Chapter 18. Does it hurt? Should I blow on it for you?

Jing Qianheng looked up at her. "Say whatever you want."

Jiang Zhishui felt a chill run down her spine. She glanced at the mask on the table and said in a trembling voice, "This mask... is quite beautiful."

Jing Qianheng ignored her.

"How do I look wearing it?" Her hands trembled as she picked up the mask, put it on, and asked in a deliberately casual tone, "Does it look good?"

Jing Qianheng didn't look up.

Let her speak, at least organize her thoughts before continuing the conversation!

Jiang Zhishui glared at Jing Qianheng, lifted his chin with her hand to make him look at her, and then put the mask on his face. When Jing Qianheng reached out to pull it off, she switched hands and put the mask on his face again.

"Look, it's good for you to wear it..."

Jing Qianheng's eyes were covered by the mask, and it hurt a little. He closed his eyes for a while and then opened them again. His pupils were slightly red, and there were tears in his eyes from the pain of the bump.

He grabbed her wrist and saw her eyes change, as if she had seen someone through him and was shocked.

Jiang Zhishui was somewhat dazed. The mask worn by the black-clad youth who appeared in the illusion in her first life was very similar to the one before her. Could it be...?

She slowly leaned closer, gazing into the eyes beneath the mask.

Jiang Zhishui was so engrossed in watching that she completely ignored the terrifying thing behind her. She murmured softly, "You...you look a lot like..."

With a snap, Jing Qianheng forcefully slapped her hand away, causing the mask to fall off. He looked furious.

Jiang Zhishui rubbed her hand, which had been slapped so hard. "What did you do? You hit me so hard. I was just joking."

He was the one who put the mask on her face first. He's allowed to do it, but she's not allowed to put it on him even once?

Jing Qianheng glanced out the window; the thing had disappeared. He turned his gaze back to Jiang Zhishui, his voice icy: "Don't look at me like that!"

Jiang Zhishui was baffled. She asked, puzzled, "What kind of look did I give you? Why are you getting angry again?"

Jing Qianheng picked up the mask on the table, and Jiang Zhishui reached for it as well, saying urgently, "Wait, give this to me."

Jiang Zhishui looked down at the mask, her expression focused. "Let me take another look..."

Jing Qianheng's fingers trembled as he grabbed the mask, snatched it away, and said angrily, "This belongs to someone else, not you."

Jiang Zhishui was stunned for a moment, watching him put the mask back in its original position.

“Qi Hong has already woken up. He was just standing outside the window watching us.” Jing Qianheng turned around, covering the mask. “He is a delirious evil spirit and is not easy to deal with.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhishui remembered the important matter. She paced back and forth, anxiously thinking of a solution. Turning her head, she saw Jing Qianheng sitting expressionlessly to one side, doing nothing.

Jing Qianheng noticed her gaze and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Why are you looking at me?"

The black-clad youth in her first life was able to awaken her from the illusion without harming her mind, so he must have possessed some formidable abilities. Jing Qianheng, possessing the bloodline of an ancient demon dragon, was also unaffected by any illusions.

In fact, Jing Qianheng is the male protagonist of the novel. Although he had a tough time in the early stages, he later turned into a demon with superpowers and was born with great strength. He would never get into trouble in a place like this.

Besides, isn't it always the male lead who steps up in these situations? Why is she, a cannon fodder female supporting character, in such a hurry?

Jiang Zhishui sat down next to him and reminded him, "I think your blood could bewitch the vine demon last time, so perhaps it can do the same this time."

“Yes, that’s fine.” Jing Qianheng looked at her and said decisively, “I’ve encountered these sleepless ghosts before in the palace. They often created all sorts of terrifying illusions to torment me, trying to drag me down with them.”

Jiang Zhishui asked in surprise, "You know how to break the illusion?"

Jing Qianheng lowered his eyes and saw the red thread on her wrist. His cold eyes softened, and he nodded.

Jiang Zhishui stood up and asked matter-of-factly, "Then what should we do? How can I help you?"

Jing Qianheng looked up and said, "I know, but I didn't say I wanted to solve it."

Jiang Zhishui frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jing Qianheng stood up and said coldly, "It's just that I don't want to risk saving others."

Jiang Zhishui asked instinctively, "Will this method of breaking the illusion endanger your body?"

Jing Qianheng was slightly taken aback. "There will be some harm, but it won't be life-threatening."

Jiang Zhishui pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Then let's think of other ways."

Jing Qianheng: "........."

He thought she would berate him for being heartless and cold-blooded, that she would prioritize the interests of the immortal sects over him, and that she would force him to save people.

——

Qi Hong woke up feeling much better after a nap. He got up, opened the door, and went outside, only to find the house completely silent.

He searched every room in the house, but couldn't find the two people.

The treasure vault is gone, the library is gone, the bedroom and the kitchen are gone... they've all disappeared.

He ran alone through the corridor, feeling empty, fearful, and panicked, as if he were the only person left in this dark world.

"Hey, where are you guys? Can you answer me?"

"How could you do this? I brought you all here. How could you leave me all alone?"

"Why isn't anyone coming out? Someone come out to see me! I'm scared... I'm really scared... Father, Mother... Wu'er... Yuehe... come out quickly!"

The two people standing on the rooftop watched Qi Hong running around howling in pain. Jiang Zhishui looked at the talismans set up around her, got up and prepared to jump down. Jing Qianheng followed behind and suddenly struck, knocking her unconscious with a needle.

He descended from the sky carrying her. Qi Hong was shrouded in a cloud of black mist. Sensing that someone was in the courtyard, he turned around, and his sinister figure smashed through two doors, arriving directly in front of Jing Qianheng.

Jing Qianheng didn't even raise his eyes, only looking tenderly at the person in his arms, as drops of blood dripped from his hands.

Qi Hong's sinister expression softened upon seeing the two. His voice was eerie, shrill, and extremely grating: "You're back. It's good that you're back. Don't leave without saying goodbye in the future."

Jing Qianheng carried Jiang Zhishui and turned to walk to the edge of the steps. He put her down and let her lean against the pillar. He gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead with his unblemished hand and whispered, "Is it because you feel so sorry for me that you believe everything I say?"

Qi Hong, with disheveled hair and a dark aura, was completely unaware of his own abnormality. He said, "Is she tired? Why don't you take her inside to rest? It's windy here, be careful she doesn't catch a cold."

Jing Qianheng slowly stood up, holding a sword in his hand, the sword soaked with his blood.

Qi Hong tilted his head and asked sadly, "Wu'er, are you angry with your father?"

“You’ve been dead for hundreds of years, Qi Hong.” Jing Qianheng walked towards him, sword in hand. “It’s time to wake up.”

In an instant, black energy intertwined, and the protective formations surrounding the ancient house were separated by blood. All the fire and thunder talismans that Jiang Zhishui brought exploded, causing the ground to collapse for miles, destroying the foundation of the house, and causing the pillars to collapse one by one.

In the courtyard, demonic energy surged wildly into the sky, and the howling of the evil spirits was terrifying. Their limbs were being pulled by spiritual power, and their entire souls were being twisted into fragments, leaving them powerless to fight back.

"You think you're any different from me? You're all dreaming!" Qi Hong, his soul nearly leaving his body, twisted into just a head, roared with a ferocious expression, "She won't accept someone like you! I'm not the only one deceiving myself! You'll end up like me, abandoned by everyone, with no one to rely on, and dying a horrible death!!!"

With an annoyed expression, Jing Qianheng swung his sword and cleaved Qi Hong's head in two.

In the mountains and forests, a flock of birds took flight, and the array that spread out from the ancient house was completely broken. The fighting in various parts of the city suddenly came to its senses halfway through, and they stared at each other in a daze.

Liu Chuxi leaped across the rooftops, searching everywhere for the locations of the immortal sect disciples.

Lin Ye, dressed in his wedding attire, ran out of a house and saw Liu Chuxi fly past him. He quickly chased after her, calling out, "Chuxi!"

Looking at his clothes, Liu Chuxi asked in confusion, "What's this?"

Lin Ye blushed slightly and said, "I was accidentally under an illusion, but thankfully, I didn't do anything wrong."

In the illusion, Lin Ye believed he and Liu Chuxi were traveling together, deeply in love and happily married. On their wedding day, the demon impersonating Liu Chuxi was repeatedly annoyed by Lin Ye to the point of wanting to kill him.

Lin Ye got what he wanted, but he also felt it was too easy. He repeatedly tested her, declining the marriage proposal several times, but refused to go through the wedding ceremony.

That monster was no match for such delicate work. After trying to coax him for a long time, he was often so angry that he secretly wanted to take a knife and chop him up.

After finally managing to appease the man and get him dressed in wedding attire for the wedding ceremony, the illusion array was destroyed at that moment. Lin Ye recognized the person in front of him and, without hesitation, raised his sword and killed the demon.

With its last breath, the monster uttered a resentful murmur, "If only... I should have killed him sooner," before passing away.

Jiang Zhishui sat under the tree, her head tilted and resting on Jing Qianheng's shoulder. The wound on his hand was not yet bandaged, and blood was still flowing down.

He glanced at Jiang Zhishui, then slowly lowered his head, looking forlorn.

The ancient house directly in front of them had collapsed and was no longer recognizable. The darkness that had enveloped Qiyun City dissipated, and the sunlight slowly emerged from the mountaintop.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Zhishui fell asleep, her head tilted to the other side, her body suddenly tilted, and she fell to the ground.

She covered her head and got up, while Jing Qianheng looked at her strangely.

Jiang Zhishui noticed the blood on his hands at first glance. Her slightly narrowed eyes widened suddenly, and the leaves at Jing Qianheng's feet were also stained with blood.

She stepped forward anxiously and said, "Why isn't it bandaged?"

I don't know how long he sat there, but blood was everywhere.

Jing Qianheng watched her take some gauze and ointment into her Qiankun bag, and he said in a low voice, "I forgot."

Jiang Zhishui looked up at him, puzzled, and said, "You can forget this? Doesn't it hurt?"

There were often rituals in the palace to pray for blessings and ward off evil. He needed to provide his own blood regularly and in fixed quantities to be sprinkled in various corners. He had done this countless times.

Sometimes, when the palace maids cut his arm, they would rush to send the wounds to various places and completely forget about his existence. He didn't care and let the blood flow freely from his hand.

The palace maids would forget, and he would occasionally forget as well.

Once you get used to the pain, you stop feeling it.

Jiang Zhishui poured medicine onto his arm, cleaned it repeatedly, and then bandaged the wound with gauze. She looked up and saw him staring intently at her. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Does it hurt a lot? Should I blow on it for you?"