Chapter 8: Realizations
Bai Jingxue gleaned a crucial piece of information from the male lead’s ramblings: Luo Nianshang would be able to escape this secret realm even without his interference. If that were the case, there was no need to worry.
The rain continued to fall, and the male lead began to feel a burning itch where the raindrops touched his skin. The crisscrossing sword wounds on his face felt like they were on fire.
In his previous life, he had relied on deceit and manipulation, rarely engaging in direct combat. Even his capture by the Demon Lord had resulted in a swift and merciful death. He had never truly suffered. But this time around, things weren’t going as smoothly.
Yet, instead of reflecting on his own actions, he blamed Luo Nianshang for his misfortune.
His expression twisted with bitterness. He stumbled towards the shelter of a large tree, seeking refuge from the relentless rain.
The tree he chose happened to be the one where Bai Jingxue and Lü Qingyan were perched. Looking down, Bai Jingxue saw the top of his head.
She glanced at her claws, then at a small mound of earth rising from the ground. It moved slowly, inching towards the male lead’s feet.
Bai Jingxue was puzzled. The creature was right there, yet the male lead seemed oblivious. Even the demonic cultivator remained silent.
Unaware of the impending danger, the male lead retrieved a cracked porcelain bottle from his sleeve. With only one hand, he struggled to remove the cork with his teeth, then poured out the contents.
Bai Jingxue’s sharp eyes noticed the clumps forming in the powder. It was old, most likely expired. Judging by the scent, it was a low-grade hemostatic powder.
She couldn’t believe it. The arrogant male lead of the novel, reduced to using expired, low-grade medicine.
A small smile crept onto her face.
Ouyang Ba poured the powder onto his wounds, then tore a strip of fabric from his sleeve to bandage his arm.
The creature seemed particularly interested in him. It made no move to attack as he tended to his wounds.
The side effects of the expired powder hit him with full force. He cried out in pain, gripping his sword and trying to pull himself up. But his sword plunged into the ground, piercing the creature’s flesh.
A shrill, childlike shriek filled the air, a sound that conveyed both pain and fury.
Before the male lead could react, a slimy appendage slammed into him, sending him flying into another tree.
The ground trembled, and cracks spiderwebbed across the surface. Bai Jingxue instinctively covered Lü Qingyan’s eyes with her paw. This creature was nightmare fuel for anyone with trypophobia.
“Jingxue, why are you covering my eyes?” Lü Qingyan whined.
She swatted Bai Jingxue’s paw away and took one look at the creature emerging from the ground. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted, thankfully landing safely on the sturdy branch.
Bai Jingxue shook her head and turned her attention back to the scene below.
The male lead’s face was obscured by the bandages, but his eyes were wide with terror.
The creature was a pulsating mass of slime, like a giant jelly that had rolled around in mud. Countless tentacles sprouted from its body, each tipped with an eye.
And each eye held a different expression: some gleeful, some enraged. It was truly horrifying.
So those eyes peering up from the vortexes had belonged to this thing.
The creature’s flesh was translucent, the rain washing away the clinging mud to reveal its gruesome contents.
Bai Jingxue saw the eagle carcass within its body and recalled a passage from the novel.
This creature was a slug that had somehow achieved sentience. It could have become a powerful demon beast, but without proper guidance, it had devolved into this monstrous form.
“Consuming too much resentment can lead to some rather unpleasant mutations,” she thought, pushing the unconscious dog behind her as she observed the situation.
The male lead, now a mere mortal, was paralyzed by fear, unable to speak as he stared at the grotesque creature before him. He pleaded with the demonic cultivator for help, but his cries went unanswered.
The slug demon, its slimy body undulating, dragged itself forward, leaving a trail of eyes in its wake. The eyes that were dragged complained, their cries echoing like those of a distressed infant.
The eyes on the upper portion of its body, however, seemed to find the situation amusing, their expressions mocking the misfortune of their counterparts.
This was more terrifying than any horror movie. Lü Qingyan, who had just regained consciousness, promptly fainted again.
Bai Jingxue sighed and covered the unconscious dog’s eyes with her tail.
Seeing the creature’s slow movements, Ouyang Ba regained some of his composure. He struggled to his feet, his legs trembling, and turned to flee.
But he didn’t get far. Something wrapped around his waist, pulling him back. He looked down to see a bloodshot eye staring up at him, its expression filled with malicious glee. A tentacle had ensnared him.
Bai Jingxue was reminded of sticky toys from her past life, the kind with long, stretchy appendages that could grab and hold onto anything. This creature was similar.
It seemed to mimic the abilities of the creatures it consumed. The way it had burrowed through the earth had been reminiscent of an earthworm.
In the blink of an eye, the male lead was back before the slug demon. The tentacles parted, revealing a gaping maw. There were no teeth, just a smooth, gelatinous cavity. It could only swallow its prey whole.
Terror gripped Ouyang Ba. He reached out with his remaining hand, pushing against the creature’s flesh, but his hand sank into the slime, as if it were quicksand.
Bai Jingxue watched from her perch, her mind racing. She needed to know. If the male lead died so easily, it would mean that the concept of protagonist plot armor, of being chosen by fate, was nothing more than a figment of her imagination.
But if he survived, it would confirm that he truly possessed some kind of destiny.
As the male lead’s body sank deeper into the slime, Bai Jingxue felt a surge of anticipation.
A flash of sword light sliced through the air, cleaving the slug demon in two. The male lead, miraculously, was still alive, though covered in slime and utterly pathetic.
The severed halves of the slug demon writhed, its flesh bubbling and reforming. It was still alive.
Bai Jingxue wasn’t interested in the male lead’s survival. Had he died, she would have made sure his coffin was nailed shut, just to be safe.
Her attention was focused on the source of the sword light.
A young woman, dressed in the robes of an Ejian Sect disciple, landed gracefully before them. Her sword shimmered, surrounded by an ethereal glow, like dandelion seeds caught in the wind.
Bai Jingxue recognized her. A small, rose-shaped birthmark adorned the back of her neck, its pale pink hue a stark contrast to her surrounding skin.
She had been so focused on the female lead and the Demon Lord that she had forgotten about the other members of the male lead’s harem. This was Fu Yuan.
In the original story, their first meeting had been orchestrated by the male lead, a classic damsel-in-distress scenario designed to win her affections. He had charmed her with his fake heroism.
But this time, things were different. Fu Yuan had initially moved to help the male lead, but seeing his pathetic state, she had recoiled. She stood at a safe distance, her voice wary. “Are you alright?”
Then, a flicker of confusion crossed her face. “You have no spiritual energy,” she said. “How did a mortal like you get in here?”
Something was amiss. Fu Yuan’s guard went up.
But her attention was quickly drawn back to the slug demon. The severed halves had regenerated, forming two separate creatures.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent a vine whipping towards the creatures, pulling the male lead to safety.
Bai Jingxue noticed something peculiar. She could see a faint aura surrounding the humans and demons, and Fu Yuan’s aura was significantly stronger. The outcome of this battle was already decided.
Sensing Lü Qingyan stirring, she whispered, “Close your eyes.”
Lü Qingyan, her mind still clouded with sleep, obeyed, but her words betrayed her dreamy state. “Is Jingxue going to give me a good morning kiss?” she mumbled.
Bai Jingxue rolled her eyes. Couldn’t that idiot dog think about something else for once?
The battle below was losing its appeal. A mischievous idea took root in Bai Jingxue’s mind. She decided to have a little fun with the poor, clueless dog.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Lü Qingyan didn’t hesitate. “Lü Qingyan,” she replied. “Your girlfriend.”
“Ex-girlfriend,” Bai Jingxue corrected.
Lü Qingyan’s ears drooped, but she quickly recovered. “Right, right. Ex-girlfriend. So what were you going to say?”
Bai Jingxue found her endearing, almost regretting her plan to mess with her. But her mischievous side won out.
“How can you be so sure that you’re Lü Qingyan and I’m Bai Jingxue?” she asked calmly.
Lü Qingyan blinked, her brow furrowing. “What do you mean?” she asked, confused. “How could we be anyone else?”
Bai Jingxue licked her paw, her demeanor nonchalant. “Perhaps there is no Bai Jingxue or Lü Qingyan,” she said. “Perhaps there is no transmigration. What if we’re just cats and dogs with implanted memories?”
Lü Qingyan’s eyes flew open. She hadn’t seen the slug demon this time, so she remained conscious.
The dog stared at her, a look of utter bewilderment on her face. She didn’t seem to recognize herself anymore.
Bai Jingxue’s tail twitched as she continued, “Or perhaps there are no implanted memories. What if Bai Jingxue and Lü Qingyan never existed? What if we’re just sick, our minds clinging to a fabricated past?”
Lü Qingyan broke out in a cold sweat. She shook her head and began to pace in a circle, her claws scraping against the bark of the tree.
After a while, she stopped and looked up at Bai Jingxue. “Aren’t you scared?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Bai Jingxue glanced at the battle below. She didn’t seem particularly concerned about her own identity.
She smiled. “Of course I’m scared,” she admitted. “But I still exist.”
Her calm demeanor seemed to reassure Lü Qingyan. The tension eased from her face.
Bai Jingxue, seeing her deep in thought, didn’t interrupt. Only when Fu Yuan had finally defeated the slug demon did she speak again, her voice soft but firm.
“So,” she said, “let go of those false memories, that fabricated past. Find your own path.”
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