Three days later, Saintess Hall, bedchamber.
Morning light filtered through the window lattice and fell across the bed, illuminating Bibi Dong's still-pale face, though she had regained consciousness.
"Awake?"
Nan Feng's voice rang out in her mind, still burning with anger. "You woman, do you have any idea how close we came to dying together? Was it really worth risking our lives over that little thing?"
Bibi Dong's face darkened as she shot back coldly, "You brought it on yourself! Who told you to seize control of my body?"
"And another thing..." A flicker of wariness passed through Bibi Dong's eyes. "Before, I only had to switch to the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor to take back control. Why didn't it work this time? Were you lying to me?"
"Of course!" Nan Feng snapped, irritated.
"Those previous times, this Emperor simply didn't fight you for control! I didn't want to compete with you! Did you really think your little bit of spiritual power could suppress the soul of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast like me?"
"We're in this together now, tied to the same rope. One of us has to give way. Before, I was the one who yielded, but you can't take my restraint as a license to do whatever you want!"
Hearing this blunt confession, Bibi Dong's anger flared even hotter, and her hostility toward Nan Feng once again reached its peak.
"So that's it... You've been plotting against me from the very beginning."
Bibi Dong ground her teeth. "If I'd known, I never should've accepted your sacrifice! Even if it took me ten more years, I could've butchered you myself, you beast!"
She truly regretted it now.
She had thought it would be a win-win deal, but instead she had invited a wolf into her home. This bastard had not only seized her body but had also tried to interfere with her will—and even used that kind of excuse to disgust her.
Being held in check, unable to act as she pleased, was a feeling she loathed more than death. For someone as controlling as her, it was unbearable.
"Regret it? Too late!"
Nan Feng's voice turned cold too. "We're tied to the same rope now. You don't want to live, but I do!"
"I sacrificed a hundred thousand years of cultivation, even my life, to you so I could become a god and transcend this world—not to play some mother-and-daughter suicide game with you!"
"I care more about whether you live or die than you do!"
"You want to kill Qian Xunji, hunt Soul Beasts, even destroy the world? I don't care. I'll even hand you the knife. But when it comes to our safety, I won't give an inch!"
"Only by making good use of that little girl and turning her into your shield will your revenge have any margin for error! If anything goes wrong, that lunatic old man Qian Daoliu will tear you apart!"
"I said I don't need her!" Bibi Dong replied coldly.
"Ha, that's rich."
Nan Feng laughed in exasperation. "You don't need her? Bibi Dong, fool other people if you like, but don't fool yourself."
"Do you really just not want to use her?"
"You're simply afraid to face her! You know she's innocent. You know half her blood is yours. But you can't accept that the other half is the filthy blood of Qian Xunji, or that disgusting Angel aura of hers!"
"So you reject her. You leave her alone. You keep your distance because you're afraid! You're afraid that if you really get close to her, you won't be able to stop yourself from killing her—or... from falling in love with her!"
"Shut up!!" Bibi Dong roared in the Sea of Consciousness, her soul trembling.
"What? Did I hit the mark?"
Nan Feng showed no sign of stopping. "You rejected my suggestion because you want to keep her out of it. That way, even if she finds out one day that you killed Qian Xunji, she can hate you without a shred of guilt, and even feel perfectly justified in killing you to avenge her father. Right?"
"You want to atone this way? To satisfy that ridiculous pride of yours?"
"But if she becomes your shield, the key to keeping you alive, then when Qian Xunji dies, she'll be an accomplice by proxy! You're afraid of dragging her into this. You're afraid of making her bear that sin. Aren't you?!"
"I said shut up!!!"
Bibi Dong completely lost control. With her most secret thoughts laid bare, she was so furious and humiliated that she wanted to unleash all her Soul Power at once and drag this bastard to hell with her.
"Thinking of blowing yourself up? Save your breath."
Nan Feng didn't give her the chance. "I told you, your life doesn't belong to you alone anymore."
"You can die if you want, after you send me to the Divine Realm. Then you can die however the hell you like."
"But before that..."
"There's no negotiating when it comes to Qian Renxue!"
"If you don't want to play the part, I will! If you don't want to touch her, I will!"
"Besides, this intermittent split-personality state of ours will be the perfect proof of cultivation deviation in Qian Daoliu's eyes."
"Then even if you stab Qian Xunji right in front of him, I can just take control of our body, play the fool, and shout that I don't know him. For his granddaughter's sake, so she can have a mother, Qian Daoliu will probably just have to grit his teeth and accept it!"
"You..." Bibi Dong's chest heaved violently, and her teeth nearly shattered from how hard she clenched them. "Shameless!"
"Thanks for the compliment!" Nan Feng gave a cold laugh.
"Let me tell you the truth! When you charged into my nest that day, this Emperor was already at the end of my rope!"
"If you'd attacked me then, I probably wouldn't even have had the chance to blow myself up and take you with me."
"But unfortunately for me, your greed and stupidity gave me an opening!"
"Shameless? Without this shamelessness, how could this Emperor have scraped by and survived until today?"
"Bastard! Aren't you afraid I'll take you down with me!?" Bibi Dong asked coldly.
"Take me down with you?" Nan Feng scoffed.
"Of course I'm afraid! Only an idiot wouldn't be!"
"..."
Just as the two of them were locked in a standoff in their spiritual world, neither willing to back down,
"Creak—"
The bedroom door was gently pushed open.
A small golden head cautiously poked inside.
It was Qian Renxue.
She held a bowl of steaming medicinal congee in her hands, her little face full of worry and nervousness.
When she saw that Bibi Dong's eyes were open, hers lit up at once.
"M-Mom, are you awake?"
Qian Renxue tiptoed inside. "Grandpa said you need to rest... I-I made you some congee..."
At the sight of her, Bibi Dong's body stiffened instinctively, and a chill flashed in her eyes. It was a reflexive rejection.
However, before she could scold the girl or send her away,
a familiar wave of dizziness struck again!
"Don't you dare?!" Bibi Dong cried in alarm.
"I've staked my life on you. Do you really think I wouldn't dare?" Nan Feng said softly.
"Relax. Don't fight me, or you'll cough up blood again."
The next moment, the chill in Bibi Dong's eyes vanished.
In its place appeared a look of gentle bewilderment.
"Little girl, who are you?"
Nan Feng controlled Bibi Dong's body, letting just the right amount of confusion and innocence show in her eyes.
They were clear as a newborn's, without a trace of the gloom and coldness she usually carried.
Qian Renxue's hands trembled slightly around the bowl. Her heart ached, yet she was overjoyed.
It pained her that her mother had truly forgotten her.
But she was overjoyed too. If her mother couldn't remember the past, did that mean... she might have forgotten her hatred as well?
"Mom..."
Qian Renxue set down the bowl and gathered her courage to step closer to the bed. Her voice caught with tears. "I'm Xue'er... I'm your daughter."
"Daughter?"
"Bibi Dong" tilted her head slightly, as if trying to understand the word. Then her brows knit together, and she rubbed her temples in pain. "I don't remember... Do I have a daughter?"
"Yes! Yes, you do!"
Qian Renxue hurried to prove she existed. She reached out to help Bibi Dong, but still feared being ruthlessly brushed away as she had been before.
But this time, that didn't happen.
Bibi Dong only looked at her weakly, allowing her small, tender hands to support her arm.
"You were in such a hurry to cultivate that you accidentally suffered cultivation deviation and injured your head."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue carefully helped Bibi Dong sit back against the headboard. Then she picked up the bowl of congee, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and brought it to Bibi Dong's lips.
"Here, Mom. Have some congee."
Nan Feng naturally went along with it. She opened her mouth and not only drank the congee but even gave her a warm smile.
"Thank you... Xue'er."
That "thank you," paired with the gentle smile, instantly shattered every last one of Qian Renxue's defenses.
Her eyes reddened, and tears welled up, but she stubbornly held them back, afraid to ruin this hard-won moment of warmth.
Meanwhile, outside the bedroom,
Qian Daoliu stood motionless in the shadows. His vast, finely attuned spiritual power covered the entire room, catching every subtle shift in emotion inside.
If Bibi Dong were pretending, there was no way she could tolerate Xue'er coming so close, given the deep-rooted hatred she felt for her. She certainly wouldn't show such pure bewilderment.
It seemed the backlash from her Twin Martial Souls had truly damaged her core memories.