Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 41

Shen Lezhi’s  words caused Wang Xi to stop even breathing.

The red patterns on her body deepened at a visible speed, finally becoming like threads of blood before Shen Lezhi’s eyes.

The silence at this moment was like a storm suppressed deep inside, but the solid ice restraining the wind and rain was not strong; it threatened to collapse at any moment.

Wang Xi’s entire body was trembling, and the hand gripping Shen Lezhi’s neck was bulging with blue veins due to overwhelming grief and indignation.

When she was first reborn, she had considered the possibility that Shen Lezhi might also be reborn, but this lifetime’s Shen Lezhi was so drastically different from the one in her past life—who had merely faked obedience—that Wang Xi had gradually dismissed the idea.

But now, Shen Lezhi had spoken about the circumstances of her death in the past life.

“How do you know that?” Wang Xi heard her own trembling voice.

She was so terrified she dared not hear Shen Lezhi’s answer.

The Shen Lezhi of the past life was the root of her hatred, a person she could never forgive.

Even if the other party eventually repented, it was impossible for her to let go of the hatred.

“How do you know!” She relentlessly questioned Shen Lezhi, the suspicion in her heart causing her intense pain.

“Of course I know. I know you dug out the Exquisite Heart (玲瓏心) from her body. You already took your revenge; you already killed her.”

Shen Lezhi finally couldn’t suppress her painful whimpers. Perhaps it was because Wang Xi’s spiritual power surged more violently within her body, making Shen Lezhi feel as though she were being torn apart.

She was in such pain that all her nerves became highly sensitive until Wang Xi’s spiritual consciousness suddenly invaded her spiritual domain.

That instant felt like a taut string violently snapping. Shen Lezhi finally screamed in pain.

It was because she had been resisting; she did not welcome Wang Xi’s invasion. This was the first time she had resisted Wang Xi’s spiritual power entering her meridians, and her defiance caused the two streams of spiritual power to fight within her body, which her meridians were utterly unable to withstand.

The piercing pain made Shen Lezhi unable to suppress her voice any longer. She bit through her lip but couldn’t stop the shouts that spilled from her mouth.

It wasn’t the first time Shen Lezhi had experienced her spiritual domain being invaded, but due to her resistance, and even more because of Wang Xi’s current relentless dominance, Shen Lezhi’s head felt like it was about to explode.

Her whole body was convulsing, and her bound hands were twitching uncontrollably.

She cried and shouted. She couldn’t see her own appearance at the moment, but perhaps she was even more hysterical than Wang Xi.

Why must I endure this?

Shen Lezhi’s remaining consciousness painfully wondered.

Why, exactly, must I be treated like this?

What did I do wrong that Heaven sent me here to suffer pain that does not belong to me?

She desperately tried to force Wang Xi’s spiritual consciousness out of her domain. Even on the verge of fainting from the agony, she refused to allow the other party to remain in her consciousness.

She would rather die here than be invaded by Wang Xi again.

The two streams of spiritual power clashed within Shen Lezhi’s body until her fragile meridians could no longer withstand it and Shen Lezhi violently coughed up fresh blood.

The crimson blood stained Wang Xi’s clothes. Being so close to Shen Lezhi, she was inevitably soaked in Shen Lezhi’s blood.

She suddenly froze, staring fixedly at Shen Lezhi with her eyes full of crimson.

Shen Lezhi had asked why she had to endure all this.

It was a question that had escaped her lips when she was in unbearable agony.

Wang Xi lifted her jaw, her fingertips pressing against her face, the uncontrolled hatred gathering in her eyes.

“Did you ever think of this outcome when you betrayed me?” Her voice, cold as a winter snowstorm, made her demonic eyes look even more ruthless.

“Did you think of this moment when you came back with the memories of your past life, yet still pretended to be innocent, pretending to admire and love me?”

“Shen Lezhi, you deserve an awful death, both in this life and the last!”

Wang Xi’s obsessive and manic state was fully displayed before Shen Lezhi. Her hatred was so intense that dismembering Shen Lezhi a thousand times seemed insufficient to quench it.

Shen Lezhi shivered, her teeth uncontrollably chattering. She couldn’t control her body’s instinctive reaction, but her heart suddenly became calm.

She lifted her eyes, which held a serene chill, a detached indifference as if everything had nothing to do with her.

She also finally understood that Wang Xi, from beginning to end, had only ever cared about the original heroine.

The love she had once poured out, and the hatred she could not let go of for two lifetimes, were all dedicated only to the original heroine.

Shen Lezhi did not belong to this world in the first place.

Why should she be entangled with the people here?

Everything Wang Xi was inflicting upon her now should not be her burden to bear.

She trembled and cried, her whimpering fragmented and heart-wrenching, but this was her body’s instinctive reaction—the pain and distress caused her to relieve the ordeal by venting.

Her heart was calm and indifferent. She looked at Wang Xi. Even in her current pathetic state, barely able to stand, only apathy remained in her eyes.

“I am not your disciple; I am not that person.” Her voice was hoarse and broken, even carrying fragile whimpers, yet it possessed a strange serenity.

Having said this, she just stared at Wang Xi. Even though her entire body was shaking with pain, she looked at Wang Xi with such fearlessness.

She was so resolute, without any hint of backing down.

Even as Wang Xi’s entire body froze, even as circles of terrifying spiritual energy suddenly emerged before her eyes, restless, chaotic, and aggressive.

It was even accompanied by a sharp “hissing” sound in the air, like the roar from the deepest part of the spiritual owner’s soul.

All of it erupted around her, like out-of-control beasts, frantically roaring.

But Shen Lezhi was already fearless.

She had chosen to speak at this moment, meaning she was prepared to endure everything.

Whether Wang Xi wanted to kill her or do anything else, she no longer cared.

She was tired of suffering for someone else and even more tired of the hatred and entanglement with the original heroine that Wang Xi spoke of.

Since the original heroine owed Wang Xi, then this body should also be returned to the other party.

Shen Lezhi thought.

She looked at Wang Xi’s eyes, carrying the intent to die.

Wang Xi released the fingers choking her neck, followed by a spiritual power that swept over her, even more violent than before.

Her eyes crimson, her fingertips pressed on Shen Lezhi’s face, trembling slightly just like Shen Lezhi.

“How can you not be? How can you not be her?” This body still had the half of her Exquisite Heart beating within it.

Wang Xi’s fingertip brushed against Shen Lezhi’s neck, drawing a trace of blood on the porcelain-white skin from the sheer force.

Wang Xi lowered her head and lightly licked it. Shen Lezhi’s aura still carried the sweet fragrance of the Exquisite Heart.

How could she not be her?

But Wang Xi’s voice trembled urgently, the clear voice Shen Lezhi once loved now also turning hoarse.

The vast spiritual power that swept over her like a storm mercilessly ravaged Shen Lezhi’s body.

If it weren’t for the Demon-Subduing Silk binding her, Shen Lezhi would have already collapsed.

But Wang Xi seemed to be in the same state.

Her spiritual power was laden with intense pain, like the despair of a towering building collapsing.

Shen Lezhi saw that she, too, was gasping weakly in pain, and her eyes were like shattered ice crystals.

In the past, Shen Lezhi would surely have felt heartache seeing Wang Xi display such an expression—an immortal, as bright as the moon and wind, aloof and solitary, enduring such suffering.

But at this moment, Shen Lezhi was in so much pain.

The unbearable agony had already tortured her to the point of collapse.

She cried out loudly, venting her suffering. She refused to allow Wang Xi to mercilessly invade her mind for even a moment. The more she struggled, the heavier the pain became.

All of this was Wang Xi’s doing; her pain was inflicted by Wang Xi.

Why should she still sympathize with the person who was hurting her so badly now?

“I am not your Shen Lezhi, never have been! You and she are just characters in a book. In my eyes, you don’t even count as truly alive people!” She knew Wang Xi might not believe it, and certainly couldn’t accept that she was a completely different person. She shouted frantically through her agony, “This is not my home; I have no place of belonging here.”

“Kill me, kill me and I can go home.”

“Wang Xi, kill me, let me go home!”

She yelled at Wang Xi with a heartbreaking intensity. Her distorted features were covered in pain, but her eyes were so calm, like a dead pool. Even with her actions being so emotional, there was no ripple in her gaze.

Wang Xi watched her struggle, then suddenly embraced her, her arms squeezing with a force that threatened to crush her and embed her into her own body. She buried her face in Shen Lezhi’s neck, her fragmented emotions no longer concealable.

“Shut up!” She issued a hoarse sound at Shen Lezhi, her heavy breath falling on Shen Lezhi’s ear.

The urgent and chaotic breathing allowed Shen Lezhi to easily sense Wang Xi’s equally broken state.

“Shut up!” she said. As if she couldn’t bear to hear another word from Shen Lezhi, she immediately cast a spell to silence Shen Lezhi completely.

Shen Lezhi acutely felt the violent aura on Wang Xi. She was reckless. The string of rationality in her mind finally snapped. The calmness she had maintained was now broken by Wang Xi’s endless brutality.

She opened her mouth and bit Wang Xi’s neck, using all her strength to tear at the skin on Wang Xi’s throat.

She bit and cried, her mouth filled with Wang Xi’s blood and the internal blood she had coughed up from her own violent resistance.

The room was filled with chaos and the smell of blood. Shen Lezhi’s consciousness began to blur at the end, and Wang Xi finally let go of her.

She saw Wang Xi suddenly retreat several steps as if unable to support herself, clutching her chest, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Then Wang Xi weakly dropped her arm. The spiritual power and disturbances around them instantly receded like a tide.

Shen Lezhi was finally able to breathe. Wang Xi fell silent. She did not kill her, nor did she use spiritual energy to invade her again.

She was suddenly so quiet that even the ambient temperature stopped dropping.

If it weren’t for the un-faded red patterns on her neck, their color as dark as blood, Shen Lezhi would genuinely have thought she had calmed down.

She even unbound the Demon-Subduing Silk, freeing Shen Lezhi’s hands.

Shen Lezhi hung her head weakly, no longer sensing her surroundings.

She did not even notice Wang Xi open the door and walk out quickly.

Shen Lezhi stood in place like a lost soul for a long time until her body could no longer support her current posture and she was about to fall to the ground.

The Weeping Soul Tassel extended vines from its core, catching her steadily.

The Weeping Soul Tassel knew everything about Shen Lezhi’s struggle with Wang Xi. It wanted to help Shen Lezhi. Even though the enemy was so powerful she could destroy it with a wave of her hand, it fearlessly wanted to protect Shen Lezhi.

But Shen Lezhi had continuously suppressed it. Even in that situation, in pain and screaming while fiercely confronting Wang Xi, she still diverted spiritual power to suppress it.

Shen Lezhi wouldn’t let it act. The Weeping Soul Tassel knew that Shen Lezhi didn’t want it to be hurt.

The Weeping Soul Tassel didn’t care whether the person in this body was the original person or not. It only knew that such a kind Master should not be tortured like this.

The Weeping Soul Tassel was distressed to see Shen Lezhi suffering; it was so sad that its entire flower felt like it would wither. If it were before, it would have already started crying.

But it desperately held back now.

Its crying would hurt Shen Lezhi. Its weapon couldn’t protect its Master, nor could it comfort her.

The Weeping Soul Tassel grew its vines, carefully wrapping Shen Lezhi’s body and supporting its own body. It then climbed back onto Shen Lezhi’s head and stopped, watching Shen Lezhi slump motionless on the wooden chair inside the room.

“Master…” The Weeping Soul Tassel called softly.

It couldn’t bear to see Shen Lezhi so lifeless. It was so upset that its flower felt like it was wilting.

Shen Lezhi finally moved, taking the Weeping Soul Tassel from her head and looking at it with empty eyes.

She stretched out a fingertip to gently stroke the Weeping Soul Tassel’s petals. Shen Lezhi opened her lips, speaking softly with a voice hoarse from excessive screaming and a nose still slightly clogged from crying: “It’s alright, Little Crybaby.”

She was incredibly gentle, utterly unlike the mad, screaming, and roaring person she had been moments ago.

“It’s alright.” She even forced a smile, but the Weeping Soul Tassel no longer saw the stars that used to sparkle in her eyes.

“Master, let’s escape while the Great Demon is gone,” the Weeping Soul Tassel whimpered softly, but then it paused.

Where could they run to? Didn’t they just get caught after escaping?

“Okay.” But Shen Lezhi replied to it.

Upon hearing the response, the Weeping Soul Tassel didn’t care whether they could escape or not. It immediately used its vines to support Shen Lezhi’s body, then supported its own body, and climbed back to rest on Shen Lezhi’s head.

Shen Lezhi used the support of the vines to stand up and really began to walk outwards.

Wang Xi had not closed the door after leaving. Outside the open wooden door was the night sky of Youfang Academy, a night scene illuminated by countless stars.

It was like silver-bright ash scattered across the sky, spreading endlessly across the vast, black canvas.

The bright moon, hanging at the edge of the sky, was like a curved white disk, yet as soft as beautiful jade.

The courtyard was still covered with petals scattered from the ancient peach tree.

Only a few days had passed, and the ancient peach tree was in full bloom again. The scattered petals danced in the clear breeze. Without Wang Xi’s cold aura, this small courtyard exuded a hint of warmth even at night.

But Shen Lezhi had no desire to appreciate it.

She tentatively walked outward, reaching the courtyard gate. She pushed hard on the wooden door with her hand, but the small door did not react.

As expected, I am restricted.

Shen Lezhi lowered her eyes, a chill rising in her heart. After realizing that forcefully leaving with spiritual power was fruitless, she stopped trying and turned back into the house.

Wang Xi had unbound her hands, then locked her in.

Shen Lezhi wearily sat down at the wooden table, unwilling to think about anything else.

Meanwhile, Wang Xi flew a thousand miles on her sword after leaving the wooden house, only stopping at a desolate mountain forest.

Birds and beasts filled the forest, and the trees rustled. She stopped at the edge of a cliff, then leaped down.

She instinctively feared it. In both lives, such a precipice had been etched into her memory like a shadow.

It felt as though a ball of fire shot toward her. When she closed her eyes, she could feel the agony of her skin being scorched inch by inch.

But the bottom of the cliff now held water, a bottomless pool. Wang Xi released all her spiritual power, allowing herself to plunge into the deep water.

The current engulfed her. Wang Xi thought this might suppress the madness in her mind that wanted to destroy everything.

But it was useless.

In her mind, there was only Shen Lezhi speaking those words. Before her eyes, there was only Shen Lezhi’s pathetic, pale, and even maniacal appearance, yet speaking words of ultimate indifference.

Wang Xi fell into the water with a “thud,” the cold current wrapping perfectly around her.

The chaos in her heart was deafening. The Inner Demon she had suppressed roared frantically in her mind.

She, too, finally screamed uncontrollably, but she was submerged. When she opened her mouth, only the bone-chilling current invaded her breath.

She was still being suppressed, her body soaked in the cold pool water in the darkness.

Her eyes were also enveloped by the pool water. She closed her eyes and slipped down, completely sinking into the icy water.

Wang Xi had long suspected Shen Lezhi, doubting more than once who this kind, vibrant, and fearlessly self-sacrificing person was in this life.

But having been entangled with Shen Lezhi for an entire life, Wang Xi, who carried a heart full of hatred, could not accept that the Shen Lezhi of this moment was a completely different person.

Even when Wang Xi had a faint realization before, it would be masked by the hatred in her heart and completely forgotten.

Until Shen Lezhi tore off the veil of truth, until Wang Xi had no choice but to face it.

But how could the other party not be Shen Lezhi?

Wang Xi plummeted in the deep water. The scenery above the surface grew distant, and the tree reflections on the water became increasingly blurred.

She raised her hand, trying to grasp something, but the water only slipped through her fingers.

Then what was the meaning of her rebirth?

What was the meaning of Heaven bringing her back to life?

How should she face everything she had done to the current Shen Lezhi since her rebirth?

Wang Xi refused to accept it. She suddenly roused the spiritual power in her body, instantly freezing the entire pool into ice.

She abruptly emerged from the ice, covered in a layer of frost, with shattered ice shards all over her body.

She stepped onto the frozen surface of the pool. White snow suddenly fell from the sky, and the entire forest wailed in the fierce wind.

A mournful cry, as if coming from an unknown place, refused to stop.

The heavy snow fell into the world, painting the forest white.

The scene before her was quickly turning a desolate white. Wang Xi stood on the icy surface of the pool, unable to truly calm down.

The gale swept over her body. Shattered ice shards danced in the air, constantly piercing her skin due to the violent wind in the area.

She was powerless to suppress her uncontrolled state. The wind and snow were stained with her blood, marking this white expanse.

Wang Xi wanted to scream loudly into the forest to vent, but something seemed to be tightly stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t make a sound.

She had long since run out of tears.

She trembled, yet refused to bend her back.

Her white robes were stained crimson—her blood, the bright red blood seeping from the corners of her lips and her body.

Even though the Exquisite Heart was still inside her, she felt as if her chest was already empty.

But she had already experienced all of this.

The heart-wrenching pain, the agony of the Flame Demon scorching her soul, and the despair of being stabbed through the heart by the past Shen Lezhi.

Wang Xi had already wept until her tears ran dry.

“How are you not my disciple?” She lowered her eyes and bowed her head, murmuring softly in a fragmented tone.

Such a light sound was quickly buried in the clamor of the forest.

The heavy snow did not stop the entire night. All the creatures in the mountain forest were forced to bear the brunt of Wang Xi’s catharsis.

It wasn’t until dawn broke and the morning sun shone into Wang Xi’s crimson eyes.

The golden disk radiated a warm light. Wang Xi remembered Shen Lezhi squinting and smiling at her, a gentle smile like a sun-facing precious flower.

That was an expression the past Shen Lezhi had never shown her.

Wang Xi painfully closed her eyes. Her consciousness felt torn. She weakly supported her body, seemingly on the verge of collapsing, yet remaining upright and unyielding.

She finally moved, dimly flying her sword to a spiritual wine shop to fill a flask of clear wine. It was not until evening that she returned to the wooden house.

Wang Xi stopped by the ancient peach tree in the front courtyard. The petals covering the yard filled the air with a sweet fragrance.

Wang Xi walked into the house and saw Shen Lezhi lying on the table.

The demonic patterns on Wang Xi’s body had receded, and the blood-stained robes had been magically cleaned. She was now wearing pale blue and white Daoist robes, restoring her image as the aloof, noble Immortal Master.

When Wang Xi saw Shen Lezhi, the spiritual power she had worked hard to calm down fluctuated again. She pursed her lips and walked to Shen Lezhi’s side, her fingertips trembling as they touched the other party’s pale cheek.

Almost at the same moment, two green vines suddenly rushed toward her at high speed. Wang Xi’s gaze did not pause for a moment. With a slight movement of her knuckle, the small vines were instantly broken.

Before the Weeping Soul Tassel could react, Wang Xi’s fingers had already grabbed its flower core.

“Great Demon! Don’t touch my Master! You are not allowed to touch her!” The Weeping Soul Tassel yelled at Wang Xi, but Wang Xi couldn’t hear its voice at all; she could only see it frantically shaking its petals, and the broken vines still trying to strike her.

She tightened her fingers, spiritual power pressing against the Weeping Soul Tassel, but Wang Xi didn’t truly hurt it. She knew Shen Lezhi treasured this spiritual plant immensely.

She also knew that even yesterday, when Shen Lezhi was completely unable to control her own emotions, in pain and screaming while fiercely confronting Wang Xi, she still managed to divert spiritual power to protect this spiritual plant.

Although Wang Xi couldn’t hear the Weeping Soul Tassel’s voice, Shen Lezhi heard it in her hazy state.

She abruptly opened her eyes and saw the Weeping Soul Tassel’s broken vines scattered on the ground, and Wang Xi gripping it tightly in her hand.

Shen Lezhi suddenly stood up, staring coldly at Wang Xi, reaching out to snatch the Weeping Soul Tassel from Wang Xi’s hand.

But she was too weak; even this simple movement nearly caused her to fall down helplessly.

Wang Xi curled her lip, casually tossing the Weeping Soul Tassel onto the wooden table, and in the same motion, caught Shen Lezhi’s collapsing body.

Shen Lezhi was always like this, meaninglessly protecting things with no value.

But this contact instantly horrified Wang Xi.

Her spiritual power immediately surged forth, without question drilling into Shen Lezhi’s body.

This time, Shen Lezhi no longer resisted. She allowed Wang Xi to embrace her and allowed the other party to invade her meridians.

Because she could no longer stop it; there was not a single trace of spiritual power left in her body.

“You dissipated your cultivation?!” Wang Xi gripped her wrist, the restrained and suppressed emotions surging up again.

She lifted Shen Lezhi’s face, her gaze pressing directly into the latter’s eyes. Unlike Shen Lezhi’s indifference, Wang Xi was practically trembling.

Her eyes were filled with a near-despairing sorrow. Without the support of her cultivation, the Exquisite Heart would rupture Shen Lezhi’s meridians, ultimately causing her body to explode and perish!

“You’ll die because of this!” Wang Xi’s cold voice was now shaking.

Shen Lezhi paused upon hearing this but then revealed a smile, a warm smile like a sun-facing precious flower blossoming on her pale face.

“That would be wonderful.”

The sun-facing precious flower represents the freedom to chase the sun.