Chapter 77: She Had Been Here Before
Li Yu looked at Qing Nü, her mind buzzing with questions.
Why did the guardian of the Upper Spirit Lamp disappear for millennia? And why reappear in this desolate North Sea Abyss?
Wasn’t the North Sea supposed to be a lightless sea? What was with the unchanging full moon? And was it connected to the ancient god Si Qinglan sought?
And most importantly, did Qing Nü truly fall into darkness willingly?
But these questions felt too intrusive.
Qing Nü: “You seem troubled.”
Li Yu: “…”
Qing Nü: “If your troubles are related to me, ask whatever you want, don’t hesitate.”
Li Yu: “…”
“If you can’t ask, or can’t understand, just put it aside for now.” Qing Nü said. “Many things in life…become clearer with time.”
Li Yu couldn’t help but ask, “What if…even after a long time, there are still no answers?”
“Then it hasn’t been long enough.” Qing Nü smiled faintly. “If it has been long enough, even without answers, you should be able to let go.”
“Haven’t you ever…had anything you couldn’t let go of?”
“I have.” Qing Nü replied softly.
“Then…”
“But I’m almost there.” She looked down at the tea in her cup, her eyes obscured by the rising steam.
Perhaps her mind was also filled with countless thoughts, but there was a moon-like serenity in her gaze.
Li Yu had imagined that Qing Nü, the guardian of the Upper Spirit Lamp, before falling into darkness, would be cold and aloof, like the moon in the high heavens.
Like the moon hanging above the North Sea, a distant light illuminating the endless night.
But Qing Nü wasn’t like that.
Sitting beside her now, Li Yu felt neither a welcoming warmth nor a chilling distance, just a comfortable, natural ease.
Like just now, when Qing Nü had asked her some questions, and she, Li Yu, had panicked, unable to answer, Qing Nü had simply smiled and moved on.
Not only that, but she seemed willing to offer guidance.
Li Yu looked into those night-sky blue eyes, searching for something—wariness, displeasure, or perhaps careful scrutiny.
But there was none.
Qing Nü seemed genuinely unconcerned, readily letting go of unanswered questions.
She didn’t treat Li Yu as an intruder.
Even though her arrival was unexpected, her injuries unusual, her heart filled with unspoken secrets—she was still welcome here.
Li Yu could sense an indescribable serenity about Qing Nü, an acceptance of everything.
She wasn’t like the moon; she was like the moonlight, gentle and familiar.
Could such a person truly be the one who, unwilling to fade away, released the Heavenly Demon Soul Seed and fell into darkness?
And if Qing Nü was killed by the gods and immortals, how did a fragment of her Demon Bone end up in Mu Tao…?
The little wolf emerged from under the table, its tail wagging, nuzzling against Li Yu’s leg.
“I’ve raised it for over three hundred years, and I’ve never seen it so clingy,” Qing Nü chuckled, her tone gentle. “It likes your scent.”
The stalled conversation flowed naturally again.
“Huh?” Li Yu snapped back to reality and instinctively sniffed herself.
There was a faint, woody fragrance, calming and pleasant, but it wasn’t hers; it was the scent of her clothes.
These weren’t her clothes, probably Qing Nü’s. If the little wolf liked the scent, why seek her out specifically?
What other scent could she possibly have?
Surely not the blood from her injuries?
Seeing her confusion, Qing Nü smiled. “You don’t have its nose, how could you possibly smell it?”
“A dog’s nose? So sensitive!” Li Yu poked the little wolf’s head.
The little wolf whined softly, its paws gripping her ankle, its teeth gently nibbling her skirt, a playful protest.
Li Yu asked curiously, “Why is there a wolf in the North Sea?”
Qing Nü: “I brought it back from the human realm.”
Li Yu: “The human realm?”
Qing Nü: “Mm.”
“After so many years, with no news from you, everyone thought…” Li Yu stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake.
Qing Nü smiled faintly, not offended. “Thought I was…gone?”
“Mm…” Li Yu nodded and whispered, “I didn’t expect…you to be in the North Sea, and to have even visited the human realm three hundred years ago.”
“I went to see an old friend and happened to pass by the human realm, where I saw this little wolf.” Qing Nü’s voice was calm yet gentle. “The resentment in the human realm was strong, and it was just a small wolf cub, newly awakened, almost consumed by the resentment. I felt sorry for it, so I brought it back.”
Qing Nü smiled. “It didn’t like it here at first.”
Li Yu: “That’s understandable.”
“Indeed, the North Sea is cold and dark; few creatures would willingly live here…” Qing Nü looked at the little wolf. “But it seems to have adapted now.”
The little wolf was busy playing with the hem of Li Yu’s robe.
Li Yu looked at it and said softly, “It’s lucky to have been saved by you.”
She then asked tentatively, “You mentioned…an old friend?”
Qing Nü: “Yetan, I haven’t seen her in a while, so I went to visit.”
So the two ancient gods met before the Heavenly Demon was revived…
Was this important information?
Li Yu couldn’t figure it out, so she continued asking, “What are your thoughts…on the current resentment in the human realm?”
Qing Nü shook her head and said softly, “All beings suffer. Resentment in the human realm will never truly disappear, it only accumulates—The Heavenly Demon’s revival…is inevitable.”
Li Yu: “…”
Qing Nü: “You seem…quite concerned about this.”
Li Yu nodded, the worry evident in her eyes.
Qing Nü: “This isn’t the first time the Heavenly Demon has been revived. There’s always a way to seal it again; there’s no need to worry so much.”
Li Yu: “…”
Was she truly so optimistic?
The little wolf, seemingly not understanding their conversation, whined softly, released the hem of Li Yu’s robe, drooped its ears, and rested its head on her foot.
Although the little wolf’s head wasn’t heavy, it still made Li Yu wince; her foot was injured.
Qing Nü: “Little Wolf, Li Yu is injured, don’t touch her wounds.”
The little wolf quickly looked up at Li Yu, whimpering softly, as if apologizing.
“I’ve been unconscious for so long, my wounds have already scabbed over; it doesn’t hurt that much.” Li Yu said, petting the little wolf’s head. “Actually, the journey here was more painful.”
“If you know it’s painful, then you should rest.” Qing Nü said earnestly. “Right now, the most important thing for you…is to recover.”
“I’m usually very good at resting…” Li Yu didn’t think she was lying.
“External injuries heal quickly, but internal injuries take time.” Qing Nü poured herself another cup of tea. “I examined your meridians; the damage is severe, new injuries layered upon old ones, clearly from overexertion.”
“…”
“Your cultivation level is incredibly rare in this world.” Qing Nü looked at Li Yu seriously. “I won’t ask why you’ve pushed yourself so hard, nor whether your goals have been achieved—Since you’re here, since I saved you, your life is temporarily mine. If you refuse to rest and recover, I will have to…take measures.”
Li Yu blinked, surprised. “…Measures?”
“Mm.” Qing Nü took a sip of tea and smiled. “I can seal your spiritual energy, confine you with a barrier, and personally help you circulate your spiritual energy once a day, until you recover, or until you give up struggling.”
“…”
“And if even that can’t stop you, I’ll trap you in a dream until your injuries are healed.”
“…”
Such a simple, yet effective approach.
So, both Mu Tao and Weisheng Xuanzhu learned from her, using similar methods to ensure obedience.
Li Yu: “I’ll rest and recover.”
Qing Nü: “Your injuries…don’t suggest someone willing to rest.”
Li Yu couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Don’t worry, even if I wanted to do something, I’m…stuck here for now.”
Qing Nü: “That’s true.”
As she spoke, she heard a rumbling sound and looked at Li Yu’s stomach.
Li Yu: “…”
Qing Nü chuckled. “It’s difficult to abstain from food when injured, I’ll have Xuanzhu prepare a meal for you.”
Li Yu panicked slightly. “He…I… Where’s the kitchen? I can cook myself…”
Before she could finish, a white spiritual butterfly flew out the window, disappearing into the snow.
So, she was being served by the antagonist of this story. How ironic.
But whether it was medicine or food, it was all the same.
Since someone was willing to wait on her, she might as well enjoy it.
Soon, a warm meal arrived.
With no distinction between day and night in the North Sea, she didn’t know whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, only that she had been hungry for a long time and everything tasted delicious.
The only slightly awkward part was—among the three people and one wolf in the room, she was the only one eating.
The little wolf sat beside her, tilting its head, its big, light brown eyes staring at her intently.
“It’s still so young, it probably can’t abstain from food yet, right?” Li Yu asked softly. “Can I…give it some?”
She needed a dining companion to ease the awkwardness, and this little wolf cub seemed like the most likely candidate.
Weisheng Xuanzhu: “It ate before you woke up.”
“Perhaps it’s still hungry…” Li Yu looked down at the little wolf. “Look at it, it keeps staring at me, it clearly wants some.”
“It has a big appetite, it eats whatever you give it, never truly full.” Weisheng Xuanzhu said calmly. “It might look like it wants to eat, but it’s not hungry, just greedy.”
He sounded experienced.
The little wolf, seemingly unhappy with his assessment, lay down and whined softly.
Li Yu, now certain of her suspicions,
Chuckled. “There’s no rule that says you have to be hungry to eat. It’s fine to eat even if you’re just craving something, and this little guy doesn’t have to worry about getting fat.”
She poked the little wolf’s head.
The little wolf looked up, its tail wagging happily.
A dining companion acquired. Sharing her meal with the little wolf, one bite for her, one bite for it, eased the awkwardness.
After finishing her meal, Li Yu held the little wolf in her lap, petting its fur behind its ears, a sense of contentment settling over her.
The little wolf was warm like a furnace, and feeling full and warm, she became drowsy.
She dozed off, and when she opened her eyes again, only she and Qing Nü remained in the room.
Qing Nü: “Go and sleep on the bed.”
Li Yu: “That…wouldn’t be appropriate…”
Qing Nü’s house was small, just a single room, no guest room, only one bed.
As a guest, taking the only bed seemed rude.
“I should probably go back,” Li Yu said, placing the little wolf on the table.
She took two deep breaths, stood up, supporting herself against the table.
The thought of the long journey back made her injured legs and feet ache.
Qing Nü: “Let Little Wolf take you.”
Li Yu readily agreed. “I…don’t really know the way.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the little wolf ran to the courtyard, wagged its tail, and looked at Qing Nü, barking twice.
Before Li Yu could understand what it was saying, a swirling wind and snow enveloped the little wolf.
Li Yu’s heart clenched, and she rushed out of the house, her legs and feet miraculously less painful for a moment.
Just as she was about to use a spell to dispel the wind and snow, it vanished.
A large wolf, almost taller than her, stood before her.
The wolf lowered its body, offering her its back, but Li Yu just stared, stunned.
After a moment, the wolf turned its head and licked her face.
Li Yu snapped back to reality and looked back at Qing Nü.
Qing Nü smiled and waved. “The spell won’t last long, hurry back and rest.”
The large wolf licked Li Yu’s face again.
Li Yu pushed its head away, wiped her face with her sleeve, and climbed onto its back, holding onto its thick fur.
Unable to contain her excitement, she gently stroked the wolf’s neck.
The wolf shook its head, stood up, took a few slow steps, then suddenly started running through the snowy night.
The wind howled past her ears.
Even with her spiritual energy, the wind was incredibly strong.
She lowered her body, burying her face in the wolf’s thick fur.
This was Qing Nü’s spell…
Could Mu Tao do this too when she grew up? she wondered.
First of all, she wasn’t a furry!
Secondly, this wasn’t about riding or not!
The point was, this giant wolf was incredibly comfortable to hug!
So comfortable that she buried her face in its fur, nuzzling against its warm neck, almost purring with contentment.
—She was going to die!
If this lasted any longer, she wouldn’t want it to change back!
The large wolf also seemed to enjoy it, and after carrying her back to her residence, as she carefully dismounted, it turned its head and licked her face, its tongue sweeping from her chin to her nose.
“Don’t…”
Before she could finish, the large, wet tongue interrupted her.
After a few licks, she grabbed the wolf’s head, trying to pull it away, but she was no match for its strength.
Thankfully, it gradually shrunk.
The large wolf became a small wolf, easily held in her arms.
Its short legs dangled in the air, its tail wagging weakly, its little tongue still trying to lick her, now unable to reach.
After a few frustrated attempts at licking the air, the little gray wolf finally stopped.
It tilted its head, its eyes unfocused as its paws flailed slightly.
Li Yu pinched its paws, making it yelp softly.
“Will you stop licking me now?”
The little wolf, as if understanding it had done something wrong, hung its head, not daring to speak—of course, it couldn’t speak anyway.
Li Yu glared at the little wolf cub, her face still wet, until it completely wilted, then she carried it inside and placed it on the floor.
The little wolf immediately hid under the table.
Li Yu found a cloth, warmed some water, and wiped her face.
She was truly afraid of this little glutton.
When it was small, it was manageable, but when it was large, it was like a wild beast, impossible to control.
She retracted her earlier thought!
Small wolves were better, large ones were too much to handle!
Li Yu thought this, put down the cloth, and lay down on the bed, exhausted.
She hugged the blanket, staring at the bed curtains, lost in thought.
Before today, she never imagined coming to the North Sea four thousand years ago, meeting a seemingly normal Weisheng Xuanzhu, and encountering Qing Nü, the ancient god who had become the Heavenly Demon.
And…the little Mu Tao from before, untouched by the Demon Bone, unable to even speak.
What happened in the North Sea four thousand years ago wasn’t just a question Weisheng Xuanzhu wanted answered anymore.
Since waking up, her mind had been a blur.
Too much information, too difficult to process.
Li Yu lay in bed, thinking, slowly piecing together the clues.
When she was still on Mount Chao Yao, Weisheng Xuanzhu had repeatedly asked her about what happened four thousand years ago.
He was convinced that the answers the original “Li Yu” gave him were lies.
And he was also convinced that only “Li Yu” could tell him the truth.
This had puzzled her, she wasn’t “Li Yu”; how could she possibly know the answers he wanted?
But now, she finally understood why he was so persistent.
—Because she had been here.
Weisheng Xuanzhu couldn’t believe that Qing Nü would willingly fall into darkness.
But whether he believed it or not, Qing Nü had become a sinner, her name forever tarnished.
He believed there must be a hidden truth, and the only person who might know it was the one who had appeared in the North Sea before it all happened…
And that person, he believed, was the new guardian of the Upper Spirit Lamp—Li Yu.
So, the former “Li Yu” was the one who couldn’t possibly know the truth.
“She” must have also been confused, wondering why he kept asking about the Heavenly Demon incident, as if seeking an answer different from the commonly accepted story.
But “she” had participated in that battle, she must have seen Qing Nü after she fell into darkness and joined the other gods and immortals in slaying her.
The answer “she” could give him should have been the same as everyone else’s.
Perhaps, long before she arrived in this world, he had already stopped asking “Li Yu” this question.
He must have given up on getting an answer from “her.”
That’s why he plotted to revive the Heavenly Demon, to revive the ancient god Qing Nü.
And in his plan, the resentment in the human realm was just one component.
Reviving the Heavenly Demon wouldn’t be easy; to ensure success, he needed to weaken the guardian of the Upper Spirit Lamp and sever the connection to the Heavenly Gate.
The black-robed figure never appeared directly, neither during the theft of the Lamp nor after its retrieval.
She had been puzzled by this, but now she realized that perhaps Weisheng Xuanzhu instructed Xiang Hanyu to steal the Lamp simply to weaken her, damage her reputation, and then find an opportunity to force her to open the Heavenly Gate.
Then, he could destroy the last connection between the human realm and the Heavenly Realm.
He didn’t care whether Xiang Hanyu gave him the Lamp or not.
He probably anticipated that she wouldn’t, which was precisely why he chose her as his pawn.
Obtaining the Upper Spirit Lamp was easy for him; he had been maintaining the seal on Suiqiong Cave for millennia; why would he need someone else to steal it?
This was a move he had complete control over.
And Mu Tao’s exposure was an unexpected bonus.
A Heavenly Demon revived solely from its soul fragment might not be connected to Qing Nü, but the Demon Bone was different.
For the Demon Bone to appear in that little wolf, it must have belonged to Qing Nü…
This way, when the Heavenly Demon was revived, he would finally have the answers he sought.
The instability of the seal on Suiqiong Cave was just the beginning of his plan.
He knew that once he started, there was no turning back.
So, clinging to a sliver of hope, he asked her about that “matter from the past” one last time.
This time was different.
He saw her hesitation, her evasion.
This further confirmed his belief that “Li Yu” had lied to him.
So, he asked her two more times.
But Li Yu didn’t know that Weisheng Xuanzhu hadn’t mistaken her for someone else.
He wasn’t asking the original owner of this body, but the Li Yu he knew—the Li Yu who had appeared in the North Sea four thousand years ago.
She only realized now that the sudden increase in her compatibility in Suiqiong Cave wasn’t because he was secretly pleased by her scolding him.
It was because he recognized her…
And Mu Tao, with the Demon Bone, appearing four thousand years later, must also be connected to her, right?
Everything was a circle, its beginning unclear, yet its path predetermined.
So, she wasn’t just here to find an answer but also to…continue the cycle, wasn’t she?
What would happen next was unknown…
But one thing was certain; when she left, she would take Mu Tao with her.
Li Yu felt exhausted.
Thinking while unwell was tiring.
She closed her eyes, deciding to get some sleep.
The little wolf under the table peeked out,
Tilting its head, staring at Li Yu with its wide eyes.
Hearing her breathing even out, it carefully climbed onto the bed, snuggled against her, and curled up into a small ball of fluff,
Falling asleep beside her.
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