Nan Xian stopped in her tracks, her eyes darkening as she gazed at Lan Xing walking ahead of her, and slowly spoke.

"Blue Star, this doesn't seem to be the way to the examination room."

Lan Xing stiffened slightly. He lowered his head with his back to her, and a hint of hesitation flashed quickly in his deep blue eyes under his chestnut bangs. His thin lips parted a few inches, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

However, his hesitation lasted only a moment, almost in the blink of an eye, before being replaced by a resolute emotion.

He turned around, his eyes accurately capturing Nan Xian's gaze, which suddenly shone with a deep blue light.

Nan Xian knew something was wrong and hurriedly turned to run away. However, for some reason, her body suddenly became out of control of her brain, and she remained frozen in place, maintaining the turning motion.

"What did you do to me?" she exclaimed in shock.

Lan Xing walked lightly to her, his height of nearly 1.9 meters allowing him to easily see her expression.

He raised his lips, revealing a smile that was hard to tell whether it was apology or guilt.

"...Please don't blame me."

"you--"

Before she could speak, he suddenly leaned close to her, his long fingers pinching her chin, gently but forcefully prying her lips open.

Nan Xian was unable to move and could only watch helplessly as his face got closer and closer to her.

Lan Xing's lips almost touched hers, their breaths mingling. Her breath became rapid with tension, which she tried to suppress, like a taut bow ready to be released.

He paused, then parted his lips, revealing a deep blue light between his snow-white teeth.

Before Nan Xian could see what the light was, her vision blurred, and she immediately felt a cool sensation in her throat as something slid into her stomach—round, soft, and bouncy, like a jelly she had swallowed whole.

"Cough—what did you feed me?" As the thing entered her body, she instantly regained control of her body, immediately pushed Lan Xing away, and angrily scolded.

Lan Xing was pushed so hard that he fell backward to the ground. His face turned pale, and he gasped for breath. His thin eyebrows furrowed, and he raised his hand to cover his chest, looking extremely weak.

Nan Xian:? ? ?

Suspicion arose in her heart, but she hadn't forgotten Lan Xing's words to her earlier, "Don't blame me," so she remained vigilant and pressed him, "What exactly is your purpose? Who instructed you to approach me? Tell me!"

Lan Xing tried to stand up, but collapsed again due to exhaustion. He covered his mouth and coughed softly, his complexion worsening with each cough.

Nan Xian observed his reaction and became increasingly confused—

Why was he so energetic just a second ago, but after eating that strange thing, he suddenly became so... lifeless?

A sudden thought flashed through my mind, recalling an old fantasy plot I had once read—the protagonist always had a devoted demon by his side, and when the protagonist was in imminent danger, the demon would spit out its demon core, which it had cultivated for hundreds or even thousands of years, sacrificing itself to help the protagonist.

Could it be that Lan Xing just fed him his "demon core"?

The thought of this possibility made Nan Xian instantly feel uncomfortable. She shuddered and took a few steps back away from him.

Lan Xing slowly raised his head. His lips had completely lost their color, and his azure eyes were like dusty sapphires, misty and lifeless.

His gaze was unfocused, as if he were looking at her, or as if he were looking through her at someone else.

"I'm sorry, that was..." he said lightly, before bursting into another fit of violent coughing.

After a long while, just as Nan Xian was about to completely lose patience, he finally spoke.

"That is our clan's last hope. I am powerless to protect it, but you possess the Hundred Fusion Body, and it is safest with you..."

Nan Xian was completely confused. "Huh? What are you talking about? What kind of weird stuff did you give me to eat?"

Lan Xing didn't answer her question. He closed his eyes and muttered to himself:

"As a token of my gratitude and compensation, I am willing to sacrifice the part of my soul that is that of a Western Elf, to make a deal with the devil, to turn back time, and to put everything back on the right track—"

"Time travel?" Nan Xian had a strange premonition, and she unconsciously tensed her back.

The next moment, she felt an extreme sense of oppression and discomfort, as if a forceful energy was forcibly dissipating in front of her, or as if the aftershocks of a bomb explosion were rushing towards her.

Nan Xian subconsciously closed her eyes.

The light disappeared.

She opened her eyes.

Ding He looked up and met her gaze in the makeup mirror, then smiled sweetly.

"Sis, are you ready? We can go now!"