Chapter 1164: Special Honor

Xuanwu heard the voice and slowly turned to look at Baihu, her movements stiff like a machine.

"I... I'm free...?"

This clear, cold voice was utterly different from before; there was a hint of a sob.

"Yes, Wu Xuan," Baihu said with a complicated expression, nodding before turning to Jiang Shi. "Qinglong and I discussed this matter, but we didn't have time to inform you..."

"That's right," Jiang Shi chimed in, also nodding. "Everything that just happened was a test ordered by Qinglong."

Hearing this, Xuanwu trembled all over again and said slowly, "But that doesn't make sense... Qinglong clearly used Jing Lei..."

"You have to believe me," Baihu replied. "We don't need to make excuses for Qinglong anymore, do we...?"

Xuanwu turned back and gazed into Baihu's eyes.

Yes, why was she trying to find an excuse for Qinglong?

How wonderful it would be if all of this were true.

No, she couldn't think that way.

Because right here, right now, it was all real.

A long journey was finally reaching its end at this moment.

Xuanwu stared into Baihu's cloudy eyes for a long time, a sense of daze washing over her.

Although he had aged incredibly, his eyes were familiar.

Memories long sealed in her mind began to stir, making her tremble uncontrollably.

"Wu Xuan, why do you always try to reason with them?"

A young man's voice echoed in her ear:

"Aren't we the enforcers in charge of judgment? How can just reasoning work?"

In her mind, a young man in white clothes sat with a girl against a rundown short wall.

The sky back then was pink.

"Don't call me Wu Xuan!" the girl replied.

This girl's voice lingered in Xuanwu's mind, but she couldn't remember who it was.

"Oh, right, you're not Little Xuanzi anymore; you're 'Xuanwu' now. What a fitting name," the young man said. "Qinglong just mentioned it offhand, and it turned out to be so appropriate."

The girl laughed happily. "Yes, I feel like Qinglong is like a Bodhisattva. He accomplished everything the Bodhisattva promised me in such a short time."

"Bodhisattva...? I... I don't think Qinglong is a Bodhisattva..." The young man shook his head with a troubled expression. "I won't say more than I should, but you need to be careful in your actions. You can't keep reasoning with those who break the rules, or you'll end up angering Qinglong and getting into trouble."

"But Hu Dage, those who break the rules are still people. Even a Bodhisattva looks down with compassion on all beings, so how can we just take their lives so easily?"

"They are rule-breakers," the man said. "If they could understand reason, they wouldn't have broken the rules in the first place."

"I... I suppose..." The girl hesitated. "But I'm a little scared... If I don't reason with them, what else can I do? Do I really have to kill people with this body of ours?"

"You could scare them! Do you watch short dramas? I remembered a line for scaring people the other day—I'll teach it to you."

"'Short dramas'... What's that?"

"Never mind that," the man said. "Just remember this line!"

"Okay..."

"Listen carefully... I am Old Hu! Lay down your weapons and enjoy the slaughter!" The man finished and laughed at himself. "Oh, sorry... That's a bit silly. If that doesn't work, you could be like those ancient officials—just slam the table and shout 'How dare you!' Maybe that would do it..."

The girl burst into giggles. "Hu Dage, you're so funny. You sound like an old man."

"What? Silly girl, that's originally an old man's line!"

The two of them laughed, and the atmosphere lightened.

That year, the sky was still pink, and in her memory, a wind blew that wasn't foul-smelling.

Xuanwu tried to recall what the girl and the man said next, but the memories in her mind were a jumbled mess.

The only clear impression was of the man staring at her, his eyes full of sorrow, murmuring, "Do you still remember me?"

Then the memory shifted, and the girl stood with Qinglong, a mutilated corpse lying beside them.

"I'm very disappointed in your current state," Qinglong said. "You actually needed me to step in..."

"I'm sorry..." The girl slowly lowered her head.

"I only have two requirements, and how many have you met?" Qinglong asked.

"The first one..." The girl's voice grew softer. "I've never gone against you."

"No, you haven't met either," Qinglong said. "The first is not to go against me, and the second is to enforce the rules with thunderous means. By failing the second, you've gone against me."

"No... I didn't... I'm afraid..." The girl's head remained bowed. "You're like a Bodhisattva... I won't go against you..."

"Don't mention your nonsense about a Bodhisattva..." Qinglong frowned after speaking, then paused as if struck by an idea. "Wait... Bodhisattva, I've finally figured it out..."

"Hmm...?"

"I know where your problem lies... You have too much reason!" Qinglong laughed maniacally. "That's right... If I take away half of your reason, you won't overthink things anymore."

As they spoke, a man with messy hair and glasses walked in from outside.

His eyes darted around, avoiding Qinglong and the girl.

"What is it?" Qinglong asked.

"'Feng Zhang' is ready," the man with glasses said. "That native can now activate a relatively stable 'Feng Zhang', so I'm reporting it to you..."

"'Feng Zhang'...?" Qinglong's eyes turned cold. "What use is this useless thing? You... Wait a minute..."

Qinglong seemed to think of something and suddenly became interested. "...Can 'Feng Zhang' only be applied to plants?"

"Well..." The man with glasses thought for a moment. "I suppose so... Probably."

"Try it on a person." Qinglong stood up and pointed to the girl behind him. "She looks too harmless. Make her whole body undergo 'Feng Zhang'."

"Whole body...?" The man with glasses was stunned and glanced at Qinglong involuntarily, but quickly looked away. "That... That doesn't seem right... Applying this to a human body is unpredictable—it could make someone older, fatter... Plus, humans have hair, nails, and other parts that can grow... Then she..."

"What are you talking about?" Qinglong interrupted.

"What... I... I..."

"What are you talking about?"

Qinglong repeated, and the man with glasses was too frightened to speak.

"Don't you have confidence in the 'Shen Shou' you created?" Qinglong slowly approached the man, leaning down to whisper in his ear with a smile, "Besides, if she really loses control, you can stay there and keep her company."

The girl froze upon hearing this, suddenly feeling afraid for some reason.

But Qinglong, with a smile, came to her side and placed his hands on her shoulders, saying softly, "There's no need to tremble. Today, we're going to transform you even further. This is a special honor that no other 'Shen Shou' has ever had—you'll become much stronger afterward."

The girl neither nodded nor shook her head; she was just scared.

But what happened after that?

Where did the girl and the young man in her memories go?

Xuanwu couldn't remember.

It was like an unfinished film—everything stopped after that scene.

The image froze, the sound stopped, and even the wind in her memory ceased.

No matter how hard she tried to think, all that remained was one line:

"Do you still remember me?"