Mu Ranwu wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and continued bitterly, "I could have gotten married and had children, lived a simple and happy life. But I was forcibly dragged and got a glimpse into another world of cultivating immortality. Do you know how inferior and miserable I felt at that time? With my apititude, when I am old and gray, my sister will still be youthful and beautiful, ascending to immortality with her enviable cultivation. By then, I would be left alone in the mortal world, dying in loneliness and despair! What did I do wrong? My sister wasn't killed by my hands! She was the one who didn't want to live. She willingly traded her life so that demonic Su Yi Shui could live! I just wanted to start over, to live well, is that not allowed?"
In the last few sentences, Mu Ranwu almost roared out in madness. The bloodstains at the corner of her mouth were still there, and under the flickering flames, she seemed to exude demonic vibes.
Zhou Feihua was also shocked by her mournful expression. Although she was angry, she didn't know what to say.
At that moment, a clear female voice sounded, "If you want to live, no one is stopping you. When you were reborn at the Rebirth tree, Su Yi Shui didn't expose your lies and deception. But you wanted to advance yourself at the cost of harming others, stepping on bodies to climb your way up, what kind of unconscionable logic is that?"
Mu Ranwu turned her head and saw that Xue Ranran had walked out of the darkness, and the tall and handsome man beside her was none other than Su Yi Shui.
He never left Xue Ranran's side, still following her like a shadow? This girl, who is clearly not as attractive as herself, where did she get such great charm to captivate Su Yi Shui once again?
Making the aloof and proud Su Yi Shui submit to her, was another fixation of the reborn Mu Ranwu, but the mediocre Xue Ranran effortlessly achieved it.
Mu Ranwu now felt resentment at the sound of her voice. She sneered, "So it was you who told Zhou Feihua, no wonder this village has a spiritual shield. How about it, big sister? Have you added another follower to your ranks? You must be feeling pleased?"
Zhou Feihua, upon hearing this, looked at Xue Ranran in disbelief: So this young girl who always had a good rapport with her… she's her good friend Mu Qingge!
Su Yi Shui, had no patience for this imposter, especially after hearing her nonsensical words just now, he was utterly disgusted!
Even though he had forgotten many things, he still remembered how Mu Qingge had pampered this sister. But now, in Mu Ranwu's words, it had all become Mu Qingge's sins?
Such an ingrate, it would be no loss to kill her!
With these thoughts, Su Yi Shui summoned his vitality qi and attacked Mu Ranwu.
Beside Mu Ranwu were those few strange men with dull expressions, all of them highly skilled. When Su Yi Shui fought them the last time, he had been at a disadvantage.
However, it had been **over a month since their last battle. During their journey, Su Yi Shui had been exchanging energy with Ranran during practice, and not only did her cultivation improve, so did his.
When Su Yi Shui and the five attendants fought together, Ranran also soared on her sword and fought alongside Su Yi Shui against the enemies.
The benefits of practicing together was immediately obvious in this intense battle. The two advanced and retreated, attacked and defended, their tacit understanding was as if they were twins. Even without eye contact, they could predict each other's next move just from their energy fluctuations.
Under the bright torches in the village, the man's long robes and wide sleeves fluttered like a dragon, and the woman was petite and delicate, with a slender waist and agile movements, exuding a thunderous and clear aura. Watching them, one would be entranced, completely forgetting that this was a tough fight for survival.
At that moment, Mu Ranwu, who had been hiding in the back, suddenly blew on an ancient xun around her neck. When the xun emitted a dull sound, more than a dozen water demons covered in scales surged out of the river surrounding the village and madly rushed towards them.
Mu Ranwu knew that if things continued like this, Su Yi Shui and his disciple would eventually gain the upper hand. Her goal in coming here was to transform the entire village.
Now that Su Yi Shui and Xue Ranran were entangled in a battle with the others, their protective shield would naturally weaken, and they wouldn't have the time to deal with so many water demons, which was a perfect opportunity for her to attack the village.
Unfortunately, she had forgotten to account for one person, and that was Zhou Feihua.
Although she didn't have cultivation, she had followed her father and Mu Qingge through life and death, a female general who fought and killed on the battlefields.
Even in the face of a group of terrifying water demons, Zhou Feihua remained calm and collected. She ordered someone to beat the drum according to their usual training, waking everyone up and forming a tight defense around the fence.
When the water-drenched water demons entered the limestone pit and their bodies touched the limestone, they immediately began to steam and boil, becoming scorching hot. The water demons couldn't help but let out piercing screams of agony.
However, when Mu Ranwu's ancient xun sounded again, they appear to be controlled, continuing forward expressionlessly.
At that moment, the children in the village, at Zhou Feihua's signal, started setting off firecrackers and banging on drums and gongs.
The cacophony of these noises disrupted the sound of the ancient xun, causing the water demons to retreat again, covering their ears in pain and trying to scatter in all directions.
Mu Ranwu became worried. She squinted at the protective shield outside the village because earlier some water demons had attacked it, revealing the outline of the shield.
In a faint light, Mu Ranwu immediately noticed that the main gate of the village was not covered by the protective shield.
Casting a glance at Ranran and Su Yi Shui who were fighting the five Fan Tian cult attendants, Mu Ranwu narrowed her eyes and rushed towards the village gate.
Although some villagers did their best to stop her, how could they be a match for Mu Ranwu? They were immediately knocked flying and fell to the ground.
Zhou Feihua swung her long braid behind her and silently drew her sword from her waist, ready to engage Mu Ranwu. Mu Ranwu sneered and tried to grab the blade bare-handed, but when her hand touched Zhou Feihua's sword, it was searing hot, causing her to scream and let go.
"What the hell is this sword?" Mu Ranwu looked at her rapidly festering hand and asked hatefully.
Zhou Feihua smiled coldly as she brandished *a sword flower and said coldly, "You can't even recognize this sword? It's the Jue Chen Sword that your sister used to wield."
*the skillful and artistic technique of shaping a sword's movements into a pattern resembling a flower, often used in martial arts or swordplay descriptions
Mu Ranwu took a closer look. Although the sword had a new handle and scabbard, the rusty sword body was indeed familiar!
Back then, her sister had always used this old sword she found in the ancient tomb on the Western Mountain. Later, Su Yu couldn't stand to see it and bought another famous sword for her sister, decorated with jade and diamonds, exceptionally luxurious, and gave it to her sister.
At that time, Mu Qingge seemed reluctant to accept it, but under Su Yu's insistence, she accepted the sword and then gave this lousy Jue Chen sword to her.
Mu Ranwu felt extremely aggrieved at that time, thinking that Mu Qingge was throwing this unwanted junk at her. If her sister really wanted to give something, why not give her the precious sword given by Emperor Su Yu?
So, at that time, she smiled politely, with the excuse that she didn't like violence and swords, and declined this junk.
After being reborn from the Rebirth Tree, she had remembered to ask Su Yu for the precious sword he gave to her sister, and she finally got her wish fulfilled.
She didn't expect that Mu Qingge had actually given this sword to Zhou Feihua!
Speaking of the Jue Chen Sword, Zhou Feihua had used it for twenty years. Although she was no longer a youthful girl, she was at the prime age for a swordsman.
Over the years, the boring palace had become an excellent place for practice. So, in terms of swordsmanship, Zhou Feihua had already comprehended the essence of the Way of the swords.
She kept firmly in mind what her good friend had said when she gave her the Jue Chen Sword. "Although this sword looks old and worn, it's a relic of an unnamed Sword Saint. He was obsessed with swordplay, and part of his spirit is imbued in the sword. If an ordinary person uses this sword, it's just a rusty piece of metal. But if you accompany this sword for a long time and truly understand the essence of swordsmanship, this sword will come alive, and its power is not to be underestimated. Unfortunately, I haven't delved deep enough into the study of swordsmanship, so I've let down this sword somewhat. I originally wanted my sister Xiaowu to practice with this sword. Her innate talent for cultivation is not high, but if she could practice swordsmanship, she could also achieve a saintly realm… Unfortunately, she said she didn't like swordplay, so I'm gifting it to you. You won't dislike it, will you?"
When Zhou Feihua picked up the sword at that time, she faintly felt the killing intent of the sword. So like a woman falling in love at first sight, she naturally accepted it gratefully.
In the following years, she held this broken piece of iron in countless nights in the deep palace, dancing with it in the morning and evening, cutting through the dew and snow.
Now, as Zhou Feihua held the sword in her hand, the rust on the sword slowly faded away, emitting a chilling brilliance, even forcing Mu Ranwu to retreat a few steps again.
Zhou Feihua said icily, "You always say that Mu Qingge neglected you, but she clearly gave you the best of everything right at the start. If you didn't want it, who can you blame?"
With that, she attacked Mu Ranwu again, wielding the Jue Chen Sword, attacking tightly.
Mu Ranwu couldn't arrogantly grab the sword bare-handed anymore and had to set up her protective shield for defense. However, the sword was too strange. It could pierce through her true energy and came close towards Mu Ranwu.
She could only dodge awkwardly and use her sword in her hand to block, but with a crisp cracking sound, her sword was already cut into two like tofu by that lousy sword.
Next, sword energy rained down, attacking densely. Mu Ranwu was forced to retreat repeatedly until she stumbled and fell into the limestone pit.
By now, the limestone pit had been filled with water by the villagers and was boiling hot. Mu Ranwu was scalded like a fish in a net, jumping up quickly.
Looking down, her body was already covered in clusters of blisters, like toad eggs.
"Arghh—" Mu Ranwu let out an exasperated scream.
If she had been defeated by Su Yi Shui or Xue Ranran, she could still console herself that it was because her true qi was depleted during this period, so her skills became inferior.
But what was Zhou Feihua? A mere consort in Su Yu's harem, an ordinary woman, used to relieve boredom!
She was actually beaten to such a miserable state by this woman and couldn't even get close!
And when she saw the great power of the Jue Chen Sword in Zhou Feihua's hands, Mu Ranwu realized what kind of treasure she had rejected years ago!
At this time, the villagers from the village also came out with axes and hoes, ready to kill those struggling water demons.
But Ranran stopped them, saying, "No! They are the fishermen who went missing a few days ago. They have been cursed and lost their senses. We'll try to find a way to save them…"
Just then, a white-haired old lady squeezed out from the crowd, tottering as she walked . She was Zhou Feihua's landlord in the village where she was staying. Her sixteen-year-old grandson had disappeared while fishing by the river a few days ago.
Now, she painstakingly looked over these monsters, she spotted one of the severely burned water demons.
That water demon had a silver earring on his ear. Her missing grandson had been born after her son died, so she had pierced his ear with her own dowry earring to ward off evil and prevent premature death.
Although the old lady couldn't recognize the person, she recognized her own dowry ear ring, so she burst into tears of grief.
But just as she was about to approach her grandson, she was almost scratched in the throat by his suddenly extended sharp claws, and his arm was already dripping with blood.
A villager shouted, "They are already possessed by evil spirits and are no longer human. Why keep them? We should just kill them while they are weak!"
Those with missing family members naturally disagreed, so the crowd erupted into arguments.
In the end, Zhou Feihua spoke up, "Enough! Stop quarreling. Although these people have been possessed by demons, they were once your neighbors. How can we give up on them without trying to help? There is a cave in the mountains behind the village. I will find a way to lock them in there and then try to help them return to normal."
Zhou Feihua's heroic demeanor just now had impressed everyone, and coupled with her leadership in defending the village against demons in recent days, she had already gained their respect. So when she spoke, everyone fell silent.
Ranran took out spirit charms to immobilize these water demons and gave them some mind clearing pills.
However, these pills didn't seem to work on those already demonized. After ingesting them, they only felt nauseous and vomited green fluids.
When these water demons were tied up with ropes and taken to the cave in the mountains, those who had not completely transformed yet from the rice shop began to wail loudly again.
Watching those fully transformed monsters, the shopkeepers and attendants felt it was hopeless for them, thinking that they would rather die than become like that.
However, those few children who had fled from Mu Ranwu were surprisingly calmer than the adults. They were all orphans, begging on the streets before, and later became sacrificial lambs for Mu Demoness. Perhaps they had experienced too much hardship. Faced with such a terrifying situation, they seemed even more composed.
Wang Suizhi sighed heavily, looking at Zhou Feihua who had come over, "General Zhou, I didn't expect to meet you again here. But I'm afraid my time is running out. Could I trouble you to pass on some last words to my wife and children? As for my master… could you try to persuade her not to do evil anymore…"
Zhou Feihua handed him some coarse bread and pickled vegetables brought from the village, then pointed to Xue Ranran who was treating the injured monsters and said, "Your master is right in front of you. If you have anything to say, you can tell her directly."
Wang Suizhi just muttered "okay" at first, but when he figured out the meaning of Zhou Feihua's words, he looked at Xue Ranran with eyes widening, "What… what does this mean?"
After Zhou Feihua explained how she saw through the imposter Mu Qingge, Wang Suizhi actually prostrated himself on the ground like a child, crying loudly, "I knew my master couldn't have become so malicious! It turns out she was an imposter! That's great! Master! Master! Your disciple is foolish, you wouldn't abandon me right?"
Ranran never expected she would have to coax middle-aged bearded men not to cry. The scene was quite chaotic for a while, and when she finally calmed down Wang Suizhi, she asked, "Why isn't Qin Xuanjiu with you?"
Wang Suizhi wiped the snot off his beard and pointed to a bruise on his eye that hadn't completely disappeared, saying, "I got my junior brother drunk at the inn in Red Flame Mountain and brought him out. But when he woke up and heard what I said, he said I was suspicious of our master and beat me severely before leaving by himself. I don't know if he will go look for that imposter again and continue to recognize a thief as his master…"
After talking with Wang Suizhi for a while, Ranran turned around and left the cave. At a glance, she saw Su Yi Shui sitting cross-legged on a large stone, meditating.
She didn't want to disturb him, so she chose another hillside, looking at the bright moon in the sky, and let out a long sigh.
But before the sigh could end, someone approached from behind, asking in a deep voice, "Didn't you already save everyone? Why are you sighing?"
Ranran looked up at the handsome man standing beside her, feeling lost and melancholic as she said, "I used to feel that I had no connection with my former disciples. I don't even remember them anymore, so naturally, I couldn't feel any master-disciple feelings for them, except for being somewhat familiar with fourteenth uncle master. So, after knowing my own background, when I saw Mu Ranwu deceiving them, I did not immediately reveal my identity. Now thinking back, I feel quite sorry towards them. Mu Ranwu has become radical and insane now. If anything happens to Qin Xuanjiu, I'm afraid I won't forgive myself…"
Su Yi Shui remained silent and didn't speak. If he hadn't lost his memory, he probably already known Ranran's identity long ago.
But why did he allow that impostor to spread rumors and deceive others, surrounding herself with Mu Qingge's former disciples and grand disciples?
In the past, Su Yi Shui probably couldn't understand, but just now, when Wang Suizhi kowtowed to Xue Ranran and kept apologizing, calling her "Master" repeatedly, he couldn't help feeling a wave of annoyance. It seemed like he couldn't stand seeing Xue Ranran surrounded by a group of men…
Perhaps it was because of this inexplicable emotion that he couldn't be bothered to expose the impostor, letting her spread rumors and deceive others, and incidentally attracting away those men who might be around Xue Ranran?
So, the main culprit should have been him, why would this girl take the blame upon herself?
But after turning over the words of apology on his tongue several times, Su Yi Shui still couldn't bring himself to admit it was his fault. He just stiffly said, "If that Qin Xuanjiu really encounters danger, I will get him out… They are all grown men, *past their thirties. Shouldn't they have eyes and brains of their own? Besides putting on a fake face, what resemblance does Mu Ranwu have to you? It's their own blindness to mistaken her for you. What does it have to do with you?"
*而立 30 years old
Hearing this, Xue Ranran let out another deep sigh and looked at the tense man, *saying dejectedly "In my past life, I must have not thought it troublesome, to take on so many disciples. The good tempered ones are so few and most of them are so difficult. Did I end up dying from exhaustion in my past life… Hmmph…"
*心有戚戚 "孟子·梁惠王上"夫子言之,于我心有戚戚焉.
She didn't finish her words and was quickly silenced by the infuriated man who lowered his head and sealed her lips with his own.
Su Yi Shui kissed her fiercely while thinking: She was indeed blind in her past life, and actually took in someone like him, who is two-faced and completely bad. But since she had accepted him, she couldn't just shake him off whenever she wanted!
The bright moon hung high above, and after lingering for a moment as they sat on the large stone, the man and woman finally separated.
Ranran slowly leaned her head on the shoulder of the moody man, snuggling against him and quietly admiring the bright moon in the sky.
After settling everyone, Zhou Feihua, who had just come out of the cave, happened to see them from behind.
Although she still found Su Yi Shui displeasing, she also felt that the two of them seemed to have an entangled fate for several lifetimes. They couldn't be separated even in life and death.
Hopefully, in this life as Xue Ranran, she wouldn't have to bear too much responsibility anymore, and she could fulfill her wish to wander between the sky and the earth…
After this episode, the situation along the river seemed to have calmed down greatly, and no one else went missing for the time being. However, news of demons on the mountain behind the Qiongqi village continued to spread.
Although there were no reinforcements from the officials when they needed to drive away the demons, once they heard that the people of Qiongqi village had captured more than a dozen water demons, the officials immediately sent people to convey their instructions from above: "Our magistrate said that these evil creatures have been invaded by evil qi, and are beyond redemption. They must be burned with fire and let high monks recite sutras for their salvation. You ignorant villagers must not detain these evil creatures on your own, it's better to hand them over quickly!"
The meaning of these constables' words was straightforward—they wanted to quickly dispose of those demonized people.
Even though Su Yi Shui had sent a mountain sparrow with a talisman to deliver a message to Western Mountain, the distance was still far. Even if Elder Jiu rushed over quickly by riding on the wind, it would still take several days to arrive.