CHAPTER 19

Fu Changling felt a little bit trapped in a dilemma by these words.

For a brief moment, he was at a loss as to how to respond and stammered for a while before finally replying, "I'm just afraid of him."

Yan Ming smiled and said, "You are the only one who knows clearly why you are afraid."

With that, Yan Ming gazed up at the moon in the sky, then he raised his cup and looked at Fu Changling, saying solemnly, "Fu Xiōng, tomorrow's battle will be fought, not knowing whether we will live or die. I toast to you with this final cup of wine."

At these words, Fu Changling stared at Yan Ming, who was looking at him with a clear expression.

He was still young, with a bright future ahead of him. Fu Changling couldn't help but smile as he also raised his cup and said, "I'll drink this cup of wine with you, but rest assured, tomorrow, you'll definitely live."

"Fu Xiōng is so confident?"

Fu Changling paused for a moment. As he stared at Yan Ming in front of him, he suddenly felt as if that person's eyes were an unfathomable whirlpool that sucked his entire being in, leaving him in a bit of a trance. However, his confusion only lasted for a brief moment before his mind became clear.

Fu Changling responded, "Of course," clinking cups with Yan Ming. He found himself repeating what Yan Ming had told him back then, "Since I promised to get you out of here, I will."

"Then, I am counting on Fu Xiōng," Yan Ming said, and together with Fu Changling, they guzzled down their wine in one gulp.

After the wine was finished, Yan Ming set down his cup and got up to leave. Fu Changling watched Yan Ming leave as he sipped his wine and gazed up at the moon in the sky as well as at the person under the moonlight.

That person didn't wear his guān this night; his long hair was only half-pulled back with a hairband, giving him a slightly more laid-back appearance.

As he stared at that person, Fu Changling suddenly found himself falling into a trance.

It was as if he had suddenly travelled back in time to the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace from when he was the Immortal Alliance's leader and Qin Yan had long since died.

Even after Qin Yan's death, he couldn't sleep. The only way for him to obtain peace of mind was to go to the places where Qin Yan had been and look for any traces left by the other person.

He recalled that year, when he had finished rebuilding the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace and came to Qin Yan's sleeping chamber. His chamber's walls were chiselled into giant moon-shaped archways, and it was cold since there were no side walls. The moon could be seen hanging outside the Lanyue Palace's entrance when it was high in the sky, and its silvery glow blanketed the black marble floor, giving the entire chamber a desolate beauty, much like the person who once occupied it.

The first night he came, he slept in Qin Yan's bedchamber. In the middle of the night, he faintly heard the sound of someone's voice and opened his eyes to find Qin Yan sitting at the moon archway, quietly meditating.

He dared not utter a sound and simply fixed his gaze on Qin Yan's silhouette, not moving a muscle.

It wasn't until he opened his eyes at dawn that he realised his tears had dried up.

Now, as if in a dream, he was gazing off at Qin Yan in the distance and suddenly found himself in a bit of a daze, uncertain whether he had truly been reborn at this moment or if it was all just a reverie.

The other seemed to have noticed his gaze, and he turned his head. His cold, clear eyes landed on him, and finally he raised his cup and gestured towards him.

After a moment of being stunned, Fu Changling then smiled, raised the cup in his hand as well, and drank it down together with Qin Yan.

Then they returned to their respective rooms. Fu Changling slept on the small couch, Qin Yan on the bed, and Yan Ming in the adjoining room. Fu Changling couldn't fall asleep. He stared at the moonlight in the distance and struggled to find words for some time before uttering, "Qin Yan."

In the darkness of the night, Qin Yan responded, and Fu Changling continued slowly, "Actually, I shouldn't be afraid of you, right?"

Qin Yan remained silent as he listened to Fu Changling say, "I have no reason to be afraid of you. We've only met for the first time now, right?"

After quite a while, Qin Yan slowly spoke up, "Right."

"Qin Yan," Fu Changling felt a little sleepy as he listened to Qin Yan's voice and leisurely said, "We'll part once we leave the Xuanji Secret Realm. Let's go our separate ways when the time comes and live our respective lives well."

As Qin Yan went a long time without saying anything, Fu Changling gradually dozed off. He was half awake and half asleep when he heard the cold voice of that person responding, "Very well."

After a restful night's sleep, Fu Changling awoke to find Qin Yan and Yan Ming already waiting for him.

He yawned and got up. Just as he had finished freshening up, he heard Wu Sisi's voice ring out from a distance outside the door, "Fu Láng～Fu Láng, are you up yet?"

This voice made Fu Changling shudder. He was so terrified that he dropped the handkerchief in his hand into the water basin. Wu Sisi burst through the door, giddy with enthusiasm. Seeing the long-prepared Qin Yan and Yan Ming, who were meditating nearby, and Fu Changling, who had just finished washing his face, she took two steps forward, pinched his ear, gritted her teeth, and grumbled coyly, "Fu Láng～you're up early, aren't you!"

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts." Fu Changling swiftly yanked Wu Sisi's hand away and hurriedly said, "It's better to get up early than to get up just in time. I just got up, and you just came, so it's perfect. What have I delayed?"

"Thank goodness you didn't delay," Wu Sisi said, lowering her voice, "or else this old lady would have chopped you up."

Fu Changling hissed and couldn't help but say, "How could Mingxiu ZhenJun stand you?"

Wu Sisi grunted coldly and whirled around, swinging her hips and exclaiming, "Hurry up, or we won't make it to the sacrificial ritual in time."

Wu Sisi urged on, and there wasn't much for the group to prepare. Fu Changling hid the Ten Directions Gods-Slaying Formation in his sleeve before walking towards the sacrificial altar, blending in with the crowd.

Everyone in the town seemed to have come out, and when they walked up the main street, they saw the streets bustling with people. Fu Changling, Qin Yan, and Yan Ming walked together, and Fu Changling in the middle whispered, "Is everything clear about what you both need to do later?"

This was a simple matter, and both of them answered, "Clear."

Fu Changling set his mind at ease, and the group joined the crowd of people gathered around the sacrificial altar.

The altar was still surrounded by the same wooden cages as when they had come, but the cultivators that they had seen inside of them previously had turned into the bones of the dead.

Qin Yan and Yan Ming furrowed their brows at the sight, but Fu Changling wasn't too surprised. He studied the situation around him while tapping his fan on his palm.

There were more and more people, and by the time the last person on the street had entered the compound, the gate was closed. Not long after, the detailed sound of drums could be heard all around, and everyone spontaneously fell silent. Then a man and a woman ascended to the sacrificial altar. They were dressed in floor-length robes with wide sleeves, colourful feathers on their heads, and small bells hanging from their hands and feet, which tinkled as they moved.

They went up to the altar in dignified posture and then proceeded to dance in specific steps to the chanting of the four priests next to them.

The way these people danced was different from most of Yunze's dances. Fu Changling felt somewhat familiar with such a dance as he watched it, but before he knew it, the sound of the drums abruptly became louder, and the sky seemed to be ripped apart by a ray of light. Slowly, a figure clad in black and wearing a fang-adorned mask descended from that light.

Everyone present hurriedly dropped to their knees as soon as the man appeared, and their expressions all displayed an almost fanatical zeal. They kept kowtowing and chanting the person's name in worship: "Blessed be the Venerable One for thousands of years! Blessed be the Venerable One for thousands of years!"

Fu Changling, Qin Yan, and the others stood among the crowd the entire time, appearing to stand out in an unexpected way, yet no one noticed them. They were completely focused on the "Venerable One", who had just appeared, and kept calling out to him over and over again.

As the Venerable One slowly landed onto the sacrificial altar, Fu Changling leaned in closer to Qin Yan, unfolded his fan, and whispered, "Do you think this person magically changed into Ye Lan's likeness?"

When Qin Yan heard Fu Changling address "Ye Lan" by name, he couldn't help but exclaim in hushed tones, "How presumptuous!"

Ye Lan was the most revered Sword Master of Yunze. Thus, for Fu Changling to call him by his name was indeed an unacceptable act of insolence to a sword cultivator like Qin Yan.

Fu Changling shrugged, straightened up, and intermittently fanned himself with his Qinggu fan.

Wu Sisi had already knelt in the crowd, leaving only Fu Changling standing and looking up at the Venerable One on the sacrificial altar.

This Venerable One spread his arms out, and in a deep, rich voice, he chanted, "May the power of the gods—"

All those kneeling on the ground raised their heads, spread their arms out, looked up to the sky, and chanted along with the Venerable One, "May the power of the gods—"

As he took in the sight of these people's behaviour, Fu Changling's expression changed somewhat, and he couldn't help but clutch the tiny fan in his hand tightly.

This scene was familiar to him because he had witnessed it before.

"Shower upon all sentient beings..." Fu Changling couldn't stop himself from spewing out the next line.

Upon hearing these words, Qin Yan subconsciously turned his head to look at him. Simultaneously, the Venerable One on the sacrificial altar also raised his voice and yelled into the sky, "Shower upon all sentient beings!"

"Shower upon all sentient beings..."

"May the power of the gods shower upon all sentient beings..." Prayers were heard being recited continuously in the square, and Fu Changling frowned tightly.

This was exactly the scene he had encountered back then on the night he received the information and went to the Immaculate Palace to exterminate the demon cultivators and capture Qin Yan.

The Immaculate Palace looked like this at that time: all the demon cultivators kneeled on the ground and recited a similar prayer to the sacrificial ritual above them.

As his heart pounded a little faster, the blue veins on Fu Changling's temples became more visible.

The Gōng method used by Shangguan Hong, Qin Yan's arrival, the bizarre talismanic scripts on Shangguan Yuemin's back, and the prayer scene at present that appeared to be oddly similar to the Karma Prison one he had witnessed before...

At this point, Fu Changling suddenly had an inexplicable intuition. He felt as if there was an invisible, impenetrable web encircling him and that he was the prey in it, being watched intently by a spider.

Fu Changling felt that he could no longer hear any of the surrounding sounds. His mind kept going over the recent occurrences, and he always felt that he had overlooked something. It seemed that something was evolving quietly without him realising it.

An unexplainable uneasiness overcame him, and it was then that the ground beneath his feet quaked, and a low bellow called out to them, "Outsiders—"

With that, Fu Changling and Qin Yan felt that they were being controlled by an invisible force that held him, Qin Yan, Yan Ming, and several other cultivators from outside and dropped them all onto the sacrificial altar simultaneously. The Venerable One then questioned, "Outsiders, do you have the right to leave?"

Following the question, a ray of light enveloped the cultivator nearest to the Venerable One. Before he could say anything, the cultivator suddenly let out a horrific shriek and collapsed to the ground before being bizarrely "sucked" in.

There were a great many ghastly white arms springing from the ground as he appeared to be desperately striving to get to his feet. Fiercely grabbed, the cultivator was yanked to the ground and sunk into it.

This person was literally pulled by those arms and sank into the sacrificial altar of bluestone slabs bit by bit.

Qin Yan's expression changed drastically as the cultivator screamed desperately and miserably. He tightened his grip on his sword and looked up at Wu Sisi among the crowd.

"Save me! Save me!" It appeared at that point that Yan Ming was unable to hold back any longer as the cultivator was pulled into the ground little by little. He abruptly drew his sword and ****** it at the Venerable One, yelling, "Die, you old evil!"

Seeing Yan Ming rushing out, Fu Changling's breathing stopped. He moved instinctively, only to see a wide sleeve blocking his way. Fu Changling's actions came to a standstill as Qin Yan fixed his gaze on him and simply said, "Trust me."

Having said that, Qin Yan drew his sword and went forth. Fu Changling stared at Qin Yan and Yan Ming's figures from behind. He took a deep breath and turned around before leaping into the melee of people.

Trust him.

Fu Changling chose to take a one-time gamble and trust Qin Yan.

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Author's Note:

[Mini Theatre]

Mo Shubai: What do you think is the main substance of the story so far? You can talk about it in terms of plot, emotion, and all sorts of other aspects.

Fu Changling: Only one thing has been written that is clear.

Mo Shubai: What???

Fu Changling: My wife is the most beautiful.

Mo Shubai: I have no regrets about my outline just because you said so.

...❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❦❧❦...

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