Chapter 0: 25. You’ve Got It All Wrong
Under the influence of the Myriad Spirit Blood, Ren Ci sensed the bloodline of her kin within Qin Gou. However, she had no brothers or sisters, nor any offspring. The first person that immediately surfaced in her mind was the man she had been waiting for a long time, but who had never dared to reveal himself.
Ren Ci’s shouted address of ‘Father,’ which carried no warmth, made Qin Gou instantly recall what Ren Ci had told him about her background back in the Illusory World Cloud Marsh of the Shen Hao Secret Realm, when she was transformed into a cute little maid by the Law Power.
Recalling those times, according to the cruel ancestral rules of the Abyss’s ‘Lingbo Boat Master’ clan, Ren Ci, who clearly possessed the potential to be a Generation Demon Lord, was deemed an unqualified individual who would bring shame to the clan. She was abandoned at her youngest and most helpless age to fend for herself.
Later, purely because this wench’s fate was not meant to end there, she was found by a so-called kind person in the wilderness and sold into the Ren clan family as a贱籍 (lowly status person). After several twists and turns, she became one of the maids of a certain young lady from the Ren clan’s ‘Night Patrolling Envoy’ line. It was through great hardship that she finally obtained the opportunity to truly begin her cultivation.
Therefore, at this moment, under such a misunderstanding, and considering Qin Gou’s understanding of Ren Ci’s consistently clear attitude towards grievances and favors, her not directly making a move already showed great restraint… This advantage was by no means easy to take.
“Don’t misunderstand, you’ve mistaken me.” Qin Gou immediately clarified, “The senses of the Blood Conferred Thousand Souls Body are not always one hundred percent accurate, are they? I’m really not the person you imagine.”
“Not? If you truly aren’t, then why not reveal your true form and continue to hide your head and show your tail?” Ren Ci’s eyes were sharp as blades.
Qin Gou looked utterly unlucky. He never expected that the Myriad Spirit Blood would completely disrupt all the steps he had planned beforehand. He said with extreme frustration, “It’s only because if you saw my true appearance immediately, there’s a high chance you would directly attack me due to some misunderstanding.”
“If you truly aren’t that sc, why would I attack you without reason?” Ren Ci retorted.
“Do you stand by your word?” Qin Gou shrugged. “Now, if I truly am not the person you imagine, can we have a calm and peaceful discussion?”
Ren Ci replied without the slightest hesitation, “I, this Seat, always keep my word.”
“Alright then.”
Qin Gou immediately nodded. This trust in Ren Ci also stemmed from his deep understanding of his friend and half-disciple. The dignified Demon Lord Jia Ren was someone who always cared immensely about her reputation. She was capable of swallowing her pride and pretending to be calm even when deeply distressed, crying internally while smiling outwardly; this wench had indeed done such things quite often.
Dispelling the malevolent mist, Qin Gou no longer used his Faceless Hermit bloodline to disguise himself. If Ren Ci, who was now extremely sensitive, detected even a thread of bloodline change with her Blood Conferred Thousand Souls Body, it would only increase the misunderstanding. He then revealed his true appearance before her.
“It’s you? Qin Gou!” Ren Ci’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise, and she suddenly realized, “You, of all people, are the most unusual and full of tricks. If it’s you, it’s not strange that you could mislead my Blood Conferred Thousand Souls Body like that just now.”
Seeing that she was still relatively calm, Qin Gou said with a smile, “It seems fellow Daoist Ren Ci indeed keeps her promises.”
“Promises? I actually just feel very confused.” Ren Ci frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled. “Why do you think I would attack you unreasonably as soon as I saw you? Is it because we once competed for that Skyfall Soul Crystal back then? Does Jia Ren truly seem like such a petty person in your mind?”
“As the saying goes, those with virtue shall possess heavenly treasures. That year, it was indeed my Jia Ren’s own lack of skill that led to the loss. What’s lost is lost! Even if I felt unwilling, that’s all there is to it.”
“Is that so?” Qin Gou’s mouth twitched. “Then it seems Suo Yun didn’t get the full details when he told me about this matter before.” Moreover, because the System inexplicably had a habit of playfully teasing Ren Ci and exposing her secrets, Qin Gou did not hear the Old Pal’s hidden reminder that Ren Ci was ‘saying one thing and thinking another’ this time, indicating that what she was saying was indeed sincere.
“However, while I and your Excellency cannot be called sworn enemies, I don’t understand why your Excellency just now referred to me as a ‘former friend.’ On what basis did you say that?” As she spoke, Ren Ci examined him from head to toe, gradually realizing that Qin Gou’s demeanor and speech seemed somewhat different from her impression.
“Do you know about the Empty Illusory Snake Clan of the Beast Land? I’ve probably completed something similar to their Spacetime Talent.” Qin Gou tried to explain in a way that Ren Ci could more easily understand.
“What?” Ren Ci’s eyes showed suspicion.
Following that, Qin Gou recounted many past events concerning Ren Ci that even the Ren clan members didn’t know much about, and that the Black Robe would have even less knowledge of, using them as irrefutable evidence.
“Stop!”
A moment later, Ren Ci herself called a halt to Qin Gou’s narration, her pretty face looking very complicated. “This is enough to make me believe that you are definitely not the Qin Gou who competed with me back then. However, some of these events, even you mentioned them just now, are things that even Xiao Su, who is closest to me, doesn’t know! What exactly is going on?”
“Who exactly are you to appear beside another ‘me’ in your words? I can’t possibly easily reveal so many past events that I’ve never told anyone else to a fellow Daoist I merely know.”
“It’s because… I have a relationship of both teacher and friend with Xiao Ci. For some reason, she once took me as her master!” Old Qin entered the state instantly, thinking if he could take this opportunity to hear Ren Ci utter the long-lost word ‘Master’ again.
“You’re lying.”
“Absolutely not.” Qin Gou spoke the truth.
“Then there’s a big problem!”
“What?”
Ren Ci gazed at Qin Gou with a solemn expression. “Putting aside any master-disciple relationship, how can a man know so clearly about my ambitions and how I always tie my hair into a bun after bathing? Regardless of how strangely you came to know these things, my own thoughts are that I would probably pay any price to ask your Excellency to actively seal this memory. If not, then there’s only one other possibility: the ‘me’ that exists in another spacetime, did she…”
It’s over.
Qin Gou immediately understood tacitly. This woman had clearly thought of it in the wrong way again! How would he know about Xiao Ci’s habit of only tying her hair into a bun after bathing? He had only seen it once in the Illusory World Cloud Marsh and mentioned it briefly during his recollection. But then again, if she didn’t like to overthink things, would she still be Xiao Ci? Only this time, his seniority was about to take a sharp downturn. He was mistaken for a father just now, and now he was going to become a Dao Companion, right?
What a mess this is.
“Did she get killed by you!” Ren Ci’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Do you have a normal person’s brain?!” Old Qin roared out loud, almost unable to catch his breath.
Good heavens, to come up with something like that without having cerebral thrombosis for ten years?
