Su Ya exhaled, her breath trailing along the corners of her mouth and turning into two long, white streams.
Although her breathing was rapid, there was no trace of exhaustion on her face—she hadn’t even broken a sweat.
It wasn’t due to the cold weather, but because her physical constitution simply didn’t allow her to sweat; this level of activity only made her pant a little.
After all, she hadn’t used any magic, relying solely on her own legs to sprint all the way here, and even a casual exertion of strength was enough to crush bricks and the ice coating them beneath her feet.
She had easily accomplished something impossible for ordinary humans, and since she responded to the trafficker’s call, her identity was already becoming clear.
But she hadn’t come here to save that scum.
“Little Mu!”
The moment Su Ya saw Su Mu, her anxious expression shifted to one of worry.
Ignoring the unmentionable mess at Su Mu’s feet, she strode straight toward her.
Her heels shattered the pool of blood, scarlet splattering in bloom—stunningly beautiful, yet tinged with an uncanny strangeness, as if she’d accidentally brushed against the very peak of the uncanny valley, forcing all who saw it to be ruled by terror in a single instant.
The pink-haired girl’s face, stained with blood, hadn’t changed in the least; she was still that lovely figure, even appearing more alluring amid the crimson.
But anyone who witnessed her actions couldn’t help but be awed.
If this were in those centuries ruled by ignorant majorities, she might have been branded a Witch and sent to the stake—perhaps even by her closest kin.
But alas, Su Ya had no intention of doing such a thing.
Standing here now was a true existence—even Witches would be afraid of her.
The pink-haired girl’s icy blue eyes shimmered with strange lights, yet none of them held a glimmer of humanity.
Put simply, the sparkle had vanished from her gaze, and on a pink-haired character, this made her appear all the more terrifying.
Something bad was about to happen.
Su Ya gritted her teeth.
From her appearance to this moment in front of Su Mu took but an instant, yet in that instant, she could clearly feel how she had pushed herself, step by step, with all her might toward Su Mu.
Then, under Su Mu’s astonished gaze, she drew the latter into her embrace.
At that touch, in this not-quite-warm yet gentle hug, Su Mu was startled to realize—the strange light gathering in her pupils faded instantly.
But she did not fully regain her senses; instead, an overwhelming exhaustion enveloped her.
Fatigue pressed in, so heavy even her eyelids felt impossible to lift; she could not think, only wanting to sink into this embrace.
The entire Dream World began to lose its color.
The already gray and white land now retained only the crimson lingering on the ground; everything else was slowly swallowed by silent black and white.
Gradually, even those three illuminated memory points were engulfed by the wave of fading colors—their glow was too dim.
In contrast, those memories were now covered by vivid red.
“Mom, I want to sleep.”
“Sleep, I’m here, I’m here…..”
***
“What should I do when she wakes up? Should I keep playing dead?”
“Do you really plan to die for real?”
Asked by Irina, Tang Nai raised an eyebrow, then unceremoniously helped herself to the Pure Magic surging from Irina’s hand.
“Then tell me—what should I say to her? She’s unlocked those memories, but wakes up to find herself a third-stage Qi Fighter trash—should I just tell her outright?”
“Then just say it! It’s not the first time I’ve taken the blame.”
Seeing Tang Nai’s nonchalant attitude, Irina was so angry her teeth itched, but she couldn’t do anything about her.
“What do you mean ‘take the blame’? You clearly did it, Tang Nai, you evil rabbit, always up to no good.”
“Mn, mn, thank you for the compliment.”
Shameless!
Tang Nai’s vast magical void was finally filled; there shouldn’t be any more incidents of power loss for a while, but as for where this Pure Magic came from—
It was all drawn by Irina from Su Mu’s Dream World; not just from after the Shackle, even the previous memory points had been drained—she was even greedier than those ring-elders.
“So, have I repaid enough of what I owe?”
“No way, you’ll never finish repaying favors.”
“Screw you!”
No one in the world knew just how much Tang Nai owed; Su Mu had been kept in the dark, only knowing Tang Nai was a black-hearted loan shark.
But she’d never been forced to repay anything, which made her let down her guard, not knowing fate was already written in the stars.
Irina had struggled for years at the Dream Realm’s borders, and today, she was once again left with nothing—forced to be Tang Nai’s sidekick, hug pillow, and pet sprite.
That slap Su Mu gave Tang Nai in the real world let Irina in the Dream World experience some ‘special treatment’ too.
But honestly, though she grumbled inside, Irina only ever vented those feelings with her words.
“If you’re fine, hurry and get back to your body. Stop lying around in the arcade pretending to be dead. Once your girls come looking, you’re in for a world of trouble.”
“Exactly, so you won’t just watch me die, right? Quick, call your dear mom to help me out—didn’t she already take care of one of them?”
“You really should just keep your mouth shut forever.”
“Little Irina, you’re so heartless. But I doubt little Su Mu would just leave me be. Can you bear to watch her run herself ragged for a wicked girl like me?”
“You scoundrel!”
Irina clenched her small pink fist, but in the end, she could only let it go helplessly.
Maybe, compared to Su Mu, she herself was the one who couldn’t bear to let go.
“I’m leaving, then.”
Just as Irina turned to rise up from beneath Su Mu’s dream, she felt her wrist gently caught.
“I never said you could leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“Stay here with me.”
“…There’s a limit to your jokes.”
“I never joke.”
Staring at Tang Nai’s half-smiling red lips, Irina let out a soft sigh.
Never joke?
This girl’s mouth was always running wild, never serious, but whenever she said those words—it meant she was absolutely sincere.
Just like the last time, when she was attacked by spiders, terrified into paralysis, then finally forced to ask for help in utter humiliation.
“So, does this mean it’s my turn to make demands again?”
“Hey, don’t be so transactional. When have I ever refused you?”
“Then give me a hundred billion bunny magic.”
“Nope.”
Under Irina’s narrowed gaze, Tang Nai twirled her hair and blinked playfully, as if she thought acting cute would let her get away with it.
“Screw you.”
“Mm.”
***
When Su Mu finally forced her eyes open, she immediately noticed something off about her body.
It wasn’t just the fact that she couldn’t sense her magic now, but there were more pressing issues at hand.
Like her sticky body.
Like the damp bedsheet.
Like the soft bunny cuddled against her arm.
“Ye Wanqing, get up!”
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