Chapter 57

Song Qingshi, with his notoriously low tolerance, quickly succumbed to the alcohol and drifted into a deep slumber.

Yue Wuhuan carried him back to the inn, where he gently washed his face, removed his outer robe, and tucked him into bed. For a long time, he sat by the bedside, wrestling with conflicting emotions. While Song Qingshi's drunken state was alluring, his lack of control challenged Yue Wuhuan's self-restraint. Ultimately, he resolved that Song Qingshi should drink less in the future.

Tonight's events had been an unexpected turn.

A few Gu insects, glowing like fireflies, flew in through the window—a signal from that person.

With the Master now asleep and all pretenses dropped, it was time to attend to this pressing matter.

Yue Wuhuan gathered his long hair, adjusted his robes, and followed the trail marked by the Gu insects to his destination.

On the outskirts of Nanhai City, within a dilapidated mountain temple, swarms of Gu insects and venomous snakes slithered and writhed, creating a grotesque and eerie spectacle. It was like something out of the most terrifying legends, reminiscent of the "Pit of Vipers" torture, with the pervasive stench of death. Hao Long, meanwhile, had been banished to the wilderness when his demonic nature had first manifested, to prevent any suspicion.

An Long sat motionless in the center of the pit, his narrow, blood-red eyes devoid of emotion.

Yue Wuhuan stepped into the terror-ridden temple without a moment's hesitation, wading into the writhing mass of Gu insects. Snakes and insects crawled up his legs, their bites and stings causing an unbearable itch and sharp pain. This was a path to hell that even the most horrifying nightmares couldn't conjure, yet he walked as if through a field of flowers or on clouds, utterly fearless.

An Long finally spoke, his voice hoarse and unpleasant: "You're a madman."

Yue Wuhuan smiled gently. "And you're a half-demon."

A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, covered in Gu insects, defiantly challenged the dark sovereign who held his life in his hands.

He knew no fear, nor did he dread death. He reveled in schemes and audacious gambles.

An Long had long since meticulously investigated Yue Wuhuan's past decade. No one had ever been as audacious as him—using his own life and vulnerabilities to weave trap after trap, only to reveal his true venomous fangs when victory seemed assured, striking at the weakest point to inflict excruciating agony.

The most terrifying venom...

An Long asked coldly, "When did you first suspect my identity?"

"Initially, I found your acquaintance with the Master too deliberate," Yue Wuhuan replied patiently, discerning his thoughts. "You intentionally drew his attention, then meticulously tailored yourself to his interests to become his 'friend.' The Master is a man of few words; he never openly expresses his preferences, and the outside world often misunderstands him. So, how did you come to understand his heart so profoundly?"

Of course, this was merely a minor doubt...

The world also held many coincidences, like two perfectly suited individuals simply meeting.

But once a crack appeared in his mind, it widened with every thought, growing larger and larger.

Song Qingshi had a meticulous habit of archiving every patient's medical record. Over the past decade, Yue Wuhuan had scoured all the records but found nothing suspicious.

He also investigated An Long's past, discovering a blank slate before his entry into the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect—no parents, no friends, no history whatsoever. He seemed to have appeared out of thin air, adopted by the previous sect leader for his innate Gu-controlling abilities and made a direct disciple.

Finally, he stumbled upon the medical records of a half-demon.

Due to the controversy surrounding half-demons in the immortal realm, these records had been carefully sealed and hidden in a secluded corner of the study.

Song Qingshi's medical records contained no personal notes, only cold, hard data: daily medication, disease progression, and so on. At the time, he seemed to have been a novice physician, many of his treatments imprecise and his records incomplete. Yet, the process had spanned nearly two years, with the two spending countless hours alone together, day and night—ample time to see past the half-demon's cold exterior to his gentle heart and understand his true preferences.

But this wasn't enough...

"A lowly, filthy half-demon and the noble, mighty leader of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect—how could I possibly link the two? I'd never heard of a half-demon ascending to such a high position," Yue Wuhuan's voice dripped with sarcasm. "But when the Master mentioned half-demons in the mountain temple, your obvious aversion to the topic struck me as subtly wrong. Then, during the Nightmare Mind-Devouring Formation, the Master believed it was my nightmare. But I knew it wasn't—so it could only be yours. Why would the deepest memory of the esteemed Gu King be a foul-smelling swamp?"

The half-demon and Song Qingshi had met in a swamp, and An Long's nightmare memory was also a swamp.

But he still lacked a final piece of evidence.

Suddenly, An Long caught a faint scent. He swiftly tried to suppress his aura, but it was too late—the fragrance agitated his demonic blood. His crimson eyes once again narrowed into slits, and black scales gradually emerged on his face, covering more than half of it. One side of his body began to transform: the arm tattooed with the Five Poisons hardened into a black carapace, and his fingers elongated into insect-like segments, their tips sharp as blades.

His spine mutated, sprouting jagged barbs, and a long scorpion's tail extended, its tip bearing a venomous stinger.

Yue Wuhuan exclaimed, "Your true form is indeed as hideous as I imagined."

An Long said coldly, "Soul-Seducing Incense? What did you add to it?"

Soul-Seducing Incense wasn't a harmful poison; it was merely an aphrodisiac used to stimulate emotions and desires.

However, its effect on a half-demon was exceptionally potent, like realgar to a snake.

Yue Wuhuan's specially concocted Soul-Seducing Incense was even more potent.

An Long could have suppressed this frenzy with his cultivation, but his emotions were already unstable today. Under the incense's stimulation, all his desires were amplified, ultimately causing him to lose control of his body and reveal a side he never wished anyone to see.

"O mighty Xilin Gu King," Yue Wuhuan spread his arms, laughing gleefully, "if you kill me, my dying wish will be to inform the Master, the Night Rain Pavilion, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, and everyone in the world."

In the immortal realm, half-demons were hunted by all.

No one would permit him to sit on the throne of Xilin.

No matter how powerful the Xilin Gu King was, could he withstand the pursuit of the entire world?

Yue Wuhuan was a madman—he had nothing, feared losing nothing. He feared no torture, no torment, no death, nothing at all. His willingness to perish together merely forced his opponent into an agonizing choice.

An Long took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the chaos stirred by the Soul-Seducing Incense in his mind. He stood up, murderous intent radiating from him. "He will never fall for you."

He had made his choice.

"Even if it means losing everything, you'd still kill me? How deeply the Gu King must cherish my Master, driven to such madness," Yue Wuhuan's smile turned even more enchanting before it vanished, replaced by the cold, terrifying expression of a madman. All the Bloodvine Thorns extended, and his sword left its sheath. He snarled, word by word, "But... why did you try to kill him at Golden Phoenix Manor?!"

An Long's killing intent froze. After a long pause, he finally asked, "How do you know about this?"

He instantly understood—Yue Wuhuan was the mortal slave who had been with Guiyuan Immortal Venerable. At that time, in his panicked state after making a mistake, he had only noticed Guiyuan Immortal Venerable's prying. To completely erase the incident, he had killed the immortal and annihilated the Cantong Sect, but he hadn't found the blindfolded, faceless, lowly slave.

There were simply too many slaves at Golden Phoenix Manor, and a mere mortal would have been incapable of witnessing his actions.

Therefore, after confirming that Guiyuan Immortal Venerable hadn't exposed his deeds, he had let the matter rest.

This incident remained the deepest thorn and most profound pain in his heart.

"Let me guess," Yue Wuhuan said, smiling as he advanced step by step. "Could it be that you confessed your love to my Master? And when he rejected you, your half-demon bloodlust, rage, and desire for destruction erupted, causing you to accidentally kill him? And then you suspected Guiyuan Immortal Venerable had seen your half-demon form, so you killed him to silence him?"

"No," An Long murmured, as if explaining to himself, "I don't remember what happened; it was chaotic. When I woke up, he was already dead..."

"Precisely," Yue Wuhuan pressed closer. "You lost control. Your Gu insects killed him."

An Long retorted, "He didn't die!"

"I saw him lifeless with my own eyes. You thought he was dead too—that's why you left him in his beloved herb garden, wasn't it?" Yue Wuhuan's expression twisted in profound sorrow. "How pitiful the Master was; he bore no signs of resistance. He probably never imagined his 'good friend' would strike him so viciously, catching him completely off guard."

An Long's head began to throb again. "I don't remember... but he didn't die. He came back to life..."

Yue Wuhuan sneered, "The Master's survival was his good fortune, not your mercy."

An Long took a deep breath. "Qing Shi forgave me."

"He forgave you?" Yue Wuhuan burst into maniacal laughter, as if he had heard the most hilarious joke. He was like a demon from hell who had found the most foolish prey, needing no effort to claim a pathetic soul.

An Long suddenly felt a surge of fear. He realized something was terribly wrong; perhaps he should kill this man immediately, before facing the truth...

But it was too late.

With a gentle tone, Yue Wuhuan uttered the cruelest truth: "The Master forgot that memory. He forgot you killed him."

An Long roared, "Impossible! That Gu insect doesn't attack the mind!"

"Unfortunately, his soul suffered an accident, leading to the loss of some memories," Yue Wuhuan gave him a pitying look. "What exactly did his forgiveness refer to? Did he ever mention anything about that day? Don't be foolish—how could anyone truly forgive their own murderer?"

An Long stumbled backward, his headache intensifying.

When he saw Song Qingshi, he had already lost some control. He only remembered confessing his feelings, desperately begging for even a shred of affection, only to be cruelly rejected. Then, he plunged into a frenzy of rage and despair, losing his sanity. When he regained consciousness, Song Qingshi had already fallen, struck down by his Gu insects.

His mind completely shattered. He fled Golden Phoenix Manor in a panic, only feeling a slight relief upon learning that Song Qingshi had not died. He knew he had committed a grave error and dared not ask for forgiveness. He wandered like a zombie for days until he received a letter from Song Qingshi. The letter's contents were perfectly normal, offering solutions to a problem, and made no mention of that day, as if it had never happened.

Song Qingshi invited him to Medicine King Valley.

Song Qingshi smiled and said he forgave him.

Song Qingshi never brought up that day again.

The euphoria of regaining what he had lost nearly overwhelmed him...

He dared not think about that day, trying to bury his guilt like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.

A faint glimmer of joy still lingered in his heart: Qing Shi knew his feelings and was still willing to forgive such a crime. Did this mean he held a unique place in his heart? Was there a different kind of affection there? That night, he knocked on Song Qingshi's door for the first time, dressed only in his inner robes. He was almost delirious with joy, believing his request had been accepted.

Though it was a misunderstanding, being friends again was still good...

To atone, he was willing to do anything.

Even if it meant daggers piercing his heart...

He would bear it willingly.

Due to his half-demon bloodline, his desire for slaughter was stronger than that of ordinary people. No one who provoked him had ever survived, except for Yue Wuhuan. Time and again, he suppressed his killing intent, allowing this weak mortal to survive his wrath. This was because he feared that another mistake would cost him everything.

Had he already been wrong?

Had he never been forgiven?

An Long clutched his head in agony. The effects of the Soul-Seducing Incense intensified, and his mind began to buzz again, hallucinations on the verge of appearing.

"Please let the Master go, won't you?" Yue Wuhuan slowly approached, his beautiful eyes filled with pleading. His voice was fragile and pitiful. "I won't harm the Master. I just want to live a quiet life with him in Medicine King Valley, in peace and harmony, away from the world's strife. Please, grant us this, won't you?"

Several Bloodvine Thorns slowly emerged from the shadows, coated with a pre-prepared, potent poison, closing in on their distraught, nearly broken prey.

"You've already hurt him. He cannot forgive you," Yue Wuhuan's cruel words tore at his heart, tormenting his soul. "How can you shamelessly return to his side? How can you brazenly try to be friends with him again? Did you truly misunderstand that his forgiveness meant you held a special place in his heart?"

The sword in his hand slowly drew closer, its blade glowing with a poisonous blue light.

An Long gasped, pleading, "Stop... stop talking..."

"You truly are pathetic," Yue Wuhuan gently shook his head, his voice filled with pity. "You killed the one you loved. How can you beg for forgiveness? Perhaps... you should confess your sins in hell?"

Before his words faded, the sword lunged like a soaring dragon, while the Bloodvine Thorns simultaneously attacked his perceived weaknesses.

Hard scales rapidly appeared on An Long's body, forming a shield as tough as steel, automatically deflecting the poisonous assault.

Yue Wuhuan retracted his sword, stepping back two paces, and scoffed, "Half-demon bloodline—truly troublesome."

He had successfully breached An Long's mental defenses, striking at every vulnerable point, but his cultivation was too low to pierce the defense of a half-demon Nascent Soul. It was truly frustrating.

An Long knelt on the ground, the cacophony in his mind growing unbearable, pushing him to the brink of collapse and making coherent thought impossible.

The Gu insects, now leaderless, began to attack any living creature indiscriminately.

If he missed this opportunity, there might never be another. Yue Wuhuan used his Bloodvine Thorns to continuously swat away the swarming insects, enduring bites from poisonous snakes and Gu insects. He swallowed a drug to delay the poison's onset, then produced the Black Death Butterfly—a potent poison that could seep in through skin contact. He had already used the Bloodvine Thorns to imprint the Black Death Butterfly's information onto his prey.

Talismans flew out, forming several interconnected arrays that sealed all of An Long's escape routes.

Several black butterflies flew out of the sealed bamboo tube, fluttering towards their marked enemy, ready to drag his soul into the abyss.

Yue Wuhuan smiled in satisfaction, anticipating his long-awaited triumph.

An Long looked up at the black butterflies and slowly said, "Qing Shi cultivates the Emotionless Path."

Yue Wuhuan paused, then smiled even more brilliantly: "Perfectly to my liking."

Although there had been a slight deviation, he would find a way to correct it.

He never wanted the Master to experience desire.

An Long couldn't help but curse, "Madman."

He stood up, countless black demonic energies spreading over his body as his scorpion tail extended, ready to tear through the array.

Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the sky...

Lightning danced like frenzied serpents, and a violent bolt of lightning struck the roof of the mountain temple, shattering it, breaking the spell array, and separating the two. Immediately after, torrential rain poured down, drenching everything and washing away the wings of the Black Death Butterflies, thwarting the fatal attack.

Yue Wuhuan looked up in astonishment at the inexplicable change in weather.

He felt as though he was once again being mocked by fate. He didn't even understand what this was.

An Long vanished into the downpour, taking all the Gu insects and snakes with him.

The battle was interrupted, and his goals remained unfulfilled.

"Why? Why? Why?"

Yue Wuhuan was furious. His Bloodvine Thorns lashed out wildly, striking the torrential rain, the crumbling ruins, and everything else they could hit. Trees were severed, boulders shattered; he wanted to destroy everything in the world.

The rain blurred his vision, his body soaked, the stench of filth everywhere.

He hated this world to his very core.

...

An Long stumbled into the dense forest and collapsed into the mud.

The hallucinations in his mind grew increasingly severe; he could no longer think or fight.

"Despair. Even if you crawl out of the filthy mud and achieve a status worthy of him, what then?"

"Despair. He would rather die than accept your feelings..."

"Despair. Your disguise has been torn away; your true face is so hideous, your heart so foul..."

"Despair. He never forgave you..."

...

An Long listened blankly to these endlessly repeating words, yet what appeared before his eyes was the memory of that youth who had once lifted him from the filthy swamp. The youth had draped his fragrant white outer robe over his foul-smelling body, then led him back step by step, cleansing his festering wounds, removing the painful toxins, healing all his ailments, and then heartlessly sending him away.

Back then, he was still young and didn't understand what such concern meant.

He was angry, furious, and discontent.

Yet he remembered him every day, thought of him constantly.

When they unexpectedly met again in the secret realm, he deliberately threw out an incredibly ugly insect, hoping to provoke his anger.

The youth picked up the insect, looked at it for a long time, then walked up to him and, smiling, told him, "Insects are quite adorable."

At that moment, he finally understood what caring truly meant.

He deliberately caused trouble, feigned ignorance, and sought his attention. He put on a human facade, climbed to a high position, all to be worthy of him.

Even knowing he cultivated the Emotionless Path, after the despair, he still couldn't let go.

He wanted to hide everything, to deceive the world, to deceive his feelings, to deceive his own feelings...

But he failed.

It was over. Everything was over.

A dirty bug must eventually return to the dirty mud.

...

"Despair. Abandon human emotions. Become a complete demon."

"You... what are you, exactly?"

"I am your fate."