He fell to his knees, sobbing, laughing, shaking. Everything he did—the murders, the sacrifices, the endless guilt—it all made sense again. It was worth it. Because his sister was back.
The woman tilted her head. Slowly, almost gently, she floated closer. Her presence was cold, wrong. It pressed against his mind like a blade.
However, Li Wei ignored that strange feeling.
"I knew you'd return," he whispered. "You remember me, don't you?" he watched her approach with a gentle smile.
She didn't answer.
She only looked at him, and in that silence, Li Wei began to doubt.
Her face—was it really hers? Had he remembered it wrong?
It's not that she looked any different. But she didn't give him the sense of familiarity for some reason.
'Maybe it's because we have been apart for so long.' Attributing this strangeness to their previous separation. Li Wei shook the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind.
He opened his arms wide, desperate for warmth. Hoping to feel that loving embrace once again. But-
*Stab*
"!"
Something pierced his chest. His world seemed to have stopped.
He looked down. A hand—his sister's hand—was buried deep inside his body, blood running down her wrist. She drew something out.
It was his heart.
Li Wei's knees gave way. He tried to speak, but only blood came out. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard her whisper.
Her voice was soft, with the same tenderness he remembered.
"Who said I was her?"
Only then did he realize he seemed to have made a very big mistake. However, it was all too late.
---
The vision shattered.
Su Mo stumbled back, gasping as if he had been drowning. His chest rose and fell sharply, his eyes unfocused. For a moment, the surrounding chamber didn't feel real. The air was too thick, and the silence was too deep.
"Su Mo?" Yang Qingxi's voice was faint.
He didn't answer. His gaze was locked on the massive ox skull on the wall. Its hollow sockets seemed to look back at him, empty yet aware. The longer he stared, the more certain he felt that something inside it was still listening.
However, even with his spiritual sense, he found nothing.
When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse.
"It wasn't an ox!"
Yang Qingxi frowned. "What do you mean?"
Zhang Xulin also tilted her head in confusion.
Su Mo's hands trembled slightly. "That ox skull… it was Li Wei."
Both women froze.
He ran his hand over his face, trying to steady himself, but the images wouldn't leave — the blood, the chanting, the twisted affection in Li Wei's voice, and that final whisper. It kept echoing in his ears.
"How is that possible?" Zhang stammered. "Why did Li Wei turn into an ox?"
Yang Qingxi had the same doubt as she waited to hear Su Mo's answer. Hoping to get his explanation.
Unfortunately, they were disappointed.
"I don't know." Su Mo shook his head. Then he repeated what he had seen in the memory.
…
Yang Qingxi rubbed her forehead as she repeated his words. "Let me get this straight! You mean Li Mei was resurrected, but she killed Li Wei for some unknown reason."
She was exasperated and confused. Just when she was trying to figure out why Li Mei would kill her brother.
Su Mo spoke; his voice was barely a whisper. "It wasn't Li Mei."
Yang Qingxi frowned. "What do you mean?"
Su Mo's throat tightened. He could still hear Li Mei's demonic whisper in his head, crawling like ice under his skin.
"She didn't come back," he said quietly. "Something else did. It used her body… it spoke through her."
Silence fell. Even the torches burned lower, their flames shrinking.
Yang Qingxi exchanged a look with Zhang Xulin. Only to find that Zhang Xulin was scared stiff.
She curled her lips with a helpless sigh and spoke. "Calm down, Sister Xulin. It was just a memory. She is not here."
"I understand, Miss." Zhang Xulin took deep breaths to adjust her emotions. However, those stiff movements betrayed her.
Yang Qingxi sighed and planned to have a good talk with her about it later. He faced Su Mo, who had already calmed down a little by now, and asked. "Do you know what that thing was?"
Su Mo shook his head and analysed. "No idea, but whatever it was. It had great strength."
"Why do you think so?" Yang Qingxi raised her brow.
"It can possess a dead body and float without support right after awakening." Su Mo stared back into her eyes deeply. "Can you guess? What level of strength can do that, Miss Yang?"
"Nascent Soul?" Yang Qingxi murmured.
"At least." Su Mo added.
Yang Qingxi's breath struck. A frown was etched on her face. Only now did she understand the gravity of the situation.
"But there's no such person in-"
Before she finished her words. Su Mon gestured to stop speaking. "You seem to have forgotten something, Miss Yang… It's a mixed world."
Yang Qingxi's pupils dilated.
Yes! Ye Chen isn't the only protagonist! Who stipulated that secrets in his story can't be connected to another protagonist?
'I need to hurry and get stronger!'
At this moment, the tension and panic in Yang Qingxi's heart were once again ignited.
"Su Mo!"
"Yeah?"
"After we leave here, I want to start the plan you proposed before." She knew that the only way for her to get stronger at this moment was by humiliating and disgusting Ye Chen. Waiting for the plot to unfold would take too long. It's better to take the initiative and let the plot progress faster.
Su Mo seemed to understand something and gave her a knowing smile. "Leave it to me."
[As long as I get the chance, I will use the gender-changing potion on him.]
When she heard his inner voice, Yang Qingxi's lips twitched, wondering. 'Did he really understand what I meant?'
'Whatever, let him use those strange ideas on Ye Chen.'
By now, Zhang Xulin was already used to their nonsensical conversation. That's why she didn't butt in or interrupt.
Upon seeing that they were almost done. She suggested weakly. "Can we leave now? I don't feel like staying here any longer."
"Yeah, sure." Yang Qingxi nodded.
"Oh! Wait a second… Lemme get some things first." Su Mo said before, under their dumbfounded gazes, he took the Ox Skull into his storage ring.
"Alright, let's head back!"