Before Xiao Jingyuan bathed, he had sensed something amiss.
But at that very moment, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his mind, as if something of great importance to him had vanished. In that brief lapse of attention, he fell into the Pool Demon’s Illusion Realm.
Day after day, he relived the most unbearable moments of his past.
Beneath the City God’s Temple, in the beggars’ den.
Eight-year-old Xiao Jingyuan, dressed in drab gray, watched the children on the street holding candied hawthorn skewers, their parents by their sides, all laughter and warmth. The envy in his eyes was so thick it threatened to spill over.
Suddenly, a sharp object struck his face, carrying a faint sweetness.
He picked it up—it was a candied hawthorn skewer stick.
The child who threw it pointed at him and laughed: “You little beggar with no parents, what’s the point of even living? You might as well stab yourself to death with this skewer.”
Another child threw a skewer, then waved over their parents. “Mom, Dad, you can throw trash here! This little beggar loves eating skewers!”
More and more skewers rained down on the eight-year-old boy, the sharp tips piercing his skin, growing more painful, more heavy, until they covered his entire field of vision.
Just then, light returned before his eyes.
A young girl tilted her head, smiling at him brightly. “Jingyuan-gege, you’re finally awake.”
Xiao Jingyuan looked down at himself—he was no longer in his eight-year-old form.
Right. Everything before had been the past.
Now, he was no longer who he used to be.
“Qing’er, at least I have you.”
Xiao Jingyuan smiled gently, and the girl leaned closer. “Of course, at least you have me.”
Suddenly, realizing something, Xiao Jingyuan hurriedly pushed her away—but a sword had already pierced his chest.
“Qing’er, you…”
Su Wanqing’s smile twisted gradually. She pulled out the bloodied sword and raised it toward him again. “Only by killing you can I prove that what I love is Shen Qingci. Hurry up and die, die, die!”
Xiao Jingyuan could only run forward with all his might to escape the killing intent.
Within the Illusion Realm.
Shen Qinghe watched the illusion Lizhu had conjured at her command and nodded with considerable satisfaction.
Yes, this was exactly how pathetic this man should look.
In her past life, her brother had been killed by Su Wanqing.
Now, let Xiao Jingyuan experience the same pain.
She looked at Lizhu beside her and smiled sweetly. “Lizhu-gege, you’re amazing. Can you make him die here?”
If Xiao Jingyuan died, the sect’s tragic fate from her previous life could be avoided.
As for Su Wanqing, once they got out, she could think of other ways to deal with her.
Lizhu nodded. “I can.”
Shen Qinghe’s eyes lit up. She was about to speak when, in the misty illusion before them, a mass of black fog suddenly condensed, and from within came a ferocious roar: “It’s you two again! This time you’ve come to my territory—none of you are leaving!”
The surrounding mist churned violently. Shen Qinghe could barely keep her footing and could only cling tightly to Lizhu. “Big shot, what do we do now?”
Lizhu: “I don’t know.”
Shen Qinghe panicked. Hadn’t he said he could enter and leave whenever he wanted? If she’d known, she would have gotten out first!
The next instant, the mist beneath their feet dissipated, and she plummeted as if weightless, with Lizhu falling right alongside her.
Shen Qinghe mustered her courage and looked down—beneath them was molten lava.
“Hehehe, all of you die! Become my nourishment!”
Shen Qinghe wanted to cry. “Are we going to die?”
Lizhu: “Water-element spell.”
Right, right, right—she’d forgotten all about that.
Shen Qinghe focused her mind, pointed downward, and shouted, “Water Dragon Bullet!”
A stream of water shot from her fingertip, dousing the magma below.
The Pool Demon sneered dismissively, ready to mock her, but his smile froze on his face.
That tiny water dragon, carrying only a wisp of Spiritual Power, had actually extinguished the magma he had conjured!
Of course, what he had conjured wasn’t real magma, but unless one was at the Spirit Transformation Stage, there was no way to break his spell.
That white-haired youth beside the girl was no ordinary one.
The Pool Demon knew the white-haired one was not to be trifled with—he had been severely wounded by him not long ago, nearly losing his soul entirely. That was why he had been in such a hurry to find a cultivator of lower cultivation level to absorb.
But this was his Illusion Realm, his territory. Besides, in his early years, he had received a blessing from that one, and this time he had even brought that blessed treasure into the Illusion Realm. His abilities were far beyond what ordinary Demonic Creatures could match.
Yet everything before his eyes was telling him that anything was possible.
Shen Qinghe had already landed on the fully solidified magma. She stomped on the ground and looked at Lizhu with pride. “Aren’t I impressive?”
“Not bad,” Lizhu said flatly. “I’m going to fetch something. You play around here by yourself for a while.”
With that, his figure vanished without a trace.
If this had happened before, Shen Qinghe would have been terrified, but after the Water Dragon spell just now, she had regained her confidence.
After all, she was a proper Golden Core Stage cultivator. There was no need to fear a mere Illusion Realm.
When the Pool Demon saw Lizhu flying back, his head felt ten times bigger. His voice turned shrill and piercing. “Why did you fly back?!”
Lizhu said calmly, “You have something of mine on you.”
The Pool Demon’s pitch-black eyes widened. “I’ve never seen you before. How could I have taken anything of yours?”
Then, realizing something, his face grew paler and paler. “Could it be… you are Li—”
The black mist around the Pool Demon surged toward him frantically. His already formless body became even more transparent and thin, and faintly visible within was half a scale.
Though it was only half a scale, in the dimness, the broken scale still shimmered with a faint white glow, Spiritual Energy swirling around it.
Lizhu reached out, and the half scale flew into his hand. At the same time, the Pool Demon’s body grew even more transparent. His eyes were filled with disbelief. “You actually came out! How did they allow it?!”
“Annoying.” A flicker of impatience passed through Lizhu’s eyes.
The Pool Demon spotted the girl standing on the magma below. “You like her, don’t you? Hahaha, I’ll go grab her right now! You can’t kill me!”
Seizing a thread of Life Chance, the Pool Demon dove downward at lightning speed.
Just as the mist was about to touch the girl below, the Pool Demon’s entire body was like a punctured balloon, dissolving into mist and vanishing in an instant.
Shen Qinghe looked up and saw Lizhu descending slowly. She was a bit puzzled. “Was there some kind of noise just now?”
Lizhu shook his head. “No. I’m done with my business.”
Shen Qinghe’s face lit up with excitement. Did that mean they could continue what they were doing before—killing the male lead, Xiao Jingyuan?
But at that moment, everything around them collapsed and plunged into darkness.
When she opened her eyes, she was back in the side hall of the main peak.
Lizhu beside her kindly explained, “The Pool Demon is gone, so the Illusion Realm collapsed.”
Shen Qinghe: “…”
Wait, how did the Pool Demon suddenly disappear?
She looked at Lizhu and suddenly understood again—he must have destroyed it with that ‘righteous’ and ‘noble’ demeanor of his.
Sigh, having someone too reliable could sometimes be a bit of a problem.
Shen Qingci also returned to the main hall and instinctively checked on his younger sister first. “Xiaohe, are you alright?”
Shen Qinghe shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“Qingci-gege, I’m so glad you’re alright.” Su Wanqing wiped her tears as she spoke.
Shen Qingci’s gaze at her grew somewhat complicated, and he didn’t respond for a moment.
At the same time, a light cough sounded from the bed, and Xiao Jingyuan had also woken up.
Su Wanqing immediately forgot everything else and rushed to the bedside with concern. “Jingyuan-gege, how are you feeling?”
“You cared about Shen Qingci first?” Xiao Jingyuan said coldly.
Su Wanqing’s expression stiffened, and she quickly explained, “That’s because Qingci-gege had just woken up—he fell into danger to save you. Since you hadn’t woken yet, I asked about his condition first.”
Xiao Jingyuan: “Then in the future, would you kill me for his sake?”
Shen Qinghe only regretted not having melon seeds at hand, because she would definitely be snacking while watching the drama unfold.
Tsk tsk, the white lotus had flipped her script. Now let’s see how she spins her way out of this one.