Chapter 43 Empathy Vulnerability

Mingjian suddenly looked up and saw a faint, fluorescent blue light appearing on the horizon, with dark clouds pressing down overhead, threatening a storm.

His heart tightened, and he turned to look for Rong Yunzhi's figure.

But the woman who had been lying on the ground just moments before had vanished without a trace.

Xiao Bumian remained squatting in the same spot, calmly twirling his fingertips, as if everything was within his expectations.

Mingjian hurried forward and asked, "Where is Rong Yunzhi?"

Xiao Bumian slowly stood up, her eyebrows curving into a beautiful smile. "It seems they ran away."

Mingjian: "...?"

It seems like? How can it seem like that?

“Hmm,” Xiao Bumian blinked innocently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Watching Junior Brother kill people is more interesting. By the time I remembered her, she was already gone.”

Mingjian was so angry that his hair was about to stand on end, but he dared not speak out.

This person is clearly shirking responsibility!

He took a deep breath, softened his voice, and said good-naturedly, "Are you really not going to chase after them?"

Rong Yunzhi is clearly the villain who appears last in the story. Now Bai Zhang is dead, and Song Yao's body has turned into fluorescent light, but the Retrospective Mirror is still intact. We can only rely on Rong Yunzhi. If we can't catch Rong Yunzhi, then we can only wait to die together in the Retrospective Mirror.

"I'm sleepy." Xiao Bumian yawned lazily. "I want to sleep."

Mingjian: "..."

I only ate one piece of candy! I ate that candy a few hours ago, and I didn't feel sleepy then, but now, at this crucial moment, I suddenly feel sleepy.

Mingjian would never believe such a coincidence.

One must be able to bend and stretch. Mingjian clasped his hands together, trying to awaken Xiao Bumian's remaining conscience. When he looked up, the corners of his eyes drooped slightly, like a cat begging for food. "Xie Hanwei, please."

Seeing his reaction, Xiao Bumian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It's true that Rong Yunzhi ran away, and it's also true that seeing Mingjian is more interesting, but whether Rong Yunzhi leaves or not makes no difference to him.

Last time in the forest, Bai Zhang didn't know who he was, but this time he did. It could only be Rong Yunzhi who told him, so only Rong Yunzhi probably knew where his bone spurs were.

He originally intended to delve into Rong Yunzhi's memories to search for the whereabouts of the bone spur, but unexpectedly, the memories about the bone spur in Rong Yunzhi's memories were sealed. However, he did discover an even more interesting past event.

This secret excited him more than the bone spurs.

"No," Xiao Bumian said lightly.

Mingjian: "...?"

Why is it still not working?

He gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to throw the sword in his face. "Why?"

“She escaped,” Xiao Bumian said with a smile, “the show will be even more interesting then.”

Mingjian remained silent.

Damn it, Xiao Bumian, he finds it amusing, but I don't!

It's interesting to risk your life.

Take a deep breath, take a deep breath!

Mingjian had told himself several times not to get angry with a madman, and finally managed to calm himself down before temporarily putting the Love-Sickness Gu and Rong Yunzhi out of his mind. He then asked Xiao Bumian, "What's going on outside?"

The clouds partially obscured the moonlight, and the cool moonlight spilled onto the ground.

Ming Jian stood extremely close to Xiao Bumian, their shadows almost overlapping. Xiao Bumian lowered his eyes to look at the intertwined shadows on the ground, his fingers gripping the sword unconsciously curling slightly.

After a while, he pressed his hand to his rapidly beating heart and the faint panic that was creeping up on him. These were emotions he had never experienced before.

It's a strange feeling, but I don't dislike it.

Xiao Bumian lowered his long eyelashes slightly, his gaze slowly falling on Mingjian's face.

Hmm, it seems he knows.

It is clear that this is not an emotion of his.

It's that Gu worm.

Thinking of this, Xiao Bumian let out a soft laugh.

Then he slowly spoke, "It's those mermaid-turned cultivators who have gone mad."

Mingjian felt utterly hopeless, with no good news and only one bad news after another.

Their cultivation was stagnant in the Mirror of Recall, and the merman cultivators outside were incredibly powerful. It was unclear whether Shi Lian and the others could handle them.

"So Song... no, the last spell Bai Zhang used was to activate them?"

"Yes, that's right." Xiao Bumian seemed to be in a good mood, and said with a smile.

Mingjian: "...Hehe."

Xiao Bumian tilted her head. "Are you unhappy?"

Mingjian paused for a moment, then pointed to his face, "Do I look happy to you?"

Xiao Bumian suddenly stopped, leaned closer to Mingjian, and carefully examined his eyes. After a long while, he asked softly, "Are you angry because I made you kill Song Yao?"

His tone was gentle, tinged with a hint of confusion, "But Song Yao is already dead. What you killed was the vengeful spirit that possessed his body. Or perhaps..." He paused, "...even if it was just his physical form, you didn't want to harm him?"

Mingjian twitched his lips.

Okay, Xiao Bumian has acted up again.

Are all villains like this? Getting jealous at the drop of a hat?

Ming Jian hesitated for a moment, then chose to appease Xiao Bumian rather than beat him up. After all, if he angered Xiao Bumian, he could just leave, but Ming Jian would have to deal with the merfolk outside the courtyard. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

"Am I sick?" Mingjian opened his eyes wide, trying his best to look sincere. "I'm angry because I should have stabbed Bai Zhang to death with one sword, so that he wouldn't be causing all this trouble now."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bumian's eyes flickered slightly, and the nameless unease in his heart suddenly dissipated.

Instead, a faint sense of grievance, belonging to Mingjian, emanated from the other end of the love potion, lingering in her heart like smoke and mist.

Xiao Bumian didn't really understand this feeling, but almost the instant it appeared, this unfamiliar emotion made him subconsciously recognize the face.

"Would you like some fruit?" Xiao Bumian suddenly asked.

Mingjian: ? ? ?

The topic changed so suddenly.

"good."

Xiao Bumian magically produced two spiritual fruits, their bright red skins still glistening with water droplets.

Mingjian took it, glanced at Xiao Bumian suspiciously, and wondered if this person was still Xiao Bumian.

"What happened to you...?" He took a bite of the fruit and asked indistinctly, "Have you been possessed by a merman?"

No way!

Xiao Bumian looked at him as if he were an idiot, then smiled and said, "Maybe."

When the familiar tone returned, Mingjian breathed a sigh of relief.

But he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Xiao Bumian seemed much more approachable now. So Mingjian took a bite of fruit, jogged after Xiao Bumian, and asked, "Where are we going now?"

Xiao Bumian didn't stop walking, and said listlessly, "Not going anywhere."

Mingjian: "...?"

Why come out if we're not going anywhere? He glanced back at the direction of the side room, thankfully he had already hidden Song Heyu and Gu Zhi.

Xiao Bumian lay languidly, the moonlight casting dappled shadows on his eyelashes. He curved his lips into a soft, drawn-out smile and said, "They're too noisy, I can't sleep. I'll kill them all before I sleep."

Mingjian felt a lump in his throat and almost choked on the fruit pit.

He couldn't possibly come up with that reason, even if you beat him to death.

He forced a smile and took a step back. "Then you go. Song Heyu is about to give birth to Gu Zhi, and I'm worried she might have a difficult labor. I need to go check on her."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bumian actually burst out laughing.

He didn't know what tickled his funny bone, but he reached out and pulled Mingjian behind him, laughing in a chilling way, clearly meaning, "If you dare to leave, I'll kill you."

Seeing that he had become obedient, he stayed quietly behind Xiao Bumian to avoid being implicated.

Watching him laugh as he wielded his sword and slaughtered his way through the surrounding area.

He cut down every one of those crazed merfolk that came at him.

Before long, a strong fishy smell permeated the entire princess's residence.

Mingjian had never seen so many corpses before.

He couldn't eat any more fruit and felt like vomiting. He was relieved that Xiao Bumian hadn't fed him any meat.

Wait, why would he use the word "feed"?

Mingjian shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all the strange thoughts.

He started wondering again just how high Xiao Bumian's cultivation level was. He had only heard from the system that Xiao Bumian was very powerful, but hearing about it was one thing, seeing it with his own eyes was another.

For example, right now, he saw Xiao Bumian kill so many people with ease, and Rong Yunzhi even said that it was the night of the full moon, and Xiao Bumian's strength was only 30% of what it usually was.

It's obvious he's jealous.

When will he reach such a high level of cultivation?!

Never mind, one shouldn't be too greedy.

He doesn't need too much, just a little bit is enough.

In a fit of anger, Ming took another big bite of the fruit.

Xiao Bumian caught a glimpse of his subtle movement out of the corner of his eye, and a smile appeared in his eyes.

That's strange.

Despite his hands being covered in blood and his appearance being unsightly, Mingjian's emotions shifted between surprise, envy, and annoyance, but he showed no fear.

Mingjian was truly the most interesting person he had ever met.

Night was falling.

The night breeze, carrying the scent of crabapple blossoms, brushed against their clothes. The scene should have been enchanting, but to an outsider, it would have been nothing short of horrifying.

The wind outlined Xiao Bumian's slender waist, the bright red mark on his forehead, and his aloof temperament was like that of a celestial being. Yet his sword never stopped, and bloodstains dripped onto the ground along the blade. His ethereal beauty and bloody slaughter were strangely intertwined on him.

Shi Lianyi and the others had been in the Retrospective Mirror for more than half a month, and their spiritual power was almost exhausted. Not to mention, when they faced the berserk merman, the group struggled to fight.

They were finally able to catch their breath after Xiao Bumian killed a bunch of merfolk.

Lou Jing looked at the two of them as if they were freaks, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "What, it's you two? Where are Song Heyu and the others? Was the Wedding Dress Curse resolved?"

Mingjian: "..."

Okay, I knew he'd be looking for trouble again.

Fortunately, Xiao Bumian used spiritual power rather than demonic energy.

“When we arrived, many merfolk had already died in the manor.” Ming Jian looked completely innocent. “Xie Hanwei and I fought tooth and nail to take down two of them.”

He feigned exhaustion, "Princess Yunyue drugged us. When Xie Hanwei and I woke up, Jia Yi Sha was already dead, and Her Highness was gone too. Perhaps they had an internal conflict? As for Senior Brother Song and the others..."

He pointed towards the side room: "He's still unconscious."

"Hearing the commotion outside, Xie Hanwei and I were worried something had happened to you, so we rushed over. What about you here? What happened here?"

Shi Lian frowned. "We don't know either. Senior Brother Lou and I locked the merfolk in the west courtyard. Unexpectedly, a quarter of an hour ago, some of the merfolk suddenly went berserk, broke their chains, and came out. They even gathered towards your area, as if they were going to do something."

Mingjian nodded. "I see."

Lou Jing remained suspicious and interrupted, "Although your explanation does offer some explanation, you and Xie Hanwei are still suspects..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ming grabbed Xiao Bumian's hand and slashed it, then slashed his own hand as well.

"Is it okay?"

Seeing his expression, Lou Jing barely managed to dispel his doubts.

Mingjian breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that it was fortunate that Xiao Bumian's constitution was special and his wounds did not heal easily.

After dispelling their doubts, Shi Lian and Lou Jing discussed who was responsible for the deaths of the merfolk along the way.

Shi Lian squatted in front of a corpse. "In this secret realm, besides Princess Yunyue, the only one with a higher cultivation level than Senior Brother is Lu Lingyue of Yun Shou Sect."

“This wound doesn’t resemble Yun Shouzong’s swordsmanship.” Lou Jing frowned, rejecting Shi Lian’s speculation. “This swordsmanship is very strange, it seems like it’s just random, but each strike also seems to be deliberately designed.”

"The sword intent is also very strong. If it weren't for the fact that there is only spiritual energy on the wound, I would have suspected that it was done by the demon race," Shi Lian added.

"..."

Mingjian quietly pulled Xiao Bumian to the back, listening intently to Shi Lian and the others' discussion while secretly rejoicing that Xiao Bumian was using spiritual power.

"Mingjian," Xiao Bumian suddenly called to him, her voice as soft as a feather brushing against his ear.

"What's wrong?" Mingjian replied absentmindedly, still staring at the two people not far away.

"Sleepy."

Mingjian was startled and turned to look, only to find that Xiao Bumian's face was frighteningly pale, even her lips were almost transparently pale, and she looked listless. Her eyes, which always held a smile, were now half-closed, and she exuded an unusual fragility.

He remembered something, looked up at the full moon hanging in the sky, and the words Rong Yunzhi and Bai Zhang had said that Xiao Bumian's strength was only 30% tonight came to mind.

So it's not that there's no impact, it's just that Xiao Bumian has been putting on a brave face.

Mingjian's heart suddenly softened.

A sudden, sharp pain welled up in his chest, a strange sensation, as if something was gently squeezing his heart. He instinctively reached out and caught Xiao Bumian, who had fallen into his arms.

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Author's Note: Honey, there's actually an even faster way to improve your cultivation level, it just depends on whether you're willing to try. [glasses][doge]