At the last moment, Qian Wanyu swooped down to protect her, her face stern and her eyes full of obvious anger.
The entire deep pool resembled a shattered mirror, fragments flying in every direction.
——
“Wanyu, wake up quickly.”
The incessant buzzing sound from near and far filled his ears. Qian Wanyu frowned, struggling to lift her heavy eyelids bit by bit. She saw a hazy blue figure hovering before her eyes——
Indeed, it was floating.
Qing Mo maintained his gentle and elegant appearance, his body accentuated by his green attire, making his figure appear ethereal, like fireworks. His stern yet delicate face would captivate any girl, causing her to forget to look away.
However, Qian Wanyu was an exception. Her face felt numb, and she squinted, trying to recall previous events.
The world seemed to shatter, then she and Ninth Sister appeared to keep falling.
“Ninth Sister.”
Qing Mo felt a touch of helplessness. What Qian Wanyu thought and spoke about all the time was only her Ninth Sister. Angrily, he retorted, “Your Ninth Sister is fine, you should look after yourself first.”
Having said that, he floated away from her.
Qian Wanyu was half reclining on a massive rock, only averting her gaze when Qing Mo drifted towards a distant tree. She wanted to stand up but found her ankle throbbing with pain. She noticed Ninth Sister’s distinct method of bandaging, marked by a beautiful bowknot.
She watched Qing Mo float over to Ninth Sister’s side, and the two of them whispered something to each other, while Ninth Sister nodded repeatedly.
Due to her line of sight, Qian Wanyu couldn’t see that something was crushed beneath the two boulders. The object was flattened and spread out on the ground.
Not far off, Dongfang Minghui patted a large tree and instructed Little Colour, “Little Colour, when you want to pry it apart later, you must do it simultaneously from both sides and do it in one attempt.”
“Go and check on your Seventh Sister, I’ll help inspect the situation here.”
“Alright.”
Dongfang Minghui heaved a deep sigh, quickly approaching Qian Wanyu, “Seventh Sister, are you feeling unwell?”
Qian Wanyu shook her head instinctively, “What’s wrong with my leg? Did something happen earlier that I’m unaware of?”
“Seventh Sister, don’t you remember what occurred earlier?” This time it was Dongfang Minghui’s turn to be shocked, “Earlier, a massive boulder rolled down in the valley, and in an attempt to save me, you were accidentally bitten by a venomous snake hidden in the rock. I have already treated the poison, you should be fine soon.”
Qian Wanyu glanced at the two boulders indifferently. The two spherical stones, perhaps too large for even five people to embrace, appeared extremely solid. If they were to fall, they could kill, but how could a venomous snake be hiding within the rocks? “But, I don’t have any recollection of this?”
“Could it be that when we fell from the deep pool and accidentally hit something?”
Dongfang Minghui also attempted to approach and examine her, but her mischievous hands were caught by Qian Wanyu. Qian Wanyu’s face was serious, “Tell me what happened after we fell from the deep pool.”
Qian Wanyu always had a feeling that something was wrong, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.
“Seventh Sister, let’s discuss this matter later. Can we let Little Color remove these two boulders first?”
“What do you plan to do with these two boulders?”
“The Sleepy Dragon Seal is being suppressed by these two stones.”
Qian Wanyu watched as Dongfang Minghui stood up and assumed a ready stance facing Qing Mo. Vines and branches danced through the grass, and soon, the two massive stones appeared to be pulled by an invisible force.
Dongfang Minghui stood, panting, behind Seventh Sister, anxiously observing the movement of the two boulders, and waited until the gap between the two was about 20 centimeters.
Dongfang Minghui scooped up Seventh Sister in her arms and leaped out when Little Color’s vines released the stubborn rock. She swiftly steadied Qian Wanyu, then reached for the Sleepy Dragon Seal which had been crushed beneath the two stones.
The Sleepy Dragon Seal radiated an aura of not welcoming any people——
It glared harshly at Qian Wanyu. It remembered this woman. If she hadn’t destroyed the memory fragments, it wouldn’t be in such an unfortunate situation.
The Sleepy Dragon Seal began to move, and its flattened body soon became plump, with a round head and a slender body. It looked exactly the same as the Sleepy Dragon Seal that Dongfang Minghui had seen in the memory fragments. Its entire body glowed red, appearing like a key that had been heated in a fire for a long time.
Qian Wanyu distinctly felt the key’s hostility towards her. “Ninth Sister, what is going on?”
Dongfang Minghui looked at the puffing dragon seal, then at the perplexed Qian Wanyu. She rubbed her hands together, “Uhh actually, explaining this matter is quite difficult.”
“Try to keep it short.”
Qian Wanyu had already sensed Ninth Sister’s hesitance. She frivolously furrowed her brow, pursed her lips, and looked serious.
Dongfang Minghui was most afraid of Seventh Sister displaying such a serious expression, as it often indicated that she was in a bad mood. So, she cast a pleading look toward Qing Mo.
Qing Mo pretended to ignore her and replied, “It’s your turn.”
“Qing Mo, if she won’t speak, you will.” Qian Wanyu didn’t want to argue with Ninth Sister, so she shifted her attention to Qing Mo.
Seeing her shift her attention, Dongfang Minghui observed Seventh Sister’s expression carefully. While trying to catch the dragon seal, she secretly threatened, “Little rascal, if you get caught by those people, let me tell you, you’re certainly doomed.”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal’s large head morphed into a playful sprite, stuck its tongue out at her, then turned and hopped away. It moved so swiftly on a single leg that no human could match its speed.
Dongfang Minghui gritted her teeth in anger. Last time, this mischievous spirit had provoked the two large round stones, and she ended up suffering because of it. Despite this, the little imp still hadn’t learned its lesson. “Little Color, tie it back up for me.”
Little Color’s vines swished across the ground, chasing the Sleepy Dragon Seal at high speed. It had already identified this scheming troublemaker, so it was high time to teach it a lesson.
The Sleepy Dragon Seal leaped up and down, but no matter how fast it was it couldn’t beat the countless number of Little Color’s vines, it soon found itself tightly bound.
“Cheater, cheater, you’re all villains!”
“If you continue to make noise, I will leave you under those two stones again. See who will rescue you then.” Little Color’s vines even sprouted thorns, but the Sleepy Dragon Seal didn’t care at all. It could morph into various shapes, but this current form was its favorite.
It slowly shrunk itself into a slender, bamboo-like shape. Consequently, Little Color followed suit, and the two engaged in a competition.
Qian Wanyu watched for a while, then turned to look at Qing Mo. “I don’t even remember what happened after we fell from the deep pool.”
Qing Mo looked surprised, then turned his gaze to the Sleepy Dragon Seal bound by the lush green vines. “There are some things you need to know then. However, you must first prepare yourself mentally. What I am about to tell you may be hard for you to accept at the moment, but it is reality, we need to adapt as quickly as possible.”
“Explain.”
Qing Mo recounted the reincarnation memories he had learned from the Sleepy Dragon Seal.
Qian Wanyu maintained a stoic expression throughout, and only after Qing Mo finished speaking did she gaze thoughtfully at him.
Qing Mo felt a tremor in his heart when she looked at him. “Wanyu, do you truly not recall what happened when we fell from the deep pool?”
Qian Wanyu was slightly annoyed at being doubted. “What are you suspecting?”
Qing Mo floated to her side. “I suspect that your memory loss is related to Sleepy Dragon Valley.”
Qian Wanyu began to understand why the Dragon Seal was so hostile to her, but since everything had already happened, she needed to find a way to return the time fragments to twenty years in the future. “You just said that it’s very likely we’ve fallen back in time to twenty years ago, or even a hundred years ago?”
“Yes, after wandering for such a long time, we haven’t encountered anyone.” Even the Sleepy Dragon Seal didn’t know to which time period they had traveled to.
“Sleepy Dragon Seal, stop running away!”
Dongfang Minghui swooped down and pinned the transformed dragon seal which had taken the shape of a thin needle, under her hands.
The fiery red needle turned into a small sphere at one end, while the lower part became slightly thicker and larger.
“Sleepy Dragon Seal, what are you trying to do?”
“I want to go back.”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal rolled disinterestedly in her palm.
This was the first time Dongfang Minghui had seen the Sleepy Dragon Seal acting cute. The most profound impression she had of the Sleepy Dragon Seal was the pain it had caused. This little rascal had given her trouble so many times before, and she hadn’t had the chance to settle the score with it. It was too despicable.
“Let’s figure out a solution together.” She also wanted to return. “Sleepy Dragon Seal, do you really not know which time period we’ve fallen into?”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal was the key to the entire Sleepy Dragon Valley, how could it not know?
The Sleepy Dragon Seal rolled over again in her palm, “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Dongfang Minghui lightly poked the creature’s head with her finger, “Stop lying to me. If you don’t cooperate, none of us will be able to go back.”
“Hmph.”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal was clearly uncooperative.
Qian Wanyu stood up and walked straight to Dongfang Minghui’s side. Her spiritual power circulated in her fingers, and she easily caught the Sleepy Dragon Seal resting in Dongfang Minghui’s palm. “Have you ever experienced the breath of death?”
“Seventh sister!”
Two strands of grey mist burst from Qian Wanyu’s fingers, and the mist instantly enveloped the Sleepy Dragon Seal.
“Bad guy, bad guy, Dongfang Minghui, little wizard, little doctor, help—”
Qing Mo reached out to grab Dongfang Minghui, but his phantom hand passed straight through her arm. “Don’t go there, or what your Seventh sister has done will be in vain.”
“This Sleepy Dragon Seal is headstrong and stubborn. If I’m guessing right, it should be resentful that your Seventh sister destroyed the memory fragments, causing the memory of the entire deep pool to be in shatters over the past century, so it erased Wanyu’s memory as punishment.”
“It——” Dongfang Minghui hesitated for a moment but then chose to watch how Seventh sister dealt with the Sleepy Dragon Seal. No wonder Seventh sister couldn’t remember anything after falling from the deep pool, “It indeed deserves a good lesson.”
“In the future, if we want to find the way back, the Sleepy Dragon Seal must cooperate. If we can’t let it be afraid of your Seventh sister, you probably won’t be able to subdue it.” Qing Mo patiently explained.
“Understood.”
Sure enough, in less than a quarter of an hour, the Sleepy Dragon Seal had given up asking Dongfang Minghui for help, and after resisting for a while, it cried, “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have hidden your memory in private. Please let me go, at the very least I will return your memory to you.”
Dongfang Minghui stared blankly, she had been worried thinking just now whether Qing Mo might have just misunderstood the Dragon Seal, since it acted like a mischievous child. Who would have thought that the creature actually did such an unforgivable thing?
If, if the Sleepy Dragon Seal had taken away Seventh sister’s memories of their time together, she wouldn’t even find a place to cry.
“Forgiveness isn’t so easy.”
Dongfang Minghui was livid, she had even been inclined to be lenient just a moment ago.
Qian Wanyu frowned slightly, clearly not satisfied. “What else?”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal’s crying paused for a while, then it choked and said, “And I will never tease you again.”
Ah, they had been teased by the Sleepy Dragon Seal without even realizing it. But then Dongfang Minghui considered, weren’t those two huge boulders created by the Sleepy Dragon Seal? Even though in the end it had crushed itself.
“What else?” Qian Wanyu’s voice was always cold, devoid of any emotion, which was quite frightening.
The Sleepy Dragon Seal sobbed for a while, “I will do whatever you want me to do.”
“In that case, let’s move on to the third chapter of the agreement. Let the heavens bear witness to our pact. What you just said, Dragon Seal, from now on, you must tell us truthfully whatever we want to know, without any deception. You have to do what we ask, and you must not break your promise, otherwise, you will be exiled forever, never allowed to return to Dragon Valley.”
Sleepy Dragon Seal: “…”
Ah, these humans are too cruel!
Qian Wanyu released a bolt of purple lightning from her other hand, “Well?”
“Woooo, will you let me go if I don’t agree?”
“No.” She responded firmly.
The Sleepy Dragon Seal sobbed bitterly for a while longer. From the sounds of its choked crying, it seemed as if it might faint from sorrow at any moment.
“You still have a quarter of an hour to think it over.” After Qian Wanyu finished speaking, she released more of the death aura.
Surrounded by the gray smoke, the Sleepy Dragon Seal grew even more desperate and hurriedly shouted, “I agree, I agree, just take these things back quickly.”
Thunder rumbled for a moment as the heavenly oath was set.
Qing Mo yelled into the void pretending to be an old man’s voice as he responded, “The contract is sealed.”
With a cold face, Qian Wanyu lied without blushing, “Dragon Seal, you heard it. That was the voice of the Heavenly Dao. If you break your oath, it won’t be me you’ll have to worry about, the Heavenly Dao will deal with you naturally.”
Dongfang Minghui, who had been watching the entire event unfold from the side, was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Seventh sister to be so cunning.
The Sleepy Dragon Seal, frightened by the thunder, was a pitiful sight when Qian Wanyu finally put it down. It was hiccupping and crying, appearing as vulnerable as a sapling in the winter chill.
Dongfang Minghui was equally startled by the sudden release of thunder from her Seventh sister, and she gave a sympathetic look at the teary-eyed Sleepy Dragon Seal.
“Sleepy Dragon Seal,” Qian Wanyu’s eyes narrowed, “Return the memory you concealed before.”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal shivered. It had taken a long time for it to become as spiritually wise as it was now, having been formed from condensed spiritual power. It did not want to be consumed by that terrible gray fog…
“Here, take it.”
Dongfang Minghui watched closely as the Seal started to grow. It elongated, and its head became significantly larger, transforming from a palm-sized creature to something much larger. It then produced a light sphere, the size of a fingernail, from a ‘pocket’ in front of it. The sphere was an azure blue, unlike any memory fragment Dongfang Minghui had seen before.
“For you.”
The Sleepy Dragon Seal was likely still afraid of Qian Wanyu. It sent the light sphere towards her from a distance, and it nimbly flashed into Qian Wanyu’s forehead.
Qian Wanyu paused, then fragments of memories started flooding back. They were just snippets of her time falling with her Ninth Sister, but to her, any memory that included her Ninth Sister was precious. She couldn’t afford to lose any of them.
Dongfang Minghui kept a close eye on the situation until she saw Qian Wanyu’s eyes light up. She softly called out, “Seventh sister?”
Qian Wanyu’s lips curled into a pleasant smile, and she flicked her finger on Dongfang Minghui’s forehead, “I remember now.”
When they fell, it was as if they had experienced the lives of many different people. Those past events flashed before their eyes like a whirlwind, then quickly disappeared. At the same time, Qing Mo in her soul sea manifested in his soul form, and the Sleepy Dragon Seal, as though restricted by the space was forced to revert to its original form.
“Hii–” The Sleepy Dragon Seal was still hiccupping, its voice going from quiet to loud, as if it had been wronged by the universe.
Qian Wanyu winked at Dongfang Minghui and made a gesture for her to calm it down.
Dongfang Minghui rubbed her nose. It seemed that Seventh sister had mastered the art of mixing sternness with kindness. Fortunately, the Sleepy Dragon Seal was naive and had been fooled by Seventh sister, so it didn’t dare to resist. She leaned over, “Sleepy Dragon Seal.”
Woo Wanyu can be so adorable sometimes.
Thank you to all readers and supporters of this journey~!