Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 39

The moment Yue Tingxi stepped into the mortal realm Qin Residence, Qin Suoliu, who had been meditating in her bedchamber, suddenly opened her eyes.

She saw Yue Tingxi walking through pools of blood, past the corpses of the household, transforming back into her serpent form, and finally arriving in front of “herself.”

This illusion combined many elements, overlaying events and scenes from different periods. That’s why Yue Tingxi could see the version of her that had already been trapped in the Demon Realm for some time.

Qin Suoliu closed her eyes, bracing herself for the surge of chaotic memories.

Yet, in the next moment, she felt a familiar coldness wrap around her—like an ambiguous embrace.

Before she could react, “herself” spoke some inexplicable words, and then she felt her shoulder shaken hard twice by Yue Tingxi. Immediately after… a piercing pain surged through her soul.

She was already familiar with this kind of pain and knew it would be followed by bleeding from the seven orifices.

At that time, in order to quickly understand the Demon Realm and survive in that hellish place, she had almost frenziedly devoured the souls and memories of every demon she encountered.

Each extra memory meant more information, more survival chances.

Demons were enemies of both humans and demons alike, bloodthirsty and merciless. Their memories were filthy; every time she performed soul-searching techniques, she felt her own soul being torn, hammered, and corrupted.

Their lingering malevolent thoughts constantly eroded her memories, trying to assimilate her, to see her fall, making her one of them—killing without conscience, betraying all familial bonds, continuing to fight chaotically in the Demon Realm.

“How clean can the human world really be? If everyone were as ‘upright’ as your family, the Qin family wouldn’t have been wiped out. Why wasn’t there a single force coming to help?”

“Humans look on coldly. The great demons who could have saved you live in the mountains carefree, while your deceased Qin family need not worry about anything—they all abandoned you!”

“Stay alone in the Demon Realm forever! You’ll like it here, and you’ll learn all our ways!”

She sifted through the mud for usable information while desperately protecting the cherished fragments of her past.

Yet, she was weak and, given the inherent flaws of soul-searching, she could no longer remember exactly when her soul became tainted.

All she could vaguely recall were those years trapped in the Demon Realm—not entirely without hope.

She had prayed and lamented for someone—anyone—to save her, to bring her out, to take revenge on her behalf. She would have done anything.

But no one came; these pleas merely circled endlessly in her mind.

Eventually, she deliberately devoured a powerful demon herself, leading demons along the path to tear open the barrier between worlds, bringing disaster to the human realm.

—The fox demon she consumed was skilled in manipulating minds. Once its spirit entered her, it silently amplified her inner hatred.

Do you hate?

Hate those who stood idly by, hate those who never aided the Qin family.

Hate the masters of the dark arts and corpses’ army that brought untimely calamities, hate them for taking everything from you.

Hate the arranged marriage binding your hands—you had feelings for someone, yet had to marry a man to maintain alliances. How pitiful.

The fox demon’s spirit forced her hatred to the surface, making it increasingly hideous, leaving all involved with no chance of escape.

—See? The human world is filthy.

As the descendant of an “upright” family, you ought to clean it.

Hearing Yue Tingxi’s repeated calls, Qin Suoliu moved her lips.

“Please… kill me.”

Save me…

“I’m filthy, unworthy of forgiveness. Kill me, I deserve it.”

Please… save me!

She felt the serpent tail gradually coil around her body, the world turning blood-red, vision blurred.

Then, a cool embrace enveloped her.

In the Xishan Qin Residence, Yue Tingxi tightly embraced the blood-stained Qin Suoliu.

She was furious at this lying little creature, yet seeing her like this, hearing her whispered words, her heart felt as if pierced by a knife.

It shouldn’t have been like this…

That “little firecracker” she remembered smiling brightly, the “Azi” she once cared for… shouldn’t have fallen to such depths!

“Kill me… please…”

“Shut your mouth!”

Yue Tingxi shouted irritably, then used her clean sleeves to wipe the soot and blood from her face bit by bit.

“Since you know your mistakes and your conscience still exists, it’s not too late. You must live to atone!”

She pressed close to Qin Suoliu’s ear and shouted loudly.

Once the black blood was cleaned, she lifted her, stabilizing her serpent form, and quickly swam out.

“…Where are we going?”

She heard Qin Suoliu ask softly.

“Home.”

“We can’t go back…”

“I’m watching. Who would dare stop us?!” Yue Tingxi teased harshly.
“Or are you saying you’ll keep misbehaving? My realm is higher than yours—do you dare test me?”

She felt the warm breath behind her brush against her ear, making her irritable: “What now? Speak!”

“I trust you.” Qin Suoliu leaned on her shoulder and whispered.
“Then promise me… if it ever happens again, you’ll kill me.”

Yue Tingxi felt that familiar distress returning, annoyed, and quickened her pace, carrying her out of the residence.

The path felt unusually long—she seemed to carry Qin Suoliu for a day, a month, or even a year…

Yet the illusion deliberately stretched time, giving her a buffer to calm down and ponder their new grievances.

The moment they stepped out of the Qin Residence, they noticed a small, vivid purple figure not far away.

Having just rescued the older version, Yue Tingxi placed her burdened “Qin Suoliu” in front of the younger Qin Suoliu:
“Do you know what’s happening?”

“Perhaps my memories were separated by the illusion,” Qin Suoliu lowered her gaze, about to reach out, but seeing Yue Tingxi’s grim face, she hesitated.

Though she remembered her past life, admitting it would reveal to her sister that she had fully regained her memory.

“…How long do you intend to keep lying to me?”

Yue Tingxi’s voice thundered, “I gave you many chances! Yet every time, you shrink back into your shell!”

“I…”

“Soul tainted or not, your hands are clean now, right?” Yue Tingxi wrapped her arms around the smaller Qin Suoliu, leaning down.
“As for old grudges… if they involve me, you can handle them as you see fit.”

“I do hold grudges, but twenty years ago, we met once. You treated me kindly during this time, sheltered me when I had nowhere to go, even helped me get revenge—these fragments I remember.” She paused, “How to deal with you… I’ll watch your behavior first.”

“Cherishing old bonds”—a dangerous notion—and she was precisely that kind of demon.

Luckily, the little liar had returned to the right path this lifetime; otherwise… she would have eaten her whole, eradicating this threat to the human realm.

Qin Suoliu blinked at her, then carefully touched the bleeding “herself,” showing she wished to recover her memories and bear her “filth.”

The tiny hand touched her brow, and “herself” disappeared.

Looking down, Qin Suoliu saw her body returned to its original form.

Yue Tingxi gazed at the Qin Residence—it visibly disintegrated into tiny particles. She exhaled, glancing at Qin Suoliu.

“So… you saw everything just now?”

She had come specifically to this place.

Qin Suoliu nodded, without responding further.

Yue Tingxi didn’t pursue the topic. Though she had cast a silencing spell on herself, she sensed she had revealed a lot through her reactions.

But regardless, her goal remained revenge against Lan Chaoyao; she had no reason to tell Qin Suoliu what she endured in those five years.

As the residence vanished, Yue Tingxi waited for the illusion to fade.

Yet, besides the Qin Residence, the surroundings remained unchanged.

“…We should have found the solution,” Qin Suoliu frowned.

“Indeed, but there may be more than one way to break the illusion.” Yue Tingxi looked toward Xishan, “The human realm Qin Residence is probably just our ‘attachment’.”

She didn’t want Qin Suoliu to recover her memories, and Qin Suoliu didn’t want her to know the truth, which had trapped them before.

“Don’t forget, it was who connected our souls, letting us enter the same illusion.” She reminded Qin Suoliu.
“It’s time to tell me—what exactly is the Gray Moth? And from whom did you get it?”

Qin Suoliu recalled she had obtained the Gray Moth by chance in a hidden secret realm.

After a long silence, she said, “Go to your cave. I’ll explain properly.”

“Not the Xishan Qin Residence?”

“If that Qin Residence is another solution, we may not enter it now.”

Though the connection between the two Qin Residences remained unclear, Yue Tingxi followed, returning to her cave.

“What I’m about to tell you may sound unbelievable, but these are facts already occurring.”

Qin Suoliu spoke solemnly after they closed the door.
“This world already has its own consciousness. Centuries ago, it constantly battled an intruder from an unknown realm to protect our world.”

“Yet a lone existence is weak. After dealing with the intruder’s methods, it reached out for aid, granting the inhabitants some means to evade the intruder and ultimately defeat them.”

She formed fire energy in her palm into a moth: “This is the Gray Moth.”

Yue Tingxi was stunned. Even after entering that strange space in her past life, she never imagined it was part of the world’s consciousness!

She wondered if she had been chosen or not, as she never possessed the Gray Moth, only given the “Book of Affairs” revealing past events.

Yet the Gray Moth had helped her repeatedly, including this time, allowing her to enter the Yuwei Whale illusion with Qin Suoliu.

“So… Lan Chaoyao—the so-called ‘possessor’ you and Miss Lan feared—is actually the ‘intruder’?”

“It seems so, though I don’t know why centuries-long combat only now shows effect,” Qin Suoliu said, erasing the moth and writing “Qin Yin Guang” on the table.
“I can’t figure out the connection, nor why in this illusion, Qin Yin Guang is made my sister.”

“I tried asking the local Qin Yin Guang, but all I got was an evasive answer: ‘Older, so an elder sister.’”

Qin Suoliu rose: “Let’s go to the mountain Qin Residence.”

Being trapped in the illusion was not a solution; they needed to find the source of attachment.

Unexpectedly, the Xishan Qin Residence wasn’t separated by an invisible force, and its scenes hadn’t changed.

Yet, Qin Yin Guang appeared as a young woman, seemingly the same age as Qin Suoliu.

“Long time no see. Been training down the mountain for so long,” she smiled.
“You’ve taken good care of your little sister, she’s grown into a young lady.”

Yue Tingxi felt chills—how had twenty years passed in the blink of an eye?

“Indeed, long enough I can’t recall,” she said.

“Naturally. Time passes pleasantly with comfortable company, even twenty years can feel like one day,” Qin Yin Guang replied.

Qin Suoliu stood silently, listening. Yue Tingxi tried to probe, but Qin Yin Guang deftly closed every topic.

Finally, she asked: “How long do you wish our days to last before letting us leave this ‘box garden’?”

The term “box garden” refers to a self-contained world, originating in ancient times.

Qin Yin Guang’s smile faltered.

“…What did you say?”

“This is all a false illusion,” Qin Suoliu explained.
“We’ve solved part of the source, but the illusion hasn’t ended. Perhaps the final solution rests with you.”

She deliberately blurred the reference between Gray Moth and Qin Yin Guang, observing her reaction.

Seeing Qin Yin Guang lower her head in silence, she continued:
“The Qin Residence has more than you, me, and mother—many elders, disciples, servants, and the family’s foundations remain in the human realm. Only in extreme circumstances would it move to the mountains.”

“You’re my sister in both lives. I will bear Qin family’s honor and disgrace; you just live freely.”

“…Just live freely?” Qin Yin Guang murmured.
“I only want to live as a human, enjoy my life, but why…”

“Ying Guang?” Qin Suoliu called softly.

“Ah! Sorry, I was distracted!” Qin Yin Guang looked up, smiling apologetically.
“I disrupted your escape from the illusion. Don’t worry, I’ll break it now!”

She summoned her curved sword and slashed the air.

In an instant, spiderweb-like cracks spread, and the space shattered into fragments.

Water energy surged from all sides; even Yue Tingxi nearly choked.

Gripping Qin Suoliu’s hand, she summoned white crane wings as a barrier, quickly ascending toward Yunzhou.

Protected, Qin Suoliu observed the surroundings. The Yuwei Whale swam away—whether sated or for another reason, unclear.

She noticed the Gray Moth resting calmly on her shoulder.

“Your Gray Moth is here too,” Yue Tingxi said.
“They seem unaffected. Let’s check again later.”

Returning to the main cabin, Lan Fengqing monitored the water mirror. Seeing them, he said:
“Finally back! You were down there three whole days! Luckily, the Yuwei Whale is conspicuous—none dared approach!”

“Its illusions consume the soul. One could get trapped forever. Avoid if possible,” Yue Tingxi replied.

She felt dizzy; Lan Fengqing quickly offered a pill.

“Take this and rest with Qin sister! Don’t forget—resting together is perfect for bonding!”

They left the main cabin. Qin Suoliu’s heart raced, uneasy.

Leaving the illusion meant facing the truths brought out. The Gray Moth and Qin Yin Guang’s connection aside, how would she interact with Yue Tingxi?

She silently entered the rest cabin; Yue Tingxi was already asleep.

Qin Suoliu only glanced, intending not to disturb her.

“Come back, Azi.”

Yue Tingxi’s single word stopped her.

She obediently sat on the bedside, timid and expectant:
“Sister Tingxi… do you wish to tell me something?”

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