Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Then, after arriving at the Yun Family Gathering, who have you harmed?"
The old man's intentions were clear to Xing Ruyi without needing to glance at him. This Yun Family Gathering was no coincidence; it was impossible for the old man and his Fireflies to just happen to wander into her courtyard. As for the old man's own experiences, if they were false, that would be one thing, but if true, he was merely a pitiful person schemed against by someone. In essence, that Mastermind was simply using the old man's corpse to nurture these harmful creatures.
"Just that Master from the Hu Family," the old man replied, glancing outside again. "Oh, and that unfortunate Clerk from earlier. Actually, the Master from the Hu Family wasn't harmed by me; I was just tasked with obtaining a strand of his hair. As for what happened afterward, it had nothing to do with me. However, that Clerk outside, whether I wanted it or not, he truly died because of my bugs; I won't deny that."
"And the purpose? That person wouldn't have sent you with bugs to find me for no reason; there must be some objective."
The old man's eyes rolled around before he said, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"What is the truth? And what is the lie?"
"The truth is that I came here tonight without any purpose, just like when I asked that Hu Family Master for his hair—it's all just following someone's instructions or arrangements. As for the lie, since it's a lie, it doesn't really matter whether it's true or not; it's better if I don't say anything."
Xing Ruyi smiled as she stood in the snow, watching the Fireflies surrounding the old man. She extended a hand, and a deep blue flame blossomed from her fingertips like blue fireworks in the winter night, attracting the Fireflies to gather around her. The originally golden Fireflies transformed into transparent blue ones, forming a large circle around Xing Ruyi.
"Young Master!"
Li Mao clenched his hands tightly, his eyes fixed on the dancing Fireflies. As they flew through the swirling snowflakes, those cold snowflakes suddenly ignited. He didn't understand why Xing Ruyi would actively provoke these Fireflies again and what those Fireflies surrounding her intended to do.
Yin Yuan also watched the Fireflies with an unprecedented seriousness; a hint of blue settled in his deep eyes. He was the Demonic Soul of the Ghostly Fetus and had no physical form but had manifested a real body due to a drop of Xing Ruyi's blood, becoming a true relative connected by blood to her in this world. As those Fireflies approached Xing Ruyi, he felt something unusual in their bloodline connection and seemed to understand something as they drew closer.
Moving swiftly beneath him, he leaped lightly onto the rooftop. His gaze pierced through the swirling snowflakes as he searched in the darkness. Finally, his eyes found that point—a figure standing in the night, wrapped in frost and wind.
"What do you intend to do?"
Yin Yuan asked as he quickly moved toward that dark figure. The silhouette gradually enlarged in his vision until it became a middle-aged man standing on the roof, drinking and enjoying the snow.
"Ah, I've been discovered!" Mo Xu You chuckled nonchalantly, raising his hand and shaking the wine flask he held. "Care for a drink? This is the supreme Daughter's Red that I dug up from the imperial city. It is said that the Empress buried it beneath that Osmanthus tree when she gave birth to Former Emperor and Princess Taiping. Not only does it have the unique fragrance of Daughter's Red, but it also carries the scent of Osmanthus that has been steeped in time."
Mo Xu You extended three fingers and waved them in the air. "Now, there are only three jars in total. This first jar was opened when Princess Taiping married the second son of the Chengyang Princess, Xue Shao, at the age of sixteen. Unfortunately, that jar of wine was still lacking in years and didn't taste good. The second jar was something Princess Taiping didn't want to open because the marriage arranged in the first year of Zai Chu was not her wish; being part of the royal family meant she had no choice. On her wedding night, with flowers and candles in the bridal chamber, the princess still longed for her beloved Xue Lang from back then. Alas, they were separated by life and death; even though Daughter's Red remained buried beneath the Osmanthus tree, the one drinking it was no longer the person she once entrusted her heart to. After a night of drunkenness, she no longer wished to open this Daughter's Red, so it remained buried under that tree for many years. It wasn't until she met me, this mad Daoist, that it saw the light of day again. In truth, if there's blame to be placed on anyone, why should we hold this jar of fine wine accountable?" Mo Xu You gazed with hazy drunken eyes and tossed the flask over.
Yin Yuan reached out to catch it but merely sniffed it before tossing it back.
"Royal Daughter's Red is nothing special."
"Nothing special! Nothing special! You're right; Royal Daughter's Red is nothing special. In fact, this Daughter's Red has never been about wine but rather the hopes parents have for their children's future happiness in marriage. Yet how many in this world can truly be a Fox Demon?" Mo Xu You laughed wildly, his Daoist robe adorned with talismans dancing in the snow. "The common folk envy those of royal blood but little do they know that royal children also envy them. What difference does it make if one is a prince or a princess? They are merely pawns on someone else's chessboard. And what about you and me? We are just pieces on that board as well."
"You truly are a madman, spouting nonsense," Yin Yuan stood firm, staring into Mo Xu You's drunken eyes. "What do you intend to do to my mother? I warn you, if you dare harm her even a little, no matter what powers you have behind you, I will ensure they accompany you to your grave."
"I believe you! Even if others don't believe me, I do. Do you know why? Because I know what you are and what I am. So I believe that if you truly wanted to pursue this matter seriously, you could indeed change the color of this land and reverse fate itself. But I'm not afraid; neither are those behind me because from beginning to end, we have never thought about harming your mother or even your Father Fox. On the contrary, we have always been protecting them, doing our best to let them live their desired lives."
Mo Xu You pointed toward where Rouge was laid out. "Look at those insects; I raised them specifically for your mother's illness. Even that insect attendant was carefully chosen by me. For your mother's ailment, I have not hesitated to use one innocent person after another—be they human, demon, ghost, or monster. So you should believe that I harbor no ill intentions toward your mother."
Yin Yuan let out a cold laugh. "Are you trying to tell me that everything you've done is because you've fallen for my Fox Demon mother?"
"Why not? A graceful lady deserves admiration from a gentleman; what's so strange about me liking your Fox Demon mother? Do you think your Fox Demon mother isn't worthy of being liked by others?"
"If I didn't know who you were, I might actually be deceived by your heartfelt words. Mo Xu You, when you turned this person into an insect attendant, did you even know my mother would turn out like this? And all those things you've done took decades of painstaking effort; do you really expect me to believe it's all for my mother? Are you trying to fool me?"
"Haha... haha..." Mo Xu You laughed maniacally until he was breathless while pouring more wine into his mouth until he choked on it before tossing aside the flask and looking at Yin Yuan with a smile.
"Child, do you know there's a saying that plans can't keep up with changes? What I've been doing has long been communicated to your Father Fox and Fox Demon mother; they just didn't believe it. As for my desire to save your Fox Demon mother—it's genuine because when I first saw her in Tong Tower, she reminded me so much of someone... someone I would give anything to protect and help fulfill all her wishes. To love something deeply is essentially like this."
"Your mother's ghostly techniques were already present in Tong Tower. Besides your Father Fox, I was also a witness. I have spent my life pondering these matters, and when I saw your mother, I foresaw what would come to pass. I do not deny that I indeed wanted to use your Father Fox and your Fox Demon mother to help me with certain tasks, but at the same time, I also wanted to save her. So from that moment on, I began to systematically adjust my previous plans. Yes, adjust—changing a few things is certainly much easier than completely redoing everything, isn't it?"
Yin Yuan looked at Mo Xu You with skepticism. "You once told a story about Su Daji and King Zhou during the Shang Dynasty. According to legend, this demoness Su Daji was transformed from the Tang Dynasty Tian Shou under the command of Nüwa, and the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan of Qingqiu was demoted to Qingqiu due to certain events."
"That's right. The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan was demoted to Qingqiu because this fox woman disobeyed Nüwa's orders, colluding with King Zhou and even attempting to help him alter his fate, which angered Nüwa. Thus, whether recorded in historical texts or fabricated in folklore, both King Zhou and the fox woman became notorious figures. However, both history and folklore are written by the victors; as for the losers, they have no power to struggle against what is inscribed in black and white."
"Fortunately, when people die, everything comes to an end; the good and bad of past lives are forgotten in this lifetime. It is easy to repay debts of material wealth but difficult to settle debts of love. King Zhou had the opportunity to be enshrined as a deity and enjoy the incense of humanity but willingly descended into the Underworld for Su Daji, waiting there for thousands of years. This fox woman returned to Qingqiu and also had a chance to regain her path through cultivation but chose time and again to enter the mortal realm because of King Zhou, enduring emotional tribulations. Finally, in this lifetime, they met again but were delayed by so many years. Fortunately, fate is in human hands; the fox woman ultimately became his empress, just as she had devoted herself to assisting him in Chaoge thousands of years ago while he cherished her deeply."
"But heaven is ultimately cruel; he once again left her behind and departed. Yet she remained stubbornly determined to protect his kingdom and patiently waited for his return. Little did she know that this brief connection in this lifetime was something he had begged from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. From then on, his soul returned to chaos, never again to exist as a human being while she learned the truth and became deeply obsessed with bringing him back to life. Now, her time is running out."
Mo Xu You gazed deeply at Yin Yuan before sighing.
"Do you know? For their encounter in this lifetime, she made a vow before Nüwa: 'In this life, when fate ends, I shall be a fox for eternity, suffering the pain of being skinned by mortals for generations.'"
"Is she the Empress in the royal city now?" Yin Yuan asked lightly, finally understanding everything.
Mo Xu You nodded with closed eyes: "I was originally a practitioner without desires or needs in the mortal realm; all I sought was ascension one day to soar among the clouds. But upon meeting her and witnessing all her stories, my heart could not help but stir with compassion.
It turns out that what we call having no desires or needs is false; what we claim as seeing through worldly troubles while focusing solely on cultivating the Dao is also false. The reason one's heart remains unmoved is simply that they have not yet encountered someone capable of stirring their emotions. I met her; thus my heart can no longer remain pure. For her sake, I would rather fall into hell than become a demon myself. In this regard, your Father Fox is quite similar to me; helping the Fox Demon is also helping him, and helping him is helping myself. Now do you understand?"
Comment 0 Comment Count