Time is like quicksand at the fingertips, passing slowly on this silent and solemn mountain top.
The setting sun dyed the clouds on the horizon a deep red like Blood One, and also coated this ancient stone castle with a layer of sad golden light.
Tang Yuehua lowered his head and sat in Nan Feng's arms, his body as stiff as a stone. This kind of suffering was not only physical discomfort, but also spiritual devastation.
She was thinking about what expressions her brother and clan members would have when they saw this scene. What feelings would they have?
Shame, guilt, despair... all kinds of emotions were intertwined together, making her want to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
In Sea of Consciousness, another more intense conversation is taking place.
"Nan Feng, let her go."
Bibi Dong's voice was cold, with obvious displeasure, "There are only two of us here, do you need to keep a close eye on me like this?"
"Don't let go."
Nan Feng replied lazily, "What if I run away? This is my amulet."
"Run?"
Bibi Dong laughed angrily, "Tang Yuehua doesn't even have the tenth level Soul Power. On this cliff hundreds of meters high, under the nose of you, Titled Douluo, where can she go? Jump off the cliff?"
"That's impossible to say."
Nan Feng said nonsense seriously, "The rabbit bites people when it is anxious. Moreover, she is not just a hostage, she is the core bargaining chip in this negotiation."
"Think about it, if thousands of the Clear Sky Sect people want to live in seclusion here, who will take care of their food, drink, and toilets? Who will provide supplies? Don't we have to rely on the connections and channels that Tang Yuehua has been operating in this Moonlight Pavilion for many years?"
"If something goes wrong here Tang Yuehua, their so-called retreat from the world is a joke. Are thousands of people hiding in the mountains and drinking from the northwest wind?"
"So, I have to keep her under control. It's best to make her completely dependent on me. Only then can this game be considered alive."
Bibi Dong was silent for a moment.
Although Nan Feng's reasons sounded high-sounding, she always felt that this guy was taking advantage of him.
However, that is not the point now.
"Nan Feng."
Bibi Dong suddenly spoke, his tone became serious and serious, "I have a question that I have been holding in my mind for a long time."
"Huh? I loved you." Nan Feng replied nonchalantly.
"Go away! Let's get down to business!"
Bibi Dong cursed angrily, and then said seriously:
"Since this expedition, your behavior has changed so much. It's so big that it makes me feel... you seem to be a different person."
"When you were Spirit City, you were crazy, cold-blooded, and unscrupulous. You treated Spirit Hall and Soul Master as pure consumables. You even told me that you just need to throw them into the battlefield to die, and you don't care about casualties at all."
"At that time, your attitude towards the Clear Sky Sect was also to kill Clear Sky Sect. You even wanted to kill Upper Three Sects."
"But, since the war really started..."
Bibi Dong paused and counted them one by one:
"Although you used thunderous means to attack Speed Clan, in the end you wanted to capture them alive as much as possible to reduce the number of killings."
"In that battle with the Strength Clan, you released such a terrifying Samsara Death Realm, but I can feel that you didn't actually kill those low-level Soul Master. You were more to scare them and force them to disperse."
"Until now..."
"You left Spirit Hall's main force to Demon Bear and they acted as a guard of honor over Clear Sky Sect's side, allowing them to paddle safely. But you took my own risk and even came here alone to intercept Clear Sky Sect's main force."
"Moreover, the attitude towards the Clear Sky Sect has also changed from killing him at first to recruiting allies now."
"Sit firmly at the back from the beginning, let everyone go up and work hard, and reap the benefits yourself."
"Now I have to do everything personally and always rush to the front. On the contrary, I am protecting the cannon fodder behind me."
Bibi Dong asked, "Is this contrast too big? What are you thinking about?"
"..."
Among Sea of Consciousness, Nan Feng was silent for a long time.
Then, a long sigh filled with helplessness and resentment sounded.
"Alas..."
"Little Dongdong ah Little Dongdong, do you think I want this?"
Nan Feng's voice became a little irritable, "Do you think I am willing to cause such trouble? Do you think I am willing to risk my life and come here alone to play an empty city strategy?"
"Isn't it because of you?!"
"Because of me?" Bibi Dong was stunned.
"Bullshit!"
Nan Feng said angrily, "There is obviously the simplest, most efficient, and safest shortcut right in front of us - use Qian Renxue!"
"As long as you are willing to lower your head, build a good relationship with that girl, take advantage of her identity, and take advantage of her desire for maternal love."
"Then Qian Daoliu, that old guy, will treat you like his own daughter! Worship Hall, those old antiques, Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, will all become the sharpest knives in your hand!"
"When the time comes, we will need people and power. We will directly lead Worship Hall's luxurious team to promote Clear Sky Sect. Why do I need to work hard to divide, win over, and act out here?"
"But what?"
Nan Feng snorted coldly, "You fucking don't want to!"
"Not only are you unwilling to use her, you don't even want to see her, and you won't even let me mention her!"
"The shortcut to the peak of power was blocked by you yourself!"
"What can I do? I'm so fucking desperate!"
"Since the elite route is unavailable, since the way to directly control the core power of the Spirit Hall is blocked by you."
"Then I can only change the way."
"I can only follow the mass line and adopt the human wave tactic."
"I must keep the Spirit Hall Soul Master strength of the middle and lower layers, because that is the only fundamental base we can truly control in the future."
"I must win over Clear Sky Sect, because I need their power to make up for the gap between us and Worship Hall in high-level combat power."
"I have to do it myself, I have to do everything personally, because those elders don't listen to me at all!"
"Do you think I want to be so tired? Do you think I want to take risks?"
Nan Feng points to Bibi Dong's nose in Sea of Consciousness:
"All these troubles, all these risks, in the final analysis, are all because of your hypocritical unwillingness!"
"Now you actually ask me why I changed?"
"Are you saying you're angry?!"
In Sea of Consciousness, the air seems to be solid.
Bibi Dong fell into a long silence as he looked at the furious purple light and shadow running rampant and cursing in the spiritual world.
For her?
No.
Old Spider made it very clear from the beginning that he did it for himself, to survive, and to become a god.
But that's not right either.
If it was just to become a god, Spirit Hall's power struggle would be a meaningless burden to him.
He even said before that the worst case scenario is that Spirit Hall will be ruined, and everyone will just pat their butts and leave, find a place to hide and practice, or go directly to City of Slaughter.
He doesn't care about the Spirit Hall's life or death at all, nor does he care about Pope's authority.
But...
Since you don't care, why do you have to try so hard to help her secure this position?
Why, after she rejected the simplest "shortcut", not only did he not give up, but he risked his own life to formulate such a more complicated and dangerous plan that even required him to personally charge into battle?
He was complaining, scolding, and venting his dissatisfaction.
But what he did was actually help her fill in the loopholes and help her carve out her own way in this crisis-ridden Spirit Hall.
"Nan Feng."
Bibi Dong suddenly spoke, his voice less cold and more inquisitive and confused:
"I don't understand."
"You are obviously a Soul Beast, but you understand people's calculations better than humans. You obviously only want to become a god and regard all living beings as nothing, but you are getting deeper and deeper into this mess."
"You said you didn't care, and you said you wanted to play Spirit Hall as a game. But what you are doing now..."
"Why?"
Bibi Dong looked directly at the purple figure:
"Since you think I'm stupid, since you think I'm hopeless, why don't you just take control of my body, or just force me to submit?"
"With how despicable you are, I believe you have a way."
"You definitely have a way to achieve your goals without cooperating, and even force me to cooperate with you, just like when I wanted to kill Qian Xunji before."
"But why are you scolding me and at the same time... indulging me?"
"..."
Nan Feng stopped.
He turned his back to Bibi Dong and was silent for a long time.
Suddenly, he moved.
He did not answer, but rushed forward, throwing Bibi Dong's conscious body onto the illusory ground.
The two looked at each other, so close that they could even feel the fluctuations in each other's souls.
Nan Feng's eyes changed, becoming deep and gentle.
"Why?"
"Because..."
"This is love."
Bibi Dong's pupils shrank suddenly, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.
At that moment, she actually fell into a trance.
That look, that tone, were so real. It really made her subconsciously want to escape, want to avoid those eyes that seemed to see through her soul.
It was a long-lost throbbing that made her feel strange and frightened.
But...
Just for a moment.
Bibi Dong's eyes became clear again, even with a hint of anger and coldness.
"Get out!!"
She waved her hand suddenly, and a mental shock violently pushed Nan Feng away.
"If it were before, I might really believe this reason."
Bibi Dong stood up and looked coldly at Nan Feng, who still had an indifferent smile on his face after being pushed away:
"But since I know that your love for Qian Renxue is just acting and calculating..."
"I no longer believe that your Old Spider has human feelings!"
"Everything about you is fake! Your anger, your helplessness, and even your current affection are all fake!"
"I can't believe you at all!"
Bibi Dong gritted his teeth, with a deep fear in his voice:
"Because I don't know if this will be another trap you set for me, another plan!"
"In this regard..."
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, "Whether I want to admit it or not, I can't beat you Old Spider!"
Faced with such straightforward and even aggressive suspicion from Bibi Dong, Nan Feng was not angry.
Instead, he laughed.
The smile was extremely bright, even a little... gratifying.
"Okay."
Nan Feng patted the non-existent dust on his body, stood up, and looked at Bibi Dong with eyes full of admiration:
"If you believed it just now, I would be very happy."
"Because that at least shows that you are starting to trust me, and our cooperative relationship has taken a further step."
"But..."
Nan Feng changed the subject, and the smile on his lips became thicker:
"If you don't believe it, I'm even happier."
"Because this shows that you have really grown up, Little Dongdong."
"You have truly become cautious. You are no longer as easily emotional as a love brain, and you are no longer easily swayed by other people's emotions."
"This is what a qualified Pope, a strong man who wants to control his own destiny, should have."
Nan Feng slowly walked up to Bibi Dong, stretched out a finger, and gently touched her eyebrows:
"But you'd better remember something."
"Since you have made your choice, since you have acted so cautiously, so rationally, and even so ruthlessly with me..."
"Then I hope you can maintain this rationality when facing other people."