Chapter 385: Unformed Power

Late at night, heavy snow was falling in Tang City.

Thick fog blanketed the ring highway, and waves of oppressive sobbing echoed through the air.

“Wuu wuu… wuu wuu wuu… Grandpa Turtle and Stall Master Tan, they…”

“Don’t worry, Grandpa Turtle and Stall Master Tan just stayed behind to cover us. They’re strong, nothing will happen to them.”

“But… wuu wuu wuu…”

“Stop crying, damn it! You’re a grown man, old as you are, how can you still be such a crybaby?!” Seeing Liu Seer’s face streaked with tears, Gou Meng growled impatiently.

As soon as she finished, perhaps tugging at the wound on her chest, she suddenly began to cough violently, blood spraying from her mouth and staining Liu Seer’s shoulder red.

Smelling the blood wafting from his shoulder, Liu Seer froze for a moment, trembling as he tried to turn his head, but a pale little hand pushed him back.

“Don’t look back. No matter what happens, don’t look back. Just keep running forward…” Gou Meng said calmly, pausing halfway, then quietly adding, “…if you don’t want to die.”

With that, she pressed both hands on Liu Seer’s shoulders, suddenly exerted force, leaped up, spun in midair, and landed gracefully, her lotus-like feet steady on Liu Seer’s shoulders, facing backward.

The biting cold wind blew, snowflakes swirling in the air, a vast expanse of white. The distant buildings were reduced to blurry outlines, the wind and snow draping the night in a funeral shroud.

In the wind and snow, the girl stood tall, arms crossed before her chest, gaze icy and fierce. The hem of her Qipao whipped in the wind, her jade-like legs extending from beneath the skirt. On her chest, her clothes were soaked with blood, blooming like a vivid rose.

Sensing countless psychic energy fluctuations approaching, Gou Meng frowned slightly and muttered to herself, “They’ve caught up? That’s pretty fast…”

Hearing her voice, Liu Seer recalled the man who led the attack on the pawnshop. His heart tightened, and he shivered involuntarily.

He crept through the darkness, drawing closer with every step, his mouth emitting a strange, terrifying laugh, like the cawing of a crow.

A dreadful black shadow spread its wings, making an entrance as oppressive and terrifying as a demon, his whole body exuding the stench of decay.

“M-Milady, what the hell is that guy?” Liu Seer asked weakly. “Isn’t he Fuyang’s familiar? Why would he…”

“Fuyang just attached a part of his consciousness and power to that guy, that’s all,” Gou Meng said lightly.

After all, as long as I’m alive, that damned brat can’t fully awaken. He can only peer into the human world in this way.

But even so, he must be unwilling, right? That’s why he’s so desperate to get rid of me.

Truly ruthless! Even if I’m not his real sister, I’m still his older sister…

However, a Crow Slave carrying only a portion of Fuyang’s power wouldn’t be enough to threaten Gou Meng like this. The reason he could force her into such a predicament was at least half due to the group he’d gathered.

Those people came from all sorts of backgrounds: lone psychics, familiars of other deities, even members of the Eclipse Society and Miracle Order. Who knows how the Crow Slave managed to bring them all together.

It must have been some tempting promise.

In this world, only profit can drive those wolfish people to join forces against an enemy, Gou Meng thought.

Seeing her silent for so long, Liu Seer grew uneasy. He instinctively glanced back, and his steps faltered.

Some unknown light source behind them pierced the wind, snow, and fog with dazzling golden-red rays, illuminating Gou Meng’s pale profile.

Densely packed, like headlights suddenly flaring in the darkness.

Staring at those lights, Liu Seer’s mind went blank. In an instant, the howling wind, the crunch of footsteps on snow, the heavy breathing, and the pounding heartbeat-all vanished, leaving only the arrhythmic sound of wings flapping.

Gou Meng sensed something was wrong, looked down, rolled her eyes, and kicked Liu Seer’s head hard with her heel, saying sternly, “I told you not to look!”

“Turn around and run for your life! What’s coming next will be bloody-kids shouldn’t watch…”

That kick was almost effortless, yet it struck Liu Seer’s nerves like a heavy hammer, snapping him back to his senses. He hurriedly turned his head and focused his mind.

“That’s more like it!” Gou Meng glanced at Liu Seer out of the corner of her eye and said coolly, “Come, let me give you a buff!”

As she spoke, Liu Seer’s body suddenly jolted. A complex, tree-like incantation appeared on his chest, and the psychic energy that had nearly been depleted from overuse surged back to life, flooding his limbs and bones.

Like a withered tree meeting spring.

With his psychic energy replenished, his gaze sharpened. He sped up, running forward with all his might, the snow swept up by his legs forming a gale that rose higher than a man.

Just then, a cacophony of cawing came from behind.

In the wind and snow, countless Fire Crows shot toward Gou Meng like arrows. The heat melted the snowflakes, trailing arcs of water through the air before splashing to the ground, closing in on Gou Meng in the blink of an eye and erupting with astonishing heat.

Gou Meng stared ahead, the deep green of her eyes reflecting the Fire Crows’ forms. She murmured, “Spring brings wind and rain. I say, let the spring wind turn to rain…”

As her words fell, a warm wind rose from nowhere. Wherever it blew, the wind and snow vanished. Fine rain, thin as ox hair, drifted from the sky, wrapped in Gou Meng’s surging psychic energy. Like thousands of steel needles, they pierced the bodies of the Fire Crows.

“Pfft-pfft-pfft-!”

With the soft sound of flesh bursting, the Fire Crows’ black blood splattered, blooming like black flowers in midair.

Even after piercing their bodies, the rain kept its momentum, slamming into the ground like sniper bullets, leaving dense “bullet marks” amid a muffled “thud thud thud.”

The Fire Crows’ screams rang in his ears. Liu Seer secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, Lady Gou Meng can summon wind and rain with just a word. Escaping shouldn’t be difficult.

But just as that thought flashed through his mind, a shout came from afar.

“Tell me, without the rising sun, how can there be a warm spring?”

As the words fell, Gou Meng felt her psychic energy fluctuations go chaotic. The spring wind and rain she’d conjured with her power instantly dissipated.

In a sense, she was originally Fuyang’s companion haunting. The enemy’s power naturally suppressed her.

If Fuyang came in person, she feared she could only repeat the scene from a thousand years ago, when she fought with her life, determined to perish together.

But now, it was only Fuyang’s familiars that had arrived.

Steadying herself, Gou Meng forcefully suppressed the violent surging of her blood and qi, bit down on her blood-stained pearly teeth, and said coldly, “With the virtue of wood ruling the world, spring arrives, dead wood meets spring, withered flowers bloom again!”

As her words fell, a pillar of emerald light descended from the void, enveloping Gou Meng.

The pillar of light stretched upward, gradually dimming until it vanished into the sky, while downward it rooted and spread out radiant roots, as if penetrating the earth.

In an instant, countless trees sprang up side by side from the solid asphalt road, growing madly in the wind and snow, transforming into a row of ferocious giant trees like sentinels, with countless parasitic roots spreading across them.

From afar, the elevated ring road around the city was, in just a few breaths, covered with flowers, grass, and trees, as if it had turned into a primeval forest.

Within the dense woods, those roots waved about, weaving a web that blocked the passing Fire Crows, swiftly strangling and draining their psychic energy and flesh, then bursting into clusters of colorful flowers on the branches.

The withered remains of the Fire Crows shattered, scattering like coal dust, swirling with the snowflakes, starkly black and white.

“In the sun dwells Fuyang, called the three-legged crow; those who see it, great drought scorches the land, all living things perish.”

From afar, another loud cry rang out. The remaining Fire Crows all flapped their wings and rose, gathering in the sky into a massive fireball, casting down blazing light upon the earth. The astonishing heat stirred waves of distorted air.

As the scorching sun beat down, flames quickly sprang up on the towering giant trees, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into a raging inferno. Under the blaze, the twisted, ferocious trees kept cracking and withering at a terrifying speed.

Charred trunks crashed to the ground with thunderous booms, the entire elevated ring road trembling violently, then in an instant turning to powder, scattered by the wind.

Intangibly, Fuyang’s power crashed violently against Gou Meng, suppressing her power once more. Her face turned pale and green, and she spat out a mouthful of black blood with a “wah,” clutching her chest with one hand, gasping heavily for a while before regaining her footing and slowly sitting on Liu Seer’s shoulder.

With most of her power suppressed, she could only use that not-yet-fully-formed power, Gou Meng thought.

“Hey! In a moment, when I use that power, you might be affected, but don’t be afraid, you’ll be fine in a few days. If I lose consciousness then, take me to Chunfeng Residence.”

After retrieving Gou Meng’s various belongings from Chunfeng Residence, Grandpa Turtle had already scouted several times. After that gang of thieves smashed up Chunfeng Residence, they withdrew.

Though after escaping, that group might search Chunfeng Residence again, for now, every place around Tang City was under their surveillance, so it was better to try hiding in plain sight.

Thus, Chunfeng Residence was both the most dangerous and the safest place. They would never expect that this old lady would dare to risk everything and hide there again! Gou Meng thought.

Seeing Gou Meng still worrying about him in such a situation, Liu Seer felt a warmth in his heart, thinking she must have held back just now out of concern for this old man’s safety. Now that things were critical, it didn’t matter if he was affected.

Thinking this, Liu Seer nodded vigorously. “It’s nothing! Please, do as you must!”

“Very good.” Gou Meng nodded slightly, then took a deep breath and activated the not-yet-formed power within her.

“The best time is the little spring, warm wind embraces the jade beauty in the splendid hall, bathed in spring light, water and milk blend, may there be many sons and grandsons in the days to come!”

Liu Seer, “???”

Why is she reciting this stuff? Isn’t that a wedding blessing? What use could that possibly have?

Just as Liu Seer was full of doubts about Gou Meng’s strange actions, a faint sound of gongs and drums suddenly rang in his ears, and an inexplicable sense of joy welled up in his heart.

With the gongs and drums, scenes of him and his late wife-meeting, falling in love, marrying, and their daughter’s birth-flashed through his mind like a lantern show.

Then…

As all the visions faded, he seemed to see a goddess in lotus robes standing alone in the ninth heaven, casting a gentle gaze upon the earth, while countless men and women chanted ancient sacrificial hymns to the spirits in his ears.

“…The hall is full of beauties, suddenly she alone meets my gaze. Entering, she says nothing; leaving, she takes no leave. Riding the returning wind, bearing the cloud banner…”

When all the visions faded, Liu Seer recalled the poem he had just heard in his trance, dazed for a moment before suddenly coming to his senses, eyes wide.

He knew where that poem came from, what it described, and remembered what Gou Meng had told him-that it might affect him-immediately realizing something was wrong!

That poem was from “Nine Songs: Shao Siming,” a song and dance written for the sacrifice to the goddess of marriage, Shao Siming.

And the part Liu Seer heard described many women attending the welcoming sacrifice, all hoping for happy love and good children, casting hopeful gazes to the goddess in the ninth heaven, who returned a knowing glance, fulfilling everyone’s beautiful wishes.

“….”

Could it be… Lady Gou Meng had gained a portion of Shao Siming’s power?

Wait, that’s not the point!

The point is, Lady Gou Meng said it might affect me, doesn’t that mean…

As Liu Seer thought this, something suddenly squirmed in his lower abdomen, like a mass of churning air, nurturing life.

It was as if he had drunk the legendary Mother-and-Child River water.

“Aiyo, damn! This, this, this…”

“Shut up!” Gou Meng snapped impatiently. “Weren’t you always looking for your daughter? You’ll have a daughter soon.”

If you want a daughter, give birth to one yourself!

Liu Seer, “???”

“No, Lady Gou Meng, I’m not, I didn’t, please don’t say that!”

I wanted to find my daughter, not get a new one this way! Liu Seer thought, nearly in tears, as a bitter tear welled up in his eyes.

“Damn it, I was just joking with you, why are you crying again?” Gou Meng said in a low voice. “Relax, this part of my power isn’t fully formed yet. In a few days, your belly will go down.”

As she spoke, she glanced back at the empty road, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. “Now those guys, affected by my power, shouldn’t be able to catch up for a while. Just head to Chunfeng Residence…”

As Gou Meng spoke, her voice grew weaker and weaker, her breath fainter and fainter, until finally her hands dropped, and she slumped onto Liu Seer’s shoulder. Her vision went black, and she fell into unconsciousness.