Chapter 139

The demonic energy surrounding her grew heavier, and the system in her mind fell silent. Ning Ning knew that Pei Ji’s mind had been disturbed, successfully completing her task. Now, she just had to escape from his grasp without a scratch.

Determined, Ning Ning was about to raise her hand to grab his wrist when she saw Pei Ji’s expression falter, as if he were momentarily stunned.

The grip of his right hand on her neck loosened slightly.

Up until now, everything had stayed within the framework of the original storyline. But the next moment shattered that framework, completely deviating from the original plot.

Ning Ning saw a look of extreme pain flash across his face, but a faint glimmer of recognition shone in his eyes. He almost inaudibly whispered, “…Senior Sister?”

In his muddled state, Pei Ji had recognized her.

She intended to respond with an “mm-hmm.”

Unexpectedly, Pei Ji’s gaze darkened again, and he removed his right hand from her neck. Ning Ning was a bit surprised, thinking she had narrowly escaped, but in an instant, he grabbed her arm again—

With a light pull and twist, he pushed her against the rocky wall beside the waterfall.

Ning Ning couldn’t fathom Pei Ji’s current thoughts, especially when she blinked and saw him stepping closer, standing very near, silently staring down at her.

It seemed he had regained some awareness, yet he was still bewildered. His eyes were bloodshot, and his thin lips were trembling like delicate paper.

Pei Ji’s entire body was shaking; his dark pupils were filled with a mix of indistinguishable emotions. The demonic energy surged, enveloping his brows and face.

This should have been a terrifying scene, but when Ning Ning noticed his soaking wet body and the faint pink at the corners of his eyes, she felt as if a drenched, pitiful dog was standing before her, exuding an inexplicable sense of grievance.

She had never had such a close, unfiltered confrontation with anyone, especially not a strikingly handsome peer.

Ning Ning instinctively panicked.

This is… a bit too close.

“Pei Ji?”

She tried calling his name again.

With her back against the cold stone wall, she discreetly moved a step to the right, attempting to escape his intimate hold.

But as soon as she moved, Pei Ji raised his hand and pressed it against the wall, blocking her escape route.

Failed escape.

He frowned, looking somewhat impatient. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the faint pink at the corners of his eyes deepened, spreading into a darker red.

“Pei… Ji! Pei Ji!”

The voice of Cheng Ying in his ear gradually became clearer. Pei Ji’s whole body froze, and he pressed his palm harder against the stone wall, his knuckles turning white.

“Thank goodness! You can finally hear me!”

Cheng Ying let out a long sigh of relief, his tone filled with undisguised joy. “You scared me to death. Ever since your demonic energy overflowed, you haven’t been able to hear me—how do you feel now?”

Pei Ji responded with a faint “Mm.”

Honestly, his thoughts were still in a tangled mess.

The physical pain had not yet subsided. It felt as if every bone in his body was steeped in agony, and his head felt like it was being continuously cut by a knife, preventing him from thinking too much.

For instance, why did he regain his sanity the moment he touched Ning Ning? And how did he end up cornering her in this spot, leaving almost no distance between them?

She must have been terrified, staring blankly at him, almost bewildered. Through her bright almond eyes, Pei Ji saw his current state clearly.

Demonic energy entwined around him, his clothes soaked, his expression terrifying, and his long hair disheveled, some of it wet and sticking to his cheeks, highlighting his blood-red eyes.

This strange and frightening appearance was indeed his.

“Do you remember what happened earlier?”

Cheng Ying spoke cautiously, doing its best to explain the situation to him: “Ning Ning saw you enter the water alone and thought something might have happened, so she went in to check.”

It couldn’t help but raise its voice: “She cares about you so much, willing to risk danger to enter the water—Pei Xiaoji, you mustn’t bully her.”

Pei Ji thought this wasn’t bullying.

He just… inexplicably, didn’t want her to leave and was afraid she might.

The intense pain continued to erode his sanity, and the usually silent boy clenched his hand into a fist.

It was quite incredible.

Pei Ji had tried countless methods to suppress his demonic energy since childhood, all of which ended in failure. But today, when he grabbed Ning Ning’s neck, his mind became significantly clearer in an instant, and he vaguely remembered her identity.

How strange.

Even now, only when he was close to Ning Ning did his heart, suspended by demonic energy, feel somewhat stable.

Pei Ji lowered his gaze in silence, his disheveled and pathetic reflection honestly mirrored in the girl’s dark pupils.

He felt overwhelmed with anxiety and didn’t want her to see him like this. Almost instinctively, he reached out and covered her eyes.

The girl’s eyelashes fluttered, gently brushing against his sensitive palm, causing a ticklish sensation that felt as if it were scratching at his heart.

Ning Ning heard Pei Ji speak in a trembling voice due to the pain, “Don’t look… Can you stay with me?”

=====

The young man’s slender figure was enveloped in black clothing, clinging tightly to his body due to the dampness, revealing his slim waist.

Suddenly, her vision went dark, and all she could see was endless blackness.

Outside the mystic mirror, there were cries of dismay.

—Pei Ji had deliberately shattered the spirit vision orb by the waterfall, blatantly ignoring the rules of the trial.

Lin Qian was practically singing in a high-pitched voice, “What’s going on! That brat actually shattered the spirit vision orb! It’s broken! Doesn’t he know it’s strictly forbidden!!”

A female elder from the Haoran Sect banged her head against the table, pounding her fists. “What happens next? What happens next! I’m more excited than they are, but what happens next!”

Tian Xianzi, ever worried about finances, trembled as he calculated with an abacus, “How many spirit stones does a spirit vision orb cost? Does our sect have the money to pay for it?”

Looking around with a heartbroken expression, he noticed a crowd had gathered behind him. The thought of so many witnesses made him even more anxious, and he immediately started shooing them away like ducks. “Shoo, shoo! A bunch of old men and women, what are you all fussing about! This is young people’s business; it’s none of your concern. Stop watching, stop watching!”

Qu Feiqing glanced at him and sneered, “Since when do we, the older generation, need permission from a mere four-hundred-year-old child to speak?”

“Everyone, please calm down. Since the spirit vision orb by the waterfall has been destroyed, why not shift our perspective and observe other disciples?” Ji Yunkai, the sect master of Xuanxu Sword Sect, raised his arm, and his delicate finger traced a new image on the mystic mirror.

As evening approached, the image showed a young man and woman sitting side by side in a cave, hugging their knees in unison with their heads lowered.

It was Lin Xun and Yun Duanyue, the classic socially awkward duo.

Lin Xun, trying to be the brave man, took on the task of breaking the silence, “Senior Sister Yun, this cave is… very small.”

Yun Duanyue didn’t speak; she just nodded with a blush still evident on her ears.

Another awkward silence followed. The little white dragon, feeling this wasn’t right, looked around and fixed his gaze on a damp corner not far away.

“Senior Sister Yun, there’s a centipede over there.”

Blushing furiously, Lin Xun never dared to look at her directly.

“I’m counting its legs, do you want to join me?”

Yun Duanyue, still with her head down, finally spoke: “It has 56 legs; I counted them a long time ago.”

“Oh!”