Mu Residence
Mu Junshi, clad in a soft, azure robe reaching her chest and a light white veil, presented a picture of delicate charm. She didn't need to play another woman for outsiders; this was her truest state.
She sat in a spacious chair, idly turning a sharply cut crystal in her hand, her dark, obsidian eyes fixed with an unpredictable gaze on the man standing before her. He wore a blue and white long gown, a summer style, with intricate silver patterns embroidered on the hem and collar. The pure fabric, clear as jade water, further accentuated his elegant demeanor.
"This attire makes him resemble that person quite a bit."
She commented indifferently.
Hua Jie.
Yes, the man before her was Hua Jie.
Mu Junshi had used a potent elixir to forcefully mature the sixteen-year-old Hua Jie into a young man of eighteen or nineteen within mere days.
A flicker of joy crossed Hua Jie's deer-like eyes. He mumbled, "Then... then Young Mistress, can you give me the antidote now?"
"Pity, his eyes lack that spark of spirit!"
Mu Junshi abruptly stood, tossing the crystal in her hand into the air.
It hovered within the room, projecting a series of flowing images. The person in these images was the very man Mu Junshi had Hua Jie emulate with all his might, yet never managed to capture even a fraction of.
"Hua Jie, he never looked at me with such fawning eyes, nor was he so humble—why can't you learn?"
Mu Junshi's gaze turned chilling.
Hua Jie shivered in fear, and a stinging pain, as if bitten by ants, suddenly erupted in his chest.
But he knew this was merely the prelude to an abyss of torment. He immediately fell to his knees in terror, pleading with Mu Junshi, "Young Mistress, I was wrong. I will try harder. I will imitate this young master's every move, exactly as he does. Please, don't be angry, don't be angry."
"Look at you, truly like a lowly dog."
Mu Junshi lowered her eyes, a malicious smile tugging at her lips.
"Ugh—"
The pain intensified, throwing Hua Jie into a panic. He clenched his sweat-drenched fists, wondering how he could appease her.
At that moment, the projected Liu Jiang Fusheng in the image cast a detached, cold glance in a certain direction.
Indeed, the man named Liu Jiang Fusheng would not act like him… He immediately scrambled to his feet, a sword materializing in his hand. He pointed it at Mu Junshi, saying, "Are you seeking death?"
Mu Junshi blinked, turning her face to look at him.
His once dark eyes now held a chilling glint, his nose was high and straight, and his lips were drawn into a delicate, thin line. His celestial beauty surpassed that of immortals, exuding an ethereal grace.
It was precisely like how, at the bottom of the cliff in the Du Sheng Dao Guan, he had torn away his facade for her, looking at her with cold indifference and threatening coercion.
As the bone-rending pain in his body gradually lessened, Hua Jie knew he had gambled correctly.
This Mu Junshi was a contemptible woman consumed by unrequited love. Pleading and seeking favor were useless. It was only by showing her disdain and heartlessness that she would be satisfied with him, the "Liu Jiang Fusheng."
"Senior Brother…"
She moved closer, her gaze fixed on him with a mixture of obsession and malice.
That look sent a chill down Hua Jie's spine, but he struggled to maintain his composure.
Hua Jie, imitating Liu Jiang Fusheng's indifference towards her, frowned and said coldly, "Don't come near me!"
Yet, the more he acted this way, the more fervent Mu Junshi became.
"Hold me."
She said.
According to Liu Jiang Fusheng's demeanor in the keepsake image, he would have no interest in Mu Junshi. Hua Jie was about to refuse, but as his gaze met her eyes, as dangerous as a venomous spider's web, his voice caught in his throat.
He couldn't refuse, or she would kill him.
Her eyes flickered like a serpent's tongue.
He withdrew his sword and slowly extended his hand, gently embracing her.
But he couldn't control the instinctive trembling and repulsion of his body.
He feared her, and he detested her, yet he had to depend on and obey her.
He regretted it.
He shouldn't have provoked this madwoman, Mu Junshi.
But it was too late.
"I'll spare you this time, but you'd best quickly grasp his every frown and smile, his every movement, become him, replace him. Do you understand?"
The soft, seductive voice by his ear sent a shiver of dread through Hua Jie, leaving him stiff.
"...Hua Jie understands."
***
Emerging from Mu Junshi's eerie and terrifying courtyard, Hua Jie's back was already drenched in a cold sweat.
"Why are you at the Mu residence?"
At that moment, a clear, stream-like voice sounded behind him. Hua Jie spun around abruptly, only to see a woman draped in a black cloak, standing as serenely as a jade tree in a dimly lit corner.
In that instant, Hua Jie was almost stunned speechless.
She was a woman difficult to describe. Anyone seeing her for the first time would likely focus not on her facial features, but on the unfathomable, elegant, and aloof bearing that flowed around her like drifting clouds.
She seemed to know him, asking naturally and intimately,
"Why do you look so unwell?"
Did she know the Hua Jie wearing Liu Jiang Fusheng's skin, or did she know the real Liu Jiang Fusheng?
For a moment, Hua Jie no longer wanted to pretend while wearing someone else's skin. Sometimes, he was close to forgetting who he truly was.
But he was no longer the cowardly and subservient Hua Jie of the past, and he was unwilling to turn back.
Even with regret, even with the daily necessity of forcing himself to impersonate another, he still refused to give up this opulent life above ordinary mortals.
"Why aren't you speaking?"
Perhaps his hesitation and silence aroused suspicion. The aura emanating from her instantly shifted, becoming powerful and sharp. His fleeting thoughts were instantly crushed to dust. He felt as if she had plummeted from an unapproachable celestial being to a demon, truly terrifying.
Such a person was absolutely beyond his level of contact. Thus, he guessed that she must have mistaken him for Liu Jiang Fusheng.
But he couldn't discern whether she was friend or foe at the moment.
Recalling her earlier questions, which seemed to be filled with concern and kindness, she should be someone he knew?
After a moment of hesitation, Hua Jie replied in the clear, cold voice altered by the secret technique, "Why are you here?"
Hearing his response, a flicker of amusement crossed Gu Junshi's eyes, but she made sure it wasn't apparent.
"I've been looking for you. Why are you at the Mu residence?"
"You should leave. I don't want to see you." Fearing exposure, Hua Jie wanted to end this quickly.
"Why has your attitude changed? Is it because of the Mu family's Young Mistress? You probably don't know, she's not human, she's a demon."
"What?!" Hua Jie's eyes widened.
A demon?
Mu Junshi was actually of the demon race?
Gu Junshi walked closer to him, sighing, "She has deceived you. The demon race has always only used and harmed human cultivators. You shouldn't trust her."
"I don't believe it. She can't be a demon. She's clearly the Young Mistress of the Mu family..."
Who didn't know how cruel and ferocious the demon race was? Hua Jie was only sixteen. Even if his appearance was mature, his heart was still that of a naive boy unable to shed childish thoughts.
"You don't believe me? This is a Demon-Detecting Stone. Keep it on you. If anyone from the demon race approaches you, it will react. You can try it first, then come find me."
Hua Jie looked at the "Demon-Detecting Stone," his hands trembling, yet he dared not touch it.
"Consorting with demons, you should know the consequences. Having known you, I truly don't wish for you to become a plaything of the demon race."
Her light words twisted Hua Jie's heart into knots.
He suddenly snatched the "Demon-Detecting Stone," his breathing rapid.
He desperately wanted to ask who she was, but in his muddled state earlier, he had impersonated Liu Jiang Fusheng. Now, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
***
The next two days were nothing short of a nightmare for Hua Jie.
The "Demon-Detecting Stone" on his person reacted to those around him more than once.
He refused to believe it and tried testing it with different people. As expected, it didn't react to humans, only to demons...
And the Mu residence… was simply a demon's lair.
And he, Hua Jie, had unknowingly fallen into such a terrifying predicament.
He had also tested Mu Junshi. The "Demon-Detecting Stone" reacted most strongly on her, almost burning his flesh.
At that moment, he didn't know what expression of fear, trembling, or numb calm he had maintained to escape unharmed and without arousing her suspicion.
Afterward, he returned to their initial meeting place and found the mysterious cloaked woman.
His emotions shattered, he could no longer hold back, and cried out to her, "I don't want to stay at the Mu residence anymore, but... but I've been poisoned by her. If I betray her, I'll die from heart consumption."
Gu Junshi looked at the face belonging to Liu Jiang Fusheng, crying rivers on another's behalf, and a faint, inexplicable displeasure crossed her heart.
She never got angry over such an insignificant person. So, was her discomfort... because she felt someone like him didn't deserve to tarnish Liu Jiang Fusheng's face?
She lowered her voice, her pure, indifferent tone carrying a hint of comfort, "I told you, I will help you. This is called a Demon-Breaking Arrow. You just need to find a way to make a small cut on her. She will be severely injured, if not killed. If you can pierce her chest, then she will surely die. At that point, you won't have to worry about her threatening you anymore."
He looked into her sincere, gentle eyes and, for some reason, felt his fearful, unsettled heart gradually calm.
But he was not a brave person, especially when it came to doing something so dangerous alone.
"If she dies, this poison..."
"This poison is refined with her blood. As long as you obtain her blood, I can prepare an antidote for you."
"But, but I'm afraid..."
"Don't be afraid. Only you can get close to her without her noticing. Otherwise, I wouldn't have you do something so dangerous. I told you, I will watch over you, help you. If you encounter danger, I will save you."
"She's a demon..."
Gu Junshi looked at him and said, "Do you want to change yourself? Fusheng, you were born to be a radiant person. Why have you become so cowardly? Do you remember what you used to be like? Your face is the same, but what about your heart? If you don't want it to grow stronger, it will remain weak."