For many years, Qin Niang has given the elixir of life-sustaining to other magic cultivators, using it as a bargaining chip to keep Qiao Yan, causing most of her spiritual power to be exhausted, and there is not much time left to live.
In addition, there was a fierce battle with the same clan today, and the little spiritual power left was exhausted and could not last for long.
Ning Ning thought of those conversations she had had with Qin Niang for no reason, and she didn't know whether it was true or false when she said "I only wish Xiaoyan could live".
The night wind was gentle, quietly blowing away the dull bloody smell. Ning Ning only felt her heart suffocated, squatted down and looked at Qinniang, and wiped the blood from the latter's face.
After all, she is just a little girl who has not experienced too much storms, even if she understands that the other party is a demon, she can't accuse her in this situation. After being silent for a while, she asked in a low voice: "What else do you have? Wish?"
Qin Niang didn't seem to expect that she would say such a thing, a soft color flashed in her dark pupils, and she shook her head lightly after a brief moment of daze.
"The two of you must remember that the power of the Demon Lord is unfathomable, and it is difficult to defeat him with ordinary methods... But if he can destroy the formation's eyes and destroy the formation with external forces, his vitality will be greatly damaged."
At this moment, she finally lost her strength, leaning against the tree stump in the courtyard, letting her long hair cover her blood-stained face: "The Linghu family has been infected with demonic energy for a long time, and it will not be long before they will Completely reduced to evil creatures that are neither human nor ghost... If you want to save them, you can only look at you."
Ning Ning grabbed the hem of her skirt with her right hand, with some hesitation in her tone: "You really don't need to tell Qiao Yan the truth? You are doing all this for her, right?"
Abandoning the life-saving elixir and struggling to support with this damaged body is also an enemy of the demons in the entire secret realm, exhausting all spiritual power until death.
She willingly gave everything for the girl, but in Qiao Yan's perspective, this fake mother was just a liar from beginning to end, no different from other magic cultivators.
It's just... not fair.
Qin Niang just shook her head and forced a smile. She is obviously the one who will die soon, but her tone is like the gentle comfort of a very elder, and she can't hear the meaning of grief: "Time is running out, hurry up and look for the eye."
The "Qihan Demon Lord" in the mouth of this group of demon cultivators does not know when they will come back. If the two of them are encountered by him, it must be difficult to escape. Ning Ning looked up and looked at Pei Ji, and finally nodded.
The other demon cultivators beside him have been killed by Pei Ji, and Mother Qin quietly watched them leave. When the backs of the boys and girls gradually disappeared from sight, it seemed that the whole world fell silent.
The spiritual power is like a dry spring, and the whole body is full of heart-piercing pain. She took a light breath, and through her increasingly blurred vision, she raised her eyes to this familiar courtyard.
This is Qiao Yan's house.
The little girl carefully planted many flowers and plants all around, and many of them were elixir to restore spiritual power and treat injuries and diseases. In the midsummer night, the greenness is as green as blue, and even the wind is full of fragrance. Occasionally, fireflies fly by in groups, making Qiao Yan very happy.
She has struggled in the bloody quagmire for many years. The memories of killing and surviving are far away, like what another person has done. However, the blood on her hands can never be washed away. Qin Niang did not expect to get it. forgive.
When you get lost, you know how to turn back. Turn back to the shore. How nicely said these words, but she knew very well that the sins she had committed would follow her throughout her life.
-Actually, she didn't deserve to be by Qiao Yan's side, that's been the case from the beginning.
The night sky was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the lonely shadow of a woman. Qin Niang knew that her life was not long, but a very light and very light smile overflowed in her eyes.
This is her and Qiao Yan's home.
She used to live in no fixed place, wandering around, "home" is such a distant word, and now she can die in her own home... It seems not bad.
=====
After Ning Ning left the courtyard, she didn't speak much.
She seldom saw life and death, especially Qinniang's departure was filled with too many regrets, and her mood became even more complicated when she thought of Chen Lubai in the Buddha Pagoda in a trance.
In the world of comprehension, the weak eat the strong, and life and death are uncertain. No one knows their deaths, and the sacrifices and sacrifices they make are also silent.
Pei Ji also walked beside her without saying a word, and suddenly said, "Are you still thinking of her?"
"I'm thinking about a lot of things."
He rarely takes the initiative to speak, Ning Ning seemed to be taken aback, looked up hurriedly, then quickly averted his eyes, and hesitated a little when he spoke again: "Pei Ji, if the person you are close to is actually malicious , I want to use you with impure motives, what will you do?"
Finally asked.
Ning Ning felt nervous and slowed her breathing.
Qinniang and Qiao Yan seem to be not much different from her relationship with Pei Ji.
Although the two of them became more and more familiar with each other, she, after all, played the role of the villain, and had to do a lot of involuntary things according to the requirements of the system.
If one day Pei Ji broke it - Ning Ning's heart turned back and forth, but Pei Ji answered without hesitation: "I don't have anyone close to me."
Ning Ning was choked.
"What if it was me?"
She mustered up the courage to look at him. In the rich night, the dark pupils of the young man were like an abyss: "If I did something bad to you, what would you do?"
Pei Jing looked at her and answered quickly, "You won't."
Ning Ning was stunned.
"What do you mean 'I won't'?"
She was amused by these three words and chuckled. She laughed halfway through, but inexplicably felt a bit sour. She pursed her lips and continued, "Do you believe me like that?"
The black-clothed youth walking beside him paused, his slender fingers holding the long sword subconsciously exerted force, turning his face away from her.
He finally paused for a long time this time, and when Pei Ji spoke again dryly, his voice became stiff for some reason: "It's just intuition."
Cheng Ying almost hated that he died suddenly on the spot, and roared wildly in his heart: "What is 'intuition'! Are you going to die if you tell the truth!"
It rolled over and over in anger, but Ning Ning lowered his head and drew an imperceptible subtle arc from the corner of his mouth.
"It's impossible to say, I can't tell when I will bully you."
Her mood doesn't seem to be as bad as before, and a smile is quietly wrapped in her voice: "I'm afraid we won't be able to find clues here, why don't we go to the other side of the formation?"
Pei Ji said "uh".
Then he replied dully to her: "Don't be sad."
"Um."
=====
"Master Xu, where are you taking me?"
The twilight was empty, the reflections of the trees flowed slowly like flowing water, and a man and a woman in the forest fell on their heads.
Qiao Yan was taken out of the village by Xu Ye in a confused way, and she still didn't understand his intention.
"You keep saying you want to show me something, but where are we going? What is that thing? Why are you so hesitant?"
Xu Ye was stopped by her three consecutive questions on the spot, and froze in place for a while at a loss.
Not long after He Zhizhou pulled the Demon Lord straight out of the gate, the demons in the settlement had a tendency to move. Although they were frail, if they swarmed up, Xu Ye's strength alone would certainly be no match.
What's more... Qiao Yan didn't know anything about all the secrets. If she ran into those murderous demon cultivators, she would probably be just as murderous.
Although Xu Ye has always lived under the protection of her teacher and her sister, and is not very good at getting along with others, she also understands that she should do her best to protect her—
This not only includes the safety of Qiao Yan's life, but also importantly, she must not be allowed to know the truth of the matter.
In fact, they were in the formation, and the mirror ghosts on the other side of the water mirror were all transformed by the fox clan. As an outsider, he was stunned for a long time after learning about this, not to mention Qiao Yan.
- After all, for her, what happened in the past is no different from slaughtering her clan with her own hands and getting along with a mortal enemy who has a bloody feud. No matter who it is on, it will instantly collapse the moment she learns the truth.
Xu Ye knew that he couldn't stay in the settlement, so he could only rush to Qiao Yan's residence, and took her out for a random reason. Maybe it was the luck of the two of them that those magic cultivators never caught up.
"I-I'm not—"
He is not good at deceiving people. The last time he committed a crime with the He Zhizhou gang to deceive Liu Ying on Niguang Island, he had already endured great psychological pressure, not to mention that the current situation was so urgent that it was a matter of life and death for both of them.
"I'm not looking for Ningning and them!"
Xu Ye was in a hurry, and the words in his head popped out without thinking: "They said they found clues related to the sunburning bow, and asked us to meet around here - why can't you see a single figure?"
Qiao Yan's eyebrows moved: "Sunburning bow?"
This girl seems to have finally been slowed down.
When Xu Ye encountered the amnesty, he nodded without hesitation: "That's right! That's it!"
He thought that Qiao Yan would be quiet, but she frowned slightly, lowered her head to think for a moment, and suddenly lowered her voice and said, "They probably won't find the Sunburning Bow... I probably want to understand something."
Xu Ye's smile froze on his face.
In a trance, he heard Qiao Yan's clear voice.
"Bows and arrows can only be taken by spirit foxes or demons, and we can make assumptions based on this."
She spoke earnestly, her fluffy snow-white ears swaying as she thought: "If it is the Linghu clan, there is no reason not to open it up to deal with demon cultivators, not to mention that my clansmen are weak and will never be able to defeat the fire phoenix. ."
Xu Ye:…
Xu Ye dumbly listened to her continuing.
"In this way, all the suspects can be pinned on those demon cultivators. Although they are now trapped in the water mirror, it does not mean that they could not steal the Sunburning Bow before."
The more Qiao Yan spoke, the faster he looked at him: "They must have used some invisible method to steal the jade pendant and take the bow and arrow before the war. They wanted to use it to completely eliminate the spirit fox lineage. I thought of being one step ahead of us and sealed in the formation."
Xu Ye: ... ah
"So the sun-burning bow must be in the hands of the demons, just on the other side of the water mirror!"
What is this called, the reasoning is all wrong, but the result is right, the sun-burning bow is indeed on the other end of the formation—
But it's not the demons over there!
Xu Ye's mood was complicated as he heard it, and he watched Qiao Yan's eyes become more and more firm, even with a bit of determination, and told him very seriously: "Xu Daochang, I have a plan, I plan to go to the water tonight. Look to the other side of the mirror and see if you can get the Sunburning Bow back."
"No no no, not good!"
Xu Ye didn't expect this girl to work so hard. She didn't even want her life for the Burning Sun Bow and the Fox Clan. Hearing that, she quickly answered: "You are weak, it would be too dangerous to go alone, why don't you find Ning with me first? Ning them, let's discuss together."
Qiao Yan looked at him sternly: "But you lost contact with them, haven't you been able to find anyone for so long?"
Xu Ye was choked.
She has something to say, every word is righteous and cannot be refuted: "My mother is almost unable to support the water mirror formation... I must act as soon as possible. What's more, the land of the demons is extremely dangerous. This is a matter of the Linghu Clan, I can't let you take risks, it's enough to go alone."
But you really can't go! If you see a mirror ghost like your relative there—
Xu Ye didn't dare to think about it, and was so anxious that he was tossed around by the wheels of life, and almost burst into tears in grievance.
"Don't worry, I have my own measure in my heart."
Qiao Yan paused, thinking that he was worried about himself: "I just went to the opposite side to investigate the situation and try to find the whereabouts of the Sunburning Bow. My mother is still waiting for me at home, I won't ask myself. To suffer, to clash with them beyond one's own means."
- But the one in the family is no longer your mother, so she won't wait for you to go back!
Xu Ye still wanted to continue to persuade her in a stubborn manner. If it didn't work, then he would just come straight and knock Qiao Yan unconscious, and then find any reason to prevaricate afterward.
He had already thought about all the plans and steps, but he didn't expect Qiao Yan to move as soon as he opened his lips and before the voice jumped out of his throat.
"I'll be back soon!"
She moved quickly, and her long hair was blown high by the wind. When she raised her head in the chaotic night, a bright color flashed across her eyes: "Xu Daochang don't need to worry about me, go and meet the others first!"
Behind her is a lake that is as smooth as a mirror.
Xu Ye's last memory of the mirror world is the smooth arc drawn by the girl when she jumped into the lake, and Qiao Yan's swaying white shirt that disappeared from sight.
But he was dazed and jumped into the water with her desperately. After a sudden suffocation, he saw the scarlet lake water and a dark and drowsy vortex.
He should have fallen into that vortex.
Otherwise, when you open your eyes again, you will not see a completely different scene from before.
The sky was turbid, filled with bleak dark clouds and thin smoke, and it was already night, but there was an eerie scarlet glow on the horizon.
The oncoming wind was rotten and fishy, and the demonic energy lingered for a long time, condensing in almost every corner, making him feel a little sick. As soon as he looked up, he saw the withered branches of old trees and animal carcasses scattered everywhere.
Xu Ye had wondered before, since the two clans had fought such an endless war, why there were still birds and flowers in the secret realm, and no trace of war could be seen. It turned out that everything was an illusion.
People who have lived in the mirror for a long time have finally come to the real world.
A world full of death, mutation and cruel truth.