I sat in the middle, facing east, with the True Woman directly opposite me. A low “begin” sounded, revealing her neat and beautiful forehead beading with sweat, her eyes now tinged with a long-unseen nervousness.
As the word fell, everyone pressed their palms together. I suddenly forgot to ask… what should I do now!
As layers of colored light enveloped my head, the world changed color. A divine wind swept the altar as if torrential rain was about to pour down. Howling sounds continued, wind roaring, blowing everyone’s hair and clothes, mixed with incantation sounds, becoming increasingly bizarre.
The True Woman’s eyes suddenly opened, full of royal authority, and she shouted low: “Release!”
Those blood-red fangs suddenly disappeared, and in a moment, the black qi transformed into a fierce lion, roaring and pouncing over.
“Who is causing trouble!!!”
Shu Nü cried out, her voice already hoarse. I in the formation smelled the bloody scent drifting from outside, not knowing whose it was and couldn’t help but worry, yet had no spare attention to look closely.
“Your Highness, please seal her soul from past lives! Please grant her wish! If this continues, she will die! Her soul has been eroded by the river water, and if not purified, it may be devoured someday!”
Shu Nü could actually cry too, and my heart felt both heartache and happiness.
“Shu Nü, Shu Nü, can your claws turn into legs? Shu Nü, Shu Nü, when will you become an immortal?”
“We’ll become immortals in a few days, Shu Nü, Shu Nü. When we reach the divine realm, you must not abandon me.”
Memories were vivid, yet separated by thousands of years. Shu Nü’s character was indeed extremely proud. If I hadn’t lost my memory, I would never have approached those she loved. She might have known that I didn’t initially like the soul-reaper but only got close because the soul was on him. Later, she completely abandoned her hopes.
A clear, crisp energy dispersed from my forehead into my body, and in an instant, my heart became as clear as a mirror, feeling weightless. The hidden pain that had entangled me for a thousand years also vanished like smoke.
My eyes had not yet fully cleared when my hands were already twisted behind my back. Qing Yuan had somehow entered from outside the curse circle and, without waiting for me to speak, forcibly carried me away from the divine altar, dodging waves of pursuing light. The divine soldiers at the heavenly path’s entrance saw us rushing over and shouted to stop, but saw frost covering the sky.
As we exited, I stared directly at him and asked, “Did Mu Chuan make you do this?” Seeing him not answer, I pulled at the corner of my mouth, “I’m angry.”
Immortal qi exploded from my palm, causing him to furrow his brow and immediately retreat.
As I straightened my rumpled clothes, he finally spoke: “The King was right. We must take you back to the ghost realm while your cultivation is not fully recovered.”
I laughed: “Because he knows that in his eyes, I’m an immortal novice, but you cannot control me. Remember, my childhood playmate was a dragon with powerful spiritual power. Ordinary people can’t do anything to me.” Having been suppressed by him for so long, counterattacking now made me feel refreshed. “What do you plan to do now?”
Qing Yuan slowly blinked, his expression unchanged. A light fragrance wafted, and a soft laugh came: “Su Su, can you be any more pleased with yourself?”
Although it was hatred, it was not truly hatred. Hating that we were about to leave him behind, hating that we were together, while he was trapped in this ghostly realm, being a king high above, not truly free.
Mu Chuan watched him leave, smiled faintly, and continued pulling me forward: “Finally not confused.”
I tilted my head and looked at him, unsure if he was referring to me or Mu Yin.
The pear orchard was utterly silent, even the soft sound of falling petals was exceptionally clear.
Mu Chuan stopped again, embraced me, and kissed me deeply.
This feeling of not wanting to part, perhaps even a day of holding and kissing would not be enough.
This thousand-year separation, who knows how long it would take to fill, perhaps not even ten thousand years would suffice.
That year in the thatched cottage, with rain continuously falling, intimate inside, we lost our immortal essence by breaking our bodies, detected by pursuing divine soldiers. Before he could wake, I fled, taking my clothes, thinking I would return after evading the pursuers.
This parting, and when we met again, one had become a divine lord, the other a ghost king. And then, a thousand years of separation.
The strength around my waist loosened. Previously held tightly, now with little strength, my legs suddenly went soft as he released me. I grabbed his arms and looked at him, seeing his complexion was also extremely poor.
We were both stunned, seeing the intertwining black mist on our bodies, like a black hole about to devour us, absorbing the visible spiritual energy.
A light laugh suddenly came from behind the pear trees.
Reborn in Fire (Part 8)
Mu Chuan spoke harshly: “Get out!”
A person slowly walked out from behind the pear trees, with a lustrous pink hem, wearing a sly and chilling smile. Peony flower looked at us both, like watching trapped beasts: “Oh, you’re quite impressive, only sensing something was wrong after so long.”
I collapsed to the ground, no longer having the strength to stand. Mu Chuan took a step forward, causing pain in my chest. Seeing his pale complexion, I weakly said: “Don’t come closer.”
Mu Chuan turned and glared at Peony Flower: “What have you done!”
“I’ve done nothing. You should know clearly that what’s entangling you is a resentful spirit,” Peony Flower laughed softly. “Looking at how the resentful spirit clings to the medicine immortal, it seems to be collecting soul power, right?”
I asked: “What do you mean?”
Peony Flower shook her head and sighed: “Your Highness, Medicine Immortal, haven’t you thought about this? Even high-level ghost kings are contaminated by the Bone River, let alone a small medicine immortal. Even if you protected your heart meridian and wouldn’t lose your life, your soul is already impure. I thought you knew the reason and thus lost your soul. But now it seems you didn’t know.”
Mu Chuan did not respond. The hand covering his chest suddenly jerked, and a lingering white qi was forcefully pulled out from his heart, which he then pushed back into the peony flower’s body.
“Are you crazy! Without me continuing your pure qi, do you think you can suppress the resentful spirit?”
“
“If I cannot live for generations, what is the meaning of my life?”
My nose felt sour, and tears were already overflowing from my eyes. I lowered my head, not looking at him. It wasn’t that I lacked the courage to die together, but I couldn’t accept the pain of being together only to be forced apart again. Unable to live alone, yet unwilling to die together.
The peony flower cried hoarsely: “Then you go die too! Die together with her!”
As soon as the words fell, her pupils became scattered, and her vital energy dispersed. Watching the qi stream gradually disappear into heaven and earth, the peony flower chose to completely sever her soul, irreversibly vanishing. As she said, in this world, there would no longer be a formed peony flower, nor anyone who could save Mu Chuan and me.
I wiped away the tears from the corner of my eye, not knowing what to say to him. Looking at him from afar, though only a dozen steps apart, it felt like an insurmountable distance.
“Perhaps… there might be a medical text in the divine realm that can eliminate resentful spirits,” I sniffled and said with a smile, “I’ll go back and look through some books.”
Mu Chuan glared at me: “Aren’t you the first immortal of medicine? What book in the divine realm would you not know?”
