I, the transmigrated villain, please wait, gentle master.

Chapter 209 Crossing the River of Oblivion: A Shocking Kneeling Kiss (8)

The Ten Kings said, "The Nightmare Woman is Si Wuyou's earth soul."

"She already possessed the ability to detach from her body and move freely at any time."

"From this perspective, she is like Si Wuyou's alter ego."

"Or rather, that's exactly what she is, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Cloning" is also a very general term, and there are many different types.

Some people refine external objects into their own clones, such as puppets or paper figures, as substitutes for themselves, or simply as scapegoats, which can be summoned and dismissed at will.

There is another technique called "Avatar," which allows the caster to simultaneously create countless clones of themselves to act as allies in battle. This type is also known as "Shadow Clone."

Generally speaking, a clone cannot be stronger than the original body.

However, there is one exception—

If a clone is created by sacrificing a part of one's own body, then regardless of whether the sacrifice is voluntary or involuntary, the clone will develop strong desires and intentions, and will naturally not be very obedient to the original body.

There is also a one in ten thousand chance that it might turn around and take control of the host.

Si Wuyou belongs to this "what if" scenario.

The Nightmare Woman is far more powerful than she actually is, both in terms of temperament and tactics.

However, the Ten Kings insisted that "the clone and the original body are the same person. The Nightmare Woman is just another side of Si Wuyou, a side that she deliberately hides deep in her soul and is little known to others."

"On the surface, she is a stupid fox who is so stupid that she is almost wicked, but in reality, her shrewdness is no less than that of her cunning and worldly brother. The chaos caused by Li Liang's treason is enough to prove this point."

"An apple splits in two; the clever side becomes even cleverer, and the foolish side becomes even more foolish. The reason for this is that Si Wuyou's situation is special. Her clone has been manipulating and even oppressing her original body. To put it bluntly, she turned herself into a fool."

Li Tingyun coldly said, "She's not really stupid."

The ten kings echoed, "Yes, she is not."

“As long as the Earth Soul returns to its original form, Si Wuyou will become much more normal. But the Nightmare Maiden is unwilling to go back; her soul state allows her to be more unrestricted.”

"The Nightmare Woman can sense Si Wuyou's situation at any time and control her every word and action. Therefore, I have been wondering why she flaunts herself everywhere? Why did she come to my Xiaoxiang Pavilion? Why did she bring about her own downfall? Doesn't she realize that she is carrying a huge karmic debt?"

"Or perhaps she doesn't know who you, Li Tingyun, are, doesn't know you're looking for a 'top-grade furnace cauldron,' doesn't know I've been helping you 'investigate the case,' and doesn't know what would happen to her if I caught her and handed her over to you?"

"If the Nightmare Woman knew nothing about these things, then she would be truly incredibly stupid, which is impossible. So she willingly let Si Wuyou fall into my hands, willingly using her as bait to lure you in. What was her purpose in doing this?"

"Alright, let's put this issue aside for now and talk about it later. I still have something to say earlier, and if we don't understand the cause and effect, it's hard to guess the consequences."

Following on from the previous point, Si Wuxie was willing to become a messenger of the underworld in order to eradicate Si Wuyou's "soul separation syndrome"—the underworld is in charge of the souls of all living beings and is most knowledgeable about the concept of the three souls and seven spirits.

Si Wuxie made many friends in the underworld, and was most familiar with Judge Cui Jue. He also had a good relationship with the Black and White Impermanence. However, despite his efforts to subtly address the issue, he still didn't know how to cure the soul separation disease, so he could only keep a close eye on Si Wuyou.

No matter how closely he watches, something will still happen.

The Nightmare Woman is a dream demon. She is usually impossible to catch or see. If she wants to, she has plenty of ways to escape control. Her most serious "escape" was when she ran to the Emperor's side and caused havoc on the entire country.

Si Wuyou was stunned for thirty to fifty years after that incident.

Si Wuxie wanted to find her earth spirit, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Then one day, a soul that was about to dissipate drifted to his doorstep—should he save it or not? His nature meant he didn't understand compassion, but his intuition told him that there was something to gain.

Keen intuition stems from ample survival experience.

He rescued the man.

This person was none other than the lucky small merchant.

The vendors loved to tell everyone about their past lives, which inspired Si Wuxie. He turned his attention to investigating the reincarnation of the person destined for Si Wuyou's love tribulation, the rise and fall of the Li Liang Dynasty, and even a lantern that Emperor Liang revered as an auspicious omen...

This is terrible! The investigation has led them to Xia Changfeng.

But ignoring this fatal accident, Si Wuxie did indeed find the key point.

Through investigation and guesswork, he gradually understood everything.

It was too late.

The demise of Li Liang was a foregone conclusion, and the world was in chaos with war raging everywhere. It was too late for him to stop Si Wuyou.

The only thing we can do is try to help her clean up this mess.

To deceive the heavens and cross the sea, to cover up one's mistakes and conceal one's wrongdoings.

"After the fall of the Great Liang Dynasty, the eight Buddhist sects massacred members of the Li imperial family, and Si Wuxie was undoubtedly behind it all."

"He probably wanted to completely sever this karmic connection for Si Wuyou, and incidentally drag the Buddhist sect into the mess, so they could share the sins."

"To sever the cause and effect, one must either make amends for past mistakes or go to extremes, neither of which is easy."

The Ten Kings spoke thus.

"Si Wuxie chose the latter, using someone else to do his dirty work and eliminating the root of the problem. His actions were extremely extreme and audacious, and he could easily get into even bigger trouble if he wasn't careful. This was a very unwise move."

"The Si Wuxie I know is shrewd and calculating. If it were just for Si Wuyou, he should have chosen a more conservative and discreet way to gradually remove the karmic burdens from his sister."

"Yet he took the risk, inciting Buddhism and committing even greater massacres, implicating tens of thousands of people. Unless he had some compelling reason to do so, he would not and should not have been so reckless."

Li Tingyun understood his underlying meaning: "What is the relationship between the sorcerer I've been looking for and Si Wuxie and his sister?! Si Wuxie's actions, seemingly cleaning up the mess for Si Wuyou, are actually helping the sorcerer."

The Ten Kings sighed, "I investigated this matter for a long time before finally discovering that the answer to the riddle was right there in the riddle itself."

"In what capacity did this sorcerer infiltrate the Emperor's inner circle? Your Majesty the Imperial Father-in-Law!"

"The so-called 'Guo Zhang' is the emperor's father-in-law and the empress's biological father."

"Then who is Si Wuyou's biological father? Yun Songhe? In terms of bloodline, it is indeed him."

"But back then, Yun Songhe was so focused on killing his wife to prove his Dao that he almost killed both his children as well."

"Fortunately, Si Wuxie and his sister met a benefactor who saved their lives; this is a life-saving grace."

"That person was like a second parent to them."

Is there anything you don't understand now?

Si Wuxie and Si Wuyou mistake a thief for their father!

The "benefactors" they encountered from childhood were actually demonic cultivators!

"But to this day I still haven't found out the name of the sorcerer, or what kind of 'sacred being' he is."

"As far as I know, he doesn't trust Si Wuxie and his sister either. He hides his face in front of them as well. And these two siblings are not eager to repay his kindness or obey his every word. On the contrary, they are eager to get rid of his influence and control."

"This sorcerer is no benevolent person. To walk with him is to seek help from a tiger. Sooner or later, he will use you to your death. Si Wuxie is a very shrewd person. Can't he see that? Even if he doesn't care about himself, he will make long-term plans for his sister."

Before seeking refuge with the local authorities, Si Wuxie had spent a long period of wandering and hiding. Fox men are physically weak and short-lived, so he tried every means to make a living, and finally, he found a way to make a living by relying on Xia Changfeng.

"I won't go into too much detail about their affair; you should already know some of it. It was only after Si Wuxie obtained the Vermilion Bird Heart that he was able to bring his sister to the Underworld to find a way to cure 'Soul Separation Syndrome'."

"Just when he thought that he and his sister would no longer be subject to others, his sister's lost wisp of soul was captured by the demonic cultivator, and Si Wuyou's earth soul... most likely walked into the trap on its own."

"The Nightmare Woman conspired with the evil Taoist willingly because the person they were plotting against happened to be the same person—Li Huaijin, the last emperor of the Liang Dynasty, who had a three-lifetime karmic connection with Si Wuyou. This was a 'love tribulation' that she should have severed long ago but had been clinging to.

"The sorcerer meticulously planned and ensnared the Nightmare Maiden, making her a highly useful pawn in his hands. How could he easily let her go? Si Wuxie spent twenty or thirty years searching for Si Wuyou's soul to no avail. It must have been the sorcerer secretly causing trouble and preventing him from getting his way. The old fox is indeed shrewd."

"Just when Si Wuxie was overwhelmed with questions and at his wits' end, the appearance of that small vendor brought him many new clues, making him feel like he had found a way out of a dead end. But when he finally followed the clues and found the person..."

"But we can't take it with us, nor can we save it."

"Even he himself was drawn into the game, and had no choice but to help make the 'game' more perfect and complete."

"He played a crucial role in the demon's successful escape at the end."

"Perhaps he had no choice, but he is not innocent."

After a moment's thought, Li Tingyun thought of the Golden Silkworm Gu.

Before his death, Yun Songhe said that his "Hundred Poisons Record" had been stolen. Now it seems that it could only have been done by Si Wuxie and his sister.

They had the blood of the Yun family flowing in their veins; otherwise, they would not have been able to open that wooden scroll. The Golden Silkworm Gu used by the demonic cultivator to deal with Ji Cizhang was taken from the "Record of a Hundred Gu".

As for who stole the wooden slip, whether it was the brother or the sister, judging from the timeline, Si Wuyou is more likely to be the culprit.

Si Wuxie only learned the whole truth much later; in the game that the demon had set up long ago, there was no such person as him at the beginning.

He burst in just as things were finishing up.

Just in time.

The evil Taoist priest needed an assistant to clean up his mess.

It would be perfect to have Si Wuxie finish off the remaining enemies.

He is meticulous and ruthless, yet he also has a weakness; it's impossible for him to abandon his sister.

The Nightmare Woman and the Demonic Taoist are in the same boat; if the boat sinks, it will benefit neither of them.

He will do his best.

"Si Wuxie instigated the Buddhist sect to exterminate the Li clan. He went too far in this matter and his haste made waste. I feel that he did it on purpose."

After talking for so long, the ten kings were thirsty and the teapot was empty, so they got up and went around to a beaded curtain to get water to brew tea.

Normally, this kind of thing should be done by graceful maids, but he dismissed everyone in Xiaoxiang Pavilion, even the "puppet maids" made by Hei Wuchang, so he had to do it himself.

"Did you know that Si Wuxie was using the name of 'Lingguan' to lobby and persuade within the Buddhist community? He deliberately used the name of the demonic Taoist to make the situation bigger and bigger, and to muddy the waters more and more. Rather than doing his best to clean up the mess, he was doing his best to smear the sect."

"If this alone isn't enough to explain things, then there's another thing—his attitude in handling this matter makes it very clear, and this matter is precisely about you."

The ten kings stood before the small stove, listening to the bubbling water, and swallowed hard.

"...Let me have a sip of tea first."

"Are you a human or a ghost?"

Li Tingyun suddenly asked a trivial question.

"..."

There was no reply from the Ten Kings.

Whether the answer to the question was obvious and he didn't need to answer, or for some other reason, he remained silent until he took a sip of hot tea, which moistened his throat, before asking in return, "What do you think?"

Li Tingyun said, "I think there's something wrong with you."