A hand suddenly landed on his left shoulder. The youth snapped out of his trance-like state and immediately performed a hand seal to launch an attack at the person behind him.
The girl, her face streaked with tears, froze in place. A fireball ignited by the spell whistled past her neck; the scent of singed hair filled her nostrils, and the skin on her neck stung sharply from the high-temperature burn.
This only happened because Bai Xun was not in top form; otherwise, that fireball would have been aimed straight for her heart.
Seeing the youth’s dark, murderous gaze, the strange girl unexpectedly let out a leisurely smile.
“Mm, little Senior Brother has excellent technique. Could you give me a pointer or two?”
Even with tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, she laughed with extraordinary cheer.
“Get lost.” Bai Xun swatted her hand away, intending to continue walking.
“That won’t do. My hair wasn’t burned for nothing, little Senior Brother Bai Xun.”
The girl, seemingly unafraid of death, hopped back in front of him.
“Who are you?”
The youth tilted his head up, revealing a thin, pale, doll-like face. When the sunlight hit those amber, innocent-looking eyes, all the gloom and oppression seemed to melt away into nothingness.
Lu Xiangyu mimicked Song Shenshi’s mannerisms, straightening her posture to appear more composed before offering a friendly smile.
“Little Senior Brother, you’ve seen me before.”
“I have never seen you.” Being trifled with in such a way caused the murderous intent to rise in Bai Xun’s eyes once more.
“Hey, calm down, little Senior Brother!” Lu Xiangyu hurriedly reached out. “You may have never seen me, but I have seen you many times!”
Bai Xun hesitated, frowning as he sized her up.
Her appearance was ordinary, her talent mediocre, her speech pretentious, and she was exceptionally strange.
Seeing him pause, Lu Xiangyu seized the moment: “Little Senior Brother has the grace of an immortal; I have seen it many times in my dreams. That day you stood upon the martial arts arena with Senior Sister Song, blades clashing… it was such a magnificent duel…”
Her face was flushed and her emotions ran high; her expression was full of longing and her eyes shimmered with thin tears. For a moment, even Bai Xun was captivated.
“You mean… my duel with Song Shenshi, where I was her equal and only lost by a narrow margin at the very end…?” He dropped his sword, his fingers trembling as he brought his rough, jagged nails to his lips to gnaw on them.
Perhaps he was thinking of the humiliation of being abandoned by Song Shenshi in the secret realm, or perhaps he was thinking of that figure he had chased for years—the one he could never surpass.
Bai Xun became dazed. He murmured, “What kind of mistake did I make? Or… or did I make no mistake at all? Was it that Song Shenshi was simply unwilling to fall behind me…?”
Seeing that her plan was working, Lu Xiangyu ran to his side. “Exactly. Senior Brother Bai is very formidable. Senior Sister usually mentions you to me all the time; she must think very highly of you.”
“Senior Sister Song thinks highly of me?” Bai Xun was shocked. He looked at Lu Xiangyu and asked, “Who are you? Are you Senior Sister Song’s junior apprentice?”
“I am Lu Xiaoyu, the youngest junior sister of Bishui Peak,” Lu Xiangyu said, performing a graceful bow.
Only then did Lu Xiangyu successfully stop Bai Xun, leading him to sit under the shade of a tree to chat.
As they talked, Bai Xun realized that this “Junior Sister Lu Xiaoyu”—a complete stranger to him until now—actually understood him deeply. She understood the pressure of being the Sect Leader’s successor, the bitterness and grief of losing his parents, the humiliation he felt when the Sect Leader suggested an engagement with Song Shenshi, and those countless challenges and failures… Of course, Lu Xiangyu didn’t say it so bluntly; she offered her comfort through winding, subtle words.
When asked how she knew so much, she claimed that Senior Sister Song spoke of him often and cared for him deeply. Through this bout of “speech therapy,” she completely converted Bai Xun’s “blackening value” into a massive surge of favorability toward her.
However, if Song Shenshi ever found out…
Lu Xiangyu scratched her head, thinking of Song Shenshi’s murderous gaze. A chill crept into her heart, but she quickly tossed it to the back of her mind. Whatever.
“In Senior Sister Song’s eyes, am I truly that important?” Bai Xun curled up on the grass, burying his flushing face between his knees. “Just now, I almost hurt you, Junior Sister Xiaoyu.” He felt extremely embarrassed by his earlier actions.
“Of course. You are in her heart,” Lu Xiangyu encouraged him, placing a hand on his back. Catching the scent of singed hair near her ear, her eyes narrowed slightly. “Little Senior Brother, do you often dream of Senior Sister… is that why you like her so much?”
“…” These words did not point toward a romantic dream. From the sudden fear and terror emerging in Bai Xun’s blank eyes, it was clear that these were nightmares.
At the bottom of an abyss, in a damp cave where the sun never shone, he had crawled out from the belly of a bloated, rotting female corpse. He didn’t dare look back at that “mother,” yet that decayed face, crawling with maggots, was forever seared into his retinas.
He couldn’t close his eyes; he couldn’t forget. Extreme sorrow and terror submerged his nose and mouth, making it impossible to breathe.
Yet his body moved on its own. His hands clung to the walls, his feet sinking into the foul, rotting mud. Slimy longworms coiled through his hollowed flesh. He was as sluggish as a corpse, moving forward numbly.
Where was he going? He remembered… there was a figure at the cave entrance. It was the silhouette of a young girl. She had a gentle, beautiful face; she would smile; she would ask if he was in pain…
“Song… Shen… Shi…”
Don’t leave me behind…
Bai Xun struggled through the mire, this thought growing more intense.
But in the end, he was still abandoned.
He struggled in the mud, suffocating as he was swallowed by a whirlpool. In that distorted light and shadow, there was only the cold, decisive fracture of the girl turning to walk away.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally found a way to escape that secret realm.
“…So that’s how it is.”
Lu Xiangyu smiled, gently patting Bai Xun’s back to rouse him from his demonic trance.
In those beautiful amber eyes, a purple light flickered deep within. Lu Xiangyu’s smile became even more genuine.
“Bai Xun, do you know why Song Shenshi abandoned you?”
“…” Bai Xun’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“She said you’re a nuisance; that you annoy her constantly.” Lu Xiangyu leaned closer, whispering death-defyingly into his ear, “She thinks you are weak.”
“She is gentle and generous to everyone else,” Lu Xiangyu said, emphasizing every word. “For someone as good-tempered as Song Shenshi, you are the only person in the entire sect she dislikes. Do you know why?”
“You’re lying… she wouldn’t.” Deep in the throes of his nightmare, Bai Xun was unable to mount an effective rebuttal to Lu Xiangyu’s outrageous claims.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Lu Xiangyu mimicked Song Shenshi’s expression, looking down at him with pity.
She knew full well that while this youth appeared to harbor hatred for Song Shenshi on the surface, he was actually obsessed with strength. Even if the female lead tortured him a thousand times, he would still love her like a first love.
Fortunately, he was destined to be killed off early in the plot, so it didn’t matter if he suffered a little during his limited lifespan.
“You aren’t even worthy of being the next Sect Leader of the Haiqian Sect.”
…At the bright white light of the cave entrance, before the silhouette—whose true face he had never seen—could be clearly identified, a wickedly smiling shadow appeared beside it.
“She told me this herself. Toward you, she feels nothing but utter loathing.”
That dark shadow enveloped the white silhouette, growing increasingly massive and terrifyingly evil. It laughed, devouring Song Shenshi, and beckoned to him provocatively. Perhaps this was the true face of that fairy-like person.
“…” Bai Xun’s eyes turned blood-red, his rage uncontrollable.
Seeing him like this, Lu Xiangyu quickly maintained a safe distance, secretly swallowing hard. Under her despicable provocation, he was actually showing signs of a demonic soul taking shape.
“Um… no matter what happened, someone will help you settle it,” Lu Xiangyu said in a comforting tone, attempting to stabilize him.
“Agh!” Bai Xun clawed at his hair on the ground, letting out a beast-like roar.
He had already been tortured by various hardships in the secret realm for a long time; now, Lu Xiangyu’s words were so effective that he was on the verge of falling into a demonic possession right there in the street!
If Bai Xun went berserk now, the first person he’d kill would definitely be her!
Suddenly, Lu Xiangyu saw something that looked like a savior. Acting as if she hadn’t noticed Bai Xun’s abnormality, she stood up, reached out, and waved loudly.
“Hey! It’s Senior Sister Song and Sect Leader Bai! Everyone is here!”
“…” The madness in his eyes receded like a tide. Bai Xun seemed to regain his clarity instantly, looking around in confusion.
He didn’t see a crowd on the stairs; he saw only one figure he had long anticipated. With the sun at her back, she seemed to drift down gracefully from the highest point.
Song Shenshi had truly arrived.
While Lu Xiangyu was still dazed, Song Shenshi had already fluttered down to stand before the two. Sunlight seemed to sprinkle from her body, making the entire world appear much brighter.
Without a word, looking incredibly gentle and lovely, Song Shenshi helped Bai Xun up from the ground. The youth stared at her blankly, as if all the complex malice in his heart had vanished completely.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Lu Xiangyu shook her head on the sideline.
This female lead usually wore an expression of compassionate, motherly love and was breathtakingly beautiful. Her beauty was harmless, and it seemed her sword was the same; so many people were blinded by this facade.
Bai Xun was no exception.
His hands were gently taken by Song Shenshi’s slender, beautiful hands, as if they were about to exchange vows in a grand hall—to hold his hand and grow old together.
No matter how many times he told himself these were just fantasies…
Song Shenshi smiled at him so beautifully, as if she were sharing the same dream.
An object was pressed into his hand. Bai Xun looked at it blankly.
It was a “Peace Talisman” with a red background and gold lettering.
“I requested this at the Immortal Shrine of Longevity,” Song Shenshi said.
“Specially… for me?” Bai Xun asked foolishly.
“Yes.” Song Shenshi had requested a whole box of them and gave one to every elder and junior alike.
“Oh. Th—thank you.”
The innocent youth blushed and nodded his head.
On the side, Lu Xiangyu rolled her eyes excessively. Her scheme had been neutralized just like that.
“In the secret realm, you suffered.” Song Shenshi showed meticulous concern, like a mother.
“N—no,” Bai Xun said, finding a bit of backbone. “If Senior Sister could get through it, so could I.”
“Of course.” Song Shenshi smiled again and reached out to pat the youth’s dirty head.
He did look quite pathetic.
She thought for a moment and retrieved a piece of white gauze from her storage bag—a magical treasure as light as mist. Lu Xiangyu watched with great envy.
The “Ranxi Gauze,” light as a breeze, floated over Bai Xun’s head and draped down. In the blink of an eye, a handsome youth with red lips and white teeth appeared before them—a completely transformed person.