“Don’t be nervous. Her condition has stabilized now. I can feel it—she shouldn’t make a move on you anytime soon. Just wait ten more minutes, that’s all.”
Su Mu frowned, half in disbelief, but she didn’t run away immediately.
Her mind was still tangled in confusion over what had just happened.
‘That illusion—why did I have no memory of what it said? Why was Irina so desperate to stop it from continuing? Was it because I wasn’t supposed to hear it?’
Su Mu knew Irina had always been hiding something from her, but rather than doubting her, she preferred to trust this other version of herself unconditionally.
It wasn’t for any complicated reason—mainly, it was instinct.
‘If Irina wanted to scheme against me, she wouldn’t need all this fuss. With her power, she could easily replace me without breaking a sweat.’
‘Not to mention, the last time she substituted for me, it was to take a beating from Motes, and the time before that, it was to save me from Ning Xi’s hands.’
‘Sigh, what am I overthinking? Irina can hear me anyway.’
Su Mu sighed, the fact that Irina could hear her thoughts was the most awkward thing of all.
It made her feel oddly embarrassed whenever she babbled on about Irina.
But the most pressing issue right now wasn’t any of that.
Better not think too much—first, deal with Luo Jialan.
“Hehe, found you~”
“Gah!”
The pacing at the foot of the bed suddenly stopped.
Before Su Mu fully registered it, Luo Jialan bent down and peeked through the narrow gap where Su Mu was poorly hiding.
Hearing that familiar tone, Su Mu was startled and let out a strange noise.
Her whole body instinctively arched sharply backward, which should have caused her forehead to bang hard against the bed frame and leave her dizzy.
Luckily, her self-contained safety cushion absorbed the impact, but the pressure still made her complexion turn pale.
“Stop hiding. Do I look that scary?”
Luo Jialan gripped the edge of the bed with one hand and slightly lifted it to give Su Mu more room to breathe.
Su Mu wanted to curl up again and play ostrich, but knowing Luo Jialan had plenty of ways to deal with her, she obediently scooted out little by little.
Her whole appearance was a mess, and her long pink hair was covered in dust collected from under the bed.
Actually, there was another concern—if she stayed under the bed any longer, Luo Jialan would definitely come down to catch her herself.
And if she got in the mood in such a cramped space, it would truly become “her suffocating kind of love.”
“I’m out. Do whatever you want… ahem, just hurry up. I’m not scared of you!”
Su Mu shook her head hard to flick off the clinging dust, then crossed her arms with an unyielding look that immediately made Luo Jialan burst out laughing.
“What are you talking about?”
Su Mu puffed out her cheeks, her grimy face somehow looking inexplicably cute.
To be honest, saying she wasn’t scared was definitely a lie, but she had no other choice.
‘Either way, I’m going to get beaten—why not be a little tough about it?’
‘Besides, Irina will be fine soon. I refuse to believe she can take me down in just ten minutes.’
“Don’t set such a weird flag…”
Irina sighed, holding her forehead as she fretted.
It was like something a female knight would say after being captured by green-skinned orcs.
“Ugh, kill me! No matter how you defile me, you can’t break my will!”
“What… what is that thing? This is ridiculous, don’t come any closer…”
She was doomed to lose.
“Alright, little kitty, wipe your face first.”
Only after Luo Jialan reminded her did Su Mu realize the state of her appearance—but she wasn’t about to cooperate.
Wouldn’t being dirtier just make it easier?
Not only did she refuse to wipe, she purposely made herself even filthier.
She plunged her fingers into her hair, wildly messing it up.
Her long hair instantly became tangled and loose, covering her face except for a pair of deep blue eyes.
If anyone saw this at midnight, they’d definitely mistake her for a ghost.
Seeing this, Luo Jialan helplessly stepped forward, brushing aside Su Mu’s hair and gently stroking down her cheek.
The ticklish sensation made Su Mu’s neck tense, and her eyes shut instinctively.
But when she came back to her senses, Luo Jialan was already fixing her hair.
“You’re not used to this, huh? Suddenly I’m being gentle and reasonable again.”
Su Mu nodded repeatedly, many questions swirling in her mind.
Could it be that hearing the illusion’s words just now made her see the light?
That didn’t make sense.
Suddenly, Luo Jialan buried her face in Su Mu’s nape and spoke in a barely audible voice meant for only the two of them: “It’s almost over, Su Mu.”
Su Mu blinked in surprise, unable to grasp her meaning.
“What did you say?”
“I’m already at my limit. I can feel it—my body’s desire and Dark Magic Power have completely spiraled out of control.”
Luo Jialan’s voice grew lower, trembling faintly.
It was the first time Su Mu had heard such helplessness in her tone.
“Like a dying person’s last flare, this is my final moment of clarity. Right now I’m still holding onto a thread of reason to talk to you. In a few minutes, my will will collapse… I’m sorry, Su Mu. I’m really useless.”
Luo Jialan could see the few Memory Points inside her body already dimming.
They bobbed amidst the thick Dark Magic Power, as if ready to be swallowed by the waves of shadow at any moment.
Her previous resistance to desire had mostly relied on the Memory Points Su Mu had ignited for her. .
They acted like anchors holding Luo Jialan’s consciousness in place, but now even these anchors had reached their limit.
Corruption was an almost irreversible process.
In truth, no matter what Su Mu did during this time, the impact she could have on Luo Jialan was negligible.
Over the past few hours, Luo Jialan had been pushed closer and closer to the brink of corruption—and now, she had begun to fall.
But the reason Luo Jialan was still able to speak normally with Su Mu was because of the shackles left by Luo Linglan.
The ice-blue Shackles materialized—these cold iron chains that usually only bound Luo Jialan were now holding onto her last fragments of will.
However, the shackles were already mostly destroyed and could only offer brief support against the vast ocean of Dark Magic Power.
Still, those few hours gained before complete corruption allowed Luo Jialan to learn about the things Su Mu hadn’t yet had time to tell her.
Perhaps that was a small blessing.
‘If possible, give me a few more hours. Let me at least finish today’s diary. I want to see her in a wedding dress.’
Luo Jialan ran her fingers through Su Mu’s messy hair.
Her movements were quick, but it seemed impossible to tame it.
“It’s okay, Su Mu. Before I fall, I’ll end it myself.”
Su Mu’s pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints.
She struggled to turn away, but Luo Jialan held her firmly.
Even now, Luo Jialan was just as strong.
“Don’t look back.”
Su Mu lowered her head.
She could see Luo Jialan’s arm wrapped around her waist beginning to darken.
“You bastard. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? Why wait until now to act stubborn?”
Luo Jialan smiled bitterly.
Before hearing about Su Mu’s past, she couldn’t even stay awake—and now, it was already too late.
Su Mu pounded on Luo Jialan’s hand fiercely, screaming inside.
It’s ending so abruptly—what a joke.
But the Irina inside her showed no sign of panic.
“Only ten minutes left. If it’s just about buying time before falling, there’s one more way.”
‘What way?’
Irina smiled broadly.
She had been trying hard to keep Su Mu from getting beaten up, all to conserve her strength for a moment like this.
“It’s the thing you keep obsessing over.”
After Irina whispered something else to Su Mu, she instantly transformed into Steam Princess mode again.
“You’re not lying to me?”
“When have I ever lied to you?”
Luo Jialan’s strength was fading; she could no longer hold Su Mu tightly.
She released her hand and gathered her last magic power, forming a Military Knife in her palm, ready to end herself.
At that moment, her wrist was suddenly flipped over and pinned to the bed by the turned-over Su Mu.
“What are you doing? This isn’t the time to mess around.”
Blushing, Su Mu glared sharply at Luo Jialan.
Then, under Luo Jialan’s shocked gaze, Su Mu pulled out a strangely shaped object from her chest.
It was a V-shaped boomerang (no doubt about it).
This wasn’t originally a boomerang, but Su Mu had no use for its original form, so she casually reshaped it.
‘Irina, I’m confirming again—will this really work?’
Irina gave a thumbs-up to the sky.
“Don’t worry, it’ll definitely work!”
Luo Jialan, flustered and weakening, twisted her soft body, trying to shake Su Mu off and grab back her Military Knife.
But Su Mu had no intention of giving her the chance.
Su Mu gripped Luo Jialan’s wrist tightly, sitting astride her slender waist.
Her strength was just enough to control the weakening Luo Jialan.
If she had struggled more before, she might have been overpowered.
Who would have thought the turnaround would come in such a strange form… whatever, it’s just ten minutes.
‘I’d do it for you even if it took an hour!’
Seeing Luo Jialan’s cheeks flushed from rapid breathing and tension, Su Mu licked her cherry lips and clumsily planted a kiss.
Still the milky scent.