Chapter 84: The Weight of Guilt and a Sister’s Fury

The moon hung high in the sky, casting its pallid glow over the deserted coastal streets. Along the wide, sprawling avenue, most restaurants and seafood stalls had already closed, leaving only a few bars aglow with faint neon signs.

Ling Wei moved silently along the asphalt road. After parting ways with Lu Chen, she had donned a khaki trench coat, her expression uncharacteristically grave and solemn.

Zero swept through the night sky, alighting on its master’s shoulder with a soft flutter of wings. As it scrutinized the young woman’s profile, a wave of concern washed over it.

Ling Wei was now the invincible Arrogance. Yet, she hadn’t always been, possessing her own vulnerabilities and fears.

Now, with the plan nearing both success and potential failure, she might once again waver.

A sense of unease settled.

The raven began to formulate words of encouragement for its master, but the young woman spoke first, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Zero, I suddenly feel that Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, isn’t entirely without merit.”

“…Tsu City, Mie Prefecture?”

The young woman sighed softly, a hint of pity in her tone.

“Oh, that pseudo-documentary urban legend we watched last night. Have you already forgotten? Perhaps I should take you to a vet to check for signs of senility.”

“…I recall it was a novel. I merely don’t understand why you’re suddenly bringing it up. Shouldn’t *you* be the one getting checked for senility?”

“Thank you for your concern. Didn’t I say yesterday that it was dreadfully boring, not even worth a single hair from the Kinki region? But on second thought, that might have been a bit harsh.”

“The Kinki region masterfully portrays classic ancient folklore, whereas Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, actively integrates internet platforms from the digital age to create its tales. That, at least, is an innovation. What do you think?”

“I’m pleased to see you reflecting on your usual disparaging remarks. But shouldn’t we be considering Lu Chen’s situation now?” Zero rubbed its forehead with a wing.

“When he was on the beach, he clearly made some kind of decision.”

Ling Wei shrugged, her interest waning.

“Zero, you’re always so overly anxious, needlessly wasting your attention on tedious matters. Poor Mr. Lu is merely developing some new method of suicide, a venture likely to surpass Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, in its sheer boredom. I’ll simply stop him when the time comes. No offense intended.”

“…Aren’t you afraid he might contact Morning Star, or even use the Heart of the Moon to turn against you?”

“I’ve already prepared a contingency plan for his contact with Morning Star, and that platinum milk dragon is leaving for a business trip out of town starting tomorrow.”

The young woman chuckled softly. “As for using the Heart of the Moon to turn against me…”

Zero: “If you saw a pig flying into the sky, what would be your first reaction?”

“What?”

The raven probed cautiously.

“To fully save your comrade, lest it freeze to death entering the atmosphere?”

“I appreciate the sentiment. But before that, I would first have to record this precious sight and save it to a hard drive, to properly savor the spectacle.”

The young woman turned her head, gazing back at the beach, her eyes seeming to meet the distant youth’s. A mischievous smile played at her lips.

“If you weaklings, if Mr. Lu, could truly bite off a piece of my flesh, I would gladly consider that injury a reward for a good show, and personally bestow it upon him.”

****

The moon hung high in the night sky, its brilliant light falling equally upon Lu Chen and Ling Wei, and illuminating Lily of the Valley’s profile.

She descended slowly onto the ground in the suburbs, arriving before a towering grey wall. The wall’s summit was studded with countless shadowless lights, sweeping and monitoring everything nearby like colossal eyes.

This was a prison. The prison where Envy was held. It had no doors, no windows, standing against the dark grey night sky like a colossal urn.

Lily of the Valley approached the grey wall. A shadowless light, as if sensing her presence, immediately cast a pale circle of light onto the young woman, meticulously scanning her pupils and her magic.

With a dull rumble, the grey wall split open, revealing a deep, dark passage.

Lily of the Valley walked straight into the passage, casually tossing the daggers and firearms she carried into a containment cabinet along one side. An elevator door then opened at the end of the passage, revealing a white-robed guard who appeared in the elevator and bowed slightly to the young woman.

“Miss Lily of the Valley, welcome. I am the sorcerer responsible for guarding Envy, and I will escort you to visit her tonight.”

“Please guide the way.”

Lily of the Valley stepped beside the guard. The elevator doors silently closed, beginning their descent into the bottomless depths below. The young woman’s hair gently floated in the sensation of weightlessness.

“Did she explain how she escaped?” she asked the guard.

“No. In fact, she still insists… No, nothing.”

The guard hesitated, seeming to hold something back.

“Please speak plainly.”

“She still insists that she is your sister. As for why she suddenly attacked you, she claims to have no recollection whatsoever.”

The guard cautiously observed Lily of the Valley. The young woman’s face was pale and blank, and she murmured two words softly.

“I see.”

Neither spoke further as the elevator descended in silence. A moment later, the elevator shuddered to a halt, and the metal doors opened. The guard led Lily of the Valley through a corridor patrolled by jailers and into an empty room.

The room had three cold, hard iron walls. The fourth wall was a one-way glass panel, before which a table and chairs were arranged. Behind the glass lay a dim cell, where a small girl huddled in the corner, trembling and biting her fingers.

“You have thirty minutes to speak with her. The timer will begin once you sit in the chair,” the guard said, pulling out a chair. “Envy is the culprit behind everything; you need not blame yourself.”

Lily of the Valley did not reply, simply nodding in silence. The guard then returned to the corridor and closed the door, leaving the room in a deathly quiet, broken only by the girl’s occasional sobs.

The young woman took her seat. A flicker of light passed over the glass, and the little girl’s whimpers ceased. Her small body stiffened, her eyes fixed on Lily of the Valley behind the glass, letting out a series of panicked cackles.

Lily of the Valley stared at her sister’s figure, her voice calm.

“You still seem to be calling yourself Gu Pan.”

The girl flinched violently, then leaped to her feet and rushed towards the young woman, her tear-streaked face pressed tightly against the glass.

“Yes! That’s right! I am Gu Pan! Sis—Sister, please save me! It’s so cold and scary here, and so many people hit and scold me!”

“But there are no injuries on your face.”

“That—that’s because those bad people don’t dare let you see my injuries, so they heal them after hitting me—”

“Stop joking!”

Lily of the Valley suddenly erupted in a furious roar, volcanic rage bursting from her eyes. Emerald-green magic uncontrollably overflowed and splattered, causing the entire room, and even the corridor, to tremble faintly.

The girl’s face turned ashen with fright, her bewildered and panicked eyes wide.

Lily of the Valley pressed savagely against the glass, thorny root tendrils sprouting and growing wildly from her palms. She stared intensely at the girl, her fury erupting and pouring out.

“Gu Pan would never tell such twisted lies! She would never cry so easily! She would never be as stupid, disgusting, selfish, and utterly vile as you! She would never murder or destroy just because things don’t go her way!”

The thorny vines savagely covered the entire glass panel, pressing down on it until it groaned under the strain, cracking into a spiderweb pattern. The guard’s soothing and cautionary voices immediately came through the room’s intercom, but the young woman dismissed them as mere noisy static.

The girl frantically tried to escape, but her legs gave out, and she collapsed in place, left only to wail loudly.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry—”

Lily of the Valley gritted her teeth, veins suddenly bulging in her hands. The glass shrieked as it shattered into pieces, and a thick, viscous killing intent, now unimpeded, coiled around the girl.

Lily of the Valley seized her tear-soaked prison uniform, roaring, “Take it back! Take back your useless apologies! How long will you insult and desecrate her before you’re satisfied? How low and despicable must you sink before you’re content? Why do you torment me with these twisted tricks? You wild dog can’t even imitate one ten-thousandth of Gu Pan!

“Who dares say I… Hey, answer me! Speak!”

The situation spiraled out of control. The guards outside tried to break down the door, only to find it firmly propped shut by the wildly growing vines. Inside the room, vivid red alert lights flashed, painting the young woman’s face like that of a demon.

The girl trembled uncontrollably like a sieve, tears and snot streaming down her face. She sobbed and stammered,

“…I—I’ll try! I’ll be a good Gu Pan, please, please let me go…”

Lily of the Valley paused, an emerald glow erupting in her eyes. It was as if she were about to vomit, her jaws clenched tightly, her face contorted with a tangled, indiscernible mix of emotions, her arms trembling and tensing.

“Stop!”

Before she could act, the door burst open with a crash, and a pair of sorcerers rushed into the cell. The guard who had escorted Lily of the Valley gazed at the young woman with an ashen face, saying,

“Calm down! She’s already a prisoner; she’ll never have another chance to escape! We promise to bring justice for your sister and all the victims—”

“But they can never come back!”

Lily of the Valley completely disregarded the guard’s pleas, her voice growing hoarser and more furious. The girl’s prison uniform was accidentally torn by a wildly growing thorn, causing her to slip from the young woman’s grasp and fall to the ground, her knee smashing against a piece of shattered glass.

A jagged cut immediately appeared on her rosy knee. The girl cried out in pain, trembling as she clutched her leg, tears streaming down her face.

The young woman’s face paled, and she suddenly recalled that evening many years ago.

Her surging magic abruptly softened and vanished, as if struck by a sudden, torrential downpour.

The guards recognized their chance and quickly called to their colleagues to rush forward, scooping up the girl and attempting to pull her away. Yet, Lily of the Valley gently tugged at the girl’s hem, emerald light flowing in her eyes.

The guards hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to forcibly resist. Lily of the Valley gazed into the girl’s tear-filled eyes, examining her and her wound, and murmured as if in a trance,

“…Are you really Gu Pan?”

The girl froze, then quickly said, “Yes—yes! I am—”

“Shut up!”

The guard dared not let her say more and quickly rushed her out of the room. Inside, the crimson alert lights still glowed, and several sorcerers nervously kept their distance from Lily of the Valley, fearing she might suddenly erupt.

But the young woman merely stood there blankly, staring at the empty doorway, gradually realizing something important.

She had no other choice.

She had to protect her sister.