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墨書 Inktalez
Although I couldn't remember some things, I felt like I had seen this man somewhere before. It wasn't a direct gaze, but rather an instinctive feeling. When he smiled slightly and spoke those words, I took a step back.
"Are you scared?" he chuckled lightly, his voice remaining steady without much fluctuation.
"No."
"Then why?"
I tilted my head and replied, "You're too close; this distance is just right for talking."
He fell silent for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter, leaning forward and backward as if my words were incredibly amusing.
"You are quite entertaining like this." Once he had laughed enough, he waved me over. "Come here; I won't hurt you. I'm only trying to help."
"Help?" I scoffed. "Does your help always come at the cost of harm?"
"Harm? I've never harmed you." He shook his head in disagreement. "If it weren't for me giving you that Hairpin, how would you have met him? How would you have ended up with this Demon Fetus?"
I was taken aback as I saw his fingers curl slightly, feeling something within me being separated. In an instant, he held a Hairpin in his hand—an Ice Lotus that looked lifelike. I lifted my clothing to check; the Qilin Hairpin at my left waist was already gone.
Although I didn't know why I was aware of its absence.
"Wow, the Ice Lotus on the Qilin Hairpin is about to fully bloom. It seems your fate is inescapable," he remarked.
He fiddled with one of the beads at the center of the Ice Lotus and pointed it out to me. "Once this Ice Lotus fully blossoms, it will reveal the Golden Qilin inside. This is a rare Treasure! He used this as a Betrothal Gift to marry you, which shows how significant you are in his heart. My observations over these years have not been in vain."
He rambled on for quite a while, but I had no idea what he was talking about. All I felt was a stir in my stomach, and the baby on the tree laughed joyfully. "Mommy, the Qilin Hairpin has come down! The baby's seal has been half lifted! Is that brother a good person?"
"Of course, brother is a good person! He's doing all this to help you!"
He laughed lightly as he twirled the Qilin Hairpin and walked toward me.
The icy breath he exuded felt strangely familiar, evoking memories of the shock he had brought me. In a moment of distraction, I forgot to step back.
With a flick of his fingers, I felt my hair twist itself into an intricate style. He then took the Hairpin and inserted it into my hair, stepping back as if to admire his work. "Not bad," he remarked.
"What exactly do you want?"
I instinctively disliked him, yet I couldn't quite say I hated him; it felt rather strange.
He caressed my face, and with a single wave of his hand, the red glow surrounding the baby gradually faded away, replaced by vibrant greenery that blinked back into existence. The baby's voice grew cheerier.
"Great! The seal is broken. Thank you, big brother!"
The man smiled slightly, flicking his fingers as something darted into the baby's body. Suddenly, her eyes shifted from black to Yin Hong, and a strange smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
"No need to thank me; it was just a seal being lifted. If you want her to be born, you'll need one more thing."
I didn't see what had happened but pondered his words for a moment before asking, "Is it something in the hands of the King of Hell? What is it?"
"You'll find out when you go. The baby will be born in late August. If you don't obtain that item by then, even if she doesn't want to, she will backlash against Mother. For her sake and yours, go to the Underworld."
"How do I get there?"
"Next month on the fifteenth is the Ghost Festival. The Ghost Gate will open wide then. You will enter as the Lord of the Ghost Fetus; someone will guide you to the Underworld once you pass through the entrance. Remember, you must go alone; you cannot bring him along!"
"Him?" I looked at him in confusion. "Who are you talking about?"
"The one who makes your heart ache and brings tears to your eyes."
His palm covered the spot on my heart, and I felt a coolness there that was also warm, much like the feeling he brought me. My eyes grew a bit moist as I blinked and asked again, "Who is he to me?"
He stepped back, gradually disappearing into the darkness, his voice slowly drilling into my eardrums.
"This time, during the full moon, he will go to the development site in the Southeast of the City to open the First Seal, aiming to reclaim his body. If he regains his body, few will be able to stop him. He is determined not to let the child be born; you should know what to do, right?"
I froze for a moment as the wind picked up, stirring dust and lifting my clothes. I raised my hand to shield my eyes, and when I opened them again, I found myself still leaning against the wall at the entrance of the cave.
Outside, the sunlight had brightened considerably, golden rays illuminating the ground and creating a warm atmosphere.
I sat there in a daze for quite some time before reaching down to touch my belly. "Baby, are you there?"
"Mommy, I'm here!"
A wave of relief washed over me, and I asked, "Was everything just now true?"
"It’s true! Brother has come into contact with the seal; the baby can continue to grow and will soon meet Mommy!"
The baby's voice was filled with excitement. In a place I couldn't see, her eyes were bright red as green trees gradually turned to ash.
"Mommy, if he hadn't given you that hairpin, there wouldn't have been any possibility for the baby to exist. The baby has a kind of power within that is ghostly and can sense that he carries a similar eerie aura close to that of the baby. Mommy, I feel he isn't a bad person. He seems better than Daddy. Although I don't know why, I vaguely feel that Daddy doesn't just want to reclaim his body. The Phantom Spirit Pearl he gave you is a blood-sucking creature; he hasn't told you the truth, so he can't be trusted. We should stop him from opening the First Seal and then wait until the fifteenth of next month to go to the Underworld and find that thing. Although I can't come out yet, I can protect Mommy without any problem. Right now, power is surging within you; those little ghosts won't dare come near us, so we don't need Daddy at all."
What the baby said seemed correct on the surface. Her hatred for her father seemed deeply ingrained; no child would want to be sentenced to death by adults before even being born. So I understood her disdain.
Although I couldn't recall any past with the man she referred to as Daddy, I was unwilling to trust him. Even though he spoke words that seemed helpful to us, nothing good comes without a price in this world; such things only breed distrust.
I looked at the sky outside; the fifteenth was tomorrow night.
Fatigue slowly crept into my heart as I walked deeper into the cave and found a cleaner spot to lie down and rest for a while. In my hazy state, I felt as if my body were floating away without knowing where it would go, but there were always voices swirling around me that wouldn’t disperse.
“Rong Zhi, don’t worry about me. Go find her. This must be his doing, and if he breaks the seal, Anxin will definitely be in danger.”
“But Blood Flame has harmed your soul. If we don’t protect you first, how will you have the strength for tomorrow’s battle? Although it’s not impossible that he is involved, he won’t directly harm Anxin. Once the seal is broken, we can think of a way to deal with it. If you die, what will happen if Anxin calms down? Losing you would be like losing a piece of my heart.”
“I won’t die. He has meticulously planned this moment, using Anxin’s greatest fears and the child she doesn’t want to part with to provoke her into losing control. This is definitely to sow discord between us. I can’t believe Blood Flame is hiding within her; none of us expected that.”
“Jun Chong, I have a guess. Do you think Anxin might be—”
“No.” He decisively interrupted.
“But that sword can only be wielded by her, and it disappeared along with her death back then.”
“I said it’s not her. Anxin can never be her. Cough cough.”
Before he could finish his sentence, he began to cough violently. I couldn’t see him, but each cough felt like a blow to my heart, causing me pain. I was somewhat agitated, unsure of who he truly was, whether Anxin was really me, and what I even was myself. I also didn’t understand why this voice echoed in my mind.
In the haze, no one could provide me with answers.
I didn’t know how long I had slept. Many voices buzzed around me, making my sleep restless. When I opened my eyes, everything was shrouded in darkness.
I felt a bit hungry and wanted to go out to find something to eat. However, as soon as I moved, I noticed something soft beside me. Looking down, I saw a tuft of white fur and then heard a small whimpering sound coming from beneath me. I quickly turned over and looked down to find a little fox.
“Mommy, you’re awake! This is your pet that you adopted; its name is Tian Yuan, and it’s a fox.”
“Tian Yuan?” I reached out to stroke its fur and found it very comforting. I sat up and picked it up; it stared at me without moving, its eyes glistening. I smiled slightly and said, “Just in time; I’m hungry. Let’s roast you for dinner!”
It suddenly struggled violently, its little eyes looking pitiful as it whimpered softly. I couldn’t help but laugh and hugged the trembling creature in my arms. “I’m just joking; don’t be afraid. Can you tell me who sealed you?”
It whimpered for a while, but I didn’t understand anything it said. Finally, I asked the little one, “Baby, did you understand?”
"No."
"I don't either, and I'm not an animal." I patted its head, my stomach growling even more. "Let's go find something to eat."
I had no idea where we were; all around were small groves of trees. Not long after leaving the cave entrance, I spotted a clear little stream. I gave Tian Yuan a light slap on the backside and said, "Go catch me a fish. If you can't, I'll eat you instead."
It jumped in fright and actually went. I picked up a few twigs and sat down on the stone path, using Blood Flame to start a fire. Many souls floated around, but none dared to approach me. I wasn't in the mood to deal with them; I just waited for Tian Yuan to catch a fish so I could roast it.
Honestly, I didn't know why I was roasting fish; it felt like some instinctive drive, much like when I repelled the snake swarm last night. My body felt foreign yet undeniably mine.
The line between reality and illusion blurred beyond recognition.
Just as I finished eating, footsteps approached from behind me. I placed my hand on Blood Flame, ready to strike as soon as someone got close. When I saw who it was, my hand froze. "It's you?"
I remembered that person was called Rong Zhi.
"Anxin."
He called out my name as he walked toward me. Instinctively, I stepped back but felt a sharp pain at the back of my neck, a piercing cold rushing into my body before I fell into someone's embrace.
"Anxin, don't be afraid. I'm here to take you home."
A large hand covered my eyes, and my consciousness faded in an instant, with only a whisper of "Jun Chong" escaping my lips.
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