In the previous moment, Gu Fuyou was still unraveling the illusionary technique on the path leading to the inner palace, but in the next moment, she disappeared without a trace.
Zhong Michu furrowed her brow and looked around. Not only was Gu Fuyou missing, but even Gu Huaiyou and the other two were nowhere to be found.
Under normal circumstances, Zhong Michu would immediately sense something strange and become alert.
However, at this moment, her mind was blank, unable to muster any thoughts.
She took a step forward, and lush greenery surrounded her. The sky was filled with white clouds, and there were forests of elm trees on the left and emerald pools on the right.
It was a warm and tranquil mountain location.
Zhong Michu scratched her forehead and felt something hard. She walked to the edge of the pool and saw her reflection in the water.
The water reflected a small figure, delicately carved from jade, dressed in a red silk gown embroidered with golden thread. Its watery eyes stared back, seemingly innocent and bewildered.
Zhong Michu stared in astonishment as she saw her reflection in the water, realizing that she had grown a pair of horns on her forehead.
She grabbed the horns with her little hands, pulling and twisting them.
"Um," she exerted more force, feeling a slight pain.
Confused and at a loss, she lifted her foot and ran up the mountain, intending to find someone to ask her master about it.
She moved swiftly through the forest, despite her small size.
Before long, she returned to the outside of Hechenxuan and just as she reached the gate, she saw a figure in green.
Her eyes brightened, and she exclaimed, "Mother!"
Yunran Xuanzun was walking out and stood on the stone path in the courtyard. Upon hearing the voice, she turned to look, and her body trembled.
Zhong Michu didn't notice and happily ran over.
She lived on Gushen Peak, where there were only her two elder sisters who took care of her daily needs.
Yunran Xuanzun did not live with her, and besides her master who came to teach every day, there was no one else on the mountain.
Yunran Xuanzun occasionally visited, but the visits were infrequent and brief.
Zhong Michu was always happy to see her, even though Yunran Xuanzun always had a cold expression.
Zhong Michu ran towards her, wanting to hold the hand hanging by her side.
Yunran Xuanzun suddenly reacted as if something unbearable had touched her.
She reacted strongly and pushed Zhong Michu away, saying, "Get away!"
Zhong Michu stumbled and couldn't regain her balance, falling to the ground. She didn't understand why Yunran Xuanzun suddenly pushed her away and looked up at her in confusion.
Yunran Xuanzun stared at her, trembling all over.
Zhong Michu called out softly, "Mother..."
"Don't call me mother!" Yunran Xuanzun's gaze gradually changed from shock to resentment and anger.
Yunran Xuanzun had never been so furious before.
Zhong Michu didn't know what had angered her, but when she saw Yunran Xuanzun's eyes, she felt an indescribable fear.
She stood up, and a thin mist began to surround them.
Yunran Xuanzun's figure became hazy, and her voice became vague.
Zhong Michu could only see her arguing with someone, holding a slender shadow in her hand.
Even in the mist, Zhong Michu could clearly see the gleaming sword.
Terrified, Zhong Michu took two steps back and when she turned around, she found herself back in the forest.
She continued forward, unsure how long she had been walking. She saw the spiritual beasts nesting ahead, and her spirit relaxed as if she had arrived at a comforting place.
But before she could approach, the spiritual beasts were startled and ran away in all directions.
The air was filled with the flapping of wings from spiritual birds, and the ground was filled with the sound of hooves from spiritual beasts.
It was a chaotic scene.
Zhong Michu caught up with them, puzzled. "Why are you running? It's me."
As she chased after them, the spiritual beasts became even more frightened.
"Don't run away. Master sent my two sisters away, and no one talks to me. Are you leaving too? Why..."
"Just because I grew a pair of horns?"
No spiritual beast listened to her words. They all scrambled to escape from this place.
She stood still, watching their panicked figures. Resentment overflowed from her heart, filling her chest with restlessness.
She shouted in a cold voice, "None of you are allowed to leave!"
As soon as her words were spoken, all the spiritual beasts collapsed to the ground.
A young white tiger cub with dual wings dropped from the sky and landed in front of Zhong Michu.
The white tiger lay on the ground, trembling, and even lost control of its bodily functions.
Zhong Michu, with golden-like eyes and sharp pupils, asked, "Are you afraid of me?"
She looked up at the spiritual beasts scattered on the ground and questioned, "Are all of you afraid of me?"
Confused and enraged, she shouted, "What is there for me to be afraid of?"
As her anger erupted, the white tiger suddenly foamed at the mouth and convulsed.
She was taken aback, never expecting it to turn out like this. Feeling scared, she took a step back, shaking her head. "No, I'm not, I don't want to harm you..."
Seeing the spiritual beasts still crouching on the ground only heightened her fear, and she turned and fled.
She wandered aimlessly, unsure of where to go. When she snapped out of her daze, she found herself standing in the backyard of Hechenxuan.
Winter was approaching, and the weather was gloomy. The golden leaves of the ginkgo trees covered the ground, leaving bare trunks behind.
Voices could be heard from the study. Zhong Michu walked to the entrance but didn't go inside.
She recognized the voices of Ji Chaoling and Yunran Xuanzun.
Her master and mother were arguing about something.
"Sister, what do you mean by placing Dongli beside her?"
"Didn't you want to find someone else to take care of her? Dongli can suppress her and can be trusted. Dongli is the perfect fit."
"You know I'm not talking about that. Do you really want me to say it out loud?"
"I asked Dongli to keep an eye on her and, if necessary, kill her."
"You, you, she is still your daughter after all!"
"If she grows up to be like him, I don't want her!"
Zhong Michu wandered through the main hall with tears in her eyes, her eye sockets red. Tears fell along the way as she circled around the main hall and then went to the kitchen.
She tiptoed, sobbing, and reached for the kitchen knife on the chopping board. The blade of the knife gleamed with a chilling light as she raised it to her forehead.
The kitchen door suddenly swung open, and a bright light filled the room.
A figure rushed in, shielding the light, and grabbed her hand, shouting, "What are you doing!"
...
After entering the central palace, Gu Fuyou found the interior to be spacious with signs of repairs, resembling a tomb.
As she emerged from a hole and stepped onto a stone corridor, she noticed an open space surrounded by the corridor, resembling the central courtyard of a residence.
A suspended object hung in the air. It appeared to be a bell, radiating a red light that illuminated the surroundings.
She climbed over the stone railing and approached it. Taking a closer look, she found the bell somewhat familiar. She circled around it and carefully examined it, gradually becoming excited.
She felt that this bell bore some resemblance to the Concealing Ear Bell, but she didn't dare to confirm it.
If the magical artifacts were ranked, the Concealing Ear Bell would be in the highest tier.
According to rumors, a woman, upon the death of her Taoist companion, was so grief-stricken that she refused to ascend to immortality.
Instead, she endured the Heavenly Tribulation of the Mahayana stage and used the refined artifact to bear the tribulation.
The power of an artifact tempered by the Heavenly Tribulation of the Mahayana stage can be imagined.
This artifact could subtly trap people in illusions, where everything within the illusion appeared real, making it difficult to escape.
The woman became obsessed with the illusion of the artifact, longing to see her beloved from the past.
But an illusion is still an illusion, merely self-deception.
When the woman finally awakened, she named the artifact the Concealing Ear Bell.
As Gu Fuyou took another step while circling, she suddenly stopped. Without hesitation, she pounced toward the bell, hands outstretched, but she only grabbed empty air.
Ripples spread through the air, and the bell disappeared from its original position, reappearing a step away.
"An illusion?"
The bell rang a few times, as if mocking Gu Fuyou for not being able to reach it.
Gu Fuyou ran over, attempting to grab it, but once again, her hands grasped nothing.
The bell appeared beside Gu Fuyou. She gritted her teeth and swiftly dodged to the side, clapping her palms together, trying to grab it again.
Gu Fuyou clenched her teeth and said, "I don't believe I can't catch you."
She began using talismans, but still grabbed nothing. She continued to reach across the stone railing until she suddenly noticed a person in the shadow on the other side.
She walked over and took a look. The person was kneeling, head lowered—it was Zhong Michu.
Gu Fuyou was overjoyed and called out, "Senior Sister Zhong?!" She paid no attention to the bell.
Before she could approach, Zhong Michu raised her right hand, a flash of light appeared, and she held the Gengchen sword in her hand.
"Senior Sister Zhong?"
Zhong Michu raised the sword, but the blade was directed towards her own head.
Gu Fuyou was frightened, and her entire back felt numb. She rushed forward, grabbing Zhong Michu's hand with one hand and holding the blade that was about to fall with the other.
She didn't have time to think or consider, her mind was occupied, and the sharpness of the blade, like Gengchen, was held in her fleshy hands. Would her palms be severed?
"What are you doing, Senior Sister Zhong!"
Zhong Michu didn't use her spiritual power.
Gu Fuyou eased her grip on Zhong Michu's hand, but even so, her hand that held the blade was immediately cut, blood flowing.
Zhong Michu's grip didn't loosen; her cultivation as an external cultivator was extraordinary.
Gu Fuyou couldn't compare to her.
The blade gradually approached Zhong Michu's forehead.
Unbeknownst to Gu Fuyou, a new horn had emerged on Zhong Michu's forehead, where it should have been hidden. The blade was now pressing against the newly grown horn.
Gu Fuyou was drenched in sweat and exclaimed, "Gengchen! Gengchen, think of a solution!"
Gengchen sword hummed, seeming reluctant to harm its owner, but it couldn't defy its owner's consciousness.
"Senior Sister Zhong, Senior Sister Zhong."
Zhong Michu showed some reaction, her grip loosened, and Gu Fuyou took the opportunity to snatch the Gengchen sword and fling it away.
Gu Fuyou lifted Zhong Michu's face and said, "Senior Sister Zhong, look at me."
At that moment, her heart tightened.
Zhong Michu held back tears, her eyes like a pair of amber submerged in misty waters.
They contained so much—helplessness, grievance, fear, and despair—that even Gu Fuyou felt sorrowful upon seeing them.
It seemed that the illusion she experienced wasn't a pleasant dream.
Gu Fuyou embraced her and said, "Wake up quickly, those are all illusions."
Zhong Michu cast away the dream, her eyes filled with confusion, reaching out to touch the horn.
She sobbed, "I... I don't want, to have... this..."
Gu Fuyou remembered that Zhong Michu had once mentioned finding her horn unattractive, so she cut it off.
Now, seeing her obsessing over breaking off the horn again, Gu Fuyou thought that her illusion might be related to this.
Gu Fuyou held her hand and exclaimed, "Senior Sister Zhong, don't believe those things. They're all illusions. Your horn is beautiful, the most beautiful. I swear! Gu Fuyou swears! If anyone says it's not beautiful, I'll beat them up for you!"
She kept talking non-stop. She knew that with their current cultivation, they couldn't directly break through the illusion if it was indeed the Concealing Ear Bell. To escape the illusion, they had to strengthen their resolve.
This was the only way she could help Zhong Michu.
Perhaps her rambling had an effect.
After a while, Zhong Michu's gaze softened, gradually regaining clarity. Perhaps she had just walked out of the illusion, her expression helpless, tears in her eyes.
So vulnerable, so pitiful.
"Gu Fuyou?" Zhong Michu trembled as she called out, her hand gripping Gu Fuyou's arm, seemingly confirming the reality of the scene before her.
Gu Fuyou wiped away the tears from her eyes with a clean hand, just as she had done for her before.
Gu Fuyou smiled and said, "Senior Sister Zhong, it's alright now, everything's fine."
Gu Fuyou thought that perhaps Zhong Michu hadn't fully recovered from the illusion, which was why she continued to stare at her in a daze.
After a while, Zhong Michu's breathing stabilized, and when she stood up, she stumbled.
Gu Fuyou reached out and supported her.
"Senior Sister Zhong."
Zhong Michu steadied herself, pulling her arm out of Gu Fuyou's grasp and slightly turning her body, facing away from her. "Gu Fuyou, thank you," she said, her voice sounding weary.
"Senior Sister Zhong, are you alright..."
Zhong Michu shook her head and slowly walked to the edge of the stone railing, leaning against it for support.
Gu Fuyou watched her figure and felt that she looked fragile.
Gu Fuyou suddenly wished she could be like that stone railing, providing support for Zhong Michu.
However, it seemed that Zhong Michu wanted to be alone for a while, so Gu Fuyou tried to diminish her presence, giving her space.
But something had to go wrong.
The Concealing Ear Bell came close to her and jingled, its sound piercing in the silence.
Gu Fuyou felt annoyed and thought, this thing deserved a beating.
She swung her hand and unexpectedly hit the elusive bell.
Her right palm had been cut by the Gengchen sword before, covered in fresh red blood. With her strike, the bell was struck by her hand's blood.
The bell clanged and fell to the ground.
===============
Translator's note: Gu Fuyou and Zhong Michu didn't have a childhood full of happy experiences. I hope things will go well for them in the future. I want to give them a big hug😢.
To Be Continued...