Jing Yuan: Confused.jpg
He had already prepared himself to take another stab, but Jingliu suddenly stopping caught him completely off guard.
The main issue was that he really couldn't predict the frequency of Jingliu's episodes of madness anymore. She would be stabbing one moment, then suddenly tilt her head, her eyes brighten, and ask "What happened?" Then while talking, she would start with a long "hahahaha" sentence and then switch to forcing people into a locked male situation.
Ruan Mei stroked her chin and murmured to herself, "Looks like the mental regulation mechanism is working. I wonder how far Trailblazer has progressed?"
...
In the mindscape, Ruan Mei's projection pressed the button. "This is the Gentle Button. It can make Jingliu become a little gentler when she's in the Mara-Struck State."
Stelle blinked. "I don't quite understand what you mean."
Ruan Mei thought for a moment, then took out a tablet and handed it to Stelle. "Please watch the VCR."
The tablet displayed footage from reality:
[Jingliu's scarlet eyes met Jing Yuan's directly. A trace of concern appeared on her face: "Ah… Jing Yuan Yuan, did Master hurt you just now?"]
[Jing Yuan slowly got a huge question mark above his head, then said carefully, "Yes?"]
[Jingliu gently raised the sword in her hand: "Sorry, disciple~ Master promises to be gentler this time and let you die comfortably. Don't be nervous, it's always like this the first time."]
[The ice sword fell, and the two once again entered the familiar contest of strength.]
[Jing Yuan shouted at Ruan Mei: "Help me! Miss Ruan Mei! Don't use Freezing Potion this time, she has ice resistance!"]
[Ruan Mei nodded, took out a bottle of potion and smashed it beside the two: "Imaginary Entanglement Potion, activate!"]
[Jing Yuan was shocked: "Wait, my effect resistance isn't as high as hers…"]
["Ugh—!"]
[Jing Yuan: X__X]
[Ruan Mei slapped her forehead in sudden realization: "I almost forgot. Abnormal effects are almost useless against Miss Jingliu in the Mara-Struck State. Sigh, I didn't expect this to happen."]
["Healing Potion!"]
[Jing Yuan opened his eyes and once again stepped onto the wheel of contest.]
...
Stelle watched this scene in silence. "You call this gentle?"
Ruan Mei thought for a moment: "If we analyze it rationally and objectively, she is indeed very gentle right now. Even when stabbing with the sword, she's fast, accurate, and ruthless, unwilling to let her disciple suffer even the slightest pain."
"A gentle Mara-Struck State is still a Mara-Struck State!" Stelle loudly complained. "Can't you just make her exit this state?"
"I'm researching that too." Ruan Mei helplessly shrugged. "But her condition is really too poor. Unless…"
"Unless what?" Stelle immediately pressed.
"Unless we can help her recover happy memories. The Mara-Struck State is essentially forgetting the good memories while the bad ones remain, turning a person into someone with severe depression, mania, autism…"
"Finding something interesting is one of the most basic treatment methods for this kind of illness, right?"
Ruan Mei pointed at a steel door in the laboratory. "There. Since you were able to reach the depths of Jingliu's consciousness, it means you possess strength beyond ordinary people. Go out from here, find the memory representing 'happiness,' and bring it back. I might still have a way."
Stelle widened her eyes. "I don't believe you. If there's a way, why don't you go?"
Ruan Mei sighed. "Come on, Jingliu is already broken. The inside must have turned into a complete mess. Chaotic memories will turn into monsters. It's very dangerous."
"And I'm just a scientist. I don't have the kind of power you all possess."
...
In the end, Stelle still opened that steel door. Behind it was a long corridor lit with warm orange lights.
On both sides of the corridor were door after door. Each door's plaque was labeled with various emotions: Anger, Sadness, Jealousy, Irritation, Depression, Stabbing People… almost covering all negative emotions.
"Find the door labeled 'Happiness' and bring the memory back to me. Then I can buy Miss Jingliu a bit more time." Ruan Mei said while standing by the door.
Stelle looked at the seemingly endless corridor and subconsciously swallowed. "There won't be any danger, right?"
"Of course there will be. Didn't I just tell you?" Ruan Mei said seriously.
Stelle facepalmed. "Can't you just lie to me a little…"
"Anyway, good luck."
Bang!
The steel door was forcefully closed by Ruan Mei. The corridor instantly fell into dead silence.
"…Friend, your legs are shaking again."
Clockie old man poked his head out from behind Stelle and kindly reminded her.
Hoolay nodded in agreement.
"Shut up!" Stelle said irritably. "I'm not scared!"
One person, one wolf, and one Clockie slowly advanced through the corridor. After a while, they discovered that the corridor was not always quiet. From time to time, terrifying roars would come from certain rooms, startling Stelle.
Although the atmosphere was frightening, fortunately nothing happened. After browsing for more than ten minutes, Stelle finally found a door labeled "Happy." The door looked somewhat old. As expected, this should be a memory that had been stored for a very long time.
"Let me take a look…"
Stelle pushed open the door. Inside, it looked like a movie theater. A DVD was projecting a scene onto the screen, continuously playing the footage:
Star Calendar XXXX, the year when Jing Yuan had gained some fame.
"Jingliu, I challenge you!"
In the sunlit courtyard, Jing Yuan held a sword in one hand. By this time, he was already much taller than Jingliu. At first glance, outsiders could no longer tell who was the Master and who was the disciple.
Jingliu tilted her head, somewhat puzzled. "Jing Yuan, you are my disciple. Why are you challenging me like the others?"
Jing Yuan snorted coldly. "Hmph, I originally didn't want to say this, but you've been too aggressive at night recently. So I challenge you. If I win, you will turn around and acknowledge me as your Master? How about it?"
This woman had been treating him less and less like a person at night lately. Yesterday, the reason she hit him was actually "calling her the wrong title." She said she didn't like the word "teacher" and wanted Jing Yuan to call her "Master."
But the day before yesterday she had clearly said to call her "teacher," not "Master!"
She was treating him like a gray wolf toy!
Jingliu shook her head like a rattle drum. "No no no. What if I injure you? Who will take care of me afterward?"
Jing Yuan was silent for two seconds, then lifted his clothes to reveal the bandages and bruises underneath. "To be honest, you've already injured me a long time ago."
Jingliu: ...
Jing Yuan looked sad and angry. "Jingliu! If you don't agree, I'll crash my head and die right here today. Do you believe me?!"
He knew that the daytime Jinliu had no scheming mind (actually quite airheaded). As long as he scared her a little, she would immediately comply.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Jingliu hurriedly said, "No no no, I agree. But let's make it clear in advance—it's just a sparring match. We must stop at the right point!"