Chapter 98 Deal

Tantai Jin entered the cave, and after searching for some time, he finally saw the back of a figure hugging their knees in the distance.

The cave was pitch black and silent, except for the sound of dripping water. 

Su Su was hugging her knees with her face buried in her arms, and she was trembling.

The curse of the World Toppling Flower had consumed Ye Xi Wu’s entire life. She was Li Su Su, but she used to be Ye Xi Wu. Even though her body had changed, the memories would be forever imprinted in her soul.

The present scene seemed to overlap with the past— no daylight, an enclosed space, and the sound of water dripping onto rocks.

The overwhelming memories of the past she didn’t want to recall came rushing towards her.

That year, she was confined in a stone chamber, her magical powers were sealed, and the World Toppling Flower tormented her day and night. There was no light, no sound, and no hope. 

For the first time, Su Su bowed her head to someone. She had desperately banged on the stone wall and told him that she was afraid.

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Su Su curled up in a corner. She wanted to leave this world, never wanting to be Ye Xi Wu again.

For a moment, Su Su couldn’t distinguish what day it was.

She’d thought that under the Heartless Dao, she would no longer be afraid, just like when she’d walked on the chains in the Cangyuan Secret Realm. 

But she’d forgotten that as bad as that night was, there was still moonlight.

There had been the sound of wind, and fireflies flying past.

But now, there was nothing.

Young Master Zhang’s cat had died in the darkness of this cave, and the Ye Xi Wu from Su Su’s memories had died in that dungeon’s stone chamber five hundred years ago.

Su Su bit her lip, trembling all over.

She wanted to get out. Her Senior Brother was still waiting for her. Don’t cry, don’t cry, only the weak shed silent tears. She remembered the way she came from. As long as she retraced her steps, she could get out.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do it. Su Su thought, I’ll just  take a break, I’ll be able to do it after a break……

A hand suddenly grabbed hers.

“I’ll take you out!” Tantai Jin said.

He went to pick up Su Su and noticed that she was tightly holding onto something. He followed her hand and fumbled around.

He found a strap tied to a cat bell, pressed under a rock.

Su Su had no strength left. She trembled silently, unable to retrieve the bell but too afraid to let go.

Tantai Jin saw Su Su in darkness for the first time. How could it be…… like this?

Tantai Jin thought that these five hundred years were nothing but a dream to a goddess going through tribulations and playing around. That he alone had held delusions, and was the only one who’d tasted pain.

He thought she loved Xiao Lin, and because of Xiao Lin’s death, she wanted to take revenge against him and make him suffer day and night.

He thought that when Su Su returned to her position, leaving her mortal body and becoming a goddess again, that past wouldn’t leave a trace in her heart.

Ye Xi Wu had once coldly said to Ye Bing Shang—— Life is as fleeting as a mayfly, born in the morning and dying at dusk, they are better than a being like you. He used to be a despicable mortal man with an unclear background, while she was born noble and auspicious.

He thought his presence in Su Su’s memories was just like that insignificant mayfly she mentioned. Dirty, cold, and lowly, never leaving any trace.

But when Tantai Jin saw Su Su in the cave, he realized that the memories he had left her were endless darkness and pain.

Back then, she’d clearly gone to beg him in exchange for the Longevity Flower, but he’d casually given her last hope away to someone else.

With a shaking voice Tantai Jin said, “Let’s go out! Once we’re out, everything will be fine!”

The young girl in his arms was silent, unnaturally quiet. Tantai Jin would’ve preferred her to hit or scold him to release all her hatred.

He wanted to start over, but now, who could tell him how to start over?

Tantai Jin used the Fennian Ring to pull the bell out from under the rock and placed it in Su Su’s palm.

He frantically rummaged through his Qiankun pouch. Pills and devil crystals¹probably currency that can be used in Devil Domain fell out, but he didn’t even glance at them. With trembling hands, he finally found a palm-sized luminescent pearl.

Once the luminescent pearl was out, the entire cave finally had light. The rims of Tantai Jin’s eyes were red as he comfortingly placed it in Su Su’s hand, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, there’s light now.”

I’ll never leave you in endless darkness again.

Tantai Jin carried her and didn’t dare to stop, running towards the entrance of the cave.

The bell in her hand jingled, and the sound echoed in the cave. Su Su held onto the luminescent pearl and looked up to see the young man’s look of loss. 

He seemed to be very scared, even more scared than her, who was in the darkness.

When the first ray of sunlight shone into the cave entrance, he suddenly stopped, looking like a helpless child with no solution. “Su Su, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it would turn out like this……”

Su Su didn’t react.

She had witnessed the birth of an innate evil being. She’d seen how hard Tantai Jin had tried to survive, along with his laughter, his naive and sincere demeanor beneath his unreasonable character, and his efforts to imitate human emotions bit by bit. 

His ridiculous, pathetic, and pitiful growth. 

This person had filled all her memories from five hundred years ago.

The Soul Extinguishing Tear she’d kept on her had slowly turned from tears into sharp nails, and he gradually understood love and hatred.

Embroidering the mandarin duck veil, the raised corners of the young man’s mouth, how he looked when he blocked the raining arrows from the sky……

But…… that was all in the past now.

That unknown and sincere affection had become a thing of the past, and fear, love, and hatred were all left behind.

What does it matter if he knows or not?

“Tantai Jin,” Su Su whispered. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m just…… like you, everything I did was just to survive.”

Why should you be in pain, and why should you be afraid?

The Soul Extinguishing Tear was a mission, interacting with you was a mission, and even going back five hundred years was just to fulfill my mission of protecting all the people of this world.

She had failed to kill him due to her own insufficient ability, and her miserable end was her own fault for not being ruthless enough.

She had protected him because of the Dao in her heart, but she had also still hurt him because of her mission. And Tantai Jin…… also gave up on her for Ye Bing Shang. 

Su Su pushed him away, placed the luminescent pearl in his hand, and slowly walked out without looking at his pale face.

As the sunlight shone in, she saw the vibrant scenery outside the cave. It turned out that night had passed since she entered the cave. It was summer in the mortal world, and dawn had arrived.

Yao Guang and Zang Hai looked at her with concern.

The Heartless Dao in her spiritual core circulated silently, and for a moment, her pupils emitted a divine golden light. Her divine Heartless Dao was actually making a breakthrough right now.

Su Su looked down at her fingers, so…… there was no construction without destruction?

Only once she faced her past experiences and emotions honestly would the Heartless Dao truly advance.

All her sadness and negative fears vanished, and her spiritual core became clear and tranquil.

Su Su raised her hand, smiling as she revealed the bell in her palm. “I got it!”

Yao Guang looked at her radiant smile and let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that you’re okay, Junior Sister.” 

She and Zang Hai had been waiting outside, anxious and worried, but too afraid to rush in and possibly end up endlessly searching for each other.

The boy approached, wanting to snatch the bell from Su Su’s hand.

Su Su drew back her hand. “It’s not that easy. Show me the token from the Devil Domain.”

Young Master Zhang said, “He also went in. You went against my words.”

He pointed at Tantai Jin with a blank expression on his small face.

“Is that so?” Su Su said. “I originally sensed a trace of residual soul on the bell and thought it was a pity. But now, since you don’t want it, I might as well crush this trace of soul.”

The calm expression of Young Master Zhang instantly changed, “You can’t!”

Su Su tossed the bell in the air and clenched her hand, capturing the weak wisp of soul in her palm.

While a human had three souls and seven spirits, the souls of animals were noticeably weaker.

This cat was even more pitiful, its soul had almost scattered, leaving behind only this small white essence.

Su Su didn’t even look at Young Master Zhang. Su Su clenched her fist, seemingly about to crush this remnant soul.

Young Master Zhang suddenly said, “I’ll trade with you!”

After saying that, he quickly took out a transparent glass bead from his pocket. The whites in his pupils disappeared and turned black as his gaze was fixed on the bead in his palm.

Under everyone’s eyes, the bead slowly transformed into the shape of a skull token.

After a moment, the boy closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he appeared just like an ordinary person.

“This is the token you want. Give me my cat,” he said.

“Isn’t this just a transformed pearl?” Zang Hai asked. “Is this really the Devil Domain token?”

Young Master Zhang ignored him and stared straight at Su Su.

Su Su wasn’t afraid of the boy deceiving them. If he really dared to deceive them, it would be easy for her to catch and crush the cat’s soul again.

Young Master Zhang seemed strange, but he wasn’t stupid either.

Su Su took the token from his hand,  feeling a chill as the token carried a sinister, devilish aura.

If she hadn’t witnessed it with her own eyes, it would have been hard to believe that a token, whose aura felt genuine, could be conjured up in the blink of an eye.

The Mirage Pearl truly lived up to its reputation as a terrifying devilish artifact. Even in the body of an ordinary person, it possessed such formidable power. No wonder Su Su and the others couldn’t detect anything unusual about Young Master Zhang earlier. He was originally a mortal who had just swallowed a powerful devilish pearl.

Yao Guang hadn’t been just idling outside the cave either. She leaned close to Su Su’s ear and said, “Six months ago, the three-headed demon set up an array in Ninghe Town, intending to devour Young Master Zhang, but his cat stole the Mirage Pearl, and Young Master Zhang ate it. The three-headed demon wanted to kill the cat, but it hid in the cave and never came out.”

So that was the story. The three-headed demon was cunning but lacked magical power, and the Devouring Array had almost exhausted his spiritual energy. 

A little mortal boy unexpectedly swallowed his treasure, so the three-headed demon must have been infuriated.

So, whenever Young Master Zhang said he wanted his cat, the three-headed demon had naturally thought that this strange little boy was mocking him.

Young Master Zhang tightly held onto the bell.

Seeing that they finally had the token, Zang Hai breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered something and asked Young Master Zhang, “Why did you kill someone?”

Young Master Zhang ignored him, still immersed in his own little world.

Zang Hai sighed, communicating with this strange little boy is troublesome.

Su Su turned around and glanced at Tantai Jin. Since coming out from the cave, he’d remained silent, his lips tightly pursed as he looked at the ground.

Perhaps Tantai Jin knew the reason.

However, all of that was no longer their concern. Young Master Zhang’s murder would be under the jurisdiction of mortal officials.

“Senior Sister Yao Guang and I have decided to infiltrate the Devil Domain. What about you?” Su Su asked.

Zang Hai hurriedly said, “We’ll go too! Our Master might be in the Devil Domain.”

After all, they couldn’t contact him anywhere in the immortal realm, but Zhao You’s soul lamp had never extinguished, so the most likely place he could be was the Devil Domain.

Now, there was only one problem left— What to do about the devilish pearl inside Young Master Zhang?

If even the three-headed demon couldn’t take it out, they naturally wouldn’t be able to either.

Yao Guang said, “Let’s go to the Devil Domain first.”

She was afraid that if they delayed any longer, Gongye Jiwu would be in serious trouble²凶多吉少 (xiōngduō-jíshǎo) – everything bodes ill, no positive signs (idiom); inauspicious; be fraught with grim possibilities.

Everyone nodded and decided to leave Ninghe Town.

*****

It was night. Young Master Zhang had been sleeping soundly, but he suddenly opened his eyes. 

His pitch-black eyes looked at the white-clad young man sitting by the window, it was Tantai Jin.

Young Master Zhang sat up, holding the bell. “You want to kill me,” he stated calmly.

Tantai Jin gripped his neck, “Yes.”

You deserve to die.

Young Master Zhang’s lips curled up strangely.

“Don’t kill me. I know what you want.”

After swallowing the Mirage Pearl, he could mimic anyone’s personality. After becoming the owner of the pearl, Young Master Zhang could see through Su Su’s fears, so how could he not see what Tantai Jin truly desired?

Young Master Zhang took out a smooth and lustrous pearl from behind him.

“You’re afraid that one day, she will fall in love with someone else and completely abandon you, leaving you in the mire. With this glass bead filled with power³Mirage Pearl’s power, you can kill the person she loves and become that person, and no one will be able to tell the difference.”

So, how about this deal?

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Edited by: Gaze

Translator’s Note: Merry Christmas in advance!!! Enjoy your holiday!!!