Estranged - CH 127

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The danger caught him off guard. Yun Weisi turned around abruptly as a gust of cold wind almost hit his face!

Forced into the confrontation, Yun Weisi quickly realized that this cold qi was abnormal. He rushed to withdraw his hand, but the frost had already caught up his arm and started to spread up to his wrist rapidly. An acute pain shot through his arm as he moved it, and he could not even use his spiritual power against it!

He had lost the Chunzhao Sword, and his cultivation level had dropped after traveling to the past. Moreover, the opponents he had met so far were skillful masters, so he had always felt that he was not in control of the situation. However, he should not have been restrained so easily when all he did was raise his hand.

This was no common cultivation technique!

It was better to say that this was not something a human cultivator could master.

What had frozen his hand was not ice, but ghost qi that had originated all the way from the Yellow Springs of the netherworld.

His opponent was a ghost cultivator.

There was only one ghost cultivator in Hongluo.

“Sir An?”

The previous time, this person had appeared together with head constable Xing. Little was known about him, and he did not even show his face. His skills, however, were excellent, and even with Yun Weisi and Jiufang Changming working together, they had not gained an upper hand in their confrontation. The cultivator only left when Jiang Li appeared.

Both his appearance and departure were strange, and he was suspicious in every regard.

Even after Yun Weisi had called his name, the man did not back down. On the contrary, he only added pressure as if he was going to corner Yun Weisi completely. There was no doubt that he would not recall how cordial their last meeting had been and treat Yun Weisi as a friend now.

Shards of ice which were mixed into a piercingly cold wind surged towards Yun Weisi, surrounding him from every side.

His feet hurt, and he realized that he could not move them now, as if they had taken root and fused with the ground.

He lowered his head to look down. The ground was covered in white ice that had almost frozen his feet entirely and was continuing to spread up his legs.

If he lost his arms, he at least would still be alive—but if his legs were lost as well, he would become completely useless.

Yun Weisi decided to sacrifice his arms to remain alive. He cast a seal with one of his hands and bent over to hit the ground.

With a loud rumble, the ground under his feet cracked, and the ice shattered with it. Yun Weisi quickly leaped backwards.

His legs still hurt as if frostbitten, but he could bear with this kind of pain. Yun Weisi had been through a lot in the Nine Layers of the Abyss, and those ordeals were infinitely more challenging than what he was facing at this moment, let alone the wounds he had received back then. Although he was in an unpredictable situation now, this was just another trial he had to go through in this life.

He had been shrouded in darkness and could not even see what was going on around him. Yun Weisi only felt that there was an invisible restraint made of ghost qi that was holding him back. This yard was obviously small—he could cross it in just a few steps—yet he could not reach the edge of it no matter where he went. The borders had expanded several times. A common person would not have been able to enter it, while Yun Weisi could not leave.

Since he could not see anything, there was no point in looking.

Yun Weisi closed his eyes and scanned his surroundings with his spiritual consciousness.

The ice was breaking loudly, and the ghost qi was whistling like wind. Yun Weisi heard it all clearly.

Bit by bit, the ghost qi curled around the barrier around Yun Weisi, trying to break through. However, after he had created the seal, the qi could not find any flaws in his defense.

The two of them stood facing each other in the darkness, and neither one of them was showing any weaknesses. Both of them had a lot of patience.

The cultivation base of Yun Weisi’s opponent was exceptionally high—he was no worse than the Ghost King, Linghu You. In a hundred years, Yun Weisi could fight this opponent on an equal footing, but right now, he could not win.

Strange things kept occurring in Hongluo one after another, and several human lives had been lost. Jiang Li had said that there were four suspects. There was head constable Xing, the town supervisor, as well as Old He, who had traveled together with them, and finally this person, Sir An.

The suspicions against Old He could be mostly ignored since the murders had begun before they had arrived in Hongluo.

They had also had a chance to fight against head constable Xing. Even though he was somewhat skillful, he was hardly an opponent in the eyes of cultivators and could not have stirred so much trouble with nightmare demons and fox spirits.

Yun Weisi had not met the town supervisor, so he could not judge him hastily. He was more inclined to believe that Jiang Li was also a suspect.

First of all, Jiang Li had already spent some time in Hongluo. He himself had admitted that the massacre only began after his arrival.

Secondly, because of the destruction of their world that was to happen in one hundred years, Yun Weisi never trusted Jiang Li completely, even though he knew that this conspiracy had been plotted by Luomei who had taken over Jiang Li’s body. Jiang Li’s story about Yao Wangnian was not supported by any evidence, so he could have just distorted the truth and told Yun Weisi and Changming anything he wanted to throw them off trail.

Yun Weisi had never actually trusted anyone except for Jiufang Changming.

The last person Jiang Li had deemed a suspect was this Sir An in front of Yun Weisi’s eyes.

This man was a ghost cultivator with a high cultivation base and one of head constable Xing’s acquaintances.

Yun Weisi frowned in the darkness. He had always felt that something was not right.

When they were discussing the suspects previously, they must have missed some clues about Sir An.

If this person was really the one behind the massacre in Hongluo, he would have had no need of fox spirits. With his level of cultivation, if Sir An wanted to kill anyone, he could just do it and leave unnoticed. No one could have possibly caught him, and no one would have guessed that he was the culprit. There was no use in making a commotion. Ghost cultivators could disappear without a trace, turning into formless entities, so he would not have left so many clues for people to investigate.

If Sir An was not the culprit, why would he leave upon seeing Jiang Li?

By being forced into a situation of grave danger, he suddenly thought of something.

His barrier had been destroyed by the ghost qi, and it rushed at him from every direction, creating a deathtrap.

Owooo!

A dog suddenly barked from some corner.

When Yun Weisi entered the yamen, he had left it outside and told it not to enter this place. He did not expect it to sneak in after him.

Human eyes could be deceived, but not a dog’s.

With this short howl, Yun Weisi suddenly saw everything clearly. He thought, In the past, this one surnamed Zhou was useless and happy to live in debauchery, but now he’s very helpful in a moment of danger—he truly benefited from being a dog.

“The three highest manifestations of the Dao gather qi, and the heavens raise waters!”

The heavens raise waters: also hetu, ‘an auspicious pattern that can help to solve many questions’

Golden light erupted from the seal, and the icy ghost qi was dispelled, swallowed by the light. The rest of the rays scattered away noisily, and Yun Weisi’s surroundings had been cleared by the incantation.

“Yao Wangnian!”

“Dashixiong!”

Jiang Li, who had appeared out of nowhere, shouted at the same time as Yun Weisi.

One more person accompanied Jiang Li—Chi Bijiang of the Wanxiang Palace.

With two more people on his side, Yun Weisi could fight less intensely. Together, the three of them broke through their enemy’s formation. Even if the man’s cultivation was higher than it already was, it was difficult for him to continue. Moreover, Sir An’s identity had been guessed by both Yun Weisi and Jiang Li, so he could hardly remain unfazed. There were cracks in his formation now, and his opponents used the chance to split it up.

The gloomy clouds dispersed, and the wind and snow stopped. The ominous wailings slowly disappeared in the distance, and a regular dusk, which was neither eerie nor oppressive, surrounded them.

It was already dark in Hongluo. There was thick snow under their feet, a dilapidated parapet wall, and a withered tree in the yard of the yamen that Yun Weisi had entered.

Jiang Li and Chi Bijiang stopped not far away from Yun Weisi.

Only Sir An alone was against them.

The four of them had stood in a triangle shape, and their situation was delicate and ambiguous.

Jiang Li’s eyes never left Sir An, while Chi Bijiang was mostly watching Jiang Li.

Yun Weisi thought of what Chi Bijiang was going to do for Jiang Li in the future and about the Liuhe Zhutian Formation she had set for him in exchange for her own life. For some reason, he also thought of himself and Jiufang Changming.

Everyone said that the Great Dao allowed no sentiments, but cultivators were humans. Could they really let go of all their feelings?

The more resolute one’s Dao heart grew, the less this person would be moved by feelings, but that did not mean they had abandoned their emotions completely. Even if it was said that one had a heart made of stone, it was not made of actual stone. Moreover, water could erode stone with time. Were human hearts any more solid?

Chi Bijiang was destined to meet Jiang Li, and it seems that this fateful encounter had happened here, in Hongluo.

They were deeply attracted to each other and were well-matched in status, so it was natural for them to become daoist partners. Unfortunately, Jiang Li’s body had been taken over later—yet Chi Bijiang knew nothing of it. She still believed that the man was Jiang Li, so she was willing to do anything for him, even if it meant sacrificing her life to set up a formation and kill the common people for the sake of her feelings for Jiang Li.

A bystander would have said that this woman was pitiable yet detestable, but Yun Weisi knew that had his shizun asked him to do what she did, he would have agreed as well.

Only bystanders could preach about justice and fairness.

“Dashixiong!”

Jiang Li took a step towards Sir An, but it seemed that an invisible obstacle prevented him from coming closer.

Sir An did not answer. He was just standing there quietly as if he neither saw nor heard them.

Jiang Li breathed deeply to calm down.

“Dashixiong, we grew up together, so I can recognise you even if you don’t say anything. I have a lot of questions for you. Why have you been avoiding me? If you’re worried about what happened back then, you can just say what’s bothering you out loud, and I’ll do my best to help you!”

While Jiang Li was talking, Yun Weisi was quietly examining the terrain.

After they had broken the formation, they had returned to the small courtyard of the yamen. However, not a single branch on the tree here had stirred ever since, and the snowflakes kept floating down at the same short intervals, landing on the withered tree branches. The positions of things and intervals of time here had not changed at all.

Obviously, they were still trapped and had not left this place.

Sir An moved.

Chi Bijiang flinched. She had wanted to stand in front of Jiang Li, but he had pulled her to stand behind him faster.

This simple movement could let one guess a lot, especially if one, like Yun Weisi, knew what was to happen in the future—if history repeated itself, Jiang Li would have his body overtaken, and everything would follow the original course of events, finally arriving at the point when the world would be destroyed and Yun Weisi would perish alongside his shizun and Luomei. Everything was moving towards this outcome.

However, they had gone back in time to this crucial moment in Hongluo. Nothing had happened yet, and the future could be altered.

But still, why would they arrive at this particular place and time?

Why would they come there just in time to witness Jiang Li and Chi Bijiang’s chance encounter and discover the existence of Yao Wangnian of the Wanjian Immortal Clan?

Yun Weisi had been pondering this question, but never managed to find an answer. Yet now, looking at Jiang Li, Chi Bijiang, and Sir An, he suddenly realized something!

At the time when the world was destroyed, someone had secretly set up a way to turn the world and time upside down, a way to connect the hidden clues to the mysterious truth.

That Liuhe Zhutian Formation had been set up by Chi Bijiang. Except for Luomei, she was the only one who understood it well.

In other words, she could have realized that something was wrong with her lover before her death. Unfortunately, she was alone and could not go against Luomei in her state. She had then waited for someone to activate the hidden mechanism in the formation and ordered time to flow backwards at this last moment to change the future.

Yun Weisi and Jiufang Changming were the ones who could change everything.

Sir An took off his hood, and the mask he had been hiding behind was discarded. He sneered in a hoarse voice, and hissed like a snake.

“What do you think? Do I look like your shixiong?”

Jiang Li’s expression changed faintly and he leant backwards slightly, as if he wanted to retreat, but his reason stopped him.