ATLAS TRANSLATES

In the silent alley, needles and thread appeared from nowhere.

The young man’s eyes held murderous intent as he said coldly: “Xue Jiuling, what nonsense are you talking about? Do you want me to stab you with this needle?”

Xing Shuishui crossed her arms. A mere mortal was nothing in the face of magic.

She muttered: “Just try it.”

The magic quickly took effect. The young man bent down to pick up the needle and thread, stitching the hole in his dress one stitch at a time, his expression dark.

Xing Shuishui laughed and repeated: “Just try it.”

He raged: “Remove this spirit magic right now!”

The young man glanced at her dress. Though it looked pretty from afar, it couldn’t withstand close inspection. It had been patched up many times, the stitches crooked and unsightly. It was clear she had sewn it herself.

The more he looked, the more irritated he became, his expression growing desperate: “Remove it. Or I’ll kill you.”

Xing Shuishui made a face: “Who told you to tear my clothes? This is your own doing. You should be grateful my sister is here, otherwise fixing clothes would be the least of your worries.”

Though he was unwilling, the clothes were mended. The stitching looked good, Xing Shuishui thought, almost as neat as her sister’s work.

She looked up to see murderous intent on the young man’s face: “Don’t struggle, a mere mortal can’t break free from magic.”

“Tell you what, submit to me and I’ll release you.”

She insisted stubbornly: “You submit to me.”

But in the next moment, he broke free from the magical binding and grabbed her dress, pulling her down from the rock.

The sudden change caught her off guard.

Xing Shuishui fell on top of him, her hands pressed against his chest, their lips brushing briefly in an oddly delicate sensation.

He seemed equally surprised by this turn of events, freezing for a long moment.

Peach blossoms fell, landing on her shoulders.

Time seemed to stand still.

The young man looked at the anger on her face, his lips curling into a mocking smile: “How bold of you.”

Xing Shuishui grew angry, her hands gripping his neck: “Do you want to die? What’s wrong with making you sew some clothes? I haven’t even confronted you about what happened at the palace banquet.”

“Oh.” The young man smiled, deliberately provoking her with a cutting and flippant tone: “Haven’t you heard? To die beneath peonies – even as a ghost, one remains romantic.”

This person was so wicked!

Though just a mortal, his every movement carried an oppressive aura.

He grabbed her wrists, pressing close with a mocking expression. Xing Shuishui instinctively tried to dodge, but her wrists were already pinned against the wall.

The young man leaned in, smirking: “Are you afraid of me?”

His lowered eyelids cast shadows. Who was afraid of him?

Just as Xing Shuishui was about to act—

“Little Nine! Why aren’t you sleeping? Why did you come here… why are you sitting on someone?!”

Xing Shuishui turned to see Xue Zhuangxin nearly fainting as she leaned against the wall.

She quickly pushed away from him, walking stiffly to her sister’s side: “Sister, I… I just couldn’t sleep and came out for some air. I… accidentally bumped into him.”

Originally she had come looking for Mu Ziyu, but after searching for a long time without finding him, it was as if he had never existed. With no other choice, they had to return to Lihuo Manor after the Lantern Festival.

This was what happened during Xing Shuishui’s first visit to Luodan Country.

Xing Shuishui looked at the red string on her wrist – it had grown shorter again.

—

The second visit to Luodan Country was after Jing Wushuang’s death. Xue Sansi received a messenger pigeon from Mount Wuxiang.

The pigeon brought news of Jing Wushuang’s death, along with words from Du Dizhu. At the time, Xing Shuishui thought Du Dizhu had truly killed his master and mocked his hypocrisy. But Du Dizhu said Jing Wushuang’s death was caused by the people of Lingshan.

Du Dizhu wrote in his letter:

Fellow cultivators, in this vast world there are both humans and spirits. Humans follow the human path, spirits follow the spirit path. We originally did not interfere with each other, but those narrow-minded people of Lingshan cannot tolerate our existence! Today, they killed my master – the most outstanding, most powerful mirror arts grandmaster of our time. Tomorrow, it could be you, me, any one of us!

He invited several great spirits to meet in Luodan Country, including those from Lihuo Manor. At the time, Xing Shuishui firmly believed Jing Wushuang was killed by Du Dizhu, with Lingshan being merely a front, and advised her sister not to go.

But her sister said: “All those invited to this meeting are great spirits who guard their territories. Whatever the reason, we cannot show cowardice. Not only to give face to Du Dizhu, but to show others we are not easy to bully.”

Xue Zhuangxin held her hand, saying seriously: “Little Nine, Lihuo Manor isn’t just about you and me. We have our people to protect.”

And so Xing Shuishui and Xue Zhuangxin came to Luodan Country again.

Returning after a year, Xing Shuishui noticed the general standing on the city wall seemed even more dashing and heroic.

Upon entering the city, they encountered assassins. Simply put, these assassins weren’t targeting them, but rather General Fu Qi.

“Assassins! Assassins! They’re from an enemy country!”

“Don’t be afraid, General Fu Qi is here. Nothing will happen.”

Human conflicts originally had nothing to do with them. But the arrow shot from hiding went off target, nearly hitting her sister.

Xing Shuishui’s right ear twitched as she caught the flying arrow, its tip now perfectly aligned with the young man’s neck.

Fire coiled around the arrow, turning it to ash.

The light of the flames reflected in General Fu Qi’s eyes along with her image, his gaze lingering for a long time.

Xing Shuishui held up one finger, smiling mischievously: “You owe me a life.”

“Oh,” the young man said fiercely, “I won’t repay it.”

Xing Shuishui: “…”

How had this person survived to adulthood without being beaten to death?

The assassins were all captured. Finding it boring, Xing Shuishui linked arms with her sister and headed to the meeting place. She walked so quickly that she didn’t hear the young man’s words behind her: “—Unless you come claim it yourself.”

At the meeting, Du Dizhu spoke many pleasantries, but he sought out Xing Shuishui privately once.

He said: “Little girl, when Lingshan makes their move, your Lihuo Manor will surely be first to fall. Let’s work together against Lingshan. You have the fire, I have mirror arts – it’s good for both sides.”

Xing Shuishui saw this as his own performance. Eating snacks was far more interesting than listening to his nonsense. After finishing her snacks, she said: “No.”

“I have no grudge against Lingshan. Why should I join you against them?”

Du Dizhu said angrily: “If you agree, I’ll give you a treasure. Used well, this treasure can help you kill all who oppose you – no one would dare challenge Lihuo Manor again.”

At the time, Xing Shuishui thought Du Dizhu was full of schemes – if the treasure was really so good, he would have kept it for himself. She refused immediately. But now, the spirit in this shell wasn’t the same Xing Shuishui from back then.

Her interest was piqued: “What treasure? Let me see it, I’ll consider it.”

Du Dizhu cast a spell, and a box appeared from thin air. He opened it.

Xing Shuishui looked inside – there was a delicate Luoyu flower.

Could it be… was Luodan Country behind the later Luoyu flower epidemic? She thought carefully – this didn’t match Du Dizhu’s character. When Du Dizhu did evil deeds, he wanted the whole world to know; he disdained petty tricks.

Du Dizhu said: “How about it? If you join me against Lingshan, this Luoyu flower is yours.”

Xing Shuishui asked: “What use is this stupid flower?”

Du Dizhu: “Ignorant little girl. This is a Luoyu flower, not a stupid flower. It can increase one’s cultivation.”

Xing Shuishui: “If it’s so good, why don’t you keep it for yourself?”

Du Dizhu explained: “The Luoyu flower can only reproduce inside a human body. I’m busy dealing with Lingshan and don’t have time to cultivate and harvest it. Besides, it needs to be refined into Mother-Child Pills before use.”

Xing Shuishui: “Mother-Child Pills?”

Du Dizhu said: “You take the Mother Pill, then trick some unfortunate cultivator into taking the Child Pill. After that, you’ll immediately gain a hundred years of cultivation.”

“The side effect is that whoever takes the Child Pill loses one year of life. The price isn’t too high. Just a bit troublesome.”

Trading one year for a hundred years sounded very tempting.

He added: “However, the Luoyu flower’s effects are extremely unstable. It’s possible that after the other person takes the Child Pill and loses a year of life, your cultivation won’t increase at all. It’s basically gambling with life – just take it multiple times and it should work. Cultivators live long lives anyway, so it’s no great loss. With my ten thousand years of cultivation, I don’t need this thing. But for your hundred years of cultivation, it’s perfect.”

Seeing Xing Shuishui lost in thought, he persuaded gently: “How about it? If you agree, it’s yours. Others have begged me for the Luoyu flower before, but I didn’t give it to them.”

Xing Shuishui asked: “Who?”

He kept his mouth shut: “Will you agree or not?”

Xing Shuishui: “No.”

“Xue Jiuling, I advise you not to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. I remember you have a sister, and your useless clansmen – can you alone protect everyone?”

Xing Shuishui drew her sword Qitong, flames instantly surrounding the entire room. She said coldly: “I’m warning you once – don’t harm my sister, or I’ll tear you to pieces.”

Over the next few days, things remained quiet on Du Dizhu’s side. The meeting continued, and he seemed much more low-key. Early this morning, Xing Shuishui woke up clutching her chest – today was the day her sister died.

Although this was within the Chixuan Dream Technique and everything before her eyes was false, her sister’s death would always be real.

Early in the morning she set up formations. If Du Dizhu dared come, she would make sure he couldn’t escape. Since both the Heavenly Way and the Earth God said it wasn’t Du Dizhu, today she would see who it really was.

Xing Shuishui guarded the entrance, not eating or drinking all day.

But by evening, there was still no movement.

After the night watchman’s gongs had sounded several times, Xing Shuishui sensed something was wrong – the formations showed no reaction. Had that person already sneaked into Luoshen Manor? Without thinking, she grabbed her knife and rushed to her sister’s room.

Even though this time she had smashed all the mirrors in Luoshen Manor, making it impossible for Du Dizhu to use mirror arts, why was this still happening?

Xing Shuishui violently pushed open the door.

In the dark room, the smell of blood was thick. Her sister lay dying on the ground, her hair cold. Xing Shuishui’s blood instantly froze.

Seeing the black-robed person behind her sister, Xing Shuishui immediately struck fiercely with her blade. The person couldn’t dodge in time and was cut on the arm.

Blood splattered on her cheek.

Xing Shuishui demanded: “Who are you?”

“Du Dizhu?”

“Someone from Lingshan?”

Her raised blade was blocked by him.

The black-robed person laughed coldly, eyes cold beneath the mask.

Layers of fire surrounded the young woman, spreading to every corner of Luoshen Manor, forming a massive wall of flame. The night instantly turned blood-red, ashes floating everywhere.

Xing Shuishui said in grief: “If you have business with me, come at me directly. Why did you have to kill my sister?”

“Why?”

“My sister and I just wanted to live peacefully, never getting involved in these conflicts. Why did you target my sister?”

She had no intention of letting them go. As the flames rose and she was about to take their life, the black-robed person pulled out a mirror – were they going to use mirror arts again?

Xing Shuishui was prepared and knocked away the mirror.

The mirror shattered on the ground.

The black-robed person flashed to Xue Zhuangxin’s side, taking out another mirror from beside her. Xing Shuishui recognized it – this was the token of love Mu Ziyu had given her sister!

No wonder even after smashing all the mirrors in Luoshen Manor, they could still break in! Xing Shuishui understood everything suddenly.

Before the mirror arts could take effect, she flew forward, trying to tear off the person’s mask. But she was too late – the black-robed person disappeared.

“Don’t you understand? If it weren’t for you, your sister wouldn’t have died.”

“You killed her, Xue Jiuling.”

They laughed.

The mirror instantly shattered into countless blades of light, aimed at Xing Shuishui’s body, the brilliant flowing light seeming to plate the mirror blades with starlight.

Nine-layered mirror arts – even a Celestial Master would die a horrible death here.

At the time, Xing Shuishui thought dejectedly that dying like this would be fine. Her mother was dead, her sister was dead too. She had nothing left to live for. Being alive was just being alive, without any meaning.

She lowered Qitong as the system frantically warned her.

“Use the fire to defend! If you die, who will avenge your sister!”

But everything in this world was too exhausting for her. From birth she had to live carefully, protect her sister, protect her people, must protect them well, can’t let them get hurt… too exhausting.

Perhaps in death, everything would end, and she could return to her original world.

No Guan Yinzi, no Du Dizhu, no Lingshan.

Just as the system was about to take control of her body, someone burst through the door, holding her in their arms, using their mortal body to block thousands of mirror shards!

The mirror shards instantly pierced his body, flesh tearing open. Thousands upon thousands of mirror blades mixed with blood – a cruel execution.

He held her tightly, covered in blood, yet didn’t cry out in pain.

Xing Shuishui was stunned, never imagining that General Fu Qi, whom she had only met a few times, would break into Luoshen Manor and take the mirror arts for her.

Why?

The young man seemed to see her confusion and smiled. “I’ve been waiting here for you, but waited so long before you came, as if you’d forgotten me. I don’t understand why you cry so bitterly, nor do I understand what kind of spirit technique this is. I only know you seem to want to die, so, I won’t let you die.”

His tone was domineering.

“I like you, want to do everything with you. Want to die for you, live for you, shoot down thousands of lanterns for you. And I want… you to like me too.”

“Perhaps it’s impossible in this life. If there’s a next life, I’ll definitely try hard to become a man you can love.”

Near death, he lowered his head slightly, wanting to touch her lips.

Just like that night when he accidentally pulled her down, a fleeting kiss like a dragonfly touching water.

But in the end, he didn’t.

Xing Shuishui stared at him in disbelief, tears in her eyes. What was he talking about? Didn’t he know how terrifying mirror arts were?

This scene was heartbreaking to behold.

But one person was willing to defy all limits a human body could bear, offering his true heart to his beloved girl.

No regrets in life or death.

“Why cry? Smile for me.”

“Dying for you. Doesn’t hurt.”

“Anyway, I won’t live as long as you spirits. This way, maybe you’ll remember me a bit longer.”

He wanted so much to wipe away her tears, but was powerless to do so. So obedient, he wanted to kiss her, wanted to become the man who would hold her hand for life.

The mirror blades shattered.

He died brutally, wanting to use such cruelty to make her remember forever.

You are my paradise, my only love in this life.

What a pity that such moving words could only be spoken before death.