Hey! Come Back!

The Saint dies; the demon emerges. The world inverts; the witch arrives. "Do we... do we know each other?" A naive bewilderment clouded Fang Xiaoxia's eyes. She stared fearfully at the newcomer. The demon woman's crimson gown looked as though it were drenched in blood. "Ah, yes. You've forgotten my existence." Chi's eyes lowered slightly, but soon lifted again. In a faint tone steeped in sorrow, Chi said, "And yet, we were once confidantes who shared everything, twin sisters chosen by destiny. "Upon a throne spanning thousands of years, only you and I sat together." As the other spoke, Fang Xiaoxia's vision blurred. The scene before her shifted. She felt as though she had arrived upon a scorched earth thick with sulfur and gunpowder smoke. Across the boundless expanse of land, a colossal throne piled high with the skeletal remains of monsters rose up, blotting out the sky. Two girls sat huddled together upon the throne. Their features were blurred and indistinct; she could only hear one whispering softly to the other: "Sister— "We are destined to devour each other, and then reign over this world!" *Clack!* A crisp footstep snapped the girl back to her senses. The violet-gold saber gleamed brilliantly as Bai Zhou stepped once more in front of Fang Xiaoxia. "So you and Major Luo actually share the same goal, don't you?" Bai Zhou already understood what she meant. "You want to merge with Fang Xiaoxia to make yourself whole, right?" The demon woman turned her gaze back to Bai Zhou. "Yes, and no. "Do you know what makes Fang Xiaoxia so special? Do you know why Major Luo placed so much value on her, guiding her into becoming an absolute loser, yet never daring to disrupt her mundane life?" The demon woman chuckled hoarsely. "Reality isn't a fairy tale. Fang Xiaoxia isn't the Girl Who Lived, nor does anyone understand the magic of love... "In truth, Fang Xiaoxia and I were both materials chosen by Major Luo for his Ascension to Sainthood." Bai Zhou and the Gem Witch both felt a jolt in their hearts, while Fang Xiaoxia instinctively clutched the plush doll in her arms, listening intently. With Major Luo's death, the secret surrounding Fang Xiaoxia should have remained an eternal mystery, but it had also been a knot tying up their hearts. From the clues gathered so far, Bai Zhou only knew that the woman before them possessed the appearance of the girl who had left her final words on the graduation photo—the quiet girl Fang Xiaoxia had once saved, and the vessel chosen by the demon. The girl once redeemed by Fang Xiaoxia had ultimately summoned the courage to strike a bargain with a demon, saving Fang Xiaoxia's life at the very end of her own. Yet Bai Zhou had always assumed that Major Luo controlled Fang Xiaoxia's soul merely to force the demon to yield obediently. However, after freeing Fang Xiaoxia's soul from the school, Bai Zhou discovered that Major Luo remained obsessively fixated on her... as though a part of the demon resided within this girl. "Liu Jia, Liu Zhen—the false and the true, contradictory and opposing. This in itself corresponds to a fundamental essence of demons. "Every demon is a collection of contradictions, especially so for me." The demonic girl seemed in good spirits. She tilted her head, casually combing through her waist-length hair that cascaded like a waterfall, oblivious to everyone around her. "Do you know why the name of the school demon has never appeared in the mortal world? Because the concept of the school demon was still in its embryonic infancy, unable to consolidate its internal opposing concepts. "In other words, I had never truly been born; I was nothing more than a chaotic bud. "Who knows where that Luo fellow learned of my existence and used a ritual to summon me to the mortal world... but precisely because of that, he had the chance to steal away the essence of a demon." Her delicate, slender fingertips fluttered like butterflies through her hair. First, she bound a half-up ponytail with a hair tie, parted an opening down the center, threaded the hair through, tucked the hair from the other side into the gap as well, and gathered it all to the right side. Before long, a side braid took shape, draping along her neck and resting over her right breast. A faint dark crimson shimmered through her long black hair, lending an air of languid ease to her naturally quiet, unhurried demeanor. "Li Manman..." Chi murmured the name softly, sounding both nostalgic and wistful. "This body, as the sole victor among so many students who held on to the very end, became the vessel for my descent." Li Manman... Fang Xiaoxia's brow knitted tightly, her breathing growing ragged. Fragmented images flashed through her mind. Swaths of unfamiliar yet strangely recognizable middle school memories surged like a tide into the depths of her consciousness. The noisy hallways between classes, the quiet afternoon classroom, and a frail, quiet figure who seemed to always stand beside her, head bowed, following in her footsteps... "The day Li Manman became the demon's vessel, that Luo fellow captured Fang Xiaoxia as well. On the surface, it was to force Li Manman to submit willingly and not resist the demon's descent, ensuring she would become the most perfect vessel. "They struck a deal: Li Manman demanded that Luo guarantee Fang Xiaoxia's safety, return Fang Xiaoxia to her normal life, and use the demon's power to erase Fang Xiaoxia's memories. "To ensure the deal went smoothly, Li Manman severed half of Fang Xiaoxia's soul and bound it within the school to live in symbiosis with herself. As long as she did not perish, Fang Xiaoxia would never die." Hearing this, the hearts of Bai Zhou and the others shuddered. Could that really have been the truth? Detaining Fang Xiaoxia's soul inside Longluo Private High School had actually been to create a symbiosis between Fang Xiaoxia and Li Manman—to protect Fang Xiaoxia, not to control her? This Li Manman, who had willingly sacrificed herself to keep Fang Xiaoxia safe... Bai Zhou glanced at the demonic woman exuding sinister malice, then cast a worried look at Fang Xiaoxia beside him. Without realizing it, Fang Xiaoxia was biting her lower lip so hard her eyes wavered, oblivious even as blood began to seep from the wound. "Yet in reality, how cunning was that Luo fellow?" The demon woman continued, her words weighing heavily on their hearts. "Forcing Li Manman to willingly become the demon's vessel was merely one step in Major Luo's plan. "From beginning to end, what Li Manman carried was only half a demon. "A demon of contradiction and opposition whose concepts have not fully consolidated requires a pair of twins to bear its duality. And right at that time, Fang Xiaoxia and Li Manman were inseparable confidantes—one a bright, perfect honor student, the other an insecure, underachieving misfit; one with a teacher for a mother, the other with a former school security guard for a father. "Their circumstances perfectly embodied the concepts of 'School' and 'Unity of Opposites.'" The corners of the demon woman's lips curved into a cold arc. "And so... "The once-bright and perfect Fang Xiaoxia became an insecure, mediocre underachiever in reality, while the once-insecure and mediocre Li Manman became the queen of the Inverted Ruin Realm. "Everything was turned upside down. One in reality, one in the Inverted Ruin Realm; one yin, one yang—mirror twins, each bearing half of the school demon." The demon woman curled her lip, adding casually, "As for inverting their personalities and lives... that was what Luo needed for his Ascension to Sainthood." *Guh...* At those words, Fang Xiaoxia's face turned deathly pale. She stumbled back two steps. The plush doll clutched in her arms nearly slipped to the ground. The girl felt her entire life collapsing around her. She... was also a demon? Without question, it was a truth that sent a chill down the spines of everyone present. "If that's the case..." Bai Zhou narrowed his eyes. "Why is Fang Xiaoxia still Fang Xiaoxia, while you are no longer Li Manman?" "Li Manman is me, yet I am not Li Manman." The demon woman shook her head. "Because Li Manman was the first to bear the demon, I, who originally existed in a state of chaos, took her as my prototype. Whether in appearance or gender, whenever I descend into the mortal realm, that will not easily change for tens of thousands of years to come. "As the yang within yin of the Inverted Ruin Realm, the dominant consciousness wielding authority resided in Li Manman. Meanwhile, as the yin within yang of the mortal realm, the unconscious power resided in Fang Xiaoxia. "So, now..." The demon woman nodded toward Fang Xiaoxia, offering an affectionate smile. "I've come to take back my power." "Right. I understand." Bai Zhou stepped in front of Fang Xiaoxia once more, blocking the demon woman's view. This took the demon woman aback, and she looked rather annoyed. Yet Fang Xiaoxia was even more stunned. She stared blankly at Bai Zhou's back, looking as dazed as the doll she clutched to her chest. The demon named Li Manman had just said that she, Fang Xiaoxia, was also a demon... Shouldn't you treat me as a deadly enemy, be utterly on guard, or even turn your blade against me? "I hate your eyes," Bai Zhou said to the demon woman with total earnestness. "Because I know that look all too well... No matter how warmly coated in affection and nostalgia it seems on the surface, it cannot hide your greed." Bai Zhou had seen that burning look more than once in Base 36. It was the look of wanting to devour someone alive. This demon wanted to eat Fang Xiaoxia. "Li Manman wouldn't look like that," Bai Zhou said, shaking his head. "She wouldn't look at Fang Xiaoxia with such eyes. I know for sure that Fang Xiaoxia is still Fang Xiaoxia... but you? "You stopped being Li Manman a long time ago." Li Manman had fully become a demon. The woman standing before them was merely a demon wearing Li Manman's shell, possessing Li Manman's memories. Just a moment ago, she had even tried to supplant Bai Zhou and be reborn within his body... In contrast, Fang Xiaoxia, whose primary consciousness was still her own, was at most a child holding an immense treasure. Even if that treasure—the demon's power—had become inseparable from her, an intrinsic part of her body. So right now, the demon's goal was indisputably to devour Fang Xiaoxia and complete herself. The demon's dominant consciousness inhabiting Li Manman had come to reclaim its missing piece. Watching Bai Zhou's resolute expression, the demon woman's demeanor gradually turned icy. This only confirmed Bai Zhou's deduction. "You are a clever and interesting man, and only the second man I've met in the mortal realm besides Luo Tunan." The demon woman gently stroked the braid resting over her chest and let out a faint sigh. "Killing you really feels like such a pity." "If you let us go, I'd be exceedingly grateful," Bai Zhou replied sincerely. She was different from Major Luo. Bai Zhou had a hundred reasons to take revenge on Major Luo, but he held no grudge against this demon... "Unfortunately, I hold a grudge against you." The demon woman's words cruelly shattered Bai Zhou's wishful thinking. "You killed me once. Women are very vindictive creatures, and demons are pettier still." High heels clicked against shattered stone. Draped in her scarlet gown, the woman stepped out of the crater, each step imbued with extraordinary elegance. "Never provoke a female demon, or you'll invite ten times the vengeance... I hope you'll remember that in your next life." "So demons have genders too?" Bai Zhou blinked twice, shooting a glance at the Gem Witch and Fang Xiaoxia to signal them to back away quickly. "Speaking of which, you crawled out of my stomach just now." Bai Zhou pondered the matter seriously. "Looking at it from that perspective... does that make you my daughter?" An eighteen-year-old me, and my eighteen-year-old demon daughter? "...Do you think you're very funny?" After a brief silence, the demon woman asked coldly. "Didn't you just say I was interesting?" Bai Zhou felt that the demon woman's moods shifted faster than the weather beneath the blood-red sky. Yet he had been entirely serious. "I know your tongue has always been sharp, and you might even be quietly preparing something while we talk... Luo Tunan suffered plenty at your hands because of that." The woman sneered. On her gentle, quiet face, such an expression was surprisingly captivating. "No matter what you say or what you do—" the woman in the scarlet gown said icily, "even if you turn the heavens upside down, today you'll still have to drink my footbath water!" A harsh reality loomed before Bai Zhou. Right now, Bai Zhou no longer possessed that wisp of sharpness from the spear, the Curse-Bound Colossus had entered cooldown, and drawing the Sky-Thunder Bow was pure fantasy. By contrast, although her body was translucent and lacked physical substance, the entire world pulsed with Chi's breathing, as if a single thought could overturn heaven and earth—fathomlessly deep. "You don't seem to have a physical body? In other words, you haven't truly been reborn yet?" Bai Zhou's eyes flickered. "Because you didn't let me be reborn in your body," the demon replied, shaking her head. With a soft *clack*, Chi stepped fully out of the pit, halting a dozen or so meters from Bai Zhou. At this distance, her translucence was even more pronounced, making her resemble a vengeful ghost in a red dress. "Yet that only makes me stronger, for this entire world can be considered my body... until it finishes gestating my new form." Chi tilted her head slightly. In this crimson inverted world, the stray lava drifting from countless suspended volcanoes turned into streaks of fire sweeping across the sky. A landscape of pure apocalypse, and the demon woman was undeniably the queen of its destruction. "Demons are meant to be born in the abyssal depths of Hell. Even if they descend to the mortal realm, they do so only as avatars, bearing the indelible mark of an outsider and forever rejected by the world. "—I am different. "I was originally an embryonic seed of chaos, and when I descended in the Ruin Realm, I was killed once. "Now, this womb meant to gestate a Saint is being used to gestate me, a demon... When I am born, I will be a native demon born in the mortal realm." A faint crimson glow sparked in Chi's eyes. "A demon like that can never be banished by anyone!" *Whoosh!* Before her words even finished, a beam of blood-red light shot from Chi's eyes like meandering lightning. Everywhere it passed, the air scorched and warped, hissing violently. Life-and-Death Intuition delivered a chilling warning. In the nick of time, Bai Zhou glared back almost purely on instinct. Thunder materialized from thin air, colliding head-on with the incoming ray of light. Eye-Strike instinct: Open-Eye Thunderstrike! *Bang!* A thunderclap blasted through the air. The lightning shattered instantly; the red beam paused only for a fraction of a second before thrusting forward toward Bai Zhou once again. Yet that brief pause was enough. With several rustling tumbles, Bai Zhou rolled repeatedly across the ground. The red beam struck where Bai Zhou had just stood, boring a bottomless diagonal hole into the earth. "A sneak attack!" The Gem Witch gripped her wand tightly, preparing to act. Her eyes remained locked on the demon woman in the distance, the belt at her waist pulsing restlessly. "I'm a demon," the demon woman answered as if stating the most obvious fact. "Isn't it only natural for a demon to launch a sneak attack? "—Or did you expect a demon to challenge you to a fair duel in the ring?" At the end of words lay blades. She had come on a whim and would leave once satisfied; having lost interest in talking, the demon woman struck without hesitation to bring everything here to an end. *Crack! Crack-crunch...* The countless corpses lying densely across the ground suddenly began to twitch and shudder. Then, as if guided by an invisible force, countless half-bodied corpses clad in school uniforms rose into the air, blotting out the sky as they piled on top of one another. As though reforged by searing heat, these uniformed corpses transformed into nine massive mountains—or rather, nine towering walls. *Rumble, rumble...* The earth rumbled. Out of nowhere, nine towering walls piled high with uniform-clad monsters erupted along the highway. Each giant wall exuded the scent of ink and aged paper, sealing off all avenues of escape from every direction. Fang Xiaoxia and the Gem Witch looked closely and were immediately dumbfounded. The nine colossal walls were garishly colorful, set against glossy white book covers, plastered with gradient subtitles in shades of blue, green, and red. They bore titles such as *Ideological and Political Compulsory 1: Economic Life*, *History Compulsory: Outline of Chinese and World History (Part 1)*, *Mathematics Elective 2-3*... With just a single glance, swarms of knowledge seemed to squirm and awaken in the minds of Fang Xiaoxia and the Gem Witch. Resurfacing alongside them were the sharp reprimands of teachers, as well as the suffocating anxiety and dread of cramming before exams... "What in the world is this...?" A crushing fatigue washed over them, as if they hadn't slept for days and nights. Dense clusters of academic knowledge crawled through the depths of their minds, leaving them dizzy and disoriented. Only Bai Zhou blinked, entirely unaffected. He had never studied any of this, nor had he ever attended middle or high school on Blue Star. Yet Bai Zhou soon realized the true purpose behind the erection of these nine high walls. They were like the school demon's treasury. As the pages flipped open and shut, an endless torrent of knowledge gushed out, manifesting as physical entities. Titles, formulas, vocabulary words, vocabulary characters, textbook texts, equations... Every piece of knowledge that flew into the air transformed into a living monster lunging from above. Each creature bore heavy dark circles under its eyes, possessed only an upper torso, hoisted a spear shaped like a gel pen, and trailed inky smoke from its lower half as it charged with savage fury. Every single monster possessed the strength of peak Level 5, or even Level 6. They were too numerous to count, as if hailing from nine distinct worlds, each world expelling monsters with different specialties. Monsters spewed from the Mathematics world were exceptionally adept at defense; those from the Physics world specialized in ferocious offense; and those spawned from the Chinese Literature world excelled at mental attacks, each strike carrying a potent hypnotic effect. The demon woman stood atop the nine high walls, arms crossed as she looked down upon Bai Zhou, perched high above like a queen revered and sustained by nine worlds. Bai Zhou had never seen the demon woman employ such methods before. Back then, the Hanged Demon had merely transformed into a flesh-and-blood tower resembling a Red Spider. Yet Chi ought to have possessed these abilities all along. She was the school demon, the embodiment of the concept of "School," formed from the accumulated grievances and negative emotions festering inside every school across the mortal realm. The Red Spider had merely been the result of Li Manman harboring an overwhelming resentment toward Major Luo in life, which had condensed into that grotesque tower of flesh and bone. Engulfed in the siege of countless monsters, Bai Zhou whirled with radiant saber light like a meat grinder. Yet these monsters were far stronger than any foe he had faced before; each was barely qualified to duel him one-on-one, and now their numbers were limitless. Howls and the clash of blades rang right in his ears. Wounds multiplied across Bai Zhou's body. Sweat poured from every pore. Every mote of spirituality within him surged with fierce exhilaration. The pain wracking his body only drove him to slash faster and harder, unleashing the battle intent in his chest to his heart's content. Even the battle-intent sapling within him seemed to stretch and grow a few inches taller. "Things have gotten a bit troublesome," Crow's low voice sounded. "This demon has already seized Luo Tunan's authority over the world, but Chi is far more proficient than Luo Tunan ever was, and far more powerful. "A world gestating a Saint transformed into one gestating a demon is inherently more aggressive. What's more, this demon is a super-demon—an inverted demon turned Saint, inverted back again. Such a metamorphosis is beyond comprehension. "If Chi truly succeeds in being born, she might well rival the legendary, ancient demons of myth..." Crow looked toward Bai Zhou, who was hacking through the swirling chaos, and said earnestly, "Hold on! The official authorities have been searching for this world all along. The upheaval of a Saint's world inverting into a demon's realm cannot escape the outside world. They must be exhausting every means to breach this realm. "From what I know, as long as they bring out several black boxes, there is indeed a real hope of breaking through... but that will take time. "—You must buy yourself time!" Hold on, was it...? Crow's words brought a sliver of hope to Bai Zhou. Yet he raised his head, gazing at the half-bodied monsters circling in swarms that blotted out the sky, and the nine colossal walls sealing off every path of retreat. Black smoke choked the heavens, blocking out the light; slaughter raged everywhere without end. No matter how frantically Bai Zhou parried, his saber dancing into an almost impenetrable wall of light, attacks still slipped through and struck him. Strange chains branded with long, convoluted English sentences were hurled by monsters, wrapping around Bai Zhou's ankles in an attempt to drag him down; A bombardment containing unknown chemical reagents exploded across Bai Zhou's shoulder, searing him with burning pain and numbness; Monsters spawned from the Mathematics world flicked sharp threads, coiling around him from tricky geometric angles and slicing open several bloody gashes across his flesh... And so on and so forth. Nearly all the pressure was concentrated on Bai Zhou. The monsters flooded toward him in an overwhelming tide, while the pressure on the Gem Witch and Fang Xiaoxia was vastly lighter. Evidently, the demon woman knew full well where the true threat and backbone of the trio lay. Before he knew it, Bai Zhou felt his blade slowing, his reflexes dulling... A cold sweat broke out across his back at the realization. His injuries were worsening. He knew he could no longer sit and wait for death. He couldn't pin his hopes on nebulous reinforcements; he had to carve a way out on his own. The nine towering walls were like nine worlds, continuously spewing forth monsters trailing inky smoke, seemingly endless. To capture the bandits, one must capture their king; to break the deadlock, he had to strike directly at their master. And so, Bai Zhou looked up. Even though his sight above was already blotted out by a black press of monsters. *Buzz...* Amidst the chaotic fray, the violet-gold saber hummed in a long, piercing cry. This caught the attention of the Gem Witch and Fang Xiaoxia, who were desperately worried about Bai Zhou but unable to break free. Looking toward the sound, they saw someone leap into the air, drawing his blade at the same time. With power surging through his knees, explosive jumping force erupted in an instant. Bai Zhou was taking to the sky. He was going to kill the demon. *Boom!* The sky detonated with a roar. Gulping down his last bottle of Burst Potion, Bai Zhou ignited all 360 spiritualities. Celestial Pivot ran into overdrive; the Lesser Amber Domain-Sealing Ritual erupted, followed by the Accelerate micro-ritual, the Super Agility micro-ritual, and the Body Fortification micro-ritual. And, though he didn't know if it would help, Bai Zhou also activated the glyph [Light]. And then—*Boom!* In midair, Bai Zhou transformed into a blazing sun. "Roar!" Monsters that normally could never be blinded by mere light clutched their eyes in agonizing howls. Fang Xiaoxia and the Gem Witch cried out, squeezing their eyes shut as tears streamed uncontrollably down their faces. "What on earth is that...?" the Gem Witch muttered in disbelief. "You can do it!" Fang Xiaoxia prayed with tense, heartfelt devotion. "Go, Bai Zhou!" *Hum...* The saber resonated, unleashing a surging arc of saber qi. An eight-meter arc of saber qi infused with battle intent swept aside the roaring monsters clutching their eyes overhead. In midair, the surging tide of dense monsters heaved violently before a colossal hole was blasted right through it, and a dazzling sun ascended rapidly from within. "I didn't misjudge you," the queen reigning over the inverted sky chuckled softly as she watched the sun aggressively draw near. "However..." *Buzz!* A fiery-red crescent moon bloomed before the sun, threaded with razor-sharp violet-gold radiance. —Moon Cinder Holy Oath Slash! Not only that, but right after, Bai Zhou seemed to multiply into eighty-one figures out of nowhere. Eighty-one men simultaneously delivered an incredible slash—Nine Basic Slashes, Fifth Slash! Yet... The secret techniques that had never failed in the past were rendered utterly useless in this moment. They struck the demon woman's body, only to ripple inexplicably across the sky behind Chi. Several inverted mountain peaks erupted with deafening crashes. As magma splashed outward, deep saber gashes tore into two summits, overflowing with saber qi that unmistakably belonged to Bai Zhou's slashes. Though directed squarely at the demon woman, the strikes were miraculously redirected by Chi to be absorbed by the entire world. Before such an existence, secret techniques seemed like nothing more than futile profanities—just as a drawn figure on paper, no matter how majestic or clad in special effects, could never pose a threat to a three-dimensional human. They simply were not on the same dimensional plane. Evidently, Bai Zhou had no way to counter such a method—unless he could shatter the entire world itself with a slash. Yet that was even more impossible. So this was it: an ordinary beyonder without the spear's piercing edge was just this helpless within a world gestating Saints and demons... "Bai Zhou!" The Gem Witch looked up at Bai Zhou's silhouette, despair gradually creeping into her eyes. "What do we do..." Fang Xiaoxia whispered, her gaze drifting into confusion as flashes of light and shadow flickered rapidly across the depths of her eyes. "You blinded me," the demon woman said, narrowing her eyes against the piercing radiance of the "sun." "Now, it's my turn." An irresistible, monumental force erupted from the demon. Chi extended a hand and struck downward directly toward Bai Zhou. The power of the entire world was summoned, bearing down upon him from all directions with crushing force that made his bones creak and groan. At this moment, having exerted every ounce of strength to unleash those two strikes, Bai Zhou had spent his momentum and was plummeting downward. Confronted by the demon's descending palm, Bai Zhou could only ignite the last vestiges of his spirituality. At the critical juncture, he twisted his body, drew his blade, and held it defensively across his chest. *Boom!* Bai Zhou was smashed straight down. The sun lost its brilliance, crashing violently into the ground with a thunderous impact. His falling body ripped straight through countless monsters. As dust and debris billowed skyward, a deep crater caved into the highway. "Bai Zhou!!" The Gem Witch's eyes nearly tore open. Rainbow flames flared wildly around her; her ancient wand greedily drank blood as it swept away the monsters in her path. Yet beside her, a figure dashed out even faster than she could. It was Fang Xiaoxia. She suddenly bolted like a madwoman, moving with unbelievable speed. What was fear? She had cast it beyond the edge of the world. For some reason, the overbearing monsters instinctively parted around Fang Xiaoxia as if terrified, allowing her to run heedlessly all the way down into the deep crater, straight to Bai Zhou's side. Behind her, the Gem Witch watched in stunned amazement, but when she tried to follow, the surging tide of monsters cut off her path once more, wrenching a furious curse from her lips. "Bai... Zhou?" Fang Xiaoxia stood frozen in place, staring at the figure lying at the bottom of the pit. That figure who was always spirited and a little cheeky, the somewhat unhinged man who had dragged her through a wild, crazy night, now lay motionless at the bottom of the crater. The sharp saber lay discarded on the ground nearby. Its surging violet-gold saber qi was gone, and the blade was indented with a clear palm print, a testament to the terrifying force it had endured. His clothes were reduced to tatters, his arms and legs withered like dry twigs. Bai Zhou lay there, coughing up blood incessantly. He was like a porcelain doll covered in fractures, on the verge of shattering. He looked as though... he were about to die. Fang Xiaoxia's composure completely broke down. She stumbled forward, yet approached him with trembling care, as if handling the most fragile treasure. Dropping helplessly to her knees beside Bai Zhou, big tears fell uncontrollably onto the ground. "Yeah, I really seem to be dying." Even now, Bai Zhou's expression remained relatively calm, even pensive. His eyes flickered as obscure runes swirled within them; operating at full capacity, Celestial Pivot had still not given up on deducing a way out. The Hundred-Paper Corridor Ritual remained active. Within the endless corridor in his mind, countless sheets of paper rustled without wind, flipping frantically to display dance-like sequences of comic strip figures. He was deducing his end; he was simulating his own future. Flashing scenes swept past like fleeting shadows. He saw... He saw himself trying to resist with rituals, only to be hung upside down in the void by the twisted world, bleeding to death. He saw himself hanged at the edge of the crater by the demon woman. He saw the demon planting a bare foot on his chest, ripping his soul from his body. He saw the demon wearing his skull around her neck as a pendant and trophy... Death! Death! Death! Death! An overwhelming tide of the word *Death* inundated Bai Zhou's mind. The hundred deduced futures were more like a hundred excruciating ways for him to die. Remembering how Major Luo's head had been kicked like a ball with a loud *thwack* by the demon woman, Bai Zhou was convinced that this female demon truly held a deep grudge. Across all one hundred possible futures laid before him, every single one led to death. "Not giving me a single chance, huh..." Bai Zhou clicked his tongue. Life truly was such a fragile thing. Any sudden mishap could snuff it out. Just moments ago, he had been celebrating a hard-won victory, yet now he could only lie here, every cough bringing up thick clots of blood. He had thought that at such a solemn moment, he would ponder many deep things, or perhaps leave behind some touching last words... But when it really came down to it, he felt only one thing: "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Bai Zhou bared his teeth. "Damn, that hurts!" How could it not hurt? From head to toe, virtually every bone and every inch of muscle fiber in Bai Zhou's body had been shattered by that single palm strike. Fragile creatures like humans couldn't even survive a head-on collision with a truck loaded with five steel coils. How could they possibly contend against an entire world? "So, is my story coming to an end so soon?" Bai Zhou murmured in sorrowful wonder. Beside his ear, the girl's weeping grew louder and could no longer be contained. Fang Xiaoxia's trembling hand wiped away the blood from Bai Zhou's mouth, but he only coughed more violently, bringing up pieces of his internal organs. This man, whose youthful vigor had once soared high enough to pierce the heavens, now lay with drooping brows, his entire body withered like a small, dry twig. He was truly dying. Fang Xiaoxia could clearly feel the warmth draining from the boy in her arms, turning cold. The cold of a corpse. The little sun who had always warmed others was on the verge of burning out. Fang Xiaoxia gazed at Bai Zhou's face, stunned, her mind a blank. "Don't die... Don't die, don't die, don't die..." The girl could only cry out, but no one answered. The only reply was the triumphant roaring of the monsters. Yes, Fang Xiaoxia couldn't do anything. She was just a good-for-nothing loser like that. She was pathetic all the time. When bullied, she would hide under her quilt and fantasize about getting back at them; when pursued by killers, she hid behind Bai Zhou; even when targeted at the birthday party, she had needed Bai Zhou to step up for her. But from now on, there would be no one to stand up for her anymore. Because Bai Zhou was going to die. And it was to save her. This knight who had seemed as though he would forever stand in front of her, leading her through the fray, was finally dying before her eyes. "Don't die..." Fang Xiaoxia's vision blurred. With every shred of strength she possessed, she screamed, "Don't die!" Her voice echoed across an empty wilderness, unanswered. A mournful wind swept over a lonely sprig of green bristlegrass, which swayed twice to amuse itself. "Little sister," someone said calmly in the wilderness. "Care to make a deal?" "...What?" Fang Xiaoxia looked up blankly, letting tears streak down her disheveled face. Everything before her seemed frozen. In this vast world, only Fang Xiaoxia remained, all the clamor receding into muted silence. Beside the girl's ear came a soft whisper. It was a woman's voice very much like Fang Xiaoxia's own, but far more mature, far more composed. She repeated the question once more: "Care to make a deal?" Fang Xiaoxia froze. In reality, the moment Bai Zhou sorrowfully voiced his question—"So, is my story coming to an end so soon?"— Fang Xiaoxia suddenly opened her eyes. Those eyes, normally as docile and dispirited as a pup's, now shone brightly with a crimson glow. A blood moon rose from the depths of her gaze. "No, Bai Zhou." Looking into Bai Zhou's eyes, she spoke softly yet solemnly, as though fearful of disturbing a sweet dream of the boy in her arms: "This isn't your ending... It's hers." With that, her tearful voice suddenly cried out like a willful child— Yet the moment she cried out, it resonated like an emperor's decree blasting majestically through the air, reverberating in deep rumbles. The world listened to her voice. The movements of the monsters froze. The Gem Witch and the demon woman in the sky both heard this majestic, domineering decree. In this moment, time seemed to flow backward. Spilled blood and spirituality surged back into Bai Zhou's body. As if guided by fate—just like the day Wancheng shattered and Bai Zhou gained new life, hearing someone call out, "Hey, come out," setting the gears of destiny in motion from that very instant. On this day of equal apocalyptic ruin, Bai Zhou, once more reborn, heard Fang Xiaoxia's willful decree beside his ear—warm and ticklish. She commanded Bai Zhou: "Hey! Come back!"