Longbei Ancient Village 8

  Wen Bai's eyes were fixed on her legs in a daze, and in that brief moment, the sky suddenly darkened.

  A loud rumbling sound began, and for a moment lightning flashed and thunder boomed, the dazzling lightning tearing across the sky as if it was going to rip open a hole in the heavens.

  A torrential downpour suddenly poured down, and Wen Baiyu was startled by the rain. When he looked up again, the figure of Wan Kuangjing had already disappeared.

  Wen Baiyu suddenly became anxious, standing in place and turning around in a circle. All around were hillsides, with no place to take shelter from the rain. Wen Baiyu didn't dare stand still, so she walked forward slowly into the rain.

  "Shhh... shhh..."

  After walking a few steps, she faintly heard footsteps and Wen Baiyu was so frightened that she immediately stopped in her tracks. Sure enough, every few seconds, a person wearing black clothes would emerge from the bushes.

  That person looks exactly like Wang Yu's husband!

  But Wen Baiyu didn't dare call out to him, because he was wearing a long black robe, and not neat short hair, but long hair tied up with a feather crown.

  The man's magnificent long gown was drenched, and he was walking in the rain when he suddenly stopped, scaring Wen Baiyu so much that she trembled, thinking she had been discovered.

  The man stared at the ground and suddenly bent down, picking up something from the ground with both hands.

  Wen Baiyu fixed her eyes on it and found it was a young bird.

  The young bird's entire body was a radiant white, its feathers like the finest white jade. In the man's palm, it struggled feebly, and on its left wing there were faint traces of blood, as if it had been injured.

  Wen Baiyu noticed that the chick's eyes were like rubies, its wings puffed out, its small neck raised, and its round eyes staring at the man.

  The man unhesitatingly tore off a corner of his robe, gently bandaged it on the young bird's left wing, moved carefully, then opened his collar and held the young bird in his arms to avoid the rain.

  The heavy rain had been falling for a long time, and when it finally stopped, the man found a branch and gently placed the young bird on it. He smiled and patted the little head of the bird, saying: "Can you still fly?"

  The young bird wouldn't speak, but instead stared at the man with eyes like rubies, then shook off the water droplets on its feathers and suddenly spread its wings, shooting straight up into the sky.

  Wen Baiyu only then discovered that this white bird had six tails and was actually a phoenix.

  Wen Baiyu thought of the story he saw in the tomb last time, Xiang Wang and Hong Yu. If the beginning of the story was like what he just saw, then Xiang Wang actually had a favor to ask of Hong Yu first. In that case, it's understandable that Hong Yu repaid the kindness by making a dagger out of Feng's bones.

  Wen Baiyu was thinking, and vaguely heard a faint fragrance again, a faint and clear scent, somewhat like sandalwood, but also somewhat like lotus flower, unable to describe what the smell is.

  The second time she smelled this fragrance, Wen Baiyu's eyes went dark again, and her head spun for a moment, almost falling to the ground.

  When the white-feathered bird opened its eyes, the scene in front of it had changed. It was no longer a wild mountain slope, but a magnificent golden palace...

  Wen Baiyu touched her own arm, just now she had been caught in such a big rain, but now there was not a bit of wetness on her body, and her legs were also intact.

  It was just an illusion after all...

  The grand hall was very quiet, with Wen Baiyu standing right in the middle. On the platform above, many people wearing ancient official robes were kneeling, each one bowing their heads to the ground, not daring to lift them up or even breathe heavily, as if danger might befall them at any moment.

  Soon, a servant emerged from behind the screen in the great hall and said: "His Majesty requests Mr. Bai Yu."

  He finished speaking, and Wen Baiyu heard the sound of chains, "Clang... Clang...", soon a man in white clothes walked in from outside the hall.

  Wen Baiyu's eyes widened instantly, and she subconsciously touched her own face. The man who walked in looked exactly like herself!

  However, the man had long hair scattered all over, his eyes were ruby red, and although he was wearing handcuffs on his hands and feet, he didn't look like a prisoner at all, but instead exuded an otherworldly aura.

  The man in white walked in, bypassing the screen, behind which was a bed, on which a man lay, his eyes closed, his face pale, and he had lost his usual dignity and coldness.

  "The servant said: 'Your Majesty, Mr. Bai Yu has arrived.'"

  Xiang Wang opened his eyes and waved his hand, and the attendant retreated behind the screen.

  The man in white stood beside the couch, Xiang Wang still lying down, raised his eyes to look at him, and suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly, saying: "As you expected, Mr.... I am thirty years old this year, but it has already reached its limit... What I said to you before..."

  Before he could finish speaking, the man in white had already said faintly: "King Xiang need not worry... I have promised to die for you."

  Xiang Wang seemed to take a deep breath, no longer looking at the man in white, and said: "Sir, you say... after people die, is there really a soul? But even if there is a soul, I, the lonely king, have committed many sins and will surely become an evil spirit, only leaving behind calamity..."

  The man in white did not speak, and King Xiang continued to say slowly by himself: "When I was still a prince, I decided that I would be a wise king in the future. When I really ascended to the throne, I suddenly felt that being a wise king had too many inevitabilities, and it was more comfortable to be a tyrant... Fortunately, it's not too late yet, I don't want to be a foolish king."

  The King of Xiang finally looked at the man in white, his eyes narrowed, and his words seemed to be laborious. He said: "I have thought about it countless times, even if I were to kill a god or a fairy, what would that mean? I just wanted to keep you by my side, for ten years, twenty years, one hundred years, one thousand years, forever... whether in life or death... But now I understand, this lifetime has been too fortunate, there are some things that are destined to be unattainable..."

  Xiang Wang paused for a moment, slowly raised his hand, and gently stroked the white-clad man's cheek with his pale large hand. He smiled somewhat laboriously and said, "How could I bear to... let you come and die with me?"

  He finished speaking and stretched out his other hand, in which was a dark-colored key, the key to the Locking Heaven Chain. He said: "You can go..."

  As soon as the king's voice fell, a crisp "ding" sound was heard. The king's outstretched hand suddenly dropped, and the xuan iron key fell to the ground beside the couch.

  The eunuchs heard the noise and immediately came to look, then knelt down and cried loudly. The officials kneeling behind the screen also started wailing loudly. The sound of striking bells was heard from the palace of Xiangguo.

  That's a funeral dirge...

  The warm white feathers slid down her throat, and her eyes felt a little sour. Could it be that the last king of Xiang did not let Hong Yu accompany him in death?

  The man in white clothes never spoke, but stood quietly, amidst the wailing sounds. Suddenly, he moved, and a faint white glow slowly emanated from his body, transforming him into a majestic swan with pure white feathers.

  "With a loud 'crack', the man's handcuffs and shackles were suddenly broken, without needing any keys."

  The swan bowed its head and neck, lowered its head to the side of King Xiang's neck, gently rubbing against it. A pair of red eyes had tears welling up in them, and a low, mournful cry came from its beak, as if it were crying...

  Wen Baiyu looked at Hong Yu's tears and felt a sharp pain in his heart, he didn't know why, but he couldn't breathe properly, as if he could feel Hong Yu's emotions at this moment.

  Wen Baiyu took a deep breath, as if something was spinning around in her head, as if something was about to emerge, but it was like there was a layer of tracing paper separating them, forever unable to break through.

  "Ah!"

  At this moment, Wen Baiyu suddenly felt a severe pain in his left shoulder, as if someone had torn and bitten him, and the pain made his head dizzy.

  Wen Baiyu subconsciously swung her left hand, and with a "whooshing" sound, she flung something away.

  Wen Bai's legs suddenly felt a sharp pain, cold sweat rushed up, and she stumbled before falling to the ground with a thud.

  Wen Baiyu's eyes were pitch black in front of him, and it took two or three seconds for him to adapt to the darkness.

  Before her eyes was a long, winding path of tombs, on the stone walls of which were carved all sorts of murals, each one telling a tale of unfulfilled longing. Every person in the murals was wailing in despair, and Wen Baiyu felt her eyes growing numb as she looked at them, as if she might be sucked into them at any moment.

  Can't watch!

  Wen Baiyu shook his head, pinched his right leg, and winced in pain before he could finally focus.

  "Hmm——hmm——"

  Wen Baiyu heard a strange noise coming from the darkness, and she couldn't help but widen her eyes. Suddenly, she remembered that when she had just woken up from her illusion, she felt a severe pain in her left shoulder.

  Wen Baiyu glanced sideways, and her left sleeve had been torn off, revealing a bloody shoulder with the Phoenix Birthmark exposed. Below it was a long scar...

  "Hmm——hmm……"

  The strange sound came again, like a wild beast waiting for an opportunity to hunt, panting heavily.

  Wen Baiyu narrowed her eyes and looked forward, only to see a hunched figure standing in the darkness. Due to the lack of light, Wen Baiyu couldn't see the person's face clearly.

  That man hunched his back, with both hands hanging down, slowly walking towards Wen Baiyu. He took a step, and his two arms would swing once, like a zombie in the movies.

  Wen Baiyu held his breath, staring with wide eyes as the "zombie" continued to walk towards him, taking a slight step closer. Wen Baiyu could smell the foul odor emanating from its body.

  Wen Baiyu immediately wanted to escape, but as soon as he stood up, "bang" and fell to the ground again. This was not an illusion; his legs were broken and he couldn't run at all.

  Wen Baiyu's hands were shaking, and even Wan Jiahao didn't know where to go. He had no experience at all, was scared out of his wits, but forced himself to calm down.

  Wen Baiyu quickly took off the backpack on his back, which was brought by Wan Kuangjing before he went out. Because Wan Kuangjing wanted to carry himself, so the backpack was carried by him.

  "Ah——" Wen Baiyu ripped open her backpack and frantically searched inside, her fingers inadvertently touching something icy.

  It's actually Dragon Scale Dagger!

  "Hmm——hmm——"

  "The corpse" let out a strange roar from its throat, walking step by step towards her. Wen Baiyu leaned against the wall to stand up, her right hand tightly grasping the dagger, her palm full of sweat.

  As the "undead" drew closer, the stench of rot grew thicker, almost making Wen Baiyu faint, but these were not the main issues.

  Wen Baiyu saw him walking over, his face getting paler and paler, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. In an instant, his eyes widened in terror, causing him to grit his teeth tightly.

  That wasn't a "zombie", the people walking over had blood all over their mouths, and even the gaps between their exposed teeth were filled with fresh blood, exactly what they had bitten off Wen Baiyu just now.

  His legs were slightly lame, and with each step, his body and arms swayed noticeably. It was actually Wen Baiyu's acquaintance, the cripple!

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