Ye Huohuo picked up something from the ground. Lu Yao, being the most curious, leaned over to take a peek. "Seriously? Are you going to kill it or save it? I say, just sever the ties and be done with it."
"Cultivating for a thousand years is not easy, and besides, he is truly pitiable. If he truly dies in his current snake form, he will be a snake for all his lives. The sins committed by Miaofeng should not be borne by him."
What Ye Huohuo picked up was the green-lined snake, Li Ke, whom she had previously knocked unconscious with a lightning talisman.
At this moment, Li Ke was like a green rope, limp in Ye Huohuo's hands, completely devoid of the kingly aura he had displayed when dealing with the two of them.
Lu Yao couldn't help but sigh, "His situation with Miaofeng is indeed a regret, but there's nothing we can do to restore him to human form, right? Are you still planning to use that wicked method of Miaofeng's?"
Ye Huohuo shook her head, then walked over to Miaofeng's corpse. She crouched down, looking at Miaofeng's wide-open eyes even in death, and sighed softly. She reached out and gently covered Miaofeng's eyes. "I will do my best to fulfill my promise to you. I hope you won't do bad things in your next life!"
When her hand moved away, Miaofeng's eyes were closed. No matter how many lingering thoughts or concerns she had, she could only let go at this moment. A wisp of black smoke drilled into the ground; that was her soul. She had committed too many evil deeds in this life, and upon death, she was not even given a chance for her soul to manifest, unlike ordinary people who could have a seven-day return of the soul.
Her soul was directly seized by the underworld. Perhaps an eighty-year wait, or even longer, of hellish life awaited her.
As Ye Huohuo was about to stand up, she saw a purple crystal lying in her hand. Its shape...
Her heart stirred. She casually put the purple crystal into her pocket and, at the same time, tied Li Ke to her wrist like a bracelet. It looked as if she were wearing a jade green bracelet, which made her tender, lotus-root-like arm appear even whiter.
Li Mohan's pupils seemed to constrict when his gaze fell upon that patch of whiteness.
"Your matter has been investigated. I had planned to... tomorrow..." He glanced at the wristwatch he was wearing, paused, "It should be today. I sent the evidence to the police station early this morning, so you should be released. I just didn't expect that you would... encounter such a thing here and be so severely injured.
If I had known this would happen, I... I would have bailed you out first." Li Mohan's gaze swept over Ye Huohuo's injuries, his tone filled with regret.
Ye Huohuo glanced at him, her lips moving slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she held back. A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her lips, a smile laced with unspeakable sorrow. "Actually, this trip hasn't been without its gains." Her eyes narrowed, thinking of something.
"Gains?"
The three of them asked in unison.
After all, Ye Huohuo was in such a sorry state. Anyone with eyes could see the numerous external injuries. Her soul consciousness was nearly shattered, on the verge of complete dissipation. Yet, she could speak so lightly of having gained something. Apart from her injuries, they saw no other gains.
Ye Huohuo's gaze flickered. "I gained you as an enemy, and..." Her eyes glinted. She glanced at Zuo Qingya with a hint of shyness, behaving like a maiden in first love seeing her idol. "And I saw my junior uncle, whom I haven't seen in a long time. Aren't these all gains?"
Seeing the flicker in Ye Huohuo's eyes, Li Mohan's brows unconsciously tightened. He cast a cold glance at Zuo Qingya.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his voice seemed to carry a trace of terror. The usually calm and composed Li Mohan had never been so out of sorts. "What is this?"
He raised his right hand, staring in astonishment at a black water thread, shaped like a snake, coiling in an '8' figure around his index and middle fingers. "What is this thing? How can I shake it off!" he exclaimed, shaking his hand. But no matter how he moved his right hand, the black water thread remained entwined around his fingers, like a small pet unwilling to leave its owner.
"Filth water?!" Lu Yao blurted out. "It actually followed you! Has it recognized you as its master?"
"What water? How can I get rid of it? This..." Li Mohan had a mild洁癖 (germophobia). Looking at the filth water, which resembled black ink, he felt his hair stand on end, whether from fear or disgust, he didn't know. He frowned deeply, his face pale, and his wrist was about to be dislocated from shaking. His expression suggested he might vomit at any moment.
"You can try commanding it." Zuo Qingya's gaze shifted between the filth water and Li Mohan. His dark, handsome, and elegant eyes sparkled with a wise light, and his gaze held a hint of understanding.
"Go away!" Li Mohan's lips trembled slightly. The filth water's movement on his fingertips gradually slowed, then reluctantly drifted away from his fingers and hovered in the air not far from him.
"I told you to leave..."
"No, don't drive it away. Make it go into your pocket!" Ye Huohuo interrupted Li Mohan's attempt to drive the filth water away again.
"Why?" Li Mohan asked, confused. But he followed Ye Huohuo's instructions.
The filth water, like an obedient little snake, hissed and slipped into the pocket of Li Mohan's upper garment.
Although Li Mohan still felt uncontrollable disgust and revulsion, at least the skin contact was gone. He took two deep breaths, and his complexion improved slightly.
"Why are you making me keep it? Wouldn't it be better to let it go?" Li Mohan wanted to touch his pocket, and after several tentative touches on the outside, he finally gave up.
"This is called filth water. It's something that the deceased Miaofeng refined over nearly a thousand years. It is the ultimate yin and extreme cold, capable of melting all things. It has now gained sentience. If it's allowed to leave on its own, who knows what trouble it will cause outside.
If it starts killing, it won't be just one or two people. Then it will be difficult to subdue it. Since it has recognized you as its master, you should keep it by your side. Perhaps it will be a capable bodyguard for you in the future, as nothing is indestructible to filth water. This is also considered accumulating merit and doing good deeds, a win-win situation. Why not do it?" Ye Huohuo was still very weak, and speaking so much while leaning against the wall made her breathless.
"Exactly. If it had recognized me as its master, I would burn incense and worship it every day. It's a pity, but I'm not skilled enough. By the way, do you really not remember anything about what just happened? You..."
Before Lu Yao could finish, Zuo Qingya pulled her aside. "Why are you talking so much?!"
Seeing Zuo Qingya and Ye Huohuo acting as if they knew something she didn't, Lu Yao felt a pang of resentment. It seemed that everyone in the room was keeping her in the dark.
After a fierce internal struggle, Li Mohan agreed to Ye Huohuo's suggestion to temporarily keep the filth water and figure out how to deal with it later.
"Perhaps you can test its power now!" Zuo Qingya said out of the blue.
"What?" All three of them didn't understand what he meant.
"Have you forgotten that there was something we didn't finish earlier?" Zuo Qingya smiled faintly.