16. Blessing of the Drowning Ghost

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Song Cheng glanced over, and the highest visible value was "2~2," mostly "0~0," while he was "8~8."

This gave him a bit of confidence.

"Brother Cheng?"

The Village Chief asked coldly, "What are you going to do?"

Song Cheng replied, "Ding Family's Third Son colluded with bandits, and he has already left the village. The bandits will be here any minute.

Such a person is, of course, full of lies when he speaks.

He said Yune colluded with a lover and secretly took property, which is obviously false."

The young boy brought it up then, still holding on to the thought that the villagers would join him against the bandits.

However, as soon as he spoke, the Village Chief angrily said, "Shut up!"

His angry face turned red, he yelled fiercely, "We all know what Ding Family's three boys are like usually! How could he possibly collude with bandits?! You are indeed Yune's lover, and you're here to save her. Speak! Is it true?!"

Others also spoke up.

"Yune is just an outsider. Ding Family's Third Son is the root of the village!"

"I remember now, Brother Cheng, you're also an outsider. Seems like none of you outsiders are any good!"

The Village Chief waved his hand fiercely, and the two people holding the pig cage threw it into the river.

Before Song Cheng's eyes, the dark world became more concentrated with red mist, accumulating and swirling.

At the vortex's center was that sinking pig cage.

Within the pig cage, the slender figure in plain white was submerged in darkness.

At that moment, the affection above her head reached 90.

Yune never imagined that even at this moment, the Little Blind Boy would still come to save her.

In the darkness, this brought a glimmer of light to her.

But was this the end of the line?

Seeing the pig cage sink, Song Cheng shouted, "Yes, I'm here to save Yune!" After yelling, his blood boiled, and he rushed forward quickly. A few men came to block his way, but with mere "1~1" strength, how could they stop Song Cheng?

Boom!!

Boom boom!!

The road blockers were fiercely knocked aside.

Song Cheng dashed forward like a brute beast, grabbing a knife with his right hand, pushing with his left, arriving at the sinking pig cage in a few swift moves, and then leaping down under the shocked gaze of those knocked aside.

Water rushed in from all directions as he fell.

To others, this was just an ordinary river.

But to him, the roaring sound in his sight formed heavy mercury-like, dark ink-like deep-colored aquatic plants, blazing upward.

Everything in the river was extremely distorted and extremely dark.

The initial blood color of the Forbidden formed into a whirlpool.

And he was crashing toward the vortex's center.

He focused intently on Yune's data.

It was as if the world had pressed the "slow motion" button.

He had learned to swim in a previous life, so he kicked his legs quickly, reaching out with his left hand, grasping chaotically.

He was getting closer and closer to that data...

Slam.

The Blind Boy caught hold of the bamboo weave of the pig cage, twisting his body, and swung his Fine Blade to cut the thick hemp rope tying the cage.

A pull and a tug, the hemp rope snapped.

He yanked open the pig cage door and reached inside, grabbing hold of Yune's hand.

In the deep water, Yune only saw a dark figure approach, extending a hand to her as she teetered on the brink of death.

But she instinctively knew who this dark figure was.

In Song Cheng's eyes, Yune's data underwent a strange change, with half of the text turning blood red and the rest slowly changing, while the word "Forbidden" on his panel was booming as if about to fully unlock.

He clutched her tightly.

He didn't want the Forbidden to form.

He also didn't want Yune to die.

Yet, he felt a force hit his hand.

Yune pushed him away?

The blood red was nearly complete.

The Forbidden was about to be wholly born.

Perhaps after going through so much, Yune had utterly given up hope on living.

Perhaps Yune had already turned into the Forbidden, but she still retained a bit of consciousness, so she quickly pushed Song Cheng away, not wanting to harm him.

Or maybe Yune hadn't yet turned into the Forbidden, and it was just the Forbidden activating its "Defense System" to avoid being disturbed...

The two separated again like two bubbles dispersing at a touch.

But in the next instant, Song Cheng gritted his teeth, using all his strength, darting like a fish, rolling underwater, accelerating downward, seizing Yune's waist.

Never had the two been so close, his eyes half-opened, cloudy and pale pupils combined with anxious furrowed brows, silently shouting, "Don't give up! Don't give up!"

Yune's resentful eyes also opened slightly, meeting his gaze.

A glance, as if eternity passed.

Yune closed her eyes, hugging him tightly, letting him carry her to the surface.

Whoosh!!

The stickiness disappeared, breathing resumed, and the distorted sound through the water became clear.

From afar came calls of alarm.

"They surfaced!"

"Throw stones!"

"Kill them!"

"Circle to the other side!"

The villagers had gone crazy.

Song Cheng glanced at the numerous figures along the riverbank, clutching Yune tightly as he swam to the other side.

Soon, they reached the shore.

Song Cheng found the base of her throat, avoiding the exposed white of her lower neck, pressing intermittently until she spat out a mouthful of water, then released her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gasping for breath.

Yune looked at him weakly, her eyes full of complexities, slowly shook her head, but suddenly remembered that the person before her was blind, so she said, "I'm fine."

"Villagers are coming; we must leave quickly," Song Cheng said, then crouched down, grabbing Yune with both hands, "Sorry for the offense."

With that, he hoisted her on his back, tapping and walking quickly into the distance while using his sword as support.

Because he could see others' data through walls and had better stamina than most, after making loops for two hours, he finally lost the villagers completely and then asked, "Sister Yune, can you direct the way to the village entrance near the back mountain?"

"Song Cheng, just call me Yune."

The beautiful woman on his back spoke, then began to give directions.

Carrying her, Song Cheng kept glancing at his panel, only relaxing when he saw that "[Forbidden: Locked]" remained unbroken.

Soon, they successfully met up with Tong Jia, and cries of horses and killing erupted from the village.

"Go quickly!"

Song Cheng said.

He understood, and the bandits had invaded the village!

The three wasted no time, running swiftly into the mountains.

...

...

After a whole day of struggle...

Late at night.

Inside a cave...

Tong Jia started a campfire, and the three huddled together for warmth.

Fortunately, Song Cheng was blind, so Yune wasn't shy about taking off her clothes near the fire to dry.

An exhausted Tong Jia slumped down yet still fetched three coarse grain cakes for a bit of toasting, sharing them with the two.

The three began to eat.

As Song Cheng ate, he glanced at Yune's direction and suddenly froze.

Yune's information still had half of it blood red, and the red suddenly spread, merging into Yune's pale outline, blending within, creating a bizarre pattern of red and white.

Chaotic, twisted, and eerie.

It was the outcome of "the process of becoming Forbidden abruptly interrupted," like a perfectly written program suddenly encountering a blue screen.

The result was unprecedented, and no one knew what it might lead to.

Half human, half Forbidden?

What did it mean?

Sensing something, Yune glanced at the Little Blind Boy, but then lowered her head, pondering.

Meanwhile, in Song Cheng's eyes, Yune's data began a strange transformation.

[Strength: ?]

[Affection: 100]

The question mark was blood red, but otherwise, the rest was the usual black.

Song Cheng couldn't help asking, "Yune, do you feel anything wrong?"

"No," Yune answered plainly and concisely.

...

After a while, the three made a simple resting place with weeds and luggage on the cave floor and fell asleep.

Tong Jia snuggled into Song Cheng's arms, a mixture of fatigue and the change in her husband's body making her somewhat sensitive, constantly fidgeting from top to bottom throughout the night. If not for consideration of Yune's presence, she could have transformed into a horseback riding woman knight long ago.

With Yune there, Song Cheng held back.

Since becoming a Martial Artist, he had found himself no longer weak, with vigorous vitality giving rise to certain needs.

A night, hazy and muddled, passed in the mountain forest's wind.

Early the next morning, Song Cheng yawned.

He opened his eyes.

[You spent a harmonious night with Tong Jia, earning 6 Remaining Points].

Surveying around, he suddenly froze.

"Yune?"

No response came.

"Sister Yune?!"

Still no response.

Song Cheng was startled, about to get up but instinctively glanced at his panel.

At some point, the "[Forbidden: Locked]" had turned completely scarlet, and the information changed:

[Forbidden]

1. The Drowning Ghost's Blessing.

...

Song Cheng:...

He was silent for a long time, a profound feeling of powerlessness washed over him. Then he suddenly laughed.

Laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks.

Indeed,

could nothing be changed after all?

The moment the Forbidden chose Yune, the moment Yune completely lost hope, everything was beyond human control and change.

...

...

Tang River Village.

Dense fog...

Complete chaos.

Within it, figures ran around like headless flies, colliding everywhere, only to seem as though endlessly circling in place.

Compared to these frantically moving figures, the river water appeared utterly serene.

Above the river, the fog was incredibly thick.

And within the dense fog, a strange figure appeared intermittently.

It was a woman in green clothing.

Her face wasn't deathly pale, appearing as a living person.

Her eyes showed a hint of sanity.

In the river beneath her, bodies sank, both villagers and bandits...

The woman turned her head slightly, gazing toward the back mountain, her bizarre pupils showing inexplicable tenderness, suddenly speaking something.

The wind carried her words, vaguely revealing the word "thank you," yet even these words exuded a terrifying eeriness.

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