The vast forest finally came to an end.
In the distance, wisps of smoke rose slowly into the sky, accompanied by the constant sounds of chickens and ducks. At the edge of the large fields, a small village was hidden.
This village was not as neat and clean as Si You Country, instead, it was filled with a strong sense of rural life. Stacks of cut firewood were piled up in front of every mud house. Chickens and ducks were kept within the fences. By a small pond in the distance, someone was fishing. Farmers were working the land, children were herding cattle—everything appeared tranquil, like a utopia with a peaceful, idyllic quality.
Zanxing and Gu Baiying exchanged glances, both feeling a sense of puzzlement from the other.
There were no traces of demonic energy or fluctuations of spiritual power here. It looked like an ordinary village inhabited by common people. Why had the Two-Life Buddha Wheel brought them here? Was this a corner of Duzhou from the past?
Gu Baiying turned his head and said quietly, “Let’s check it out.”
Zanxing nodded.
As they approached, a farmer wearing a conical hat walked by. Zanxing stepped forward and smiled, “Excuse me, sir.”
But the farmer walked past her as if he didn’t see her at all, leaving Zanxing momentarily stunned.
Seeing this, Gu Baiying’s eyes flickered. He extended his Xiu Gu spear and let its tip graze the farmer’s carrying pole. It easily passed through the pole as if it were a breeze.
“An illusion?” Zanxing stopped. The villagers couldn’t see them, and they couldn’t affect the villagers, much like an illusion. But unlike the illusions in Wufan City, where the creator could interact within it, this seemed more like a memory. It resembled the memories she had seen in the Wuyou Sword in the treasure land.
Whose memory was this? Could it be Gui Yansheng’s?
“We seem unable to influence them,” Zanxing said, looking at Gu Baiying. “Master Mingjing said that turning the Two-Life Buddha Wheel can return us to the past, but if the past remains unchanged, doesn’t that render the Buddha Wheel meaningless?”
“Don’t forget, the one turning the wheel is Gui Yansheng,” Gu Baiying reminded her. “Just because we can’t change the past doesn’t mean Gui Yansheng can’t.”
Zanxing lowered her gaze. That was true. Gui Yansheng was the first person to pass the Five-Wheel Pagoda trials, and the Buddha Wheel was a prize given to him by the Buddha Pagoda. Gui Yansheng had actively turned the Buddha Wheel, while she and Gu Baiying were forcibly pulled into it by the wheel. In this memory, Gui Yansheng was indeed the master.
They couldn’t do anything about Gui Yansheng’s past.
As they stood on a small path in the village, contemplating their next steps, a sudden thunderclap disrupted their thoughts.
Thick black clouds had gathered above the village, and a fierce wind blew, indicating that a heavy rain was about to fall. The villagers scattered to avoid the rain, and the children herding cattle hurried their oxen home. The once-bustling village was instantly deserted.
Big raindrops fell from the sky.
This heavy rain came strangely, clearly a part of the memory. The villagers couldn’t see Zanxing and Gu Baiying, but the rain could still fall on them, soaking their clothes. Zanxing looked into the distance and noticed a dim light flickering through a window nearby. She pointed in that direction and said to Gu Baiying, “Standing here isn’t going to work. Let’s go seek shelter from the rain first.”
Gu Baiying had no objections. They went over and took refuge under the eaves of a mud house, where clear rainwater dripped into the mud puddles at their feet, forming hanging curtains of water that splashed against them in the wind.
Zanxing couldn’t help but shiver.
Gu Baiying glanced at her and asked, “Why aren’t you using a warmth spell?”
Zanxing’s expression remained calm. “I don’t know how.” While on Gufeng Mountain, she had always worn several layers of clothing to fend off the cold. Often, she preferred to use ordinary methods to keep warm, as a way to remind herself of who she was and where she came from.
Gu Baiying was initially surprised, then looked at her with disdain and said, “Aren’t you the Demon King’s daughter? You don’t even know a warmth spell.” As he spoke, he raised one hand, ready to act, but Zanxing suddenly spoke up: “No.”
His action froze in midair. “What?”
“Don’t you feel it?” Zanxing looked at him in surprise. “There’s a strong demonic aura.”
“Demonic aura?” Gu Baiying frowned and shook his head. “I don’t sense any demonic aura nearby.”
Even Gu Baiying didn’t notice? Zanxing was even more surprised. After thinking for a moment, she extended her left hand and summoned a blue flame from her palm. The flame quickly swayed and elongated like a blue serpent, floating into the room.
Inside the room? Zanxing’s heart stirred, and she followed inside. The next moment, a muffled voice came from within: “So painful—”
The rain poured down from the sky with a whoosh, and lightning illuminated the pained, screaming face of a woman in the room.
A woman in labor.
The flame in the oil lamp on the table seemed to sense the wind and rain outside, flickering as if it might extinguish at any moment. The woman clenched her fists tightly, struggling to calm her breathing. The bedding next to the pillow was nearly torn apart by her grip, and beside the bed lay a pair of silver scissors and a basin of water.
The room had only this woman in it, with no midwife present. She was giving birth alone and seemed terrified of anyone discovering her situation, suppressing her groans as much as possible. The sound was covered by the wind and rain outside, and the entire village remained unaware.
The dense demonic aura emanated from the woman’s abdomen.
Zanxing was stunned, and a thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Before she could react, Gu Baiying, noticing her delay, followed her inside. As soon as he entered the room, he was shocked by the scene before him and said, “Why is she alone?”
A mortal woman giving birth often faced life-threatening risks. Typically, there would be family members waiting outside, or at least a midwife to assist. Yet this woman was alone, which was pitiful. Where were her husband and family?
The woman continued to strain, veins bulging on her forehead. Her eyes were wide open, tears and sweat mingling and soaking the bedding.
Suddenly, the cry of a baby filled the room with a “wah—” The woman’s body relaxed abruptly, as if she had shed a heavy burden, and she collapsed weakly.
Boom—
The thunder outside continued, and the woman on the bed was extremely weak but still managed to sit up. Every movement required her to stop and catch her breath. After what seemed like an eternity, she regained some strength, gritting her teeth, and picked up the newborn from the blood and viscera, staring at it in dazed surprise.
Then, a bitter smile appeared on her face, and her throat emitted mournful cries. The cries were suppressed, like the mewing of a small kitten, hiding helplessness and pity that she dared not reveal to others.
The newborn, unlike other babies, opened its eyes at birth. It looked up at the woman holding it and gave an innocent smile.
It had a pair of golden eyes.