Chapter 198

Xie Bi An was under house arrest in Chidi City for a hundred days.

In the beginning, he couldn't sleep and couldn't wake up. He was trapped in an illusory mud puddle and spent his days in a muddle. He didn't struggle, so he didn't sink any further, but he couldn't get out either.

He did not know what the world outside had become. The last piece of a clearer picture in his mind was still stuck in Zhong Kui's death. When he recovered his memories of his previous life, Zhong Kui's safety became his support to continue fighting, but that support collapsed too quickly, so he collapsed too.

The cultivators who came in response to the heroic order were killed and wounded disastrously. They returned in low spirits after the defeat. Fan Wu She was taken away by Jiang Qu Lian, and he was captured back to Chidi City by Qi Meng Sheng. The Immortal Alliance was greatly wounded, the world's number one person died in battle, but Qi Meng Sheng did not refine the core successfully and the Xuanyuan Heavenly Secret Talisman also did not see the light of day. It is difficult to say who won and who lost in this most massive, most tragic battle in a hundred years. Perhaps everyone was defeated, and only the people of Jiuzhou were unharmed.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it*. Jiang Qu Lian ruined Qi Meng Sheng's core refining opportunity, but Qi Meng Sheng did not give up. Shen Nong Ding is still there, his core is still present, it's just that to gather the heavenly treasures and enough cultivators to quench the fire for refining the Absolute Human Emperor once again is really as difficult as ascending to the heavens under today's circumstances.

Everyone says that Qi Meng Sheng will not live long, but with the Golden Carved Jade Suit, maybe she can live longer than Li Bu Yu. However, the most frightening thing in the immortal cultivation world now should not be her, but the Supreme Demon Zong Zi Xiao, who should have fallen into the Hell Path, but acted against heaven and was reborn as a human being with the memories of his previous life.

Xie Bi An always thought about that person. Sometimes it's Xiao Jiu, who relies on him and is inseparable from him, sometimes it's Zong Zi Xiao, who humiliated him to the core and left a mark on his body and soul, and sometimes it's Fan Wu She, who is in love with him. They all have the same face but carry very different looks; adoring, trusting, hateful, tyrannical, happy, and desiring. Their voices repeatedly harassed him when he was waking and sleeping. He could not forget his brotherly love for Xiao Jiu, his crazy and immoral torture with Zong Zi Xiao, and he couldn’t even forget his mutual love with Fan Wu She.

Conflicts, confusion, sickness, distortion, he was repeatedly pulled and torn by memories and thoughts. The mere blaming of himself has made him unable to catch his breath. But late at night, he still subconsciously wants to hug the person next to him, to find a little source of life-saving heat for his misery and cold.

It is not a simple love-hate towards that person. It is love-hate intertwined into a net filling the entire sky, fiercely imprisoning him. Even through life and death, he cannot be freed.

When he really can't tolerate it anymore, he can only use the Pure Mind Technique to forcefully suppress his emotions.

He was running away from it day after day.

The one who woke him up from this muddle was a person ---- Qing Wu Zi, whose life or death was previously unknown.

"You are still alive." Xie Bi An wasn’t really surprised. Qing Wu Zi has been going through challenging experiences in Jianghu for most of his life. He is shrewd, cherishes his life and is snobbish. By inheriting all of Huang Dao Zi’s handed-down teachings, these kind of people are best at defending themselves in chaotic situations.

Qing Wu Zi said with a bitter smile: "In order to fulfill my master's dying wish, I can only drag out an ignoble existence. After wandering in Chidi City for so long, I could finally bribe the guards with a large sum of money and meet White Immortal with great effort."

"Dying wish, what does that mean?" Xie Bi An's tone was flat and calm, and there were no ripples on his white jade face. Although it is a question, he seemed completely indifferent about the answer.

"Before his death, master left a letter. He said that one day the Human Emperor will be reincarnated, and I need to hand this letter to the Human Emperor after he regains the memory of his previous life." Qing Wu Zi took out a leather pouch from his qiankun bag and offered it to Xie Bi An with both hands.

Xie Bi An, however, did not accept it and said coldly, "What tricks are you playing again? Qi Meng Sheng sent you here, didn't she?"

"White Immortal, what I said is true. This is really a letter my master left for you, and this letter is crucial." Seeing that Xie Bi An still did not take a proper look at him, Qing Wu Zi said helplessly, "A hundred years ago, master had already used the Luo Shui Jade Armor to calculate a lot of things in this hundred years. Master originally hoped to foster me to help White Immortal, but unfortunately I’m not good at learning. I have the heart but not the power. But what master instructed me to do, I want to complete it even if it’ll risk my life."

"Even if you are not lying, what scheme is Huang Dao Zi up to? He is bent on clinging onto Zong Zi Xiao, gives Zong Zi Xiao advice, and even revealed the secret of the Absolute Human Emperor. My death cannot be unrelated to him." Xie Bi An looked askance at Qing Wu Zi, "And you act pragmatically and treacherously. You and your master, none of you can be trusted."

"Everything master did was for the sake of the world. He said that the past life was a dead end, and that there is only hope for breaking it in this life." Qing Wu Zi pleaded, "White Immortal, it doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, please read this letter."

Xie Bi An hung his eyes and said nothing.

When Qing Wu Zi saw Xie Bi An was still indifferent, he then put the letter on the table: "White Immortal, Jiuzhou is already in chaos. The death of Heaven Master and the mutiny of the Red King shook the balance between the human and ghost realms. Plus, Qi Meng Sheng split the Central Plains and outside the Pass, and everyone is panicking. Afraid that the Supreme Demon will return, afraid that the Fengdu boundary will be torn apart again, afraid that Qi Meng Sheng will enter the Pass..."

"And what can I do?" Xie Bi An's emotions are no longer as calm as it was before, "I'm just a prisoner of Qi Meng Sheng's now." It's not that he didn't want to escape. Qi Meng Sheng sealed his chakra, took away his sword and soul weapon, and placed boundaries and guards around him. He couldn't even walk out of this room.

"Master said that everything started because of you, and you are needed to break the situation."

Xie Bi An suddenly glared at Qing Wu Zi, a burst of killing intent condensed in his eyes.

Qing Wu Zi bowed fearfully, "White Immortal, Lord Lan has been thinking of ways on how to save you, but currently he’s at his wit’s end. If you can escape, once you leave Chidi City, someone will immediately come to provide you support." He said while retreating to the door, "I risked my life to come here, so I can't stay long. White Immortal, my master took painstaking efforts. I hope you will read that letter. This is also considered for Heaven Master. Heaven Master sacrificed his body to take justice for the sake of peace on earth." He turned his body and was about to run away after he finished speaking.

"Wait." Xie Bi An said hesitantly, "Red King and ..."

Qing Wu Zi immediately understood: "No news. Since the battle of Chidi City, they have disappeared into thin air."

Xie Bi An thought, at this time the underworld must also be a mess, Jiang Qu Lian’s cultivation is unfathomable, and as the king of ghost kings, he has countless believers. If he wants to make chaos in Jiuyou, the consequences are unimaginable.

After Qing Wu Zi left, the sun was about to set. Xie Bi An sat in the afterglow of dusk for a long time, until his vision was completely engulfed by darkness. He then got up, lit a candle, picked up the letter on the table, and then hesitated a while before gently opening it.

In the letter, Huang Dao Zi explained that everything he did was to prevent a calamity between the human and ghost realms. This calamity originated from the love-hate relationship between the two brothers. Whoever hung the bell on the tiger's neck must untie it*, so only he can solve the problem.

Huang Dao Zi had already calculated how the two would end in their previous lives, and could only push the wave and add to the billows*. He also calculated that they would both be reborn in the world. Since peaking at a Heavenly Secret will reduce one's life, Huang Dao Zi knew that he was running out of time, so he asked his disciple Qing Wu Zi to carry out the mission on his behalf. In the past life, there was no solution to this dead end, but there’s hope in this life, so those people in the game, such as Xu Zhi Nan, Li Bu Yu and Qi Meng Sheng, will be reunited with them. Everything happened unknowingly as if it was intentionally arranged by God.

Huang Dao Zi's only tip for him is that the people around him have a disguise. Only when the eyes see the frame of mind clearly can it penetrate the skin and shine into the soul.

At the end of the letter, Huang Dao Zi pleaded with him that no matter what he will be going through, even if it’s dark, even if all his thoughts were burning, he should not give up the hope of life that he had exchanged with two lifetimes. That hope of life was not only his, but also the lives of people in the world, otherwise the human and ghost realms would fall into a long night of despair.

Xie Bi An drops his arms in dismay and lets out a bitter laugh.

If master was still around, what would he do? He would have taken the Qingfeng Sword without second thoughts and fought against all the evil and injustice, but master is no longer here. Even the Qingfeng Sword was no longer here.

But he is still here. His master cannot die in vain. Someone has to pay the price. Someone has to inherit this will of taking responsibility with courage and protecting the living.

Zong Zi Heng or Xie Bi An, suicide or survival, he was badly bruised again and again, moving forward with injuries again and again. Perhaps this is the reason he must remember his previous life. This is his obsession, because he couldn’t accept it.

He couldn’t accept the fate of torment and trampling. He couldn’t accept losing his loved ones painfully.

Because he couldn’t accept it, he had to continue fighting.

---

Xie Bi An began to repeatedly ask to see Qi Meng Sheng, but Qi Meng Sheng was too injured from that battle and had been in seclusion to recuperate, so he threatened to go on a hunger strike.

He knows that Qi Meng Sheng does not dare to let him die now, because compared to the Immortal Alliance, her biggest threats are the Supreme Demon and the Red King, who are hiding somewhere in Jiuzhou, secretly planning and waiting for an opportunity, and he is her bargaining chip.

Hua Xiang Rong came once, but could not do anything with him. Besides, she did not seem to care about his life and death. The death of Yun Xiang Yi hit her so hard that her pretty face almost lost its appearance from becoming thin.

In the end, Xie Bi An managed to wait until Qi Meng Sheng came in person.

Qi Meng Sheng looked at Xie Bi An in a sullen manner: "What does the emperor want to talk to me about?"

"I want to make a deal with you."

"Say it."

"Immortal Lord Qi had taken painstaking efforts and did not hesitate to become an enemy to the world, isn't it for the purpose of extending your life?"

"..."

Xie Bi An said expressionlessly, "To extend your life, it is not necessary to eat the Absolute Human Emperor. In fact, it is only a few strokes in the Book of Life and Death."

"What does the emperor mean?"

"The Red King's defection is the biggest crisis the ghost world has encountered since the Supreme Demon tore apart the Fengdu boundary and attacked the Underworld. Now the entire Underworld must be doing its best to find them. If Immortal Lord Qi can help us subdue them, in exchange, Official Lord Cui will definitely promise to increase your life."

Qi Meng Sheng smiled coldly, "No matter what you plan, as long as you return to Jiuyou, that is equivalent to letting the tiger return to the mountain*, and I will never be able to catch you again."

"I will not hide in Jiuyou and not come out. Zong Zi Xiao ..." Xie Bi An's heart seized with pain, even though he just recited the name from his mouth, "He is a devil born because of me. It is incumbent upon me to stop him. How it was in the previous life, will be the same in this life."

Qi Meng Sheng was silent for a moment and whispered, "No."

 

 ----

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it*[螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后]--- It is a satire to those who only care about the immediate benefits and not the future disasters

Whoever hung the bell on the tiger's neck must untie it*[解铃还须系铃人]--- whoever started the trouble should end it

push the wave and add to the billows*[推波助澜]--- to add momentum / to encourage sth to get bigger / to add fuel to the fire

letting the tiger return to the mountain*[放虎归山]--- to store up future calamities

 

Edited on 23 May 21 (Emzie)

 

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