As time ticked away, Hu Qingluan held the Red Lotus Karma Fire in her palm.
"Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one."
The petals of the Red Lotus Karma Fire in Hu Qingluan's hand scattered. It would only take a moment for the karma fire to incinerate the soul.
I couldn't hesitate any longer. I quickly stopped her. "No! Let my cousin go. I'll give you Man Yue."
"You're quite sensible..." She flipped her palm and extinguished the Red Lotus Karma Fire in her hand.
"Man Yue isn't here. How can I exchange her with you?"
"She's stained with your blood. Call her, and she'll come in."
I had no other choice but to do as she said. I silently called Man Yue's name in my heart, and unexpectedly, Man Yue really entered the Pale Land.
"Such a good girl. Lead her over slowly." Hu Qingluan said, gently crooking her finger.
"Give my cousin's soul back to me."
True to her word, she put my cousin's soul back into the small wine jar and threw it into my hand.
"Don't play any tricks."
Man Yue stood beside me, smiling at me with her curved eyebrows. My heart was filled with mixed emotions.
I gently took her hand, thinking about how to save her. Suddenly, I thought of my silver bell, which carried Gu Yuan's magic power. Usually, it could protect me, so it should surely protect Man Yue as well.
Taking advantage of Hu Qingluan's inattention, I secretly tied the bell around her wrist. Although she was a soul, she could really wear it. I couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
I led her slowly towards Hu Qingluan. Seeing this, Hu Qingluan curled her lips contemptuously.
She took out a shiny dagger and stabbed at Man Yue. The dagger was inscribed with talismans. Since Man Yue's soul was incomplete, as long as it touched her, her soul would surely disperse.
As the dagger descended, the bell didn't show any reaction at all.
In a moment of desperation, I directly hugged Man Yue and shielded her under me. The dagger directly slashed across my back, and a sharp pain quickly spread through my back.
The moment I got injured, the Pale Land began to shake violently and turned from white to blood - red. There was a look of shock and fear on Hu Qingluan's face.
The Pure Ruyi was bestowed by the immortals and was not allowed to harm innocent souls. If such a situation occurred, it would surely backfire on those with ill - intentions.
As she let out a wail, my soul suddenly returned to my body, and I was back in the real world. At this moment, Bai Qi had broken through the barrier and brought me back to the village entrance. He kept patting my face and calling my name.
"Lan Lan, Lan Lan, wake up."
Seeing me wake up, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
I smiled at him and said, "Scared you, didn't I?"
"Scared? You almost scared me to death."
I only held my cousin's soul in my arms. I didn't see Man Yue. Could it be that I didn't bring her out?
"Lan Lan, who's so powerful that they dared to steal a soul right under my nose?"
I wanted to take a couple of steps, but I felt such a sharp pain in my lower back that I could hardly stand up straight. The pain made me tremble.
Souls are extremely sensitive. The sensitivity to pain is dozens of times greater than that of the physical body. Even a small cut from a knife would feel like being stabbed with a dagger.
I didn't know how big the wound on my back was because there was no wound on my physical body. I just felt that the pain was worse than death. Big beads of sweat oozed from my forehead, and every breath felt like being struck by lightning on the top of my head.
I gritted my teeth and stuffed the Pure Ruyi into Bai Qi's hand. Weakly, I said, "Bai Qi, you have to save Man Yue. Hu Qingluan wants to kill her."
Seeing me in this state, Bai Qi frowned tightly.
"Please." I drooped my eyebrows and weakly pleaded with him.
Bai Qi heaved a heavy sigh and had no choice but to take the Pure Ruyi.
While I was still conscious, I told Bai Qi what had happened in the Pale Land.
In case I fell asleep and forgot everything when I woke up, all my suffering would be in vain.
"Bai Qi, go and capture Hu Qingluan quickly. She should have been backfired by the Pale Land. If you don't go now, I'm afraid Man Yue will really be in danger."
"But you..." Bai Qi held my hand.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. Look, I'm standing here perfectly fine, aren't I?" I forced myself to stand up from the ground and turned around.
Bai Qi looked up at the sky. It was almost dawn.
"Stay here and wait for me obediently. I'll be back soon."
After saying that, he transformed into a blue light and disappeared into the night sky.
I was in so much pain that I could hardly stand. Just as I was about to find a place to squat down, a white light flashed across the sky, and Gu Yuan landed directly in front of me.
I smiled at him. Gu Yuan saw the strange look on my face, and there was a cold light in his eyes.
"How did you get here?"
Before I could answer, he sized me up from head to toe, and a gloomy look suddenly appeared on his face.
"Where's the Pure Ruyi?"
At this moment, my mind was already in a daze, and I couldn't remember many things.
"Just now, someone threatened me to exchange the Pure Ruyi for my cousin's soul. So..."
Seeing the soul of my cousin in my arms, Gu Yuan's eyes showed anger.
He tightly grabbed my wrist and shouted angrily, "So, you exchanged it for your cousin's soul?"
I didn't say a word. I knew I was to blame for not protecting Man Yue well.
"I know her soul is in there. I'm sorry."
"Lan Chiyu, what did I tell you? No matter what happens, you mustn't lose the Pure Ruyi. Did you just turn a deaf ear to my words?"
His scolding made my heart ache. It hurt even more than the stab I had just taken.
"Then what do you want me to choose? She's my cousin, the sister I love like a family member. If I could use my life to save her, I wouldn't have used Man Yue's soul to make the exchange."
"Who wants Man Yue's soul?"
At this moment, I suddenly couldn't remember. The face of that person was blurred in front of me, and I couldn't see clearly.
The anxious feeling of wanting to say something but being unable to say it made my tears well up.
"I... don't know. I can't remember."
Gu Yuan's cold eyes shifted from my face to my wrist.
Suddenly, his grip tightened, almost breaking my wrist.
Furious, he flung my hand away forcefully. I couldn't stand steadily and fell directly to the ground.
"Where's your silver bell? Why don't you wear it? Why do you never take my words to heart? What do you take me for?"
I had never seen Gu Yuan so angry before. His question, devoid of any warmth, was bone - chillingly cold.
I was in so much pain that my brain was dizzy, and I didn't know how to answer his question.
"Gu Yuan, here's what you want."
As the voice came, Bai Qi threw the Pure Ruyi in his hand to Gu Yuan. He landed on the ground, holding Hu Qingluan by the collar with one hand.
Gu Yuan held the Pure Ruyi in his hand and clenched it tightly.
Man Yue's soul also floated out of the Pure Ruyi. She still had the same expression, smiling with her curved eyebrows.
Seeing her, there was a strange and unfathomable look in Gu Yuan's eyes. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or sad.
"Gu Yuan, Lan Lan has always taken your words to heart. The reason she didn't wear the silver bell is that she put it on Man Yue's wrist."
Gu Yuan lowered his eyes and looked at Man Yue. Sure enough, there was his silver bell on her wrist.
"She knew it was a life - saving thing, but she was still willing to take it off for Man Yue. Do you really think she would exchange Man Yue for someone else?"
"The culprit is right here. As for what happened, you can just ask her. Don't take your anger out on Lan Lan. As for how you want to deal with her, it's up to you."
Bai Qi walked up to me and helped me up. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something. He turned around and asked, "Gu Yuan, if it were you in today's situation and you had to choose one of Man Yue and Lan Lan to live, who would you choose?"