Chapter 99 A person of utmost evil
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
The boat kept moving forward, and from behind, they heard sounds of people crying out in pain, as if their tongues were being pulled and their fingers were being cut. The horrifying echoes filled the cold, silent stone cave.
Pei Jing sat cross-legged on the boat, wearing a smile on his face as he looked around.
He had a fair complexion and a sharp, sword-like presence. His black hair was neatly styled, and he wore pristine white clothes, resembling a wealthy young master. None of the other three people paid much attention to him, as their focus was on Chu Junyu.
Pei Jing wanted to occupy himself, so he looked around but found nothing of interest. He glanced down and picked up a spare oar from the boat. He dipped it into the water and left a shimmering silver-blue trail on the surface. It seemed like the water was shallow and there was something below. Without hesitation, he reached into the riverbed and pulled out a smooth, white stone. With a smile on his face and a raised eyebrow, he offered it to Chu Junyu. “You gave me a precious bead as a love token last time. I haven’t returned the gesture yet. What do you think of this? Do you like it?”
The three individuals who had been secretly observing them: “……”
Chu Junyu glanced at Pei Jing and asked, “Love token?”
“Yes, that was the first thing you ever gave me, so it was very valuable. How could it not be considered a love token?”
It was so precious that it possessed the soul of the sleeping young leader of the green Bird Clan.
He was feeling really good now and didn’t mind showing affection to the three eavesdroppers. He tilted his head slightly, showing his two small tiger teeth, and smiled, “You still haven’t told me, is it nice or not?”
Chu Junyu replied slowly, “Sure.”
“As long as you like it.” Pei Jing enjoyed making Chu Junyu speak.
He used spiritual energy to make a hole in the stone, then took out a strand of his own hair and threaded it through, creating a pendant. Leaning forward, he tried to please Chu Junyu. “How about I help you put it on? When you gave me the bead back then, I wore it close to my chest.” Although it shattered when Qingying appeared during the battle with the Queen Mother of the West.
He knew that Pei Jing was about to behave recklessly.
Chu Junyu reached out and firmly held Pei Jing’s waist, keeping him steady.
The young man with silver hair had a cold and restrained expression. “Sit properly.”
Pei Jing was extremely delighted.
However, the path from the Iron Tree Hell to the Mirror of Sin Hell suddenly became turbulent. A downward slope appeared ahead, and the boat dropped suddenly. It caught him off guard, freezing his smile on his face. Unstable, he stumbled forward and ended up in Chu Junyu’s arms. His forehead hit Chu Junyu’s collarbone, causing him pain. The pendant he was holding also flew out of his hand.
Chu Junyu sighed inwardly, wrapping his arms around the young man’s waist and holding him securely in his embrace.
As his blood-red eyes lifted, several black butterflies fluttered in the air and grabbed onto the pendant that was flying away. They brought it back to his hand.
The boat descended, nearly reaching a ninety-degree angle, causing everyone to instinctively close their eyes.
It was only when the boat stabilized that they cautiously opened their eyes, still shaken by the fright.
They realized they were in a space tinged with deep blue, with a mirror stretching from floor to ceiling right in front of them.
The Mirror of Sin Hell.
A chill spread across everyone’s faces.
At the back of the boat.
Pei Jing sat in Chu Junyu’s embrace, covering his forehead, gasping in astonishment, “What the hell? It suddenly dropped like that. Wait, where’s my pendant?”
Before he could finish expressing his surprise, a pair of slender hands reached around from behind and placed something ice-cold around his neck.
Chu Junyu’s voice almost whispered into his ear, seemingly gentle but actually a warning, “Pei Yuzhi, my patience with you is also limited.”
Being so close, Pei Jing’s ears immediately turned red, though his black hair concealed it.
Unable to see Chu Junyu’s expression, Pei Jing grew a bit bolder and smiled without answering. He wasn’t very afraid of Chu Junyu at the moment. Instead, his attention was drawn to the stone on his neck. He tugged at it absentmindedly, not realizing his strength, and his hair got caught and snapped off.
He furrowed his brow and then turned around. “Can I borrow something from you?”
Chu Junyu’s eyes darkened, feeling a slight pang.
The young man’s fingers hooked into his silver hair, plucking out a strand. Then he plucked one from his own head as well. With a serious and obedient demeanor, he intertwined the two strands of hair, threaded them through the stone, and wrapped them around his own neck. After finishing, Pei Jing realized something and smiled, “Does this count as a different kind of hair bonding?”
Chu Junyu: “……”
Pei Jing said, “Hair bonded (bound by marriage), you and I, vowing to age until we die?”
He casually recalled a poem. Truly a genius in both literary and martial arts.
Tilting his head, his profile appeared particularly gentle in the soft blue light, while his smile was radiant.
Chu Junyu lowered his gaze and calmly said, “Pledging to live dedicated lives until we die. Madam, you remembered it wrong.”
Pei Jing: “Ah?”
Before he could react, Chu Junyu had already pushed him to stand up.
The people who had disembarked and were standing in front of the Mirror of Sin had been silently watching their affectionate exchange for quite some time.
The Blood Spider Mother’s voice turned icy cold, “Seems like the two of you are truly affectionate.”
The girl in the green dress continued to smile, but her gaze carried a profound scrutiny as she looked at Chu Junyu.
Pei Jing ignored the Blood Spider Mother and carefully tucked the stone into his garment. “It was clearly something I gave to you, how did it end up back with me?”
The young cultivator who had attained enlightenment through killing his wife finally spoke his first words, “Is the Sea of Reincarnation beyond the Mirror of Sin?”
The girl in the green dress withdrew her gaze and said, “Don’t rush. Beyond the Mirror of Sin, there are the Mountains of Blades and the Seas of Flames.”
The young cultivator asked, “How do we pass through the Mirror of Sin? Do we simply walk through?”
The girl in the green dress toyed with her hair and replied, “Yes, we pass through it. The Mirror of Sin reflects the sins committed by the deceased during their lifetime. For cultivators, it represents the people you have let down the most. They will transform into malevolent spirits and entangle themselves around you.”
The young cultivator’s face suddenly turned pale.
Meanwhile, Pei Jing was still asking, “Then I’ll go take a look in the Sea of Reincarnation to see if there’s anything good there. I’ll bring something back for you.”
Chu Junyu said, “No need.”
The Blood Spider Mother’s expression also soured, “Transform into malevolent spirits? What kind of malevolent spirits?”
The girl in the dress dress responded, “It depends on you.”
It depends on you. These four words weighed heavily on the hearts of everyone present.
The Twins asked, “How does it depend on me and how I treat them?”
The girl in the green dress smiled. “It should depend on how you perceive them.”
Pei Jing, who stood out from the others, continued to ask, “Why don’t you need it? I want to make you happy.”
Chu Junyu’s voice turned cold, “You’ll make me happy by staying quiet.”
Pei Jing said, “Just a moment ago, you even called me ‘Madam’…”
“……” The others couldn’t bear it any longer.
The Blood Spider Mother, the Twins, and the young cultivator fell silent. Each of them harbored deep malice, seeking revenge in the blood sea. They were willing to sacrifice their lives to strike a deal with the demons in the city.
Only these two seemed to be here to talk about love and affection.
Even in Demon Realm, there was room for romance and tenderness.
Pei Jing probably didn’t realize how detestable he appeared to a group of vengeance-driven individuals. After all, the Mirror of Sin Hell was nothing more than a mirror to him.
His thoughts were now solely focused on Chu Junyu, and he belatedly realized, “Wait, how did you even know that poem?”
He had memorized that poem back in modern times.
Finally, the girl in the green dress decided to interrupt him, “Young Master, we have arrived at the Mirror of Sin Hell.”
Pei Jing’s eyes finally fell upon them as he looked at the mirror that reached the sky, its surface displaying shades of blue and white. Golden and orange lights circled on top of it, resembling meandering serpents.
His expression became placid as he asked, “So, this is the Mirror of Sin?”
The girl in the green dress nodded and smiled, “I see that Young Master is open-minded. Why don’t you go first? The Mirror of Sin poses no threat to those without wicked deeds in their lives.”
Pei Jing didn’t mind being the first, but he still took Chu Junyu’s earlier warning to heart.
He quickly waved his hand, “No, no. I’ve committed quite a few sins and have plenty of enemies. Would hate to waste time, you know?”
The Blood Spider Mother sneered. She couldn’t help but feel disdain. Could this inexperienced youngster really harm anyone?
The girl in the green dress became interested. “Young Master has caused harm to others too?”
Pei Jing smiled faintly. “Indeed, countless times. I’ve shattered their hearts.”
After all, he was the heart thief of Yunxiao’s Inner Peaks.
The three of them: “???”
So, this seemingly clean and innocent youth practiced cannibalistic and sinister arts behind everyone’s backs?
However, seeing Pei Jing in this manner somewhat eased their minds. After all, having a seemingly pure and untainted young man appear in a city of villains was highly suspicious.
Chu Junyu laughed softly.
The girl in the green dress had clear, grape-like eyes as she said, “I see. But the Mirror of Sin can only accommodate one person at a time. Who among us should go first?”
The Blood Spider Mother seemed unwilling to waste time here and moved forward. “Then I’ll go first.”
The group remained silent.
Half of her figure entered the mirror.
The reflection distorted. The scene depicted a stormy night with thunder and rain. A village appeared, its dim yellow lights flickering, and the shadow of a longbow hanging on the wall resembled a snake held by a woman sitting at a table.
The window was not tightly shut, allowing the dark rain to enter the house and dampen the hem of her dress. In the arms of the woman in purple attire, there lay a soundly sleeping baby girl. A soft female hum filled the air as she gently sang a lullaby. In a flash of lightning, the woman’s expression became clear. Her face was exquisite but eerie and chilling, exuding a shocking malevolence. She spoke to the infant, “My dear, don’t blame your mother. You were born into a place of wrongs. Your father was a weakling, consumed by his own demonic cultivation, seeking to devour your mother’s spiritual energy. He planned to dismember me with the Five Poisons, but he never expected me to survive. That despicable man, I trusted him so much in vain.” Her eyes harbored deep resentment as she spoke.
With her other hand, she tapped the mouth of the venomous snake she held, her voice still gentle, “Enough, there’s no need to talk about a dead man. Your father is now nothing more than a pile of bones. I am neither fully human nor ghost, and I don’t have the heart to take care of you. Instead of letting you suffer endless mistreatment in the future, it would be better for your mother to end it now. My dear, it won’t hurt, sleep now, it won’t hurt—”
Snap! ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ꜱᴘʟᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʟʟꜱ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴇɴᴏᴍᴏᴜꜱ ꜱɴᴀᴋᴇ ꜱʟɪᴛʜᴇʀᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴡᴀᴅᴅʟɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴏᴛʜ, ꜰɪᴇʀᴄᴇʟʏ ʙɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴꜰᴀɴᴛ ɢɪʀʟ’ꜱ ɴᴇᴄᴋ.
Madam in the purple attire laughed nervously, but her laughter ceased the moment the girl opened her eyes.
The baby girl opened her eyes, awakening to find her ʙᴏᴅʏ ꜱᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴇʀ ʜᴇᴀᴅ, but she remained calm and didn’t cry. She simply reached out with a bewildered expression, her fingers grazing Madam’s face. Unable to speak, she weakly uttered, “Moth…er… hurt…” Invaded by the Five Poisons through the snake, the infant’s entire body was poisoned.
Madam in the purple attire listened to her words in a daze, unresponsive, as half of her face had already been corroded by the poison.
The girl’s eyes were clear and seemingly filled with light, as she inflicted wounds upon her own heart. She had nurtured the leader of the Five Poisons with great effort—a highly toxic venom that caused pain and itching. However, she remained still for a long time. Suddenly, Madam in the purple attire let out a piercing scream, as if driven insane, and threw the swaddling cloth onto the ground. The violent wind shattered the paper on the window, and half of her face was covered in blood, her eyes turning crimson.
“Your father was a despicable man! You are his seed! You are also despicable! Despicable, despicable little wretch! Even in death, you still want to torment me, don’t you?!”
She viciously ꜱᴛᴇᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀʙʏ’ꜱ ʙᴏᴅʏ, tore off the straw raincoat hanging on the wall, and staggered out.
The Mirror of Sin reflected her past evil deeds.
The demons within the mirror depend on you.
Pei Jing finally understood what the girl in the green attire meant.
Blood Spider Mother had caused harm to countless people. From what he had witnessed, she had already killed two—the first one by the river before entering the city, seizing his token, and the second, a female cultivator tortured to death in the Crimson Peach Blossom Forest. However, despite causing harm to so many, only her daughter appeared within the Mirror of Sin. Perhaps it was because of the guilt in her heart.
It depends on you… If you harbor even the slightest trace of goodness and feel increasingly guilty, the demons become stronger.
Pei Jing realized that it was indeed the selection process of Tianyan City, the test of the Celestial Demons. What kind of person could pass through the Mirror of Sin?
Either an extremely virtuous person or… an extremely wicked person. But how many truly virtuous people exist in this world?
Pei Jing admitted to himself that he couldn’t achieve that. Therefore, the Celestial Demons sought out the most wicked individuals.
Within the Mirror of Sin, the Blood Spider Mother now faced her daughter’s gentle questioning. Beside her was the Den of the Five Poisons, with her daughter sitting on a massive centipede. Her hands and feet were short and pale, resembling lotus roots, her expression naive and ignorant. She felt the pain, her brows furrowing with endurance, but she couldn’t speak, only helplessly and weakly calling out, “Mother…”
The Blood Spider Mother remained silent for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold, disdainful laugh. “Don’t call me mother. You’ve been dead for so long, why haven’t you been reincarnated?” Blinded by the accumulated bloodshed and slaughter, she had long lost the excruciating pain that tore at her heart on that rainy night. It had even twisted into a disfigured, vengeful hatred. Taking a step forward, she ignored the girl’s mournful gaze and tightly grasped her neck, her face contorted in a grimace. “Let me send you on your way, you wretch! If it weren’t for you, how could I have fallen victim to such potent poison? Wretch! Wretch! Without you, how could I have possibly found my way into the inner city of Tianyan?!” Consumed by hatred, her fingers strained, veins bulging, as she ᴛʜʀᴏᴛᴛʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪʀʟ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ.
The child’s expression was filled with sadness and agony, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth as her figure faded away. The Blood Spider Mother breathed heavily, gazing ahead, and let out an extremely cold, derisive laugh. “Now, there’s no harm in telling you the truth. That useless man you call your father, in reality, I found him lacking in cultivation and wanted to poison him. But he discovered my plan and turned against me. He was nothing but a worthless fool, how could he be my match? Hah, you’re the same.”
She tidied her hair, ꜱᴛᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ’ꜱ ꜰʀᴇꜱʜ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ, and continued forward, no longer entangled within the Mirror of Sin.
The Mirror of Sin returned to its calm state once again.
The girl in the green dress gazed at everything with profound disgust. “This is the nature of humanity. Humans truly are a filthy species.”
Pei Jing smiled. He had never encountered many individuals as wicked as the Blood Spider Mother, who killed her own daughter to feed the snake. Generalizing seemed too biased.
However, her prejudice against humanity was so strong… If she wasn’t human, then what could she be?
This was how the Blood Spider Mother fared within the Mirror of Sin.
For the twins and the young cultivator, they felt a sense of relief.
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
