Chapter 1164: An Unprecedented Honor
It was only upon hearing this voice that Xuanwu slowly turned her head like a machine to look at Baihu.
"I'm... liberated...?"
This clear, cool voice was noticeably different from before. She was sobbing.
"Yes, Wu Xuan." Baihu nodded with a complex expression, then looked toward Jiang Shi, "The 'Qinglong' told me about this... just didn't have time to inform you..."
"That's right..." Jiang Shi nodded in agreement from the side, "Everything just now was a test ordered by Qinglong."
Xuanwu's body trembled again upon hearing this. She spoke slowly, "But that's not right... Qinglong clearly used the thunder..."
"You need to trust me." Baihu said, "There's no need for us to keep thinking about Qinglong anymore, is there...?"
Hearing this, Xuanwu turned back to look into Baihu's eyes.
Yes... why was she still trying to find an excuse for Qinglong?
How wonderful would it be if all this was real?
No, she couldn't think that way.
Because right here, right now, at this very moment, it *was* real.
A long, arduous journey was finally about to reach its end at this moment.
Xuanwu stared into Baihu's clouded eyes for a long time, and her entire being began to feel dazed.
Although he had become incredibly old, his eyes were familiar.
Those fragments of memories buried deep in her mind began to awaken, causing Xuanwu to tremble uncontrollably.
"Wu Xuan, why do you always try to reason with them?"
A young man's voice echoed in her ears:
"Aren't we the referees in charge of management now? How can you rely only on reasoning?"
In her mind, a young man in white robes and a young girl were leaning together against a worn-out, low wall.
Back then, the sky was pink.
"Don't call me Wu Xuan!" the girl replied.
This girl's voice echoed in Xuanwu's mind, but she couldn't remember who she was.
"Oh right, you're not Xiao Xuanzi anymore, you're 'Xuanwu.' That name suits you perfectly." the young man said, "Qinglong just came up with it casually. Never thought it would be so fitting."
The girl laughed happily: "Yeah, I feel like Qinglong is like a Bodhisattva. He fulfilled everything the Bodhisattva promised me in such a short time."
"A Bodhisattva...? I... don't think Qinglong is a Bodhisattva..." The young man's face showed a troubled expression as he shook his head, "I dare not say anything more. You need to be careful. Don't keep reasoning with those who break the rules, or it'll be trouble if you make Qinglong angry."
"But Brother Hu, those who break the rules are still people too. Even the Bodhisattva looks down upon all living beings with compassion. How can we just take their lives?"
"They are rule-breakers." the man said, "If they could understand reason, they wouldn't have broken the rules in the first place."
"This..." The girl hesitated, "But I'm a bit scared... If I can't reason with them, what else can I do? Do I really have to kill people with this body?"
"You can scare them! Do you watch short dramas? I remembered a line used for intimidation the other day. I'll teach you."
"'Short dramas'... what's that?"
"Never mind." the man said, "Just remember this line!"
"Oh..." The girl nodded.
"Listen carefully... I am Old Hu! Drop your weapons and enjoy the slaughter!" The man burst out laughing at his own words, "Oh, sorry... that was too silly. If it doesn't work, why not act like those ancient officials, slam the table and shout 'How dare you!' Maybe that might..."
The girl then laughed heartily, "Giggle giggle... Brother Hu, you're so funny. You sound like an old man."
"What are you talking about, silly girl? That *is* an old man's line!"
The two of them burst into laughter, and even the atmosphere became lighter.
That year, the sky was still pink, and the wind that blew through the memory didn't carry the stench of rot.
Xuanwu tried to see what the girl and the man said next, but the memories in her mind were a chaotic mess.
The only thing she remembered was the man staring at her. His eyes were filled with sorrow, and he murmured, "Do you still remember me?"
The memory shifted again. The girl and Qinglong stood together, and beside them lay a mangled, bloody corpse.
"I am very disappointed in your current state." Qinglong said. "That I had to step in..."
"I'm sorry..." The girl slowly lowered her head.
"I had only two requirements. How many have you fulfilled?" Qinglong asked again.
"The first one..." The girl's voice grew softer, "I have never disobeyed you."
"No, you haven't fulfilled a single one." Qinglong said, "First, never disobey me. Second, defend the rules with an iron fist. You failed the second, which means you disobeyed me."
"No... I wouldn't dare..." The girl kept her head down, "You're like a Bodhisattva... I wouldn't disobey you..."
"Enough with your damned Bodhisattva..." Qinglong frowned, then paused for half a second as if a thought struck him, "Speaking of Bodhisattvas... I finally understand..."
"Huh...?"
"I know what your problem is... You have too much sanity!" Qinglong laughed maniacally, "Right... If I just take away half your sanity, you won't consider so many things anymore."
As they were speaking, a man with glasses and messy hair walked in from outside.
His gaze was shifty, not daring to look directly at Qinglong or the girl.
"What is it?" Qinglong asked.
"'Mad Growth' is ready." The man with glasses said, "That native can activate a relatively stable 'Mad Growth.' I came to report to you..."
"'Mad Growth'...?" Qinglong's gaze turned cold, "Tell me, what use is this damned thing? You... wait..."
Qinglong seemed to have an idea and became interested instantly, "...Can 'Mad Growth' only be applied to plants?"
"This..." The man with glasses thought for a moment, "It should be... yes."
"Try it on a person." Qinglong stood up and pointed at the girl behind him, "She looks far too harmless. Make 'Mad Growth' spread all over her."
"All over...?" The man with glasses froze, instinctively looking at Qinglong, but quickly averted his gaze, "This... that can't be right... Applying this technique to a human body, there's no way to tell if it will make them older or fatter... And humans have hair, nails, and many other things that can grow... She might..."
"What are you talking about?" Qinglong interrupted.
"Wh... I..."
"What are you talking about?"
Qinglong repeated himself, and the man with glasses was too frightened to speak.
"Don't you have faith in the 'Divine Beast' you created yourself?" Qinglong slowly walked over to the man, leaned down, and whispered in his ear with a smile, "By the way, if she really goes out of control, you can stay here and be buried with her."
The girl was stunned upon hearing this, and for some reason, she began to feel afraid.
But at that moment, Qinglong walked up to her with a smile on his face, placed his hands on her shoulders, and said softly, "No need to tremble. Today, we will perform an even deeper level of transformation on you. This is an honor that no other 'Divine Beast' has ever received. From now on, you will be even stronger."
The girl neither nodded nor shook her head. She was just afraid.
But... what happened after that?
Where did the girl and the young man in her memories go?
Xuanwu couldn't remember.
This memory was like an unfinished film, ending abruptly after that scene.
The images stopped. The sounds stopped. Even the wind in the memory stopped.
No matter how hard she tried to think, only one sentence remained in her memory:
"Do you still remember me?"