Qi Yan Su Luo had just stood up when she suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded.
The scene before her eyes began to spin, as if in a whirlwind.
At the same time, a knocking sound came from the door. "Su Luo, I've brought your medicine," a voice said.
Qi Yan Su Luo quickly returned to bed and lay down.
The door opened, and Zi Tan walked in. Seeing that her blanket was a bit messy, she placed the medicine on a low table and freed up her hands to tidy it.
She said, "Didn't I tell you not to move around? Moving will slow down the healing of your bones."
Qi Yan Su Luo suppressed her astonishment and met Zi Tan's slightly scrutinizing gaze, saying, "I'm sorry, I had a nightmare. In the dream, I couldn't control myself, and my body reacted unconsciously. I'll be more careful in the future."
Zi Tan restrained her sharp aura and said, "I'll feed you the medicine."
Given Qi Yan Su Luo's current physical condition, she couldn't resist, so she drank the medicine. This only made her head spin even more, and her energy noticeably declined.
Before falling asleep, she kept reminding herself that the wooden hut was not safe and she couldn't sleep!
But she couldn't resist the overwhelming drowsiness and sank into slumber.
Zi Tan gently touched Qi Yan Su Luo's face and murmured, "With your company, I am no longer alone."
Late at night, perhaps due to the suggestion before sleep, Qi Yan Su Luo woke up.
She covered her still dizzy head and got off the bed.
She stumbled her way out of the wooden hut, not knowing where she was heading, only moving forward, wanting to get farther away from the hut.
After running for an unknown period of time, Qi Yan Su Luo felt that her body had reached its limit, so she stopped to rest.
Leaning against a tree trunk, she suddenly heard Zi Tan's voice behind her, "Why aren't you leaving? Are you waiting for me?"
The ethereal female voice, like a ghostly presence, instantly startled Qi Yan Su Luo awake.
Without looking back at Zi Tan, she immediately ran!
However, her body was too heavy, and her speed was not fast.
Zi Tan followed behind her unhurriedly, uttering strange words from her mouth.
"Su Luo, you are the only person in over a hundred years to enter Qi Mountain alive."
"I'm thinking that this might be our fate."
"You are a gift from heaven to relieve my hundred years of solitude."
"Don't go, stay with me!"
"Don't worry, I will treat you well, better than anyone in the world."
Zi Tan noticed that Qi Yan Su Luo showed no intention of stopping and her tone grew angry.
"Why are you still running?"
"Is it because I'm not beautiful enough?"
"You are indeed beautiful, but that is not a reason for your arrogance!"
"Answer me, why are you leaving?"
From her words, Qi Yan Su Luo could sense that Zi Tan had lived for over a hundred years but appeared to be only in her twenties, a monstrous being!
The power born out of fear made her steps quicken.
This further infuriated Zi Tan, and she began to roar, "You're not allowed to leave!"
Her distorted voice echoed through the mountains, intensifying Qi Yan Su Luo's fear.
She lost control of her legs and fell to the ground!
Seeing this, Zi Tan's roar turned into laughter. "Hahaha, let's see how far you can run!"
Qi Yan Su Luo stared intently as Zi Tan approached step by step, her body trembling slightly.
However, just as Zi Tan's hand was about to touch Qi Yan Su Luo, a stone flew out and hit Zi Tan's hand!
She exclaimed in surprise, retracting her hand and questioning the void, "Who is it?!
Come out!"
Qin Zhao slowly emerged from the darkness.
"You were looking for me? Well, here I am," he said.
Upon hearing the familiar tone, Qi Yan Su Luo turned to look at her, both shocked and delighted.
Qin Zhao stood by her side, helping her up and said, "The ground is cold. Sitting for too long is not good for your health."
Qi Yan Su Luo gained leverage and stood up, leaning against Qin Zhao. She asked, "How did you come here?"
Qin Zhao gave her a sidelong glance and said, "If I didn't come, you would have become someone else's wife and been oppressed. I don't like the idea of others taking advantage of you."
Qi Yan Su Luo didn't understand and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zi Tan, who was being ignored, spoke up, "Hmph, one comes, and I take one; two come, and I take a pair!"
The conversation between the two paused momentarily as Qin Zhao looked at the woman in front of him and chuckled, "Heh, you're quite arrogant. But unfortunately, neither of us belongs to you. We've already settled things internally."
Zi Tan angrily retorted, "You arrogant little girl! I'd like to see what you're capable of, whether you can escape the treacherous Qishan Mountain!"
She lunged towards Qin Zhao, but he kicked her body into the trunk of a tree!
Zi Tan crashed heavily to the ground, astonished. She looked at Qin Zhao and asked, "Why? How could you kick me?!"
Qin Zhao explained, "From the cliff, I noticed that the mountain fog here is thicker and more turbid than elsewhere. It's like smog, and coincidentally, I've seen this kind of thing at the Imperial Observatory. I knew there must be an illusion array here. Your power is strong enough to maintain an illusion mirror within a radius of ten li (Chinese unit of distance). But no matter how powerful an illusion array is, it has a weak point. Its other name is a vulnerability."
Qin Zhao took out a flower-not-flower from behind him.
This flower consists mainly of leaves, with petals as a secondary feature.
Contrary to ordinary flowers, it is called a flower-not-flower.
The woman in front of them was not the true owner of this illusion realm.
But with the vulnerability in hand, the harm Qin Zhao inflicted on her would be reflected onto the real person!
Zi Tan saw the flower-not-flower and panic flashed in her eyes.
She wanted to escape, but Qin Zhao didn't give her the chance.
He walked over and struck her with punches and kicks, mercilessly!
Zi Tan was beaten, spewing blood crazily, and the surrounding illusion realm gradually collapsed.
The darkness dissipated, the clouds in the sky were blown away by the wind, and sunlight streamed through the cracks.
Qin Zhao felt the warmth of the sunlight and struck even harder!
Unable to bear it any longer, Zi Tan pleaded, "Please spare me. Although I have feelings for that girl, I haven't harmed her. I even saved her when she was on the verge of death. Please spare my life in consideration of this matter."
Qin Zhao stopped and asked Qi Yan Su Luo, "Is what she said true?"
Qi Yan Su Luo shook her head and said, "She made me drink a strange potion... You don't need to hear the rest."
Without hesitation, Qin Zhao drew out his dagger, swiftly slashing her throat!
Zi Tan made no sound and her life slipped away, her body gradually disintegrating into dust.
Zi Tan's body was also part of the illusion, so the scene wasn't too gory.
Qin Zhao put away the dagger, dusted off his hands, and said to Qi Yan Su Luo, "Let's go, let's leave this place."
Qi Yan Su Luo replied, "Thank you for saving me."
"No need to thank me. After all, you're my girlfriend," Qin Zhao said as he helped Qi Yan Su Luo towards the official road.
They hadn't walked a hundred meters when they saw a small wooden house up ahead.
Out of curiosity, Qin Zhao walked towards it but was stopped by Qi Yan Su Luo. "That's Zi Tan's humble dwelling. There's nothing interesting to see."
Qin Zhao was rebellious and said, "I want to see it anyway."
Ignoring Qi Yan Su Luo's protests, she walked into the wooden house and found it adorned with Buddhist decorations.
In the middle of the house, sitting on a cushion, was an old man with snow-white hair.
Qin Zhao approached him slowly and asked, "Sir, are you okay?"
No matter how many times she asked, there was no response.
And then, the body slumped down.
Qin Zhao checked his condition.
She reached out her hand to his nose and felt no breath.
Qin Zhao never expected that life could be so fragile. The old man was already dead.
Feeling a tinge of sadness, her gaze was suddenly drawn to the belt pattern on the old man's waist!
Qin Zhao had seen this pattern on Zi Tan's waist.
Qin Zhao couldn't help but laugh and cry. She let go of the old man, left the room, and closed the door with a thud!
Seeing Qin Zhao's disappointed expression, Qi Yan Su Luo asked, "What did you see?"
