Little Skull walked out of the array step by step. He walked very slowly, inching forward bit by bit like a snail.

The closer he got, the thicker the murderous aura around little uncle became. It seemed even more terrifying than Qinghe’s blue face and fangs. Though there were no fierce black qi and sword shadows behind him like Qinghe had, that savage killing intent seeped from his very bones, accompanied by a faint bloody scent. That smell made all his bones uncomfortable, as if even the surrounding air had become heavier and more viscous.

Little Skull felt his legs go weak, his jawbone chattering with clacking sounds. His steps became even smaller, as if he were taking tiny mincing steps.

The smile on Qin Jianglan’s face gradually stiffened. His eyes were already somewhat gloomy, and now his brow furrowed slightly. Even though his gaze wasn’t intimidating, it still made Little Skull’s scalp tingle, causing him to reach up and scratch his skull twice.

“Wu’er, are you afraid of me?” Qin Jianglan’s eyes were already dark, and when he spoke, they seemed dull and lightless, his pupils no longer clear as before. His voice was very soft and low, sounding somewhat dejected.

Little Skull was slightly stunned. Being honest by nature, he stiffly nodded his head.

Seeing little uncle lower his head with a forlorn expression, Little Skull gritted his teeth and ran over with quick little steps, sitting down beside little uncle. He placed the Straw Man substitute in his hands before his eyes, saying, “Look, little uncle, this is from big sister.”

It was a high-grade Straw Man substitute. Was Su Zhuyi worried about him, afraid he would encounter danger here? Just this single straw figure dispersed several degrees of the murderous aura around Qin Jianglan. Looking at Little Skull, his eyes regained some light.

Little Skull then lowered his head to rummage through his tattered little bag, taking out the jade hairpin, “Big sister said not to tie green silk ribbons in your hair anymore. This is something she carved with her own hands.”

After handing the jade hairpin to little uncle, Little Skull took out the clothes he had made, “Big sister chose the fabric, and I sewed the clothes. Try them on quickly and see if they fit?”

Sitting beside little uncle, even though there was still about a foot of distance between them, Little Skull still felt his bones were about to freeze stiff.

When he spoke, his upper and lower teeth ground together with creaking sounds, and all his bones trembled, making clicking noises. If not for the silk wrapping, Little Skull felt he would have fallen apart. Yet even though he was very afraid, he still didn’t move away, staying close to little uncle and asking timidly, “Little uncle, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“I miss you so much.”

“Big sister misses you, too.”

Qin Jianglan gripped the jade hairpin tightly in one hand while extending his other hand, wanting to pat Little Skull’s head like before. But when his hand approached Little Skull, he withdrew it again, then directly handed the dough figurine in his hand to him.

After his last conversation with Su Zhuyi through Tianya, he had directly fallen unconscious. After awakening, he didn’t even know how much time had passed.

After all, time itself in this world was strange. And he discovered that during those few days of unconsciousness, perhaps because his primordial spirit was damaged and fell into deep sleep, he had forgotten many memories. So after that, he didn’t dare easily use Tianya easily again.

Later, because he was hiding in a spiritually barren area with few living creatures, his cultivation advancement slowed considerably, yet the loss of memories still hadn’t decreased much. He was forgetting more and more, and the panic in his heart grew greater and greater. His life had originally been like a painting, but now someone was erasing the painting bit by bit. Now his life experiences seemed to have only half remaining.

He urgently wanted to leave this place. He thought, since staying in places with living creatures meant those creatures would absorb his life force, wouldn’t it be fine if he just killed them?

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be erased from his mind.

He endured for a long time.

In the end, he still couldn’t hold back. In his previous life, he had betrayed all under heaven to save the Heart-Eating Demoness, hiding her atop the Wangtian Tree.

In his previous life, he could have transcended tribulation and ascended, yet still abandoned the great Dao.

Mortal love was the tribulation he couldn’t overcome.

That demoness had perhaps become his Dao from their first meeting.

Qin Jianglan had killed people.

He cultivated the demonic path.

His cultivation had reached the great perfection of the Nascent Soul stage. He felt he was even stronger than in his previous life, yet he still couldn’t get out. He hadn’t even attracted heavenly tribulation. He thought, perhaps it was because he belonged here – he had sacrificed himself to the Liuguang Mirror, so he was gradually becoming part of the mirror. This place was inside the mirror, and the Liuguang Mirror itself was a product that violated heavenly rules. So how could he, already part of the Liuguang Mirror, possibly attract heavenly tribulation?

Without heavenly tribulation, how could he transcend it?

Unable to transcend tribulation, how could he cross boundaries?

He had told her to wait for him.

He said he would be able to get out soon. Who would have thought the result would become like this.

He didn’t even dare use Tianya again to tell her. Because he feared falling unconscious again, he feared that when he woke up next time, even more memories would be lost. In the end, even those six hundred years atop the Wangtian Tree would turn to smoke. What he would remember last might just be Little Skull, whom he met in the Liuguang Mirror.

So he called Wu’er over.

He wanted to tell Wu’er all the stories between them from before.

Even if in the end he only remembered Wu’er, Wu’er could tell those stories to him then. He thought he would remember a little longer – even one more day would be good.

But he had entered the demonic path and killed so many living beings in the True Spirit Realm.

Even Wu’er was afraid of him now.

Handing the dough figurine to Wu’er, Qin Jianglan didn’t speak. Instead, he held the jade hairpin in his hand, gently caressing every pattern on it, his fingers rubbing against that name, repeatedly tracing it over and over, as if wanting to engrave that name in his heart.

Little Skull, beside him, looked at the dough figurine in his hands, then glanced at little uncle. He stopped trembling and didn’t seem so afraid anymore. He scooted over to sit close against him, saying, “Why are you only looking at big sister’s jade hairpin? Look at mine too!”

“I sewed for so long and embroidered so many flowers, little uncle.”

He spread open the clothes, pointing to the embroidered patterns on them and asking, “Are they pretty?”

The robe was embroidered with large patches of flowers, and there were many little figures on it – men and women. The red-clothed figure was Su Zhuyi, with several men surrounding her…

Just like her in the previous life.

Qin Jianglan: “…”

Murderous intent seemed to rise in his heart. His fist suddenly clenched tightly, and the jade hairpin he was firmly gripping in his left hand loosened, falling from his knee onto the grass without him noticing.

But after a long while, the stabbing pain in his heart and the tightened knots all turned into a sigh at the corner of his lips. He felt his left palm was empty and hurriedly reached for it. No matter how calm his expression, he couldn’t hide the panic in his heart and the murderous aura churning in his chest. Only after gripping the jade hairpin again did Qin Jianglan somewhat settle his mind, yet he felt something was wrong with the jade hairpin.

He heard Little Skull say pitifully, “Little uncle, you’re gripping me too tight and it hurts.”

He was slightly bewildered and laughed despite himself.

What he had just grabbed wasn’t any jade hairpin at all, but Little Skull’s finger bone…

He truly had become possessed by demons.

Just a few people – not even confirmed who they were or what relationships they had – and he seemed unable to control his emotions. He had indeed entered the demonic path.

He softly recited heart-calming mantras, but could no longer calm his heart.

“Wu’er.”

“Mm?”

“Shall I tell you stories about big sister?”

With a thought, he asked again, “Can you write?”

“No. I’ll teach you.” Since the life he wrote down would disappear, what if Little Skull wrote it down instead?

He hoped that by then, he would still be willing, still have the chance, to read this story.

…

Su Zhuyi and Qinghe arrived at Sufang City.

Sufang City at this time was no different from before. At the city gates, cultivators were still collecting entrance fees, but there weren’t many people entering the city – no need to queue at all.

Qinghe wore all black. With his high cultivation, he didn’t even need to wear a mask. He simply cast a basic disguise technique, making his face extremely rigid and ordinary, like a stiff zombie face. Anyone could tell at a glance it was a fake face, but since everyone’s cultivation was lower than his, they couldn’t see his true appearance.

Su Zhuyi wore all red with a black mask covering her face. The two easily passed through Sufang City’s barrier, entering the city directly from above without even thinking of paying any entrance fee. Once in the city, they didn’t linger but went straight to the Suyue Sect.

They had arrived a bit early.

The fighting between Hehuan Sect and Suyue Sect wasn’t finished yet…

The battle was taking place at Wenxiang Ridge, in that same large courtyard where Su Zhuyi had waited before. The courtyard had two Floating Life Mirrors, both now stained with blood.

Both Su Zhuyi and Qinghe concealed their forms and set up a barrier around them. She sat on the rooftop watching the battle while Qinghe stood not far beside her, quietly gazing into the distance, though no one knew what he was looking at.

“Those two Floating Life Mirrors are quite good.” Su Zhuyi said, “Let’s move them back later and put them on Luoxue Peak. We can look in the mirror every time we come and go.”

“How would you explain it to the Sect Master?” Qinghe responded coldly.

“Then we’ll move them to my room.” Su Zhuyi answered carelessly.

“Has the Sect Master never been to your room?”

Su Zhuyi looked up at Qinghe, “Then put them in your room.”

Qinghe snorted softly and said nothing more.

Since he didn’t object, Su Zhuyi took it as his agreement.

She continued watching the courtyard. Many female cultivators from the Suyue Sect had died. Now, Sect Master Qu Ningsu was covered in wounds, her face especially covered with bulging blue veins. Those protruding veins coiled across her face like earthworms, extremely ugly. Seeing Qu Ningsu’s face, Su Zhuyi sneered coldly in her heart. That bitch had dared use the Beauty’s Withering technique on her back then – this hideous ghostly face was perfect for her now.

At this moment, Qu Ningsu still had a defensive magical treasure propped up in front of her, encircling a small safe area. The Hehuan Sect cultivators temporarily couldn’t break through, causing both sides to reach a stalemate.

Hehuan Sect was rich in resources and had many magical treasures. Though Qu Ningsu had various methods, Suyue Sect’s fate was sealed. Behind her were only about ten female disciples – one at Nascent Soul stage, two at Golden Core stage, with the rest being minor characters with little combat ability. What use was holding out a bit longer? They couldn’t escape anyway.

Su Zhuyi was too lazy to keep watching. Her divine sense wasn’t as strong as Qinghe’s, so she directly asked Qinghe where he felt Suyue Sect’s spiritual energy was most abundant. Qinghe raised his hand and pointed toward the sea. Su Zhuyi muttered, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” and headed straight for the seaside, while Qinghe remained standing in place. But after a moment, he turned to face the sea.

Earlier he had seemed to be gazing into the distance, but in reality wasn’t looking at anything – all things in heaven and earth were not in his eyes.

But now, his eyes held only that little junior sister who had dove into the sea.

Three years ago, if not for Su Zhuyi, everything would have been different.

Though he hadn’t spoken a single word of gratitude in these three years, Qinghe had already come to regard her as true family in his heart.

She was the most important person aside from his master.