Brother, how come you're a witch?

Su Yan was slightly taken aback.

Liu Baishuang's sudden invitation struck him as odd, as the two weren't close enough to sneak off time to play together during the competition.

Moreover, the little demon girl did not appear with the first group returning from the front, but came from the depths of the dense forest of Yanshan. It seems that she has been staying here all along and has never left.

This is very unusual.

Su Yan gripped the hilt of his sword, staring into Liu Baishuang's eyes. The two looked at each other from a distance, each able to clearly see the emotions in the other's eyes.

The little demoness's eyes held only natural friendliness, her sparkling gaze shimmering gently, posing no threat to Su Yan.

This is still quite unusual.

Normally, Liu Baishuang wouldn't look at him like this.

Su Yan frowned, but still removed his hand from the sword hilt and walked towards the little demoness.

"Senior Sister Liu, what can I do for you?"

He acted as if nothing was wrong and greeted them in a natural tone:

"I thought you were flying so fast that you must have already reached the finish line of the second stage."

"Shouldn't you have called me 'little sister' when I looked like this?"

Liu Baishuang chuckled and tilted her head, then walked towards Su Yan with her hands behind her back. She didn't answer his question, but instead joked.

"...Sister Su Xue."

Su Yan twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Brother Su Yan~"

Liu Baishuang raised a hand to cover her mouth and chuckled softly twice.

She approached Su Yan, but instead of simply standing in front of him, she went around him, circling him and carefully scanning his body with her eyes.

Su Yan felt extremely uncomfortable, while the little demoness seemed somewhat excited.

Her eyes were deep, yet a strange possessiveness seeped from the depths of her pupils, lingering on Su Yan like a drawn thread.

"Senior Sister Liu, did you drink fake alcohol?"

Su Yan quietly placed his hand on the hilt of the sword again.

"I just haven't seen you in so long, I miss you a little... no, I miss you so much."

Liu Baishuang walked around to Su Yan's front from the other side, leaned forward slightly, and stared intently at his face.

"We should have met not long ago."

Su Yan felt a chill run down his spine. The deep attachment that the little vixen was clearly radiating towards him should have been something he was happy to see, but the sudden appearance of this emotion only made it seem strange.

He was absolutely certain that this person was Liu Baishuang.

But this person was not Liu Baishuang, at least not the one he knew.

This contradiction—that is both she and yet not her—brings a sense of unease.

Could the little demon girl have been possessed by some unclean thing?

Su Yan stroked the hilt of the sword with his fingers, wondering if he should knock her unconscious first.

"Yes, we met at the outer market not long ago, but that annoying Ye Jingqiu is still so possessive of his food. I also... have things to do, things to remember."

Liu Baishuang's long eyelashes drooped, fluttering slightly like butterfly wings:

"Back then, we barely exchanged a few words."

Su Yan frowned:

"Senior Sister Liu, you must be mistaken. The last time we met was..."

"Shhh."

Liu Baishuang suddenly leaned closer, standing on tiptoe until their noses almost touched. The little demoness held up a finger between their lips, her pleasant fragrance filling the small space.

Su Yan swallowed his words, which melted into the fragrance.

The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, but they were like stubborn rocks in the flowing water, separating all the sounds. At this moment, Su Yan could only hear the little demon girl's breathing.

"Sniff... Hmm?"

Ye Jingqiu twitched her little nose and finally spotted Su Yan amidst the chaotic smells.

She turned her gaze, her pupils, as deep as an ancient well, widening slightly—Su Yan was actually kissing her cousin!

This is immoral and scandalous. In the Sword Ruins, such a forbidden love would result in having one's legs broken if discovered!

But... did Su Xue participate in the competition?

Ye Jingqiu's mind was in turmoil, and an unsettling sense of unease welled up inside him.

She smelled something unpleasant in the air.

She was about to get to Su Yan's side no matter what, but just then, shouts and cries suddenly came from the edge of the crowd, and a disturbance broke out abruptly.

Su Yan's mind was almost completely drawn into the adoration and infatuation in the eyes of the little vixen who was so close to him. He only snapped back to reality when he heard a shout.

He was about to turn around to look when he heard a very soft sigh.

"Ugh."

Liu Baishuang's tone was filled with pity as she gently placed her small hand on Su Yan's shoulder:

"Do you remember what I said back then?"

"You've done a great job... Take a rest."

......

"Hmm..."

Liu Baishuang had a splitting headache and struggled to open her eyes.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but she clearly remembered what she saw. When her gaze fell upon that thing deep in the cave, her mind immediately went into a state of confusion.

Then came the long hallucination.

She saw the Xuanqing Sect burned down, and Xu Qinglan stood in front of her.

She saw herself fleeing again, surrounded only by monsters, who were dying one by one. Finally, she reached out her hand into the pitch-black depths, all alone.

These hallucinations were so vivid, almost like real fragments of memory, showing the darkest moments of her future life; just looking at them evoked immense sadness.

"What exactly is this...?"

Liu Baishuang covered her forehead and struggled to get up.

She found herself still at the cave entrance, surrounded by the familiar monsters, but... she could no longer feel any connection with them.

Little Black, Big Teeth, Short Tail... They stood like stone statues, more like watching over her than protecting her.

Then, Liu Baishuang looked up and gazed once again toward the deepest part of the cave.

The cave tunnel, neither deep nor shallow, was straight, its walls covered with intricate runes connected by countless incomprehensible arrays, finally converging behind a dark figure.

The dark figure sat cross-legged at the bottom of the cave; that was... "Liu Baishuang".

"I?"

Liu Baishuang spoke in a hoarse voice to the dark figure.

"...You're very lucky."

The dark figure spoke slowly. She had the same face as Liu Baishuang, but her eyes were filled with black energy, and her hair was stained dark red with blood. She sat cross-legged on the ground in plain clothes, but her demeanor was like that of a king sitting on a throne made of corpses in full regalia.

Liu Baishuang recalled Su Yan's description—it was practically a calamity itself.

"You haven't let the memories of the future overwhelm your spirit; it seems you haven't seen much."

The shadowy figure, or rather, the true world-destroying sorceress, said hoarsely:

"I've always worried that you would be instantly infused with a thousand years of memories and become a madman, so I've never summoned you to see me."

"You...it really is you."

Liu Baishuang's pupils trembled; her body instinctively trembled with fear, even though the source of that fear shared the exact same soul as hers.

"But if it were you, why didn't Su Yan... notice?"

"It seems you have some guesses about the emergence of your future self, but I don't understand what you're talking about."

The world-destroying demoness said calmly:

"Su Yan? I've heard about him a lot in the last two months, but I don't know him. The one who went to see him must be another version of myself."

"Me after my future has been changed once."