We agreed to seek enlightenment together, but how did you end up seeking enlightenment for my mother

Xu Zhou seemed to be dreaming about Ya Qingyan.

He couldn't understand why he would dream of a complete stranger instead of his closest relative.

It has only been a month or so, but when I think back to my parents and relatives, their appearance is already as blurry as if covered by a layer of fog. The more I try to recall, the more indistinct their features become.

From the day he regained consciousness, Xu Zhou felt that he had done his best, but he could never shake off the feeling of being pushed around by others.

It was as if I were just a soulless puppet.

It was as if something was hovering overhead, subtly manipulating his every decision, even though, in retrospect, his choices were undoubtedly correct.

"Sister...no..."

A soft hum from Wu Lulu reached his ears, and his chaotic consciousness was awakened by that sweet and gentle voice.

Xu Zhou opened his eyes and suddenly realized that he was holding something soft in his arms, and his heart skipped a beat.

I was attacked at night?!

Looking down, he saw two chubby ears poking his cheeks, and the pretty beauty curled up in the quilt was none other than Wu Lulu.

"You haven't fallen for someone too, have you?"

This was the first question that popped into Xu Zhou's mind. Before his body could react instinctively, the prompt from his talent instantly pulled his wandering thoughts back.

Rationality -2

"wrong!"

Based on the experience gained during this period, unless attacked or viewed by a higher being, one's rationality will not drop for no reason.

There's definitely something strange around here!

His body moved faster than his mind; he reached out to light the oil lamp, but the girl in his arms suddenly grabbed his wrist.

A thin layer of sweat beaded on Wu Lulu's forehead, and a few strands of hair were damp with sweat, clinging messily to her cheeks. She opened one of her light blue eyes and looked at him.

"We're being watched... Don't move."

"What's going on? Is there a monster attack?" Xu Zhou asked in a low voice.

Wu Lulu's face was deathly pale, her body curled up in a ball, her tail emerging from between her legs and tightly clamped between the two bodies.

She seemed to be trying her best to suppress something, and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

"It's okay... the room is absolutely safe... just hold out until daytime... okay."

Rationality -2

The decline in his rationality was not significant, and Xu Zhou no longer felt the same chilling sense of crisis he had felt last night after being targeted. However, judging from Wu Lulu's tormented appearance, she didn't seem like she could hold out until dawn.

"Could it be the Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon's Eye again?"

A thought struck him, and recalling his experience from the previous night, Xu Zhou not only didn't panic, but couldn't help but smile.

Isn't this the food delivery?

I still think the essence of the relics isn't enough to absorb!

To be on the safe side, he first confirmed with Wu Lulu:

"What do you know? What if I can handle it?"

However, Wu Lulu shrank even more, almost becoming a ball of fur. She covered her ears with her hands and shook her head with difficulty.

"My sister...she didn't tell me..."

Xu Zhou didn't quite understand the sentence, but it was clear that he was going to have to start from scratch again.

Seeing the other person's miserable appearance, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Losing his rationality too much could lead to madness, and he had no means to heal his companion.

"Are you alright? How much rationality do you have left? Do you have any way to recover?"

Wu Lulu did not respond; sweat continued to seep out, soaking her entire robe. The thin fabric revealed glimpses of her flesh, outlining a soft and alluring curve.

Xu Zhou took a deep breath and looked away.

Sitting idly by and waiting for death is not in his nature; he needs to see what the situation is like outside first.

It was midnight, but not a single insect chirped outside the window; the silence was eerily quiet.

He put on a black robe and walked to the window. Just as he was about to look out through the glass, a huge eyeball suddenly appeared outside the window, completely blocking out the moonlight.

His pupils, as big as washbasins, suddenly contracted, and his eyes instantly locked onto Xu Zhou, who was right in front of him. At this moment, the two were no more than three feet apart, a distance that was almost within reach if he opened the window. They were so close that the blood vessels around his pupils were clearly visible.

Grass!

Rationality -9

boom!

Xu Zhou was so frightened that he took two steps back, kicked over a chair, and almost fell to the ground.

Perhaps due to the obstruction of the villagers' houses, the drop in sanity was not too great this time, but he still couldn't identify what kind of ghost it was. However, he was certain that it was no ordinary Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon Eye.

It is probably an even more powerful being.

The large eyeballs slowly drifted away, followed by a series of palm-sized black cubes that crashed into the glass, layering up and covering the window surface, completely blocking out the moonlight, and plunging the room into darkness in the blink of an eye.

"Ugh...!"

He heard Wu Lulu's suppressed groan behind him. Xu Zhou stumbled to the oil lamp, and after several attempts, he finally lit it. He immediately ran back to check.

The little wolf girl sweated even more, as if her whole body had been drenched in warm water, her thin nightgown was soaked through, and her body outline was completely revealed.

With no distractions, Xu Zhou touched Wu Lulu's forehead and then took off his black robe and draped it over her.

"We must take the initiative, otherwise Wu Lulu won't be able to hold out for long."

He had a strange premonition that those strange things outside were likely coming for him.

Yesterday he absorbed the essence of the Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon's eye. If this relic has self-awareness, then chasing after it to seek revenge seems to make sense.

Xu Zhou never expected that the "middle-aged man and the old woman" scenario, which he once despised, would actually happen to him.

The problem is, is this kind of talent for self-awareness something he can handle at this stage?

And these top-tier bosses, all they did was pluck a hair from you, why are they so super sensitive about it?

"The path to transcendence is fraught with peril..."

Xu Zhou is now forced to make a choice.

If he does nothing, he might be fine, but Wu Lulu will most likely go crazy.

If he goes out on his own initiative, and it turns out to be his personal belongings, he might be the one who goes insane instead.

"One wrong step leads to another, and then there is suffering..."

Xu Zhou did not hesitate for long and made his decision through action.

"Then there's only one answer."

He put on his shoes and clothes, took his spear, held the oil lamp in his hand, and stepped towards the door.

"Don't worry about gains and losses, just be true to yourself."

However, after taking only two steps, he felt a resistance at his waist.

Looking back, Wu Lulu had somehow gotten off the bed and was kneeling on the ground, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist.

The girl struggled to lift her head, her face covered in sweat. Her gaze fell on him, her ears drooping, and she gently shook her head.

"I'm okay...we'll wait for it to leave...trust me..."

Xu Zhou bent down and put down the spear, then reached his arm through the back of the other person's shoulder and the inside of his knee, and lifted him up in his arms.

He walked to the bedside and gently placed the person back on the bed.

Meeting that pleading gaze, he slowly exhaled, as if releasing a long-suppressed feeling in his heart.

"I think I understand this world a little better now," Xu Zhou said in a calm and gentle tone. "It's very real, and very cruel. I just want to survive, but because I'm caught in the vortex, I can never see my true situation clearly."

"This is who I am now, helplessly moving forward."

"Therefore I must take action, go against the current, and defy everyone's predictions. Only in this way can I fight for a chance to survive."

"And I have always believed in myself, just as you chose to believe in me that night and took me with you into the night sky."

He was only saying these words to himself, and he didn't really care whether Wu Lulu listened or not.

After saying that, Xu Zhou pulled the blanket over the other person, patted him gently, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Get some rest. I'll be back soon. I'm going to have a heart-to-heart talk with the Eight-Foot Witch tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it."

Wu Lulu looked over in a daze, then slowly closed her eyes, her lips moved slightly, and a weak moan escaped her lips.

"You really are... different..."

Xu Zhou smiled faintly, taking it as the girl's delirious ramblings.

He braced himself on his knees to stand up, hooked the spear with his toe, and tucked it under his ribs.

Arriving at the door, I grasped the doorknob.

Whether this trip was reckless or courageous, the answer will be revealed tonight.

Pushing open the door, I stepped into the darkness.

[The relic "Thousand-Eyed Soul-Stealing Demon" has been discovered. Should you choose to refine it?]