Those purple pupils gleamed with icy coldness, halting the woman’s advance.
But Tong Yuwu’s voice stayed perfectly even. “I said to wait a little longer.”
An invisible force erupted from beneath her feet. In an instant, the entire small plaza erupted in chaos. The easels boomed with thunderous explosions—one after another. Amid the relentless blasts and swirling clouds of smoke and debris, hundreds of those carriers housing the horrific illusions—the very easels that even Ling Ze and Ling Ge would have struggled to destroy—shattered into splinters in a matter of seconds.
The woman, with her upper body still protruding from the canvas, stood utterly dumbfounded. A gust of wind slapped something small against her face. She peeled it off with trembling fingers: a splinter of wood smeared with paint. She glanced around. Of all the easels in the plaza, hers was the only one left intact.
“I’ll come find you as soon as I can,” Tong Yuwu said. She took a step back and curtsied, lifting the hem of her skirt. “Please wait patiently.”
The woman let out a piercing shriek laced with sobs, then vanished back into the canvas in a puff of smoke.
With the small plaza cleared of all obstacles, Tong Yuwu walked the final two meters without issue and rejoined the group.
Ming Yi stared at her. “What the hell happened? All those easels just exploded?”
Tong Yuwu’s face remained blank, as if she hadn’t heard a word.
Ming Yi studied her, then glanced at the wreckage strewn across the plaza floor. An inscrutable expression crossed his features.
Ling Ge scratched her head. “Weren’t they illusions?”
She turned to Tong Yuwu. “You’re pretty impressive. Those explosions gave me a real scare, but you still knew they were all fake.”
Ming Yi opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes flicked to the wound on her forehead. He looked away and turned toward Kelly instead.
Kelly stomped her foot impatiently. “If you’re not hurt, quit resting. Let’s move.”
No one objected. They fell in behind her and pressed on.
Meng Yiran deliberately lagged behind, bringing up the rear. Tong Yuwu was just a step or two ahead, putting a short gap between them and the other five.
She wrestled with indecision. Should she come clean about her identity right now?
She hadn’t spoken up before because the moment never felt right. But after they’d supported one another through those first two trials, she couldn’t keep playing dumb when she knew the truth.
And right now was actually perfect for a quiet word. Telling Tong Yuwu who she really was like this didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
Meng Yiran steeled her resolve and wasted no more time. She jogged a few steps to catch up with Tong Yuwu.
“Yuwu…”
Tong Yuwu turned to look at her.
Meng Yiran suddenly locked eyes with those purple pupils, and her heart clenched as if gripped by an invisible hand.
A series of images flashed through her mind—the morning after she and Tong Yuwu had been intimate, from a strange dream she had inexplicably experienced.
In the dream, she had confessed her true identity to Tong Yuwu outright. But Tong Yuwu had seized her by the throat and demanded the cat back.
Even though these were mere fleeting memories, Meng Yiran felt as if her neck were truly being strangled. Her breathing grew labored, and her face flushed a deep red.
Tong Yuwu lightly furrowed her brows. “What’s wrong?”
Meng Yiran doubled over, gasping for air.
When she finally straightened up, her face had paled. She waved a hand at Tong Yuwu. “N-nothing…”
Tong Yuwu had no interest in strangers or outsiders, so she didn’t press further. This gave Meng Yiran the chance to compose herself and hide her slip-up.
She clutched her chest, heart still pounding in lingering fear. She figured it was because she had been too reckless, not thinking things through.
Of course it made sense. In Tong Yuwu’s eyes, the cat’s importance surely far outweighed that of some stranger like her. Meng Yiran didn’t truly believe Tong Yuwu would strangle her over it, but Doll Lady would be heartbroken—secretly shedding tears was a given.
Meng Yiran thumped her forehead twice, reminding herself to stay patient. She needed to bide her time, build a proper relationship with Tong Yuwu as a human first, and then find the right moment to come clean.
Before long, as the group approached a teaching building, that prompt voice rang out once more.
“The last leg of the journey—we’ll be together soon!”
“Before then, I’ve prepared a gift for you. It’s in the Magic Plant Garden next to the Security Room on the first floor. Don’t worry; I’ll guide you on the guards’ positions in real time. Just follow my instructions, and you won’t get caught. Plus, there’s a shortcut through the garden that’ll get you to the Stairwell even faster.
“Take the stairs up to the 3rd Floor, my dear. You know which classroom I’m in.”
Ling Ge poked her head around outside the Security Room. “I’ve heard rumors that every Magic Plant Garden on campus hides something good. Looks like it’s true, huh?”
“Oh?” Ming Yi said. “You seem pretty interested.”
He snapped his fingers. “Today’s been a real score—caught myself a potential thief.”
Ling Ge gritted her teeth and shot him a furious glare.
Elfa turned to his girlfriend Kelly. “Last challenge. Ready to go?”
Kelly crossed her arms and stayed rooted in place. “You go ahead by yourself.”
Elfa blinked in confusion. “Huh? You’re not coming?”
Ming Yi sidled up to him. “She’s got money. She wouldn’t touch that guy’s so-called gift with a ten-foot pole.
“I’m not too proud for it, though. I’ll tag along.”
Elfa hesitated for a moment, but Ming Yi threw an arm around his shoulders and dragged him forward. “Come on, come on.”
The promise of the gift clearly held powerful allure for Elfa. He stopped resisting and let Ming Yi lead him into the garden.
Ling Ge spat at their retreating backs. “The pot calling the kettle black—and that jerk walked right into it himself.”
Ling Ze glanced at her. “If we don’t go through the garden, we’ll have to take the long way around to the Stairwell.”
He turned back to Meng Yiran. “Keep up.”
In the end, everyone except Ming Yi and Elfa opted for the detour.
They had barely left the garden entrance when they ran into the obstacle awaiting those who ignored the prompt: vicious vines lining both sides of the path, claws outstretched and ready to lash out at anyone who passed.
“Child’s play,” Kelly snorted.
She glanced back at the other four. “Call this my apology for dragging you all into this.”
With that, she yanked the necklace from around her neck and pressed it to her lips, murmuring a spell under her breath.
In the next instant, a ring of orange flames erupted around the five of them. The fire expanded into a hollow, spherical barrier riddled with gaps, shielding them at its center.
Meng Yiran jumped at first, but once she realized it wouldn’t harm her, all that was left was awe.
She had witnessed plenty of bizarre things on their journey so far, but this was the first time she had seen magic quite so spectacular.
Kelly spoke up. “Stay close.”
Surrounded by the flames, the vines lost all their menace. They shrank back against the roadside, trembling and subdued. Meng Yiran couldn’t help but smile at the sight. She got distracted studying them, only to notice the dense covering of fine thorns along their lengths. A chill ran down her spine, and she snapped her gaze forward, not daring to let her attention wander again.
Because of the detour, it took them about ten minutes to reach the Stairwell.
Ming Yi and Elfa were already waiting there for them. Strangely enough, Elfa was holding a small box that clearly contained a gift, while Ming Yi’s hands were empty.
Seeing the puzzled looks on the others’ faces, Ming Yi pursed his lips. “The gift is real, but there’s only one of them.” He patted Elfa on the shoulder. “Of course, I’m not about to compete with Senior Sister’s boyfriend for it.”
Kelly let out a cold laugh, tearing down his act without mercy. “You’re that generous?”
Ming Yi blinked his eyes innocently, his expression the picture of purity. “Senior Kelly, if even you misunderstand me like this, I’ll really be heartbroken.”
Kelly snorted derisively. She had no interest in trading barbs with him any longer.
Elfa pushed open the door to the stairwell. “Shall we head up?”
Kelly took a step forward. “Of course. We’re already here.”
She shot Elfa a dark glare, then clenched her fist. “I’m going up there to see just how much water’s sloshing around in that idiot’s head.”
With that, she shoved Elfa aside aggressively and stormed into the stairwell first.
The others wasted no time hesitating and followed her inside one by one.
Meng Yiran felt as if the stairwell’s interior and exterior belonged to two entirely different worlds. The moment one foot crossed the threshold, a gentle breeze swept over her—a crisp, refreshing sensation that bore no resemblance to the stale air of an ordinary indoor space.
But before she could even register any surprise, that clear, gentle male voice echoed in her ears one final time.
“So everything you said was true. You’ve never trusted me. You’ve never loved me. It was all just my own delusion. We’re nothing more than ordinary friends.”
“Without me, you can handle everything just fine on your own.”
“Thank you for helping me see the truth. I won’t pester you anymore.”
“There’s no need to meet again. I wish you… I wish you all the best from here on out.”
Meng Yiran had no chance to process what was happening. Her foot slipped out from under her, and she nearly tumbled to the ground. When she finally steadied herself and looked up, she found herself back in That Place—the same spot where their group had been dragged into the Illusion Realm earlier.
The sky had returned to its brilliant blue, and the surrounding landscape showed no hint of gloom. But the people standing beside her were no longer Ling Ge and Ling Ze. Instead, it was Tong Yuwu, who looked just as bewildered as she felt.
Moreover, aside from the two of them, everyone else had vanished without a trace.
Meng Yiran had just opened her mouth to ask, “What’s going on?” when several figures came sprinting toward them from the distance. Among them was a man with a face identical to Ming Yi’s, though his expression was ten times more sullen.
“How did you break free from the Illusion Realm?” Ming Ke demanded with a frown. He glanced at Meng Yiran before fixing his gaze on Tong Yuwu. “Where’s my brother? And the others?”
