Chapter 42: The Little Girl’s Shadow

Was this Lei Yin’s lingering resentment? But that made no sense.

Lu Yuan had already confirmed that Lei Yin’s soul had dissipated. His only remaining attachment was to little Meilin.

So why had an inner demon appeared now?

The presence of this inner demon sent a slight tremor through Lu Yuan’s mind.

Inner demons were nothing new to him.

In his previous life, he had faced the Inner Demon Tribulation as part of his heavenly trials.

However, in his past life, Lu Yuan had been an ascetic practitioner, his state of mind exceptionally pure.

The Inner Demon Tribulation had had little effect on him.

Only those who cultivated while engaged with the mortal world, their hearts entangled in a web of complex thoughts, were susceptible to such influence.

As it stood, Lei Yin’s inner demon didn’t seem to have much power. It only managed to stir his emotions on rare occasions.

But now that Lu Yuan was treading the path of mortal cultivation, leaving this inner demon unattended was a problem best solved sooner rather than later.

How to solve it? That was the question. Lu Yuan fell into deep thought.

Perhaps it was best to pull it out by the roots.

Unbeknownst to Ruolin, her words had already set Lu Yuan to scheming on how to “deal with” Secevi.

She noticed that Lu Yuan’s young apprentice was staring at her again with those dead eyes.

Staring…

It was just a girl of about ten, yet that gaze filled Ruolin, a grown woman, with an inexplicable pressure.

She swallowed the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.

“Secevi sent you just to tell me this?” Lu Yuan’s tone remained impassive.

“Ah…” Startled by his sudden question, Ruolin stammered, “Yes… She only told me to say this…”

“Oh. I see.” After his flat acknowledgment, Lu Yuan said no more, turning to gaze out the window.

An awkward chill settled over the room.

Before coming to see Lu Yuan, Ruolin had imagined all sorts of reactions to her message.

Perhaps he would break down in uncontrollable grief or rage against Secevi’s heartlessness.

But she had never once considered that he would seem so utterly unfazed.

“Lei Yin… aren’t you going to say anything?” ‘Do you really not feel a thing?’

“About Secevi…” ‘Do you truly not care about her anymore?’

“Between you two…” ‘Was everything that happened between you really just a fleeting dream?’

Back at the Apothecary Guild, she had assumed Lu Yuan was deliberately acting cold to hide his true emotions.

Only now did Ruolin realize that the man before her genuinely did not care.

But Ruolin couldn’t bring herself to ask. She didn’t understand how he could be so completely indifferent.

She had witnessed Secevi and Lei Yin’s relationship from the beginning, which was precisely why she was so invested.

They had once been so deeply in love.

They had once been so sweet together.

They had once been the object of everyone’s envy.

So why was the Lu Yuan before her now so cold and merciless?

“Between you two… was it really…”

“Please don’t say any more!”

Ruolin froze.

Lu Yuan was taken aback as well.

The one who had answered Ruolin was not Lu Yuan, but the little girl, Meilin.

Ruolin saw the young child’s head lowered slightly.

Strands of snow-white hair veiled her small face. Through the fine wisps, Ruolin could see a gloomy, wine-red flame flickering in her pale red eyes.

It was a dark, frenzied, and suffocating presence.

“Miss… please don’t mention that woman in front of Uncle anymore, okay?” she asked with a faint smile, a perfectly sweet and innocent expression for a young girl. “Uncle has only just managed to escape the past, to escape that unbearable shadow. Why must you bring it up again?”

Ruolin’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. She was transfixed by the child’s gaze, and every inch of her skin began to tremble.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered, lowering her head as tears streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry…”

Lu Yuan gently placed a hand on little Meilin’s head, stroking her soft hair. “That’s enough. She didn’t mean any harm.”

“Hm?” Meilin looked up at Lu Yuan, her eyes filled with confusion. “Uncle?”

“None of this bothers me, so don’t you worry,” Lu Yuan said with an affectionate smile. “Have you forgotten? I’m not the person I used to be.”

“Okay, Uncle.” Meilin beamed at Lu Yuan, and the oppressive aura around her vanished without a trace.

Ruolin lifted her head, her eyes still holding the faint sheen of tears, her expression lost and bewildered.

What… what just happened…?

She raised a hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eye.

Why was I crying?

“Are you all right?” Lu Yuan’s concerned gaze fell upon her.

“I’m fine…” Ruolin answered in a small voice, still looking dazed. When she looked up at the young girl, however, the confusion in her eyes was swiftly replaced by astonishment.

Was it that little girl just now?

Those eyes of hers?

Ruolin stared into Meilin’s pale red eyes, unable to look away.

She began to feel tired.

The eyes seemed to grow brighter and brighter.

Like the full moon in a starry sky.