Then her consciousness appeared here; according to the voice, this was deep within You Su's mind.
She was grateful that she had been able to help You Su escape danger, even though it wasn't through her control of her own body.
When she was eagerly anticipating returning to her body, the voice told her that power came at a price, and getting it back wouldn't be so simple. It needed this body to do something before it could exchange it for her.
Moreover, the outside world is too chaotic right now, and You Su is far from being truly safe; she still needs its protection.
She initially disagreed, stubbornly trying to reclaim her body, but was plunged into excruciating pain.
The voice warned her that continuing to do so could not only cause her to lose consciousness, but also completely corrupt her, bringing great trouble to You Su.
It also told her a terrible truth: You Su was also possessed by an evil spirit, and it had deceived You Su. Therefore, in You Su's eyes, it was also his junior sister.
It then threatened: If you don't want You Su to become a demon completely, then you'd better obey its commands.
Ji Lingruo had no choice but to agree.
And following the voice's instructions, in order to avoid confusing You Su, he desperately concealed the fact that he was no longer himself.
So every time You Su accidentally fell asleep and entered this layer of consciousness, she would hide in her room and try not to say a word. She didn't want You Su to see her disgusting appearance, and she didn't want You Su to recognize her.
Because she was in You Su's deep consciousness space, Ji Lingruo was also able to sense what You Su was experiencing.
She was horrified to discover that the original owner of this hideous body was using her own voice and her own body to be intimate with You Su without any restraint.
It comfortably enjoyed the unreserved love that You Su gave it, which came with her status as her junior sister.
They chatted, laughed, held hands, and embraced, while she could only look at her own reflection in the mirror, now a disgusting mass of flesh, all alone, listening to the sweet nothings drifting from the air, imagining her senior brother speaking to her.
This strange, twisted feeling confused her; she couldn't tell whether she was being loved or betrayed. She couldn't bear it any longer and took the initiative to leave the room and sit on the edge of You Su's bed.
But You Su's performance just now surprised her and almost melted her heart...
So even if I were in this state, you'd still be willing to embrace me, right?
Ji Lingruo looked up at the sky and asked:
"Once you've done what you're supposed to do, can things really go back to the way they were before?"
The voice rang out again, but this time it wasn't answering her; the voice had become sweeter.
"Senior brother, you're awake?"
"Senior brother, you're awake?"
"Hmm..." You Su rubbed his head and blinked twice.
After confirming that she was awake, You Su said apologetically, "Junior Sister, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have fallen asleep."
"What are you apologizing for? If you're tired, you should sleep. You're asleep, but I'm still awake," Ji Lingruo a charming smile.
A warm feeling washed over You Su, and he asked again:
What time is it now?
"Just past Chen Shi (7-9 AM)."
A somewhat familiar voice suddenly rang out, answering the question first.
Upon closer inspection, You Su realized it was Zhou Li.
Zhou Li was carrying a huge oil paper bag. As he walked, he pulled out six dried biscuits from it and handed them to You Su, explaining.
"Breakfast is served at 7 AM, lunch at 11 PM, and dinner at 5 PM. If you need water, you have to fetch it yourself from the water vat east of Auspicious Cave, but it's limited every day."
While regretting that she hadn't activated her Divine Sense immediately after waking up, and that it was only after someone got so close that she noticed, You Su took the dry biscuit and said:
Thank you.
Zhou Li smiled, then consciously took two steps back, creating some distance between himself and the two fellow disciples.
"Everyone else gets four pieces, but since you're a cultivator and eat more, I gave you two extra. Just be careful no one notices."
Upon hearing this, You Su put away the cakes and thanked him again.
"Does distributing food really require your personal involvement?" You Su asked, puzzled. Shouldn't the power of cultivators be used for more important tasks?
"Indeed, I don't need you. I came here specifically to find you." Zhou Li simply sat down on the ground as well.
You Su frowned slightly. "What do you want with me?"
"You went out last night too, didn't you? You must know that Sect Master Qi was possessed by an evil spirit and fought a great battle with the other sect masters. In the end, he was defeated and fled with Wu Cheng and Wu Ping."
"Um."
"As it turned out, Wu Cheng returned early this morning."
"Wu Cheng is back?" You Su's heart jumped again.
"Yes, but he was the only one there. Sect Master Qi and Wu Ping never appeared again. According to him, they are dead."
"Where is Wu Cheng now?"
"He's lying in the cave near the Wu family's place. He crawled to the vicinity alone, and Sect Master Bai, who was out on patrol, rescued him. He briefly explained a few things and then fainted."
You Su remained silent for a moment. He couldn't understand why Wu Cheng, who was so close to evil spirits, could still be allowed to recuperate in this Auspicious Cave.
"I know what you're thinking, but Wu Cheng is, after all, the most outstanding young man in Chuyun City, and the head of the Wu family disappeared in the west of the city while searching for him. If Wu Cheng dies, the Wu family will definitely cause trouble. Moreover, Wu Cheng is the only one who knows the truth about Sect Master Qi's possession of evil, so saving him is only natural."
"They can handle even Qi Daodong being possessed by an evil spirit, so it doesn't matter if Wu Cheng has problems, right?"
"Hmm. But I still feel there's something wrong with it, so I came to remind you." Zhou Li finished speaking and got up to leave.
You Su nodded slightly and thanked him solemnly.
After Zhou Li left, You Su began to eat the dry biscuits that had been given to her, and her mind inevitably drifted back to the look in Wu Cheng's eyes before he disappeared last night.
"Mother!"
Wu Cheng lay on a "bed" made of many robes, and with a desperate effort, he called out to the beautiful woman in front of him.
The beautiful woman, her eyes filled with tears, looked at her son whom she had lost and then found again, and murmured:
"It's good that you're awake. If even Cheng'er were gone, I don't know how I would go on living..."
Wu Cheng buried his head, clenched his fist and pounded the ground, sighing:
"It's my fault, I couldn't save my brother."
The beautiful woman held Wu Cheng's hand, which was pounding the ground, with heartache. "This isn't your fault, Cheng'er. Don't blame yourself. It's good that you're still alive. Your brother won't blame you."
Wu Cheng's face stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, then immediately returned to normal. He continued sadly:
"Mother, where is Father?"
Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman burst into tears, overwhelmed with emotion, and cried out in anguish:
"Your father discovered you were missing and went looking for you, but he hasn't returned yet..."
The beautiful woman cried shrilly, and Wu Cheng turned his head away to hide his expression, but his fists clenched even tighter, as if he were filled with hatred.
After a moment of silence, Wu Cheng finally spoke up to comfort her:
"It's alright, Mom. I'll be here for you from now on."
The beautiful woman wiped away her tears and nodded, "Yes, thankfully we still have Cheng'er..."
"Thank goodness...?"
I'd like to ask if you think I'm better at writing the interactions between the male and female leads, or if you think my suspense is better? If it's the former, I'll speed up the pace and finish the first volume; if it's the latter, I'll have to put more thought into it.