186: Chapter 186

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows across the courtyard.

Hearing the commotion, Qian Renxue and Xiao Wu immediately emerged from their respective rooms or corridors.

When they saw the strange woman following Lu Jing and his companions back—dressed in a moon-white dress, with a stunning face and a gentle temperament tinged with a hint of confusion—they couldn't help but look surprised.

Qian Renxue's gaze swept quickly over Ah Yin, a sharp look of scrutiny flashing in her violet eyes.

She did not sense any powerful Soul Power fluctuations from Ah Yin, but the woman's stunning beauty and a purity that seemed almost untainted by the world made her instinctively feel that something was unusual.

She looked at Lu Jing, her willow eyebrows slightly furrowed, and spoke first, her tone inquisitive: "Xiao Jing, who is this…?"

Her question was concise and direct, and her gaze swept across the faces of Lu Jing, Wang Donger, and Snow Empress, trying to find an answer in their expressions.

Who was this woman?

Why had they suddenly brought her back?

And it seemed, she was quite close to Wang Donger!

However, before Lu Jing, Wang Donger, or Snow Empress could explain, Xiao Wu, who was standing nearby, saw Ah Yin's face, and her large pink eyes widened in shock!

The surprise on her face was quickly replaced by an indescribable emotion mixed with surprise, excitement, and disbelief!

"Auntie Ah Yin?!" Xiao Wu exclaimed, her voice rising slightly with excitement.

Almost without hesitation, she lunged forward, arrived directly in front of Ah Yin, reached out her hands, and grabbed the small hand that Wang Donger had released—the one currently hanging helplessly by Ah Yin's side.

"It really is you! Auntie Ah Yin! How are you here? Aren't you… aren't you already…" Xiao Wu's voice was incoherent with excitement, and a mist of tears instantly clouded her large pink eyes.

She gripped Ah Yin's hand tightly, as if afraid that if she let go, the person in front of her would disappear.

She had known and accompanied Ah Yin in the Star Dou Great Forest for many years, their bond like mother and daughter; Ah Yin's departure and disappearance had always been one of the sorrows in her heart.

Seeing an old friend so suddenly, how could she not be overwhelmed with excitement?

Xiao Wu's sudden enthusiasm and that address of "Auntie Ah Yin" were like a clap of thunder, instantly awakening Qian Renxue!

Ah Yin?

The one mentioned in the intelligence reports, the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Beast who sacrificed herself for Tang Hao?

Qian Renxue's pupils contracted, and countless complex emotions flashed through her bright golden eyes!

Shock, realization, wariness, scrutiny… in the end, all these emotions turned into a cold sense of understanding.

No wonder she felt it was unusual!

So it was her!

That hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast who theoretically had fallen, leaving behind only a seed!

She had actually… been resurrected by Lu Jing and his group!

And she appeared in her complete human form?

This… how was this possible?!

A monstrous wave instantly rose in Qian Renxue's heart!

Resurrecting a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast that had sacrificed itself was an unheard-of, heaven-defying feat!

She looked sharply at Lu Jing, her eyes filled with incredulous inquiry.

How did he do it?

Using the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?

Or those mysterious destruction inheritance methods of his?

If… if they really had mastered this technology to resurrect or accelerate the growth of hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts… what would that mean?

It meant they would possess a nearly endless, renewable source of hundred-thousand-year spirit rings!

As long as they found suitable Spirit Beast seeds or saplings, cultivated and accelerated their growth, they could mass-produce hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts and then obtain their spirit rings and Spirit Bones…

This was a fundamental subversion of the existing rules of the Spirit Master's world!

The potential value and the chain reaction it could trigger were simply immeasurable!

Thinking of this, the look Qian Renxue gave Lu Jing added, besides shock, a depth of contemplation and a trace of imperceptible heat.

How many secrets and possibilities were still hidden within this man?

However, just as Xiao Wu was overwhelmed with excitement and Qian Renxue's heart was surging, Ah Yin, whose hands were grabbed and who was being enthusiastically greeted by Xiao Wu, made a reaction that caught everyone off guard.

She seemed startled by Xiao Wu's sudden enthusiasm and physical contact!

A clear look of panic and helplessness flashed through her pure sapphire eyes.

Almost instinctively, she forcefully pulled back her hand that was held by Xiao Wu, stumbled half a step backward, and then… without hesitation, hid behind Wang Donger, who was closest to her and whom she subconsciously felt was the safest!

She even reached out her hands, gently grabbing the clothes at Wang Donger's waist, hiding half her body behind Wang Donger, and only revealing a pair of eyes filled with timidity and confusion, peeking at the overly enthusiastic beautiful girl in front of her.

"…"

The excited smile on Xiao Wu's face froze instantly, her outstretched hand hung awkwardly in mid-air, and her large pink eyes were filled with astonishment and confusion.

She stared blankly at Ah Yin, who had hidden behind Wang Donger, then looked at Wang Donger, completely unable to understand the situation.

"Auntie Ah Yin? You… what's wrong? It's me, it's Xiao Wu!" Xiao Wu said urgently, trying to go around Wang Donger to pull Ah Yin.

However, Ah Yin was like a frightened fawn; as Xiao Wu moved, she shrank even more tightly behind Wang Donger, even burying her face in Wang Donger's shoulder, revealing only a head of soft, flowing blue hair.

"Sister Donger, what… what is going on here?" Xiao Wu was completely bewildered, looking at Wang Donger for help, her pink eyes filled with big question marks and grievances.

Auntie Ah Yin didn't recognize her?

And was hiding from her?

How was this possible?!

Feeling the slight trembling of Ah Yin's body and her dependent grip from behind, Wang Donger also felt a complex mix of emotions.

Looking at Xiao Wu's aggrieved and bewildered appearance, she couldn't help but smile bitterly, explaining in a tone filled with helplessness and a trace of apology:

"Xiao Wu, don't get excited… we don't know exactly what happened either. She was resurrected, but… it seems an accident happened halfway through, and Ah Yin… her memory, might… be gone."

"Memory gone?" Xiao Wu's voice shot up, her large pink eyes instantly widening, as if she had heard something completely unbelievable.

"That can't be?! Sister Donger, don't lie to me!"

"It's true." Wang Donger nodded affirmatively, sighed, and replied: "She doesn't even know who she is herself; just now at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it was me… er, we who brought her back. She, right now, might really… not remember you."

"…" The expression on Xiao Wu's face changed from shock and disbelief to blankness and a deep sense of powerlessness.

She looked at Ah Yin, who was hiding behind Wang Donger with only half her head visible, looking at her with pure yet timid eyes; the wild joy of the reunion in her heart was extinguished as if by a basin of ice water, leaving only a heart full of absurdity and a trace of… heartache.

Auntie Ah Yin… didn't remember her.

That Auntie Ah Yin who had once taken care of her and accompanied her in the Star Dou Great Forest, like both a sister and a mother, was now looking at her as if she were a… stranger.

This feeling was even more painful and empty than when she had learned of Ah Yin's disappearance.

"Then… what do we do next?" Xiao Wu's voice was a bit dry as she looked at Wang Donger, then at the silent Lu Jing and Snow Empress, and finally at Qian Renxue, whose eyes were deep in thought, not knowing what she was thinking.

Wang Donger glanced at Ah Yin behind her, then at Lu Jing. Seeing he had no expression, she could only say for herself: "What else can we do? For now… we'll just keep her. In her state, we can't just leave her outside. As for later… we'll see how it goes. Maybe… her memory will slowly return?"

She said this without much confidence, but for now, it seemed there was no better solution.

Xiao Wu opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a helpless sigh.

She looked at Ah Yin, who was still hiding and refused to come out, and then at Wang Donger; the fighting spirit in her heart to "get ahead" seemed to have been diluted by this sudden turn of events.

Auntie Ah Yin had become like this… she didn't feel good about it either.