Free Web NovelChapter 804: Chapter 713: Glazed Dream (Part 4)
Two young girls moved forward under the cover of night, the roar of artillery fire fading into the distance.
Behind them, the Life Daylight army continued to engage in a firefight with the Forgotten forces, while the battlefield troops at Gaotian Fortress kept advancing.
Unlike last time, everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
Yet Xu Xiaoyou felt she had overlooked something, a vague unease was rising in her heart.
Then, a figure appeared at a high spot, her shadow stretched long under the moonlight.
Xiaoyou frowned and looked up, only to find the street was filled with neon blue and purple graffiti; the surrounding area was strewn with soldiers’ corpses; their expressions were filled with terror, while the graffiti on the wall showed grinning faces baring fangs in a jarring display.
’Qing Ying’ tossed a can of spray paint in her hand, looking down from the moonlit platform.
"It’s time for the revelation part I’ve been anticipating the most."
Qing Ying’s black twin ponytails were stained crimson, the tips seemingly flowing with blood, the whites of her eyes gradually covered in pitch black, a cross-shaped pupil emerged at the center.
She leaned her hands on the railing, the legs beneath her gothic short skirt were glaringly white in the moonlight.
"I say, with your keen intuition, you must have already guessed who the fellow beside you is, right?"
"Or are you planning to perform the Secretary’s duty until the final act?"
"I’ve seen you." Xu Xiaoyou said, looking up.
The red-haired girl resembled Chichu Chun exactly, even her style. But with her manic aura, Xiaoyou could immediately distinguish the two; she had seen her in the Oasis.
"You’re finally going to remember me." March’s smile of expectation surfaced on her lips.
"I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long."
"I’m in a good mood today, won’t be speaking in riddles."
March leaned her body forward, her fervent gaze wanting to imprison Liuli Yin beneath the platform.
"If I were you, I’d have let go of that monster’s hand without hesitation."
"Because she is the ’Crimson Dancer’."
Xu Xiaoyou looked beside her, Liuli Yin’s thoughts were already scattered by chaotic noise, her gaze hollow.
Upon hearing that title, Liuli Yin’s face hesitantly lifted, as if searching for the figure calling her.
In the dark, she saw nothing, found nothing.
If it weren’t for the lingering warmth of the girl’s hand holding her, she would have long lost her way.
"To be exact, the real ’Crimson Dancer’ was long dead, this creature was merely a fusion of her remains with the heart cut from the Eight-Spider Nest Mother by the Life Staff."
"Even if transformed like this, the spiritual power of this ruined body still covers the entire Red Weaving Workshop, playing house with countless souls from a century ago."
"Instinctively wanting to retrieve her identity." March squinted in fascination, "Even if she recovered a piece of memory, before she could use the puzzle to piece it together, she’d shuffle and forget more memories."
"She could only wander like a soul in the Red Weaving Workshop, constantly repeating the process of piecing together and forgetting."
"Most powerful individual, yet ending so tragic, truly pathetic."
"Life Staff?" Xu Xiaoyou’s body tensed.
"So that’s it!" March’s expression suddenly excited, "You didn’t think of that!"
Xu Xiaoyou looked at Liuli Yin again, but this time her gaze showed an introspective meaning.
Mired deep in the swamp of thoughts, the girl’s memory returned to the original start.
On that day, people praised the heroic and fearless girl.
On the one hundred-meter high altar, priests dressed in red and white silk stood in a row, holding incense towards the sky. The flying ashes of burned paper drifted, a gust of wind blew past the shrine’s ropes, and the vermilion banners fluttered like ocean waves. Thousands gathered around the altar, structures overlapping in a kaleidoscope, chanting in unison.
They were bidding farewell to the girl who’d embark on the path of purification.
Little did they know, the girl who should have dressed up and ascended the stage to perform the Kagura dance had disappeared.
Already a day before, she escaped the palace under cover of night, evading the maid’s patrol.
She ran endlessly in the mountain, ran and ran, no one chased her, yet she acted afraid of being caught by the past, turning back often, falling often.
No one noticed her disappearance. Because she was strong, constantly emitting radiance, leaving countless others in distress unreachable.
People didn’t believe she would leave.
Who knows how long passed, the girl parted the mountain shrubs and saw a Peach Blossom Spring.
A paradise seemingly existing only in legends, where people lived free from misfortune and hardship, living peacefully, wearing attire of a thousand years past, either farming or lounging on oxen singing.
She sought help from one house to another, but the villagers looked at her with strange eyes, wondering how the girl came here, and what lay in her swaddling clothes.
Until she met a blonde girl.
That was her first encounter with the Swordsmith.
The other didn’t seem tall, yet her physique seemed slender in the craft clothes, her hands appeared not that strong, yet she could swing the blacksmith’s hammer with great force, and her shoulder-length golden hair was striking.
"You look anxious." the Swordsmith said.
"Could you please take a look at this?"
Seeing the attire of the other, Chichu Yin anxiously presented the swaddling cloth.
Upon unfolding, it revealed not a child, but weapon fragments.
"Hmm, set it aside for a moment." the Swordsmith said.
"Please, you must fix it for me!" Chichu Yin suddenly exclaimed, "This is crucial to me... no, to all people of this world!"
"Why not explain a bit?" The Swordsmith furrowed her brow, focused on forging the blade embryo before her.
Chichu Yin didn’t know how to explain, only mentioning a terror-spreading curse had appeared in their world, bringing innumerable sufferings, and she was counted on heavily, to set out and destroy it the next day.
But now, the only weapon able to remove the curse unexpectedly shattered. In panic and helplessness, she had stumbled here, hoping for someone to fix it.
Then the Swordsmith looked at her, saying something Chichu Yin still remembers profoundly.
"Are you really ready?"
Seeing the girl standing in doubt, not responding affirmatively, the Swordsmith proceeded.
"Time here won’t flow, I’ll attempt to fix it in the coming days."
"If you still feel lost, stay here; I can’t impart knowledge to you, but I can offer sanctuary for someone like you wandering the earth."
"My name is..."
The Swordsmith’s lips gently parted, but the vision shattered at that moment, Chichu Yin stared vacantly at the black sword piercing her chest, recognizable yet coldly unfamiliar face of the blonde girl, unconsciously raising her hand, yet the body fell backward uncontrollably.
"Swordsmith..."
Chichu Yin lay lifeless on the ground, her long hair scattered, blood saturating her fine robe.
"Promise..."
Xu Xiaoyou pulled Chichu Yin’s heart out with her hand; the scepter-like object encased in flesh, its intricate construction slightly visible, vibrant green light flickering at its core.
"In her eyes, she sees only you." March leapt down from the platform, "How merciless."
"Guess, can I snatch the Life Staff from your hands next?"
