‘You… despicable!’ I felt an urge to punch him.
‘My lady, be careful not to disturb the fetus. Otherwise, I can’t bear the responsibility!’ Tian Mei laughed.
‘What exactly do you want to do to let them go?’ Mo Shuihen asked coldly.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to save them, but… I don’t have an antidote for this ‘Soul-losing Fragrance’. I’m sorry.” Tian Mei smiled viciously. “Only the ‘Undying Ice Flower’ can save them. You’d better act quickly; they can’t be hidden for long.”
“You…!” I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and crouched down in distress.
“Little Ai, what’s wrong?” Nan Gong Mo panicked upon seeing my pale face. “Don’t scare me.”
“Mo, it hurts so much!” Tears rolled down my face. What if something happened to the child?
“Ai’er!”
With my commotion, the entire room fell into chaos. Nangong Mo quickly carried me to the bedroom. Through the crowd, I saw Tian Mei furrow his brow, watching me seriously.
“Nangong, how is Ai’er?” Xieying asked anxiously.
“Will something happen?” Xiao Yao’s beautiful eyes were filled with worry.
“Little Ai Ai, does it hurt?” The little rascal’s mischievous eyes were fixed on me.
“Ai’er…” Huo Lingyun’s blue eyes deepened with concern.
“Ai’er, you’ll be fine,” Qiao Ruofeng held my hand, noticing how much thinner I had become; the bracelet on his wrist now looked larger.
“I’m fine, you don’t need to worry!” Speaking was difficult, and I felt sweat dripping from my forehead. Nangong Mo felt my pulse, his brow furrowed tightly.
Nangong Mo let out a long breath, smiling, “It’s okay, nothing serious! You just got too angry, disturbing the fetal qi. Next time, don’t get so worked up.”
“I’ll get something for you to eat. You need to rest well!” After Nangong Mo spoke, the others followed him out, likely to discuss Tianmi. Just thinking about him gave me a headache and made me furious.
I kept the incident of knocking out everyone in the mansion a secret, just like last time. Kong Jue silently observed me from the side of the courtyard while I drank the nourishing soup brewed by Nangong Mo and contemplated Tian Mei’s next move.
“Madam, Madam!” A servant rushed in, panicking. “Two old men, dressed strangely, are coming into the mansion…”
“Girl!”
“Little demon!”
Before the servant could finish, the two old men approached, waving the servant away. The old man Tian Ji looked me up and down, saying, “If we hadn’t come, your ‘Illusion Mansion’ might not be able to hold on.”
“Little demon, this child is my disciple’s, right? I didn’t expect to become a master,” Mi Zong added with a laugh.
When he saw Kong Jue, he suddenly grabbed his hand and said, “Good disciple, come with your master quickly.”
“Yes, we have important matters,” Tian Ji nodded, grabbing Kong Jue’s other hand.
“Stop!” I shouted at the two old men. “If you don’t explain clearly today, don’t even think about leaving smoothly!”
Tian Ji’s eyes darted around, then he pushed Mi Zong, saying, “He is Kong Jue’s master, let him explain!”
“Why should I explain?” Mi Zong replied, dissatisfied. “This was all his idea; he should explain!”
“You speak!”
“Stop!” Frustrated with the two old men, I turned to Kong Jue, who looked confused. “You two explain together, and Kong Jue can wait.”
“Madam,” Kong Jue said firmly, “Since it’s about me, let me know. I’m curious about myself and don’t want to continue being a person without memories.”
“Girl, forget it; we’ll tell you,” Tian Ji decided, stomping his foot.
“Brother, this is what you’re going to say,” Mi Zong kept his distance.
“Hmph!” Tian Ji coldly snorted and then smiled obsequiously at me, “Girl, we’ve helped you a lot. You won’t get angry over a tiny matter, right?”
“A tiny matter, of course I won’t!” I smiled back, then hid my expression and gritted my teeth, “But! If I find out it’s not a tiny matter…”
“This… hehe…” Tian Ji quickly protected his neck and retreated, “About that matter, it’s like this…”
“Xiao Ai, let’s talk inside,” Nan Gong Mo warned.
“Right, careful of eavesdroppers,” Huo Ling Yun nodded.
Everyone moved inside. Facing the group, Tian Ji kept shrinking towards the door, constantly scanning for an escape route.
“Tian Ji!” I called out loudly.
“Eh, hehe…” Under my stern gaze, he moved forward, touching his nose, “Actually, this matter is simple to say, but explaining it is complicated…”
“I’m asking you, why does Kong Jue look exactly like Yu Lie?”
“Well…” Tian Ji glanced at Mi Zong, who pretended not to see.
“Don’t test my patience! Speak!” I was getting angry.
“Kong Jue is Yu Lie, but also not Yu Lie!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent, with only breathing audible.
Kong Jue was shocked and confused, asking, “What do you mean? Explain clearly!”
“Three years ago, Yu Lie’s injury was fatal, but it would have been a pity if he died,” Tian Ji said, pointing at Mi Zong. “You should ask him for a clearer explanation.”
“Mi Zong…” Kong Jue turned to him, smiling sweetly. “You explain.”
“Well… Little demon, outsiders call my skill witchcraft, but I can’t resurrect the dead. To save him, there was only one way. Given the situation, it was a wise decision.” Mi Zong declared, eyes narrowing triumphantly.
“Oh, so what’s this wise move of yours?”
“We used Yu Lie’s body.”
“What do you mean?” Something inside me felt like it was expanding.
“Master?” Kong Jue was shocked, looking at Mi Zong.
“Alas… Kong Jue, don’t blame your master.” Mi Zong’s sigh made my heart sink.
“Quickly explain, what’s going on with Kong Jue?” I was afraid to know the answer and fearful for Kong Jue, so kind yet entangled in a conspiracy by these two.
“Little demon, you don’t know. During the three years you were missing, my senior brother and I often went to Ice Snow Mountain to pick ‘Snow Tender’. We created a strange medicine that Yu Lie’s body could absorb and take effect.”
Tightly gripping with both hands, Xue Jiao… No wonder Kong Jue won’t be poisoned; we have the same constitution.
“After Yu Lie opened his eyes, all previous memories were erased, and his personality completely changed, becoming two different people. My senior brother and I believe that he absorbed Xue Jiao’s spirit essence and possesses a spiritual heart. Therefore, he is no longer Yu Lie.”
“I…” Kong Jue looked at the Misty Person, unable to accept it, murmuring, “What am I exactly? Not quite human, not quite demon, who am I?”
“My senior brother and I went to Ice Snow Mountain again recently to search through records left by our master and ancestral master, and we made some discoveries.”
“Yes!” Tian Ji interjected excitedly, “Because Xue Jiao was bred from the ‘Immortal Ice Flower’, and we used a large amount of Xue Jiao, we somewhat have the effect of the ‘Immortal Ice Flower.’ Through a person who has died, with no soul in their body, and large quantities of Xue Jiao, a new soul is created. It doesn’t belong to Yu Lie, but is merely attached to this body.”
Everyone fell silent, probably finding it too unbelievable. But haven’t I experienced many strange things myself? Curving a smile that was both a smile and not, I asked, “Why did you teach him internal kung fu instead of techniques?”
“Well…”
Tian Ji scratched his head, embarrassed. “It’s not that we didn’t want to teach; we’re just usually very busy. We gave him the internal kung fu manual for self-study.”
“It was actually… because of laziness!”
“Little demon, you shouldn’t blame us. Our approach seems correct,” the Misty Person said with a laugh at my confusion. “Techniques can be learned quickly. With Xue Jiao’s help, Kong Jue’s internal kung fu is progressing rapidly. Even Tian Mei might not be able to harm him.”
“Indeed!” I had witnessed this myself.
