Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Why was Li Qingying going out so late?

Even if she had something to do, she would have definitely told me. She wouldn’t have left without even closing the door, either. There were too many important items in the Pawnshop; she knew the stakes.

It seemed she was having another Nightmare!

At that thought, I immediately rushed out and caught up to Li Qingying, grabbing her. “Sister Qingying, wake up! Where are you going?”

I shook her vigorously. When my eyes fell on the tip of her nose, I froze.

The red mole there was bleeding again.

Li Qingying was quickly roused by my shouting. She opened her misty eyes, looking a bit dazed. “How did I end up standing here?”

“Sister Qingying, the red mole on your nose is bleeding again,” I said, taking her hand and leading her back inside.

After we returned, I helped her clean up the blood while asking what had just happened.

Li Qingying replied, “It was a Nightmare. I dreamed of some unpleasant things and just followed the dream out the door.”

“Another Nightmare.” I grew serious. “This isn’t a coincidence. You’re a cultivator with high alertness; having consecutive Nightmares like this definitely means something is wrong.”

I thought it over and over, and a sudden realization struck me. “Could it have been caused by the Blood Mist yesterday?”

Last night at the Small Stream, that sky-filling Blood Mist was entirely transformed from the resentment and killing intent of the Ghost Soldiers. I had been protected by the Shield, but Li Qingying had fought the Ghost Soldiers within that mist for quite a while. There was no telling how much of it she had inhaled.

I had noticed she seemed a bit off after we returned, but I simply assumed she was tired.

Now it seemed it wasn’t nearly as simple as exhaustion!

I felt compelled to ask, “Sister Qingying, can you tell me exactly what you saw in your Nightmare?”

Only by understanding the details could I find the right remedy.

Li Qingying hesitated, narrowing her eyes as if trying to recall the dream.

But she soon shook her head. “Xiao Jiu, it’s fine. It’s just a Nightmare. I’ll be okay after a few more days of good rest.”

I didn’t give up, clinging to her arm and pleading several more times, but Li Qingying refused to say another word.

I could only drop the subject, praying that the influence of the Blood Mist would fade quickly.

On the third night, I insisted on sleeping with Li Qingying again.

Li Qingying’s spirit wasn’t great. She chatted with me while lying in bed, eventually drifting off mid-sentence.

I, however, didn’t dare sleep at all.

I stayed awake until the middle of the night, when Li Qingying suddenly sat bolt upright beside me.

Immediately after, she put on her shoes and started walking out.

I jumped up and hugged her from behind, calling her name and shaking her repeatedly. It took a great deal of effort to wake her up again.

By then, the red mole on the tip of her nose was bleeding once more.

I knew in my heart that if I tried to force Li Qingying to go to the hospital for a check-up, she would absolutely refuse.

For a moment, I even considered swallowing my pride and asking Bai Jingmo to take a look.

But then, I thought of someone else.

Li Qingying’s condition might not be a physical illness at all, but rather the result of yin energy invading her body.

In that case, Master Hui Quan could help.

The next morning, I got up early, tiptoed out of Li Qingying’s room, and called Master Hui Quan. I gave him a general overview of the situation.

Naturally, I didn’t mention the Ghost Soldiers from the Ancient Battlefield or the Red Banner Child.

After listening, Master Hui Quan pondered for a long while before speaking. “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, from what I can see, the Blood Mist might only be a trigger for Miss Li. The key lies in her own obsession. You might as well step back and let her release that obsession; that might be better for her than forced intervention.”

I was still uneasy. “Release her obsession? What if she can’t?”

Master Hui Quan said, “If she cannot release it herself, I will come over and assist her when the time comes.”

I had no choice but to agree.

That night, I didn’t go to sleep in Li Qingying’s room. Instead, I stayed in my own room, ears pricked for any movement from the back.
In the middle of the night, Li Qingying left the house again.

Fortunately, she didn’t take the car. She headed west until she hit the main road, then followed it north.

I didn’t disturb her, keeping a steady distance behind her. She was too deeply lost in her Nightmare; normally such a sharp and alert person, she didn’t even notice me following so closely.

We walked and walked, eventually reaching the border between the Zhu Pan River and Linghai. There was a large aquatic market there-the very place where I had first found Li Qingying.

Li Qingying passed the aquatic market and continued further in. She turned a corner, and after orienting herself, she kept walking along the coast.

I realized that based on our current route, we were heading toward the upper reaches of Linghai.

After passing through a small grove of trees, my scalp began to prickle as I saw Li Qingying standing on the edge of a Broken Cliff.

I lifted my foot, ready to rush forward. I had to pull her back as fast as possible, or this would end in a fatality!

This Broken Cliff was incredibly steep, with the churning seawater roiling below. Perhaps because it was night, the water here seemed unnervingly black.

However, before I could charge over, I saw Li Qingying collapse to her knees with a thud right at the edge of the cliff. She stared down at the vast expanse of water and began to cry with suppressed anguish.

She wept bitterly, kowtowing toward the surging waves as she sobbed. She was muttering something under her breath, but I couldn’t make it out.

It was a long, oppressive process. Li Qingying looked like a devout believer offering a sincere, heartfelt confession.

Only when she stopped crying and kowtowing did she seem to slowly regain her senses. I hurried forward, crouching down to pull her into a firm embrace.

Everyone has their own past and their own untouchable scars. As a friend, the only thing I could do at this moment was hold her tight and give her a shoulder to lean on.

We stayed there on that steep cliff by the sea, embracing for a long while.

Once I felt Li Qingying’s emotions finally stabilize, I asked tentatively, “Sister Qingying, shall we go back?”

Li Qingying nodded and stood up.

The moment I stood up with her, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the space between my eyebrows. Immediately after, my brow and eyes felt as if they were being set on fire.

In the next instant, Fengwu flew out of my body without warning, suspending itself in mid-air.

The Golden Scale embedded in the bow’s riser emitted a seductive, eerie light!

To my shock, as the light of the Golden Scale washed down, a long stretch of water-about a meter wide-cleared on the surface of the sea below the cliff.

The color of this specific stretch of water was much darker than the surrounding sea. Countless whirlpools spun incessantly on its surface, and the water level began to rise at a pace visible to the naked eye.

The ground trembled slightly, as if an earthquake were about to strike!

I had a terrible premonition and reached out to pull Li Qingying away from there.

But I couldn’t even extend my hand. My mind was a chaotic mess; it felt as if a powerful force beneath the sea’s surface was suctioning me, trying to drag me bodily into the depths.

Just as the seawater was about to surge over the Broken Cliff and sweep us away, a powerful palm wind suddenly struck from behind us, meeting the wall of water head-on.

With a loud splash, the seawater fell back into the ocean, and Fengwu returned to my body.

The sea surface returned to its former calm.

It was as if everything that had just happened had never occurred at all.

Li Qingying and I turned back at the same time and saw a familiar figure dressed in black robes.

Though we couldn’t see his face, Li Qingying and I recognized the newcomer immediately. We spoke in unison: “Lord Xiao!”

Then, Li Qingying dropped to her knees.

Lord Xiao gave me a slight nod as a greeting before questioning Li Qingying, “If I remember correctly, tonight is not the fifteenth, is it?”

Li Qingying immediately shook her head. “It is not the fifteenth. Lord Xiao, it is my fault.”

“Trespassing into the Forbidden Zone deserves punishment!”

Lord Xiao ruthlessly struck out with his palm. The force of the strike landed heavily on Li Qingying, showing absolutely no regard for their past connection.