Outside the preparation room, Jing Yuan, who was usually calm and composed, couldn't help but feel his heartbeat quicken a little. It had been many years since he last saw his old acquaintance, and he didn't know what condition she was in now.
Moreover, her performance on the arena earlier was not very good, which made him even more worried.
Click—
The door opened. Ruan Mei stood at the entrance, her voice gentle like a mother's: "You three, is there something you need?"
Stelle: "Hello, we are—"
Whoosh—
Before she could finish half her sentence, a sharp sword light suddenly flashed, causing all three to involuntarily squint—
!
When they opened their eyes again, Jingliu's sword was already suspended in front of them, pointed straight at Jing Yuan. Just as it was about to fall, the latter caught it with a muscle-memory-like "bare-handed blade catch."
Jing Yuan's expression was grave as he comforted them: "Don't panic, you two. I'm used to this."
Thud!
However, in the next second, Jingliu kicked Jing Yuan in the abdomen. The latter spat out a mouthful of saliva and flew backward.
"You are… what person again?"
Jingliu stepped on Jing Yuan with one foot, looking down from above as she murmured: "I remember you… You were always lectured by me in the past. You probably aren't a good person, right? Speak! Did you come to my door seeking revenge?!"
Jing Yuan: "Ah? Master, I'm your disciple! Have you really forgotten me?"
Jingliu: "Oh? You even called me Master to save your life? You really have no backbone. I despise you!"
With that, Jingliu pulled out her ice sword and stabbed down.
Jing Yuan clamped the blade with both hands and swallowed hard: "Lady over there, may I ask what the situation is?"
Ruan Mei took out a bottle of spray-type potion and threw it toward Jingliu: "Go, 'Good Baby Potion'! Subdue Jingliu!"
Crack—
Because they were both within the effective range of the potion, Jingliu and Jing Yuan froze at the same time. A few seconds later, both of them simultaneously began wailing loudly like newborn babies.
Jing Yuan / Jingliu: "Wah— Wah— Wah—"
Stelle: !!!
"Ah… Sorry, I forgot the potion has an area effect." Ruan Mei said apologetically: "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Ruan Mei, a biological scientist."
"This Miss Jingliu is someone I encountered while traveling in the cosmos. At the time, she was on the verge of the long-life species' mara-struck state. I couldn't bear to let her fall into madness alone, so I became her primary physician and helped control her condition."
"However, she has just returned to her homeland. It seems the old memories stimulated her brain again, causing the mara-struck state to relapse… Are you her old acquaintances?"
Stelle coughed once and explained: "The two of us are… friends of her friends, which is basically the same as friends. That white-haired big brother over there is Miss Jingliu's disciple."
Ruan Mei suddenly understood: "Oh~ So that's how it is. No wonder Jingliu was fine just now and then suddenly had an episode."
Jingliu (good baby state) crawled to Ruan Mei's side, her eyes clear and her voice childish: "Mama~"
Stelle: ...
What a terrifying obedience potion!
"Hm?"
At this moment, Stelle felt someone tug at the corner of her clothes. She turned back and saw Jing Yuan with equally clear eyes and a childish voice: "Mom…"
Bang!
March 7th kicked the dead kid away with one foot.
Ruan Mei stroked Jingliu's head to soothe her emotions while explaining: "Unfortunately, Miss Jingliu has accumulated too many memories in her brain. These memories constantly impact her consciousness every moment. Unless her life level is changed at the root, her time is running out."
"This is also why I brought her back to her homeland."
"This…" Stelle looked troubled. "Miss Ruan Mei, you should explain this matter clearly to Jing Yuan. Strictly speaking, we only learned of Miss Jingliu's existence today. Jing Yuan is probably her last remaining relative and friend in this world."
Ruan Mei glanced at Jing Yuan, who was still in "good baby" state, and nodded slightly: "That works. Let me find the antidote… Found it!"
She took out a baby bottle and handed it to Jing Yuan: "Drink up, drink up. Milk is the antidote to all potions."
Jing Yuan: (Slurp slurp slurp)
Jing Yuan: ...
Jing Yuan: "…What just happened?"
Ruan Mei explained the specific situation to him. After listening, Jing Yuan's expression turned serious. There was a bit of reluctance and a bit of helplessness: "So that's how it is… Then how much time does she have left?"
"Around one week, depending on the specific circumstances," Ruan Mei said.
...
Listening to the conversation between the two, Stelle couldn't help but sigh softly: She had thought Jingliu's return this time would be a joyful reunion between master and disciple, but unexpectedly…
Hm?
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Stelle. She secretly poked March 7th and whispered: "March, can you still use that hidden power of yours? The one that makes others lose their memory."
March 7th nodded. "Why?"
Stelle whispered: "Isn't the Xianzhou people's mara-struck state caused by having too many memories that exceed the body's capacity? Can't your ability save her?"
March 7th pondered: "Eh, now that you mention it, theoretically it's not impossible."
The two hit it off immediately and told Ruan Mei about the idea.
"Will this work?" Stelle looked at Ruan Mei, hoping for an affirmative answer.
Ruan Mei blinked: "I don't know either. I've never tried it."
"But we can give it a try~ Treat a dead horse as a live horse doctor~"
"…Although it feels a bit unreliable, okay then."
Under everyone's gaze, March 7th placed one hand on Jingliu's forehead. A dark red jellyfish flowed into the latter's body through her fingertips, instantly making Jingliu's eyes dazed.
A dozen seconds later, Jingliu suddenly narrowed her beautiful eyes. She had clearly regained consciousness. She looked around and her gaze stopped on Jing Yuan. She immediately sneered: "Good, you little bastard who deceives your master and destroys your ancestors. I was just worrying I couldn't find you, yet you delivered yourself to my door!"
"Today your master shall clean up the sect!"
With that, she raised her hand to condense an ice sword and brought it down—
Slap!
At the critical moment, Jing Yuan's palms came together like lightning and once again successfully caught the blade bare-handed. He swallowed hard and asked tentatively: "Master, are you the daytime version or the nighttime version?"
Jingliu: "Oh? What? You only acknowledge me as your master at night but not during the day? You even dare to resist. Prepare to die!"
The three people on the side watched in confusion: What kind of situation is this now?
Stelle looked at March 7th with inquiring eyes. The latter shrugged: "I'm not sure either. Miss Jingliu's memories are too long. I couldn't possibly watch them all personally, so I could only roughly delete a portion."
"You can understand Miss Jingliu's lifetime memories as a movie. I deleted the last third, so Miss Jingliu is currently in a certain state from many years ago at a certain moment."
"Perhaps at this time, there happened to be some misunderstanding between her and Jing Yuan?"