In the dim surroundings, the sound of stones hitting the ground echoed sharply, while the dripping water trickled through the cracks in the rocks, splashing onto Yun Mu’s face.
“Ugh…”
A cool sensation spread across his cheeks as the boy let out a low groan and opened his eyes.
He shook his heavy head, the familiar weakness coursing through his body.
Leaning against the damp and uncomfortable cave wall, he felt something soft and fresh under his buttocks—a pile of fresh grass.
On any normal day, he might have recognized the names of these plants, but at this moment, he clearly had no mood for it.
He scanned the surroundings, trying to figure out where he was, but saw nothing.
The cave was pitch black, and he couldn’t even see his hand before him.
“Sister Xun Yi… that feeling just now must have been her… But I thought Li Senior took her away? How did she suddenly come back? And why knock me out and drag me to a place like this…”
He recalled the kiss before he fainted and felt puzzled.
After all, when Shangguan Xun Yi was taken away, she wasn’t in good condition, and Li Changyi was there as well.
He couldn’t understand why, in just one day, the girl had returned to this place.
It didn’t make sense.
“Hopefully it’s just my imagination. After all, Li Senior seemed reliable. He wouldn’t just let Sister Xun Yi run around like this… But this feeling… it’s exactly the same as when Sister Xun Yi knocked me out earlier…”
He murmured softly, confusion lingering in his mind, but the thoughts didn’t last long.
Because something more important came to mind—Shangguan Qiuyue’s sudden illness.
Although he had just used all his strength to carry the girl to shore, safe from the river’s threat, and knew that the Shangguan family’s hidden guards would protect her, he still wasn’t at ease until he saw her completely safe with his own eyes.
“I’ll think about this later. For now, I need to restore my strength first. I remember… when Sister Xun Yi helped me dispel the effects before, those little starfire spheres gathered in large numbers… mostly white in color, with a warm, sunlight-like aura…”
Yun Mu whispered softly.
Using his understanding of the power of the stars, he tried to unravel the Technique that was draining his strength.
With eyes closed, just by breathing, the scattered starfire energy quickly converged toward him, multicolored but eager.
Though not many, each one showed affection toward him, like children.
But soon, under his intentional control, the starfire spheres that were unnecessary or unhelpful willingly parted, making way for the white spheres to flow smoothly into his body as a beam of light.
Feeling his strength slowly returning, he opened his eyes with delight.
After trying to move, his right hand’s fingers could now twitch gently.
“I can do it… slowly, but with a little more effort, I should recover in some time.”
He was about to close his eyes and immerse himself in this process again when suddenly a loud kick against the wall sounded by his ear.
“What can do what?”
The startled starfire spheres scattered into light points, followed by a sharp, cold voice ringing out.
Opening his eyes, he saw a woman dressed in black robes looking down at him.
The hood was removed, revealing her face—it was Shangguan Xun Yi.
Strangely, the girl’s aura was thick with murderous intent, and even her once-clear eyes were half-covered in blood-red, an eerie sight.
“Sister Xun Yi… it really is you… why have you come back?”
“Don’t dodge the question. What can do what?”
The girl bent over, her right hand extending from her robe, exuding rusty blood energy so thick that even Yun Mu felt it choke his breathing.
He steadied his mind, a flicker of doubt arising.
The girl before him gave off an utterly unfamiliar feeling—one he had sensed once before during his last escape.
Looking at her, he deliberately asked with a guiding tone, “Sister Xun Yi, aren’t you the one avoiding the question? Why did you come back? You know this is futile, don’t you?”
“Futile? But I did succeed in tying you up here, didn’t I?”
“But you haven’t left Lixungu Kingdom yet. The Shangguan family must have sent guards already… if you get caught again… you’ll die…”
His voice gradually softened, but it was this persistent yet obedient demeanor that excited Killer Qianmo.
The girl licked her lips, unable to suppress the thrill arising from her emotions, and pulled him into a hug.
“Oh? I didn’t expect you to care so much about me. Good boy, good boy, let Sister hug you, ehehe.”
The sudden embrace left Yun Mu at a loss, the bloody aura now invading his nostrils even stronger, causing him to gag uncontrollably.
“Ah, does Sister’s aura make you uncomfortable? That makes me so sad.”
Feeling his unease, she loosened her grip with a pout, then chuckled softly, “But it’s fine. It’s good to get familiar with it now, because later, even worse things will await you.”
She raised her hand, pinching his cheek, and whispered mockingly close to his ear, “Yun Mu, you don’t really think Sister can’t see through your little thoughts, do you? You say you’re talking to me, but in your heart, you’re always thinking about my little sister, Shangguan Qiuyue, right?”
She paused slightly. When the boy didn’t reply, she continued, “So let’s just say you admit it? Hey, don’t look at Sister with that expression. Don’t worry, she’s still alive. See? She’s just lying over there.”
Following the direction of her finger, Yun Mu could see the condition of the ground a short distance away—the small form of Shangguan Qiuyue curled up like an injured fledgling, hugging her knees tightly, her face deathly pale.
“Miss Qiuyue…”
That whisper was fraught with overwhelming anxiety.
…No… if this continues, she’ll die…
I have to get to her quickly and give her my blood…
But only his right hand twitched slightly before Killer Qianmo’s foot pressed him back down.
Yun Mu noticed the girl was barefoot.
Her slender, jade-like feet, dust-streaked, stepped on his clothes, leaving only tender pink skin visible.
“Don’t move! I didn’t go to all this trouble to tie you up just to watch some pity play.”
Her beautiful brows furrowed, speaking words she wouldn’t normally say.
“I just don’t get it. What kind of enchantment did my little sister cast on you? You like her so much, you don’t even care about your own life?”
“Sister Xun Yi…”
“Shut up! I don’t want to hear any of that! I’ve heard it all before!”
She lifted her foot and stomped on his mouth twice with satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.
“You speak for one woman in front of another, do you really think that’s romantic? Ridiculous beyond belief!”
“I really don’t understand why Shangguan Xun Yi likes you. You’re nothing but a worthless waste, only your face’s halfway decent.”
She pulled back her foot, bent down, and ripped his shirt with a sharp sound, then laughed lightly.
“Look at these wounds on you. After all these years of abuse, you still think of others? Where’s your backbone? Your dignity as a man? What’s good about you? Making me, who just met you for the first time, have this inexplicable feeling toward you… damn it…”
She clicked her tongue repeatedly, one hand covering his mouth with disdainful words, while the other couldn’t resist wandering over his body.
“So, will you come with Sister? Shangguan Xun Yi and I will treat you well…”
Leaning close to Yun Mu’s face, her tone softened, but then she felt a sharp pain in her hand.
Pulling back, she saw a tooth mark imprinted on her palm.
Yet she neither attacked nor grew angry.
She lowered her gaze and met those furious eyes, sneering in contempt.
“Boy, struggling like an ant trying to shake a tree, bravado is no virtue.”
“Who are you? Get off Sister Xun Yi right now…”
“Who am I…? Ah, I’m Shangguan Xun Yi… It’s only been half a day, and Little Mu, you already forgot me?”
Seeing that forced smile, Yun Mu’s heart sank, but more than fear, he felt anger toward the imposter pretending to be someone he knew.
“Stop pretending… Who are you really? Though you look exactly like Sister Xun Yi, your aura, expression, and manner of speaking are completely different. What’s your purpose?”
“Oh? I thought I was doing a pretty good job. Turns out… I have so many flaws?”
The girl chuckled twice and stretched with a strange expression.
“Alright, alright, since you’ve seen through me, I won’t pretend anymore. At my core, I am Shangguan Xun Yi. But compared to her, I express my emotions more straightforwardly, so many things I say are what she wants to say but can’t.”
“Oh, and although because of her I have some fondness for you… at most, I won’t kill you.”
“As for a name, I picked one myself: Killer Qianmo. Just call me Killer Sister.”
Core?
Express emotions?
Killer Qianmo?
What does she mean?
Has Sister Xun Yi been possessed by something?
Clearly, these things were beyond Yun Mu’s understanding.
But before he could ponder further, the girl continued.
“But I should thank you. If she hadn’t been so badly injured trying to bring you away, leaving her soul weak, she wouldn’t have let a newly born soulbody like me take advantage and seize control of her body, even if temporarily. But it’s enough for me to act.”
“Yun Mu, Yun Mu, honestly, I really dislike you. In my eyes… what you call self-liberation is always just your self-righteous delusion. Do you really think that if you die, time will wash away the pain in our hearts?”
She instinctively changed “you” to “we.”
“No! It can’t! It will only become pain we remember for life… You’re too self-righteous, Yun Mu. Why do you think you’re unimportant in others’ hearts? Why do you think your life is worth less than others’? Tell me… why!?”
Gripping the boy’s arms tightly, her tone grew manic, but suddenly she covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
“Oh, sorry, sorry. I think the original personality affected me. To feel heartache because of your foolish actions… I was going to teach you a lesson, but never mind. After all, I’d be sad, too.”
“I don’t like this feeling.”
She stood and slowly walked to Shangguan Qiuyue, crouching down to gently tap the girl’s cheek with a dagger.
Then she turned to Yun Mu.
“So I was thinking, since the original kind soul can’t harm her own sister, maybe I should take care of the root of all this evil. That way, you wouldn’t have to die because of it, right?”
“After all, time will wash away everything… You once said so too… didn’t you?”
Raising the dagger high, her target was the girl’s throat beneath her.
But her gaze remained fixed on Yun Mu, hesitating to strike.
“What? You still have something to say?”
She wanted to play a little longer.
“Stop…”
“Louder, I can’t hear you.”
She wanted to hear him struggle.
“I said stop!”
In an instant, as if a bolt had been released, Yun Mu surged toward her.
Before she could react, he grabbed her arms, rolled over a few times, and ended with her pinned beneath him.
The dagger was now pressed against her neck.
She had miscalculated, but not completely.
This sudden counterattack had been predicted ever since she discovered he had awakened.
After all… she was the one who used that Technique.
If there was a sign he could break it, she would sense it.
She quietly watched the boy who pinned her down, excitement flashing endlessly in her blood-red eyes.
“Oh dear, Little Yun Mu, looks like Sister misjudged you. I thought… you were just a suicidal waste, but…”