Chapter 41: Past Events (Below) Inverted V

  The room was silent, with only the sound of Li Qian's slightly agitated breathing remaining. As the young Da Wu spoke, everyone else seemed to be transported back in time, reliving the events of twelve years ago, their faces all revealing a look of unbearable pain.

  Lijiang's eyes widened in anger, his black pupils bulging as he shouted: "Father, those White Witchfolk are truly detestable!"

  "You!" Zi Xuan herself was from the White Witch tribe, and after coming to her senses, she first felt a surge of anger, but soon her emotions sank, "I... these things, Mother didn't tell me..."

  "Nüwa's descendants are still young after all, and Sheng Gu doesn't want to reveal the whole truth, which also makes sense. Moreover, in the eyes of those White Witch tribe people, they were originally blameless, and it was us who were wrong." Li Qianyu closed her eyes, calmed herself down, and when she opened them again, she was much more composed than before, with a lot less anger in her eyes, but still sorrowful. "That day, the four of us went through untold hardships, although we suffered severe injuries, we managed to kill that evil Li Sha on the spot. Our hearts were filled with both sadness and joy, so we decided to bring my sister's body back to Nanjiang for a proper burial. Who would have thought that at this very moment, those White Witch tribe people returned once again."

  "They have come to their senses and are here to help you kill the enemy?" asked Xuan Zhenqi.

  "They didn't have the good fortune of having a Daoist like you! These White Witch tribe people, they split into five paths to chase after the Lingzhu, but four of them lost their way. The only one that fell closest was on the northwest side of that mountain. Later, I heard that they chased after it to the northwest and saw the light of the Lingzhu fall into a large cave. They went in to search for it, but who knew that the cave was inhabited by a group of demons? Those guys, in order to find the Lingzhu, killed a few demons at first to establish their authority, but those demons were not easy to mess with and instead chased them out." At this point, he coldly laughed again, his mouth curling up into a sarcastic smile. "They had no choice but to return empty-handed, and when they saw that we had killed Ye Jian, they actually blamed us, saying that we didn't know what was important, that we didn't care about the Nüwa relic, and that we only cared about our own petty grievances. Haha, what a joke! The flames in his eyes rose higher again.

  "Dead men - great witch, don't be angry, I...I'll apologize on their behalf." Zi Xuan carefully advised, she not only changed her tone when calling Li Qianyu, but also restrained the coquettish smile that usually hung on her face, looking much more sensible.

  Lijiang glared at her and said viciously: "What's the use of apologizing? My aunt is still dead!"

  "Let's not talk about it anymore!" Li Qianyu said, turning his head to look at Zi Xuan with a calm expression again. "The descendants of Nüwa don't have to be like this either. My sister's death has nothing to do with the White Witch tribe, it's just that our clan didn't discipline strictly enough and gave rise to a traitor like Li Jie. It's also because my sister and I weren't skilled enough in our craft, which led to such an outcome." Although he said so, his words were cold and anyone could tell that they were insincere.

  Zi Xuan didn't dare say more, and could only cast a pleading glance at Xuan Zhen. Xuan Zhen sighed and advised: "Li Wu Zhuo, time is like flowing water, it's already been twelve years since then. Dwelling on past events won't change anything. Although that Li Qian He girl has passed away, at least you, her brother, still remember her from time to time. But if you cling to the past and harbor endless resentment, wouldn't that make her restless in the afterlife? Think carefully, the person who killed Li Qian He has already been killed by you, and your great revenge has been avenged. On the other hand, the Bai Wu tribe lost the Five Spirits Pearl, which is an even greater loss for them. Why not consider each other's perspectives and put the past behind us with a smile?"

  Li Qianyu looked at him deeply, still shaking his head: "Daozhang is kind-hearted, Li Qianyu appreciates it. But back then, those White Witch tribe people turned a blind eye to my sister's death, and later blamed our tribe for the loss of the Five Spirits Pearl. These things cannot be tolerated no matter what. Daozhang, you want me to consider the White Witch tribe's feelings, but why don't you also consider mine? If your sister died in front of you and you were powerless to save her, and even after she died, people insulted her and you couldn't protect her dignity, how would you feel?" He stood up suddenly.

  Xuan Zhen was taken aback, and couldn't help but think: If my loved one died in front of me, I wouldn't even be able to save her, let alone take care of her funeral... Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and a wave of intense grief surged up to his head. In front of him, for some reason, a pair of angry, staring beast-like eyes flashed by, but when he closed his eyes and thought about it for a long time, those beast-like eyes seemed to be replaced by another pair of eyes, which belonged to a woman. Her eyes were slanted upwards at the corners, with a hint of a phoenix-like demeanor, and although her gaze was stern, it didn't make people feel repelled. The two pairs of eyes became clearer and clearer in his mind, and although they were dull and lifeless, the sorrow and desolation they conveyed were unmistakable.

  She... who is she? Why... why does it seem familiar? Xuan Zhen was bewildered, and the more he tried to search his mind, the more vague the woman's appearance and even her shadow became. Later on, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he only felt that in the eyes of his mind, a thread of blame and anger gradually emerged, as if questioning him for forgetting himself, for forgetting past events.

  Just at this moment, another severe pain suddenly came from deep within his skull.

  Xuan Zhen opened his eyes, looking around in a daze, and found himself still sitting on the chair in the main hall of Li Qian's house. The room was dimly lit, and the others were nowhere to be seen. Looking out from the open door, he could see the large wooden house standing in the center of the valley. The sun had already set behind the roof, leaving only a fiery glow spreading out in an arc from behind.

  He grasped something tightly in his hand, and when Xuan Zhen lowered his head to take a look, he found that it was actually the small wooden knife. At a glance, all the past events he had heard about today suddenly flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

  He originally thought that this wooden knife was related to his own past, but unexpectedly it was connected to a past event. However, although it was also a past experience, it belonged to someone else... and his own memories were scattered, who knows where they went, when can he truly find them back.

  Just as he was about to sink into new thoughts, a light and quick footsteps came from outside the door.

  "Xuan Zhen brother, you finally woke up!" Zi Xuan smiled and stepped over the threshold, with Jin Xia's golden light behind her, wearing a purple shirt that floated like a fairy as she walked in. "This morning you were so distracted that even your soul was gone, I called out to you several times but you didn't respond, it scared me to death! Later, it was only when the deadpan face said you didn't know what happened and had entered meditation that I dared not disturb you again. What are you staring at again?"

  "Ah?" Xuan Zhen was taken aback, staring at her, and only then did he come back to his senses. He quickly turned his head so she wouldn't see the awkward expression on his face. "Nothing... Zi Xuan, you said I was in a meditative state? No wonder it's already dark after just a short while, and all of you have disappeared..."

  "A moment? Five or six hours have passed already." Zixuan said, sitting down beside him, her arm resting on the chair's armrest, smiling and leaning against her arms with her chin, "Xuanzhen brother, you people who practice Taoist magic are all like this, always getting distracted and spacing out, then even when called, can't be woken up? Then I'd better not find a Taoist practitioner as my husband in the future, or else he'll always be spaced out, how boring would that be for me!"

  "What? What husband... You're just a girl, how can you be so careless and mention such things?" Xuan Zhen said in shock, his face flushing with embarrassment, even more than Zi Xuan's. "Besides, cultivators enter meditation to improve their cultivation, not to daydream!"

  Zi Xuan chuckled and said nonchalantly, "We people from the southern border are all straightforward, whoever thinks what says what. Who's like you people from the Central Plains, hiding everything in your belly? The longer you hide it, the more it stinks! Grandma Jiao said that our Nuwa tribe has always been women-only, so how can we continue our lineage without finding husbands? But she also said not to go find one too early, or else the child will absorb their mother's spiritual energy as soon as they're born, and the mother will die young. However, my sister who serves me says that having a lover makes life enjoyable, but living alone is truly boring..." She rolled her big eyes thoughtfully, then smiled again, "Alright, I'll find a husband first, and then have kids when I'm tired of playing around!"

  Xuan Zhen was stunned, and for this little girl, he truly had no choice but to helplessly rub his temples. However, regarding some other matters revealed in Zi Xuan's words, he became interested: "So you're a descendant of Nüwa, no wonder you claim to be the most important person in the White Witch tribe and possess the tribe's treasure. Then that puppet granny, also known as your tribe's Holy Maiden, is she the Great Witch?"

  Zi Xuan nodded: "It's roughly like that. I was born in the White Witch tribe, and since birth, I've inherited the blood of Nüwa Niangniang. Not long after my birth, my mother passed away due to losing her spiritual power. At that time, Puppet Granny was already the Holy Maiden of the Temple, and it's said that she also raised my mother."

  "Then didn't she live for many years?" Xuan Zhen asked in astonishment.

  Zi Xuan nodded again: "Yes! The puppet granny has assisted several generations of Nuwa's descendants, and no one in the White Witch tribe is older than her, so everyone listens to her. But she always locks me up, doesn't allow me to go out and play, doesn't allow me to leave the village, and keeps forcing me to learn magic spells. I feel suffocated, so I just ran out!" As she spoke, she smiled again, revealing two rows of delicate teeth like shattered jade, looking incredibly innocent and lovely.

  She laughed for a while, then said: "Xuan Zhen brother, you said that after losing your memory, you were taken to the mountain. Then isn't your master also taking care of you and forcing you to learn Taoist skills?"

  Xuan Zhen shook his head: "No one forced me, my cultivation is voluntary. The Qionghua Sect saved me and taught me, I can only work hard to cultivate, and in the future, there will be opportunities to repay Master and the sect. To say that if it weren't for searching for memories this time, I'm afraid I would have returned to Kunlun Mountain with Master long ago."

  "Ah, then we almost didn't meet!" Zi Xuan said with a deep sigh, "Fortunately, fortunately!"

  Xuan Zhen was taken aback and lost his smile. He shook his head and suddenly remembered something, saying: "Right, what about Li Wu Zhu?"

  Zi Xuan smiled and said, "He went to the Temple over there, oh, the Temple is that big wooden house in front. That little dead face also followed him, I heard he's going to be the next Great Shaman. It's really incomprehensible, why are all the Shamans of the Black Witch Tribe always those with dead faces?"

  Xuan Zhen shook his head and said, "That Li Qianyu, the great witch doctor, although I don't remember what he looked like back then, but thinking about it, if he hadn't gone through those tragic events, he wouldn't have become as stubborn and cold as he is now. Spare him some of your sharp tongue."

  Her face slightly darkened, she lowered her eyes and after a while, spoke in a soft voice: "I... I just got used to it. In the past, people from our tribe would always welcome me with a smile, even people from other tribes were very friendly when they saw me, but he was different, every time he saw me, his expression was cold as ice, so I intentionally teased him, gave him nicknames, and provoked him on purpose... only now do I realize that it wasn't that he disliked me, but rather our White Witch tribe..."

  At this time, the last ray of sunset outside the house also gradually retreated from the threshold. Zi Xuan supported her chin with her eyes following that line of afterglow, and sighed: "It's been twelve years... Since that thing happened, the Black Witch tribe has never come into contact with my tribe again. The Dead Face only agreed to enter Dali City during the gathering of the two tribes' witch doctors. I didn't expect the truth to be so... so sad."