Zyklon-Säbel

Kapitel 89

“A woman.” Zhao Xing seemed more interested in the ancient book.

A woman? Who is she? My sixth sense tells me this woman is definitely not simple. If these books are fake, she's at most a con artist selling antiques. But if they're real, then she's definitely suspicious. Judging from Zhao Xing's appearance, he must have bought quite a few; these books must be very expensive. Where did he get so much money?

"Teacher, this must have cost you a lot of money, right?" I asked tentatively.

"Money?" Zhao Xing glanced at me, then buried his head back in his book and said, "It's only ten thousand yuan in total."

Ten thousand yuan? That's too expensive for an ordinary book. But if it's a genuine ancient book, then it's incredibly cheap. And it's from a woman, yet another woman. For some reason, I suddenly thought of Lin Yuyan and the book she gave me. She also told me that this book was given to her by a woman, a woman whose face I never saw!

"What kind of woman is she?" I pressed.

"I don't know." Zhao Xing looked up at me with a puzzled expression and said, "She was wearing a very large hooded trench coat, so I couldn't see clearly."

"Then you should buy her things, just in case..." I said in surprise.

"What does it matter?" Zhao Xing glanced at me indifferently and said, "As long as the book is a good thing, that's all that matters."

"..." I was speechless. Perhaps for a scholar who studies something, nothing is more important than what they are studying.

"What's written inside?" Yu Bo suddenly asked quietly at this moment.

"It says that this ancient preservative came from the Moonshadow Clan, but what is this clan? Is there such a clan among the ethnic minorities?" Zhao Xing seemed to be talking to himself, yet also seemed to be answering Yu Bo's question.

The Moonshadow Clan? My head immediately started throbbing. How could this clan appear around me like a persistent ghost? Even though they've all vanished, there are still books that record them. But what I find strange is, who wrote these books? I've read quite a few books about ancient history, but I've never seen any mention of the Moonshadow Clan. Yet these books mention them, and even contain information about preservatives.

These so-called ancient preservatives must be the brown liquid I saw in the underground cave last time—something extracted from countless souls using crystal eyeballs. I don't have any fondness for them. Wouldn't using something that requires countless souls to obtain feel like a huge burden?

“The Moonshadow Clan? I’ve never heard of them either,” Yu Bo shook his head and said.

"And another thing!" Zhao Xingxiang announced an important discovery, "This stuff can also be used to refine souls, souls!"

Looking at Zhao Xing's face, flushed with excitement, I suddenly felt a strange unease. Is this my teacher? Is this the teacher I used to respect? Has time changed him, or has time changed me? To the point that I no longer recognize him?

"Refine the soul? Do people really have souls? Hmph!" Yu Bo sneered and said, "If there is a soul, it is full of betrayal and deception. No one has a pure soul."

"Refining the soul, doesn't that mean you can control a person's life and death?" Zhao Xing seemed unconcerned about what Yu Bo was saying, and excitedly muttered to himself.

"What soul? Even if there is one, I want the souls of those who commit crimes to be punished as well!" Yu Bo said through gritted teeth. I felt that the two of them were talking to themselves, seemingly not caring whether anyone was listening.

Are they crazy?

I looked at Yu Bo and Zhao Xing, who were still muttering to themselves, and felt like a stranger.

distance……

That's something unattainable...

I didn't interrupt, and it seemed I had no chance to speak. I just stood there quietly, my mind preoccupied with the woman who sold the books to Zhao Xing.

who is she?

Why does she have these books?

Why did she sell it to Zhao Xing?

Did she also give a book to Lin Yuyan?

No, if she was the one who gave the book to Lin Yuyan, that would have been over forty years ago. Could this woman have reappeared after all these years? That's unbelievable. Even if she was only in her twenties back then, she'd probably be in her sixties or seventies now!

"Teacher!" I asked, "Do you think the woman who sold you the book was an old woman?"

"Huh?" Zhao Xing was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Of course not, her voice doesn't sound old at all!"

Not old at all?! Then you're not a person!

But……

What if this woman really doesn't age?

Perhaps in the past, I definitely wouldn't have thought this way. But after experiencing so much, I feel that nothing is impossible anymore. Especially when it comes to someone like Tian Niang!

Wait a moment!

Tian Niang...?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: could this woman be Tian Niang? She doesn't age, and she lives a long life. Even if she isn't, she must know some people like her over the years; maybe she does?

Thinking of this, I immediately said to Bo and Zhao Xing, "I suddenly remembered I have something important to do, I have to go! Goodbye!" After saying that, I immediately sprinted away from Zhao Xing's house, heading straight for Mo Lake...

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 27: Dreams

Volume 3: Delicacies of Hell, Chapter 27: Dreams

The woman before me was alluring yet extremely dangerous. Her snow-white clothes did not make me feel like an angel; on the contrary, they gave me a sense of danger, like a devil smiling slyly at me.

Tian Niang, who exactly are you?

I think I'll probably never be able to fathom the faint sadness and desolation in your eyes, and also, the subtle, hidden, shallow murderous intent!

"Have you figured things out since you came to see me?" Tian Niang leaned back gracefully on her fiery red sofa, like a patch of white snow in the flames, a snow that would never melt.

"..." I was suddenly speechless. All the questions and answers I had prepared on the way here were now stuck in my throat. I suddenly realized how stupid I had been. If she was intentionally hiding something, no matter how much I asked, how could I possibly get even the slightest result?

I slumped helplessly on the sofa, the pent-up frustration and irritability of the past few days making me rub my face hard with my hands, as if all of it was replaying in my mind at this moment.

The dark air-raid shelter...

The little girl in the red dress...

The corpse in the water tank...

A body that fell to its death after committing suicide...

I hate all of that, everything!

"Is something bothering you?" Tian Niang stood up and poured me a glass of wine. I was very familiar with that aroma. It was called "Illusory Dream, Idealistic Mind," a strange and fantastical name.

"There's plenty." I took the wine without ceremony and drank it all in one gulp. Instantly, my entire chest felt warm and dizzy, and I felt as soft and pliable as if I were sitting on cotton.

"Then become my apprentice, and you won't have any worries anymore." Tian Niang's tone was that of a mischievous little girl tempting an innocent child.

"Really?" I glanced at her with a hint of disdain and said, "You really have no worries at all?"

A cold glint flashed in Tian Niang's eyes, the kind of cold glint that only someone who has experienced extreme loneliness and solitude would possess.

“Not getting old can sometimes be a problem,” Tian Niang said with a self-deprecating shrug.

"You..." I swallowed hard, but in the end I didn't say what I wanted to ask. Instead, I changed the subject and asked, "Why do you want me to be your apprentice? Is it because I'm handsome?" I guess I need to be a little humorous sometimes.

"Hehe!" Tian Niang immediately burst into laughter, and after a while said, "Sister, I've seen men a hundred times more handsome than you!"

"Oh?" I tilted my head, not blushing at all, and said, "Then I must look a bit like someone you know?"

"Someone?" A thin layer of mist rose in Tian Niang's eyes. It was a peculiar look, a mixture of longing and disgust, love and hatred.

“Because of a dream,” Tian Niang said, sitting down next to me.

"A dream?" Can a dream really determine who will be chosen as an apprentice?

"Do you believe in prophecies?" Tian Niang suddenly asked me.

"I don't know, I think most of these are just scams!" I replied.

"That's because the so-called prophets of today are indeed all frauds, but long ago, when the four ancient spirit races were still active on this continent, prophets were highly respected. Your Lin family, the living race, has the ability to predict the future by observing the changes in the stars, which is what people used to call 'star seeing.' As for us, the undead race, our ability is to predict the future through dreams, which is called 'dreaming.' Unfortunately, your ability has been sealed by the goddess."

"A seal? A goddess? Why?" I asked curiously.

"I have no idea about that. It happened back when my master's master's master was still alive," Tian Niang said helplessly.

"But who is the goddess? Nuwa?" I made wild guesses.

"You could say that!" Tian Niang actually nodded and said, "It's just that in the current legends, Nuwa died after mending the sky, but what people don't know is that for a long period of time, Nuwa was the goddess who ruled this continent. The four ancient spirit races were just her guards. However, they were later abandoned by the goddess."

"Abandon? Why?" I asked hastily.

"Because of betrayal!" Tian Niang said calmly.

Betrayal? Are we really descendants of a people who betrayed God? No wonder human nature is always filled with hypocrisy and betrayal; it has always been this way.

"So what did you 'dream' about?" I asked.

"I dreamt about you." Tian Niang smiled and reached out her hand to me, saying, "Would you like to see yourself in my dream?"

"Enter your dream?" I think my mouth must have been agape. This is like Alice in Wonderland!

"Of course." Aunt Tian gently took my hand, and I felt a warm, sun-like warmth slowly flowing into my body from her palm. It felt so comfortable, a relaxation I'd never felt before. The air around us seemed to have become incredibly fresh, even my breathing felt better.

Is it because I drank alcohol earlier?

Why is my body so light?

It feels so good, I really want to sleep...

I slowly closed my eyes...

Body……

it turns out……

It felt like I was lifted into the air, flying!

When I opened my eyes again, I saw towering skyscrapers reaching into the clouds in the darkness; they were just outlines. And I myself was constantly moving among these skyscrapers, feeling as nimble as a swallow in flight.

The flight gradually slowed down, and in all the darkness, only that dim street lamp stood out. I saw a man's figure under that long street lamp.

He was leaning against a streetlamp, smoking. The swirling smoke made his figure even more indistinct, yet he seemed familiar and dear just from his silhouette.

who is he?

Please, clear up that annoying smoke...

Slowly...

I could see his face clearly, just his profile, but how could I not recognize him?

That man, isn't he myself?

But why do I look so lonely and isolated? The coldness and indifference in my eyes seem to indicate that I don't care about anything. Why am I here?

Is this me from the past? No, absolutely not.

That... is my future self? No, and it absolutely shouldn't be.

I have Fang Lei, I have Lin Yao, and I also have Li Yang.