novelraw Chapter 117 : Speculative Guidance
Chapter 117 : Speculative Guidance
Chapter 117: Speculative Guidance
Qiu Yuehan opened her eyes in a daze.
Her last memory stayed upon the old monster’s face. It seemed she had fallen from midair, and then into her Junior Sister’s embrace.
Where was she now?
All around her was pure white, as if she had returned to the place of origin. Her tender white feet were slightly flushed red from the warmth emitted by the anklet.
Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth a little.
Dreaming again—would this ever stop?
She didn’t even realize that she wasn’t nervous at all this time, because before closing her eyes she had seen the old monster. As long as he was there, any terrifying enemy would turn into nothing but a paper tiger.
That was Daoist Chang’an, after all. Sleeping for a bit longer wasn’t a big deal.
Even if the sky collapsed, Lu Changyuan would be there to hold it up.
Thus Qiu Yuehan carefully looked at her own dream. The surroundings, white as her inner state, made her murmur, “Just let me dream all of it at once. Don’t come back in bits and pieces.”
Suddenly, color burst into existence. A massive tree grew beneath her, reaching from earth to heaven, lifting the young girl high into the sky.
The moon crowned her, and the stars embroidered the robes of an emperor upon her.
Standing atop the tree crown, Qiu Yuehan gazed upon the cultivation world.
She knew this was the Nether Lord’s memory, and guessed that she herself was that Nether Lord—but she wasn’t very willing to accept it.
How had her Junior Sister accepted that she was the Palace Mistress of Jade Palace?
Qiu Yuehan had once asked Xia Lianxue this question. Xia Lianxue told her, “I was the Palace Mistress of Jade Palace to begin with. I just lost my memories for a while and later recalled them—that was always me. Senior Sister, do you still remember what you ate one night a year ago?”
Qiu Yuehan answered, “Didn’t eat. If I hadn’t met the old—met him, I’d probably have been fasting.”
That had infuriated the little Fairy in White quite a bit.
But that was indeed the meaning.
If you forgot what you ate one night a year ago, would the you from that time and the you now become two different people because of that missing memory?
No, it wouldn’t. You were always the same person.
“Hm?”
Qiu Yuehan froze as she looked at the scene before her. What did she see?
Amid the dense trees and bamboo forests lay a huge lake, emanating a rich vitality—and there, within the lake, she was embracing the old monster, bathing together like a pair of mandarin ducks!?
The scene abruptly shifted.
Her silky black hair streamed into the water like flowing satin, reflecting the moonlight’s glow. The moisture soaked her hair while the cold water caressed her skin. From behind rose the warmth belonging to the Human Clan. Qiu Yuehan shivered naturally, leaning toward that warmth.
“Ah!”
She had been the Monarch standing above, yet in an instant was pressed beneath her Guardian Spirit.
Lu Changyuan’s hand slowly moved upward along her slender waistline, brushing over the delicate curve of her butterfly-like shoulder blades before his fingertips paused at her tender cheek.
Qiu Yuehan’s crow-feather lashes trembled. On the water’s surface, her black dress reflected faintly, outlining the rapid rhythm of her breath. She extended her pale arms to wrap around Lu Changyuan’s waist, rubbing against his chest with familiar intimacy.
She heard herself say, “A Guardian Spirit must fulfill its master’s desires—don’t you know that?”
Lu Changyuan replied, “Never heard of it.”
Then he rose, intending to leave.
Unexpectedly, the girl spoke softly, “Now you’ve heard.”
The feather-shaped mark on Lu Changyuan’s shoulder suddenly glowed, restraining him. He sighed. “There’s no such rule. A Guardian Spirit exists to ensure the master’s safety.”
Not something to satisfy your strange whims with!
Qiu Yuehan smiled cunningly. Forced under her control, Lu Changyuan leaned down, the wind stirred by his motion mingling their breaths. A strange ripple spread in her chest—her heartbeat quickened. The girl melted away her loneliness, tenderly grinding against him like first snow melting on the tip of one’s tongue.
The lake cradled her body, rocking it gently. Silver fish brushed past her collarbone, their scales leaving faint, firefly-like tingles.
That was her Junior Sister’s man, wasn’t it?
She giggled softly. “Give your master another massage.”
The snow atop ten-thousand-year peaks began to melt. Jade-like branches swayed gracefully in the wind; snowy ridges stood face to face as melted streams flowed quietly down. Heaven and earth turned as beautiful as creamy white jade.
Moments ago, her breath turned to ice—it had been winter.
But in an instant, pink petals bloomed in crushed profusion. Spring had arrived, and the vernal wind urged the mountainside cherry blossoms to burst open all at once.
Time turned into a sandy prison. The fine grains felt soft as if soaked by tides—each step pressed the sand between her toes, flowing out and back in soothing cycles. When she pressed her hand upon the moist sand, the hidden water trickled out, dampening her fingertips.
Qiu Yuehan felt she was about to lose her reason. The once-cold immortal face was now tinted with intoxicating red. Her cherry lips glimmered with scattered drops of light. Rising on tiptoe, she sought that burning warmth—her pink tongue gently tracing along the breath, like seawater lapping the shore, dizzying and mesmerizing.
But suddenly, Lu Changyuan reached out, covered her mouth, and lifted her by the waist.
“You’re done washing. Get up.”
“Why?” she asked blankly. They hadn’t reached the last step yet—she hadn’t even tasted the flavor of the red apple.
Then the old monster said, “Time to return to the tree crown!”
As his words fell, Qiu Yuehan found herself back atop the tree crown.
What, what, what!
An inexplicable fire surged within the Moon Fairy’s heart.
A faint warmth came from her fair feet. The jade-green anklet drew her mind back to clarity. The Moon Fairy patted her own face—heat still lingered upon her cheeks.
She scolded herself harshly.
“Qiu Yuehan, you’ve really fallen! How could you have forced the old monster—That wasn’t me, that was the Nether Lord. I wasn’t wrong!”
A phantom shadow appeared before her.
“The authority of the Nether used as the seal has returned. The Path of Death still exists within the Nether Kingdom. Yuehan, all of that belongs to you.”
The phantom turned her hand. The jade-green anklet transformed into a small Sacred Pearl.
Feng Xianlong hadn’t left anything for Qiu Yuehan in Mount Long. What she had received had come from the Nether Lord—herself, the Moon Fairy.
Qiu Yuehan stayed silent for a long while. “So, I have no father. This Sacred Pearl is the origin of my birth, isn’t it?”
The character “Nether (冥)” unfolded fragments of the past before her eyes.
The Nether Lord had aided the Human Clan in the great war and suffered grievous wounds. Using her own Dao, she entered slumber. She placed her Great Dao within the Nether Kingdom; her essence turned into a pearl and remained in Mount Long.
Until three thousand years ago.
Feng Xianlong’s mission had been to retrieve that Sacred Pearl containing the spirit of the Nether Lord, and with a human body, allow Qiu Yuehan to be born as a human.
Thus, Qiu Yuehan had no father—the Nether Lord merely used the mother’s body to transform herself into a human being.
As for the hollow pearl that remained, it became a jade-green anklet that preserved Feng Xianlong’s remnant thought, accompanying Qiu Yuehan ever since.
The phantom spoke softly, “If you accept this Sacred Pearl, you may once more become the Monarch of Death. Yet even if you refuse, the memories will gradually return. Yuehan, do not fear. That has always been you.”
If she wished, Qiu Yuehan could don the crown of the Nether Lord right now. The Nether Kingdom would once again stand beside her. That was her Jade Radiance Law.
The death star in the heavens would shine for her once more.
Qiu Yuehan murmured gently, “Must I absorb it right now?”
“You can return to your identity as the Nether Lord anytime. There is no rush.”
The phantom seemed to smile. She tossed the Sacred Pearl back; it returned to the Fairy’s ankle, turning once more into the jade anklet.
Qiu Yuehan lifted her elegant chin. “Then so be it. If one day I wish it, it won’t be too late to reclaim that power.”
For now, she didn’t wish to give up her status as the Chief of the Jade Palace.
Upon the World Tree, the Moon Fairy said, “The Nether Lord was too lonely… I am not so lonely anymore.”
Moreover, she truly liked the Red Dust Sword Dao. She didn’t know whether the Red Dust Sword Dao and the Path of Death could be cultivated together—she would ask the old monster about it later.
The phantom shattered.
Feng Xianlong’s final remnant thought had fulfilled its mission. Henceforth, her image would no longer appear within Qiu Yuehan’s anklet. Yet strangely, Qiu Yuehan didn’t feel the loneliness she once had.
She had long expected that this remnant would one day vanish. She had thought she would be unable to bear it, perhaps even cry aloud. But now she only felt a faint regret.
Qiu Yuehan sensed herself gradually waking.
She seemed to hear her own voice asking,
“Do you still need the old monster to remove your Devour-Heart Demon Mark?”
Qiu Yuehan answered, “No. He never used the demon mark to do anything to me. Once I master the ‘Supreme Pure-Spirit Forget-Immortal Technique,’ I’ll remove it myself.”
“What if someday he loses control of his beastly nature and does something improper to you?”
Qiu Yuehan bit her lip. “Then what can I do? Even if I inherit that power, would I be able to beat him? Dao Sect’s Jiang Jiayi listens to his every word. No matter how strong the Nether’s power is, it can’t surpass the rest if they join forces. And my Junior Sister—she cultivates the Dao of Time! Like a little wife, always calling ‘Young Master this, Young Master that.’”
“You could use the title of Feather to restrain him.”
Although Qiu Yuehan hadn’t yet reclaimed her former Path of Death, her connection with her Guardian Spirit—namely the title of Feather—had already returned.
With this power, if the old monster ever forced her to practice swordsmanship unclothed in front of him, she could counter-control him instead.
Hmph!
Qiu Yuehan secretly opened her eyes.
Soft.
There was wind outside. Hmm, likely in a carriage—so they must be on their way back to the White Domain Dao Sect.
It seemed the Blood Demon had already been taken care of by the old monster.
Qiu Yuehan thought to sit up but then heard strange sounds.
The old monster’s helpless voice came: “Your Senior Sister is right beside us. Save it for later.”
“No matter. Senior Sister won’t wake. Even if she does, she’ll pretend not to know. And pretending not to know is the same as not knowing.”
“Twisted logic.”
“Mm!”
Qiu Yuehan was startled, feeling a gaze cast toward her, and she hurriedly shut her eyes tight.
A sweet warmth spread within the carriage.
After a while—
She secretly cracked open her eyes just a sliver.