"Miss March 7th, didn't you say you deleted her later memories?" Jing Yuan asked March 7th in a low voice.
March 7th shrugged: "I'm not sure about that either. Maybe this memory was too deeply imprinted in her mind and wasn't forgotten… Wait!"
March 7th looked at Jing Yuan suspiciously: "Old Jing, we've known you for quite a while now. We know you're an honest person, but looking at the current situation, could it be that you previously…"
Jing Yuan: "It wasn't me, I didn't! That was… that was to ensure her safety!"
"So what exactly happened?" Stelle asked curiously.
Jing Yuan: Sweating.jpg
Jingliu let out a cold laugh: "Rebellious disciple, it seems you also know you're guilty and have no face to say it out loud."
Jing Yuan gritted his teeth: "Fine, I'll say it! A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe. I have a clear conscience!"
The following is Jing Yuan's narration:
Stellar Calendar XXXX, after the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion.
It was still the same house. Jing Yuan sat on the sofa, but this time it was nighttime. He had no bruises or swelling on his face, and Yingxing's "Yo, Jing Yuan, you're up so early today" was no longer by his side.
The house that was originally occupied by five people suddenly lost three, naturally making it feel much colder and emptier.
No… to be precise, it was four, because the white-haired woman besides him was currently lying quietly in the room, unconscious all day long, like a lifeless doll.
During this period, whether it was day or night, Jingliu never woke up. Jing Yuan even started to miss the nighttime personality of his master's "encouragement."
If this continued, the Ten-Lords Commission would soon come to "collect her." After all, they held the power of life and death over long-life species. To prevent long-life species from transforming into mara-struck monsters after reaching their limit, the Ten-Lords Commission had specially established corresponding judges.
But Jing Yuan also knew that once the judges took Jingliu away, it would be equivalent to announcing her complete death.
Click—
The door handle on the side turned. A physician walked out and regretfully shook his head: "I have done everything I can."
Jing Yuan quickly walked up to the physician: "How is my master right now?"
Physician: "Prepare for the funeral. Those who have fallen into mara have their six senses inverted and all human relationships scattered. She has almost completely entered the mara-struck state. Perhaps the next second she will directly turn into a monster covered in golden branches and leaves."
Jing Yuan was stunned: "Then what should we do? Does she need euthanasia?"
The physician shook his head: "No need. Just call the Ten-Lords Commission. They will handle mara-struck patients uniformly."
After giving a few more instructions, the physician left the house, leaving only Jing Yuan and one other person.
Jing Yuan looked into the bedroom. There, the white-haired woman lay on the bed with her eyes tightly closed. From her slightly furrowed willow brows, even her dreams were uneasy.
"Sigh, Master, how did you end up like this?"
Jing Yuan pulled over a chair and murmured in front of the bed: "Weren't you the Chief Instructor of the Luofu's 800,000 Cloud Knights? Weren't you the legendary long-lived king over a thousand years old? Weren't you the greatest swordmaster of the Luofu? How come you're now even worse off than an ordinary person?"
"Ah… I don't know if you still remember. The first day I met you, around this time as well, your second personality set its sights on me and beat me all the way while I grew up."
"Now, Baiheng is gone, Yingxing's whereabouts are unknown, Dan Feng is no longer Dan Feng, and you… you already have one foot in the coffin."
"The physician said your time is running out. If you could wake up a little earlier, you might still be able to enjoy the last moments of your life…"
As if hearing Jing Yuan's murmured words and moved by the genuine emotion he showed, Jingliu's long eyelashes suddenly trembled imperceptibly. She then slowly opened her eyes: "…Jing… Yuan?"
Jing Yuan was first stunned, then cried tears of joy: "Master, you're finally awake. Your disciple thought he would never be able to speak to you again in this life…"
—"Stop!"
Jingliu irritably slapped Jing Yuan on the head: "I only entered the mara-struck state, I'm not senile. I remember everything that happened back then clearly. I'll give you one more chance to confess honestly. Otherwise, don't blame your master for being ruthless!"
Jing Yuan shrank his neck sheepishly and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Doesn't this show how deep our master-disciple bond is?"
He cleared his throat and recounted again:
"…Jing… Jing Yuan?"
Jingliu opened her eyes in confusion: "Ah… so you're here. That's really—"
Duang!
Jing Yuan pulled out a hammer from his pocket and smashed it straight onto Jingliu's head: "Master, don't worry! I will definitely not let you, who has fallen into the mara-struck state, harm the Xianzhou!"
"I will watch over the rest of your time!"
The physician had already said earlier that Jingliu had entered the mara-struck state. Although no golden branches and leaves had grown on her body, that didn't mean she was still normal.
In Jing Yuan's view, out of the five major symptoms of the mara-struck state, Jingliu already had four.
Jingliu's head buzzed from the hammer strike, but as a super Xianzhou native, she only felt slightly dizzy for a few seconds after the heavy blow. A fierce glint then appeared in her red pupils: "Rebellious disciple, you—"
Duang!
Tears welled up in Jing Yuan's eyes as his voice carried endless sorrow: "Master! I know you're still worried about me. I will prove it to you with actual actions!"
"Jing Yuan, you—"
Duang!
"Damn monster, although you currently look exactly like my master, for the peace of the Xianzhou, even if it pains me, I will not hesitate in the slightest!"
Jingliu's body was currently weak and had no resistance against Jing Yuan's hammer. She was quickly knocked unconscious.
Jing Yuan looked at Jingliu's slightly reddened forehead, let out a heavy sigh, then dropped the hammer and said: "Master, how good would it be if you could wake up right now?"
"…It's fine even if you don't wake up. I won't hand you over to the Ten-Lords Commission. After you pass, I will bury you together with Baiheng. Although your second personality isn't interested in her, your first personality really liked her."
"Burying you two together is probably the last thing I can do."
...
Jing Yuan finished telling the story in a heavy voice, then said indignantly to Stelle and the other two: "You three be the judges. In this matter, didn't I fulfill the filial duty a disciple should have?"
"Although… although I knocked her out, was it on purpose? Touch your consciences and tell me — was that on purpose? If anyone is to blame, blame that physician!"
"It was the physician who said Jingliu had already entered the mara-struck state and that waking up again would likely be dangerous, so I subconsciously took action. I didn't know that nothing would actually happen later!"
Stelle and the other two nodded: "What you said does make some sense…"
Whoosh—
Jingliu said nothing and simply kept swinging her sword.
Jing Yuan knelt on one knee and slammed his palms together once more, catching the blade bare-handed: "Old ha-… Jingliu! I really won't hold back anymore!"
"Rebellious disciple, avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, twisting black and white!"
Jingliu's blood-red eyes stared coldly at Jing Yuan: "Then why don't you talk about what happened after that?!"