Volume 2: Fuzhu Huodou
Riding a deer is impossible.
When people feel hopeless, they always tend to easily believe in some illusory hopes.
For this very reason, when Yi Qiu said she had a way, both Jian Li and Xun Chi couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope rekindle in their hearts.
However, their gazes quickly dimmed.
No one believed that a little demon who had just taken human form could really have any solution. After all, she was too weak; anyone present could crush her to death with a single finger.
They had searched for over two thousand years without finding a method, so how could a little demon with a low cultivation base1 possibly know?
Yi Qiu’s original intention was to give Jian Li a bit of hope, but unfortunately, she really couldn’t say a one, two, or three2 and had no credibility, so naturally, no one would be foolish enough to believe her.
She couldn’t help but lower her head, hating only that her brain wasn’t half as good as You Yan’s.
But just as Yi Qiu thought she had made a fool of herself and that no one believed her, You Yan suddenly spoke softly.
You Yan said, “Since there is a way, let’s not waste any more time. When can we depart?”
Yi Qiu was taken aback, her astonished eyes staring blankly at You Yan, who was sitting upright beside her.
Does this bird woman believe me?
Jian Li pondered for a moment, then bowed to You Yan and said, “The Fuzhu can depart at any time.”
Sometimes, Yi Qiu had to marvel at how decisive these gods and demons were. When they said they were leaving, they left, without needing to pack anything, just bringing themselves along.
Before departing, Jian Li transformed back into her white deer form, turned her head, and said to the three people behind her, “I can carry one person.”
Xun Chi indicated it wasn’t necessary, You Yan was even more disdainful, but Yi Qiu, on the other hand, was incredibly excited.
She had never ridden a deer in her life. In her impression, mounts like white cranes and white deer were fitting only for immortals. Now that such a great opportunity was right in front of her, and it was such a beautiful white deer, she felt like her girlish heart was about to explode.
Living this life, who can’t be a little fairy maiden3?
“I can…” Her girlish heart stirring, Yi Qiu subconsciously wanted to step forward and fulfill her dream.
However, in the next second, You Yan reached out and grabbed her left pigtail. She could only retreat back to You Yan’s side, aggrieved, and allow the Chuixue to wrap around her waist.
Riding a deer is impossible, it’s impossible to ride a deer in this lifetime4.
A girlish heart and all that, it’s just meant to be broken.
Leaving Ao’an Mountain, for a time, the deer ran on the ground while the bird flew in the sky. Whether on the ground or in the sky, their travel speed was extremely fast.
It had to be said, getting “carried in flight” by someone was something you get used to. This was only the second time, and she was no longer scared to death like she was yesterday.
Jian Li said that her cultivation base was now greatly damaged and she could no longer sense Yue Zhuo’s presence, so she could only trouble You Yan to lead the way.
But in reality, You Yan also didn’t know where the Huodou was now. Not only that, but she had also lost track of Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao.
On the way back to Xi City5, You Yan told Yi Qiu nonchalantly that before leaving Xi City, she had hidden a spirit feather6 on both Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao, ensuring she could find them at any time.
However, the protective barrier Xun Chi had set up on Ao’an Mountain could block all spiritual power perception from the outside world. And as luck would have it, in the span of the single day she entered and left the mountain, the faint spiritual traces of those two spirit feathers completely disappeared.
Hearing this, Yi Qiu asked in alarm, “So, you can’t sense where they are now?”
You Yan responded very calmly, “Mm.”
Yi Qiu was astonished. “Then, then why are we still going to Xi City?”
You Yan said leisurely, “I’ve already brought them out of the mountain. I can’t let them know I don’t know the way, can I?”
“But you don’t know the way, do you?” Yi Qiu muttered under her breath.
You Yan said indifferently, “Even if there’s some kind of spell technique that can conceal their spiritual traces, it can’t last for more than a few days. If we just wander around, won’t that be enough time?”
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
If the two running on the ground heard what this bird woman said, they would probably get angry enough to turn around and “beat the road to return to the official residence.”7
After a brief silence, Yi Qiu couldn’t resist asking softly, “You Yan, you still haven’t told me what you understood from Jian Li’s memories…”
“I haven’t told you before, but that Chao Yun from the Huamo Pavilion of the Xianlu Sect is precisely the Wood God Goumang, who guards the Fusang Divine Tree of the Jade Sea. She came to the lower realm this time, likely to protect the Golden Crow and the Fusang so they can successfully pass their tribulation and return to their divine status. However, the Heavenly Realm has many wretched rules, for example, when deities undergo tribulations, no one is allowed to interfere with divine power. So she probably sealed her own divine power and secretly slipped into the mortal realm.”
“Ah!” Yi Qiu expertly feigned surprise.
“Goumang is a Wood God and is naturally countered by the Huodou, not to mention she has now sealed her own divine power and is completely incapable of expelling the Huodou.” As she spoke, You Yan lowered her gaze to look at Yi Qiu with interest and asked with a smile, “If that’s the case, why was she able to save us?”
“You’re asking me? Who should I ask? You’re not going to make me guess, are you? You know I’m dumb!” Yi Qiu urged righteously, “You Yan, just say it directly, stop selling the pass8!”
“If I’m not mistaken, the one who led the Huodou away from the stone cave that day was indeed not Chao Yun, but the Yi Bird.”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but frown. “Didn’t the Yi Bird want to kill us…”
“Have you ever considered why the Yi Bird never dared to show itself, and only dared to pull so many little tricks behind the scenes under my name after seeing me make a move?” You Yan paused for half a second here, then asked again, “And have you ever considered why the Yi Bird wants to kill Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao, and insists on using Heavenly Fire9 to ensure their souls and spirits are utterly destroyed?”
Yi Qiu fell into a deep thought.
After a moment of contemplation, she felt like she was starting to get a clue.
The original novel once wrote that the Yi Bird had stayed in the Jade Sea for over three hundred years and was tainted with a bit of divine power, so after returning to Snake Mountain, it was revered as a deity by the creatures of the mountain.
But Snake Mountain was destroyed by Heavenly Fire. A forest ravaged by Heavenly Fire might not recover for a thousand years, yet in the novel, the Yi Bird just went back, as if the great fire had never happened.
“Baocai, after Snake Mountain was destroyed by Heavenly Fire, how long did it take to recover?”
【About three hundred years.】
Three hundred years, exactly the amount of time the Yi Bird lived in the Jade Sea.
Yi Qiu: “Why did it recover so quickly? Does Heavenly Fire not want face10?”
【The power of the Wood God Goumang can revive plants in barren lands.】
Yi Qiu had a sudden realization.
She understood. This time, she truly understood.
Goumang not only saved the Yi Bird’s life but also spent three hundred years of time and divine power to revive the fire-ravaged Snake Mountain, giving the Yi Bird back its home.
Such a kindness would move even grass and trees.
So, the one the Yi Bird was always flying to the Jade Sea to gaze at was never the Golden Crow, but Goumang.
No wonder the Yi Bird was so vicious towards Luo Mingyuan before, and later hid in the shadows, wanting to use the Huodou to destroy the souls of both Luo Mingyuan and Jiang Yuyao. This was simply jealousy born from love!
“I, I think I understand… You Yan, you mean that Chao Yun was nearby that day, and the Yi Bird was afraid the Huodou would hurt Chao Yun, so it led the Huodou away before Chao Yun could arrive?”
“Not too stupid,” You Yan said with a smile. “But you’re wrong about one thing.”
“Huh?”
“Everyone was already unconscious at that time. If Chao Yun was only nearby, why couldn’t the Yi Bird have waited a little longer, until after the Huodou had killed us all, before luring it away?”
“So… so Chao Yun actually arrived, and might have even engaged the Huodou!” Yi Qiu exclaimed. “The Yi Bird had to lure the Huodou away to protect Chao Yun… Chao Yun lied to us!”
“Remember the cave entrance at the foot of Mount Xianlu that was sealed by vines?” You Yan said with a confident tone. “Isn’t that the remnant power of our dear Wood God? However, in her human identity, she should have been at the Xianlu Sect at the time, not at the foot of the mountain. So she could only drive the Yi Bird away and then seal the cave entrance to prevent other evil spirits from entering. Ah, she knew what the Yi Bird was doing all along, but she was unwilling to tell her two ‘bosom friends’.”
You Yan enunciated the words “bosom friends” with particular coldness. It wasn’t hard to tell that to her, all the emotions in this world were fragile and not worth mentioning.
Yi Qiu couldn’t help but think that Chao Yun hiding the matter of the Yi Bird was perhaps to give the Yi Bird a chance to repent. As long as the Yi Bird was willing to stop, Chao Yun would naturally find a way to soothe the hatred in Luo Mingyuan’s heart.
She pondered for a few seconds and said, “Although she hid things, she has also been protecting them…”
“Yes, that’s Goumang for you. The myriad beings of this great thousand worlds, whether good or bad, she wants to protect them all, and redeem them all.” The sarcasm in You Yan’s voice deepened. She said, “Just because she wants everyone to be well doesn’t mean everyone can be well. She wants the Yi Bird to stop, but the Yi Bird might not appreciate it. If I were Luo Mingyuan, I’d probably only want to give that Yi Bird a thousand knives, ten thousand slashes11. Whoever obstructs me is my enemy.”
“…” Yi Qiu was speechless for a moment. The more she thought about it, the more sense You Yan’s words made. If her own good friend was helping her dodge an opponent’s dirty tricks on one hand, while helping that opponent hide their identity on the other, she would probably explode with anger too.
Speaking of which, if the Yi Bird’s target was the Golden Crow from the very beginning, could it be that the Golden Crow’s failure in all nine of its tribulations was related to the Yi Bird? If that was really the case, the Yi Bird had probably already become a demon out of obsession, right? How could it possibly be saved?
As Yi Qiu was thinking, she suddenly saw You Yan furrow her brows.
Yi Qiu: “What’s wrong?”
You Yan: “It’s nothing.”
“Really?” Yi Qiu’s eyes were fixed on You Yan, clearly written with the three big words “I don’t believe you.”
You Yan was silent for a moment, then said, “Something just passed by us.”
“Where?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but look around, but after looking for a long time, aside from the white deer and Xun Chi below, she didn’t see any other figures. “I don’t see anything. What was it?”
“It was far away. It’s not important,” You Yan said faintly.
Yi Qiu wanted to ask more, but she suddenly saw You Yan look down at her, a faint smile on her face, and say, “I still have something to ask you.”
Yi Qiu: “…”
Great. With that expression and that tone, I know what’s coming without even thinking—the trickster bird person is about to start prying information out of me again.
Bring it on, bring it on, ask whatever you want! In any case, there’s never been any trust between a bird and an alpaca, so why would the little alpaca get angry? The little alpaca is already used to it, there’s no way she’d get angry from being suspected every day!
“Did you… really want to ride the deer that much?”
“Huh?”
Is this some brand-new way of prying information?
The author has something to say:
Yi Qiu: …I ask you, who wouldn’t want to ride a deer?
You Yan: Am I not enough for you?
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