"Master? What is this, Master?"
"You, you've finally come~ Come here quickly, let me get a good look at you."
As if seeing a light, Fang Muyan's eyes, which had been as still as stagnant water, suddenly churned with turbulent waves. Her entire being was stiff, like a puppet controlled by strings. As she propped herself up, the sound of her bones grinding like meshing gears could almost be heard.
At this moment, seeing her master like this, Ying Caiwei felt a sense of strangeness.
"Master~"
She felt a little uneasy, but she couldn't defy her master's wishes. As she took a few steps forward, her master suddenly leaned halfway out, her hands reaching out like two dead snakes!
"Master, please don't get so excited, Caiwei won't leave."
"That's good, that's good. Seeing you here makes me feel alive again." She stuck out her tongue, licking her lips like a dog. Her tongue was so white it looked covered in frost, and her dry lips resembled the Great Rift Valley. "You all go out, let me have a good look at Caiwei and have a good talk with her. Go on, hurry up!"
Ying Caiwei didn't know how to describe her master's appearance, nor did she dare to ask the reason immediately. She just felt that her master had become a completely different person.
Her master had never shouted at her disciples like this before. She had always been kind and gentle, and certainly wouldn't have made such a chilling movement as sticking out her tongue.
"Caiwei, I thought you wouldn't come."
"How could that be? As soon as I heard Master was ill, I rushed to the mountain gate. It was just that it rained heavily last night, so I was slightly delayed."
"It's alright, it's good that you're here, it's good that you're here!"
Fang Muyan's hands gripped Ying Caiwei tightly, like a dying person clinging to the last straw of hope. Even the tone of her voice trembled with agitation.
"Master, you're hurting me by gripping so tightly."
In fact, Ying Caiwei knew very well that it wasn't the grip that hurt, but the chill transmitted from her master's palm, piercing her smooth, delicate skin like needles.
"Of course, I have to hold on tight. I finally waited for you to come. Looking at Master's face, you must be very scared, right?"
Ying Caiwei was indeed afraid, but not just because of that face. It was more because of the way she spoke, her actions, her tone, and even the cold glint that flashed in her eyes from time to time.
"Master, what happened to you? Logically speaking, you're not a rash person. How could you have problems with your cultivation? Also, have you taken any elixirs?"
As Ying Caiwei spoke, she glanced at the bloody liquid in the spittoon, feeling a wave of nausea. It was as if something terrifying was hidden within the blood contained in that basin.
At this moment, Fang Muyan's voice became even more sinister and low. Her dry lips were almost pressed against Ying Caiwei's pale face, and the cold air she exhaled immediately gave Ying Caiwei goosebumps!
"Elixirs? Elixirs! Yes, how could I not take elixirs? But where are my elixirs?"
Fang Muyan's gaze flickered left and right, as if searching for something. After scanning for a moment, her eyes finally settled on Ying Caiwei. A pale tongue flicked across her lips, making Ying Caiwei’s entire body tremble. She immediately shook off her master's hand and stumbled backward.
"Caiwei, come here, come here..."
"No, no, you're not Master~"
"Is it because Master has become ugly that you no longer recognize me? Have you forgotten how I saved you from the ravines surrounded by wolves and tigers? Taught you martial arts, taught you to read, taught you self-protection!"
Fang Muyan rolled off the bed, almost knocking over the spittoon. As the bloody water rippled, Ying Caiwei involuntarily looked into it and saw a thin layer of skin floating within!
"Skin~!" Ying Caiwei seemed to have thought of something, but her mind felt disconnected, unable to link what she saw and heard with her knowledge. She could only keep retreating.
Her body was as soft as if it had no bones, or like a pool of mud, crawling towards Ying Caiwei.
"I saved you, and now that you've finally reached 18 years old, it's time for you to repay my kindness~!"
Ying Caiwei's heart leaped into her throat. Just as she was about to push the door open and escape, she found her limbs being pulled by invisible threads, utterly unable to move. Her throat felt as if it had a fishbone stuck in it, making it impossible to utter a single word, let alone cry for help!
And at this critical moment, the fragmented memories in her mind instantly reconnected!
That's right, she remembered her master saying some inexplicable words on a mountain peak one dusk. At that time, she was young and couldn't understand them at all. But now, stimulated by the fear of death, she finally understood.
Her master had once said that the path of cultivation was arduous and long. Some people spent their entire lives without even reaching the threshold of Foundation Establishment, and time thus became the greatest enemy of cultivators. To defeat their enemies and reach higher realms, they had to constantly create time for themselves!
She said: "There is a method in this world, no different from a cicada shedding its skin. As long as one kills oneself at the right time, separates the skin and shell, and then finds a suitable body, one can extend life!"
This method is called 'Cicada Body'!
-- Could it be that Master was cultivating the 'Cicada Body'?
Ying Caiwei regretted that she couldn't speak at this moment. The muddy skin-like substance was already moving up her ankle. She suddenly understood what her master meant by 'killing oneself at the right time and finding a suitable body'!
-- Could it be that everything about Master was a facade? Or rather, even saving her from the ravines surrounded by wolves and tigers was just for today? Were those earnest teachings, that cherished affection, all put on by Master?
The scent of death was so alien and cold. Even though Ying Caiwei had figured out the entire truth, she had no strength to resist. Her consciousness was also gradually weakening. And in her mind at this moment, a figure slowly appeared. It was her destined man, the one who could save her from this mire!
"Ren Yuanhao!"
She mustered all her strength to squeeze out these words from her throat, as if at the last moment of her life, she wanted to call out this name again!
Bang!
That ray of light once again shone in from the suddenly broken bamboo house door, blindingly bright, impossible to look at directly, dazzling, like a beacon of hope piercing the darkness and reaching the dawn!
"Good sister! I heard your voice from afar, so I hurried over!"
Ren Yuanhao smiled brilliantly, and like a heavenly god, he raised the 'Cun Xue' (寸雪, Inch Snow) named by Ying Caiwei. With a stroke of spiritual insight, he unleashed a half-moon slash, directly slicing Fang Muyan in two, without any hesitation.
Affected by the cold sword's strike, Fang Muyan's 'Cicada Body' was completely annihilated. At this moment, the disciples standing at the doorway, watching the gradually decaying 'Master', all turned pale.
Some disciples with weaker composure even ran to the side to vomit. The Zhi Ran sisters, who had intended to stop Ren Yuanhao, suddenly knelt on the ground, thinking that if they had been a step later, their junior sister would have fallen victim to their Master's malevolent plot.