The night grew deeper. A bonfire was lit on the beach, the sound of waves intertwining with the crackling of flames licking at dry wood. Beyond that, not a single person spoke, leaving the surroundings eerily silent.
Ye Ye glanced around. Li Fei sat alone on the sand, nibbling on fruit. Lei Xiuyuan brooded silently by the fire, grilling fish with a gloomy expression, oblivious to the charred flesh. Lu Li sat far away on a tree trunk, lost in thought, while Ji Tongzhou perched on a distant reef, equally preoccupied.
The atmosphere was unbearably heavy. Ye Ye decided to rise and walk over to Ji Tongzhou, sitting beside him and patting his shoulder gently. "Tongzhou, it was just a dream. Try to let it go."
Yes, just a dream. All those passions and grudges were false. He refused to be manipulated by such illusory deceptions—how could he be toyed with by these Flowers in a Mirror, Moon in the Water hallucinations? No one was more unwilling than him.
Yet a fire burned in his heart, clinging to the edges of night and sea, threatening to reduce him to ashes.
They weren’t mere illusions. They were his deepest desires and fears, ruthlessly laid bare when he least expected it, woven into a magnificent dream only to be shattered before his eyes.
What was he to do with these raging emotions? Tell himself they were all illusions and discard them? What if he couldn’t forget? Should he just let this inner fire consume him?
Ji Tongzhou suddenly stood up, kicking up a spray of sand. He felt on the verge of madness, even tempted to return to that illusion and see those loves and hatreds through. Why had he been subjected to such extremes of bliss and torment? Awakening to emptiness—who could he vent his lingering resentment and fury to?
With no outlet, he gathered fiery lotuses in his palms and hurled them violently at the sea. Flames licked the water, towering and brilliant, yet they couldn’t rival the inferno in his heart—wild, directionless, and uncontainable.
Passion and resentment were flaying him alive. Fiery by nature, tender-hearted—Senior Xuanshan Zi hadn’t been wrong at all. The chasm between illusion and reality was crushing him, and a tearing pain rose in his throat.
He couldn’t stay here another moment—not even a second longer. Mounting his sword, he flew off in an instant.
Ye Ye shook his head helplessly. The illusions must have shaken Ji Tongzhou too deeply; he still couldn’t shake them off. Perhaps he just needed time alone to sort through his thoughts. Maybe clarity would come with time.
Li Fei remained seated, absently chewing on fruit, when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Baili Gelin, her eyes red but her face smiling.
"What’s got you spacing out?" Baili Gelin looped an arm around hers.
Li Fei blinked in surprise. "You and Chang Yue finished talking?"
Baili Gelin smiled serenely. "There was no need for extra words. She’ll always be my sister—that’s enough."
She seemed to have shed an invisible burden, her whole demeanor lighter and more refreshed. Delighted, Li Fei squeezed her hand. "Gelin, I hope you’ll always be happy from now on."
Baili Gelin laughed. "I’m just the worrying type. No one spoils me—I can’t afford to be too carefree."
"There’ll be someone," Li Fei patted her back. "Don’t rush it."
Baili Gelin poked her cheek. "I’m way more sensible than you—who are you to advise me? Worry about yourself first! Where’s Lei Xiuyuan? How could he just leave you here alone?"Li Fei shook her head; she didn’t want to talk about this right now. She forced a smile and said, “Ge Lin, let’s not discuss this. I’m tired and need to sleep.”
Without waiting for Ge Lin to respond, she found a tree, soared up on a cloud, and cast an Invisibility Spell, disappearing into the foliage.
The truth was, this was all her own problem. She wanted a more certain, more abundant emotion that could fill all her insecurities. She wanted to demand more and more from Lei Xiuyuan. He knew all her secrets, yet he never shared anything about himself with her. Ri Yan was right—he didn’t need to do anything to unsettle her.
And precisely because of this, she craved even more something firm and reassuring from him.
She had to approach this intoxicating emotion with a clear head. She needed time to sort out this relationship and calm her restless heart.
Perhaps after a good sleep, some of the chaos in her mind would fade.
Closing her eyes, Li Fei slowly drifted off to sleep under the lullaby of the sea breeze.
In her dazed state, she seemed to return to the small courtyard in Green Mound. Like a wandering spirit, she floated into her own room, which was empty save for a small wooden bed beneath the window. Moonlight spilled over the window frame, and outside, voices murmured. A massive shadow stretched across the ground, and a pair of eerie, narrow green eyes glanced at her through the window. Then, a hoarse yet familiar voice sighed deeply, “Fool! Fool!”
Someone else laughed heartily, as if pouring all the passion of a lifetime into that sound.
Li Fei suddenly jolted awake, her back drenched in cold sweat. The sky was already bright, and the voices of Ye Ye and the others carried from the beach. Stiffly, she pressed a hand to her forehead. What had she just dreamed about? It felt like she had forgotten it instantly, unable to recall no matter how hard she tried.
A rustle of wind behind her ear—she instinctively reached out and caught something slippery. It was a fruit. Looking down, she saw Lei Xiuyuan standing beneath the tree, holding another fruit in his hand, taking a bite.
“Are you a pig? It’s almost noon.”
The sunlight filtering through the leaves was harsh, and he squinted up at her. The gloom from yesterday in his eyes and brow had vanished, replaced by his usual calm. Li Fei didn’t respond. She leaped down from the tree trunk, yawning as she brushed past him. Unexpectedly, he grabbed her wrist again. Without turning, she said, “Let go. I need to freshen up.”
Lei Xiuyuan frowned, then smiled helplessly. Was she really angry?
“Fine, I’ll tell you what I saw in the illusion,” he said, leaning against the tree and pulling her closer. “Do you want to hear it?”
…She kind of did. What should she do?!
Lei Xiuyuan cleared his throat. “In the illusion, I first undid my belt, then took off my outer robe, then my underwear—”
“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Li Fei finally turned her head, gaping at him in shock.
“I’m not done. After the underwear, I took off my pants—”
“…Never mind, just stop talking.” Li Fei pressed her forehead again, feeling her headache worsen.
Lei Xiuyuan smirked. “Really don’t want to hear the rest? Every word I said is true.”
What was the point of listening to such shameless lies? Li Fei shook her head, wrenching her hand free and walking away.
She hated this attitude of his the most—half-truths, half-jokes, utterly slippery. She could never tell what he was really thinking. The smoldering fire in her heart leaped painfully, scorching her eyes. All she could do was extinguish it, over and over.Lei Xiuyuan frowned and suddenly grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back in front of him. Li Fei winced in pain and retaliated by kicking his shin hard. If this had been when they were younger, such a kick would have sent him stumbling, giving her the chance to pin him down and pummel him. But now, he didn’t even flinch—instead, he laughed.
“We’re not eleven or twelve anymore.” He yanked her closer, and Li Fei found herself powerless to resist, stumbling toward him. “That little bit of strength you have now isn’t even enough to scratch an itch.”
Her forehead collided with his chest, the impact sending a sharp pain through her temple. Her right eye blurred, stars dancing in her vision. She instinctively covered her eye, unable to speak for a long moment.
He cupped her face and gently pried her hand away, seeing a tear trail down her right cheek. He wiped it away slowly with his thumb.
Suddenly, golden light erupted from her body, slicing off a lock of his hair. He barely dodged in time as Li Fei stepped back, golden light flickering in her palm. She glared at him coldly, about to speak, when Baili Gelin’s startled cry rang out from the beach:
“Ji Tongzhou?! What happened to you?!”
Li Fei turned and soared on a cloud, landing swiftly on the sand. There stood Ji Tongzhou, covered from head to toe in black demon blood. He didn’t look at anyone—instead, he suddenly leaped into the sea. The black blood rippled outward in circles before the waves swiftly washed it all away.
Baili Gelin was horrified. Had he spent all that time away just killing demons? How many had he slaughtered to be drenched in so much blood?
Soon, Ji Tongzhou emerged from the sea. Flames licked over his body, instantly drying his hair and clothes. He wiped his face, brushing away the salt, but still said nothing.
As he passed Li Fei, he paused. She looked up in surprise, only to meet his blazing gaze—his eyes seemed to hold an inferno. The intensity of his stare sent a chill down her spine, and she instinctively took a few steps back.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly let out a cold, hoarse laugh. “What are you afraid of?”
He turned away without another glance and walked off.
Ye Ye shook his head inwardly. It seemed a night had passed, but it hadn’t done him any good. Seeing everyone gathered, he spoke up, “Let’s go. We’ve stayed here too long—time to change islands.”
Baili Gelin groaned. “But we haven’t even eaten our fill yet! We’re leaving already?”
Baili Changyue patted her stomach. “You ate two whole fish and you’re still not full? Is your stomach a bottomless pit?”
Ye Ye chuckled, but then the sound of rushing wind overhead made them all tense. Li Fei immediately raised a Bronze Wall Technique. A group of over a dozen people descended—most of them Mountain Sect disciples, with only one pale-faced Sea Sect disciple among them, being dragged by the collar by a tall male disciple, looking thoroughly disheveled.
“The scent of the Demon Vermilion Fruit is strongest here,” the Sea Sect disciple muttered weakly.
Were they here to steal the fruit? Li Fei reinforced the barrier with another layer of Bronze Wall Technique. Unexpectedly, Ji Tongzhou, who had been sitting aside, suddenly stood and walked forward.
“I was going to look for you,” he said coldly. “But you came to me instead. Perfect.”Among the dozen or so disciples, one standing at the very back couldn't help but retreat a few steps. Only then did Li Fei and the others notice that among this group were actually those same Long Mingzuo disciples from last time. No wonder—birds of a feather flock together. Gathering a crowd of like-minded individuals and forcing Sea Sect Disciples to lead the way, this whole group had come to seize the Demon Vermilion Fruit.
The expressions of those Long Mingzuo disciples were far from pleasant. They hadn’t expected their search to lead them back to this confrontation. But this time, they had numbers on their side—there was nothing to fear. Even Ji Tongzhou’s lackey managed to suppress his panic slightly. Avoiding Ji Tongzhou’s blade-sharp gaze, he declared loudly, "Seizing is permitted! Have you forgotten? Hand over the Demon Vermilion Fruit, and out of respect for our shared Mountain Sect ties, we won’t resort to force!"
Before his words had even faded, Ji Tongzhou had already struck. Towering flames erupted from the ground as he gripped the Mystic Sword used for sword flying—its blade now coiled with fiery serpents. The fury in his heart scorched his very soul, the hatred from his illusions slaughtering him. He remembered with painful clarity: it was Wugou, backed by Long Mingzuo, who had destroyed Yue Kingdom.
Unable to suppress his killing intent, Ji Tongzhou flicked his fingers. The fire serpents on his sword transformed into countless blazing dragons, roaring forth and instantly scattering the enemy’s formation. Like a bolt of lightning, he lunged forward, his sword aimed straight at the Long Mingzuo disciples.
OpenNovel