Chapter 54: Mo Li's Tears
After Yun Che passed out, Mo Li's body no longer appeared in an illusory state. She slowly opened her eyes, looking at the bloodstains at the corner of Yun Che's mouth and the shocking wounds on his left arm. All the coldness and indifference in her gaze melted like thawing ice, replaced by a deep complexity and confusion...
Yun Che didn't know how long he had been unconscious. When he finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes, he immediately saw Mo Li's open eyes.
"Mo Li! You've regained consciousness!?" Yun Che cried out in surprise, though his voice was somewhat hoarse. When he tried to get up, he felt as if his body weighed thousands of kilograms. Weak from excessive blood loss, he struggled several times but couldn't stand.
"Why did you save me?" Mo Li's voice was still weak. She glanced again at the wounds on Yun Che's arm, then quickly looked away. "Wouldn't it have been better for you if I died? At least then you wouldn't have to worry about the things I asked you to promise me, and you wouldn't have to fear that I might kill you after reconstructing my body!"
"Because... Mo Li saved me with her life..."
"I did that to save myself!" Mo Li said, her voice a bit louder.
Yun Che was momentarily stunned, not understanding why his words had provoked such a strong reaction from her. He said helplessly, "Then... also because you are my master. As your disciple, how could I watch my master die?"
"Master?" Mo Li gave a bitter smile. "If I want to be reborn, I need to help you gain powerful profound strength in the shortest possible time. Becoming your master was only because I was unwilling to help you for nothing... ultimately, it was still for myself. Do you really think I did it for your sake?"
"I know all that." After saying this, Mo Li didn't see any disappointment on Yun Che's face; instead, she saw him smile slightly. Yun Che shifted his body, moving closer to Mo Li, looking into her eyes, and said gently, "But none of that matters. The most important reason I desperately wanted to save Mo Li is that Mo Li is a very... very beautiful girl, as beautiful as an angel."
Mo Li was stunned.
"Although Mo Li has been trying hard to appear cold, even intimidating, this fact is real. Mo Li can't hide it even if she tries. Having such a beautiful girl by my side, no one would want her to leave forever, and of course, I'm no exception... Isn't that reason enough?"
"What kind of reason is that..." Mo Li's lips, which had regained a bit of color, trembled slightly. "I've killed... so many people... Last year, on my twelfth birthday, I killed... more than 1.3 million people in one day... my whole body was stained red with blood... even my name was called 'Bloodstained Jasmine' by them..."
"!!!!" Yun Che's heart leaped violently... More than 1.3 million people in one day!?
Seeing the deep shock on Yun Che's face, Mo Li closed her eyes and said bitterly, "How can someone like me deserve to be called a beautiful girl... I am Mo Li... Bloodstained Jasmine... a terrifying demon who has killed many people..."
Yun Che stared at Mo Li for a long time... But his expression was not shock or fear, but a very complex emotion that no one could fully understand. After a long while, he looked at her and slowly shook his head: "Mo Li, although I can't imagine what it's like to kill so many people at the age of twelve, I believe it must be very painful—an indescribable pain that you never want to recall. Afterward, there will be countless nightmares and guilt, and you might even come to hate and loathe yourself, labeling yourself a demon, ruthless, and cruel to numb your soul..."
Mo Li's eyes widened, staring at him blankly.
"But I believe that Mo Li has always been a kind-hearted girl. The reason you turned yourself into the demon you most despise is entirely for the sake of someone important in your heart—perhaps your closest friend, perhaps your dearest family... someone like that, no matter how many people they kill or how much blood they spill, can never truly be a demon."
"Besides, a cute and beautiful girl can be forgiven even for the biggest mistakes. If you feel that you carry countless dirty sins on you, then I'll share those sins with Mo Li. Because you are my master, as a disciple, it's only right to bear such burdens together with my master."
Mo Li was completely dazed, staring at Yun Che as if she had lost her soul, her gaze becoming increasingly hazy... She couldn't understand why, after she confessed her cruel sins, he showed not fear or rejection... but looked at her with such gentle eyes and spoke such gentle words...
It shouldn't be like this... I killed so many people, I am such a terrifying demon. Everyone is afraid of me. It's impossible for anyone to like me anymore... Why did he desperately save me? Why did he show such gentle eyes... After mother and brother died, no one should have treated me like this...
Mo Li's gaze grew hazier and hazier. Through the blurry vision, Yun Che's face gradually transformed into the smiling face of her brother... In an instant, teardrops burst from the corners of her eyes. She who had sworn never to cry again found her tears flowing uncontrollably. The heart that had been sealed by hatred and guilt silently opened a tiny crack.
"...Mo Li, so you can cry too? Hmm, that's more like a girl?" Yun Che laughed. He reached out his finger, touched Mo Li's face, and gently wiped away her tears.
Mo Li didn't resist him but cried even harder. Between sobs, she said, "I... I am your master... You... you secretly kissed me so many times just now to save me, and now... you're making me cry in front of you... You can't... bully your master like this... waaah... waaaah..."
"Well, the master's reprimand is correct," Yun Che said with a smile. "Then when Little Master Mo Li recovers, she can punish me as she pleases. Even if she wants to kiss me back, I won't resist at all."
He had been completely right. Mo Li's true nature was not at all what she usually showed. Because he had experienced something very similar to her, had the same aura and gaze, and knew her heart—especially where her most fragile and softest spot lay.
After crying, Mo Li's mood gradually calmed down. Her body and soul were still weak, but the fatal danger had been largely suppressed. She reached out her small hand, forcefully wiped all the tears from her face, then tried hard to put on her usual cold and indifferent expression, but her eyes looked away, not meeting Yun Che's gaze. Then, with a somewhat cold and hard voice, she said, "Although the danger is gone now, I cannot use any profound strength for at least three months. Otherwise, even if you used all your blood, you wouldn't be able to save me."
"I understand. From now on, I will be as careful as possible and won't let something like this happen again." Yun Che said with deep guilt.
"That red bead you got—eat it... That thing might be what I mentioned to you before—the Evil God's Seed!"
"Ah?" Yun Che picked up the strange red bead that had been obtained at the cost of Mo Li nearly dying, and said in surprise, "You mean... this is..."
"I'm just guessing. The reason the Flame Dragon stayed in this place all along was probably because of it. When you picked it up earlier, I sensed very strange fire elements inside, elements I've never seen before. You said you felt something summoning you, and when you held it, you weren't burned by it at all. So perhaps it really is one of the five Evil God Seeds mentioned in the memory imprint!" Mo Li said in a not entirely certain tone.
"And also..." Mo Li bit her lip slightly in a place Yun Che couldn't see. "From now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to touch my face."
With that, Mo Li transformed into a red light and returned to the Heavenly Poison Pearl, leaving Yun Che speechless.
First she was cold-faced, then she cried her eyes out, and now she's putting on a stiff face with a murderous tone... The speed at which girls change their faces is truly unmatched.
Yun Che's body was also very weak now. The massive blood loss had severely damaged his vitality, and he estimated that even walking would be difficult. Now, not to mention a Flame Dragon, if even an ordinary profound beast showed up, both he and Mo Li would be finished here.
"If killing 1.3 million people in one day is an unforgivable sin, if that makes me a demon, a bloodstained Jasmine... then what about me, who poisoned 7.7 million people in one day, turning an entire city into a toxic hell, with corpses strewn everywhere?" Yun Che murmured silently in his heart. "Speaking of demons... I am the true demon... So I have never dared to defile the angel by my side... until the day I lost her forever..."
Yun Che closed his eyes and was silent for a long time. Then he opened his eyes, spread his palm, and looked at the round bead emitting a strange red light. Thinking about Mo Li's words, he hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth and threw it into his mouth.
Holding it gave him no discomfort, but rather an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness. He didn't worry about poison... Anyway, eating it couldn't have a bad result, right?
He swallowed the red bead forcefully, and it went down into his stomach.
In that instant, he felt his profound veins violently stir. Before he could even check the disturbance in his veins, a mass of red light suddenly burst from the surface of his body. Then, the red light transformed into raging flames, burning on the surface of his body, bathing his entire body in crimson fire.
"This... is?"
The sudden flames startled him. What shocked him even more was that under such flames, his body felt no burning sensation at all, but instead a strange comfort. Even his clothes remained completely unharmed amidst the flames. It was as if these terrifying flames were merely illusory light.