Chapter 289

But she was the real Ning Ning! Idiot Pei Ji! What could possibly be different between her and herself?

His expression was cold and serious, and Ning Ning, feeling both amused and exasperated, was struck with the urge to tease him.

She played along with his line of thought and asked, “What’s the difference?”

The boy in black pressed his lips together, his eyes as still as a deep, undisturbed well, frowning as he looked at her.

“She…”

His Adam’s apple moved slightly, his tone betraying no emotion.

“She wouldn’t come here.”

This place was deep within his inner demons, and Pei Ji knew it well.

Before losing consciousness, he had seen Ning Ning walk away without looking back, heading straight for a spiritual plant atop a cliff.

He couldn’t identify what it was, but since a flood dragon was guarding it, it must have been of an extremely high grade.

He couldn’t quite describe the feeling he had when he saw her turn and leave.

Sourness, pain, and a sense of loss—all seemed inadequate to convey the depth of it.

Even though he didn’t want to admit it, he felt so hurt and upset that he was about to burst.

Pei Ji had thought… that she would be different from others.

But in the end, Ning Ning didn’t spare him even a glance.

“Why do you think she wouldn’t come here?”

Ning Ning raised her chin slightly, hands clasped behind her back, and walked toward him with a light step, her gaze locked on Pei Ji’s dark eyes.

So fierce, so impatient, as if saying even one more word to her was a waste of time.

Is this how Pei Ji acted toward others?

“This place is dangerous,” he said in a low voice, though clearly impatient, as he continued to speak to her only because her face was identical to “Ning Ning’s.”

“No one would enter someone else’s inner demons when their spiritual energy is depleted.”

He spoke with such certainty and, not being used to being close to others, took a step back with a blank expression.

“You can’t say that for sure. How do you know what she’s thinking?”

Ning Ning, feeling the need to stand up for herself, took another step forward and stopped right in front of him.

“What if she did?”

As she spoke, she tilted her head up, her almond-shaped eyes meeting his gaze without blinking, carrying a slight hint of discontent but mostly overflowing with amusement.

The air around them seemed to freeze.

Pei Ji stared at her, the cold, icy look in his eyes suddenly melting away.

The dark clouds swirled in his pitch-black pupils, veiled by a gentle mist, obscuring the emotions he had suppressed deep in his heart.

But those emotions were so intense that, even without any words or actions, they still managed to overflow uncontrollably from his eyes.

With a voice tinged with uncertainty, suddenly hoarse, he spoke, enunciating each word slowly.

“…Ning Ning?”

Ning Ning had intended to keep a straight face, but she couldn’t help herself and laughed softly, her eyes crinkling with amusement.

With her laugh, Pei Ji suddenly understood everything.

Ning Ning had truly entered his inner demons, at a time when her spiritual energy was almost entirely depleted and her consciousness was extremely fragile.

But how had she managed to break through the thick miasma surrounding him?

She clearly—

Pei Ji’s body suddenly froze.

Some distant yet familiar memories slowly emerged from his chaotic sea of consciousness.

He recalled the sight of blood at the corner of the girl’s lips and the bright light that had pierced through the dark fog.

When he had been trapped in endless torment, someone had sliced through layers of miasma with a sword, drenched in blood and weakened to the brink of collapse, yet unwaveringly and steadily advancing toward him.

The usually indifferent corners of the young man’s eyes suddenly turned a shade of deep red.

It turned out Ning Ning hadn’t abandoned him.

On the contrary, she had risked her life to save him.

He had been afraid of the dark ever since he was a child.

Only she brought endless light.

…But what had he done to deserve it?

His heart began to pound violently as Pei Ji stared into the girl’s smiling eyes.

They were so close; he only needed to reach out to touch her.

The deeply buried longing in his heart was screaming to be released, the dark clouds in his eyes swirling and gathering, manifesting into a rampant inner demon.

All thoughts of societal norms, self-loathing, and cowardice disintegrated in an instant, shattered by just one glance from her, leaving nothing behind.

Pei Ji wanted her, and only her.

His throat moved unconsciously as he suddenly called out her name: “Ning Ning.”

“Hmm?”

She looked up at him curiously.

Suddenly, she was enveloped by a close, woody scent, her vision filled with the looming figure of the young man as he approached, along with the crisp, fresh breath that belonged to him alone.