After pouring out all the memories of the past, the snake demon closed its eyes with difficulty.
All its schemes were now laid bare before Lu Chun, with nowhere to hide. Lu Chun must think it was as calculating and disgusting as Wang Jingxuan, right?
Lu Chun stood there in a daze for a long time before finally coming to her senses. She slowly asked,
"So that... dream I had that day..." She paused, finding it extremely hard to utter the words "erotic dream". "That strange dream! Was it also your doing?"
The snake demon's eyes darkened for a moment. It blinked and innocently replied,
"I just used a bit of my demonic magic to make you recall some scenes from your past life..."
"Stop!" Lu Chun blushed and immediately interrupted, afraid that the snake demon might say something even more shocking!
The snake demon pursed its lips and obediently shut up.
The room fell into a sudden silence. Lu Chun just stared at the snake demon without saying a word for a long time.
The snake demon even felt a trace of long - lost nervousness. Just as it was thinking about how to plead its case, Lu Chun suddenly spoke up,
"What are you standing there like a log for?"
The snake demon was taken aback and looked at Lu Chun in confusion.
"Aren't you here to repay your debt of gratitude?" Lu Chun looked at the snake demon and coughed awkwardly twice. "How about being my hand - warmer in winter and my cool jade to ward off the heat in summer?"
The snake demon finally understood what Lu Chun meant. Immediately, its golden vertical pupils seemed to light up with countless stars. All the unease, waiting, and loneliness in the long years melted away like ice and snow at her words.
It immediately pounced on Lu Chun's side and tightly embraced her in its arms.
People all say that immortality is good, and Mo Liu used to think so too. Many of his fellow demons were deceived by the mortal world, but he was the only one who was determined to cultivate immortality. For hundreds of years, he had watched coldly as people, ghosts, and demons struggled in the sea of love, always thinking that their sweet nothings and unwavering vows were extremely stupid.
But once he truly experienced the feelings of loving and being loved, he no longer wanted to become an immortal. On the contrary, he wanted to become a human and grow old with Lu Chun...
It knew that being obsessed was useless, but it didn't want to let go.
No one could know what the future held.
Maybe one day, it could find a way to transform from a demon into a human.
But at this moment, they were embracing each other, feeling each other's breath and heartbeat. That was enough.
...
Xu Qingfeng finally led the remaining disciples back to the WANXIANG Academy. When everyone returned to the familiar classroom and resumed their study and cultivation, listening to the old master's leisurely long - winded lectures again, they all felt as if they had passed through a different world!
A grand sacrifice ceremony had exposed Liu Ruyan as a fraud, almost implicating the entire academy, but it had also served as a warning to everyone!
In the general knowledge amulet, all the original praises and commendations about Liu Ruyan had quietly disappeared. Many teachers, upholding the last bit of teacher - student friendship, didn't criticize Liu Ruyan severely and simply let the matter pass.
But it was the first time for the disciples to experience such a major incident. Many of them still quietly inquired about Liu Ruyan's current situation. It was said that she was now doing hard labor in the palace every day and was suffering a great deal. The Liu family had tried several times to pull strings to reduce her workload in the palace, but all to no avail...
While sighing with emotion, the disciples studied and practiced even harder, for fear that they might end up like Liu Ruyan in the future!
There was also a rumor that before the grand sacrifice ceremony, many disciples had witnessed Liu Ruyan wearing the sacrificial clothing and mocking Shen Cuiyu. Moreover, in previous missions, the two of them had often gone together, and Liu Ruyan always managed to outshine Shen Cuiyu!
Now it seemed that Liu Ruyan might have used some scheme to steal Shen Cuiyu's credit, right?
Just from the case of the snake demon, it could be seen that without Liu Ruyan, everyone could complete the task more smoothly...
Those who had previously supported Liu Ruyan also belatedly realized this. When facing Shen Cuiyu again, they all felt a bit embarrassed. But Shen Cuiyu still treated them with the same gentleness, which made them feel even more guilty.
So for several days in a row, Shen Cuiyu would find many snacks and trinkets on her seat. She stared at these things for a moment and smiled silently.
...
One day, a new help - seeking notice was quietly posted on the bulletin board in front of the WANXIANG Academy.
The person who came to seek help was a young scholar named Zhang Yushu.
He looked haggard, with sunken eye sockets, as if he hadn't slept well for a long time. As soon as he saw the master of the academy, he eagerly began to tell his story, his voice trembling slightly with anxiety,
"I'm here for my wife, Mrs. An. In the past year, her behavior has become increasingly strange. She is often... delirious and talks nonsense."
He described that his wife, An Peng, would sometimes suddenly sit up in the middle of the night and mutter to the empty corner of the wall. Sometimes she would scream in fear, uttering nonsense like "Why are you still here?" and "Don't come near!"
Sometimes, she would show a kind of almost innocent and silly state that was not in line with her usual character.
"I originally thought she had contracted some strange illness," Zhang Yushu frowned. "But after inviting all the famous doctors and even using connections to find the imperial physician in the palace to feel her pulse, they all said that her pulse was normal and they couldn't detect any illness."
This wasn't the most peculiar part.
"We also have a three - year - old daughter," a deep look of worry appeared on his face. "Since she was born, she has been abnormally sleepy. The total number of hours she is awake every day is less than three or four hours. The doctor only said that it was due to insufficient nourishment in the womb and that she needed good care."
"Later, a friend reminded me that maybe there was a problem with the feng shui of our mansion, which offended her and our daughter," Zhang Yushu continued. "So I invited a well - known celestial master to inspect. The celestial master also said that there were indeed problems with the layout of the mansion, which was too damp and might attract unclean things. I immediately moved my whole family and found a yang mansion with excellent feng shui."
He looked up, his eyes filled with deep helplessness and fear. "But... it has been more than half a month since we moved into the new house, and the symptoms of my wife and daughter not only haven't improved... but have become even more severe!"
Zhang Yushu's voice was filled with despair,
"The famous doctors are at a loss, and the celestial master has no solution... I'm really at the end of my rope! I've heard that there are many capable people in the WANXIANG Academy who are well - versed in strange and mysterious matters. I sincerely hope that the academy will take pity on us and send someone to take a look. Has my family really encountered something inauspicious?"
After listening to Zhang Yushu's description, the disciples thought that this seemed to be an ordinary mysterious incident. If it were to be rated in the Inquiry Hall, it might not even reach the C - level. At most, it was a D - level!
Some disciples above the Earth - rank immediately lost interest. It wasn't that they lacked empathy, but the incident didn't seem particularly special. The journey there was long, and they wouldn't get many points for it. There was no sense of accomplishment, so it wasn't worth their while to take action!
Moreover, with the mid - term assessment approaching, all the disciples wanted more time to review. So only a few Yellow - rank disciples stepped forward and volunteered.
The master of the academy didn't immediately assign the task. He pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, "If this case is transferred to the Inquiry Hall, it might be rated as a B - level case. Just the Yellow - rank disciples might not be enough... Cuiyu, your group should also go!"