“I heard from others that before I lost my memory, Senior Sister Xiao and I had a perfect chemistry and won the Duo Tournament championship three years in a row.”
The moment these words were spoken, Xiao Qingxuan’s eyes lit up, her spirit instantly rekindled.
“Of course. The year our Golden Core cultivation defeated two Peak Nascent Soul Stage senior brothers, the tale even spread among the Five Great Immortal Sects.”
In the Lower Four Realms, the manifestation of status was relatively blurry, and cross-realm combat wasn’t impossible.
But winning a fight by directly crossing a major realm was almost unheard of.
“The second year, we both broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage. Inside the Profound Firmament Upper Sect, there wasn’t a single match for us.”
In their first year, they had even beaten Xu Cheng’an, who was at the Peak Nascent Soul Stage, so badly he went into seclusion. The next year, they broke through to an even higher realm. Who would dare fight them again?
Xiao Qingxuan spoke incessantly, showing none of the aloof demeanor of a Cold Fairy.
She was very happy that Ye Luqing brought up their past. It meant Ye Luqing was becoming curious about the time before her amnesia.
If A-Qing was willing, she could use this Dream-Building Lotus with a clear conscience.
As she listened, Ye Luqing thought again of the system task to increase Blackening Value, so she shifted the topic:
“Little Ying… Junior Sister said she really admires our performance in the Duo Tournament.”
“She also wants to silently support someone from behind, just like I did. By entering this tournament, I don’t want to let her goodwill go to waste.”
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan felt a stir within. Her impression of Ying Qianqian slightly improved.
Wants to be like A-Qing, huh…
【Detected Destined Female Lead Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value has risen to 101%】
Even so, she didn’t want to hear someone else’s name during her private time with A-Qing.
After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Qingxuan took out the Dream-Building Lotus.
A dark purple glow shimmered faintly in the night, and the strange floral scent instantly made one drowsy.
“A-Qing, this is a Dream-Building Lotus I obtained from the Illusion God Sect. It can help you recover your memory.”
“Dream-Building Lotus?”
Ye Luqing tilted her head slightly, showing a face full of curiosity as she looked at the small flower brimming with spiritual energy. But internally, alarm bells were ringing loudly. She quickly asked the System.
What is a Dream-Building Lotus? What are its effects? Will it erase her memory?
【Dream-Building Lotus: A derivative of a Heavenly Rank Immortal Plant from the Illusion God Sect. It can plunge a person into a dream, implanting memories within the dream to influence their real-world personality.】
Hearing the System’s explanation, Ye Luqing immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, Xiao Qingxuan’s voice sounded by her ear.
“This lotus can reshape your memories and help you recall the bits of our past together.”
Ye Luqing nodded. Combining the System’s and Xiao Qingxuan’s explanations, she now had a certain understanding of the Dream-Building Lotus.
“I want to restore your memory as quickly as possible, so…”
Xiao Qingxuan felt a bit uneasy inside. Her possessive desire for A-Qing urgently wished to restore Ye Luqing’s memory, but she also didn’t want Ye Luqing to feel like she was just her appendage.
Hearing this, Ye Luqing fell silent.
She could actually accept having false memories implanted. After all, as someone who had read the original novel, she had some understanding of these plotlines.
It was just that, according to the system task requirements, she still had to refuse Xiao Qingxuan’s request.
“Sorry… Senior Sister Xiao.”
“I’m currently focusing entirely on preparing for the Sect Grand Tournament. Could we wait until after the tournament to implant the memories?”
An outright refusal was definitely not an option, so she came up with a compromise.
Xiao Qingxuan’s heart lurched. She opened her mouth slightly, instinctively wanting to agree to Ye Luqing’s request, but couldn’t utter a single word.
How strange. The Sect Grand Tournament would be over in ten days at the fastest. It was just waiting ten more days.
But why did her heart not want to wait even a single minute longer?
Ah…
It turned out her possessiveness over Ye Luqing had long surpassed her own imagination.
【Detected Destined Female Lead Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value has risen to 103%】
“No…”
She turned her head away and softly refused Ye Luqing.
Ever since accepting Ye Luqing in her heart, she had almost never refused A-Qing’s requests.
Besides, A-Qing was very well-behaved and had never asked her for anything troubling.
But this time, she couldn’t.
However, the next moment, Xiao Qingxuan felt a gentle tug on her sleeve, as if some stubborn little beast had stubbornly latched onto it. She instinctively looked to the side.
She saw Ye Luqing’s cyan hair drifting in the breeze, her amber eyes glistening with a watery light, looking pitifully helpless.
The hand clutching her sleeve trembled slightly, as if a drowning person had grasped their only piece of driftwood. Her soft, sticky voice even seemed to carry a hint of tears:
“Elder Sister, I beg you…”
Talent 【World-Shocking Kowtow】, activated.
Effect: When making a request of someone, can greatly increase the chance of them agreeing.
Although the name is World-Shocking Kowtow, it doesn’t actually require kneeling to activate. As long as she consciously invoked this talent while making a request, it would work.
Xiao Qingxuan’s mind instantly went blank. It was as if she saw the most adorable little thing in the world pitifully nuzzling against her, as if she were the only person in the world it could depend on.
Who could possibly resist this?
Guilt, cuteness, lust… her thoughts suddenly became chaotic. Immediately after, a hot stream flowed unbecomingly from her nostril.
“Elder Sister, what’s wrong?”
As if having anticipated this, Ye Luqing produced a handkerchief and gently wiped Xiao Qingxuan’s nose.
While wiping with the handkerchief, she feigned unintentionally brushing her soft fingers against Xiao Qingxuan’s face, like clumsy panic amidst the fluster.
Looking at Xiao Qingxuan, whose face was completely red and who didn’t dare move a muscle, Ye Luqing secretly curled a triumphant smile.
A mere little simp, easily handled.
A while later, Xiao Qingxuan coughed twice, her face still slightly flushed, and looked at Ye Luqing with some helplessness.
“Reshaping your memory after the Grand Tournament… is not impossible.”
The previous Ye Luqing had also been cute, but not in this coquettish way after losing her memory.
She never expected that what defeated possessiveness would be lust.
Hearing this, Ye Luqing tilted her head slightly and smiled faintly, like a gentle spring breeze blowing into her heart.
“Elder Sister, thank you.”
Seeing Ye Luqing’s happy expression, Xiao Qingxuan felt everything was worth it.
Dragging it out for a few days was fine. A few days wouldn’t make a difference anyway.
She comforted herself in her heart.
Seeing Xiao Qingxuan so agreeable, Ye Luqing fell silent for a moment, as if making a decision.
After a long while, she decided to use the opportunity while the 【World-Shocking Kowtow】 effect was still active to ask a question she had wanted to ask for a long time.
Even though she already knew the answer, she still wanted to hear Xiao Qingxuan say it personally.
“Senior Sister Xiao… hypothetically, if retrieving my past memories meant that the ‘current me’ would disappear…”
“Would you kill the current me without hesitation?”
When she first arrived in this world, she had only treated it as a game, and making Xiao Qingxuan Blacken was just a task.
But in just these short two days, she realized this was neither some novel nor a game world.
Interacting with these people made her involuntarily question things.
If they were all living, breathing people, then was what she was about to do to Xiao Qingxuan really okay?
Just like others, Xiao Qingxuan was not a string of data or some NPC called the “Destined Female Lead.”
Holding this thought, her resolve grew weaker. She didn’t know if making Xiao Qingxuan Blacken was right or wrong.
Since she didn’t know the answer herself, she would let someone else tell her.
She looked at Xiao Qingxuan seriously, and upon hearing her words, Xiao Qingxuan’s expression also became extremely earnest.
Xiao Qingxuan reached out and smoothed the long hair at her temples, her voice gentle.
“A-Qing, there is no ‘past you’ or ‘current you.’ I just hope you can find your original memories so we can return to our former days.”
“Even if you retrieve your original memories, the current you will not disappear.”
Ye Luqing lowered her head slightly and said softly:
“What if… the price of retrieving the original memories is that the current me disappears…”
Hearing this, Xiao Qingxuan’s face immediately darkened.
“A-Qing, did someone say something to you? Or did you hear something bad?”
【Detected Destined Female Lead Xiao Qingxuan’s Blackening Value has risen to 106%】
She tried her best to make her voice sound calm, but it couldn’t hide that hint of chill.
If she found out someone dared to say such things to Ye Luqing, she would absolutely not let that person off.
“No, this is just my own question.”
Facing the risk of increasing the Blackening Value, Ye Luqing still wanted to know the answer to this question.
As if sensing Ye Luqing’s firmness, Xiao Qingxuan sighed. A flicker of reluctance crossed her eyes, but she still replied with determination:
“No matter the cost…”
“I… will retrieve A-Qing’s memory!”
