The little skull didn’t speak, but Ji Wuxin began wailing miserably again.

He had exhausted his mind and efforts, all for the purpose of letting his son eventually become a mountain and river spirit – powerful, unconstrained, free and unbound…

Unexpectedly, now he was struck by heavenly thunder and all his efforts came to naught, while his son had become a monster instead. He didn’t even have a physical body, only a skeleton frame of white bones without any flesh and blood.

It just had to be five thunders striking from above, just had to be lightning strikes. Was heaven refusing to tolerate him? Was heaven punishing him?

“Heaven, if you want retribution, let it fall on me! My son is innocent!” Ji Wuxin’s emotions were very unstable. The nine stone lotus platforms had now gathered together, flying and crashing into each other rapidly overhead. Su Zhuyi had originally wanted to climb out, but now she didn’t dare show her head, fearing she’d be killed again by the wildly flying stone lotus platforms. As for the skeleton holding her waist but making no sound…

At least it wasn’t killing her now – surely it could be reasoned with.

Ji Wuxin had died long ago. What remained in this jade Chiwen was only a wisp of remnant soul, existing to guard the formation and nurture the mountain and river spirit. Now the formation was destroyed, the soul-sealing stone shattered, and the child had directly become a great evil thing. That wisp of remnant soul became increasingly frenzied in its howling. His shrill cries made Su Zhuyi dizzy and disoriented, yet she didn’t dare to just faint like this. If she collapsed, she might be gnawed clean while unconscious…

She bit her tongue tip, forcing herself to stay alert, trying to pry open the arm bones locked around her waist.

Ji Wuxin said the spirit stones and magic treasures were under the coffin, indicating there was a hiding place below, perhaps even an exit connected to the old tree at the village entrance. No matter what, she couldn’t just wait for death. As for the little skeleton staring straight at her, since he wasn’t attacking, she’d just assume he was stunned…

Su Zhuyi pried open the arms that confined her. She was small now with an even smaller body, making her movements more agile. Finding a gap to avoid the stone lotus platforms, she then crouched and hid beside the coffin, using her shoulder to push the coffin forward with all her strength. Circulating all the spiritual energy in her body while her natal magic treasure hoe helped pry the coffin upward, working together, they managed to push the coffin aside by less than a foot.

There was indeed a hidden space under the coffin. Just exposing this small gap, Su Zhuyi could feel spiritual energy rushing toward her face. However, just as she was about to continue her efforts and jump down, she suddenly felt her body lighten as she was lifted directly into the air. A Yazi on one of the stone lotus platforms had enlarged and grabbed her with its claws.

Though the Yazi was made of jade, its claws were now hard and sharp. Holding Su Zhuyi in the air, when the claws tightened, she gasped twice from the pain. Blood dripped down drop by drop. Suspended in midair, she could see her blood falling like rain threads, dripping into the accumulated muddy water below.

Drip, drip – blood and water fell. That red slowly spread and diffused like gauze, making everything in her vision take on a dark red tint. It was as if she had returned to the past, when she was about the same size as now, being held in the air, watching the villagers of Changning Village being killed, watching that village burn to ashes in fierce flames.

Su Zhuyi had thought that living again would bring better opportunities. She knew what would happen in the future, knew where those treasures were hidden, so she would become the greatest person in the world, with no one able to bully or humiliate her again. However, she had almost forgotten that in the past, every step she took was fraught with danger. If she had been slightly careless, she might have lost her life.

She hadn’t forgotten. She had once laughingly told Qin Jianglan that if she hadn’t been ruthless enough, she very likely would have died long ago – died at age seven, or even died in the mouth of wild dogs…

Liuguang Mirror, oh Liuguang Mirror, why did you bring her back to the worst, most bottom-level time?

Could it be that she would die here today? That would truly fulfill her words from back then.

The claws tightened again. The current Su Zhuyi had no power to resist. Her hoe wanted to come over desperately to help, but was pinned down by another stone lotus platform. Even its handle was broken partway, making it completely unable to rescue her. Su Zhuyi’s consciousness gradually became somewhat blurred, and her heart suddenly felt some regret and melancholy…

She had lived with Qin Jianglan day and night for a full six hundred years.

Though she constantly said she wanted to kill that old dog Qin to vent her anger, in reality, she more wanted to drag that high and mighty righteous hypocrite down from his pedestal, tease him, flirt with him, make him submit to her early on, then kick him away, raising her chin high to tell him: I don’t like you, get lost…

She understood him. After all, Qin Jianglan was extraordinarily beautiful and ethereal, and even in that aspect, he was naturally gifted. She couldn’t bear to just kill him like that.

Her mind hazy and confused, Su Zhuyi seemed to see Qin Jianglan’s face. She pursed her lips in a smile, “Heh, Old Dog Qin, in this life, we probably won’t be able to meet. Without me, this demoness, you… you should be able to transcend tribulation and ascend, right…”

Coughing up blood from her throat, Su Zhuyi felt the claws had already pierced into her heart. But just then, her heart area burned like fire, and simultaneously, a sword energy surged from her body, directly striking the jade Yazi and severing its claws…

“Qin Jianglan!”

Su Zhuyi was all too familiar with that sword energy – it was precisely Qin Jianglan’s famous Songfeng Sword Technique. Strong as pine, swift as wind – when the sword energy emerged, a green light flashed before her eyes, like verdant pines, growing stronger through adversity. Even after experiencing wind, snow, and temperature, it remained unbending. The world said Qin Jianglan’s sword was as upright and incorruptible as his person, but Su Zhuyi had always scorned this in her heart. He was so straight, so aloof and noble, yet in the end hadn’t she still bent him to her will…

But seeing that sword energy again now, Su Zhuyi was overjoyed. She turned her head with difficulty but didn’t see the familiar, elegant figure stepping through the light toward her.

Qin Jianglan wasn’t here.

The one who had just released sword energy was the Zhuxin Curse at her heart!

What exactly did he mean by this?

However, the current Su Zhuyi had no time to consider what Qin Jianglan meant. After the jade Yazi was split by a sword, the spiritual spring bound inside actually gushed out and flowed toward the coffin.

Originally, this formation had captured these heaven and earth spiritual veins to nourish the little skeleton in the formation. It was just that under the formation’s control, this nourishment was a slow process. But now the jade Yazi was broken, and the spiritual spring inside – nearly half consumed – rushed directly toward the coffin. No matter how heavy the coffin was, it couldn’t withstand such a tremendous impact. The entire coffin floated up, and the bones inside were scattered in all directions, losing human form.

Conversely, Su Zhuyi, because she was still being held by the Yazi’s other claw, didn’t suffer the spiritual spring’s impact…

But she knew that if Ji Wuxin’s remnant soul had still maintained some restraint before, now he had completely lost consciousness, because the coffin was destroyed, and inside it, his and his beloved wife’s bones were all ruined.

Seeing the shadow of death once again looming overhead, Su Zhuyi couldn’t help but cover her heart and shout, “Qin Jianglan, save me!”

The Zhuxin Curse did not react!

Could it be that sword energy was a fucking one-time consumable…

Su Zhuyi spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. She really couldn’t think of any other method, so she directly forced herself to circulate her cultivation technique, barely managing to execute a grappling technique. She grabbed a stream of water from the turbulent spiritual spring below, immediately absorbed it into her body, and rapidly circulated her technique to absorb spiritual energy. When the spiritual energy was about right, she gathered it in her feet while simultaneously striking out with one palm, actually intending to break her arm and escape while Ji Wuxin was too frenzied to pay attention to her…

But just then, the jade Yazi controlled by Ji Wuxin moved. Soul pressure instantly bore down as it directly opened its mouth and bit toward Su Zhuyi’s head…

“What happened to not creating killing karma anymore!” Under the extreme tension of her primordial spirit, the seal in her consciousness seemed to weaken considerably. Su Zhuyi’s consciousness sea violently shook, and her body suddenly burst forth with intense soul pressure, causing Yazi’s movement to pause slightly. However, this couldn’t stop its killing intent. It roared twice and approached again!

At this critical moment, a soft voice said, “Click clack click clack, don’t hurt big sister!”

The little skull emerged from the water. It picked up Su Zhuyi’s natal magic treasure, struggling to hold it in its arms. Fortunately, the hoe handle was broken partway, otherwise the handle would have been too long for it to grasp properly.

“Let go, or else, or else I’ll hit you!” The little skull swung the hoe and threw it out, but failed to hit the jade Yazi. Instead, its arm bone flew out together with the hoe.

The jade Yazi seemed to be under a freezing spell, instantly becoming motionless. Its mouth remained open, but it stopped less than two inches away from Su Zhuyi’s little bald head, never advancing another step.

It didn’t bite down.

All the stone lotus platforms shifted their target. The jade carvings on them all turned their heads toward the little skull’s direction and surrounded it.

The little skull was so frightened it trembled all over. All its bones were shaking, and its jawbone was about to fall off. It said, “Are you going to eat me? I, I’m skinny and don’t have much meat on me.”

Su Zhuyi’s head felt like it was about to explode, but hearing these words, she still forced a smile at the corner of her mouth.

You indeed don’t have a single bit of flesh – you’re completely just a skeleton frame…

When she grinned, she gasped from the pain. Just this little movement caused the jade Yazi to turn its head again, its gaze falling on her.

Then she heard the little skull anxiously shout, “Then eat me first, eat me! But I’m telling you, my daddy is powerful. He’s coming right away. If he sees you hurting people, he definitely won’t spare you.”

Just then, the claws gripping Su Zhuyi finally released.

Su Zhuyi fell directly into the water, but since the water was spiritual spring water, soaking in it made her feel more comfortable, and the bleeding from her wounds stopped.

“Wu’er.”

“Click clack click clack, my daddy’s here!” the little skull said excitedly. “You should run away quickly – my daddy’s here!”

“Wu’er…” Ji Wuxin’s voice gradually returned to calm. Clear spring water flowed from the jade Yazi’s eyes, as if its eyes were weeping. It looked at the little skull and said, “Wu’er, you’re awake. That’s wonderful.”

Such a great evil thing, having absorbed human blood and undergone corpse revival, could still maintain innocence and kindness – it was truly incredible. Could it be that he had no resentment or unwillingness whatsoever when he was alive?

“Click clack click clack, Daddy, where are you? You said that as long as I woke up, you’d take me outside to see butterflies.”

Yes, five thousand years ago, when Wu’er was about to close his eyes, Ji Wuxin was heartbroken and held him, saying not to sleep, to wake up – as long as he woke up, he would take him out to see butterflies. It turned out he had always remembered.

Five thousand years, five thousand years…

The jade Yazi let out a long howl. The Wuding Gourd split open directly from the middle, and the gourd suddenly shrank, becoming like a small boat, carrying both the little skull and Su Zhuyi as they flew out of the deep underground pit.

Outside, it was still pouring rain with lightning and thunder. Su Zhuyi was already like a drowned rat, and now, being pelted by the heavy rain, she couldn’t even open her eyes. She only heard the little skull say again, “Is this what rain is? Is that lightning? Daddy, did I sleep too long, so I got so hungry that I lost all my meat?”

He asked, “If I eat food, will I grow taller and grow flesh?”