Chapter 32 - Awakening
The first battle was a victory; the Dingling Clan's spider army was defeated; this was originally an uplifting, happy event. But Beiwang City up and down is not delighted; the hussar general and the left guard general, a principal man, and a pair of two commanders-in-chief are seriously injured and unconscious. People have no backbone, and Beiwang City's soldiers and civilians are more or less panicked.
Although General Wei Kongji was seriously injured, fortunately, by the spirit beads of Linghu Xian, timely treatment, accompanying the army doctor's sleepless diagnosis and treatment of the night, need to rest and recuperate can be restored as before, and no significant problems. And Ouyang, heavily hit by the demon's spider poison, now has a black face; look at it will be fatal. All the doctors were at their wits' end, so Linghu Xian angrily kicked everyone out of the room and guarded Ouyang Zhong alone, tears falling like rain.
She kept thinking of ways; this moment was not the time to collapse. How to do? What to do? Right! Spirit beads, maybe the spirit beads can help him suck the poison out of his body! That's it.
Linghu Xian spat out the spirit bead. This spirit bead had helped her many times, last time in the canyon, to repel the spider swarm. It was consumed too much these days, although Linghu Xian had been tempering it, and just now she had saved General Wei's life, its power was not as strong as before. But nowadays, it could not care so much; she had to do it to save Ouyang Zhong.
She placed the spirit bead on Ouyang Zhong's wound and could watch with her naked eyes as the toxins in the injury were gradually adsorbed out by the spirit bead. Linghu Xian cried with joy. This method works. She undid Ouyang Zhong's clothes, revealing his chest; there were already many blood vessels on his body, and his skin turned purple and black and even pushed straight to his heart. Linghu Xian placed the spirit bead on Ouyang Zhong's chest, but the toxin did not come out. It seemed that Ouyang Zhong had to swallow the spirit bead to help.
Linghu Linghu Xian fed it several times but couldn't succeed. Finally, Linghu Xian held the Spirit Bead in his mouth, provided it mouth-to-mouth to Ouyang Zhong, and used his internal force to help him run the Spirit Bead non-stop between his organs and bowels. When the spirit beads Ouyang Zhong's body of poison one by one, suction is removed from a golden spirit bead into a purple one.
Linghu Linghu Xian swallowed the spirit bead back into her body, looking at Ouyang Zhong, who was gradually waking up. Her heart that was hanging in the air was finally put back into her belly. However, her own eyes began to drift, and when Ouyang Zhong woke up and looked at her, she sputtered and spat out a mouthful of black blood onto the ground, calling out Ouyang Zhong's name as she fainted.
After 100 years of cultivating underwater, Fox Xiaxia finally slowly awoke from his initiation. When he woke up, he wore a crimson robe, like waterfalls of black hair scattered randomly on his body, an angular face, handsome and exquisite features, and a gorgeous look. This face carried some of the fox's original flirtatious aura but also had lightness and transcendence after cultivation.
Fox Xiaxia sat cross-legged on top of a futon, opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was her Master. The master teacher has not changed much. Still, before the handsome and clean youth appearance topped with white hair and a long beard, he smiled and looked at himself, saying: ''Little witty ghost, you woke up? You've taken human form; come, take a couple of steps, and let Master take a look!" It was still the same cynical old-boy energy.
Fox Xiaxia hurriedly got up and gratefully gave her Master a big salute. "Thank you, master, for saving me and helping me cultivate into a human!"
"Saved you out? No, it was you who came out on your own. I locked you into the Spiritual Void Realm of Transformation at the time, and you realized the dharma on your own. You could have come out quickly, but you began cultivating in seclusion and eventually became humanoid. As for me, I've only been coming to see you occasionally over the past 100 years, adding a piece of clothing to you and chatting with you for a while."
Fox Xiaxia still didn't understand how she had turned from a fox into a human, and also, hadn't she been at the bottom of the lake in the ice cave before? Why was she sitting in the cave where her Master was practicing and retreating?
"Do you remember when I turned Shan Xiaohu into a rock and put it on the pointed mountain? You were all outraged then, and you even jumped on me and scratched and bit me. Heh! Your little fox's teeth are quite sharp, biting me strangely."
"Master, it's all because the apprentice was young and unintelligent then. Please punish me."
"Uh, yeah! I did chastise you guys. Little Tiger turned into a stone and was subjected to the wind and sun, rain and thunder day after day. As for you, you fell into the extreme cold of the Spiritual Void Transformation Realm and soaked in a deep pool under the ice for so long. The two of you have been punished hard enough."
Nanji Immortal stood, stretched, and slowly walked out of the cave. He looked at the courtyard outside; a few more immortal peaches had borne out, and Feng Xi Stream still had the peaceful beauty of four seasons, like spring. Nanji Immortal said to himself, "Your chastisement is already heavy enough, but Little Immortal's chastisement is going to be even worse. This child doesn't know if he can stand it!"
When Fox Xiaxia heard her Master talk about her sister, she hurriedly got up and asked, "Master? How is my sister now?"
Nanji Immortal smiled mysteriously, "I don't know; I only know that she has just experienced a second life. After one hundred years, she had just experienced two lives. She is also dumb enough. Just wait! She still has to rely on herself for her cultivation. Hey, you just happened to come out. Accompanied me to play a game of chess."
There was some indecision in Fox Xiaxia's eyes, and just as she was about to ask again, she was interrupted by her Master, "I'll tell you what! You must refrain from mentioning Little Five before your Eldest Brother and Second Brother. Also, you want to avoid sneaking out to find Fox Xiaoxian; I have set up the whole FengXiJian. Do you want to run? Do you want to run away?
Fox Xiaxia heard this heart was miserable. He changed back to the fox appearance, drooping ears and lowering his head. The Master went to play chess.
When Linghu Xian woke, she realized she was locked inside a giant iron cage. She slowly got up, wanting to see what was going on. Why was she locked in a cage like a prisoner? But when she touched the bars made of steel, she realized that a layer of fuzz had grown on her hands. Where was this still a human hand? It was an animal's claw!
Linghu Xian was shocked and hurriedly touched herself up and down; it was all fox-like downy hair; she felt her face; although it was still human-like, it had also grown a layer of hair, and even a long fox tail was behind her. She sat dumbfounded; it turned out that she had turned into a demon or turned back into a nightmare.
Why was it like this?
She forced herself to calm down. Whenever she encountered something that she couldn't solve in a moment or was at a loss for words, she tried to ask herself to calm down first so that she could have the brains to think of a way to deal with it.
She recalled that she and Yu Sun fought outside the city, and in the nick of time, Ouyang Zhong helped her to shoot Yu Sun. Yu Sun designed to confuse Ouyang Zhong, causing him to be poisoned, then she took out the spirit bead to heal his wounds and detoxify him, and then she fainted herself. When she woke up, she was locked up in a cage. Yes, demonic poison! She had absorbed Ouyang Zhong's wicked poison, and when she woke up herself, she became the way she is now. She was poisoned.
After analyzing the causes and consequences once, Linghu Linghu Xian closed her eyes and felt the Spirit Bead in her body. It was now so weak that its power could only weakly maintain its operation, and it no longer had the majestic energy and the hot and tenacious vitality like a flame in the past. Linghu Xian thought: this is probably the backlash of her spells. He is about to die, and his remaining time is not much longer.
The tent curtain was lifted then, and a soldier reluctantly returned to give Linghu Xian "food." He said it was food, but a slop bucket emitted a foul odor. He came in shivering and glanced at Linghu Xian, who had his back to him and ran out with a cry of fear. The bucket of slop was knocked over and spilled all over the place.
Linghu Xian did not know how long she had been unconscious and how long she had been locked up. She tried to call someone to ask for help, but when she opened her mouth, she could only make an "ah ~ ah ~ oh ~" sound, so even human speech could not be said. Linghu Xian's heart was in a panic; she couldn't speak and get out; what should she do? And Ouyang Zhong, are he and the Great General safe and sound? Did the Dingling Clan launch another attack?
Right, the whistle! Linghu Xian hurriedly touched the whistle on her neck; luckily, the peach kernel whistle was still there; she could only use this whistle to send a message to Ouyang Zhong now; maybe he could come to save her. Linghu Linghu Xian blew a few times to ask Ouyang Zhong for help. But after waiting a day, Ouyang Zhong did not go to her. Linghu Linghu Xian thought, "Could it be that she is not in Beiwang City now? Could Ouyang Zhong have returned to Zongzhong City? Could it be that Ouyang Zhong hadn't regained his sobriety, or something else was wrong, so he couldn't come to see her? The more Linghu Xian thought about it, the more nervous she was; she was scared, afraid that she wouldn't get him back, fearful that Ouyang Zhong had left just like that.
With tears in her eyes, Linghu Xian hugged herself tightly together and curled up in the corner of the cage. She had to find a way to escape. Whether Ouyang Zhong was alive or dead, she had to see him. Linghu Xian searched everywhere in the cage for a mechanism, but the cage was robust. No matter how hard she tried, she could not move it even slightly. She was a little discouraged, thinking she could drill through the cracks if she could become smaller now. But when she felt this way, she turned into a fox-like appearance, with a petite and flexible figure, and quickly escaped from the cage bars to the outside.
She escaped from this tent and looked around. Fortunately, she was still in Northwatch City's military camp. She hid, afraid of being seen by others, and finally followed her remembered route and found Ouyang Zhong's room. She quietly leaned over but didn't dare to change back into her human form. The light was on, and someone inside was talking:
"Left Guard General, the old minister, came to the border this time to deliver the decree. Besides praising all the generals on behalf of the Emperor and his old man, he also has another decree from the Eldest Princess of Nanling to bring you a message. I heard that an extra horse harnessed by the side of a team stationed at the border even brought a servant girl, and it is said that your relationship with this servant girl is extraordinary close interaction. Nanling Princess knows that is very angry and tells you not to forget their identity and that the Ouyang family's future and the whole family life can be clutched in your hands."
"I understand, many thanks to Wang Changshi for mentioning it."
"As long as you understand, that servant girl should be dealt with immediately! I will rest in this tent for the night, and when I return to the capital tomorrow morning, you will have to explain. Farewell!"
Linghu Xian's heart sank. How did the eldest princess of Nanling know that she followed Ouyang Zhong to the military camp? To dispose of herself? The way he is now, I'm afraid it's not as simple as quietly executing a servant girl. It looks like this palace to come to the permanent staff still does not know the barracks out of a demon.
After Linghu Xian waited for Wang Changshi to leave, he silently walked into Ouyang Zhong's room, quickly blew out the candle flame, and transformed back into his human form. Ouyang Zhong noticed the strange movement and immediately launched an attack, but as soon as they exchanged hands, they realized that the other party was Linghu Xian. At this moment, his eyes widened as if he had seen something he was afraid of, and he knocked her to the ground with a palm strike and then drew his sword to put her to death. Linghu Xian kept dodging; she almost forgot that she could no longer speak, so she hurriedly grabbed the whistle and blew a few times.
Ouyang Zhong finally stopped the sword in his hand for the time being. Dumbfounded, he said, "I know who you are. I was the one who put you in the cage, and I had thought about putting you in the grassland for a few days and letting you fend for yourself. Now, it seems that you must be killed."
Linghu Xian asked in a whistling voice, "Why? I saved your life and the Great General's life. Why do you want to kill me?"
Ouyang Zhong replied mechanically, "Because you are a demon, and demons must be killed."
"But I am Linghu Xian! Have you forgotten the past between us? A few days ago, you even held my hand and stood on the city wall and sang to me, and now you want to kill me?"
"You're a demon, not a human. You lied to me before that you were a human. You're a liar, and you're a demon."
"You want me dead that badly? Simply because I'm a demon? Or is it because you want to save your identity as the Emperor's son-in-law and the far-reaching future of your Ouyang family? Hehe, Ouyang Zhong, even if I weren't a demon, you would still execute me, right?"
Ouyang Zhong's expression was in the darkness where Linghu Xian could not see. At this moment, his eyes were wide open, extremely pained, and a powerful force controlled his actions and words. He knew that it was Linghu Xian, knew that she was in danger, but also knew that if it were not for Linghu Xian to cure his poison, he would have been killed. How could he kill his favorite person, who was also his savior? But as soon as he saw Linghu Xian, he could not control his impulse to kill her.
Ouyang Zhong exerted all his strength and roared, "Ah!" Then he thrust the sword in his hand ruthlessly into the wall.
Outside, the guards patrolling, the soldiers rushed in at the sound of the sound; seeing the crouching down on the ground, Linghu Xian and Ouyang Shige, who was constantly dripping blood from his hands, immediately grabbed Linghu Xian. Ouyang Zhong gasped for breath and said with difficulty, "Chain this prisoner, throw him into the dungeon, and behead him first thing in the morning."
Linghu Linghu Xian incredibly looked at Ouyang Zhong, grief to the extreme, shouting; other people could not hear what she was saying, but Ouyang Zhong's heart understood that she was asking: "Why? Why? Ouyang Zhong, why are you? To be so heartless?"
A few soldiers just grabbed Linghu Xian; Linghu Xian made a carp, quickly changed her shape, snatched the dagger worn by a person beside her, rushed at her chest, and stabbed in ruthlessly. She is not afraid of death, but no matter what, she does not want to be killed at the hands of her beloved; this is a great humiliation for her. Ouyang Zhong's quick eyes and hands hurriedly grabbed the hilt of the knife and didn't let Linghu Xian kill herself, but the dagger still pierced her left chest, and a strand of black blood flowed out.
Linghu Linghu Xian stared at Ouyang Zhong with dead eyes, letting the soldiers drag her away; in her heart, she said to Ouyang Zhong, "Zhong, the life I owed you in my last life, I'm paying it back now. From now on, we, two clear."
A few days ago, on the very night that Linghu Xian used the spirit bead to help Ouyang Zhong detoxify himself, Ouyang Zhong felt that he had been controlled by something. He watched as Linghu Xian fainted as she healed herself and wanted to hurry to help her up, but instead, he shouted, "Someone come, quickly arrest this demon Linghu Xian!"
The next day, the great general Wei Kongji, who had just recovered from his illness, ran over to him and asked him why he had to arrest Linghu Xian, who had made an outstanding achievement. He unexpectedly blurted out that Linghu Xian was a demon and must be caught and severely punished.
This was not his intention, but no matter how much he struggled and tried to tell others that he did not want to give such an order, as long as he thought of the three words "Linghu Xian," others manipulated his body and Spirit. What's worse is that as soon as he saw Linghu Xian, he would pick up his sword and slash at her. Ouyang Zhong understood that he was about to be poisoned by the spider and also by the compulsion of the demonic Spirit, and the order of this wicked Spirit was to control him to get rid of Linghu Xian no matter what. He became the best puppet killer of the Dingling Clan.
Ouyang Zhong wanted to tell Wei Kongji and Linghu Xian about all this or even tell anyone, but he couldn't do it. This demonic method was too strong, and he would create obstacles to even mentioning it to others, and he couldn't speak or write about it. For many consecutive days, when he heard Linghu Xian's whistle, he couldn't rush over to see her. The misunderstanding just grew bigger and bigger, becoming more and more uncontrollable.