Chapter 750

The two words "heart demon" truly startled everyone.

No one expected Xiao Jiu to suddenly fall into heart demon.

Over these years, Xiao Jiu has seen all kinds of great storms and waves; she is the type who grows braver with setbacks, and she has always been the one to console others.

How did she suddenly develop a heart demon?

Liu Junyan was anxious, turning to go find Xiao Jiu in the room, but Hui Moqiong grabbed her: "Seventh Lord, Seventh Lord, stay calm! Xingchen said he's struggling on the edge of heart demon, not yet fallen into it; just now Xiao Jiu refused to say anything, so going there would surely be useless—better let Xingchen go, they share a mother-son bond, Xingchen will be able to console Xiao Jiu well."

Everyone agreed with Hui Moqiong's view, urging Liu Junyan in a chorus of voices.

Liu Junyan could only pat Xingchen's shoulder and say earnestly: "Son, please help me console your mother properly; she's had a hard time these years, I... our pawn shop can't do without her."

Xingchen raised the hand holding his prayer beads and bowed to Liu Junyan: "Amitabha."

He turned and went to Xiao Jiu's room.

Liu Junyan slumped onto the sofa, feeling suffocated.

How could she not feel suffocated?

Xiao Jiu has a heart demon and is unwilling to talk to him.

Xingchen is clearly his eldest son, yet he greeted him with "Amitabha."

He wasn't even anxious or angry; getting fired up would already be not bad.

Meanwhile, Xingchen gently pushed open Xiao Jiu's door, stepped in lightly, and then closed the door behind him.

The room was dim, with only a small night-light left on.

The yellowish light cast only a small patch of shadow on the tabletop.

Through this faint light, Xingchen saw the woman lying on her side on the bed.

She was so young and beautiful that even lying still like that, she resembled a sleeping beauty, breathtaking to behold.

A Cheng didn't go over to wake Xiao Jiu; instead, he sat by the table, his prayer beads turning nonstop, the low chant echoing in the room.

Xiao Jiu was dreaming.

Nor was it really a dream.

Because that scene was exactly what she had seen shortly before when she chased into the Nether Realm and observed certain sights above it.

She was deeply trapped, constantly struggling, yet couldn't wake up.

Until a chanting voice cut through, Xiao Jiu felt as if she were sailing in a deep sea, finally spotting a lighthouse amid the vast ocean.

Her consciousness was jerked back from the dream.

As Xiao Jiu sprang up from the bed, Xingchen stopped chanting.

He pressed his thumb against the prayer beads and rose.

Only then did Xiao Jiu notice someone else in the room; she instinctively thought it was Liu Junyan, turned her head to speak, but met the figure of a youth.

She stared blankly.

Then she reacted, delighted: "Xingchen! Xingchen, is it you, right?"

Xingchen put away his prayer beads, nodded: "Mom, it's me."

Xiao Jiu's eyes instantly filled with tears; she wanted to rush forward and hug Xingchen tightly, wishing at that moment to cry in his arms.

This is her child.

From the moment of birth, he no longer belonged to her.

She never imagined that Xingchen would one day suddenly appear in the pawn shop, in her room, and call her "Mom."

But in the end, Xiao Jiu still held back.

Xingchen is a Buddhist practitioner, a fact she had known since her pregnancy.

No matter how emotionally moved, she must respect his identity.

Yet Xingchen stepped forward a few paces, bent down, embraced Xiao Jiu, and softly called: "Mom."

Xiao Jiu finally couldn't hold back; her tears soaked Xingchen's shoulder.

Xingchen didn't dodge; he sat beside the bed, one shoulder supporting Xiao Jiu, one hand gently patting her back: "I just returned from the Nether Realm and know some things there; Mom, what did you see in the Nether Realm? Can you tell me?"

Xiao Jiu hesitated a moment.

She hadn't told this to Liu Junyan either.

Now, should she really tell it to Xingchen?

Xingchen's encouraging gaze fell on Xiao Jiu: "Mom, I want to hear you say it yourself."

"I saw a giant beast." Xiao Jiu said, "That is a kirin, with golden fur, dragon horns, ox face, goat beard, long tail, a pair of golden wings on its back, surrounded by a golden halo, Xingchen, I recognize it, that is the earth-covering kirin."

Xingchen, however, was not surprised; he gestured for Xiao Jiu to continue.

"Xingchen, you are in the Buddhist sect, you should know the earth-covering kirin." Xiao Jiu continued, saying, "That is the mount of Hou Tu Niangniang."

Xingchen nodded: "Yes, Hou Tu Niangniang is a descendant of Pangu, she governs the earth, spans yin and yang, and is furthermore the creator of the underworld; she is one of the Twelve Witch Ancestors, having transformed her body into the cycle of reincarnation, the earth-covering kirin is her mount."

"Yes, the earth-covering kirin is Hou Tu Niangniang's mount, but it appeared in the Nine Nether Abyss." Xiao Jiu said in a daze, "As I chased it all the way into the Nether Realm, watching it run westward, the moment I realized its true form, I was utterly shocked, Xingchen, if it is Hou Tu Niangniang..."

Xiao Jiu wanted to speak but stopped.

Xingchen, however, understood her: "You fear that all this is orchestrated by Hou Tu Niangniang herself, and you fear that the one blocking Dang Pu's path forward is Hou Tu Niangniang?"

Xiao Jiu nodded: "The earth-covering kirin also reminded me of the kirin temple on the back mountain of Tafengcun; that temple once had a sculpture, which included a kirin; in the dark, it seems everything was already predetermined, but, is it truly fate?"

Or is someone secretly manipulating everything?

Xiao Jiu has always known that in the Nether Realm, someone wants to devour the Phoenix clan, and someone has always been suppressing the Yin Dang Hang.

She has been trying hard to find this person.

Even, in her view, even if that person is King Yama, she can openly sit down and have a proper discussion with him.

But if that person is Hou Tu Niangniang...

In Xiao Jiu's mind, Hou Tu Niangniang is equivalent to a god, equivalent to one of the creators.

Only with her does the world have the vibrant vitality of all living beings.

What does she have to negotiate with the Earth Mother?

This is likely the heart demon that could trap Xiao Jiu.

Unable to figure it out or get out, she is very likely to trap herself.

Xingchen, however, countered: "But she is the Earth Mother, Mom. Have you ever considered that if she truly wanted to carry out the Annexation of the Phoenix clan and take Yin Dang Hang for herself, would she need to go through all this trouble? These… in a sense, already belong to her, don't they?"

Xiao Jiu's heart jolted: "The reasoning is sound, but what if she hasn't yet found a suitable successor?"

"Perhaps she has been looking all along." Xingchen said, "Mom, isn't it possible that she has actually been testing you? Your abilities, your identity, your choices at every juncture… are all in her consideration; you are the very person she seeks."

Xingchen's words hit the nail on the head, directly opening Xiao Jiu's limited thinking.

Xiao Jiu murmured: "This is a test…… she is testing me……"