Chapter 93

I stared at Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng fighting not far ahead of me, my mind frantically pondering how to make the plan run more smoothly without raising suspicion. Suddenly a white flash lit up before me, and Bai Shengyi was already at my side.

His assault was extremely fierce, his form swift beyond compare; even if I strained to block, I might not stop it all. Moreover, when he lunged before me his face bore a cruel sneer as he spat, "Don't you want the performance to be more realistic?"

I cursed him deep in my heart for opportunistically robbing me, yet I had to admit that this could let me escape this awkward, painful situation faster. So, watching his attack, I swayed lightly, a sharp pain shot from my chest, and a brocade pouch was thrust into my hand.

I surged forward, collapsed onto the ground; my chest, already throbbing daily, burned like fire, and I spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, groaning aloud.

Bing Yi!!

Xiao Ruo!

…

Around me rose the crowd's startled cries, my consciousness grew hazy, and I clung to the last of my will to keep myself upright.

In a daze I could feel murderous aura steaming around me, a pressure that seemed capable of crushing one's internal organs.

I heard Mu Lifen, Ao Tianjun and others shouting in panic, vaguely calling out, "Gold‑Silver Demon Eye…"

Then my body lightened, the pressure vanished abruptly; when I barely steadied my mind, I realized I was on a rooftop, being carried sideways through the air at high speed.

I could not discern that speed clearly, but I knew it far exceeded human limits.

Bing Yi… you won't die… won't die. I will protect you. A fragmented voice whispered in my ear.

I kept my eyes closed, using the last of my consciousness to feel the fine powder in the brocade pouch slip over my fingertips, skin, scattering onto the ground I came from, merging into the dark veil of moonlight.

I don't know how long passed; my mind grew ever more hazy, I could barely find air to breathe, even the choking pain in my chest could not rouse me.

Then I finally sensed Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng stop, shouting something loudly.

Then, for the first time, I truly lost consciousness.

Late at night, a fine rain fell continuously. In a mountain strewn with jagged rocks, a man clad in gray‑black armor braved the drizzle, wandering aimlessly among the stones, then halted, pressing his hand against a massive crevice in a rock.

A creaking sound rang out as the huge stone, accompanied by splattering rain, slowly slid forward until a narrow, stair‑shaped passage, just wide enough for one person, appeared in the earth's opening.

The man took out a Night Pearl from his bosom, gently wiping away the droplets, and descended the steps step by step. After a while, the ground rocks gradually vanished behind his dark silhouette, slowly sealing shut.

Long after the man vanished, a tall figure emerged slowly from behind an ancient tree in the distance; rain brushed his clear, summer‑sky‑like face, his azure eyes, dampened soft black hair, and long lashes.

The gray‑black armored man reached the end of the stairs, revealing a spacious, bright secret chamber, connected to four stone rooms each embedded with Night Pearls; their furnishings differed, yet everything was present. At the far end was a natural hot spring steaming, illuminated by fist‑sized Night Pearls, and the underground chamber's temperature remained constant year‑round, perfectly comfortable.

Around the secret room stood many men and women, all with blank, zombie‑like expressions.

"How is she?" asked the gray‑clad man—Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, with a girl in a pink‑purple gauze dress, her cheeks flushed by the heat, standing before him.

The girl lifted her head to look at him, her eyes indifferent and calm. Her features were delicate, yet her face was covered with knife scars that glinted monstrously in the pearl light.

She gave a cold smile, her tone mocking: "Her? Which one are you asking about?"

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng slightly furrowed his brows, but was not irritated, shrugged pointlessly, and headed toward one of the stone rooms. Suddenly his steps stopped, he turned and instructed, "The woman next door—Leng Zhuoxi—is still useful for now, so after her injury is healed, send her to the Cold Moon Sect's main altar. I don't want Bing Yi to see her when she wakes up."

The girl slightly furrowed her brow, still expressionless, and replied, "Yes, Sect Leader."

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng nodded, entered the stone room, his previously false smile faded, turning serene; his formerly cold, sharp gaze softened, becoming pleased.

The girl watched Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's silhouette vanish behind the door, expressionless, shaking her head, her voice coldly mocking yet tinged with bitterness: "Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, no matter how clever you are, falling into the web of love will inevitably make you foolish. A woman loved by Xiao Qiran could never truly love you. Fool… you—"

The girl widened her startled eyes, staring at the man before her, her body unable to move a muscle.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng sat at the edge of the stone bed covered with soft padding, his fingers gently lingering over the girl's fair, delicate face, his eyes brimming with tenderness.

Suddenly, his whole body trembled, and he sprang to his feet, looking toward the doorway.

In an instant, the stone door slowly opened. A frosty killing aura flashed in Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's eyes as he fixed his gaze on the few people entering.

"Xiao Qiran, Bu Sha, Wei Lingfeng, Jun Chengyou…" He called out the names coldly, slowly, his chest churned with suspicion that nearly overwhelmed him, and he grew even colder, "How did you find this place?"

Chengyou cradled a unconscious silver‑haired woman, her exquisitely beautiful face pale, partially hidden by her hair; it was unmistakably Leng Zhuoxi, who should have died in the hidden realm.

Qiran slightly furrowed his brows, about to speak, when his expression froze; looking behind Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, his ice‑blue eyes showed pity and affection.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's steadfast gaze finally began to waver; I slowly, piece by piece, turned to look at the girl who had risen from the bed and stood before him—the girl he had carefully tended and protected with his life for days.

Clutching my throbbing chest, I struggled to rise from the bed, swaying as if to fall, yet I remained standing before them.

I gave the four who had worried about me a weak smile, then calmly looked at Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, "I was the one who led them here…"

"Why…" Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng murmured, gripping my shoulders, his eyes filled with doubt, pain, and fury, nearly drowning him, "Why would you treat me like this, even you? Why?!"

"I led them here." I felt no pain in my body, could not hear the sounds around me nor my own voice, yet I uttered word by word, "Wu— Ye—"

In the air, something seemed to solidify. The moment those two words lingered after being spoken, they intertwined tenderly.

How deep must feelings be, how long must entanglements last, to amass such a mountain of grudges and hatred.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng slowly, with an incredulous expression, released his grip on me; with each release his face grew more suspicious and angry, and he suddenly asked, "What are you talking about? Who is Wu Ye?"

I stared expressionlessly at his clean yet slightly wrinkled white robe, my voice distant and grave:

"Actually, doubt planted a seed in my heart from the start; I just didn't realize it. Why did I happen to fall into the river and be rescued by the Lan family? Why, even though I promised not to call the master 'Wu Ye' anymore, do I keep calling the master day after day? Why did our plan to leave Qi Country get known by Wei Lingfeng, and why did I get poisoned by the soft‑bone powder? Why did Bu Sha suddenly, as if mindless, try to assassinate me, with neither Qiran nor Chengyou reacting, yet the low‑skill Wu Ye saved me?"

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng stepped back a few paces, looking at me with a cold smile, "Bing Yi, what do these things you say have to do with me?"

I gave a faint smile, "Shall I reason it out for you from start to finish, Sect Leader of the Cold Moon Sect?"

Seeing him silent, I knew he had admitted to being the leader of the Cold Moon Sect, but I suddenly recalled that ugly yet wholeheartedly protective man, my heart aching; I hastily suppressed my inner fury and returned to calm, saying, "Qiran told me his eldest senior brother died five years ago in a cliff fall, the base of that cliff is a blood pool, leaving no chance of survival. Isn't this very similar to my situation, with a cliff over a blood pool? In the Heaven-Harmony Continent, only Red Fire Cliff matches that. I suppose you, like me, were swept into a hidden realm by the cave's intermittently opening stone gate and managed to survive. Not only that, it also led you to discover that this hidden realm connects to the secluded valley imprisoning Qiran and Wei Lingfeng's mother, Leng Zhuoxi. Since you once guarded Bingling and constantly yearned to oppose her, you must certainly know the identities of Qiran and those around him. So when I fell into that hidden realm, you had already decided to use me, right? From then on, you began following me all the way."

That day, the disfigured Wuye I met in the mountain cave was truly Mojie. Later, after meeting Wei Lingfeng and undergoing the transfer of his blood worm, that Wuye remained Mojie. Until the two blood worms inside me clashed, causing me to fall into the river and be rescued by the Lan family; thereafter, any Wuye I encountered was you—Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng.

You had already encountered, even rescued, the runaway Lan Yingruo, hadn't you? You clearly know that I and Lan Yingruo look almost identical, so you threw me, who had fallen into the river, in front of the Lan family's boat so they could rescue me.

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng stared at me with his pair of pure black eyes for a long time before asking, "Even if what you say is true, what good would it do me to act this way?"

"What good?" I sneered, pointing at Wei Lingfeng, "Isn't it just so I could meet Wei Lingfeng again—Qiran's biological brother, Xiao Qixuan?"

After doing all that, you still felt uneasy, fearing some mishap that would thwart your plan. So, so you turned back… I drew a deep breath, feeling I must expend all my strength to speak the next words, my voice choking, "So you turned back, killed Wuye, then put on the iron mask and assumed his identity to return to my side."

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's expression shifted several times before he finally spoke in a low voice, "Someone wearing an iron mask—surely there must have been at least one day when he took it off?"

"Ha…" I suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, laughing until Qiran, worried, came to my side, laughing until sharp pains shot through my chest, then I clutched my collar, lifted my head, and said, "I knew you'd say that. Wuye did indeed take off the mask once at my request, but that time he stared fixedly into my eyes without uttering a word, and even when Xinhui and the others rushed in they hastily put it back on. Do you know why? Because he used hypnosis on me. Normally, someone who has studied hypnosis shouldn't fall for such sorcery, but first, I only wanted to make Wuye happy and never doubted him; second… Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, aside from Bai Shengyi, is the only Gold‑Silver‑Eye wielder capable of the Soul‑Devouring Technique, far beyond what a half‑trained psychologist like me could match."

"Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng!" I lifted my head; after so long, for the first time I saw his face lacking any trace of pure childishness, the bitter smile on his face deepening. "If it weren't for knowing you're a hypnosis master, and if it weren't for you being, aside from Bai Shengyi, the only one capable of the Soul‑Devouring Technique, I would never have thought Wuye was you even if I suspected him. But on the day Bu Sha returned wounded, he clearly hadn't lost his memory, yet as soon as we came back his martial arts vanished completely and he couldn't fully recover his memory—this is why, in the hidden realm, Bu Sha attacked me. Xinhui kept saying she had forgotten something important. I think that day she must have bumped into you while you were hypnotizing Bu Sha, planting a trigger in him. So you hastily sealed Xinhui's memory with hypnosis, but because the time was too rushed, you couldn't make it perfect."

"May I ask, setting aside Qiran's clear statement that it won't be his Bai Shengyi! Besides you, Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, who could accomplish such a high‑level hypnosis?!"

He slowly, with complex thoughts, said, "Your speculation is indeed…"

I gave a wry smile and abruptly cut him off: "Are you trying to say that if you two are the same person, then that day in Baili Town, I was clearly tracking Wu Ye, so how could I have met you coming from behind? Are you trying to say that if you are Wu Ye, then the Wu Ye who should have died in the Hidden Realm couldn't appear here? And are you also trying to say that if you aren't Wu Ye, and Wu Ye suddenly switched bodies, then the keen‑sensed Xiao Yin could not possibly have missed it?"

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng widened his eyes, staring at me as if he were meeting me for the first time; after a long pause his lips pressed together, he opened his mouth but could not get any words out.

"I have never doubted you, because you and Wu Ye have identical gazes. Even though there is no reason to survive, you still cling to some existence. When you protect me, you always stand in front of me, never letting me be harmed. And also, Xiao Yin… Xiao Yin could not possibly not know Wu Ye!"

I suddenly, as if driven mad, hammered at the stone bed behind me, and a creak rang out. Xiao Yin slowly crawled out from under the bed, his black‑glass eyes fixed on me, as if he wanted to say something.

I glared fiercely, "That's right, Wu Ye was indeed pierced by a step‑kill blade right before my eyes, even being buried with Leng Zuo Xi by the falling rocks. But you are Sima Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng, who has been in the Hidden Realm for five years, knowing every mechanism like the back of his hand! Setting up a secret passage that deceives the ears is no trouble at all. And evading the fatal step‑kill blow you had already hypnotized me with, while hiding it from my sight, is even easier. That day, Mo Yan reported that the military deployment map had been stolen, and Qi Ran cast a suspicious glance at me, yet I believed he truly wouldn't doubt me. Later I figured it out, and suddenly realized that his suspicion wasn't aimed at me, but at the Xiao Yin who was in my arms at the time… Xiao Yin! Qi Ran, he only didn't want me to be sad. So Xiao Yin often disappears without a trace; so Xiao Yin quietly left before we reached the Hidden Realm; so you could hide your identity so well. Because you were originally its master!"

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's body swayed slightly, the afterglow in his eyes fading into a deep sorrow, though it was unclear whether he mourned me or pitied himself. He suddenly croaked, "When… did you discover it?"

I suddenly wanted to cry. Xiao Yin and Wu Ye are not comparable to Lan Jianyun and Liu Jinhong of those days. Without them I could not have survived that lonely, drifting year. They are friends, companions, and the most important family I have in this world.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the surging grief, and said softly, "I admit, Wu Ye's death dealt a heavy blow to me. At that time I felt as if I had entered a maze; no matter how Qi Ran and Wei Lingfeng doubted Wu Ye's motives or tried to explain his intentions, I could not imagine that someone who wanted to harm me would use his own life to protect me."

"So, when Wu Ye first died, every day when I closed my eyes I could see the pair of eyes he had before the falling rocks swallowed him. Whether I wanted to or not, each day I spent with him replayed before my eyes, scene by scene."

"That man, who clearly suffers more alive than dead yet still clings to my survival; that man, who has always protected me by my side without complaint; that man, whom I told that he was no better than Wu Ye—did he really die? Or did he die for me, while I kept doubting him all along."

"I suddenly recalled, back in the palace of Qi Nation, I told him I would never doubt him again. I also remembered, in that palace, I almost swung a punch that would have erased all the bond between us, and he simply, silently, without complaint, closed his eyes… Ha ha, closed… his eyes…" I clutched my burning chest, couldn't help laughing, laughing wildly and sorrowfully, "Wu Ye, whose eyelids were cut off long ago, how could he close his eyes? Tell me! How could he?!"

Thus Character: Thus Character: Luofeng's complexion turned as white as snow in an instant; he stood as if stunned, and after a long while finally gave a sorrowful smile: "So that's it. I always believed I had done my best, but I didn't expect that the first time I was moved, a flaw was exposed."

I leaned against the worried Qi Ran, whose fresh, tranquil aura made my nose tingle, and my mood settled; my tone became calm and detached again. "Because I seized this key point, everything has become as clear as a rolling snowball in my mind. You deliberately assassinated Qi Ran before my eyes in order to make the once‑cold, callous Qi Ran kill me with his own hands. Your identity was suspected by Wei Lingfeng and Qi Ran, and you acted to avoid being exposed. You purposely led me to see Wu Ye, and to hear Fu Junmo and Su Wanrou's conversation, just to make me doubt Wu Ye, so that when he died I would be filled with regret and guilt that blinded me, even causing a rift with Qi Ran. Why? I truly cannot understand—how deep must a hatred be to make you use me at such cost, harming everyone around me?"

My voice sounded hollow as I laughed, "What exactly am I basing my belief on that you wouldn't betray me, that… that…" I suddenly sat up straight, grabbed his collar hard and roared, "Where is Wu Ye? Where is the real Wu Ye?! Has he really already died?!"

(End of Chapter)