Chapter 676: Ghost Moon Burn

Nine days later, Cloud Sea Cliff.

In the dead of night, a full-length mirror quietly materialized outside the courtyard of Cloud Sea Residence.

"Clip, clop."

The Black Fire Divine Steed stepped through flames, emerging at a slow pace.

Lu Ran's expression was grim; after flipping off the horse, even his figure swayed unsteadily.

"Go back and rest," Lu Ran said, one hand pressing against his forehead, looking utterly drained, as he walked toward the house.

Generals Luo and Yan, aware of the Sect Master's condition, did not disturb him with words; they handed over more than two hundred exquisite fox pelts to the Shadow Guard, then dispatched Wu Huan to lead the Black Fire colt to the stables before departing themselves.

A full nine days had passed; the number of Ghost Moon Foxes hunted by the squad was far more than two hundred.

It was simply that the squad had been highly selective, bringing back only the most intact fox pelts.

It must be said that the Ghost Moon Fox clan was truly difficult to locate, and once found, truly difficult to pursue.

Capable of predicting fortune and misfortune, and naturally swift and agile! Had it been any other race, with Lu Ran cultivating the Stone Sculpture to Zhi Hai Jing · Stage Three, how would it have taken nine days?

Inside the bedroom.

Lu Ran had just rounded the screen when his entire body froze.

His head continued to buzz; already not functioning clearly, seeing two people sleeping on the bed now left him truly bewildered.

How could there be two people on the bed?

Was this right?

Hmm... very right! Of course there should be two people on the bed.

One is Jiangjiang Xianzi, and the other is myself—eh?

Lu Ran blinked hard, looking closely, only then realizing the other person was little Jiang Qiao Yuanxi.

So it's you, little girl... but that's still not right!

If I'm not on the bed, then where am I?

"Hmm?" Jiangjiang Ruyi suddenly opened her eyes, looking toward the side of the screen; borrowing the beautiful moonlight, she slightly made out the appearance of the intruder.

Her icy gaze seemed like frost melting as she whispered softly, "You're back."

"Uh." Lu Ran pressed one hand against his forehead, rubbing his temples.

A journey of nine days and nine nights was already a huge test of physical strength and mental energy; coupled with Lu Ran's brain buzzing incessantly, he had truly been severely afflicted.

Jiangjiang Ruyi wanted to call Lu Ran over, but then noticed a little rascal by her pillow.

Feeling somewhat helpless, she looked at Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi sleeping soundly and was just about to push the little one awake when a voice transmission suddenly imprinted in her mind: 【Never mind, let her sleep; you two rest well.】

Jiangjiang Ruyi turned her head to look, only to see Lu Ran smiling before turning and leaving.

His originally stumbling steps became much lighter as he reached the study and sat behind a low desk.

A mature Divine General would, after the Sect Master departed, handle affairs on their own.

A mature divine weapon would also, carrying its scabbard, automatically fly to the sword rack on the wall.

Lu Ran lay prostrate on the desk, his eyes growing increasingly hollow as he gradually emptied his mind, attempting to act like an imbecile.

Yet a faint scent of jasmine stubbornly lingered around his nose.

Awakening his spirit.

"Uh?" Lu Ran, his face full of confusion, gradually realized that fingers were gently massaging the side of his forehead.

At some unknown point, he was no longer lying on the table but leaning within a gentle embrace.

Moonlight, like water, streamed through the carved wooden windows, sprinkling into the study.

Falling upon a young man and woman.

"Smells so good," someone whose mind was not functioning clearly remarked with feeling, speaking his heartfelt truth.

Jiangjiang Ruyi wore a faint smile, her jade fingers moving gently as she softly responded, "Mm."

Lu Ran suddenly turned his head, looking at Jiangjiang Xianzi: "Shall I let you live this life once again?"

As he spoke, his eyes transformed into a pair of ice-blue fox pupils.

Beautiful yet demonic.

Even more strangely, the round pupils that should belong to the human race had become curved crescent moons, glowing with a clear, bright white moonlight.

Dimly bewitching the heart.

Jiangjiang Ruyi gazed softly at this pair of beautiful eyes: "Wait until your condition improves..."

The magical artifact · Ice Heart Bracelet was still with Gao Gao Yunyan.

It was not that General Yan had forgotten to return it, but rather that such a precious item required her to return it in person.

At this late hour, with the Sect Master having left in haste, Gao Gao Yunyan had temporarily taken the magical artifact bracelet home; precisely because of this, Jiangjiang Ruyi had lost her defensive capabilities.

And had thus fallen under the spell of "Ghost Moon Burn."

Her expression gradually became dull; originally still within the cruel Holy Spirit Mountain, in a trance, she had already returned to Rain Alley City.

Returned to the classroom where the two first met.

Scene after scene of the past played out continuously; within his pair of Moon-Chasing Pupils, she was reborn.

Lu Ran, however, grew increasingly bewildered.

The activation method of the Xie Fa · Moon-Chasing Pupils was very special; it was an illusion world woven jointly by the caster and the person afflicted by the technique.

Lu Ran, as the caster, served merely as a catalyst.

The foundation of the Illusion Realm was provided by Jiangjiang Ruyi; Lu Ran only needed to secretly cause trouble within her world to achieve his own objectives.

And within her world...

Lu Ran, this believer of Xiang Xiang Xianyang, was a believer of "pure bloodline."

Weak and cowardly.

Weak in strength, he was despised and mocked by others.

Yet she still accepted him, taking him as a team member and keeping him by her side, shielding him again and again from the world's malice.

Gentle yet firm.

Until high school graduation, when she helped him obtain his diploma, giving him the means to survive in this society.

The two never ended up together.

Lu Ran remained in some corner of Rain Alley City, living quietly and striving to survive.

Because his teammates held him back, she too failed to enter Wu Lie River University, instead attending an institution in the south.

From then on, they were separated by vast distances.

Still, every year when returning home, she would secretly inquire about his whereabouts.

Going to where he worked, stealing a glance at him from afar.

Seeing that he was alive and well, not suffering too much hardship from society, she would also break into a smile.

In a flash, several more years passed; after graduating university, she returned to Rain Alley City and once again stood before him.

"Long time no see, Lu Ran."

"Mm." The youth had long lost the high spirits of his adolescent years.

After becoming a believer of Xiang Xiang Xianyang, amidst endless criticism and setbacks, under the day-and-night influence of Lord God, he had long sealed himself off, becoming silent and reticent.

"I plan to return home here, take the exam for a position at the Divine Citizen Bureau, and become a Moon-Watcher."

"Mm."

"We are old classmates meeting; must you be so cold?"

"Is life outside not good? Why return to a small place like Rain Alley?" The youth lowered his head and finally spoke a sentence.

"My... my parents are in Rain Alley."

"Oh."

Lu Ran's mind was indeed not very sharp!

Slow to realize, he suddenly understood that he had intervened too little, and abruptly realized that such a life and such a result were something Jiangjiang Ruyi had long mentally prepared for.

When Lu Ran became a believer of the Ninth-Rank God · Xiang Xiang Xianyang, from the moment she agreed to form a team with him, she had prepared for everything.

At that moment when she made her decision, she did not yet know that Lu Ran's mother was not only still alive but also loved her son deeply.

She only knew that Lu Ran's family had sacrificed themselves, leaving him to live alone in solitude.

"Uh." Lu Ran shook his head vigorously, propping his hands on the desk.

Jiangjiang Ruyi hung her head in silence, eyelids lowered, eyelashes trembling slightly.

The woman's scattered gaze gradually regained some focus.

When she saw the youth in imperial robes bowing his head over the desk under the moonlight, Jiangjiang Ruyi felt somewhat dazed.

Having returned from another life, she gradually remembered everything from the real world, recalling all the experiences they had truly shared, their true fate, and the one who truly possessed her.

Lingering sorrow in her heart, immense joy and relief, along with waves of suffocating after-fear.

These myriad emotions mixed together, causing her to lose control; she covered her eyes with one hand.

"Wu..."

Amidst a small, soft sobbing sound, tears overflowed through her fingers, flowing continuously.

The next morning.

Lu Ran sat beside a stone table in the courtyard, silently tasting tea.

The Yemo Yemo Xiesu · Gui Lin Yue Fox in his mind had stopped vibrating, halting at Sea Realm · Stage Three.

Though filled with sleepiness, Lu Ran could not fall asleep.

Nearby, Guard Liuhuo stood quietly in attendance, occasionally glancing cautiously at the Sect Master.

Having known him for so long, she had never before seen Sect Master display such a side.

He could be a sunny and gentle youth, a young emperor decisive in killing, or even a solemn and sacred Lord God.

But he was never of a gray and gloomy hue.

Today, the sky was already shrouded in dark clouds, making one's chest feel stifled.

Inside and outside Cloud Sea Residence, the atmosphere was even more oppressive.

"Brother!"

Lu Ran turned to look, seeing Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi dressed in a long black skirt, her demeanor dignified, resembling a graceful black swan.

A trace of doting appeared in his eyes: "Up so early?"

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi likewise looked cautious, asking softly: "Did you and Sister Jiang Ruyi quarrel?"

Lu Ran laughed helplessly: "How could that be possible."

"Mm." Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi sat before the stone table, accepting the tea handed by Liuhuo, "Then why are neither of you happy?"

Lu Ran fell silent for a moment, then said: "It is my first time becoming the Master of the Gui Lin Yue Fox; I am somewhat unaccustomed to it."

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi: "Did you use Xie Fa · Gui Lin Yue Xie Fa: Chasing Moon Pupil on Sister Jiang Ruyi?"

Lu Ran shrugged his shoulders.

Understanding dawned in Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi's heart: "It seems that period of life was not very pleasant."

Lu Ran silently drank his tea.

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi: "Do you want to write it down?"

"Ah?"

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi stated matter-of-factly: "Many authors of rebirth novels go to Demon Lair · Gui Lin Yue Mountain to gather material, then return with an explosion of inspiration."

"Stop!" Lu Ran felt nothing but a headache, "Where would I find the time to write novels."

When he was in the mortal world, Lu Ran's spiritual sustenance came from songs and crosstalk storytelling.

Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi, on the other hand, loved reading novels; back when she was naming the Ba Huang Dao, she pulled out a heap of blade names that left Lu Ran utterly stunned.

"Hee-hee~" Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi covered her mouth and giggled coquettishly.

Lu Ran said with feigned irritation, "I brought back quite a few white fox pelts; go to the backyard and pick some out, and I'll have someone make you a fox-fur cloak."

"Okay!" Jiang Qiao Jiang Qiao Yuanxi's eyes lit up; she immediately stood up and ran toward the door.

But upon reaching the doorway, she halted, turned her head to look at Lu Ran, and said, "Cheer up! Those aren't real; you and Sister Jiang Ruyi can both live for another ten thousand years!"

Lu Ran was torn between laughter and tears.

He truly didn't know what kind of tragic life-and-death romance drama this whimsical little sister had conjured up in her mind.

The girl in the black skirt turned and departed cheerfully, seemingly taking some of his worries away with her.

【Master!】 Just as Lu Ran was staring blankly in the direction where his sister had vanished, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

【Xia Guang?】

【Mr. Cong Long asks if you permit him to launch the uprising in three days.】

Lu Ran's expression turned serious; he picked up his Pu'er tea and silently took a sip.

【Very well!】

One update today; I must ask everyone for a brief leave.

We are about to enter the Liyuan Sect arc; allow Yu to organize his thoughts properly and strive to make this plotline rich and stirring.

(End of Chapter)