Chapter 10 of Volume 1: What Kind of Love

  The chaos in my mind left me no time to care about that black shadow, I stumbled forward, only wanting to leave this place as soon as possible, my whole body trembling, the sorrow in my heart was indescribable.

  I don't know how far I've run, but suddenly it's bright in front of me, yet it's not the warm sunshine I'm familiar with. I stop dead in my tracks, staring blankly at everything before me, even my tears frozen.

  I am still in the belly of this mountain, and my earlier frantic run made me completely forget to look for the way back. Now this place is a stone cave about half the size of the altar just now, and the surrounding stone walls are actually filled with dozens of bright pearls, their light is clear and cold, but it illuminates the entire hall brightly.

  The cave was filled with intricately carved red wooden chests all around, and in the center of the cave were over a dozen stone pedestals, each with a small lamp on it. Around the lamps were many things I couldn't understand. In front of each pedestal stood a person dressed in white, holding something to roast over the lamp. The people in white were wrapped from head to toe in white clothing, revealing only their eyes, yet no one looked up at me despite my intrusion.

  I was shocked and suddenly realized that this was their drug manufacturing plant?

  No wonder they want to embed pearls on the stone wall, is it because they are afraid that high temperatures will cause a chemical reaction of this poisonous thing? Or are they afraid that sparks will fall and cause a fire? No wonder only small oil lamps are lit inside the tunnel, it turns out that this thing is afraid of fire. Hmm, it's really a big deal, this Furen Fortress has made a fortune because of this sinful thing. An evil thought emerged in my mind, I want to burn them with one fire, I want to destroy this sinful thing.

  I turned back to look for the oil lamp on the stone wall of the tunnel, and there was one not far away. I rushed over to it. The position where this oil lamp was placed was too high, so I stood on tiptoes and stretched out my hand to reach it. Just as I was about to take it out from the iron ring embedded in the stone wall, I suddenly felt a tightness around my waist and was lifted up by someone who had grabbed me around the waist.

  I trembled and the oil lamp in my hand fell, everything before my eyes turned black. I started to struggle with fear, and a familiar voice came from beside my ear: "Why can't you be still?"

  "You devil!" The image of the blood-filled trenches around the altar suddenly flashed in my mind, and the smell of blood seemed to waft over again. I couldn't maintain my calm demeanor towards him anymore, and my struggles became more intense, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break free from those powerful arms.

  "How many lives are you going to use to sacrifice for Gu Qingying? Your slaughter won't bring her guilt!" I gritted my teeth.

  "That's beast blood, it's beast blood!" His suppressed low growl came through.

  "I was taken aback: 'What's the big deal? Haven't you committed enough sins? What is this place?' My eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. I looked over at the faint, eerie glow and cold smile coming from the side."

  He tightened his arm around me so suddenly that I could hardly breathe. "What do you know?" His voice had a hint of surprise.

  I was shocked. I immediately shut my mouth. Even struggling stopped. What did I just say? If he finds out that I know the secret of this Furen ointment, won't it push me to a place of no return?

  "What else do you know?" His voice took on a threatening tone.

  "I know what. I know you're a demon. You're a monster. You're perverted... Whatever you do, it's never good. Can't let him see through my surprise. I continue to struggle, pretending to scream incoherently."

  Suddenly a numbness behind the ear. The body was instantly unable to move. A wave of dizziness came over me. I was then submerged in endless darkness.

  Waking up again, it was already near dusk, and Ling Yi's cold face appeared in front of her.

  "How did you end up here?" I asked him guardedly.

  "It should be me asking you instead." He still had a poker face.

  I recalled the scene before I fell asleep, and my whole body shook. I turned over and sat up. It wasn't until then that I realized I had returned to my room. My heart tightened as I thought of Yirou still hiding outside waiting for me. Since I couldn't see her now, I started to worry. If Ling Yi appeared, it was impossible that Yirou wouldn't appear too.

  "Where is Rove?"

  "If you're worried about her, then you shouldn't be running around everywhere." Ling Yi said coldly.

  "What will you do with Ruo Wei?" I started to get a little anxious.

  She went where she was supposed to go.

  "You, you killed her?" I jumped off the bed in terror, staring at him. Rowan had said that entering the forbidden land uninvited was a great crime of Treason, could it be that she... I didn't dare to think further.

  "She took you to the back mountain today, shouldn't she be dead?" Ling Yi's voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he was talking about an inanimate object.

  "How can you arbitrarily decide someone else's life and death?" I couldn't help but grit my teeth, remembering his evil deeds, and felt a chill.

  "He frowned and said: 'She sold herself as a slave to my Furuong Fortress, why can't I decide her life or death?'"

  "What are you talking about?" I glared at him, my eyes almost bursting with anger: "People have no high or low, noble or humble distinction, everyone has the right to survive, her life belongs to no one, she may be a slave today, but she is still a person, just like you, born of parents, with life and emotions, not an object for you to manipulate."

  "I got more and more agitated: 'Is your life the only one that matters? Doesn't her life matter too? If one day you both end up in the underworld, you'll just be an ordinary soul, subject to judgment for your good or evil deeds. How do you know that in the next life she won't be the master and you the slave, or that you won't both be reborn into a world where all lives are equal and human rights are independent? You should go there now, then you'll be a murderer who will pay with your own life.'"

  I spoke recklessly and scolded him, only by scolding him like this can the resentment in my heart be slightly alleviated. I was speaking up for Yuwei's injustice, but even more so for my own.

  "Is a little girl worth making such a fuss about?" Ling Yi was taken aback.

  He didn't understand what I was saying at all. I was talking about equality of life and human rights, but it was like playing a flute to an ox. I sneered coldly: "Then let me tell you, when people do evil things, they will have their retribution."

  "I don't want to discuss this with you, take care of yourself first." Ling Yi frowned and said.

  My heart sank, I implicated an innocent life, because of me, Ruo Wei died. In this ancient time and space, life is like ants, and I, holding Gu Qingying's body, can still survive for a while, but I never thought that I am also as insignificant as Ruo Wei, maybe when Gu Qingying comes back that day, he will also decide my life and death at will, just like how he treated Ruo Wei. No, no, I cannot go on like this.

  I tried to calm my emotions and quickly recalled what I had seen and heard today, even feeling a little surprised at my own excitement. I always thought that after experiencing so much in my past life, I should be able to remain calm and composed towards anyone and anything, but it turned out that in this time and space, there were too many things that I couldn't accept for the moment, finally exposing my disguise, and it turned out that I was still a person who appeared strong on the surface but was weak at heart. However, the current situation does not allow me to be weak anymore, otherwise, I will drag more people down with me, including myself.

  I took a deep breath and tried to push Rove's death out of my mind. "What is it that you want to discuss with me?" I asked coldly.

  Ling Yi looked at me with a hint of surprise, probably didn't expect me to let go of Yu Wei's death so quickly. Soon he spoke up: "What did you go to the back mountain for?"

  "You didn't restrict me from going out, why can't I go to the back mountain?" I calmly threw the question back at him.

  "You went to see Pingyang True Man just because you didn't believe me?"

  I was stunned, I didn't believe him anyway, and I never thought of believing him. Even if he could really find a body, what's the difference? I don't want to suffer that kind of pain again, nor do I have an obligation to take risks for them. Moreover, I don't want to be treated like a SIM card, being swapped back and forth.

  I suddenly asked him: "What exactly do you love about Gu Qingying?"

  He didn't expect me to ask this, and he was stunned for a moment before frowning and saying, "What does this have to do with you?"

  "It has nothing to do with me, but I want to know, when you love someone, is it her body or her soul that you love? Is it her beauty or her character that attracts you? Are you fond of her appearance or the time you spend together?"

  He looked at me without speaking, with something complex and inexplicable in his eyes.

  Looking into his eyes, I said solemnly and unequivocally: "If it were me loving someone, I would love the spark of their soul, I would love their understanding and tolerance for me, I would love the moments we shared together, I would accompany them as they slowly grow old, I wouldn't mind if their appearance withers with age, on the day when we can no longer move, we can still hold hands and watch the sunset on the horizon, and if one day he leaves me, I won't be sad, because he will forever live in my heart, and my love remains."

  I looked into his eyes, watching as his pupils gradually became as deep and unfathomable as the sea.

  I know my words have shocked him, I want him to understand that if he really loves Gu Qingying, he shouldn't mind what she will become, and he shouldn't insist on entangling her with her original body. If he can't figure it out, I'll help him figure it out - what kind of feelings does he have for Gu Qingying?

  If I really can't escape within these less than eighty days, then there will only be two outcomes for me. One is to return my body to Gu Qingying and become a lonely soul; the other is to change my appearance again and survive in another unfamiliar body. These are all things that I absolutely do not want, I don't want to be manipulated by others once more.

  So, I want to take a gamble, bet on the last bit of humanity in his soul. Even if he's a big poisonous snake, even if he kills people without blinking an eye, but for Gu Qingying, he's willing to shorten his lifespan by ten years, which makes me think that he should still have some humanity left.

  I stared straight at him, watching him daze there, wanting to see into his heart.

  After a long while, he suddenly moved restlessly, his eyes filled with confusion, staring blankly at the air in front of him, saying: "Qingying, will blame me."

  I was taken aback, but immediately understood his meaning, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had understood my intention, but was worried that Gu Qingying would be unhappy when she regained her soul to find herself in a new body. Ling Yi, oh Ling Yi, you truly have been considerate of Gu Qingying's feelings, and still retain a shred of humanity. You didn't outright refuse me, but at least gave me hope. I don't care if you'll ultimately agree to my request, at least I've taken the first step.

  My wry smile made him pause, as if he had inadvertently revealed his concerns and felt a little embarrassed. He stood up and walked silently towards the door, but stopped suddenly. With his back to me, he said in a low voice, "Don't run around everywhere again, Yuwei is outside, I'll have her prepare dinner for you." After that, he left without stopping.

  I was stunned there, the sudden news made me overwhelmed with excitement, hot tears burst out of my eyes, and my heart was filled with a sour and inexplicable emotion.