On the way back.
The whole "family" was hanging off Wu Li.
Hongjiao wrapped Little Eight around his chest. One snake and one ghost started playing rock-paper-scissors right in his arms.
Chai Xiaomi tilted her head, quietly resting on Wu Li's back to watch.
She hadn't expected this big fat snake to secretly learn her game and even come up with its own innovations.
Closing its snake eyes meant rock, sticking out its tongue meant scissors, and opening its mouth meant paper.
Just like its master, it was smart and cunning.
Unsurprisingly, Little Eight lost quite miserably.
The snake's head was swaying triumphantly when it suddenly met a pair of cold, gloomy eyes. Frightened, it shrank back, wishing it were a turtle with a shell to hide in.
Wu Li's tone was chilling. "Feeling pretty proud of beating a baby ghost, are we?"
Hongjiao shook its head desperately.
"Would it kill you to let it win a round?"
Hongjiao continued to shake its head.
"Then why didn't you let it win?"
Hongjiao felt wronged.
Why?
Because it learned from you, Master!
Had he forgotten? How did he himself win round after round against the little girl on his back earlier?
He was much worse than it was!
When the master realized she would make her hand gestures behind his back first, he gave Hongjiao a look, signaling it to peek from behind Chai Xiaomi.
Even though he knew the answer in advance, he still pretended to go easy on her at crucial moments, giving her hope of winning only to crush it in the very next round.
In its entire snake life, it had never met anyone who played dirtier than its master.
Of course, it could only mutter these complaints in its belly.
It still remembered a time it made a mistake. Its master caught a rat snake and roasted it right in front of it, even asking if it wanted a taste.
It was absolute psychological torture for a snake!
So, in the following rounds, Hongjiao slowly made its moves and slowly lost every single time.
Little Eight laughed happily.
The giggles sounded as cheerful as leaves rustling in the wind.
Watching this scene, the corners of Chai Xiaomi's mouth unconsciously curved into a gentle smile.
Gradually, she noticed something unusual.
Little Eight's tiny figure seemed to become somewhat hazy and transparent in the sunlight.
By the time they were about to step out of the edge of the mountain forest, the figure had faded to be nearly translucent, like a thin layer of mist that could disperse at any moment.
"Its lingering obsession has been fulfilled, and it is time for it to leave," Jiang Zhiyu said softly with a sense of relief, looking at the gradually blurring figure.
Zhu Yu had long covered her mouth, large tears rolling down as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Little Eight seemed to sense something. It gently slid down from Wu Li, floated in front of Zhu Yu, and clumsily burrowed into her trembling embrace.
It tilted up its barely visible little face and reached out its nearly transparent little hands, earnestly wiping the tears from Zhu Yu's face over and over again.
Even though it couldn't touch her.
Even though it was all in vain.
It stubbornly repeated the action.
Until it dissolved into countless fine, gentle specks of starlight, rising brightly and drifting with the wind toward the high, clear sky.
It was as if all those past events, that deep-seated loneliness and resentment, had lightly scattered into smoke and clouds with the breeze.
Zhu Yu's crying grew louder, her sobs mingling with the mountain wind, but every step she took was exceptionally firm.
With her face covered in tears, she fiercely wiped them away with her sleeve, her feet never stopping.
It was in the past. It was all in the past now.
Just like the last words her mother had shouted with all her might: Run! Run as far away as you can!
She would never look back again, and she absolutely would not let herself fall back into that gloomy past.
She was going to take big strides and keep walking forward.
Carrying the lives that her mother and sister never got to live, she would live passionately, gloriously, and with all her might!
Song Yueyao stared blankly at the sky, a trace of incomprehensible daze floating in her eyes. "All the bitterness suffered, the countless agonizingly lonely days and nights, the resentment accumulated for thirty whole years."
"It actually... let go just like that, so easily?"
She had thought that this carefully rehearsed play might not necessarily work, and that ultimately Jiang Zhiyu might still have to step in and disperse its soul, resulting in it vanishing into ashes.
But she never expected that the vengeful spirit's thirty-year obsession would truly fade away just like this, allowing it to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Hearing Song Yueyao's words, Chai Xiaomi suddenly remembered a conversation she had once seen on a variety show.
A guest on the show sighed: "For someone whose heart is filled with bitterness, how much sweetness does it take to fill it up?"
And another replied: "You're wrong. For someone with a lot of bitterness in their heart, just a tiny trace of sweetness is enough to fill it."
Yes.
Just a trace of sweetness was enough.
Just, a trace...
"Lili, if you were Little Eight, would you let go of this obsession and resentment you had harbored for thirty years?"
"I wouldn't," the young man answered decisively, leaving no room for doubt.
"I would make the people who abandoned me wail in despair, struggle in agony, and die in the most tragic way possible."
The corners of his mouth curled into a cruel arc, and a cold, sinister dark glint faintly flashed in his eyes.
Chai Xiaomi explained softly, "But Little Eight's mother had her own difficulties back then."
"Difficulties?" He sneered. "Cowardice is the original sin."
"Everything she did later was nothing more than atoning for her past cowardice."
"If I were her, I would have smashed that hoe down the very moment the first child was born and taken away. As long as it is someone I want to protect, I will pay any price and not let slip a single chance for her to survive, even if it means dying without a burial place."
The young man's voice was exceptionally calm.
Chai Xiaomi sighed inwardly. This little bitter melon didn't seem to cherish himself at all. Since he wasn't cowardly, why hadn't he thought of putting himself first and prioritizing his own protection?
If she were Little Eight's mother, the moment Wang Shi slapped her for the first time, she would have smashed him with a hoe. Have children for a beast? Hell no!
Thinking of this, she turned her face, which was resting on the young man's shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and lowered her eyelashes.
Her voice was very soft: "Little Eight is gone. We don't need to act anymore. Put me down, you're injured."
Wu Li didn't say a word for a long while.
With his hands wrapped around her legs, he hoisted her up a bit to carry her more securely. This clearly meant he had no intention of putting her down.
As they walked, he slowed his pace, deliberately falling far behind the others.
He turned his head to glance at her and spoke in a leisurely tone: "Let me tell you a secret. Well, it's not really a secret; everyone in the Voodoo Clan knows it."
Chai Xiaomi stretched her neck, listening attentively: "Hmm?"
Wu Li curled his lips.
Sure enough, she loved to lean in on any gossip.
"The blood flowing in my body is called the Blood of Absolute Purity. It was exchanged by my mother sacrificing her body beneath the Divine Tree. A body possessing the Blood of Absolute Purity can never die, and its wounds heal much faster than ordinary people. Coupled with the Crimson Blood Silkworm in my body helping the healing process, no matter how severe the injury is, it doesn't matter."
The young man's tone was flat and indifferent.
It was as if he were describing twisting an ankle while running, saying it would be fine after a couple of days of rest.
For Chai Xiaomi, who had seen the illusions and read the original novel, this wasn't a secret at all.
She had also seen those shocking scars with her own eyes.
She didn't even dare to imagine just how painful it must have been.
How could he forget the pain once the scar healed?
"But, aren't you afraid of the pain?" She slumped against his shoulder, looking thoroughly deflated.
Wu Li paused his steps.
"Can't you just bear it? I'm not like you, unable to take even the slightest bit of physical pain. I just grab your wrist or pinch your cheek, and you start wailing."
He raised an eyebrow, coming up with a phrase to describe her: "So delicate and squeamish!"
"You're the delicate one! Spoiled Lili!" she retorted in displeasure.
The 'spoiled' of a spoiled psycho!
The 'spoiled' of a tsundere!
And after a kiss, the way his moist lips would slightly purse.
That was incredibly delicate.
Tender and luscious.
It was a stark contrast to his usual wicked and unruly self.
Chai Xiaomi fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, as if discovering a blind spot, her curiosity got the better of her and she asked directly, "By the way, Lili, is that bug of yours that turns people mute gone?"
The mountain terrain was rugged. Even though they had reached the edge, Wu Li still focused entirely on finding flat ground to step on, trying his best to make every step steady and minimize the bumps.
He answered casually, "It's still here. Do you want a taste of having your mouth shut again?"
Chai Xiaomi grew even more confused. "Then why didn't you use it to shut my mouth just now?"
Before she could finish her sentence, the youth's body suddenly lurched.
He misstepped, and the two of them nearly tumbled into a shallow ditch together.
Startled, Chai Xiaomi hurriedly tightened her arms around his shoulders.
"What did you say?" Wu Li steadied his footing, a trace of panic flashing quickly through his eyes.
"Then why didn't you just now—"
"The sentence before that!" he interrupted.
"?" Chai Xiaomi thought for a moment. "Is that bug of yours that makes people mute gone?"
"Yeah, it was eaten by Hongjiao."
The big fat snake, who was currently mired in a depressed mood and mourning its recently vanished friend, suddenly widened its eyes: ???
Why did it suddenly feel like a massive, heavy pot of blame had just been dumped on its back?
Did it grow a turtle shell?
