Chapter 383: Aftereffects

Leaning her forehead against Qiao Xiaoxian’s shoulder, Jiang Ke’er felt the world spin around her.

She quickly sensed the condition of her own brain and made a deduction.

Then, before the damage could take effect, she hurriedly said to Qiao Xiaoxian, “Next, I’m going to experience symptoms of short-term memory loss. I’ll forget what happened a few minutes or even seconds ago. The symptoms will gradually improve over time. During this period, I hope you can… um…”

As Jiang Ke’er spoke, her body suddenly shuddered.

She looked at Qiao Xiaoxian and said solemnly, “Next, I’m going to experience symptoms of short-term memory loss. I’ll forget… (…)… During this time, I hope you can… uh…”

Qiao Xiaoxian’s mouth twitched. She saw that Jiang Ke’er’s gaze had suddenly become vacant.

After a moment, Jiang Ke’er’s expression abruptly turned serious. She said, “Next, I’m going to experience short-term…”

“Stop, stop, stop! You already said that!” Qiao Xiaoxian quickly interrupted.

“What’s the second half? What exactly do you want me to do?”

“…I hope you can remind me not to do repetitive things.” Jiang Ke’er finally got the words out.

Qiao Xiaoxian breathed a sigh of relief.

But Jiang Ke’er frowned. “What repetitive things? What’s wrong with me?”

Qiao Xiaoxian smiled faintly and hugged Jiang Ke’er tighter.

“Nothing wrong. You were just about to go get engaged with me, but you forgot.”

“…Even if my brain might be messed up, there’s absolutely no way that would ever happen! You can’t fool me!” Jiang Ke’er rolled her eyes.

Qiao Xiaoxian raised an eyebrow and silently lamented the missed opportunity. But of course, she wouldn’t give up so easily.

She stared quietly at Jiang Ke’er.

After a while, Jiang Ke’er once again wore a confused expression. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m proposing to you right now, and you just agreed.” Qiao Xiaoxian made the gentlest, most affectionate gaze possible.

“…That’s impossible!” Jiang Ke’er shuddered in fright.

With a clang, she drew her sword and aimed it at her own throat.

“No way! I’m going to kill myself! I’d rather die than agree!”

“Forget it, forget it.”

Qiao Xiaoxian sighed, grabbing Jiang Ke’er’s hand that held the sword.

Then, she continued to stare patiently into Jiang Ke’er’s eyes, waiting.

Gradually, Jiang Ke’er’s eyes became dazed and confused once more.

She had apparently deleted her memory again.

“What happened?” Jiang Ke’er looked at the sword in her hand, baffled.

“You just tried to kill me,” Qiao Xiaoxian said, a hint of coldness flickering in her eyes.

She licked her red lips mockingly, grabbed Jiang Ke’er’s wrist tightly, and leaned close to her face.

“Sorry, but asassination failed!”

Jiang Ke’er opened her mouth, sucked in a breath of cold air, and stared at Qiao Xiaoxian in terror.

“This… this can’t be…” Jiang Ke’er looked at the sword in her hand in panic. “How could I have…”

Qiao Xiaoxian was slightly taken aback. “How could you have what? Don’t tell me you didn’t want to kill me?”

“Who wouldn’t want to kill you!” Jiang Ke’er’s face reddened slightly.

“It’s just… I absolutely couldn’t have been so reckless in my assassination! If I were going to kill you, I would definitely have chosen a sure opportunity!”

“Well, the opportunity has come now.”

Qiao Xiaoxian suddenly let go of Jiang Ke’er, stepped back, and aimed Jiang Ke’er’s sword point at her own heart.

But at that moment, Jiang Ke’er’s body froze again, her expression turning blank.

Watching Jiang Ke’er, Qiao Xiaoxian suddenly felt nervous.

When Jiang Ke’er saw what was happening before her and realized this was a golden opportunity to assassinate Qiao Xiaoxian, she burst into laughter:

“Qiao Xiaoxian! Even you have your day!”

Qiao Xiaoxian had a flash of inspiration and put on a pained, weak expression. “I never expected you to be so strong…”

“Hehehe, scared now, aren’t you!”

Jiang Ke’er’s little tail wagged triumphantly.

Qiao Xiaoxian saw her tighten her grip on the sword, the blade pressing harder against her chest. She couldn’t help but sigh, suddenly enveloped by a deep sense of helplessness.

Forget it.

She closed her eyes.

“Clang—”

“Now that you know how tough I am, stop pestering me!” Jiang Ke’er raised her little head proudly, twirling Frost Shadow in an elegant and dashing flourish before sheathing it.

“Next time, I’ll kill you.”

“…”

Qiao Xiaoxian forced a bitter smile, then suddenly stepped forward and pulled Jiang Ke’er into her embrace.

“Wha—?!” Jiang Ke’er’s body instantly stiffened.

“Wh-wh-what are you doing?!”

“Nothing. Just stay still and let me hold you for a bit.” Qiao Xiaoxian said in a low voice.

“Oh…” Jiang Ke’er finally obediently shut her mouth.

The original plan was to take Jiang Ke’er into the Realm of No Regret in the Ancient Scholarly Realm after visiting the Supreme Treasure Vault, cultivate until they reached the Seven Luminaries Realm, and then head to Beiju Luzhou to solve the problem.

But Jiang Ke’er’s current state clearly wasn’t suitable for entering the Ancient Scholarly Realm.

The Ancient Scholarly Realm was fraught with danger and extremely perilous.

If Jiang Ke’er went in now, she would probably throw herself at the first person she saw.

So Qiao Xiaoxian had no choice but to carry Jiang Ke’er in her fox form and take her into the deep mountains and forests to lie low temporarily and escape the pursuit.

“Bang~”

With a soft sound, amidst swirling smoke, Jiang Ke’er suddenly transformed back into human form.

She looked around with an innocent gaze and scratched her head.

“Hey, why was I turning into a fox for you to carry?”

“Change back.”

“Oh…”

Jiang Ke’er turned back into her fox form with a pitiful look, once again forced to obediently lie in Qiao Xiaoxian’s arms.

It wasn’t that Qiao Xiaoxian had some special fetish for petting foxes.

It was just that in this dazed state, Jiang Ke’er would often unconsciously release her enchantment aura, and might even accidentally activate the effect of Qing Cheng.

If she stayed in human form, Qiao Xiaoxian wouldn’t be able to control herself.

Even the fox form was barely manageable. If she maintained human form, Qiao Xiaoxian was afraid she’d be drained dry.

“Phew—”

They had finally arrived.

This valley was where she had hidden from the Human Clan’s pursuit and cultivated in her early years. It was very secluded and quiet.

They would lie low here for now. Jiang Ke’er said the aftereffects would disappear on their own soon, so they’d wait here until she recovered before leaving.

Qiao Xiaoxian quickly built a small wooden cabin, ignoring Jiang Ke’er’s shouts about building a separate house or putting two beds in the room.

She unreasonably placed only one bed inside.

“Something’s off. How come my cultivation base seems to have increased a lot?” Before getting into the covers, Jiang Ke’er looked at Qiao Xiaoxian suspiciously.

“Did you take advantage of my memory loss to dual cultivate again?”

“Stop being so paranoid. We just got here,” Qiao Xiaoxian said, between laughter and tears. “I haven’t had the chance yet.”

“What do you mean ‘haven’t had the chance’?!” Jiang Ke’er sat up in terror.

“No way, you’re too dangerous! I’m going to sleep outside!”

“…”

Qiao Xiaoxian didn’t stop her. She just watched quietly as Jiang Ke’er angrily got up and put on her shoes.

“Uh…”

A few seconds later, Jiang Ke’er scratched her head in confusion.

“Why am I putting on my shoes? No, wait. I should be taking off my shoes to go to sleep, right? Huh, whatever… Time to sleep, time to sleep…”

Giving up on herself, she kicked her shoes flying to the side, then slithered into the bed covers with a contented hum.

She added: “Good night.”