CH 12

“​​Master Xie, you are hurt,” Feng Yaoqing said softly, “Don’t be exposed to the cold wind out here, you should go back inside quickly.”

Xie Wuyan didn’t answer immediately, he just lowered his eyes and looked at his hands, a lonely expression on his face. After a long time, he laughed at himself and clenched his hands tightly: “Ji Feichen originally asked me to help you, unexpectedly I became a burden.”

“The blame is not on you.”

A woman’s heart was soft, seeing this, Feng Yaoqing’s tone immediately rang with pity.

She reached out and put her hand on Xie Wuyan’s arm, seeming to discourage him from blaming himself: “Master Xie saved us without caring about triggering your old injury, that has already caused me to be filled with admiration, who can say you are a burden?”

Xie Wuyan turned his head.

The two looked at each other.

The moonlight was just right, the environment was just right, and the atmosphere was also perfect.

Xdzu Fbld Eydikdt, obs oyp bkekdt clbkde vbl vall, qlzv vbyv vbkdtp olal tskdt pswvb.

Valvlde, bl alyzzu jdlo bso vs ralvlde.

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Mbkp oyp dsv vbl oyu vbkdtp pbswze ts.

Kwpv yp pbl oyp vbkdjkdt ycswv nswdvlaxlypwalp dlahswpzu, pbl pweeldzu qlzv y vkdtzkdt pldpyvksd qasx vbl vkr sq bla dspl yde nswzed’v blzr cwv ts “ynbss” okvb y pdllgl.

Rv aydt hlau zswezu.

Lso vbyv oyp hlau lxcyaayppkdt.

Ohld kq pbl eked’v vwad bla blye, pbl jdlo vbyv vbl vos rlsrzl dsv qya yoyu olal qsnwple yde alyeu vs yvvynj shla blal.

Shen Wanqing rubbed the tip of her nose, stood up in embarrassment, and walked out from behind the tree.

“Wanqing?” Feng Yaoqing withdrew from attack and said in surprise, “Why are you here?”

“I…” Shen Wanqing racked her brains, raised her head and glanced at Xie Wuyan, bit down, and decided to go with it, “I have been looking for Brother Xie, afraid that something had happened to him.”

Speaking of this, she deliberately sniffled, the rim of her eyes slightly going red, and acted like a girl who had just gotten her heart broken: “Since Brother Xie and Sister Feng are together, I’m relieved.”

Feng Yaoqing was stunned when she saw Shen Wanqing’s red eyes, and then immediately remembered that she liked Xie Wuyan.

As a woman, it was easy to guess what she was thinking. Soon, Feng Yaoqing was convinced that Shen Wanqing must have seen herself talking to Xie Wuyan, and was aggrieved due to jealousy.

So Feng Yaoqing quickly walked towards Shen Wanqing, smiling and holding onto her shoulder: “It just so happens that you have arrived, Ji Feichen has worked too much today, I have to go back and take care of him. However, I can’t leave Master Xie alone with his injury. Since you happen to be here, I will leave Master Xie to you.

After speaking, she turned, blinking meaningfully at her as she left.

Seeing Feng Yaoqing trotting away quickly, Shen Wanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If she misunderstood, then let it be.

It was better than these two people secretly getting chummy when she wasn’t paying attention.

She patted her chest, but before she had time to relax, she looked up and met Xie Wuyan’s bloodshot red eyes.

He leaned against the tree and looked at her with his arms crossed, the words could be interpreted clearly from his eyes:

Pretend, continue to pretend.

History was always surprisingly similar.

Just now, Shen Wanqing had watched him pretend, yet she didn’t expect the roles to be reversed so quickly.

“So nervous?” After a long period of silence, Xie Wuyan let out a low laugh, took a step and walked over to Shen Wanqing’s side, leaning down to her height, “Why, afraid that I will kill her?”

Shen Wanqing was startled.

Although she didn’t expect Xie Wuyan to believe that she really didn’t know anything, the two of them had never exposed each other, they just pretended to be confused.

Therefore, this was the first time Xie Wuyan was suddenly so honest and frank with her.

She didn’t know how to answer this.

Shen Wanqing wanted to avoid his line of sight, but her chin was clasped and she turned back to look at him

“If I killed her,” Xie Wuyan’s voice was cold, “wouldn’t you be happy?”

Wait?

How did he come to this conclusion?

Shen Wanqing was stunned by this question.

She thought about it, she couldn’t tell Xie Wuyan truthfully, she came to prevent him from becoming a homewrecker, right?

It is estimated that once she spoke these words, she wouldn’t even have any room to struggle, and her neck would be snapped in half.

So Shen Wanqing took a deep breath and decided to express it in a roundabout way: “No, I just think if Brother Ji saw this, he might misunderstand.”

“Brother Ji?” Xie Wuyan repeated, laughing a few times as if he had heard a joke, then let go of his hand that had been clasping Shen Wanqing.

He straightened up, his gaze was cold sharp like a knife as he glanced at her.

Loving the tree so much that she loves the branch too1, he thought.

In the next second, without giving Shen Wanqing any chance to react, Xie Wuyan walked away and passed by her.

Shen Wanqing rubbed her chin that had been pinched until it ached, and when she turned her head, she found that the person had disappeared from sight.

Why did he think that she would wish for Feng Yaoqing’s death?

She was clearly going to die if Feng Yaoqing died.

Shen Wanqing tried to clear her thoughts, and then suddenly realized.

Most likely, Xie Wuyan had really believed Zeng Ziyun’s words that she deeply admired Ji Feichen.

Smoothing out the problem, the situation had become complicated

The side male character thought that the side female character liked the male lead.

The main leads thought the side female character liked the side male character.

The side female character knew that the side male character would definitely fall for the female lead later on.

……No matter how she looked at it, it was like a tongue twister.

Shen Wanqing touched her chin, considering whether to explain to Xie Wuyan that she did not like Ji Feichen while walking towards the inn.

However, before she could take a few steps, she suddenly felt a chill in her back

The dark clouds rolled over, covering the moonlight.

The wind became louder and louder, and the atmosphere seemed to become oppressive in an instant. The piercing chill that came from all directions wrapped around her whole body.

Shen Wanqing tried to move forward but found that her body was strangely stiff. After trying to take a few steps with difficulty, she felt the bloodstream in her whole body freeze, and she was unable to move.

She was shrouded by a mass of thick fog

“This is the scent.”

The eerie female voice rang close to her ears: “Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?”

The owner of this female voice stretched out her hand and gently pressed against Shen Wanqing’s neck, from the chin all the way to the shoulders, and then to the back. The other hand hugged Shen Wanqing’s waist, and then slowly clasped it.

The icy airflow swept across Shen Wanqing’s body along with the woman’s movements, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice-cave.

She had to say.

This posture made it seem like they had something going on.

If you use modern words to describe it, it’s the kind of ‘something’ that would make jjwxc2 block your novel3.

This should be her.

The Painted Skin Ghost who had escaped from Ji Feichen.

This Painted Skin Ghost was very clever.

First she let her comrades cause Ji Feichen and Feng Yaoqing to be fatigued from fighting, and then she would take advantage of them thinking that these demons had been injured too badly and would not easily come back to attack.

Logically speaking, this plan was indeed good.

But Shen Wanqing felt that the Painted Skin Ghost had underestimated Ji Feichen.

With their sharp senses, it was estimated that they would figure out something was wrong soon.

“Do you think I will be scared of the group of stupid cultivators by your side?” The Painted Skin Ghost seemed to be able to read Shen Wanqing’s mind, she let out a laugh filled with madness, and pressed her fingertips on Shen Wanqing’s back with more power.

It was a piercing pain.

However, Shen Wanqing couldn’t make any sound at the moment.

She could feel this Painted Skin Ghost drawing a very long blood scar on her back. It was as if she was following this blood scar to skin her alive.

“As long as I swallow your flesh and blood,” the Painted Skin Ghost said, “even if there are ten thousand Ji Feichen’s, there would be no way to stop me.”

What was the meaning of this?

Even in this severe pain, Shen Wanqing still retained a trace of rationality.

F*ck

So this Painted Skin Ghost was so obsessed with her, it wasn’t just because she looked good?

The sharp fingertips of the Painted Skin Ghost almost cut open Shen Wanqing’s entire back.

The demonic force penetrated into her body from the wound, as if to abruptly shatter her whole body, completely peeling off her skin.

In this intense pain, Shen Wanqing felt that her brain could no longer think properly, only a white colour pierced her eyes.

“Accept your fate.”

The Painted Skin Ghost’s voice had become fuzzy in her ears: “Even if it weren’t for me, you would become a sacrifice to other demons as well in the future.”

She wasn’t certain which sentence touched Shen Wanqing’s nerves, but numerous scenes suddenly flashed across her blank white mind.

It was more like the desire to survive before death that ignited many memories in this body that had never been awakened before.

Those scenes were surprisingly similar to the scenes in her dream not long ago.

Only this time, it was clearer.

The blood-covered woman lowered her head to press upon the baby’s forehead, and hugged her tightly in her arms, tears mixing with the blood dripping down.

After a long time, she took a deep breath and hummed a song with a trembling voice.

Shen Wanqing had never heard this song before but it felt so familiar.

It was like a lullaby to send a child to sleep.

Even if the surroundings were covered by a sea of ​​blood, countless withered vines, and the firelight that continuously burned, the woman’s voice was still gentle and firm.

After singing the lullaby, the woman took a deep breath, stood up, and put the baby in her arms into the tree hollow.

Then she cut open her own palm and pressed it tightly against the tree trunk, tears continuously dripping down.

The blood was dripping down the tree, and under the injection of spiritual power, it mixed with the crimson light that flashed.

This was a Protection Charm.

“Child,” the woman raised her eyes and looked at the sleeping baby in the tree hole. There were tears in her eyes, but they were also filled with a gentle smile, “Don’t be anyone’s sacrifice. Keep your head up and live upright.”

The memory came to a stop.

It seemed to be cut into countless pieces in an instant in her mind, becoming fragments.

What was this?

Was this the memory of this body?

Shen Wanqing didn’t know anything.

But she remembered what the woman in her memory did.

She gritted her teeth and almost exhausted all her strength, forcibly exerting out a few wisps of spiritual power, manipulating it to find her own blood.

The blood dripping from her back splashed open and burned in an instant.

The Painted Skin Ghost was taken aback, quickly releasing her hand and retreating a few metres.

Shen Wanqing finally regained the rights to her own body, but at this moment the body was already extremely weak. She tumbled a few steps forward, only to fall to the ground, trying to push her body up with difficulty.

“It’s useless.” The Painted Skin Ghost raised her hand, glancing at the blood stains on her fingertips in astonishment, and then laughed, “Struggling before your death will not relieve you of pain.”

As she said this, her red eyes flashed, and she gathered almost all her strength to strike Shen Wanqing.

“Boom!”

The expected pain did not come.

Shen Wanqing turned her head and looked back.

Xie Wuyan’s right hand penetrated the Painted Skin Ghost’s body, the blood following his arm to drip onto the ground.

—

[Translator’s note: My heart begins to ache for our FL as we get glimpses of her backstory! Thanks for reading! ]