Yun Mu stood within the sea of flowers.
Just as he was about to look around again, the sound of “shhh shhh” echoed in his ears, and Tu Shan Huaizhi’s daisy-like fragrance filled his nose.
He instinctively opened his other arm, preparing to embrace, and naturally the girl crashed right into his chest.
“Yun Mu gege, how does it feel to have your eyesight restored? Even though it’s just in the illusion, doesn’t it feel great? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?”
She chirped incessantly.
“Mm, it feels pretty good in every way. Is this your ability?”
“Yep, yep! Although I just dragged you into a false world I created from my own memories, it’s still super realistic, isn’t it?”
She looked up at the boy while hugging him tightly, her eyes sparkling like a child begging for praise.
“Mm, it really is almost like the real thing. Whether it’s sight, smell, hearing, or touch, there’s almost no difference from reality. At least, I can’t tell right now.”
“Hmph hmph, there’s taste too, you know.”
With that, the girl plucked a flower and stuffed it in his mouth, a proud smile on her face.
“So? How does it taste?”
“Mm… a little sweet, a little sour. Not bad at all…”
“Hmph hmph, of course! My ability is pretty interesting. Before, that Qin Luoyi kept pestering me to reveal my power. She talked until her lips were dry, but I wouldn’t agree. Then she said she’d trade me all sorts of things, even said she’d let me borrow you for a few days every month or whatever.”
“Mm… I don’t think I’m some sort of commodity, am I?”
He was trying to joke, but ended up feeling a bit awkward inside.
“Hmph! A few days isn’t enough, right Yun Mu gege?”
“Ah… right…”
‘Are we even talking about the same thing?’ he grumbled silently, then asked, “So if that’s the case, Huaizhi, you’re just telling me all this? Is that really okay?”
“Yun Mu gege is different! Let me tell you… my ability is pretty much like this and that… then like this and that again… finally, the power goes like this and that and becomes like this and that…”
The little girl rambled on, and though it sounded chaotic, Yun Mu more or less understood what she meant.
Simply put, there were two steps: first, read the target’s memory, then construct a related Memory Illusion Realm.
Reading memory might sound simple, but it was actually incredibly complex and dangerous.
Unless her Soul Strength was overwhelmingly stronger, Tu Shan Huaizhi would have to contest the target’s soul in order to read their memories.
If she won, all was well and things could proceed as planned.
But if she lost, the girl might be gravely injured or even die from soul damage.
So, before reading memories, the girl always habitually drew the target into her own Memory Space.
That way, she could first test the soul strength of the target within her own illusion, avoiding the danger of reading memories blindly.
Of course, the Memory Space differed for each person.
Until now, aside from Yun Mu, she’d only read the memories of a few unawakened little animals, but just in case, she prepared two illusion spaces.
One was the Illusion Flower Sea, where Yun Mu was currently.
The other was a Killing Illusion Realm she’d created based on her memory of the “Demon Forest.”
Though she’d never used it yet, Tu Shan Yunxi had told her—there shouldn’t be a problem.
The second step was to construct the illusion.
This sounded complicated, but was actually very simple.
At this point, she only needed to use her power alone.
If there was any difficulty, it was only a lack of power reserves.
So, under normal circumstances, her ability let her create the most suitable illusion for the target in the shortest time, based on the memories she read.
“So, Yun Mu gege, are you ready for Huaizhi’s trial of your soul?”
The girl finally let go of his waist, stepped aside and waved her hand.
The thick clusters of flowers on the ground parted to reveal a path leading forward, at the end of which was a swirl of peach-pink, like a vortex.
“Mm, I’m ready.”
Yun Mu nodded lightly and walked forward, without looking left or right, his mind focused only on the petite figure of the girl ahead.
He was lost in thought until he reached the threshold and stopped, intending to clarify something.
“Huaizhi, actually, there’s something I still don’t quite understand.”
“Eh? What is it?”
“It’s about your ability.”
“My ability? What!? Did Huaizhi explain it badly?”
“No, you made it clear. I’m just curious—what would you do if you had to use this ability against many enemies at once? Is it a range effect?”
“Yep, yep! If it’s one versus many, I’ll just pull everyone in together!”
“Then what if you’re being chased… wouldn’t it be dangerous afterward…”
“Hehe, don’t worry. My ability is continuous. Mother said, unless the other person is two or three realms above me, as long as they step into the range of my power, they’ll be pulled into the illusion.”
“I see. Then… to activate your ability, does it have to involve physical contact? Or is that just more effective? Because if it’s really a fight, the enemy probably won’t give you the chance to touch them, right?”
“Eh? About that, that, that…”
The little fox who had been so proud a second ago now suddenly stuttered, her eyes downcast as she looked at the serious Yun Mu, her cheeks turning faintly red.
“Actually, it doesn’t have to be physical contact… and about it being more effective… mm, yes, it is! That’s why I stick so close to you. That’s all!”
“Is… is that so?”
“That’s right! Anyway, hurry up and get in!”
‘Really, I can’t tell you I just wanted to get close to you, right?’
Was this girl really a blank sheet of paper?
Once, perhaps she was.
But now, having been drawn into the whirlpool of competing for Yun Mu with other girls, she naturally learned a thing or two.
There’s no helping it; no one stays innocent forever, and no one goes without growing up.
If you have to wait until you’ve experienced something you’ll regret for life before changing, then it’ll all be too late.
Feeling the small push from behind, Yun Mu couldn’t help sensing a strange excitement in her tone.
But he didn’t dwell on it long. Instead, he focused on the illusion before him and stepped inside.
The girl stood alone at the entrance, staring at the empty sea of flowers, looking a little dazed.
“Wait, did I forget to tell Yun Mu gege that after being successfully drawn into my Memory Illusion Realm, a person will, under my power’s influence, revert to the state they were in at that point in memory…”
Muttering to herself, she raised her hand and conjured a giant square water screen with her demon power.
On it, there was a little boy, just waking up and rubbing his head.
“This look… Yun Mu gege must be four, before he started school, right? So cute…”
Her mouth hung slightly open, hands reaching out to touch the water screen, when she suddenly snapped out of it.
“No, if it’s this memory, what if Yun Mu gege can’t spot any flaws? There are flaws in the illusion, but if he’s only got memories from when he was four or younger, and his body is a child’s, how could he possibly notice?”
Talking to herself, the girl grew worried.
After all, Eleven had told her before that Yun Mu must break out on his own, and no matter how long it took, she must not end the illusion.
“Although time flows differently inside and outside the illusion, if Yun Mu really just lived out an ordinary life in there, aside from sickness and pain, that’s at least seventy or eighty years. It sounds perfect, but it’s all fake. If he comes out and his Dao Heart is damaged… no, no…!”
Getting anxious, she paced in circles, muttering “no,” her mind racing for solutions.
After dozens of steps, she suddenly stopped, an idea striking her.
“Even if Senior Eleven said not to break the illusion, she didn’t say I can’t go in and remind him, right? Hehe, I’m so smart!”
Thinking this, she closed her eyes and plunged in.
“Tu Shan Huaizhi, charge!”