Chapter 186
The three "mingqi" (命器, "fate vessels") had already been gathered, and she had even broken countless rules to witness numerous second and third-tier extraordinary beings.
Just as Xia Er was about to sigh, she suddenly sensed something unusual.
The rain had stopped.
To be precise, the rain around her had ceased.
Xia Er looked up at the sky again.
If she could gaze down from above, she would surely see a shadow cast by the absence of rain, and that shadow would take the form of a gigantic raven.
“Tsk…”
Xia Er felt a wave of disappointment wash over her.
If nothing emerged this time, she could have happily coasted through the last hour of the simulation and returned to reality.
But the storm suddenly intensified, and amidst the howling winds, a feather, entirely black with a gradually transitioning tail of deep blue, began to drift down from the sky.
Not just Xia Er, even Tara's spiritual alarm blared in her mind. Xia Er stared in disbelief at the feather.
A third-tier extraordinary being had never posed such a threat to her.
Instinctively, Xia Er tightened her grip on the "Silver White Echo of the Time Binder," her thumb resting on the knob at the top of the pocket watch.
This simple action seemed to disturb the feather.
No longer concerned with elegance, it transformed into a feathered arrow, piercing through Xia Er's skull in an instant and burrowing deep within her.
“Ugh… cough…”
A mouthful of blood erupted from Xia Er's lips. She barely put up any resistance, casually discarding the three sealing items she held, letting them fall into the mud.
In that moment, a torrent of strange and unfamiliar knowledge surged into her mind, accompanied by a powerful consciousness.
In the face of this overwhelming presence, the formidable Xia Er found herself with little ability to resist, slipping into a bizarre state—she completely lost control of her body but could still see and hear everything happening outside through her eyes and ears.
It was like watching an incredibly vivid movie.
“Lady Xia Er! Lady Xia Er! What’s wrong?!”
Tara's eyes widened in panic as she saw Xia Er's bloodied face. Xia Er was her only pillar of support; without her, Tara felt she would completely lose her mind.
In Tara's view, Xia Er's once red hair was instantly dyed black from the roots, transitioning to deep blue at the tips.
The familiar, warm aura of the Mother Goddess dissipated, replaced by a more aggressive presence.
At that moment, "Xia Er" slowly raised her right hand, gazing at her slender fingers, a satisfied smile creeping onto her lips, as if she were thoroughly pleased with her new body.
Then, her gaze fell upon the three sealing items on the ground, and she reached out to pick up the silver pocket watch.
“(Ancient Ansu language) So you are a part of me… No wonder you know so much.”
“Xia Er” spoke in the Ancient Ansu language, a tongue she had never learned before, and which few could pronounce even now.
“(Ancient Ansu language) I will become more complete…”
“Xia Er” gazed obsessively at the pocket watch in her hand, as the shadow of the raven vanished above her, and the torrential rain continued to pour.
She rubbed the watch against her face, then raised her hand to press the knob at the top.
Nothing happened.
“Hmm?”
“Xia Er” voiced her confusion.
Why didn’t it work?
She bit her finger and pressed it against the ancient silver watch, but her blood was quickly washed away by the rain, and still, nothing occurred.
“Xia Er” furrowed her brow, seemingly unprepared for this outcome.
Sensing the faint struggle of the spiritual entity, she smirked and said, “(Ancient Ansu language) Stop struggling. In a day, you will completely fade away.”
“(Ancient Ansu language) As for me, I still have at least three hundred years to figure out how to restore this body… Though time is short, it’s enough.”
“(Ancient Ansu language) Just wait quietly for your death. As a vessel, you should feel honored.”
Holding the pocket watch, “Xia Er” prepared to leave, but at that moment, a white figure blocked her path.
“You are not the Mother Goddess… Who are you?”
Tara's voice came from behind.
Realizing something was amiss after the Mother Goddess's aura suddenly vanished, Tara blocked “Xia Er's” way, her raspy voice filled with anger.
“Xia Er” did not stop; a flesh-colored spider crawled out from under her hat, rapidly expanding as it fell to the ground, transforming into a horrifying creature.
The fully formed, towering human-spider lunged toward Tara. In this dire situation, Tara could only summon the white figure to barely shield herself from the creature.
“(Ancient Ansu language) Why must it be the power of nature…”
“Xia Er” shook her head, seemingly displeased with this path, but she appeared to have no better options.
She continued to walk forward, disappearing into the curtain of rain.
…
Click—
Click, click—
“Xia Er” pressed the pocket watch repeatedly as she walked, yet still received no response.
If she hadn’t felt that this was indeed a sealing item, she might have thought she had picked up the wrong one.
“(Ancient Ansu language) Do I have to wait until her consciousness completely fades… After waiting so long, a few more days won’t matter.”
She stuffed the pocket watch back into her pocket and continued to wander aimlessly. The task of finding the fragments for restoration was complete; she no longer needed to take any further action.
All she had to do was wait.
Oh, right…
Though this body had undergone a significant change in fate and possessed a strong resistance to destiny, it was still fundamentally a fragile vessel.
If she remained out in the rain, while it wouldn’t kill her, she would likely fall seriously ill.
She needed to find a place to shelter from the rain…
If her memory served her right, this body’s home should be in this direction…
She walked forward step by step, seemingly unaccustomed to the human gait, taking a long time to elevate her speed to that of a normal person—though her posture still appeared somewhat awkward.
By the time she reached the house she had once surveilled, nearly an hour had passed.
“Xia Er” reached into the large pocket of her coat, and besides finding a potion, she also pulled out a key.
After a few seconds of fumbling, she finally aligned the key with the lock and inserted it, turning it slowly.
Click—
The sound of the lock opening echoed.
And before Xia Er’s door, there was no one in sight, only a scattering of black-blue raven feathers gently falling onto the water in the rain.
A flash of deep blue light flickered, and a raven adorned in black and blue feathers appeared in the same spot. It propped itself up with its wings, its head swiveling as its round eyes shifted from confusion to shock. Its beak opened wide, emitting words akin to human speech.
“(Ancient Ansu language) Impossible… This cannot be happening!!!”
“(Ancient Ansu language) You are the fake! I am the real one!!!”
…
A silver light flashed.
Xia Er felt her control over her body return.
Before her lay a familiar silver-white world, and standing in front of her was a version of herself with black-blue hair and violet-red eyes, staring at Xia Er with an expression that revealed her despair and disdain for life.
【Would you like to save the character's progress?】
A system message appeared before Xia Er, snapping her back to reality.
She raised her hand and looked at her own hands… in this space, her hands could move freely.
Recalling the earlier experience, Xia Er still felt a wave of fear wash over her.
The sensation of being unable to control her body, forced to watch herself act completely against her will… even when that feather sought to compel her to harm those close to her, Xia Er had been utterly powerless to resist.
What was this… possession?
Since Xia Er did not understand the Ancient Ansu language, she had no idea what the feather-like sealing item had said through her body.
However, she had roughly memorized those words, and if she heard them again or learned the Ancient Ansu language, she would understand what had been said.
She felt that it must be the key to unraveling her predicament.
“System, is that feather still in the save file?”
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