Chapter 20: Shadow of the Pear Garden (Twenty) Do you know the time limit for passing the test is...

"Will Master Jinfan accept me? My Lord said that I will let me go after I help the Bai family slaughter the academy. Will Master Jinfan listen to my explanation and accept me?"

Hearing this, Li Zhixing froze, and asked in his heart: My Lord? It was that missing Lord again.

"Should I tell her that I, I killed many people?"

"Will she be scared?"

Ah Yang, soaking wet, paced back and forth, muttering to himself. Li Zhixing hid behind a rock and continued to breathe, thinking: I don't know if Zhao Jinfan is scared, I only know that you are a fool!

Ah Yang suddenly stopped, glanced at the thawing Zhuxi, and said with a smile: "This is really my blessed land. From now on, I will call you Xiaofuxi!"

Huh!

Is there water in his brain?

Li Zhixing shrank back, lowered his head in disgust, shook his head, and when he looked up again, he found that the person was gone! He hurried out, searching everywhere, and stumbled upon two thin sheets of paper that had fallen on the creek bank. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were a pair of small figurines Zhao Jinfan had given to Ah Yang. He picked them up.

"I told you not to jump into the creek without realizing you'd lost something so important!" Li Zhixing said, slipping the two figurines into his sleeve. He closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment, then opened them again, his gaze fixed on a path, and he hurried along.

Zhao

Jinfan and Xie Zhiyan had both fainted, which greatly facilitated their movement. They coordinated their plans as they ran, planning how to rescue them if they woke and asked about their rescue.

The three of them searched until they came upon a dilapidated shrine housing a pair of stone statues of a man and a woman.

As Ye Qingzhan entered the temple, she looked up, froze, and nearly tripped over a rock. Wen Gu, carrying Xie Zhiyan on his back, quickly reached out to support her.

"Watch the road."

"Sorry." Ye Qingzhan stood firm and quickly withdrew his gaze from the stone statues.

Wen Gu followed her line of sight and took a look. He felt that the two stone statues were carved very realistically, but he could not tell whether they were immortals.

However, the Yin Sha in his body suddenly churned up and kept gathering towards his heart.

What are they afraid of?

Wen Gu covered his heart, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and slowly knelt on the ground, his eyes fixed on the two stone statues.

The female statue had a beautiful face and a gentle smile. The male statue had a tall and strong figure, and his smile was like a spring breeze. Both of them had immortal temperaments, like a pair of immortal lovers.

The Yin Sha in his body would only attack his heart meridians when the outside world affected his will.

These two people...

"Wen Gu, why are you vomiting blood again?" Ye Qingzhan hurriedly wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve, "Did the black fog bully you again?"

Before Wen Gu could respond, Qinghuai behind him urged: "If you two don't go in, the soldiers will catch up."

Before he finished speaking, Ye Qingzhan held Wen Gu's arm, helped him get up, and entered the ancestral hall together. Several people hid behind the stone statue, and were surprised to find two straw mats on the ground.

Ye Qingzhan spread out the straw mat, brushed off the dust and leaves on it, and helped Wen Gu and Qinghuai put the two people down. As soon as she put it down, the ginkgo leaf in her sleeve floated in front of her. A line of small words appeared on the leaf, the handwriting of the exiled immortal:

Where are you? Ye

Qingzhan used the magic spell Li Zhixing taught her, silently chanted the mantra of "One leaf tells the coming of autumn", and wrote with her fingertips: "In an ancient temple in Changning County."

These days, they have been communicating with the exiled immortals through this ginkgo tree. Li Zhixing also knew Qinghuai's heart knot and led Ah Yang all the way to Changning County.

I don't know when we can meet again.

After answering, the three of them were about to sit down and rest when they heard footsteps outside. The three of them looked at each other, and Ye Qingzhan whispered: "Is my barrier not working?"

Just now, she saw that this temple in the mountains was located in a bamboo forest and was very secretive, so she casually set up a barrier before entering the temple to hide it deeper. Why can I still feel someone approaching...

Just as I was thinking, someone flew in!

The three people behind the stone statue looked at each other warily, and the newcomer turned around.

It was Ah Yang.

Qinghuai immediately ran out from behind the stone statue, overjoyed and at a loss for words, saying repeatedly: "You're finally back, you're finally back!"

"You're not late this time, you're not late!"

Ah Yang was confused and didn't understand why he was so happy. He nodded and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes, I'm back." As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of the skirt exposed from behind the stone statue, and his heart suddenly beat wildly.

He raised his steps and walked over slowly.

Ye Qingzhan and Qinghuai walked out and saw the exiled immortal clinging to his back. Ye Qingzhan stretched out her hand, and from Ah Yang's perspective, she let the exiled immortal jump onto her hand.

Originally, Li Zhixing did have this intention, but after looking at the young man with a face as dark as ink beside her, he slid down resignedly and jumped to the ground. He found a corner and sat down comfortably.

Along the way, he transformed into a wild boar to chase him, and then transformed into a passerby to guide him, trying every way to lead the young man into the temple, which exhausted him. At this moment, he just wanted to watch the reunion drama quietly.

Ah Yang inched closer to the woman on the straw mat. Even before he reached her, his eyes welled up.

The figure on the ground, eyes closed, her once handsome face etched with deep whip marks. Her clothes were soaked in blood, leaving no untouched area of her body.

Sadness mingled with rage, Ah Yang knelt on one knee, tears streaming down his face. His voice trembled, "Who did this? Who did this?" Her voice and appearance were still etched in his mind, now ravaged beyond recognition. Hatred and murderous intent filled Ah Yang's eyes.

He felt the dark energy within him waiting for its moment to stir, but he gathered all his strength and fought to suppress it.

Qinghuai, who was standing by, looked at him and said, "It was the government who did it. Are you going to kill them?"

"You've already killed many people. Do you want to continue?"

Ah Yang looked at him, his eyes bloodshot. "They deserve to be killed."

"Really? And then? What are you going to say to Master Jinfan when she wakes up?" Qinghuai continued in a resounding voice. "You've killed people to silence them, massacred the villa, and destroyed people's homes. Aren't the evils you've done enough?"

"They deserve to be killed!" The young man really was like a shadow puppet being pulled on a string. He repeated these words, but the murderous intent in his eyes faded a lot. Suddenly he asked, "Who are you and why do you know..." "

It doesn't matter who I am. What's important is, Ah Yang—" Qinghuai walked up to him, smiled and patted his shoulder. "It's not easy for you to see them again." "

Cherish them."

Qinghuai said, walked towards Zhao Jinfan, bent down to wipe the blood off her face, smiled and said, "I'll give you another sweet dream." As he spoke, he closed his eyes.

"No!" Li Zhixing jumped up from the ground, but he was still a step too slow. The illusion changed.

Green waters, blue skies, and drifting white clouds. In the opera house, laughter spurs bluebirds to life, and lyrics attract colorful butterflies. Onstage, the performers perform, while the audience laughs.

Atop the wall, those watching in bewilderment.

Ye Qingzhan clings tightly to Wen Gu's arm, carefully perching on the wall. Suddenly, he recalls Xie Zhiyan's notes and marvels at how he managed to watch Master Zhao from the wall for so long.

Li Zhixing, who had sprained his back after jumping up too quickly, glared at his good apprentice, "I'll give you a gift as soon as I ask." He gritted his teeth in anger—controlling illusions, he probably doesn't want to be reincarnated.

The illusion is formed by the power of the three realms, and the spiritual consciousness of the master of the illusion is cast in it, and is checked and balanced by the three forces. If it is called upon rashly, it will be backfired. At the least, the soul will be damaged, and at the worst, the spiritual consciousness will be scattered and turned into ashes.

Qinghuai follows his heart, which is to "take his life".

"This is the scene I have been looking for." Qinghuai sat on the wall, shaking his feet and said with a smile.

The two people and the immortal followed his gaze.

Ah Yang was clumsily learning the movements on the stage, and Zhao Jinfan smiled and taught him patiently. Xie Zhiyan watched with a cold face and crossed his arms. Men, women, old and young in the audience drank and ate, and smiled at them on the stage.

This was the daily routine after the troupe's performance, but it was a wish that Qinghuai never fulfilled until his death.

"Master, do you know why I lied?" After a few days as an apprentice, Qinghuai couldn't change his ways. A smile played on his lips as he said, "I wanted to stay in the illusion for a few more days, see them more often," he said, looking at Xie Zhiyan. "I also want to know how he and the head of the Jinfan troupe met."

Li Zhixing was on the verge of tears, his mind raging: Did you know the time limit for passing the test is seven days? Seven days...

Wait, he didn't seem to have said that.

Blame it on him.

His voice sounded weak, and Qinghuai continued to smile as he stared at the stage. "You must be very curious about how I died, right?"

Ye Qingzhan nodded, then shook her head, thinking it must be a sad story. There were too many sad stories in the illusion, and she didn't want to...

"I'll show you. Perhaps there's something you want to know," Qinghuai said, looking past the exiled immortal and Ye Qingzhan, then at Wen Gu. With that,

Qinghuai forced himself to reverse the situation.

***

At that time, in order to escape the control of the "master," Ah Yang promised him to help Tu Yi from other sects become alienated. After the task was accomplished, they traveled day and night, trekking through mountains and rivers, just to reach Changning County as soon as possible.

Ah Yang first returned to Zhuxi Town, and exchanged all his savings from years of being a killer into banknotes and carried them with him, intending to give them all to Zhao Jinfan. He found out that when the unknown actor went south, Sui and the troupe had not yet arrived in Zhuxi Town.

As for who the actor was, it was not important to him. As long as it was not her sister, as long as it had nothing to do with her.

The revenge for his mother should not be blamed on the actor.

After casually washing the dirt off his body in Zhuxi, Ah Yang continued on his way, but he never expected to catch a cold. He was afraid that being sick would delay his journey, and he blamed himself a little, but then he changed his mind - it would be good to be sick, the owner of the Jinfan troupe was so good, he would definitely take good care of him.

Thinking like this all the way, being sick could not stop him from moving forward. Ah Yang arrived in Changning County after a light snow in early spring. He first followed the route Zhao Jinfan had described and searched for the troupe, but saw no one there. He thought they must have been invited to perform. He wandered around the courtyard for a while and saw a pleated blue dress hanging in front of the house. After thinking for a while, he took it down and put it on.

Ah Yang thought that the owner of the Jinfan troupe would understand his intentions.

The two people and the immortal who followed Ah Yang into the opera house looked at the ghost beside them and immediately understood why he was wearing a blue costume when they first met him at the gate of hell.

Ye Qingzhan's eyes darkened and he quickly thought: Qinghuai died on the first day after his return...

When the sun set, no one came, and Qinghuai got anxious and went out in his costume. For some reason, there were a lot of people on the road, and he went against the flow of people.

"It's so tragic for Suiheban, they are all dead!"

Ah Yang stopped immediately, his heart pounding, and then turned around to follow the two people.

"Who said it wasn't!" another person responded, "You shouldn't have offended that lord! I heard that the Ye family, a wealthy merchant family in the neighboring county, also met a miserable end..."

The four people who had been following Ah Yang stopped as the words fell. The three of them looked at Ye Qingzhan.

The latter had a depressed look on his face and followed the other two closely.