Chapter 33: Can I Use My Ultimate Skill?
Time passed silently.
Winter came and went, years flew by, and the “demon spawn” the High Priest spoke of was growing up.
Qin Ruoheng raised the unwanted child well.
Without paper, she used twigs to teach him to write in the dirt.
Without playmates, she played with him like a child herself.
She wasn’t overly doting but taught him how to survive.
She knew he needed resilience more than a mother’s pampering in this environment.
Even though everyone here loathed and rejected him, even though people pointed and sneered at him every month when they delivered their meager rations, she repeatedly told him not to care about their opinions, not to resent their disapproval.
She included him in everything, patiently teaching him.
Many simple tasks she had learned herself after the servants were dismissed.
Washing clothes, cooking, mending clothes, even repairing the leaky roof, weren’t difficult.
She said that humans seemed to have an instinct; after losing all support, they would discover hidden strengths within themselves.
That capable self had always been there; she just realized it a bit late.
But it didn’t matter; that capable self had pulled her out of despair.
So, she told her child, “If you find that capable self within you, hold onto it tightly. When everyone abandons you, it will protect you.”
She was the most optimistic caged bird, confined to a small space.
She liked to take her child onto the roof at night, snuggling together and gazing at the moon, the same moon that shone over her homeland.
Sometimes, the white bird would also land on her shoulder, its long tail feathers shimmering in the moonlight.
Its cultivation was too low; it couldn’t speak. Most of the time, it just listened along with the child as Qin Ruoheng spoke to them.
She said that if she had done this before, many people would have stopped her.
She said that she might have been unlucky in the past, but it didn’t matter; bad things would eventually pass.
She said that the moon always hung in the sky, everything else changed, but it remained constant.
Whether people saw it as cold or warm, full or waning, depended only on their mood at that moment.
She often wondered why she couldn’t be like the moon.
No one cared about her anymore; she could try to be like the moon, striving to become what she truly desired.
So many people in this world were just insignificant specks of dust.
Treasures, status, even the love and hate of others, were all fleeting.
A blade of grass, a flower, growing in different places, would have different vitality.
Those that grew from cracks weren’t necessarily weaker than those carefully nurtured.
But she didn’t want her child to be a flower struggling in a crack.
She simply hoped that no matter where he was, no matter how the world changed, he could take care of himself.
A person wasn’t truly helpless as long as they hadn’t given up on themselves.
As long as they loved themselves.
The six or seven-year-old child didn’t seem to fully understand his mother’s words, but a thoughtful glint flickered in his eyes.
The child Qin Ruoheng raised had a similar personality to hers.
Quiet, well-behaved, picking himself up when he fell, comforting himself when wronged, and then clumsily comforting those who cared about him.
During those years in the cold palace, Qin Ruoheng and her child depended on each other.
The bird that frequently visited became their companion, occasionally bringing news from the outside world.
It had sharp claws and could write messages in the dirt, easily erasing them without a trace.
Over the years, the Huai Kingdom grew stronger, while the star representing the southern kingdom’s fate dimmed.
More and more rituals were performed, but the Moon God didn’t seem to grant the southern kingdom the power it once had.
Whenever Qin Ruoheng heard this news, a complex emotion, which Li Yu couldn’t decipher, would flicker in her heart.
And just as Li Yu tried to understand it, it would vanish.
In their eighth year in the cold palace, the child asked Qin Ruoheng a question that had been troubling him.
He asked, “Mother, why are we locked up here?”
Qin Ruoheng replied, “Because there’s a string tied to me.”
It wasn’t because she had done something wrong, nor because her child was strange.
None of this was their fault.
She was increasingly certain that her lack of freedom stemmed from that invisible string tied to her since birth.
She didn’t have the strength to break free, and perhaps she never would.
But despite this, she still yearned for freedom.
The child looked at her, confused yet hopeful. “If one day, the string breaks, where will we go?”
—Is it free now?
—Yes!
—Where will it fly to?
—I don’t know, but somewhere far, far away.
Qin Ruoheng smiled, hugged her knees, and said softly, “Then of course, we’ll go somewhere far, far away.”
“Will we return to the Huai Kingdom?”
“No,” she shook her head.
She had been caged all her life.
If she ever broke free, why would she simply choose a different cage?
The white bird, seemingly agreeing with her, happily circled around her, its long tail feathers swaying.
She looked up at the bird for a moment, then stood up and danced with it in the falling snow.
Her pale yellow sleeves, like wings defying the wind and sand, fluttered around her, as if they could carry her away.
During those years, Qin Ruoheng had truly come alive again, Li Yu thought.
The story Qin Yuan told was filled with speculation and embellishment.
Qin Ruoheng had always been healthy. The cold palace didn’t make her wither; instead, it strengthened her.
Like a plum blossom enduring the winter snow, she bloomed most brilliantly in the coldest weather.
For the first time, Li Yu saw such an indomitable spirit in such a quiet person.
But the more she saw, the more she wondered why such a person would choose to end her own life.
Because of the sacrifice? Because of losing everything?
As Li Yu wondered, the scene around her blurred and distorted.
When her vision cleared, the sky had darkened dramatically.
Qin Ruoheng’s doors and windows were locked.
She sat in front of a broken mirror, staring at her reflection.
Her eyes were bloodshot, her gaze empty, as if she had run out of tears.
The white bird lay injured outside the locked window, a graze from an arrow on its body, half of its wing burned and broken.
Li Yu instinctively reached out to help it, but her hands passed through its small body.
She felt a gaze on her.
Turning around, she saw the black bird with dark red eyes perched on the wall.
It stared at her, as if trying to tell her something.
The faint golden guidance reappeared on its body.
The black bird turned and flew away, its damaged wings flapping.
Li Yu didn’t hesitate and followed.
The scenes around her shifted rapidly.
Time seemed to rewind, then freeze frame on fragmented memories.
The Huai emperor led his troops and conquered most of the southern kingdom within months.
Facing imminent defeat, the southern king wasn’t concerned about his people but about how to obtain enough power from the Moon God to turn the tide.
The High Priest of the Moon Worship Cult suggested a blood sacrifice.
He said he had received guidance from the Moon God.
The demon spawn in the cold palace was slowly draining the southern kingdom’s fortune. Only by cleansing him with sacred fire and sacrificing the blood of everyone who had come into contact with him could they regain the lost fortune.
The king agreed without hesitation.
Before the priest left, he suddenly asked, “What about…Consort Mei?”
The priest looked into the king’s eyes. “Are you…reluctant?”
“The Huai army is at our gates; we need bargaining chips…”
The priest hesitated for a moment, then bowed and replied, “One more or less sacrifice won’t make much difference. If Consort Mei is still useful, keep her for now.”
“One more or less sacrifice won’t make much difference.”
“All he wants is enough blood to activate the formation.”
A raspy child’s voice came from behind her.
Li Yu turned around and saw that it was the black bird speaking.
“You can talk?!”
“The High Priest of the Moon Worship Cult is a wicked cultivator. He has been leeching off the southern kingdom for nearly a hundred years, using his power to commit countless atrocities. Not only did he steal the cultivation of demons and nobles, but he also refined the souls and blood of countless children into elixirs to prolong his own life.”
“…”
“He knew the southern kingdom was about to fall, and his power and status would vanish along with it,” the black bird said resentfully. “So he wanted to squeeze the last bit of value out of this place.”
“Initially, he only wanted to refine more elixirs and escape during the chaos, but one day, he met someone…” the black bird said in a low voice.
“Who?”
“Someone in black robes.”
“Huh?”
“…”
The black bird didn’t say anything more, just flew away.
Li Yu instinctively wanted to follow but heard the chiming of the Harmony Bells.
She hesitated.
Should she respond, or continue pursuing the truth?
【Protagonist Blackening Value +1%!】
【Protagonist Blackening Value +1%!】
【Protagonist Blackening Value +1%!】
Alright, alright, enough!
She would go find the protagonist!
Now, immediately!!!
Every second of hesitation was disrespectful to her own life!!!
Li Yu immediately channeled spiritual energy into her Harmony Bells.
With her response, the blackening value stopped increasing, and the bells chimed more cheerfully.
She took a deep breath and ran towards the source of the sound.
Even though she wasn’t following it anymore, the black bird continued flying in another direction, without pausing.
Li Yu glanced back, sensing that it wasn’t just guiding her.
This place seemed to be divided into multiple similar illusions, and the black bird had seemingly split itself into multiple phantoms.
Driven by a single-minded obsession, it tirelessly guided everyone who came here, showing them the past.
There was no malice in its dark red eyes; it seemed to be genuinely seeking help.
Li Yu didn’t know what kind of help the black bird wanted, only that she probably couldn’t offer any.
If her guess was correct, in another illusion, Mo Yichu must also be uncovering his forgotten past.
Since someone else was pursuing that, her priority now was to find Mu Tao while the Harmony Bells were still working.
The little wolf cub’s blackening value was increasing rapidly. Although she seemed more cheerful now, her heart was still as sensitive and fragile as in the original story.
She had to prioritize Mu Tao at all times to escape the tragic fate in the original story!
To prevent further increases in the blackening value, Li Yu continuously responded to the chiming of the other Harmony Bells with her spiritual energy.
As she moved further away from the black bird, the illusions around her gradually dissipated.
The burned palace, like the city outside its walls, was in ruins.
The oppressive resentment filled the sky once again, and everything around her seemed even darker than before.
In this deathly silence, she could only hear the howling wind, her own light footsteps, and the constant chiming of the bells.
Suddenly, she heard other sounds.
Cries for help, pleas for mercy.
And the sounds of fighting, cursing, weeping, and screaming…
Near and far, echoing in the otherwise silent world.
A shadowy figure rushed past her, creating a strange gust of wind, startling her. She instinctively turned around.
As she turned, more and more blurry figures appeared before her eyes.
From vague shadows to gradually clearer forms.
They were running, they were fighting!
Countless figures, wielding dull blades, their eyes bloodshot amidst the cries and screams.
Li Yu’s breath hitched.
She seemed to hear Mu Tao’s voice.
—Countless souls became earthbound spirits, trapped within the Moon Capital, unaware of their own deaths, reliving the last day of their lives.
Night had fallen…
The City of the Undying had come alive.
Those spirits weren’t illusions.
They were enveloped in resentment, their souls visibly damaged.
And the shadowy figures chasing them were formed from pure resentment.
They weren’t just attacking the earthbound spirits; they also noticed Li Yu.
Seeing those menacing shadows, wielding resentment-forged blades, closing in on her, Li Yu’s heart went numb.
She had thought being chased by the little protagonist with a broken sword in her dreams was terrifying enough; she never imagined she would be chased by a horde of resentful spirits wielding blades.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
Her legs felt weak, her hands cold…
But it was fine, she had the system!
Yes, she still had the system!
Overcome by terror, Li Yu screamed, “System! Save me!!!”
As she shouted, two balls of spiritual energy instinctively formed in her hands. With a gentle wave, she shattered two of the shadowy figures.
It was her only offensive spell, and although she didn’t know its power, it seemed more than enough to deal with these resentment-formed shadows!
—Ah, I’m still quite powerful!
Thinking this, Li Yu sent out more blasts of spiritual energy.
More shadows dissipated.
Before she could celebrate, even more shadows materialized around her.
【Host!】
“Huh?”
【Too——many——】
【Run! Host! Run!!!】
Why was the system panicking more than she was?!
She was counting on it!!!
Cursing inwardly, Li Yu rushed towards the opening she had created, escaping the encirclement.
With the speed-enhancing technique still active, she ran as fast as she could, but the shadows were just as fast, and more kept appearing.
She had never experienced such a zombie-apocalypse-style chase, even in her dreams!
As she ran, the chiming of the Harmony Bells grew louder, almost overlapping.
The sound echoed around her several times, but she couldn’t see Mu Tao.
So close, yet so far.
As she had suspected, even away from the black bird, there were still layers of illusions.
As the chiming brushed past her several times, growing more frantic, Li Yu gradually calmed down.
Although she was afraid of pain, although she desperately wanted to be protected and do nothing…
Mu Tao seemed even more terrified than she was.
Li Yu knew that Mu Tao, with her Demon Bone, couldn’t be harmed by these shadows.
She could continue running; they might not be able to catch her.
This body had enough stamina; even without the male protagonist’s help, she could probably keep running until dawn.
But she couldn’t leave Mu Tao alone in this fear.
She stopped abruptly and looked at the approaching shadows with a dramatic flair.
“System.”
【I’m here, Host!】
“I need the power to shatter the void.”
【Uh…】
“You locked my skills for my safety, right?” Seeing the system’s hesitation, and the shadows closing in, Li Yu stamped her foot impatiently. “I’m about to die here! Just this once, let me use my ultimate skill! As long as it doesn’t attract Heavenly Tribulation, I won’t blame you for the consequences!”
One couldn’t avoid getting hurt in this world!
As long as she didn’t die, it was fine. If getting hurt could appease the little protagonist, she could handle it!
Come on, System!
I’ve made up my mind, don’t hesitate!
【Request received. Host, please remove the Spirit Severing Hairpin.】
Li Yu took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and removed the hairpin.
A gust of wind seemed to erupt around her.
Not from any particular direction, but emanating from her, spreading outwards.
When Si Qinglan gave her the hairpin, she had asked how it felt, and she hadn’t felt anything.
She had been in this world for a while now; she knew the vast spiritual energy stored within her.
She could see it, could use it with the system’s assistance, but she had never truly felt it.
Until now.
For the first time, she felt the spiritual energy flowing within her.
Not like a gentle stream, but like a raging torrent.
With this heightened awareness, she raised the hand holding the hairpin.
A gentle downward stroke.
The spiritual energy within her surged outwards!
The invisible barrier around her cracked, and countless sparks of light poured in.
The cracks bloomed like a blue, flowering tree.
The barrier separating the two spaces shattered.
Li Yu opened her eyes and met a pair of red-rimmed eyes.
The spiritual light around her intensified, like a boundless blue sea whipped into a frenzy, surging past the young woman before her, washing over the world, dispelling the resentment.
All the shadows instantly dissipated, turning into wisps of resentment that floated towards the blood-red sea in the sky.
As the wind subsided, the blue light, like twinkling stars or fireflies, gradually faded.
The chiming of the bells stopped.
The world fell silent.
A dull ache spread through her chest, and her breathing became uneven.
It felt like that first day, being stabbed in her dream.
She knew no one had stabbed her that day; the pain was from the original owner’s internal injuries.
She hadn’t expected to relive that unpleasant sensation six months later.
Before she could recover, a small figure, like a deer, crashed into her arms.
The impact made her stagger.
“Master!” Mu Tao cried loudly in her arms.
She said she had been following behind Li Yu, then heard the Harmony Bells, but the sound was coming from far away.
The master before her wasn’t real, her senior brother had stopped talking, everything was fake.
She had been separated from them without realizing it.
She kept activating the Harmony Bells, but a force made her lose consciousness.
When she woke up, she was at the center of the spirit summoning formation.
Surrounded by resentment.
She was so scared. She escaped, thinking she would never see her master again.
Hearing the familiar sobs, Li Yu felt a sense of relief.
She could feel the girl’s terror, her body still trembling even in her arms.
She gently patted Mu Tao’s back, waiting for her to calm down, then pulled her away and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Mu Tao, noticing the jade hairpin in Li Yu’s hand, instinctively grabbed her wrist.
Mu Tao: “Master!”
Li Yu: “This…”
【Protagonist Blackening Value +2%!】
【Current Protagonist Blackening Value: 35%!】
Li Yu: “…”
Although she was getting used to it, she still wanted to ask…
—Why?!