I Need To Find A Way To Make Her Love Me Again - Chapter 23

Heavy thoughts led to a night of chaotic dreams. Yan Xingyu hadn’t slept well, and when she woke up, she felt listless and drained.

Guan Fei noticed her friend’s lack of energy. Thinking that Xingyu had suffered such an “unspeakable” ordeal with the Yuetu rabbits, she felt she ought to say something to encourage her.

She cleared her throat to get Xingyu’s attention and asked, “Xingyu, did you rest well last night?”

“It was alright.”

“I owe you an apology for last night. I forgot about the Yuetu’s mating season and rushed over without being prepared for them.”

“But fortunately, little demons like the Yuetu don’t actually hurt people. They just cling to you and absorb a bit of spiritual energy. So don’t worry, Xingyu, there definitely won’t be any other issues with your body.”

Yan Xingyu thought to herself: Why are we still talking about this?

Hearing no response, Guan Fei continued to herself, “Xingyu, don’t take last night to heart. So what if we women have a few fleeting romantic encounters? Men are allowed to be profligate, we can be the same.”

The more Yan Xingyu listened, the more she felt Guan Fei’s words were veering wildly off course. She heard her continue: “So Xingyu, just treat it as a unique experience. Whatever you do, don’t let it weigh on your mind.”

“Alright, Guan Fei, I’m fine.” Seeing that the other was about to say more, Yan Xingyu reasoned, “I’m really fine. If you truly feel bad about it, then that six hundred gold I owe you… just forget about it.”

Guan Fei smiled, realizing that Xingyu wasn’t just being polite, she really was okay. “No problem at all. Let’s rest for a moment and then head out.”

She waved her hand to recast a protective spiritual film over Xingyu. Thinking of the other demons that might appear in the mountains, she handed over the little creature in her arms. “Few people enter the Changyan Mountains, and we don’t know what we’ll face. Xingyu, take care of Yuyu for me for a bit.”

“I’ll take the lead this time. If anything happens, I’ll be the first to notice. I’ll do my best to protect you both.”

Seeing that Guan Fei actually agreed to waive the debt, Yan Xingyu was overjoyed. With her debt gone, she was happy to agree to whatever Guan Fei suggested.

The two set out again, flying their swords into the Changyan Mountains. Below them, countless small volcanoes were arranged in an orderly fashion, belching thick smoke and glowing lava. The lava looked like bright red veins expanding outward. Most striking was the massive volcano that seemed to pierce the very clouds.

Looking down from above, it felt as if a giant eye was staring back at them. Yan Xingyu asked, “Guan Fei, are we going to that biggest volcano?”

“Yes. Evil spirits breed easily here. We are mainly looking for the Fire Spirit Crystals, don’t get entangled with the demons. Once we’re inside, be careful of everything.”

“Alright, Guan Fei. Let’s go down.”

With a turn of their swords, they dived toward the depths of the volcano.

The paths inside the mountain range were rugged and narrow. Stepping on the pitted rock surfaces, one could feel the occasional tremors coming from deep underground. Yan Xingyu even suspected the volcano might erupt again at any second.

They walked for a long time. Although they encountered nothing else, the sight of the boiling, churning red lava around them made her feel inexplicably restless, despite the spiritual barrier shielding her from the heat.

Seeing no sign of the Fire Spirit Crystals and hearing nothing but the constant glug-glug of the lava, Yan Xingyu glanced to the side.

She watched the lava bubbles rise one after another and burst rapidly. Normally, this wouldn’t be strange, but she suddenly noticed that at the moment a bubble burst, it looked like a mouth.

Startled by this eerie sight, Yan Xingyu stopped in her tracks. She pulled back her foot and stood still, focusing her gaze on the bubbles rising from the lava.

She saw it clearly now, the moment the bubbles popped, they formed the shape of a mouth, as if they were saying something. She shook her head, but the scene kept repeating. It wasn’t a hallucination.

She hurriedly called out, “Guan Fei, stop! The bubbles in the lava are turning into mouths!”

Yan Xingyu looked up and saw that Guan Fei had already walked quite a distance ahead during her brief pause. She shouted, “Guan Fei! Did you hear me?”

Jiaoyu seemed to sense something, her ears suddenly perked up. As a series of dense, whispering sounds rushed in, she opened her eyes and looked around. Seeing how far Guan Fei had strayed, she realized something was wrong. “Something is interfering with her,” Jiaoyu said.

Other than the flowing lava, Yan Xingyu hadn’t seen anything else appear. But seeing Guan Fei’s strange behavior, and knowing the little one wouldn’t say that for no reason, she sprinted forward to grab the woman who wouldn’t stop walking. “Guan Fei!”

Finally, the woman stopped. Yan Xingyu asked, “Guan Fei, what’s wrong? Can you hear me?”

The only answer was the glug-glug of the lava. Watching Guan Fei suddenly summon her sword, Jiaoyu sensed danger and barked, “Get away from her, quick!”

As the words fell, a sharp wave of sword qi swept toward them. Fortunately, Yan Xingyu’s reactions were fast, and she leaped back to dodge the strike.

Seeing the other woman immediately prepare for another attack, Yan Xingyu thought, Oh no. Guan Fei must have fallen under some demonic spell. While trying to figure out when she had been compromised, Yan Xingyu dodged to the side.

She yelled, “Guan Fei, wake up! I can’t beat you in a fight!”

But the woman seemed completely unable to hear her, lunging at her with relentless stabs. Yan Xingyu could only cradle the little fox and flee while dodging.

As she ran deeper, she noticed the glug-glug sounds of the lava changing. They began to stutter out human speech:

“You are useless…” “We don’t need you to do it…” “You can’t do anything right…”

The words coming from the bubbles made no sense to Yan Xingyu, but seeing Guan Fei chase her even more fiercely, she knew those words weren’t anything good.

At that moment, the tremors beneath her feet became violently strong. A sense of dread filled her heart. Ahead, a massive pool of lava appeared, and from it rose a bubble three meters high, glowing with a sinister red light.

As she watched it transform into a giant mouth and slowly open, a three headed, red bodied giant python slithered out, flicking its tongue. It stared down at them, a flame like crystal hooked onto its tail.

Seeing this, Jiaoyu stood up and jumped out of Yan Xingyu’s arms.

“Hey! Little one, what are you doing?!”

“I’m going to get the Fire Spirit Crystal.”

Jiaoyu spoke as she dashed toward the lava pool. Yan Xingyu noticed the crystal on the snake’s tail as well, but the little one hadn’t recovered yet. How could she let her go alone? She screamed, “Don’t be so reckless! Don’t fight alone! Wait….”

Before she could finish, she felt a surge of killing intent behind her. She spun around and drew her blade to block. Looking at the woman who was attacking without mercy, Yan Xingyu had a massive headache. There was a wolf in front, a tiger behind, and a disobedient little fox. What was she supposed to do?

Her gaze fell upon the black ring on her finger. She struggled internally over whether to use it. If she gripped it, Yi Rong would appear. But it hadn’t been that long, would asking for help again make her look too weak and pathetic?

But there was no time for second guessing. A mind-controlled Guan Fei was lethal. Seeing the sword thrusting toward her again and feeling her own meager spiritual energy nearly exhausted and without any Mysterious Spirit Talismans left, she knew she couldn’t hold out.

Thinking of this, she leaped to dodge the attack and simultaneously gripped the black ring.

When she looked up again and saw that familiar silhouette, seeing that she really did appear instantly as promised, her hesitation vanished, replaced by an uncontrollable surge of joy. She called out, “Yi Rong!”

The other woman only glanced back at her and nodded slightly, signaling her not to worry.

Yan Xingyu watched the two of them fight. Neither would yield, but neither would strike a fatal blow; the balance was perfect. With Yi Rong there, her heart eased, and she turned to rush toward the little fox.

But her relief didn’t last half a second. She turned to see the little one tightly coiled by the three headed python, unable to break free and completely overwhelmed. Terrified, Yan Xingyu charged forward, raising her blade to slay the serpent demon.

She failed to notice, however, that the eerie giant mouth above her was gradually expanding.