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Chapter 63 Crossing Time and Space
Chapter 63 Crossing Time and Space
Lu Linglong's consciousness sank and floated in a quagmire of excruciating pain and fear, like a drowning person struggling towards the distant surface of water. Each attempt to focus her gaze brought a deeper sense of dizziness and powerlessness. However, her mother's suppressed groans and the "ripping" sound of fabric being violently torn were like red-hot steel needles piercing her hazy barrier time and time again.
In the blurring scene before her eyes, her mother was pinned to the ground by the tall, muscular man. Her thin nightgown was torn open, revealing large patches of pale skin. The night breeze, which should have brought coolness across the lake, only caused a slight shiver to run down her skin exposed to the moonlight. Her mother stopped screaming, only letting out intermittent sobs and gasps squeezed from deep within her throat, each sound like a dull knife, slowly torturing Lu Linglong's heart.
The short man behind her spoke in a voice like a persistent, piercing wound, relentlessly pressing her for the word that was both completely unfamiliar and yet somehow connected to her very being—"the method." Her chaotic thoughts were a jumbled mess, instinctively searching her memory for any fragments that might be related to "mystery" or "power": complex mathematical symbols, cold physics formulas, textbook explanations of the laws of nature, even Einstein's famous equation of relativity—but this knowledge, belonging to the "ordinary world," seemed so incongruous and powerless against the bloody and violent supernatural world before her, against her mother's hidden past, and against the mysterious "cultivation" and "immortal arts" the man spoke of.
She vaguely sensed something different about her surroundings. The air seemed heavier than before, and the moonlight on her skin created a subtle, almost tangible pressure. Even the usual dampness of the lakeside vegetation carried a faint, indescribable metallic quality, as if an invisible string was being stretched taut in the shadows.
But she was heartbroken, and all her senses were occupied by her mother’s desperate situation and her own intense pain, leaving her no time to discern or delve into this subtle abnormality.
"We can't delay any longer," the short man suddenly looked up, as if listening to an invisible alarm bell in the distance. The playful, cat-and-mouse tone vanished. "This guy who's got connections everywhere in North China isn't someone to be trifled with, especially that troublesome fellow—hurry up!"
"That's what I've been waiting for, brother!" Upon hearing this, the tall man's last trace of hesitation was replaced by an excited, sinister grin, his eyes gleaming with lewd light. He had long coveted Lu's mother's mature and alluring charm, and now, having received the order, he no longer hesitated. He grabbed the edge of the already torn nightgown and ripped it open with a "rip—!"
An even louder tearing sound, like the final death knell, struck Lu Linglong's eardrums hard, shattering her remaining drowsiness completely!
"mom-!!!"
A piercing, distorted scream erupted from her throat, accompanied by a hysterical struggle. Like a young animal caught in a trap, she unleashed the last of her strength, ignoring the excruciating pain of her hair being torn apart, using both hands and feet to kick and twist desperately backward, trying to break free of her restraints to protect her mother.
However, in the face of a true master of "supernatural arts," the strength of an ordinary person is laughably weak. Her struggles only made the short man more impatient.
The short man crouched down, his strong hand gripping her head like an iron clamp, forcing her to tilt her face up and face the cold chill in his eyes. He leaned close, his breath, tinged with the smell of smoke and a certain fishy odor, brushing against her cheek and ear: "If you don't want your mother to suffer even more soon, be smart! Tell me! How exactly did you practice the things Lu Jin passed down to you, the things left behind by that 'immortal'? Not a single word can be wrong!"
The breakdown was like a flood bursting its banks, completely shattering Lu Linglong's psychological defenses. "What exactly do you want me to say?!" she cried, tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse and broken, filled with incomprehensible pain and injustice. "My mother divorced me when I was three and took me away! Three years old! What could I possibly remember?! I don't even know what this 'Lu family' you're talking about looks like!!"
"Good, very good!" The short man's face was so dark it could drip water. He stopped looking at Lu Linglong and instead, towards the tall man, he forced out the order through clenched teeth, "Second brother! Tell her to think it over carefully!"
"Alright!" the tall man responded excitedly, his eyes flashing with wicked light, and his dirty hand reached towards Lu's mother's lower body without hesitation.
"No! You beast! Stop! Let her go!!!" Lu Linglong's eyes were bloodshot, and she felt like her heart was about to explode. She lunged forward frantically, but was held firmly in place by a tremendous force that seemed to rip her hair out by the roots.
The short man even used a cruel mockery to roughly wipe away the semi-congealed blood covering her right eye with the thumb of his other hand, forcibly turning her face so that her eyes, blurred by tears and blood, had to look clearly and unobstructed in the direction of her mother.
The mother and daughter's gazes met once more, a few steps apart, in the cold moonlight and the shadow of violence.
Lu's mother's face was contorted with pain and humiliation, her lips bitten until they bled. But when she saw her daughter's blood-stained face and tears, the surging anger and despair in her eyes were instantly overwhelmed by a deeper, more boundless grief and guilt. She seemed to want to say something, but only managed breathy sounds, her mouth moving with difficulty: "Ling—Long—it's Mom—I'm sorry—"
"mom-!!!"
Lu Linglong's cries were no longer simply a mixture of fear or pain, but a lamentation of heartbreak, despair, and helplessness at the sudden collapse of the world, shattering completely in the howling night wind.
However, just as this extreme despair was about to completely devour her consciousness like a black hole, Lu Linglong's pupils suddenly contracted uncontrollably!
That vague, unsettling feeling she had been ignoring, that inexplicable pressure in the air, that peculiar texture under the moonlight—all of it seemed to find its focal point in that instant, suddenly becoming clear!
Under the cool, clear moonlight, which seemed even more lucid than usual, there was nothing there. In the night sky not far in front of her, two "beings" that were difficult to describe precisely appeared in words.
They are not physical entities, but rather "folds" or "ripples" in two spaces, their general outlines drawn by an extremely thin, yet subtly glowing, golden mist, forming two faint, almost imperceptible "passages." Inside these passages, the scenery is completely different from the lakeside night view where Lu Linglong is, as if fragments cut from a painting of different times and spaces and forcibly embedded into the night sky here.
In one of the "passages" stood a man. He was dressed in a neatly styled short jacket from the Republican era, his short hair was neatly styled, his eyebrows were like swords, his eyes were like stars, his face was cold and stern, and he exuded an aura of stern authority.
Most striking was the long, oblong object resembling a sword case faintly visible behind his waist. In the background behind him, the silhouette of the top of a tall clock tower could be discerned, and further away, in the dim sky, there were faintly visible...
The silhouettes of old-fashioned fighter planes, bearing the marks of a bygone era, float in the air, as if frozen in a war-torn twilight.
On the other side sat a young woman. Dressed in a classical gown clearly out of step with the times, she sat serenely before a dressing table exuding an aura of tranquility. She appeared to be no more than sixteen, with delicate features, but the gentle, serene air about her was like a deep, still well, a striking contrast to her youthful appearance. Her eyes were clear and bright, her gaze distant, as if she had seen through the flow of time, carrying a detached and all-knowing composure.
Lu Linglong was completely stunned. She forgot to cry, forgot to struggle, and even temporarily forgot the excruciating pain and fear. She just stared blankly and incredulously at the incredible "illusion" that had suddenly descended upon the night sky.
"What are you looking at?" The short man was extremely perceptive and immediately noticed the drastic change in her expression—it wasn't fear or pain, but a near-blinded shock. He abruptly followed Lu Linglong's gaze to the night sky she was staring at—
Apart from the cold moon and a few wisps of thin clouds, there was nothing there.
His brows furrowed, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but more so, anger at being fooled.
"You—you can't see?" Lu Linglong murmured unconsciously, her voice filled with astonishment that even she herself couldn't understand.
Across from them, the tall man who was about to assault Lu's mother was startled by what he heard. He abruptly turned his head and looked around, his nerves on edge: "Damn it! Stop trying to scare me! There's nothing there!!"
"You dare to play these petty tricks in front of us?" The short man's initial doubt was instantly replaced by surging anger. He was convinced that this was Lu Linglong's clumsy performance born of despair or a sign of mental instability. His patience completely exhausted, he yanked Lu Linglong's hair upwards with a violent jerk, almost snapping her neck!
"I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!!" he roared, his other hand brimming with chilling power, about to strike a more fatal part of Lu Linglong's body.
The excruciating pain caused Lu Linglong's vision to blur again, and she was on the verge of unconsciousness. At the edge of her blurred vision, the two golden "passages" seemed to ripple slightly, and the two figures inside the passages seemed to pierce through an invisible barrier, their gazes landing on her.
"It's true! There really are people in the sky! Two, a man and a woman!" Lu Linglong pointed desperately into the void, her voice sharp with urgency and fear, sounding stubborn and broken in the night wind, almost manic.
The short man and the tall man quickly exchanged a glance. The initial surprise and doubt faded, replaced by undisguised mockery and understanding—this girl was either terrified and talking nonsense, or she was trying to buy time with the worst possible trick. Either way, she seemed both ridiculous and pathetic.
"Linglong! Don't be afraid! Mom's here!" Mother Lu cried out, her heart pounding with fear, trying to bring her daughter back to her senses. At the same time, she glared viciously at the two thugs, "You beasts—the Lu family—will never let you get away with this!"
"Mom! I'm not crazy! There really are people there! They're talking!" Lu Linglong cried out in desperation, tears welling up in her eyes again, mixed with the blood on her face, making her look even more miserable.
"Linglong—" Lu's mother's voice choked with sobs, filled with endless heartache and helplessness.
A night wind swept across the lake, carrying a damp, chilly chill that brushed against the three of them. Lu Linglong, her hair disheveled and her face smeared with blood, stubbornly tilted her head back, gesturing and speaking urgently to the empty night sky, as if there were some unseen listeners there. This bizarre and inexplicable scene sent a subtle, indescribable chill down the spines of even the two seasoned criminals, as if something beyond their comprehension was quietly unfolding in the silence.
"Give up," the man dressed in Republican-era attire finally spoke from the air. His voice seemed to penetrate some kind of barrier, reaching Lu Linglong's ears clearly and steadily, yet it didn't resonate in the night sky. He paused, his gaze sweeping over the girl in ancient costume beside him, and corrected, "They can't see us."
"Why?! Who are you?!" Lu Linglong's voice trembled uncontrollably, as if she were asking a question, but also trying to confirm that she was not mentally deranged.
"I am Zhou Yi from the Sanyi Sect," the man calmly introduced himself. Then, his gaze, carrying a hint of barely perceptible inquiry, turned to the strikingly different-looking young woman beside him. To be honest, he was quite curious about this young woman's background as well.
The scene before him, transcending time and space, was undoubtedly a sign that the "Three Truths Under the Same Moon Order" had been successfully triggered. Not long ago, this armor plate, imbued with the wonders of time and space, suddenly appeared out of thin air before him and immediately began to operate on its own. In this world, besides his future self, Zhou Yi couldn't think of anyone else who knew or even had the ability to create this "Three Truths Under the Same Moon Order." This must have been a scheme orchestrated by "himself" from the downstream of time.
And the person who activated the Same Month Order at this moment and became the anchor point of time and space was not unfamiliar to him—it was Lu Linglong, who was located in the modern time and space.
The Three Truths Under the Same Moon Token is a wondrous magical artifact that connects the past, present, and future. Now activated by Lu Linglong, who is in the "present," the war-torn Republic of China era in which he himself lives naturally becomes the "past." And the remaining connection—
This girl, dressed in simple clothes and with a calm demeanor, is out of place with the times around her. The time and space she lives in is the "future" that has not yet arrived.
Faced with Zhou Yi's silent probing gaze, the girl simply nodded slightly, her voice soft and indifferent: "I am just an ordinary farm girl from a small rural town. You can call me Lady Li. I happened to find a strange piece of armor in a mountain stream, and while playing with it, I suddenly saw you two."
Her tone was calm, as if she were recounting an everyday matter, before her gaze gently swept downwards to where the tragedy was unfolding: "Although this is our first meeting, it is not the time for pleasantries—shouldn't you two take a look at the scene below?"
Below, the tall man grinned maliciously and began to grope Lu's mother, hurling vulgarities at her amidst her suppressed cries of anguish.