In the vast blue sea, a small boat drifted, with Bai Shuo sleeping on board. The boat was gently pushed southward by a group of small turtles and frogs surrounding it. Bai Shuo was curled up in one corner, her forehead slightly furrowed, as though she was having a nightmare.
“I almost believed it myself. Such a cunning mortal—I’ve never met one like this before.”
A young man’s figure appeared, standing amid a sea of blazing fire arrows, his brow sharp and focused. Bai Shuo couldn’t speak before her throat was tightly gripped.
“How dare you play tricks before me! Speak! What are you, immortal or demon?”
The scene shifted. Now, the young man’s gaze was cold, with a hint of mocking detachment. For a moment, Bai Shuo felt a sense of familiarity beyond her own understanding, mixed with fear.
On the boat, Bai Shuo clutched her throat, drenched in sweat, trapped in her nightmare.
Outside the imperial tomb, the boy had become a young man, taller, more composed, and radiating an even colder charm. He leaned down, his eyes mocking but distant.
“I never owe a debt, especially not to a mortal. I saved his life, and as for the time you intervened at Mount Mu Xiao, we’re even now. We owe each other nothing.”
“Since it’s settled, there’s no need to remember anything.”
He reached out his hand, those slender fingers reflecting in her trembling eyes…
“No!” Bai Shuo shouted, jolting awake from her nightmare. She looked around, seeing she was still adrift on the sea, and sighed in relief.
“Dreaming of that jerk again…” She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and clenched her teeth.
“Idiot! Filthy demon! You dared knock me out three times! Just let me see you again, and I’ll punch you each time I do!” Bai Shuo punched the air before leaning heavily against the boat's side.
“Whatever, A-Zhao can’t know I still remember. If we meet, I’ll just pretend not to recognize him.”
Thinking of Chong Zhao, Bai Shuo sighed. She didn’t know why, but even though the demon had used sorcery on both of them, Chong Zhao had forgotten everything that happened after they left the capital. Bai Shuo, however, remembered it all, down to the taste of the wild fruits that demon had gathered to amuse her.
But she could tell no one, especially not Chong Zhao.
Bai Shuo rested her hands behind her head, looking up at the stars. Even if she had been clueless once, three years on Miao Miao Island had taught her what Hao Yue Hall and Cold Spring Palace represented—powers unparalleled in the demon realm. Against them, even Miao Miao Island would stand no chance.
But it didn’t bother her much; with her limited talent, it was already a stroke of luck to stay on Miao Miao Island and work her way toward becoming an Earth Immortal… that would be a miracle her ancestors would celebrate.
Bam!
“Ow!”
Lost in thought, Bai Shuo was suddenly jolted as the boat lurched. She tumbled forward, ending up with her face in the planks.
“Come on!” she muttered, rubbing her forehead. Looking up, her face lit up. “I made it!”
Or almost. The boat had struck an outcropping of rocks in the sea, about a hundred meters from shore. The boat was circling around the rocks, unable to move forward.
Bai Shuo looked under the boat and shouted, “Hey! Keep going! We’re not there yet!”
No matter how much she called, the little frogs and turtles under the boat refused to come up, and there was no response.
Usually, these creatures adored her. Why were they slacking off today? Scratching her head, Bai Shuo looked toward the shore, realizing it wasn’t far. She could probably make it by hopping from cloud to cloud.
Scrambling to her feet, she puffed up her cheeks and blew hard, conjuring a small cloud that appeared in the air. Bai Shuo leaped onto it, gripping it tightly.
“Go! Fly me to the island!” She pointed to the shore, yelling.
The cloud, as if understanding her command, wobbled in the direction she indicated. The closer she got to the island, the more the cloud began to thin, seeming like it might dissolve at any moment.
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