Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 117

by Little Panda

My Wife (29)

“I’ve come to repay you with a stroke of fortune.”

The memories carried by Zheng Zhiyu’s soul surged forth, along with the memories of the original owner’s previous life. The two merged together, causing Xu Jiao to experience the scenes in those memories sometimes from one person’s perspective, and sometimes from another’s.

She slightly sorted out the memories, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a place with a heavy smell of blood.

The sky above here was a chaotic red.

The ground beneath her feet was somewhat soft, but it didn’t seem like it could be easily broken. Xu Jiao raised her hand to rub her forehead, remembering the reason she appeared in this place—

She was dragged in here by that monk.

The entire world was filled with the sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling, as if many ghosts and monsters were hidden in this chaotic atmosphere, each lurking in places she couldn’t see, waiting to ambush her.

If it were an ordinary person, being disturbed by such a bloody smell and terrifying atmosphere here, it wouldn’t take long before they would go mad. This was like walking into an ancient village composed of evil ghosts and resentful energy where many people had died. The natural aura there would trap people inside, like a large-scale illusion that disturbs one’s state of mind.

After a long time, people wouldn’t be able to tell where they were, becoming muddled and turning into walking corpses. When rescued, they would either be foolish or stupid, because their souls might have been unstable for a long time under the frightening illusion, so they were either taken away by ghosts and monsters, or simply scared away.

But who was Xu Jiao?

She, who had memories of becoming a Ghost King, although now in a human body, had enough experiences in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts to face such a bloody scene without changing her expression. If not for worrying that Zheng Zhiyu might be at a disadvantage in her spiritual battle with that monk, she would have the attitude of eating, drinking, and leisurely passing three months in this Qiankun (cosmic) bag.

Thinking of the person outside, Xu Jiao lowered her head and closed her eyes briefly. After a while, she thought of a talisman with enough power in her mind.

Lightning-summoning talisman.

Now she had no talisman paper at hand, and although ordinary yellow talismans couldn’t withstand such energy, drawing this lightning-summoning talisman out of thin air would certainly be no easy task.

Xu Jiao didn’t dare to casually raise her hand and start like before, but instead hesitated for a few seconds, then bit her right middle finger to draw blood. The blood from the tip of the tongue and middle finger are both rich in yang energy, which is helpful for extremely positive things like summoning lightning. However, it’s not good if the yang energy in the human body is too weak, especially now that Xu Jiao is in a soul state.

She was already in a state of yin excess and yang deficiency.

If this lightning isn’t summoned, once the yang energy in her soul is exhausted, the outcome is likely to be devoured alive by other ghosts in this space.

But the current situation was urgent, and she had no time to consider so many possibilities—

She cleared her thoughts, completely emptying her mind. In the next moment, Xu Jiao raised her bitten fingertip, holding a breath in her mouth, and her fingertip quickly drew the shape of the lightning-summoning talisman in the air.

The fresh blood traced the outline of the talisman in the air bit by bit. After the red incantation was written, a golden light faintly shone through underneath, but these were all things Xu Jiao had no time to notice. All she was thinking about was how to complete this talisman within one breath.

Outside the Qiankun bag, on the rooftop terrace.

Following the gust of wind that Xu Jiao had summoned from the ground earlier, a wind from somewhere blew over, pushing dark clouds to the top of this S University campus, making the entire night appear pitch-black. Even the searchlights from the distant construction site’s heights couldn’t pierce through this fog.

Relying on the restraint of the newly formed fierce ghost, the bald monk sat on the edge of the terrace, watching Zheng Zhiyu gradually being overwhelmed and looking somewhat disheveled. He shook his head leisurely, and suddenly some fragments flashed through his mind.

He saw the person in front of him, who had already become a red-robed fierce ghost, wearing the same clothes, but holding a whisk in hand, with eyes full of detachment that had seen through worldly affairs, like an otherworldly Taoist.

In another blink…

That figure had disappeared, replaced by the blood-stained woman not far away, whose red robe was somewhat tattered.

The monk shook his head, inexplicably uttering: “How pitiful…”

He didn’t know why such things would appear in his mind. Anyway, in this long span of time, there were too many people and too many things he couldn’t remember, and he didn’t need to remember. He didn’t want to know anything unrelated to the pursuit of immortality.

He still remembered the day he met his master. His master was on his last breath, and he was just a beggar unaware of worldly affairs. But when his master saw him, he only said they had a predestined relationship, imparted all his skills to him, and then departed.

The most vivid impression in his mind was his master telling him that these techniques should not be passed on to those without affinity. Since they had met, it was fate, and these profound techniques were all for the sake of immortality.

Very strange—

Before meeting his master, he was just a beggar who couldn’t even protect his own livelihood, living a life where having one meal didn’t guarantee the next. Sometimes he was reduced to fighting with dogs for food, and when chased most fiercely, he even thought, what’s the point of such a life? It would be better to die and quickly reincarnate into a good family in the next life.

But after his master passed on his skills, he walked into this world and saw such prosperity of fine wine and delicacies. Suddenly, he could understand his master’s thoughts. He wanted to live on well, to achieve immortality, to attain the Tao and become an immortal.

While he was still here reviewing his life, Zheng Zhiyu heard his utterance of “pitiful” and a cold smile appeared on her face. In the next moment, just as she was about to exhaust all her power to make the unconsciously controlled fierce ghost in front of her scatter to the winds, a muffled thunder suddenly sounded from the sky.

It was like the kind that was preparing to gather strength, and also like an accident, after all, summer is the season when muffled thunder is common.

But all the people and ghosts present looked up to the sky at the same time.

For that monk, tonight was the most suitable time for his formation to take effect, because the yin energy was very strong, and the blood and killing energy of this formation was also nurtured just right. Even the sky was overcast with no stars, which meant that it would be difficult for the deities to detect what was happening.

But no one expected that as the clouds gathered, they would actually bring lightning.

Lightning is the nemesis of all evil creatures in the world, carrying the ultimate destructive power. Whether it’s this monk or his formation, the newly formed fierce ghost, or Zheng Zhiyu, it was a natural enemy to everyone present.

All at once, everyone’s expression changed as they looked towards the sky.

The originally fierce red-robed ghost, now trembling with fear, because she was the one with the heaviest resentment at the moment, radiating the most energy, and thus could sense more. She could perceive that this thunder was not ordinary.

Seeing her demeanor change, Zheng Zhiyu thoughtfully glanced at the sky, then said with a faint smile:

“Those who do much evil will destroy themselves, old monk, this refers to you, doesn’t it?”

Hearing her provocation, and feeling the resistance and struggle from the red-robed ghost, the monk struggled to control the fierce ghost with his prayer beads, and squinted at Zheng Zhiyu, smiling: “With this grand formation protecting me, when the lightning strikes, you’ll be the first to die. No need to rejoice so early, right?”

Zheng Zhiyu knew what he meant. He intended to sacrifice S University to preserve himself.

After all, it was the formation he had set up, specifically designed to defy heaven and change his fate.

Thinking of this, Zheng Zhiyu’s expression became a bit ugly.

After the initial rumble, the thunder in the sky rolled between the cloud layers, growing stronger. Faint purple lightning could be seen flashing through, illuminating large patches of the night sky.

Suddenly!

The first bolt of lightning fell from the sky.

It was just a very thin thread, not even as thick as a human wrist, but this bolt pierced straight through the formation on top of the entire building, landing on the Qiankun bag at the monk’s waist.

Heavenly lightning brought heavenly fire, instantly igniting the Qiankun bag.

Zheng Zhiyu’s eyes widened, her voice momentarily choked in her throat!

Xu Jiao was inside!

How could this lightning…

Her brain went blank, unable to believe what she had just seen.

But before she could react, a grayish-white mist floated out from inside, settling steadily in front of everyone. It was the person Zheng Zhiyu had been longing for just now.

Xu Jiao opened her eyes, and in front of her was a talisman emitting golden light floating in mid-air.

The monk and Zheng Zhiyu saw that thing at the same time.

Instantly, the monk’s eyes bulged with anger, and he shouted: “So it was you, you monster, ruining my plans!” Just as he was about to make a move, the second lightning bolt, as thick as a water bucket, had already struck down according to Xu Jiao’s will. Earlier, because it wasn’t aimed at the monk, the lightning had successfully penetrated the formation. Now, however, it was heading in the direction of taking the monk’s life. The grand formation immediately flashed with red light, blocking it before the lightning could strike.

But one could also hear countless electric currents crackling and exploding on it.

This commotion successfully stopped the monk’s actions, giving him a false alarm.

It was this moment of hesitation that allowed Zheng Zhiyu to swiftly move behind Xu Jiao. A flash of amazement crossed her eyes, but she dared not interrupt Xu Jiao’s concentration, only adopting a protective posture. At the same time, a hint of worry flickered in her eyes.

She feared that the lightning Xu Jiao summoned might not be powerful enough to deal with the monk, and instead might harm Xu Jiao herself.

That would be extremely unfortunate.

Sure enough—

The monk, seemingly aware of the power of his formation, remained motionless, only using his prayer beads to guide the core of the formation, contending with one bolt of heavenly lightning after another summoned by Xu Jiao. After a full seven bolts, the color of the talisman in front of Xu Jiao gradually faded.

This was the reaction of the lightning talisman about to lose its effect.

His eyes contained mockery, as if the two opposite him were destined to have their souls scattered sooner or later. He was no longer in a hurry to make a move, as if wanting to see how long they could struggle.

The thunder in the sky slowly diminished.

Although most of the red light from the formation had dissipated, it still managed to support itself, teetering on the brink of collapse. Generally, when a grand formation is about to perish, there’s a process of powerful retaliation. The fact that Xu Jiao hadn’t even provoked this retaliation from the formation indicated that it was still some distance from exhaustion.

In her pale face, the thunder struggled to continue, and eventually weakened.

The last bolt.

Like a strand of hair, it disappeared halfway through the air.

The air was filled with silence.

The memory scenes viewed earlier seemed like the deepest mockery, as if telling Xu Jiao, you can die a quick death now, if you are destined to meet again, wait for the third life.

She unconsciously bit her lower lip hard, but being in a soul state, there was no sensation of pain.

Her deep brown eyes stared fixedly at that monk.

Inadvertently, her gaze was the same as when she saw Zheng Zhiyu being killed by the other party in front of the Three-Life Stone in her previous life – unwilling, indignant, and with a bit of resentment towards the will of heaven.

The prayer beads on the monk’s neck had already flown up, and the wailing of ten thousand ghosts converged towards them. Xu Jiao heard him say:

“Although I haven’t drawn out the Ghost King today, since you have such talent, when you die, I will make you into a servant doll by my side. At that time, you’ll be able to fully display your abilities.”

Xu Jiao looked at him expressionlessly and made a sound of contempt: “Pah.”

“Keys are three for a dollar, how many do you deserve?”

Monk: “…”

Even if he didn’t understand what this meant, he could guess that Xu Jiao definitely wasn’t saying anything nice. He sneered: “Since you’re so ungrateful, I must make you feel the pain of ten thousand ghosts devouring your heart, letting you suffer in full consciousness.”

Zheng Zhiyu gripped Xu Jiao’s wrist tightly, desperately thinking of ways to protect her.

But Xu Jiao turned her hand to hold hers, and said to her very calmly: “Don’t be afraid.”

Although her soul had reincarnated, it wasn’t through proper rebirth, and she had supplemented one of Zheng Zhiyu’s souls. In a severely injured state, it was possible that some instinct belonging to the Ghost King might be awakened.

This was a method with a slim chance of survival.

But she had a bit of confidence.

Anyway, no matter what, she couldn’t let Zheng Zhiyu sacrifice her life for her again.

The prayer beads flew towards the two of them. Xu Jiao’s gaze was unwavering, calm and resolute. Zheng Zhiyu was even prepared to push Xu Jiao away and take the attack first. But before either of them could meet their destined fate—

Suddenly, a long, melodious chanting sound echoed in the sky.

Where that sound swept past, both of their spiritual platforms became clear.

Xu Jiao was stunned for a moment. When she raised her head to look at the sky, two words inexplicably appeared in her mind.

Dragon’s chant.

But this idea was too absurd, so she could only uncertainly turn her head to ask Zheng Zhiyu: “Did you… hear that?”

“What kind of sound is this?”

Zheng Zhiyu had never heard this sound before either, but she felt her soul becoming more powerful. At the same time, the monk’s expression suddenly turned somewhat ugly. He raised his head to look at the sky, as if facing a great enemy.

Although even he didn’t know why he was so nervous.

He strained his eyes, even opening his celestial eye, wanting to see clearly what kind of calamity was descending upon him—

Perhaps he saw it clearly.

But perhaps he didn’t.

Because from Xu Jiao’s perspective, a green shape seemed to reach down from the cloud cluster, then quickly swept past. In that instant, a fatal bloody mark appeared on the monk’s neck.

The red light of the formation flared up, filling the sky with red and obscuring the commotion above.

It was sensing its master’s danger, so it used all its power to counterattack.

But it was too late.

No matter how demonic this monk was, he was still flesh and blood. He looked at the blood gushing from his neck in disbelief, his vision spinning.

Xu Jiao and Zheng Zhiyu also watched this sudden turn of events, somewhat dazed—

A voice sounded simultaneously by their ears:

“Fellow Taoist Xiaozheng, long time no see.”

“Today I was merely out for a leisurely stroll, who knew I would encounter a past connection. If not for your help in the past, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to become a dragon today…”

“I’ve come to repay you with a stroke of fortune.”

Xu Jiao was stunned for a second, and let out an “Ah.”

She remembered!

In her previous life, Zheng Zhiyu had saved a jiao from under that monk’s hand!

Now a hundred years have passed, has this jiao already transformed into a dragon?

Is this… the lifeline that heaven left for them?