Chapter 78 (2/2): Master, It Tastes Good

In the story, Lin Qiyou was the daughter of Master Lin, and Qingmu was a servant of the Lin family.

They grew up together, secretly in love, and privately promised to marry.

But Master Lin had long intended to sell Qingmu.

Qingmu knew this but hid it from Lin Qiyou.

Crying, throwing tantrums, threatening to jump off the roof, Lin Qiyou said if Qingmu didn’t tell her, she would jump.

Only then did Qingmu reveal the truth.

Hearing this, Lin Qiyou flew into a rage, taking all the gold and valuables she could carry and ran away with Qingmu.

The story was simple but drew Lin Qiyou’s dissatisfaction.

She kicked Qingmu lightly in the stomach and asked,

“Strange! Did I only fall for you because of your face?”

“Well, not exactly. It grew on me over time.”

“Oh… Why did they want to sell you? A servant worth that much?”

“A lady took a fancy to me, wanted me as her servant.”

“Oh~ I see. Then why didn’t you say it earlier? Why did you make me threaten to jump from the house before you spoke?”

“…My younger siblings are still in the Lin family. If you hadn’t helped me rescue them, you would’ve broken ties with the Lin family.”

“Hmph!”

Mentioning this, Lin Qiyou recalled everything.

Thinking about it, it was kind of miraculous.

The break with the Lin family…

Lin Qiyou didn’t see it as a complete break.

She wanted her father to live well and didn’t want their disagreement to lead to a direct confrontation.

She wanted to save the person she loved and be with him but didn’t want to face her father’s wrath.

It was a contradiction.

But she became it.

Completely became it.

Qingmu…

She remembered everything.

That day, she was drawing a turtle on paper, too lazy to study.

Her father brought a young boy to be her study companion.

From then on, she and Qingmu were together—studying under a master, wandering outdoors, eating together, playing together, even sleeping just separated by a wall.

When she realized she liked him…

Lin Qiyou suddenly stood up and grabbed Qingmu’s waist.

In his hand was a silver bell.

She immediately searched her body, loudly asking, “Where’s mine? Where’s my silver bell?”

“It’s in the cabinet. You fell off the mountain. After I brought you home, I put your bell away.”

Qingmu quickly joined his hands, showing he dared not anger Lin Qiyou.

“Hmph!”

Lin Qiyou frowned, tossed the silver bell to Qingmu, then rummaged through the cabinet.

Sure enough, her white silver bell was there.

She smiled, took it out, and shook it, the bell chiming clear.

Behind her, Qingmu’s bell jingled too.

Turning around, Qingmu was shaking his bell as well.

“Heh, liar!”

Lin Qiyou recalled how Qingmu once gave her this bell, pretending he had affairs with other women, making her steal it.

He said if one bell jingled, the other would too.

In the end, they just jingled together.

Now she remembered everything.

“Lady, you remembered so fast?”

Qingmu stood, surprised at Lin Qiyou.

“Hmph, remembered!”

Lin Qiyou wrinkled her nose.

Qingmu suddenly hugged her and fell back on the bed together.

“What are you doing? Get off, get off!”

Qingmu’s boldness made Lin Qiyou hit and kick him, but her blows were more like affection, her scolding gentle.

Qingmu’s lips landed repeatedly on her face.

Lin Qiyou laughed uncontrollably, their joyful voices filling the wooden house with happiness.

Seasons bloomed and withered—another year passed.

One day, Lin Qiyou and Qingmu chatted outside the wooden house.

Suddenly, an uninvited guest appeared before them.

Lin Qiyou recognized him almost at once—it was someone from the Lin family.

Both she and Qingmu tensed, but the man simply nodded to Lin Qiyou and gestured elsewhere.

“Lady, the master?”

“It’s fine. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”

Lin Qiyou patted Qingmu’s chest, made a playful face, and followed the man away.

A little distance from the cabin, the man said,

“Miss, I bring the master’s message. He says—”

“What does he say?”

Lin Qiyou cut him off, her beautiful face full of noble authority.

“I will absolutely not return. Don’t try to persuade me! Unless you break my legs and drag me back, after you leave, I’ll still move with my husband, just you watch!”

“Uh, Miss, please don’t be angry.”

The man wiped sweat from his brow.

“The master means: Miss, you can stay outside if you want or come back if you want. He’s missed you these past two years and has come to understand. He welcomes you and Qing—uh, your husband to return.”

“What?”

Lin Qiyou almost leapt with excitement.

Looking at the man, she asked, “Really! You’re not lying? My father really said this? He’s willing to accept Qingmu?”

Thinking of how her father once spoke of having him but not her, or her but not him, now, if true, Lin Qiyou felt all her suffering had been worth it!

“Would I lie? Absolutely true!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Also, I have more good news for Miss!”

“What?”

“You’re going to have a younger sister.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely true!”

With this news, Lin Qiyou bid farewell to the man and returned to the wooden house.

She told Qingmu the joyous news, who wept tears of joy.

“Lady, I should’ve listened to you from the start. If I hadn’t confessed that I was coerced by the master, perhaps we wouldn’t be like this now…”

“Heh heh heh!”

Lin Qiyou put her hands on her hips, beaming with pride.

Seeing Qingmu sitting on the bed, his face full of yearning for the future, Lin Qiyou raised an eyebrow and sat beside him.

“Hey, what do you think about us having a child?”

Lin Qiyou winked, then tackled Qingmu, pressing her lips to his.

As their days grew better and happiness drew near, misfortune struck.

In the third year, Qingmu suddenly collapsed in the fields.

Lin Qiyou hurried to send him to the healer, who delivered heartbreaking news:

“Madam, please remain calm. Your husband’s illness is serious. He needs to be nourished with blood—blood transfusions.”

“Blood transfusions? What do you mean?”

Lin Qiyou was confused.

“It means… he must frequently receive fresh blood over the year.”

“Then do it! My blood!”

Lin Qiyou held out her wrist.

“But this…”

The healer hesitated. Under Lin Qiyou’s pressing questions, he finally revealed his concerns:

“This disease I found in ancient medical texts requires daily transfusions of fresh human blood, and it must be from the same person. Your blood can work, but I fear…”

“Fear what?”

“It’s not fear. You absolutely won’t withstand it. It’s like exchanging your life!”

“Then exchange! Why not?”

Lin Qiyou showed no hesitation, gripping the healer’s arm, eyes resolute.

The healer was deeply conflicted but could only yield when Lin Qiyou said,

“If he dies, I will never live for myself.”

Shortly after, the first blood transfusion began.

Lin Qiyou had only one clear impression: pain.

She naturally didn’t speak of this to Qingmu, keeping it to herself.

After the first transfusion, Qingmu was lively, while Lin Qiyou hid the pain.

Seven transfusions in a year, Qingmu grew healthier, but Lin Qiyou’s health declined.

Yet, seeing Qingmu care for her at the bedside, Lin Qiyou felt it was worth it.

Nothing was happier than this.

She loved Qingmu.

From the moment she first loved him, she was willing to give everything for Qingmu.

She wanted Qingmu to show softness before her, to call for help when wronged, no matter the distance or difficulty, she would rush to him without hesitation.

Though she hoped to grow old together, it probably ended here.

After the eighth transfusion, told it was the last and would claim her life, Lin Qiyou unexpectedly opened her eyes again.

The world before her eyes was different—perhaps she was the one who was different.

She felt herself become a ghost.

Invisible and intangible, abandoned by the world yet free.

She saw her body buried, and Qingmu told she had died from illness.

When she saw Qingmu kneeling and weeping at her grave, she cried with him, then curiously tasted his tears.

Though sneaky, she loved seeing Qingmu cry for her.

That meant Qingmu loved her, right?

She remembered telling Qingmu before the eighth transfusion, if she died, he should find another bride.

People can’t live with the dead forever, can they?

Even now, she held this thought.

Lin Qiyou didn’t know when she would vanish but felt her body fading day by day.

She hoped Qingmu would find another, but following him and seeing young girls enchanted by his handsome face made her jealous.

She thought Qingmu should just stay with her forever.

No one knew how long she’d linger near Qingmu—sleeping, eating, working, anything, she was always close.

She’d hold onto his back, causing Qingmu to feel inexplicably cold.

She’d shake the bell on her waist, which had also become a spirit, but sadly, it couldn’t ring Qingmu’s bell.

They say time heals all wounds.

Lin Qiyou felt death did too.

From Qingmu weeping daily, to crying nightly, to sometimes, to rarely, then never opening her mementos—she found peace.

No sadness, only relief, a lightness of heart.

Yes, just live slowly and happily like this?

One day, she felt she would leave.

Sitting at the door, she watched her feet begin to dissolve and shook the bell.

Suddenly, the bell inside the house chimed too.

Then Qingmu’s frantic voice rang out, calling Lin Qiyou’s name as he searched for the bell hidden deep in the cabinet.

Lin Qiyou smiled as a breeze scattered her away.

Silver bell…

When she opened her eyes again, Lin Qiyou felt drenched in a heavy rain.

An illusion.

A powerful illusion given by Benji.

When she tore Benji apart, Benji sacrificed his life to grant her this strong illusion.

It made her melancholic and smile.

How wonderful…

All the things she wanted.

A world without spiritual energy, a world where she could save Qingmu, a world where her father was not killed, a world where she hadn’t broken with her family, a world where she could die for Qingmu.

It felt like this illusion lasted forever, as long as a lifetime.

That life was so much more perfect than now.

Now was only emptiness beneath the moon, wasn’t it?

Lin Qiyou’s expression slowly darkened as she looked at a man before her.

This man seemed familiar, enough to make her heart tremble slightly.

But… old, very old.

Compared to Qingmu, he was old and ugly.

Stubbled face, surprised expression, rough skin.

Was this another illusion?

Lin Qiyou gripped her sword tightly amidst the blood river.

…

…

In another world, heavy rain fell upon the demon realm.

Benji City flowed with a river of blood, red water filling every corner of the streets.

Qingmu stared blankly at the city, reduced to ruins in a single day.

“Nongli? Nongli!”

He splashed in the water, his heart pounding wildly.

The blood river reached his waist.

He didn’t care why the rain was so heavy in such a short time—whether weather or magic.

He only wanted to find Nongli.

“Nongli?”

His hand plunged into the blood, grabbing something.

A severed hand.

In his right arm’s embrace was a half fox tail.

It belonged to Nongli.

He saw everything before—Nongli had been shattered.

He had desperately tried to rush into the city to save Nongli but was stunned by a strong wind.

When he woke, there was a storm, the blood river, and himself frantically searching Nongli’s remains in the water.

“Why? Why?”

They had promised to be together always, so why was she broken?

Wasn’t this a simulation? Two lifetimes?

He still had a lifetime left, so why was Nongli gone first…?

“Nongli!”

Qingmu felt he could no longer find even the smallest piece of Nongli’s body.

Had she really died?

She was a future great demon, how could she die?

Who had done this?

“Nongli!”

Qingmu sat on a high place, staring at the slowly flowing blood river, his mind blank.

How had everything changed just from a day of gathering herbs?

Returning, Benji City was massacred, and Nongli was gone.

The thing he feared most had come to pass.

Why did the Ghost Sword Immortal find this place? Why?!

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Qingmu spotted a figure.

In the blood river, a white-clad fairy stood before him.

White clothes, longsword, a tear mole beneath her left eye, expression calm as a still well, peerless beauty.

His heart trembled; Qingmu was speechless, lips trembling as he struggled to say her name.

“Lin… Lin…”

Ah, he had anticipated this all along.

Not difficult to guess.

Two worlds? Actually one world.

This simulated xianxia world was the same world in two simulations.

He had found it suspicious at first.

But because he was unwilling to face the truth about Lin Qiyou, he never admitted it.

Everything connected too simply, didn’t it?

The fox, golden-eared red-eyed white fox.

Ghost Sword Immortal… Lin Qiyou.

Qin Feng… Qin Shuang?

The Ghost Sword Immortal’s lover… Qingmu.

Himself?

“Nong… pfft…”

Qingmu was about to speak but looked down to see Lin Qiyou’s sword stabbed deep in his abdomen.

His eyes widened.

Fatigue and pain rendered him mute.

Lin Qiyou just silently stared at him.

“I won’t let you flaunt that face in front of me. Illusions… I can’t tell illusion from reality anymore?”

Fear flickered in Lin Qiyou’s eyes as she stepped back.

Qingmu only held onto the sword in his belly, struggling not to fall into the blood river.

“Hmph, Benji, don’t think I don’t know—you want to use Qingmu’s face to trick me!”

“Crack…”

Qingmu couldn’t speak, blood gushing from his mouth.

What? Benji?

How did Lin Qiyou mistake him for Benji?

“I’ve seen through your scheme. I have already bloodied this city. Next will be other demon cities until I find that fox.

I will revive Qingmu, even without you, understand?”

He seemed to understand, or at least think he did.

Soul Qi Technique, death and rebirth.

Benji and Lin Qiyou were actually on the same side?

Otherwise, how would he know about the Soul Qi Technique?

But then why had they turned against each other?

Could it be… Nongli?

Nongli had been acting strange lately, conspiring with Benji.

What was that about?

“Pfft—”

Qingmu spat blood, pointing at Lin Qiyou.

“Lin… Lin Qiyou…”

“Didn’t you always call me Ghost Sword Immortal? A centipede dies but won’t rot… corpses are probably the same, right?”

Lin Qiyou muttered, “I chopped that fox into so many pieces, she can’t be dead. I have to find her…”

With a “pfft,” Lin Qiyou pulled her sword from Qingmu’s abdomen.

Qingmu slumped on a high platform, gasping harshly.

“Lin Qiyou… Qiyou…”

“Hmph, Benji, I don’t understand why you allied with that fox spirit… why? Your illusions are impressive. Thank you.”

Gratitude showed on Lin Qiyou’s face, while Qingmu’s pale face was full of confusion.

Illusions?

Ah, illusions!

Benji was trying to kill her mind.

He was already dead, so he had no value anymore.

After her death, what did he care about floods or storms?

He gave Lin Qiyou illusions to make her think he was Qingmu and make her kill him?

A clever move, indeed.

Cough cough cough…

Qingmu coughed up blood repeatedly, Lin Qiyou frowned, seeing through her eyes a mass of worms coming from Benji’s cough—disgusting beyond measure.

Lin Qiyou took one last look at Qingmu, swung her sword, and left.

Killed by Lin Qiyou?

What a ridiculous ending…

This life spent with Nongli was somewhat absurd.

But at least… it helped Nongli grow her tails, right?

And what about Nongli?

Nongli?

“Nongli? Nongli?”

Qingmu quietly called her name again, hoping for salvation.

He wanted to complete the simulation task, help Nongli grow more tails, and live a carefree life with her in the demon realm…

“Glub glub glub glub…”

Suddenly, bubbles rose from the blood river, and Nongli’s head emerged from the water.

Qingmu brightened and shouted, “Nongli! Nongli!”

Nongli reached out a hand, clawing out of the water.

Her body below the abdomen was gone; only half her torso and one hand remained.

Her face was covered in wounds, eyes vacant as she said,

“Master… Master…”

Qingmu’s eyes widened, pulling Nongli into his arms.

“Master…”

Nongli instinctively pressed her bloodied face against Qingmu’s wound.

“Master… it tastes good…”