Clearing the Clouds to See the Sun

"Closed! His! Eyes! And! Fumbled Around?!"

Liu Erlong felt like her hair was standing on end!

The image uncontrollably formed in her mind: Xiao Yin with his eyes closed, his hands fumbling over her body... changing her clothes?!

"Ahhh! You little brat! I'm going to kill you!"

She completely lost it. Burning with shame and fury, she looked around and immediately spotted the sturdy-looking frying pan on the stove!

"Pervert! Lecher! I'm fighting you to the death today!"

Liu Erlong grabbed the frying pan, no longer caring about appearances. She swung her arm with all her might and smashed it toward Xiao Yin with a piercing rush of wind!

It looked as though she intended to bash his head into the pan and stir-fry it with the greens!

Xiao Yin had been prepared. With a flash of his body, he turned sideways and dodged.

The heavy frying pan crashed onto the stove with a clang, sending sparks flying and leaving a dent in the iron surface!

"Hey! Calm down!"

As Xiao Yin dodged Liu Erlong's wild, uncoordinated attacks, he also had to protect the greens in the pan from getting caught up in it. The scene was utterly chaotic.

"I'm telling the truth! And I swear, I absolutely didn't make any unnecessary moves! I swear to heaven!"

"Swear?! Like hell I believe you!"

Liu Erlong chased after him, striking at him. "Changed clothes with your eyes closed? Why not say you did it while sleepwalking?!

I guarded my purity for over thirty years... sob..."

As she fought, her movements suddenly slowed. Her eyes instantly reddened, her voice filled with thick sobs, and the frying pan slipped from her hand with a clatter onto the floor.

She no longer chased Xiao Yin. Instead, she leaned weakly against the cold cabinet, covered her face with both hands, and her shoulders began to shake violently.

"Sob... I'm sorry, Xiao Gang... I'm sorry..."

Her suppressed crying leaked through her fingers, full of pain and self-reproach.

At that moment, Liu Erlong's long-suppressed obsession with Yu Xiaogang, the pain of being abandoned, and the shame of last night's drunken loss of composure and being seen naked all erupted at once.

She felt that she had betrayed that love which had long since died, betrayed something she had always clung to.

The kitchen instantly fell silent, leaving only Liu Erlong's muffled sobs and the faint sizzling of the forgotten greens in the pan.

Xiao Yin frowned tightly as he watched the woman before him transform from a raging mother dragon into a heartbroken ostrich in an instant.

[Ding! A powerful twisted obsession and self-deception have been detected! Special mission "Clearing the Clouds to See the Sun" successfully matched!]

At that moment, the familiar system notification suddenly rang out in Xiao Yin's mind, carrying an unprecedented sense of purpose!

[Mission source: Douluo Continent (this plane), Liu Erlong, who has fallen into twisted obsession and trapped herself.]

[Wish core (deep within the soul): Break free of her shackles and attain true emotional and spiritual liberation!]

[Mission objective: Guide Liu Erlong to recognize the true nature of her feelings, see through Yu Xiaogang's hypocritical nature completely, and shatter the spiritual shackles that have bound her for so long. Requirement: Liu Erlong must develop disgust and rejection toward Yu Xiaogang.]

[Time limit: 5 hours.]

[Mission reward: Wish Value +1000; Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill ×1 (greatly enhances physical strength); Liu Erlong's "Heart of the Dragon" (a hidden, profound bond).]

[Failure penalty: The host will suffer the "Curse of Emotional Trauma" (for one month, favorability with the opposite sex reset to zero, Charm -50%).]

[Note: This mission is rather difficult. The host is recommended to use items from the System Shop.]

Xiao Yin: "!!!"

That was a lot to take in!

See through Yu Xiaogang?

How was he supposed to do that?

That guy was still in Nuoding City. Going there now was unrealistic!

Xiao Yin looked at Liu Erlong, who was crying her heart out on the floor, and his gaze instantly turned incomparably sharp and resolute.

He was definitely taking this mission!

Not for the tempting rewards—though the Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill was indeed appealing—but because he did not want to see a life as vivid and fiery as Liu Erlong's remain forever imprisoned beneath a coward's shadow!

And besides... that failure penalty... was absolutely unacceptable!

"Right, the System Shop! Let's see if there's anything useful!"

Xiao Yin hurriedly sank his consciousness into the shop and began browsing rapidly!

"Thousand-Mile Teleportation Array? 1000 Wish Value? No, too expensive! And meeting him might make the mission completely impossible to finish!

Puppet Talisman? No, it doesn't meet the mission requirements!

Huh, what's this... Fragment of True Illusion: Sorrow of Choice? 200 Wish Value... Hmm... this is it!"

Wish Value: -200!

Fragment of True Illusion: Sorrow of Choice: Upon use, it guides the target to revisit, on a spiritual level, the most deeply missed person in their memories and the most pivotal real scene involving that person, while granting an "observer's" perspective to let them see the other person's true thoughts at the time.

Let her see clearly what Yu Xiaogang had truly been thinking back then!

I refuse to believe Yu Xiaogang could really be a good person!

Looking at the illusion fragment radiating a hazy glow, Xiao Yin took a deep breath, walked over to Liu Erlong, and slowly crouched in front of her.

His voice was low, carrying an unquestionable force!

"Liu Erlong!"

Liu Erlong's sobbing abruptly stopped. The hands covering her face trembled slightly, but she did not lower them.

"Look at me!"

Xiao Yin reached out. After hesitating for a moment, he still gently placed his hand over the back of her hand that covered her face. Her tears dampened his fingertips.

He exerted a little force, pulling her hands away from her face with an unyielding firmness that allowed no refusal.

Liu Erlong was forced to raise her head and look at him through tear-blurred eyes.

Those phoenix eyes that usually burned with flames were now swollen and red, leaving only confusion and pain.

She looked at Xiao Yin with an empty gaze, as if she did not know him at all.

"You think you've wronged Yu Xiaogang?"

Xiao Yin stared directly into her eyes and asked word by word, his tone calm but heavy as a hammer.

"That weak, evasive man who did not even dare face his own feelings and left you alone to face every storm?"

Liu Erlong's pupils shrank. She instinctively tried to retort, "You're not allowed to talk about him like that! He..."

"He what?" Xiao Yin interrupted her, his gaze sharp as a blade as it pierced straight into her heart.

"Was he worth you preserving your purity for?

Was he worth the pain and shackles you've carried for all these years?

Was he worth turning yourself into a tomboy who hid her fragility behind fierceness?"

Every word was like a heavy hammer smashing ruthlessly into Liu Erlong's heart.

Her mouth hung open, yet she could not make a sound.

The grievances she had deliberately forgotten and buried deep in her heart were mercilessly torn open by Xiao Yin.

"Look at yourself!" Xiao Yin's voice suddenly rose.

"Liu Erlong! You're a Soul Saint! You're the dean of Blue Tyrant Academy! You're stronger and more dazzling than most men in this world!

Yet you're here crying over a coward who abandoned you and did not dare take responsibility?

He doesn't deserve it! Yu Xiaogang isn't even worthy of a single strand of your hair!"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Liu Erlong seemed to have her heart completely pierced by that final sentence. She suddenly pushed away Xiao Yin's hand and screamed hysterically!

"Fine, then I'll let you see clearly!"

Xiao Yin no longer hesitated. A trace of resolve flashed in his eyes.

With a thought, Fragment of True Illusion: Sorrow of Choice was activated instantly!