Chapter 41
Chapter 41
“Hey, Xue Heting, don’t you think this place looks familiar? Haven’t we been here before?”
Ming Caihua rubbed his arms. A chill had crept over him, making his scalp prickle. He truly did not want to go any farther in, but that stubborn blockhead Xue Heting insisted on finding the Old Madam no matter what.
Xue Heting observed their surroundings and said, “When we were hunting down the Water Yaoguai, we came here before.”
Ming Caihua realized it at once. “That’s right. Isn’t this the Water Yaoguai’s lair? It was washed away back then. How has it returned to its original state now?”
Just then, Xue Heting said, “There’s movement up ahead.”
Ming Caihua went on full alert, staring nervously at the figures ahead. Before long, he cried out in surprise, “It’s Qiao Ying and Shen Qingyu!”
Because of Ming Caihua’s voice, Qiao Ying turned back as well, just as surprised. “Young Master Xue, Young Master Ming.”
The two groups came together as if they had finally joined forces after a hard-won battle, both sides feeling rather relieved.
Qiao Ying said, “We followed Aunt Wang’s grandson in here. How did the two of you end up here?”
Ming Caihua said, “I was following Xue Heting to look for traces of the Old Madam when we suddenly spotted Zhao Zhiyi. We hadn’t even had time to call out to him before Zhao Zhiyi left, so we followed him here. But then he vanished.”
Xue Heting looked toward Shen Qingyu. “Young Master Shen, may I ask what you have discovered here?”
Shen Qingyu only smiled. “This place is very nice.”
Xue Heting had no response to that.
Qiao Ying quickly tugged Shen Qingyu behind her and said, “We ran into Old Master Zhao here earlier, and we also saw the Old Madam tied up. You may not believe this, but we saw Miss Mu too. Miss Mu seemed a little strange. She kept Old Master Zhao behind and sent us into these tunnels, which are like a maze.”
Ming Caihua immediately jumped in. “Mu Yunshu? I knew there was something off about her from the start, but a certain Xue kept defending her at every turn. Maybe what those people said back then was right. If Mu Yunshu isn’t a Yaoguai, then she’s some kind of vengeful ghost.”
Xue Heting’s brows drew together slightly. “My senses couldn’t have been wrong. She is not a yao or a ghost.”
Ming Caihua said, “What good does obsessing over that do now? Either hurry up and leave this damned place, or hurry up and think of a way to save them!”
That was easy enough to say, but Xue Heting and Ming Caihua had also lost their way in the tunnels. They could not find the right direction and had wandered in circles until they finally ran into Qiao Ying and Shen Qingyu.
Xue Heting looked at the blue patterns flowing across the stone wall. He placed one hand against it, trying to sense the light coursing through it. In the next instant, the Qingshuang Sword in his hand began to tremble violently once more.
Ming Caihua asked, “Xue Heting, did your sword sense a Great Yaoguai?”
Xue Heting said, “It is not a Yaoguai, but a pure and exceptionally cold Sword Intent.”
Ming Caihua was completely at a loss. “Then what do we do now?”
They had been going in circles the whole time. By the time they got out of these tunnels, it would probably be too late for anything.
Qiao Ying looked at Shen Qingyu. “What should we do?”
Shen Qingyu’s tone was languid. “If we cannot find a path, then we simply create one.”
Xue Heting and Ming Caihua still could not understand what Shen Qingyu meant.
Shen Qingyu lowered his head and gave Qiao Ying a faint smile.
Qiao Ying immediately understood. The instant she raised both hands to protect her head, Shen Qingyu struck the stone wall with his palm. In a flash, stones shattered and fell as the ground shook and the mountain trembled.
“Now her life is tightly bound to the Soul-Nurturing Pearl. If you choose to save her, then these innocent commoners will have their souls scattered to the winds, and they will not survive.”
The old man’s movement to save her came to a halt. He raised his eyes. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“I merely wanted to watch a good show.” Mu Yunshu sat atop the stone platform, her pale fingers gently stroking Old Madam’s deeply wrinkled face. Her posture was elegant, her smile light. “I heard the two of you met during that great battle forty years ago. Back then, you saved an entire city all on your own. Such a righteous, chivalrous hero, and then you formed a beautiful bond with a beauty. What a tale for the ages.”
The beauty of the past had become the Old Madam of today. Though time had left its marks, her bone structure remained.
So even now, it was only natural for Song Zhenzhu to still be called a beauty.
Song Zhenzhu felt the chill of Mu Yunshu’s fingers. Every part of her resisted that touch, yet her body was weak, leaving her unable to move.
Mu Yunshu lifted her lovely face and asked with a smile, “Now, between the lives of everyone in the city and the life of this beauty, which will you choose, great hero?”
Zhao Fanhua clenched both hands into fists and said nothing.
Song Zhenzhu saw through Mu Yunshu’s cruel attempt to stab at his heart. Refusing to become meat on the chopping block, she snapped, “Kill me or carve me up as you like. Zhao Fanhua, I’ll make the choice for you. Sacrifice me, and save the people in the city!”
Zhao Fanhua’s voice was heavy. “My lady…”
Mu Yunshu let out a laugh. “Old Madam truly has so little faith in herself. You’re afraid he won’t choose you, so you made the choice first. Is that it?”
Song Zhenzhu’s expression was taut. Though she was a prisoner, she still carried herself with dignity.
“We have been husband and wife for forty years. I know exactly what kind of man Zhao Fanhua is. You want him to live in torment no matter what he chooses, but I refuse to let you have your way!”
Mu Yunshu said sincerely, “What admirable courage. Then go die.”
Her fingers slid down and closed around Song Zhenzhu’s fragile throat.
Zhao Fanhua said, “Stop!”
Mu Yunshu looked at him. “Can’t bear it?”
Song Zhenzhu forced out with difficulty, “Zhao Fanhua, being husband and wife with you for forty years is already enough for me. You don’t have to feel guilty. I should know better than anyone that my life alone cannot compare to-”
“How do you know that, in my heart, you cannot compare to anyone else?”
Song Zhenzhu froze.
Zhao Fanhua’s expression was resolute. “Just as you said, we have been husband and wife for forty years. Every day and night we knew each other and stayed by each other’s side is still vivid in my mind. I am not made of grass and wood. How could I be without feeling?”
After he lost his memories, anxious and unsettled, she was the one who stayed by his side.
Later, when he went out to subdue demons and eliminate evil, she worried about him too much to stay behind. A young lady from a wealthy family who feared ghosts had to summon her courage every day and go in and out with him.
His heart was not made of stone. When he met a girl whose every thought was of him, how could he not be moved?
Now, they had lived through forty years together. They had a filial son and daughter-in-law, and a young, promising grandson. The feelings between them had long since been bound together by blood and family, surpassing even pure love.
“What a devoted couple, a scene to make others envious.”
Mu Yunshu withdrew the hand that had been gripping Song Zhenzhu’s throat, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped each finger. The corners of her eyes tilted upward. Though she was smiling, there was an indescribable mockery in it.
“A young Demon Hunter sets his heart on fame and achievement, leaves his little town, rescues a beauty, and writes a legendary romance with a rich young lady. For years, his sincerity never changes, his devotion never wavers. In so many people’s eyes, they are a match made in heaven. But what, then, is the girl who followed after her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, only to leave Phoenix Town?”
The young woman’s face was beautiful, gentle, and bright. Her dark eyes fixed on the old man as she asked, word by word,
“Zhao Fanhua, what did I, Mu Yunshu, ever amount to in your eyes?”