The eerie sound of a zither echoed as nearly ten thousand black vipers were instantly drained of their life force and transformed into mummified corpses. The dark cloud surrounding the mysterious zither player quickly condensed into a black flower, as dazzling as a gemstone!
The flower was incredibly beautiful. Although Ming Qi couldn't name it, it didn't diminish its magnificence and wonder in the slightest!
However, beneath the cloud, beneath the flower, lay a completely different scene!
It was a person, with long, blood-red hair, blood-red eyes, and long eyelashes. A face that looked delicate yet pale, like a sheet of paper, with a small nose, a small, red lip, and a round, delicate, and alluring jaw.
Putting aside the elements of horror and thriller, this was a face of pure, demonic power.
However, what Ming Qi saw at this moment wasn't just a face of calamity; it was the whole thing!
It was clearly the face of a young girl, but from the neck down, it was nothing but bright red bones!
Yes, completely devoid of flesh and blood. The bright red bones exuded an infinitely enchanting beauty, gleaming with a terrifying sharpness.
This figure playing the zither at dusk, aside from her face and hands, was devoid of a single trace of flesh and blood!
"This is definitely not human!"
The instant he saw this scene, this thought almost unconsciously crossed Ming Qi's mind.
The shocking visual effect caused him to let out an involuntary cry of surprise.
However, he knew perfectly well that he couldn't utter a single sound at this moment, but it was too late.
The moment he cried out in shock, the skeleton atop the boulder shuddered violently, as if startled. Then, with a piercing scream, its body, radiating a dazzling crimson glow, transformed into a stream of blood and merged into the blood column, instantly becoming one with the suspended black zither.
The zither trembled, its music soaring.
Ming Qi felt the very air tremble.
Then he saw the black zither spin in the air, and black mist rose again before quickly dissipating.
When the mist dissipated, that scourge-like face reappeared, but this time, it was no longer a fleshless, red skeleton, but a flawless, flawless young woman!
Her skin, so delicate it seemed almost dripping with water, was truly captivating.
Her perfectly curvaceous figure emanated boundless allure.
However, unlike what he had seen before, the black mist had condensed into a strange flower, imprinted between the girl's brows, like a cinnabar beauty mark, radiating an enchanting light.
Red hair, red eyes, black clothing—this suddenly appearing demonic girl stood enigmatically on the boulder, her red eyes filled with a complex expression as she stared at Ming Qi, who was briefly surprised in the bushes.
At this moment, Ming Qi wanted to leave, and his mind told him that leaving immediately was the right decision.
But he found himself unable to move!
Was it a psychological effect? Or something else?
What exactly was this girl?
He couldn't figure it out, but one thing was certain: she was definitely not human!
Just then, the demonic girl suddenly spoke, her words stilted and awkward.
"You? Human?"
Then, seemingly perplexed, she glanced at herself, the complex expression in her eyes transforming into boundless bewilderment.
Ming Qi, usually composed, was now filled with a multitude of thoughts.
He wanted to collect the inner organs of the black vipers; even if he could collect even one-tenth, it would be more than enough to complete the mission.
He also wanted to leave immediately. Although this mysterious girl looked somewhat inexplicable, the eerie aura she emanated, akin to a demon, made him extremely wary.
He even had an urge to go up and ask her about her origins.
In short, this girl who had suddenly appeared and stolen his quest monster was a mystery.
The enigmatic girl stared at Ming Qi with a complicated expression, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
After a while, seeing that she still didn't move, Ming Qi's mind had calmed down. He finally stood up from the bushes and asked tentatively, "Where are you from?"
She looked up blankly. "Where am I from?"
This seemingly simple act of introducing herself seemed incredibly difficult for her, and she fell into deep thought again.
To Ming Qi, her thoughts this time were even more painful, and the confusion on her face grew deeper and deeper.
After a long pause, she looked up at Ming Qi, who was cautiously bending over to dig out the insides of a viper not far away. "I don't know where I came from, do you know that?"
"Oh, I see. Then do you have a name?"
Ming Qi began to exaggerate. It was so easy to get the viper's insides, so even a little bit of eloquence wouldn't be a big deal.
"Name?"
As expected, she began to ponder again.
Whether she was human, demon, or devil, this girl seemed easy to deceive. While Ming Qi frantically collected the snake gallbladders, she began to covet the inner elixir of the golden viper king.
The black viper only had the entrails, while the golden viper king had the inner elixir. Although there was only a single word difference, the difference was worlds apart. The value of the inner elixir was countless times greater than that of the snake gallbladder.
If he could use the power of the mysterious girl to kill one or two golden viper kings, it would be a sure win.
However, Ming Qi also considered that she was a girl after all. While her origins were unclear, she at least looked like one on the surface. It would be rather unkind of him to trick her into going on a monster hunt.
In a short while, Ming Qi had already collected over two hundred viper gallbladders, more than enough for the mission.
"My name?"
"I don't remember it either."
...
Well, she didn't remember anything. Ming Qi hadn't intended to extract anything from her.
Having collected enough gallbladders, he prepared to flee.
It was the dead of night, and Ming Qi didn't want any accidents to happen.
Although this mysterious girl, who resembled neither a demon nor a monster, was incredibly beautiful, he still remembered that blood-red skull vividly.
This unexpected mission had been completed, and Ming Qi planned to leave the Valley of Despair.
But who would have thought that as he left, the mysterious girl on the boulder also moved, following Ming Qi. However, her gait was eerie, her feet barely touching the ground, as she floated behind him like a ghost.
Because the mysterious girl's movements were completely silent, Ming Qi didn't notice her at first. It wasn't until he noticed the dire wolf beside him growling softly, as if in warning, that he turned around.
This turn gave him a startling start.
"Why are you following me?"
Ming Qi said helplessly.
This was the Valley of Despair. If he left the valley and returned to the sect, would he be followed by a rare creature of unknown origin?
"Following you?"
The mysterious girl seemed confused, but after a moment's contemplation, she seemed to understand.
"You haven't told me your name or where it came from yet."
The girl's speech began to flow more smoothly, and her rapid adaptation astounded Ming Qi.
When she first spoke, her pronunciation wasn't even clear, and her articulation was extremely unclear, but by now, it had barely made a dent.
But Ming Qi was clearly at a loss for words, unsure what to say.
Her name, where she came from, how could he possibly know!
But it was clear that he couldn't explain this to her.
So, Ming Qi didn't answer, didn't speak, and simply walked forward.
The mysterious girl followed behind, like a tail that couldn't be shaken off.
After walking a distance, Ming Qi finally gave up and decided not to walk anymore, finding a safe place to sit down.
The mysterious girl followed him, stopping not far away, hovering above the ground, her feet off the ground.
"Why are you leaving?"
After a moment's silence, the girl suddenly asked.
Ming Qi was completely defeated. He wondered if he didn't leave, would he end up living in this valley of despair?
But it was obvious that such a seemingly simple question was profoundly complex and inexplicable to this girl, as white as a sheet of paper.
Another long silence.
Ming Qi was filled with helplessness. If he left, he'd be left with a tail. If he didn't, wouldn't that be like living in the Valley of Despair?
Fight?
He simply didn't have the confidence to defeat such an unknown creature.
Dejected, Ming Qi simply stopped thinking about it and pulled some dry food from his ring and began to eat.
The dire wolf seemed to have gradually grown accustomed to having such an unknown creature following it. It began to crouch beside Ming Qi, its eyes narrowed, as if taking a nap.
"Can you sing?"
"What?!"
Ming Qi was so shocked by this that he almost dropped his tongue.
Could this girl possibly listen to music?
"Sing," she repeated.
This time, Ming Qi was certain he hadn't misheard. The girl was actually singing.
"You want to hear it?"
Ming Qi suddenly felt inexplicably intrigued. This feeling was bizarre. Compared to killing someone, the situation before him felt like singing to the devil.
"Yeah."
The girl's response once again gave Ming Qi a huge sensory shock. Her response was remarkably human, and her eyes were filled with anticipation.
"Okay!"
Ming Qi clapped his hands briskly, swallowed the food in his mouth, and cleared his throat.
Ming Qi had truly forgotten that he wasn't very good at tricking girls, and he truly couldn't sing. He had memorized a lot of the lyrics, but as for finding the tune, he'd forgotten it; he'd never even tried.
"Sister, you take the bow, brother, I'll go ashore. Mmmmm... Love..."
Then, the song that came out of his mouth was this. At first, even he felt like vomiting.
Before he finished a line, the mysterious girl waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Oh, that's terrible. Change it."
"Okay, change it!"
Ming Qi felt his fighting spirit ignite. This girl, as innocent as a blank slate, was, well, still an unknown creature, judging by the situation.
"Five hundred glances back, just for you to pass by. The passing of time has made love err..."
The girl simply stopped talking this time, shaking her head.
So, Ming Qi changed again.
One line, two lines, one paragraph, two paragraphs.
By the end, Ming Qi couldn't tell how many times he had sung it.
"Sandalwood chant, window grilles, window lattices..."
Ming Qi felt his tongue go numb.
The last thing he wanted to say was, "You reap what you sow."
What the hell was going on? How could he have done such a foolish thing?
But just then, he suddenly heard another melodious chant!