Chapter 139: The Stirring in Rong Ruihan’s Heart

Translator: Minotauruz

“That’s...that’s right...I’m Yao Mo. What’s...what’s up?” Jun Xiaomo asked cautiously as she involuntarily took a step back.

Rong Ruihan’s present appearances were too intimidating. His bloodshot eyes seemed to possess boundless demonic energy within them. A malevolent air seemed to swirl about within them, just like the eyes of a vile, vicious beast.

A sudden chill ran along the bottom of Jun Xiaomo’s neck, and she subconsciously rubbed the side of it.

Rong Ruihan isn’t going to snap my neck, right? Have I done anything to anger Rong Ruihan?

I think...not?

Jun Xiaomo searched herself for a moment. Once she finally ascertained that she had not betrayed Rong Ruihan, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she mustered her courage and locked eyes with Rong Ruihan.

Rong Ruihan did not respond to Jun Xiaomo’s words. In fact, he had subconsciously even blocked out the contents of what Jun Xiaomo had said.

He was only interested in sizing up that person before his very eyes right now as he determined whether she was indeed that lady in red from his dreams.

They’re different...they’re different in all respects...apart from the fact that her appearances look almost identical to that lady in red, nothing else is the same...

The lady in red did not possess such clear, pristine eyes. Her gaze had always been hazy and dispirited as a result of the burdens on her heart. There were even traces of hurt, regret and remorse.

The lady in red also did not possess such a vivacious and pure personality. She was a person who treaded the bloody mires of a path built of corpses. Her hands were stained with blood, and her striking, fiery red clothes looked like they had been dyed crimson by the blood of her enemies.

Rong Ruihan was still unaware of that lady’s name. He only knew that the others in his dreams referred to her as the Lady Demoness with much dread and hate.

Lady Demoness? That’s right, she had been aptly named the Lady Demoness. Innumerable cultivators had fallen at her hands; and the mention of her name struck fear into the hearts of her persecutors. Everyone longed and prayed for the day that she would die.

Yet even then, Rong Ruihan found himself drawn to the Lady Demoness, especially when she smiled. Her smile was cold and frigid, almost akin to the manic smile of a Death God. Despite that, Rong Ruihan would feel his heart beat faster and faster whenever he saw that smile creep up the corner of the Lady Demoness’s lips.

He felt that that lady in red and he were peas in a pod. They were a match made in heaven.

Rong Ruihan continued to size up the person in front of his eyes right now. Her appearances were the same, but the air and disposition about her was completely different. Rong Ruihan stretched out his hand, intending to touch her face. Yet Jun Xiaomo tilted her head slightly and avoided his hand.

Jun Xiaomo found Rong Ruihan’s expressions incredibly peculiar. It was as though he was reminiscing about something, or someone.

“Do I remind you of someone?” Jun Xiaomo tilted her head slightly as she asked in bewilderment. Her eyes blinked innocently at Rong Ruihan.

She did not harbour any special feelings for Rong Ruihan, so she naturally did not mind letting Rong Ruihan search for that other person through her. The only reason why she had asked her earlier question was only because her curiosity had been piqued.

Rong Ruihan’s gaze darkened. Jun Xiaomo’s voice had yanked him back from his memories to reality.

He stared silently at Jun Xiaomo’s face for a moment, before he finally remarked, “With your appearances...red suits you better.”

“Haa--?!” Jun Xiaomo’s eyes widened. She was completely dumbfounded. Rong Ruihan had stared at her in such a stifling manner and then sized her up for such a long time, and yet his response was completely unrelated to her question.

Regardless, Rong Ruihan gazed profoundly at Jun Xiaomo once more, before he turned...and left.

Jun Xiaomo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Rong Ruihan right now. Ever since they had been reunited, Rong Ruihan’s actions had been nothing but abnormal.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

After all, had she not revealed that she was Yao Mo? Why was he still walking away from her?!

“Rong Ruihan! You...you insipid fella!” Jun Xiaomo caught up to him and blocked his path of movement.

“Move aside.” Rong Ruihan glared coldly at Jun Xiaomo. It was evident with this gaze that he no longer saw her as a companion or a friend. Instead, she was nothing more than a troublemaking stranger to him right now.

“Why are you walking away after seeing us? I’m not letting you go unless you explain yourself!” Jun Xiaomo finally lost her temper at Rong Ruihan. She glared furiously at Rong Ruihan, refusing to let him take a further step.

Rong Ruihan squinted his eyes. A trace of displeasure flickered across his eyes.

He was still unaware that he had already returned to reality. To his mind, the present Jun Xiaomo was no more than an illusion that had been constructed by this illusory world in accordance with his memories.

If not for the fact that Jun Xiaomo looked exactly the same as that lady in red, Rong Ruihan would already have struck Jun Xiaomo. To him, any persons constructed by this illusory world were his enemies.

Rong Ruihan was unaware of what the key to break away from this endless cycle of nightmares was. Therefore, he could only rely on his instincts and kill every single person in these illusions.

But when he saw Jun Xiaomo’s appearances, he found himself unable to harden his heart and kill her.

Just then, the person who had been silently observing all these things walked over. Ye Xiuwen patted Jun Xiaomo’s shoulders and broke apart the stiff tension in the air.

“Xiaomo, we’ve dallied for too long. The Grand Vizier’s men are already nearby. You should use your formation array to determine your packrat’s location.”

“Then what about...” Jun Xiaomo hesitated.

“Leave this place to me. Let me have a word with the first prince.” Ye Xiuwen looked at Jun Xiaomo as he warmly replied.

“Alright then.” As Jun Xiaomo relented, she gave Rong Ruihan a final glare before running over to the side. There, she retrieved the formation diagram from her Interspatial Ring and laid it out on the ground again.

As Jun Xiaomo busied herself on the side, Ye Xiuwen and Rong Ruihan stood squarely opposite each other in a silent confrontation.

It was a serious confrontation. On the one hand, Ye Xiuwen was incredibly displeased with how coldly Rong Ruihan had treated Jun Xiaomo. On the other hand, Rong Ruihan stared viciously at Ye Xiuwen as though he were no more than an illusion.

Ye Xiuwen did not possess the appearances of that lady in red, and Rong Ruihan had much fewer qualms making a move against him.

Rong Ruihan squinted his eyes as he released an oppressive aura at Ye Xiuwen. The waves of hostile intent aimed at Ye Xiuwen were well apparent.

Even though he was faced with someone who possessed stronger combat abilities than himself, Ye Xiuwen kept his cool and remained calm. He glanced back at Jun Xiaomo with a warm gaze, before turning his attention back to Rong Ruihan’s body with a cold, frosty gaze.

But Ye Xiuwen did not remain silent for too long.

“Xiaomo is worried for you.” Ye Xiuwen began speaking, “Naturally, she’s also worried for her little packrat. But she treats you as her first true friend outside the Sect. She truly cherishes you.”

Ye Xiuwen’s words were spoken with incredible serenity, as though he were expounding a simple and normal truth. Yet Rong Ruihan was completely frozen in shock hearing this.

“Do you see that large patch of red flowers? These red flowers are the culprits for creating the illusions you’ve seen. Any person who steps into its domain would invariably be trapped in its illusions. Xiaomo and I had earlier broken free of these illusions. I imagine the first prince had just done so as well.”

Rong Ruihan furrowed his brows. He had begun to be swayed by Ye Xiuwen’s words. Yet, a part of him remained just as vigilant as before.

“Xiaomo coincidentally bumped into me when I had earlier returned to my senses. But we did not stay for long because the Grand Vizier’s men had caught up to us. They discovered and surrounded us. If not for the fact that Xiaomo employed some tricks to distract them, we might well have been captured by the Grand Vizier by now. Who knows what our fate might have become? Despite that, we managed to escape from the Grand Vizier’s pursuit amidst of the chaos created by Xiaomo. At that time, we had intended to run far away from here. However, Xiaomo thought about you and her little packrat, and we decided to turn back.”

“She doesn’t want to lose either of you. You’re someone that she cherishes, and she would never abandon you. Yet despite all of her efforts to return to look for you, what did she get in return?”

As Ye Xiuwen ended his spiel, his words were laced with a frigid tone and became somewhat of a reprimand.

“I don’t know whether something had happened to you while you were in the Mistlands’ illusions which caused you to treat Xiaomo with such hostility. But I hope that you can have regard to the fact that she had put herself in danger and come back looking for you. I hope that you won’t go overboard with your words and hurt her. Of course, if you still decide to treat her with the same attitude despite what I’ve said, then there is nothing else I can say to you. I would then ask you to kindly leave.”

After Ye Xiuwen finished speaking, he ignored Rong Ruihan, turned around and walked towards where Jun Xiaomo was.

The vigilance in Rong Ruihan’s heart had dwindled even more. His gaze followed Ye Xiuwen and slowly shifted to Jun Xiaomo’s body. He noticed that a young lady who looked exactly like the lady in red was squatting on the floor, intently examining something. Her eyes were filled with a warm tenderness and naivete. When she lifted her head and beckoned to Ye Xiuwen to join her, Rong Ruihan subconsciously found Yao Mo’s likeness superimposed perfectly on her.

Could Yao Mo really be that lady? Have I truly, finally encountered that lady in reality? Then what do my dreams mean? Are they things that are going to happen in the future?

In fact, it was not hard to see why Rong Ruihan would still be vigilant and suspicious around Ye Xiuwen and Jun Xiaomo. Anyone who had been trapped in twelve arduous repetitions of the same dream would find themselves unable to distinguish illusion from reality any longer. Rong Ruihan was simply erring on the side of caution by putting his guard up right now.

Yet Ye Xiuwen’s words had truly moved Rong Ruihan’s heart. At this moment, a realization dawned upon him. There was no need for him to pursue the veracity of what he was experiencing right now. All that mattered was that he acted in accordance with his heart.

And his heart said that he could not simply turn around and leave given how sincere Yao Mo had been treating him.

So what if this was yet another trap? So what if this was yet another illusion? At least I’m going to live with no regrets.

As Rong Ruihan made his resolve, his heart began to calm down, and the crimson red hue that had encroached his irises began to subside.

He once again collected the oppressive aura surrounding his body that he had earlier released, before he slowly walked towards Jun Xiaomo. Incidentally, Jun Xiaomo looked up from her formation diagram at this moment.

Just then, their eyes locked, and both of them were slightly taken aback.

Rong Ruihan paused in his steps, while Jun Xiaomo raised her eyebrows slightly.

“What is it? Has your highness the first prince finally decided that he’s no longer in a rush to get reincarnated now?” Jun Xiaomo’s heart was still rather miffed about their earlier altercation, and she could not resist shooting Rong Ruihan a snarky comment.

Rong Ruihan noticed how that face that looked so familiar was now behaving with an unfamiliar sense of quick-wittedness. His originally sullen mood suddenly took a turn for the better.

“That’s right. I’m no longer rushing to be reborn.” Rong Ruihan nodded with a serious expression as he responded to Jun Xiaomo.

Jun Xiaomo nearly choked at his response. But she could hardly be bothered to pursue this line of banal banter. Thus, after acknowledging his response, she turned back to her formation diagram to search for her little packrat.

A discreet smile crept up the corner of Rong Ruihan’s lips.

If this were that lady’s original character and personality, then it’s not too bad either. At least she wouldn’t live her entire life with such a lonely and sullen disposition.