"As long as I can save her."
Master Lintian watched as the tears continued to fall from Xie Zhe's face, and all of them fell on Ling Huan. There were no hoarse wails, no hysterical accusations, just calm tears, tick, tick. A certain kind of calmness beneath these two lines of tears spread lightly on the confused face. He could no longer make any expression.
"...I want to ask you," Master Lintian said softly, "Do you still remember what Mutsuki-kun once told you."
"I don't want any common people." Xie Zhe said sadly, "Caring for the world, caring for the common people, helping the world and saving people... I will never forget these things and these principles for a moment. It was such a person who saved my mother's life. , and also saved my life. I was probably going to let him down, and I already understood - I am not the kind of person he is. I can never be the kind of person he is."
"..."
The colors of the sky are colorful and chaotic, and the distant scenery is gradually distorted by this unknown pull. Further away, like a landscape painting soaked in water, squeezed and kneaded by external forces, it is on the verge of breaking. Xie Zhe's heart was squeezed and kneaded by the fragmented reality, and was on the verge of being broken. Every word, every word, every sigh was a heavy mountain on his chest.
"I have been... being taught to do the right thing. I also know what is the right way and what is the wrong way. I will not do anything without the king's law and engage in favoritism and malpractice. I am the one who has followed the order of the world until today. My mother taught me well. But no matter how many things I do, I can't do anything about it. I know the way in my heart, but I don't know where to go. Every step I take, I am afraid of going astray. Until now, I have tried my best... I admit it. I have no righteous intentions, and I am so small that I can only accommodate three or two people..."
As he spoke, he stretched out his sleeves to wipe away the tears on his face. The sound of Lord Kutsutsuki's piano was full of sadness, but a silent determination occupied his heart. He gently placed Ling Huan's head on the ground, as if he was worried about waking her up. Then, he knelt down in front of Master Lintian and leaned deeply.
"I don't want any common people... She is my common people. Whether it is shallow, naive or selfish, I am willing to bear all the infamy. I just want her to come back. So, please, if there is still No matter what... I'm willing to pay any price."
He fell to the ground, and his voice began to tremble.
"In addition to love, including life."
Master Lintian was speechless. The invisible thing in the words shocked him. His throat trembled slightly, as if he had a thousand words to say. After only a few blinks of silence, he stretched out his hand to pull Xie Zhe up.
"There is no way... Just listen to me. Do you know there is a folk method called... Guan Luoyin?"
There is still no cloud in the sky, no color of its own. The way the green deer moves is so strange that people inside it cannot see the true appearance of the outside world. Lord Kutsutsuki continued to play. According to the rhythm of its former master, Qinglu took brisk steps in the air that were invisible to mortals. There are veins of plants extending from that deep pit. The battle between Kannaujun and Hanshang has begun, and the end is far from coming.
Master Lin Tian quickly set up his formation and sat with Xie Zhe with his eyes closed. Ling Huan lay motionless in the formation, letting the colors and contours of the world dance freely in front of her closed eyes. Master Lin Tian crossed his legs, while Xie Zhe's legs were bent but his feet were on the ground. His face was covered with a layer of red cloth, the material dyed red by Ling Huan's blood. Underneath this is a piece of talisman paper with a spell written on it, with the runes facing outward. If Ling Hu really dies, then what should be caught here is a piece of paper money. But if it gets to that point, Guan Luoyin can only visit her, but can't bring her back. In a real ceremony, you also need to set up an altar, burn incense, invite gods, and recite incantations. Such conditions do not exist at the moment, so we have to simply use formations instead. Fortunately, Master Lintian is a man of high moral standing and strong mental ability.
Master Lintian did not propose such a plan at the first time, but Gao Yuejun reminded him. It was not that he did not remember, but that he knew that this behavior was extremely dangerous. He has listed all the bad situations to Xie Zhe. The first person to participate in the ceremony, whether a recipient or a mage, will lose their lifespan. After all, this is a matter of dealing with the underworld. Secondly, if this method fails, the consequences may not be affordable. The principle is to allow the recipient's soul to leave the body and go to the underworld to meet their deceased relatives. During this period, the body is empty and needs someone to take care of it; and once the soul in Hades is lost, it will never come back. To put it bluntly, it is very likely that you have risked your life before you even see the soul of your loved one.
In the end, even if you see it, you may not succeed. Before meeting their loved ones, the recipients will experience all kinds of strange experiences on the long road. They must not let them go and lose their mind. After meeting your relatives, they may have lost their character and no longer recognize you, or they may turn into evil ghosts and harm the visitors instead. ???????????????But Ling Huan did not die in vain, nor did he die completely, so such a bad thing would not happen. But Master Lintian couldn't tell what exactly it would be - because this was his first time performing magic on a living person.
"You must do what I say." Master Lintian closed his eyes and said to him, "You will go deeper and deeper. Just tell me what you see, and I will teach you how to avoid it and how to deal with it. In the end, My voice will get farther and farther away until it disappears completely. Don’t panic at that time, because you have reached the gap between the world and the underworld. As long as you find Miss Ye, bring her back directly. If there is anything that confuses you, just half a word Don't listen to her, just take her in the opposite direction of where you met. This road will be extremely long, maybe even longer than when you went there, but don't be afraid, you can never look back until you see the light. No matter if you meet again Whatever you hear, don’t do it. Just remember – don’t look back.”
Amidst the whispers of long spells, Xie Zhe opened his eyes again and saw only a vast expanse of darkness.
It is not completely black, but has a vague sense of light, which can at least distinguish it from the world with closed eyes. He didn't know which direction to go, everything looked the same everywhere, he just knew he couldn't sit still and wait for death. He chose a direction based on his feeling. Even the road beneath my feet was equally bleak and black.
"It's dark everywhere, nothing can be seen. Wait, there seems to be houses... but they seem far away, just outlines. No, wait, it's close right in front of you - there are many houses."
"Just go in this direction and leave them alone."
He walked along, not daring to look at the outlines of these houses. There was a stone on the road ahead. He wanted to step over it, but accidentally touched it. At that time, he felt that he was going to fall, but he staggered and walked steadily over. Xie Zhe realized that the things he saw might have no entity and had no appearance.
"In the middle of the road, there is a well."
"Bow before you go, but don't look into the well."
Xie Zhe did as he was told. At this time, he could clearly feel Master Lintian's voice getting farther and farther away. He continued on, and there were many trees besides the houses. The trees overlapped the house, as if they were growing out of the house. Until now, he still hasn't seen anyone. only……
"I heard... the sound of someone talking. There were a lot of people, it seemed like a busy city, and I was getting closer and closer to it. But I couldn't see anyone or anything."
"this……"
Master Lintian's tone revealed hesitation, as if he shouldn't hear this. Xie Zhe was a little panicked, but thinking that he was going to bring Ling Huan's soul back to the world, he just kept moving forward. He couldn't hear clearly what those words were, it seemed like people were talking or talking to themselves. He couldn't understand the more specific words. None of the sentences were complete. Xie Zhe only felt that it was similar to human language, but it was not. He didn't know whether there was really someone talking in a place he couldn't see, or whether there was something unknown that was parodying human words in the dark.
He suddenly felt someone reaching out to touch him. This is not normal. First of all, no living person should be able to touch anything here, and vice versa. Could it be that his soul has been away for too long and is too dangerous? He didn't dare to delay too much, so he quickened his pace until he was running. Along the way, something invisible kept pulling at him, tugging at the corners of his clothes and arms. He was very flustered. And those tiny sounds became clearer and clearer, until he could hear them completely even if he was running fast.
"let's go."
"???????????????Go back, she's not here."
"Or you stay."
"Never leave again."
"You can always be here with her."
"She's with us."
"She doesn't want to go back."
"She doesn't remember you anymore."
"Who are you looking for?"
Xie Zhe felt a dull pain in his ears, and the pain almost spread from his ear canal to his brain. But he didn't stop and kept running. The noise didn't stop for a moment and couldn't be shaken off. Instead, it became clearer and closer. Master Lintian's voice disappeared completely. He ran too fast, and he could only rely on himself for the rest.
Until he saw an extremely clear figure in front of him from a distance.
"Ling Hu!"
He shouted, but the other party didn't seem to hear him. As he ran closer and closer, his vision became increasingly blurry. The hands that touched him kept trying to pull him back, grabbing the hem of his clothes, his ankles, and covering his eyes. Xie Zhe overcame all resistance regardless, and rushed forward resolutely even when his sight was deprived.
The moment he grabbed Ling Huan, the thick darkness in front of his eyes suddenly cleared and the noisy and sharp voices completely disappeared. He clearly saw that a familiar person was right in front of him. Even her body was complete and her right arm was still there. Because her soul is complete.
But he found that his hand failed to grasp her arm - but passed through her body.
Ling Quan is also untouchable.
"Miss Ye! Can you see me and hear me? Ling Yu!!"
Ling Hu just stood there blankly. It's not like she can see anyone or hear any sounds. But she raised her hand slightly, as if holding a flower on the roadside branch, or letting a butterfly land on her fingertips. She looked around again, her eyes piercing through the darkness and landing on a scenery that Xie Ze couldn't see. She took steps forward, showing a little intoxication.
What she saw must be a beautiful scenery. But Xie Zhe couldn't see anything, he could only see this boundless darkness. The only thing with color is the back of the girl who is gradually fading away in front of him.
He sadly recalled one thing: the road to hell is always walked alone.
