Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1033 Shaking

"See that moon gate? Run east after you get out and find Elder Su of the Qingfeng Sword Sect. Tell him that Shen Yan asked him to protect you." Ah Tao shook her head desperately, tears finally falling. "I won't! I want to be with the young master!" "Be good!" Shen Yan's voice suddenly became stern, then softened. "You have to help me deliver something to Elder Su." He untied the bronze mirror from his neck and stuffed it into Ah Tao's arms. The cold metal made the girl flinch. "This is the key to finding the Soul-Separating Jade. We can't let it fall into the wrong hands." He deliberately emphasized the word "bad people." Sure enough, Ah Tao clutched the mirror tightly, her eyes more determined. Although the child was afraid, she knew right from wrong. "When I find a chance to shake off Ye Jingfeng, I'll go find you at Qingfeng Sword Sect." Shen Yan patted her head, as if soothing a frightened animal. "Remember, no matter who asks, don't tell them you've seen me." Ah Tao bit her lip and nodded, but her tears fell even harder. "Young Master, you must come... Ah Tao is waiting for you at Qingfeng Sword Sect, waiting like peach blossoms blooming." Shen Yan's heart felt like something was tugging at him. He thought of the peach blossoms in Yanyu Town, which bloomed profusely every March. The game setting claimed they were "eternally in bloom," but in reality, peach blossoms eventually withered. He didn't know if he'd live to see them bloom again, but he nodded vigorously, "I will." The wind outside the window suddenly picked up speed, carrying a murderous edge. Shen Yan knew Ye Jingfeng was about to strike. He pushed Ah Tao away, "Run!" Ah Tao stumbled out, her thin figure like an arrow shot from a bow, heading straight for the Moon Gate. Ye Jingfeng really turned around to chase after her, and the dagger drew a silver arc in the moonlight, going straight to the girl's back. "Ye Jingfeng, your opponent is me!" Shen Yan pulled out the jade pendant from his waist and smashed it at Ye Jingfeng with all his strength. The jade pendant had little killing power, but it hit Ye Jingfeng's wrist accurately. "Looking for death!" Ye Jingfeng was enraged, gave up chasing A Tao, and turned to pounce on Shen Yan. The cold light of the dagger magnified in front of his eyes, and Shen Yan could even smell the rust on the blade, mixed with a faint smell of blood. He rolled to the corridor in a mess, and his back hit the stone steps, and the pain made his eyes black. This was not the "hit stiffness" in the game, but the real pain of bones hitting stones. He saw Ye Jingfeng's dagger pierced into the place where he had just been lying, and the bluestone slab cracked into spider-web-like patterns. "Master Shen, I didn't expect you to be so dodging!" Ye Jingfeng unsheathed his dagger, the tip of the blade lifting Shen Yan's brocade robe. "What a shame, the game's over." Shen Yan glanced over Ye Jingfeng's shoulder, watching Ah Tao disappear through the Moon Gate. A sigh of relief washed over him. He smiled, grimace in pain, yet feeling a sense of relief he'd never experienced before. "Who said the game's over?" He fiercely kicked Ye Jingfeng's knee, a common technique in the game to break a move. Ye Jingfeng stumbled, and Shen Yan seized the opportunity to scramble to his feet and dash in the opposite direction toward the woodshed. He remembered the game's woodshed had a dog hole, a shortcut for beginners to skip classes. "Catch him!" Ye Jingfeng roared behind him, filled with furious murderous intent. As Shen Yan rushed into the woodshed, his forehead slammed against the doorframe, a dull thud. Sawdust fell into his eyes, stinging them, bringing tears to his eyes. He groped for the dog hole, the burred wood edge scratching his palm. The moment he crawled out of the dog hole, he heard the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the woodshed, as well as the furious roar of the Night Storm. Shen Yan didn't bother to shake off the mud on his body and ran down the mountain road. The rain wet his hair, and it stuck to his face like a layer of cold spider web. The wound on his wrist was still painful. It was just scratched by the wooden thorns in the dog hole. Blood seeped out and dripped onto the mountain road, like a string of red marks. Shen Yan smiled, and laughed so hard that tears came out. So this is the world of blood. NPCs will remember your kindness, and wounds will really hurt. When escaping, you have to crawl through the dog hole, and even bleeding will leave traces. He touched his chest. The phone was still there, but the screen was dark. He didn't know if it still had power. But he knew that he had to survive. Not only to find the Soul-Separation Jade and go home, but also for Ah Tao who was waiting for him in the Qingfeng Sword Sect like waiting for peach blossoms to bloom. In the mist at the end of the mountain road, the sound of the cultists searching could be heard faintly. Shen Yan took a deep breath, tied the hem of his brocade robe around his waist, and ran towards Taohuawu. The rain continued to fall, but his steps were more resolute than when he arrived. He finally understood that this wasn't a game where you could reload saves, but a world where you had to risk your life. And those NPCs who bleed, remember, and wait were no longer just statistics, but living people. The cold pond deep in Qingqiu was the most mysterious place in this spiritual realm. The water had never frozen since ancient times. Even in the depths of winter, only scattered ice fragments floated on the surface, like a handful of broken diamonds scattered on a jade plate. The forget-me-nots growing by the pond had long since withered, revealing the blue-gray rocks beneath. The rocks were covered with years of unmelted snow, which shone coldly in the moonlight. When the last snowflake swirled down and landed just on the tip of the nine-tailed white fox's nose, the entire cold pond was suddenly shrouded in a silver glow. The light didn't come from the stars or the moon, but rather gushed forth from the white fox's body. It first drifted like a thin mist, then condensed into a ten-foot-tall pillar of light, illuminating the surrounding snow. Lingxi felt her muscles and bones creak softly, like old trees sprouting new buds. Her fluffy fur fell away at a visible rate, each strand a flickering firefly, trailing a pale golden trail through the air as it merged into the moonlight. She instinctively tucked her nine tails in, only to feel them gradually becoming transparent in the halo, eventually dissipating into a wisp of smoke, leaving behind the slender waist of a human girl. She shuddered as her skin touched the cold air. Without the protection of her thick fur, the cold water vapor from the pond seeped into her collar, bringing a biting chill. Yet, strangely, the moonlight on her skin felt warm and gentle. The two sensations intertwined, sending a shiver through her. "So this is what a human looks like." Lingxi tentatively raised her hand and looked at the unfamiliar figure reflected in the water. Her long black hair cascaded down to her waist, with a few unmelted snowflakes still on the ends; her plain skirt swayed gently with her movements, revealing ankles as white as if carved from jade. What fascinated her most were her eyes, which still retained the light golden color unique to foxes, but now shrouded in mist, appearing more lively than usual. She rubbed her fingertips behind her ears, where a small tuft of light pink hair still remained, feeling soft, like a peach bud just emerging in early spring. This humanoid body made her feel a little at a loss.