Gu Qianying pursed her lips, her smile tinged with tears.
"I just saw how happy you all were, how obedient you were, such good children."
Encouraged, the children jumped up with joy.
"Great, the big sister likes us, the big sister can stay."
Gu Qianying sat on the swing, looking at the beautiful scene before her, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.
Recalling reality, the endless bitterness surged forth.
She sighed again.
Nangong Mo walked over, his face also etched with bitterness, looking particularly unwell.
"Husband, I'm sorry, I'm truly troubled now. When we were so decisive in the first eight layers, what happened in the ninth layer?"
"It's really as you said, they bewitched us."
Gu Qianying clearly felt this kindness, but this kindness left them at a loss. She could only say she was bewitched, perhaps to alleviate her guilt in this moment.
Nangong Mo frowned, also feeling distressed in body and mind.
He finally understood why the ninth layer of hell was so difficult. No one had entered before, it turned out, all because of compassion.
He gently wiped away Gu Qianying's tears with his fingertip, soothing her slowly, "If you wish to think of it this way, then I will accompany you."
Gu Qianying complained slightly, hitting Nangong Mo with her hand.
"Do you think saying these things, and saying them together, will solve the problem? You're truly mad."
"But I must obtain the Primordial Dan."
Gu Qianying understood Nangong Mo perfectly, but the current situation was clearly a dead end. Taking a step forward was an abyss, and stepping back was also an abyss.
They had already broken through the first eight layers.
Now blocked by the ninth layer, who could be content?
Gu Qianying shrugged, no longer mentioning these matters. Instead, she asked, "I heard Ouyang Qinglin and Lu Shangshang have been very close recently. Are those two...?"
Nangong Mo lowered his gaze. "Yes."
He sat on the swing, close to Gu Qianying.
"He seems to have intentions of marrying that woman!" Nangong Mo could tell that Ouyang Qinglin's current thoughts were far from ordinary.
"Is he crazy? He'll die."
Gu Qianying was anxious and quickly stood up, wanting to stop him.
Nangong Mo quickly stood in front of her to block her. "Don't be impulsive. He has his own choices, and no one can choose for him."
"But I am his friend."
Gu Qianying stated stubbornly.
Nangong Mo's eyes darkened. "You consider him a friend, does he consider you a friend?"
Gu Qianying was merely pretending to be ignorant.
How could she not know Ouyang Qinglin's feelings for her?
"Then what should I do now? I can't just watch him fall into it, I can't, I really can't."
No matter what Ouyang Qinglin considered her, in Gu Qianying's heart, she had always considered him a friend.
Nangong Mo remained resolute. "Give him a chance to choose, he will know what to do himself."
"Listen to me, okay?"
Gu Qianying finally stopped, returning to the swing. Her eyes were dim.
"Am I making the right or wrong choice?"
"Right or wrong are indistinguishable, just like us now!"
"Alas!"
Victory was near, yet the people on the field could not find peace. No one was at ease.
On a peach tree.
Lu Shangshang sat on it, her small feet dangling. The clothes she wore fluttered in the wind, and the wind carried the sound of bells, tinkling crisply.
She patted the tree trunk and said with a smile, "Why are you like a dummy? You seem to like me, come up quickly!"
Ouyang Qinglin stood below, his eyes filled with emotion as he looked at her graceful demeanor.
But he did not step forward at her words, remaining at the foot of the tree.
Gazing at the person before him.
His voice was gentle as he slowly spoke, "Didn't you say earlier that you would tell me about your life story? I want to hear it."
"Woo!"
Lu Shangshang was playful and jumped directly from the tree, standing gracefully on the trunk.
The peach tree remained undisturbed.
Because they were ghosts, mere floating objects, they had no effect on the peach trees.
The woman blinked playfully, her voice charming and cute, "If you don't come up, I won't tell you. Who are you to me?"
She smiled again.
Ouyang Qinglin watched her, mesmerized. A smile finally appeared on his lips, his gaze constantly following the woman's movements.
"If I come up, will you tell me?"
Lu Shangshang peered down, her entire face flushed. "Of course, I like you, so I'm willing to tell you."
Lu Shangshang was very direct. Like was like, dislike was dislike.
For example, she disliked her constantly chattering friend.
Yesterday, her friend spoke to her, and she lost her temper, kicking the person away.
From then on, her friend dared not jump around in front of her.
But she liked Ouyang Qinglin, who brought her warmth.
She liked him very much, wishing she could talk to him more and feel his warmth, nothing else.
Hearing the word "like," the wall built in Ouyang Qinglin's heart gradually crumbled.
So, this was what it felt like to be liked.
He just stared blankly at the woman on the tree, and in her, he saw the figure of Gu Qianying.
His Ah Ying!
That's right! It was his Ah Ying!
He wished Gu Qianying would speak a few more words to him, he wished this woman belonged to him.
Was his Ah Ying acting spoiled towards him? Did his Ah Ying like him?
"Are you listening or not?"
Lu Shangshang seemed impatient, deliberately stomping on the peach tree branches. However, because she was a ghost, the peach tree remained completely still.
She became even more annoyed, cursing the peach tree.
"Look at you, you unappreciative fellow! She doesn't like you, so why are you crowding around her?"
"Who says I don't like you?"
Ouyang Qinglin's eyes were filled with a smile as he quickly got up from the ground and sat on the peach tree.
When he looked at her, he still saw Gu Qianying's figure on her.
The peach tree felt the weight and began to sway.
Pink peach blossoms fluttered from the tree, creating a beautiful scene.
Lu Shangshang had never seen such a sight before. "It's so beautiful, thank you."
She rushed forward and hugged Ouyang Qinglin tightly.
Ouyang Qinglin wanted to push her away, but for some reason, he became immersed in it, even unable to extricate himself.
"Tell me your story."
He held Lu Shangshang in his arms, then carefully placed her on the peach tree branch.
"Do you really want to hear it?" Lu Shangshang asked again.
"Yes, I want to hear it."
"Okay! I only tell it to those I like..."
She was the daughter of a military family, born amidst battlefields. While still swaddled, all she heard daily was the sound of clashing swords.
All she encountered was the matter of life and death.
Her parents raised her very well. Although she was on the battlefield, she lacked nothing that she should have been given.