Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 40

Wang Xi’s  words caused Shen Lezhi’s  mind to go blank for an instant; she even thought she had misheard.

But Wang Xi’s voice was so clear that Shen Lezhi couldn’t possibly ignore it.

The other party said she was going to kill her, even using the word “again.” Combining this with Wang Xi’s appearance, even a fool like Shen Lezhi could guess the reason.

Wang Xi actually possessed the memories of the original book’s plot.

Perhaps it was a common trope in TV dramas—the other party had been reborn.

However, Shen Lezhi now had very little energy left to think. Her whole body was being crushed by Wang Xi’s spiritual power, and her vision was so blurry it was distorted.

The Weeping Soul Tassel  kept calling out to her and even attempted to attack Wang Xi, but Shen Lezhi held onto her last shred of rationality to stop it.

It wasn’t because she didn’t want to fight Wang Xi; it was because Shen Lezhi was afraid Wang Xi would injure the Weeping Soul Tassel in a fit of rage.

Shen Lezhi dared not gamble on whether the woman who was choking her and threatening to crush her still had any sanity left. She could only desperately make the Weeping Soul Tassel endure.

Faced with Wang Xi, she was still helpless.

Yet, Shen Lezhi still vaguely sensed that Wang Xi didn’t intend to kill her. There was only madness and obsession in her aggressive gaze, but no killing intent.

Finally, even her whimpers quieted down, and she eventually passed out.

When Shen Lezhi awoke again, she found herself lying in Wang Xi’s room. Wang Xi was not there, and Shen Lezhi could not sense her aura.

Shen Lezhi got up and pushed open the door. The ancient peach tree in the courtyard had been ravaged into a barren state, with white and pink petals buried in the dirt across the yard, and even the low walls outside the courtyard were leaning crookedly.

The front yard was truly a mess.

Also a mess was Shen Lezhi, who was currently standing in the courtyard.

Physically, she was fine. She had guessed correctly; Wang Xi hadn’t intended to kill her. The other party had smiled while watching her painful groans, seemingly delighted by her vulnerable state.

Shen Lezhi had previously thought Wang Xi simply loved “pain literature,” wondering why it wasn’t mentioned in the original book. But she never expected that the other party had returned with memories of hatred and was truly a madwoman.

Shen Lezhi realized that since the red patterns at the corner of her eye had already appeared, she must have already possessed those memories back then.

Shen Lezhi recalled the occasional unpredictability in their interactions; those behaviors she hadn’t quite understood then were now all explained.

The other party’s hatred and mania had already been exposed.

Shen Lezhi wanted even less to be involved in the entanglement between Wang Xi and the original heroine. She placed the small white sword back in Wang Xi’s room; this precious sword, painstakingly crafted by Wang Xi for the original heroine, should not be taken by her.

She mobilized her spiritual power and rushed quickly towards the outside of Youfang Academy, running past the academy’s magnificent golden gate.

Shen Lezhi looked up at the several immortal cranes  soaring in the sky, flying around the sunrise clouds.

One also rested on the bronze bell of Youfang Academy’s green-tiled tower, leisurely preening its feathers.

Shen Lezhi lowered her gaze, no longer watching. She sped forward once more, quickly leaving the mist-shrouded immortal sect grounds behind her.

“Master, where are we going now?” The Weeping Soul Tassel had been with Shen Lezhi the whole time, clinging to her hair, never questioning her decisions.

Wherever her Master went, it would follow.

“To Xuan Yu Sect (玄玉宗), to retrieve your pot.” Shen Lezhi smiled. “She won’t think of it.”

Shen Lezhi didn’t believe Wang Xi would let her go. Having been entangled with the original heroine for so long, and now suddenly revealing her rebirth, how could she easily forgive her?

But Wang Xi also wouldn’t think Shen Lezhi would rashly return to Xuan Yu Sect. Xuan Yu Sect was Wang Xi’s territory, and the sect leader there had cursed her. No one would expect her, after running away, not to flee far, but to run back to Xuan Yu Sect.

After all, Wang Xi couldn’t possibly know that the Weeping Soul Tassel’s roots were still kept at Xuan Yu Sect.

However, this was still a gamble. As soon as she appeared at Xuan Yu Sect, Wang Xi would likely know immediately.

But Shen Lezhi had no choice. Although the Weeping Soul Tassel’s petals could indeed stay separated from the stem for a long time, they couldn’t be completely discarded. If injured, they would need to return to the stem to recover.

With Shen Lezhi’s current cultivation, running non-stop for three days and three nights was not a problem. She ran until she was somewhat exhausted and her spiritual power was no longer smooth before finally stopping in front of a ruined temple at the foot of a mountain.

Shen Lezhi had run very far, and along the way, she had meticulously erased her tracks to prevent Wang Xi from following.

Weeds grew thickly around the ruined temple, and withered trees stood tall. In the cool night breeze, the branches collided, making rustling sounds.

The temple was empty. The sky had darkened, and several damaged bronze statues were hidden within the pitch black.

When she looked up suddenly, the fierce, wide-eyed, and menacing appearance was quite terrifying, making Shen Lezhi’s heart jump with fear.

She dared not look again. She casually found a cushion in front of an incense altar, sat down cross-legged, and meditated to restore her spiritual power.

Since this was a remote area, and there was no candlelight at night, Shen Lezhi was afraid of the atmosphere here and didn’t want to be disturbed by animals, so she used a Fire Talisman to light a bonfire.

The flame not only brought light, dispelling the darkness, but the act of burning also made Shen Lezhi feel warm.

She slowly exhaled. Since waking up today, she had felt so cold, so cold.

It was as if she had entered the deep winter; her body was cold, and her heart was cold.

The commotion from yesterday still circled in her mind. She deliberately avoided thinking about it, so deliberately that she could still smile at the Weeping Soul Tassel.

Shen Lezhi didn’t want to think about it now either. However, the fiery red light in front of her blurred her eyes, making her think she saw that shocking crimson color again, making her think that gaze of hatred and madness was once again pressing close.

The tight, painful sensation in her throat seemed to linger. The five fingers, cold as deep winter frost, pressed down, leaving a chilling imprint on her skin.

Shen Lezhi simply closed her eyes, forcing herself to quickly enter a meditative state, as she still had to rush on tomorrow.

Perhaps the psychological suggestion worked. She slowly stabilized her breathing and finally entered meditation.

With the Weeping Soul Tassel helping her keep watch over the surroundings, she slightly put her mind at ease.

However, this sense of security did not last long. As her spiritual consciousness drifted, she suddenly smelled a faint, mysterious fragrance.

At first, Shen Lezhi didn’t pay attention. The Weeping Soul Tassel was as quiet as before, with no unusual movements. Since the Weeping Soul Tassel didn’t wake her up, there should be no danger.

But gradually, the faint fragrance became thicker, so thick that her nostrils were completely permeated by the smell, making her feel uncomfortable and want to turn away.

“Little Crybaby, what’s that smell?” Shen Lezhi finally opened her eyes and asked the Weeping Soul Tassel in confusion. A smell this strong suddenly appearing in the middle of the night didn’t seem right.

“Huh? Smell?” The Weeping Soul Tassel sounded puzzled.

Shen Lezhi froze, pausing for a moment before asking speechlessly, “You don’t have a sense of smell?”

The Weeping Soul Tassel was even more confused. “I am a spiritual flower. Why would I need a sense of smell?!”

“…” Shen Lezhi was left speechless.

Truth be told, the Weeping Soul Tassel didn’t have sight or hearing either. It relied on its sense of perception, similar to a cultivator’s spiritual power when released externally.

However, its perception seemed to be more clear and specific. Was it because a spiritual plant’s instinctual sense of natural spiritual energy was more acute?

Shen Lezhi didn’t know, but she couldn’t delve into it now.

She took a deep breath, immediately stood up, mobilized her spiritual power, and instantly controlled the water spiritual energy within her range.

She had no weapon now, so she needed to be extra careful about danger.

The mysterious fragrance kept coming, but Shen Lezhi couldn’t capture any trace of an enemy.

She couldn’t help but frown.

There could only be two scenarios: either the opponent was indeed outside the range of her spiritual consciousness, or the opponent’s cultivation was much higher than hers and had concealed their aura.

Either way, Shen Lezhi was on high alert. She extinguished the bonfire, retreated to a corner of the ruined temple, and concealed herself in the darkness.

But the fragrance was so thick that Shen Lezhi almost lost her sense of smell; she couldn’t smell anything else besides that mysterious scent.

Shen Lezhi couldn’t help but wonder, where was this fragrance coming from?

This ruined temple was open on three sides, so the scent shouldn’t linger, but this fragrance not only lasted too long but was also growing increasingly strong.

It seemed to be coming from somewhere very close to her.

Shen Lezhi suddenly paused.

She swiftly mobilized her spiritual power and leaped a few steps outside the temple. The cool night wind swept over her body, which should have dissipated the fragrance clinging to her, but the heavy scent still occupied Shen Lezhi’s nasal cavity.

It was as if she had inhaled the smell into her mouth and throat, and her body itself was emitting this strange, faint fragrance.

Shen Lezhi finally understood. The scent wasn’t drifting in from somewhere else; it was radiating from her!

A smell this strong could be picked up from a great distance if one had a keen sense of smell.

This was a tracking spell!

Shen Lezhi didn’t need to guess who would use such a spell.

She knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. She quickly mobilized her spiritual power to leave, but before she could run more than a few steps, she suddenly felt a powerful pressure surge toward her like a torrential storm.

The next moment, her whole body froze, unable to move forward even an inch.

And that deathly pale figure slowly emerged from the dark curtain of the sky.

The other party’s face was even paler than Shen Lezhi had ever seen, and her cold, emotionless eyes were now filled with frost.

But the madness in her gaze had not diminished one bit, becoming even more intense than before.

Even her dress seemed to emit a chill. If it weren’t for the scarlet fine lines creeping across her neck, Shen Lezhi would have thought she was a goddess descending from heaven.

Now, in Shen Lezhi’s eyes, the other party looked more like a crazed female ghost.

Wang Xi’s arrival caused the temperature in this remote area to plummet, and everything around them instantly frosted over.

Real ice: the weeds on the ground were instantly frozen into ice sculptures. With every step Wang Xi took, she crushed the ice shards beneath her feet.

Shen Lezhi finally smelled another scent: Wang Xi’s own profound, cold fragrance of ice and snow.

Shen Lezhi used to love the aura of ice and snow on the other party. That pure and intoxicating scent had once captivated her.

She believed that such an aloof scent suited Wang Xi perfectly—like an immortal master, with a penetrating cold fragrance, truly like a heavenly goddess.

But now, that chill had become sinister, making Shen Lezhi instinctively afraid.

Seeing and feeling all this, Shen Lezhi couldn’t stop trembling.

When Wang Xi reached her, she raised her hand and gripped Shen Lezhi’s jaw. Shen Lezhi felt the pain. She was forced by Wang Xi to lift her head, and the spiritual power in her body ran frantically.

She couldn’t escape.

To be found even like this, she had still underestimated Wang Xi’s strength. She thought she could avoid the other party by doing the opposite of what was expected, but in reality, she still knew too little about the cultivation world’s techniques.

“My dear disciple, where did you think you were running off to?” Wang Xi’s voice was even more chilling. The red-lined eyes made her calm, cold tone sound sinister at this moment.

The calmer she was, the more terrifying she became.

Shen Lezhi was completely under her control, and frost and snow also enveloped Shen Lezhi. Shen Lezhi sensed a thin layer of frost forming on her skin.

So cold.

Shen Lezhi could not mobilize her spiritual power at all, because her meridians were being ruthlessly impacted by Wang Xi.

Wang Xi’s spiritual power brazenly entered her body, locking all her meridians, making her completely unable to rally any spiritual power.

The fingers gripping her jaw also applied force. Shen Lezhi’s whole body was in pain, but she knew Wang Xi simply wanted to torture her, seal off her spiritual power, and force her into a state where she couldn’t resist.

She just wanted to see Shen Lezhi suffering beyond control.

Wang Xi was taking revenge on her, punishing her for running away.

Shen Lezhi desperately bit her lip, unwilling to answer or make any sound.

Wang Xi looked at her with cold disdain, grabbed her wrist with one hand, pulled out the Demon-Subduing Silk, and bound Shen Lezhi’s hands.

This Demon-Subduing Silk was entirely jade-white, faintly glowing with a silver-blue light. It was the same magical artifact Wang Xi had used to tie her up when Shen Lezhi was afflicted by the Joy Flower.

Now it bound her again, but this time, it was not Shen Lezhi’s willing choice.

Seeing the rope, she began to struggle, but the Demon-Subduing Silk could contract and expand with the user’s thought. The moment she moved, the rope immediately tightened.

Wang Xi, just like that time on Linglong Peak, held the other end of the rope, forcefully grasping Shen Lezhi’s waist and lifting her onto the Azure Dragon Sword. Shen Lezhi bit her teeth hard, lightly gasping without a sound.

Wang Xi flew her back to Youfang Academy. The jade-white fingers holding the rope only released the tension when Wang Xi dragged her into the room.

But Shen Lezhi knew that what followed would be a fiercer storm, a more violent deluge.

The other end of the rope was tied to the roof beam. Shen Lezhi was forced to stand upright, her arms raised high above her head.

This posture made her feel humiliated. Although she was in this position when afflicted by the Joy Flower, at that time, her heart was filled with the pleasure of being enveloped by Wang Xi’s ice-snow fragrance.

But the Shen Lezhi of this moment was no longer the one who was afflicted by the Joy Flower and had a naive affection for Wang Xi.

She knew that Wang Xi carried hatred, and she knew that this person in front of her might have been thinking of killing and torturing her at every moment in the past.

Wang Xi had certainly hesitated. Shen Lezhi recalled that there were many times when the other party was on the verge of killing her, yet she wavered, even allowing Shen Lezhi to break her boundaries.

Now, she didn’t even possess the intent to kill anymore.

But all of this was directed at the original heroine. Everything was Wang Xi’s compromise with the original heroine.

Even as Wang Xi pressed close now, her body language carrying an ambiguous intimacy, her eyes finally unconcealed—filled with manic and possessive hatred—all of it was emotion directed at the original heroine.

Those cold hands choked Shen Lezhi’s neck. The terrifying red patterns covered Wang Xi’s crimson eyes. She pressed against Shen Lezhi’s body. The harder her fingers squeezed, the colder the surrounding temperature became.

It hurts so much.

Shen Lezhi suppressed the sob in her throat. It hurts so much.

It was not just the pain from Wang Xi’s death grip on her neck, nor the pain caused by Wang Xi’s spiritual power deliberately surging through and abusing her body.

Her heart felt as if it had been cruelly pierced. She didn’t understand why she had to endure all this when she was only an unwilling visitor to this world.

And why she had to fall in love with this lunatic in front of her.

Wang Xi’s eyes had only ever seen “her Shen Lezhi.”

And Shen Lezhi had to endure Wang Xi’s revenge for someone else, enduring this tearing pain.

“Are you scared?” Wang Xi stared into Shen Lezhi’s eyes, letting out a casual sneer, her lips cruel and maniacal. “You are the one who tortured me into this state, Lezhi.”

“You betrayed me, you forced me into the territory of the Flame Demon, and you made me fall into the Demonic Path  while being tortured by those flames.”

Wang Xi now spoke openly about the suffering of her past life. She gazed obsessively at Shen Lezhi, inch by inch. The sight of her suffering and trembling from lack of oxygen genuinely pleased her.

“The Flame Demon’s fire burned away all the flesh and blood on my body. Even when the Exquisite Heart  reformed my body, it was only to be consumed by those flames again.”

Wang Xi continued speaking. She spoke slowly, but every word was clear. “Even the bones in my body were completely burned. Even when only my soul remained, I couldn’t escape the raging fire.”

“I was in so much pain, truly so much pain. I wanted to die every moment. It was a thousand, ten thousand times more painful than what you’re feeling now.”

Her manic voice was mixed with intense hatred. Every word seemed to clearly recreate the unbearable agony of the flames scorching her.

Shen Lezhi finally couldn’t bear it. Her painful groans were choked off by Wang Xi’s five fingers. Wang Xi’s spiritual power ravaged her body as if venting its rage.

But Wang Xi would not let Shen Lezhi pass out.

She wanted Shen Lezhi to endure it all fully conscious, just as she had endured the Flame Demon’s fire, eternally conscious, in her previous life.

“You, didn’t you…” Shen Lezhi managed to utter a difficult sound.

The voice was hoarse and broken because her neck was being tightly choked.

Wang Xi noticed the other party had something to say. She wanted to know what Shen Lezhi could possibly say at a time like this, so she slightly loosened the pressure of her fingers.

Shen Lezhi finally got a breath. The moment she was released, she instinctively hunched over, coughing. But because Wang Xi was too close, she naturally fell onto Wang Xi when she leaned forward.

The extreme coldness enveloped her, making her tremble uncontrollably.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

Shen Lezhi gasped weakly, the pain throughout her body no longer stirring her emotions.

She finally calmed down slowly, lifting her eyes to look into Wang Xi’s crimson eyes.

The shocking red patterns made Wang Xi seem utterly sinister. Shen Lezhi had once thought she was like the goddess residing in the ice and snow, a heavenly being with the appearance of an immortal master.

Now, she seemed to be nothing more than a tragic figure trapped in endless hatred for all eternity.

But, it had nothing to do with Shen Lezhi.

“Didn’t you personally kill her and take out that half of the Exquisite Heart?” Shen Lezhi’s gaze lowered as she spoke coldly to Wang Xi.

In that instant, the air seemed to congeal, and not a sound could be heard.

Wang Xi completely released Shen Lezhi.

She had never told Shen Lezhi the details of her death in the previous life.

She lowered her gaze. The doubts that had once arisen now suddenly surged before her.

She opened her lips. She heard her own hoarse, dry voice break the eerie silence.

“How do you know that?”