Mingyue's expression was not that rich; she could not possibly smile at a villager, let alone show a look of sorrow. Yet just moments ago, she had smiled faintly at the villager who opened the door for her, and when I asked her about Old Man Gao, her face transformed into one of deep sadness. So I was certain that the Mingyue before me was not the real Mingyue; she was a fake.
Suddenly shouting this caused all the villagers to pause in surprise, looking at me incredulously. "Lin Xiaodi, are you alright? This is clearly Mingyue!" I didn’t explain; I just watched the Mingyue before me with a wary expression. Mu Yan approached silently, standing beside me with a similarly cautious gaze fixed on the Mingyue in front of us.
"Hey, how did you figure it out?" The fake Mingyue asked with an amused tone, her eyes scrutinizing me as if I were a clown performing tricks. "You’re definitely not Mingyue; you must be the Fox Demon." I was surprised by how readily she admitted it, but as I spoke, I raised the Yellow Talisman in my hand, ready to unleash the Sword of the Underworld at any moment.
Seeing this, she smiled playfully and said, "Little guy, put away that talisman; it won’t work on me." The villagers behind me took another step back, their eyes filled with both anger and fear as they stared at the fake Mingyue. I frowned and said sternly, "Stop talking nonsense and show your true form."
"True form?" She laughed lightly. "How do I do that? I am Mingyue!" Her words confused me further; regardless of whether she was real or fake, taking action was what mattered. I quickly recited an incantation, folding the talisman into a long strip and forming a hand gesture before flicking my fingers to send a Purple Light directly at her.
She stood still, watching me with an amused expression as if I were merely entertaining her. My face grew serious as the purple beam struck her, but oddly enough, it vanished upon contact—disappearing without a trace. What was happening? I stared at her in disbelief, my expression growing more grave.
Seeing my concern, she chuckled and said, "I told you that won’t work on me." I swallowed hard and asked in fear, "Who are you really?"
"Who am I?" She smiled coyly and began to walk closer to me step by step. As she advanced, I retreated until I found myself backed against a wall with nowhere else to go. Suddenly behind me, Mu Yan underwent a rapid transformation; her originally pure and lovely face twisted into something fierce. Her eyes turned menacing as sharp fangs sprouted from her mouth and her nails became as sharp as daggers.
I jumped back in shock and exclaimed, "Mu Yan, what’s wrong with you…?" But before I could finish my sentence, Mu Yan lunged at the fake Mingyue with her dagger-like fingers aimed at her shoulder.
With a sickening sound of flesh tearing, blood gushed from Mingyue's shoulder as she did not even flinch or attempt to evade Mu Yan's attack; instead, she wore a smug smile on her face. Staring at her made my brows furrow deeply. Could she really be Mingyue? But why did she feel so different from the real Mingyue?
Mu Yan swung her hands again for another strike when I shouted urgently, "Mu Yan, stop! She might really be Mingyue!" I had no idea if Mu Yan would listen to me in this state; after all, I never expected that after merging with her ghostly self and corpse, she would turn out like this—like some kind of mutated corpse.
When my voice rang out, Mu Yan halted mid-motion and turned to look at me. Her face gradually returned to normal as she focused on me again. I sighed in relief and said softly, "Mu Yan, come back." Now was not the time to question why Mu Yan had changed; what mattered most was figuring out who this Mingyue truly was.
Hearing my words, Mu Yan silently stood beside me again without speaking but remained vigilant toward the fake Mingyue across from us. My gaze shifted back to her as I took a deep breath and began to think rapidly. After a moment of contemplation, I spoke again: "I can tell you don’t seem to have any intention of harming me; otherwise with your abilities, even if there were a hundred of me here, it wouldn’t be enough for you."
"Kiddo, you're quite clever," she replied with an amused nod. With this confirmation easing my fear somewhat, I straightened my expression and asked again: "So who are you really?"
"Do you want to know?" she asked playfully. Nodding in response, I said earnestly: "Because I want to confirm whether or not you are Mingyue."
She laughed lightly and replied: "I am Mingyue but also not Mingyue."
"What do you mean?" Her words left me confused.
"See for yourself," she said with another smile but did not elaborate further. Suddenly my eyes widened in shock as a white mist floated out from Mingyue's body and slowly coalesced into a human form beside her. As the white mist solidified into another figure—a woman—her appearance was strikingly beautiful and voluptuous.
Her enchanting eyes sparkled seductively just like Liu Xiqiao when she had transformed into the Fox Demon to tempt me before—only this one seemed even more alluring. A shiver ran through me as I felt almost entranced by her beauty; quickly averting my gaze.
Meanwhile, Mingyue stood beside us with a dazed expression. Realizing that she must have been possessed by this Fox Demon momentarily made me worry as I called out urgently: "Mingyue! Wake up!"
At my call, some clarity returned to Mingyue’s eyes as she gradually came back to herself but did not acknowledge me right away; instead, her gaze fell upon the voluptuous beauty next to her. Without hesitation, she knelt down on one knee before this stunning woman.
I froze in surprise—what was going on? Wasn't Mingyue awake yet? Confused and concerned, I called out again: "Mingyue! What are you doing?" But she ignored me completely and addressed the voluptuous beauty respectfully: "Mingyue means no offense to Great Sage nor does she wish to offend the Hu Family clan; please consider the faces of all predecessors from Unloading Gate and let bygones be bygones."
Great Sage? Mingyue referred to this woman as Great Sage? In an instant, shock washed over me as I stood frozen in place—glancing between Mingyue and this new figure with disbelief written all over my face.
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