The tiny poisonous sting didn’t bring any pain— only a brief, itchy prick followed by a rapidly spreading numbness.
It was Cluru’s poison.
If I were in the other world, I wouldn’t fear any toxin.
I always kept antidotes at hand, enough to counter any kind of deadly venom.
Even on Earth, if someone else were poisoned in front of me, I could quickly analyze the components and produce an antidote.
But this time, the one poisoned… was me.
It was like a warrior teaming up with a healer to fight monsters.
Poison was the monster.
If the monster locked its aggro onto the warrior, then the healer could keep him alive through constant healing, slowly grinding the enemy to death.
But if the monster targeted the healer from the start…
No matter how the warrior taunted— by hand or by mouth— the monster would ignore him entirely and swing that thick, meter-wide club straight at the healer’s delicate waist.
Then the healer… would be doomed.
That battle would be lost before it began.
And right now, the healer just got hit.
Today was the first time Cluru used poison on me.
Until now, I’d never analyzed it— not its effects, not its target receptors, not its composition, not even how to counter it.
I knew nothing.
And I didn’t have any emergency medicine on hand to delay its onset.
I was helpless.
“Damn it… doesn’t poison usually spread through the bloodstream?”
I’d already tightened a band around my thigh to stop blood flow, to prevent the toxin from spreading upward.
Even so, my vision was going black.
“Could it be… a neurotoxin? Nnngh—”
My body swayed.
I tried to move, to escape, but my limbs slowed down like they no longer obeyed me.
Cluru was approaching at a leisurely pace.
She already saw the outcome.
From the moment she tagged me with her poison, she no longer worried about me running away.
“D-Don’t come any closer! If you get closer, I… I’ll…” I clenched my teeth. “I’ll kill you!”
“Oh, my dear sister~ Wasn’t killing me the reason you came here in the first place?” Cluru smiled indifferently. “Too bad… You’re just as weak as ever.”
My vision blurred.
My pupils locked onto Cluru, and everything else around her twisted into a dreamlike haze.
A dream?
No.
Where am I?
Who… am I?
……
“I’m home~ Xiao Luoxian~ Aren’t you coming out to greet your big sister?”
“Xiao Luoxian~? Hmm? Where are you hiding again?”
I clutched my mouth tightly, peeking through the narrow crack of the wardrobe.
The inside was dark and cramped, filled with the musty scent of camphor and old wood— but oddly, that made me feel safe.
This was my sanctuary.
Here, I didn’t have to face Father’s harsh criticism.
I didn’t have to face my sister Cluru, who shone so brightly that every smile, every glance made me feel worthless.
In their world, in everyone’s eyes, I was just a cockroach.
Lowly, worthless, and shamelessly alive.
If I could, I would’ve stayed in this wardrobe forever. Lived and died here.
“Maybe here?” Outside, her alluring purple hair swayed as she suddenly flung open a cardboard box.
Empty.
She unzipped a suitcase.
Also empty.
“I know where you are.”
At last, Cluru’s eyes turned to the wardrobe.
My heartbeat stopped for a moment.
Part of it was fear— but even more so, it was the impact of that breathtaking face.
A smirk tugged at her lips, carrying a touch of playful arrogance.
Coupled with the radiant confidence that always made me feel small, my brain went blank the moment I saw her face.
She was always like this— flawless in every way.
Perfect.
“Found you~”
The wardrobe door flew open.
I recoiled in terror, trying to curl into the corner, to put distance between us.
But she grabbed my face in one swift motion.
Her long, slender fingers clamped over my mouth, gripping my cheeks with such force that I couldn’t shrink back.
She pulled me close by the face.
I was like a trembling rabbit caught in the talons of a hawk, eyes filled with fear and hatred.
“You don’t have to be so afraid of me.” Cluru met my wary gaze with complete indifference. “Relax, Father isn’t home today. He won’t do anything to you.”
“Let… go!” I mumbled, trying to slap her hand away.
“There, there.”
Cluru was older than me— her body more developed.
She effortlessly seized my wrists and pulled me into her soft embrace.
“Be good. Listen to your big sister, alright? Don’t hide from me today.”
“No,” I spat out, gritting my teeth.
“Look what I’ve got~”
Like a magician, Cluru produced a small box.
“Get lost! I don’t care!” I slapped it away.
“Happy birthday.”
She held the box up again.
“……”
I froze.
Birthday?
In this house… wasn’t Cluru the only one allowed to have birthdays?
Me? Ever since I could remember, I was just the shadow to Cluru’s light.
On her birthday, if I was lucky, I might get a taste of frosting.
“Maybe others forgot. But I remembered.”
Cluru smiled gently.
“From this year on, I’ll give you a birthday gift every year. Don’t refuse, I’m not listening.”
“……”
I stared at the little box in my hands.
At first, I whimpered.
Then the tears poured down my face, falling in thick drops from my cheeks.
I couldn’t even sob properly.
“Get out! A weasel giving New Year’s greetings to a chicken— who wants your garbage gift?!”
I smacked the box away hard.
Breaking free of Cluru’s grip, I ran for the bathroom, locked the door behind me.
But then I heard voices outside.
[Uh… Father? Why are you back early?]
[Just grabbing something… Hm? Why is the bathroom door locked? Luoxian, are you in there?]
I clamped a hand tightly over my mouth.
Terrified of letting even a single sob escape.
With my other hand, I scrubbed the tears from my face with all my strength.
[Open up! Open this door, now!]
No, I hadn’t wiped them all off yet.
My eyes were still red.
It’s too late. I’m screwed. I’m—
I can’t let him see me cry.
I can’t. Absolutely not—
Bang!
The door was kicked open.
Father saw the tear tracks on my face at a glance.
“Hmph? You two fought again?” He frowned, glaring at me.
“No!” Cluru rushed to explain, blocking me. “Luoxian just tripped. Pretty hard.”
“You cry like this just from falling? Useless!” Father snapped, yanking off his belt. “When will you ever be more like Cluru?!”
He shoved Cluru aside and raised the belt.
Smack!
My white shirt tore open from the strike, revealing a back covered in bruises and welts, stained red with fresh blood.
Old wounds hadn’t healed yet, and the new lash tore through them again, dragging up old pain with new.
Layered pain, old and new, surged through my mind like a firestorm.
……
“Hhhaah!”
The pain yanked me back to reality.
I woke up in the forests of Mount Qin.
Damn it!
I actually fell for it— my mental defenses weakened under the effects of the poison, giving Cluru’s hypnosis the chance to sneak in.
If it hadn’t been for that sharp pain shocking my senses and breaking the illusion, I might never have snapped out of it.
My back still throbbed faintly with pain.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Can’t you dream something normal for once? It’s either horny or horrifying, what the hell??”
I immediately retreated, pulling distance between us.
“Huh? You actually broke free?” Cluru raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve really gotten stronger~ Looks like they’re investing heavily just to kill me.”
Hah. Investing heavily? Sorry, I’m a cultivator. This is called passive spiritual resistance. Has nothing to do with your little dream-walking witchcraft.
Whew—
Thankfully, the meditation mantra I practiced in the past kicked in just in time.
The Clarity of Heart Mantra— it activates when the Dao Heart is in turmoil, snapping me back to lucidity.
It’s a passive technique.
Unfortunately… the poison is still in effect.
Because the contact was brief, Cluru didn’t inject much poison—so all it caused was “localized paralysis in the right leg” and “reduced mental resistance.”
It affected my movement a bit, but nothing serious.
As long as I don’t get hit with hypnosis again—don’t fall back into that dream.
That dream is pure torture.
“Sorry, but I’ll be taking my leave now~” I turned coolly and made a run for it. “Later, sucker~”
“Oh?”
I leapt into the forest, fast and fluid. The numbness in my leg didn’t affect my speed in the slightest.
But Cluru didn’t chase me.
She just watched me go, smiling with faint amusement.
“I admit, you’ve gotten a lot stronger than before. But unfortunately… you’re still just as naïve.”
Heh~ Say whatever you want. If I stop now, I’ll take your last name!
Talk’s cheap. I’m not falling for it.
Cluru twirled her delicate fingers. “Poison command: Detonate — Bind.”
!
Thud!
I suddenly dropped from the tree, crashing to the ground, my body overwhelmed with aching pain. I couldn’t move at all!
The numbness in my leg exploded and spread through my entire body in an instant.
…Damn. A technique that forcibly accelerates the toxin’s spread to achieve an immediate effect?
So that’s it. She sacrificed the slow, anesthetic nature of the poison for a short burst of maximum control. The poison would wear off faster, sure—but in the meantime, I was totally paralyzed.
At least for the next few seconds… I couldn’t move at all.
“Alright, I’ve had my fun.”
Cluru no longer moved with that lazy grace.
In a flash, she was standing in front of me.
The tentacles behind her waist lashed out and wrapped around my body.
My wrists, my neck, my waist… ngh! So tight!
She didn’t even need to inject more poison. It seeped directly into my system through every pore.
This was bad. Really bad.
To think I—Cloud Immortal Lord—survived the cutthroat world of cultivation, only to meet my end at the hands of a freakin’ octopus girl?
I should’ve gone all out from the start. I should never have held back.
I didn’t expect her to be this strong…
Just a little bit of poison, and I spiraled straight into this nightmare of a situation.
Sigh—
If this were a dream sequence, then what comes next would be the execution scene, right?
Of course it would be.
Sisters turned enemies. Ever since we were young, I resented her. I exposed her identity, sent her fleeing into a world of endless pursuit.
And now I’d shown up to kill her again.
She had every reason to end me.
“Sleep now, little one.”
Cluru hung me upside down, suspended in midair.
I hung there limply, my head drooping, eyes locked with hers.
Her pupils bore into mine, and a strange, irresistible force slid into my soul.
“My dear sister… rest now…” Cluru gently cupped my face. “When you wake, everything will be fine… Sleep… sleep…”
No.
Not again.
I can’t sleep. I mustn’t—absolutely mustn’t fall into that dream again—
……
“Xiao Luoxian, I’m sorry.”
Cluru’s voice echoed in my ears.
“I’m sorry about last night… I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t know Father would come back.”
“I just wanted—”
Heh. Is that so?
I wordlessly pulled out my concealer and covered the bruise at the corner of my mouth.
Threw on a clean shirt to hide the marks on my back.
The wounds weren’t healed. I hadn’t even bandaged them.
So when the fresh fabric pressed against raw flesh, the pain was sharp and biting with every movement. Tch—unbearable.
“Xiao Luoxian…”
“Shut up.”
I cut Cluru off coldly.
For the first time, I looked her straight in the eye and said:
“You didn’t stop him.”
“You know I can’t fight Father…” she clenched her fists.
“Maybe. But you didn’t even help me bandage the wounds.”
“…” Cluru actually looked down. “I… I can’t stand the sight of blood. I’m scared of it.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
I let out a mocking laugh. “The school’s number one genius, the prodigy dubbed ‘Child of Tomorrow,’ Miss Cluru herself—afraid of blood? So scared that when the sister she claims to care about is beaten half to death, she can’t even offer a bandage?
If you’re so noble, then stop pretending. Spare me your sanctimonious act…
Your Highness Cluru, I’m not your sister. I don’t deserve to be.”
“Xiao Luoxian, it’s not like that—”
“You never did anything. Did you?”
You did nothing.
Nothing at all.
Cluru stood frozen in place, fists tightening around the hem of her clothes.
Yes. She said she cared. But she’d never protected me.
Instead, time and time again—like last night—she brought me more pain.
All my suffering… started with her.
She was the fuse that lit the fire.
My hatred for her was justified.
.
I didn’t care what Cluru was thinking.
She was someone who stood too high above for me to bother worrying about.
So, like always, I lowered my head and made my way to school.
The blood from my wounds soaked through my shirt.
Not a big deal— I was used to it. Just cover it with a black jacket.
Though… why was the school so quiet today?
Huh? Where’s the old security guard?
What’s going on with the main building?
That massive crater— was there an earthquake last night? I didn’t feel anything…
I stood on the school field, dazed as I stared at the dead-silent campus.
Sure, I was a little late but this atmosphere was wrong.
Everything around me felt… off.
Boom!
Suddenly, an explosion erupted inside the school building— a corner of the structure blew apart.
From the blasted wall, a dark shadow burst forth.
It landed right in front of me.
Under the sunlight, its skin gleamed like sticky asphalt.
Embedded in the pitch-black mass was a single, enormous, bone-white eye.
That eye stared at me— emotionless, unblinking— less than five centimeters from my face.
Tentacles writhed behind it, slamming the cement ground like it was paper, tearing deep cracks in the earth.
I was paralyzed with fear.
“A… a demon…”
Why?! Why would a demon appear here, in the city?!
At the Shrine Maiden Academy, of all places?!
This isn’t something a student could possibly handle!
Should I run? Could I even run?
No time! With the strength it just showed—there’s no way I’ll make it!
No…
I shouldn’t run.
Even if I did, it’d just be trading one hell for another.
I have to win. I have to defeat this thing.
This is my chance.
If I can take it down, no one will ever say I’m inferior to Cluru again.
Father will never look down on me again!
I have to kill it.
Otherwise… I might as well be dead.