Chapter 249 Epilogue - The New World Arc (46)

Originally, Zhenzhu thought she would have enough time.

Because clearly, this land, which has just experienced a demonic invasion, is in a time when everything needs to be rebuilt.

Ruins sometimes represent not only destruction itself, but also a new beginning.

To tear everything down, to destroy everything beyond what can be destroyed.

Reconstruction became the only option.

Rather than painting over and modifying an already well-established system, starting from scratch is a more ideal choice.

As long as you are willing to invest enough time and effort...

For Zhenzhu, spending energy on people and things she likes is always a pleasure.

This naturally includes Senior Brother Li.

As for time, it is an invaluable remedy.

Li Xiao is a half-demon, while Zhen Zhu herself is a cultivator with decent aptitude. As long as she cultivates diligently, she will naturally be able to spend a long time by his side in the future.

Whether it's love that develops over time or love that is reciprocated with sincerity, Zhenzhu has enough determination and confidence.

Of course, there is one more point, which is also the most important one.

Although Zhenzhen admits that she is far inferior to her senior brother Yu in many aspects such as cultivation and knowledge, she is confident that she can surpass Yu Qingzhou in terms of devotion.

Unlike Yu Qingzhou, she wouldn't waver between the two.

She couldn't take the initiative to pursue her beloved Senior Sister Shen further, nor could she completely ignore Li Xiao's advances.

If it were me, I would definitely choose Senior Brother Yu over anyone else without hesitation.

In a relationship, once you've chosen someone, shouldn't you wholeheartedly and single-mindedly treat that person well? Isn't that a given?

A young girl's love is pure and passionate.

Especially after experiencing a major life-or-death crisis.

Zhenzhu has gained a clearer understanding of the preciousness of life and her own emotions.

In addition, there was an unexpected gain: the explicit support of Senior Uncle Chang.

Compared to Senior Brother Yu, who is burdened with the name of a traitor and whose whereabouts are unknown, I am clearly more suitable to accompany Senior Brother Li, given my clean background and firm stance.

However, the situation is not optimistic.

Not long after returning from the front lines, Li Xiao fell ill.

Moreover, he is very ill and therefore needs to stay home and rest quietly, and visits are not allowed during this period.

—This is the official version of events.

What Zhenzhu witnessed was that the boy had been imprisoned under the guise of taking care of him.

You are prohibited from going out or participating in any regular sect activities.

At first, Zhenzhu was completely puzzled.

I felt that even if there were disagreements on whether Senior Brother Yu had defected, such harsh measures should not have been taken.

Moreover, everyone knows the boy's temperament; he's the type who responds better to gentle persuasion than force.

The more they are suppressed, the more they rebel and resist.

Why did the sect leader and Master Chang agree to pass such an unreasonable solution?

It wasn't until Zhenzhu finally had the chance to meet Li Xiao that the girl realized she had been naive.

Silence reigned in the dimly lit stone chamber.

The furnishings are so simple that they are immediately obvious. Apart from the haystacks against the wall, there is only a dim lamp hanging on the side of the stone wall.

Zhenzhu stood at the entrance of the stone chamber, looking at the boy who was curled up in the corner, motionless as if he were dead, and couldn't help but hold her breath.

This was an opportunity that Zhenzhu had begged for a long time to obtain.

Unable to resist the girl's sincerity, Master Chang finally nodded reluctantly. He then gave her a final, sighing instruction.

"The child's condition is not good. If... if anything happens, you must inform the outside immediately."

These words made Zhenzhu's heart sink.

However, even though she had prepared herself mentally, she never expected to see such a half-dead boy.

Although the other person was filled with resentment and indignation when they last parted, at least they were still in good spirits.

It's nothing like it is now... like this...

Thinking of this, Zhenzhu felt a sharp pain in her heart, and almost couldn't breathe.

At one point, he even harbored some resentment towards the sect leader and his senior master Chang, which was quite disrespectful.

The boy was indeed a bit stubborn, but he hadn't broken any laws.

How could it be done so simply and crudely—

“…Senior Brother Li.”

Zhenzhu stood there for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a barely audible call.

Her cautious tone was full of tender affection.

Unfortunately, the boy in the corner didn't seem to hear it.

Zhenzhu then called out twice more.

Finally, they saw that the other party reacted.

Accompanied by the soft clanging of metal against metal, the boy who had been huddled motionless in the corner slowly raised his head and looked over.

Upon seeing this, Zhenzhu couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

She immediately stepped forward, raising her voice slightly, and said, "Senior Brother Li, it's me, Zhen Zhu. I've come to see you, you—"

However, before he could fully express all his longing—

The girl's joyful voice suddenly caught in her throat, like a bird suddenly having its throat choked while singing.

Because she saw it—the scarlet pupils peeking out from between the boy's falling hair, that eerie and intense crimson color, the kind only a man-eating demon would have…

It was only then that Zhen Zhu belatedly noticed the ominous smell of rust in the air.

Eyes, which had adjusted to the dim environment, stiffly moved downwards and finally saw the white skeletons scattered around the corner where the boy was located.

Among them was even a round skull with a missing corner...

Huff, huff.

This was the second time Zhenzhu had experienced difficulty breathing since entering this place.

But the reason was completely different from before.

She was afraid.

This feeling is familiar.

It felt like standing in a village that had been ravaged by demons when I was a child.

The adults searched house to house for any possible survivors... They all said the monsters had all left. So they told the little girl to stay put and not leave.

Children tend to believe whatever adults say.

Zhenzhu felt the same way, but somewhere in her heart, she was always uneasy and had an inexplicable sense of unease.

It's like... it's like right now...

The past and the present intersect.

Suddenly, I heard a soft rustling sound, like the sound of a gentle breeze.

Zhenzhu was startled.

Time overlapped, and she and the young girl inside her looked up together, only to see the thing lunging at them...

A ferocious face, and sharp fangs.

That's right—

An unmistakable monster.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Zhenzhu finally couldn't help but scream in surprise.

The expected pain did not come.

Those heavy shackles, which Zhenzhu had previously cursed and considered torture, now firmly trapped the monster before her within the barrier.

We're...we're saved.

Tears blurred my vision in my panic.

Then, she ran away.

Dragging her limbs, which felt as cold and stiff as if they were filled with lead, Zhenzhu stumbled and fled towards the exit without looking back.

On the way, she suddenly bumped into someone and finally stumbled and fell to the ground.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Chang Li, whom I hadn't seen in a long time.

Although we weren't particularly familiar with each other, seeing someone I knew after the fright was a great comfort.

"S-Senior... what exactly is that monster inside...?"

Zhenzhu spoke incoherently.

Her mind was a complete mess; she desperately wanted to figure it out, or—tried to deny something.

Therefore, they did not notice that the dark eyes opposite them, which were always full of smiles, were now unusually cold.

"Tsk."

An unexpected reaction.

Zhen Zhu was startled, and at the same time, a shadow fell before her eyes, enveloping her in darkness.

The sudden sense of oppression made the girl's shoulders feel heavy.

Then a mocking voice was heard.

"Is the monster you're talking about like this?"

Hearing this, Zhenzhu was confused, but she still subconsciously looked up.

As I saw the face so close to my eyes.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, and her face, which had been numb and stiff from the tear stains, was once again distorted by horror.

It seems that he experienced too much stimulation at once.

The scene before my eyes was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Zhenzhu screamed in surprise, then her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Seeing this, Chang Li slowly bent down.

After confirming that the girl had simply fainted from fright, he scoffed and wiped the change from his expression.

In an instant, it transformed from that terrifying face, somewhere between a fish and a human, mottled and sparsely scaled, back into a clean and incredibly adorable glutinous rice ball.

"If you're this scared just by looking at them, how can you say you like them..."

Chang Li muttered to himself with an indifferent expression, then suddenly put on an innocent and naive look.

She shrugged and sighed seriously, "So, I still like my brother the most. I wish he were here."

Chang Li liked Yu Qingzhou.

Not only because of the pleasant smell on him, but also because he was one of the few humans who, when caught off guard, did not look at him with disdain upon seeing his demonic form.

In the past, relying on his adorable appearance after transforming, Chang Li once held sway both inside and outside the sect—

He was especially popular among the female disciples.

However, those men and women who had been pinching Chang Li's cheeks and praising his cuteness suddenly changed their attitudes after seeing his real appearance.

Most people began to avoid it like the plague.

Those few who remained also exhibited a subtle attitude, either overly cautious or overly enthusiastic, as if afraid of having their thoughts exposed...

Yu Qingzhou, on the other hand, was a person who remained consistent from beginning to end.

He didn't become enthusiastic because of Chang Li's feigned cuteness...

I didn't hold any grudge against him because of his true identity...

It seems that everything looks the same, without beauty or ugliness, or superiority or inferiority.

"Little Li, aren't you scared at all, brother?"

One day, Chang Li, with his strange face that was neither human nor fish, asked Yu Qingzhou this question as if it were unintentional.

"Um."

Yu Qingzhou stared straight at that face without blinking, hummed softly through her nose, and casually patted the large, mottled head.

Chang Li enjoyed the touch.

The fish was so comfortable it almost curled its tail tip up.

But he steadied himself and continued, "Do you find it ugly?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingzhou did not answer directly, but instead asked, "Do you feel that way?"

certainly--

"Won't."

As the most likely carp to transform into a dragon in this cultivation world in the past hundred years, he was extremely confident.

"That's fine then."

The young Yu Qingzhou replied, "You have your own standards, so why bother with the human definition of beauty and ugliness?"

Chang Li blinked, managing to squeeze out a hint of naivety from his oddly shaped face.

"What if...the person I care about feels the same way?"

"Then that person is probably not worth your attention."

"I see..."

Chang Li murmured to himself, a smile curving his lips as if he were extremely satisfied with the answer.

When she raised her head, her face became as full and fair as the autumn moon.

Yu Qingzhou paused slightly at the sudden change in the sensation in her palm. A questioning look appeared in her eyes as she looked at the child.

Chang Li smiled coquettishly and rubbed her fluffy head against the boy's outstretched palm.

"because……"

He chuckled and murmured, "I want to become even cuter in my brother's eyes."

I want to be cute...

I want to be worthy of being loved...

I just don't want fake love.

Therefore, if there is anything that Chang Li believes is essential in a transgender relationship, it is probably seeing what the other person originally looks like.

Ugly, cowardly, bizarre, terrifying, unpresentable... Only after seeing all of these can one be considered to truly know them.

Only then can one be considered qualified to talk about whether they like or dislike someone, or whether they love someone.

Otherwise, how are they any different from those who are bewitched by demons and fall into demonic possession?

"But... it's just self-deception."

Chang Li was about to leave, abandoning the unconscious girl. But when he turned around, he met a worried-looking, short, stout middle-aged man.

"Oh, she fainted without warning. I didn't expect this girl to be so calm. It seems you need to improve your judgment in judging people."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Chang looked disapproving.

"You shouldn't be like this... Your violent nature is too strong and it's detrimental to your cultivation. One wrong move and you might even fall into the demonic path."

Chang Li shrugged indifferently.

"Isn't this perfect? ​​Anyway, I've been cultivating the righteous path for so long, I'm tired of it. It's not a bad thing to change things up. Then we can catch you all in one fell swoop. How shameless would that be if word got out?"

Before the other party could refute, the child raised a nonchalant smile.

"Haha, just kidding. Look how nervous you are."

With that, he walked back the way he came.

After taking two steps, Chang Li suddenly stopped as if he had remembered something, turned around and looked at his senior brother Chang standing there with a genuine look of confusion on his face.

"I've heard that fratricide is a demonic trait, but now it seems humans are much the same. Or is it that, for you, as long as you wave the banner of salvation and as long as blood doesn't directly stain your own hands, you're considered noble?"

"This..." Master Chang hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

It seems I don't know where to begin explaining.

Chang Li didn't seem to really want a reason.

He then casually shrugged.

"Never mind. It doesn't really concern me anyway."

He paused here, then suddenly gave a malicious smile.

"At least someone needs a more convincing explanation than I do. Right, you little girl over there pretending to be asleep? Also, eavesdropping isn't a commendable habit, you know."

"...!"