Memory, under certain circumstances, can actually deceive its owner.
Sometimes, it’s because the memory is so old that it’s been pushed into the far corners of the mind’s storage by newer memories, making it blurry and hard to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
Sometimes, the contents of the memory have such an extremely negative impact on its owner that the body initiates a self-protective mechanism, automatically blurring that memory ::
It’s been almost half a day since Yun Mu escaped from the Memory Illusion Realm, but he still hasn’t recovered.
Scenes from his confrontation with Wei Yifuzi keep replaying in his mind, his brows tightly furrowed: still puzzled.
His childhood was something he didn’t want to talk about with others, yet it was a memory he always reminisced about alone.
Although he was still a child back then, he remembered a lot of things very clearly.
The two small rooms in his home, the little courtyard where chickens, ducks, and geese were raised, the path to the private school, the little tree stump he used as a bench, and even the faces of many private school students he’d seen—he remembered them all vividly.
It had to be said, the Memory Illusion Realm recreated by Tu Shan Huaizhi’s ability was almost indistinguishably real.
But there were some things he really couldn’t figure out:
Wei Yifuzi’s strange behavior, the book called Shanhai Strange Records that was mentioned, and the role that Huaizhi played in the illusion—someone he had no memory of at all.
However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of it all by himself.
And as things stood, he had something even more headache-inducing to deal with—Eleven.
“How was it, disciple? What did you think of the Memory Illusion Realm? Wasn’t it marvelous? To suddenly see and return to your childhood—didn’t you feel like you didn’t want to leave?”
“Uh, about that… Master Eleven…”
Ever since he woke up, she’d been chattering noisily beside him, asking this and that, question after question.
At first, he answered each one, but after a while, he didn’t even know if he should keep responding.
Of course, it wasn’t that he felt annoyed—he was still very respectful toward his Master—but she’d just asked a question, and then she’d ask it again right after, as if she’d forgotten, which was very strange.
Honestly, if she didn’t still have Eleven’s aura, Yun Mu would’ve been tempted to check if she was really who she claimed to be.
“Hey, don’t ignore your Master.”
Seeing Yun Mu mumbling without answering for a while, Eleven couldn’t help herself.
She reached out and pinched his face, squinting as she leaned in, “What’s wrong? Are you finding your Master too naggy?”
Her warm breath landed on his face.
The boy who’d been lost in thought suddenly changed expression, surprise overtaking his confusion.
“Master Eleven, you… aren’t wearing your mask?”
“Mask? Oh, don’t worry about that. Hurry and answer your Master’s question, will you?”
“But don’t you usually never take it off? How come today…”
As far as he remembered, Eleven had almost never taken off her mask—not for sleeping, not for teaching cultivation, not even… not even when soaking in the hot springs.
The only time she’d taken it off was that one night when he returned and happened to catch her sitting on the roof drinking.
But now, seeing her remove her mask on such an ordinary day—how could he not be surprised?
“Oh, I said—hurry and answer the question, or your Master will get angry.”
As she spoke, her grip on his face tightened.
Helpless, Yun Mu could only sigh and repeat his previous answer.
“Master Eleven, the Memory Illusion Realm felt immersive. While I was inside, my memories of reality were completely erased, so I didn’t have the feeling of not wanting to leave—because I simply didn’t think about it.”
He gently lifted her hand aside and asked softly,
“Master Eleven, is there something you’re hiding from me?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
In that instant, the tables turned.
Eleven, who’d been planning to keep peppering him with questions, was stunned when she heard that.
She instinctively reached for her mask, about to put it on, only for Yun Mu to gently grab her arm.
“Master Eleven, you’ve been acting really odd lately. Not just your way of talking, but even your behavior—and… your memory has been affected. Haven’t you noticed?”
“What do you mean? Your Master isn’t as strange as you make it sound.”
Eleven turned her head away guiltily, forcing her earlier tone, not daring to meet his gaze.
“Let go of your Master. Is it proper for a disciple to be so disrespectful?”
With that, she shook off his hand and hurriedly put her mask back on.
She stood up, looking down at her little disciple, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Ah… what a miscalculation…
I shouldn’t have shown up around him these past days.
I thought I could suppress these changes in my personality, but clearly I couldn’t pull it off.
As expected, this little fellow noticed something was wrong.
Actually, it wasn’t that she wanted to hide the fact that she was about to enter the cocooning period from Yun Mu; she just didn’t want her own matters to affect his cultivation.
After all, she knew Yun Mu to be a deeply loyal and responsible person.
Even if he seemed indifferent now, the sense of duty he’d developed over the years wouldn’t just disappear.
So if she really told him, he’d only stuff yet another worry into his already burdened heart.
If he ended up delaying his cultivation because of her, she’d truly be a failed Master.
“In any case, there’s nothing wrong with your Master. You should focus on resting these next few days,” she said, gently ruffling his hair, her tone soothing.
“As for that fellow you met in the illusion, don’t worry—your soon-to-be mother will explain everything.”
“Right? Tu Shan Yunxi? And that little fox trailing behind you.”
Not far off, outside the door, the Fox Empress of Tushan, who’d been waiting, broke into a smile at these words.
“Mhm, but let me say this first—I didn’t eavesdrop on anything. I still respect my child’s privacy.”
She spoke as she gently pushed open the door and looked at Yun Mu.
As soon as she was called out, Tu Shan Huaizhi’s tail bristled instantly.
She only dared to walk in after her mother had finished speaking.
“I—I didn’t eavesdrop either!”
She hid behind her mother, peeking out at Eleven before quickly ducking back.
Actually, she’d woken up an hour ago.
Back then, she’d made a fuss about seeing Yun Mu, but after hearing he was with Eleven, she behaved herself.
She was genuinely scared of that person—getting hit on the head by her now and then really did hurt.
As for why she dared to show up now, it was only because she had her mother backing her up—a classic case of a fox borrowing the fox’s might.
Tu Shan Yunxi gently tapped the little fox’s back with her tail, then turned her gaze to Yun Mu, her eyes soft and warm.
“Xiao Mu, the title ‘soon-to-be mother’ doesn’t sound very nice. Privately, you can just call me ‘mother’ from now on.”
“Ah? But we still haven’t…”
“It’s fine to get used to it early. I plan to officially announce your adoption to the Ancient Nation of Baiyao in a few days. At that time, everyone will also know that you’ll be entering the Boundary Stele for your trial.”
She walked forward slowly, glanced at Eleven—who was still eyeing the girl behind her—but paid her no heed, heading straight for Yun Mu.
Tu Shan Huaizhi clung tightly to her mother’s sleeve, almost pressing herself against her back as she walked forward.
“As for why I haven’t set a date yet, it’s because I wanted to ask your opinion first.”
“My opinion? You want me to choose the date? But I don’t know anything about this sort of thing…”
“No, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to become my child so publicly. If you’d rather not, we can do it privately instead.”
“Publicly? Privately?”
Yun Mu was a bit taken aback, somewhat stunned.
He hadn’t expected her to come ask for his opinion on something like this.
In his mind, this was the sort of decision that was already set in stone—his say shouldn’t matter.
For a moment, he felt a bit overwhelmed.
But he calmed down quickly.
“If you wish to make it public, I have no objections. I’m sure you have your reasons for this, right?”
“Hey! Good disciple, don’t say things like that, I’m telling you… mmph…”
The silent Eleven suddenly grew anxious at Yun Mu’s weak-sounding response.
She jumped in to cut him off, but before she could finish, Tu Shan Yunxi sealed her mouth with demon power.
Whether it was because the Fox Empress’s cultivation had risen, or she’d used more blood essence recently, this time, no matter how Eleven struggled, she couldn’t break the silence spell.
In the end, she could only glare resentfully at her, then stomped off toward the door.
But for Tu Shan Huaizhi, it was disaster for nothing.
She hadn’t said a thing, not even looked at Eleven, but still, as her mother passed by, she got flicked on the head.
She immediately squatted down, clutching her head, mumbling quietly.
Tu Shan Yunxi ignored this, simply walked a few more steps, tidied her skirt a little, and sat on the edge of the bed.
“In that case, I’ll start preparing for this tomorrow.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. To be honest, I’m doing this not only to let you rightfully gain the support and protection of Baiyao, but also partly for Huaizhi’s sake.”
“Huaizhi?”
“Mhm. Actually, among the Tushan clan of Qingqiu, there’s a rule that’s never spoken to outsiders… ‘Mother!’”
Before she could finish, Tu Shan Huaizhi, who’d been rubbing her head, blushed furiously and jumped up, stamping her foot to interrupt.
“Mm… well, you’ll understand later.”
“Haha, alright.”
Yun Mu didn’t push, and instead changed the topic.
“Then, about that monster in the dream…”
“That… I’ve already heard Huaizhi describe it. I can only tell you two words—Demon Beast.”
“Demon Beast?”
Confused, Yun Mu realized this was something he’d never heard of before.
The last time he’d heard anything related to demons was when Lin Xizhi took him away and spoke of Moxiu.
After that, he hadn’t heard anything else.
“Mhm, put simply, they’re a revolting kind of creature that suddenly appeared on this continent years ago, slaughtering the native creatures for sport.”
“At that time, it was to fight these Demon Beasts that the Ancient Nations were forced to restore peace.”
“But there’s something odd. According to the timeline, you would have been four years old ten years ago. By then, Demon Beasts should’ve long been driven out of the Ancient Nations’ territories, so how could one have hidden in your hometown disguised as a teacher?”
As she spoke, the Fox Empress of Tushan fell silent, troubled by the lack of useful information.
Yun Mu pondered for a moment before speaking slowly:
“Well, actually, in my memory, Wei Yifuzi was always a good teacher. He never revealed that Demon Beast side at all, and also…”
“And, as Master Lin Xizhi once said, the one who killed my parents and the village back then was a Moxiu. That Moxiu is already dead—killed by her.”
“Moxiu?”
Tu Shan Yunxi’s eyes lit up as if she’d found a clue, muttering the words “Moxiu and Demon Beast” over and over.
“Um, is there something about Moxiu?”
“Ah, nothing. I just thought of a few possibilities, but they’re only guesses.”
It wasn’t until Yun Mu spoke that she returned to herself.
“Compared to that, do you still remember the book, Shanhai Strange Records?”
“Yes, ever since I can remember, it was always in our house. Father said he picked it up somewhere.”
“So… do you remember what happened to it?”
“It disappeared, the day before my fifth birthday. It’s strange—just the night before, I’d been reading it and left it under my pillow, but the next morning it was gone. And another book too… um… it was…”
He frowned, stammering for a long while without being able to say what he wanted.
Strange…
I can remember the book’s contents in my head, but why can’t I talk about them?
Never mind, better just explain what happened to it.
Thinking this, he continued about Shanhai Strange Records.
“I asked Father and Mother, but they just shook their heads and said they didn’t know, and that was the end of it.”
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and sighed.
“Honestly, I was really reluctant to let it go. After all, I’d read it so many times. It was more like a friend who’d kept me company for years than a book.”
“A friend, hmm… Xiao Mu, do you still remember what was inside?”
“Of course, how could I forget? For example, the entry about the Tushan Nine-Tailed Fox clan—your clan, Empress. It said… uh?”
He stopped as a soft, slender hand covered his mouth.
“It’s alright, you don’t need to say the details—I already know. Xiao Mu, you must remember: never talk about that book to anyone outside, except for your Master Eleven. Not anyone else, understand?”
“Mhm.”
He nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Tu Shan Yunxi let go, the corners of her lips rising in a faint smile.
“By the way, aren’t you going to try calling me ‘mother’?”
“Ah… maybe I should just—mother?”
He’d been about to refuse, but after struggling inwardly for a moment, he called out.
It wasn’t compromise—rather, it was a voice from the heart, after truly feeling her kindness.
“What about me, what about me!”
Behind him, Tu Shan Huaizhi couldn’t help but crowd closer at the sound, throwing her arms around his neck and pestering, “What about me, Brother Yun Mu?”
“Huaizhi… little sister?”
“Mm, can you say it a few more times?”
“Huaizhi, little sister?”
“Ehehehe…”
And so, several times in a row, Yun Mu seemed bewitched; every time he heard the girl’s silly laughter, he’d want to call her ‘little sister’ again, until he suddenly remembered there was something else he needed to ask and abruptly stopped, changing the subject:
“Right—mother, I wanted to ask about Master Eleven. She’s been acting really strange lately…”
No one answered.
“Mother?”
On reflex, he sent out his senses to sweep the whole room, but aside from Tu Shan Huaizhi, he couldn’t sense a single other person.
“This is…”
He reached out to touch the new jade bracelet on his right arm, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
It was a jade-white bamboo bracelet, a gift Tu Shan Yunxi had spent days preparing.
Its meanings were many—left to the heart to guess.
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