"Such a move by Zhuo Wu truly makes an old man like me tremble with fear," Master Tingyi's voice echoed in his ears once again.
Huh? Hadn't this been said already? Why was it repeated?
While Jing Jiujiu was still slightly dazed,
"Here... this is Mount Gushe on the map," the man said with a trembling voice, accompanied by the sound of birds fluttering their wings, calling as they flew away, before everything fell into complete silence.
This was what Assistant Zeng had said when he and Bai Yuhuai first entered the forest.
It was as if a pair of giant hands had suddenly twisted the time machine, rewinding it. Or like the flashing memories before one's death.
"Don't you like me?"
That was Jing Jiujiu's voice, asking Bai Yuhuai eagerly after seeing netizens' comments on Ding Hanbing's phone.
"Ananda praises the Buddha. I see the Tathagata's thirty-two marks."
That was Bai Yuhuai, striding out of the factory gate during the show recording, reciting the Shurangama Sutra, his hair tousled by the wind, his expression cold yet careful as he gently cupped the paper doll Jing Jiujiu down from the tree.
"You've really changed, speaking so impolitely now."
That was during the movie shoot, when the castle demon possessed Guan Yan and spoke to him. The next moment, Bai Yuhuai leapt down from the second floor, rushing towards him, splattering a few drops of blood onto him.
Jing Jiujiu was slightly stunned as the scenes before his eyes twisted, distorted, and rapidly rewound - he saw a group of people slowly entering the Sleeping Beauty castle, while he stood inside the tall railings, looking down.
He could still hear the little robot's voice: "What are you doing?"
This time, he didn't leave early. He saw Kong Xiangqi open the refrigerator, oranges rolling far across the floor. He saw Bai Yuhuai bend down and pick one up.
So he hadn't taken it from the fridge, but picked it up from the ground.
Bai Yuhuai held the orange, his expression cold and indifferent, exuding an innate sense of aloofness from the mundane world.
He seemed like a completely different person from the Bai Yuhuai Jing Jiujiu knew later.
Bai Yuhuai seemed to want to throw the orange away, but after staring at it for a moment and glancing in Jing Jiujiu's direction, he finally placed it on the table.
The orange he later showed to Jing Jiujiu must have been one he secretly pocketed.
Jing Jiujiu stared at the scene, lost in thought.
Seeing things from a different perspective... it became more interesting. He could even clearly see the subtle changes in Bai Yuhuai's emotions.
The button of time continued to spin backwards.
He vaguely recalled that while he was examining those divine skeletons, Master Tingyi had exclaimed in surprise: "Is this the Mirror of Past Reflection from the Underworld?"
Jing Jiujiu remembered that in some mythological stories, there was indeed such an object in the Underworld, but it was called the Stone of Three Lives. It could reveal one's experiences from their past three lives.
The Mirror of Past Reflection... as its name suggests, could it reflect past events?
So... am I watching my own past?
He didn't know how many more scenes flashed by.
Until suddenly, everything before his eyes went dark.
"Bai Yuhuai?"
"Master Tingyi?"
"Bai ge? Bai gege?" He called out softly again and again, but darkness still surrounded him.
He couldn't see anything, nor was there any sound responding to him.
Until suddenly, a "ding" rang in his ears, as if a bell had been struck. The sound was clear and lingering, as if it could travel for tens of thousands of miles.
After this sound, it seemed that everyone became clear-eyed and sharp-eared.
Jing Jiujiu felt he breathed in an extremely fresh air.
Following that, the scene before his eyes finally slowly unveiled its curtain.
Here, ten thousand miles of mountains stretched endlessly, with clouds and mist lingering between them. After the bell sound, it seemed to have turned into ethereal celestial music echoing through the mountains, melodious and elusive, unlike any earthly sound.
At this moment, countless men and women, as if from a mural painting, riding cranes and auspicious clouds, with flowing robes, like ascended immortals, approached Jing Jiujiu.
Jing Jiujiu was startled and instinctively dodged to the side.
Then he realized he could actually move.
Jing Jiujiu quickly lowered his gaze.
He stretched his arms and legs.
They were soft and floppy.
He had turned back into a little paper doll.
Jing Jiujiu struggled to take a few steps, feeling that these vast mountains would exhaust him to death before he could traverse them.
So when the next "immortal" flew by, he rose with the wind, grabbed onto their clothes, and hitched a ride.
In mythology, it's said that immortals can travel eighty thousand miles in a day.
Jing Jiujiu didn't know if the myths were true or false, but in the blink of an eye, he had indeed landed with the immortal.
Then he saw these immortals, no different from ordinary people, begin to climb a high peak on foot.
None of them spoke, just silently climbing upwards.
A deathly silence surrounded them.
Not even the sound of insects or birds could be heard.
Although mountains and rivers change over time, this mountain peak seemed utterly unfamiliar to Jing Jiujiu, but he still felt... this was Mount Gushe.
The silent surroundings also resembled Bai Yuhuai's behavior after stepping onto the mountain.
Was Bai Yuhuai among these people?
Jing Jiujiu clung to the immortal's skirt, climbing upwards, and finally sat on the jade crown atop their head.
Standing high naturally allowed him to see far.
But there were too many people here. His eyes blurred as he scanned the crowd, let alone trying to find Bai Yuhuai's figure.
Jing Jiujiu could only grip the person's hair strands, first ensuring he wouldn't fall off the cliff.
After an unknown amount of time, the immortals finally stopped.
Jing Jiujiu looked up.
There floated a majestic palace, ten times larger than Qishan Palace.
Long stairs extended down from the palace.
Bronze statues of a qilin and a azure dragon stood on either side of the stairs.
As they ascended the steps, Jing Jiujiu saw the qilin move slightly, but it was quickly pressed down firmly by an invisible golden light.
The immortals seemed used to such sights, only their expressions showing slight changes, as if revealing a bit of awe and fear...?
They entered the great hall, all bowing to the person seated above, calling out: "We pay our respects to the Immortal Lord."
They didn't even dare to call his name.
Jing Jiujiu craned his neck.
He saw a tall, slender man seated above, dressed in white robes, looking exceptionally young. He gave off an impression of cold aloofness and nobility, like unreachable snow on a mountaintop. His hand casually rested on the armrest of the jade throne, his clothes fluttering behind him, his face shrouded in a cloud of mist, impossible to see clearly. Through the mist, a few points of golden light faintly shone through.
It was as if within the mist was not a person's head.
But rather a lamp standing there.
Jing Jiujiu was startled by his own guess, so he stared even more intently at the seated figure.
None of the other immortals dared to raise their heads.
The seated man seemed to sense something, and his head turned slightly.
Jing Jiujiu felt as if he had looked in his direction.
As their gazes seemed to meet, a surging power swept towards him...
A thought flashed through Jing Jiujiu's mind.
Of course, he couldn't be a lamp.
But... was he Zhuo Wu?
Was this Zhuo Wu from a thousand years ago?
Following that, another wave of pressure suddenly bore down on Jing Jiujiu. Jing Jiujiu didn't have much reaction, but those immortals all knelt and bowed their heads, their voices finally rising softly: "Why is the Immortal Lord angered?"
"We beg the Immortal Lord's forgiveness."
The face of the seated man, hidden behind the mist, showed a subtle change. That face, usually calm and unperturbed, displayed a strange expression...
The next moment, all the immortals saw the man slowly rise and walk down the steps.
They trembled even more in fear.
In the blink of an eye, the man was in front of them.
He fixed his gaze on Jing Jiujiu.
Such audacity.
To dare bring such an evil thing before him?
The man's face was cold as he reached out and pinched Jing Jiujiu.
The immortal with Jing Jiujiu on his head was so frightened that he knocked his forehead on the ground, shattering the jade crown on his head. He could only manage to choke out: "Im-Immortal Lord."
The man ignored him, only lifting Jing Jiujiu up.
Jing Jiujiu kicked his legs.
...Pinching his butt again!
In an instant, the man's expression became even stranger.
This thing could suck away his qi... He had never encountered such an oddity before! In all of heaven and earth, there was actually something that could absorb his qi! Even a portion of his divine power had rushed into this thing's body.
And his qi was still excitedly darting about, as if eagerly trying to burrow into this thing's body.
The man turned Jing Jiujiu over and squeezed him a few times.
Jing Jiujiu felt dizzy and lightheaded, while also hiccuping.
Stop feeding, stop feeding.
He's going to die.
Jing Jiujiu hurriedly kicked his legs, struggling to turn over in the man's palm, and bit the man's thumb.
Let go, let go, let go!
The man was stunned once again, and gently loosened his grip.
Nothing could hurt him.
But this thing, when it bit him, he felt pain... He actually felt pain.
Seeing him loosen his grip, Jing Jiujiu quickly began to climb up along his wrist, elbow, and shoulder, inch by inch.
He wanted to get a clear look!
The man didn't move at all, as if deep in thought.
Meanwhile, the immortal whose crown had shattered finally couldn't suppress the panic in his heart and slowly raised his head.
As he looked up, he realized... the Immortal Lord had stopped moving.
"My Lord?"
Jing Jiujiu climbed onto the man's ear, stepped onto his head, and even stomped a couple of times.
The man: "..."
This evil creature is so brazen, does it not fear being obliterated and never reincarnating?
Jing Jiujiu had no idea what he was thinking. He sat on top of the man's head and started pulling his hair, managing to yank out a few strands with difficulty. He then used them as a swing, lying on the man's forehead, feeling his eyelids here and tapping his nose bridge there. He slid down like on a slide, clutching the hair and gliding all the way to the man's mouth.
Jing Jiujiu could finally confirm —
The features were identical, down to the smallest detail.
He was Zhuo Wu, and also Bai Yuhuai.
Jing Jiujiu puckered his flat paper-person lips and planted a kiss on the man's mouth.
The man: ?
This evil creature, does it want to stuff itself into my mouth?
To absorb even more qi from my internal organs?
Jing Jiujiu let out a soft sigh.
How could Zhuo Wu from a thousand years ago be such an idiot? Not moving at all.
Jing Jiujiu, holding onto the hair strands, began kicking the man's face. The man's facial muscles twitched, and he reached out to grab the little paper person again.
With a "snap," the hair strand broke. Jing Jiujiu, hugging the hair, slid smoothly down the man's collar, finally stopped by his waist.
Jing Jiujiu saw something very familiar and dear to him.
He stomped his feet.
Oh!!!
The cock is still just as big!
He remembered Tingyi asking Bai Yuhuai if he had truly reincarnated, or if he had never entered the cycle of rebirth and had simply sealed away his memories.
Zhuo Wu and he were the same person, never having changed.
Just then, the kneeling immortal noticed that the Immortal Lord, who had always been calm and composed for ten thousand years, suddenly had bulging veins on the back of his hand, and even his fingertips had turned red.