Chapter 129: Bai Lie and Ji Ya

It started snowing again. This year's snowfall is truly abundant!
As night fell, Liu Hanxi sat by the window, gazing at the falling snow in the courtyard, her mind wandering to Hua Qingkong, who had been gone for so long; she wondered how he was doing. While lost in thought, she absentmindedly touched the ring on her left hand's ring finger.
Before leaving, Hua Qingkong also gave Liu Hanxi a ring, which is a magical artifact, specifically a soul ring used by priestesses. Since Hua Qingkong said that if he were to die first, his soul would return to Liu Hanxi through this ring, she too would be the same; if she were to die first, her soul would also return to Hua Qingkong through this ring.
“If you have any trouble, just hold the ring and chant the incantation I taught you. No matter where I am, I will hear you and come to your rescue. Do you understand?” Hua Qingkong had reiterated this no less than a dozen times.
“Alright, my ring is the same; no matter where you are, if you touch another woman with that hand, I won't even need to chant a spell to know. I'll rush over and let the snake bite you!” Liu Huanxi shook his hand with the ring on it, “You can't even touch the hem of anyone's clothes or skirt!”
Liuhuanxi recalled the blackened face of Hua Qingkong and couldn’t help but smile. She curled up on the couch, wrapped herself snugly in the blanket, and then continued to look at the ledger. Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the yard, a sound like a beast heavy with weight hitting the ground, and it seemed as big as a Qiongqi.
Liu Huanxi leaned out of the window again and just caught sight of Bai Lie in agonizing screams. A sudden shock surged through her heart, and she hurried out the door. By the time she reached him, Bai Lie had transformed into human form, and in his arms lay a person—more accurately, a person who was a bloody mess.
“Xiao Qi! Xiao Ya!”
As Liu Hanxi approached, he finally saw that Huo Lie was holding Ji Ya.
“What happened? Who hurt her?” Liu Hanxi asked while getting closer to examine her. Ji Ya's face was pale, her wide-open eyes were clouded, and the black of her pupils was no longer visible. There were four blood wounds on her neck, the blood had dried and turned black, sticking to her skin. Her shamanic dress was tattered and torn by wild animals, and not a single part of her exposed skin was unscathed; it was either bite marks or signs of tearing.
Jiya has lost her life, killed by some beastman.
“Xiaoya!” Liu Huanxi was in deep sorrow. She turned to Bai Lie and asked, “What happened? Hurry up and tell me!”
Bai Lie appeared a bit dazed, his white clothes stained with Ji Ya's blood. After being shaken by Liu Hanxi for a while, he finally spoke.
“I went to the Langxian Realm… to find Xiao Ya, but all I saw was a corpse… the soul… the soul is gone… I even went to the Underworld… there's nothing… not anywhere… it’s all… it’s all gone… Xiao Ya! Ah…” Bai Lie cried out in pain.
柳寒兮冷静下来，巫女的魂，哪是说没就没的，她让白冽冷静下来，将人带到房中去。
白冽当时什么想法都没有，他找不见姬雅的魂，想到的就是要带她来找柳寒兮，她是神凰巫女，一定有办法。
“You need to be stronger! Now that Master Huatian is not here, it's just the two of us, and Jiya needs us!” Liu Hanxi said coldly.
Bai Lie gently carried Jiya's body and Liu Hanxi led him to an empty room in the courtyard. This room had no heating, and the temperature wasn't much higher than outside, making it more suitable for preserving the corpse. Bai Lie carefully laid Jiya's cold body onto the empty bed board.
It is already unbearable to look at it again.
“I shouldn’t have... shouldn’t have left you alone in the Southern Realm... why didn’t you wait for me…” Bai Lie held her hand and cried in pain.
Liuhanxi had no time to care about Bai Lie. With a stern face, she surrounded Ji Ya with a circle of herbs. Then she took off the golden wild goose hairpin from her hair. This pin symbolized her identity as a priestess and was also a soul-locking object; if the soul had not entered this pin, it could be drawn to it using soul-binding techniques.
“Step back!” Liu Hanxi said coldly.
Bai Lie then retreated to the corner of the room, hiding in the shadows.
The Soul Calling Incantation was softly chanted from Liu Hanxi's lips, as she calculated the timing and positioning with her left hand, while her right hand produced light smoke from a handful of herbs.
Not sure how much time had passed, Liu Huanxi stopped.
Ji Ya's soul was neither in the hairpin nor had it returned. With Liu Huanxi's magical power, even if it wasn't in the Southern Realm, she should be able to call back a soul from the human world.
```htmlThe soul is no longer in the Southern Realm, nor in the Human World?! A chill ran through Liu Huanxi's heart.
“Are you sure it's not in the Netherworld either?” Liu Huanxi turned to ask Bai Lie.
Bai Lie walked over and shook his head, saying, “I went directly there to reveal my identity, using my father's influence. The Emperor even personally ordered someone to investigate, and there truly isn’t any. It also confirms that if I find it, they will help me keep it safe.”```
“Not in the human realm, not in the underworld, then it’s only…” Liu Huanxi finally understood. She slapped her palm against Bai Lie's body, leaving him dazed.
“What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong again?! Xiao Ya! Ah…” Bai Lie thought the disappearance was his fault, so he started crying again.
“Why are you crying?! You two combined are over ten thousand years old, one is a god and the other a witch. How can you be so stupid?! What kind of cultivation are you practicing?!” Liu Hanzhi said angrily.
```htmlIf Hua Qingkong were here just now, she would definitely have gone weak in the knees. Now that there’s no reliance, only herself, she is forced to be strong.
"What exactly... is going on..." Bai Lie asked, his voice choked with tears.```
“I ask you, did Xiaoya give you anything?” Liu Hanxi asked, her heart already calm, and no longer afraid or anxious; her voice had steadied.
“Y-Yes... yes...” Bai Lie hurriedly fumbled around on his body, and after a while, pulled out a pile of items.
Liu Hanxi leaned closer to take a look. She picked up a handkerchief that still had some stains on it. Bai Lie replied: This is what Ji Ya brought to cover his wound when he got injured that day.
She then picked up a broken earring. Bai Lie replied: This was her favorite style, but it was out of stock everywhere. He kept it to prepare to order her ten or eight pairs.
There’s also a lopsided pouch that is poorly stitched, the craftsmanship worse than Liu Hanxi’s. Bai Lie replied: She asked the princess to teach her how to make it, and made it for him by hand.
Liu Hanxi was surprised to find a stripped fish bone. Bai Lie replied: This was the first time she went to the river to catch fish for him; the meat was burnt and inedible, but he found it very precious, so he cleaned the meat off and kept the fish bone.
Seeing these things, tears were about to fall from Bai Lie's eyes again.
What a mess this is! Both of them seem to have a bit of a problem with their brains! It turns out that love really can lower one's IQ; these two have dropped much more than just a little, they’re practically like idiots.
Liuhanyi rubbed his head that hurt painfully and said, "Brother, I asked about magical artifacts! How do these dirty handkerchiefs, broken earrings, tattered pouches, and stinky fish bones help in carrying her soul?!"
“Ah, so what I was talking about was a magic tool... a magic tool... this is the only one.” Bai Lie pulled out a red string from his close-fitting clothes, at the end of the string hung a copper bell. However, when Bai Lie picked it up, he did not hear any sound.
Liu Hanxi took just one glance and said, "This is the one."