In the Human Thought Boundary, Xue Chenjing returned to the courtyard where he once lived. The house had been uninhabited for a long time, yet it was always kept clean, and everything was arranged exactly as it had been before. The clothes in the wardrobe were neat and tidy, exuding the fragrance of orchids, indicating that they were frequently washed, aired, and scented.
Xue Xingzhi looked at him for a moment, sighed with hesitation, and said, "First, wash up and change your clothes. Then I'll take you to see your mother."
Liu Hua personally led the servants to prepare the bath, and soon a hot bath was ready.
Xue Chenjing, having lived alone for so many years, no longer liked having people around to serve him. He dismissed the servants and undressed himself to step into the water.
The hot water washed away the smell of blood on his body. The mist from the bath filled the room, and the screen in front of the bath was still the same one from back then, made of jade, carved with clouds covering the sun. There was a crack in one corner of the screen, left from when he had accidentally knocked it.
The longer he stayed in this place, the more memories buried deep in his heart surged to the surface. The faded past was being recolored bit by bit, making it harder and harder to let go.
Was it the same for A Yi? Even though she knew it was all an illusion, she still wanted to stay a little longer, just a little longer.
Only now did he deeply understand how self-righteous and annoying it was for him to appear before her, thinking he was sober, interrupting her and her sister's late-night talks, constantly reminding her that this was just a dream.
At that time, A Yi hadn't even hit him.
Thinking of her, Xue Chenjing's fingertips tingled, as if an invisible current was coursing through his body, flowing along his spine to his limbs.
His hair stood on end, and a sensation of both pain and itch scratched at his heart. The current in his bones made his waist feel weak, and he nearly slipped into the water.
Xue Chenjing quickly reached out to brace himself against the edge of the bath. His long hair slid off the side and into the water, the curled ends spreading out like tendrils. He leaned forward, his back muscles taut under the hair covering his shoulders, his body trembling slightly, his breathing quick and uneven, blowing away the steam rising from the water.
The water rippled, and the waves seemed to carry electric currents that struck his skin.
Xue Chenjing's eyes widened in astonishment. His wet lashes, like ink smeared by water, dripped a single drop.
This feeling wasn't just his imagination. There really was an electric current striking him.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, sinking into his mind. Immediately, he felt the familiar flow of thunder spiritual energy coursing through his soul. This awareness made his soul and body even more sensitive, and the current spreading through him became unbearable.
Xue Chenjing closed his eyes and reached for the bathrobe by the side, pulling it into the water to cover his body, trying to hide his reaction. He swallowed hard and used his consciousness to push away the restless shadows in his mind, calling out, "A Yi?"
Inside the emperor's carriage, Yu Yi was gripping the head of the thunder dragon, pulling the chaotic water ball from its fangs. Electric arcs crackled and disappeared into the water droplet, coursing through it and causing it to shake violently.
The Primordial Sword now recognized her as its master, and the thunder dragon was her sword spirit. Yu Yi, connected to the sword spirit through her mind, could sense that even the thunder dragon hadn't known about the existence of this water ball before it appeared.
When she was on the Immortal Ascension Platform, the thunder dragon's spirit had led her to that divine and demonic battlefield, to the edge of the Chaos Pool, where she had seen Xue Chenjing's original form. Now, the thunder dragon had brought out a small chaotic water droplet from the Chaos Pool. It seemed all part of the main system's arrangements.
This feeling of being led step by step on someone else's path was really unpleasant. But Yu Yi held the water droplet, knowing she had to follow its lead.
She really wanted to know how Xue Chenjing was doing now.
As a chaotic being, all chaotic energies in the world could connect with him. Yu Yi held the chaotic water droplet with both hands, brought it to her forehead, closed her eyes, and released her consciousness into the droplet.
She thought, like last time, she would easily enter his mind. But instead, her consciousness stepped into an endless void, surrounded by nothing but black silence, giving her a sense of emptiness and loneliness as if she were in the vastness of the universe.
Yu Yi's heart clenched. In that instant, she felt a deep fear. She instinctively knew that if she stayed here for even a moment longer, her consciousness might be lost forever in this endless void, never to return.
She immediately tried to pull her consciousness back, just as she heard a voice call out, "A Yi?"
Yu Yi quickly said, "Xue Chenjing? Where are you?"
Then, invisible tentacles extended from the darkness, wrapping around her consciousness. She heard Xue Chenjing sigh in relief and say with a smile, "I've caught you."
After his words, her consciousness was pulled rapidly downward, just like the last time, and finally fell into that familiar place.
Xue Chenjing's mind was different from the last time. The last time, his mind was clean and transparent, but now it was filled with shadows of demons, a veritable den of demons.
Yu Yi's consciousness was pulled into it, as if falling into a nest of monsters. A cold touch crept up her ankle.
She thought it was Xue Chenjing's tentacles, but when she looked down, she saw a triangular snake head staring up at her. The snake's eyes were blood red, its body covered in fine green scales, and its forked tongue licked her soul.
"What the hell is this!" Yu Yi screamed and kicked out with her foot.
A long hand reached out, grabbing the snake's head and throwing it away.
Xue Chenjing's figure emerged from the thick shadows. He gently stroked her ankle, then lowered his head and pressed his lips to the spot where the snake's tongue had touched, sticking out his tongue to lick it clean. He looked up at her and said, "There, A Yi, I've cleaned it for you."
Yu Yi: "..." Still so perverted, it seems his situation isn't too dire.
Seeing Xue Chenjing rubbing her ankle and lifting her skirt, about to kiss higher up, Yu Yi quickly lifted her other foot and pressed it against his shoulder, warning, "Don't go too far."
Xue Chenjing finally let go of her ankle, opened his arms, and hugged her, pressing his forehead against hers.
As soon as Yu Yi's soul touched his, she couldn't help but tremble. Through their tightly connected consciousness, she saw his current physical reaction.
Xue Chenjing had deliberately let her see it!
Yu Yi couldn't hold back and said, "I thought you were on the brink of death, but instead, you're enjoying a spa treatment?"
"It's because of you that I'm like this," Xue Chenjing said innocently, hugging her and nuzzling her face. The current in his body hadn't completely subsided, and the place where their souls touched was filled with a tingling sensation.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from outside. Xue Chenjing frowned and divided some of his attention to the outside world. He swept the wet hair from his forehead, opened his eyes, and looked at the screen outside, saying, "Didn't I say not to disturb me?"
A figure faintly approached behind the jade screen. Liu Hua stood outside the screen, respectfully bowing and saying, "Young Master, I thought the bathwater might be getting cold and wanted to come in and add some more."
Xue Chenjing controlled his breathing and said calmly, "No need, I don't require it."
"Yes," Liu Hua replied, but his figure still stood there, not leaving. After hesitating for a while, he finally spoke up, "That snowy night, I don't know if Young Master remembers? I... I didn't stay out in the snow because I didn't want to see you. I grew up with you, and compared to the eldest young master, I actually preferred playing with you. It's just that later, every time I came to see you, I was given a task and had to go with a purpose to please you. I was too young at the time and couldn't handle the pressure, so I came up with that stupid idea to escape."
As he spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I'm sorry. I know my actions hurt you, and I've wanted to apologize to you since I woke up, but I never had the chance. I just hope you can forgive me."
Behind the screen, the sound of water rippling was heard. Xue Chenjing put on his clothes in the water and, after hearing Liu Hua's words, remembered some things.
At that time, he had indeed been very angry and wanted to beat and scold him to vent his anger. But as he walked to Liu Hua's side, he suddenly felt that everything was meaningless.
He wasn't a fool. He knew Liu Hua's difficulties at the time and understood the purpose behind every visit.
In this family, he had become a source of pain for everyone. His parents looked at him and only thought of his brother. But he didn't dare to let Xue Mingyuan out, nor did he want to.
What he craved would no longer be granted by anyone, and what he once possessed would only slip through his fingers like sand, endlessly slipping away.
Instead of continuing to torment each other in this household, it would be better to abandon them before they completely grew tired of him.
Yu Yi's consciousness was within his mind, and she could also hear sounds from the outside world. She asked in confusion, "Where are you now?"
"In the Human Thought Boundary, my former home. Those righteous cultivators probably thought that a single mansion could trap me." Xue Chenjing grasped her consciousness and couldn't bear to let go.
This close contact of consciousness somewhat alleviated the burning thirst in his body. Gradually, Xue Chenjing's body calmed down.
Perhaps because his consciousness was now closely connected to a comforting presence, his mind became very peaceful. Even when he encountered these past memories that once filled him with resentment and unwillingness, they no longer caused him any pain.
He stepped out of the pool, used a spell to dry his clothes, pulled on a robe from the rack, fastened the belt, and replied indifferently, "It's fine, I no longer care."
Having received his forgiveness, Liu Hua seemed to finally release a decades-long burden. He kowtowed a few more times and then exited the bathroom.
As soon as he stepped outside, a faint, firefly-like stream of light shot down from the sky, directly into his forehead. Liu Hua paused, his body stiffening for a moment. When he looked up again, his previously bent back was now straight, and his eyes shone with a sharp light. His entire demeanor was vastly different from before.
The cultivator who had replaced Liu Hua lowered his head to examine his attire and absorbed the memories of this strand of human thought. His eyebrows furrowed, and he showed a hint of displeasure. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a whisk, as if feeling insulted, and brushed it against his knees.
A despicable demon, hiding in the human world as a pampered young master—what a joke.
