It went without saying who the owner of that jade pendant was.
The white cat suddenly recalled the madwoman in the West Courtyard who had once held it in her arms and hummed a lullaby. Ouyang Huai had mentioned that his wife was mostly lucid on a daily basis, but would occasionally suffer sudden bouts of illness.
Even after so many years, it was evident that she still couldn't let it go.
Judging from Ouyang Huai's secretive expression, he had probably long concluded that his daughter had met with foul play and was no longer in this world.
But looking at the remnant soul, it was clear that the owner of the jade pendant was still alive. The reason this wisp of remnant soul was tied to the jade pendant was precisely because he couldn't let go of that child in his heart.
The remnant soul said softly, "I wonder if the relatives I entrusted her to after my death treated her well, and whether they made sure she was well-fed and warmly clothed. I am trapped in this place, unable to take a single step. If you could go and take a look at her on my behalf, this wish of mine would be fulfilled."
It was just a small matter, and the white cat naturally agreed at once.
Seeing that his wish had been entrusted, that wisp of lingering intent vanished like smoke.
A gust of wind blew, scattering it without a trace.
The white cat closed its eyes.
Its master often said that the mortal realm was the true purgatory, and what was called hell was merely the journey home after enduring all suffering.
All living beings had no shore, and the Dao was hard to cross.
"Disciple, put that jade pendant away safely."
Jiang Zhiyu complied, silently picking up the jade pendant from the ground and tucking it into his robes.
Right at this moment.
The bronze bell suspended in mid-air suddenly vibrated violently!
"Not good!"
The white cat shouted sharply, "Watch out!"
Jiang Zhiyu didn't even have time to look up before he saw the white feline figure leap in front of him. Its sharp claws slashed a half-arc of clear light, acting like a shield, forcefully blocking the surging, fiery malevolent aura!
It was the very evil entity that had escaped from the Ouyang Manor that night.
The depths of the malevolent aura were filled with roars and wails, like a mass of frantically shape-shifting dark clouds. It sometimes morphed into giant twisted ghost faces, and sometimes into countless demonic claws, frantically tearing at the light shield set up by the white cat.
The white cat, its spiritual core damaged, trembled slightly, but didn't retreat a single step.
Seeing his master struggling, a fierce look flashed in Jiang Zhiyu's eyes. He quickly guided his sword art, pouring all his spiritual power into the blade, and slashed into the churning black clouds!
The sword aura and the malevolent aura collided violently, erupting into a piercing shriek.
The white cat seized the opportunity, gathering its true essence, and was about to attack the malevolent aura.
But at this instant, the churning black clouds suddenly stagnated.
As if attracted by something, it changed direction.
In the next moment, it actually abandoned its current enemy and, without any warning, rapidly shrank, turning into a gust of wind and shooting towards the center of Qianwu Town at an astonishing speed.
The way the malevolent aura fled didn't look like a retreat, but rather revealed a starving urgency.
Like... it had caught the scent of its own kind.
Malevolent aura was most easily attracted to its own kind.
They would instinctively devour each other, and the more they devoured, the stronger they became.
Just like a snowball, rolling bigger and bigger, until it became a monstrous entity that blotted out the sky and sun.
Could it be...
The white cat's feline pupils gradually focused, and its voice darkened, "Oh no, something has probably happened at the same location in Luoxingyuan!"
Jiang Zhiyu's heart skipped a beat, and his breathing grew rapid.
"Yaoyao! Wu Li!"
He blurted out these two names, extremely anxious. His figure darted out first, chasing swiftly in the direction where the malevolent aura had vanished.
A moment later, the two arrived in front of that ancient boulder in the center of the town.
Only the entrance, which originally had shimmering light flowing around it, was now completely entangled and blocked by viscous black energy.
The passage was completely locked dead.
*
"Chai Xiaomi" snuggled into Ouyang Rui's arms, her fingers climbing up the back of his neck like vines.
Her nose gently brushed past his beating pulse, taking a deep breath, wanton and greedy, as if sniffing a plate of enticing delicacies.
The subtle touch sent a shudder through him, leaving Ouyang Rui dizzy, his lips trembling, "Mi, Mi'er..."
He was not inexperienced, but at this moment, even his breathing had lost its rhythm.
The blood surged within his body, and hot and cold sweat soaked his clothes. Even the sharp pain from the arrow wound seemed to blur.
Ecstasy washed over his heart like a tide. It seemed that his fearless act of shielding her and bravely pulling out the arrow had all been seen by her.
Even he felt that he had been truly dashing in that moment, and Xiaomi must have been captivated by him because of it.
He just hadn't expected her to be so proactive.
"Mi'er..." When that slightly cool hand slipped into his robes, a low pant escaped Ouyang Yi's throat, "Doing, doing this in the temple... seems inappropriate..."
After all, doing it in front of the deity statues felt like blaspheming the gods.
But even as he said this, his hands still involuntarily hugged her tighter.
His consciousness receded like the tide, his eyelids drooping heavily. The blood color spread from the arrow wound, staining his sleeves.
Only the warm and soft touch in his arms became the last thread of support in his crumbling will.
But suddenly.
The body in his arms stiffened and stopped moving.
Although the movements stopped, Ouyang Rui could clearly feel her trembling violently, even her teeth chattering faintly.
The plantain spirit had cultivated for a thousand years and possessed an instinctive sharpness and perception of hidden dangers.
And just in that instant, it clearly sensed a terrifyingly powerful and seemingly destructive force pressing heavily over the temple.
The rain had clearly stopped, but muffled thunder rolled across the horizon, like a low roar from the abyss.
It turned its head in horror, only to see two tall figures standing outside the temple door.
"Little beauty, didn't expect us to turn back, did you?" Unale panted heavily, staring at her intertwined posture with Ouyang Rui, excitement dancing in his eyes. "You've got some nerve, hiding in such a conspicuous place, you really played us for fools."
If he and Bagan hadn't run all over the place, unable to find any trace of them, and turned back to check, how would they have stumbled upon this scene.
Unale sneered inwardly, feeling that the two were still a bit stupid. Since they had tricked them, they should have left this place as soon as possible, but they actually had the leisure to be all lovey-dovey in this ruined temple.
Seeing who it was, the plantain spirit secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, it thought some terrifying existence had descended.
So it was just two men.
That was fine, it didn't mind having more.
Swallowing three in one breath wasn't impossible.
It was originally a hermaphroditic body. If it wanted to permanently transform into a pure female form, it originally needed to consume a hundred virgin youths, but now it was no longer picky.
Having been hungry for too long, having something to eat was good enough.
"This ruined temple is a good place to get down to business." Bagan licked his lips, his gaze glued to "Chai Xiaomi". "That guy you're holding is about to kick the bucket, why don't you let us brothers show you a good time!"
He suddenly laughed as if remembering something, "Beauty, I heard your companion call you from afar earlier, the name is easy to remember, Xiao—"
However, before the second word could be called out.
From all directions, a powerful malevolent aura surged fiercely, swift as a ghost, violently piercing into the crowns of their heads!
Immediately after, the viscous, ink-like malevolent aura swept through their bodies like a whirlwind, before gushing out from their suddenly widened eye sockets and mouths stretched to the limit.
From afar, they looked like two statues nailed dead in place.
Unable to even tremble, they could only stand there in despair.
In a mere breath.
The two burly, ferocious bodies from just a moment ago were instantly hollowed out. They collapsed suddenly, leaving behind nothing but two thin, soft sheets of human skin.
Like withered leaves, they fluttered lightly into the dust.
The bright moonlight was swallowed by a sinister miasma.
The surroundings plunged into a thick, viscous gloom.
A tall, slender figure stepped slowly from the depths of the shadows.
Silver ornaments chimed softly, ringing out with every step.
The sound was as crisp and cold as shattered ice plunging into a deep pool, rippling outward like some eerie, macabre chant.
The deadly miasma lingered tamely between the youth's fingers and against the side of his neck, even brushing intimately past his slightly lowered lashes.
His face flickered in and out of the shifting shadows. His skin was a cold, jade-like white, yet his lips were as vibrantly red as if soaked in blood, and at this moment, they were curling into a faint smile.
Wu Li slowly stepped over the two human skins. He toyed with a stalk of foxtail grass, winding it around and around his index finger.
The stem dug deeply into his flesh.
It was pulled so tight that it left deep, dark red welts.
He raised his gaze, looking toward the "young girl" standing stiffly inside the temple. The swirling, drifting miasma reflected in the depths of his eyes—startlingly bright, yet bone-chillingly cold.
"Where is she?"
His voice was impossibly light, carrying a trace of a lazy smile, yet it froze the air in the entire temple into solid ice.
