From a distance, Bai Ling stood beneath the shade of a tree. Beside him was a woman dressed in white.
Hong Ning recognized her and instinctively hesitated to approach, quickly stepping behind the trunk of another tree to hide.
“If you keep pestering me, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“I’m doing this for you!”
“You killed Xiao Ke.”
“So what? If she hadn’t died, she would have ruined you!” The woman in white grew agitated, her voice rising. “Humans and demons walk different paths. You are not the same kind—you can never truly be together. If you insist, you will bring divine punishment upon yourself!”
Bai Ling’s voice was icy. “That has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with me?” The woman in white clung to his arm, tilting her face up as she shook her head. “Do you think I enjoy harming others? Do you think I don’t know that committing too many sins will make my heavenly tribulation even worse in the future? Do you think I’m not afraid?”
A glimmer flickered in her beautiful eyes as she gazed into his. “We cultivated together on Kunlun Mountain for over two hundred years. You always said I was timid, letting others push me around. But as long as you were there, I was never afraid of anything. You… you really don’t understand my feelings?”
Bai Ling remained silent for a long time before finally pushing her away. “I have already spared your life.”
The woman in white said, “Come back to Kunlun Mountain with me.”
Bai Ling turned away.
She stared at him for a long while before speaking in a voice filled with hatred. “She deserved to die. If it weren’t for her, we could have cultivated and transcended the tribulation together. My only regret is that I didn’t destroy her completely, leaving her soul to scatter into nothingness!”
Bai Ling’s expression darkened with fury. “He Lan Xue!”
The woman gritted her teeth. “You will regret this.”
With a sweep of her long sleeve, she vanished into thin air.
Hong Ning had heard everything. Instead of feeling afraid, she found herself sympathizing with He Lan Xue. Love turning to hatred—wasn’t it always emotions that were the most elusive and impossible to control? No matter how much one gave, there was no guarantee of receiving anything in return.
As she mulled over this, a strange melancholy crept into her heart.
Humans and demons could not be together. The only way was to cultivate and become immortal…
“Come out,” Bai Ling’s voice suddenly called.
Realizing she had been discovered, Hong Ning hurriedly stepped out from behind the tree, smiling. “I saw that you were busy, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Bai Ling glanced at her briefly before turning to leave.
Unable to hold back, Hong Ning asked, “She’s like you, isn’t she?”
She hadn’t expected him to respond. Assuming he would ignore her as usual, she was surprised when he stopped in his tracks for the first time and actually answered.
“She is a Snow Ji of Kunlun Mountain.”
Hong Ning was taken aback. She let out a soft “Oh” and asked no further questions.
It was said that Tian He Temple had originally been a small monastery, only expanding its grounds over the past decade as its incense offerings and reputation grew. By now, it was fairly well-known.
At this moment, a large crowd of commoners had gathered at the temple’s entrance, standing on the steps below, chattering amongst themselves.
Unable to squeeze through, Hong Ning turned to Bai Ling and asked, “What happened?”
“A man died,” Bai Ling replied.
Hong Ning was startled. “How did he die?”
“He drowned.”
Hong Ning let out a breath. “Is there a pond inside?”
Bai Ling was silent for a moment before answering, “He drowned in a room.”
Drowning inside a room without any apparent reason—this was clearly no ordinary death. Hong Ning was taken aback. “Could it have been murder? This is a temple, isn’t it? The place should be protected by Buddhist blessings. Something like this shouldn’t happen. Is the entity responsible very powerful?”
Bai Ling shook his head. “This temple hasn’t been standing for long. Its Buddhist aura is weak, and the light of the Dharma has yet to fully take root.”
Hong Ning pondered for a moment. “It’s likely something water-related causing trouble. Can you sense it?”
“We’ll have to wait for it to reveal itself,” Bai Ling said.
Despite a murder having occurred, the surrounding commoners showed no signs of grief or sympathy. Instead, many of them appeared to be gloating. Just as Hong Ning was wondering why, a group of people emerged from the temple gates.
Among them were several monks, a few government bailiffs, and two guards dressed in blue robes. Leading the group were three men—one in the center, clad in a crimson official’s robe, appearing to be in his fifties with a dignified and authoritative presence. To his left was Tao Zhi Xian, the magistrate of the county, acting as his escort. To his right stood the abbot of Tian He Temple.
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