Once inside, Chu Hongluan and Liu Jinghong changed out of their night clothes.
Liu Jinghong removed his mask, revealing a handsome face stained with crimson blood, which gave him a somewhat bewitching appearance.
It was already past the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) on the second day, and the most suitable time for the assassination had passed. After confirming that no more accomplices would appear, the three of them sat down at the table one after another.
Chu Hongluan coughed lightly and spoke first: "I think I can guess part of the truth."
Kotinghe immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, adopting an attitude of listening attentively.
Chu Hongluan rolled her eyes at him and continued, "First of all, the Changgui call this world the Mirror Realm, which is the world in the mirror. I think it can also be understood as a fictional world that only exists in the mirror."
ha?
Those two short sentences caused the CPU in the Königsberg to overheat.
"The Changgui call themselves demonic cultivators, from the outside world, with hundreds or even thousands of years of cultivation. Moreover, only a small part of their souls enter the Mirror Realm."
"Therefore, I dare to guess that this so-called outside world should be the legendary cultivation world."
Kotinghe's eyes were glazed over, his brain seemingly frozen.
"With this background established, the consciousness incarnation of the righteous disciple mentioned by the vengeful ghost becomes much easier to understand. Righteous disciples are righteous cultivators, who, like the vengeful ghost, come from the outside world. However, the difference is that the vengeful ghost enters with only a portion of its soul, so even if you kill them, their physical body will at most be injured. But the righteous cultivator enters with their consciousness, not their soul. If their consciousness dies, their physical body in the outside world will also die."
"What?! You mean I'm just a consciousness residing here? My real body is still lying outside?!" Ke Tinghe exclaimed in shock.
“Not just you. Me, and Prince Liu, are all of them.”
Kotinghe was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha! In other words, we're in the same boat!"
But then he frowned: "But I clearly remember that I was born and raised in this world."
"That's the problem. What normal person has memories of being born? Think back carefully. Don't you remember everything that happened from the moment you were born until now, down to the smallest detail? If you just try a little harder to recall, the scene will automatically appear in your mind."
"Holy crap! It really is! I can actually remember what the old woman who delivered my mother looked like! She had a huge mole on her chin!"
Chu Hongluan's gaze shifted to Liu Jinghong.
Liu Jinghong also nodded solemnly.
"More importantly, don't you feel that there's always something between you and these memories? You can't truly empathize with things that happened to you. Some things that should be profound are completely forgotten unless you deliberately search your memory for them."
"Hiss—Miss Chu's words have truly awakened me from my dream!"
"If I'm not mistaken, you started feeling this way about seven days ago, right?"
"right!!!"
"Therefore, the memories we have in our minds now are just some fabricated stories imposed on us. They are not everything we actually experienced."
At this point, Chu Hongluan felt a surge of anger.
That damned Mo Yu! He's using my savior's name to try and get something in return, isn't he?!
Just you wait.
Chu Hongluan pulled herself back to reality and added, "In this way, it can explain why I was able to learn how to use a knife without ever having touched one."
"That's not right. The other day you said you studied with a teacher for a few days when you were a child?"
"Just kidding."
"...So you noticed something was wrong back then. Why didn't you say anything?"
"With your brain, it would be pointless to say anything."
"...That's a personal attack."
Chu Hongluan tapped the table with her knuckles, signaling him to be quiet.
"In conclusion, there are now four things we need to figure out:"
First, how many demonic cultivators have entered the Mirror Realm?
Secondly, besides the three of us, who else are the righteous disciples? Can we gather them together to fight against a common enemy?
Third, how can we retrieve our true memories?
Fourth, how can one escape the mirror world?
Chu Hongluan paused, as if deep in thought.
After a long pause, she carefully spoke: "The first two are not difficult, but the latter two are completely unsolvable. Fortunately, Yu Meiren's identity can still be used. I suggest that we continue with the plan as usual, and make more contact with those accomplices. We can always get some useful information out of them."
Of the three, Chu Hongluan had always been in a dominant position. Now that she had made her decision, how could the other two disagree?
"Very well, I arranged to meet the demons I subdued last night three miles south of the city at midnight tomorrow. But today, as soon as I drew my sword, one of the demons called out my name. Just in case, it's inconvenient for me to carry this sword with me. So I'll hand it over to—"
Chu Hongluan's gaze lingered on the two of them.
Kotinghe's eyes sparkled, and he even seemed eager to try it out; he was clearly very interested in her knife.
Liu Jinghong lowered his eyelids, his long, thick eyelashes concealing the emotions in his eyes, making him appear inexplicably vulnerable.
He had something on his mind, and Chu Hongluan could tell from the beginning.
"Then let it be entrusted to Prince Liu for safekeeping."
Liu Jinghong suddenly looked up, her beautiful peach blossom eyes revealing an incongruous hint of being flattered.
No, it shouldn't be like this.
How could such a humble expression appear on his face?
Chu Hongluan tried hard to ignore the strange feeling in her heart, and solemnly handed the knife to Liu Jinghong, her voice deliberately softening: "This knife is now my most precious possession, and the young prince must treat it well."
"I will not fail in my mission."
Kotinghe quit.
"Didn't we hit it off immediately and become bosom friends?! As fellow swordsmen, don't you think I understand the significance of the sword to a swordsman better than this kid!"
"Well, maybe it's because he's good-looking."
Damn it! Kotinghe was so angry he wanted to curse.
Liu Jinghong overheard their conversation and couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile.
He knew that the reason she called this knife her most precious possession was because it was the knife she cherished most in the outside world.
But she also vaguely felt that she was implying that the knife was a gift from him, which was why it had become the most precious item.
Moreover, a knife is like half a life to a swordsman. Her willingness to entrust the knife to him for safekeeping proves that she trusts him and holds him in a special place in her heart.
Otherwise, why didn't she hand the knife over to Kotinghe for safekeeping? She only gave it to him!
Thinking of this, Liu Jinghong's heart began to pound again.
Ke Tinghe noticed his expression had clearly brightened, and couldn't help but curse inwardly: Bah! A petty person who has gotten his way!
After thinking it over several times and making sure that no important information had been missed, Chu Hongluan patted her dress and got up.
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