When a Yandere Cannon Fodder Meets a Dark, Twisted Villain - Chapter 48

Shi Yining gazed blankly at the face so close to her own, tears falling from her eyes like a broken string of pearls, rolling one after another down her cheeks.

Her vision grew blurred, yet the surging emotions in her heart only became clearer.

Hearing that familiar name again brought the various experiences since her rebirth back to her mind in vivid detail.

The soul-shadow that had appeared quietly in the dead of night, clinging to her ever since—possessive to an extreme yet often vanishing without cause, that “evil spirit” who treated her with utmost tenderness but was obsessed to the bone—seemed to reappear before her eyes…

Ever since she learned that Jiang Liuyue was Mo’er, certain past coincidences finally had logical explanations. However… the most critical mystery remained unsolved until now.

Shi Yining spoke slowly, her voice slightly hoarse from crying. “Jiang Liuyue… is Mo’er’s other side. This is what Mo’er told me personally days ago at the Royal Daughter’s Manor in the Tiansheng Dynasty…”

Her willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly, a hint of confusion surfacing in her eyes. “But back then, why did Mo’er appear before me in the form of a soul? And… before I took the Elixir of Forgotten Emotions and lost my memory, why… could I never see Mo’er’s true face clearly?”

Upon hearing this, Shu Mo’s gaze darkened slightly. She moved her fingertips to gently wipe away the lingering tear tracks on her beloved’s face, her movements so tender they were almost reverent.

Only then did she speak slowly, her voice soft but every word distinct.

“In our past life… to reverse time, I used a celestial art… The moment the spell succeeded, I suffered a violent backlash… My soul was split in two because of it…”

Shi Yining’s heart jerked violently, and her breath hitched as if an invisible hand had gripped her tightly, leaving her feeling both aching and sore.

Though only a few words were spoken, and the perilous, arduous process of casting that celestial art was not detailed, she could already sense the sheer resolve of someone choosing life through death.

The pain of a split soul is the greatest in the world; since ancient times, very few could endure it without descending into utter madness… Her Mo’er had not only endured it but, amidst that fragmentation and agony, had come to her side with unwavering determination to protect her…

The tears that had just been wiped away welled up again without warning.

She knew any words at this moment would be hollow and powerless, so she simply leaned forward and embraced Mo’er, offering silent comfort filled with endless heartache and pity.

Shu Mo’s fingertips curled unconsciously as she continued: “Because of that backlash, my main body temporarily lost most of my past memories… the separated soul was also affected, forgetting things related to the main body… But though the memories were lost, my obsession remained. The separated soul remembered Yining clearly and, in the identity of Jiang Liuyue, instinctively sought her out… Perhaps due to the act of defying fate to change destiny, until my main body’s memories were restored, Yining was never able to see the soul’s face clearly…”

Shi Yining held the person in her arms tightly, desperately wanting to warm that cold and painful past.

Through the thin fabric of their clothes, they could clearly feel each other’s heartbeats.

This silent embrace and closeness were worth more than a thousand words.

Shu Mo returned the embrace, her fingertips gently stroking Yining’s back. Her jade-like cheek then rubbed against the other’s slender neck; having slipped into the memories of the past, a rare smile appeared on her face.

“Yining, do not be sad. Without the pain of the past, we might not have had this reunion today… I am very happy to have this chance to speak frankly about the past with you…”

A look of reminiscence appeared in her eyes as she continued: “When Yining went to the Yuehua Sect for the third time, I was not unaware of the moment you arrived… My junior sister Kong Qing happened to be guarding the mountain gate, and I heard the words she said to Yining…”

Shu Mo closed her eyes, the scene of that day surfacing clearly in her mind.

“Those harsh words she spoke just to get close to Yining—I heard them all clearly while standing under the corridor in the distance… At that time, I wanted to rush forward, rebuke her immediately, and shield Yining behind me…”

Shu Mo’s voice gradually lowered, tinged with a heavy sense of helplessness. “But… Mother was right beside me… She seemed to be casually admiring the flowers, but in truth, her divine sense was firmly locked onto my every move… I could not show any favoritism toward Yining, not even the slightest bit… That would have only harmed you…”

When she opened her eyes again, her gaze clearly reflected her current heartache and apology.

The tide of memories seemed to grow more turbulent, making her breathing turn slightly rapid.

“Kong Qing knew I was watching from the shadows. Seeing that I didn’t react, she became even more excessive, and her words grew even more pointed… At that time, my heart felt as if it were being pricked by needles; the pain was so suffocating, yet I had to maintain an air of indifference in front of Mother…”

At this point, Shu Mo paused her speech, as if falling once more into the struggle of that moment.

“I endured it again and again, but in the end, I could not bear it and stepped forward… I could feel Mother’s gaze like cold needles, pricking my back one by one… I used every ounce of restraint I possessed to force myself to stop a few paces away, remaining silent and hidden…”

“Fortunately, Kong Qing saw me… She was wary of me after all, and her provocative words finally ceased.” There was a faint trace of relief in her voice, but it was fleeting, quickly overshadowed by a deeper regret.

“At that time… I wanted so badly to comfort Yining, to pull her into my arms, but I… I couldn’t act. If I had done so, Mother would likely have struck out against you…”

Shu Mo’s voice grew softer and softer. “In my heart, I secretly hoped that Mother would leave early, even if it gave me only a moment’s chance… but that wish ultimately fell through. Not only did Mother not leave, but she stepped forward in front of Yining and… took me back to the Meditation Courtyard.”

She spoke those last few words very slowly.

It was as if every syllable carried the weight of that suffocating pain from years ago—the agony of watching her beloved suffer grievance with her own eyes while being powerless to help, even being forcibly led away.

That sense of being bound by her kin and strangled by fate remained as vivid as yesterday, even after all these years.

Listening to these words, Shi Yining felt the same emotions.

In her eyes, Sect Leader Shu’s constraints on Mo’er were very much like how the System had treated her in her past life… The only difference was that Sect Leader Shu would not harm Mo’er, whereas the System had harbored ill intentions from the very beginning.

“After Mo’er was taken away by Sect Leader Shu, I stayed outside the mountain gate for a long time before leaving, lost in spirit… Halfway back, a person in black suddenly ran out from nowhere and snatched the cloak I intended to give to Mo’er… Does Mo’er know who that person in black was?”

“It was Kong Qing…” Shu Mo pursed her lips, her voice slightly strained.

“That day, after Mother took me back to the Meditation Courtyard, she used sect affairs as an excuse to stay for a long time, never leaving my side and keeping a firm watch on me… Later, when Mother finally left, the night was already deep and heavy rain had begun to fall outside…”

Though the sunlight outside was perfect at this moment, Shu Mo, lost in memory, seemed to hear the whistling wind and rain of that night.

“Once I confirmed Mother had left and would not return, I quietly went to the mountain gate… I wanted to see if Yining had left anything behind, even the slightest trace. Just as I arrived, I saw a black shadow flash through the curtain of rain… That shadow passed through the Great Sect-Protecting Array without any obstruction. At that moment, I knew it wasn’t an external enemy, but someone from within the sect…”

“I followed quietly, concealing all my breath.” Shu Mo’s voice was pitched very low, as if she were still stalking through that rainy night.

“Finally, I discovered she went to Junior Sister Kong Qing’s residence… I hid my form and stayed in the shadows, watching as she took out from her storage ring… the cloak Yining had embroidered by hand…”

Shu Mo suddenly paused, appearing to return to that rainy night for an instant. In that moment, her anger had reached its peak, nearly crashing through her reason.

Her voice carried an irrepressible fury, which was quickly overtaken by a stronger, more urgent emotion.

“I wanted to rush in immediately and snatch the cloak back! But my greater worry was… whether something had happened to Yining…”

Fear had seized her in an instant. Without any hesitation, she turned and chased outward in a state of burning anxiety.

“I saw Yining near the boundary of the Xuanqing Sect mountain gate… At that moment, I wanted to cast everything aside, rush forward, hold Yining tightly, tell her I was here, and confess my feelings…”

Shu Mo’s voice gradually became low and raspy, carrying a bitterness and attachment that could not be dissolved.

“But… I saw fellow disciples walking toward Yining. I always knew there were spies planted by Mother within the Xuanqing Sect… The relationship between our two sects has always been discordant, and Mother never relaxed her surveillance. The moment I appeared and showed even a hint of care for Yining, the news would have reached Mother’s ears. I couldn’t gamble… If I lost that gamble, I would have utterly ruined Yining…”

She could only watch from afar… watching that thin figure walking slowly through the rain. Seeing Yining’s despondent appearance, her heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife. She could do nothing; the pain of being so close, of being able to provide warmth but having to remain a bystander, was far more torturous than any direct injury.

“After returning to the Yuehua Sect, I managed to avoid everyone and slipped into Kong Qing’s room… She was already asleep, clutching a corner of the cloak tightly with both hands, fearing it would be stolen… I repeated my old trick, just as I had when I took back the sachet—I sealed her spiritual power and successfully retrieved the cloak Yining had sewn herself…”

By the end, Shu Mo’s words were full of treasures, as if she had recovered the most precious thing in the world.

Shi Yining held her tightly. While her heart was moved, a trace of worry also surfaced.

“This time, did Kong Qing suspect you, Mo’er?”

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