𝔏𝔢𝔪𝔪𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔴 𝔶𝔬𝔲, 𝔫𝔞𝔫 𝔟𝔦𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔲𝔫𝔢𝔲𝔫 𝔟𝔦𝔠𝔥.
𝔊𝔦𝔟𝔢𝔲𝔫 𝔧𝔬𝔥𝔞 𝔫𝔢𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔢 𝔤𝔢𝔶 𝔫𝔲𝔫𝔟𝔦𝔱.
𝔊𝔞𝔰𝔢𝔲𝔪 𝔱𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔲𝔫 𝔰𝔢𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔲𝔪 𝔤𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔲𝔫 𝔦 𝔫𝔢𝔲𝔨𝔨𝔦𝔪.

Tian Xing opened her eyes with a slight groan.

Her eyes landed on the ceiling of a chamber. Mu QingFeng's voice came from her bedside, "Thank goodness you are awake."

Tian Xing gently rubbed her temples, "A-Feng...How long was I out?"
"Three hours."

Well that wasn't too long.

Mu QingFeng continued, "You fainted, Xing-jie."

Tian Xing smiled. Mu QingFeng became exceedingly irritated, "What exactly are you smiling for? It's not good news that you fainted. And what exactly did you do to exert your spiritual energy that much?"

Tian Xing closed her eyes, "Secret."
"Oh shush. How can you keep a secret from a doctor?"

Tian Xing laughed softly. In the next second though, she grimaced internally.

"Awake?" Came the voice of Shen Qingqiu. He sounded very tired.

Tian Xing gently called, "A-Qiu."

Shen Qingqiu spoke, "Mu Shidi. I want to speak to her alone. May I?"

Mu QingFeng nodded, "As you wish, Shen Shixiong."

With that, he left the room. Shen Qingqiu sat beside her on the bed, "What did you use?"
"A-Qiu let-"
"No."

Shen Qingqiu's gaze was stern and laced with layers of pain, something Shen Qingqiu himself was unaware of.

Tian Xing spoke, "I used dolls. Twenty five to be exact. I...used them to save the disciples."

Shen Qingqiu's eyes widened, "No wonder there aren't deaths. Of course you would faint. You used twenty five dolls by what? Spiritual energy? What kind of necromancy is this? Is there even such a talisman to bring back inanimate objects to life?"

Tian Xing remained silent. Shen Qingqiu was agitated, "Xing-jie! Don't just stay silent like that. BingHe is already in the abyss. Do you know how much of a shock I got when you fainted?"

His old heart almost gave out. It had been hurting from the point Luo BingHe had gone into the Endless Abyss. Not that he wanted to admit it, but his mind was in too much of a chaos to not say those words.

Tian Xing laughed quietly, "Fine, I used necromancy. What can you do about it?"

Shen Qingqiu was stunned speechless.

After a long time, he sighed, "You are impossible. Now you even know how to use necromancy?"

Tian Xing spoke nonchalantly, "I just woke up. Why are you asking such questions right now?"

Shen Qingqiu massaged his temples, "Can I not be a bit anxious for my elder sister?"

Tian Xing was still smiling as she spoke, "I am fine, don't worry. Nothing is wrong. A-He will return eventually."

Shen Qingqiu sighed.

_______________________

Tian Xing sat beside Shen Qingqiu, who looked absentmindedly towards the sky.

He put a hand over Shen Qingqiu's shoulder, "A-Qiu...you shouldn't be so down. He will come back."

Shen Qingqiu sighed,"I know."
"He won't hate you this time."
"I know."
"Then? What are you worried about?"

Shen Qingqiu sighed, "It's nothing."

Tian Xing spoke, "Your state begs to differ. A-Qiu, I know you are down. And I understand. It's hard to be apart from a person you knew for so long. I miss him too. But we can believe, right? We have the right to."

Shen Qingqiu replied in a grave tone, "Yes."

He had come to terms to the fact that he was indeed missing Luo BingHe. Tian Xing made him admit it out loud to her.

She had a very good grip on other's psychology. It was quite frightening at times how she could guess what was in certain people's minds accurately.

Shen Qingqiu spent his time teaching the disciples while waiting. Waiting to see what had changed in the storyline, now that Luo BingHe wouldn't hate him.

Tian Xing continued to teach them as well.

In a short time, they had learned a lot, especially because Tian Xing and afterwards even Shen Qingqiu didn't shy away to put them in dangerous situations where they had to use their own wits and strength to overcome them.

Of course, they were never sent in any missions they wouldn't be able to accomplish. This was something that had helped the disciples to believe in themselves during the missions.

"We will never send you to missions you cannot accomplish. If you ever think that you are going to fail in completing the missions, remember this. You are capable."

Granted, there were times they had needed external help from the elders, but that never made them disheartened. Tian Xing didn't let them be disheartened about it.

All in all, the disciples were being raised into fine cultivators with time.

Not that Shen Qingqiu in the Svsss had not groomed them well, it's just that two was better than one.

In the meantime, one day, Shen Qingqiu invited Shang Qinghua to the Qing Ding Peak. And as expected, exposed him out in his own tactics.

Shen Qingqiu smiled in triumph, "Airplane shooting towards the sky."

Shang Qinghua's face was as pale as a sheet, "You...how do you know this ID?"

Tian Xing snorted.

Shen Qingqiu looked at her in a deadpan, "As always you are not surprised, am I right?"

Tian Xing shrugged, "It will take a lot more than that to surprise me, A-Qiu."

Shen Qingqiu deflated a bit.

Shang Qinghua's eyes were round like saucers, "Did she just call you 'A-Qiu'?"
Shen Qingqiu groaned, "She calls me that all the time."
"In fact, I will start calling you A-Hua now." came the reply from Tian Xing.

Shang Qinghua was speechless.

Tian Xing raised an eyebrow, "Give your elders some face. I am older than you."

Shang Qinghua's face flattened out like a balloon. Shen Qingqiu sighed, "Yeah stop now. Enough of that. I know your ID because well, me and her, we are both transmigrants too."

Shang Qinghua spoke woefully, "It took me so long to find some allies."

Tian Xing spoke with a chilly tone, "Seriously though, where exactly did you get the idea to write this dumbfuck novel filled with plot holes?"

Shen Qingqiu raged, "Exactly! Plot holes after plot holes. So many foreshadowings which led to nothing! Giving out maidens and flowers like they are candy! How did you write this frivolous novel?"

Shang Qinghua spoke offended, "Hey! I wrote what the mass media wanted. It's not like I wanted to write like this. The original plot was very different."

Tian Xing spoke, "What? Like there having a reason as to why Shen Qingqiu of the original storyline became the way he did?"

Shang Qinghua exclaimed, "That's right! I had it plotted in my mind. That was a good guess."

Shen Qingqiu buried his forehead on his hand, "It's official. You are probably a witch."

Tian Xing looked at him with a smile, "Do you think so?"
"That smile, and the fact that you are not denying it is already enough proof."
"But I am not a witch."

She was not a witch. She was definitely not.

She was a demon. Those two are different creatures.

Shen Qingqiu glared at her. Then he turned to Shang Qinghua, "The reason I called you here is..."

__________________________________

Tian Xing was keeping a keen eye out in the carriage. Her eyes were sharp as she surveyed the area around them.

Shen Qingqiu asked, "You are being awfully cautious."

Tian Xing spoke, "It's for a reason."

In fact, while seeing her surroundings, she was contemplating her choices ahead. She had to find a way to save GongYi Xiao.

Her prime concern was the Xin Mo sword. This sword was the reason of the many turmoils that took place in the novel. This time, as Luo BingHe was not emotionally traumatised by Shen Qingqiu pushing him down, he might be able to control it.

But if worse came to it...Tian Xing steeled her heart for death once again. It was fine if she died. She didn't belong to this world anyway.

Shang Qinghua spoke, "Xing-jie, what are you thinking so deeply? Cucumber bro also noticed it. Something is wrong?"

Tian Xing shook her head. She only asked, "Is the system there?"

Shen Qingqiu asked, 'System? Are you there?'

The system responded, [Hello. The system has entered hibernation mode now. Right now, there is only automated service. If you need service, please help yourself.]

Shen Qingqiu was speechless, '...What, hibernation?'

Shen Qingqiu spoke, "It says it's in hibernation mode."

Tian Xing spoke, "I thought so. The system's main power is Luo BingHe, who is currently in the abyss recovering. With everything that has happened, his mind set is vastly different from what had been in the original novel. I assume the system is reconnecting with that mindset and setting upgrades."

Shen Qingqiu was absolutely gobsmacked, "How...what the fuck...?"

Shang Qinghua spoke, surprised, "It's true. I asked the system just now what exactly was wrong. It said that it was under maintenance and upgrades in the background."

Tian Xing nodded, "Alright."

Shen Qingqiu was starting to get suspicious of her, "Xing-jie, you know a bit too much about this whole thing. Are we missing something in this whole situation?"

Tian Xing sighed, "No, bruh. Stop being suspicious for no reason. I just made a hunch and it hit the mark."
"This is not the first time, and definitely not the last time you had a hunch and you hit the mark. There have been way too many times of that. It can't be a coincidence everytime."

Tian Xing deadpanned, "Fine. I am just smart, that's all."
"..."

She then sighed quietly.

'Maybe I should stop running my mouth unnecessarily. They are getting suspicious. Tian Xing, why do you always have to say everything beforehand? It's not like these things will affect the storyline.'

Maybe she was a bit too careful and cautious.

Shen Qingqiu didn't continue the topic anymore. Instead he spoke, "We need to hurry to be honest. This is very close to the Huan Hua Palace territory. They will probably cause a ruckus if they find out."

Tian Xing didn't say anything to that and remained silent.

The silence somehow made Shen Qingqiu a bit paranoid. Her silence meant she was hiding something, or that something was about to happen.

Tian Xing wondered specifically about Zhuzhi Lang. And if there was a way to prevent Tanglian-Jun from being...well...many things.

'I really wish we didn't have to do this overall. But...just in case...if anyone dies, I will activate the array.'

With her demonic powers, it was easy to activate an array quickly.

Tian Xing slowly drifted off a bit in the carriage ride while thinking of these things.

__________________________________

|𝑪𝒖𝒛 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓.
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 '𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒃𝒚𝒆', 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 '𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓'.|

|𝑨 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅.|

|𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕,
𝒐𝒉 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆.|

|𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆.
𝑰 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.|

|𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚,
𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚.|

|𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏.
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏.|

"𝑈𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒."
"𝑁𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑎."
"𝐽𝑖𝑒."
"𝑁𝑒𝑠𝑎𝑛."

"𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒈𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆."

Tian Xing woke up with a jerk.

She rubbed her eyes.

'Damn, do I still dream of the past? It's so distant. How many years has it been, more than a century...?'

But she was happy she could remember her past. She didn't want to forget, even after hundreds of thousands of years.

'I wonder...if they remembered me after I died...'

They probably didn't.

Tian Xing smiled melancholically.

"Xing-jie, what's wrong?"

Tian Xing shook her head, "Nothing."

Shen Qingqiu didn't probe it much as he thought she was just being a bit dazed.

Suddenly her eyes became sharp. She spoke, "There is a ghost around here."

Shang Qinghua started to tremble, "G-Ghost?"
"Yes, a female one at that."