Qin Zishu stood there in his green robes, his eyes filled with anxiety as he pulled at the red-clothed woman. Hongshi Wuxian’s eyes glistened with tears, but she still firmly pushed away his hands, saying in a deep voice: “Don’t say anymore. I will not leave with you.”
Qin Zishu’s eyes were like frost and falling snow as he said in a heavy voice: “Is the position of the Wuxian Tribe’s Saintess really so important to you?”
Hongshi Wuxian bit her lips and said resolutely: “Lady Shiji’s mission weighs upon my shoulders. My lifelong dream is to see the Wuxian Tribe rise again. If you truly love me, you should understand my heart.”
Qin Zishu sighed deeply and shook his head slightly: “After conquering the Wuxian Tribe, you’ll want to conquer Nanjiang. After conquering Nanjiang, there’s still Nanchu, and the other four kingdoms, and the entire world. When will your ambition ever be satisfied?”
Hongshi Wuxian turned around and slowly leaned against the man’s body, saying in a deep voice: “Zishu, I know you’re worried about me, but when one lives in this world, one cannot do nothing, right? Isn’t there still Yun’er? You could stay in Nanjiang and help me.”
“No!” Qin Zishu sighed softly and slowly shook his head, his tone mournful: “Why do you want to push Yun’er onto me? Besides you, I don’t want anyone else.”
The young girl hiding behind the grass could no longer bear it. She covered her mouth and turned to flee from the flower-filled dense forest, leaving only a pair of lovers entangled in each other’s arms under the moonlight.
The woman in Yang Feng’s embrace had her lips curve slightly into a bitter smile, her voice clear and light like a gentle breeze: “When I first saw him, I was only fifteen years old—innocent and naive, knowing nothing of the world, spending my days playing and frolicking on Cangwu Mountain. That morning was the grand festival of the female witches of our tribe. Sister Hongshi and the others all went to attend the ceremony. I was alone on Witch Maiden Peak when he came riding a white horse from the direction of Tianya River, wearing green robes, his eyes full of melancholy, yet his smile was so beautiful and warm. He smiled and asked me: ‘Miss, is this the territory of the Wuxian Tribe?’ From that moment on, I was already hopelessly in love with him.”
Lie Yunji’s face was pale as she smiled lightly, slowly resting her head against Yang Feng’s chest. Her fingers moved slightly, and another phantom appeared on the wall. It showed torrential rain, with the young Lie Yunji standing alone in the downpour, tears streaming down, her shoulders trembling, her face even paler than now.
She smiled faintly and said in a clear, ethereal tone: “I always thought that if I were Sister Hongshi, I would definitely cast aside all fame, fortune, and dreams to wander the world with him, living happily together for life, never again caring about tribal grudges. Unfortunately, I wasn’t her, and was destined never to receive even a trace of his love. I hid by Tianya River for several days without returning home. Father led the entire tribe in a frantic search for me, finally bringing me back on the seventh day. Sister Hongshi hid behind the crowd, looking at me with sad eyes, but didn’t dare approach. I had no mother since childhood and was practically raised by her, so I said nothing, only asking father to let me enter the tribe’s Qinghua Floating Cave to study witchcraft.”
“But just three months after I entered the cave, Lanya suddenly came to tell me that Sister Hongshi, fearing I would report her affair with a man to the Council of Elders, had already driven him out of Nanjiang, and he might never return. I thought my heart had died, but hearing those words, I still felt my entire body trembling madly. Thinking that I might never see him again, I ran out of Qinghua Floating Cave like a madwoman. I finally caught up with him on Yudie Peak. He was leaning against the Yudie Stone, wearing white-green robes, still wearing that warm smile on his face, his gentle eyes looking at me. But in his hand was Sister Hongshi’s Witch Red Arrow, deeply pierced into his heart, with blood flowing out like water.”
Lie Yunji’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and a phantom appeared on the wall showing the mountain peak under clear skies. The green-robed man leaned against the stone wall, blood-soaked, while the beautiful young girl covered her mouth with both hands, her hair flying in the wind as she cried out madly in anguish.
Lie Yunji’s voice grew colder, carrying deep hatred like an endless ocean: “Before that, I never knew a person could have so much blood. That red liquid covered the entire Yudie Peak, even the wild grass and trees carried that bloody smell. He looked at me as gently as when we first met, but couldn’t say a word. But I knew, I knew what he was thinking—he was telling me he was sorry, telling me not to be sad. But how could I not be sad? He was going to die, killed by the hand of the person he loved most! I ran back to the tribe like a madwoman, came to Cangwu Mountain and pierced her through with one sword. Everyone treated me like a child; no one knew my witchcraft had long surpassed hers. Without her flying arrows at hand, how could she be my match?”
In the illusion, the red-clothed woman’s chest and abdomen were stained with blood as she looked at the child who had grown up with her in despair and shock. That child held a blood-stained sword, screaming madly: “He’s already dead, why are you still alive? Why are you still alive?”
The red-clothed woman’s pupils suddenly widened as she grabbed Lie Yunji’s clothes with both hands, tearing frantically, seeming to want to say something. Lie Yunji appeared deranged, raising her sword and shouting sternly: “You killed him! You killed him with the Witch Red Arrow! I must avenge him!”
The sharp sword light suddenly slashed down! The red-clothed woman’s white neck and throat immediately spurted blood skyward. Countless Nanjiang vultures suddenly dove down from high above. The cold, hard wind of Cangwu Mountain swept up that piercing red blood, drawing a brilliant arc in mid-air. The severed head suddenly let out a soul-piercing howl, its desperate, angry eyes shooting out like arrows, crashing into the solid stone wall, glaring unwillingly at the majestic land of Nanjiang. The once-proud figure crashed to the ground, raising clouds of dust.
Lie Yunji threw back her head and laughed maniacally, then leaped toward the mountain cliff behind Cangwu Mountain. Her shrill laughter echoed across Nanjiang’s fertile soil. Behind them, only the purple-clothed girl who had been following Lie Yunji remained, staring at those flame-burning eyes embedded in the stone wall above. Finally unable to bear it any longer, she collapsed to her knees, trembling all over.
“Unfortunately, after jumping off the cliff, I didn’t die as I wished. Instead, I drifted downstream through underground chasms and was finally captured by Ousi Lanya, who wanted to silence me. Fortunately, I was blessed with great luck and ultimately escaped her grasp, fleeing to the Seven Trees of Yunsen, thus preserving this worthless life.”
Yang Feng sighed softly and sealed several acupoints on Lie Yunji’s body, pulling her clothes back into place. But he dared not sleep, looking at Lie Yunji’s tear-stained eyelashes and weary sleeping face, he couldn’t help but feel pity.
This woman had lived her life strong and stubborn, ruthless and bloodthirsty, killing countless people, yet she was actually the loneliest person of all. For that one obsession of hers, she had silently waited all these years, living daily in guilt and self-reproach. At such a young age, she had endured so much that she shouldn’t have had to bear, constantly moving through flashing blades and swords, struggling to survive in blood and carnage. Tonight’s words might be the first time in years she had spoken what was in her heart. The pain and pressure she had endured was truly unimaginable.
Thinking of this, he lowered his gaze to look at the wall emanating a faint purple glow, and his eyes immediately brightened!
He saw an enormous stone cavern, vast in scope, stretching over a hundred li in all directions. The dome was extremely high and pitch black, seemingly endless. Within the cavern was ancient and heavy atmosphere, spider webs crisscrossed everywhere, and dust several feet thick showed that no one had visited this place for a very long time. In the center of the stone chamber, a massive wooden mechanism sat quietly on a stone platform over ten zhang long. Its colors were rich and heavy—dark red like blood, ink green like bamboo, deep blue like the sea—all mixed together, emanating a mysterious aura like an ancient divine artifact. Various hooks and locks connected in all directions, massive mechanical parts linked together, crisscrossing endlessly.
Qing Xia and Xi Linyu almost simultaneously cried out in surprise, staring dumbfounded at Chu Zheng, who lay softly on the ground covered in blood.
Seeing that Chu Zheng’s chest still rose and fell lightly, they knew he wasn’t dead, merely severely injured and unconscious. Just then, a sharp, cold snort suddenly rang out. Qing Xia and Xi Linyu turned their heads simultaneously to see an elderly man with completely white hair and beard, clear bright features, and black robes slowly emerging from behind the mechanism. His eyes were sharp as blades, his lips curved in a gloomy cold smile: “What wind is blowing today? This Hongtian Water Prison cavern, which no one has set foot in for decades, is suddenly receiving frequent visitors.”
His voice was hoarse and somewhat weathered—it was unmistakably the mysterious old man who had just fought with Qing Xia!
Just then, a sudden roar erupted from beneath the mechanism. Instantly the earth shook, debris flew everywhere, and even the ground they stood on trembled slightly!
Qing Xia frowned and looked coldly toward the mechanism that stretched over ten zhang. She saw it was wrapped in iron chains, link after link, looking like an enormous lock. Beneath it, something seemed to be restrained like a wild beast, roaring and shrieking with alarming intensity.
Xi Linyu frowned lightly and glanced coldly at the ineffective Chu Zheng, then laughed softly and said loudly: “Since you know the secret of the Heavenly Mechanism Lock, old sir, aren’t you being a bit too hasty? The time hasn’t arrived yet—acting now, aren’t you afraid of complete failure?”
The old man’s eyes stared intently at the mechanism called the “Heavenly Mechanism Lock,” his eyes filled with blood-red gloominess. He raised his head to look coldly at Xi Linyu and said in a deep voice: “What do you want?”