side face.
Hua Ling sighed inwardly, did not break free, and did not make any other unnecessary reactions. She knew that at times like this, it was better to go with the flow.
…
In the air was a sweet aroma. The fragrance of grass, mixed with wood, and perhaps even fruit. The first thing you see is the blue sky and white clouds, the green water and green mountains.
Jiang Yu froze slightly. He glanced at Hua Ling, about to say something, and then froze in earnest…
He saw many familiar faces. Although they had not seen each other for many years, and although the years had left their mark on some of the faces, they were still the same people. Once, they had fought together on the battlefield; once, they had discussed state affairs in the palace; once… Those lost memories had been retrieved, and the years past were like slides playing one after the other in Jiang Yu’s mind…
A demon general who was playing with the children glanced over at Jiang Yu and his party without thinking, and then froze…
The moment he came back to his senses, he almost fell down in front of Jiang Yu.
‘Young master! No, Your Highness Demon Lord. I… I’m not mistaken… I, we, the brothers all thought you had…’ The nine-foot tall strong man, as he spoke, his eyes red and his voice choking.
Jiang Yu smiled and gave him a reassuring look: ‘Well, I’m back. I’ve kept you all busy these years. Is everyone okay? Where are the others?’
The Demon General hurriedly nodded: ‘Yes, everyone is doing well. Your Highness, please come with me quickly. Everyone will be very happy to see you back.’
His eyes flickered, and he just saw Hua Ling standing behind Jiang Yu.
Hua Ling recognised the Demon General in front of him. When he was with Jiang Yu on the front line before, he was one of Jiang Yu’s personal soldiers in front of his tent.
When the demon general’s eyes fell on Hua Ling, they suddenly became fierce: ‘Bitch. How dare you show up!’
As soon as he spoke, a huge vajra axe appeared in his hand, and the next instant it was swung down at Hua Ling’s head.
‘Boom…’ The axe was deflected by a powerful force a foot above Hua Ling’s head.
Jiang Yu looked at Hua Ling with an inscrutable expression and withdrew his hand.
The demon general also became anxious when he saw Jiang Yu’s move: ‘Your Highness! How can you still help this woman! She caused the old demon lord…caused our demon world, caused you…’
‘I know,’ Jiang Yu interrupted him, ‘this person is now an important prisoner of the demon world. No one is allowed to act without my order.’
The Demon General looked at Hua Ling again, and after a moment of silence, he finally gave up and reluctantly said, ‘I understand, Your Highness, please follow me.’
After he said that, he turned around and led the way.
Jiang Yu turned his head and looked at Hua Ling teasingly, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, he said, ‘Why didn’t you hide just now?’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu snorted coldly, ‘Want to die? Don’t think I’ll let you go so easily.’
Hua Ling finally sighed, ‘You’re saying that for the second time.’

☆, Chapter 87 The Final Chapter ·3

Jiang Yu looked at the palace that had suddenly appeared before him in surprise, and it was exactly the same as the palace of demons in his memory. Every decoration, furnishing, and the placement of every object was exactly the same.
What surprised him even more was that he saw many familiar faces.
‘Zuoling, Heyu, Elder, you…‘
’Young master… no, Your Majesty, we have been waiting for you to return. I have always believed that Your Majesty is still alive and will definitely return…’ An old man with white hair walked up and bowed respectfully to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu quickly reached out to help the old man up: ’Elder, please rise. What happened all these years? Why are you here?’
A demonic general in heavy armour stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Yu, ‘Your Highness, please allow the demon general to explain.’
This person was none other than one of Jiang Yu’s henchmen from back then, Liao Yuan.
Liao Yuan glanced at Hualing behind Jiang Yu, and Jiang Yu keenly noticed his gaze.
Hualing spoke up, ‘I’ll go outside the hall.’
Hua Ling met Jiang Yu’s gaze and smiled helplessly: ‘You have sealed all my magical powers. I don’t think I can escape, do you?’
Jiang Yu snorted in disapproval, which was tacit approval.
After Hua Ling left the hall, Liao Yuan knelt down before Jiang Yu and said solemnly: ‘Your Highness, after you were seriously injured that day…’
…
As soon as Hua Ling walked out of the hall, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, then slowly slid to the ground. She was pale, and large beads of sweat were sliding down her cheeks and dripping to the ground, spreading out in a fainting pattern…
She knew that the gu poison had taken effect. After all the previous turmoil, the fluctuation of emotions, and the coincidental sealing of her spiritual energy… the gu poison could no longer be suppressed, and it instantly took its toll.
Hua Ling gritted her teeth, endured the pain, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, and then slowly opened her eyes… She couldn’t die yet.
After surviving this attack, there should still be some time. But time was running out, and she didn’t know how prepared Chu Jiang was… She still had to find a way to get Jiang Yu to first remove the seal on her body.
‘Demon girl! How dare you show your face to us!’
A loud yell forced Hua Ling to open her eyes and look at the several people in front of her.
She was extremely weak at the moment and could only see a few indistinct figures.
‘Despite the way our lord treated you, you bit back and turned against him. Not only did you cause us to be displaced for many years, you also sealed our lord away for so many years.’
Hua Ling could tell that these were the generals who had followed Jiang Yu into battle when he sought revenge for Chi You. It seemed that they were all still alive.
Hua Ling raised the corners of her mouth and gave a faint smile in the direction of the men, ‘How have you been, generals?’
‘Hmph! I’ll kill you, you demon woman, to avenge the old Demon Master!’
‘Wait.’ Another Demon General seemed to have stopped him, ‘His Highness has naturally made arrangements since he brought her back. If you act rashly like this, I’m afraid His Highness will blame…’
‘What are you waiting for! Have you all forgotten the lessons of the past? We are in this mess because of this woman. If His Highness had not been so tolerant of her, how could…‘
’Brother, shut up!‘
’Big brother!‘
’What my third brother says is right. Let’s see what His Highness says. And if you act rashly, you may fall into this woman’s trap again.”
Hua Ling listened on the sidelines, amused. It seems that these demon generals all regard her as a scourge.
…
Meanwhile, inside the palace:
Jiang Yu nodded to the demon generals: ‘I am aware of what has happened. You have all worked hard over the years.’
‘Your Highness, what are your plans next?’ The white-haired elder stroked his beard and looked at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu pondered for a moment: ‘Everyone take a break. I need to confirm something. And we don’t fully understand the current actions of the Celestial Realm, so rash actions could cause trouble. Eldest Grand Prelate, Zuoling, come to the Council Chamber tomorrow. We will discuss the battle plan.‘
’Yes, Your Highness.‘
’You may leave now. Liao Yuan, stay behind. I still have some questions for you.”
After the demon generals had left the hall one by one, Liao Yuan looked up at Jiang Yu, who was sitting on the throne.
‘Your Highness…”
Jiang Yu looked at him for a long time before saying, “Liao Yuan, is there anything else you want to tell me?”
Liao Yuan was stunned for a moment, and after a while, he bowed and said, “I don’t know what Your Highness is asking…what do you mean?”
Jiang Yu stared at him, not missing a single expression on his face, ’You said that the mysterious person who told you the retreat plan and taught you to bring everyone to this place…did you really not see what that person looked like?’
Liao Yuan: ‘…’
Jiang Yu sighed: ‘Liao Yuan, there’s only the two of us here. Are you still going to lie to me?’
Liao Yuan immediately knelt down: ‘I dare not.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then said: ‘I know that you have always held a prejudice against Hualing. In fact, not only you, but everyone here wishes that she would die as soon as possible.’
Liao Yuan looked up at Jiang Yu in shock, and forgot to hide his expression.
Seeing this, Jiang Yu knew what was going on in his mind: ‘I was right?’
Liao Yuan: ‘…’
Jiang Yu gave a smile, with infinite mockery in it: ‘When I think about it, it makes sense.’
Liao Yuan hurriedly said, ‘Your Highness!’
Jiang Yu raised his hand to interrupt him: ‘Liao Yuan. In her own way, she has preserved the strength of the Demon Realm, allowing most people to escape disaster and survive under the watchful eye of the Divine Realm for all these years. Do you still think she deserves to die?’
Liao Yuan shook his head: ‘That is not what I meant. I just feel that there is always a difference between the Divine Realm and the Demon Realm, and Your Highness should have drawn a clear line with Hua Ling long ago, so as to avoid…’
‘So as not to face a dilemma in the future. Are you afraid that I will let her influence my judgment?‘ Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow.
Liao Yuan bowed his head: “I dare not.”
’Liao Yuan, don’t worry. I will not let the safety of the Demon Realm be affected by anyone or any factor. I am not as naive as I used to be.”
Liao Yuan: ’…’
Jiang Yu looked at the Demon General kneeling in the main hall and said: ‘Pass on my orders. No one is allowed to touch Hua Ling’s hair without my permission. Violators will be killed without mercy.’
Liao Yuan clasped his hands in front of him and said: ‘Your subordinate obeys.’
‘Reporting… reporting to Your Highness. Your Highness, it’s bad…’ A maid suddenly barged into the main hall.
Liao Yuan glanced at her and said sternly: ‘No manners. Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a meeting? !’
The maid fell to her knees in fear: ‘Your Highness, forgive me.’
Another familiar face.
Jiang Yu got up and stepped down the steps: ‘Cuiyun, it’s really good to see you. Get up and talk.’
The person who had come was Jiang Yu’s personal maid from the past.
Cuiyun looked up at Jiang Yu: ‘Your Highness, Cuiyun didn’t mean to interrupt, it’s just that Sister Hualing…’
Jiang Yu frowned.
…
Just as Cuiyun finished speaking, she looked up, and there was no longer any trace of Jiangyu in the hall…
Outside the hall.
‘What’s going on?!’
Jiangyu gave the disoriented Demon Generals a stern look.
When they saw Jiangyu appear, they all instantly stepped aside…
In the corner of the palace wall, Hua Ling fell silently onto the flagstone floor.

☆, Chapter 88 The Final Chapter ·4

‘What’s going on?’ Jiang Yuling’s fierce gaze swept over the three demon generals standing next to Hualing—the three who had almost clashed with Hualing before.
The demon general in charge froze for a moment, and hurriedly explained, “My lord, I dare swear on the heads of the three of us that we three have done nothing. Hualing…the girl suddenly collapsed.”
The two demon generals standing behind him looked at Jiang Yuling’s face. Although they were too scared to speak for a moment, they still nodded in agreement.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, walked over to Hua Ling and knelt down, putting a hand on Hua Ling’s forehead.
He could see that Hua Ling was breathing slightly rapidly, her face was pale, and there was fine cold sweat on her head. Moreover…her whole body was burning with fever.
Jiang Yu froze for a moment, and without any further hesitation, he immediately picked Hua Ling up in his arms.
Cui Yun saw this gesture and smartly ran over to Jiang Yu: ‘Your Highness, follow me, your chambers are ready.’
Jiang Yu nodded and said to the people around him, ‘Call the doctor and everyone else.’
Jiang Yu placed Hua Ling on the bed in the bedroom and then looked up at Cui Yun, ‘Bring a basin of water.’
Cui Yun: ‘Yes, Your Highness, right away.’
Jiang Yu lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Hua Ling’s.
‘It’s hot…’ Jiang Yu frowned, suddenly remembering something, and suddenly rolled up Hua Ling’s pant legs and sleeves…bright red, flower-like patterns covered Hua Ling’s legs and the forearms of both hands.
Jiang Yu paused for two seconds, then unbuttoned Hua Ling’s jacket and shirt underneath—the bright red patterns covered Hua Ling’s chest like a curse, mocking him.
Jiang Yu was stunned. Hua Ling had not said a word the whole way, and he had no idea when things had developed to this state…
!!!
He suddenly remembered when Hua Ling had fainted in the illusion before…He thought it must be related to this. However, she had been tolerating the invasion of the insect poison, suppressing it all by herself without saying a word…
He had thought that the previous spirit insect had suppressed the insect poison…Who would have thought that it would have such a serious backlash. She had lied to him again…
There were hurried footsteps outside the door, and Jiang Yu pulled the brocade quilt aside to cover Hua Ling.
‘Your Highness, I heard that you returned safely, and I, an old minister, am truly…’ The elderly man with white hair had just stepped through the door to the bedroom, and before Jiang Yu could even be seen, he began a long speech.
…
‘Okay, we can talk about old times later. Come and take a look.’ Jiang Yu interrupted the other person’s heartfelt confession and beckoned the doctors to come forward to investigate.
‘Have any of you seen this kind of poison? Is there a cure?”
The old man in charge’s expression changed after looking at Hua Ling’s red lines: “Your Highness. If you don’t mind, please let us come up and take a closer look.”
Jiang Yu stepped aside and waved his hand, indicating that they could come closer.
A group of demon doctors surrounded them, feeling their pulses, looking at their symptoms…
Jiang Yu’s gaze fell on Hua Ling’s pale face, and his concern was undisguised.
‘Your Highness.’ The sound of a familiar voice drew Jiang Yu’s attention. It turned out to be the maid Cuiyun, who had returned at some point.
She placed a brocade handkerchief in Jiang Yu’s hands and whispered, “I know Your Highness is worried about Sister Hualing, but please also take care of your own health.”
Jiang Yu looked down and realised that he had clenched his fist too tightly at some point, cutting his fingers and bleeding onto the handkerchief, which had turned a large area red.
And he had never noticed it.
Jiang Yu laughed to himself.
No matter what, Hua Ling could always easily sway his emotions. She could always easily make him lose control.
After their consultations, the demon doctors discussed the matter for a while before gathering in front of Jiang Yu with grave expressions.
Jiang Yu could tell from their faces how serious the matter was. He slowly put his hands behind his back, because his fingers were trembling slightly out of his control.
‘Speak,’ he said, trying his best to look calm.
The lead demon doctor looked up at Jiang Yu’s face carefully, and seeing no signs that he was about to lose his temper, he said slowly, ’To answer your Highness’s question, Miss Hualing is suffering from a type of demon poison called peach blossom demon poison. I wonder if your Highness has heard of it. This is a type of demon poison that combines ancient secret techniques. To put it another way, it is a combination of a demon poison and a curse.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes showed obvious impatience: ‘Get to the point.’
‘Yes.’ The Demon Doctor lowered his head and continued, as if he was afraid to make eye contact with Jiang Yu, ‘This particular kind of curse will grow with the fluctuations of the host’s emotions. In other words, the greater the fluctuations in emotions, the faster the growth of the curse.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘Fluctuations in emotions? What kind of fluctuations in emotions? Like anger, sadness, grief, and so on, or…’
The Demon Doctor paused for a moment: ‘Your Highness, this kind of emotion will also stimulate the growth of the poison. However, to be more specific, if the host has someone she cares about in her heart, the stronger her emotions, the more likely the poison will worsen. Therefore, if the emotions are triggered by someone she cares about, the poison will worsen more quickly. In fact…’
‘I understand,’ Jiangyu closed his eyes and suddenly interrupted him.
The Demon Doctor was at a loss and looked up at Jiangyu carefully.
A faint, ironic smile appeared at the corner of Jiang Yu’s mouth: ‘The person who created this kind of poison really has a wicked sense of humour.’
‘Your Highness?’
Jiang Yu shook his head: ‘Is there a cure?’
The demon doctor looked embarrassed: ‘This…’
Jiang Yu’s voice dropped: ‘No matter what method you use, you must find a cure for me. I will not accept any other answer.’
Everyone: ‘…’
After a moment, the old demon doctor in charge bowed to Jiang Yu: ‘Your servant will do our best. Your Highness might as well let Hua Ling stay in her current state, at least to delay the spread of the wormwood poison. In the meantime, I can think of another way.’
Jiang Yu pondered for a moment: ‘You mean? Let her just keep “sleeping” like this?’
“Your Highness, that is what I mean.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then gently raised his hand: ‘I understand, that’s it. You may leave now.’
‘Yes. We take our leave.’
The bedroom was quiet again for a moment. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
After a while, Jiang Yu’s voice could be heard again, seeming a little tired, but also a little helpless: ‘You may leave as well.’
These words were directed at Cui Yun, who was standing quietly nearby.
Cuiyun looked up at Jiangyu: ‘Your Highness, Cuiyun can wait on you here. Your Highness has been busy and on the go, so why don’t you go rest first.’
Jiangyu shook his head and sighed lightly: ‘Leave.’
Cuiyun looked at him worriedly for a moment, and finally lowered her head silently: ‘Yes. Cuiyun will stay outside. Your Highness just let me know if you need anything.’
…
Jiang Yu walked over to the carved wooden shelf and took the clean brocade handkerchief hanging on it. He soaked it in water for a moment and wrung it out slightly.
He took the handkerchief and walked over to the bed, sat down, and gently wiped away the cold sweat on Hua Ling’s face and neck. After a few more times back and forth, he wiped her burning arms and calves… Finally, he washed the handkerchief, folded it into a small square, and applied it to her forehead.
After changing the silk handkerchief several times, Hua Ling’s rapid breathing slowly eased, as if she had truly fallen asleep peacefully.
Jiang Yu’s gaze rested on Hua Ling’s slightly chapped lips. Perhaps because of her fever earlier, the lips were a bright red, in stark contrast to her pale face.
Jiang Yu turned his head and saw the tea that Cuiyun had just brewed on the table. At this time, the tea was not as hot as before, but just the right temperature. He took the teacup, took a sip of warm tea in his mouth, and then leaned down/his body and covered it on Hua Ling’s lips…

☆, Chapter 89 The Final Chapter ·5

A group of demon doctors were also at a loss, standing aside and watching Jiang Yu’s gloomy face, afraid to speak and afraid to leave without permission.
‘But a mere lower world kind of demon, and no one knows it?’
Jiang Yu swept the teacup on the table to the ground with one palm, and his fierce gaze swept over the demon doctors standing in a row. Those people kept their eyes downcast and their noses straight, not daring to make a sound. No one even looked up to meet Jiang Yu’s gaze.
Jiang Yu finally waved his hand.
‘Leave.’
The demon doctors looked at each other in confusion.
The old man in charge took a step forward and said with deliberation, ‘Your Highness, the current situation…’
‘Leave, and don’t make me repeat myself for the third time.’ Jiang Yu sat down by the bed, his gaze falling on Hua Ling’s pale face, and he didn’t turn his head.
The old man shook his head and made a gesture, and the crowd slowly exited the bedroom.
Hua Ling never woke up.
The only thing visible was the strange red lines slowly spreading upwards, already climbing up her pale neck. Jiang Yu had been pumping a large amount of true power into her every day, trying to suppress the evil poison in her body, but it had only slowed the spread of the poison.
‘Your Highness, why don’t you go rest for a while?’ The maid Cuiyun approached with a bowl of water and a brocade handkerchief, looking worriedly at Jiang Yu, ‘You haven’t slept for three days.’
Jiang Yu frowned, pressing his knuckles against his temples, and said hoarsely, ‘I’m fine. Has the person not arrived yet?’
Cui Yun wrung out the water-soaked silk handkerchief in her hands and handed it to Jiang Yu: ‘They should be here soon. This morning, the messenger returned with news that King Chu Jiang has already set off for the Demon Realm after receiving the news.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘Send someone to greet him at the barrier. He should be here soon.’
‘Yes.’ Cuiyun handed over the silk handkerchief again and quickly exited the bedroom.
After Jiang Yu had gathered his soul and restored his true body and consciousness, he used his own strength to break through the Nine Heavens Fuxi Boundary and returned to the Demon Realm. However, the channel he had split opened soon closed again. Because of the barrier, no spatial spells or teleportation spells could reach the mortal world. As a last resort, he had to send some of his soul energy to hold open a gap in the barrier and send someone to the Underworld to notify Chu Jiang. However, because he needed to hold open the passage, he could not leave the Demon Realm.
Unexpectedly, the demon general sent there found no one there and had to go through a lot of trouble before finally finding Chu Jiang.
The Demon Realm is always dry and hot, with no distinct seasons. Even indoors, one must constantly rely on ice to keep cool. However, Hua Ling was still cold despite being covered in a thick duvet. Jiang Yu kept holding her hand, which was inside the duvet, and channeling his energy into her body to maintain her body temperature. Even so, even though he kept holding her hand, he still couldn’t warm it.
Jiang Yu looked down at Hua Ling’s quiet sleeping face for a moment, then slowly buried his head by the pillow and whispered in her ear, ‘You owe me, and I haven’t settled the score with you yet. How dare you…just go to sleep like this…’
The next second, he suddenly got up, his eyes suddenly regaining their coldness as they swept straight to the door.
‘Hua Ling’s breath suddenly disappeared. I thought it was my illusion…but it turned out that you brought her to the Demon Realm.’
His voice preceded him.
The next second, a man wearing a black robe with wide sleeves stepped through the door of the bedroom. He looked directly at Jiang Yu, but his gaze passed over him and fell directly on Hua Ling.
Chu Jiang frowned, then quickly walked over to the bed.
‘She doesn’t look good,’ Chu Jiang concluded.
Jiang Yu snorted, ‘Nonsense. She’s been bewitched.’
Chu Jiang then looked up at Jiang Yu.
After a moment of silent scrutiny, he said, ‘It seems you have recovered?’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘You know too?’
Chu Jiang nodded and let out a barely audible sigh.
Jiang Yu paused, his lips slightly parted: ‘From the way you look, it seems you know something?’
‘Something?’ Chu Jiang shook his head, his eyes half-scornful and half-sighing, ‘What “something” can there be in something that is obvious to anyone with eyes?’
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes and didn’t say a word.
Chu Jiang then gave a wry smile and said, ‘She has almost completely destroyed her cultivation for your sake, what more do you want to hear?’
Jiang Yu’s gaze had been on Hualing, but after hearing Chu Jiang’s words, he turned back to look at him without saying a word.
A dark tension rippled between the two of them, and the atmosphere dropped to freezing point for a moment.
After a while, Jiang Yu withdrew his gaze from him and looked down at Hua Ling, ‘Did you come here just to argue with me?’
Chu Jiang closed his eyes and suppressed the emotions that he had not been able to control for a moment because he saw Hua Ling so weak.
He took two quick steps forward and said, ‘Move aside.’
Jiang Yu got up and stepped aside.
Chu Jiang reached out and felt Hua Ling’s pulse, then after a moment, rolled up her sleeve. The strange red lines immediately appeared before Chu Jiang’s eyes. Chu Jiang froze for a moment, then undid Hua Ling’s collar… When he saw the enchanting and gorgeous red lines crawling all over Hua Ling’s neck, Chu Jiang’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.
It has already eroded to this extent…
Jiang Yu naturally did not let go of any of his actions, as well as every subtle expression.
‘What do you think?’ He could finally hold back no longer, and there was a hint of obvious impatience in his voice, ‘Is there any way to solve it?’
Chu Jiang was silent for a moment: ‘How long has she…been infected with this curse?’
“More than a month.’
Chu Jiang sighed, then looked up at him: ‘Peach Blossom Curse. As the name suggests, as the curse spreads, the host will develop bright red, flower-like streaks on their body. Every emotional fluctuation of the host will stimulate the curse, causing severe pain throughout the body, as if a thousand needles were being thrust into all the acupuncture points. As the saying goes, most people who contract this curse will die of pain before it completely consumes them.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Chu Jiang shook his head: ‘I didn’t think she would have lasted this long.’
Jiang Yu’s fingers had already unconsciously pierced his palm, but he was oblivious. His mind was filled with the previous scene of Hualing collapsing in a pale state outside the Demon Palace gate. So she had been enduring this pain and following him all the way. She had been holding back the pain, but it kept coming back, unbearable, no wonder she was forced to vomit blood…
‘Huh?‘ Chu Jiang suddenly took out a crystal clear box from her arms. Inside was a crystal clear insect with red markings on its body.
’No wonder… I said, how could she have lasted this long.’ Chu Jiang mused, “It turns out that the Lingxue Gu was helping her relieve the toxicity. But…”
Chu Jiang turned to Jiang Yu and asked, ’Did her Gu poison attack suddenly this time?’
Jiang Yu choked for a moment, then nodded slowly.
Chu Jiang shook his head and sighed: ‘It’s a sin, really a sin. Originally, the Lingxue Gu could suppress the toxicity of the Taohua Gu for a period of time, as long as the host’s emotions did not fluctuate too much to stimulate the activity of the Taohua Gu, it should be able to last for another two or three months. I think that along the way, something “exciting” must have happened.’ When he said the last sentence, his voice suddenly dropped, and his words also carried an undisguised anger.
The growth of the poison is affected by emotional fluctuations… Jiang Yu gave a bitter smile. In that case, he could already guess the reason why Hualing had become like this.
Chu Jiang knew from his expression that he had guessed correctly. His mouth curved up slightly, his tone of voice clearly indicating that he was smiling, but his eyes were cold. ‘I suppose this isn’t all bad news. At least, someone doesn’t have to spend their days wondering if she’s being insincere.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment. ‘Is there a solution?’
Chu Jiang did not answer immediately.
Jiang Yu looked at him with a determined gaze: ‘In that case, yes. You, explain it to me in detail.’
Seeing that Chu Jiang still had no intention of answering, Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and grabbed Chu Jiang’s collar: ‘Do you want to watch her die? !’

☆, Chapter 90 The Final Chapter ·6

Chu Jiang got up and looked Jiang Yu in the eye, his gaze cold. ‘Do I want her to die? If it weren’t for all the entanglements with you, would she have ended up in this situation? Do you think…she gave up thousands of years of cultivation for anyone?’
Jiang Yu froze for a moment, then frowned and said, ‘What do you mean? Explain.’
Chu Jiang gave a smile, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes. ‘Where do you think the power came from that helped you break the seal before? Who do you think can break the ancient divine seal?’
Jiang Yu: ‘…’
Chu Jiang continued, ‘I know what you’re thinking. You think she owes you?’
Jiang Yu frowned, as if he disapproved of his statement.
After a while, he whispered, ‘No wonder.’ No wonder she was so weak every time she was unsealed.
He looked up at Chu Jiang: ‘From what you’ve said, it sounds like I’ve wronged her? Wasn’t she the one who sealed me back then?’
‘Just as she said,’ Chu Jiang looked at Jiang Yu with what seemed to be a hint of pity in his eyes, ‘she’s not bad, it’s just that her way of thinking is too linear.’
Jiang Yu suppressed his anger: ‘What are you trying to say?’
Chu Jiang let out a sigh, and without saying anything else, he walked slowly back to Hualing’s bed. ‘When she wakes up, let her tell you herself. The whole truth about what happened back then. All I can say is that despite all the things she hid, she never betrayed you from beginning to end.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered slightly, and after a long silence, he said, ‘Are you going to tell me that solution to saving her or not?’
Chu Jiang nodded, ‘There is no cure for this curse, but it can be transferred.’
Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered slightly: ‘How?’
Chu Jiang looked up at him and said, ‘I’m not talking about you. This parasite cannot be transferred to you.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘What do you mean?’
Chu Jiang paused for a moment and said, ‘It can only be passed down through direct bloodline.’
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes: ‘Are you trying to say…’
Chu Jiang paused for a moment and said, ‘The parasite can be transferred from the mother to the child.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then said, ‘I understand. Don’t tell Hualing about this.’
Chu Jiang was a little surprised, ‘You’ve already made up your mind?’
Jiang Yu nodded, ‘Of course. What’s there to hesitate about? As long as…’ As long as it can save Hualing, no matter what the cost, he would spare no effort.
Chu Jiang didn’t seem to have expected him to be so decisive, and nodded, ‘In that case, I will teach you the specific method of transferring the parasite. However, Hualing…’
Jiang Yu interrupted, ‘I have my own plan.’
Jiang Yu turned his head and glanced at Hua Ling, and then asked Chu Jiang, ‘Is there a way to suppress the evil spirits?’
Chu Jiang nodded, ‘Of course.’
He lightly waved his sleeve, and a young man in white suddenly appeared in the bedroom, kneeling on one knee next to Chu Jiang.
‘What does Your Highness call for?’
“Nineteen, you will immediately bring the white jade box sealed in the Nether Hall.’
The young man named Nineteen paused for a moment, looking up at Chu Jiang: ‘Your Excellency, that is…’
‘No need to say more,’ Chu Jiang held up his hand and still gave him a transparent folding fan full of radiant light. ‘This will help you break the barrier outside the Hall of the Netherworld.’
‘Yes, Your Excellency.’
After Nineteen left, Chu Jiang rolled over and walked back to the bed, helping Hua Ling, who was unconscious, up.
Jiang Yu’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and he followed without realising.
Chu Jiang helped Hua Ling sit upright on the bed and said to Jiang Yu, ‘You come and help me. I need to force the gubao poison in her body to below the Zhongfeng acupoint on her right foot.
Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, ’Do you know how to do it? To force the poison, you need to coordinate your spiritual energy to match the fluctuations of the gubao poison. If you make the slightest mistake, both of you will be in grave danger.’
Chu Jiang nodded: ‘I only did this because I was confident. But as you said, the process is very difficult, and you can’t afford to be careless for a moment. That’s why I need you to protect me.’
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu raised his hand and formed a seal, then lifted his robe and sat down on the couch: ‘Even so, let’s get started. I have set up a barrier around the bedroom, and no one can disturb us until I remove it.’
Chu Jiang nodded, and with both palms pushing flat against Hua Ling’s back, he then moved his hands slightly, pressing against two key points on Hua Ling’s body. Instantly, his spiritual energy surged, and then it flowed continuously into Hua Ling’s body.
Jiang Yu also held Hua Ling’s two wrists, slowly raising them in the air. The same amount and same type of spiritual energy as Chu Jiang’s flowed slowly from the pulse points on Hua Ling’s wrists, along her meridians, and into her body.
Three hours later, Chu Jiang finally stopped. Jiang Yu opened his eyes and looked at him. Both of them had a look of relief in their eyes.
Chu Jiang looked up outside the hall and said, ‘Nineteen should be here.’
Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Yu had just finished closing the barrier, Nineteen appeared in the bedchamber with a jade box in his hands.
‘Your Highness,’ he said, still kneeling on one knee in a disciplined manner, waiting for the next instruction from his master.
Chu Jiang extended his hand in the direction of Shijiu, and with a slight turn of the wrist, the jade box that Shijiu was holding in his hands instantly flew into Chu Jiang’s palm.
Chu Jiang’s lips parted slightly, and he silently muttered a spell. But as he watched, the jade box in his hand opened, revealing a piece of rope that was quietly lying in the box.
At a cursory glance, it really was just an ordinary piece of rope. Less than half the thickness of a fingernail, seven inches long.
Ignoring the two pairs of questioning gazes, Chu Jiang used two fingers to pick up the thin rope and infused a trace of spiritual energy into it. Instantly, the rope seemed to come to life, emitting spiritual energy that was not to be trifled with. The texture of the rope gradually became as smooth as jade, and its colour became lighter and lighter, until it was transparent.
Chu Jiang whispered, ‘Go…’
The rope flew out of Chu Jiang’s hands and wrapped around Hua Ling’s right ankle. It wrapped twice, forming a dead knot.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow: ‘Could this be… the legendary Princess Di’s silk?’
In ancient legends, the goddess Nuwa had a personal magic weapon—a transparent silk ribbon wrapped around her arm. It is said to have been forged from the remaining coloured stones from Nuwa’s sky-mending efforts, supplemented with scales from the dragon Yinglong and feathers from the phoenix. This magic weapon can absorb all kinds of witchcraft spells in the world, and can make its owner immune to all poisons and indestructible.
Chu Jiang nodded and shook his head: ‘Yes, but no. The Imperial Maiden’s Ribbon was destroyed long ago in the last war between gods and demons.’
When Chu Jiang mentioned the war between gods and demons, Jiang Yu’s face visibly turned a little darker.
Pretending not to see, Chu Jiang continued, ‘However, this rope contains fragments of the Di Nv Lian.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘No wonder it’s so full of spiritual energy.’
Chu Jiang: ‘Although it’s not as powerful as the Di Nv Lian, it should be able to temporarily suppress the Peach Blossom Gu poison.’
Jiang Yu let out a long sigh: ‘Thank you.’
Chu Jiang smiled: ‘You’re welcome. I also have a favour to ask.’
Jiang Yu seemed to have expected it and said indifferently, ‘Just tell me.’
Chu Jiang shook his head and said, ‘There’s no rush. We’ll discuss it when the situation in Hualing stabilises.’
Jiang Yu’s sharp gaze fell on his face and he said bluntly, ‘I can smell a plot.’
Chu Jiang laughed again and said, ‘It’s not a plot. If it succeeds, it will be of great benefit to you demons.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, then said, ‘You don’t need to sound the alarm. I won’t go back on my word.’
Chu Jiang stood up and gave a mock bow, saying, ‘I have important things to attend to. If there’s any news about Hua Ling, you can send a message in the form of a paper crane.’
After saying this, Chu Jiang turned around and walked out, and Shijiu immediately got up and followed him. After he left, three bright yellow paper cranes were placed on the low table closest to the door.
Jiang Yu looked away and settled his gaze on Hua Ling’s peaceful sleeping face… Perhaps because the poison had been suppressed, there was no longer the same look of pain on her face, although she was still as pale as ever.
Jiang Yu couldn’t help reaching out and gently stroking her smooth forehead, lingering downwards and resting against the side of her face.
‘Get well soon.’ He paused, his eyes focused and deep. “You owe me an explanation, and you owe me…” He didn’t continue with the rest of the sentence, his voice already hoarse.

Chapter 91 The Final Chapter · 7

Hua Ling opened her eyes. It was dark. Slowly, she turned her head to look outside, and it was also dark. The night in the Demon Realm was always like this, with no sound and no light, suffocatingly dark.
She moved slightly, trying to get up. Her limbs did not obey her at all, as if they did not belong to her. Her hand was slightly tightened, and she realised that her hand was being held.
Is it… Jiang Yu?
How could it be… Hua Ling laughed at herself. He already hated her to the bone. The gentle warmth made her doubt that she was still in a dream.
‘You’re awake?’ The man’s low voice sounded in her ear.
Hua Ling turned her head in the direction of the voice, and although she had a thousand words in her heart, they ultimately turned into a sigh: ‘Jiang Yu.’
Jiang Yu was silent for a long time, not sure whether he was looking at her or thinking about something. There was no light in the bedroom, naturally concealing Jiang Yu’s expression. Hua Ling had been seriously injured this time, and her spiritual power had dispersed badly. At this time, she was like an ordinary person, and even her night vision was no different from that of ordinary people. Hua Ling raised her hand, subconsciously wanting to touch Jiang Yu, but she could not accurately determine his position.
Jiang Yu could see the confusion and unease in her eyes clearly. A pang of pain shot through his heart, and he reached out and grasped Hua Ling’s hand, which was reaching out into thin air.
‘How do you feel? Is there any part of your body that doesn’t feel well?’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘No. I’m fine.’
There was another moment of silence.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
Hua Ling was silent for a long time, and then a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: ‘I thought you hated me.’
Jiang Yu clenched his teeth, and suddenly, without warning, he put his hands around Hua Ling’s neck, but he didn’t use any strength. He lowered his head and leaned close to Hua Ling’s ear…
‘Hate.’
Hua Ling heard him grit his teeth: ‘I hate to break your limbs and tie you to me so that you can’t go anywhere. That way, you’ll never be able to play those mind games again.’
The tone clearly carried real hatred, but it sounded incredibly affectionate.
Hua Ling was astonished. She reached out, slowly feeling for and stroking Jiang Yu’s face. She didn’t know how long she had been asleep, but the feel of her hand was vaguely the familiar outline of his angular face. However, she felt that he had lost a lot of weight, and the stubble on his lips and chin was slightly prickly. Had he been here the whole time she had been unconscious?
‘Jiang Yu, why…’ She wanted to ask so many questions, but she always felt that she understood everything. Having known Jiang Yu for so long, she knew exactly what kind of person he was. He was more straightforward than those hypocritical people in the immortal world, and more like a recluse than those ambitious people who talked about saving the world all day long. She knew that what he cared about was never the position, not winning or losing, but the safety of the people of the demon world and the soldiers who followed him.
So when he regained his memory, she knew he would hate her to the bone. Perhaps the eternal night that awaited her was an inescapable prison. But for her, it was precisely what she wanted: for him to hate her and then forget her. There was no cure for the peach blossom curse, and sooner or later she would disappear into the world, but she didn’t want him to live with the pain.
‘Hualing, you owe me. I want every last penny back from you. Don’t even think about running away, because you’re not going anywhere.‘ He buried his face in her neck, and her discomfort made her flinch back as his hot breath caressed her.
’Jiang…’
He didn’t give her a chance to say the rest. He covered her slightly parted lips.
He eagerly plundered her breath and possessed everything about her…
Hua Ling, however, sensed a breath of despair in his domineering actions. Her heart twitched slightly. After all, she couldn’t bear to, and she raised her hand to embrace Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu trembled slightly, but instead of letting her go, he deepened the kiss…
…
Five days later.
Her physical condition was slowly improving, and Hua Ling was finally able to walk around. However, Hua Ling found that she could no longer use a single bit of spiritual energy. It should have been sealed by Jiang Yu. Hua Ling laughed to herself, realizing that he no longer trusted her to this extent.
The entire bedroom was enveloped in a layer of enchantment, and no one could enter except Jiang Yu and the maid Cuiyun. Naturally, she was also unable to go out.
Since that night’s sudden, out-of-control kiss, Jiang Yu had never appeared again. When he was still the sword spirit, everything was written on his face, and his frankness was easy to understand. But now, Hua Ling could no longer read him.
There was a sudden fluctuation on the other side of the barrier, and it turned out that Cui Yun had entered holding an agarwood box in her hands.
‘You’re here,’ Hua Ling smiled at her, his gaze falling on the box in her hands, ‘what is this?’
Cuiyun had a hint of trepidation in her eyes, but she knelt reverently in front of Hualing and opened the box.
It was a bright red wedding dress made of high-quality brocade with gold trim, and the embroidered mandarin ducks on the sleeves were lifelike.
Hualing raised the corner of her mouth: ‘What do you mean?’
Cuiyun whispered, ‘It is your master’s wish. The wedding is set for…three days from now.’
Hualing let out a sigh, ‘Where is he?’
Cuiyun shook her head, ‘Your master seems to be…busy with official business these days. Cuiyun has only seen him twice in a hurry.’
Hualing lightly tapped her fingers twice on the mahogany table and nodded after a while, ‘I understand.’
Seeing that Hualing had no intention of taking the clothes, Cuiyun could only place the wooden box on the dressing table next to her.
Cuizhen walked back to Hualing with trepidation, and whispered, ‘If the young lady has no other instructions, Cuizhen will go check on the medicine and calculate the time, it should be about right.’
These days, Cuizhen has been taking care of Hualing personally, as Jiang Yu instructed. Hualing, who has lost her spiritual power, is no different from a mortal, so Cuizhen prepares exquisite meals for Hualing every day. And every day, she is sure to serve a bowl of herbal medicine. The medicine is extremely bitter, but the colour is a transparent red. Hua Ling doesn’t ask many questions, and as long as Cui Yun delivers the medicine, she drinks it.
Hua Ling’s eyes turn to the window, and she doesn’t know what she’s thinking. After a long while, she sighs and shakes her head again: ‘Forget it, maybe it’s the will of heaven. One wrong step leads to another.’
Cuiyun didn’t quite understand the meaning of Hualing’s words, and just took it as Hualing’s unwillingness. She quickly looked up at Hualing and then bowed her head, saying, ‘Miss…actually, His Lordship…cares very much about you.’ After a while, she shook her head again, saying, ‘Please don’t let His Lordship’s good intentions go to waste.’
Hualing gave a wry smile, saying, ‘Yes. I have always let him down.’
Cuiyun did not know about the entanglements between the two, and dared not speak out of turn again. She bowed respectfully to Hualing and silently withdrew.
Hualing had been sitting in front of the window, her eyes looking out.
When Cuiyun came in to deliver the medicine, she just let her leave it aside. The food that Cuiyun delivered in the evening was also left on the table without being touched.
Until late at night, even the lights in the courtyard were extinguished one by one, and until the entire sleeping palace once again fell into darkness, she was still sitting there without moving.
The barrier moved slightly.
A moment later, a teasing voice sounded in Hualing’s ears: ‘What, now that you have no power, you have begun a hunger strike to protest?’
Hualing did not say a word.
Jiang Yu glanced at the medicine on the table, which had not been touched at all, and his eyes darkened instantly.
He lifted the medicine and spooned a mouthful onto Hualing’s lips.
Hualing let out a soft sigh before looking up at Jiang Yu.
‘Jiang Yu, why are you doing this? You and I both know…’ she is just a dying person.
Jiang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, with signs of anger hidden.
Hua Ling seemed oblivious and continued, ’Even if you take the thousand-year snow ginseng that is about to become a spirit, it can only delay my life for a moment. When you killed those snow ginsengs, didn’t you feel the slightest bit of guilt? You weren’t like this before.’
Jiang Yu laughed in anger, reached out and squeezed Hua Ling’s jaw. ‘Guilt? You’ve never felt the slightest bit of guilt towards me!’
His lips closed, and his lips pressed down roughly. Between his lips and teeth, there was a bitter liquid that he slowly passed over.
Hua Ling tried to struggle a little, but he held her head tightly.
Jiang Yu didn’t let go until he had completely fed Hua Ling the bowl of herbal medicine.
As soon as Hua Ling was free, she coughed and choked.
For a while, the only sound in the room was Hua Ling’s coughing.
Jiang Yu watched coldly from the side, and after a while, he said, ‘Do you want me to feed you too?’
Hua Ling raised her hand and wiped the corner of her mouth before saying, ‘No.’
Jiang Yu raised the corner of his mouth and said coldly, ‘Don’t try to resist me. Because you know it’s useless.’
He suddenly leaned close to Hua Ling’s ear and said, ‘And don’t even try to provoke me. If you’re brave enough, you can just go ahead and try.’
Hua Ling was still coughing slightly, calming her breathing, and did not respond. Perhaps because she knew that nothing she said at this time would be useful. The Jiang Yu in front of her was strange,* and there was a cruelty that she was unfamiliar with. However, in the end, it was she who had driven him to this.
Jiang Yu paused for a long time, and suddenly reached out and lightly touched Hua Ling’s forehead: ‘Sleep.’
Hua Ling didn’t even react, and her consciousness gradually faded, and she slowly fell over.
Jiang Yu leaned over and took her into his arms. The movement was as gentle as if they were just the two of them.
He carried her back to the bed and tucked the corners of the quilt carefully for her. His gaze lingered on her face, reluctant to leave.
He just sat there until almost dawn, before placing a light kiss on her forehead and quietly leaving.

Chapter 92 The Final Chapter · 8

When Hua Ling woke up again, she saw only Cuiyun waiting by her side.
Cuiyun didn’t know how long she had been waiting, her eyes were red from staying up so late.
Hua Ling propped herself up with her hands and tried to sit up, so Cuiyun quickly helped her put the jade pillow upright to make it easier for her to lean against it on the couch.
Hua Ling glanced at the wedding dress set placed on the bedside table, and then glanced out the window: ‘What time is it?’
Cuiyun came over with a bowl of herbal medicine in her hands: ‘My sister has been asleep for two whole days. The wedding ceremony is at noon today. Let me help my sister get ready. First, drink this medicine.’
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘Put it aside.’
I don’t know how many refined thousand-year ginsengs were killed to make this bowl of medicine. Jiang Yu is not, or should not be, such a cruel person.
Cuiyun immediately fell to her knees in fear when she heard Hua Ling refuse to take the medicine: ‘I beg you, please don’t make things difficult for me. If you don’t take the medicine, and if His Excellency were to blame you, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to save your life.’
After Cuiyun finished speaking, she looked up at Hua Ling, trembling with fear.
Hua Ling frowned: ‘How could that be? What are you talking about?’
Cuiyun, however, paid no heed and kept on knocking her head on the floor. Hua Ling’s heart sank at the sound of her bones colliding with the floor.
‘Get up first,’ Hua Ling said, holding back a headache as she reached out to help Cuiyun up.
Cuiyun didn’t even look up: ‘I won’t get up until you take your medicine.’
Hua Ling pressed her index finger against her temple: ‘…get up first.’
“Bang!’
The door to the bedroom was kicked open from the outside—from the force of it, it really was kicked open.
Hua Ling looked at the heavy door, which had been split open down the middle, and sighed softly: ‘Your temper is getting worse and worse.’
The figure that had just been standing in the doorway was now standing in front of the bed in the blink of an eye.
Hua Ling’s gaze fell on the man’s red clothes, and after a moment of pause, she remained silent.
Cui Yun was shivering, and her whole body was pressed against the ground.
The next second, Jiang Yu reached out and grabbed Hua Ling’s chin, forcing her to look up at him.
‘I heard that you refused to take your medicine again?’
He emphasized the word ‘again’ in particular.
Hua Ling could see the anger in his eyes.
After all the ups and downs of these past few days, she was surprisingly calm. ‘This is between the two of us, why involve someone who has nothing to do with it?’ She was referring to Cuiyun, naturally. Judging from her attitude, she knew that Jiang Yu might not be able to lose his temper with just anyone.
Jiang Yu sneered, ‘I forgot, you’ve always been like this, “sympathetic to the plight of the world”.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu looked down at Cui Yun, who was kneeling on the ground, and suddenly lifted his foot.
Hua Ling’s heart stirred, and he immediately pounced over to stop him, but he was still a step too late. Cui Yun was only lightly swept by his leg, and the entire person flew backwards, crashing heavily into the wall at the end of the sleeping hall, and then falling to the ground. She lay on the ground, slowly lifting her head, just about to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she vomited a large mouthful of blood, and then coughed uncontrollably.
‘Useless trash. You can’t even take your medicine properly, what’s the point of keeping you alive?‘
Jiang Yu gently raised his palm, but it was suddenly grasped by Hua Ling.
’I’ll take my medicine,’ he heard her whisper behind him.
Jiang Yu turned to look at her, but Hua Ling no longer looked at him, and turned to pick up the medicine bowl resting on the bedside table and drink it down with a tilt of her head. Only when the bowl was empty did she show Jiang Yu the bottom of the bowl: ’I’ll take my medicine from now on.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘That’s best.’
The fine bangs hid Hua Ling’s eyes, and she whispered, ‘Really.’
Jiang Yu laughed out loud: ‘Have you ever lied to me less?’
Hua Ling paused, and a flash of pain flashed in her eyes, but she quickly covered it up.
Jiang Yu, who had been staring at her, did not miss that look. He closed his eyes and suddenly said in a deep voice, ‘Get out.’
This was naturally directed at Cuiyun, who was kneeling in the distance.
After hearing this, Cuiyun did not dare to breathe, and she stood up unsteadily, but still retreated out of the room quietly.
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and stroked Hua Ling’s side of her face, and his thumb lightly brushed past the faint blue-black colour under her eyes.
Hua Ling did not resist his actions, and after a while, she suddenly said, ‘How did you become like this? If I had known…’
Her words were cut short by the man’s sudden kiss.
She couldn’t describe what kind of kiss it was, but it was mixed with a hint of tyranny and bloodshed, as well as…an overwhelming sense of possessiveness.
After a while, he let her go and whispered in her ear, ‘If you knew, you should have killed me back then?’
Hua Ling closed her eyes tiredly and shook her head, ‘In the end, I’m sorry. But…don’t be like this.’
A trace of bright blood from when he bit her earlier was still on her lips.
Jiang Yu seemed not to hear what she was saying, and after looking at her for a while, he lowered his head and slowly licked away the blood.
Hua Ling trembled slightly at his actions. She finally realised that he was no longer the impatient but occasionally naive sword spirit who was always by her side; before her now was the demon king who stood at the top of the bloody battlefield, ruling over the world.
Jiang Yu, who was leaning against her, naturally felt her body tremble slightly. He paused for a moment and suddenly laughed, ‘You’re actually afraid of me?’
Hua Ling shook her head, but she lost the strength to explain, ‘No…’
Jiang Yu forcefully lifted her chin, ‘Well, hate me if you want, fear me if you want. You just need to know one thing, from today onwards, you are my person. Even if you want to die, you need to get my permission first.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Jiang Yu let her go and threw the bright red wedding dress on Hua Ling.
‘Get changed. I’ll give you a joss stick’s worth of time to get ready. You don’t want to know what happens if you make me wait.’
‘Bang!’ The door to the bedroom slammed shut. Only silence remained.
Hua Ling silently looked at the wedding gown in her hands for a while, then slowly reached out and undid the first button.
Outside the door, Cuiyun knelt under the pavilion outside the bedroom, not daring to breathe.
Jiang Yu walked up to her and stopped.
His sleeve trembled slightly, and a bottle of medicine fell to the ground at her feet.
“I had no choice. I hope you understand. If… if you are seriously injured, you can go and see Master He.’
Cuiyun hurriedly kowtowed, ‘It is Cuiyun’s inefficiency. I understand Your Highness’s thoughts.’
Jiangyu nodded, and the anger on his face faded, leaving only exhaustion.
‘Go help her get dressed. When you come to the front hall in a while, be as careful as possible. Her body can’t take the tossing.’
‘Yes, I know.’ Cuiyun kowtowed again, then got up and walked towards the bedroom.
Jiang Yu looked back at the closed door one last time, then his robe sleeves fluttered as his figure disappeared from the front of the hall.
The marriage ceremony was actually not a showy event. Hua Ling didn’t know what Jiang Yu had said to the demon generals and elders. No one objected to Jiang Yu marrying her. However, from the indifferent or resentful expressions of the crowd, Hua Ling could more or less guess the process of Jiang Yu suppressing those comments.
Jiang Yu now refuses to communicate with her, and she has long since lost the capital to negotiate with him. She thought, it’s better to go along with him, if this can appease his grievances, while she is still alive…
Jiang Yu picked up an amethyst pendant from the tray in the hands of the elder of the sacrifice and hung it around Hua Ling’s neck.
Then he took two cups of wine from the tray of the maid and handed one to Hua Ling.
He gulped down the wine in one go and then turned to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling understood what he meant and did the same.
Jiang Yu took the empty glass from her hand and put it back on the tray, then took her hand and walked towards the altar at the top of the stairs. There were several hundred steps to the altar, and at the top and bottom of each step stood two silver candlesticks.
Every time they walked up a step, two candles would light up.
Until they reached the altar at the top, hundreds of candles were lit, illuminating the entire hall.
Jiang Yu did not say a word the whole time, and even his expression was indifferent. Jiang Yu did not speak to her, and Hua Ling naturally did not take the initiative to find something to say. It was clear that they were performing a ceremony to witness their closest relationship, but it was as if they were holding hands with an unrelated stranger.
After they reached the altar, Jiang Yu unfolded a thick scroll on the rosewood table.
Hua Ling glanced at it, and it was written in what appeared to be ancient demon language. She couldn’t read it. And apart from the strange writing, there were also fingerprints of different sizes.
Jiang Yu picked up the prepared vermilion brush and added a new set of characters to the end of the scroll. After finishing, he bit his index finger and imprinted his fingerprint at the end. He looked at Hualing, took her hand, and pressed his index finger against hers. In this way, Hualing’s index finger also got his blood on it.
Then he let go of Hualing’s hand and looked at her.
Hualing understood and walked up to him, and pressed her fingerprint next to Jiang Yu’s.
After doing all this, Jiang Yu rolled up the scroll again and waved his hand. The sacrificial official waiting nearby immediately came forward and took the scroll away.
Jiang Yu took Hualing’s hand again and walked over to the altar, standing next to her as they looked down at the Demon Clan’s people kneeling below.
‘From now on, you are my Jiang Yu’s person. My life is mine, and my people are mine. Without my permission, you are not allowed to go anywhere.’
As he said this, he still looked expressionlessly at his people below the altar. It was as if he were talking to himself, not to her.
In this way, the ceremony was complete.
However, what Hualing didn’t know was that the ceremony just now was not an ordinary marriage ceremony, but the Demon Clan’s coronation ceremony. The Demon Clan has a long-standing tradition. The Demon King can marry many women in his life, but once he decides on a queen, that woman will be recorded in the Demon Clan genealogy along with his name. This is not only a recognition of her status, but also a promise from the Demon King that he will love her forever. Once the queen is crowned, the Demon King will never love another woman in his life, until death do they part.

Chapter 93: The End · 9

Hua Ling never thought that there would come a day when she would be sitting in her large new room, waiting for Jiang Yu. That identity had been replaced from her sword spirit to the Lord of the Demon Realm, the man of her husband.
Although it was in a strange way, fate had indeed bound the two together.
Jiang Yu stood silently by the table and poured two glasses of wine, then came over and handed them to Hua Ling.
Hua Ling took them.
Jiang Yu drank it all in one gulp.
Hua Ling: ‘…’
Hua Ling had expected him to clink glasses with her.
Perhaps there were no weirder newlyweds than they.
Perhaps she had been in a daze for too long, because Jiang Yu’s face was slightly impatient.
He snatched the glass from Hua Ling’s hands.
Hua Ling: ?
Jiang Yu: ‘If you don’t want to drink, don’t drink.’
Hua Ling: ‘… “In terms of this awkwardness, he is quite similar to him, who is still a sword spirit.
Jiang Yu frowned when he saw him daydreaming: ”What are you thinking about?’
Hua Ling came back to reality: ‘Nothing.’
Jiang Yu looked down at her for a moment: ‘There is only one thing you should be thinking about right now.’
After saying this, he kissed her.
…
Hua Ling didn’t wake up until the afternoon of the next day.
She was extremely tired, and also had some aches and pains that she was unfamiliar with.
She could no longer remember all the details of the previous night, and the only thing that left a lasting impression on her was Jiang Yu’s passion, which was like he wanted to devour her alive, and his possessiveness.
Jiang Yu tossed and turned with her for most of the night, and didn’t let her go until just before dawn.
Hua Ling felt heavy in her heart and couldn’t say what she felt. She raised her right hand and looked at the traces of peach blossom poison that spread all over her arm…she might really not have much time left. Although she didn’t know what method Jiang Yu used last time to save her, and although he should have somehow slowed down the erosion of the peach blossom poison, it doesn’t mean that the erosion will stop.
After the wedding night, Jiang Yu disappeared for two months.
His, or should I say, their, bedroom had become Hua Ling’s prison.
After Jiang Yu left, Hua Ling had tried to go out. As soon as she reached the door, her hand reached out, but it was blocked by a transparent barrier. The room was surrounded by a barrier set up by Rong Chen, so she could not get out. She had also tried desperately to break the barrier, but she had lost most of her magical power after all, and in the end it was fruitless. In the end, she had no choice but to stay in the empty bedroom, feeling isolated from the world.
Cuiyun would come to keep her company every day and bring her medicine.
One day, Hualing could no longer hold back and asked Cuiyun, ‘Where is Jiangyu?’
Cuiyun paused for a moment, looking a little embarrassed, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.
Hualing’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Did something happen?’
Cuiyun hurriedly shook her head, ‘No, nothing happened. It’s just that…’
‘Cuiyun, please tell me, okay?’ Hua Ling said slowly, word by word, “If you don’t tell me, I will be very worried. I will always be worried. Jiang Yu probably told you about my illness, that I shouldn’t have too many emotional ups and downs.”
Cuiyun obviously had some internal struggle, and finally stammered, “The Lord and the Underworld have joined forces and sent troops to the Celestial Realm…”
Hua Ling was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes and said indifferently, ’I know.’
Cuiyun: ‘…’
Hua Ling paced slowly along the window for a few steps, and said, ‘What is the current situation of the war?’
Cuiyun shook her head: ‘I don’t know the specific situation either. However…in recent days, I often hear good news from the generals on the front line.’
Hua Ling nodded and laughed: ‘Why do you call yourself a servant again? I remember I said that when there are no outsiders, these formalities can go.’
Cuiyun hurriedly bowed her head and said, ‘Sorry, I was in a hurry and forgot.’
Hua Ling walked over to the table and sat down: ‘Okay, don’t be so on edge all the time. I’m fine, I won’t run away and I won’t harm myself. Go about your business, don’t worry about me.’
Cui Yun nodded, knowing that Hua Ling mostly didn’t want to be disturbed, and sensibly left.
After Cui Yun left, the corner of Hua Ling’s mouth slowly flattened out. She sighed, leaned against the window frame, and looked out at the unchanging blue sky.
She could no longer fathom Jiang Yu’s thoughts. She had never thought that he would be the type of person to act on impulse out of hatred. Perhaps people really can change.
Joining forces with the underworld…
She never expected Chu Jiang to finally take this step.
Hua Ling let out a light sigh. In any case, this was no longer a situation she could control. However, with Chu Jiang in charge, she was not worried about Jiang Yu doing anything extreme.
Hua Ling remembered a scroll of Chi You’s handwritten notes that she hadn’t finished reading before, so she got up and walked over to the bookshelf, taking the bamboo scroll out. These were written in ancient demon script, and only the legitimate royal bloodline of the demon race was qualified to read them. Hua Ling had taught herself ancient demon script when she had nothing to do over the past two months, so she could also barely understand some of the Chi You’s handwritten notes. Upon closer inspection, it was just a record of the trivial daily life of the demon world, but it was expressed in his writing in a way that was full of wit. She discovered that Chiyou was also a person of character, very different from what she had imagined.
As soon as Hua Ling pulled out the bamboo slip, her vision suddenly went dark. She steadied herself, holding onto the bookshelf, trying her best to maintain her balance.
After a while, the dizziness eased. She slowly spread out the bamboo slip in her hands, but in less than two minutes, the writing on the slip gradually became blurred…
A feeling of dizziness suddenly struck…
Hua Ling woke up and heard someone talking nearby.
Although she couldn’t immediately make out what they were saying, she immediately recognised the voice of the person she knew best, yet also felt a little strange about.
‘You’re awake.’
Someone took Hua Ling’s hand.
‘You’re back.’ Hua Ling opened her eyes and, without any surprise, saw the person she hadn’t seen for a few months.
As he looked at her intently, Hua Ling also took a moment to look at him.
‘You’ve lost weight,’ she concluded.
‘You’re pregnant.‘ Jiang Yu looked into Hua Ling’s eyes and paused, “two months.”
’Oh.’ Hua Ling nodded, her expression unruffled, as if she was not surprised by the result.
After a moment, Hua Ling added, “How is the war situation?”
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and his gaze swept sharply to Cui Yun, who was kneeling nearby.
Cui Yun quickly lowered her head, ’My lord, please forgive me, I did not mean to…’
Jiang Yu waved his hand: ‘Forget it.’
Hua Ling supported herself with one hand on the bed and tried to sit up, but Jiang Yu reached out and held her back: ‘Lie down and rest.’
Hua Ling did not insist, and lay back as she was told.
Jiang Yu looked at her for a while: ‘I will not withdraw my troops. I must fight this battle, and I will win.’
Hua Ling lowered her eyelids, and after a while, she gave a faint smile: ‘I know.’
Jiang Yu suddenly reached out and covered Hua Ling’s cold palm, which was resting on the side of the bed, and then wrapped her hand tightly in his palm.
‘The demons cannot continue to live in this barbaric land,’ he said slowly. ‘Those in power must govern.’
‘I know,’ Hua Ling interrupted. ‘I have always understood. Jiang Yu, you may not believe it, but I still want to tell you that I have never approved of what the Celestial Realm has done. I did in the past, and I still do.’
Jiang Yu closed his eyes, then suddenly lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Hua Ling’s.
After a long while, Hua Ling heard him whisper in her ear, ‘I know.’
Hua Ling almost suspected she had heard it wrong.
After a long while, she found her voice again: ‘I thought… you hated me.’
‘Hate.’ This time, Jiang Yu answered quickly, with hardly any hesitation, ‘That’s why I have to tie you to me, so you won’t try to escape again.’
Hua Ling suddenly felt a pang in her heart: ‘Jiang Yu, we both know…’
‘Shh…’ Jiang Yu suddenly held up his index finger and gently pressed it against her lips.
Jiang Yu paused for a moment, then suddenly rolled onto the bed/side and lay down next to Hua Ling, reaching out and hugging her through the quilt.
Jiang Yu whispered in Hua Ling’s ear, ‘I can’t be by your side during this time, so I’m sorry for the trouble.’
Hua Ling: ‘…
’You just need to promise me one thing: Be good and wait for me when I come back.’
Hua Ling: ‘…’
‘Wait for me.’
Without hearing an answer, Jiang Yu kept repeating this sentence. Over and over again.
Hua Ling slowly forced back the tears, and then whispered in a slightly choked voice, ‘Okay.’
Jiang Yu gave her a deep hug.
It was like the strength of expressing despair with one’s life, which made Hua Ling’s eyes slightly moist again.
…
Jiang Yu left again for a few months, but he did come back a few times during that period. He grew thinner and thinner each time, and Hua Ling could always see the signs of fatigue on his face. Before leaving each time, Jiang Yu would always ask Hua Ling one question:
‘You will wait for me, won’t you?’
‘Yes.’
Hua Ling always gave the same reply.
At least, she would persevere until their child was born. Hua Ling thought to herself.
However, Hua Ling discovered something very strange. As the pregnancy progressed, her body actually felt better than before, and the symptoms of fatigue and dizziness had improved compared to before.
And the most incredible thing was that the poisonous patterns of the peach blossom demon had already spread to her shoulders and even covered her entire back, but now those poisonous patterns were slowly fading, and the red patterns on her arms had retreated to her elbows.
Hua Ling was puzzled and gradually had a bad guess…
Hua Ling, under the pretext of being bored, gave Cuiyun a book list and asked her to help find some ancient books and chronicles from all walks of life. Cuiyun didn’t think much about it and collected all the books and handscrolls she asked for one by one.
Finally, in a tattered volume of ghostly secrets, Hua Ling found the answer…
I never thought there was such a way to cure peach blossom jinx in the world.
During a routine consultation, Hua Ling casually asked the visiting Crane Elder, ‘Isn’t the medicinal herb Xiongyingzhi hard to find?’
The Crane Elder was stunned for a moment and said, ‘How did you know? Logically speaking…the taste of Xiongyingzhi should be very light. I have been practicing medicine for many years, and this is the first time I have seen this medicinal herb.’
Hua Ling interrupted him: ‘Naturally, this herb is extremely precious. Legend has it that it can only be found in the ghost world. Jiang Yu gave it to you?’
Elder Crane paused: ‘My lady, please be assured, this medicine is extremely good for the body. Your majesty also went to great lengths to find it.’
Hua Ling nodded: ‘I know.’
Elder Crane looked at Hua Ling in puzzlement: ‘From the look on your face, it seems that you are not very happy?’
This statement was slightly exaggerated. It was just a situation of expressionless face, which was extremely rare for Hua Ling.
Hua Ling shook her head: ‘I’m just a little tired. That’s it for today, Elder Crane, thank you.’
Elder Crane bowed: ‘In that case, please rest well, Your Highness, I take my leave.’
Hua Ling stood in front of the window for most of the night. She gently placed her hand on her abdomen, where the little one was sound asleep. She still remembered the subtle feeling of warmth and contentment in her heart when she first felt the baby move…
It was so cruel to trade the life of an innocent child for hers. What’s more, it was their child.
Before Hua Ling’s delivery, Jiang Yu hurried back for a visit.
As usual, he held Hua Ling in his arms, and for a long time, neither of them spoke.
Hua Ling spoke first: ‘You don’t need to worry about me, just go ahead and do what you want. It’s the most critical moment now, isn’t it?’
Jiang Yu gave a ‘hmm’ and then said after a while, ‘It’s almost time. I won’t kill your brother, but I won’t let him set foot in Jiuzhou.’
Hua Ling smiled and said, ‘To be honest, our family is really strange. It seems that we have never treated each other as family members. From the moment we were born, there has been endless intrigue and secret fighting.’
Jiang Yu: ‘…
Hua Ling paused again and said, ’Is Chu Jiang doing well?’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘He’s busier than I am… Many of your father’s old subordinates have defected to him.’
Hua Ling: ‘Next time you see him, please give him my regards. He has always been very kind to me in every way.’
Jiang Yu nodded: ‘He said he would come to the Demon Realm to visit you after the war is over.’
Hua Ling: ‘…hmm.’
Jiang Yu lightly pressed his lips to the top of Hua Ling’s head: ‘Do you remember what you promised me? No matter what happens, wait for me to come back.’
Hua Ling smiled silently, ‘…yes.’
Jiang Yu leaned in and kissed the side of Hua Ling’s face, ‘Go to sleep.’
Hua Ling slowly closed her eyes, ‘…yes.’
Because they were facing away from each other, Jiang Yu didn’t see the single tear that slowly slid down the corner of Hua Ling’s eye, sliding down her cheek and disappearing into her hair in an instant…
One month later.
The Demon Army finally defeated the Divine Army and won this protracted war between gods and demons. The Celestial Realm changed hands, and the gods and demons declared a truce and agreed to leave each other alone. The demons were once again allowed to enter the Nine Provinces Realm.
However, among the crowd waiting for Jiang Yu’s triumphant return in the Demon Realm, there was no one he wanted to see.
Although there were many matters to attend to after taking over the Celestial Realm, Chu Jiang followed Jiang Yu back to the Demon Realm.
Jiang Yu pushed open the door to the bedroom. Cui Yun was sitting next to a small carved wooden bed, gently rocking it.
When she saw Jiang Yu walk in, she immediately stood up and bowed.
Jiang Yu walked slowly over to the crib and looked down at the sleeping baby. There was even a faint smile on the little face, as if it were having a sweet dream.
Chu Jiang followed and walked up to Jiang Yu.
He stared at the baby’s face for a while and said slowly, ‘The child looks a lot like her.’
Jiang Yu didn’t say anything.
Chu Jiang was silent for a moment, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think she would be able to find out. I also didn’t think that she would give up her own soul to protect the child.’
Jiang Yu shook his head, ‘It’s not your fault. It’s my fault. If I could have found out earlier… In fact, I would never have found out. She has always been like this, good at hiding her emotions.’
Cuiyun took a letter out of her bosom and handed it to Jiang Yu, trembling with fear.
Jiang Yu raised his hand, and the letter flew out of Cuiyun’s hands and landed in his hands.
Jiang Yu opened the letter, which only had a few short lines.
‘I’m sorry, I’ve broken our promise again. I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I can’t bring myself to kill our child. Please treat her as if she were the continuation of my life, and let her stay by your side. Forget about me. A woman who has never been able to keep her promises is not worth remembering.”
Jiang Yu folded the letter and put it in his bosom: ’She will always put everyone and everything before herself.’
Chu Jiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end he remained silent, and slowly reached out his hand and patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder.
‘Selfish and hateful. Yet selfless enough to make you love her.’
A round drop of water fell where Jiang Yu was standing…followed by the marks of more water droplets on the ground…
Chu Jiang turned his back and looked out the window at the setting sun…two lines of tears silently slid down his face.