"My nickname is... Tangtang." The girl's breathing was labored, and her pupils had already lost focus.
Isn't this the very scene from my dream?
Except for the pool of fresh blood that should be covering the floor of the ancestral hall.
The girl was like she was stuck in a quagmire, weakly extending her small hand toward me, "Save Tangtang... Tangtang is not the snake demon... Big sister..."
It was only after a closer look that I realized the Spiritual Power within her body was completely fused with that of the Formation beneath her.
I reached out toward her, then withdrew my hand.
If I attempted to pull the girl out of the Formation, her body's Spiritual Power and blood would be instantly drained.
"Wait for your sister, don't hurry, don't hurry, I'll come back to save you soon." My entire body was trembling, yet I couldn't delay and ran out, "Yu Longting... Yu Longting..."
Yu Longting had been standing on the outskirts of the ancestral hall, but at that moment, he moved swiftly, climbing up the Ninth Level steps to the front door.
Only a tall threshold separated us, and I clung to his arms for support, "Is there a way to stop the Thousand Corpses Formation without killing the sacrifice trapped in the Formation's core?"
"Wanwan, do you think that's possible?" Yu Longting looked at me intently and countered with a question.
The last sliver of hope in my heart was buried, my eyes grew increasingly sore as I babbled in response, "I knew it... I knew it was impossible, that woman in the attic is so malicious, how could she allow for any turn of events?"
"Cousin, we're running out of time, what are you hesitating for? Hurry up and kill the sacrifice in the Formation's core." Lin Hang walked over, clutching a Peach Wood Sword in one hand and lifting his wristwatch with the other.
I almost immediately envisioned myself committing murder, and my inner world was on the verge of collapse, I said heavily, "I can't do it, you go in and do it."
"It's just killing a snake, what's so hard about that? But it's normal for you girls to be faint-hearted and afraid of taking life. If I furrow my brow, I'll call you daddy."
Lin Hang strode into the ancestral hall, his bloodline linked to the Lin Family.
Recognized by the hall's restrictions, he could come and go freely.
Less than half a minute later, Lin Hang's screaming could be heard from inside, "What the hell, what is this, Xintang, how is it you, damn it!! How did you turn into a snake? Help, someone tell me what's going on?"
"Yu Longting, the Spirit Snake being sacrificed at the core of the Formation is Lin Xintang."
My heart was unbearably heavy, my voice uncontrollably hoarse and trembling, "She's a living and breathing girl, looking very cute, really... is there truly not a single way left?"
"Wanwan, you have to understand, if it was a purely human being, she could have never been used as a sacrifice for the Formation's core."
Yu Longting stated matter-of-factly, seeing tears in my eyes, he reached out and wiped the tears from my face, "You had guessed earlier that the person at the core of the Formation might be Lin Xintang, which is why you insisted on going in to see for yourself first, right?"
I looked at Lin Hang, who was scrambling out, pale-faced, and said softly, "I had a nightmare once... In the dream, there was a girl lying on the floor of the ancestral hall, her lower body a long snake's tail... I never thought that the dream could be real, so I wasn't certain, and that's why I wanted to go in and see for myself..."
I so wish that everything in the dream was false... but the reality is this cruel!
Lin Hang had confidently gone in, but ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to do it either.
The madwoman upstairs just wanted to kill us all, or force us to commit beastly acts for self-preservation.
To survive by sacrificing a girl's life would mean living in remorse for a lifetime.
"That's the way it is, but if we must find a way, there is a risky method." Yu Longting held my ice-cold, completely warmth-less hand and tucked it into his arms, "Don't panic, we have plenty of time, it's just that the price to pay is quite high. But now that we're seemingly out of options, I suppose it doesn't matter anymore..."