You continued, "Tell me clearly about every effect your cultivation technique produces!"
Your tone was vicious, and Wan Qingluan was terrified.
So Wan Qingluan pitifully answered all your questions.
You also came to understand Wan Qingluan's condition.
It turned out that Wan Qingluan's cultivation technique had a flaw.
For seven days every month, she would respectively become seven completely different personalities.
Those seven personalities were:
Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire.
The one who had come looking for you yesterday had been her sorrow personality.
Tonight, she had already shifted into her fear personality.
That was why Wan Qingluan found the world outside so frightening.
You understood Wan Qingluan's current state.
"Severe persecution delusion disorder!"
You also understood why Wan Qingluan, despite being far stronger than you, was now so afraid of you.
"Her emotions are this unstable?"
You had a headache.
It would be fine when gentle personalities appeared, but if a violent personality showed up, wouldn't she beat you to death?
"No, I can't let Wan Qingluan stay here with me."
She was practically a ticking time bomb.
You picked up Wan Qingluan and tossed her outside.
But her strength was there for all to see. The speed at which you threw her out was not even as fast as the speed at which she came back.
The moment you tossed her out, she came right back in.
She desperately begged you not to throw her out.
After you threw her out several times, Wan Qingluan even pinned you to the snow in return.
Kneeling over you and pressing you down so you could not move, she pleaded through tear-filled eyes for you not to drive her away.
"Fine, fine, fine. You're kneeling and begging me not to die, is that it!"
You could neither beat her nor escape her.
In the end, you could only viciously beg her to let you go.
Wan Qingluan was very afraid of you, so she released you.
Neither of you had the slightest damn idea of your own strength.
You were already seventy-six this year. After all that tossing around, your old arms and legs crackled nonstop.
You had no choice but to let Wan Qingluan stay.
You guessed she would only stay for one day.
Once the fear personality passed, Wan Qingluan would definitely leave.
The next day, Wan Qingluan indeed... did not leave.
Not only did Wan Qingluan refuse to leave, she even moved into the room next to yours.
Somehow, Wan Qingluan had also picked up three chubby little puppies.
She even bought goat milk and carefully fed and cared for them, her eyes brimming with affection.
You knew it was her love personality at work.
You ignored her and cultivated as usual.
On the third day, Wan Qingluan smashed those three puppies to death on the spot.
That day, everything displeased her, and her eyes were filled with hatred.
You hid in your room, trembling like a leaf.
"Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, desire..."
You knew that today's Wan Qingluan was her hatred personality.
"Then tomorrow will be the desire personality. This woman still won't leave—could it be she wants to sully my pure body!"
You had not expected that, even in your seventies, you would still face such a calamity.
It made you reveal a smile that was agony itself.
On the fourth day, amid ice and snow—
You went bare-chested, showing off your abs.
You wandered back and forth outside Wan Qingluan's door.
Like a male peacock spreading its tail to attract a peahen.
Wan Qingluan shut the door in your face.
She stayed inside all day and never came out.
You had not expected her to withstand your temptation.
After all, the looks of a devastatingly handsome man like you were second only to the esteemed readers.
You could not help giving Wan Qingluan a thumbs-up for her fine virtue of remaining unmoved even with beauty in her lap. "Very good, you haven't disgraced yourself!"
On the fifth day, Wan Qingluan returned to her usual aloof and cold temperament.
Yet she still showed no intention of leaving.
You could no longer sit still.
Having such an unstable factor by your side gave you very little sense of security.
You spoke bluntly. "Heroine Wan, what exactly do you mean? Why have you latched onto me?"
Wan Qingluan looked at you. "I'm very curious about you."
"What exactly are you curious about?"
Wan Qingluan had said something similar before.
Wan Qingluan's red lips parted slightly. "The first two times we met, I revealed genuine killing intent toward you, yet you showed no fear at all. That made me curious about you."
"Just because I'm not afraid of death, you became curious about me?" you asked with a frown.
Wan Qingluan continued, "Of course it isn't just that. It is because you are not afraid of death, yet you also have a strong desire to live. That is contradictory, yet both coexist within you."
You did not speak, only revealing a trace of confusion.
Wan Qingluan tilted her head gently. "The feeling you give me is as though you are... playing."
"Yes, playing. That's the feeling!" Wan Qingluan's eyes lit up because she had found the precise expression.
She was somewhat pleased. "You are clearly only a minor Bone Tempering Realm martial artist, yet you truly do not fear me. You do not fear Lin Jingzhi either. It is as if you fear no one, as if you do not even care about this world!"
You raised your head to look at Wan Qingluan in surprise.
She had actually sensed your state so accurately.
Because you knew this was only a simulation, and death posed no threat to you—
You had always maintained the mentality of playing through life.
You kept away from trouble and tried to live as long as possible.
It was only so that you would have more time to raise your cultivation before settling the gains into reality.
Yet you had never told anyone about that mindset.
A chill ran down your spine.
Could this woman Wan Qingluan know how to read minds?
Were the people of the demonic sect truly this bizarre?
"Why do you think I have that kind of mindset?" you asked.
The corners of Wan Qingluan's lips rose slightly. "It is also because of my cultivation technique."
"Can you let me practice your miraculous cultivation technique too?" You were somewhat speechless.
What kind of overpowered technique was this, to even see through people's thoughts?
Wan Qingluan smiled instead. "Of course you can cultivate it. But you may be disappointed. This technique cannot see through the human heart; it merely makes one better at observing expressions and reading the room."
"Observing expressions and reading the room?"
"Before my cultivation technique reaches the Grandmaster Realm, I need to temper my heart amid the mortal world and find my own path. That is why you see me in a different identity each time."
You suddenly understood. "So you are experiencing different identities to cultivate your technique. You can tell whether others are lying only because you have met more people and experienced more things?"
Wan Qingluan smiled faintly. "I didn't expect you to be quite clever. That is basically it."
You breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Wan Qingluan could not truly read minds, she was not that dangerous.
You asked again, "What identity are you experiencing this time?"
You understood why Wan Qingluan had stubbornly stayed here all this time.
She definitely wanted to cultivate her technique here with you.
Wan Qingluan did not hide it and said directly, "This time, I need to be the wife of an ordinary household."
Your expression turned strange, and you dryly coughed twice. "Ahem, can you play a flight attendant or a nurse? I like that sort of role."
Wan Qingluan frowned. "What are flight attendants and nurses?"
"Uh... nothing. Being someone's wife is pretty good too."
Wan Qingluan nodded as though she understood.
You decided that, from now on, you would repair anything that broke in the house yourself.
You would absolutely not allow any bald neighbor working as a repairman to enter your home.
You had no desire to become that useless husband who, as if drugged with knockout powder, could not be awakened no matter how loudly things went on.
You asked again, "Shouldn't your experience pursue authenticity? If you say it out loud, won't it stop working?"
Wan Qingluan rolled her pure eyes at you. "I only need to experience the state of mind. If every experience had to be completely real, even nine lives would not be enough for me."
"So I only need to act out a play with you?"
"Yes."
You looked Wan Qingluan over twice. "Heroine Wan, you haven't fallen for me, have you?"
Wan Qingluan looked at you calmly. "Young Master He, have you always been this confident?"
"Heroine Wan, there are so many people in this world, yet you specifically chose me to act with you. Isn't your behavior obvious enough?"
Wan Qingluan pondered for a moment. "I am primarily curious about you. Secondly, you are at least pleasant enough to look at, so I chose you to play my husband."
"Is that so?" You were half-convinced, half-dubious.
You added, "Back where I come from, there are far too many examples like this. People pretend to be a couple when they go home to meet their parents, only for the fake play to become real."
Wan Qingluan remained aloof and cold. Understanding your concern, she said, "I know my limits."
You nodded. "As long as you know what the hell you're doing."
You thought for a moment, then asked, "Heroine Wan, what do I get out of this?"
Since Wan Qingluan wanted you to play her husband, it certainly could not be unpaid labor.
Wan Qingluan spoke indifferently. "What does Young Master He want?"
Before you continue