Night deepened. Originally in deep sleep, Bai Jinghong suddenly fell into a dream.
In the dream, there was no joy, only him standing in a desert, utterly alone, surrounded by endless storms and wild sand.
He stood at the center, engulfed by a sea of sand stretching out of sight.
Suddenly, two figures appeared before him.
He saw an Old Daoist taking away a child who was fighting dogs for food.
Then sending that child into the military.
In a mere instant, the child grew up, looking exactly like Chen Lin.
“Chen Lin?” Bai Jinghong frowned, muttering.
Chen Lin in the dream seemed to see him too, smirking at him with a lopsided Nike grin before dragging his thumb across his throat.
Bai Jinghong snorted coldly. Just as he was about to go over and beat him to death, the scene shattered.
Another scene appeared, this time featuring Gu Tianming, covered in blood, fleeing for his life.
Then he too met that Old Daoist, who gave him a pill, his mouth moving as if instructing him.
Bai Jinghong couldn’t hear anything.
Just like before, Gu Tianming also looked at him.
The scene shattered again!
A shift, now appearing in a prison.
Many vicious prisoners surrounded him. A white-haired elder sat on a pile of straw, speaking with the Old Daoist.
The Old Daoist’s face remained unseen, just a blur.
But his mouth was crooked, incredibly crooked, more crooked than any Fortune’s Protagonist. The curve wasn’t just a Nike swoosh anymore.
It was like the mouth of a Kuchisake-onna!
Next, Ye Chen appeared!
Another conversation, another set of instructions, another box handed over!
Bai Jinghong seemed to grasp something. These were the pasts of various Fortune’s Protagonists.
But the next moment, the scene underwent a drastic, earth-shattering change.
Bai Jinghong saw himself.
An imprisoned scene.
Two iron claws hooked through his clavicles, trapped on a crucifix. His hands and feet were also bound by fine steel chains.
Drenched in blood.
Yet his face still bore a proud, unyielding smile, as if looking down on everything, not knowing what fear was.
Then, several figures with indistinct faces appeared, sharing one common feature: a sinister, charming smile.
The scene changed again, heart-wrenching scenes unfolding before his eyes.
Roaring shouts like sonic booms echoed in his ears.
A man in a Daoist robe spoke indifferently to another man in coarse cloth clothes, holding a cleaning rag:
“Junior Brother Tianlong, how do you want to resolve this?”
“Heh, Bai Jinghong, wanton slaughter, defying heaven’s will, walking the path of public enemy. You can’t blame others!”
“Today, we carry out heaven’s justice, eradicating this scourge, bringing clarity back to the world!”
“All connected to him, slaughter them, exterminate them, leave no survivors!”
Bai Ruoxi, Jiang Yueying, Qin Chuchu, Shen Yaoyao, Xu Sixin, Yun Mengxi… and all other women connected to him, all instantly died before his eyes.
Ah Kun, Duan Fei, Volcano, Vajra, and others, trying to save him, were all beaten to death on the spot.
Watching everything, Bai Jinghong’s eyes turned bloodshot. He struggled wildly, then tore off his own arms, lunging forward to bite the speaker’s neck off.
Those figures swarmed him…
Another splash of blood, as if dyeing heaven and earth red.
A sharp “Clink!”—a sound of shattering.
As if a cracked mirror broke, everything before him disappeared into nothingness.
Bai Jinghong’s eyes snapped open. He gasped heavily for air.
“Jinghong! Don’t scare me! What’s wrong?”
The moment Bai Jinghong awoke, he heard Bai Ruoxi’s tearful voice.
She was holding him in her arms, tears glistening in her eyes.
Bai Jinghong couldn’t calm his mind. He vividly remembered the Old Daoist, the title Junior Brother Tianlong.
And the voice, wearing a Daoist robe, asking, “Junior Brother Tianlong, how do you want to resolve this?”
“All of you… will die!” Bai Jinghong gritted his teeth and spat out these words fiercely.
“Jinghong, what’s wrong with you…” Bai Ruoxi was truly frightened by Bai Jinghong.
She had been sleeping soundly but felt Bai Jinghong beside her trembling.
She called twice without response, so she turned on the light to check.
Seeing this, she was genuinely terrified.
Bai Jinghong’s brows were tightly furrowed, his whole body tense. Under the strain, even his muscles seemed as hard as steel.
His fists were clenched, fingernails digging into his flesh, blood seeping out.
Worried and concerned, she held Bai Jinghong in her arms, calling him constantly.
Bai Jinghong relaxed his brow and managed a smile. He gently stroked Bai Ruoxi’s delicate face.
“Sister, I’m fine.”
“Why are you crying?”
Bai Jinghong gently wiped away her trace of tears, heart aching.
“Fine? You scared me to death!” Seeing his carefree grin again, Bai Ruoxi really wanted to hit him.
But she couldn’t bear to.
“Does your hand hurt? I’ll get something to bandage it!” Saying this, Bai Ruoxi moved to get up.
“Sis, it’s nothing. Just a scratch.”
Bai Ruoxi wasn’t listening and was about to get out of bed.
Seeing Bai Ruoxi so entirely worried about him, warmth flooded Bai Jinghong’s heart. He directly pulled Bai Ruoxi into his arms.
Then, catching her off guard, he kissed her on her tender, glistening lips.
“Mmph…”
A numbing sensation spread. Bai Ruoxi’s beautiful eyes widened, her body trembling slightly.
This brat, kissing her so casually again! How could this be allowed!
She wanted to struggle but was powerless.
Helpless, Bai Ruoxi could only let him hold her, accepting his greedy sucking, his frantic demands.
Perhaps too intoxicated, perhaps too shy, her mind went blank repeatedly.
She couldn’t resist Bai Jinghong, nor could she bear to.
She could only let his lips greedily ravish, his tongue domineeringly entangle, as if trying to plunder away all her sweetness.
This time, Bai Jinghong was much bolder.
While kissing Bai Ruoxi, he slowly laid her flat, his hand slipping directly into her nightgown.
Just as his hand broke through the defenses and grasped a mountain peak, Bai Ruoxi woke as if from a dream and hurriedly pressed down on his hand.
“No, don’t!”
Bai Ruoxi’s lips trembled. They had almost made a grave mistake.
Bai Jinghong felt it unbearable to be interrupted like this midway.
“Sister, don’t be afraid. We’re not related by blood!”
Bai Ruoxi was truly angry this time and pushed him away. “If you say such nonsense just to do something to me, I won’t acknowledge you as my brother anymore!”
Bai Jinghong felt helpless. Words like this were baseless claims. Even suggesting a DNA test, she wouldn’t believe him.
Unless the plot triggered, or his parents personally confessed this fact.
Otherwise, coming from his mouth, it sounded completely like a real estate agent saying “I promise, just buy these two houses.”
As everyone knows, before passion, a man’s words cannot be trusted, because in urgent moments, he’ll make up or promise anything.
Only after, during Sage Time, are a man’s words reliable. A promise made then is a real promise.
Seeing Bai Ruoxi truly angry, Bai Jinghong didn’t persist further.
Instead, he gently pulled her into his arms. “Sister, let’s sleep.”
Bai Ruoxi felt terrible inside too, because she could genuinely feel that she had already fallen in somewhat.
Otherwise, when Bai Jinghong kissed her, she wouldn’t have cooperated so much, even feeling a bit lost.
If reason hadn’t prevailed just now, a huge mistake would have been made.
Bai Jinghong didn’t speak again, just holding her as he fell back asleep.
Bai Ruoxi reached to turn off the lamp and simply nestled in Bai Jinghong’s embrace.
In the darkness, she was actually still looking at him.
Suddenly, she sighed softly.
No one knew, but many times, she had a certain illusion.
That illusion was that Bai Jinghong wasn’t her brother at all.
But it was just an illusion. Reality had to be faced eventually.
