After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Anomaly
â—Ž Abnormality in the Town, Qingdai Appears â—Ž
These words made sense, and Du Lianxin did not refute them, only continuing to ask: “What is Senior Sister’s plan?”
Shen Anlan pondered for a moment and said thoughtfully: “I still have spiritual power, so I can use a stealth technique to investigate secretly tonight. If everything is confirmed to be fine, I will return, and we can visit together tomorrow morning.”
Du Lianxin had no spiritual power and could not help.
She was aware of her own condition, so she did not say anything unrealistic.
“Senior Sister, please be careful on your trip.”
A faint smile appeared on Shen Anlan’s face. “Don’t worry, Junior Sister. I am confident that nothing will go wrong.”
Before leaving, she led Du Lianxin to a relatively secluded spot and cast a spell to set up a defensive restriction within a radius of ten zhang.
As long as Du Lianxin didn’t step out of this range, her safety was guaranteed.
Night fell. Shen Anlan left alone, using a stealth secret art to conceal her presence, and quietly approached the small town emanating the warmth of human life.
There were groups of two or three pedestrians on the streets. Judging by their attire, they were ordinary folks.
As she got closer to the buildings, the rich aroma of food instantly assailed her nose.
In this instant, Shen Anlan keenly sensed something was amiss.
She had long since achieved Bigu (abstention from grain and the need for food). Not only mortal food, but even the spiritual delicacies and rare treasures of the cultivation world rarely piqued her appetite.
However, just now, upon smelling the food, she felt an urge to taste it immediately.
If not for her strong self-control, she would probably have already knocked on a nearby courtyard door to buy food.
This was clearly abnormal!
To be safe, Shen Anlan secretly channeled her spiritual power and temporarily sealed off her sense of smell.
The aroma vanished, and the sudden urge to taste the food, which had surged in her heart, consequently dissipated.
After this incident, Shen Anlan became much more vigilant and began to secretly observe the people still walking in the streets.
Upon closer inspection, she indeed found a problem.
The expressions on these people’s faces were vacant, and everyone’s behavior was strikingly similar, as if they were… puppets on strings?
To further verify her suspicion, Shen Anlan attempted to sense one of them with her divine sense as they passed by. Her beautiful brows instantly furrowed.
They were living people, not puppets.
So, what was the cause of the sight before her?
Were the townspeople controlled? Or had they simply lived here for so long, constantly repeating the same actions day after day, leading to similar, vacant expressions and behaviors?
The confusion in her heart was hard to resolve. Shen Anlan did not act rashly but stayed where she was, continuing to observe…
On the other side, Du Lianxin remained inside the defensive restriction set up by her Senior Sister. Unable to meditate and cultivate due to the absence of spiritual power, she simply began to observe her surroundings.
From time to time, venomous snakes and insects approached. The moment they touched the restriction, they were all repelled by an invisible force, instantly perishing.
She wondered if it was her illusion, but the wild beasts in the mirror world seemed to be significantly more aggressive than those outside.
The repelled snakes and insects came in wave after wave, with the number of those rushing in steadily increasing.
The corpses of the deceased snakes and insects were quickly devoured by their own kind.
Separated by the restriction, Du Lianxin couldn’t smell the bl00d, but she could roughly imagine the scene.
After about two zhuxiang (incense sticks) of time passed, the new batch of snakes rushing towards the restriction, at a certain moment, seemed to be greatly terrified. They abruptly turned tail and fled the area at an even faster speed than they had arrived.
Du Lianxin watched this scene, her heart filled with doubt, but she soon found the answer.
A woman in red, with a faint bloody light surrounding her, descended from the sky. It was the Ghost King Qingdai, who had been sucked into the mirror world with them earlier.
Seeing her, a faint smile appeared on Du Lianxin’s face. She called out “Senior,” but deep down, a trace of caution remained.
Since entering the world inside the mirror, both she and her Senior Sister had encountered peculiar objects impersonating others. Who knew if the person before her was real or fake?
She was not familiar with Qingdai. Even if the person was a peculiar object impersonating her, she probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
The red-clad woman lightly landed. Seeing the girl inside the restriction, the murderous intent surrounding her lessened considerably.
“Girl, I finally found you.”
Hearing this, Du Lianxin was stunned for a moment. “Senior… were you looking for me?”
“Indeed,” Qingdai said naturally. “If I hadn’t captured you and taken you to the old house, you wouldn’t have fallen into this world inside the mirror. This place is quite strange and unsuitable for a long stay.”
Observing her expression, a guess surfaced in Du Lianxin’s mind: “Does Senior perhaps know a way to leave?”
Qingdai smiled and replied: “I have a rough idea. The spiritual power fluctuations of the defensive restriction you are in seem somewhat familiar. I presume your Senior Sister also came to this world inside the mirror?”
Her intuition told Du Lianxin that the Ghost King before her was not a peculiar object in disguise, so she did not hide the truth. “Senior Sister could have avoided it, but she risked danger to save me.”
Qingdai had already guessed the reason. The smile on her face remained unchanged, and she continued: “If my judgment is correct, the core of this world is located in the small town outside this forest. However, it must be under multiple disguises and requires a careful search.”
Hearing this, Du Lianxin was surprised, but a hint of worry also appeared.
“Senior, to be honest, Senior Sister just went to that small town. The core of the mirror world is the hub of the bronze mirror. It is crucial to the treasure, and the forger wouldn’t leave it unguarded. That small town is likely riddled with danger.”
Qingdai nodded in agreement. “There is no doubt about that.”
The worry on Du Lianxin’s face deepened. “Senior Sister she…”
Qingdai comforted her gently: “The girl’s Senior Sister is no ordinary person. Judging from the method used to dissolve the restriction covering the old house, she should be a leading figure among the younger generation of cultivators in the Grand Profound Realm. The girl need not worry too much. A person like her, with extraordinary luck, will not easily encounter trouble.”
Du Lianxin frowned. “But the bronze mirror is, after all, a Spiritual Treasure. Such a rank, in the outside world, can only be mastered by Body Integration and Mahayana cultivators. The power unleashed when the treasure is activated is equally formidable.”
Qingdai reminded her: “Girl, don’t forget that Spatial Spiritual Treasures are very unique. They do not inherently possess offensive power. Even if there is danger there, it does not come from the treasure itself, but from the enemy’s setup. The laws of this world are incomplete, so means with excessive power cannot be arranged, or it would easily cause spatial instability or even direct collapse.”
Du Lianxin raised the crucial point: “After Senior Sister and I arrived in this world, our strength was greatly suppressed. My spiritual power is now gone, and Senior Sister’s strength can only exert less than half a percent of her full power.”
Hearing this, a rare look of surprise appeared on Qingdai’s face.
Seeing her reaction, Du Lianxin understood.
“Senior was not affected?”
Qingdai nodded: “Indeed not. Could it be because I am a ghost cultivator? That the related suppression is ineffective against me?”
Du Lianxin did not respond to this but continued to ask: “Where did Senior first land when you arrived in this place? Did you encounter anyone?”
Qingdai stated plainly: “I landed in a lake. Along the way, besides you, I haven’t encountered anyone else. Why does the girl ask this? Did you encounter others besides your Senior Sister?”
Du Lianxin sighed softly, explaining: “I first landed in this forest and encountered a peculiar object that had transformed into Senior Sister’s appearance. If I hadn’t seen through it in time, I would probably be dead by now.”
Hearing this, Qingdai looked deeply at the girl, lost in thought.
“Does the girl like your Senior Sister?”
Du Lianxin subconsciously denied it. “No…”
Qingdai clearly didn’t believe her. “Liking is liking. Why deny it? I’m an experienced person; you can’t hide it from me.”
Du Lianxin felt helpless. In her past life, she was infatuated with Shen Anlan; it was love at first sight.
In this life, she had long since abandoned all fantasies, and she truly hadn’t considered this matter carefully.
Judging by appearance alone, Senior Sister’s looks perfectly matched her aesthetic. This could be considered a stir of emotion, but should probably be attributed to lust at first sight?
Judging by personality, Senior Sister was cold and unemotional. Falling for such a person was, if not a guaranteed tragedy, close to it.
Du Lianxin was too close to the situation to confirm her current feelings for Shen Anlan.
However, one decision remained unchanged: in this life, her goal was to pursue the Great Dao, and she would no longer force the illusory and unattainable sentiment of love.
Thinking of this, she looked at the red-clad woman and said sincerely, “I beg Senior not to mention this matter in front of Senior Sister.”
Qingdai was confused. “Why? Since you like her, why not express your feelings boldly? That’s how I pursued Wanyun back then. If you keep it bottled up and don’t try boldly, you might miss each other.”
Du Lianxin heard this and only shook her head with a bitter smile.
How could I not have tried?
In her past life, she had bravely confessed more than once, only to receive a cold rejection and nothing else.
It was said that love was unpredictable, but for Du Lianxin, she was absolutely certain that Senior Sister Shen could not like her.
Shen Anlan’s heart was like stone; no matter how much you gave, she would not be moved at all—no… more accurately, she was indifferent to her.
Didn’t she see the truth of the world just before her death in the previous life?
Shen Anlan would have someone she liked, but it wouldn’t be her; it would be Feng Ruo.
Qingdai saw the look of sorrow on the girl’s face and immediately put away her smile.
In this instant, she seemed to have realized something. Her tone changed, and she gently advised: “Girl, only mutual love is worth cherishing. If it’s only one-sided love, then let it go as soon as possible. With the girl’s appearance and personality, you will eventually find someone who truly loves you.”
When Shen Anlan returned, she saw the Ghost King Qingdai standing outside the defensive restriction she had set up, gazing intently at her Junior Sister, with clear tenderness in her eyes.
Recalling what her Junior Sister had told her, her eyes turned slightly cold.
Qingdai had once mistaken her Junior Sister for her lover from the past life. Their appearances must be somewhat similar. With this attitude now, could she be intending to treat her Junior Sister as a substitute?
As this thought arose, Shen Anlan’s heart instantly swelled with anger. She quickly walked toward her.
“I hear Senior has been looking for her lover from the past life. Your unwavering devotion over the years is truly touching. Since Senior already has someone you love, is it not inappropriate to be looking at my Junior Sister in such a manner?”
Qingdai was originally annoyed with herself for saying the wrong thing and stirring up Du Lianxin’s sad memories. She was trying to figure out how to comfort her when she suddenly heard these words. Her beautiful brow instantly raised, and she turned to look at the newcomer.
Their eyes met in mid-air. Qingdai keenly sensed Shen Anlan’s hostility…