Fang Rui, along with Elder Jiu Li and the others, searched for an exit within the Taoist temple's protective barrier. Her brow was constantly furrowed, her eyes red-rimmed.
On one hand, she feared the ghost might pursue and kill them. On the other, she was deeply troubled and sorrowful about Liu Jiang Fusheng's fall off the cliff. Her usually rosy cheeks had lost their color from days of suppressed grief. Yet, the mingling of her sorrowful and gentle demeanor lent her a unique beauty.
Chen Daoshan, in passing, glanced at her amidst the crowd. Her profile, like a delicate flower reflecting in water, struck him with instant admiration, and his heart began to flutter.
Fang Rui found herself back in the place she had been so eager to leave. For reasons unknown, she took a deep breath, and felt the tightness and vexation in her chest ease considerably.
The ghost was gone, and the howling black mist and malevolent spirits on the iron chain bridge had vanished. All the nightmarish scenes seemed to have abruptly disappeared.
Yet, she knew they were still trapped within this dark, bounded realm.
Danya had been severely injured when he left, but after using a potent healing elixir and a few days of rest, he had shown some improvement.
However, complete recovery would still take time. His lips were pale, and a sickly hue had settled upon his handsome, poetic face, making him appear dispirited and perpetually gloomy.
He surveyed the area around the bridge but did not find Gu Yi's… corpse.
Was she dead, alive, or imprisoned?
No one truly cared.
These individuals who had narrowly escaped death might have felt a residual sense of gratitude at first, for her courageous delaying actions during the crisis had bought them time to flee. But their memory of her was truly too insignificant.
Such fleeting, exaggerated emotions were forgotten and faded like the wind once the danger had passed.
As for Danya's deep feelings for Gu Yi, it wasn't to that extent.
When he decided to use her as a tool to provoke and hurt Liu Jiang Fusheng, he had never truly held her in his heart.
Now that Liu Jiang Fusheng was no longer present, she naturally held no value.
But it was precisely her unforgiving palm strike, that cold, discerning gaze—as if she, though detached, could perfectly penetrate the thoughts hidden deep within his heart—that still unsettled him.
They said she had been possessed by a demon, but he inexplicably felt that this was the woman's true nature.
Cruel, indifferent, and self-centered.
At this moment, a beam of white light descended from the cliff peak opposite. The hidden formation on the ground reappeared, blooming like lush flowers and grass in an instant, weaving intricate and profound patterns of light.
A man and a woman suddenly appeared within the light formation.
It was Liu Jiang Fusheng and Zi Ying, teleported from Laishan Ravine.
"Fusheng! Zi Ying!"
Elder Chang Li exclaimed in surprise the moment the formation appeared. Upon recognizing their faces, his eyes lit up, and he shouted towards them, "I knew it! Your life tokens are still intact, so you must be alive!"
Several elite disciples from the Dayán Sect also shed their earlier grim and weary expressions, joyfully calling out, "Uncle-Master Fusheng!" and "Uncle-Master Zi Ying!"
The people from the Void Gate, including Chen Daoshan, were astonished.
Having fallen from such a high cliff without spiritual power to control their descent, how had the two of them survived?
As Danya saw Liu Jiang Fusheng completely unharmed, a chilling glint of icy hatred flashed in his eyes, almost uncontrollably unleashing the demonic and monstrous beings behind him.
Interesting.
The fangs within his heart laughed savagely.
He didn't die even from this. Not only that, but judging by his abundant spiritual energy and the small, mouse-like pet perched on his shoulder, he seemed to have returned with considerable gains.
But with a turn of his head, he lowered his gaze again, his lips curving into a refined and elegant, yet utterly hypocritical, smile.
It's fine. It doesn't matter if he didn't die this time. He refused to believe that Liu Jiang Fusheng could be so lucky every single time.
With the ghost's obstruction removed, their group quickly crossed the suspension bridge to the other side. The two parties reunited, and the "teleportation array" reappeared. Everything felt like clouds parting to reveal a clear sky, dispelling the haze that had shrouded them.
Seeing Liu Jiang Fusheng return safe and sound, Fang Rui was almost moved to tears of joy. She bypassed Zi Ying, who was eagerly looking to stage a moment of "sisterly affection," and rushed towards Liu Jiang Fusheng like a beautiful, poignant gust of wind.
"Junior Disciple Fusheng."
Chen Daoshan's eyes flickered with a dark, malicious glint upon hearing her lingering, affectionate address to Liu Jiang Fusheng, but in an instant, his expression turned to one of proper solemnity.
After this ordeal, Fang Rui found it difficult to control her emotions. She couldn't help but want to throw herself into his embrace, but Liu Jiang Fusheng took a step to the side, his face placid and handsome, offering a clasped-hand salute that halted her movement… and her affection.
"Senior Disciple Fang."
His tone didn't carry even the slightest waver.
Seeing this, Fang Rui's steps felt rooted to the spot, her heart aching with bitterness.
She forced a smile: "You... you're alright, that's too good. I've always... always been so worried about you."
Tears glistened in her eyes as she spoke with genuine affection.
Liu Jiang Fusheng seemed to pay her no mind. He half-closed his eyes: "Thank you for your concern, Senior Disciple Fang. Fusheng is well."
As if barely suppressing his last shred of patience, he finished speaking, brushed past her, and walked towards Elder Jiu Li behind them.
Fang Rui stiffened, her face numb. A tear silently fell from the corner of her eye, landing at her feet, mirroring the heartbreak she felt.
He couldn't even be bothered to cast a sideways glance at her.
Zi Ying looked at Fang Rui's utterly despairing expression and felt a twinge of sympathy for her.
But in the next moment, she felt more distressed for herself, for the moments she had spent alone with Liu Jiang Fusheng.
She shivered, as if unable to bear such good fortune.
What was love compared to nearly losing one's life? That was true misery.
No one knew how uneasy and anxious Liu Jiang Fusheng was at that moment, for he had looked around and couldn't find the person he was searching for.
"Elder, where is my wife?" he asked directly, cutting to the chase.
Elder Jiu Li's smiling face suddenly froze. He had almost forgotten about this matter. He couldn't meet the clear, snow-like gaze of Liu Jiang Fusheng. After stammering for a long while, he could only offer a series of hesitant mumbles.
How could he guiltlessly and righteously tell him that after his fall from the cliff, his wife had become a malevolent entity, been abandoned by them, and her fate remained unknown?
At this moment, the fear in Liu Jiang Fusheng's heart reached its peak. He could barely maintain his composure: "Where... is she?"
He asked again, but his tone was entirely different from before.
Elder Jiu Li, who was closest to him and felt his presence most acutely, felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine. He sensed an oppressive aura, like that of a colossal entity, bearing down on him, making him terrified.
Danya stepped forward. His complexion was still not good, and he spoke in a mild, gentle tone: "Ah Yi was possessed by a malevolent entity and left the group. Her whereabouts are currently unknown."
"Possessed by a malevolent entity?"
Liu Jiang Fusheng repeated the words slowly, as if he couldn't comprehend them. He subtly raised an eyebrow and met Danya's eyes, which held the chilling depths of a mountain of knives and a forest of swords: "Can you explain why these four words have appeared on her?"
Zi Ying had witnessed the true nature of Liu Jiang Fusheng, this beautiful but mad individual, and knew what the mortal Gu Yi meant to him. Thus, her eyelids twitched ominously, and she quickly asked, "How could she have been possessed by a malevolent entity when she was perfectly fine?"
Fang Rui's voice then drifted from behind, "We don't know when it happened. Perhaps before you fell off the cliff, or perhaps after. Her eyes were blood-red and malevolent then, and she even attacked Senior Brother Danya, who had been protecting her..."