No strange things are allowed to evolve!

The bride wasn't stupid. Recalling the seemingly nonsensical things Jiang Shu had said before, and considering the fact that the effects of the fog were completely different from her own understanding, she immediately realized the problem.

If we use this to prove something, wouldn't we never get the answer we want?

Her heart sank to the bottom.

"Well, now you know where my worries came from, right?"

Jiang Shu's eyes revealed a look of heartache, and she said, seemingly with genuine emotion:

"Actually, I really didn't want to tell you this. I know very well how important this trust is to you, but I have no choice. I'm a kind-hearted person and can't bear to see innocent people suffer, so I can only hint and remind you to be careful many times."

But I didn't expect you to misunderstand me. You thought I was the kind of villain who liked to sow discord, and even said you would kill me. I was so wronged and scared that I had no choice but to tell you the truth.

"Um...you won't be mad at me, will you?"

Upon hearing this, the bride realized that she might have really wronged Jiang Shu. Already upset by the shock of the truth, she felt a pang of guilt and could only force a smile: "Yes, it's not your fault, it has nothing to do with you."

Seeing that the bride was accepting reality, Jiang Shu continued to fan the flames: "Although he was not sincere to you first, I still ruined your relationship, and I still feel bad about it."

The bride took a deep breath.

"I have to thank you for telling me this, so I wouldn't continue to be deceived, but..."

"Just what?"

“I just don’t understand…” The bride’s eyes were filled with gloom: “Why did He do this? He’s been helping me all along, he’s been…”

Towards the end, the bride began to choke up, seemingly more affected by the fact that she couldn't dance.

The response was good, and Jiang Shu nodded to himself.

Let me tell you a story.

"A story?" The bride rubbed her eyes and looked up in confusion.

"Where I come from, there is a drink called Coca-Cola."

Jiang Shu gestured as he described:

"There are two types: bottled and canned. People generally agree that canned Coca-Cola tastes better than bottled Coca-Cola. Among the bottled Coca-Cola, there are standard bottles, large bottles, and small bottles. Among them, the small bottles are the worst-tasting bottled Coca-Cola."

But I often drink this kind of small bottled cola, which tastes the worst.

You might ask me, if I say this is the worst-tasting thing, why do I drink it so often?

"Yes, why is that?" the bride asked curiously, her attention drawn to the question.

"Because I'm thirsty."

Jiang Shu explained matter-of-factly:

"When I'm thirsty and need to quench my thirst, but there's nothing else to drink around, and all I have is this bottle of Coke that came with my takeout order, do I even care whether it tastes good or not?"

I don't feel any regret about taking something that's free, drinking it, quenching my thirst, and then throwing it away.

Sometimes, even after throwing it away, I'd point at the empty bottle and curse, saying how awful it tasted, why is this the kind of drink delivered to takeout restaurants, and I'd never drink this stuff if I had to pay for it.

"Oh...that makes sense." The bride nodded knowingly. "And then?"

"And that was it."

"That's all?" the bride asked, puzzled.

Jiang Shu countered, "Don't you find it familiar?"

The bride was stunned for a long time, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "You mean... I'm the kind of small bottle of Coke you're talking about?"

Jiang Shu remained silent.

The bride looked terrified: "You mean... I was His choice when He had no other choice. If He had a choice, He wouldn't have chosen me at all. Actually, He has been dissatisfied with me for a long time... No, maybe He never liked me in the first place?"

“I didn’t say that.” Jiang Shu smiled. “I’m just telling you a story. How you interpret it is up to you. After all, I don’t know what actually happened between you two.”

"No, no, no..." The bride shook her head vigorously: "The more I think about it, the more I feel that what you said makes sense. How about this, since you know so much about this, why don't I tell you everything I know and you can help me analyze it?"

Jiang Shu knew very well that the other party was clearly panicked and had completely disregarded his secret, resorting to desperate measures. But this was exactly what he wanted, so naturally he had no reason to refuse.

However, I still had to politely decline.

"That's not a good idea. No matter what, I'm just an outsider."

“It’s alright.” The bride glanced at the sky through the half-open window. “Anyway, you will leave after dawn, and we will forget each other and go our separate ways. This matter is known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. There is still some time before dawn, so I will make a long story short and you can help me analyze it.”

"Well... alright then." Jiang Shu had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

After about fifteen minutes, Jiang Shu finished listening to the bride's story, learning about her unhappy childhood, broken family, and tragic experiences. He also learned that she had a gambling father and a sick mother.

Unlike the world Jiang Shu lived in, this world possesses mysterious powers, and ordinary people can cultivate themselves into powerful beings with extraordinary strength.

There are sword immortals who can open the gates of heaven with a single sword, and fist saints who can shatter mountains and rivers with a single punch.

There are also evil spirits, monsters, and great demons.

Every day, new heroes rise to fame and fortune, and every day, old heroes fall and are defeated.

Simply put, the bride lives in a perfect, romantic fantasy world that Jiang Shu imagined.

But this is not the point.

The key point is that when she was fifteen, her bleak life saw a glimmer of hope.

She came into contact with cultivation and, in just over a decade, became one of the world's top experts, her fame resounding throughout the world.

And all of this was inseparable from the help of a mysterious person.

This person accompanied the bride through almost all the major events of her life, but interestingly, the bride never actually saw Him, or even knew whether He was male or female. She only vaguely knew that He was a supreme being who transcended the entire world.

The bride's feelings for Him were also complicated. In her eyes, the two had a teacher-student relationship, and in His presence, the bride was always that innocent girl who had just come into contact with mystery and spiritual practice.

On the other hand, His attitude towards the bride was ambiguous, and He always maintained a sense of distance. This resulted in the bride knowing very little about Him, and she always felt insecure when facing Him, as if the two of them were from different worlds.

Later, the bride made a mistake, a very serious mistake.

That time, whether the bride wanted to do something or genuinely disagreed (the bride didn't mention this), she questioned and opposed one of His decisions, something she had never done before.

He was furious at the time, but afterwards, it seemed that nothing had changed.

The two continued to interact as before.

But then one day, He suddenly said to the bride, "Would you like to leave this world and come see my world?"

The bride didn't think much of it and readily agreed.

Time has passed, her family and friends have long since passed away, and she is now invincible in the world. She has no attachment to this world, so it is naturally a good thing to be able to visit the world of her dearest friend and benefactor.

But how do I get there?

"Although you have mastered almost everything I have taught you, it is only superficial. If you want to be able to cross a world at will, you must understand and believe in the source of these powers—love."

"Go, take the bewitching mist I gave you, go and witness for yourself what love is, and then come to my world to meet me."

"Remember, you cannot use any of the powers I give you. You must rely on yourself and the Bewitching Mist."

After that, the bride moved into the small courtyard and began her doomed experiment.

Until Jiang Shu arrived...

"So... do you think He has been harboring resentment towards me for a long time?" the bride asked Jiang Shu nervously for his opinion.

Since you've asked that question, of course you're dissatisfied.

Jiang Shu thought this way, but his words were ambiguous, full of hints and guidance.

"It's hard to say. Actually, He did treat you well in some ways. It's just that before that incident happened, when you were wholeheartedly helping Him, He was probably sincere towards you."

He rubbed his chin: "As for what happens next... it's hard to say."

The bride lived up to expectations, and sure enough, she plunged headfirst into the hood set by Jiang Shushe without looking back.

"So you think that He has always used me. When I am useful to Him and a pawn, He will be merciful and give me some treats. But as soon as I do not do what He wants, He can pretend that everything before never happened and drive me away like a stray dog?" the bride asked suspiciously.

"Not that gentle."

"what?"

Jiang Shu, who had "accidentally" let slip, quickly corrected himself: "I mean, isn't thinking like that a bit too extreme?"

"But isn't that the truth?"

The bride sighed deeply:

“Since then, I have never seen Him again, nor have I received any messages from Him. For thousands of years, He has been living in a remote, uninhabited mountain range, and I have never seen a living creature. If He really cared about me, would He not contact me for so long?”

"Maybe He has his own things to do?" Jiang Shu seemed to be offering comfort, but in reality, she was adding fuel to the fire.

"He has his own things to do, but I don't have anything to do?" the bride complained. "I gave up everything to come here because of one sentence from him."

"That's true." Jiang Shu nodded, then asked, "So what are your plans now? Are you still going to continue?"

When the conversation turned to the crucial point, the bride's expression changed slightly, showing some struggle and bewilderment.

"If you ask me, let it go?" Jiang Shu patted the bride's shoulder. "I initially thought it was nothing serious, just a joke, but I never imagined the truth would turn out like this. Things have gotten so big, and you've paid such a high price..."

"Ugh..."

Jiang Shu's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely extinguishing the bride's last bit of spirit.

So she said the words that Jiang Shu was happy to hear.

"I'm too tired, I don't want to continue."

Jiang Shu breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although he may sound like the strongest being in a world, emotions are still human emotions. Feelings that haven't been shared for thousands of years simply can't compare to the feigned concern shown upon first meeting.

Add to that Jiang Shu's masterful, flawless best friend-style chatting, and even the best relationships can be ruined, let alone an already unstable and vulnerable one.

This is what long-distance relationships are like—a doomed emotional relationship.

Jiang Shu has personally broken up countless loving couples, sometimes in the time it takes to drink a glass of wine; his track record is well-documented.

And today, another indelible mark of glory has been added to the annals of merit in this field—the story of the strongest being in the bizarre world being separated through negotiation.

It was still dark. Jiang Shu spent the rest of the time helping the bride pack her luggage, as she planned to leave and go back to her hometown, which she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Don't worry, even without Him, you can live a good life on your own."

Jiang Shu gave the bride a thumbs-up at the entrance of the courtyard:

“After hearing your story, I understand this point. Baby, you have always been a very independent, sweet and soft little cake.”

The bride looked at Jiang Shu with a very complicated expression.

Not long ago, she was inside and Jiang Shu was outside; now, everything has been reversed.

“If you weren’t going to leave this world after dawn, I really would like to take you with me. I think we would become good friends.”

Perhaps Jiang Shu is more traditional; he couldn't quite understand why the person who had been trying to entice him to be friends with him just hours before by helping him suckle was now willing to do so.

But he still had a smile on his face.

"Go home and visit your family. We'll meet again someday. Have a safe journey."

After thinking for a moment, the bride handed a sachet to Jiang Shu: "Here, take this as a way of thanking you for bringing me back to my senses."

Jiang Shu took the sachet and was about to open it when she was stopped.

"Open it when you get back."

"Okay." Jiang Shu nodded and put the sachet away.

"Well then, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Watching the bride leave the courtyard, as if freed from some heavy shackles, she streaked away like a shooting star, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

Jiang Shu closed the courtyard gate, then turned around to face the empty courtyard where even the ghost had vanished after the bride left.

[Task progress changed]

Unveiling the Secrets of the Hatchery (99/100%)

"I know you've been spying on me from somewhere."

"You're using that obsessive, madwoman as a whetstone to choose a new successor, aren't you?"