Sept nuits de neige

Chapitre 99

They walked a long way, and Xu Ziqing was still lying in the mud, staring at Tianxiu's back, spitting out a mouthful of saliva.

He lay alone on the ground, not knowing how much time had passed, only watching the moon rise high in the sky, still unsure of where to go.

A pair of exquisite embroidered shoes came into his view. Xu Ziqing got up from the mud, turned around, and started singing loudly, babbling incoherently.

The owner of the embroidered shoes reached out her slender, white hand and placed it on his shoulder. Xu Ziqing turned his face, drooling, and asked, "Who are you? Here to bring medicine to Grandpa?"

“Brother Qing…” She covered her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face, “How could you not even recognize your own wife?”

Xu Ziqing laughed loudly, his voice filled with desolation: "Wife? Hahahaha, I don't even recognize myself, so where would I get any wife?"

He was covered in mud and stinked to high heaven, yet Gu Yan still held his hand, tears streaming down her face: "Brother Qing, I'm so sorry."

Xu Ziqing turned his face away: "My lover? Who is your lover? Such a beautiful young lady, go find your lover and stop bothering me."

Gu Yan held onto him tightly, tears falling drop by drop onto his hand, burning with heartache.

"He only cares about his senior sister now and doesn't care about us. Brother Qing, Brother Qing, come back to the room with me and I'll give you a good wash."

"Let go! You bastard!" Xu Ziqing roared, violently throwing Gu Yan aside. "Do I know you? I'm perfectly clean!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and he became completely hysterical: "Get out! Get out! Get as far away as possible, don't offend my eyes!"

Gu Yan, her white dress stained with mud, paid no heed and sobbed, "Brother Qing, Brother Qing, I know you recognize me. The effects of that medicine are still mild; it's not enough to make you disown your family. Why, why are you so heartless? I, Gu Yan, have never done anything good in my life, yet I thank God for giving me a husband like you. Only today do I realize that you are the only one in the world who has ever been truly good to me. Brother Qing, I am not a heartless woman. How could I abandon you when you have been so good to me? Brother Qing, no matter what you become, you will always be me, my husband. We have performed the three bows and nine kowtows, we have bowed to Heaven and Earth; I am your wife, and that will never change."

Xu Ziqing had his back to her, so her face wasn't visible, but his voice trembled: "Nonsense? Bullshit, all that fucking bullshit! I don't know you, little wench. Get out! Get out! Get out!"

He was hoarse and howling like a wild beast when he said the last word, "Get out."

Gu Yan got up from the ground, not caring that they were in Xiaoyao Mountain and not alone in the room, and hugged him tightly from behind: "I won't leave, I will serve you for the rest of my life."

Xu Ziqing trembled all over, seemingly forcing himself to endure something, and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "Get out." After saying this one word, his bones felt as if they were being gnawed by a thousand worms, and his skin and flesh felt as if they were about to explode. He made gurgling noises, and snot and tears flowed uncontrollably, making him look utterly filthy.

Gu Yan was about to speak when her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly. Xu Ziqing abruptly turned his face, his eyes wide with rage, as if they were about to bleed. Where was the usually gentle and refined Xu Ziqing?

For days, Xu Ziqing had been avoiding Gu Yan, unwilling to let him see the horrific state of his attacks. Although Gu Yan had always heard of the terrifying effects of the "Immortal Powder," he had never witnessed what it looked like when the poison took hold. Seeing Xu Ziqing's grotesque appearance, he couldn't help but take a step back.

His fingers dug deep into Gu Yan's fair skin, as if he were grasping at some lifeline.

Gu Yan was terrified and at a loss for what to do: "Brother Qing, Brother Qing!" Xu Ziqing couldn't hear anything. His mind was a roar, as if swarms of mosquitoes were buzzing and flapping their wings, growing larger and larger, from a few to a whole swarm, flying into his brain and bone marrow, sucking and crawling. The blood in his veins felt like it was about to burst, an unbearable pain. His skin felt like it was about to rupture, both painful and itchy, an indescribable discomfort.

Xu Ziqing scratched and clawed wildly, drawing blood from his skin.

Gu Yan desperately grabbed his waving hand, but unexpectedly, the frail Xu Ziqing was surprisingly strong. She was caught off guard when he scratched her during his struggle, and a deep bloody scratch ran from the corner of her eye to her jaw, oozing blood.

Without a doubt, if it were just a fraction off, Xu Ziqing could have gouged out her eyes!

At first, Xu Ziqing could vaguely see his wife's face, but slowly, Gu Yan's beautiful face transformed into a snake, flicking its red tongue and writhing. Her body suddenly grew enormous, becoming a monster with a gaping maw, baring its fangs and claws as it approached him.

Xu Ziqing roared and screamed wildly, launching a relentless and indiscriminate attack on Gu Yan. Gu Yan, tears streaming down her face, focused solely on defense and did not retaliate.

He has lost his humanity and has become a roaring beast.

A slender, fair hand gripped Xu Ziqing's wrist as he wildly grabbed and thrashed. Upon seeing this, Gu Yan immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Please, please." Her clothes were disheveled, her hair was a mess from Xu Ziqing's grabbing, her body was covered in bloodstains, and the wound on her face was still bleeding. However, Gu Yan paid no attention to any of this and just kept kowtowing.

The man gave a soft, cold laugh, tossed down a package, and looked with satisfaction at Gu Yan, who was covering her face and crying, and Xu Ziqing, whose eyes were bloodshot, climbing up to suckle.

Tang Shijiu practiced his martial arts alone until late at night.

As soon as she closed her eyes, Xu Ziqing's blood-red eyes appeared before her, ferocious and terrifying.

"They...they are all demons!" In that instant, Tang Shijiu believed that Xu Ziqing was conscious.

She grew up with Xu Ziqing and knew his stubbornness all too well. This junior brother was the type who wouldn't listen to reason but was extremely proud. Who on earth could turn such a stubborn person into this foolish and idiotic person?

them……

Who are they talking about? Tianxiu? Tianshu? Or Shen Yuntan?

Shen Yuntan has been with me the whole time; he couldn't possibly have harmed Xu Ziqing like this. So… was it Tianxiu?

Tang Shijiu subconsciously bit her lower lip. She had never seen Tianxiu kill anyone, and he rarely even injured anyone. She only knew that although he had many tricks up his sleeve, they were all just jokes and games. At most, he was a bit of a ladies' man, charming both men and women, but he rarely did anything terrible.

In her mind, it was really hard to associate genius with devil.

However, if it's just Tian Shu alone, then who are the "them"...?

What was Tianxiu's purpose in going up the mountain? Why did Tianshu let Tianxiu go and even allow her to bring Xu Ziqing up the mountain? And where did Zinu go?

Tang Shijiu couldn't answer any of these questions.

She felt a chill run down her spine. Everyone around her seemed to have changed. Her master was no longer her master, Shen Yuntan was no longer Shen Yuntan, and even the most harmless Tianxiu had become ferocious and terrifying. Everywhere she looked, bright eyes stared at her, emitting a hideous and terrifying light, as if they wanted to pounce on her and swallow her whole.

Who can we still trust?

The door was pushed open, and Tang Shijiu instinctively gripped the hilt of the Xuanbei sword: "Who is it?"

A small head peeked out. Tian Man was startled by the wary question and whispered, "Senior Sister, it's me."

Tang Shijiu breathed a sigh of relief, while Tian Man complained, "Senior Sister, you were so fierce just now."

Tang Shijiu said in a low voice, "When you came, there was... no one else around, right?"

Tian Man's eyes sparkled, clearly pleased with her senior sister's trust: "No! Don't worry!"

Tang Shijiu thought for a moment, then, in a trembling voice, earnestly instructed, "Do you remember clearly what I told you this morning?"

Tian Man nodded: "I remember, but the person who came doesn't seem to be the demon that Senior Sister mentioned."