Saintess Hall, bedroom.
The sunlight outside was a little glaring, but the atmosphere inside the room was as cold as an ice cellar.
Bibi Dong leaned against the headboard, her face pale as paper. The purple eyes that had once flickered between madness and tenderness now held only a heart-stopping emptiness and coldness.
The door was pushed open.
Qian Daoliu, Golden Crocodile, Guang Ling, and Qian Renxue, whose eyes were red-rimmed, stood in the doorway without entering.
Looking at her mother's frosty expression, Qian Renxue felt the tiny spark of hope in her heart instantly extinguished. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, sank halfway.
The mother who used to hold her while they watched the stars, who used to give her mung bean cakes... was really gone.
"You're awake?"
Qian Daoliu broke the silence, his tone tinged with awkwardness.
"Hmph."
Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh and didn't answer. Instead, she raised her head, her purple eyes like two ice blades stabbing straight at Qian Daoliu.
"Grand Pontiff, should I thank you?"
"Thank you for showing mercy just now?"
"What do you mean?" Golden Crocodile Douluo frowned.
"What do I mean?" Bibi Dong's expression turned cold.
"Although that clone was beyond my control, although she was mad and irrational, she still came from my soul. You destroyed her... Were you punishing me?"
Qian Daoliu opened his mouth, only to find himself at a loss for words.
What could he say? That he'd only wanted to check her background? Who knew the clone would have such a short fuse, blowing herself up at the slightest disagreement?
"Grandpa..."
Hearing that, Qian Renxue whipped around to look at Qian Daoliu, her eyes full of disbelief. "You really... really hurt Mom?"
"Xue'er, I..." Qian Daoliu took a deep breath, his voice dry. "I only wanted to make sure she was safe. After all, she had an independent consciousness, and she was... too close to you. I had to be cautious."
"Cautious?"
Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh, her eyes openly mocking him. "Cautious enough to drive her to blow herself up? Cautious enough to nearly destroy me along with her?"
"Grand Pontiff, I must say, you act with real decisiveness."
"Mom! Don't blame Grandpa!"
Qian Renxue couldn't bear to listen any longer. Although she was heartbroken too, she didn't want to see Mom and Grandpa arguing. Her voice caught with tears as she said, "Grandpa didn't mean to... Mom, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling awful?"
Bibi Dong glanced at Qian Renxue.
"What's wrong with me?"
"You should ask your dear grandpa."
"Thanks to the Grand Pontiff's divine power, the noisy creature in my head, the one who even wanted to steal my body... has finally gone quiet."
"She probably won't come out and bother the Grand Pontiff again for quite some time."
"That should be... just what you wanted, shouldn't it?"
"What?!" Qian Renxue was struck as if by lightning, her little face turning deathly pale. "Th-then does that mean... does that mean Mom won't ever go back to being gentle again?"
Bibi Dong didn't answer. She just closed her eyes and leaned back against the headboard.
"I'm tired."
"Since the Grand Pontiff has already achieved his goal, there's no need for you to stay here and look at me in this sorry state, is there?"
"I want to be alone for a while."
"And..."
She opened her eyes, swept her gaze over the people at the door, and finally fixed it on Qian Daoliu. Her tone was laden with meaning:
"I also need to have a good talk with that creature in my head..."
"To figure out what's wrong with me, and whether this so-called split personality can still... coexist with me."
Qian Daoliu's pupils contracted slightly at her words.
Talk?
Right. Although the clone had exploded, she was essentially just a manifestation of soul power.
As long as the original body remained, as long as Bibi Dong hadn't completely lost her mind, that consciousness might still be sleeping in her Sea of Consciousness.
If they could reach an understanding, perhaps... there was still a chance?
At the thought, a glimmer of hope rose in Qian Daoliu's heart.
As long as there was still hope, Xue'er wouldn't despair.
"Very well."
Qian Daoliu nodded and gave Bibi Dong a complicated look. "Get some rest, then. I'll take care of Xue'er."
"Let's go, Xue'er."
Qian Daoliu took Qian Renxue's hand, intending to lead her away.
"No! I'm not leaving! I want to stay with Mom!" Qian Renxue struggled desperately, crying and pleading not to be taken away.
"Listen to me!"
Qian Daoliu's tone grew sterner. "Your mother needs peace and time to recover. You'll only disturb her if you stay here. Once she's better... that other Mom might come back."
"Really?" Qian Renxue looked up with tear-filled eyes.
"Really." Qian Daoliu made a promise he didn't believe himself. "Grandpa promises."
Half forcing and half coaxing, Qian Daoliu finally led Qian Renxue away, though she kept looking back every few steps.
Golden Crocodile and Guang Ling also left in turn, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
As their footsteps gradually faded away,
the bedroom once again fell silent.
Bibi Dong remained leaning against the headboard in that same feeble pose. Only after confirming that everyone had left the grounds of Saintess Hall did a strange smile slowly appear on her previously cold face.
"Nan Feng, satisfied?"
"Now Qian Daoliu won't dare touch you so casually. And to appease Qian Renxue, he'll have to find a way to keep you, his clone, happy from now on."
"You can really throw your weight around in Spirit Hall now."
"..."
"Nan Feng?"
Deep within the Sea of Consciousness,
on the bed in the bedroom built entirely from spiritual power, the purple little ball of light who had once been so arrogant, always acting as if everything were under control, was now sprawled on his back like a dead dog with its legs knocked out from under it. Even the purple glow around him had dimmed.
"Don't bother me..."
At Bibi Dong's call, Nan Feng couldn't even be bothered to lift a finger. He let out a weak moan.
"My brain hurts. It feels like someone's mining in there with a chisel."
"First, I was hit by that overwhelming tide of malice in the Rakshasa Secret Realm. It nearly turned this Emperor into an idiot. Then there was that old pervert Qian Daoliu's Angel Divine Power. That scorching, holy energy burrowed into my soul and slammed into Rakshasa's cold, sinister thoughts..."
Nan Feng rolled over in agony and buried his face in the pillow. His muffled voice came from beneath it:
"I went through fire and ice, lady! Even a soul made of iron couldn't take that kind of beating!"
"I've had it rough... really rough..."
The more Nan Feng spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded. He began grumbling under his breath:
"Ever since I tied myself to your boat, I haven't had a single peaceful day."
"I've had to help you scheme against Qian Xunji, watch out for that sly old fox Qian Daoliu, and serve as a full-time nanny for your affection-starved daughter. After soothing the young one, I still have to soothe the older one!"
"I want to give up, too! I want to lie flat, too! I'm only a hundred-thousand-year-old kid!"
"And now, to help you keep up appearances, I got my soul violated by that old bastard Qian Daoliu, and then I had to blow myself up... I'm exhausted, all right? My life matters too!"
"Get lost, get lost, get lost! Don't talk to this Emperor! I'm shutting myself away! I'm going to sleep! Even if the sky falls, don't wake me!"
Looking at the purple ball of light curled up in the blanket on the bed, radiating an aura of "keep your distance" and "overflowing resentment," Bibi Dong felt not the slightest bit of sympathy. Instead...
"Heh."
She couldn't hold back. A heartfelt laugh escaped her.
Her laugh melted the ice, yet carried the giddy satisfaction of schadenfreude.
Before this, the old spider had always angered her, schemed against her, and pushed her to the brink.
From scheming to parasitize her through a sacrifice, to forcing her into a Soul Blood Pact, to the shameless plans he'd concocted just moments ago—every time, she had been on the back foot, led around by the nose while the creature showed off and strutted about.
But now?
Seeing him get his comeuppance, seeing him tormented half to death, made Bibi Dong feel utterly comfortable.
"So you can have a day like this, too?"
Bibi Dong sat on the edge of the bed and poked the mound beneath the blanket. Her voice was full of undisguised delight.
"Who was it that said he'd take me flying? Who was it that said this was child's play?"
"What happened? Can't take it already? Tired already?"
"Nan Feng, where's that arrogant swagger of yours from earlier? Let's see it."
The blanket was abruptly flung aside, revealing Nan Feng's face, dimmed from the drain on his spiritual power. He stared at Bibi Dong with lifeless eyes.
"Have you no conscience? Who do you think I did all this for?"
"For yourself."
Bibi Dong crossed her arms and shot back without a trace of shame. "You said it yourself: we're grasshoppers tied to the same string. You fought for your own survival. I just happened to benefit."
"Besides..."
Bibi Dong leaned over, looking at Nan Feng's thoroughly aggrieved face, the corners of her lips rising higher and higher.
"Just as you used to tell me—"
"Smiles don't disappear. They just move from your face to mine."
"Watching you suffer... feels pretty good."
Below is an image of Nan Feng. Feel free to provide reference material.