Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 257 Backtracking
"That won't work."

Upon hearing this, Yingyao did not hesitate at all. She turned around and grabbed Gu Jingnian's arm, saying, "I will no longer be a member of the realm."

The Lord of the Realm was not surprised by her reaction, and said, "You feel good now that you are connected to him by blood and blood, but once you break free, you will know how free you are."

“Then I don’t want it either,” Ying said. “Young master, let’s go.”

She pulled Gu Jingnian and walked outside.

Strangely, none of the people in the room stopped them.

As Yingyao dragged Gu Jingnian out, she asked the Realm Lord, "You didn't say beforehand that I could go back on my word, right?"

"Entry into the zone is entirely voluntary, with absolutely no coercion."

Yingyao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Gu Jingnian didn't leave; instead, he grabbed her.

"We agree."

"Son..."

Yingyao was surprised by his sudden remark and quickly tried to stop him, but Gu Jingnian patted her hand that was tightly gripping his sleeve.

"It's alright, the connection between us isn't just because of blood ties."

"No, that's not true. If it weren't for this relationship, we've only known each other for a short time, so why would you come looking for me, young master?" Yingyao said anxiously.

It's clear that she wasn't completely ignorant of social etiquette.

Gu Jingnian smiled and said, "Silly girl, I didn't come to see you because we're blood-related, so that doesn't constrain me."

Yingyao was taken aback, then realized that was indeed the case.

She looked up and saw that Gu Jingnian's eyes were deep and serious.

"So what if I've solved it? Will you no longer recognize me?" Gu Jingnian asked.

"of course not."

"That's good." Gu Jingnian said, "Let's resolve this. If we remain close in the future, it's only because of our deep affection."

This was probably the most cheesy thing he had ever said in his life.

Yingyao hugged him tightly and said, "I will become closer to you, young master."

Her voice wasn't loud, but she was actually shouting out her heartfelt feelings with great determination and sincerity.

Most of the people inside just smiled faintly, clearly not thinking so.

Zi Cang, in particular, had a strong sense of mockery in his eyes, repeatedly saying "naive".

Human hearts are fickle; only naive young men and women would make such a ridiculous promise.

Hu Jingnan looked at Gu Jingnian with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

She once asked Yingyao why she and Gu Jingnian had such a deep relationship. In her opinion, if they weren't bound by blood, they wouldn't have needed to do so much for each other. And since Gu Jingnian did so, perhaps he was hoping for Yingyao's repayment.

In retrospect, Gu Jingnian was quite open-minded.

He relentlessly rescued Yingyao, risking his life for it, and he always knew what he was doing. He wasn't seeking Yingyao's repayment, but simply peace of mind. Therefore, at this moment, he remained steadfast, without any sense of gain or loss.

Over there, Gu Jingnian had already pulled Ying Yao back and asked the Realm Lord, "How do we resolve this?"

The Realm Lord said, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

"can you?"

"Killing you will naturally resolve the issue."

Gu Jingnian remained calm and said, "If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have waited until now."

“Wait here, and come with me.”

The Lord of the Realm pointed at Gu Jingnian, turned around, and climbed the wooden stairs.

Gu Jingnian then followed.

He didn't think the Realm Lord would kill him. Since entering the Realm was voluntary, killing him would only make Yingyao hate the Realm.

Of course, Yingyao's hatred might not cause any harm to the realm, but the realm lord doesn't need to go to such trouble.

The staircase was narrow, and the second floor was still a hall, but it was covered with thick carpets and had incense burning, making it warmer than the first floor.

“The method is actually very simple, but it will be very painful for you,” the Realm Lord said. “So I will take you to a place where you can scream as much as you want.”

"it is good."

"Give me your hand."

The Lord of the Realm stretched out his hand again.

Gu Jingnian placed his hand over, and for a moment, he saw the fiery wings behind the Realm Lord unfold once more.

Before he could react, the Realm Lord waved his hand, and the scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

The small building in the snowfield was gone, replaced by a valley filled with screams and a stench, with flames shooting into the sky and smoke billowing in the distance. Gu Jingnian felt excruciating pain all over his body.

He thought this was the pain the Realm Lord had spoken of, but when he looked down, he realized it was just the injuries he had suffered many times before, though they were severe.

wrong.

He quickly realized something was wrong when a leech scurried past him.

It wasn't the six-headed serpent he'd seen in the realm, but the leech parasitizing the corpse, which only had two heads.

Looking further into the distance, he paused, stunned.

In their line of sight, five serpents sprouted from Huang Hu's body and were writhing wildly.

The scene was bizarre and cruel, yet it felt so familiar to Gu Jingnian, because it was exactly what he remembered.

This is the valley near Wanchun Palace.

He wanted to control his body, but found he couldn't, let alone spread his fire wings. He still climbed up the mountain wall and met Master Ma.

In short, he went back to the past. It wasn't a dream, because everything felt real. Yet everything still happened as before.

Until he fell and was bitten in the mouth of the five serpents.

In an instant, he felt his body being torn apart, not by the giant serpent biting him, but as if his soul was being ripped out of his body.

However, to Gu Jingnian's surprise, the moment the five-headed serpent's teeth pierced his body, the Realm Lord who had been hiding within him left.

At that moment, he endured immense pain, as if every drop of his bone marrow had been drained away.

But to his surprise, the Realm Lord also seemed to be in great pain.

It's as if the realm lord left his consciousness on him to observe this memory. If he wanted to truly appear in the past, he would have to endure the tearing apart of time and space.

The Five-Headed Serpent sucked Gu Jingnian's blood, but the Realm Lord did not stop it. Instead, he took out a pill and threw it into the mouth of the Five-Headed Serpent.

"Okay, let's go."

When Gu Jingnian opened his eyes again, he was back in the small building.

The pain from before was still there, causing sweat to keep pouring down his forehead.

He knew he had little time to ask the questions that were on his mind, so before he could catch his breath, he asked, "Can you go back to the past and change it?"

“I haven’t changed the past,” the Realm Lord said. “I’ve only changed the present.”

“I clearly saw you feed that leech a pill.”

“That’s right, but the pill doesn’t change the past; it only changes the present,” the Realm Lord said. “Remember, this is very important.”

Gu Jingnian understood that the pill the Realm Lord had given him would not work for a long time, but would take effect now.

Perhaps he couldn't, or perhaps he didn't want to, he wouldn't change what had already happened.

Even so, this person is terrifyingly strong. More terrifying than Zi Cang, since Zi Cang can only present his personal past experiences, while the Realm Lord can review everyone's timeline.

So how could Yingyao steal something from such a person?
How did Zi Cang manage to keep his thoughts hidden?
"Don't worry, I only went back to the part of your past at Wanchun Palace."

As if sensing Gu Jingnian's thoughts, the Realm Lord suddenly spoke and stepped down the stairs.

--------

Snowflakes fell softly outside the small building, while everyone inside waited in silence.

Just as they heard the sound of the Realm Lord and Gu Jingnian going upstairs, the sound of them coming downstairs soon followed.

Suddenly, Yingyao raised her head, a look of confusion in her eyes.

She felt empty inside, as if something was missing.

When Gu Jingnian reappeared in front of her, she found that she no longer had that involuntary and willing submission to him.

Their relationship seems to be missing something compared to before.

She was a little confused, unsure of her current relationship with Gu Jingnian, so she looked up at him.

Coincidentally, Gu Jingnian was also looking at her.

The two looked at each other, and Yingyao suddenly felt a tremor in her heart. She felt inexplicably awkward and shy, and involuntarily avoided Gu Jingnian's gaze and lowered her head.

As she lowered her head, she felt a pang of regret. Mustering her courage, she looked at Gu Jingnian again, but he had already looked away.

At that moment, the wind chimes outside the small building rang again.

The Lord of the Realm raised a finger, and the door opened, letting in snowflakes carried by the wind.

"Swaying tassels!"

Someone called out from outside the door.

Yingyao turned her head away, paused for a moment, rubbed her eyes, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Outside the door stood a short figure, dressed sloppily, with messy hair that was mostly white—it was Ma Shi.

(End of this chapter)