Chapter 26: When I Go Mad, Even I Can't Stop Myself

"Senior brother... why... why..." Bai Teng hurriedly patted her sleeve, brushing off the half-burned talisman paper. She saw several peak masters watching her and awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair, laughing, "Ha ha ha ha! Is it summer already? Why is it so hot today? So hot, so hot!"

"Sister." Song Huan stared dazedly at her white long sleeves, "They're... they're on fire."

Ai Fengling sighed, and in a spot unnoticed by the others, reached behind and pulled a handkerchief from the puppet resembling Liang Sichang. He rubbed the handkerchief, wiping sweat from his palm.

"Heh." Shan Hongxing, privy to the truth, looked coldly at their reactions.

All protecting her!

Wen Jinge's temperament would, sooner or later, bring a fatal blow to the Xuanyun Sect!

"We made it," Wen Jinge said, looking at Jiang Zilin, who was impaled on a sword, feeling frustrated.

That man was invisible, she truly hadn't seen him.

Wen Jinge reached forward, and the demonic shadow floated above his head, yet she couldn't pull it out. Meanwhile, Qiao Yu, who was also drenched in cold sweat from fright, was dragged aside to a tree by Mud Girl Wang Xi. The two young ones watched Jiang Zilin with curious eyes.

None of them suspected that the Jiang Zilin waiting in the distance for Qiao Yu to risk his life was a fake. The real Jiang Zilin had already reached Qiao Yu, raising a demonized blade to stab him.

"Senior Brother Song Qian."

"Don't bother me!" Wen Jinge snapped first, genuinely afraid of Qiao Yu's chatterbox tendencies.

She needed time to sort things out.

"Senior brother, who is this?" Wang Xi saw Wen Jinge's fierce demeanor and dared not ask her to help search for her jade token. Seeing Qiao Yu was familiar with her, Wang Xi sought his help, "Can you ask Senior Brother Song to help find my jade token?"

"I heard you, don't say another word! If you do, I'll beat you!"

Wang Xi pursed her lips pitifully, glanced at Qiao Yu, who was just as cautious, and didn’t dare say more.

The demonic aura on Jiang Zilin was dissipating, but the shadow couldn't fully emerge. Seeing Wen Jinge reach out, he even extended a tentacle to wrap her hand, "If I come out, that boy will die."

His voice sounded like an old man with missing teeth, words indistinct, "How about lending me your body for a while? You don't want that boy to die, do you? You stabbed him—without me, he'll die."

"He's already a dead man."

Wen Jinge set the demonic zither aside. The shadow clearly hadn't noticed the sword's true nature, still cackling, "What now? Giving up resistance? Well, with your low cultivation, none of you can defeat me."

Wen Jinge looked at the two children, sniffed the air—there was a scent of roasted meat. "Are you two roasting something?"

"I—I roasted," Qiao Yu answered, not seeing the jade lion and feeling uneasy, "But—but it's probably gone now."

"Then keep roasting!" Wen Jinge's intention was to chase the children off. Qiao Yu still carried the jade token; she wanted to keep things low-key, yet little did she know, her every move was being broadcast. "I want it crispier!"

"You likely won't get the chance." The shadow laughed arrogantly. "You're the most fearless of death I've ever seen, but you really shouldn't have angered me!"

"Who are you? I don't even know you." With the children gone, Wen Jinge relaxed, grinning as she extended her hand toward the shadow. "I'll give you this body—do you dare take it?"

"My goodness! What is Wen Fifth up to? She doesn't want to live!" Fan Zifan, though at odds with Wen Jinge, had only minor grievances—not enough to wish her dead. He ran to the Mystic Stone, intending to force his way in, but the gate of the illusion remained tightly shut.

These illusions had been set up by several mighty cultivators from the past; with his poor constitution as a medicinal cultivator, he truly couldn't break in.

"If she's gone mad, that's her business! Why are you acting crazy too?" Shan Hongxing pulled him back. "Trouble lasts a thousand years! Don't be fooled by her—she won't die so easily!"

"She—she! I treated her—I know how weak her body is! Then tell me, what is she trying to do!" Fan Zifan pointed at the image on the Shadow Stone, his cold gaze sweeping over the peak masters present, his eyes sharp as blades on Shan Hongxing:

"You sword cultivators, each of you—pure as jade, detached as immortals, but all with hearts of stone! Master is! Huo Yongfei is! You, Shan Hongxing, even more so! Ai Seventh used to be, too! Wen Fifth... she’s only a bit better than you lot!"

Huo Yongfei turned to glance at him, bitterness in his heart, but said nothing in defense. His cold eyes remained fixed on the Shadow Stone.

Fan Zifan shook his sleeves and left, leaving a group of disciples looking at each other. Bai Teng took a deep breath, intending to have Song Huan persuade him. Only this simpleton cared only for formations and nothing else.

"I won't go. You never include me in anything fun, and Second Senior Brother's anger must be related to Senior Sister Wen. Since I'm here, I'm staying."

"Ah!" Bai Teng sighed, resigned to these fellows. "I'll go, I'll go then!"

Wen Jinge was unaware that the peak masters were worrying over her, even quarreling fiercely. She watched the shadow burrow into her body, a dull ache in her chest. "Do you know why I sent those two children away?"

"Why?" The shadow gradually took over Wen Jinge's body, making her false face look twisted; two voices came from her mouth. "Because! When I go mad, I even hit myself."

The shadow: ...

"There should be something inside me. I hope..." Wen Jinge closed her eyes. "You can help me—" remove it!

"Ah! Ah! You wicked woman! What did you do to me!"

Wen Jinge's heart thudded—done, done, she’d gone too far!

Her disguise would fall!

Her first reaction wasn't concern for the demon traversing her body, but whether Qiao Yu was nearby!

This—this was nothing like she'd imagined!

Wen Jinge took a deep breath, feeling her face swell, her arm thicken, her belly grow, her legs bulk up, and her feet puff. She pondered—earlier, the wind had blown off a mole; now her makeup must be gone.

She clutched her own neck, "If you keep moving, I'll strangle you!"

The shadow trembled within her, for Wen Jinge truly was mad—she was gently poking her own belly with the demon sword, as if preparing to cut herself open. "Hey! Did you see that thing?"

"Y-yes, I saw it."

"What does it look like?"

He had seen it, but truly hadn't caught its appearance.

Wen Jinge's sea of consciousness was chaos, with only one spot shining. His intent was to seize her sea of consciousness, so Wen Jinge's body would be fully his.

But he hadn’t expected to be sucked in as soon as he approached—nearly losing himself.

"I—I didn't see clearly."

"Didn't see clearly, or couldn't defeat it?"

"Couldn't defeat it!"

"Oh." Wen Jinge pressed the demonic zither harder against her belly. The zither pierced through, and the shadow screamed in agony. Wen Jinge watched his twisted, screaming soul be sucked into the sword. "Then you're useless!"

"Who... who are you, really?"