The Little Peacock Raises a Snake (GL) Chapter 27

For a demon, destroying the inner core was no different from a fatal act. Although a person whose soul scattered could always gather soul and spirit again at a certain price as long as the life soul remained, that would only give them a chance to enter reincarnation again.
Every living being in this world, whether human or demon, would have all their past erased once they entered reincarnation. In life and death, they would no longer be the person they had once been. Only returning the soul to the body could truly count as saving a person.
But life was precious. How could something lost be so easily regained?
Even if the dead person’s soul and spirit remained and the body had not decayed, bringing the dead back to life still went against heaven. The price was not something anyone could pay.
From ancient times until now, most methods for returning the soul that spread through the three realms were forbidden arts that defied fate. There were even methods that used the blood sacrifice of tens of thousands of people to exchange for one person’s rebirth. But these methods could not be done by one person, were extremely hard to succeed with, and carried terrible backlash. What they brought back might only be a walking corpse, not the person one longed for.
For a thousand years, Qu Linyan had chased countless legends and gone to too many places. She had long experienced too much despair.
The only two methods she could confirm would not bring backlash were these: first, sacrificing the phoenix clan bloodline, a life for a life; second, using the spirit stone Coldwater to forcefully bind the life soul to an undestroyed body.
She had never heard that someone whose inner core had shattered and whose soul had left the body could wake so easily.
Something was strange, and it made one’s heart uneasy.
Seeing that Qu Linyan had just woken, Miss Shen said that on that night, Fu Xiaoba had suddenly stabbed the dagger into her own chest, fully intending to draw heart blood to save Qu Linyan. In the end, after losing too much blood, she had fainted from pain.
“If you say there was something strange, it was not nothing,” Miss Shen said seriously. “By logic, when a demon uses self-destruction of the inner core to gain great power for a short time, her soul must scatter once the inner core’s power is used up. But for some reason, that night, although your soul and spirit had left your body, they lingered around the two of you for a very long time and did not scatter… It was as if some power protected them.”
Miss Shen shook her head as she spoke. “But I did not sense any unfamiliar power. Aside from you, there was only Xiaoba. I think perhaps the blood Xiaoba shed when she wounded herself for you happened to steady your soul and spirit. That was why she could save you without sacrificing herself.”
Qu Linyan still did not understand, but before she could think deeply, Fu Xiaoba held both her hands and narrowed her eyes in a smile. “No matter what, you and I are both alive, are we not? Since it already happened, if we cannot understand it, let us not think about it.”
“All right.” Qu Linyan smiled and nodded.
She instinctively raised her eyes to Miss Shen and saw Miss Shen wearing a faint smile too. Her lips were pale, as if she had also been badly hurt in the array that day.
That night, if not for Miss Shen’s protection, Fu Xiaoba, whose cultivation was low, might not have lasted until Qu Linyan broke the array.
“Miss Shen, thank you.”
When Miss Shen heard this, she could not help laughing. “Who should thank whom? I almost harmed you both. It is enough that you do not hate me.”
After saying this, she stood awkwardly for a moment and pointed outside. “You were unconscious for more than ten days. No matter how high your cultivation is, you must be starving. I will go ask the waiter to cook some porridge for you.”
After Miss Shen went downstairs, Qu Linyan turned back to look at Fu Xiaoba. Her nearly burning gaze made Fu Xiaoba blush. She lowered her lashes and whispered, “Why are you looking at me like that…”
Qu Linyan raised her brow. “You look good. I want to look more.”
That night, when she had held on until her strength was gone and her vision went completely dark, she finally discovered that after fighting desperately for more than a thousand years, if she truly reached the point of leaving the world, the person she could not let go of most was not the elder sister who slept without waking, nor the hopes of her clanspeople.
Thinking of this, Qu Linyan could not help smiling at herself.
No wonder the clanspeople did not like her. For so many years, she had not changed at all. She was selfish and childish. Even in the instant between life and death, all she thought about was taking one last look at that silly girl with tears in her eyes.
“Why did you suddenly laugh?” Fu Xiaoba gently pushed Qu Linyan. Seeing her grit her teeth and suck in a cold breath, Fu Xiaoba quickly withdrew her hands in panic. “Sorry…”
“It does not hurt.” Qu Linyan gently shook her head.
Seeing her like this, Fu Xiaoba bit her lower lip. She raised her hand and brought out a small packet of candied fruit. Opening the oil paper, she picked one round, plump piece and held it to Qu Linyan’s pale lips.
She tilted her head slightly, widened her beautiful sleepy phoenix eyes, and looked obediently at Qu Linyan. “Eat something sweet, and it will not hurt.”
Qu Linyan narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth, taking it in. She raised her gaze to Fu Xiaoba for several seconds, then smiled. “In the past, I was always the one buying these for you.”
“I pawned some extra little things.” Fu Xiaoba giggled. “Those little things were also bought for me by you in Wuzhou. I only exchanged them for money again, and then bought candied fruit to feed you. Strictly speaking, what you are eating now was still bought by you.”
“No need to be so strict.” As Qu Linyan spoke, she reached out and pinched Fu Xiaoba’s face. Her eyes were full of affection.
“Xiaoba.”
“Mm?”
“Do you know? In a dream… a dream I did not want to wake from, I dreamed of Qu Muqing. I told her I was so tired, and I did not want to keep going… I begged her to take me away, to let me put down every burden the way she had back then.” As Qu Linyan spoke, she leaned against the cold wall behind her and smiled at herself. “I thought, if I could not live for myself in this life, then at least I could die for myself, right?”
“Little Black…”
“But in the dream, she had clearly been gone for so long, yet she asked me whether I had truly let everything go, whether I truly had no attachments left.”
A trace of heartache appeared in Fu Xiaoba’s blank gaze.
Qu Linyan closed her eyes, but a faint smile curved her lips. “At that moment, the one I thought of was you.”
“Me?” Fu Xiaoba could hardly believe it.
“You. Only you.” Qu Linyan opened her eyes, nodded, and said seriously, “When I opened my eyes and saw you before me, I finally discovered that I also wanted to live for myself… I no longer want to risk my life for anyone else. I suddenly began to fear things I never feared before… I fear that if I leave, no one will take care of you in the future. I fear that the troubles I caused before will one day drag you in and hurt you…”
As she spoke, she lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly. “It is so strange. For you, I can throw away even my life, yet because of you, I gained so many weaknesses… Perhaps you truly are the soft spot I can never cut away in this life.”
Fu Xiaoba stared at Qu Linyan for a long time. She did not know whether she felt more moved or more guilty.
If Qu Linyan did not truly care for her, how could she say these words? But if Fu Xiaoba were not so weak and useless, she would not become Qu Linyan’s soft spot, making her worry and fear.
Qu Linyan realized that what she had said was a little wrong and lowered her lashes. “Sorry. I should not have said that…”
Fu Xiaoba quickly shook her head. “Little Black, I… I will definitely cultivate properly from now on. I will work hard to become stronger, at least strong enough to protect myself, so you will not be distracted by me anymore… If I can, I also want to become strong enough to stand beside you. In the future, we will face every danger together.”
As she spoke, she curved her brows and smiled. “It is agreed. From now on, the two of us live together and die together. Neither of us is allowed to leave alone.”
Qu Linyan could not help raising her eyes to Fu Xiaoba. Tears seemed to shine in them.
Fu Xiaoba only gazed into her eyes and said seriously, “It is agreed. Right now, you protect me first. Later, I will protect you!”
They were clearly childish words, yet this little demon said them with complete firmness.
Qu Linyan suddenly felt her nose sting, and tears disobediently flowed from the corners of her eyes.
In this world, everyone forced her to be unbreakable. Finally, there was one person willing to embrace her weakness and helplessness.
*
All the blood slaves the Withered Lamp clan had sent to the human world were destroyed. There was no guarantee they would not make another move. Qu Linyan feared a long night would bring more dreams, so as soon as she recovered a little strength, she called Miss Shen over to discuss returning to the earth realm as quickly as possible.
The small town where the three of them were temporarily resting was not far from Qianyang. With Qu Linyan’s current body, if they walked and rested along the way, it would probably take three to five days to arrive.
“Do you truly need to rush so much? Will you not rest and recover a while longer?” Miss Shen asked.
Qu Linyan said, “When you ask like that, I begin to suspect whether you actually want to return to the earth realm.”
Miss Shen laughed. “Of course I do. But the two of you were hurt like this because of me. Now, not only are you not quietly recovering, you are still accompanying me on the road. I feel somewhat uneasy.”
Qu Linyan waved her hand and said impolitely, “I am only afraid that if we take too long, more trouble will appear. You may not cherish your life, but I cherish mine.”
Hearing this, Miss Shen instinctively turned to look at Fu Xiaoba. Seeing that Fu Xiaoba had no objection, she also nodded. “That is fine.”
They had clearly gone through life and death together, yet on the road to Qianyang, no one tried to uncover the secrets that had always affected their trust in one another.
Even now, when they were close to the earth realm entrance, Qu Linyan and Fu Xiaoba still did not know the identity or name of the devil who had traveled with them for so long.
But thinking about it carefully, those things were not important. Miss Shen had clearly received the Dreamweaving Shuttle, yet she had not left on her own. This alone had already made Qu Linyan trust her greatly.
She believed Miss Shen would keep her promise. As for the rest, if it was convenient to say, Miss Shen would naturally say it. If it was not convenient to say, then asking would be useless.
When the three arrived in Qianyang, spring warmth had arrived and flowers were blooming.
Along the way, Fu Xiaoba broke off a camellia branch and insisted on tucking it into Qu Linyan’s hair. Qu Linyan could do nothing with her and had to wear a flower on her head, which made Miss Shen keep holding back laughter at the side.
The more Qu Linyan thought about it, the more she felt her dignity could not hold. She casually pulled a handful of winter jasmine and chased Fu Xiaoba for a good while. Finally, she pinned small yellow flowers all over Fu Xiaoba’s head.
The two of them chased and fought all the way across the wild fields, childish as children who had not grown up. If Qu Linyan had not been badly hurt and truly run out of strength, sitting on the ground and gasping hard, it probably would not have ended.
Qianyang was close to the underworld. As a devil, Miss Shen naturally had to be more careful here. If she could hide among people, she tried not to leave the crowd. After all, the devil clan secretly entering the human world was not a small matter. If her identity was exposed, there would likely be another round of trouble.
After the three of them stayed at an inn, Qu Linyan took Fu Xiaoba around the entrance to the Nai River Spiritual Territory hidden in the human world. Once Fu Xiaoba confirmed that she knew the road, Qu Linyan brought her back to the inn.
The Nai River Spiritual Territory had a devil-locking barrier. Any devil who passed through would be revealed and trapped inside.
At that time, the underworld would send people to check. Those with unclear identities would be directly imprisoned. Only lowly devil slaves with thick chains through their bones could be taken out of the earth realm by a master holding their sale contract.
Only the Dreamweaving Shuttle could hide all of a person’s aura.
But unless the person holding the Dreamweaving Shuttle had truly weak spiritual power, they usually had great control over dreams. With one careless mistake, they could harm the dream’s master.
To be honest, Qu Linyan did not feel at ease letting Miss Shen enter Fu Xiaoba’s dream.
It was not that she did not trust her. Qu Linyan simply did not know how many dream illusions Xiangsi had stored in the Dreamweaving Shuttle, or how dangerous each dream was. Miss Shen was not familiar with the shuttle. If something went wrong while using it, as had happened to Qu Linyan last time, and it opened a dangerous illusion, Fu Xiaoba might truly be hurt.
To consider Miss Shen’s feelings, Qu Linyan was too embarrassed to directly explain the reason. After thinking for a moment, she only stated her decision. “Miss Shen, tomorrow you will enter my dream. I will shrink my body, and Xiaoba can naturally bring you and me into the earth realm.”
Miss Shen did not think too much and asked casually, “If we hand it to Xiaoba and something sudden happens, both of us will be in the dream and unable to help her handle it…”
Qu Linyan said, “From here to the Nai River Spiritual Territory is less than half a day. The spiritual territory passage is not long either. The heavenly realm will not stop a little demon from entering or leaving. It will be fine.”
Fu Xiaoba nodded, then shook her head along in agreement. “It will be fine, it will be fine!”
Hearing this, Miss Shen also felt at ease.
Early the next morning, Qu Linyan changed into the small black snake form she had first had. Under Miss Shen’s spiritual power, she fell asleep.
Fu Xiaoba stared blankly from the side as Miss Shen vanished before her eyes. When she lowered her head again, she saw a motionless little black snake coiled on the bed.
She scratched near her ear, stepped forward, and held the little black snake in her arms. After going downstairs, under the innkeeper’s extremely frightened gaze, she paid the bill and turned toward the Nai River Spiritual Territory.
Since leaving Wuyou Valley, this was the first time she had gone to do something alone. Although Qu Linyan had said this matter was very simple and not much different from strolling from the south of the city to the north, Fu Xiaoba could not help feeling nervous when she thought of the little black snake in her arms sleeping so deeply, leaving only her awake.
After leaving the city gate and walking to the place with the fewest people, she quickened her steps toward the Nai River Spiritual Territory.
Qu Linyan was right. The road was extremely smooth. There truly were no obstacles. It was like crossing mountains and ridges on an ordinary day. Only her feet were tired.
Soon, Fu Xiaoba arrived at the river where Qu Linyan had brought her yesterday. She followed the river for a while and finally sensed the place where spiritual flow moved strangely. She raised protective spiritual power, parted the water, and slowly walked into the river.
Ahead, a whirlpool suddenly appeared at the riverbed. Fu Xiaoba took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and rushed in quickly.
The resistance of the water around her vanished in an instant. When she opened her eyes again, everything around her was dim blue. Spiritual power like smoke drifted slowly through this empty, clear place like light gauze.
Qu Linyan had said that inside the Nai River Spiritual Territory, walking toward the light led to the human realm, and walking toward the dark led to the earth realm.
Fu Xiaoba let out a heavy breath and strode toward the darkness in the distance.
This road was much longer than she had imagined. The farther she walked, the darker the light around her became. She supposed this meant she was not far from the earth realm.
Before Fu Xiaoba could relax, she faintly sensed a very familiar spiritual aura.
Her steps instinctively stopped. She stood in place and hesitated for a moment, then sucked in a cold breath. On tiptoe, she turned around and immediately ran back the way she had come.
But she had only just started running and had not gotten more than a few steps before she crashed headfirst into an invisible spiritual wall. With an “ah” cry, she heard a voice behind her that could not have been more familiar.
“It has been a long time. Now that you have grown a pair of human legs, you run quite fast. If someone did not know better, they might think I had some grudge against you.”
Fu Xiaoba smiled awkwardly. She pulled out a smile, turned back, and timidly looked at Fu Zhuochen. Without even making a draft, she opened her mouth and began making excuses. “Brother! So it was you! I met so many bad people along the way that I got frightened silly. I thought some other scary thing had appeared…”
Fu Xiaoba had stepped into the role at the last minute and had no experience. Her tone was so exaggerated, and her expression was so dramatic, that Fu Zhuochen frowned as he watched.
“Uh…” She seemed to realize she had acted too much. She quickly pulled back her expression and said awkwardly, “Brother, why are you here? You…”
Fu Zhuochen said unhappily, “If I could not find you, could I not block your road?”
Fu Xiaoba had nothing to say.
Everyone in the demon realm knew that the former flood dragon clan leader, Qu Muqing, had died in the human realm. After Qu Muqing’s younger sister Qu Linyan became clan leader, she had been searching for a way to revive her. Five hundred years ago, she sneaked into the heavenly realm. Half a year ago, she charged into the bird clan alone. Both were for Qu Muqing.
Fu Xiaoba had the phoenix clan bloodline. She had been born in the human world and did not understand the world’s dangers. A few sentences could trick this foolish girl away. If this girl was truly brought back to the flood dragon clan by that black flood dragon, her chances were likely grim.
Fu Zhuochen did not know what method Qu Linyan had used to completely avoid his spiritual power search.
But no matter how she hid, Qu Linyan would still have to bring Fu Xiaoba back to the flood dragon clan. To return to the flood dragon clan, the Nai River Spiritual Territory was a necessary path. As long as he waited here, he did not believe Qu Linyan could bring Fu Xiaoba back under his eyes.
Only, this Qu Linyan truly had patience. With her cultivation, the trip from Wuzhou to Qianyang should have taken six or seven days at most. Yet she had made him wait here for more than two months. Thinking of this filled him with anger.
Seeing Fu Zhuochen’s face look unpleasant, Fu Xiaoba quickly hid Qu Linyan inside her sleeve, afraid Fu Zhuochen would roast her over a fire and eat her.
But such an obvious movement, with the tail still falling out after she stuffed it in for a long while, could not possibly escape Fu Zhuochen’s eyes.
“Do you think I am blind?”
Fu Xiaoba’s face instantly drooped as if she might cry. She pleaded, “Little Black was hurt like this because she saved me. Brother… I have to send her back. You said a person cannot return kindness with harm!”
“I never said that. I am not that noble.” Fu Zhuochen spoke lightly and moved a few steps closer.
“You… you, you…” Fu Xiaoba choked for a moment. Protecting her sleeve, she instinctively stepped back, but she ran straight into the spiritual wall behind her. For a moment, she could not retreat even half a step. She could only say incoherently, “You said it. You clearly said it… In the stories you told me, you mentioned that whether human or demon, one must know to repay kindness…”
“Fine,” Fu Zhuochen said. “Since she saved you, I will not make things too hard. Come back with me, and I will pretend I did not see her.”
“Ah, this…” Fu Xiaoba blinked nervously. She raised a hand to stop him and tried to bargain. “Can I… can I go back later?”
“No.”
This place was under the heavenly realm’s supervision, so she could not speak of Miss Shen. But facing Fu Zhuochen pressing closer, she seemed to have no room to bargain…
Fu Xiaoba’s eyes spun. She stretched out one finger, pointed behind Fu Zhuochen, and said, “I have never been to the earth realm. Let me go look once. Just one look…”
“Are you waiting for her to wake?” Fu Zhuochen frowned. “She is hurt like this. She is no match for me.”
“No…”
“Xiaoba, you were tricked by the black flood dragon. You are not an ordinary little demon. You…”
“I know!” Fu Xiaoba interrupted Fu Zhuochen and raised her eyes seriously. “Brother, she told me everything. At first, she wanted to use me, but later, she did not! I believe her. She was willing to use her life to protect me. I like her. I want to go back with her and be with her forever…”
Fu Zhuochen seemed to hear some ridiculous joke. For a moment, he was both angry and amused. “What nonsense are you saying? You were born an immortal above the nine heavens. After one lifetime of love tribulation, you will be a god, and she will be a demon. You are fated not to walk the same road!”
Fu Xiaoba shook her head in grievance. “Can I not pass the tribulation? I just want to be a demon…”
“Fu Xiaoba!” Fu Zhuochen said angrily. “Do you know what consequences there are if an immortal descending for tribulation willingly falls?”
“I do not know. I do not care…” Fu Xiaoba bit her lower lip hard, her gaze firm. “Little Black will protect me!”
The next second, she saw Fu Zhuochen lose patience. He said nothing, but a feather blade burning with red flame had gathered at his fingertips. A cold killing intent suddenly covered the surroundings.
“Brother, can I not have my own choice?” Tears rose in Fu Xiaoba’s eyes. “I believe her. If I truly placed my trust wrongly, I am willing to bear all the consequences myself.”
“The heavenly realm will not allow a phoenix clan member to fall and become a demon. Because of you, they will hold the flood dragon clan responsible. Even if Qu Linyan truly treats you sincerely, she cannot protect you.” Fu Zhuochen moved a few steps toward Fu Xiaoba and reached out. “Xiaoba, come back with me. I have a way to make you forget her. Find a human and pass through this tribulation. Everything can begin again…”
“No, no…” Fu Xiaoba was so frightened her eyes reddened from crying. A sharp short dagger suddenly appeared in her hand, and she pointed it straight at Fu Zhuochen. “Do not… do not force me anymore!”
“Are you threatening me?” Fu Zhuochen froze. He had never imagined that one day, his extremely obedient younger sister would hold a dagger for an outsider and point it straight at him like this.
A moment of alarm made him instinctively take half a step back. When he came back to himself, he was so angry he could not stop stumbling over his words. “You… you, you think holding that… that kind of thing at me is useful?”
Was he the kind of person who would be frightened back by a useless piece of scrap metal?
Fu Xiaoba trembled suddenly when Fu Zhuochen shouted at her.
Ah, so it was useless?
Then… then then then…
“Wrong, wrong…” Fu Xiaoba turned her hand and placed the dagger against her own neck. Her reddened eyes widened greatly.
The hand holding the blade shook uncontrollably, but she could not miss even one word she had to say. “Do not… do not force me anymore!”
Fu Zhuochen could not help sucking in a choked breath.