bayedsolid Chapter 123, 9th Lifetime: Finding the Way Back
Chapter 123, 9th Lifetime: Finding the Way Back
Chapter 123 Nine Lifetimes: Finding Oneself and Returning to the Right Path
Chapter 123 Nine Lifetimes: Returning from the Wrong Path
"Holy crap! What's going on?" Luo Qingci was just preparing to go into desperate mode when suddenly a ghost-like figure "whooshed" into a thick fog where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. It felt like being stuffed into a dark, giant bag by an invisible hand.
The surroundings were a chaotic blur, the darkness so thick it seemed you could scoop it up with a spoon. She felt uneasy all over, as if countless eyes were lurking in the darkness, like a group of little monsters hiding in secret, watching her with ill intent, ready to see her make a fool of herself. The thought sent chills down her spine.
"Huff..." Luo Qingci took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently, her fists clenching involuntarily, her nails digging into her palms, her hands covered in cold sweat. Just then, "rustling," "crackling," "sizzling," a strange and piercing sound came from the depths of darkness. The noise was like someone was using a rusty iron saw to saw the ground hard, making her ears feel like they were about to explode, and her heart pounded like a drum, as if it would jump out of her throat at any moment.
As the sound drew closer, the ground began to tremble with a series of thuds, as if a giant monster was trudging heavily toward her. The sound was like a sharp screwdriver, constantly stirring up the irritation in her heart, making her inexplicably want to fight someone and vent all this anger.
Just as she was becoming increasingly agitated, a strange and eerie scene gradually became clear in her mind, like a movie playing: it was an ancient and bloody battlefield, and on the battlefield stood a person dressed in pure white robes, their clothes fluttering in the wind, at first glance, like a cold and aloof immortal who had stepped out of a painting. But the next second, this person held a long sword, and with each stroke, the sword rose and fell with unbelievable cleanliness and efficiency, blood splattering everywhere, splashing onto the white robes like a few bright red plum blossoms suddenly sprouting in the pure white snow, exceptionally glaring.
"No way, am I seeing things? Am I still half asleep?" Luo Qingci rubbed her eyes hard and slapped her face, wincing in pain, but the terrifying scene before her remained unchanged. The white-clad man continued to wield his sword, and with each strike, a soul fell, those souls not even having a chance to escape or cry for help before their lives were mercilessly ended.
Upon closer inspection, among the souls killed by the white-clad man's sword were women, children, and elderly people. They were unarmed and powerless to resist the white-clad man's attack, and could only watch helplessly as they became victims of his sword.
Witnessing this indiscriminate and brutal slaughter, Luo Qingci felt a surge of compassion. While she wasn't the kind of person to be soft-hearted, and her hands were stained with blood—compared to those who spent their days chanting Buddhist scriptures—she had only killed those who deserved it. She always adhered to the principle of "I will not offend others unless they offend me; if they offend me, I will kill them without hesitation." But the actions of this man in white had truly crossed her line. "Good heavens, today I've really seen something extraordinary," she muttered under her breath.
She glanced at the white-clad man's feet and saw that he was wearing heavy shackles with a thick iron chain attached to them, as thick as a wrist. With each step he took, the chain scraped against the ground, making a maddening "crackling" and "sizzling" sound, which only intensified Luo Qingci's irritation.
Just as Luo Qingci was contemplating whether to rush forward and stop the massacre, several eerie, mocking voices suddenly echoed from the depths of the dim chaos: "Oh, you must really want to stop this massacre, right? You must really want to save those lost souls, right? You must really want to end this slaughter, right? Heh~ hahaha..."
Upon hearing the sound, Luo Qingci's heart skipped a beat. She exhaled a breath of stale air and instantly entered battle mode. Her spiritual senses, like a powder keg ignited, exploded forth with a "boom." Using her divine sense, she searched for her prey like an experienced, poised cheetah, cautiously probing the source of the sound. Her eyes flashed with vigilance as she kept a close eye on the man in white and the souls beneath his sword. She shouted, "What's it to you? Mind your own business! You're more concerned than the emperor himself! Instead of wasting your time, go home and look in the mirror at your cowardly, hiding-your-face self! Bah!"
After saying that, she swiftly pulled out the poisoned dart she carried with her from her waist. Without thinking, she flung it towards the source of the mysterious voice in the dim light. The dart rose and fell cleanly and swiftly, her technique fast, accurate, and ruthless, striking the vital points directly. Luo Qingci always treated anyone whose intentions she couldn't distinguish as friend or foe as an enemy attack. If they didn't explain their intentions and hid their heads, accidental injury was to be expected!
"You brat, I'm going to kill you! Ah, my eyes, ah, my mouth, ah, my heart, you brat, I'll destroy you no matter where you are!" A painful scream suddenly came from the depths of the darkness.
Luo Qingci's lips curled slightly, revealing a barely perceptible sneer of disdain, before she quickly regained her serious expression. She continued to use all her spiritual senses to carefully discern the location of the approaching figures, ready to fight to the death at any moment. Her eyes remained fixed on the man in white and the tragically deceased souls, prepared to intercept them at the first opportunity.
Then, a mocking laugh echoed from the dim light: "Heh~ haha...tsk tsk, a woman is still a woman, everyone has weaknesses, and you're no exception. You're just a pathetic little piece of trash! Don't say I didn't give you a chance. I'll give you two choices. Choose correctly, and you can leave here and regain your freedom; choose incorrectly, and you'll be forever trapped here, with no chance of ever leaving! Listen carefully, brat. First, you can end your life here to save those souls, sacrificing yourself to give them the right to live. But from then on, you'll bear the burden of all the sins committed by the man in white, and be despised and cursed by the world. Even if you sacrifice yourself today, don't expect a single bit of pity from the world. Second, kill the man in white. That way, you can also save those souls. Sacrificing the man in white will allow you to leave here and regain your freedom! Brat, I'd like to see which one you choose! Heh~ haha..."
Luo Qingci silently watched the man in white, then glanced at the pitiful souls. After hearing the mocking laughter, she didn't hesitate for a second. Swiftly, she pulled a sachet from her bosom, and with fluid movements, took out a porcelain bottle containing pills. With a "pop," she uncorked the bottle, tilted her head back, and poured all the pills into her mouth, swallowing them quickly. Then, she gave the middle finger towards the shadows, sat cross-legged, and calmly said, "Cowardly cowards hiding their heads and tails, afraid to show their faces—what kind of heroes are they! I forgot to tell you, when faced with a choice between two options, I never make a choice; giving the answer directly is the most straightforward!"
Those in the dimly lit depths were clearly taken aback by her decisiveness and clicked their tongues in astonishment, saying, "Tsk, brat, are you really courting death? What good will it do you even if you sacrifice yourself? In the end, you'll still be burdened with infamy and despised by everyone. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
Luo Qingci ignored him and offered no reply, quietly awaiting death's arrival. She gazed at the heavy chains binding the white-clad man's feet, watching him mechanically reap the souls of the dead, and seemed to see her own reflection in him. Reflecting on her life, though she had mastered formidable skills in both medicine and poison, a healer could not heal herself. She had originally crafted these poison pills to provide a sliver of self-defense against powerful enemies, but today, they had all been swallowed whole.
The toxin quickly spread through her body. Luo Qingci felt cold sweat pouring out, her fingers clenched into fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms. Blood dripped from between her fingers onto the ground, where it was quickly absorbed. She felt a metallic taste in her throat, and with a "pfft," she spat out a mouthful of blood. As she expelled the blood, it was as if all her life force had been drained from her; her breathing became weak and uneven, and finally, with a "thud," she collapsed straight to the ground.
But her face remained calm, a forced smile playing on her lips as she glanced at the man in white and the departed souls. She knew in her heart that fate had brought her here for a reason. She intended to follow her heart, to let things unfold as they were, allowing events to take their natural course. Wherever fate led her, she would remain, following its destined path. "Everyone dies eventually, so what is there to fear?" she thought silently.
She calmly gazed at the man in white, a bold thought suddenly surfacing in her mind: perhaps this man in white was the cause to be resolved, and these departed souls were the consequence of today! A folk song unconsciously welled up within her, and she softly hummed it: "A phrase 'Spring is not too late,' the foolish child remained in true Jiangnan; the melody of Jiangnan falls on a lonely city, turning into mist and rain to converse with me; a phrase 'Winter is not cold,' the foolish child traversed countless mountains, only remembering the soft sigh of the folk song…"
From the shadowy depths, a voice, its allegiance unclear, uttered a mournful sigh: "Alas...you brat, why do you do this to yourself?"
The man in white temporarily put down his sword, as if sensing what was happening on Luo Qingci's side. His numb expression softened slightly, and his bloodshot eyes regained a bit of clarity, but he was not fully awakened yet, his eyes still carrying a numb crimson.
As time passed, Luo Qingci could no longer hold on. The last vestige of life force in her body was rapidly dissipating. She coughed up several mouthfuls of foul blood. Over time, the poison had spread throughout her body, seeping into her internal organs. It was a miracle that she had managed to hold on until now. Rather than saying she was holding on, it would be more accurate to say that Luo Qingci had completely given up struggling. She had accepted her fate and allowed death to arrive quietly. With an open and accepting heart, she quietly awaited the arrival of death. At this moment, she was barely breathing, and the life force in her body was rapidly dissipating, as if she would disappear from this world in the next second.
Luo Qingci gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay awake, and looked back at the man in white and the wailing ghost. Poisoned, Luo Qingci's senses and spirit were shut down; her vision was blurred, and she couldn't see her surroundings clearly. She saw the man in white, his face stained with blood, his expression unrecognizable. In her blur, she seemed to see him desperately trying to express something, but she could neither see nor hear him anymore. Silence is wisdom, stillness is cultivation. Luo Qingci was now clinging to life with only a faint breath. She forced a smile, her eyes glistening, calmly awaiting the arrival and judgment of fate. Her life flashed before her eyes like a slideshow, her surroundings constantly contaminated by the poison, coughing up large amounts of foul blood. She gave up her will to live, slowly said goodbye, and slowly closed her eyes.
Just as she was on the verge of giving up, an ancient book suddenly flew out of her arms. This book was like a super powder keg that had been ignited, flashing with dazzling light. At the critical moment, it burst out with powerful energy, forming an energy shield that completely protected her and forcefully repelled the Grim Reaper who was about to reap her life.
Death's normally emotionless eyes revealed a hint of surprise, mixed with delight. It stroked its chin, clicked its tongue, and said, "Interesting." Then, it waved its black, sack-like sleeves, gathering all the already dead spirits into its long sleeves. It then turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared, as if it had never been there at all.
The ancient book transformed into a warm, smooth jade pendant, radiating a gentle light and nourishing energy. This energy, like a group of diligent little sprites, burrowed one after another into Luoqingci's body, diligently purifying the toxins within her. The jade pendant's energy gently lifted her up, suspending her in mid-air, and focused all its efforts on clearing the toxins from her.
As time passed, the toxins in Luo Qingci's body gradually subsided, her vitality slowly returned, and her senses and perception slowly returned as well. She could feel the wind outside, but she thought she had become a wandering ghost. Because she knew in her heart that she had swallowed an incurable poison that she had personally concocted, and unless a god descended, even a great immortal could not save her.
The jade pendant sensed that some toxins, deeply ingrained in her consciousness, remained within her body and were difficult to eliminate, but she had already regained her vitality. Therefore, the jade pendant continuously uttered healing cries that reached the very soul: "Wake up! Wake up quickly! Wake up! Soul, return! Soul, come back! Don't make a mistake! Wake up!"
But Ke Luo Qingci refused to open her eyes, not because the poison hadn't been completely cleared, but because she was determined to die. She felt she had obeyed fate's arrangement, followed its proper course, and done what she was supposed to do; the rest was up to destiny to decide.