Chapter 144: Jumping into the Lake
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Jian Ningxuan placed An Bu back on the bed, massaging her muscles while gazing at her tenderly.
“I’m fine, you don’t need to worry,” An Bu said, accustomed to her body stiffening from time to time. However, this time was a bit strange. Even though the deaths didn’t occur simultaneously, their death energy values were calculated at the same time. An Bu suspected it was because her vitality points value was about to break through the critical point, causing a reversal of Yin and Yang and a change in life and death, which triggered the backlash of the life and death book.
“Bu Bu, tell me, why?” Jian Ningxuan had never asked before because he was prepared to accept any strange situation, but if his ignorance would bring trouble and constraints to An Bu, then there were some things he had to ask clearly.
An Bu looked up at him, “Mr. Jian, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it. I just thought that some things, even if not said, wouldn’t affect our lives.”
Jian Ningxuan accepted her, the corpse, calmly. She really didn’t want to bring pressure to him with the matter of the life and death book. She just wanted to be with him simply and happily, accompanying him through life.
“I understand.” Jian Ningxuan had never doubted An Bu’s feelings for him. “But, I want to protect you.”
Even though she could revive and wasn’t afraid of pain, and seemed like nothing could defeat her, he still wanted to protect her. He always felt that she needed him, needed someone to love her, cherish her, understand her, and make her feel safe to rely on.
An Bu smiled contentedly and leaned into Jian Ningxuan’s arms.
Previously, when her vitality points value was insufficient, she couldn’t accept others’ feelings, but now she could truly feel the love this person had for her. This feeling of being cherished made her endlessly attached.
“Mr. Jian, the reason I’m alive is because every time I save someone, I gain the energy to sustain my vitality,” An Bu explained in a relatively straightforward manner. “Without this energy, I would turn into a walking corpse, unable to see colors, smell scents, feel temperatures, only wandering unknowingly in a gray world. I don’t want to become like that, so I’ve always been trying to save people, hoping to live like a normal person.”
Jian Ningxuan held her tightly, listening quietly to her narrative.
“If I don’t go to save people, sooner or later, I will completely lose all perception,” An Bu raised a hand and moved her fingers. “Muscle stiffness is one manifestation of lacking vitality.”
Jian Ningxuan furrowed his brows, a sudden realization flashing in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “Did your body suddenly stiffen because I stopped you from going to the hot spring resort to save people?”
An Bu was surprised by his insight. She hadn’t mentioned the hot spring resort yet, but he had already noticed.
“That’s part of the reason,” she didn’t hide anything and answered truthfully.
“In that case, let’s go,” Jian Ningxuan said without hesitation. “Let’s go save people together.”
In order to allow An Bu to lead a normal life, even if she would eventually forget himself, he was willing to take the risk. No matter how many times she lost her memory, he believed he could make her fall in love with him again.
The next day, the two of them drove to the hot spring resort.
Before setting off, An Bu took off their wedding rings. These rings, the Eyes of Cupid, had gradually formed Yin and Yang attributes after being nurtured for a period of time, increasing the compatibility between the two of them. Although they no longer affected those around them, they were still not suitable for appearing in places with dense Yin energy.
As a precaution, An Bu also brought Jian Jian along.
Jian Jian could purify impurities in the world, although it was limited due to her young age. But it was still a big help, able to relieve An Bu of a lot of pressure.
In fact, Jian Ningxuan was An Bu’s greatest weapon.
With a cat in hand, evil spirits retreated.
An Bu just needed to focus on leveling up with peace of mind.
The area around the hot spring resort was under martial law. An Bu and Jian Ningxuan obtained permission from the higher-ups and smoothly entered the restricted area. In the past few days, there had been mysterious deaths one after another, and the big shots also realized the seriousness of the situation, so naturally they wouldn’t stop An Bu from solving this trouble.
The death energy overflowing from the ancient tomb had already shrouded an area of two or three kilometers. Anyone who approached this area could become a victim. The influence of death energy was invisible, it would stimulate the weakest, most fearful, and darkest elements in a person’s heart, leading them Bubu towards death.
Normally, death energy wouldn’t cause such great harm, but this death energy came from a millennium-old ancient tomb, and later it was triggered by An Bu, which led to the current situation. Everyone who approached the ancient tomb was more or less affected by the death energy. Some people had strong wills and could resolve the crisis on their own, but more people had weak wills and couldn’t eliminate the death energy. Even some of the monks and Taoists, about four or five of them, couldn’t withstand the erosion of the death energy.
When An Bu and Jian Ningxuan arrived, there were only a dozen soldiers and monks left in the ancient tomb site.
“Are you the experts sent by the higher-ups?” a middle-aged Taoist looked at them suspiciously, his eyes full of mistrust.
An Bu stood close to Jian Ningxuan, casually replied, and looked at the death energy over the ancient tomb, ignoring the scrutinizing gazes of the others.
“We’ve been here for a week or two and still haven’t solved the problem. I wonder if you have any good ideas?” the middle-aged Taoist asked meticulously.
After observing, An Bu probably guessed the reason why they hadn’t solved the problem. There were dozens of places in the ancient tomb leaking “qi”. Without blocking the source, it naturally couldn’t achieve the expected effect. With the current concentration of death energy, even if the source was blocked, it would probably take a long time to completely purify it.
These people were able to withstand the death energy for so long, which was quite remarkable.
However…
An Bu swept her gaze over the people’s faces one by one. They were all tainted with death energy. Continuing to stay here would eventually cost them their lives.
“The reason why you haven’t solved the problem is likely because you haven’t blocked the source,” An Bu said, “As long as you find the source of the Yin qi overflow, everything else will be easy.”
“Hmph,” a Taoist with a birthmark on his right eye responded coldly, “You make it sound simple. If it were easy to find the source, would you need to say so much?”
This Taoist was originally a calm person, but under the influence of the death energy, including him, everyone’s emotions became somewhat abnormal.
An Bu understood the situation and didn’t argue with them. “Then let’s not waste time and start directly.”
“How do we start?”
An Bu looked at the nearby military officer and instructed, “Please have your soldiers help seal off all the places I designate.”
The officer saluted respectfully, indicating that he would ensure the task was completed.
An Bu, with Jian Ningxuan, began to wander around the ancient tomb site, marking each leaking point they found.
The others followed closely behind them, watching them as if they were on an outing, leisurely circling around.
Although they couldn’t see the death energy, they could feel the unusual dimness of the surroundings. They also didn’t know if it was an illusion, but they always felt that the two of them emitted a faint light, as if they formed their own world, where all impurities couldn’t approach.
Walking with them also calmed their restless hearts.
It took an hour for An Bu to find all the sources of death energy. The remaining work of filling in the soil was left to the soldiers.
The ancient tomb site was pockmarked by the archaeological team. It would probably take a day or two to seal all the sources.
To prevent the soldiers from being harmed by the death energy during the operation, An Bu decided to stay with Jian Ningxuan and guard them.
“You guys temporarily leave here,” An Bu said to the monks and Taoists, “Come back to help after all the sources are sealed.”
“What? Look down on us?” The Taoist with the birthmark frowned, “We’ve been here for a week or two without any trouble. Is it necessary for you to drive us away?”
“It’s precisely because you’ve been here for a week or two that I’m asking you to leave first,” An Bu explained calmly, “Find a clean place to rest properly and recharge your spirits, so you can better handle the tasks ahead. If you collapse, who else can solve the trouble here? After all, I’m young and far less experienced than you masters.”
Upon hearing the word “young,” Jian Ningxuan glanced sideways.
The others relaxed slightly at An Bu’s words and reluctantly accepted her proposal, one by one leaving the site to recuperate elsewhere.
In fact, they had wanted to leave earlier, but they were just saving face and had been holding on. An Bu’s proposal was just what they wanted, so they naturally followed along, and some of them even had no intention of coming back.
An Bu drove away these people mainly to reduce uncertainties and prevent more people from being harmed.
However, no matter how much she calculated, she missed one point. The people who stayed in the ancient tomb site received their food from outside every day. The food delivery personnel were just ordinary people and were easily affected by the death energy.
In the death energy values An Bu received earlier, dozens of points came from two food delivery workers. Two or three days after they left the site, they unfortunately died in a car accident while distracted while driving.
In the evening, a food delivery worker rode a motorcycle into the site, and the death energy immediately surged around him. This delivery worker had just experienced a breakup recently, feeling low emotionally. Coupled with his naturally depressive personality, under the influence of the death energy, he felt despair in his heart. Tears flew in the wind as he looked at this loveless world, suddenly feeling life was not worth living.
At this moment, An Bu was doing yoga in the room of the villa. She vaguely heard the sound of a motorcycle and looked out the window. She saw a food delivery worker riding a motorcycle, but when he approached the gate, he suddenly turned and rushed towards the artificial lake beside it without hesitation.
An Bu: “!”
With a splash, the man and the motorcycle flew into the lake together, stirring up a large wave of water, but they sank without a trace in a moment.
An Bu quickly leaned out of the window and then ran a few steps before stopping. She turned back and waited for Jian Ningxuan to catch up before heading towards the lake with him.
Without the cat master to ward off evil spirits, she wouldn’t dare to run around here alone, otherwise, she would be enveloped by the death energy in minutes.
Arriving at the lake, An Bu said to Jian Ningxuan, “Mr. Jian, have you ever swum in an artificial lake before?”
Jian Ningxuan: “….No.”
“Well, congratulations, today you finally have the opportunity to make up for this regret.”
Jian Ningxuan: Do we really need to make up for this regret?
After saying this, An Bu grabbed the cleanliness-obsessed Jian Ningxuan and jumped into the artificial lake together.
Jian Ningxuan: I must ask Bubu to groom him for several hours to make up for his traumatized soul!
At this time, other soldiers also heard the commotion and rushed over after An Bu and Jian Ningxuan. They didn’t see the food delivery worker fall into the water, only a daring couple jumping into the lake hand in hand.
“Quick, save them!” the officer shouted loudly and jumped into the lake first, followed by several soldiers who were good swimmers.
After they jumped, An Bu and Jian Ningxuan had already brought the food delivery worker ashore from the other side of the lake. Seeing the rolling waves on the lake surface, they were a little puzzled.
Because it was getting dark, no one noticed their movements.
“Have you found them?” the soldiers on the shore kept shouting.
The soldiers in the lake responded occasionally, indicating that they hadn’t found anyone.
An Bu didn’t pay attention to them and hurriedly gave first aid to the food delivery worker. By the time she rescued him, it was already three minutes later.
“Haven’t found them yet?” the soldiers on the shore continued to shout.
“What are you looking for?” a voice suddenly came from the side.
“Haven’t you seen someone jump into the lake?” the soldiers glanced impatiently at the speaker, intending to continue observing the lake. But the next second, he suddenly turned his head and found two dripping wet figures standing beside him, surprisingly the couple who had just jumped into the lake!
Weren’t you supposed to be in the lake? When did you sneak ashore?!
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