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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 94: Backup Body
Ji Zichen, filled with anxiety, scooped up Lin Chuyu and rushed toward the door. Inside Lin Chuyu's body, Yang Jingwan's consciousness was becoming increasingly hazy, repeatedly murmuring, "Take me to the Hall of Malevolence quickly, or we'll both die."
The heavy footsteps of Ji Zichen startled Shen Bifan, who was resting. As Shen Bifan struggled to open her bleary eyes and stepped out of her room, she saw Ji Zichen dashing past with Lin Chuyu in his arms like a gale. Instantly awake, Shen Bifan felt a surge of unease and called out, "Brother Zichen, what happened to Chuyu Sister?"
Ji Zichen replied without hesitation, "Her Vermilion Bird Form has emerged. I need to get her to the Hall of Malevolence right away."
Shen Bifan paused in confusion and asked, "Does the Hall of Malevolence have a way to suppress her form?"
Ji Zichen had not considered this aspect. He stopped just outside the courtyard and exclaimed, "Right! Does the Hall of Malevolence have a way to suppress the Vermilion Bird Form?"
Suddenly realizing he had fallen for Yang Jingwan's trick, Ji Zichen glared at the unconscious Yang Jingwan in his arms and demanded, "What are you playing at? Can the Hall of Malevolence save her?"
Shen Bifan found Ji Zichen's words strange but remained silent, unsure of what was happening.
Yang Jingwan forced herself to respond, "It's the Vermilion Bird's body rejecting me. As long as I stay out, she will be fine."
Shen Bifan gasped upon hearing this; it seemed that there was another person inside Lin Chuyu.
"Brother Zichen," Shen Bifan said with a shiver, "who is the person you're talking to?"
Ji Zichen replied succinctly, "The woman in the veil has attached her soul to her."
"The woman in the veil?" Shen Bifan couldn't immediately grasp Ji Zichen's meaning but soon exclaimed in shock, "Is it that person from the Moon Viewing Pavilion!"
Ji Zichen and Shen Bifan exchanged glances and nodded. Noticing that the feathers of the Vermilion Bird had grown longer than before, Ji Zichen wasted no time. He swiftly mounted his horse and pulled on the reins, galloping out of the village. Seeing Ji Zichen hurry away, Shen Bifan quickly mounted her horse to follow.
The two horses galloped through the night without stopping and reached Fierce Death Valley by noon the next day.
From a distance, Ji Zichen spotted the previous lookout point and said, "We've finally arrived."
After a night of jostling travel, everyone was exhausted. However, at this moment, Lin Chuyu's Vermilion Bird Form had ceased its transformation. The feathers that had sprouted were retracting; yet her head remained half red and half black. Yang Jingwan felt her strength gradually returning but still couldn't move on her own. Ji Zichen draped one of Lin Chuyu's arms over his shoulder. They were still far from the lookout point when Yang Jingwan said, "This face won't pass through the lookout; we should..."
Before Yang Jingwan could finish, Ji Zichen interjected, "We can enter through the secret passage behind the statue."
"Do you know about the secret passage?" Yang Jingwan asked.
Ji Zichen shot her a glance. "Not only do I know about the secret passage, but I also know there’s a huge maze inside with pathways leading in all directions."
Without needing Yang Jingwan to guide her, Ji Zichen confidently led the way to the statues. Yang Jingwan activated one of the statues and smiled wearily. "Go on in; now you can keep your distance from me."
Ji Zichen did not respond as they all entered the passage.
Once inside, Yang Jingwan directed them left and right, forward and backward. Even though Ji Zichen followed closely, she couldn’t remember the way. She had no idea where Yang Jingwan was headed until they arrived at a hall adorned with marble.
The hall was lacking in pillars; some were partially broken while others were completely severed in two. The marble floor near the entrance remained relatively intact, but as they approached the center, some pieces of marble had begun to lift off the ground.
"This is the Old God Hall," Yang Jingwan explained. "The Cult often gathers here."
Ji Zichen scoffed. "I’m not joining your Hall of Malevolence. What are you telling me this for?"
Yang Jingwan chuckled. "Then I won’t."
She walked to the central platform of the hall, which featured a circular design at its center. "Place me in this circle," she instructed.
The circle had three rings, with the innermost circle being smaller than the outermost one. There were no markings on it, leaving its purpose unclear, but given their location, it was likely related to souls.
Following her instructions, Ji Zichen placed Yang Jingwan in the center of the circle. Yang Jingwan cautioned, "You two step back; don’t approach this circle. It’s a Teleportation Array."
"A Teleportation Array?" Ji Zichen exclaimed in surprise. "You’re trying to escape!"
Ji Zichen had thought that placing her in the center would allow her soul to leave her body.
Yang Jingwan understood Ji Zichen's concerns. "You haven’t forgotten about my situation, have you? To come out, I need a body. I know you wouldn’t want to find one for me, and I’m afraid you might tamper with it. So now, I’ll find a body myself. At this point, you just have to trust me. Once the white light fades, she will disappear, but don’t worry; she and I will be waiting for you on the south side of the maze."
Yang Jingwan pressed down at the center of the circle, and a beam of white light erupted forth. In an instant, Ji Zichen blinked as the light flared and then vanished; she saw that Lin Chuyu was no longer on the platform.
Ji Zichen gritted her teeth in frustration. "Damn it! You better not trick me; otherwise, no matter whose body you possess, I will kill you."
Shen Bifan anxiously asked, "Brother Zichen, do you think she might be deceiving us?"
Ji Zichen did not fully trust Yang Jingwan, but he had a feeling that he could rely on her. "Whether we believe it or not, there's no time to waste. We can only head to the south side of the maze now," he said.
Regardless, they needed to find the Old God Hall. Kiko glanced at the entrance they had come through; directly opposite was another door. Yang Jingwan hadn't detailed how to navigate the maze, which meant that even without her guidance, they could still find their way. This suggested that the location wouldn't be hard to locate.
However, Kiko's assumption hinged on the fact that Yang Jingwan was not lying.
He gestured for Shen Bifan to follow him toward the wooden door leading to the platform. Kiko was uncertain about what lay beyond the door or whether there were Cult members from the Hall of Malevolence nearby, so he tread carefully with each step.
Kiko pressed his ear against the door and listened intently; it was eerily quiet behind it as if no one was there. After estimating the situation in his mind, he gently pushed the door open and peeked inside before signaling Shen Bifan to slip out with him.
Shen Bifan followed closely behind; it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. Behind the door was a long corridor lined with lanterns. Seeing that there was only one path ahead, Kiko felt a sense of relief. If this place resembled the maze, he would have no way of distinguishing east from west.
The two walked down the corridor until they reached a fork at the end: one path to the left was brightly lit, while the right path was shrouded in darkness. The dark corridor stretched straight ahead; if anyone appeared, they would have nowhere to hide.
As fate would have it, just as they feared, two figures were approaching from the brightly lit corridor ahead. Terrified, Kiko grabbed Shen Bifan and dashed into the dark passageway.
Fortunately for them, the two figures did not head in their direction but instead turned into the path they had just come from. From their attire, Kiko deduced that these individuals were part of the Cult from the Hall of Malevolence. However, he had no idea what they intended to do at the Old God Hall. The two remained hidden in the shadows for a moment until they could no longer hear the footsteps of the Cult members before emerging cautiously.
They had temporarily evaded danger, but Shen Bifan looked confused and asked, "Brother Zichen, where should we go now?"
Kiko pondered for a moment before replying, "There are two paths; I can't be sure which one is right. I think..."
Before Kiko could finish his thought, Shen Bifan interrupted him. "Brother Zichen, I don't want to split up."
Kiko sighed and said, "Then I guess I'll have to rely on my instincts."
He pointed towards the direction where the Cult members had come from and said, "Let's go that way."
Shen Bifan exclaimed, "Brother Zichen, I think we should take this path behind us instead. There are people coming from that direction; who knows how many more might be over there?"
Kiko was well aware of this possibility and replied, "We know nothing about this place; either route is equally uncertain for us."
Shen Bifan recognized this as true and stopped insisting. "Then let's follow your instincts; hopefully, we can turn misfortune into good luck."
As the white light faded, Lin Chuyu regained her senses. When the brightness dissipated, she found herself lying on a stone platform that resembled a cut cake. Although she had been possessed by Yang Jingwan, she could still see everything Yang Jingwan did. She recalled the moment when Yang Jingwan had approached the Stable Record Minister, and Lin Chuyu couldn't help but blush.
“That woman is so shameless,” Lin Chuyu said, her face flushed.
This was an old hall, and Lin Chuyu had no idea what it had been used for in the past. She got off the stone platform and heard a creaking sound from the large wooden door on her right; someone was pushing it open.
Not knowing where to hide, Lin Chuyu quickly scanned her surroundings and chose to conceal herself behind the stone platform. The person who entered was a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in a golden begonia flower-patterned gown with a flowing tail, her hair styled up like two horns.
As the girl stepped through the door and approached the platform, she smiled playfully and said, “What are you hiding for? I can already see you.”
Lin Chuyu felt a surge of anxiety, unsure whether to step out from behind the platform. Seeing that Lin Chuyu remained hidden, the girl smiled mysteriously and asked, “What’s wrong? We just parted ways, and you don’t recognize me anymore?”
Lin Chuyu jumped out from behind the platform in an instant, anger flaring as she exclaimed, “You are Yang Jingwan!”
Yang Jingwan smiled slightly. “Now we can finally meet properly.”
Lin Chuyu stared intently at Yang Jingwan. “Is this your true form? You still look like a child; you don’t match what I imagined.”
Yang Jingwan giggled. “I don’t really have a true form anymore; this is just a spare body. But don’t underestimate this body; it hides far more power than you think. Come on, I’ll take you to meet your Brother Ji at the agreed place.”
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