That pale flame burned quietly, radiating a chill that made even the soul tremble.
Yet Chu You felt not the slightest fear.
Instead, an inexplicable sense of intimacy and delight surged up from deep within her heart.
This was her little white fire, the power bestowed upon her by her Oracle, [Nesting in the Parasol Tree].
But immediately after, an overwhelming confusion swept over her.
Shouldn’t she be at the amusement park?
The life-threatening countdown reached zero, the deafening explosion, the devastating shockwave, and then her consciousness sank completely into darkness…
Where was this?
And why had she appeared here?
The water of the lake was deep and still, its surface reflecting her own face, now marked by heavy confusion.
“Tap, tap, tap…”
At that moment, an extremely light and slow footstep sounded from behind her, echoing clearly through the silence.
Chu You instinctively stood up and turned to look in the direction of the sound.
The moment she saw the newcomer, her entire body seemed to freeze as if struck by a binding spell, utterly immobilized.
Her pupils contracted violently from extreme shock.
The newcomer wore an almost transparent silk robe, the fabric so sparse it barely covered what mattered.
It accentuated her already exquisite and breathtaking curves, making her silhouette even more graceful and alluring—an unrestrained, primitive charm.
Her long silver-white hair, like moonlight spun into silk, cascaded down her back in a waterfall, reaching her waist.
She was barefoot, her delicate, jade-like feet gliding lightly over what seemed like air itself, stepping forward with elegant poise.
Most striking of all were the nine fluffy fox tails swaying idly behind her, their fur as pure as snow, like blooms of sacred white flowers.
Fox ears curled softly atop her head, gently quivering, and on her brow was an intricate and elaborate mark—similar to the one that had appeared on Chu You before, yet clearer and more complex—emitting a faint peach-colored glow.
The corners of her lips were slightly upturned in a mysterious, knowing arc, somewhere between a smile and not, as if she could see through all things.
She halted a few steps from Chu You, gazing quietly at her.
Those eyes—identical to Chu You’s, yet somehow deeper and more bewitching—seemed to pierce straight into the soul.
Her vermilion lips parted, her voice ethereal and strangely echoing, echoing straight into Chu You’s heart: “At last… we meet.”
Hearing this, Chu You’s pupils quivered violently.
She stared in disbelief at the breathtakingly beautiful being before her, her throat tightening, her voice dry and strained as she squeezed out, “You… you are…”
The woman stepped lightly forward again, standing right before Chu You, so close they could feel each other’s breath.
Other than the obvious fox tails, fox ears, and the more complete mark on her brow, her figure, her features… were indistinguishable from Chu You’s.
Like a perfectly crafted mirror image, a more mature, more enchanting, more complete… version of herself!
Seeing the shock that Chu You could not hide, her smile deepened, a hint of mischief and perhaps comfort, “Pretty horrifying, isn’t it? Don’t be afraid… To be precise, I am you, Chu You…”
“Or rather—”
Her gaze grew profound, each word spoken slowly and clearly: “Chu, Qing, Qian.”
…
…
Northern City Amusement Park.
The fire and municipal staff had sealed off the area, moving in an orderly fashion to put out the flames and search for any remaining survivors.
At the roller coaster site’s perimeter, a figure streaked through the scorched air like a falling star, landing just outside the roller coaster area and rushing inward without pause—it was Lin Mo.
About fifteen minutes earlier, at the Nan Suburban Frontline, the previously raging tide of Abnormals had withdrawn without warning.
Lin Mo and Gu Qiancheng were about to pursue when Lin Mo received a call from Zhao Dongyuan.
All he heard was, “Miss Chu is in trouble,” before the call ended, and without a backward glance, Lin Mo left at once.
He paid no price to drive his Oracle to the limit, increasing his speed as far as it would go.
The wind howled a dirge past his ears.
All he wanted was to return to her side a second sooner.
Now, at this very moment.
Lin Mo felt his steps becoming unsteady, his legs trembling slightly as he moved step by step into the heart of the roller coaster grounds.
What he saw made his pupils shrink suddenly—
In the middle of the cracked, scorched ground, that slender figure was kneeling weakly.
A few city staff stood nearby, faces tense with worry, but not daring to approach.
In a flash, Lin Mo crossed the distance, appearing before Chu You without a care for the dirt beneath his knees.
He knelt down, opening his arms to pull her tightly into his embrace.
Chu You, who had only been kneeling before, seemed to lose all her strength the moment she fell into his arms, her body going utterly limp.
With trembling hands, Lin Mo brushed her hair—once smooth as silk, her long locks were now singed and dry, her body frighteningly cold, her breath as faint as a dying candle in the wind.
Panic poured over him like ice water.
Lin Mo’s voice trembled uncontrollably, “Senior… Senior, don’t scare me…”
He called her again and again, as if calling could return life to her, “Senior, I’ll take you to the hospital, you’ll be alright… Don’t scare me, please, don’t scare me…”
He jerked his head up, bloodshot eyes glaring at the city staff nearby, “Do your jobs, leave this to me.”
Before his words had finished, he carefully lifted Chu You in his arms and strode resolutely out.
Just as he stepped out of the roller coaster’s ruins, Lin Mo’s steps halted suddenly.
Up ahead, Gu Qiancheng, who had hurried over, blocked the way.
His face was expressionless, his gaze sharp and fixed on the person in Lin Mo’s arms.
Silence thickened in the scorched air.
After a moment, Gu Qiancheng spoke slowly, his voice low: “…The Security Division’s work log is squeaky clean, but traces aren’t that easily wiped away.”
He paused, shifting his gaze to Lin Mo, “The batch of chameleon experimental potions stolen from the warehouse—that was your work, wasn’t it? Chu You… or should I say, Chu Qingqian… Lin Mo, I almost let you two fool me.”
Lin Mo said nothing, only returning a glare that grew colder and colder.
Gu Qiancheng narrowed his eyes, slowly drawing his hand from his pocket.
Sensing the rising Oracle power from Lin Mo, his expression grew grave: “Lin Mo, she’s a demon.”
“Step aside.” Lin Mo squeezed out two words through clenched teeth, taking a step forward, cradling the woman in his arms even tighter.
“Don’t forget who you are!” Gu Qiancheng barked, opening his hand.
The air above his palm began to ripple and distort as powerful Oracle energy erupted, “Lin Mo, you’re a Swordbearer!”
Lin Mo’s pupils were now entirely flooded with dazzling gold.
His steps were slow but unyielding, pressing forward, voice low and clear:
“I can give up being a Swordbearer…”
The rest of his words he kept locked tightly in his heart—but I can’t give her up.
Seeing Lin Mo’s relentless approach and the resolve in his eyes, Gu Qiancheng’s rigid expression suddenly softened.
He abruptly shoved his hands back in his pockets and broke into his usual, almost overly cheerful grin: “You’ve got guts, kid!”
With that, he stepped aside, leaving the path clear.
Lin Mo paused, staring at the out-of-character Gu Qiancheng in suspicion.
Gu Qiancheng shrugged nonchalantly, “What? You really think I’d lay a hand on Qingqian?”
He cocked his head, his tone a mix of resignation and seriousness, “Lin Mo, Qingqian isn’t just your senior—she’s my junior too… If I harmed my own people, may I never have a son!”
The doubts in Lin Mo’s brows eased slightly, but there was still caution in his eyes: “You really won’t stop me?”
Gu Qiancheng simply took a few steps back, then squatted down in a flowerbed, hugging his head, “That enough for you? Get going! Take her to the hospital already, stop making a scene in front of me!”
Seeing this, Lin Mo’s doubts finally faded away completely.
He nodded toward the flowerbed, “Thanks.”
“Get lost!”
Gu Qiancheng waved him away impatiently.
Lin Mo said no more. He leapt up, vanishing from the spot in an instant.
Almost the second he left, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached from afar.
A team of heavily armed investigation agents arrived quickly.
The leader held a precision instrument that beeped steadily, his voice anxious: “Captain! High concentration of demon aura detected here!”
Gu Qiancheng leisurely rose from the flowerbed, brushed the dirt off his trousers, flashed over to the agent’s side, glanced at the device, and smiled breezily: “Faulty equipment. There’s nothing here, not a trace of demons.”
The agent hesitated, trying to protest: “But Captain, the readings—”
“I said,” Gu Qiancheng cut him off, smile unchanged but his voice now steely and commanding, “there are no demons here.”
The agent swallowed, forcing himself to continue, “This isn’t procedure, Captain! If HQ investigates—”
With a casual wave, Gu Qiancheng turned a thick fallen tree trunk at the roadside instantly to dust.
The smile vanished from his face, replaced by cold indifference and absolute authority: “If HQ asks, I’ll file the report myself. Do you have a problem with that?”
The agent’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, shaking his head quickly, “N-no, sir!”
“Good.” Gu Qiancheng’s usual roguish smile returned as he nodded in satisfaction, “That’s more like it. Go help elsewhere.”
At that, the investigation agents looked at each other, then quickly turned and left.
Gu Qiancheng looked up in the direction Lin Mo had gone, a faint smile curving his lips, a touch of reminiscence surfacing in his eyes.
That year, at North Prefecture University, the campus belle known as the “Flower on the High Ridge,” hailed as a Swordbearer genius not seen in a hundred years—Chu Qingqian—had just joined the Swordbearers’ North Prefecture HQ as an intern.
“Chu Qingqian, as your senior, it’s not too much to ask for you to write the mission report, right?”
“Why are you chattering so much? I’m going back to sleep.”
“Hey! Stop right there!”
“I’m tired, Senior. If you’ve got more to pester me about, hurry up.”
“You little brat, daring to disrespect your senior?”
“Then I’m surely guilty beyond forgiveness!”
“I should teach you a lesson… Eh? Fine, don’t touch my cola! There’s only one bottle left!”
Burp “Not bad. Finished your report for you last night, left it on your desk. I’m going back to sleep, bye~”
“Hey! You—I—”
“No need to thank me. Just kowtow twice, Senior.”
“Scram!”
“Alrighty.”