Le Grand Jugement Divin Qing

Chapitre 31

Receiving no answer, Chen Yiting remained unperturbed, saying with a hint of interest, "After spending so much time with Yu Ye, your abilities have actually begun to awaken. That's rare; it's uncommon for a sorcerer to awaken their abilities after the age of eighteen. You say Yu Ye is imprisoned? What does that have to do with me? Her mother betrayed me and then had her with someone else. Do you think I care whether she lives or dies?"

Seeing that Chen Yiting remained unmoved, Zhang Lihua suppressed her anger, put away the sangzhu, and turned to leave.

He admitted that he had ulterior motives before coming; he wanted to persuade Chen Yiting to save Yu Ye. With Chen Yiting's experience and witchcraft, ten Nianyu wouldn't be a match for him. He could also avenge Ya Hua. However, he only thought of Chen Yiting's love for Jing Ling, ignoring that Jing Ling had betrayed Chen Yiting. Yu Ye wasn't Chen Yiting's daughter either. Given Chen Yiting's cold-hearted nature, it was normal for him not to save Yu Ye.

The only solution right now is to find an elder from the Earth element.

The thought of the elders living at the remote foot of the Tianshan Mountains filled him with anxiety. He wondered if they would be able to find Chaoyou and Nianyu again when they returned to Zhengning.

As Feng Qi and Zhang Lihua disappeared from sight, the warmth in Chen Yiting's eyes gradually cooled. He calmly sat in his armchair, raised his teacup, and gently blew on it. The dark brown tea was disturbed, and amidst the ripples, a black figure appeared on the surface.

Chen Yiting said coldly, "Since you're here, get down here. Is this how Yu Ye trains her pets?"

The black figure swiftly leaped down from the roof beam, standing at a certain distance from Chen Yiting. Its green eyes were fixed on Chen Yiting, showing no sign of weakness.

"Go save her..."

"Why should I?" Chen Yiting asked slowly, using the same tactic he had used to reject Zhang Lihua earlier.

Black Panther was extremely weak; his wounds not only hadn't healed but were worsening. Speaking a single sentence seemed incredibly difficult. Just three words were enough to leave him breathless. The journey to track Feng Qi and his companion had been arduous; they had traveled by train and car, while he had to run on all fours, carefully avoiding detection by ordinary people. With his current abilities, he simply couldn't rescue Yu Ye.

“She…loves…you.” Black Panther endured the tearing pain and tried to speak calmly.

Chen Yiting seemed to have heard something ridiculous, a cold smile spreading across her lips: "She doesn't understand love. She depends on me and thinks that's love. When she encounters true love in the future, she will leave without looking back, just like her mother. As for you, are you satisfied with the pity and guilt she bestows upon you?"

Black Panther fell silent.

Chen Yiting had struck a nerve. He could usually feign indifference and apathy. But only he knew the weight that leaping figure held in his heart. He didn't ask for love, nor for a long-term commitment; he only wanted to preserve the warmth of companionship.

"Elder Chen, I beg you. If she hadn't... if you hadn't said those things to her, how could she have been so distraught and captured by Nianyu?" Its posture was as humble as it could possibly be, a weakness it despised even itself, but... if saying these words could secure his help, it would be willing to say anything more.

“Asakusa,” Chen Yiting said with a smile, “the Asakusa I know isn’t such a weak person.”

Black Panther closed his light blue eyes, a sense of despair rising within him.

If he hadn't followed Feng Qi and Zhang Lihua, he wouldn't have been able to find Chen Yiting's address. He was deliberately wary of them, so how could he have let him find it?

"Chen Yiting, you will regret this."

Chen Yiting raised an eyebrow and chuckled: "Qiancao, you've really been kept in captivity for too long. Have you forgotten? The one who turned you into this inhuman, leopard-like creature was none other than Jing Ling."

Black Panther collapsed weakly to the ground, unable to utter another word. A long sigh escaped his lips. Yes, it was Jing Ling who had brought him to this state. His hatred for her had never lessened. But Yu Ye… she was his doll, his precious treasure, the one he was willing to give his life for.

He eventually lost consciousness.

After nearly ten days without sleep or rest, my body truly can't hold on any longer.

Chapter Twelve: Covering in Snow

(12) Asakusa

He grew up in the secluded Fuxue Mountain, where snow fell endlessly every winter. The heavy snow blanketed the mountains, clothing them in a thick coat. The Qinquan Plain at the foot of Fuxue Mountain was the home of his people. They were born in Fuxue Mountain and died there, their lives endlessly cycling.

The mother gave birth to him in a cave in a snow-covered mountain, along with a younger sister.

They spent a blissful, innocent summer and autumn, and then faced a harsh winter.

That winter was exceptionally cold and long. The snow fell for over three months. When he weakly opened his eyes, he saw his sister's already cold body and his mother, who was on the verge of death.

His mother hid him in her arms and kept biting off her own forearm so that he could drink her blood to satisfy his hunger.

Whenever he despaired and tried to break free, he would hear his mother's firm voice: "Drink it! Live on!"

When I was sleepy, my mother would tell me family legends in a soft voice.

They are messengers of the gods, the strong of the grasslands. As long as they survive this heavy snow, they will possess the greatest power.

At this point, she always sighed, "Heizi, why are you like this?"

He looked different from his mother and sister. They had snow-white fur tinged with gray, making them almost indistinguishable from the snow-covered landscape. He, on the other hand, was born with pure black fur, making him stand out conspicuously against the snow-capped mountains.

But three months passed, and he survived. His mother, however, gradually grew cold.

When he saw the thick snow on the Qinquan Grassland gradually melt away and the animals return to the grassland, his emerald green eyes became blurry.

During the days when the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, he survived by eating the corpses of his mother and several siblings.

The sunlight was dazzling, shining on the snow-covered mountains that would never melt, creating a blinding glow. He walked blindly through the snow, feeling no warmth from the sunlight on his body.

I don't know how long I walked.

He hunted a running antelope, but was cut by its sharp horns. He licked his wounds alone, leaving only a lonely figure.

Lan Ye appeared before him when he was on the verge of despair.

It was a snow-white fox, with its head held high, chest out, strong limbs, and full tail swaying gently. It looked down at him with a strangely peaceful gaze.

He paced cautiously, his eyes never leaving the white fox. Although he was larger than the fox, being stared at like that made almost every hair on his body stand on end.

"Is it just you?" the white fox asked slowly, her tone gentle and polite.

He gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"I'm all alone too..." the white fox sighed softly. "I took a nap... it was a long nap, and when I woke up I was all alone."

He remained silent, staring fiercely at the white fox standing on the protruding rock, his intentions unclear.

“I see you’re having a hard time living alone, somewhat like I was back then. Why don’t you come with me until you come of age?” the white fox suggested casually, then calmly awaited his reply.

As he watched the white fox's silhouette, his mother's image appeared before him. His mother, too, was dressed in a snow-white leather bag, purer and more beautiful than snow itself. At that moment, tears welled in his azure eyes.

"Who are you?" he heard his own childish voice ask warily.

The white fox grinned in a friendly manner: "Lan Ye, White Fox Lan Ye. Little one, what's your name?"

“Heizi!” he said. “My mother calls me Heizi.”

The white fox paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Kuroko... that's a rather crude name. Now that spring has returned, how about I call you Asakusa?"

He instinctively resisted; he hated grass, the smell was awful. Besides, he hadn't agreed to let the fox follow him, so how could he have acted on his own?

"Asakusa, have you ever been to the summit of Fuxue Mountain?"

He muttered to himself, "My name isn't Asakusa."

“Let’s go to the top of the mountain!” Lan Ye said to himself, turned around and walked a while before looking at the little black panther who was still standing there, seemingly wondering why the little guy hadn’t followed.

The little black leopard's small face looked funny from the struggle. He grumbled in dissatisfaction, but he was also terrified of the seemingly nonchalant white fox. He could only follow along awkwardly.

This commitment lasted for ten years.

Lan Ye took Qian Cao on many trips, teaching him all the survival skills he knew. Now Qian Cao is stronger than Ye Lan and has grown much taller, but he still prefers to follow behind Ye Lan.

Lan Ye knew many things, but he didn't care much, simply recounting them to Qian Cao from an observer's perspective. Occasionally, they would infiltrate human cities. Lan Ye had cultivated for over eight hundred years, possessing the ability to transform into human form, allowing him to walk undetected through cities and streets. Qian Cao, on the other hand, was transformed into a harmless little black cat by his magic.

A man and a cat traversed countless cities. Asakusa knew that Lan Ye was searching for something—perhaps a person, or perhaps a white fox like himself. He didn't ask, and Lan Ye didn't say.

At that time, the world was in the midst of war, with gunfire and smoke staining the land. Lan Ye seemed to be wandering aimlessly from place to place, encountering more and more people, but none of them were the person Ye Lan was looking for.

Finally, one day, Lan Ye stopped searching and returned to Fuxue Mountain with Qiancao.

Asakusa couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why did you stop looking?"

Lan Ye gazed silently at the snow-covered world, his eyes narrowed, revealing neither joy nor anger: "Sixty years. In terms of human lifespan, that's the end."

It turns out that Lan Ye was actually looking for a person.

Unbeknownst to them, they had been traveling together for sixty years.

Lan Ye and Qian Cao chose a cave, preparing to sleep there forever. Humanity was rife with war, affecting all living beings; nowhere could compare to the tranquil and vibrant Fuxue Mountain. Lan Ye said, "Cultivate with me." He always spoke like this to himself, seemingly nonchalant, but actually stubborn and unyielding.

Most of the animals born in this mountain with Asakusa have died, but Asakusa, having trained with Lanye, still possesses the robust physique of a young man. A long life seems to be attainable simply through methodical training. Besides training, there's nothing more interesting to do. Thinking this, Asakusa nodded. However, Lanye, already walking forward, completely failed to notice Asakusa's expression of her desire.

I slept for a long time, and without any dreams.

Awakening from a state of confusion, Asakusa was still greeted by snow-capped mountains. But Lan Ye was nowhere to be seen.

He stared blankly at the bright world, lost, helpless, filled with anger and panic at being betrayed. He remembered what Lan Ye had said.

"I took a nap... it was a long nap, and when I woke up I was all alone."

So that's how it is.

He used to think he understood what Lan Ye meant by feeling like he only had one person, but it turns out he didn't. Now he finally understands, but he doesn't even know when Lan Ye will wake up or when he will leave.

His only unwavering thought was to find him, to find Lan Ye just as Lan Ye had searched for the person who had left him.

He wanted to ask why.

Following Lan Ye's lead, Asakusa also embarked on a long search. He set off from Fuxue Mountain, slowly traveling from north to south along the plateau. He vaguely remembered that the place Lan Ye lingered in the longest was Zhicheng in the southwest. Lan Ye had once said that Zhicheng's climate was humid and rainy, and the confluence of two rivers made it the most suitable place for water-based sorcerers to cultivate and live. Lan Ye was looking for a water-based sorcerer.

When I descended the mountain again, the world was at peace.

Asakusa was astonished to find that all the different kinds of humans had changed their hairstyles, clothes, and even the buildings looked different. A hundred years of cultivation had allowed him to transform into human form like Lan Ye, although it was not very stable and could only last for a little over half an hour.

The person he knew best was Lan Ye, and the person he was looking for was also Lan Ye. So he transformed into Lan Ye's appearance, pointed to his own face, and asked the people he met, "Have you ever seen someone who looks exactly like me?" People thought he was looking for a twin brother, but how could they often encounter someone so beautiful?

Each time Asakusa saw the other person shake their head, her disappointment deepened.

He worried about what he would do if Lan Ye disappeared without a trace, just like the person he was looking for.

Unexpectedly, he found Lan Ye under those circumstances.

What he saw was Lan Ye's corpse.

Splattered blood and flesh covered the floor, ceiling, and walls of the room, staining them with crimson patterns. If it weren't for the all-too-familiar scent from the depths of her memory, Asakusa would have thought it was just a prank.

As soon as he entered Zhicheng under the cover of night, he smelled an overwhelming stench of blood, mixed with a scent that seemed strangely familiar. Following the trail, he found himself in this unrecognizable room.

Crimson blood flowed slowly across the floor, where a woman sat slumped, her eyes lifeless. Her heavy eyeliner was blurred by tears, leaving black streaks across her beautiful face. Her once strong features were now stiff as stone.

Asakusa was in a daze, not understanding what was happening in front of her, nor knowing how to deal with it.

A gust of wind blew by, and the woman suddenly raised her head, staring at him in disbelief.

"Lan Ye?"

He felt somewhat embarrassed and denied it with a cold face: "I am not Lan Ye."

The woman tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Of course you're not Lan Ye." She picked up the scattered pieces of flesh and blood from the ground and murmured, "Lan Ye is right here."

Asakusa's guess was confirmed, and his heart clenched painfully, his eyes dimming: "Did you kill him?"

The woman wiped away her tears and smiled, "Yes."

"Why? Do you need to kill him to live?" Asakusa thought of his deceased mother, that bitterly cold winter, whose death brought him back to life.

“Kill him… I can’t live on.”