The sharp tip of the light arrow rested three inches from Mo Xuan's throat. The chill of the Star Blade made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Looking into the lingering frost in Lin Zhixia's eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed. Unable to suppress his doubts any longer, he asked hoarsely, "Why... were you able to shatter my Fallen Illusion · Flame Hell Bewildering Dream? This soul skill can trap even a Soul Douluo for half a shichen. You were clearly already immersed in it!"
A trace of barely detectable panic colored his voice—this soul skill was his trump card, obtained only after he had killed a Ten Thousand Year Purgatory Nightmare Demon. The "happiness" woven by an illusion was often harder to escape than "fear," yet Lin Zhixia had forcibly broken through it, instantly robbing him of the confidence he had taken such pride in.
Lin Zhixia's grip around the Star River Falling Bow tightened slightly, her knuckles turning white. At the word "immersed," her gaze drifted toward the distant branches of a parasol tree, as if she could see through the leaves to an afternoon fifteen years ago—the sunlight then had been as warm as it was today, yet it could not penetrate the stench of blood outside that little wooden house.
She spoke slowly, her voice soft but carrying a hatred as heavy as a thousand pounds. Every word seemed to be squeezed through clenched teeth. "The illusion you gave me was wonderful. Warm lamps, dumplings, my parents' smiles... they were all scenes I dreamed of having again. But you forgot that what traps people is never happiness itself. It's the 'dare not forget' hidden behind that happiness."
As her words fell, the moisture in her eyes suddenly gathered, and memories from fifteen