NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 345
He had finally embraced the girl he loved, but she was on the brink of death.
Such an embrace was truly agonizing...
"Gu Shan, you said when we first met that you wouldn't touch me unless I was dying. It seems my time has finally come. Gu Shan, I'm finally going to be free. Living like this, worse than death, I'm so tired, so very tired!"
After speaking, Lin Zaozao raised her eyes to gaze into the distance. As far as she could see, there were Moonlight Flowers blooming everywhere.
She reached out towards the nearest Moonlight Flower. But as soon as her hand touched the pristine blossom, it dissolved into luminescent particles and vanished before her eyes.
The Holy Tree of Moonlight Flowers in Han Country could grant blessings and protection to anyone who prayed to it.
However, this sacred tree that had given her life made an exception only for her.
Because all the blessings it bestowed upon others came at the cost of her life. So whenever she touched one of its blooming flowers, the Moonlight Flower would disappear before her eyes.
What kind of Holy Tree was this!
To her, it was nothing but a biased entity.
"Zaozao, trust me, I will save you. I won't let you die."
"Gu Shan, you don't need to save me anymore. Every day I've lived has been so difficult, so painful.
Gu Shan, didn't I tell you? When I was born from the Moonlight Flower tree, I already had my own family.
My family is in another world, where I have parents who love me, and a quiet little brother. Gu Shan, my brother's name is Lin Luoluo. I adopted him from an orphanage.
Except for the eyes, Xi Luo looks exactly like my brother Lin Luoluo. Gu Shan, after I die, please help me take care of Luoluo.
Although he's now the revered young priest, he's still a lonely child."
"Alright, I will take good care of him for you."
Gu Shan held Lin Zaozao tightly, his voice choked with emotion.
"Also, after I die, just cremate me, okay? Remember, don't dress me in any ceremonial robes when I'm dead. I hate those white priest robes.
This priest robe I'm wearing now, it's too white. Like my brief life, it's a blank slate, so blank that I hate it.
When I'm dead, find the most colorful clothes to dress me in. I want to die looking beautiful."
"Okay! I promise you."
"I also want to eat something delicious. I haven't eaten in so long. Gu Shan, I'm actually really hungry.
But half of my stomach was surgically removed. I can't eat much; whenever I eat, I feel terrible, so terribly uncomfortable.
I'm as thin as a skeleton now, aren't I hideous?"
"You're not hideous. My Zaozao will always be the most beautiful girl. Whether plump or thin, Zaozao will always be the most beautiful in my heart."
Gu Shan gently kissed Lin Zaozao's forehead. Though his tone was calm, his eyes were filled with inconsolable sorrow.
"Gu Shan, if there's a next life, regardless of whether I'm some great priest or not, whether I'm fat or thin, pretty or not, can we still be together?"
"Of course. Zaozao, in the next life, no matter how you look, you'll always be the most beautiful girl in my heart.
I swear, in the next life, even if I lose all my memories, the moment I lay eyes on you, I will protect you well and not let anyone hurt you."
Gu Shan held Lin Zaozao's frail body, lowering his head to gently press his forehead against hers.
The moment their foreheads touched, Gu Shan's body suddenly tensed.
Just then, he had intended to make a soul contract with Zaozao, allowing him to recognize her easily in the next life.
But unexpectedly, before the contract could be formed, he saw a demoniac in Zaozao's soul.
That demoniac was rapidly consuming Zaozao's life force!
Realizing this, Gu Shan's eyes quickly turned red, and a streak of black energy swiftly reached out towards the demoniac.
A demoniac was naturally food for a nightmare spirit like him. But such a despicable creature was hiding in Zaozao's soul, living off her life force.
However, before that wisp of black energy could touch the demoniac, Lin Zaozao in Gu Shan's arms was the first to cry out in unbearable pain.
Lin Zaozao's agonized scream quickly brought Gu Shan back to his senses.
He was a nightmare spirit, and even physical contact with Zaozao could harm her body, let alone extending his malevolent energy into her soul.
As Gu Shan held Lin Zaozao, fraught with worry, Lin Zaozao's mind once again heard the voice of that system.
[Host, you dare to send that nightmare spirit to harm me. As punishment, I will kill everyone around you.
Once they're all dead, I'll drain all the life force from your body. When you die, I'll use your life force to escape my status as a demoniac.
Hahaha...]
[Damn you, system, you're not dead yet! Didn't I kill you?]
[As long as those two otherworldly souls don't die, how could I possibly die? As long as they live, I can use them to complete the final tribulation and ascend to become a true immortal.
Hahaha...
Hm! No, someone is trying to kill those two otherworldly souls!]
As soon as the system finished speaking, Lin Zaozao immediately felt her head become lighter. At that moment, she could clearly sense that cursed system separating from her soul.
Moreover, she could now clearly see the system that had been hiding in her mind all this time.
It was a young man dressed in red robes.
"Gu Shan, quick, chase after him!"
Lin Zaozao pointed at the red-robed man in front of them, screaming hysterically.
"Alright!"
Following the direction of Lin Zaozao's finger, Gu Shan carried her as he swiftly pursued the figure ahead.
But the demoniac's silhouette was incredibly fast. Despite Gu Shan's formidable skills, he still couldn't catch up to the demoniac.
Amidst the echoing screams, when Gu Shan arrived at the sacrificial altar carrying Lin Zaozao, the place was already awash with blood.
Lin Zaozao got down from Gu Shan's arms. Along the high steps, she dragged her extremely weak body, her face pale, as she climbed towards the top of the sacrificial altar, one step at a time.
The altar she usually used to pray for the people's blessings was so pure and white, but now it was stained red with blood.
Lin Zaozao looked at the bodies strewn across the altar. Among them were court officials she recognized, as well as palace servants and guards she didn't know.
At this moment, their eyes were wide open, staring directly at her.
Their gazes seemed pleading, expectant, but mostly filled with despair.
Supported by Gu Shan, when Lin Zaozao stepped onto the altar, she was on the verge of losing her mind.
Dashan, who had grown up with her, Uncle Zhang, Ruo Qiu, Ji Fantian, Chun Jun...
These people she had fought so desperately to protect now all lay in pools of blood. Their bodies were arranged in bizarrely twisted postures amidst the bloody scene.
Lin Zaozao stared at the sacrificial pattern formed by the corpses of her friends and loved ones. She knew in her heart that it was the work of that cursed system, using their lives as an offering to tear open a gateway through time and space.