At some point, Lu Yingjiu was already dressed in top scorer or number one scholar robes.
He had been here before.
He was once forcibly dragged into the wedding hall by those little ghosts, to pay respects with the fake groom. At that time, he instinctively knew something was wrong, and he stubbornly resisted, refusing to bow down.
——If he really bowed down, his marriage contract with Jing Xian would be voided, and the Heavenly Way could easily take him away.
Returning here after a long time, Lu Yingjiu had many feelings in his heart.
In the middle of the wedding hall, the fake groom was still standing there, wearing the same scholar’s robe as him. This time, its face was no longer covered by a thick fog, and Lu Yingjiu could see its appearance clearly.
It was that golden figure.
It had no room to escape.
The liquid-like golden light flowed on its face, gradually transforming into facial features.
Eyes, nose, lips…
Its appearance became clear.
It looked exactly like Lu Yingjiu.
Lu Yingjiu walked over slowly. “Why do you want to look like me?”
The figure didn’t speak.
“It really makes me feel sick.” Lu Yingjiu turned the blade sideways, and a flash of silver light bloomed in the room full of red.
The figure silently retreated, and the guests wearing ghost masks stepped forward to block it.
Then, the guests’ bodies twisted, and their bones made a loud noise! They kept getting taller and stronger, and more limbs full of eyes stretched out, waving in the air. Those eyes were spinning, watching Lu Yingjiu all the time.
Greedy, urgent, and fanatic.
They were servants Lu Yingjiu had never seen before, their strange lines all existed for killing.
Hairball’s fur exploded.
Its shape kept changing, turning back into the giant wolf on the bridge that day, with long limbs and a narrow snout, staring at them fiercely.
At some point, both sides moved.
The servants surged like a tide, and their divine weapons made a sharp wind-breaking sound.
Lu Yingjiu moved flexibly between their bodies, his hand raised and the knife fell.
He quickly realized a clue: these servants didn’t seem to be in a hurry to kill him. Compared to their previous aggressive tactics, they valued “entanglement” more.
They were deliberately delaying time.
The time of Lu Yingjiu using the inviting the gods was not long, and coupled with the jumping to different places battle, his physical and mental energy was greatly consumed, and his condition declined. As long as they delayed time, he was doomed to die.
They all knew this, how could Lu Yingjiu not know?
He understood his weaknesses very well, and thought to himself, the Heavenly Way is indeed arrogant.
This deliberate delay will only have the opposite effect. If the servants really did their best, they could force him into a desperate situation, but now their lukewarm delay gave him an opportunity.
He exerted force under his feet, and blood flowed like a note on the knife.
During the battle, the paper lantern was cut in half, and the sparks flew around. Several of the Eight Immortals tables were smashed by the servants, and the rest were kicked out by Lu Yingjiu, smashing into the enemies. The “double happiness” character in the room also fell down, shoulder to shoulder with the paper man representing the parents, and was submerged in black blood.
The room was in a mess.
Lu Yingjiu split one ghost mask after another, seeing the ugly face underneath. The black beast pounced and bit time and time again, and the bones in its mouth were as fragile as paper, and they turned into powder with a light bite.
A large number of servants died.
But Lu Yingjiu had consumed too much physical strength after all.
What’s more…
His heart was beating heavily, and a muddy sound came from his lungs.
The side effects of inviting the gods came.
The silver light in his eyes flickered, his nails gradually became as sharp as the ghosts, horns grew on his forehead, and an abnormal impulse roared in his blood.
Time was running out. His transformation into a ghost was intensifying, and if he delayed any longer, he might completely lose his sanity.
The servants noticed his abnormality and burst into sharp laughter!
Their robes suddenly fluttered, surrounding Lu Yingjiu like a whirlpool, and the lights of their swords and knives fell together. Between the friction of the weapons, a burst of firelight ran wild.
But Lu Yingjiu stepped on the incoming giant axe, leaped lightly with the help of it, and another large bloom of black blood bloomed.
In the end, everyone was seeing red.
Lu Yingjiu’s breathing was heavy, his heartbeat was like a war drum, the transformation into a ghost was taking away his sanity, but he persisted with amazing willpower.
The scholar’s robe was soaked with blood, and this fight seemed endless. But his eyes were still bright, the surging emotions were like the wind all over the mountains, blowing through his heart, awakening the boiling fighting spirit – they rose from the ground, like a vigorous bamboo forest reaching the sky.
He knew he had to win this battle.
Not just for himself.
But for everyone.
Clang!
The short knife in his hand was knocked away!
The servant sneered, but Lu Yingjiu did not back down, but took a half step forward and reached out!
The sharp nails of the ghost transformation deeply pierced the other’s throat, and when they were pulled out, blood flowed profusely.
The servant fell down shaking.
Lu Yingjiu gasped and looked around.
The piled up corpses, there was not a single servant standing.
He wiped the blood on his face with the back of his hand, his eyes were frighteningly bright, and he looked sideways at the corner.
The golden figure was shrinking there, its mouth opening and closing, as if it was saying something.
Lu Yingjiu pulled his short knife out of the wall and walked over slowly, “Finally, only you are left, right?”
“…” The figure was still speaking silently.
Lu Yingjiu was stunned for half a second, and then understood: it was actually chanting a talisman!
No servant had ever used a talisman, so he naturally thought they wouldn’t. A bad feeling surged in his heart, and he almost pounced on it–
As it turned out, his move was very timely.
The golden figure was pulled by an invisible force and disappeared into the wall behind it. Half a second before it disappeared, Lu Yingjiu’s fingertips reached it and firmly grasped its robe!
The two disappeared into the wall together.
“Awoo!” The black beast roared anxiously, trying to follow.
It clawed open the wall with its sharp claws, but no matter what, it was a solid wall behind it.
Lu Yingjiu was gone.
****
Water?
Or blood?
Some kind of viscous liquid enveloped Lu Yingjiu’s entire body, and even if he tried hard to open his eyes, he couldn’t see anything clearly. The liquid was flowing rapidly, and he held onto the robe tightly, swaying in the waves with the golden figure.
He could still breathe, but the feeling of breathing was extraordinarily stagnant, as if he was inhaling viscous air.
After drifting for an unknown amount of time, Lu Yingjiu finally seized an opportunity and made a gesture with his left hand.
A firelight ignited at his fingertips, illuminating the waves.
He saw faces in the waves!
Countless faces and bodies were flowing around them. The eyes were all closed, and their expressions were peaceful.
These were souls.
These were the surging souls of millions of people.
Another huge wave hit, and the golden figure suddenly turned around.
Lu Yingjiu only felt a chill in his right hand.
Something sharp cut down, causing his forearm to burst open, the wound was deep enough to see the bone, and his right hand suddenly lost strength. The figure took this opportunity to dive into the souls like a fish.
——It was like a fish in water in this environment, moving freely.
The golden light around it, however, exposed its position.
The golden light was extremely dim, and it would be impossible to see it if it was a little further away. Lu Yingjiu ignored the wound, twisted his body and chased after it!
Hairball didn’t catch up, he couldn’t do inviting the gods, and was completely struggling with the wild waves with his physical strength.
The figure seemed to be certain that he wouldn’t dare to go deep, and swam towards the depths on its own.
But Lu Yingjiu pursued relentlessly.
Every time he felt weak, he would stick a talisman paper on his body, forcibly suppress the pain, and squeeze out the last bit of strength.
Ten meters, eight meters, six meters…
He was getting closer and closer to the figure.
Three meters, two meters, one meter…
The golden light was right in front of him.
Half a meter.
Another undercurrent hit, Lu Yingjiu exerted force suddenly, and once again grabbed the corner of its robe with his left hand!
The two were tumbling up and down in the waves.
The figure’s mouth opened and closed.
[You shouldn’t have followed] It said.
[If you go on like this, you won’t be able to go back.]
“As long as I can kill you, that’s enough.” Lu Yingjiu also answered silently, he pulled hard and pulled himself a little closer.
The figure turned around, intending to replicate the damage to his left hand.
However, Lu Yingjiu was prepared: this time he saw clearly that the figure also held a short knife in it’s hand. In a flash, his injured right hand trembled with the knife and swung it out instinctively—
After the silent collision, both of their blades were disarmed, disappearing into the soul wave.
Just a little bit more, and Lu Yingjiu could face the golden figure.
Indeed, as the figure said, they were constantly falling towards the deepest part of the wave.
The faces around them became denser and the waves more turbulent.
By the time they finally faced each other, they didn’t know where they had sunk to.
Without a weapon, Lu Yingjiu strangled the figure’s neck with his bare hands.
The nearly human flesh and bones creaked under his hand, and he could feel the pulse.
[Why?] The figure struggled, [We were originally one, you should return to my embrace.]
[If you’re willing to die, isn’t it the same to die in my hands? Why let so many people come forward to save you?!]
“We are different.” Lu Yingjiu said softly, “The fact that you can ask this question is the biggest difference between us.”
He exerted force in his hand and snapped the neck!
The figure lost its light.
The golden light disappeared, and it drooped its head weakly. As soon as Lu Yingjiu let go, it dissipated in the waves like foam.
It was dead.
At the same time, the light of the talisman paper also went out.
He had no more talisman paper to light, and no conditions to draw new talisman paper on the spot.
It was dark all around.
Lu Yingjiu swam towards the surface by instinct.
But they had sunk too deep, and this ascent seemed endless.
He wasn’t even sure if he was heading in the right direction, just swimming instinctively. Sometimes he managed to advance tens of meters, only to be pushed back to where he started by a dark tide.
The world was too dark.
So dark that he couldn’t see hope.
He was the only living being among trillions of souls, lonely like a sinking island.
He didn’t plan to die here.
He wanted to see Jing Xian again—he had promised this, and he couldn’t break his word.
Supported by this thought, Lu Yingjiu kept going up.
He didn’t know how long after, the waves were not so turbulent, it was a good sign, indicating that he was approaching the surface.
Just a little bit more…
Just a little bit more, and he could break free!
However, his body was not obedient, and the excessive blood loss and massive physical exertion dragged him down.
At this critical moment, at this moment when success was only a step away, he tried his best, but he couldn’t float up even an inch.
As soon as his strength slackened, a strong sense of sleepiness swept over him.
Lu Yingjiu had no strength left and leaned back—
He thought he was going to fall into the abyss.
But he didn’t.
A hand gently pressed against his back, giving him strength.
Then more hands touched him, two, three, four…
Lu Yingjiu turned his head to look, and in the darkness, he only saw countless faces passing by, all unfamiliar souls.
Just like that old man.
The nameless ones gathered together, surrounding him.
Lu Yingjiu would never know their names, but at this moment, their countless hands held him up, supported him, and forcefully pushed him towards the surface, giving him the strength and courage to float up.
[Don’t give up] They said.
[Stranger, go home.]
At this moment, Lu Yingjiu was moved to tears.
With this silent help, the surface of the water got closer and closer. He exerted his last bit of strength again, reached out his hand upwards—
A hand firmly grasped his.
It was a steady and powerful hand, one that had held his countless times.
In this way, Lu Yingjiu was pulled out of the raging tide and fell into Jing Xian’s arms.
