After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 143

Continuing was certainly impossible.

Qin Qingyi was only playing along like this.

As night approached, she coaxed Zhou Zhixue to sleep, then put on a jacket and pushed the door open.

“Oh~ You finally deigned to emerge from the land of gentleness?”

Venerable Wu Wang’s tone was sharp, mean, and sarcastic.

Qin Qingyi looked at her helplessly: “Senior.”

Why was this person so petty?

Fortunately, Venerable Wu Wang just said it casually.

She knew the little fox wasn’t a person without self-control, and besides, she entered this illusion not just to appease a child.

Yes, Venerable Wu Wang believed that her indulgence of Zhou Zhixue was completely just appeasing a child.

After appeasing the child, there were still serious matters to attend to.

“This Venerable used a little trick, and the demon that transformed into your likeness is now willing to cooperate with us,” Venerable Wu Wang said, faintly tinged with a subtle pride.

Having been with her for so long, Qin Qingyi naturally knew that she deliberately said this in front of herself just to seek praise.

She naturally wouldn’t be stingy. Immediately, her acting skills kicked in, her eyes filled with admiration: “Senior is indeed formidable, managing to settle this matter in just one night. If it were left to this junior, it might have taken a lot more effort.”

This compliment immediately dissolved Venerable Wu Wang’s previous resentment. She instantly straightened her back, her face beaming with arrogance.

She waved her hand, feigning modesty, “These are minor matters. This Venerable already said I would protect you. Since you have a request, this Venerable naturally should help. It was just a small effort, nothing much.”

Though she said this, the next moment she eagerly said, “Alright, now come with me. It’s time for this Venerable to know what exactly you need that demon to do.”

Qin Qingyi smiled faintly.

That demon was, of course, of great use to her plan, even indispensable.

When they arrived at the cave where the illusion demon was imprisoned, looking at the creature on the ground that couldn’t move, yet was barely breathing despite having no visible injuries, Qin Qingyi blinked.

When the demon looked at her and Venerable Wu Wang, fear and dread surfaced in its eyes. It even shivered uncontrollably after just one glance at Venerable Wu Wang.

Did she really just use a “little trick”?

She slowly turned to look at Venerable Wu Wang, her eyes conveying this question.

Venerable Wu Wang looked utterly innocent: “Why are you looking at this Venerable? What other tricks could this Venerable possibly have? Isn’t it just fine? It’s not dead yet.”

With that, Venerable Wu Wang turned her head away, no longer looking at her, pacing back and forth in the cave with her hands clasped behind her back.

She was completely oblivious to having done anything wrong.

The corner of Qin Qingyi’s mouth twitched.

Her gaze fell upon the illusion demon cowering and curled up on the ground, completely lacking its previous arrogance and filled only with terror. Her eyes held helplessness.

Indeed, it wasn’t dead yet.

But it looked close to death.

If it died, her plan would go down the drain.

Qin Qingyi sighed and squatted down.

Looking at the demon that became even more frightened by her approach, Qin Qingyi mercilessly grabbed its hair and yanked it up.

Gripping the opponent’s chin, Qin Qingyi forcefully lifted it, compelling the demon to meet her gaze.

That face, identical to her own, appeared before her again. Seeing the terror in the demon’s eyes, Qin Qingyi frowned.

She was still unused to facing her own face.

It felt too strange.

“Change this face. Speak to this Venerable using your true form,” Qin Qingyi’s voice was cold and hard. Rarely did she use the honorific reserved for high-ranking cultivators when speaking to outsiders.

She had never had a good impression of demons.

Especially when she saw the demon using the same face as hers just now, she suddenly remembered that this illusion demon could inherently read the heart of anyone who fell into the illusion, transforming into the person they cared about most to lure them into willing submission within the illusion, preventing them from ever waking up and ultimately causing their death.

So, before she entered the illusion, was it with her Junior Sister…

Qin Qingyi felt an even deeper disgust.

Rarely, she felt a little nauseated.

Seeing the demon obediently revert to its original face—an extremely beautiful face, one that looked less like a demon’s and more like a face a disciple of an Immortal Sect might have—Qin Qingyi frowned.

“Is this your true appearance?”

The illusion demon nervously shook its head: “No.”

Seeing the killing intent erupt in Qin Qingyi’s eyes, it quickly explained: “We have no faces; we can only exist by borrowing the appearance of others. Since you won’t let me use yours, I can only find another face to use in her memory.”

So that was the case?

But did Junior Sister really encounter someone this beautiful?

Qin Qingyi suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, but then, her topic quickly shifted:

“Did anything overly intimate happen between you and this Venerable’s Junior Sister?”

Qin Qingyi’s eyes were sharp as a blade, her voice cold as frost.

If something truly intimate had happened between this demon and her Junior Sister, even if it was just an illusion, she couldn’t bring herself to accept it.

It sickened her.

The other party frantically shook its head: “No, nothing, nothing happened.”

As it spoke, it seemed to recall something extremely terrifying, its eyes showing even greater alarm than when it first saw Venerable Wu Wang.

Before Qin Qingyi could ask, it began to ramble, recounting the entire sequence of events without any of the arrogance it displayed when they first met.

“She… she knew I was fake… but she didn’t expose me. Instead, she pretended not to know anything, forcing me to eat food that only mortals eat… She never got close to me, only sleeping on the couch by the window. But for some reason, she especially liked looking at me. She was too strange…”

The illusion demon was still chattering, but Qin Qingyi quickly grasped the key point in its words.

“You said she knew you were fake?”

The illusion demon, not daring to get angry at the interruption, nodded repeatedly upon hearing her question.

“Yes, yes, she knew I was fake. She discovered it soon after entering the illusion. But for some reason, she didn’t kill me. Instead, she treated me more and more strangely. It’s been even weirder these past two days…”

The more Qin Qingyi listened, the stranger she felt.

She discovered it was an illusion and knew the person in front of her was a demon disguised as her, yet she refused to leave the illusion. What was she trying to do?

A ridiculous thought popped up in Qin Qingyi’s mind—

Could she have been waiting for her?

Qin Qingyi recalled her Junior Sister’s appearance when she first entered the illusion. Some details she had previously overlooked gradually surfaced.

Could it be that she was discovered as soon as she entered?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Qin Qingyi couldn’t laugh anymore.

She had been too careless, failing to realize that her Junior Sister deliberately hid within the illusion to lure her out.

Using her concern for her as leverage, deliberately placing herself in danger, using herself as bait, just to get her to take the hook.

Good!

Very good!

Had her good Junior Sister become so cunning now?

But it was pointless to dwell on these things now.

Although she didn’t know how her Junior Sister found out, and despite being exposed, she could only pretend not to know for now.

Otherwise, her subsequent plans would be difficult to carry out.

With this in mind, Qin Qingyi looked at the illusion demon again: “The Venerable has probably already informed you of the tasks you need to assist with. Do you have any questions?”

The illusion demon repeatedly shook its head: “No, no questions. I only ask that you spare my life. I am willing to do anything and submit to the Venerable’s command.”

No one wanted to die, and demons were no exception.

It inherently lacked combat power and could only kill by relying on the deception of the illusion. After these continuous days, it was nearly driven mad. If obeying the other party meant being let off, it was naturally more than willing.

Qin Qingyi smiled: “Good. Once the matter is concluded, this Venerable will naturally grant you freedom.”

——————

The first ray of light broke in the sky, and Zhou Zhixue woke up.

Empty beside her, no figure.

Senior Sister was gone?

Her heart paused for a moment, and in that instant, she considered a thousand possibilities.

Her face immediately turned pale.

Hurriedly pulling on clothes, Zhou Zhixue ventured outside. Fortunately, she found the person she was yearning for on a beautiful hillside cliff.

The person she held so dear stood there. The distant wind blew, and the light of the morning sun fell. For a brief moment, Zhou Zhixue mistakenly thought the person before her was about to ascend to immortality.

Her mind in turmoil, she quickly went and hugged the person tightly.

“Senior Sister.”

Her voice was muffled, full of the relief of having recovered what she thought was lost.

Thank goodness, Senior Sister was still by her side.

The familiar warmth, the familiar fragrance.

And the gentle patting on her back—everything was reassuringly familiar.

She deeply sighed in relief.

“What is it, Junior Sister? Why are you so anxious?”

Zhou Zhixue heard her Senior Sister chuckle, her voice gentle and no different from usual.

Her previous panic gradually faded, and the surrounding atmosphere also calmed down.

“I didn’t see Senior Sister when I woke up just now. Junior Sister thought…”

Qin Qingyi stroked her hair, patiently and meticulously gathering the strands that had come loose from her hurried exit.

“Thought what?”

Qin Qingyi’s voice was soft, every syllable landing on the tip of Zhou Zhixue’s heart. She extended her little finger, tucking Zhou Zhixue’s stray hair behind her ear.

Zhou Zhixue lowered her gaze and whispered plaintively: “Junior Sister thought she had been abandoned by Senior Sister again.”

When she woke up and saw the emptiness beside her, she immediately felt abandoned again.

She remembered the day Senior Sister left her.

Blood, chaos, and overwhelming despair.

Senior Sister had fallen asleep in her arms and never woke up again.

Qin Qingyi did not reply, only looked at her.

The way she looked at herself made Zhou Zhixue vaguely feel that she was about to drift away with the wind. This momentary daze made Zhou Zhixue nervous again.

“Senior Sister?”

She couldn’t help but grasp Qin Qingyi’s hand tightly, persistently wanting an answer.

“How could that be?” Qin Qingyi’s voice became even softer. Her inviting fox-like eyes lifted slightly, and the deep, pond-like gaze held only one person.

Only herself.

Zhou Zhixue stared blankly like this until a warm, soft sensation touched her cheek. She was slightly stunned.

It was Senior Sister’s hand, so fragrant, so soft.

It reminded her of last night, when she begged for a promise, and Senior Sister’s helpless and slightly ragged breath in her ear: “I will always be by Junior Sister’s side…”

“I will always stay with Junior Sister, always, always be by Junior Sister’s side.”

Similar words rang out again. Zhou Zhixue felt her heartbeat was clearer than ever before.

The vibration of her heart was almost loud enough to prevent her from hearing any other sound.

If time could stop, she would be willing to stay here forever with her Senior Sister.

But the moment this thought appeared, a sudden change occurred.

A sharp pain shot through her chest.

Zhou Zhixue looked down in confusion and saw half a gleaming sword blade remaining outside her chest.

Half outside, half—

Sunk into her heart.

The next moment, the blade plunged further into her body, leaving only the hilt visible.

And the hand gripping the sword was soft and fair.

The wrist still bore the red marks from her grasp the previous night.

It was Senior Sister’s hand.

“Junior Sister.”

The voice remained soft.

Zhou Zhixue looked up blankly at Qin Qingyi, looking at those pitying eyes, eyes that were affectionate yet seemed unfeeling.

“It’s time to wake up.”

Red lips parted and closed, only these four words floating into Zhou Zhixue’s ears.

Zhou Zhixue’s pupils contracted violently. Her thin lips slightly opened, as if she wanted to ask something.

That bewildered look was so piercing that Qin Qingyi nearly had to look away.

Crimson blood gradually stained her clothes, dripping down from Zhou Zhixue’s chest.

But she seemed to feel no pain. Although she was swaying and her face was pale, her eyes were fixed on Qin Qingyi.

Why…

She wanted to ask, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth.

The sunlight was intense now. Qin Qingyi stood against the light, her expression dark and unreadable.

Slowly, cruelly, she drew the Pure White Sword out.

Blood covered the Pure White Sword, dyeing it crimson, then dripped down, restoring its snowy brightness and coldness.

The wound in her chest had no obstruction, and blood sprayed out.

Zhou Zhixue swayed a few times, barely able to stand.

Qin Qingyi stepped forward, placing her hand over Zhou Zhixue’s chest wound.

A husky, gentle voice, like a lover’s whisper, sounded: “Junior Sister, this farce should end.”

Then, her palm gently pushed—

In an instant, the abyss swallowed her.