The nightmare space slowly shattered, and the surrounding environment continuously warped, intertwining illusion and reality.
Shen Qingzhu picked up the ring from the ground and walked toward the Ninth Seat at the edge of the altar.
The Ninth Seat lay on his back, blood pooling beneath him and slowly spreading outward. He turned his head to look at Shen Qingzhu approaching, a faint smile curling his pale lips.
"How are you?" Shen Qingzhu asked with a frown as he looked at the pool of blood beneath him.
"I won't die just yet," the Ninth Seat replied weakly.
Shen Qingzhu's expression relaxed slightly. He sat down beside the Ninth Seat, took two cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one to him.
"Are you trying to make me die faster?" the Ninth Seat said faintly.
Shen Qingzhu silently put both cigarettes back into his pocket. "I was afraid you wouldn't hold on. I wanted to help you stay awake."
"No need to secretly use your ability to increase the oxygen concentration around me. I told you, these injuries won't kill me."
"Oh." Shen Qingzhu shrugged. "You knew I was an undercover agent all along?"
"To be honest, you had quite a few tells."
"Such as?"
"You're too kind-hearted," the Ninth Seat said slowly. "In the woods, you secretly saved Baili Tumming. At the Baili Building, you helped those young people deal with the Elegy. You even risked getting killed by Zuo Qing to kill Baili Xin for them...
"And when you were pouring Mental Power into the altar, your act was far too fake. I could tell at a glance whether you had truly overdrawn your Mental Power."
"So when you let me knock you out in the courtyard, that was deliberate too?"
"I went out to procure supplies so many times