The old monk’s image grew weaker. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and looked at Mo Xiaoji with a kind gaze: “Xiaoji, you must stay with Yingluo. When you encounter difficult problems, consult with Yingluo more. Although her cultivation is shallow, she has thousands of years of practice and can handle ordinary ghosts and monsters. You must also treat Yingluo well because you will owe her the greatest favor in the future. So, from now on, treat Yingluo even better than yourself, so you won’t feel too guilty later.”
“I owe her?” Mo Xiaoji was bewildered. The old monk’s words were even more mysterious than the young monk’s, and she couldn’t understand a word.
Yingluo snorted and glanced at Mo Xiaoji, ignoring her. In Yingluo’s heart, she looked down on humans, seeing them as stupid and not worth associating with.
The old monk breathed heavily and said intermittently: “Xiaoji… find the monk with the golden kasaya, and then… then… kill… him…”
Just as Mo Xiaoji was about to turn back, the dagger’s light suddenly disappeared, and the passage returned to darkness.
Mo Xiaoji was stunned, momentarily confused, rubbing her eyes, wondering if everything that just happened was her imagination – no Yingluo, no old monk.
Mo Xiaoji, trapped in fear, felt her nerves tighten again.
Those cool, icy breaths seemed to whisper in her ears once more.
Mo Xiaoji’s nerves were about to collapse.
It couldn’t have been a dream, it felt so real. It shouldn’t have been her imagination. But how could the old monk just disappear like that, along with that white fur… “Yingluo, Yingluo, Yingluo, where are you?”
Yingluo, crouching in a corner, covered her ears with her claws. What was this fearful woman screaming about? Didn’t she know Yingluo was enjoying her delicacy?
When this woman became afraid, her aura became intense – exactly the delicacy Yingluo loved most. But now, the woman’s high-pitched screams were ruining the flavor.
Massacred Village
Mo Xiaoji continued calling for Yingluo. Finally, Yingluo couldn’t bear it and roared: “What are you yelling about? I haven’t ascended to heaven yet!”
Upon hearing Yingluo’s response, Mo Xiaoji’s nerves immediately relaxed, overjoyed, no longer shouting at Yingluo like before.
Yingluo thought this woman was completely unreasonable, and that dead monk had left her with this burden.
“Yingluo, where did that monk go? How do we get out? I don’t like it here, it’s so dark,” Mo Xiaoji spoke carefully, knowing she now needed Yingluo’s help.
Yingluo angrily shouted: “Damn monk, of course he’s dead. Get out, we’re already outside, you idiot. Just stab upward a few times with your dagger, and you’ll be able to see the sun that humans love so much.”
Mo Xiaoji followed Yingluo’s words, repeatedly stabbing upward with her dagger.
A strand of golden sunlight broke through the darkness, illuminating Mo Xiaoji’s entire body.
Mo Xiaoji immediately felt her whole body warming up, her mood improving dramatically.
Yingluo frowned, quickly diving into Mo Xiaoji’s robe, constantly complaining: “Damn sun, damn sun, I hate days with sunshine, and I can’t eat delicious food.”
Mo Xiaoji hadn’t yet recovered from the joyful warmth when she saw a scene she least wanted to see.
The scene before her was horrific, with corpses scattered throughout the entire village – adults, children, even newborn infants. Blood flowed like a river, staining the ground red.
Mo Xiaoji recognized this village as the one she passed through after escaping from the Jun Wang Mansion.
Mo Xiaoji shuddered, wondering if the people from the Jun Wang Mansion had killed everyone, or… She painfully covered her face, believing that no matter how they died, she couldn’t escape responsibility. She had killed them, she… That young man was right, she shouldn’t have gone to their village, otherwise, the villagers wouldn’t have died.
Yingluo watched Mo Xiaoji cry uncontrollably, helplessly grooming her snow-white fur before jumping out of Mo Xiaoji’s arms and quickly running into the village.
Ancient Wood Forest
Mo Xiaoji stood rooted, her legs weak, watching Yingluo run into the village. She herself couldn’t face the corpses and remained standing in place, waiting for Yingluo.
Mo Xiaoji was deeply self-reproachful, her tears flowing like June rain, unstoppable. Eventually, she cried so much that no more tears would come, her eyes swollen like peaches.
As time passed and the sun moved towards the south, Yingluo still hadn’t returned. Mo Xiaoji grew increasingly anxious, eagerly scanning every corner of the village, hoping Yingluo would jump out from somewhere.
Mo Xiaoji waited until the sun was directly south, with no sign of Yingluo. She began to panic, fearing Yingluo had been killed like everyone else in the village.
Overcoming her fear, Mo Xiaoji gritted her teeth, mustered her courage, and stepped through the blood into the village.
The entire village was permeated with a bloody atmosphere, corpses lying everywhere, many with missing body parts, a sight too gruesome to bear.
Mo Xiaoji covered her stomach, her steps unsteady, anxiously shouting: “Yingluo, Yingluo…”
No matter how Mo Xiaoji called out, there was no response from Yingluo in the village. She searched everywhere, calling until she was completely desperate.
Yingluo had disappeared. She had vanished.
Although Yingluo liked to scare Mo Xiaoji and seemed to dislike her, she was Mo Xiaoji’s only friend here. Mo Xiaoji wondered if Yingluo disliked her and had abandoned her, which made her dried-up tears miraculously flow again.
Walking aimlessly through the village, Mo Xiaoji eventually reached its central area.
The village was surrounded by trees, but no trees were planted within it – except for this location.
This was the village’s central point, with a dense ancient forest.
The entire village seemed to be constructed around this forest.
Judging by the tree branches and thickness, the trees were at least hundreds of years old.
[Author’s note follows, discussing the book becoming a VIP content and explaining the financial challenges of writing]
Ancient Wood Forest
Such a significant number of trees planted in the village was puzzling.
Moreover, the trees were not of a single species. Some were so unfamiliar that even Mo Xiaoji couldn’t name them. But one thing was certain: every tree species she could identify was a shade tree.
Shade trees were rarely planted in villages.
For instance, willow trees were typically found in fields, rarely seen within village boundaries.
But now, all the trees Mo Xiaoji saw were of this type, contrary to village conventions.
The midday sunlight was bright, yet this small ancient forest was eerily dark.
Mo Xiaoji still hoped Yingluo would jump out from somewhere, mock or scold her, but there was no sign of Yingluo anywhere.
Mo Xiaoji knew she needed to leave quickly as the sun moved westward.
Otherwise, even if the ghost hand didn’t kill her, she might die of fright.
Mo Xiaoji, Ying Luo… she could not abandon Ying Luo. Although she was a dagger with magical powers, she still could not discard her.
Mo Xiaoji wanted to enter the ancient forest to take a look, but looking at this dense forest, she felt an unprecedented timidity. Who knew what might be waiting for her inside.
Mo Xiaoji wiped the tears from her face. Having not eaten for a day, her throat felt like it was smoking. Combined with such a shock, she felt weak and dizzy.
She barely supported herself, gripping the dagger, walking into the dense forest without looking back.
As soon as she entered the forest, it seemed like she had entered another world – cold and damp.
The ground was uneven, and occasionally bones would crunch under Mo Xiaoji’s feet – animal bones, or perhaps human bones.
