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Yin Fan snorted coldly. From the moment he appeared in this room, he had known where he was.

But even his past self could not act like this, much less...

"How could a mere illusion with my memories be closer to Senior Brother than I am?"

At this, Wu Fei chuckled softly. "Naturally, he cannot compare to you."

He had noticed it on their way back to the city earlier. Though the illusion shared Yin Fan's appearance and memories, it was ultimately only something the Obstruction Devil had conjured from everyone's memories. In the finer details, it still felt quite different from the real person.

Naturally, the one outside the door was not as real or endearing as the one before him.

Now that he had found Yin Fan, Wu Fei no longer needed to remain within the illusion. Before the person outside could enter, he left a note saying, "Thank you for saving me. Something came up, so I have left," then concealed himself along with Yin Fan.

After little Jing Fanyu and the maid left the courtyard, Wu Fei and Yin Fan appeared in the room next door.

The maid had cleaned the room until it was neat and tidy. Two paintings hung on the wall: one of ducks playing in the water, the other of fish leaping in a shallow stream. The style was somewhat childish.

Wu Fei noticed the slight change in Yin Fan's expression when he saw the paintings on the wall. His gaze shifted, and he focused on the seals in the corners of the two paintings. Once he made them out, his lips curved slightly. "Your painting skills are quite good, Demon Venerable."

A trace of embarrassment flashed through Yin Fan's eyes. He forced it down and lifted his chin slightly. "If you like them, Buddha's Son, I shall paint one for you another day."

A hint of amusement rose in Wu Fei's eyes. "Then, sorry for the trouble, Demon Venerable."

Wu Fei casually picked up the bamboo slips on the desk and opened them. Yin Fan leaned closer to look as well. "I read this book as a child and have long since forgotten most of it. To think the Obstruction Devil could even reproduce its contents..."

Though neither knew how the Obstruction Devil had done it, their wariness of him deepened.

Just then, several voices suddenly reached their ears, sounding like guards grumbling.

"Honestly, where did that madwoman come from? She threw herself at the young city lord the moment she saw him..."

"The young city lord is too kind. He even told us to prepare food for her..."

"Find a courtyard to lock her in for now and have someone watch her. Don't let her disrupt tonight's banquet."

A madwoman?

A vague suspicion arose in Wu Fei's mind. He exchanged a glance with Yin Fan, and with perfect tacit understanding, they flashed toward the voices together.

It was an extremely secluded courtyard in the city lord's residence. A tall parasol tree stood within, looking faintly eerie in the darkness.

A disheveled woman sat at the stone table beneath the tree, ignoring the food laid out before her. Both her hands gripped a steamed bun, pressing deep dents into it as she muttered, "Senior Brother Jing is mine, mine... you promised... mine..."

Wu Fei narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's Liu Yuexuan."

The "madwoman" the guards had mentioned was indeed Liu Yuexuan, but what did "you promised" mean? Who had promised Liu Yuexuan what?

Yin Fan remained expressionless. "Looks like she's gone mad." He felt nothing about it. Liu Yuexuan had approached him with ill intentions to begin with. Now that she had gone mad, she had only herself to blame.

As the night deepened, the two no longer stayed inside the city lord's residence. Instead, they concealed their forms and auras and hid in the sky above it.

On the Blazing Cold Sword, the white-robed Buddha's Son sat upright, while the Demon Venerable opposite him sat in a casual posture.

Wu Fei lowered his gaze and silently watched little Jing Fanyu below, his eyes narrowing slightly as he pondered.

As he thought, a familiar presence drew close beside him. "Is he better-looking than me, Brother Wu Fei?"

There was a trace of jealousy in his voice, and the words "Brother Wu Fei" in particular were laden with resentment.

Wu Fei laughed inwardly and withdrew his gaze, a faint smile inevitably touching his expression. He pointed below. "Look at the aura around him."

Yin Fan looked closely and saw specks of spiritual qi floating around the illusion that wore his face. With each breath, the illusion absorbed the spiritual qi into its body. At this sight, his expression grew a little grave as well.

"It isn't a real Myriad Spirits Body," Wu Fei said. "But being able to accomplish this much is still not to be underestimated."

This was also why Wu Fei had not immediately doubted little Jing Fanyu's identity when they first met. Only afterward, on the way back to Heavenly Clear City with him, had he sensed something amiss.

The Obstruction Devil must have glimpsed some information about the spirit body in Yin Fan's memories, making this illusion a little more realistic.

But to those familiar with him, there were still discernible differences between the real person and the illusion.

Only after learning that Wu Fei had not simply been watching that illusion did Yin Fan's expression return to normal.

Wu Fei turned his prayer beads a few times, then suddenly stopped as something occurred to him. "Junior Brother, did your parents go to the east of the city to meet an honored guest before the banquet that day?"

Yin Fan nodded, then asked thoughtfully, "Why do you ask, Senior Brother...?"

"Though truth and falsehood are difficult to distinguish in this illusion," Wu Fei explained, "since this was in your memories, it most likely truly happened..."

"Before you found me, I saw the Buddhist cultivator your parents went to meet."

At the words "Buddhist cultivator," Yin Fan froze briefly before asking, "A Buddhist cultivator... who was it?"

Wu Fei slowly turned his prayer beads, his voice extremely soft. "My master."

After speaking, he raised his eyes slightly to look at Yin Fan, only to pause abruptly when their gazes met.

A smile lingered at the corners of Yin Fan's lips, and his eyes shone brightly, especially stirring in the faint darkness.

Wu Fei had not expected such a reaction. His hand stilled on his prayer beads as he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Yin Fan propped his chin on one hand. "I'm very happy that you're being honest with me, Senior Brother."

He knew full well that Sect Leader Jingguan had not participated in that incident back then, but his meeting with Yin Fan's parents before the city's massacre was still suspicious. Thus, he was very glad that Wu Fei had not concealed this matter.

Wu Fei gave him a long look, then lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. "Once we leave the Flame Spirit Realm, I will ask my master about this myself and get to the bottom of it."