“Ahhh… you witch! I’ll kill you!”
Gu Qingying roared furiously, forming the Broken Love Sword Formation with her hand and thrusting her sword straight toward Gong Shangyu’s throat.
Startled, Gong Shangyu hurriedly waved her water sleeves, barely managing to block the fierce sword aimed directly at her throat.
Looking at the delicate, fair face before her—though dressed in men’s clothing, the refined features could not be hidden—Gong Shangyu’s beautiful pink eyes were filled with shock.
“Hm? Qingying? Why is it you?”
Gong Shangyu exclaimed in surprise.
She had never expected that the unexpected intruder who suddenly appeared to ruin her “good plans” and attacked her with a sword would be none other than her fifth junior sister from her previous life, Gu Qingying—who always timidly followed behind her, begging for sweets!
The maid Wu had mentioned a “junior brother” who stood quietly beside the master, bearing a refined appearance and wielding a sword.
Could that have been referring to fifth junior sister?
But… that couldn’t be right.
At this point in time, she should still be with the Gu family.
How could Gu Qingying be here?
And even more, she had apparently already taken the master as her teacher?
The timeline didn’t match at all!
Wasn’t she supposed to only join the sect four years later?
Seeing the pink-haired witch before her who had done vile things to her master and even used the city’s citizens to refine corpses suddenly call out her name, Gu Qingying froze mid-attack, suspicion flashing in her eyes.
“Hm? How does she know my name?”
Though shocked, Gu Qingying did not relent in her relentless assault.
At the same time, driven by anger, she constructed a logical explanation in her mind for why the pink-haired witch knew her name.
“That’s it! She knows my name because she secretly read the master’s memories! This witch is playing the emotional card to confuse me!”
Thinking this, Gu Qingying’s anger intensified.
“Hmph! You damned vixen! How dare you desecrate my master’s memories like this!”
Right now, Gu Qingying’s only thought was to kill the other with all her might and take back her master!
But in her fury, she had forgotten that in Lu Li’s eyes, her reincarnated self was actually Gu Qingkong!
Even if Gong Shangyu had really read Lu Li’s memories, she should have called her Qingkong, not Qingying!
“Junior sister! It’s me! Listen to my explanation!”
Faced with Gu Qingying’s sword qi, which had reached Foundation Establishment level, Gong Shangyu had no intention of counterattacking.
She silently used her water sleeves to block each strike and tried to calm her junior sister down.
After all, compared to her hatred for senior sister Feng Lingshuang, Gong Shangyu still had deep feelings for the three junior sisters who had fought alongside her in their previous life to resist Feng Lingshuang.
However, Gu Qingying, who was utterly convinced the other was a witch and had used dark soul-probing arts on their master, refused to listen to any explanation.
No matter how Gong Shangyu tried, Gu Qingying thought she was just being deceived by words.
“Hmph! You shameless witch! You even used ‘junior sister’ to beg for mercy!”
“If you think that trick will fool me, you’ve picked the wrong person! Prepare to die, witch!”
Gu Qingying had completely lost her rationality.
Her mind was flooded with the “vile” image of Gong Shangyu dishonoring their master right before her eyes!
Plus, the dimness of the secret chamber and Gong Shangyu’s disheveled hair partially covering her face made it hard for Gu Qingying to recognize her.
“Sigh… Qingying! Calm down! I can really explain this to you…”
“Shut up!”
Gu Qingying cut her off sharply, her sword strikes becoming even more ferocious, the Emotional Thread Sword flashing silver lightning as it wildly slashed at Gong Shangyu.
“How dare you defile my master like this! Right or wrong, I no longer care! I just want you dead!”
With that, Gu Qingying launched another ruthless stab, the tip of her sword trembling slightly, like a heavenly net sealing off all of Gong Shangyu’s escape routes in an instant.
“Qingying! You stubborn little donkey! Why are you always so stubborn no matter what!”
Gong Shangyu was both anxious and angry, a sharp sting of bitterness and grievance swelling in her chest.
I was first!
I clearly came first!
I found the master first!
Why are you acting like I betrayed you, huh?
But in the end, thinking of their bond as fellow disciples, Gong Shangyu still felt a pang of sympathy for this junior sister who had suffered a harsh fate in their previous life.
So she only continued to evade and block, using her defensive magical treasures to neutralize the sword qi, refraining from unleashing any lethal moves.
Faced with Gu Qingying’s storm-like sword qi, Gong Shangyu’s mind was filled with suspicion.
Hiss… this junior sister’s sword technique is ruthless and mature, and every move carries the rhythm of the Dao!
This is definitely not the skill of a Qi Refining disciple without Foundation Establishment!
Moreover, the refinement and explosive power of this spiritual energy…
Hmm?
Could she also be… a reincarnator?
While Gong Shangyu’s thoughts churned, Gu Qingying grew more and more agitated from her prolonged failure to break through.
She bit her teeth, determination flashing in her eyes.
If I can’t win outright, then I’ll cheat!
“System! Activate cognition modification!”
Gu Qingying muttered silently, and an invisible wave of energy spread throughout the secret chamber accompanied by the sound of gears turning.
[Ding! Cognition modification activated!]
With the system prompt sounding, Gu Qingying recalled how her cognition modification system had worked flawlessly earlier when she had forcibly controlled Lu Li in the sect, and a cold smile crept into her heart.
Heh… I suppose to this witch, I’ve already vanished into thin air?
I wonder what expression she’ll have when I sneak behind her and launch a surprise attack?
Gu Qingying imagined herself already invisible in the witch’s eyes, so she held her breath and tiptoed.
Then, adopting a stance she thought was extremely stealthy but was actually somewhat ridiculous, she began to sneak sideways in front of Gong Shangyu, trying to circle to her blind spot for a sneak attack.
Carefully moving, Gu Qingying kept her eyes fixed on Gong Shangyu’s reactions, eager to see a confused look on her face as she looked around.
But the reality was completely different.
Gong Shangyu didn’t show the slightest hint of confusion or searching.
On the contrary, her pink eyes remained locked precisely on Gu Qingying’s slow movements!
Even when Gu Qingying shifted her body slightly to avoid a jar used to hold medicinal wine on the ground, Gong Shangyu’s gaze shifted with her for a brief moment.
“Hm? Why is she staring at me?”
Gu Qingying froze halfway, a strange feeling rising in her heart.
“Why does it feel like her gaze is following me the whole time?”
Thinking this, Gu Qingying began to feel uneasy.
“Is it just a coincidence? Yes! It must be a coincidence! She definitely can’t see me! The system can’t be wrong!”
After reassuring herself, Gu Qingying summoned her courage and resumed her “stealth.”
She even deliberately hopped a little to the left as a test.
Without hesitation, Gong Shangyu’s gaze jumped with her to the left.
Gu Qingying stubbornly squatted to the right, and Gong Shangyu’s eyes followed suit.
She even almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow, her expression seeming to say:
“What silly game are you playing? Playing hopscotch with me?”
“Hm??? Why is she still staring at me?”
Now thoroughly baffled, a chill ran from Gu Qingying’s soles all the way to her head.
Hiss—she, she… she can really see me?!
Gu Qingying froze in place, still half-squatting in that ridiculous pose, looking up at Gong Shangyu’s pink eyes filled with a caring yet condescending expression, her mind utterly blank.
My system… doesn’t work on her?
Huh?
How is that possible?
Is it a system bug?!
Meanwhile, Gong Shangyu was just as confused, unable to understand what her junior sister was up to, only thinking that her reincarnated junior sister’s brain seemed a bit off.
Sensing the affectionate-but-patronizing look the pink-haired witch gave her, Gu Qingying felt belittled and completely lost her patience.
Without hesitation, she swung the Emotional Thread Sword and stabbed straight at Gong Shangyu.
As expected, Gong Shangyu easily caught the sword with two fingers, blocking any further advance.
“You… you can see me?”
Gu Qingying’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the pink-haired witch.
“Pfft… How could I not see you?”
Hearing this, Gong Shangyu, still unaware that her junior sister also had a system like herself, let out a snort, utterly baffled by the junior sister’s strange behavior.
Losing all patience, Gong Shangyu planned to activate her time-stop system to forcibly freeze this escaped junior sister, intending to explain things once she calmed down.
“Sigh… fifth junior sister, sorry about this, but you’ll just have to be quiet for a moment!”
With that, Gong Shangyu summoned the time-stop system, a faint gleam flashing in her eyes.
“Time Stop System! Freeze her!”
She imagined Gu Qingying would freeze just like the master and the surrounding living corpses and dust, stuck with that pouty, slightly silly expression, frozen in place by her system.
But… a second passed, then two… even over ten seconds slipped by!
Gu Qingying still stood there alive and kicking, and as Gong Shangyu fell silent, Gu Qingying found the pink-haired witch in front of her inexplicably strange.
She impatiently shook the Emotional Thread Sword still held between Gong Shangyu’s two fingers.
“Hey! Witch! What are you daydreaming about? Let go already!”
Huh?
What’s going on?
She can still move?
Gong Shangyu blinked, starting to doubt if she hadn’t pronounced the command correctly just now.
Then she concentrated even harder, repeating the system command three times in her mind.
“Time Stop System! Freeze her!”
“Time Stop System! Freeze Gu Qingying!”
“System! Freeze this little stubby girl in front of me!”
But the only response was the cold, unchanging standby silence of the time-stop system in her mind—and Gu Qingying’s dumbfounded gaze.
Seeing Gu Qingying still lively before her, Gong Shangyu looked as if she had seen a ghost!
After all, since her reincarnation, she’d used the time-stop system for over ten years without ever encountering such a situation.
Gong Shangyu’s eyes widened as she asked Gu Qingying in disbelief,
“Why… why can you still move?”
This time, it was Gu Qingying who looked at Gong Shangyu with that same dumbfounded expression and said,
“Ha!? What nonsense are you talking about, witch? Why can’t I move?”