Xing Shuishui approached He Liansheng’s bed. In his unconscious state, he lacked his usual fierce demeanor. His eyes were tightly shut, lips pale, with an undissolvable gloom between his brows. He wore clean clothes that carried a faint woody scent. Xing Shuishui observed him for a moment, tentatively calling his name several times.
No response.
She let out a small sigh of relief.
Li Guanyu had checked on him before leaving. Though He Liansheng’s injuries looked severe, they were only surface wounds that hadn’t affected his vital organs. With some rest, he would wake up on his own.
After confirming he was truly unconscious, Xing Shuishui reached for his collar. Soon she found the Spirit-Subduing Pagoda.
Finally—
Heaven knew how much mental torment she had endured lately with these Lingshan people. Every day was either encountering demons or matching wits with He Liansheng. She wouldn’t play along anymore.
Xing Shuishui gripped the Spirit-Subduing Pagoda. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
It was a beautiful hand, with distinctively long index and middle fingers, somewhat rough from years of martial arts practice, but with clear joints and visible veins.
As if knowing she wanted to leave, the grip was tight.
Xing Shuishui’s eyelashes fluttered as she guiltily glanced at He Liansheng. Still unconscious—she’d been scared to death.
Regaining her composure, she carefully pried his fingers open and tucked the Spirit-Subduing Pagoda into her sleeve. That should do it.
After finishing this, Xing Shuishui intended to leave.
Unexpectedly, Lihua darted out from her sleeve, sparks scattering. Her expression changed as she grabbed Qitong and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“There’s no danger here.”
Seeing it still wouldn’t back down.
Xing Shuishui: “Stop making trouble. It’ll be troublesome if we’re discovered.”
After many years, the system’s voice echoed in her ear again, unfamiliar, bringing back many memories: “Give me control of your body. This is a notification.”
Lihua was exchanged for three uses of body control—one was used years ago, two remained.
She unwillingly walked to He Liansheng’s bedside, climbing up step by step, forced to raise her hand with Qitong’s blade pointed at his heart, fingertips trembling.
“Why suddenly—”
Xing Shuishui stared at He Liansheng, her whole body rigid. If he woke up now, she wouldn’t know how to explain. Explain that she was being controlled?
He wouldn’t believe it.
“Why kill him? Haven’t you guessed already? Or are you resistant? So, I said we couldn’t rely on you.”
The system couldn’t be bothered to waste words with her. As killing intent surged, Xing Shuishui raised the blade, about to strike fiercely.
He Liansheng remained completely unaware of everything happening around him.
She silently mouthed “sorry.”
So she had come to this world because of He Liansheng, and he had always been the target. Unfortunately, after experiencing too much in her previous life, she had long lost interest in carrying out any “mission.”
The blade tip was just an inch from his heart.
At the crucial moment, Guan Mulan’s voice reached her ears, devoid of emotion. She had returned so quickly.
“He Liansheng, are you awake? Let’s talk.”
When there was no response after a while, Guan Mulan repeated herself, frowning: “Young lady, are you in there?”
Still no answer.
Guan Mulan’s eyes turned cold as she prepared to break down the door.
The door creaked open, and the young woman in light pink robes lifted her face, her expression complicated: “He hasn’t woken up.”
Guan Mulan didn’t rush to enter, instead examining her: “You’re Xing Shuishui?”
Xing Shuishui: “Yes.”
She appeared deeply troubled.
Guan Mulan continued.
“You’re a mortal?”
“Yes.”
“You know who he is?”
“Yes.”
Guan Mulan noticed the jade bracelet on her wrist, her expression becoming unnatural: “He actually gave you this thing?”
Xing Shuishui said: “I can give it to you if you want. But he doesn’t seem to like you much, so I won’t.”
Guan Mulan narrowed her eyes: “You’re quite bold. Do you know who I am? Taking your life would be as easy as lifting a hand.”
Xing Shuishui smiled: “Someone he dislikes.”
Guan Mulan gave a cold laugh.
Xing Shuishui showed no trace of fear, saying: “I know you’re very powerful, but I haven’t done anything wrong. If you take an innocent mortal’s life without reason, you’d be violating mountain rules by treating human life as worthless. So I guess you’re not that foolish.”
Guan Mulan looked at her with interest: “Do you know where this bracelet came from?”
Before Xing Shuishui could answer.
Guan Mulan said: “It’s a magical item personally forged by his mother, named: Xian Yun.”
At this, her eyes softened considerably.
“People say, ‘Xian Yun unbroken, Gui Que undefeated.’ His mother was called Li Guique. We were from the same sect back then. Later she married into the He family, which led to him being born.”
“He Liansheng has a life-and-death tribulation in his destiny, and Xian Yun was his mother’s safety charm to help him overcome it. I never expected he would give Xian Yun to you. He’s truly… ungrateful. Though giving it to you is fine too—death will bring peace.”
“Just be aware that when others see Xian Yun on your wrist, they’ll have many thoughts.”
Xing Shuishui’s eyes widened slightly, Xian Yun on her wrist unexpectedly growing hot. Life-and-death tribulation… safety charm… Sometimes she felt fate was quite teasing. Just like this.
Guan Mulan walked in. Xing Shuishui clutched the bracelet on her wrist, bit her lip, and tried for a long time but couldn’t remove Xian Yun. Looking down, her fingers had become red and swollen in just moments.
She felt somewhat helpless.
Looking back at the young man in the room, Xing Shuishui’s eyelids lowered.
Oh, He Liansheng, you gave your protective safety charm to your executioner. Will you really not regret it at all?
He Liansheng still hadn’t woken up.
After learning that Guan Mulan had visited Xing Shuishui, the perceptive Li Guanyu worried that Guan Mulan might have said something unpleasant. She decided to knock on Xing Shuishui’s door and enter.
Her room was very neat. When she arrived, Xing Shuishui was sitting by the window, putting a letter into an envelope. As soon as Li Guanyu approached, she handed it to her.
Li Guanyu was suddenly startled: “Shuishui, this is…”
Xing Shuishui looked at her seriously and said: “Sister Guanyu, although we often encountered dangers while hunting demons together, I was still very happy and will miss you all. But now that things here are resolved, you should return to Lingshan. I can’t keep following you, so I think it’s time for me to leave…”
Li Guanyu lowered her gaze. The envelope clearly bore He Liansheng’s name. Instead of taking it directly, she tried to persuade her to stay a while longer.
But Xing Shuishui said: “I’ve thought it through.”
Li Guanyu sighed: “I suppose so.”
Leaves fell again and again, and those who must leave will still leave.
As for He Liansheng… who knew how long until he would wake, and how would he feel?
The weather had turned cool, autumn colors sweeping through Qingzhou. Tree leaves were blown into the sky, twirling past the inn’s windows and doors. Finally, a sudden gust of wind carried the leaves across the long street to an extremely desolate hillside.
Xing Shuishui wasn’t foolish. After getting the Spirit-Subduing Pagoda, she quickly left. The Lingshan people hadn’t grown suspicious yet, assuming she was just going somewhere else to find her supposedly existing “grandfather.”
She touched the golden leaf on her head—early autumn had arrived unnoticed. Time passed so quickly.
The hillside was deserted, occasionally hearing birds’ mournful cries as she walked alone. Xing Shuishui took out the Spirit-Subduing Pagoda from her sleeve. As soon as her finger touched it, it enlarged to the size of a palm.
Using her spiritual sense to explore, Xing Shuishui quickly found who she was looking for. With a movement of her finger, an old man flew out of the Spirit-Subduing Pagoda, nearly crashing into a tree. He didn’t mind at all, just standing up and dusting himself off.
He said with a grin: “Young friend is quite clever. I knew you would definitely rescue this old man. Congratulations.”
Xing Shuishui held out her hand: “You know what I’m here for.”
The Earth God wasn’t in a hurry: “I will certainly give you the celestial bell. This old man doesn’t go back on his word. Do you still think Du Dizhu killed your sister?”
Xing Shuishui remained silent.
The Earth God already had his answer.
He blew a breath, and suddenly a string of ancient bells appeared in his palm. Though the wind chimes made no sound when moved, seven-colored precious light rippled. Nearby birds and beasts sensed the presence of the celestial tool and prostrated themselves, while withered trees sprouted new buds.
He raised his hand to hang it on Xing Shuishui’s wrist, and the celestial bells instantly took on an ordinary appearance.
Instead of rushing to ask how to use it, Xing Shuishui asked about something that had long troubled her: “Actually, I’ve always been curious—why did you all help me?”
The Earth God looked at her, his eyes seeming to hold frost: “You possess separation fire, which doesn’t belong to this world, and neither do you. You should have been annihilated long ago. That bolt of heavenly lightning was born to maintain this world’s laws. At the time, we thought killing you would end it. Unfortunately, we never calculated that you were someone’s life-and-death tribulation from four hundred years ago, his past life’s karma, and also his present life’s obstacle. Your death would have been unfair to others.”
So, there was rebirth.
However, Xing Shuishui was somewhat unfocused, spending her days chasing after Du Dizhu. Nothing was more important than killing Du Dizhu, nothing more important than avenging her sister.
Xing Shuishui suddenly understood something. Coming to this world was because of He Liansheng, being reborn was also because of him. She couldn’t help but laugh—how particularly interesting.
The Earth God taught her how to use the celestial bells, then told her:
“Child, we cannot reveal too many heavenly secrets, we can only do our best to help you find your sister’s killer. The rest depends on you.”
“But please don’t forget your mission.”
With that, he dissipated.
Xing Shuishui stood there stunned for a long while, until leaves fell before her. Only then did she wipe the tears from her eyes, having been sad for quite some time. Her sister once said she was actually quite a crybaby.
That’s right.
So what if she cried easily?
She nearly died upon arriving here, pushed by fate onto a path she didn’t want to walk. Besides her sister, no one cared if she was happy or not today.
Everyone thinks about transmigrating.
But in another world, she also had family, friends, teachers, being loved, being missed, being cared about. The sudden transmigration was like human trafficking—no one could find her.
And she had lost one world, only to lose again in another.
Joy and sorrow mixed together, never finding an endpoint.
Xing Shuishui wiped away her tears, wanting only to do what she wanted to do. As for He Liansheng? Whoever wanted to kill him could do it themselves. A bunch of lunatics. If they had the ability, they should kill him themselves.
She channeled demon energy, using the celestial bells according to the Earth God’s method. It was said these bells could reveal the true culprit’s location—from far away they could give a general sense, but would ring when close.
Her spiritual sense trembled.
Xing Shuishui closed her eyes to sense for a moment, then suddenly opened them.
It was Lingshan.
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