False Appearance Part 1

The people hanging upside down overhead spoke, their voices overlapping.

They sounded like countless echoes, agreeing with one another, then they chuckled softly. The laughter, amid the creaking sway of the ropes, drifted near and far, growing sharper and sharper, until finally it seemed as if the entire Forbidden Land was cackling strangely.

The laughter continued for a good while before coming to an abrupt halt at the sight of High Immortal Tianxiu's unpleasant expression.

The entire temple then fell into a dead silence amidst that wordless staring contest...

Although the scene was extremely bizarre, it didn't stop the Demon Lord from finding it amusing.

Wu Xingxue suppressed his smile before Xiao Fuxuan could look over, and asked with a serious expression, "Who are you?"

The hanging ropes swayed, and the people turned slowly. Because they had been hanging for too long, their bodies, necks, and even faces were stretched long, making it truly difficult to recognize their original appearances.

"Us?"

"Who are we?"

"Hahahahaha."

Hearing this question, they started laughing again for some reason, then stopped abruptly a moment later, whispering in a voice as if confiding a secret—

"We are already dead."

"Nonsense, we are still alive."

"Then we are both dead and alive."

"Sigh..."

It was unknown who let out a somber sigh, but everyone followed suit, sighing one after another, making for extremely uncomfortable listening.

Wu Xingxue frowned, feeling that these people were different from the Evil Demons, Yin Creatures, and even the Summoned commoners of Great Sorrow Valley he had seen before.

The inferior kind of Evil Demons and Yin Creatures couldn't speak; they were muddled and chaotic as if their minds hadn't yet awakened, only knowing hunger and how to eat. The powerful ones were no different from humans, imitating the living so perfectly that one couldn't tell them apart without some skill. As for the commoners who were harmed by being Summoned, they could also speak clearly before they were exposed.

This was the first time he had encountered something like this; conversing with them was truly taxing.

"What are they considered?" Wu Xingxue tugged on Xiao Fuxuan and asked in a hushed voice.

"I do not know," Xiao Fuxuan said.

There were many strange things in the world, each with a different form and spirit. Even an Immortal couldn't have seen everything and recognized it at a glance. High Immortal Tianxiu was a man of few words to begin with and disliked speaking in hypotheticals. If he could only speculate but not be certain, his answer to any question would be 'I do not know.'

This habit was well-known in the Immortal Capital, yet it was repeatedly broken for the same person.

"Then just make something up," Wu Xingxue said.

Xiao Fuxuan: "..."

Xiao Fuxuan: "Bound."

Wu Xingxue: "Oh? What is that?"

The Demon Lord put on an expression of 'The High Immortal is truly amazing' and listened with rapt attention.

His deference made High Immortal Tianxiu give in and say, "Mortals cycle through life and death with their spirit-souls. When the physical body perishes, the spirit-soul enters the next cycle. Flowers bloom and fall, a cycle repeating endlessly. But the spirit-soul and the physical body are not always together. Some people's bodies are dead, but because of a promise made or an obsession that hasn't faded, their spirit-souls linger for a long time, living on like a living person. This is called Attachment. There are others whose spirit-souls are ripped out while their bodies are still alive, bound for some reason, unable to be freed. They become the Bound."

Xiao Fuxuan said, "Judging by their appearance, they somewhat resemble the Bound."

When Wu Xingxue heard 'Attachment,' he felt it wasn't so bad; after all, it was their own obsession keeping them there, unwilling to leave. But when he heard 'Bound,' his expression faded...

He thought for a moment and asked, "If the spirit-souls are bound, what about the physical bodies?"

Xiao Fuxuan said, "They remain in the places they frequented, undying and immortal, unable to leave, and they are very difficult to distinguish."

Wu Xingxue: "Even you find them hard to distinguish? Why? They don't seem like dead people, no corpse energy?"

Xiao Fuxuan recalled the few 'Bound' he had seen before and explained, "The physical bodies of the Bound are always undying, yet they don't know what has happened to them. Over time, they will deceive themselves."

"How do they deceive themselves?"

"They will grow repeatedly."

Wu Xingxue was stunned. "You mean... the body starts from birth as a baby and grows all over again?"

"Not necessarily from infancy, nor will they necessarily grow to old age. It varies from person to person."

Wu Xingxue thought about that situation and felt a sense of the bizarre—a shell without even a spirit-soul, no different from a walking corpse, yet it could mix in with the living. It had a growth process, its appearance would change with the years, and it would talk and laugh with people.

"Then it's true that even an Immortal would have difficulty telling them apart..." Wu Xingxue said. "But perhaps those close to them might discover it after a few decades."

But the one who discovered it would probably be scared half to death!

Imagine one's spouse, or a close relative at home, or even a next-door neighbor, someone you saw and chatted with daily, only to suddenly realize one day that they might have long ceased to be a living person... How many ordinary people could withstand such a fright?

However, the most pained ones should be they themselves.

Wu Xingxue suddenly felt that these hanging figures were somewhat pitiful. He looked up and asked, "How long have you been hanging here?"

The figures turned in the wind, their backs sometimes facing him, then slowly turning to the front. Because they were hanging upside down, the corners of their lips were pulled to the sides of their cheeks, like a strange, uncontrolled smile.

"I... I don't remember."

"A long time, a really long time."

"Nearly a hundred years?"

'No wonder these hanging people speak in such a manner,' Wu Xingxue thought, 'one moment saying they're alive, the next saying they're dead, babbling chaotically yet muddle-headed.' Anyone whose spirit-soul was ripped out and detained in this ghastly place for a hundred years would probably also end up this delirious and dazed.'

"Then where were you all originally from?" Wu Xingxue asked again.

He didn't actually hold out much hope, nor did he think these people could give a clear answer. It would probably be another 'forgot,' or 'don't remember,' or something similar.

Who knew they would actually all start speaking—

"Langzhou."

"Guizhou."

"From Xiyuan."

"At the foot of Immovable Mountain."

...

A tide of varied answers washed over him, making the Great Demon Lord's head buzz.

"Alright..." Wu Xingxue said, "I get it."

You're just all over the world, everywhere.

Wu Xingxue pondered in his heart.

This was a temple, so it was easy to think of things like sacrificial offerings. These bound spirits were, in all likelihood, used for this purpose.

He wanted to ask, "Who bound you here?" and "Why were you chosen?" but just as he was about to open his mouth, Xiao Fuxuan pressed him down.

High Immortal Tianxiu seemed to see through his thoughts and took the initiative to say, "Some things cannot be mentioned, for example..."

He paused, turned his head to lean close to Wu Xingxue's ear, and said in a low voice, "The source of their resentment."

Wu Xingxue: "..."

He knew this was to prevent the hanging people from hearing, but...