After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 85

Chapter 85: The Other “Wen Fengyue”

◎I will lead you to escape from here◎

Wen Fengyue’s eyes were wide and round, a look of shock on her tiny face that was undeniably adorable—at least, that was what Jiao Qingyin thought.

Jiao Qingyin first spread her palm upward, resting it on the shoulder of the body she inhabited to prevent the tiny Wen Fengyue from falling, and then asked, “Do you feel any discomfort?”

Wen Fengyue opened her mouth, and after a long while, she spoke in a muffled voice: “…I can’t see you.”

Because she couldn’t see Jiao Qingyin, she had accidentally hurt her. Compared to that, the fact that her body had suddenly become small didn’t seem to matter much. Wen Fengyue was very unhappy.

At that moment, the Chinese teacher had called on several students for a reading comprehension question without receiving a satisfactory answer. She turned her gaze toward Wen Fengyue, who had performed excellently earlier. She noticed Wen Fengyue looking down at her book, her expression obscured by her hair, looking very serious.

So, she called out, “Wen Fengyue, why don’t you answer this question?”

Jiao Qingyin reacted quickly, returning to Wen Fengyue’s body and standing up. Without hesitation, she provided a fluent and perfect answer. Amidst the teacher’s praise and the surprised looks of her classmates, Jiao Qingyin sat back down. Throughout the process, she carefully controlled her shoulder muscles to stay still, ensuring the tiny Wen Fengyue wouldn’t fall.

It was strange; even though the other’s current state was similar to a spiritual body, she could touch people and objects in reality.

After sitting down, Jiao Qingyin pretended to brush dust off her shoulder, reaching out to scoop the tiny Wen Fengyue onto the desk. To keep her from being afraid, Jiao Qingyin whispered beforehand: “I’m going to move you to a different spot. You might feel a sudden weightlessness. If you’re scared, just grab my finger.”

In the next second, Wen Fengyue felt a hand with warmth gently press against her body. At this moment, she realized Jiao Qingyin hadn’t been exaggerating when she said her size was like a hamster.

While Jiao Qingyin’s fingers used to be icy cold, they were now warm while using her body—could it be…?

Wen Fengyue’s mind worked quickly. Combining this with previous suspicious points and the strange scream she heard in the hallway, an absurd theory began to emerge in her mind.

When the sense of suspension vanished and she stood firmly on the desk, Wen Fengyue tilted her head up toward the direction she assumed Jiao Qingyin was. “Jiao Jiao.”

Jiao Qingyin gave a hum in response.

Wen Fengyue hesitated repeatedly. Jiao Qingyin watched the tiny girl’s serious, cute, and conflicted expression; even a small dark cloud began to float behind her head. Jiao Qingyin couldn’t help but lightly poke that little cloud. Surprisingly, the cloud could be touched. As her finger neared, it turned into wisps of mist that wrapped around her finger, feeling cool and making Jiao Qingyin’s eyes widen.

She withdrew her finger, and the little cloud drifted after her longingly for a bit before returning to Wen Fengyue’s back, dutifully serving as a background to reflect her mood.

Wen Fengyue was unaware of this, but in that moment, she decided to ask the question in her heart. She slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and asked: “Jiao Jiao, are you… my other personality, or… something else?”

Jiao Qingyin gazed at her for a while before speaking: “Which one do you hope for?”

Wen Fengyue pursed her lips. Previously, she had always made excuses for the clues Jiao Qingyin showed, convincing herself that she was a second personality—because she felt that only she herself would stay by her side forever. She wanted them to be one so they would be permanently bound from body to soul. She had hoped for this for ten years.

But now that they were speaking openly, Wen Fengyue realized her feelings had changed. Compared to a second personality she was destined never to touch, if Jiao Qingyin was something like a ghost, there was a possibility she could see and touch her.

…There should be a possibility, right? No, even if she could never meet her in this life, it was fine, as long as the other didn’t leave her—

Thinking of this, Wen Fengyue couldn’t help but clench her fists and take two steps forward. Standing in the endless darkness made her feel insecure; she instinctively wanted to be closer to Jiao Qingyin. She didn’t voice this fear, but Jiao Qingyin sensed it and offered her fingertip.

Feeling her head being poked, Wen Fengyue was stunned for a moment, then reached out to hug Jiao Qingyin’s index finger. …It was very warm.

Jiao Qingyin watched the small cloud behind Wen Fengyue dissipate, replaced by a few small floating flowers. This obvious change made Jiao Qingyin’s heart soften. She gently rubbed the tiny Wen Fengyue’s cheek with her fingertip and sighed softly: “You’re so easy to coax.”

She was currently using Wen Fengyue’s body and could easily manipulate the tiny girl. Wen Fengyue couldn’t see anything, yet she wasn’t afraid of any malicious intent. If Jiao Qingyin were an evil spirit planning to steal the body forever, what would Wen Fengyue do?

Thinking this, Jiao Qingyin lowered her voice: “I’m a ghost coveting your body. Now your body belongs to me, and you’ll be a little ghost who can’t see anything forever.”

Being rubbed on the cheek, the literally “little” ghost blinked, and two more flowers appeared behind her. Jiao Jiao was teasing her.

She was neither the child of ten years ago nor a truly naive high schooler; how could she not perceive Jiao Jiao’s character? Jiao Jiao said she was easy to coax… but Jiao Jiao was the one who was always soft-hearted toward her. The other was clearly very gentle but loved to put on a cold, unapproachable front. No matter her appearance, her heart never changed—Wen Fengyue had realized this the day they first met.

That day, Jiao Qingyin took her deep underwater but didn’t let her feel an ounce of pain. Her body was sinking, but her soul was pulled out of the freezing water by Jiao Qingyin.

Wen Fengyue thought of the parrot yesterday. It had lost its strength, but just as it was about to fall, it was buoyed by something, giving it the chance to fly again. Wen Fengyue hadn’t thought deeply about it then, but now it seemed… that was Jiao Jiao’s doing too.

So if she told Jiao Jiao that she couldn’t live without her, would Jiao Jiao be willing to hold her up like she held that little bird?

“…No one is unable to live without someone else.”

Hearing Jiao Qingyin’s sigh, Wen Fengyue’s pupils constricted. She had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud. She instinctively wanted to argue, but Jiao Qingyin stroked her hair.

The latter changed the subject in a low voice: “After class, I’ll take you out of school to find a way to get you back into your body. After that…”

“After that?” Wen Fengyue tightly hugged Jiao Qingyin’s finger, terrified she would say “After that, we part ways.” She wasn’t seeking sympathy or being dramatic; she truly couldn’t live without Jiao Qingyin. The thought of a life without Jiao Qingyin made her want to die. This world was terrible to her; if it weren’t for Jiao Qingyin, she would have long—

“After that, you can try to see if you can see what I look like—don’t you really want to see?”

The situation turned around, and Wen Fengyue’s heart finally landed. However, her grip on Jiao Qingyin’s finger didn’t loosen at all, as if confirming if she was serious. For a split second just now, an image had appeared in her mind of Jiao Qingyin turning into a ray of light and vanishing from her arms… no. Why was that image so clear and vivid, so—

Wen Fengyue raised her right hand and clutched her head. Jiao Qingyin immediately noticed her abnormality and called her name, but received no response. Disregarding the fact that class was in session, Jiao Qingyin stood up abruptly.

“Wen Fengyue?” the Chinese teacher was startled. “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Teacher,” Jiao Qingyin answered using Wen Fengyue’s shell, “I don’t feel well. I want to go to the infirmary.”

Her face was pale, and even her lips were bloodless. She truly looked sick. The teacher didn’t dare delay and hurriedly agreed, calling for the class monitor to help her. By the time the monitor stood up to follow her out the back door, Jiao Qingyin was already gone.

Jiao Qingyin strode across the campus, eventually breaking into a run. She kept one hand in her pocket, carefully protecting the tiny Wen Fengyue inside so she wouldn’t get dizzy. She arrived at the old music building. As she neared, she felt a sky-high aura of ghostly resentment.

This place was dangerous, with more than one powerful ghost. Based on Jiao Qingyin’s abilities, she could tell that besides countless small resentful spirits, there were at least three or four ghosts no weaker than the one in the pool. Additionally… there was an existence perhaps as strong as herself.

But Jiao Qingyin didn’t hesitate and stepped through the door of the music building. She could increase her spiritual strength by devouring ghosts; surely Wen Fengyue could do the same.

Upon entering, Jiao Qingyin grabbed every ghost that radiated murderous intent. These were ghosts that had harmed humans, so she felt no burden in dealing with them. Skipping the trembling ordinary ghosts, Jiao Qingyin swept through the entire first floor with a lethal intent.

After searching the last room, Jiao Qingyin held a mass of spirits she had kneaded together, preparing to leave to feed them to Wen Fengyue. Just before leaving, Jiao Qingyin suddenly felt an icy gaze fall upon her. She turned around quickly and locked eyes with a ghost floating in the air.

This one look caused a ripple in her expression. This ghost looked exactly like Wen Fengyue.

No, not exactly the same. Though she had the same silver hair and blue eyes, this “Wen Fengyue” was much thinner and frailer than the one she knew—almost skin and bones. She wore a tattered old school uniform, and her exposed skin was covered in scars. Her once smooth hair bore the marks of cigarette burns.

This was… the Wen Fengyue from the previous life.

After making eye contact with Jiao Qingyin, her limbs began to twist, and blood seeped from her pale face bit by bit, eventually turning her into a person soaked in blood. Jiao Qingyin couldn’t breathe—she realized this was how the previous Wen Fengyue looked when she died.

Knowledge she had unconsciously ignored—or rather, knowledge shielded by the World Consciousness—emerged: The place where Wen Fengyue jumped in her last life was the rooftop of this music building.

So was this ghost a hallucination, or a fragmented piece of Wen Fengyue’s soul? Had she been stuck here since her last life, or did she appear in this one? Did Wen Fengyue’s nearly fatal injury here have something to do with her?

Jiao Qingyin had too many questions, but she didn’t ask a single one. Instead, she slowly tightened her left hand in her pocket, using her fingers to cover the eyes of the sleeping tiny Wen Fengyue. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she waited for the other “Wen Fengyue” to speak first.

But the other was like a frozen image, doing nothing but staring with those blood-red eyes. Her gaze was hollow and dull, like a puppet without emotion. Jiao Qingyin stood unmoving in a standoff. After a long time, her legs felt numb with pain, but the ghost still didn’t move.

However, the tiny Wen Fengyue in her pocket stirred slightly, seemingly about to wake up. Jiao Qingyin realized she couldn’t stay any longer. The power radiating from the other “Wen Fengyue” was too strong; if she were hostile, Jiao Qingyin couldn’t protect the tiny Wen Fengyue while fighting her.

So, she tentatively took a step toward the door. Just one step, and the ghost suddenly turned her head, fixing her gaze on Jiao Qingyin’s feet. Jiao Qingyin gritted her teeth and stayed still.

The other wouldn’t let her leave? Fortunately, the other “Wen Fengyue” made no move to attack. She watched Jiao Qingyin’s feet for a while, and after confirming she wasn’t moving again, she returned her gaze to Jiao Qingyin’s face.

Then, she spoke her first words since their meeting: “Jiao Jiao.”

Jiao Qingyin’s mind reeled. How could she—?

As if reading her mind, the other “Wen Fengyue” answered: “Three days ago, I drank ‘my’ blood and read ‘my’ memories.” She had inherited Wen Fengyue’s beautiful memories from ten years ago and the endless longing of the past ten years.

The other “Wen Fengyue” tilted her head slightly, and tears began to well up in her eyes. However—what rolled out of her eyes weren’t tears, but a black-red liquid mixed with blood and resentment. She looked down blankly, caught the liquid, thought for a moment, then licked it into her mouth.

Having done this, the other “Wen Fengyue” looked at Jiao Qingyin again, seemingly waiting for something. Jiao Qingyin took a cautious step back. A relatively human-like expression appeared on the ghost’s face for the first time: confusion.

Clearly, when that ‘self’ did this, she received Jiao Jiao’s concern. Why can’t I? Is it because my tears aren’t clean? But… she squeezed out another tear; it was still black-red. She looked up helplessly at Jiao Qingyin.

Every move the other “Wen Fengyue” made was full of discordance. Her joints were like rusted metal; every movement was accompanied by a hitch, as if she might break at any moment. Jiao Qingyin felt a very uncomfortable sensation. She wanted to step forward and hug this Wen Fengyue, tell her to stop crying, or simply pull her out of this gloomy building, but…

“Jiao Jiao?” a soft, weak voice came from her pocket.

The other “Wen Fengyue’s” face changed drastically. Her silver hair moved without wind, and blood poured continuously from her eyes. In the next second, she appeared instantly in front of Jiao Qingyin, who was turning to leave at top speed.

Jiao Qingyin had no time to think about what she was doing. Seeing the other reaching for her pocket, Jiao Qingyin gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and charged for the door. Although the other “Wen Fengyue” looked solid, she was still a ghost. Jiao Qingyin passed right through her body and into the sunlight.

The moment she crossed the boundary of the music building, Jiao Qingyin felt her body lighten and ran away quickly. The other “Wen Fengyue” stood by the door, watching her retreating back without blinking. Blood continued to drip from her body, forming a pool on the ground.

The other “Wen Fengyue” lowered her head, looking at her reflection in the blood pool. Jiao Jiao had made a choice between her and the other “her.” And the difference between them was… the ghost slowly raised her hand and wiped the blood from her eyes.

She spent half an hour wiping all the blood from her face, revealing a pale, thin, scarred, but exceptionally beautiful face. She thought for a moment, flew to the second floor, grabbed a ghost, and tore it to pieces to swallow. The scars on her face vanished.

She stood before the full-length mirror in the choir room, wiped some blood onto the glass, and her current reflection appeared. If she could look exactly the same as the other “her”… would Jiao Jiao’s choice change? Would she… at least look at her once more?

What she didn’t know was that while she was still at the door wiping her face, Jiao Qingyin had stood far away and looked back at her for a long time.

The other “Wen Fengyue” withdrew her gaze from the mirror and walked out of the choir room. Besides the memories of the last two days, she possessed all the memories of the other Wen Fengyue. Combined with her own experience, it was obvious what had happened to them—

In the previous life, she died by jumping, and her soul split into two parts. The primary part was reborn and met Jiao Jiao; the secondary part… was her. She was trapped in this building, reliving the day of her death over and over until ten years ago, she…

She clutched her head. Ten years ago…? What happened ten years ago? Strange, how did she break the cycle of repeating her death?

Jiao Qingyin brought the tiny Wen Fengyue to a small grove. She kneaded the spirits in her hand into a ball the size of a glutinous rice ball, then took Wen Fengyue out of her pocket and let her sit in her palm.

Wen Fengyue had just woken up. Her white hair was messy, and her eyes were half-open, looking very dazed and cute. Normally, Jiao Qingyin might have tidied her hair, but… right now, her mind was full of that blood-soaked “Wen Fengyue.”

Wen Fengyue wasn’t fully awake, and Jiao Qingyin was preoccupied. Both stood dazed for a long time before coming to their senses.

“Can you still see nothing?” “I think I heard my own voice just now.”

An ill-timed harmony caused them to speak at the same time. Jiao Qingyin fell silent. Wen Fengyue waited and spoke first: “Still can’t see.”

“…Mhm, it’s okay. I found a way to fix it,” Jiao Qingyin said, deliberately hiding the fact that she had been to the music building.

Wen Fengyue moved her fingers. Although Jiao Qingyin’s tone was normal, she inexplicably felt that the other’s mood was a bit low.

“Imagine something you like to eat,” Jiao Qingyin offered the spirit ball to Wen Fengyue. “Or just think of it as medicine. Once you eat it, you’ll be able to see.”

Something I like… Wen Fengyue took the ball with both hands and tried to imagine it based on its shape. Jiao Qingyin saw the ball transform at a visible rate into a piece of soft, bouncy pudding. It looked familiar; they had just eaten fruit salad at the hotel yesterday, which contained such pudding.

Sensing the change in texture, Wen Fengyue took a bite. As the pudding entered her mouth, she was surprised: “It really is mango flavored.” Just like her imagination.

Wen Fengyue ate the pudding quickly. Halfway through, the darkness before her eyes began to fade. By the time she finished, her vision had completely returned to normal. After seeing clearly, the first thing she did was look for Jiao Qingyin.

Then she saw her own face—recognizing the worry in the slightly furrowed brows, she remembered that Jiao Qingyin was currently using her body. She stood straight by holding onto Jiao Qingyin’s finger, her eyes shining. “Jiao Jiao, I can see.”

Hearing this, Jiao Qingyin sighed in relief, a faint smile finally appearing on her face. She sat down on the grass and stroked Wen Fengyue in her palm, smoothing down the stray hair. It tickled, but Wen Fengyue cooperated obediently, her gaze fixed on Jiao Qingyin without moving.

Jiao Qingyin was charmed, feeling a bit happier, but then she remembered the “Wen Fengyue” in the music building. Though their meeting was short, she found she couldn’t erase her from her mind. Every subtle change in her expression was caught by Wen Fengyue.

Jiao Jiao… is indeed in a bad mood.

Wen Fengyue’s expression grew serious. As Jiao Qingyin prepared to withdraw her finger, Wen Fengyue hugged her fingertip, her feet leaving Jiao Qingyin’s palm. Jiao Qingyin was startled and quickly moved her finger back, instinctively scolding: “It’s dangerous, you—”

“Sister, you’re sad. Did something happen while I was asleep?” Wen Fengyue peered out from the side of the finger and rubbed her soft cheek against it. “Tell me. I’ll help you think of a way.”

Jiao Qingyin involuntarily relaxed. Wen Fengyue… she could always detect her emotional shifts immediately. She… how could she be so cute? That persistent gaze made Jiao Qingyin’s heart beat a bit faster. She held Wen Fengyue up in front of her.

After looking at her for a long time, she spoke in a low voice: “If… I mean if, after you died in your last life, you didn’t get reborn but became a ghost… would you be very sad?”

After asking, Jiao Qingyin wanted to take it back. What kind of question was that? Wen Fengyue had lived such a painful life; if she couldn’t find peace after death, she would surely be miserable.

Hearing this, Wen Fengyue was indeed stunned for a moment, but then she broke into a radiant smile. “If you were there, I wouldn’t be.”

“Jiao Jiao, if you are there, I am willing to accept even the worst life.”

These words were like an axe, instantly splitting the rocks that had blocked Jiao Qingyin from touching the truth of the world. She had an epiphany, suddenly remembering the system prompt she heard when she first met Wen Fengyue at the pool.

Back then, the system said: [World line reverting.] Later, the system explained why she had slept for ten years: [The World Consciousness reverted several times but failed to adjust time to the correct position. The host’s mental power was exhausted in the process.]

She hadn’t realized before that if the World Consciousness simply reverted time, it should consume its own power, not the mental power of an outsider like her. The reason her terrifyingly strong mental power was exhausted was because of something she did in the world after the time reversion. And what she did likely involved Wen Fengyue, even causing a mutation in the plot, which was why their memories were shielded by the World Consciousness.

Perhaps… they had already met in Wen Fengyue’s previous life.

Realizing this, in a flash of insight, Jiao Qingyin remembered her entire experience since coming to this world.

Besides her, the “Wen Fengyue” who had devoured everything in the music building and was now looking at her new self in the mirror also clutched her head at this moment. Black-red droplets fell from her eyes, staining the uniform she had worked so hard to clean.

But she remembered.

Ten years ago…

As usual, she prepared to repeat the process of walking to school, reading while hungry, being bullied by teachers and classmates, wanting to leave but being trapped on the rooftop, and finally jumping with her enemies. She had repeated this day countless times—from initial rage to later pain to numbness. She had almost accepted the injustice of fate and her doomed, lightless life.

But that day… as soon as she stepped out the door, a cold hand took hers.

That person said… “Don’t be afraid. I will lead you to escape from here.”