Chapter 57: Leave Not a Living Soul!
“You can move anyone, but you can’t touch her.”
Shuo E stared intensely at Beres, the distant brilliant light reflecting off his chiseled face, his eyes glinting with a beast-like ferocity.
Seeing this scene, Miss Rabbit was somewhat distracted, a warm feeling rising quietly in her heart, one she was eager to suppress.
Just as Miss Rabbit was lost in thought, Shuo E suddenly turned his head, their gazes unintentionally meeting.
“This guy’s gouged lips are different; at least there are several surviving cases among the experimental subjects under Mr. Gou, but among the experimental subjects that he has handled, only one has survived so far.”
“If you fall into his hands, there is almost no chance of survival.”
“…”
Miss Rabbit parted her lips, gazing at Shuo E’s profile, her eyes slightly trembling.
She felt something silently emerging in her heart, continuously surging; if she was not careful, she might end up saying something extraordinary.
“Do you really wish for me to live?” she asked.
“Yes, indeed.” Shuo E nodded, his expression unchanged, “Before completing the last experiment, you cannot d*e; otherwise, I won’t be able to report to the Elders’ Council.”
The corners of Miss Rabbit’s mouth twitched slightly, falling into silence.
d*mn! Why can’t I ever learn my lesson?
Seeing this, Beres curled the corners of his mouth into a smirk and said sullenly, “Haha, a soulless fool, an experimental subject without freedom…”
These two really are a perfect match!
If they were sent to the Black Sun Brothers Tech Society, it would definitely speed up their research progress.
He thought secretly, casting a bored glance at Miss Rabbit, his lips curled in disinterest.
Miss Rabbit was indeed a rare experimental subject, but compared to the stuff he was currently researching, she was merely dispensable.
————
Entering the Peach Source scenic area through the main gate, one would ascend a staircase about fifty meters long and see a fan-shaped observation deck approximately one hundred meters in diameter.
This was the largest observation deck within the scenic area, built against the mountain, with open views on three sides. Standing on the deck, one could overlook the peach source canyon’s winter scenery stretching over a hundred kilometers.
In one corner of the observation deck sat a small security booth, its light on, where a middle-aged man on duty was, as usual, snacking on oily peanuts while sipping the local peach blossom brew to keep warm.
“Bang——!”
Suddenly, a thundering sound came from deep within the canyon.
In the security booth, the slightly tipsy middle-aged man looked at the ripples spreading in his wine cup, momentarily stunned, rubbing his eyes.
“Bang——!”
Another dull sound followed, as if someone was blasting rocks deep in the canyon.
The security booth trembled violently with the shaking of the earth.
Dust mixed with wood chips began to fall from the roof.
Seeing the peach blossom brew spilling from the cup, splashing all over the table, the on-duty middle-aged man frowned, got up, put on his coat, donned his hat, and picked up the flashlight from the table, leaving the booth.
“Creak——!”
The slight sound of the door hinge turning was like a wail, and the frigid cold wind rushed in with tiny snowflakes as the door opened.
The middle-aged man stood at the booth’s entrance, shining the flashlight outside.
In the deep winter midnight, all was silent, and the empty observation platform lay in a vast desolation.
“Strange… Did I mishear?” the middle-aged man mumbled, looking towards the direction of the peach source canyon, “No, no, I can’t drink any more of this wine.”
As he spoke, another loud bang sounded, with rocks being hurled high into the air, crashing together, producing a resonant roar.
“Bang——!”
In an instant, a shockwave surged from deep within the canyon, whipping up a storm and snowflakes that made it hard for anyone to stand upright.
Accompanying the deafening sound and the storm, a sudden burst of golden light erupted from the peak of the distant mountain, faintly visible under the night sky.
Something emerged from that mountain, resembling a giant tree, fervent light embellishing its twisted trunk, dazzling golden light blooming like countless flowers on the trunk.
Following this, a point of bright light suddenly lit up amidst the broken mountainside.
The point of light rapidly expanded, surging upwards, instantly tearing through the night, bursting forth with light and heat, as if a miniature sun were rising.
The on-duty middle-aged man sobered up, falling to the ground and staring blankly at the magnificent scene in the canyon filled with a breath of destruction, only coming back to his senses after a long while. He took out his walkie-talkie from his coat, trembling as he shouted.
“Hello, hello, monitoring center? This is Observation Platform No.1 in the Peach Source scenic area. I, I saw…”
A cacophony of footsteps approached from one side of the observation deck, and the middle-aged man’s words abruptly stopped.
He turned to look in the direction of the footsteps and saw strange, twisted shadows in the dense forest, accompanied by eerie sobbing, something was rapidly approaching through the woods.
“Who, who is there? Come out!” the middle-aged man shouted, and he soon saw a child stepping out from the forest.
It was a child less than a meter tall, dressed in a vivid red outfit that looked as if it might drip bl**d, facing away from the direction of the security booth, slowly approaching.
There was no sound of footsteps, nor any footprints left in the snow, as if they were floating.
Summoning his courage, the middle-aged man raised the flashlight, shining its beam on the child.
However, just as the light fell on the child, the child’s figure suddenly vanished from his sight as if evaporated, and the surroundings fell into silence in an instant.
As he couldn’t help but blink, a dizzying, maddening shriek pierced the air, and a grotesque, decayed face with sunken features abruptly appeared right in front of him.
Face to face, nose to nose, the mouth full of sharp teeth slowly opened at a strange angle, an overwhelming stench of decay surged forth.
“Poof——!”
The middle-aged man felt the world around him twist, and then his head smashed violently against the ground, his consciousness fading away.
In a haze, he saw a child gnawing on his body, while in the distance behind the mountain forest, shadows like a herd of beasts fleeing calamity rushed towards him…
————
Three kilometers away from the Fushang Sacred Tree, a towering peak pierced the clouds, its walls steep as if carved by a kn*fe, resembling a sharp sword.
At the summit, a tall woman dressed in a pure black qipao stood with her arms crossed, defiant against the violent and scorching rush of air, her eyes, once gentle as a spring breeze, were now calm like an ancient jade.
With the power closely tied to the Fushang Sacred Tree, Jumeng felt a clearer awareness of the strange occurrences happening atop it than anyone else.
“Qunyang” was resurrecting from d*ath.
She gazed solemnly at the colossal flesh-and-bl**d tree reaching toward the sky, her skirt and dark green hair billowing in the fierce wind like battle flags.
When the storm subsided, she slowly turned around, looking at Yuan Ye and Shang Nanxing, who was tending to his wounds, and spoke calmly, “Yuan Ye, have all those I instructed reached their respective positions?”
“Reporting, uh…” Yuan Ye struggled to rise, gritting his teeth, “Reporting to the East Master, everything’s ready; I guarantee that not a single fire crow will escape, and not a single troublemaker will get in from outside.”
Upon hearing this, Jumeng nodded slightly. This time, her plan’s greatest concern wasn’t unexpected or sudden events, nor the failure of her powers leading to her d*ath.
Her biggest worry lay in the possibility that the turmoil in the Peach Source would impact the innocent lives within the surrounding eight hundred miles under her command.
After all, whether it was Qunyang’s devotees or the spiritual ability users and urban legends gathering in response, they were terrifying entities that could hardly be resisted by those without spirit energy.
Suddenly, another wave of scorching spiritual energy fluctuations hit, and Jumeng’s fair face bore signs of being scorched, patches of burn marks appearing.
As pain surged, she gritted her silver teeth, took a deep breath, and slowly closed her eyes.
In the darkness, countless numb, lifeless chanting voices echoed in her ears.
“On the soup valley stands Fushang, the tree is a thousand meters tall, one day it rises, one day it falls… On the soup valley stands Fushang…”
It was like the murmurs of the dead.
It described the golden crow ascending from the Fushang Sacred Tree, the sorrowful prayers, desperate cries, and unwilling whispers of Qunyang’s countless devotees overlapping, pulling Jumeng’s consciousness inch by inch toward the abyss.
This was what she had borne and suppressed for thousands of years—spirit energy carrying the characteristics of a decaying deity.
Although the denizens of the Peach Source were not as extreme as the followers of the Great Serpent God in their distortions, their weak resentment, excessive worship, and unfounded fantasies about the deity they believed in…
These faint emotions, accumulated over the centuries, had already reached a horrifying level.
Since its birth, Qunyang had never truly cared for the people of the Peach Source and, upon sensing this negative power born from faith, abandoned its powers and fled.
However, as her accompanying deity, Jumeng could not be so carefree, watching the denizens of the Peach Source fall once again into the abyss of lost faith.
She opened her eyes from a chaos, saw them, and fell in love with them.
Thus, over the long years, Jumeng bore alone the twisted and corrupting power that should be suffered by two deities.
Today, amidst some unknown instigation, that corrupting power seized Qunyang’s powers, birthed life, and was about to awaken.
…
Under Jumeng’s consciousness’ guidance, the geological energy, which ordinary spiritual senses could hardly capture, ascended like countless golden threads from the vast earth, gliding across the sky, intertwining into a magnificent and resplendent tapestry that flowed into her delicate form.
It was as if a golden banner shading the sun had unfurled behind her.
As the geological energy continuously merged into her body, her spiritual energy fluctuations soared, temporarily suppressing her injuries and the swirling corrupting power within her, with the burn marks on her skin instantly fading.
Then…
She slowly opened her eyes, fixing her gaze ahead, as if looking into the depths of the Peach Source or even further beyond.
“Yuan Ye, look, the sun has risen! It really doesn’t know when to choose its time.” She said lightly.
“Yes, East Master.” Yuan Ye replied softly.
“Then let it fall down…”
At least until the city’s barrier is activated, it should stay there obediently. Jumeng added in her heart.
As she thought, her gaze grew colder, and her tone calm as she said, “Yuan Ye, notify everyone, in one minute, all of you follow me to attack; if you see any non-Peach Source denizens along the way…”
As she was halfway through, she paused, picked up her pipe, took a light puff, and while slowly exhaling the smoke rings, her eyes gazed through the mist, murmuring, “Leave not a living soul!”
(This segment of the plot is rather long, did not finish 5K in one chapter; I will update 3K first, and later update another chapter~)
Jiang Li’s character design
