When Ning Buwei rushed to the dense forest, he saw Elder Pei raising his axe toward Fang Wanchen.
In this urgent situation, Ning Buwei spotted a rock nearby, gathered strength in his foot, and kicked the rock against a tree behind Elder Pei. With two cracking sounds, the tree trunk broke and fell straight toward Elder Pei.
Elder Pei turned at the sound, and Ning Buwei seized the opportunity to dash over and yank Fang Wanchen from the ground, dragging him deeper into the mountain forest.
“Bro-brother Chengfeng!” Fang Wanchen was pulled along while clutching a cyan-colored swaddling cloth in his other hand. “Thank you for coming to save me!”
Ning Buwei asked while running. “How did you provoke him?”
“I was wandering near the forest… and saw him looking suspicious, trying to burn this thing. I guessed… this must be an important clue, so I seized the opportunity and snatched it away.” Fang Wanchen said breathlessly.
Ning Buwei turned to look at the swaddling cloth in his hand, then at Elder Pei who was catching up. The burly man had half his face covered in blood, with crimson eyes and an increasingly ferocious expression.
“Give the swaddling cloth back to him!” Ning Buwei commanded harshly.
“Why?” Fang Wanchen clutched the swaddling cloth tightly, refusing to let go. “This is a clue!”
“In a group resentment illusion, if you forcibly change the actions of characters in the plot, it will transform these resentments into fierce ghosts.” Ning Buwei snatched the swaddling cloth from his hand, paused briefly upon seeing the Nine-Leaf Lotus pattern on it, then threw it back with force.
The footsteps behind them gradually faded, and when Ning Buwei looked back, Elder Pei had disappeared. He then pulled the breathless Fang Wanchen to hide behind a tree.
Fang Wanchen leaned on his knees, dripping with sweat, but still said to Ning Buwei, “Brother Chengfeng….though I don’t agree with your group resentment illusion theory….I believe that if we can figure out what happened in Yuquan Village, we should be able to get out. That… swaddling cloth was truly important.”
Ning Buwei looked at him with slight surprise.
Although Fang Wanchen was just an ordinary mortal, he was exceptionally intelligent and perceptive.
“More or less.” Ning Buwei nodded. “To get out, we either need to find a way to calm these resentments, or find the source of the illusion—those vengeful ghosts—and subdue or eliminate them. Either way, we need to know the truth about the Yuquan Village fire.”
Fang Wanchen hesitated, deciding not to argue about ghosts and spirits, but frowned and asked, “Do we just have to wait here then?”
“Of course we can’t just wait, otherwise our souls will be worn to death in this illusion.” Ning Buwei said, “We need to find a way to break the pattern and accelerate time in the illusion.”
“That swaddling cloth—”
“The swaddling cloth is an important clue, but not the key to breaking the pattern.” Ning Buwei said: “The key lies with that Pei Si.”
He unusually patiently explained to Fang Wanchen, choosing more tactful wording since the other was a mortal. “To find the truth, we still need people.”
Fang Wanchen looked somewhat apologetic. “I was too impulsive during the day, please forgive me, Brother Chengfeng.”
“No matter.” Ning Buwei looked around at their surroundings. “This is the edge of the illusion, very dangerous. Let’s go back to the village first.”
“Alright.” Fang Wanchen let out a long breath and followed behind him.
The two walked a short distance when suddenly two flaming talismans flew directly at their faces. Ning Buwei pushed the startled Fang Wanchen aside and quickly broke off a branch from a nearby tree, knocking the two talismans to the ground.
Small flames flickered unsteadily in the night breeze.
“Who-who’s there!?” Fang Wanchen’s face paled.
Ning Buwei shielded him behind his back and looked toward the dark forest ahead, coldly saying, “Come out.”
A familiar figure slowly walked out from the darkness, hands tucked in sleeves, with a faint smile on his face. “Ning Chengfeng, long time no see.”
“Xie Jiu?” Ning Buwei said expressionlessly, “Cui Ci.”
Xie Jiu smiled slightly, “Past affairs, I’ve forgotten them all. Just call me Xie Jiu, it sounds more familiar.”
Ning Buwei’s expression turned unpleasant. Xie Jiu had entered with his original form, not transformed into a soul of Yunquan Village like them, indicating this illusion didn’t reject his entry. Moreover, he could use spells in the mortal realm, which was even more unusual.
“What exactly is your relationship with Pei Heguang?” Ning Buwei walked forward two steps, coldly looking at him. “And how much do you know about what happened to the Ning family back then?”
“I don’t know much more than you.” Xie Jiu smiled. “As for Pei Heguang—”
Xie Jiu looked quite pleased. “He is my master.”
Ning Buwei’s gaze intensified. “So Pei Heguang and Ning Xingyuan are indeed two different people.”
“Of course they’re two different people,” Xie Jiu smiled with his hands in his sleeves.
“If they’re two different people, why does he use Ning Xingyuan’s name—” Ning Buwei’s face darkened, “Just to disgust people.”
Xie Jiu’s face turned cold. “Ning Chengfeng, you know nothing, you have no right to speak of him like that.”
“Heh.” Ning Buwei gave a cold laugh. “Then why don’t you tell me what I don’t know?”
“There’s no need to try to extract information from me.” Xie Jiu lowered his hands, holding two more fire talismans in his palm, looking at Fang Wanchen behind him. “You can be so compassionate toward a mortal, why can’t you appreciate his good intentions?”
With that, the fire talismans in his hand shot toward Fang Wanchen.
Ning Buwei blocked the talismans with the branch in his hand. The scorching flames burned his cheeks painfully. He turned to Fang Wanchen and said, “Run! Go find Chu Jun!”
Fang Wanchen’s face was ashen. “I can’t leave you here alone!”
Ning Buwei gritted his teeth. “Are you f*cking deaf?!”
Fang Wanchen stumbled back a step, then turned and ran.
Xie Jiu let out a cold laugh and released another fire talisman, but it was split apart by a broken blade that deeply embedded itself in a tree trunk.
Ning Buwei raised his hand, and the broken blade flew back to his palm.
Xie Jiu’s expression changed. “You can actually use the Suzaku Knife?!”
“If you can use fire talismans, why can’t I use a blade?” Ning Buwei sneered. The branch in his hand snapped, and two fire talismans were about to reach his face when he suddenly bent backward. When he straightened, he had returned to his original adult form. Three blood-marked talismans collided with the fire talismans, producing a muffled explosion.
“You indeed had a backup plan.” Xie Jiu no longer looked relaxed. “Since that’s the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
A dense net infused with spiritual power descended upon Ning Buwei.
****
Fang Wanchen ran forward desperately, but with each step, the sky around him alternated between light and dark, with the sun rising and setting several times, as if many days had passed. By the time he reached Pei Si’s courtyard, he saw many people gathered at the door again.
Li Chengfeng had mentioned breaking the pattern to accelerate time, but who had made time pass so quickly—
He looked up and met the gaze of someone standing in a tree.
Chu Jun glanced at him dispassionately. “Where’s Chengfeng?”
Fang Wanchen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, nervously saying, “We encountered someone called Xie Jiu. That person can use fire talismans. Brother Chengfeng started fighting with him and told me to leave first—”
“Which direction?” Chu Jun jumped directly down from the tree.
Fang Wanchen pointed. “Southeast of the forest!”
“Stay here, don’t go far from this tree.” Chu Jun took out a bamboo flute from his sleeve and stuffed it into Fang Wanchen’s hand. “Keep an eye on Pei Si. If you see Ning Xingyuan trying to leave, blow this flute.”
With that, he headed toward the forest without looking back.
“Hey—Young Master Chu!” Fang Wanchen looked confusedly at the bamboo flute in his hand, considering whether to follow or stay. After deliberating for a while, he painfully climbed the tree and looked at the woodshed in the courtyard, saying with a troubled face. “You haven’t even told me who Ning Xingyuan is!”
In the side room.
Ning Xingyuan sat on the mud kang watching Pei Si carve wood.
“You have good craftsmanship.” Ning Xingyuan raised his tea and took a sip. “Who taught you?”
“I learned it secretly from others.” Pei Si blew the debris off the wood and looked at him before continuing to carve.
“You’re taking advantage,” Ning Xingyuan smiled, leaning against the window. “You look exactly like me, so are you carving yourself or me?”
“You.” Pei Si focused on the carving in his hand, paused, then asked, “Your wounds have healed… are you leaving?”
The smile on Ning Xingyuan’s face faltered slightly. “Yes.”
Feeling somewhat guilty, he added, “My companions are probably searching for me. If I don’t leave soon, they’ll worry.”
In fact, he had already lingered in Yuquan Village for many days.
“Are they all cultivators like you?” Pei Si asked.
“Yes, we grew up together—” Ning Xingyuan stopped mid-sentence. “Would… would you like to come with me?”
Pei Si’s hand tightened on the carving knife. He looked up and smiled. “Didn’t you say I don’t have the spiritual root of cultivators? What use would it be for me to go with you? Besides, I was given to my parents by someone—they don’t want me anymore.”
There really was no reason to go back.
Ning Xingyuan looked at the poor surroundings, his throat tightening. “Once I return, I’ll definitely find out what happened. I’ll come back for you.”
Pei Si lowered his head to carve the wood in his hand, muttering, “You’re lying.”
He had heard in stories that immortals never return.
“I’m really not lying.” Ning Xingyuan looked at him seriously. “No matter what, we’re brothers by blood. There’s no reason for us to be separated.”
Pei Si pressed his lips together. “…I’m doing fine here.”
Ning Xingyuan frowned, grabbed his hand holding the carving knife, and deftly flipped up his sleeve. Pei Si had no time to struggle before the large scars on his arm were exposed to the air.
“They don’t treat you well at all. They beat and scold you. These are old injuries, and you have many new ones on your back, not more than half a year old.” Ning Xingyuan’s voice grew cold. “You’re not doing fine here at all.”
Pei Si bit his lip and pulled his hand away, rolling down his sleeve. He stubbornly said, “These were from when I was little and careless!”
“You got these from being careless?” Ning Xingyuan abruptly shut his mouth.
Pei Si glared at him with red eyes, looking both angry and sad.
Ning Xingyuan was taken aback. “I’m sorry, I—”
No one likes having their hidden scars exposed, especially when the person doing so is particularly intimate and exceptionally different from others.
A young person’s self-esteem is both strong and awkward.
Pei Si responded with a muffled sound, grabbed the wood from the table, and walked out.
From outside came Madam Pei Li’s unkind, disdainful voice. “You little brat, not doing anything anymore? Hanging around him all day! He’s an immortal who doesn’t worry about food or drink. So what if you look alike? How can you compare yourself to him? Go help your father in the fields right now!”
“I know.”
“Playing with that little knife all day instead of doing proper work. Carving and carving, not even earning half a copper coin!”
There was a thud as the wood fell to the ground.
“Get to the fields right away!”
“Alright.”
The footsteps outside gradually faded. Ning Xingyuan opened the door to find a half-carved piece of wood on the ground. He bent down to pick up the dirty wooden carving, gently wiped it, examined it for a while, then put it in his sleeve.
Madam Pei Li happened to come out of the woodshed, looking at him with fear, as well as full vigilance and wariness.
Ning Xingyuan nodded slightly to her. Seeing she was about to enter the room, he said, “Madam, I would like to discuss something with you.”
Madam Pei Li turned to look at the main gate—Pei Si was nowhere to be seen. She fell to her knees in front of Ning Xingyuan, crying, “Immortal, please spare us! We will leave with him immediately. Please spare our family! We will never appear before you again!”
Ning Xingyuan was stunned.
