Hao Ruoxue and Yaya breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Ren: "But I still have a question. What does the red line represent? It doesn't exist in the background of the instance, so what role does it play?"
Su Cheng glanced at the red lines above their heads, and her eyes inexplicably stung.
She shook her head. "The red thread represents a third force; it doesn't participate in the story, but it has its own set of order and rules."
The three of them seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.
Li Ren glanced at his watch. "Why hasn't Wang Zhichao returned yet? Have you seen him?"
Su Cheng: "No."
Hao Ruoxue: " Su Sister Cheng and I have been in the ancestral hall area, and we haven't seen him."
Yaya gently shook her head, "When I left this morning, he seemed to still be sleeping."
Li Ren's expression darkened slightly, and he sighed softly.
Su Cheng once said that the red thread had already passed through Wang Zhichao's head, and he only had one chance left. It's raining outside, and Wang Zhichao hasn't returned yet; he's likely met with some misfortune...
After exchanging information, Hao Ruoxue went back to her room to water the lotus seeds.
The best lotus varieties absorb water much less during the day than at night, and apart from their eerie appearance, they do not exhibit any aggressiveness.
The rain intensified, and as the rain soaked the ground, a pungent, rotten stench filled the air.
This kind of weather is not suitable for going out.
Su Cheng spent the entire afternoon meditating in her room. The lotus seed would mature tonight, and the Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God would be held tomorrow.
Village Chief Bai and Daochenzi wouldn't let these sacrificial offerings go easily; she always felt they had some hidden tricks up their sleeves.
After the rain subsided, Aunt Jin returned with Wei Guhua and Yao Yue.
The three of them, like wooden figures, went straight back into the house without any expression.
When Su Cheng heard the noise, she opened the door and saw that the two red threads on Aunt Jin's shoulders had disappeared into her shoulders, and she too had become a puppet of the red threads.
Su Cheng guessed that the rule Aunt Jin violated was most likely that tourists were not allowed to steal from villagers.
Aunt Jin stole the fish soup from the village chief's house. Whether she did it willingly or was misled, her actions violated a taboo.
The drizzle stopped as night fell.
It remained silent outside the window.
Su Cheng sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the lotus seed that had sprouted flower buds. Under her gaze, it grew, fading from its pale green to a deep crimson.
She stared intently, and in her daze, she heard an ethereal voice. "With just a drop of blood, I can bloom..."
Su Cheng walked step by step toward the lotus bud.
"Give me a drop of blood... thank you..."
Come, let me bloom for you...
It pleaded and tempted again and again.
Until Su Cheng came to it, took out a knife, and mercilessly cut off the rootstock under the flower bud.
The red resentment that attempted to invade consciousness was completely devoured by the blade.
Su Cheng took two palm-sized red lotus flowers out of the water vat. "This little illusion won't fool me."
She put the red lotus into her Smart Bag, turned around, and went out.
Hao Ruoxue's room next door was very quiet, but Su Cheng started kicking the door.
Before nightfall, Hao Ruoxue told Su Cheng that she would bring out all the usable tools at night. Knowing she might be outmatched, she hoped Su Cheng would kick down the door to her room after finishing her task, without knocking.
This time, the door wasn't easily kicked open.
Su Cheng used the boning knife to chop several more times before finally managing to break open the door.
Hao Ruoxue lay unconscious on the ground, a lotus bud with a human face growing on her chest, its thick roots coiling around her waist like a snake's tail.
The heart inside the chest cavity glowed red, and with each rise and fall, it seemed as if it were about to burst out of the chest cavity.
Several items were lying on the ground, indicating that a battle had taken place.
Su Cheng swung her sword at the lotus bud, only to collide with the golden runes. The force of the impact overturned the tables and chairs inside the room!
It's that rune again!
Unable to land a blow, Su Cheng continued to attack with her sword.
The red lotus bud, perhaps having absorbed enough blood, greatly increased its power. Taking advantage of the golden pattern defense, it swung its thick, long root to stab at Su Cheng.
The boning knife rubbed against the roots, and as it cut, wisps of foul-smelling black smoke rose up.
The lotus buds suck human blood, while the broken stems release a thick, black sap.
The juice splashed onto Su Cheng's clothes, instantly corroding a large area.
"Click--"
Finally, the golden pattern shattered under repeated attacks and disappeared into the air.
Blue ghostly flames ignite the flower buds.
"Ah!!!" The face on the flower bud, which looked exactly like Hao Ruoxue's, was twisted and grotesque. It screamed in pain, its eyes filled with resentment.
Blue flames spread, and the roots turned to ashes.
"Go to hell!"
The roaring human face was aimed directly at Su Cheng's face. It unleashed its last bit of power, and the chilling ghostly aura it released covered the walls of the room with a thin layer of frost.
Under Su Cheng's indifferent gaze, the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant emitted a dazzling golden light.
The black mist Vengeful Ghost turned to dust in terror.
The chilly atmosphere in the room suddenly dissipated, and the red lotus bud still lay on Hao Ruoxue's chest, its color now somewhat dull.
It is still in bud and has not yet bloomed.
Hao Ruoxue's heart was still glowing red, and her clothes could not hide the light emanating from her chest.
Su Cheng frowned and squatted down to hold the lotus bud stuck in Hao Ruoxue's heart.
She pulled upwards with force, and with a tearing sound, blood gushed out, staining large patches of Hao Ruoxue's clothes red.
The flower bud detached from Hao Ruoxue's body, revealing a section of root.
It turned out that a thin stem had pierced Hao Ruoxue's chest cavity from beneath the flower bud!
Realizing the situation, Su Cheng stopped pulling the lotus bud upwards and instead guided the White Qi into Hao Ruoxue's heart.
Slender roots pierced through the flesh and blood, coiling around Hao Ruoxue's heart.
It circled and circled, yet failed to pierce her heart— the White Qi Su Cheng had left within her became her last line of defense!
It was this White Qi, which had been used to investigate the black thread contract between Hao Ruoxue and the lotus seed, that bought her time to be saved.
Su Cheng thickened the White Qi barrier, cleansing away the residual yin energy within Hao Ruoxue's body.
At the same time, he held the lotus bud and pulled it outwards.
With a rustling sound from the rapid friction between the rootstock and the breast wall, the thin, worm-like strand was pulled out of Hao Ruoxue's body.
This rhizome is a full two meters long, and its fair stem is stained red with blood.
If Su Cheng had arrived any later, it might have eventually torn apart the White Qi barrier protecting Hao Ruoxue's heart.
Su Cheng didn't dare to delay. She put the lotus aside and gave Hao Ruoxue an emergency injection first.
This potion was obtained from the trade with Lu Heng back then, and now it's come in handy.
" Hao Ruoxue, Ruoxue, wake up!" Su Cheng patted her cold cheeks.
"Cough cough cough..." Hao Ruoxue coughed, then clutched her chest in pain.
She had several broken ribs, and now that she was regaining consciousness, her nerves were sending out pain signals.
Su Cheng reminded, "Use all available medications for treatment."
Hao Ruoxue took a white bottle out of her bag and swallowed the last pill.
Then he took out a white spray bottle and sprayed it on his chest, applying all the available medications to his body!
Seeing this, Su Cheng felt relieved and turned to look at the lotus buds on the ground.
Bloodstains stained the white stem and fell onto the flower bud, which then unfurled its petals without anyone noticing.
The finest red lotus in full bloom is larger than the ordinary red lotus, but its color is duller and it looks somewhat wilted.
The sky outside the window was faintly lit; it was already dawn on the second day.
That night seemed to block people's Perception of time; what I thought would be at most two hours turned into a whole night.
Su Cheng helped Hao Ruoxue sit on the bed.
She picked up the red lotus flower from the ground and used a boning knife to cut it back and forth several times before separating the stem from the flower.
"Keep the flowers. Can I have this stem?"
Hao Ruoxue took the flowers and put them in her pocket. "Of course."
Su Cheng carefully put the root away and took out a bottle of nutrient solution from her bag. "Drinking this will give you some energy."
Hao Ruoxue shook her head, "Thank you, I still have medicine, don't worry, I can handle it."
She wasn't shameless; she had already troubled Su Cheng a lot, so how could she possibly accept anything more from her?
"Although I helped you, I also took some of your things. Don't feel guilty."
Su Cheng shoved the nutrient solution into her hand. "Take it. Drink it and quickly regain your strength. The Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God is coming up soon."
"... Okay, thank you." Hao Ruoxue didn't insist, glanced gratefully at Su Cheng, and drank the nutrient solution.
There was a knock on the door, and Yaya's voice came through. " Su Cheng? Hao Ruoxue? Are you alright?"
Su Cheng responded and opened the door.
Li Ren and Yaya stood in the courtyard.
Li Ren was in the best mental state among them, showing no signs of fatigue.
Yaya's face was slightly pale, but she seemed to be in good spirits.
Su Cheng paused, " Wang Zhichao didn't come back last night, so you stayed in his room?"
Yaya's expression tightened slightly as she explained, "Since Wang Zhichao hasn't returned, there's no need to waste the lotus seeds."
This was an excuse that Yaya had already come up with. The lotus seeds in Wang Zhichao's room were ordinary lotus seeds, which were safer than top-grade lotus seeds. Rather than wasting them, it was better to let her use them.
Wang Zhichao is already dead; the chance to live should be given to others who have the opportunity to leave alive.
Su Cheng gave a faint "hmm" and didn't say anything more.
Both she and Li Ren looked toward the courtyard gate at the same time.
The gate was pushed open, and Village Chief Bai led dozens of villagers in. "Hehehe... Weren't you tourists going to participate in the Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God? I've come to take you there!"
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 117
"Bang"
The three closed doors were opened at the same time, and Aunt Jin, Wei Guhua, and Yao Yue walked out of the house at the same time.
They no longer resembled humans; their yellowish skin was devoid of flesh, dry and clinging to their bones, and they held a crimson lotus flower the size of a bathtub with blank expressions.