Lin Yueying was still thinking about how she could persuade him to take her along.
Mainly because, in his current state, he looked no different from a madman. Even the fox tail connected to his spiritual sense was already injured to such an extent, so the meridians within his body could only be damaged even more severely. Yet even so, if she had not mentioned Jiang Yin’s whereabouts, he still would not have shown any intention of stopping.
A ruthless person who could endure even broken meridians… did he really need her Life-Extending Pills?
She hesitated over whether to raise the stakes, for example by promising that she could safely bring Jiang Yin back, but she was also afraid that if she failed to do so, this madman would flay her alive.
He absolutely looked like the kind of person who could do such a thing.
“I…”
She had only spoken a single word when Chu Nanci suddenly moved.
He was incredibly fast. Lin Yueying did not even manage to see his movements clearly before she felt a fierce gust of wind rush at her. In the next second, her vision began to go dark.
“…”
Thank the heavens, she had eaten just a tiny bit of the Life-Extending Pill in advance. Otherwise, aside from being knocked unconscious, the pain alone would probably have sent her straight to the afterlife.
She had not completely lost consciousness. At the very least, she could feel Chu Nanci carrying her as he sped along. Along the way, they seemed to run into some cultivators who shouted about eliminating the fox demon and finally finding him.
As for how Chu Nanci dealt with those cultivators, she had no idea. By the time her awareness became clear again, she was already inside the Moon Drifting Boat.
Because she heard Huaying’s voice, as she was explaining to Chu Nanci the reason for abducting Jiang Yin.
“Earlier, when I told Your Highness that Mengyue was gravely injured, I deceived you. Mengyue… she was being hunted. I only had time to preserve a few strands of her demonic consciousness. Activating the Illusory Memory Array was also to use the thoughts and memories of these people to nourish her demonic consciousness, but that is far from enough. Just at that moment, I discovered that Jiang Yin actually carried remnants of Mengyue’s memories. If she were to enter the array, perhaps Mengyue could be revived… My life was originally saved by Your Highness. Whether you wish to kill or flay me, I have no complaints. But this matter has nothing to do with Yueying. I only beg Your Highness to spare her for the sake of our past ties. I beg you…”
Lin Yueying pursed her lips, inwardly muttering, ‘Hypocrite.’
The Wuyou Sword in Chu Nanci’s hand pressed against Lin Yueying’s neck as he glanced down at Huaying, who was kneeling at his feet. “I can spare her, as long as you light the incense and let me enter the array. Otherwise.”
Each time he spoke, the blade pressed down another inch. Blood seeped out, just a fraction away from slicing through her pulse.
“Your Highness!” Huaying was also covered in wounds as she pleaded, “Your Highness, she has already entered the array. Even if you go in, you won’t be able to save her. Moreover, you are severely injured, your mind is in chaos, and you are in your heat period. If you enter the Illusory Memory Array, you may never come out again. Your Highness…”
Chu Nanci shook his head. The blade pressed down again as he repeated, “Light it.”
Huaying did not dare take the risk and could only light the incense that belonged to Jiang Yin.
Seeing Chu Nanci release Lin Yueying, she let out a breath of relief and was about to step forward to catch her. However, she saw that Lin Yueying, who had seemed to have fainted, twisted her body to evade her hand and followed behind Chu Nanci into the smoke.
Entering the array at this moment, she too would enter Jiang Yin’s… no, Mengyue’s memories.
Huaying’s pupils trembled in shock as she reached out to stop her. “No! You can’t! Lin Yueying, come back!”
But it was too late.
Within the smoke, Lin Yueying revealed a vicious smile at her.
…
“One, two, three…”
Jiang Yin lay sprawled in the pavilion, counting the lotus flowers in the pond. After finishing one side, she turned her head to count the other, not even wanting to move her body.
So boring.
The maids carried over fruits chilled in well water and set them down in the pavilion. She reached out to pick one up, her fingers passing straight through the plate. She withdrew her hand, then pretended to take a grape and tossed it into her mouth, chewing on nothing but air.
After placing the fruit plate down, one of the maids leaned over the pond to pick lotus flowers.
Jiang Yin pointed to the one beside her. “Pick this one. This one just bloomed this morning. It’s the freshest.”
The maid showed no reaction, plucked a different lotus, and placed it into the vase on the table.
From beginning to end, not a single person paid Jiang Yin any attention.
Jiang Yin had long grown used to this.
Ever since she had inexplicably arrived in this strange place ten days ago, she had discovered that no one here could see her or hear her speak, as if she simply did not exist.
At first, she had panicked, thinking she had truly died during that incident and become a ghost.
But after wandering around for a while, she had unexpectedly seen Lin Yueying.
It was just that the other party could not see her either. Jiang Yin followed Lin Yueying for an entire day before she barely managed to understand the situation.
She had likely entered the Illusory Memory Array mentioned in the original text. It was just unclear whether the memory trapping her belonged to Lin Yueying or the owner of Huameng Tower.
Whose memory it was made no difference to her anyway.
The result would be the same.
Unless she found the core of the array, she would remain trapped here forever, until her mind was exhausted and she died within this memory.
But the core of the array was the most important place within each person’s memories. Trying to find the array core in memories that did not belong to her was about as difficult as ascending to immortality in broad daylight.
“Sigh.”
Jiang Yin clapped her empty hands together, then pressed her palms in prayer, offering her daily wish.
“I hope Xie Huaian… I hope Ah Ting won’t come looking for me.”
The Illusory Memory Array was on the Moon Drifting Boat. Unless something unexpected happened, Zhu Nian would definitely board the ship as well.
If Xie Huaian tried to find her, there was a chance he would run into Zhu Nian.
Throughout history, had there ever been a shortage of people who fell in love with someone else while searching for their beloved?
Especially since Xie Huaian’s demonic curse had not yet been resolved. If the two of them met, what if sparks flew between them at once?
Just the thought of it made Jiang Yin feel that even in death, she would not be able to rest in peace.
“I wonder if he’s doing any better now…”
She muttered to herself, when a voice sounded by her ear. “No better.”
The clear, gentle voice was like warm sunlight spilling over her. Jiang Yin’s clasped hands trembled.
Someone held her hands. The fingers were as cold as snow as he asked, “Didn’t you want to know whether I’m doing any better? Why not open your eyes and see for yourself.”
“Why are you crying?” Chu Nanci wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, his tone growing even softer. “Could it be that you really didn’t want me to come find you?”
Jiang Yin shook her head and opened her eyes. What came into view was the young man’s head full of silver hair, his clothes stained with blood, looking even more disheveled than when she had first met him.
She cried even harder, her tears unstoppable. “It’s over, everything’s over. Why did you come in? Do you even know what kind of array this is? If you can’t get out, you’ll die here too. And your hair, wasn’t it already better before? Why has it become like this again… mm…”
Her sobs and tears were swallowed by the young man, ground and lingered upon again and again. Only when she could no longer make a sound from crying did he ease up, gently and tenderly sucking away the tears at the corners of her lips.
“Alright.”
Jiang Yin was left breathless from the kiss, leaning weakly against him with dazed eyes. “What do you mean, alright?”
Chu Nanci held her hand and gestured for her to look.
Her fingers were entwined with his hair. Although it had not fully recovered, there were at least some strands of black among the silver.
Jiang Yin fell silent.
It was still like streaked highlights.
She felt powerless to comment on the author’s unconventional setting, and said worriedly, “How can this be considered better?”
“Indeed, it doesn’t count.” Chu Nanci leaned close to her ear and smiled. “Then shall we continue?”
His low, hoarse voice was filled with suggestive ambiguity. Jiang Yin’s face flushed hot as she shyly took a few steps back. “Let’s think about how to get out first.”
Her attention shifted away from him. Chu Nanci quietly wiped away the blood dripping from his hand. Even though the pain made his hand tremble, his voice remained completely steady. “Find the array core.”
“…I know we need to find the array core.” At the mention of this, Jiang Yin felt another wave of headache coming on. “But Ah Ting, this isn’t my memory. I don’t know what the array core is.”
Seeing that she was about to work herself into tears again, Chu Nanci comforted her, “Someone knows.”
“Who?”
Jiang Yin followed Chu Nanci’s gaze and saw a figure slowly appear outside the pavilion.
There was a ring of blood around her neck, and her face was smeared with blood in patches. Her hair was disheveled as she stood in the shadow beneath the artificial rock, smiling in a twisted, ferocious way.
Jiang Yin only took one look and thought it was some kind of midnight horror scene. Startled, she let out a scream. “A ghost!”
At that moment, the “ghost” spoke. “Not a ghost! Miss Jiang, it’s me.”
“Lin Yueying?” Jiang Yin slipped out of Chu Nanci’s embrace and took a closer look. It really was Lin Yueying.
“…You were perfectly fine, so why did you smile like that? You nearly scared me to death.”
“Was it really that scary? That’s great. Before I came in, I made eye contact with that flower demon. I just wanted to scare her, let her know that once we get out, she’s finished!” Lin Yueying walked into the pavilion and pulled out a stone from her robe, waving it in front of Jiang Yin. “Look, a Recording Stone! This time, I’m going to make public the scene of her killing my parents, so everyone will know she’s a completely vile demon!”
Jiang Yin’s eyes lit up. “So this means this is your memory?”
Lin Yueying shook her head. “No.”
“…Then it’s about the same.” Jiang Yin thought it over. “You and that flower demon used to be sisters. It shouldn’t be hard to find the array core in her memory.”
“This isn’t the flower demon’s memory either.”
“…”
Lin Yueying said, “Do you know that Huameng Tower also has a dream demon?”
“So you’re saying… this is the dream demon’s memory?” Jiang Yin frowned. “But in the Illusory Memory Array, only one’s own memories can form the array. Could it be that the dream demon is also someone from your Lin Residence? Who is she? Quickly take us to find her.”
Staying beside the person who possessed these memories would indeed make it easier to find the array core. The reason Jiang Yin remained in the pavilion was also because, at this time every day, the Lin sisters would come here to admire the flowers and enjoy the cool air.
“Don’t rush.” Lin Yueying smiled. “Now isn’t the time yet. We’ll go find her after nightfall. First, you take him somewhere…”
She glanced at Chu Nanci and carefully chose her words. “To recover a bit.”
After all, if the array core truly was the person she had in mind, then Chu Nanci’s combat strength would be crucial.
Before entering, she had heard Huaying say that he was still in his heat period.
At that time, she had only wanted to take back what she had previously said about him being crazy.
The word “crazy” was far from enough to describe how recklessly he disregarded his own life.
A fox’s heat period was like a snake’s molting period, both extremely important and fragile phases. If he could not pass through it safely, a drop in cultivation would be the least of his problems, not to mention that his internal qi was already in chaos.
In such a condition, he still used a tracking technique without any regard for the consequences. What he was searching for was not Jiang Yin, but death itself.
Just from the fact that his injuries had worsened after encountering those cultivators, it was clear that not a single part of his internal organs was in good condition.
“Ah… alright.” Jiang Yin did not question why Lin Yueying said this.
The streaked white hair of the young man was simply too conspicuous. In the Eastern Profound Continent, this was a sign of chaotic internal qi, so he naturally needed to rest and regulate it properly.
The Lin Residence was large, with many empty rooms. Since no one could see them at the moment, Jiang Yin planned to take him to a room so he could adjust his breathing and restore his internal state.
“Right.” She turned back and pointed at Lin Yueying’s neck. “You should deal with that too… it’s quite frightening.”
“Me? Deal with what?” Lin Yueying touched her neck in confusion. When she saw the blood on her hand, she screamed, “Ah—”
Jiang Yin supported Chu Nanci as they walked along the path, sighing worriedly. “I wonder who could be so vicious, to injure both you and Lin Yueying like this.”
“Yes.” Chu Nanci smiled gently. “Truly vicious.”