Chapter 63: Together – Spitting Blood

Saihu is just a remnant soul that has been with me for nearly 30 years, and it has only just recovered a little.

It has no body, so it can’t really have hair. It’s just a form of expression for Silly Tiger. It’s afraid, worried, seeking my support and wanting to protect me. In a way, Silly Tiger can be said to be my “brother,” a form of coexistence that is even closer than blood ties.

In the midst of my excruciating pain, I had already developed a desire to die, and in my vague state of mind, the only thing I was worried about was Silly Tiger. I was able to completely release its remnant soul, but in the midst of this pain, I simply couldn’t complete this simple task that I normally do with ease. It was constantly interrupted by the unbearable pain.

“Ow!” Due to our fated connection, Shatu felt my pain in the first instance and began to roar furiously. Even at this time, the pain had not yet been inflicted on Shatu, who was deep in my soul.

“Huh?” The strange Tao suddenly sighed, and he, who was originally preparing to walk to the altar, suddenly turned and walked toward me, then stared at me with a strange look.

I was too lazy to care about what his gaze meant, and Xiao Chengqian, who was standing in front of me, said, “There is a symbiotic soul in the depths of his soul, an ordinary demon tiger.”

After hearing that, the strange man’s eyes suddenly became even more incomprehensible to me. The emotion that finally lingered in his eyes was a very strong anger, but he only said something that was incomprehensible, but clear in meaning: “Sure enough… you accept its spiritual awareness first, and later the symbiotic soul will also be yours.”

“Mm,” Xiao Chengqian said indifferently.

Xiao Chengqian himself has a symbiotic soul. What does he want my stupid tiger for? And over there, my friends probably wanted to say this too. I saw my friends several times trying to speak up, but they never did.

I think they felt the same way as I did. If Xiao Chengqian hadn’t stabbed the knife into my heart, I would never have believed that he would betray me, even though my heart was in pain and this was already a stark reality… Chengxin scolded him because although he and Xiao Chengqian always argued with each other, their relationship was inexplicably the best. He hoped that he would let go too much, so it was inevitable that his emotions would become more and more agitated.

On the vast expanse of the river, the small black boat had stopped at the backwater bay, and the sky and earth were vast and boundless.

On this side, a person belonging to the top ten cultivators behind the strange road has already stood up and used a thin, but very wide knife to pierce seven places in my body. The blood from my body soon made seven snowflakes on my clothes, making me look even more disheveled.

Perhaps it was because he moved so quickly, or perhaps it was because I was in too much pain in my soul, but I could no longer feel the pain in my body.

I don’t know what this method is, but as soon as the knife entered my body, I felt that my soul was being squeezed, and at the same time, there was an additional force of suppression… It felt like something in my soul was being locked up and pressed down at the same time, but something else was being stripped off separately.

And one of the ten top cultivators connected a strange-looking metal chain between me and Xiao Chengqian. The chain was thin and covered with unknown talismans, winding around me and Xiao Chengqian. At the ends of the chain were tiny sharp spikes, probably a little larger than embroidery needles, which eventually pierced into Xiao Chengqian’s chest.

I don’t understand why, in such a painful situation, my consciousness is still clear, not blurred, and the pressure is still deepening layer by layer, finally reaching the location of the remaining soul of Shatu.

“Roar…” Xiatu suddenly let out a terrifying roar, which was almost tangible and reverberated throughout the altar. In my blurred vision, I saw that the faces of those top-level cultivators on the altar were all moved.

Some of them were saying something, but unfortunately I couldn’t hear them clearly. In the end, I only heard the strange Daoist say in an obvious, uncontrollable tone with dissatisfaction and jealousy, “No matter what, whatever is useful in his soul will be taken by Cheng Qian. After the memorial is over, check those people as well.”

One of them seemed to say something.

Guida snorted and said, “Then leave the disciples of the old Li clan, and just offer them next time. The rest of them will be sacrificed…”

This is the clearest and most comprehensible time when Guidao spoke, and he also said the most… I don’t know how the existence of Silly Tiger stimulated him.

Then, everything quieted down. It seemed that Guidao had gone to the altar behind me and was busy doing something.

Xiao Chengqian kept his head bowed in front of me, not knowing what he was thinking.

At this moment, my mind seemed to relax for a moment. I thought of many people: my master, Ruoxue, my parents, my sister, Qinhuai, and the crispy meat… They were all people who were not by my side at the moment, but were extremely important to me in my life.

Master, in the end, I will never be able to see you again, even though we are so close for the first time.

Ruoxue, if you guard the Dragon Tomb and know that I have died here, will you shed a tear for me, or have you completely forgotten me, just like the cold back you left at the hospital that night, refusing to see me again even if we met?

Mom and Dad, I plan to be by your side and be a good daughter to you when my fate is settled…

Sister, I will never forget the love you showed me when I was little, but I can’t repay that love.

Qinhuai, Su Rou, are you smiling at me? Are you calling me to drink with you? Stop smiling. It’s so fucking hard to look at him. Qinhuai, will Ru Yue return home safely? Su Rou, my goddaughter, I won’t be able to love you properly. Will you tell her about me when she grows up?

My eyes were completely red. The wind became stronger, blowing through the vast sky. The snow that had stopped falling suddenly began to fall again, being blown by the wind and sprinkling on the altar… Accompanied by the sound of the strange Taoist priest suddenly beginning to chant, the last bleak stroke was written for my life.

The formation seems to be starting to work. I feel something in my soul beginning to gather and condense, and then it will flow out, right? I don’t know at all!

My five senses were blurred, and I could only feel my companions screaming wildly. Xiao Chengqian, who had kept his head down, finally spoke: “My last affection is to let you help this man get on the waiting boat, because he will soon become unable to think or move on his own… Isn’t it the last affection to be able to send him on his way?”

So, that strange ship was prepared for me? Why could I hear Xiao Chengqian’s voice so clearly? In my subconscious, I knew that it was because the strange Tao used some method to connect Xiao Chengqian and my soul, so that he could take away my things?

Forget it, don’t think about it… In a blank space, I could only hear the sound of the strange Tao chanting getting more intense, and I could only tell that he was also struggling.

Finally, something in my soul seemed to coalesce, slowly flowing towards the “gap” deliberately left by the rope knot, and the spirit platform was suppressed.

Is the flowing thing my spiritual awareness? It seems that I can see the entire world and sky with unparalleled clarity. The fine snow, the strong wind, the ripples of the water… They are so abstract, but in my eyes they are all as substantial as if they were real. If my spiritual awareness develops to the extreme, is this the point? Seeing a different, more substantial world!

It’s almost there, I can feel it. I know that the next moment, they will gush out from the spirit platform and then pass through that strange, thin chain, completely becoming Xiao Chengqian’s things.

My heart is at peace… If I die, I will go with a calm heart… This is a phrase that my master often whispers in my ear.

But Xiao Chengqian, who had kept his head down, suddenly raised his head. He saw that his cold face had suddenly changed, becoming the way it was usually. He looked at me and smiled, his eyes full of apology, but the smile was the same as the one I was familiar with.

What does it mean? I don’t know, but this smile is so good that it has eliminated the only regret I had before I died. I subconsciously smiled back at him.

But Xiao Chengqian seemed to want more than just a smile. He suddenly reached out at me at a tremendous speed, and, more specifically, grabbed the thin red string around my body and tore it off in one go.

‘Pop’, ‘pop’, ‘pop’, three sounds of blood spurting out at the same time came from the altar.

It is no wonder that we were bitten back. Xiao Chengqian and I were connected by a soul chain, so we were both impacted by the forcefully interrupted method. The knot must be untied according to a certain method. This kind of violent tearing is undoubtedly like a body under pressure in the deep sea, which instantly rushes to the surface!

The huge pressure contrast could have killed him… Xiao Chengqian really messed up.

“We’re still alive.” The knot was broken, and my pain was instantly relieved, so I saw clearly Xiao Chengqian’s face, and he said these words to me with a smile.

I turned to look at him, and he was smiling too. Then I heard Xiao Chengqian say, “Even if I die, I can’t take anything from you, can I? How can you take something from your brother, right, brother?”

“What a mess.” I laughed too, then put my hand on Xiao Chengqian’s shoulder. I gasped for breath, then spat out a mouthful of blood, and so did Xiao Chengqian, who was connected to me.

It turns out that brothers can drink together, make trouble together, live and die together, and even… spit blood together.