When Feng Bujue was greeted with this scene, it was as if his brain was going to explode as many different thoughts flooded his mind. But these wandering thoughts did not muddle up his mind. In fact, the man could not have been calmer. He took less time and was more effective when he was analyzing the problem. In just two seconds, he started to make his move. His Terror Points were still at zero, and his gait and movement were stable and firm, but the expression on his face took on several shades of seriousness.
Feng Bujue first picked up the Spiderweb Gloves and directly put them on. At the same time, he placed the flashlight into his pocket and walked over to pick up Passing Rain’s lamp. With the lamp raised before him, Feng Bujue moved incredibly fast. Before this, out of consideration for Passing Rain who was following behind him, he had consciously slowed down, and that had also made it convenient to see if there were any discoverable items or objects lying around the woods. But now Feng Bujue was going on the rescue mission alone. As someone who did not have to face the deterrent factor of fear, since he was given a visibility of a constant five meters, even if he was placed in hell, he would be able to proceed without any problems.
As he walked further, the darkness thickened around him. It was as if the air itself had gained weight, stopping him from moving too fast. The hard to follow strange noises around his ears disappeared, and soon, Feng Bujue was surrounded by a death-like silence and stillness.
Suddenly, an open field greeted him. There was a wooden beam in the middle of the field, and Passing Rain was tied to the beam with heavy iron chains. She was dangled about half a meter above the ground. The middle part of her body was bound by the chains, and they wrapped around her tightly. Only the upper part of her shoulders and the lower part of her knees were showing. Seeing his teammate, Feng Bujue’s heart relaxed significantly. After a long sigh, he commented with a laugh, “What’s this? A barbecue stick for a giant?”
Passing Rain was not in the mood to make jokes with him. She reminded him seriously, “She is around here somewhere.”
“I know. It is just that… I don’t understand. Since she was able to capture you so easily, why didn’t she capture me as well? Other than that… if she is already this powerful, what even is there for us to do? There has to be something more than this…”
As he spoke, he lifted the lamp to look around. At the same time, a thought flashed across his mind, and he instantly reached into his shirt pocket.
“Why don’t you take a guess?” The third voice came. It was the sweet voice of a little girl. Feng Bujue turned to the voice, and he finally caught a glimpse of Ling Er. She was wearing a patchwork cloth made from rough cotton, and her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her face was cute, but there was no color on her face at all. The most incongruous thing was her expression did not look like that of a child’s at all.
“You want me to guess, huh…” Feng Bujue managed to smile even when facing a ghost. “Ha… After you captured my friend, you expected me to fall into fear and panic, running around for her like a headless chicken. But to your surprise, I did not react like that at all, so you decided to proceed to the next stage directly… And that is… you plan to torture us for fun.”
“You’re so clever.” The moment Ling Er’s voice travelled into hiz ears, a blanket of darkness fell over Feng Bujue’s eyes. Then he felt a small hand gripping his neck, and he found himself unable to resist. His body was being dragged just like that. At the background, he could hear Passing Rain scream something, but it did not register in his mind clearly. Several seconds later, he recovered and noticed that he was also tied to a wooden beam by a curl of iron chains. The lamp that he had been holding earlier had disappeared, but soon, he realized that the unique glow from the lamp was coming from behind him.
“She’s so powerful,” Feng Bujue said under his breath.
“Hey, how are you holding up?” Passing Rain’s voice rang out from behind him.
“Eh?” Feng Bujue tried his best to turn his head ninety degrees around. It was not until then that he realized that he had been tied to the other end of the same wooden beam. He smiled bitterly. “I say, Little Sister Ling Er, you sure know how to play.”
At that moment, he saw Ling Er hold the lamp and slowly walk toward Feng Bujue. This boss had taken away the player’s equipment; that was quite surprising to Feng Bujue.
“Do you know how many years I’ve been on this earth? Who are you to call me a little sister?” Ling Er said. Her tone was level, and her demeanor was no different from an adult’s. If anything, she appeared to act much more older than a normal adult.
“I believe all women prefer to be called a little sister no matter their age.” Feng Bujue still showed no trace of fear. “Then… Big Sister Ling Er, do you mind if I ask how you plan to torture us?”
“Yes… How shall I torture you? You do not look like you fear death at all…” Ling Er placed her small hand next to her lips. She said with her finger touching her lips, “Right… You seem to care for her, right?”
Feng Bujue’s expression shifted slightly when he heard that. His heart skipped a beat, but he instantly forced himself to smile. “Haha… Actually, we are not as close as you might think…”
Ling Er did not wait for him to finish. She walked toward the beam and headed toward the other side of the beam where Feng Bujue could not see her. The next second, Passing Rain groaned heavily in pain. Feng Bujue could feel the chain that curled around him tighten. At the same time, the light scent of blood burst into the air. When Ling Er returned to Feng Bujue’s sight, her right hand was still holding the lamp, but her left hand was holding Passing Rain’s leg. The leg was snapped through right below the knee. The bone was protruding out from the flesh that was leaking blood
Many blood droplets splattered on Ling Er’s pale face, but she did not seem to mind them. Rather, she said with a bloody smile, “Well, what do you think I should take next?”
“I am fine…” Passing Rain’s quivering voice came over as if she was trying to make Feng Bujue feel better.
“I knew it… The villagers of Chang Lin were not wrong to kill you.” At that moment, Feng Bujue’s face was exceptionally cold, devoid of any emotion. His gaze was sharp like he could stare into people’s soul. “If you were given the chance to grow up, I suspect the entire world will not be peaceful.”
Ling Er dropped the broken leg to the ground and scoffed coldly. “What do you mean by that?”
“I saw the scene where you were burned to death at the Temple of the Hidden Bell, and there was one detail that confused me greatly,” Feng Bujue replied. “Why would you refer to your own mother as ’mother’? Normally, it should be something closer like ’mom’ or ’mommy’, right?
“And I have this sneaking suspicion that what you said and the tears on your face had an undercurrent of acting to them, like you were purposely trying to gather sympathy.”
Ling Er’s eyes changed, and the smile slowly disappeared from her face.
“Even when you were burned and after your death, the group of villagers still referred to you as a demon,” Feng Bujue said. “From beginning to end, they only showed anger and fear, but I did not detect any trace of guilt from them. Why is that?
“As long as someone has a conscience, no matter how foolish they might be… after they do something wrong, they’ll be wrought with guilt. This kind of guilt does not come from fear but a deep-seated sense of self-recrimination.”
He looked down on Ling Er. “The villagers of Chang Lin did not show that kind of emotion. Everything they did was built on one basis. It is a very simple conclusion, and they believe this conclusion fully—you are a demon.
“Hahaha… Ever since we entered the mountain, you tried to misdirect us. All that we have seen and heard was meant to place a misconception on us, on the belief that you are the innocent victim and you were just an innocent little girl before you died.”
Feng Bujue scoffed before continuing. “When I heard the villagers talking about ’a lack of rain’, ’the death of livestock’, and ’babies’ natural defects’ and blame them on you, my trust in them should have been lowered to the bare minimum.
“Perhaps this is my personal interest showing through, because the words they claimed were no different from the Salem Witch Hunt in middle century Europe. A bunch of foolish peasants categorized all the good things as blessing from gods but blamed all the unfortunate events on a falsehood. They had those innocent scapegoats shoulder these blames and die from a fiery death, all so that these foolish people could continue with their life in relative harmony.
“This kind of thing should have been quite common all over the world during that kind of era. I believe you should agree with me on that, right?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ling Er answered darkly.
“Is that so?” Feng Bujue asked. “Then did you know that the term ’mother’ referred to a woman who managed a brothel in the Song Dynasty? In the Qing Dynasty, it was turned into a term of reference for older women, and it was only after the new culture movement that it was spread to be used as a term to refer to a mother. Therefore, during the era in which you were killed, you should have called your mother ’mom’ or ’mommy’, not ’mother’.”
“Because of that one detail… you decided that I am…” Ling Er glared at Feng Bujue.
“I still haven’t made any decision about you, but I can make several daring assumptions.” Feng Bujue cut her off. “For example… you might have been a person born with a supernatural power, a soul that travelled from the future and entered a little girl’s body, or a super powerful consciousness that is beyond this realm.”
Ling Er’s expression changed several times, but several seconds later, it turned dark again. “Humph… for now, let’s say that your analysis is not wrong…”
At that moment, she did not mind using the term like ’analysis’. “Yes, I am a superior consciousness who was exiled to this world. I turned into this girl called Ling Er. My physical body was as weak as ant’s, but I could still use some special power. Initially, I hid myself so well, but alas… after accidentally killing my ’parents’, my power was discovered, and the things that I did before… were consequently exposed.
“After the villagers found out the truth, they captured me and then burned me alive. After losing even my physical body, I became a soul and accepted the many limitations that came with it. I was only able to reap the souls on the mountain and was unable to influence the world outside of Chang Ling.”
“Since those villagers were telling the truth,” Feng Bujue said with a cold smile,”naturally, the monster tree and monk were lying to us. After figuring that out, many problems can be solved. The two monsters hinted at us that Ling Er was an innocent soul and fed this misconception to us before we entered this realm and came to this island and fell into your hands…”
“That is where you are wrong,” Ling Er corrected. “Why do you think those simple-minded spirits know my secret?”
“So that’s the truth,” Feng Bujue said to himself. “They too were tricked by you…”
“Only by tricking them would they help me lead the monks and Taoists who came to the mountains to capture the ghost into the Realm of the Bell,” Ling Er answered with a laugh. “That is why no one is able to exorcise a ’ghost’ like me.”
“There is one question that I do not understand. After so many years, has no one been able to match you?” Feng Bujue asked.
“There was only one,” Ling Er replied. “He was incredibly powerful and was able to match me toe by toe and retreated safely. The man was indeed clever. After he escaped, he chased the villagers away from Chang Ling Town and changed the name to Chang Lin. He readjusted the Feng Shui around the mountains, attempting to use that method to neutralize my ’resentment’. Unfortunately, I am not a simple Specter. Even after one thousand years, I will not reincarnate.”
“Hmm…” Feng Bujue said to himself. “Good, I have no more questions.”
A cruel grimace appeared on Ling Er’s face again.
“Then it is my turn to ask the questions, right? Travelers from another dimension?” she demanded. “You should know what will happen if I am not satisfied with the answers, right?”
“Travelers from another dimension?” Feng Bujue said with suspicion. “So, before you took this body, you were one of the followers of the four Pillars of Divinity? Sounds like you were quite powerful as well.”
“You sure know a lot…” Ling Er raised her small hand. “But I told you, it was my turn to ask. Who gave you the permission to speak?” She waved her hand and wished to use her telekinetic power to pull off one of Feng Bujue’s limbs.
But… nothing happened.
“Hmm?” She tried again but still nothing happened.
“This is strange, isn’t it? Why aren’t we under your control anymore? Could it be…” Feng Bujue said with a mockingly scared expression. When he spoke, his arm reached out from the gap of the chains. This hand was gloved, and in his palm was a small silver bell. To be more accurate, a bell that was distorted from being gripped too hard. “Could it be that something has lost its control?”
Several minutes later, when he reached his hand into his shirt pocket, he had stuck the bell into his palm.
“When I came here, I was mumbling a question. ’If she is already this powerful, what even is there for us to do?’ I believe you heard me as well.” Feng Bujue phased through the chains like magic and stood firmly on the ground. At the same time, since the chain on his side had come off, it meant that the chain on Passing Rain’s side had loosened as well. Even though she had not untangled herself from the chains fully, her foot was already on the ground, and she could move her arms to a certain degree.
“Destroy the bell,” Feng Bujue shouted without turning his head back.
Passing Rain heard him and instantly took out the bell from her inventory. She dropped it to the ground and stomped heavily on it until the bell lost its shape. Ling Er’s expression turned ugly, but it was still cute because she still had a little girl’s appearance.
“I am someone who runs through questions on my lips, and then the answer will appear in my mind. That is the result from years of training.” Feng Bujue continued where he had stopped. “At that moment, many speculations appeared in my mind, and I’m not going to list them out one by one. The most reliable of them is… your power is stronger in this realm compared to outside, and on this island, your power is stronger than anywhere else. But the key is… there is something that we have been carrying with us since we came here that allowed you to toy with us like that.”
Feng Bujue dropped the bell onto the ground and stepped on it. “After entering the mountain, we obtained these two bells from your underlings. Hmm… My reaction was too slow this time. It has already stated clearly that ’this bell seems to be echoing with some kind of powerful evil spirit’. It is such an obvious hint… Thankfully, I was able to grab the bell before I was tied to the post.”
Feng Bujue walked to Passing Rain and handed her SCP 500. Passing Rain did not hesitate and popped one down her throat. The next second, her broken leg recovered at an impossible speed.
“The man who fought you to a draw must have been a clever person. Before he was fatally injured, he must have realized the problem and abandoned the bell,” Feng Bujue said. “And we were just lucky because we were the so-called travelers from another dimension.”
Ling Er’s expression shifted again and again before she took on a calm and cruel expression. “Then, have you considered why the man only fought me to a draw?”
As she finished, she morphed into a ball of black smog and rushed at Feng Bujue and Passing Rain.
The time flow inside the Realm of the Bell, and outside of it was different. When Feng Bujue and Passing Rain arrived on the island that morning, three days had passed outside. That morning, Chang Lin Town, which was already rife with undercurrents, had another ripple running through it. That afternoon, in the lobby of Chang Lin Inn, with the exception of a few people, almost all the people were looking for the same answer. And the question was—Where is Xie San?
After a whole night and afternoon, even schools with weak connections to the martial world had heard the news. At dusk the previous day, ’Nameless Blade’ Xie San had departed from Copper Plateau to head toward Chang Lin. When dawn arrived, Xie San’s horse had returned to Copper Plateau alone, and no one had seen Xie San at Chang Lin. Then… where could have Xie San disappeared to? How could a person disappear like that on the road?
For the past few days, people had been traversing the big road. There were not many of them. They were mostly disciples who were dispatching news back to Copper Plateau. In any case, none of them had seen Xie San during their journey.
To the observers, it appeared that after Xie San departed, he did not head to Chang Lin but decided to turn into the mountains. But that did not make sense. Could it be that after Xie San asked around at Copper Plateau, he found out there was no more room available at the inn, and he did not want to stay in an abandoned home, so he preferred to risk it in the mountains?
Or… was Xie San ambushed? That was impossible—who could beat him in a fight? Unless it was Ye Cheng, even if all Six Flowery Blades worked together, they would be unable to harm Xie San. That was the state of the wuxia world. The difference in quality could not be made up in quantity. Xie San was a known lone traveler; his name was equal to that of the master of the Ye family. Naturally, the standard of his kung fu was undeniable. Of course, if they found one thousand people, heavily surrounded Xie San, and trapped him in a place where he could not escape, then they could have captured him after he was exhausted. Of course, that was still impossible.