# 921
Chapter 922: Immortality and Ame-no-Murakumo
The instant Lin Qiye discerned that sword's shadow, his pupils constricted sharply!
As Ame-no-Murakumo closed in at terrifying speed, an unprecedented sense of life-and-death crisis flooded his heart.
Even though they were less than a kilometer from the guiding gate, even though that ancient and massive portal had already cracked open... Lin Qiye felt no joy whatsoever.
Because Ame-no-Murakumo was faster than them!
At this rate, before the carriage could leave Takamagahara, that blade would certainly shred them all into mist and blood.
Seemingly sensing the approaching danger, the spectral white horses pulling the carriage veered slightly from their original path, attempting to evade the sword's trajectory—but the instant they turned, Ame-no-Murakumo adjusted its blade angle in tandem, as though it had already locked firmly onto them!
At this moment, Lin Qiye could clearly sense that Ame-no-Murakumo wasn't targeting the carriage itself... but rather the people upon it.
His heart sank. In that fleeting instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, yet he still couldn't find a way to break this dead end.
Just then, Jialan's hand gently slipped free from his.
Lin Qiye froze.
As if sensing what was coming, his expression abruptly changed.
"Jialan! What are you doing?!"
Jialan smiled faintly. "Relax, I promised I wouldn't transfer 【Immortality】 to you casually... I don't want to be an untrustworthy little dog."
She extended both hands, pressing them against the carriage's surface. A wisp of white light surged into the carriage body, and 【Immortality】 had already transferred to the carriage's exterior.
Seeing this, Lin Qiye finally exhaled.
In the current situation, transferring 【Immortality】 to the carriage was indeed the optimal choice—it could simultaneously shield both of them.
The instant 【Immortality】 covered the carriage, Ame-no-Murakumo flashed across several kilometers of distance. The blade, coiling with terrifying killing intent and kinetic force, precisely stabbed into the carriage's surface. The thunderous sonic boom nearly burst Lin Qiye's eardrums!
The power imbued within Ame-no-Murakumo was simply too terrifying. In that instant, the entire carriage shuddered violently. The spectral white horses pulling it were directly annihilated by the blade's aftermath, dissolving into the air.
At the same time, the carriage's wheel hubs, railings, and the base supporting the carriage body were instantly crushed to powder. The silver carriage slammed heavily to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.
The "sword" capable of cleaving all things, and the "shield" that blocked nearly everything—in this moment, they clashed head-on.
Under the shrieking clash of metal, Ame-no-Murakumo's blade and the 【Immortality】 coating the carriage's surface collided violently. The visible shockwaves swept the漫天尘埃 outward in a frenzy. The earth beneath the carriage cracked inch by inch, instantly carving out a massive crater three kilometers in radius!
Lin Qiye stood within the carriage, barely稳住身形. Beside him, Jialan's expression was grave beyond measure.
*Crack—!*
A faint, barely audible sound of shattering rang out.
Ame-no-Murakumo's blade had penetrated half an inch into the carriage. Web-like cracks spread slowly along that hairline gap...
Though the breach was tiny, it signaled that the 【Immortality】 coating the carriage's exterior had reached its limit.
Sensing this, Lin Qiye's expression grew increasingly grim. He frowned as he watched the blade gradually piercing into the carriage's inner wall—until now, he finally realized... Jialan's 【Immortality】 was not omnipotent.
Before this supreme killing artifact of Takamagahara, even Jialan could be wounded.
Within the carriage, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Jialan's lips, falling gently onto that deep-blue Han robe, spreading into layers of crimson.
Her face was ashen.
"Jialan, are you alright?" Lin Qiye's eyes overflowed with worry.
"...Mm, I'm fine." Jialan's gaze fixed on that murderous Ame-no-Murakumo. She pressed her lips together, then turned to glance at Lin Qiye beside her.
Inside the carriage, there was only the sword's hum and the creaking sound of the carriage slowly fracturing. She simply stared at his face like this, and after a moment, her pale lips curved into a brilliant smile.
"What's wrong?" Lin Qiye, seeing that smile, was slightly stunned.
"I just thought of something happy." Jialan's eyes curved into crescent moons as she gazed at Lin Qiye with a grin. "Just now, Uncle Merlin told me... that you said you liked me..."
Lin Qiye froze. He hadn't expected Jialan to bring this up at such a moment. His expression carried a hint of awkwardness.
"...I did say it, but—"
*Creak—!*
As Ame-no-Murakumo continued its penetration, the blade was about to pierce through the carriage's inner wall. The white light outside flickered, seemingly growing increasingly dim. The carriage's structure was being compressed by an invisible force, emitting a low hum.
"But you're worried it was the effect of Cupid's Arrow?" Jialan finished Lin Qiye's unspoken words.
"Mm."
"...Dummy."
Lin Qiye was taken aback.
"Did you really think I would use such a method to force you to like me?" Jialan gazed at his eyes with a hint of grievance. "The reason 【Fake Love】 is called Fake Love is precisely because all the emotions it brings are entirely false... This Jialan doesn't need that sort of thing!
Think carefully—after being struck by that arrow, did you actually develop any feelings of love toward me?"
Meeting Jialan's gaze, Lin Qiye fell into confusion.
He suddenly recalled the day he returned to Shangjing City and visited the 006 squad's station—they had come to the squad's training grounds, only to witness two burly men embracing and flirting with each other...
Under Li Zhenzhen's Arrow of Love, even two sturdy men would be affected by 【Fake Love】, performing that series of eye-searing actions. That proved just how powerful the Arrow of Love was!
So why did he feel absolutely nothing after being struck by Jialan's arrow?
In fact, even after that, their most intimate contact had been nothing more than a brief touch of hands.
Images flashed through his mind once more—the instructor's dormitory at the training camp, Jialan gripping the Arrow of Love, stabbing it into his chest amidst the swirling sawdust... Her face full of bashfulness and resolve.
Lin Qiye seemed to realize something and spoke in shock. "That arrow was fake?"
"That arrow never had any genuine spiritual power injected into it." Jialan spoke with a hint of委屈. "If it had been a real Arrow of Love, we probably would have had kids by now, you dummy!"
"Then why did I..." Lin Qiye's words caught in his throat, as if suddenly understanding something. He fell silent.
Jialan's lips pressed together slightly. A blush crept across her cheeks. She turned her head aside and softly said: "If I hadn't taken the initiative to stab that arrow, when would this wooden-headed block you ever realize...
I like you?"