novelraw Chapter 77
Chapter 77
77. The Past
"Illusion God Domain... such nostalgia..."
Bai Wei looked at the surrounding space, a nostalgic expression appearing on her face.
This was a mysterious space. Light points floating in the void burst into phosphorescent fire the moment they touched the ground, their azure flames wrapped in a trembling like a sigh. The dome was translucent amber, with countless bronze chains suspended from it, the sundials at their ends frozen at the boundary between midnight and dawn.
Liquid moonlight floated in the air, condensing between fingers like mercury, then collapsing into tiny crystal clusters in the palm. Distant jagged architecture cast double images on the retina. Gothic spires and Baroque domes merged in ways that defied geometry. The carved patterns on the window frames were clearly a symbiosis of oracle bone script and cuneiform. Some harp-like sound seeped from underground, shattering into seven-colored light spots the instant it reached the eardrums.
"I prefer to call it QQ Space."
The voice came from her own shadow. When Bai Wei lowered her head, green jade steps were growing from her feet. With each step she took, the stone steps ahead turned liquid and sank into the void.
At this moment, the dome became transparent. Those interlaced silver lines were clearly human neural networks, the twinkling stars the fire of civilization. Sumerian clay tablets burned at Orion's belt, bronze tripod inscriptions wound around the Andromeda galaxy, and steam engine pistons drove the handle of the Big Dipper in steady rotation.
When Zi Yan's low laugh resonated between her ribs, Bai Wei found herself standing in the initial silver mist. The star fragments on her skirt hadn't finished falling, and the bronze chains on the amber dome still trembled slightly in their stillness. Only the grains of sand at the bottom of the hourglass had increased by a few. Looking carefully, each grain was a compressed century of time.
"Only you would call it that."
Bai Wei looked at Zi Yan who seemed to be walking from all directions, revealing a helpless smile.
This was a visual illusion caused by dimensional confusion. In the Illusion God Domain, Zi Yan had absolute control. Whether time, space, or the thoughts and actions of living beings within the domain, all were under Zi Yan's will.
"Junior Sister, there's actually a fourth ending. We can..."
"Senior Sister, you're still the same. You've never thought about others."
Bai Wei interrupted Zi Yan. Her slender hand slowly drew a long sword from the void, the tip pointing directly at Zi Yan.
"If you still recognize me as your Junior Sister, then... please kill me!"
As soon as Bai Wei's words fell, her figure flashed behind Zi Yan. But Zi Yan just stood there, smiling bitterly.
"How could I possibly kill you? I truly don't know the real you, nor do I know what you've experienced. But please believe me, those three endings aren't the best results."
The long sword missed its target. Zi Yan's voice sounded in her ear. Bai Wei felt a softness as Zi Yan embraced her from behind, gently stroking her cheek.
"Junior Sister, please believe me..."
Bai Wei's eyes gradually became unfocused, and tears glinted at the corners.
"Senior Sister..."
……
"From now on, your codename will be Teacher. Your main task is to monitor whether these undercover agents have betrayed the Alliance."
"Understood, sir!"
In a dim room, a tall man handed a document to Bai Wei. She took the document and immediately saluted.
Strangely, the man had no face. Watching this scene, Zi Yan knew this was Bai Wei's deepest memory. For these faceless people, it was because Bai Wei's subconscious wanted to forget them.
"Is this your past?"
In the Illusion God Domain, Zi Yan was an absolute existence. Manifesting Bai Wei's past was no difficulty at all.
Zi Yan looked at the sleeping Bai Wei in her arms, a trace of heartache flashing in her eyes. She waved her hand, and the surrounding scene changed again.
"Senior, why... why did you..."
This was a dark corner. Bai Wei held a long sword, her expression conflicted.
In front of her, a blood-covered girl knelt. The girl was severely wounded, gasping for breath, but she still used all her strength to look up at Bai Wei, forcing a smile onto her blood-stained face.
"Can I call you Teacher? I didn't expect the Alliance sent you to monitor us. Cough, cough..."
"You want to ask why I betrayed the Alliance? Cough, do you remember what I told you before?"
Every time the girl coughed, she spat some blood. But her smile never changed.
"The Alliance's cultivators will never treat us as family. The Alliance is no longer home. But here with the witches, I have friends, teachers, and someone I love. They are all my family. I... cough..."
The girl was already at her last breath. She grabbed Bai Wei's cold fingers and spoke with difficulty.
"I... I just wanted to have a home..."
The girl's pupils gradually dimmed, and her body lost its vitality, collapsing to the ground. Bai Wei's long sword was still dripping blood. She lowered her head, large teardrops falling onto the ground, merging with the blood, reflecting tiny circles.
"Senior... sob, sob..."
Zi Yan had never seen Bai Wei so broken. She held Bai Wei tightly in her arms, biting her lip, her heart feeling like it was being cut by knives.
Zi Yan didn't have the courage to continue watching Bai Wei cry. She waved her hand, and the scene changed again.
"Teacher... so what they said is true. You weren't here to guide us, but to monitor us. Are you here to kill me?"
Under the peach tree, peach blossoms filled the sky. A golden-haired girl with a golden hair clip looked at Bai Wei who held a long sword, revealing a relieved smile.
"Then do it. Remember to be quick. You know I'm afraid of pain."
"Don't you have anything else to say?"
Bai Wei looked at this student she had once favored most, reluctance in her eyes.
She didn't want to kill her. But the Alliance had issued a death order. The target was to be killed without mercy.
Bai Wei didn't understand why the Alliance wanted this undercover agent, who wasn't even an Extraordinary Witch, killed so ruthlessly. But an order was an order. She was just a sword for the Alliance. She had no right to refuse.
"No. If I had to say something, I just want to tell her that I truly love her. Please forgive me for saying some harsh things to you."
The golden-haired girl looked up at the sky full of falling peach blossoms. This was where they first met. But now, the same place had a different ending.
"I..."
Bai Wei held the long sword, unable to stop trembling. For a moment just now, she had the thought of hiding the truth from the Alliance, lying that she had already killed the target.
"Teacher, don't do that. The Alliance is very wary of us. Do you really think no one is secretly recording your every move?"
The girl saw through Bai Wei's thoughts. She smiled calmly, took Bai Wei's long sword, and in Bai Wei's stunned gaze, dispelled her protective magic, pointed the sword tip at her own heart, and thrust it in deeply.
"Thud!"
The sound of flesh being torn. The girl held onto Bai Wei's trembling body. Behind her, the blood-stained long sword dripped blood.
"Goodbye. Being your student... I was truly happy..."
The girl's pupils gradually lost their light. She looked at the sky. The falling peach blossoms carried her thoughts back to that afternoon.
"Hello, I'm Tao Yao. Interested in getting to know me?"
"Tao Yao, so beautiful and vibrant... what a lovely name..."