2.10 - Timid and Fragile White Lotus
Seeing the array left both Lin Zisheng and Zhang Daoling with the feeling that this should be expected.
Although they had told themselves that Bai Mianmian would never conspire with the evil ghost due to her fear, in fact, they guessed that this was done by her. No, it wasn’t just a guess, in their hearts they already concluded that she was the culprit.
“Qingxuan, I am truly sorry. I know I shouldn’t do it, but I just want to protect I want. I’m sorry,” Bai Mianmian paled as she watched Lin Zisheng. She knew that doing this was wrong, but she simply could not bear the thought of Zhang Daoling being in danger.
“It doesn’t matter, I understand,” Lin Zisheng looked at her with soft eyes and a peaceful smile, not angry at all.
“Do you really not blame me?” Seeing his lack of anger, Bai Mianmian’s tears fell, “Qingxuan, you really forgive me, right?”
Lin Zisheng nodded, still smiling gently. He told Bai Mianmian with words and actions that he did not blame her at all, “Yes, I forgive you.” Selfishness is human nature. Is it not the most common thing for human beings to hurt others for their own desires?
Hearing his words, Bai Mianmian hugged her herself and sobbed, her whole body collapsing. Since she had done such a despicable thing, how could she not feel guilt? Now, hearing that Ying Qingxuan did not blame her really was too good.
Just like this, she wept on the ground. After a long time, she finally regained a little strength and slowly stood up, looking towards the evil ghost. “I’ve done what I promised. Why aren’t you lettingZhang Daoling go?”
Seeing Zhang Daoling still standing inside the formation, Bai Mianmian has no other feeling besides heartache. Although the formation was aimed at Ying Qingxuan, it still affected Zhang Daoling and couldn’t be very comfortable for him.
“Let him go? When did I say I was going to let him go?” The evil ghost looked at her with a strange smile. There was an unmistakable sneer in his tone, as if he had heard a joke, “Zhang Daoling is a Celestial Master, my enemy. Let him go? Oh, let him go so he can retaliate against me, is that what you want?”
From the beginning, the evil ghost had no intention of letting Zhang Daoling go. But he hadn’t expected them to be so stupid as to deliver themself to his door. He had only planned to catch one, butut they unexpectedly give one over for free. Why shouldn’t he accept it?
“You! You broke your promise!” Bai Mianmian finally understood that she has been used. She had thought that as long as she brought Ying Qingxuan to the evil ghost, she could live happily with Zhang Daoling. But now she realized she had just been making bridal clothes for others!
“There is so much trickery, so many lies,” Lin Zisheng stared at the two who had made a deal. He slightly raised his brows, disdain in his gaze. Although not strong, because his eyes were so clear, it easily shamed others. “How can you trust a ghost’s words?”
Didn’t the phrase ‘trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice’ describe Bai Mianmian? She had thought that she would be able to live happily with Zhang Daoling as long as she fulfilled her end of the bargain.
But the facts show that she wouldn’t get anything from that deal. And now, Zhang Daoling must hate her because, in his eyes, she betrayed them.
“Indeed,” the evil ghost agreed. “How can you believe a ghost’s words? Is not a ghost the best liar?”
The evil ghost stood outside the large array, looking at Lin Zisheng with a smile, “Now I will give all of you a chance. If you have any last words, go ahead and say them. If you hold a grudge and want to kill this girl, I will even help you do it.”
After hearing what the evil ghost said, Bai Mianmian’s eyes were filled with shock. How could he say such a thing?
“Do you not understand yet? Making a deal with a ghost is like asking a tiger for its hide,” Lin Zhisheng said with regret. “He never thought of letting anyone go, including you. After all, a Tian Yin Nv is also a rare treasure.”(天阴女tiān yīn nǚ, nǚ = Nv = girl = female)
Yin Nv was a girl born on a Yin day of a Yin month in a Yin year. And if this day also happened to be the Ghost Festival, the girl’s yin energy would be even more powerful. She would no longer be called Yin Nv, but become Tian Yin Nv. Such a female was a rare nourishing thing for ghosts, how could the evil ghost let her go?(阴女yīn nǚ, nǚ = Nv = girl = female)
After hearing those words, the evil ghost’s face became serious. If Ying Qingxuan didn’t know this, he could rest assured. But theTian Yin Nv had been brought up, so he must know something.
“You know of the Tian Yin Nv?” The evil ghost’s face darkened and his eyes filled with killing intent. He should have considered this. Since this man had the dragon Blood lineage, he would surely receive the dragon’s inheritance!
“Of course,” Lin Zisheng’s light smile had yet to fade. At this time, he slowly rose into the air. It seemed as if he was unaffected by the binding array, able to come and go freely, as if he was outside of it.
“You know what this formations is!” The evil ghost’s tone held no trace of doubt. Now he understood; he had thought his strategy was successful and he had these people in the palm of his hand. But now, it seemed it was the exact opposite and he had overreached himself in his cleverness. He missed a move and lost to Ying Qingxuan.
“Of course I know what it is. Bai Mianmian didn’t tell you that I am a member of the Celestial Master Association? Photos of this area were directly sent to Longhu Sect. How difficult do you think it is to find information on this array with the Sect’s power?” The once who replied was Zhang Daoling rather than Lin Zisheng.
Seeing this scene, how could the evil ghost not know that these two people had put on a play together!
He knew the current situation was quite unfavorable; in a fight, the evil ghost would be at a disadvantage against those two. The best choice now would be to avoid conflict. Although not as good as one with dragon blood lineage, the Tian Yin Nv was still a big tonic and he might be able to beat them after devouring her.
The evil ghost’s eyes glimmered as he readied himself to grab Bai Mianmian and flee, waiting until later to fight again.
Just as the evil ghost was about to move, the array suddenly expanded to envelop both Bai Mianmian and the evil ghost. Then, a black shadow shot out from the formation lines and engulfed the four people in an instant. When the shadow disappeared, all that was left was the bloody array on the ground; the people inside had disappeared.
“This is…” Looking at the surrounding chaos, Zhang Daoling was slightly befuddled. What is this place?
“We’re inside the array Perhaps I should say this is the true form of the magic binding formation,” Lin Zisheng explained softly. Zhang Daoling didn’t know why, but he heard a certain bleakness in his tone.
“I can’t believe you dragged us all into the binding formation,” the evil ghost’s voice was full of condescension, “originally I thought you were smart. Unexpectedly you were this stupid. Don’t you know…”
Abruptly, the evil ghost froze mid-sentence. He looked at Lin Zisheng incredulously, “Where is the Yin energy from the array? Why did it disappear?!”
At this time, the evil ghost discovered something wrong. Because the binding array was used to seal ghosts, the user would not let the trapped ghosts die so easily; sometimes death was a luxury. In order to have the ghosts live in the endless darkness, inside the array was usually full of yin energy, ensuring the ghosts didn’t dissipate.
But this formation used a bit of his soul, so it should belong to him. After absorbing the yin energy, the array would be under his command and he could use the binding magic to absorb both Zhang Daoling and Ying Qingxuan to improve his strength.
However, it was unexpectedly different from his imagination. The binding magic array wouldn’t listen to him at all.
“Hey… are you looking for this?” Lin Zisheng held out his hand, a red blood-like drop in the palm of his hand. If one looked closely, they could still see a trace of black gas emitting from it. This was the piece of the evil ghost’s soul.
“How did you find it?!” The evil ghost had been sure that his plan was well hidden enough to prevent them from finding out.
Lin Zisheng gently shook his head with a smile, “I was sealed within a binding formation for thousands of years. Who could know their intricacies better than I do?” Although he understood the formation, suppressing it was still difficult, leaving him pale.
Understanding the hint, Zhang Daoling slowly walked in front of Lin Zisheng. He stared at the strange black shadow not far away, a glacial expression on his face as a golden light radiated from his hands. The light floated before him, becoming larger until it eventually it became a two-foot-long money sword.
“Daoling, you only have one hour. If you can’t kill him within that time, then you will have to use yin energy to fight.” The pressure surrounding him gave Lin Zisheng the illusion that he may be crushed at any moment.
“Yes, I understand.” Zhang Daoling faced the evil ghost standing not far away. “After so many years, it is time to resolve the hatred between you and my Longhu Sect!” Saying this, Zhang Daoling’s spirit rose. For a moment, it seemed as if this was not just a young man with a poisonous tongue, but more like the one who created the Tian Yi Dao – Celestial Master Zhang Daoling.