Chapter 64
"Just like how he left me to you…"
"…you've been left with me too."
Her eyes closed lightly as she smiled.
Wuming's expression remained indifferent.
"Never mistake me for someone who belongs to others."
Wei Zhi immediately grinned wider.
"Never say never."
Wuming stared at her flatly.
"Get lost."
Wei Zhi snickered openly now.
"Hoho."
"I'm your maid."
"And your dearest friend."
She pointed proudly toward herself.
"You can't detach me no matter how hard you try."
Meanwhile—
The maid nearby kept secretly glancing toward them repeatedly while pretending to organize medicine trays. A woman in her twenties.
And very obviously the type who survived entirely on gossip and overheard conversations.
Wuming noticed.
Wei Zhi noticed too.
The maid finally finished her work before bowing politely toward Wuming.
"I shall take my leave, Young Master."
Wuming said nothing.
But his golden eyes shifted once toward Wei Zhi.
That alone was enough.
Wei Zhi smiled immediately.
Then quietly followed behind the maid out of the room.
The door slid shut.
Leaving Wuming alone beside the window again.
He rested his head lightly against the wooden frame behind him.
What a troublesome girl.
His gaze lifted toward the moon outside.
Thinking about me…
A quiet thought crossed his mind slowly.
How much of myself should humanity be allowed to see?
Silence.
Then the answer arrived naturally.
None.
Emotion is useful.
Attachment is inefficient.
Meanwhile—
Outside the pavilion corridors—
Wei Zhi continued following the maid silently.
The maid clearly noticed now.
Her pace quickened nervously.
So did Wei Zhi's. Finally the maid abruptly turned around near the empty corridor corner. "Why are you following me, you shameless girl?!" Her voice trembled slightly despite the anger. Wei Zhi smiled sweetly. "Oh senior…"
"I'm not here to hurt you." The maid relaxed slightly—Then Wei Zhi continued calmly. "I only need to remove a few memories." The maid's face paled instantly. Wei Zhi tilted her head lightly. "I honestly wouldn't have bothered…"
"…if you hadn't spent the entire time listening while pretending to work."Her smile remained gentle. "We can't exactly risk you spreading all that information during tomorrow morning tea now, can we?" The maid stumbled backward immediately. "I-I didn't mean to hear anything!"
"Wei Zhi, dear junior, listen—"
"Yes."
Wei Zhi's smile remained.
"You are absolutely correct."
Then—Her smile disappeared.
Completely.
Wei Zhi stepped forward lightly on the tips of her toes. The movement was almost silent. The maid's pupils shrank. Before she could react—Wei Zhi vanished from directly in front of her.
A cold chill crawled down the maid's spine. Then—A soft voice spoke quietly behind her ear.
"You talk too much." Wei Zhi struck her palm forward. The hit landed directly between the maid's shoulder blades. A dull force burst through the corridor. The maid's eyes widened once before her entire body collapsed forward onto the wooden floor unconscious. Silence returned instantly. Only the distant sound of the burning pavilion remained outside. Wei Zhi stared at the unconscious woman for a second before crouching beside her slowly. Her expression no longer carried that playful smile. It became calm.
Focused.
Almost ancient.
She lifted one palm above the maid's forehead.
Then softly—"Soul Hearing."
A faint green glow flickered beneath her hand.
"Mind Controlled."
The air shifted slightly.
"Bound and Binding."
A circular formation suddenly spread beneath the maid's body with a low hum.
Yin and Yang patterns rotated slowly inside the formation while green spiritual light illuminated the dark hallway softly.
Then—
Black flames emerged.
Thin.
Silent.
They spiraled around Wei Zhi in a slow circular motion while strands of glowing green light connected from her fingers into the maid's forehead.
Her green eyes glowed brightly now.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
And for the first time in a long while—
Wei Zhi grinned.
"It's been a while since I used this spell."
There was genuine relief in her voice.
As though she had missed this feeling.
The formation beneath the maid pulsed once more before the green light slowly faded away.
Wei Zhi exhaled softly and stood up.
"Your memories of tonight are gone."
She dusted her sleeves lightly.
"The time you spent inside that room no longer exists."
Then she paused midway.
Her smile slowly faded.
"…Wait."
Wei Zhi looked back toward the unconscious maid.
"She'll suspect something if there are blank memories."
A sigh escaped her lips.
"So troublesome."
She crouched down again and pressed her palm against the maid's forehead once more.
The black flames reignited instantly.
"Soul Hearing…"
The green formation spun faster beneath them.
"Whispers of Confabulation."
This time the light entered deeper.
Like threads sewing false reality into someone's mind.
Sweat slowly formed near Wei Zhi's forehead.
A few seconds later—
The spell ended.
The flames vanished.
The formation disappeared.
Wei Zhi leaned back slightly tired before wiping the sweat from her temple.
Then she calmly stepped away.
A moment later the maid stirred awake groggily.
"Hm…?"
Wei Zhi immediately changed expressions.
Concern replaced indifference flawlessly.
"Are you alright?" she asked gently. "You suddenly fainted."
The maid blinked several times in confusion before slowly sitting up.
"I… fainted?"
Wei Zhi nodded naturally.
"You overworked yourself."
The maid rubbed her forehead slightly embarrassed.
"Ah… thank you for watching over me."
Wei Zhi smiled sweetly.
"Of course."
The maid bowed quickly before hurrying away down the corridor.
Wei Zhi watched her leave silently.
Then—
She sensed something.
A presence.
Her smile slowly faded.
She turned her head sharply toward the opposite hallway leading toward Wuming's room.
Nothing.
Empty corridor.
Yet the sensation remained.
Wei Zhi narrowed her glowing green eyes slightly and looked around more carefully.
Still nothing.
Then—
She looked back forward.
And froze slightly.
A tiny crimson creature floated directly in front of her face.
Its entire body glowed dark red beneath the moonlight leaking through the corridor windows. Small black markings spread across its infant-like body while crimson eyes curved upward in a sinister grin.
It floated upside down casually in the air.
Smiling at her.
Wei Zhi stepped back instinctively.
Her heartbeat skipped once.
The little creature tilted its head.
Grinning wider.
"Yo—"
Before it could continue—
Its voice vanished.
Completely.
The creature's eyes widened instantly in shock.
It grabbed at its own throat frantically while kicking its tiny legs in the air trying to force sound out.
Nothing came.
Wei Zhi's eyes narrowed immediately.
Then she slowly looked toward the open doors behind her.
Understanding dawned instantly.
"…You came here without Wuming noticing."
The infant froze.
Wei Zhi folded her arms calmly now.
"And now he noticed."
The creature sweated nervously before nodding weakly.
Wei Zhi observed it carefully.
"You're one of Wuming's entities."
The infant nodded again quickly.
"The one who stole my spiritual power and used it more efficiently while healing Wuming."
The crimson infant grinned proudly and gave a thumbs up immediately.
"Of course! I am th—"
Again—
No sound.
Its mouth moved wildly but silence swallowed everything.
The creature looked horrified now.
Wei Zhi almost laughed.
"You really are a little demon creature."
Her gaze sharpened slightly while observing the black-red qi around it.
"A pure demon form too… and still in the infant phase."
A pause.
"That means Wuming cultivated you personally."
The infant's eyes widened.
Then it nodded frantically again.
Excited.
Almost impressed she figured it out.
It quickly started writing glowing red symbols in the air desperately—
But suddenly—
An invisible force yanked it backward violently.
The creature flailed midair helplessly.
Its tiny arms reached toward Wei Zhi dramatically while its body got dragged across the corridor.
Then—
Gone.
Pulled straight back into the room beyond the hallway.
Silence returned once more.
Wei Zhi stared at the empty air for several seconds.
Then slowly closed her eyes with a sigh.
"…What a mysterious psycho."
Then Wei Zhi pushed the doors open quietly and stepped back inside the room. The moment she entered, she saw the crimson infant currently attached to Wuming's head, its tiny sharp teeth gnawing aggressively into his hair while its little fists smacked him repeatedly in fury. The creature was very clearly screaming about something, throwing a complete tantrum, yet no sound came out at all. Wuming sat beside the window exactly where she had left him, one leg folded on the bed while moonlight spilled across half his face. His eyes remained closed calmly as though the little demon trying to murder his scalp was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
Wei Zhi stared for a long moment before speaking flatly, "...What exactly am I looking at?"
The infant immediately stopped biting Wuming and snapped its head toward her. Its crimson eyes widened before it suddenly grinned widely and flew around her in three quick circles excitedly. Then it floated directly before her face pointing proudly at itself while speaking rapidly. Completely silently.
Wei Zhi heard nothing.
The creature frowned dramatically before trying again harder, waving both tiny arms around angrily. Still nothing came out. Then it pointed at Wuming furiously and began making exaggerated gestures as if filing complaints against him personally.
Wei Zhi slowly looked toward Wuming. "Did you mute him?"
"Yes."
The infant instantly pointed at Wuming in betrayal before flying onto Wei Zhi's shoulder and shaking her violently while continuing its silent ranting. Wei Zhi nearly lost balance. "Stop shaking me."
The creature ignored her completely.
Wuming finally opened his golden eyes slightly, gaze calm beneath the moonlight. Internally however, his thoughts remained elsewhere entirely. ...Is he trying to get a name from her now?
The infant suddenly pointed at itself proudly again before drawing strange symbols in the air dramatically. Wuming's brows twitched faintly. Troublesome creature. If he had not sealed its voice immediately, the little thing would have already exposed far too much. How it was created. What it truly was. And more importantly—who Wuming actually was.
Yet even that precaution felt pointless now. Wei Zhi observed too carefully. Far too carefully. Most people would mistake the infant for a cursed spirit or summoned entity. But not her. She had already understood what it was the moment she saw it earlier outside. A cultivated demon infant. A second life entirely. An existence only high-ranking demon cultivators or emperors could create successfully.
Like him.
Wuming's gaze shifted faintly toward the creature sitting proudly on Wei Zhi's shoulder now with its tiny arms crossed. In my previous life... my demon infant died before I did.
The memory surfaced quietly inside him. The final battle. The five monsters standing against him. The fatal strike meant for his existence entirely. And his previous demon infant throwing itself forward first to protect him because there were still pages left unread within the Heaven's Book. Pages he absolutely needed to see before dying.
Because of that sacrifice—he survived. Barely.
The room fell silent again.
The infant suddenly grinned smugly toward Wuming as if victorious for annoying him successfully. Wuming stared at it blankly before thinking coldly, And now this one knows about my existence too.
How unfortunate.
The demon infant continued flying around Wei Zhi restlessly, tiny crimson limbs flailing through the air while strange muffled sounds kept leaving his mouth. Every few seconds he would point toward himself dramatically, then toward Wuming, then start making complicated gestures again as though trying to explain something extremely important.
Unfortunately—
Not a single understandable word came out.
Wei Zhi rubbed her forehead lightly.
"Please unmute him."
Wuming sat beside the window without even opening his eyes. Moonlight spilled across the side of his pale face while one arm rested lazily over his bent knee.
"No."
Wei Zhi frowned immediately. "Oh please stop throwing tantrums, Wuming. Let this little child speak."
Silence.
Then suddenly—
Wuming laughed.
Not softly.
Not amused.
A genuine sharp manic laugh escaped him, low and unsettling enough to make even the maid outside the pavilion freeze for half a second.
"A child?" he repeated slowly.
The demon infant immediately pointed at himself proudly as if agreeing.
Wuming's golden eyes finally opened beneath silver strands of hair.
"That child," he said calmly, "would sell you in the middle of a crowded market while smiling sweetly enough to make you thank him afterward."
The infant placed both tiny hands over his chest dramatically like he had just been slandered.
Wuming continued coldly,
"That thing is not innocent."
The infant immediately flew behind Wei Zhi and peeked over her shoulder with huge glowing eyes before folding his tiny hands together pitifully.
End of 64