Chapter 161 Reminiscing
"...After so long, we finally meet again."
Where have I heard that familiar yet unfamiliar voice before?
Was it in Yu Qingzhou's dream?
If so, then this person—
Who is this boy who hugged me tightly at this moment, whose voice and tone are so similar to Li Xiao's, yet who is not Li Xiao?
A faint, chilling chuckle rang out again, followed by the boy's teasing tone.
Hmm, but maybe you prefer the name "Loquat" now? Right, you little liar?
As soon as the other person finished speaking, the misty daylight scene before my eyes suddenly vanished.
Darkness swept over him like a surging tide, engulfing the loquat completely.
—I finally remembered.
It wasn't a sunny day after the Lantern Festival at all; it was clearly a dark and gloomy underground cave.
And countless strange vines lurking in the darkness, stirring and constantly trying to entwine you.
However, it wasn't all an illusion.
For example, the boy in front of me is embracing me in the same way.
Just as she was engrossed in her surroundings, the loquat, entwined and surrounded by numerous vines, was lifted high into the air and carried to what appeared to be a dazzling starry sky composed of fireflies.
In reality, there were no fireflies at all; there were only fruit-shaped spheres hanging from the vines.
These round spheres peek out from among the clusters of lush green leaves.
The white sphere, with its outermost side facing outwards, is almost identical to a human eyeball.
However, the human pupil is round in shape and shrinks into a small black dot when exposed to light.
And these eyeballs all have vertical pupils like those of animals.
It faintly emitted a bluish-green light in the unfathomable darkness.
Pipa speculates that this is the source of the numerous gazes she had previously sensed.
—They are watching him.
Strangely, the intense gaze that had been directed at them before suddenly vanished when they got close enough.
Pipa only saw the shape of the eyeball, but did not feel its charm.
It was as if so many eyeballs had suddenly lost their life at the same time.
Just as he was staring intently at the nearest sphere, lost in thought, his seemingly lifeless vertical pupils suddenly blinked at the loquat.
Pipa's heart skipped a beat, and she struggled to get away.
Unfortunately, its limbs were tightly bound by vines.
What's more, there was someone pressing their chin tightly against his neck, and another pair of hands reaching under his ribs to hold him firmly in their arms from behind.
I still feel a little short of breath, but perhaps it's because I opened my mouth and took several breaths in a panic.
My previously drowsy mind seemed to clear up a bit.
Pipa turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of Yu Guangzhong's light-colored hair, which was as smooth and silky as the boy's long hair in her memory, like the finest silk.
"Who exactly are you?" Pipa squeezed out a slightly hoarse voice from her dry throat.
Then I heard the other person chuckle softly.
Perhaps it was because they buried their heads in his neck.
Even so, Pipa still felt that the voice was familiar.
That's so strange.
The person before me, from hair color to voice, looked exactly like Li Xiao, and even the faint sweet fragrance I could smell in his breath was just like him...
But Li Xiao, there's no way he could possibly be in such a place.
He shouldn't become a monster's companion. Even without him, he should be able to live well, just as his master and sect leader expected, to live as a human being...
Therefore, this must also be fake!
As she thought about it, Pipa became more and more determined in her decision.
Just like the monster made of vines that imitated his mother's voice and touch in his memory to deceive him, the figure in front of him that looks so much like Li Xiao must also be an illusion created by those vines.
It's all fake, it's all...
Thinking of this, Pipa's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the other person's abrupt voice.
It was a low, malicious chuckle, followed by the boy's affected sigh.
"I never imagined that after so many years, even after reincarnation and going through the cycle of reincarnation, you would still be just as stubborn and self-deceiving."
The loquat instinctively felt dissatisfied with the other party's words.
But before Pipa could refute him, the boy continued talking.
"You're so smart and fair, to conclude without a second thought that the one outside is real and I'm definitely fake, you must have absolute certainty and solid evidence. So what is your basis?"
"..."
"Because of first come, first served?"
The boy spoke slowly, each word clearly reaching Pipa's ears.
"It's because you two are in love and even planned to elope together. As for me, I'm just a monster that suddenly appeared in your life. A complete outsider, so naturally I can't compare to your sweetheart, right?"
If a loquat can't express it, how can it prove that a person is itself?
Based on feeling? Based on memory?
Deep down, Pipa knew that the eldest son of the Li family, whom he knew, had actually died in that fire long ago.
Facing Li Xiao outside, who seemed to have lost his mind and kept calling out Yu Qingzhou's name.
The loquat feels pity and sadness, and hopes the other person is doing well, but it doesn't feel much reluctance to part. Perhaps because many years ago, it had already said a solemn goodbye.
Or perhaps it's simply because the loquat is not a sentimental person.
However, this only applies to Li Xiao as he is, the one who is Pipa.
But the other party had clearly mentioned reincarnation in his words just now, and had even jokingly called himself Master Yu at the beginning.
So, is it possible that the "truth" the boy speaks of is relative to Li Xiao?
That half-demon boy who lived in the Asura Domain and was later taken to the Hidden Immortal Sect by Yu Qingzhou.
What happened next?
Is he alive? Or dead?
But then something else happened.
The loquat had no idea.
"Of course he's dead." The boy once again revealed what Pipa was thinking.
Upon hearing this, the latter was slightly taken aback and murmured to himself.
"Dead. In the end, he was still dead."
Pipa didn't know what she was feeling sad and disappointed about. She had long suspected that Young Master Li was the reincarnation of that half-demon.
However, he learned of that person's death from another person.
Another overwhelming sense of melancholy welled up from the bottom of his heart, enveloping him completely.
After a long while, Pipa realized that this was originally Yu Qingzhou's sadness.
Thinking of Yu Qingzhou...
Then I thought of Yu Qingzhou's body, which had disappeared in the chaos.
Pipa suddenly had a strange idea.
He felt his heart beating slowly in his chest, nothing particularly special, yet it seemed a little heavier than usual.
Could it be...
As if sensing the tremor in Pipa's heart, the person on the other end spoke again.
"What's so strange about that? You're all one person."
He paused, then continued, "It was only because you were ruthless back then, that you were able to sever a wisp of your own soul with your own hands, all to completely end the karmic entanglement with me. As a result, you not only lost most of your cultivation, but also indirectly lost your life."
"..."
"I never imagined that after all this time, I'd still end up entangled with the reincarnation of the very demon you once despised. I wonder if you feel even a shred of regret?"
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