Awakening

Su Ziji's expression turned strange.

According to the cultivation method, he was supposed to absorb spiritual energy, refine the natures of ten thousand demons, then extract his innate divine abilities from those various demon natures and integrate them all. Only then would it count as dragon nature. Yet the demonic aura still had to be cleansed away; he needed to summon clouds and spread rain, accumulate Merit, before he could advance into a True Dragon.

But he was human. Where would he get any demon nature, much less the natures of ten thousand demons? As for summoning clouds, spreading rain, and accumulating Merit, there was no need even to mention it.

"Perhaps I can try absorbing spiritual energy?"

Su Ziji glanced at Ye Buhui. Though she was still asleep, her brows remained faintly furrowed, and he could not help sighing inwardly. He closed his eyes at once and followed the cultivation method, attempting to draw in spiritual energy.

"..." After a long while, Su Ziji opened his eyes, bitterness written across his face.

"It is not that there is no effect at all, but that tiny bit of spiritual energy is far too weak. It is probably not even worth a bowl of rice, is it?"

"What use is such a drop in the bucket?"

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly heard a soft snap from afar. The sound was extremely faint, yet on the silent pleasure boat, it rang out clearly.

"Someone woke up. Hm, it is that young lady from the Hu Family." Su Ziji immediately pulled his head back. That girl was highly mysterious; it was best not to provoke her. Moreover, at the sound, Ye Buhui's eyelashes fluttered, as if she was about to awaken as well.

Two rooms away, Hu Xiyan woke with a start. Looking around, where was the Water Palace? Where was the Great Demon? Only Hu Shijiu's little face rested against her as she slept soundly on the couch.

"I... fainted?" Hu Xiyan hurriedly sat up and looked around. The maid on another small couch was still fast asleep, seemingly unaffected in any way.

Could what had just happened have been nothing but an illusion?

No, that was not right!

Remembering the scene she had just "seen," Hu Xiyan quickly turned back to the bronze mirror. She saw that the pleasure boat was very strange: people were asleep everywhere, yet no one was missing. Nor had they simply collapsed onto the ground. Each had found a suitable place to sleep.

It was as though they had grown tired after the chess match ended and found places to rest on their own.

No, no. Hu Xiyan thought it over carefully. "I clearly saw the wind and thunder descend, destroying more than half of the Dragon Palace's final hall."

"At the time, I thought there was no chance of survival, yet I woke up here."

"Could it be..." She could not help touching the half Rosewood Pendant, lost in thought.

"Thinking about it now, that Blood Baleful Intent attack was rather subtle. It seemed it had not originally been aimed at me, but shifted slightly when it struck. Could it be that I was locked onto because I am a demon?"

Yet no matter how she thought about it, she could not figure out the exact reason.

More importantly, suspicion had already taken root in her heart.

The opening of the Dragon Palace was certainly no ordinary matter. Ye Buhui and Su Ziji, who had solved the chess game within, were bound to be extraordinary.

Ye Buhui could be set aside. She was a woman and could not possibly be the "fated one." But Su Ziji was far too suspicious—yet the Rosewood Pendant gave no response whatsoever.

"Nineteen, wake up." After thinking for a moment, Hu Xiyan pushed her.

"Ah, I am so tired. Sister, why are you awake so early?" Hu Shijiu was pushed awake and yawned, looking quite puzzled.

"How did you fall asleep just now? Do you remember?" Hu Xiyan asked.

"..." Hu Shijiu did not understand what her sister meant. Only after a while did she react. "Didn't the chess match end, and then everyone rested?"

"..." Hu Xiyan was startled. She was quick-witted as ice and snow, and immediately thought of it: could it be that, aside from the chess players, everyone else believed this was simply normal rest after the chess match, without a single person growing suspicious?

That was truly terrifying for a fox.

Massively altering memories—how could that not inspire fear?

"Little Nineteen, have you heard about the Dragon Lord of Coiling Dragon Lake's Water Palace?" Hu Xiyan asked, watching her expression.

Hu Shijiu yawned. Though she was a junior of the Fox Tribe, she had entered Green Hill and absorbed spiritual energy. After receiving a seed, she had been favored and thus worked on the pleasure boat all along, so she had indeed heard quite a few tales about the Dragon Lord of this place.

"I know about that!" Once she finished yawning, she spoke at once. As a young fox, she very much wanted to show off her broad knowledge. "Coiling Dragon Lake's Water Palace originally had a Dragon Lord. Hundreds of years ago, he became the master of Coiling Dragon Lake. Not only did the Demon Race within the lake obey his commands, even the Water Demons connected to Coiling Dragon Lake followed his orders."

"Some foxes said that he would later become the Demon Emperor who established the Demon Court, but I do not think that is possible!"

As Hu Shijiu spoke, she licked her lips. She remembered Zhengde Braised Chicken again. Why did she feel so hungry? Could it be that she had not eaten before sleeping?

That was impossible. She might forget anything else, but she would never forget that.

Yet her stomach was still hungry!

Her sister did not notice this at all, so she could only draw out her voice and say, "Later, for some unknown reason, that Dragon Lord stopped appearing. The local Water Tribe lost its restraints and, over time, simply fell apart."

"Sister, are you hungry? Let's go to the kitchen and see whether there is anything to eat!"

"Dragon Lord, Demon Court..." Hu Xiyan noticed her pleading look. After staring blankly for a moment, she sighed. In truth, this was all she knew as well, but due to what she had personally experienced, she could almost certainly conclude that the Dragon Lord truly was the Demon Emperor who would later establish the Demon Court for a brief time.

It should not have been the fading of spiritual energy; that was a slow process.

But the Demon Emperor's disappearance had happened over a short period.

Did the opening of the Dragon Palace have some special connection with the fated one? She racked her brains without finding an answer. Seeing Hu Shijiu's pitiful gaze, she suddenly heard some movement outside. Thoughtfully, she rose. "I am a little hungry too. Let's go to the kitchen together and have a look."

Had the people outside awakened?

This would let her investigate whether all their memories had been altered.

And whether those who had been bitten to death or brushed by Against-the-Wind were truly all right.

"Great!" Hu Shijiu immediately rolled off the couch. Almost at the same moment she got down, a soft groan sounded. The pleasure boat had been utterly silent, but as sounds and movements gradually rose one after another, the boat that had fallen into deathly stillness came back to life.

Inside the pleasure boat's cabin, more than a dozen chess players lay sprawled out. The others who had also fallen unconscious were all seized by a collective headache, their brows tightly drawn together.

Seeing this, Su Ziji already had a guess in his heart. He gave Ye Buhui a look, and the two left the cabin for the deck.

It was dawn, yet dark clouds still hung heavy overhead, and threads of fine rain drifted down. Ye Buhui seemed to want to speak but hesitated. Clearly, she too was unsettled and suspicious about what had happened before.

"You still clearly remember what happened, but if my guess is correct, these people's memories have likely been tampered with," Su Ziji said in a low voice.

"Then we..."

"We obtained an opportunity, so naturally we are not among them. But we still do not know what memories were changed, or whether I have guessed wrongly. So do not make a sound about it. Watch quietly for changes. We can test them and find out."

As the two spoke, the people asleep in the cabin gradually woke up. Yet none of them recovered their clarity immediately.

"What is wrong with me? Why does my head hurt so much? Ow, it hurts me to death!" One chess player clutched his head, his brow furrowed and face twisted in pain.

"My head, ow, my head..." Another chess player at his side also held his head and groaned.

Zheng Yingci was among this group, but he differed somewhat from the others. Though his head hurt badly enough that he had to frown, scenes flashed rapidly through his mind.

Even under the pain, the images in his memories were being swiftly replaced. Yet his self-control was far stronger than the others', and for a time, he was actually able to contend against that invisible force.

He wanted to say something, but his throat hurt as well, and he could not utter a single sound.