Chapter 48 Are you sincere or not?
The light outside the Refining Heart Tower was steady and soft, illuminating the varied expressions on the faces of the players who were gradually awakening.
hushed conversations, sighs of realization, and gasps of fear mingled together.
However, amidst this gradually enlivening atmosphere, there was a place that seemed to be shrouded in an invisible, icy domain.
Jun Xiangbei stood quietly in place, as if all the noise around him was separated from him by a thick layer of glass.
His hand, hanging by his side, twitched almost imperceptibly at the fingertips, as if still carrying the cold, stiff touch of the "corpse" he had been holding, and... the numbness caused by excessive force.
Even clearer is the area above the lips.
That fleeting, yet bloody and resolute, cool and soft touch was like a brand, deeply etched into his senses, impossible to erase.
"Not as an apprentice..."
Those words, along with Gu Yunqing's last blood-stained smile, exploded again in his regained clarity of mind. They no longer brought the heart-wrenching pain of the illusion, but instead transformed into a more oppressive, dull ache, weighing heavily on his heart.
He found out.
Everything became clear.
The Tower of Refining the Heart. An Illusion. A Seal of Memories.
That "female disciple" who depended on him, was afraid of the dark, and ultimately died for him, is the one not far away right now...
His gaze, as if drawn by an invisible thread, pierced through the sparse crowd and landed precisely on that figure.
Gu Yunqing.
He casually flexed his wrists, turned his head to talk to Zhuge Jin, who looked relieved, and even had a familiar, slightly lazy smile on his lips.
He was composed, with clear eyes and a well-fitting set of men's clothing that accentuated his slender and upright figure, making him completely different from the "disciple" in the illusion who was dressed in women's clothing and was sometimes timid and sometimes cunning.
It was as if the heart-wrenching, bloody, and tumultuous love affair he had just witnessed was nothing more than a more realistic holographic movie to him.
The show ended, and I woke up.
Jun Xiangbei felt as if something had twisted his heart violently, sending a sharp, aching sensation through him.
At this moment, a system voice sounded:
The Heart Refining Tower trial has officially ended.
[The final person to break the illusion: 1]
[Congratulations to player Gu Yunqing, who is the first and only player to break through the illusion in this instance.]
[Rewards will now be calculated...]
Upon hearing the system's words, Jun Xiangbei felt an even greater pang of sorrow and pain in his heart.
The system's words all point to an obvious fact—Gu Yunqing not only regained his memory long ago, but also... he was very likely always lucid.
He knew perfectly well that it was an illusion, knew perfectly well his own identity, and knew perfectly well that he was playing that role, until the very end... that breathtaking "curtain call".
A play... performed for Jun Xiangbei to see.
This realization made Jun Xiangbei feel an unprecedented sense of absurdity and... the stinging pain of being fooled.
"Oh my, you're finally out!" Su Meichuan's lazy, smiling voice broke the tense atmosphere around Jun Xiangbei. He walked over gracefully, his eyes still carrying a natural charm.
"This Heart Refining Tower really knows how to torment people, turning them into such a state..." He chuckled meaningfully, his gaze subtly shifting between Jun Xiangbei and Gu Yunqing.
Finally, his gaze fell on Gu Yunqing, with a hint of inquiry and amusement, "Junior Brother Gu seems to be... quite eye-catching in the illusion?"
Su Meichuan deliberately emphasized the words "junior brother," her tone ambiguous.
Upon hearing this, Gu Yunqing turned around, her face displaying an impeccable, yet somewhat aloof, polite smile: "Mr. Su is joking. The illusion is bizarre and cannot be taken seriously."
His answer was impeccable, his eyes calm, and he didn't even glance at Jun Xiangbei beside him.
As Jun Xiangbei watched him converse naturally with Su Meichuan, and saw the smile on his face that was completely different from the one in the illusion, now carrying a sense of distance, an indescribable sense of loss and irritation quietly spread through his heart like wildfire.
He remembered that in the illusion, when those eyes looked at him, they always carried complete dependence and trust, and occasionally a hint of cunning.
Instead of being like this now... calm and still, as if he were just an insignificant stranger in the crowd.
Gu Yunqing naturally felt that scorching and complex gaze.
He understood perfectly well, and even enjoyed the other person's state of complete disarray with a touch of wicked pleasure.
But amidst this enjoyment was a hint of annoyance that even he himself found repulsive.
Especially when he caught a glimpse of Jun Xiangbei's still slightly pale face and the barely concealed emptiness in his icy eyes, his frustration intensified.
He forced himself to look away and continued talking to Zhuge Jin and Su Meichuan, his tone relaxed, as if he had really just gone through an ordinary trial.
"Since everyone is alright, why don't we go to the market to rest for a while?" Gu Yunqing suggested, trying to divert everyone's attention from the illusion they had just experienced. "I heard that some new goods have arrived recently."
Su Meichuan smiled indifferently: "I'll listen to Mr. Gu."
Zhuge Jin nodded silently.
Qiu Zangxue also casually said "okay".
The group turned around one after another, preparing to leave the entrance area of the Heart Refining Tower.
Jun Xiangbei remained standing in the same spot, as if his feet had taken root.
His gaze remained stubbornly fixed on Gu Yunqing's back.
Watching him chat and laugh with others, watching him walk with ease, watching him... completely oblivious to her.
The figure in the illusion who would tightly grasp his sleeve, softly call him "Master," and whose eyes would light up at his slightest act of protection, formed a cruel contrast with the aloof, independent, and even somewhat nonchalant and indifferent Gu Yunqing before him.
The enormous drop was like a cold file, repeatedly grinding his heart, which had just experienced a "life-or-death" ordeal.
The inexplicable feeling of irritation grew stronger and stronger, almost breaking through his usual calm and self-control.
He found himself unable to bear it.
Unable to bear Gu Yunqing so casually turning the page, as if nothing had happened.
I can't stand the way he smiles so naturally at others, yet he doesn't even deign to give me a glance.
What I can't stand is... that kiss, that phrase "not as an apprentice," which might just be part of a carefully orchestrated scheme by the other party.
Just as Gu Yunqing was about to walk away with the crowd—
"Gu Yunqing".
Jun Xiangbei's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the slightly noisy background.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him in surprise.
Gu Yunqing paused slightly, but did not turn around immediately.
Jun Xiangbei stared at his paused back, almost gritting his teeth, and asked, word by word, the question that had been swirling in his mind, nearly driving him mad:
"Why did you do that in the illusion?"
His question seemed abrupt and unrelated, but the few people in the know instantly understood what he was asking.
Ask the figure that lunged at the blade, ask the blood-stained kiss, ask the earth-shattering last words.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
All eyes were on Gu Yunqing, waiting for his answer.
With his back to everyone, Gu Yunqing's expression was hidden from view.
Only he knew that when he heard Jun Xiangbei's voice, which was filled with suppressed emotions, his heart skipped a beat and his fingertips unconsciously tightened.
They've arrived.
He took a deep breath and slowly turned around.
His face remained calm, even with a hint of innocence and confusion, as if Jun Xiangbei had asked a very strange question.
"What do you mean by Mr. Jun?" Gu Yunqing blinked, her tone casual, with just the right amount of confusion.
"The illusion is bizarre and unpredictable; what happens there is not to be believed. If there has been any offense, I hope you will forgive me, sir?"
He nodded slightly, his posture polite yet distant, creating an insurmountable distance between them.
"Have any sympathy?" Jun Xiangbei repeated the two words, a cold and faint smile curving his lips. There was no warmth in that smile, only a chilling coldness and self-mockery.
He took a step forward, and the chilling aura around him almost materialized, causing the surrounding temperature to drop sharply.
"Was that kiss also an offense?" He stared into Gu Yunqing's eyes, not missing a single subtle change in his emotions, his voice low and dangerous.
"That phrase 'not as a disciple'... is it also a bizarre and fantastical illusion, and therefore unreliable?"
With each question he posed, he took a step closer, his long-suppressed aura, a mixture of pain and anger, like a drawn sword aimed directly at Gu Yunqing.
Gu Yunqing was forced to take a half step back by his imposing aura, but she maintained her innocent expression perfectly, and even a hint of "helplessness" and "trouble" flashed in her eyes.
“Mr. Jun,” he sighed, as if comforting an ignorant child, “the Illusionary Tower of the Heart is designed to temper the mind and test a person’s instinctive reactions and character in extreme situations.”
"The situation was critical at the time, so it might have been... a desperate expedient, or perhaps a loss of composure under the influence of the formation. It shouldn't be taken too seriously."
He attributed everything to the rules of the illusion and the interference of the formation, completely absolving himself of any responsibility.
"As for that sentence..." Gu Yunqing paused, meeting Jun Xiangbei's almost icy eyes, and a slightly playful yet unfathomable smile curved her lips.
"It was just a joke, Mr. Jun, why... take it so seriously?"
A joke?
Just a joke?!
Jun Xiangbei felt a rush of blood to his head, and his vision even blurred for a moment.
For that "joke," he suffered death and grief in the illusion, experiencing unprecedented panic and despair.
He was so shaken by that "expedient" kiss that his mind was almost completely overwhelmed, and his Daoist resolve nearly crumbled.
But at this moment, the instigator casually tells him that it was just... a joke? A stopgap measure?
A profound sense of absurdity and rage at being utterly belittled surged within him like magma, threatening to consume his last shred of reason.
Looking at Gu Yunqing's exquisite yet aloof and perfunctory face, he felt for the first time a strong urge to tear away all his pretenses and see what was really in his heart.
At this tense moment, when swords were about to be drawn and war was imminent—
"Oh dear, it seems the two of you have had quite an experience in the illusion?" Su Meichuan interjected at the opportune moment, her voice carrying a lazy smile of anticipation, breaking the suffocating standoff.
He stepped forward, cleverly blocking Jun Xiangbei and Gu Yunqing, his eyes sweeping over them: "But now that we've left the illusion, the past is nothing, let bygones be bygones."
Why ruin the harmony of the present moment for something so fleeting and unattainable?
Zhuge Jin had also silently moved a few steps closer. Although he didn't speak, his very presence carried an invisible pressure.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gu Yunqing immediately escaped from Jun Xiangbei's intimidating gaze and smiled at Su Meichuan: "Mr. Su and Zhuge are right. Mr. Jun, if there is nothing else, we will take our leave first."
After he finished speaking, he didn't give Jun Xiangbei any chance to speak. He turned around and left, his steps crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Su Meichuan glanced meaningfully at Jun Xiangbei, whose expression was as cold as a volcano about to erupt, chuckled, and followed him with a graceful sway.
Qiu Zangxue followed behind Gu Yunqing the whole time, while Zhuge Jin was the last to leave.
In the blink of an eye, only Jun Xiangbei remained in the same spot.
He stood alone under the halo of light at the entrance of the Heart Refining Tower, his posture still upright, yet he inexplicably exuded a sense of desolation.
He watched Gu Yunqing's resolute departure, watched him walk side by side with others, chatting and laughing. The pent-up anger and indescribable bitterness in his chest intertwined and churned, eventually turning into a cold, blank stare.
Gu Yunqing...
Are you sincere or not?
What did that kiss and those last words really mean?
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