Sixty-Five Frames

Qiao Ranran's face went blank. "Am I supposed to be surprised?" Neither of them had said anything outright about Pei Ling's origins or identity, but they both knew.

Since the conversation had gone this far, Qiao Ranran decided to say it plainly. "Junior Brother Pei, have you been here before? After the Pei Family was destroyed, those people sent you here?"

A strange look crossed Pei Ling's eyes. He apparently hadn't expected Qiao Ranran to bring the question into the open, much less ask it as naturally as if they were discussing something perfectly ordinary.

Then Qiao Ranran asked the question she had wanted answered most of all. "Junior Brother Pei, when did you come back?"

When had it been?

After spending so long in the Demon Realm, time had seemed to lose its meaning. In truth, Pei Ling didn't know how long he had spent in the Abyss. By the time he found a chance to climb out and return to the Mortal World, hundreds of years had passed.

Even the ruins of the Pei Family were gone, and many of those who had attacked the family were no longer alive.

Revenge? It had meant nothing to him. Back then, he had only wanted to destroy the world. And he had succeeded.

Then he had come back again, to that roadside, where he met Qiao Ranran.

It was as if heaven itself had wanted to make amends, giving him a chance to change something. To him, that chance was a joke. No matter what he changed, everything he had endured had already happened. The marks left on his Divine Soul would never disappear.

The Toxicity that had persisted through his Rebirth was proof enough.

But his mind had been in chaos then. By the time he came to his