My enemies became my companions

Chapter 650 Why Kill Her? (Bonus Chapter 3)

The Pool of Wishes...

From the moment Chen Yi arrived, he thought of the Wishing Pool he had seen at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Such a strange and bizarre space could not possibly be a tree without roots or water without a source.

Everything has its own thread, one thread leading to another, one link after another. Although Chen Yi had not deeply understood the Ming and An Divine Sect, he understood from their style of doing things that they were not the capricious demons that were rumored in the martial arts world. On the contrary, they were far more devout than people thought, and their understanding of the scriptures and profound principles surpassed that of ordinary monks. However, it was precisely because of this that they acted without restraint, disregarded the law, indiscriminately killed innocent people, and used any means to achieve their goals, which made them despised and feared by people in the martial arts world.

Chen Yi was unsure about the scene before him. Even with his Heavenly Eye, he could not discern the truth as clearly as with his naked eye. However, he felt that it was far more than just an illusion.

Qin Qingluo stared at the empty corner where the masked man had disappeared, then looked up and stared intently at Chen Yi, asking, "How did you know?"

She scrutinized him with a stern look, and although her voice was calm, Chen Yi could detect a hint of wariness in it.

Suddenly finding herself in such a strange place, and being the only one who managed to glean some clues, Chen Yi knew that if he were Qin Qingluo, he would also be on guard. He understood her wariness, shrugged, and gave a wry smile, saying, "Just a guess. I guessed first. Does Your Highness still remember the 'Wish-Fulfilling Pool' that I mentioned to you before?"

Qin Qinglu nodded slightly.

“The Pond of Wishes-Fulfilling Must be effective, otherwise these heretics wouldn’t be so eager to use it. Following this line of thought, I wondered if this place was created from this, and if it could also… grant wishes?”

Finally, Chen Yi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"Whether it's truly possible to make one's wishes come true is hard to say, but in short, at least here one's words can become law. Like just now, I thought the other person was fake, and it came true. If we follow this logic, the reason this place resembles Dragon Tail City is because, in our memory, the last thing we saw was Dragon Tail City..."

Even though her words were startling, the scene just now was undeniable, and Qin Qingluo knew that this was by no means a fantasy. She lowered her gaze and fell into deep thought, then looked up at Chen Yi, who was quite smug and had a rather sophisticated air about him.

When the female prince glanced at him, he calmly brushed the dust off his shoulder, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if asking why she was looking at him like that, and whether it was the first time they had met.
It's unpleasant to look at.

Qin Qingluo said, "I didn't expect you to be so quick-witted."

Chen Yi replied calmly, "I do have a little bit of cleverness."

“You have a point,” the Queen smiled, “but what if I thought you were a woman?”

Chen Yi suddenly looked up, his crotch tightening instinctively. Trying to remain calm and composed, he turned slightly to the side and touched the Hou Kang sword with his sword intent.

Hou Kangjian is still around...

Turning his head, he was met with the Queen's sneer, mocking his character and his audacity. Chen Yi was not intimidated; as long as he didn't poke at his sore spot like the little fox, he could always be shameless.

"It seems that Your Highness does not truly believe that I am a woman."

"I once said that I hate men like you," Qin Qingluo paused, then slowly said, "I suppose hatred is also a kind of understanding."

Chen Yi nodded slightly, looked around, his brows furrowed. This conjecture was reasonable, but it only made his heart sink deeper. It meant that not only could the enemy's words become law, but even his own companions and himself could have their words become law due to different perceptions.

The dangers of this place far exceeded my previous imagination.

"This place is not safe to stay any longer." Qin Qingluo turned her gaze to Elder Wumeng, who was still immersed in prayer in the corner. "What's wrong with this old man?"

Wu Meng remained completely unaware of the conversation between the two men and the disappearance of the masked man.

His withered body leaned slightly forward, his hands still clasped together, and he continued chanting.
"The bones of the dark demons fortified this prison, the winds of greed and the rains of delusion eroded my soul, yet the light of the spirit remains undying, hidden within the seed of Mount Sumeru... Now, with a pure tongue, I recite the mantra for breaking through obstacles: 'Yesta! Yesta!'"

Since entering the Prince's Palace, Wu Meng suddenly went mad for some unknown reason. Although Chen Yi had always been used to seeing him like this, he had only taken advantage of Wu Meng's madness, which made him believe that he was the Mingzun, to set up a scheme to drive a tiger to devour a wolf. As Wu Meng's voice continued to repeat, Chen Yi lowered his eyes and stared straight at him.

Qin Qingluo realized something was wrong, and a flash of lightning appeared at the tip of her Purple Lightning Spear: "Stubborn fool!" With a flick of her wrist, a thin but incomparably sharp spear beam shot out.

The spear's edge pierced Wumeng's throat in an instant, exploding into a spray of blood. He was not dead; not even a trace of his breath seemed to be extinguished. He continued chanting.

"I beseech the twelve messengers of light to guide the pure winds and steer the ship of light! Wield the sword of wisdom to sever the chains of darkness! Open the gate of compassion to welcome you home!"

"Falza! Farza!"

The overlapping gestures carried an ancient rhythm, the lips opening and closing faster and faster, and those obscure syllables echoed silently in this space.

Elder Wumeng's chanting suddenly rose a notch, and he abruptly raised his clasped hands upwards, as if making a plea to someone.

hum-

Centered on Elder Wumeng, the obscure syllables he chanted transformed into visible, transparent ripples, spreading out in layers like ripples caused by a boulder thrown into calm water.

Suddenly, a long, winding crack appeared in the void not far from Elder Wumeng, like a fragile glass mirror.

Before the two could stop him, Elder Wumeng slowly stood up, spread his arms, and fell backward. A powerful suction force began to come from the crack, pulling at the surrounding air. The scattered fragments of tables and chairs on the ground were silently sucked into the crack, and he and the elder disappeared instantly into the churning chaotic light and shadow.

In the blink of an eye, the rift closed instantly, leaving the hall in a mess, yet it fell silent again, as if this was always how it had always been, as if nothing had ever happened.

Everything happened so suddenly and without any harmony. The two looked at each other and saw a turbulent undercurrent in each other's eyes.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment.

After a long while, Qin Qingluo slowly spoke, "It seems that this place is more treacherous and dangerous than we thought."

Chen Yi nodded slightly.

"The scriptures he just recited, Aunt Zhu recited for me before," Qin Qingluo recalled briefly. She had only a superficial understanding of the scriptures of the Divine Sect and did not study them in depth. After a moment, she said, "Those are mantras for seeking liberation from suffering from the Bright Venerable. They are no different from the empty Amitabha Buddha and Infinite Heavenly Venerable of Buddhism and Taoism. They should be...no different..."

She paused for a moment, and Chen Yi understood what she meant. "I understand the reasoning as well. I'm afraid that in this godforsaken place, those empty scriptures can actually come true, and... the more you believe in them, the more likely you are to get what you want."

The tall woman remained silent.

Chen Yi looked around but couldn't find any more clues worth noting. He said, "Let's go explore other places first."

The two turned and stepped out of the building, walking on the empty and quiet street. The surrounding scenery was gloomy and gray, and the distant view was like a painting with splashes of ink, so blurry that it was hard to see clearly.

Even the sound of footsteps was barely audible; if you were a little too far apart, you couldn't hear each other's footsteps at all, as if you might slip and fall into the mud at any moment.

As Chen Yi looked around, he recalled what he had just seen. At that time, Wu Meng's expression was so focused that it was almost distorted, as if the whole world consisted only of him and some other being he was communicating with. Even Qin Qingluo's shot could not take Wu Meng's life...

In this place, even the highest level of martial arts is meaningless. In fact, at that time, he tried to concentrate on believing that Wu Meng was an illusion, just like he did when dealing with the masked man, but as soon as the thought arose, he felt an invisible resistance...

If you encounter an impenetrable wall.

Wu Meng was completely immersed in his world, even more convinced than he was. If this was the case… Chen Yi lowered his eyes slightly, knowing he would never die here.

"Chen Yi".

Not long after walking along the streets and alleys, Qin Qingluo suddenly spoke, her voice low and deep.

Chen Yi turned his head, and the black python robe looked somewhat heavy in the stagnant light.

She paused, unusually, without continuing, seemingly considering her words.

"Hmm?" Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. What could make this queen hesitate like this was no small matter.

"I have thought about your words several times," Qin Qingluo said after a moment, raising his eyes with a hint of composure. "Let me tell you beforehand, this place is not in my favor."

"unfavorable?"

Chen Yi's eyes showed doubt. Was it unfavorable? With Qin Qingluo's level of cultivation, power, and willpower, she should have been someone who would remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before her.

Although this place is strange and words can be law, everyone should start from the same point, unless...

"What do you mean?" Chen Yi asked in a deep voice.

"I... have nothing that I firmly believe in."

Her words broke the silence, and Chen Yi was taken aback, quickly trying to come up with a response.

Qin Qingluo's lips curled into a tiny, almost self-deprecating smile: "The throne? Power? Strength? The pinnacle of martial arts?... I used to firmly believe in these things, and I was even more convinced that I could take them as easily as taking candy from a baby. In the past, I believed more in the spear in my hand and the martial intent in my heart, but this thought..."

She paused, glanced at Chen Yi, and smiled broadly:
"You broke it long ago."

After hearing this, Chen Yi found himself unable to utter the words he had carefully prepared.

The problem lies not with others, but with him.

“In this place, without deep faith, one is like a rootless duckweed, where words become law? I myself need to ponder even the meaning of deep faith, so how can I speak of it? And how can the law become law? I fear that… words alone are wrong, and the law immediately collapses.” She tightened her grip on the gun. “Just now, when dealing with that person, you believed he was an illusion, so he became an illusion. I wanted to kill Wumeng, but I failed to achieve my goal in one strike. Apart from his deep obsession, it was also because I… lacked deep faith.”

Rarely, she smiled openly, yet a hint of bewilderment flickered across her face.

Chen Yi pondered for a long time, then, as if possessed, said:
"Then... Your Highness, would you... trust me?"

The moment the words left his lips, the streets fell into an even deeper silence.

Qin Qingluo suddenly looked up, the bewilderment in her snake-like eyes instantly replaced by an extremely complex emotion, which then turned into a sneer that was about to burst out.

"Ha...believe you? Chen Yi?" The sneer rolled out from deep in her throat, carrying undisguised mockery:
"The one I trust the least is you, Chen Yi!"

Yes……

A bitter sense of melancholy welled up in Chen Yi's heart.

All the memories flooded back to her: his deception and probing before she first entered the palace, his various schemes to use Zhu E against her, the unscrupulous methods he had used, and even the way he had spurred her on when he was inhuman...

Every single one of these incidents was a bitter fruit he had personally sown in her heart.
She believed he could make moves on the chessboard, and that his sword could defeat his enemies, but she would never believe in him as a person.

He smirked, revealing a carefree grin, and said, "Whether Your Highness believes me or not is irrelevant; I, for one, am certain that I can protect Your Highness to the death."

After he finished speaking, he realized that his facial muscles were slightly stiff.

The female prince stopped there, not pressing the matter further, and said with a smile, "You should work hard, and I will reward you handsomely when we get back."

The conversation ended there. The two weren't completely at odds; they still had a small, struggling family and a daughter who didn't know who her real father was or who her fake father was.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. The two had already explored a small part of Dragon Tail City, but they had not seen anything unusual or anyone else. It was as if they were walking in a bottomless quagmire, and the deeper they went, the deeper they went.

All the scenery is similar to the Dragon Tail City in the human world, except that it is darker and more gloomy, with no sunlight, and is even more tranquil than the underworld.

Chen Yi frowned, slightly annoyed. After searching for so long, surely something must have gone wrong...

The moment the thought settles,
"Boom!"

A deep, muffled thud, like a heavy hammer slamming into a frozen drum, suddenly came from the depths of the opposite alley.

The sound abruptly shattered the absolute silence, causing the ground to tremble slightly, and even the frozen lights and shadows in the distance seemed to distort for a moment.

Chen Yi and Qin Qingluo instantly snapped to attention, forcibly suppressing all distracting thoughts, their gazes flashing like lightning as they simultaneously shot towards the source of the sound.

In the depths of the opposite alley, where the building outlines had blurred into large patches of gray ink, a huge, heavy silhouette, radiating a cold metallic luster, was slowly emerging in a stiff posture that was extremely disproportionate to its size.

They are puppets of the officials!
The enormous puppet of the official was now moving sluggishly, its joints creaking and grinding. Its massive body was covered with marks that looked like they had been cleaved by knives and axes, the marks left by the fierce battle that had just taken place.

And what was controlling this enormous creature was none other than...

Yang Chongwei!
The commander of the Imperial Guards was in a strange and inexplicable state. His armor was covered with cracks and dark bloodstains, his helmet was askew, and half of his pale and stiff face was exposed.

His eyes were vacant, staring blankly ahead, unfocused, like a puppet without a soul.

Even more chilling was that his hands were gripping the protruding metal edges of the puppet's neck in an unnatural posture, his knuckles twisted and white from excessive force, as if he were welding himself to it.

The puppet general strode forward with heavy steps, each step producing a terrifying "thud," and each lift of his foot causing a subtle yet distinct tremor in the ground.

Turning the corner, Yang Chongwei's empty face turned to face them directly.

Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat. Even without thinking about it carefully, he understood what was going on. The puppet general had clearly left a very deep impression on Yang Chongwei, to the point that at this moment, the puppet general obeyed Yang Chongwei's control, rather than Qin Qingluo's will.

The official puppets drew ever closer.

It carried Yang Chongwei, who seemed nailed to its body, slowly and resolutely approaching Chen Yi and Qin Qingluo.

There were no roars, no murderous intent, only the monotonous, repetitive, heavy footsteps in the deathly silence, and Yang Chongwei's empty, chilling eyes.

Chen Yi's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, and at the same time he lightly touched the Wusha Nian sword at his waist, exchanging a glance with Qin Qingluo.

Qin Qingluo pointed her purple lightning spear diagonally at the ground, the tip of the spear crackling with lightning, poised to strike.

The icy touch of the Kang Sword returned, and Chen Yi stared at the approaching puppet general, his voice low and almost a whisper:

"Your Highness...this time, do you believe him to be true...or false?"

"do not know."

"Then why don't we try to believe it's a fifth-grade item first?"

"it is good."

This voice was spoken when the puppet general rushed in front of him.

A fierce wind howled across her face, whipping Qin Qingluo's hair into a wild, dragon-like dance.

"Here it comes!" Qin Qinglu shouted, and the broken purple lightning spear shot out, its tip slicing through the stagnant air with a piercing shriek, aiming straight for the joint connecting the chest and abdomen of the puppet general.

She knew the structure of this thing well; it was the hub of the patterns on the whole body, and also the relatively weak point.

The lightning-like spearhead struck its target hard, exploding into a burst of dazzling sparks.

However, the expected penetration did not occur. The armor, covered in knife marks, withstood the blow that was powerful enough to pierce through the iron wall, leaving only a faint trace.

The puppet's massive body swayed slightly before Yang Chongwei controlled it to deliver a horizontal punch.

At the same time, Chen Yi's figure flashed, and Hou Kang Sword was silently drawn from its sheath. The cold light of the sword was contained, without any earth-shattering momentum, only a sword aura condensed into a small world, which went straight for Yang Chongwei.

clang!
A sharp, metallic clang rang out, not from Yang Chongwei's wrist, but from the puppet general beneath him. The fist that was about to strike Qin Qingluo swung back with incredible speed and angle, slamming horizontally onto the spine of the Hou Kang sword.

An overwhelming force struck Chen Yi, causing his tiger's mouth to tremble violently. He was thrown backward several feet, leaving two shallow furrows beneath his feet when he landed.

"Be careful! It... is no longer just a third-grade beast." Chen Yi suppressed his churning blood and qi, his eyes grave.

The puppet's reaction speed far exceeded that of before, and even more strangely, it seemed to have formed a symbiotic obsession with Yang Chongwei.

"I saw it!" Qin Qingluo's voice was filled with a chilling killing intent. The purple lightning spear in her hand flashed like a forest, frantically bombarding the joints and gaps in the armor of the puppet general.

In an instant, lightning flashed, and the sounds of impact and the groans of metal echoed through the deserted street.

The puppet's massive body was forced to retreat repeatedly by the storm of attacks, with new dents constantly appearing on its armor. However, it stubbornly guarded Yang Chongwei's neck, its empty eyes appearing even more eerie.

Chen Yi steadied himself, took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

He tried to convince himself that the enormous thing before him was nothing more than a fifth-rank puppet with no substance, and that all its realms should correspond to the fifth rank.

The Kang sword then emitted a clear and melodious sword cry.

"Your Highness, believe it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yi paused slightly, recalling his previous encounters with him. In any case, a puppet general could not possibly be a fifth-rank official...

That's... a third-grade item.

The puppet general's aura suddenly surged, and his fierce fist, carrying an overwhelming force, shattered the spear shadow inch by inch. Qin Qingluo's spear tip shrank smaller and smaller, and he struggled more and more.

Chen Yi twisted around, about to thrust his sword straight out, but the cold light of the Hou Kang sword drew a shrill semicircle in the air as it hurtled towards the puppet general.

Immediately...

It slashed directly at Qin Qingluo!

The sword light was aimed at Qin Qingluo's vulnerable side of the neck, which had been slightly exposed due to his all-out attack!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Qin Qingluo was just deflecting the giant arm of the puppet that was sweeping towards him with a spear. Before the spear light had completely dissipated, he caught a glimpse of that familiar cold light coming straight at him out of the corner of his eye!

Her serpentine pupils suddenly contracted into vertical lines, containing no astonishment, no anger, only a cruel understanding of "as expected."

"Chen Yi!"

Her sharp shout was like a thunderclap.

The purple lightning spear abruptly reversed its forward momentum to block, attempting to intercept the sword's edge.

However, Chen Yi's sword strike was too fast, too sudden, and too close!

The sound of a sharp blade tearing through silk was ear-piercing.

Chen Yi suddenly stopped, his sword flashing as he was startled. His surging blood and qi trembled through his meridians, momentarily sluggish in his thoughts.

Why would I... come to kill you?

…………..
(End of this chapter)