The Saintess moved with light steps toward the ice pavilion by the rock wall a hundred zhang away, and Wu Ying and the others followed obediently. Upon entering the ice pavilion, the Saintess stood on the ice platform and said slowly, “Bring her up.”
Wu Ying’s heart pounded wildly, as if it would leap out. What he had been waiting for was this sole opportunity for the Great Elder to present the sacred maiden—it was right before his eyes! Wu Ying escorted A Mu toward the Saintess. The Saintess’s features were hidden beneath the flowing deep blue mask as she extended her hand toward A Mu.
A Mu startled, then also extended her right hand toward the Saintess.
Murderous intent suddenly flashed in Wu Ying’s eyes! Using A Mu as a shield, he flipped his wrist and a ghostly green dagger fiercely stabbed toward the Saintess’s chest.
The Saintess’s form froze. Just as Wu Ying’s sinister plot was about to succeed, A Mu somehow summoned a strange force and forcefully pushed Wu Ying away! Wu Ying stumbled backward five or six steps before steadying himself, staring at A Mu with eyes wide as saucers.
“Great Elder, what are you doing?” The divination stones around Yun Yan’s neck clattered chaotically. His eyes reddened as he roared in fury, “Wu Ying, you dare assassinate the Saintess! This is treason, utter treason…”
Wu Ying’s brows shot up. “Shut your mouth!”
Ban Xi’s eagle scissors suddenly pierced through the attendant’s chest. The attendant fell with eyes that refused to close in death. The next instant, the eagle scissors rested against Yun Yan’s neck. Ban Xi sneered darkly, “My apologies, Priest, but as the Great Elder says, please shut your mouth.”
Yun Yan’s expression turned fearful. He dared not say another word.
Wu Ying held his black whip, coldly watching A Mu. “I didn’t expect you, little girl, would interfere with my plans. But it doesn’t matter. Even if everything’s out in the open, with my black whip I can still eliminate the Saintess. And you, A Mu, must be buried with her.”
“Why do this?” For once, waves appeared in A Mu’s black pupils, like whirlpools surging in a deep, secluded pool.
“Why? A Mu, what an excellent question! I was afraid no one would ask me this. If no one asked, the bitter resentment and hatred in my chest might be buried in my heart until death. Good, I’ll tell you the reason.” Wu Ying looked with bitter resentment toward the Saintess beneath the deep blue mask. “It’s because of her, because of this lofty Saintess of the Gu Yao Sect, over ten thousand people of my ancient tribe have died. Five hundred forty-five years ago, the Saintess appeared at Ten Directions Mountain, bringing destruction. Chief Shi Ze offered worship to the Saintess and established the Gu Yao Sect. But starting from the second year, nightmarish curses began to pervade the entire ancient tribe. That year, among the tribe’s newborns appeared fifty-two grotesquely deformed infants. Great Elder Shi Ze tried every method to cure them to no avail. The infants grew at an alarming rate and displayed a greedy, bloodthirsty nature. Great Elder Shi Ze then exiled these fifty-two infants to the banishment ground on charges of impiety toward the Saintess. And this was merely the beginning. The second year, eighty-five deformed infants were born. The third year, one hundred three… After that, the deformed outcasts increased every year without fail. Great Elder Shi Ze called them ‘heretical outcasts,’ establishing a sacred rule that any escaped outcasts would be killed on sight. Over several hundred years, tens of thousands of outcasts sent to the banishment ground died due to disease, conflict, food scarcity, and other causes.”
Wu Ying forcefully suppressed the towering rage in his heart. “The outcasts may look fierce and evil, their natures cold-blooded and merciless, but there’s no denying they are also people of the ancient tribe, flowing with the same ancestral blood as us. What crime have they committed? The notion of impious outcasts is pure horseshit! These people became that ghostly appearance from childhood. What do children with innocent natures understand about piety or impiety? Everything was shackles imposed on them by the Gu Yao Sect. The root of it all stems from her, the Saintess! Bah, she’s merely a demoness who brings nightmares!”
“If not for her, the Gu Yao Sect wouldn’t exist, the outcasts wouldn’t have appeared, and though the ancient tribe was weak, it could have survived stubbornly and freely. Now everything has changed. Perhaps one day you’ll open your eyes and discover your child has become an outcast, his little hands no longer warm but turned ice cold. You numbly watch as the child is sent to the banishment ground, the only thing you can do is secretly shed tears.” Wu Ying’s eyes moistened, as if recalling the scene of his brother Wu Jiong being forcibly carried away by Man Kua. “I want revenge for the tribespeople who silently weep having lost loved ones. I want revenge for my fellow tribesmen manipulated by fate who died miserably in the banishment ground. And Wu Jiong, grandmother… So I must kill the demoness.”
“Do you understand now?” Wu Ying’s killing intent was severe.
A Mu showed compassion. “The tragedies that befell the ancient tribe are heartbreaking and moving, but this wasn’t the Saintess’s intention either. We can only blame fate’s unpredictability and the manipulations of creation. Can you not kill her?”
The Saintess’s robes fluttered. Her ethereal, distant gaze fell nowhere in particular. Wu Ying looked to heaven and laughed hideously three times. The long whip cracked explosively, leaving a crack in the ground. “My hatred has penetrated my bones and entered my blood, becoming part of my life. With such bone-deep hatred, how can I not kill her? A Mu, step aside. I might spare you.”
A Mu resolutely blocked the Saintess’s path without the slightest fear, just as she had sacrificed herself to protect Mita at the Black Stone Bridge. A Mu always seemed to place others’ safety above her own life. Wu Ying’s features contorted viciously. “Obstinate fool. I’ll grant your wish.”
The black whip tore through the icy air, stabbing toward A Mu’s Shenting acupoint. A Mu gazed calmly at the whip’s tip. Suddenly a sharp shout rang out on the giant ice, and simultaneously a silver light fast as a meteor struck the black whip askew. In Wu Ying’s stunned moment, he turned back and actually saw three people he thought were certainly dead: Li Si, Mita, and the fat Daoist.
Wu Ying said in astonishment, “You’re not dead?”
The fat Daoist tugged at his tattered Daoist robe. “I took a trip to the gates of hell, but the King of Hell said I hadn’t bathed in so long that I stank. The Hall of Hell doesn’t accept dirty ghosts, so he released me again. As for these two, the King of Hell wouldn’t take them either. With no choice, we all came back.”
The fat Daoist’s words made Wu Ying even more furious. He said hatefully, “Damn that You Huai. I knew that muffled-voice fellow couldn’t be trusted. Since you’ve come, good—I’ll clean you all up together.” Wu Ying was about to move without further words when Li Si suddenly called out loudly, “Has Great Elder Wu Ying seen the four lacquer boxes inside the ancient tribe’s ancestral temple?”
Hearing this, Wu Ying withdrew his long whip and stared at Li Si in astonishment. “How do you know about the lacquer boxes… Could it be you’ve been to the ancestral temple?”
“Great Elder Wu Ying, don’t be impatient. Since you ask me, why not first answer a question of mine?” Li Si said, seizing the opportunity. Wu Ying impatiently agreed. Li Si asked slowly, “I want to know your relationship with Bian Kui.”
“Bian Kui?” This time it was the fat Daoist and Mita who were surprised. Wu Ying clearly hadn’t expected Li Si to ask him this. He paused and said, “What Bian Kui? I don’t know him.”
“You really don’t know him?” Li Si smiled meaningfully. “Then you surely don’t know Chang Bo either, and naturally won’t admit that both Bian Kui and Chang Bo were killed by you!”
The corner of Wu Ying’s mouth twitched. He snorted coldly. “What are you talking about? Complete nonsense. I don’t know any Bian Kui or Chang Bo.”
Li Si’s smile gradually faded. “Then I’ll tell you slowly. First, let’s talk about Bian Kui. When he brought me, Gongyang Yan, Chang Bo, the fat Daoist, Mita, and A Mu into Ten Directions Mountain, it was actually premeditated. Bian Kui hid very well in Ten Directions Mountain, but ultimately there were some oversights. The biggest flaw is this.” Li Si produced the sheepskin scroll he’d obtained from Bian Kui.
“That’s Bian Kui’s map,” the fat Daoist recognized.
Li Si nodded. “After Bian Kui was killed, I followed the sheepskin scroll toward the Black Stone Bridge. During the journey, I discovered something suspicious. The sheepskin scroll was drawn by Bian Kui’s predecessors. Though complex, the route was fairly clear. On my first viewing, I could still find the Black Stone Bridge, but Bian Kui made wrong turns at two forks when consulting the scroll. You must know the most clearly marked features on the scroll are the forks. This was rather inexplicable. If Bian Kui were an ordinary mountain traveler, it would make sense, but he was a guide intimately familiar with Ten Directions Mountain. Whether relying on experience or the scroll, he shouldn’t have made such inexplicable errors. However, I later thought of an explanation—’attempting to hide makes it more obvious.'”
The fat Daoist recalled the experience of Bian Kui leading them the wrong way. He said dazedly, “Attempting to hide makes it more obvious?”
“Yes. Bian Kui deliberately acted very unfamiliar with the Black Stone Bridge and even took wrong turns, all to conceal that he was very familiar with the route to the Black Stone Bridge! Because he frequently traveled this route and also frequently entered and exited the inner mountains via the Black Stone Bridge. This indicates Bian Kui should have had contact with someone in Xingtian City.” Li Si analyzed step by step. “And this someone possessed authority in Xingtian City, able to contact Bian Kui without anyone knowing. Bian Kui’s attempt to hide actually proves this person was involved in the conspiracy with Bian Kui. Very likely, Bian Kui was merely being manipulated by him.”
“As for who this person is and what the conspiracy entails, I need to wait a bit longer to explain clearly.” Li Si let out a long breath. “Next, I want to talk about this thing.”
“It’s called Purple Dream Creeper, a small, transparent purple flower blooming beneath an ancient tree in Fuwa Village.” Li Si wanted to pull out the plucked Purple Dream Creeper but discovered it was gone, perhaps accidentally dropped when descending the fire vent. Li Si sighed helplessly, though fortunately the fat Daoist and others still remembered the Purple Dream Creeper. Li Si continued, “A friend described Purple Dream Creeper to me. She called it the Purple Dream Spirit because it only blooms late at night. So on the second night in Fuwa Village, I used the Purple Dream Creeper’s characteristics to set a small trap. I found some tiny thornberries, then coated them with green fruit juice to turn them green and hid them among the Purple Dream Creeper buds. When night grew deep and the flowers silently bloomed, if someone passed beneath the ancient tree, their shoes or pants would inevitably be stuck with green thornberries. The reason for setting this trap was because I felt the killer would appear again. Sure enough, that night Bian Kui met a violent death. Bian Kui was guarding the ancient well at the time, and I was at the stone platform ahead, so the killer must have circled around from beneath the ancient tree to the well to kill him—meaning he fell into my trap.” Li Si’s eyes gleamed. “But after daybreak, I didn’t discover anyone stuck with green thornberries. I thought the trap had failed. Until at the Black Stone Bridge, when you subdued the outcasts, Wu Ying, I discovered green thornberries on your trouser leg.”
“The killer who murdered Bian Kui was you. You also killed Chang Bo.” Li Si laid out the evidence calmly. “Including the one you tried to kill but failed—Mita—that was also you.”
Wu Ying’s face showed alarm but he didn’t admit it. “Stop talking in circles with such nonsense. Did you see me kill anyone with your own eyes?”
Before Li Si could answer, the fat Daoist stroked his chin and said, “When Chang Bo and Bian Kui were murdered, everyone was asleep, so no one saw the killer. But the night Mita was injured, I was awake. I still remember it vividly… those light hands that seemed to tear through the dark void choked Mita’s neck! If the killer wasn’t a demon or monster but Wu Ying, how did he do it?”
Wu Ying sneered coldly. “Good question. Li Si, do tell us.”
Li Si felt Wu Ying’s provocative gaze but didn’t back down at all. “First, I don’t believe there are ghosts in the world, so someone was definitely playing ghost in Fuwa Village’s murder cases, just to interfere with our judgment. Thinking carefully about the circumstances of Chang Bo and Bian Kui’s murders and Mita’s injury—what similarities are there? Those obvious things we overlooked due to terror.” Li Si turned to look at the fat Daoist and Mita, hoping for their answers.
The fat Daoist scratched his head. “Similarities… does it count that all three cases happened in the dead of night?”
Li Si didn’t respond. Mita thought and said, “The crime scenes were all in Fuwa Village.”
“That’s not the most critical point.” Li Si’s gaze passed over them both, falling on A Mu’s serene face. A Mu’s jet-black eyes blinked as she spoke. “Corpses returning to life.”
Wu Ying’s cold, stern features inexplicably stiffened. The black whip gripped in his hand creaked loudly.
Li Si smiled. “Exactly. Except for the first night when Chang Bo was killed, the following two nights both eerily featured corpses returning to life. The second night was Chang Bo. The third night were Chang Bo and Bian Kui. Even after burying them, the corpses would still run back before us. This naturally wasn’t false death—the killer did it deliberately. At first I thought the killer was playing ghost to frighten people, but later I suspected the killer had another purpose.”
“Another purpose? Besides scaring people, what else could corpses do? They can’t make corpses move things, surely?” The fat Daoist looked utterly baffled.
“Fat Daoist, can you count?” Li Si suddenly asked. The fat Daoist rolled his eyes. “How could I not count? I’m not an idiot.”
“Then calculate the number of people present when the three murder cases of Chang Bo and others occurred.” Li Si added, “Dead people count too.”
The fat Daoist’s eyes glanced upward. After a moment, he said in astonishment, “Counting them up, all three murder cases had seven people present… Wait, are you saying the corpses returning to life was to make up the numbers, to make it seven people?”
“Precisely. You truly aren’t an idiot.” Strange light flashed in Li Si’s eyes. “Seven people is just one similarity. The second similarity is insect-repelling incense. We stayed in Fuwa Village three nights. The first two nights, Bian Kui lit insect-repelling incense. On the third night after Bian Kui died, I again smelled the fragrance, but this time I didn’t know who lit it. In any case, incense was burning during all three murder cases.”
The fat Daoist and Mita indicated they remembered the third night’s insect-repelling incense. A Mu didn’t speak.
Li Si pondered for a moment. “The final similarity coming next, you all might not have noticed, and I only became aware of it on the second night. It’s a kind of…”
A Mu’s white teeth showed slightly as she interrupted Li Si. “It’s a kind of sobbing, plaintive, seeming real yet illusory sorrowful sound, and also like ancient, unknown, bewitching incantation sounds.” Li Si’s eyes brightened. “Exactly this sorrowful sound. So you heard it too.”
A Mu smiled sweetly.
Li Si organized from the beginning. “Seven people, insect-repelling incense, sorrowful ancient sound. Now returning to the initial question—has Great Elder Wu Ying seen the four lacquer boxes inside the ancient tribe’s ancestral temple? Whether you’ve seen them or not, I have. Among the four lacquer boxes hidden in the ancestral temple, the third box from the left contains a scroll made of silk-like but not silk material called ‘Seven-Person Curse.’ Though written in lost script, I still captured several comprehensible key words including ‘seven people,’ ‘incense,’ ‘incantation,’ ‘hidden killing,’ and others! From this I inferred the Seven-Person Curse is an assassination technique passed down by ancient tribe ancestors. It can make one invisible and traceless, killing without form. However, executing this technique requires meeting several conditions. First, as its name suggests, seven people must be present at the killing scene. Second, specially made black incense from the ancient tribe must be burned. Third, it must be executed in coordination with mysterious incantation sounds.”
Li Si’s eyes turned and spirit moved. “Great Elder Wu Ying, you used the Seven-Person Curse to kill Chang Bo and Bian Kui right under our noses, and nearly killed Mita. That glimpsed light hand in the void was the effect of the Seven-Person Curse’s invisible killing!”
“You, you…” From the bottom of his heart, Wu Ying felt a terror. The more he contacted this young man in green robes called Li Si, the more frightened he became. Cold sweat seeped from Wu Ying’s forehead. He wanted to deny it but didn’t know how.
“If you still won’t admit it, I have this.” Li Si produced half a stick of black incense. “This half stick of black incense comes from the ancient tribe’s ancestral temple. Its color and scent are identical to Bian Kui’s incense. Having spoken to this point, it couldn’t be clearer. You gave the black incense to Bian Kui. You are the someone in Xingtian City who controlled Bian Kui.”
“As for your conspiracy, first you ordered Bian Kui to bring us into Fuwa Village, then eliminated targets that obstructed you or threatened you. Then you guided us to Xingtian City. Your ultimate purpose was to make us scapegoats for your patricide and seizure of power. Great Elder Wu Ying, have I said anything wrong?” Li Si completely narrated an evil conspiracy from beginning to end.
The fat Daoist and Mita’s expressions changed several times as they listened. Yun Yan cowered in a corner, dumbstruck. Wu Ying’s face was deeply somber, killing intent evident. A Mu gazed at Li Si’s profile, not looking away for a long time. The changing expressions of those present were all seen by Li Si, who simply continued speaking. “But your biggest oversight was being too impatient. At the sacrificial feast, Wu Yan died suddenly from poisoning. While others were still thinking, you rushed out and determined that Gongyang Yan had poisoned the wine. How did you know there was poison in the wine? You must know that over ten plates of delicacies were set on the stone table at the time, along with fresh water and fruits. Could you divine it like Yun Yan through astrology? No. It’s because you placed the poison, so naturally you knew the poison was in the wine.”
Li Si paused again. “There’s also the Phoenix Gallbladder in Gongyang Yan’s hidden pocket. Ask yourself, what poisoner would carry poison on their person unless they’re a fool or idiot? This was clearly a well-designed ploy of substituting one thing for another to frame someone. As for the Phoenix Gallbladder, I imagine you got Gongyang Yan drunk the night before and hid it in his pocket.”
“You perfectly concealed the truth of patricide, found an iron-clad scapegoat, then heroically captured the killer and logically inherited the position of Great Elder. This could be called a rare case of killing three birds with one stone. Unfortunately, heaven’s net is wide-meshed yet nothing escapes. Those who kill will be destroyed themselves! Your crimes will eventually be exposed to the world.” Li Si spoke with righteous indignation.
Wu Ying suddenly gave a sinister laugh. “Li Si, oh Li Si, you truly exceeded my expectations and opened my eyes wide. What I thought was a seamless plan, you continually found flaws in. Truly formidable! I, Wu Ying, appreciate people with wisdom. It’s a pity you sided with Mita. However, things have come to this point. I have no need to hide anymore.”
“You’re right. The one who killed Chang Bo and Bian Kui and injured Mita was me, using precisely the Seven-Person Curse.” Wu Ying slowed his speech. “The true version of the Seven-Person Curse is hidden in the ancestral temple’s secret chamber. I never discovered the chamber so I’ve never seen it. As for the Seven-Person Curse I obtained, it was a false copy that the third generation Great Elder Yin Yushi secretly transcribed from the ancestral temple. Because the Seven-Person Curse was too bloody and cruel, along with ‘Ten Directions Poison Seed’ and ‘Bone Bewitchment’—two other vicious methods—it was collectively listed by ancient tribe ancestors as three great forbidden techniques, not allowing ancient tribe descendants to use them again.”
“As you guessed, executing the Seven-Person Curse requires assembling three conditions: seven people, burning incense, incantation. So I gave the ancient tribe’s black incense to Bian Kui. Then coordinating with the bewitching incantation and seven people, I could kill without restraint. I killed Chang Bo because I’d locked onto Gongyang Yan as a scapegoat. Chang Bo was a burden. I killed Bian Kui because this fellow was too cowardly. After Chang Bo died, he actually told me he didn’t want to continue. Hmph! A fool seeking his own death. As for Mita, she and I have an old grudge.” Wu Ying said coldly, “And poisoning Man Kua was because he deserved to die!”
“You patricidal beast!” Mita glared at Wu Ying furiously.
Wu Ying didn’t care at all, speaking slowly as if telling someone about matters on his mind. “From the moment I was born, Man Kua never once cared about me. To me, he was only a cold stone statue beyond reach. My loved ones were grandmother and my younger brother Wu Jiong. I had no excessive expectations, only wanting to live peacefully with them, but everything was destroyed one morning. Man Kua snatched Wu Jiong away, saying he was an outcast to be sent to the banishment ground. Grandmother chased after them a long way, then heartbroken, rolled down a cliff. I woke from sleep to find myself utterly alone, yet Man Kua never showed even a trace of sadness or grief for grandmother and Wu Jiong. I hate him! Hate his indifference, hate his cold-bloodedness, hate his Gu Yao Sect’s horseshit sacred rules… They together destroyed my home and took away my loved ones.”
Wu Ying’s expression was cold and cruel. “It was also on that morning I resolved to take revenge! To retaliate against everyone who hurt me and my loved ones… Man Kua, the Gu Yao Sect, and the Saintess—I won’t let any of them go. Mita, you’re right. I am a beast. Even if in the future I eternally fall into the beast realm, I have absolutely no regrets.”
From Wu Ying’s words, Mita sensed his bone-deep hatred. He must have been sustained by this hatred. Wu Ying looked to heaven and roared with wild laughter. “Hahaha, life is full of misfortune and impermanence! I’ve already spoken the truth. Your deaths won’t be unjust.”
Cold light flashed through Wu Ying’s eyes. The black whip rose high. The fat Daoist smelled danger and hastily opened his mouth. “Wait a moment. Let me interject. Actually, the culprit causing the outcasts’ appearance isn’t divine punishment or curse at all, nor is it related to the Saintess. The reason is that the Milky Way water the ancient tribe people drink contains Ice Flame strange poison.” The fat Daoist clearly and concisely introduced the Ice Flame strange poison, also telling of Wu Yan entrusting him to remove the poison, all to make Wu Ying believe.
Confusion showed in Wu Ying’s eyes. “Ice Flame Stone?”
“Precisely. Ice Flame Stone is a peculiar mutation of Earth Marrow Stone. Its formation requires at least three thousand years, so it has nothing to do with the Saintess. Moreover, Earth Marrow Stone is hidden deep in the ten-thousand-zhang earth’s core. How could humans possibly influence it?” The fat Daoist secretly winked at Li Si, meaning Wu Ying would be settled by him.
“The ten-thousand-zhang earth’s core—humans indeed can’t reach it. But the Saintess who possesses ‘divine miracles’ and could bring about the great collapse can do it. That’s right, it was the heaven-destroying, earth-annihilating great collapse five hundred years ago that caused the Earth Marrow Stone to separate from the earth’s core. The Milky Way became poisoned because of this, and the ancient tribe’s calamity truly began. Isn’t that so?” Wu Ying stared at the fat Daoist aggressively.
The fat Daoist also had doubts about why the Earth Marrow Stone separated from the earth’s core. He stammered, “The great collapse… if it was the great collapse… perhaps it was the reason the Earth Marrow Stone left the earth’s core, but this is only possible!”
“Whether or not it was caused by the great collapse, in any case it’s inseparable from the Saintess. This revenge must be taken!” Wu Ying’s black whip lashed out. Another crack appeared on the ice surface. “Respectfully requesting the Saintess Immortal’s soul to return to the ninth heaven.”
Killing intent激荡. Wu Ying pounced toward the Gu Yao Sect’s Saintess like a black eagle. Ban Xi also wielded his eagle scissors and charged up.
Li Si shouted sharply, “Save them!” Li Si and the fat Daoist both blocked Wu Ying and Ban Xi. Four people in two pairs became entangled in combat. Mita took the opportunity to come to A Mu’s side, tightly embracing her. “Don’t be afraid. This time I’ll protect you.”
A Mu smiled like a child, pure and beautiful. The Saintess in her sacred robes stood silently behind the two.
“Kill, kill, kill, kill!” Wu Ying’s eyes were blood red. The black whip was even more like a bloodthirsty python, raising layers of black shadows shrouding Li Si’s surroundings, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal strike. Yet Li Si danced his three-chi blue blade watertight, not giving Wu Ying the slightest opportunity to break through. Wu Ying glanced at the not-too-distant Saintess, his voice piercing like an awl. “Li Si, I have no time to play with you.”
Wu Ying suddenly pressed the mechanism at the whip’s handle. Only hearing “tseng tseng tseng tseng,” several hundred sharp needles drilled out from the whip body, glowing green—needless to say, the needles were soaked in deadly poison. Wu Ying gave a hideous laugh and swung the long whip horizontally. The target became the fat Daoist. The fat Daoist was currently fighting vigorously with Ban Xi and hadn’t noticed this side. Li Si secretly cried out in alarm and flew to push the fat Daoist away. Looking back, Wu Ying had disappeared. It turned out Wu Ying had only feinted. His true target was the Saintess.
Wu Ying’s black whip gathered force like a black spear. A Mu’s expression didn’t change as she stood before the Saintess. Mita gritted her teeth and blocked A Mu again. Wu Ying glared and roared, “Get out of the way, or you’ll all die!”
“A Mu!” Li Si couldn’t catch up. He called out urgently.
The black whip whistled forward. At the critical moment, the Saintess who had been silent until now suddenly sprang forth. Her sacred robes released a force that shocked the black whip back. Simultaneously, her voice like an iceberg said, “Stand down.”
Wu Ying had been suppressed by hatred for too many years. At this moment, he only sought release. He recklessly coiled up the black whip and swung it out again. The Saintess’s deep blue mask flashing with strange light was like a dark mirror. In the blue mirror, Wu Ying saw countless versions of himself, each with different emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, grief, reunion—no two the same. Just as Wu Ying was lost in distraction, he suddenly felt the numerous selves in the dark mirror transform into countless outcasts howling as they pounced toward him.
“Ah!” Wu Ying covered his face in agony. At the same instant, the Saintess’s long sleeve struck Wu Ying. Wu Ying flew far away like a kite with its string cut.
And in the instant after this instant, a black arrow seemingly piercing through the netherworld deeply stabbed into the Saintess’s chest.
Beneath the deep blue mask, the Saintess violently trembled. She extended her hand toward the ethereal void. Her sacred robe accompanied her as she quietly fell. A Mu’s eyes rolled back white. She also collapsed into Mita’s arms.
Ten zhang away, the falling Wu Ying heard the sound of bones shattering throughout his body. With dissolving consciousness, he laughed. “Dead. Finally… dead.”