"Escape?" The black-robed figure chuckled disdainfully. Black energy materialized into ropes, binding Shen Muzhou's body and rendering him immobile.
The little girl stood behind the black-robed figure, grinning maliciously. With each shake of her bell, Shen Muzhou's soul felt as if it were being torn apart.
"No."
The pain was like bones being smashed and flesh being sliced away.
Shen Muzhou gritted his teeth, letting out only a muffled groan. His face quickly lost all color. As the bell was shaken, his body trembled uncontrollably, his breathing shallow and strained.
The intense agony caused him to twitch slightly.
Lin Yanxi recognized it as the Soul-Snatching Bell, something she had read about in ancient texts. The bell could trap a person in an illusion, which contained one life door and one death door. One's true desire would lead to the life door. Furthermore, anyone who had been drawn into the illusion by the Soul-Snatching Bell would be cursed by the bell-ringer. Every time the bell rang, the curse would be activated, causing excruciating pain as if their bones were being torn and broken.
Such a sinister artifact should have long been extinct. How could it appear here?
And why, in her previous life, had there been no sorcerers causing trouble?
Lin Yanxi's eyes shone brightly, blazing with anger that seemed ready to consume the person before her. "Enough. What exactly do you want?"
The black-robed figure's lips curved into a triumphant smirk. He raised a hand, signaling the little girl to stop.
"Someone offered a high price for his life," he said, pointing at Shen Muzhou.
The black-robed figure then turned his gaze back to Lin Yanxi. "As for you, you are my unexpected bonus."
"It's a pity your grandfather, Jiang Qi, is already dead. You, as the last talisman master of Yueyou, are surprisingly weak."
Lin Yanxi froze. A torrent of information exploded in her mind.
What? Grandfather is dead?
How could that be? After her uncle Jiang Hao died mysteriously, her grandfather had disappeared to Yueyouzhou to investigate the cause of his death.
In her previous life, it was only when she was about to be executed as a disaster star of Nanmin that her grandfather appeared. He rescued her from Nanmin, and they fled together until her grandfather was injured. She was then captured by the Crown Prince and brought back to Nanmin. The Crown Prince had used her grandfather's life to force her to jump off the city wall.
Could it be that during his years of absence, they had mistakenly believed her grandfather was dead?
Lin Yanxi did not dispute the matter of her grandfather. Her gaze shifted to Shen Muzhou.
He had been tormented severely, his face as pale as paper. A trace of blood at the corner of his lips made him appear strangely demonic and alluring. His eyes were deep, like black amber polished by clear water. Only when he lifted his eyelids was there a determined and resolute glint in his eyes, burning with intensity.
His breath was weak, his features aloof, yet he forced himself to say, "Didn't you want us to be clear? Now we are. You should leave quickly, don't try to save me anymore."
Shen Muzhou's deep gaze fell on her, complex emotions swirling within. If she saved him again, they would never be clear.
Lin Yanxi suddenly recalled the first time Shen Muzhou had proposed exchanging the ring for her treating his illness. She had said that if she cured his cold ailment, he would return the ring, and they would be clear.
"Ugh..."
The bell rang again, its tinkling sound like death knells, striking Shen Muzhou.
If he died like this, history would change. There would be no massacre, and Nanmin would not fall.
She had already retrieved the Soul Ring. The power difference between her and the black-robed figure was too great. If she insisted on saving Shen Muzhou here, they would both die. She could not die; she still had many things to do.
The Grand Tutor's manor, her parents, and those who had wronged her had yet to face their just retribution.
Lin Yanxi's resolve wavered for a moment. She took a step back, yet she could not bring herself to leave him behind.
She frowned, as if making a firm decision, and looked at him resolutely. "What kind of clearing is this? We came together, and we'll leave together."
He lifted his eyelids again, and Lin Yanxi's fair, childlike face came into view. Despite her delicate and bright appearance, a stubbornness flickered in her eyes.
He was born in the imperial palace and had always understood that he was the one who would be abandoned after careful consideration of benefits and drawbacks. Even his own mother was no different.
So, was he being resolutely chosen today?
The first person not to abandon him was this timid, greedy, and calculating little rabbit. The tightness of his lips relaxed.
Lin Yanxi held her breath, forming the Formless Seal with her hand. A Immobilization Talisman appeared in the air. She raised her head and shouted, "Immobilize!"
The black-robed figure had to free a hand to deal with Lin Yanxi. Shen Muzhou's bonds were loosened. He swiftly drew the sword at his waist. At the same time, a powerful surge of dark energy rushed towards Lin Yanxi.
This dark energy stirred up the fallen leaves and pebbles on the ground, so Shen Muzhou could clearly see its nature.
Lin Yanxi's Immobilization Talisman was shattered again. Seeing the curse energy about to pierce her body like a sharp blade, she instinctively closed her eyes.
Was she going to die...
So unwilling.
There was no pain as she expected. Instead, she was pulled into a cold, vast embrace.
Shen Muzhou...
She opened her eyes. Shen Muzhou held her in his arms, taking the blow with his back.
"Shen Muzhou! Are you crazy? A mortal body taking a curse, do you want to die?"
Shen Muzhou lowered his gaze to her. He was covered in blood, and his lips were oozing blood. His vision began to blur. She seemed to be crying. Was it for him?
She cared about him. The corners of his handsome lips curved slightly upwards, revealing a faint smile. He wanted to reach out and wipe away her tears, but his knuckles had barely brushed Lin Yanxi's face before he collapsed.
"Hahaha." The black-robed figure burst into laughter, his voice rising triumphantly.
"A trash like you dares to be a talisman master? If your grandfather knew you were so easily defeated, his coffin lid would surely fly open. It seems the lineage of talisman masters is truly at its end."
"Little trash, go back with me obediently, and I'll leave this kid with an intact corpse."
Lin Yanxi's eyes shot out fierce gazes, fixing on the man before her like a cornered beast preparing for a desperate fight.
"I want you to die."
Her crimson lips parted, and she uttered the words indifferently, one by one, with no room for compromise.
The black-robed figure, having witnessed her Immobilization Spell, deemed her a complete failure. He provocatively laughed, "I'll let you have one hand, and you still wouldn't win. How dare you spout such nonsense?"
"You should just wait obediently for me to finish with this kid, and then go back with me. Send him to his death sooner. Don't waste my time."
The dark energy in his hand pulsed again on Shen Muzhou's body, tightening its grip, intending to consume him.
The light emanating from the Soul Ring flowed into Lin Yanxi's body. Her eyes were also tinged with a purple glow. She formed the Formless Seal, and a talisman condensed in the air.
The talisman approached the black-robed figure. Her beautiful purple eyes flashed with a mesmerizing ferocity, and she roared, "Immobilize! Spell!"
As she completed the hand seal, a large amount of spiritual energy erupted from the Soul Ring, amplifying her technique hundreds of times.
The black-robed figure was instantly sent flying to the ground by the shockwave of the talisman, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He activated his curse, but he couldn't break free.
"How is this possible?"
He became anxious and unleashed all the curse techniques he had learned. Yet, the Immobilization Spell showed no sign of weakening, holding him in place with unyielding force.
"Overestimating yourself," Lin Yanxi sneered.
She didn't even form a hand seal. With a slight tilt of her head, the black-robed figure's arms immediately cracked and separated from his body.
"Ah!"
The black-robed figure writhed on the ground in agony, letting out a terrified scream. If he became crippled, he would lose his value to his master, and then he would be refined, which was a fate worse than death.
"You trash, what kind of evil art did you use to... Ah—"
Before he could finish, a piercing scream echoed through the dilapidated village. His legs twisted into exaggerated angles, and they were brutally broken.
Lin Yanxi's eyes were filled with bloodthirsty killing intent. She was like a Shura demon crawling out of hell, and only slaughter could quell her rage.
Her voice was sweet, yet chillingly terrifying. "You will die at the hands of this trash. Oh! What a pity. With your limbs severed, even if you beg me, you won't have an intact corpse."
"Exactly, as you said, I'll send you to your death sooner. No need to waste time."
She asked him this with a smile, but her smile immediately turned cold, her eyes bone-chilling and terrifying.
"You, a side-door practitioner who steals forbidden arts, dare to mention my grandfather's name? You are nothing but a pitiful running dog subservient to another. Since you're a dog, you should know not to bare your teeth and bark at people, or you'll die without a whole body."
"Speak. Who is behind you?"
He was so terrified that he couldn't meet Lin Yanxi's eyes, but he knew in his heart that the consequences of betraying his master were even more terrifying. It was better to die here.
Although the black-robed figure's limbs were broken, if his life could be spared, perhaps he could still use curses for transference. He didn't want to die here, but the bloodthirsty look in Lin Yanxi's eyes suggested he was merely a plaything for her amusement.
"Not speaking?"
She narrowed her eyes. The talisman techniques grew stronger, pressing down on the black-robed figure, forming a small array.
"How is this possible? Throughout history, only a World-Destroying Talisman Master can manifest a small array. You... you are just a little girl. Where did you get such high cultivation? Who exactly are you?"
"Could it be..."
Could she be the one who would destroy the world?
The small array continuously absorbed the curse energy from his body, drawing it into the Soul Ring, and then transferring it into Lin Yanxi's body.
The moment the power entered her, her expression contorted in pain, as if several forces were colliding and fighting within her.
The black-robed figure was about to be consumed by the array. The fear of death seized every cell in his body. The excruciating pain was like being peeled layer by layer, bone by bone. His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and tears of agony streamed down his cheeks.
He regretted it...
At this moment, all he wanted was to live.
"Ah!"
Unfortunately, he had no chance to beg for mercy. This was his last scream. Before the array could torture him to death, Shen Muzhou, despite his weakened state, ended him with a single strike.
His blood gushed from his neck, splashing onto Lin Yanxi's face, possessing a startling and captivating beauty.
With the death of the black-robed figure, the little girl with the bell screamed and transformed into a small paper figure. The bell fell to the ground, and the paper figure drifted in the air for a moment before slowly descending, lifeless.
Lin Yanxi looked at Shen Muzhou blankly, her eyes still filled with killing intent. Countless resentful spirits within her clamored for slaughter. This power was beyond her control, as if it would burst from her body at any moment.
"It's over. It's all over," Shen Muzhou pulled her into his embrace with one hand, gently stroking the back of her neck with the other. He whispered softly in her ear, continuously stroking her neck as if calming a frightened little rabbit.
"No one will hurt you again. It's all over. You are the most powerful talisman master in Yueyou."
As Shen Muzhou's soothing words washed over her, Lin Yanxi's eyes gradually returned to normal, and the glow of the Soul Ring on her finger faded.