Lin Ge coughed weakly, a flush rising on his face. "Fenghuang'er, you've become so... indirect! If you're going to kill the boy, just do it. Why humiliate him first?"
The Demon Phoenix chuckled softly. "Humiliate? Come on. If he truly were unyielding, I'm the one who is going to get humiliated—but look at that face of his—doesn't this make it all the more amusing?"
Li Xun heard every word. His face burned hot, then went cold in the next instant.
Qi Yun was right there beside him—completely powerless. If he raised his hand right now and struck her down, as the Demon Phoenix had suggested… he might actually live. That was the first thought that popped into his mind.
And the Demon Phoenix was all right. If he were truly a man of unwavering righteousness and moral integrity, then his first instinct should've been to end his life, to give that sliver of hope to his senior and companion.
But he'd hesitated.
And that single moment of hesitation—regardless of what thoughts were in my heart—laid the darkest, most selfish side of him bare.
A man like Li Xun always wrapped his secrets tightly, layer upon layer, terrified that even the slightest trace might slip out in front of others.
Because once it showed—it meant total defeat.
And right now, he had lost. Completely.
For one terrifying second, the thought consumed him: to throw everything aside—shame, pride, honor—and strike down Qi Yun. Live on, groveling under the Demon Phoenix's mercy. Like a dog.
But somewhere deep inside, buried under fear and calculation, a long-suppressed fire burst loose.
It was the kind of reckless heat only the young carry—a spark of raw defiance. It surged straight to his head.
He tilted head up to the heavens and let out a wild roar. Then he fiercely flipped his palm and aimed it straight at his own forehead!
His inner breath erupted like a pot boiling over—chaotic and unstable. Time itself seemed to slow. Memories from the last seventeen years flashed by in a blur.
Childhood glory, followed by seven years of hardship—now caught between life and death, that fragile thread of survival seemed like drifting dust in the wind, swirling around him yet offering no chance to grasp it...
The chaotic gusts from his palm lashed against his face, stinging his skin—and that faint pain, like an icy needle from an arctic snowfield, pierced straight into his heart. The chill surged up to his head, freezing the last bit of hot-blooded resolve that had just awoken within him.
And then, like floodgates opening, everything he'd tried not to think about—everything he'd buried—came crashing back.
The freedom he had pursued, the power he had longed for, the immortal path he had dreamed of—all of it erupted forth at this moment
If he wanted those dreams to come true, how could he die now?
How could he die now!
How could h—
Smack!
A crisp smack of flesh rang out.
Li Xun was sent tumbling backward, collapsing face-down on the ground. He didn't move.
Several breaths passed before a sob tore out of his throat. His face twisted, and he let out a hoarse, gut-wrenching wail—howling like a wounded animal.
He was weeping as if his heart were being torn apart. And over on the other side, the Demon Phoenix merely said coolly, "This is your disciple?"
Lin Ge let out a couple of low chuckles. No joy in them. Just strange and hollow.
And to laugh in this moment—itself felt insane.
Li Xun suddenly realized he couldn't cry anymore.
Not because he'd run out of tears.
Because he'd never really meant to cry in the first place.
He didn't even feel sad. That breakdown? It'd just been a last-minute reaction; feeling that he had lost face, he had tried to squeeze out a few tears, to salvage a bit of dignity, to make it seem like he hadn't already betrayed everything.
He had thought he'd hidden it well enough.
But now, hearing their words—he knew.
To them, this had never been anything but a pathetic little show. A farce.
Shame and fury crashed over him like a tide, and he wished he didn't exist. Squeezing his eyes shut, he didn't dare look at anyone. All he wanted now was to find a crack in the ground to crawl into—and never come out again.
And then—
A faint scent drifted into his nose. Sweet, intoxicating, mixed strangely with the dusty smell of the earth. It was oddly compelling.
He froze for a second, then his mind clicked.
The Demon Phoenix. It's her scent!
He couldn't help it. He opened his eyes.
And all he saw was red.
The hem of her dress, layers upon layers of sheer silk, swaying like tongues of flame. A fiery curtain that consumed his vision.
In an instant, it consumed all his senses.
"Your disciple… has quite the familiar face."
Words like these, Li Xun had long grown numb to. But what the Demon Phoenix did next… that, he'd never experienced.
She lifted him.
Not entirely off the ground—unlike Qi Yun, at least his feet still touched earth. He was nonetheless suspended like a child caught by the scruff.
For the first time, he saw her face from just inches away. Even this close, he couldn't find the slightest flaw.
Flawless. Perfect.
Except those eyes—those bottomless, abyssal eyes—sent cold dread flooding through every nerve in his body.
The Demon Phoenix released her grip, letting him stand on his own.
Li Xun had to summon all the strength he had just to steady his trembling legs and maintain his balance.
His chattering teeth and rustling clothes betrayed a fear so overwhelming, it had already broken past his limit.
But the chattering of his teeth and the rustling of his quivering clothes betrayed the truth—his fear had already overflowed, far beyond what he could conceal.
The Demon Phoenix laughed softly. "Why so tense? Go on—look at your master."
Obediently, Li Xun turned his stiff neck. And before his eyes could even focus on Lin Ge, something soft and warm pressed gently against his cheek.
His entire body froze. Eyes wide. Limbs like a block of wood.
In a daze, he vaguely heard the Demon Phoenix's playful voice: "Darling, what do you think? Does it look familiar?"
Familiar... like what?
The thought barely formed before it slipped away. Because in that moment, all that filled his mind was one terrifying fact— she pressed her face against mine... with her face... against mine...
Not her hand. Not her sleeve. Her face.
Once this knowledge fully registered in his brain, Li Xun's body went limp. He collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud.
At first, he was blank. But then—terror hit him like a tidal wave.
Why did she do that?
In his ears came Lin Ge's laughter. Cold, biting. With a faint, teeth-gritting undercurrent.
At first, Li Xun thought it was because Lin Ge was furious at him—furious that he'd become a prop in this game of humiliation.
But no… that couldn't be it.
Lin Ge wasn't the type to be so petty.
Then why?
His mind was already a swirl of chaos. Yet within that paste-like mess of thoughts, he suddenly broke through—a flash of insight burst forth, like lightning splitting the darkness of night. With a crackling roar, it lit up the world in a blinding white.
Could it be... Jade Wanderer?! Holy hell! My face actually looks like Jade Wanderer's?!
Li Xun lay slumped on the ground, his heart overwhelmed by a flood of emotions—panic at the realization, and a deep-rooted fear, surging over him in crashing waves that threatened to drown him.
His body had nothing left to give, but strangely, his mind had never been clearer.
These changes had drained the last drop of strength from his body, but his mind, surprisingly, had never felt clearer.
Because that was the only explanation that made sense.
Immediately, things started to fall into place.
Qingyin on Zuowang Peak—why had she shown him such special attention? Why had she sent him to meet Zhong Yin? Why had she altered his appearance?
Why had Qingxu and Mingji looked at him with such strange eyes?
Of course, the most telling piece of evidence was the cryptic, almost riddle-like conversation between the Demon Phoenix and Lin Ge.
It all clicked.
Jade Wanderer!
Everything traced back to him. Put Jade Wanderer at the center of it all, and every weird interaction, every strange behavior—suddenly made perfect sense.
And the worst part? This was all after his face had been changed.
What if he'd kept his original face?
Even the hint of that possibility made feel as if his entire body had been submerged in freezing water—his blood freezing.
The Demon Phoenix let out a soft sigh. "Your disciple... has none of his abilities, but wears his face? That's a death wish."
Hearing the word "death," Li Xun's heart plunged straight into an icy abyss.
Could this be the reason the Demon Phoenix intended to kill him?
He wanted to run. But not even a finger would move.
He thought of relying on Lin Ge.
But... what could Lin Ge possibly do now?
Li Xun could feel it—Lin Ge had suffered severe injuries and had been cruelly provoked by the Demon Phoenix. The physical and metal blows had long since crushed his will. Sure, he was still putting up a front, but there was no real fight left in him. At this point, it was obvious he was just trying to provoke her into killing him and be done with it.
But how could things ever go the way he wanted?
Sure enough, the demon phoenix looked at Lin Ge and gave a chilling, grinding smile. She was clearly enjoying this.
Then she said something that made Li Xun's mind explode.
"My dear Lin," she cooed, "why don't you choose someone yourself to deliver the message?"
A thunderclap seemed to go off in Li Xun's head. His heart twisted painfully, then swelled like it was about to burst. His limp, useless body suddenly tensed up like stone, and he started trembling even worse than before.
For a long while, the mountain path was dead silent. Not a single breath. Everyone held still, frozen.
Just when Li Xun thought he was going to break, Lin Ge finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and weary, stripped of the forced calm he'd been holding on to.
"My life's in your hands. No point in talking. Do as you please." He paused, then suddenly chuckled. There was no telling how much bitterness was hidden in that laugh. "Fenghuang'er, dragging it out like this—that's not really your style."
"That's more like it," the Demon Phoenix said softly. "No need to be anxious, my dear Lan."
She didn't even glance at Li Xun again—just turned away and sent a wave of true breath to the unconscious Qi Yun, jolting her awake.
"Let's give this girl a chance too."
The Demon Phoenix was clearly in high spirits. And because of that, Li Xun's slim chance of survival had just been cut in half.
Head still bowed, he didn't dare move. He just heard Qi Yun groan faintly—then let out a scream.
And the screaming didn't stop.
"So noisy." The Demon Phoenix's voice was calm, almost bored—but as she spoke, the air suddenly seemed to heat up. The world itself fell silent.
Li Xun flinched. Even with his head down, he saw a wisp of black ash skim across the ground, carried off by the wind.
The Demon Phoenix murmured, almost to herself, "Guess I'll let you have this one... I do like my peace and quiet, after all."
Thanks to Qi Yun's foolishness, Li Xun had somehow walked away with the only remaining ticket to survival.
…I'm still alive? The thought flashed through his mind. A moment ago, he'd felt like a rock—now, it was like he'd melted into the mountain path beneath him.
Every muscle gave out. He completely let go. His vision clouded like a veil of mist had fallen over it. The world no longer felt real.
Then warmth spread down his legs. A hot stream soaked through his clothes, and the sharp stench of his piss filled the mountain path.