Chapter 156: About Love

Chapter 156: About Love

Love and desire.

Ling Qingjue's jaw tightened, but he eventually turned his head away. "Fine, I'll give him one more chance."

With a cold expression, he reactivated the magic circle, and the sixth soul fragment was soon summoned.

This fragment was called Feidu (the 'non-poison' soul), corresponding to the emotion "love."

Ling Qingjue grabbed the fragment, his expression dark and icy as he read Meng Shu's memory.

This time, he found himself at Moon Bay.

At dusk, the sky over Moon Bay was dyed in warm hues. The summer heat was slightly stuffy, but a passing evening breeze brought a refreshing coolness.

Meng Shu sat by the lake with a few Moon Bay residents, all fishing.

Meng Shu hit the jackpot today. While others hadn't caught a single fish, he'd already caught several, drawing exclamations from everyone around.

"Lord Hero is amazing even at fishing!"

"Was that a crimson fish just now? Its tail is so beautiful!"

Meng Shu, wearing a clean, loose white T-shirt and jeans, beamed with joy, slapping his thigh in excitement. "I'm really lucky today."

Ling Qingjue stared at him, unblinking.

Such a dazzling smile.

As it got dark, the group dispersed, waving goodbye to each other. "Let's meet again next time."

"Ah, I only caught one fish."

"Lord Hero caught quite a few! Amazing!"

Meng Shu pressed his lips together in a smile. "See you next time."

He carried a large bucket of live fish and turned to leave the lakeside.

Ling Qingjue's gaze darkened. He had watched Meng Shu fish for three hours, and not once did he think of Ling Qingjue.

Just as he expected—no sign of himself in Meng Shu's "love" memory.

Meng Shu had been lying through his teeth!

The memory wasn't over, so Ling Qingjue had to keep following, his tone ice-cold. "When this memory's over, I'll crush your soul."

Meng Shu took the fish to a vendor and haggled like crazy. "My fish weigh fifty pounds! You gotta give me at least five thousand per fish!"

The vendor said, "The market's flooded with fish lately! Prices tanked!"

"Nonsense, crimson fish never depreciate!" Meng Shu argued his case and walked away with a sweet ten thousand.

As the vendor packed the fish, he said, "I can't trick you anymore, sigh. The innocent Lord Hero is a thing of the past."

Meng Shu laughed. "When I first came to this world, you always bought my fish cheaply. You were scamming newbies, weren't you?"

The vendor laughed heartily, pulling a transparent shell from his pocket. "By the way, Lord Hero, our bond level is at forty now. This is a gift for you. It's useless, just for decoration."

Meng Shu took it. "Thanks. Already at forty?"

"Of course. You're always doing my quests, so it shoots up fast."

Meng Shu said goodbye, stashed the shell in his inventory, and headed home with the empty bucket.

Ling Qingjue was getting impatient. "Who the hell do you love? Why are there so many people in your memory?"

"Do you fall for everyone you meet?"

"What about me? I still haven't shown up. How real are your feelings for me?"

Meng Shu didn't react—he looked pleased with himself, humming off-key. On the way, he ran into Alice.

Alice said hi, "Heading home, Lord Hero?"

"Yeah, gotta go cook for my cat." He chatted warmly with her. "I'm heading to the Demon Forest soon. Want me to bring you anything?"

Alice thought for a sec. "Bring me some moonstones. I want to put them in my little garden."

"Sure." Meng Shu agreed cheerfully. "I better head back now, or my cat will be pissed."

"Oh, Lord Hero, I bought you a little gift. I had it sent to your house. Make sure to sign for it."

Alice gave him a playful wink. "Thanks for always helping me out."

Meng Shu felt flattered. "You bought me another gift?"

"You're always helping me. I feel kinda bad." Alice chuckled. "Now get going home."

Meng Shu smiled back. "Okay, see you next time."

Along the way, Meng Shu ran into tons of people. He seemed to get along with everyone, even the grumpy old beggar was willing to chat with him.

They all addressed him as "Lord Hero."

Ling Qingjue's ears were ringing from hearing 'Lord Hero' nonstop—that's all that was in his head.

In the 'love' memory, Meng Shu met all kinds of people, each popping in briefly—just a hello and then gone.

Ling Qingjue was baffled. Who was Meng Shu even 'loving' in a memory like this?

He expected Meng Shu to head home, but instead he went to the bathhouse.

The old bathhouse keeper lifted his eyelids to look at him. "Kicked out again, Lord Hero?"

Meng Shu gave a helpless smile. "Went fishing, got dirty. If I go home without cleaning up, he'll be pissed."

"Your cat's way too fussy." The old man yawned. "Since when do cats not like fish?"

"Haha, he's a one-of-a-kind cat." Meng Shu went in, washed up fast, pulled clean clothes from his inventory, changed, and hurried home.

Ling Qingjue found himself holding his breath.

Would he appear in this 'love' memory?

Just like those passersby—a tiny fragment of Meng Shu's memory.

He was no different.

Meng Shu pushed the door open, his voice rising: "Cat! I'm back! I made a lot of money today!"

In the memory, Ling Qingjue was still curled up on the sofa, too lazy to even sit up, his voice languid. "Oh."

"I caught a fish this big today!" Meng Shu gestured with his hands. "This big! This big!"

He stretched his arms as wide as he could. Ling Qingjue chuckled dryly. "Did you catch a shark or something?"

Meng Shu burst out laughing. "What shark! It's a crimson fish, super beautiful, but I heard it doesn't taste good—only fit as an ornamental fish."

"Oh." Ling Qingjue didn't seem very interested.

Meng Shu stood still for a moment, then suddenly leaned close to Ling Qingjue and pecked him on the cheek.

Before Ling Qingjue could react, he quickly stood up straight and said with a grin, "I'm going to cook for you."

Ling Qingjue touched his cheek and let out a soft laugh. "Whatever you say."

The memory ended there.

As Ling Qingjue had expected, he was only a small part of this memory. The part about him was even shorter than the part about Meng Shu fishing.

This was a memory about "love."

But all he saw was a long segment of Meng Shu's everyday life.

Ling Qingjue returned to the real world, looking down at the soul orb in his hand, lost in thought.

The Law asked, "How was it this time?"

Ling Qingjue replied, "I was there. But... there were also others. All the residents of Moon Bay were in his memory. He seems to love many people."

Lake had a flash of inspiration and said hurriedly, "Then what he loves most isn't a person—it's the whole world. He loves Moon Bay, and everyone in Moon Bay is cherished by him, which is why so many people appeared in this memory!"

The definition of love is too broad.

Meng Shu unconsciously projected the emotion of love onto the entire world.

His memories were no longer limited to Ling Qingjue alone; the small town where Ling Qingjue lived, the people around him, and the world he protected—all were the objects of his love.

"...Is that so?" Ling Qingjue gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm no different from anyone else."