Running Toward Each Other

Jiang Chen jumped in fright.

He had thought the simulator had been cracked by Thousand-Faced Fox's illusion arts.

But upon thinking it over, he knew that was impossible.

The Butterfly Effect footage captured by the simulator was originally plot derived from relevant people after the chosen simulated ending had merged with reality.

And these plots were all connected to him, more or less.

It was not that Thousand-Faced Fox had discovered the system; rather, the system had captured the instant Thousand-Faced Fox tried to deduce him.

In other words, Jiang Chen's current time was not simultaneous with the moment Thousand-Faced Fox spoke in the Butterfly Effect!

If it had been simultaneous, Chen Gongxing would not have reached the Liyue Branch so quickly.

After every simulation was completed, Butterfly Effect footage immediately appeared. It was a kind of summary preview.

It might have just happened, or it might happen sometime in the near future.

From Thousand-Faced Fox's perspective, using a mirror to display her true face was equivalent to leaving an anchor in the space-time she was deducing, making it easier for Jiang Chen to deduce her.

They were running toward each other from both directions.

Still, it had to be said: this fox demon's true form was truly beautiful. Her youthful face, both pure and seductive, carried a bone-deep allure that made one unable to stop.

With that thought, Jiang Chen went back and watched the recording of the third simulation from Main Plot One again...

Knock, knock.

A knock suddenly sounded from outside the door.

Only then did Jiang Chen abruptly realize that watching Butterfly Effect footage was different from watching Plot Simulations. It consumed time—in other words, the real world kept moving.

The current timeline was the first ending. After Jiang Chen returned from the Azure Mist Sect and chatted briefly with the old innkeeper, he went back to the cultivation room to cultivate, spending over half a day advancing to Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

This had very likely caught the old innkeeper's attention.

"Young Master Cao, are you in the room? Grandpa sent me to deliver wine."

It was the Snake-Demon Widow again.

Jiang Chen always felt that the little widow's gaze toward him was somewhat strange, though perhaps it was merely one of life's four great misconceptions: She likes me.

"Come in."

Carrying wine and tea snacks, she bowed slightly as she entered. Today, the little widow seemed to possess a little more vitality.

"I never expected that after staying here only two days, Young Master would advance three layers in a row. Grandpa specifically asked me to bring warmed wine to congratulate Young Master on your advancement. It can also help stabilize your dantian."

Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes.

The loose black clothing she had worn the day before yesterday had been replaced by a fitted black brocade robe, revealing her alluring figure. Her face also bore more delicate makeup, and with a faint smile, she no longer looked as sorrowful as she had last time.

"Then why did he not come himself?"

The little widow covered her mouth and smiled.

"Grandpa is receiving new guests. Shall I call him over to drink with Young Master?"

"No need."

Jiang Chen figured that a minor Qi Refining demon like her could not stir up any waves. He thus allowed her to drink with him; it was not bad to celebrate once in a while.

However, a tree that rose above the forest would surely be battered by the wind. His little accomplishment would draw no attention in the sect, but it stood out in a small inn.

After today, he needed to leave this Spirit Spring Inn and find another sect to stay at.

The little widow knelt beside Jiang Chen, laying out the wine and tea snacks. She prepared a cup for him, then poured one for herself.

"This humble one offers Young Master a toast!"

Jiang Chen glanced at it. This wine was richer and finer than last time, safe and clean, with no Demonic Aura.

So he took the cup in one hand and drained it in a single gulp.

Warm, gentle spiritual power slowly seeped into his spiritual veins, nourishing his dantian... It truly was good wine.

After three rounds of wine, Jiang Chen felt incomparably refreshed. He showed no signs of drunkenness, merely sweating a little.

The little widow said in surprise,

"Oh, Young Master is sweating. This is a sign that you have completely absorbed the wine's power. You need the spirit spring to expel the internal heat. Please rise, Young Master. This humble one will assist you into the spirit spring."

Jiang Chen was quite helpless. Even if he dual cultivated with a minor Qi Refining demon like her, it would not improve his cultivation. There was no need for him to do anything superfluous, much less with a widow.

The little widow raised a faint mist from the spring, helped Jiang Chen remove his clothes, and supported him as he entered the pool.

Jiang Chen's expression suddenly changed. He seized her wrist with one hand and coldly asked,

"Does your grandpa know that you are a snake demon?"

The little widow froze. Staring at Jiang Chen, her eyes reddened. Soon, she lowered her head and began to sob, tears spilling forth.

"I understand... Young Master is certainly no ordinary man. This humble one overstepped."

Jiang Chen released her soft, smooth wrist.

"What do you mean?"

The little widow lowered her head in silence. Only after a long while did she say,

"Back then, when I took human form, I was trapped by a Binding-Spirit Fishing Net and sold as a demon slave. Grandpa bought me and married me to my husband as a concubine."

"My husband was already over sixty then. His talent was inferior to Grandpa's, and even at sixty, he had yet to enter Qi Refining. Seeing that his lifespan was nearing its end, Father bought me so that dual cultivation might help him enter Qi Refining."

"Unfortunately, my husband was old and frail, and could not bear even this humble one's meager demon power. It instead accelerated his aging."

"Later, Father spent the family fortune to buy a Merfolk Woman as a concubine for my husband, hoping he could cultivate Qi through a Merfolk Pearl. Who could have expected that the Merfolk Woman was optimistic by nature and simply would not cry no matter what."

"My husband grew desperate and pushed her too hard. In the end, he was killed by the Merfolk Woman, brewing a tragic calamity."

Jiang Chen was deeply moved.

How difficult was it for mortals to enter Qi Refining!

Yet humans insisted on defying the heavens, dreaming of entering Qi Refining through dual cultivation with demon slaves...

The old innkeeper's son being killed in his sixties hardly counted as a tragedy. The snake demon and the Merfolk Woman were the true tragedies.

After the Merfolk Woman killed the innkeeper's son in desperation, there was no way she could have survived.

Just like those tourists from his past life who provoked zoo tigers and got eaten. Once a tiger had eaten a person, how could it possibly live on?

"So you wish to aid my cultivation, so that I can help redeem your freedom?"

Jiang Chen guessed.

The little widow wiped away her tears and shook her head.

"It is not redemption. Grandpa and my husband both treated me very well."

"Originally, seeing that Young Master's talent was not yet apparent, that your cultivation was only Qi Refining, Third Layer, and that you had not been tainted by demon aura, Grandpa wanted me to spend more time near you."

"He hoped that I could marry Young Master and become a concubine, so that I would not be all alone in the future."

"But now, Young Master has advanced three layers in just two days. With such talent, you are certainly no ordinary man."

"This humble one knows her status is lowly and dares not think too much. I am willing to aid Young Master's cultivation, asking only that if Young Master has the chance someday, you can take me back to my homeland, Shipo Forest."

Jiang Chen frowned.

Well, well, old innkeeper. I treated you as a friend despite our age difference, yet you wanted to become my father-in-law?

Shipo Forest was an oasis two thousand li north of Xiyang City, inhabited by many low-level members of the Demon Race. One had to cross more than two thousand li of desert to reach it.

For an ordinary minor demon to return to Shipo Forest, even if she were not captured on the road, she would be swallowed by Sandworms underground or carried away by bald eagles in the sky. It was destined to be a dead end.

"Isn't it quite good for you to remain here? If you return to Shipo Forest, with your cultivation, it would be another descent into hell."

The little widow said,

"Raising a demon requires many resources. Grandpa will not allow me to sell myself for money, so I can only serve tea and water, with no other use. Sometimes, ill-intentioned guests even tease me, bringing unnecessary trouble to Grandpa."

Jiang Chen was puzzled.

"The spiritual energy density in the inn's cultivation rooms is only suitable for Qi Refining cultivators. Could there really be powerful experts who even your grandpa cannot suppress coming here?"

The little widow looked terrified and pointed outside the door.

"There is one such powerful expert outside right now. Not only does she often tease this humble one, she has also run up a debt of several hundred spirit stones."

The moment Jiang Chen heard the words "powerful expert," he began considering how to make his escape.

"Why not report it to the authorities?"

The little widow could not sit still. Lowering her voice, she said,

"That person is a high official, while this humble one is merely a minor demon without household registration..."

Jiang Chen thought, I am only a minor Qi Refining cultivator. I am not much stronger than you. Could I possibly punish evil and uphold justice?

"You should leave. I cannot help you."

Just as he spoke, the door was kicked open with a bang.

Someone staggered inside and, at a glance, spotted Jiang Chen bathing.

"Where did this lecherous scoundrel come from? Not only are you drinking my wine, you even dare flirt with my beauty?"

Jiang Chen turned his head to look.

Good heavens, were you not a woman too?!

And she was a stunning beauty wearing men's blue robes, her looks far surpassing the little widow's.