Today was the second day of the return journey. Because Jiang Moqing had been poisoned by the flood dragon toxin yesterday, Lin Que decided to delay for a day and find a city to rest in for a while, planning to set out again after curing her.
As usual, they booked two rooms at the inn, but Lin Que and Jiang Moqing stayed in the same room.
At this moment, Jiang Moqing sat on the bed, rolling up her pants to reveal her jade-white calf, while the tip of her foot lightly rested in Lin Que’s palm.
The fairy’s foot was flawless, snow-white and delicate. The faint veins on the top of her foot could be seen, making it appear even more translucent, and it was so small that it could be completely held within Lin Que’s broad palm.
However, Lin Que had no leisure to admire Jiang Moqing’s foot right now. Instead, he lowered his gaze and carefully examined the injury on her calf.
After last night’s treatment, the swelling on Jiang Moqing’s calf had already subsided, and most of the black mist had dissipated. From the outside, it no longer looked much different from normal.
“The poison has already been suppressed. Senior Sister just needs to endure for another day. By tomorrow at sunrise, you should be mostly recovered.”
Lin Que said calmly.
“Mmm….” Jiang Moqing nodded slightly. Her expression remained cold, but her pretty face unconsciously flushed faintly red. Even her pair of fair legs slowly pressed together, gently rubbing against each other.
It was clearly just touching my leg, yet I already….
“Junior Brother, can you let go now?” she asked softly.
“Mmm.” Lin Que released his hand without hesitation, which instead left Jiang Moqing feeling a faint sense of emptiness.
Before leaving, Lin Que took out the pills he had refined early that morning and handed them to Jiang Moqing, giving her some instructions.
“Take these pills in three doses, then meditate and regulate your breathing for a while. That should be enough.”
“Alright.”
After explaining everything, Lin Que turned and left, leaving Jiang Moqing alone in the room, staring blankly in the direction he had gone.
Although the door was closed, Jiang Moqing’s gaze seemed to pass through the door and walls, remaining fixed on Lin Que the entire time.
“Junior Brother…”
***
After leaving Jiang Moqing’s room, Lin Que went downstairs to the well in the courtyard and used a gourd ladle to scoop water and wash his hands. At that moment, the little demon appeared beside him.
“My, my, look at that bitter expression of yours. Seems like you had another nightmare last night, didn’t you? And you didn’t dare look at that ice block’s face all morning. Did seeing how emotional she was last night remind you of the time you were locked in that dark room?”
“I suppose so,” Lin Que replied calmly, his expression barely changing.
“Huh? Your reaction’s surprisingly mild. I thought you’d be like before. Like a cat whose tail just got stepped on.”
The little demon pouted and snorted. “How boring.”
One had to know that after Lin Que escaped from Jiang Moqing’s confinement a few years ago, he spent a long period trapped in psychological trauma. At that time he even developed a bit of gynophobia. Aside from the little demon and An Xiaoyao, he hardly spoke with any other women.
Because of this, the little demon often teased him about it. Every time she saw Lin Que’s face darken as though covered by a shadow, and his pupils tremble, she found it extremely amusing.
Unfortunately, that trick no longer worked.
“That experience has always remained in my mind….I’ve never forgotten it. It was just a more vivid dream, that’s all. Besides, you’ve brought it up so many times that I’ve already become immune to it.”
Lin Que finished washing his hands and dried them with a cloth, his expression as calm as ever.
That experience had indeed left a considerable psychological scar on Lin Que. But after several years, he had long since walked out of it. Moreover, the little demon brought it up so often like Xianglin’s Wife endlessly repeating her story that he had grown numb to it.
In the end, although many years had passed, Lin Que had never forgotten that he was once imprisoned by Jiang Moqing. Even so, he still interacted with her while carrying that memory, so his attitude toward her naturally couldn’t change drastically overnight.
However, that dream that was so vivid it felt as though he had personally relived the moment had indeed affected Lin Que somewhat.
At the very least, today he had not looked at Jiang Moqing’s face.
Nor had he looked into her eyes.
And because of this, Lin Que did not see… the obsession and possessiveness in Jiang Moqing’s eyes that could not be hidden no matter what.
***
Inside Jiang Moqing’s room, she hugged the quilt that had been rolled into a bundle, tossing and turning on the bed. Her slender waist twisted unnaturally, and the face that was usually as cold as ice crystals was now flushed with a sickly redness.
“Junior Brother… Junior Brother…”
Her repeated calls were accompanied by soft, alluring moans that echoed through the room. However, because a soundproof formation had been set up, no one could detect the abnormality within.
Gradually, the urgent calling and rising desire climbed to their peak. With a shudder, everything finally fell silent. Jiang Moqing clutched the quilt tightly, remaining completely still.
Then she began to cry.
“So this… is how I lost Junior Brother… It’s all my fault…”
Once the desire faded, what followed was overwhelming self-blame.
After the dream last night, Jiang Moqing had finally recovered her memories.
She now understood why she had separated from Lin Que and also the meaning behind that blood-written letter.
“It’s all my fault…”
She murmured in guilt. Then she removed the hairpin from her hair and rolled up her sleeve.
Looking at her lotus-like arm, white as snow, Jiang Moqing raised the hairpin with tears in her eyes and stabbed down again and again, cutting through her skin and flesh, letting the blood flow freely.
Jiang Moqing did not stop the bleeding. She simply stared blankly as blood flowed from the wound, letting it soak and stain large patches of the bedsheets red.
She had already done something like this once earlier that morning. But with only this level of external injury, her natural healing had restored it by noon, which was why Lin Que had not noticed anything unusual.
Jiang Moqing truly did not want Lin Que to notice that she had begun harming herself again.
“What meaning is there in doing this?” the heart demon’s voice sounded from behind her.
“It’s all my fault…”
Jiang Moqing did not turn around, still mechanically repeating those words.
Suddenly, the heart demon placed a hand on Jiang Moqing’s shoulder. Then her whole body pressed against Jiang Moqing’s back, her blood-red lips moving close to Jiang Moqing’s ear as she whispered softly:
“Now that you’ve regained your memories, you shouldn’t keep tormenting yourself like this. Instead, you should think about what you’re going to do next.”
“What… am I going to do?” Jiang Moqing froze.
“In one more day, Junior Brother will be leaving. He’ll return to another woman’s home. And then… your relationship will end right there. Tell me, are you willing to accept that?”
“Accept it?”
How could she possibly accept it?! Every time she imagined Lin Que leaving her and throwing himself into another woman’s arms, it felt as if knives were carving into Jiang Moqing’s heart.
But… what could she do about it?
“I… don’t want to ruin Junior Brother’s happiness…”
“Really?”
The heart demon let out a harsh, crackling laugh. “Then why has my power grown even stronger?”
Jiang Moqing fell silent for a moment.
The Valley Master of the Heartless Valley had once told her that a heart demon’s power came from the host’s worldly desires. The more those desires were suppressed, the stronger the heart demon would become.
With her memories returning, Jiang Moqing’s desires had undoubtedly grown even stronger.
If she could slay the heart demon now, every problem troubling her would disappear, and the level of her Heartless Valley cultivation technique would also advance further.
“Can you really bring yourself to do it?”
The heart demon sneered and continued, “Killing me would also mean completely parting ways with Lin Que…never seeing him again. Can you really do that?”
“Be separated from Junior Brother forever…”
Pain. Just hearing those words made Jiang Moqing feel as if her heart were being stabbed.
“You can’t do it at all, can you?”
“…..”
Jiang Moqing said nothing.
“Do you know why you can never get rid of me and why I understand you so well? Turn around and look at who I am,” the heart demon pressed step by step.
Jiang Moqing’s breathing grew a little more hurried. She seemed to have guessed something, and slowly, mechanically, she turned her head. The heart demon’s voice continued behind her.
“Because I’m not a heart demon at all, but…”
The voice sounded more and more familiar to Jiang Moqing. And when she finally turned around and saw the heart demon’s appearance clearly, they spoke at the same time.
“Me.”
Behind Jiang Moqing sat a woman identical to her, smiling at her. Then she softly said:
“There was never any heart demon. I have always looked the same. The only thing that changed was the one who chose to escape from reality… me.”
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