Chapter 208
Chapter 208
The Snow Phoenix faced me, brought her wings together, and bowed.
She spread them, brought them together again, and bowed a second time.
Then came a third.
Her wings opened and closed three times, accompanying three reverent bows.
I didn’t know what kind of ritual this was, but it was obvious at a glance that the Snow Phoenix was paying the highest form of respect.
She was bowing toward me, but clearly, I wasn’t the one she was worshiping.
Back in the Paradise Beyond the World, when she had asked me for help, she’d called me “Sister.”
Just moments ago, she’d called me “Sister” again.
There had only been closeness in her voice, not awe.
But now, in the Snow Phoenix’s eyes and actions, I saw more than awe. I also saw a hint of… fear.
I walked over and crouched in front of the sofa, bringing myself eye to eye with her.
She straightened at once, like a soldier standing at inspection. Even her spine was ramrod straight.
I asked, “Little one, what are you afraid of?”
The Snow Phoenix trembled slightly.
After thinking for a moment, I tried another approach. “Let me ask you differently. What do you see on me?”
Her long beak opened again and again. After a dozen or so birdcalls, she finally managed to force out two words.
“Fire… Shaman…”
Fire Shaman?
What was that?
After another series of birdcalls, the Snow Phoenix finally managed one more word.
“Seal.”
A seal?
The Cangwu Nether Seal?
Realization dawned on me.
The Snow Phoenix’s sudden change in attitude was because she’d sensed the presence of the Cangwu Nether Seal on me.
And the Cangwu Nether Seal was clearly connected to the Fire Shaman.
Fire Shaman… shaman… the Symbiotic Curse!
Gu Yan had said that the Symbiotic Curse on me was an exceptionally ancient shamanic curse.
Could the Symbiotic Curse also be connected to the Fire Shaman?
After saying all this, the Snow Phoenix seemed to have exhausted every last ounce of her strength. Her body toppled stiffly to one side.
I quickly caught her and rushed her back to the freezer.
The Snow Phoenix fell dormant once more. There was no telling when she would wake again.
The information she’d given me was crucial. At the time, I thought that perhaps I should start with the Fire Shaman if I wanted to uncover the secrets of my previous life.
But I couldn’t openly ask around about it. That would only invite unnecessary trouble.
That brought someone to mind — Fang Chuanzong.
Fang Chuanzong was an administrator of the Huaguo Special Affairs Handling Office. He had access to a vast collection of records concerning Yin-Yang matters.
Perhaps I could find some answers through him.
But if I did, I would inevitably become entangled with Fang Chuanzong and his people.
From my own perspective, that wasn’t a problem.
But what about Liu Junyan?
Liu Junyan’s identity and background were far more complicated. He probably wouldn’t want too much involvement with someone like Fang Chuanzong, would he?
I remained preoccupied all afternoon. After dinner, I wasn’t in the mood to keep watch over the Southern Study either. I washed up early, took the Cangwu Nether Seal out of its hidden compartment, and placed it beside my pillow.
I planned to tell Liu Junyan everything that had happened over the past two days as soon as he returned.
It was after ten when Liu Junyan came back.
But he seemed to have a great deal on his mind as well.
I tried several times to start a conversation, but each time, I noticed his attention drifting.
My heart lurched. Had something happened at the Linghai Dragon Palace?
Before I could ask, Liu Junyan suddenly reached out, pulled me into his arms, and held me tight.
His reaction only made me more uneasy. I asked cautiously, “Ah Yan, did something happen?”
“They…” Liu Junyan said with difficulty. “They erased every trace that you ever existed!”
I froze, then instinctively asked, “Who are they?”
Liu Junyan finally let go of me and slowly explained, “I’ve been making discreet inquiries over the past two days. I discovered that almost no one in the Phoenix Clan knows who Feng Linu is.
“Everyone only knows Feng Lishu.
“That means your identity was erased from the moment you were born. Everything you accomplished was credited to Feng Lishu instead. Only a handful of the Phoenix Clan’s upper echelon know the truth, and I don’t dare alert them yet, so I haven’t been able to approach them.”
So Liu Junyan hadn’t returned to the Linghai Dragon Clan over the past two days. He had gone to investigate the Phoenix Clan.
His ability to get things done was astonishing. He was always one step ahead of me.
“But when you said your final farewell to me, it was at the foot of Cangwu Mountain. You must be connected to Cangwu Mountain in countless ways,” Liu Junyan continued. “So I investigated the mountain as well and uncovered some information that might be useful to you.”
I hurriedly said, “I have some information too. It might also be related to Cangwu Mountain, and I wanted to tell you about it.”
Liu Junyan looked surprised. “Then let’s hear yours first.”
I told him everything in detail — how my soul had once again been lured away in a dream, how I had obtained the Cangwu Nether Seal, and the few words the Snow Phoenix had spoken.
Finally, I placed the patterned Black Lump in Liu Junyan’s palm for him to examine.
His chest began to rise and fall more heavily. He set down the Cangwu Nether Seal and said, “No. It wasn’t the Fire Shaman. It was the Fire Witch Goddess.
“According to what I learned, a Grand Witch once lived on Cangwu Mountain. The entire Phoenix Clan worshiped her as a deity and reverently called her the Fire Witch Goddess.
“The Fire Witch Goddess’s true form was said to be a towering wutong tree on Cangwu Mountain. After absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, she cultivated into a spirit. Heavenly lightning struck the heart of the tree, giving birth to Nirvana Fire.
“She held an extremely exalted position within the Phoenix Clan. Nirvana was exceedingly rare among the Phoenix Clan to begin with, and the vast majority of those who underwent it did so on Cangwu Mountain.
“The Phoenix Clan’s worship of the Fire Witch Goddess had practically reached the point of fanaticism. They believed her Nirvana Fire could burn away every sin in the world.
“That was why quite a few members of the Phoenix Clan chose to offer themselves as a Soul Sacrifice to the Fire Witch Goddess.”
Soul Sacrifice!
Could my past self truly have offered herself as a Soul Sacrifice to this so-called Fire Witch Goddess?
“But then something utterly baffling happened. One year, Cangwu Mountain was suddenly sealed by a powerful Formation. No one has entered the mountain since, and no one has ever seen the Fire Witch Goddess again.”
Liu Junyan’s final words stunned me. “Was the sealing Formation cast by the Fire Witch Goddess? Is she still alive?”
“I don’t know,” Liu Junyan replied. “Xiao Jiu, do you know which year the Fire Witch Goddess disappeared?”
I shook my head. “No. Which year was it?”
“The year after you said your final farewell to me.” Liu Junyan took my hand, his expression grave. “In other words, the Fire Witch Goddess’s disappearance was very likely connected to you.”
It was too much information, all of it too unbelievable. I couldn’t process it all at once.
Apparently, after I parted from Liu Junyan back then, I really had entered Cangwu Mountain.
But I had gone there to undergo Nirvana, not to offer a Soul Sacrifice.
Even if I had gone there as a Soul Sacrifice, shouldn’t I have been the one to disappear rather than the legendarily powerful Fire Witch Goddess?
Just what kind of being was the Fire Witch Goddess?
Did the Cangwu Nether Seal belong to her?
But if it was the Fire Witch Goddess’s seal, why had an underworld emissary granted it to me?
I traced the patterns on the Cangwu Nether Seal, then thought of the identical markings within my liquefied rib. Somehow, it truly seemed as though an unseen force had bound me to the Fire Witch Goddess.
What in the world had happened on Cangwu Mountain all those years ago…?