You Su's Special Trait

?!

Ji Xueruo stared wide-eyed at You Su, who had a righteous and awe-inspiring expression, in disbelief.

How can you use such an honest tone to beg someone to do "that" with you?!

"You Su!"

Ji Xueruo out a sharp cry, her eyebrows furrowing in anger.

You Su looked bewildered and said, "What's wrong, Miss Ji? We've already agreed not to see each other again. Now that I have a need, why not cultivate a few more times before we part?"

"You lecherous scoundrel! That's what you've been thinking from the very beginning, hasn't it!" Ji Xueruo bit her lower lip tightly, breaking the thin membrane of her lips and drawing a drop of bright red blood.

"Do you think that once this happens once, it will happen again? And once it happens a second time, it will happen countless times?!"

"I didn't think that way..." You Su lowered her eyes and shook her head helplessly, "I have a legitimate reason for cultivating with you."

"Ha! A legitimate reason? You think I'd fall for your trick?! Let me tell you, you want to keep both of us sisters as your playthings? No way!"

Ji Xueruo's chest heaved with anger, and her blouse had already come undone from the constant jolting, revealing a small patch of her snow-white skin.

"So, Miss Ji means... you're the only one you'll be accepted, is that right?"

You Su blinked, her eyes filled with pure love. This blind man had a noble and resolute face. When a man with such a face spoke words of love to a woman, the image that flashed through her mind was already that of them growing old together fifty years later.

Ji Xueruo moment, her mind went blank, only the five words "only accepting you" kept swirling in her mind.

For a moment, she forgot her anger and couldn't distinguish the complex emotions welling up inside her.

Her time with You Su was so brief, yet it must be admitted that this blind boy left an extremely significant mark on her life. This was the most dangerous situation she had ever faced, but there was someone fighting alongside her.

If it were a life where the two of them could stay together forever... that kind of life...

How could she possibly accept that?!

In an instant, her hands were covered with gleaming, sharp claws, which pierced through the damp air and stabbed straight towards You Su's neck!

You Su stared wide-eyed at his pierced throat in disbelief. Even in his dying moments, he couldn't understand what he had done or said wrong to turn this girl, with whom he had shared life and death, against him...

"Wow! Not bad, little girl! You actually saw right through me!"

The Little White Fish suddenly darted out from the corner, its two fish eyes darting excitedly. Under Ji Xueruo's attack, the 'You Su' had already turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared.

"My illusion was so realistic! Judging from your expression just now, you were almost going to agree to him, so why did you change your mind? Tell me, how did you figure it out?"

The Little White Fish was really curious.

Ji Xueruo withdrew her hand, tilted her head slightly, and looked at the Little White Fish with icy coldness, scoffing:

"The Water God who aspires to save Jade Ring Pool seems to be just a mischievous little girl."

Upon hearing this Little White Fish, somewhat Qi Ingestion, swam around in circles a few times, saying, "How dare you talk like that, little girl?!"

Ji Xueruo ignored it and frowned as she looked at You Su, who was still fast asleep on her lap.

The earlier incident was merely the second illusion cast for her by the Little White Fish. To be honest, she couldn't immediately distinguish You Su's real and fake persona. You Su earnestly requested dual cultivation, and she didn't suspect that she was still in a dream, simply because she genuinely believed that such words from a blind man were uttered...

But when he said, "I'll only accept you," she didn't feel the happiness of being favored; instead, she felt incredibly disgusted.

Ji Xueruo instinctively hated such a fickle man. Before meeting her, he had been through so much with Lingruo, and he kept saying that he 'only liked his junior sister'.

Is it really because you cultivated with her once? Is it really because you spent a few days with her? Is that enough to callously abandon your sister and transfer your love to her?

Such love is far too cheap and false; such a man is better off dead.

It was only when she realized this that she understood she was in an illusion.

Because subconsciously she sensed that this loyal and righteous blind man would never give up on Lingruo so easily!

If he were truly faced with the dilemma of having to choose between her and her sister, he would be the kind of insatiable person who would absolutely do everything in his power to have both!

Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!

Ji Xueruo shook her head vigorously, casting aside her delusions.

You Su will not encounter such a predicament, because she will never fall in love with this blind man in the first place. They will never see each other again!

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, You Su slowly opened her eyes.

The plumpness at the back of his head felt somewhat familiar to him; it was soft and yielding, and there was a captivating fragrance emanating from it.

The excessive comfort made him linger on the 'pillow' for a couple of moments, then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly enjoying himself immensely.

He remembered that he had slept on such a pillow many times in the cave, which was his junior sister's perfectly full thighs.

"Junior sister..." You Su murmured, unwilling to wake up.

Ji Xueruo, already blushing from You Su's actions and on the verge of anger, was instantly enraged when she heard that You Su had mistaken her for Lingruo. She snapped:

"Who's your junior sister?!"

You Su was startled awake by the roar. He immediately realized what had happened and quickly pulled away from the wonderful lap pillow.

"Miss Ji? My apologies! I was just dreaming about my junior sister, and that's why I accidentally talked in my sleep."

Ji Xueruo looked incredulous and smoothed out the wrinkles where You Su had rested her head on her pillow.

"As long as he's not dead."

The Little White Fish swam up between the two of them again, and it teased, "You were just in my illusion, watching the past events of the Hidden Water and Hidden Earth. How could you possibly have seen your junior sister?"

You Su coughed twice, embarrassed, and said, "Why are you being so nosy?"

The Little White Fish sensed something was amiss and suddenly exclaimed, "I get it! You little rascal, you're afraid of being caught being fickle, aren't you!"

The Little White Fish was like a mischievous, sharp-tongued little girl, You Su feeling rather helpless. In the dream Hidden Water was a shrewd and patient white dragon, but its reincarnation was a carefree white fish. Could the evil spirit born within Jade Ring Pool truly save this great swamp on the verge of destruction?

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Ji Xueruo spoke first, and she was like a stern mother. The Little White Fish was indeed intimidated by her and slunk down a bit.

Tell us, how can we help you?

You Su sat up straight, waiting for the Little White Fish to speak, after all, this fish was their only hope.

Are you sure you want to help me?

The Little White Fish girl's voice, unusually serious, said, "If we fail, it will be an abyss of no return."

Ji Xueruo sneered, "Stop pretending. If you really didn't want our help, you should have capsized our boat the moment we entered the pool. Watching us fall into an irreversible predicament, and now you're pretending to remind us? I won't be grateful."

The Little White Fish froze in mid-air, even its tail stopped moving, and it slowly said:

"Thank you, but I am not a competent Water God."

From birth, it had been hiding in the Jade Ring Pool, caring more about its own life than the lives of its dead clansmen.

Ji Xueruo moment before replying softly:

"No need for thanks. I understand your desire to protect your people, but we're helping you for our own lives. Tell us what you want to do first; this might actually be a dead end."

Ji Xueruo could understand Little White Fish's transformation from shirking responsibility to actively taking it on.

The Little White Fish shook its head and said:

"If you rely solely on your strength, this is indeed a dead end. But you are the key, the key to unlocking their seal. Only when they all regain their power can they possibly deal with the hidden forces underwater and the corrupted evil people on the surface at the same time."

"Them?" You Su frowned.

"Do you really think that my people are staying indoors because they're tired of the Jade Ring Pool?"

Ji Xueruo and You Su exchanged a glance, then exclaimed in surprise:

"Could it be that they don't want to go out... but are simply unable to leave the house?"

You Su chimed in, "The battle with Venerable Shenxi caused such a commotion, yet not a single stranger showed up. It really doesn't make sense now. Even if these people are indifferent, they wouldn't stay indoors while their own patriarchs are fighting."

The Little White Fish nodded solemnly. "That's right, because they have no idea what's happening outside."

"It's an illusion! They've all fallen into an illusion!"

Ji Xueruo quickly figured out the answer. Zang Tu had also gained the ability to create dreams due to the corruption of the Lord of Dreams. He used dreams to make those Jade Clan who believed in him serve him like slaves, while those who were unwilling to serve him fell into a permanent slumber.

"Not only my people... but also many of those outsiders who were swept into the Jade Ring Pool. Many of them did not die, but were trapped and sinking in the illusion created by the Tibetans. When they completely give up, they will truly become a part of the Tibetan power."

"And your task is to awaken them!"

As if in response to the Little White Fish's suddenly roused tone, its body also grew several times larger:

"Zangtu's physical strength has weakened considerably over the past thousand years, but correspondingly, he is more familiar with the authority bestowed upon him by the Dream Master! Therefore, illusion is his greatest reliance! Zangtu's illusion magic is indeed very strong... If I, too, were skilled in this art, I would probably have been tricked into walking into his trap long ago. But illusion also has a fatal weakness, which is that once the prey sees through it, then the illusion is like slapping your thigh to scare a tiger—completely useless!"

Despite the tense atmosphere, Little White Fish insisted on jokingly uttering a common slang term, making even the frowning Ji Xueruo unable to suppress a smile.

"That's easy for you to say, but how can we help them escape the illusion?"

Ji Xueruo was unsure of herself. Mental Technique Method was often the rarest and most obscure type. Even with her high Technique Method, she had not been able to comprehend any Technique Method involving the mind.

The Little White Fish spat out another small bubble, which slowly floated towards You Su. You Su casually popped it and ruthlessly severed the naked woman that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

The Little White Fish, somewhat frightened, swam a little further away from the You Su.

"Didn't you notice? Whether it's the tentacles of the Tibetan land or the illusions I created for you, you were able to see through them in the end."

Ji Xueruo recalled her experiences entering the illusion several times. The first time, You Su saw through the illusion that the tentacles were fake. The second time, it was just a dream. The third time, she saw through You Su herself.

But is that enough to prove they can see through all the illusions of Tibet?

That's far too easy...

The Little White Fish seemed to read her mind and sneered, "Little girl, do you think you're pretty amazing?"

Ji Xueruo retorted sarcastically, "Anyway, you didn't fool me."

"That's because I was just doing it as a test," the girl said, sounding somewhat dismissive.

"Test? Test what?"

"Testing this blind man... to see if he really is that special." The Little White Fish stared intently at You Su, as if trying to discern something from him.

Ji Xueruo followed its gaze and looked towards You Su. According to the Little White Fish, could it be that the ability to see through the illusion was all thanks to You Su?

You Su pointed to himself with his index finger, somewhat puzzled.

"Kid, are you really blind?"

You Su nodded honestly.

"Interesting." The Little White Fish swam around with great interest. "Now I know why I had the Unseen feeling that you could change all of this..."

"Why?" Ji Xueruo was even more anxious than You Su.

"Because of his temperament... He's never seen this world. From childhood, deep down he's felt he doesn't belong here, yet he actively tries to integrate himself... He's like a contradictory human traveler, which means that even though he's in a dream, there's always a sliver of Qingming Festival reminding him he doesn't belong. No one's heart is more confused than his, and no one's heart is more resolute. So much so that even the most realistic illusions can't imitate his uniqueness, therefore any illusion he participates in will have irreparable flaws. For example, those tentacles in the black pool—to others, cutting them would actually cut into flesh."

The Little White Fish stared intently into You Su's eyes, its voice like a slowly rising chant:

"Who... are you? And where do you belong?"

You Su's heart pounded like a drum. The Little White Fish's voice sounded like a little girl's, but its experience and other qualities made it a true High Antiquity Divine Beast. It was able to see through his secrets to such an extent.

Those fragmented memories that didn't belong to this world, that heavy and ancient identity as the God—his self-perception was chaotic. He felt he wasn't from this world, yet he also felt he was a native of this place. This contradictory mindset made him a unique and special being, unable to perfectly integrate into either reality or dreams.

Who am I? And where do I truly belong?

"My name is You Su. I am the eldest disciple of the Mandarin Sword Sect, the second disciple of the Lotus Sword Venerable, and also the son-in-law of the Snake Demon Clan."

You Su gave her own answer.

"Who acknowledged you as the son-in-law of the snake clan?!"

Upon Ji Xueruo instinctively retorted.

You Su winked at her, as if asking why she wasn't.

"Alright." The Little White Fish swam in a circle, assuming the two were flirting. "Since I can't see through your secrets, I have no intention of investigating. I only hope you can help me pull those trapped in dreams out. My people desperately need saving, and if I succeed, I will grant you all your requests."

"Me too?"

Ji Xueruo somewhat surprised. If You Su was the special key to breaking through the illusion, then what use was it for her to go in with him?

"Of course, he is the key, and you are the red string hanging on it. Miss Ji, don't let the key run away!"

Ji Xueruo felt that this metaphor was a bit strange, and she reminded her:

"A black rope, not a red rope."

The Little White Fish glanced at her, its tiny lips seeming to be smiling.

Suddenly, daylight illuminated the dark cave, and the water beast that had carried You Su twice reappeared. Its body resembled a giant worm, but its mouthparts looked like glowing algae.

"What exactly is it?"

You Su asked in surprise, "The fact that this water beast can move so silently and freely in water and soil is enough to show how extraordinary it is."

"The dragon bones nurtured the soil in the Hidden Water, and I nurtured it with my Fish Bone. It is thanks to it that I was able to hide in the Jade Ring Pool for so long."

The Little White Fish swam up to the water beast, who happily split its mouthparts into a grotesque flower of flesh, and the Little White Fish darted inside with a whoosh.

"Then let's see... who is the true Water God of Jade Ring Pool!"

Its voice was excited, like a little girl standing on a small mound of earth, ready to jump down.

Ji Xueruo seemed to have entered a dream again. She saw a little girl with a chubby face, wearing a red dress, with two little braids sticking up on her head and rosy cheeks. In the village, girls like this always rode on boys like stools.

A sudden impulse surged within Ji Xueruo, as if she too wanted to jump off that mound.

Without a word, she pulled You Su up and leaped into the water beast's belly...