Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The cabin was eerily dimly lit.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of strong liquor and stale blood, so strong it made people's throats itch.

Su Chang'an's soul withdrew from that ruin-like sea of ​​consciousness and reformed into a human form in the cramped cabin.

She shook her head, her vision clearing from blurry to sharp, and immediately spotted the figure sitting in the corner.

Chen Xuan sat under the oil lamp that was almost burnt out.

He was so thin he looked unrecognizable.

The black clothes that once fit him perfectly now hung loosely on his body, like a child wearing an adult's clothes.

That face that once made countless female cultivators in the Northern Region blush and their hearts race now had high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and an unyielding bluish-black under his eyes.

He held the dirty, coarse cloth in his hand and mechanically wiped the broken sword on his knee.

"rustle……"

The rough cloth rubbed against the rusty blade, producing a teeth-grinding sound.

As Su Chang'an watched this scene, he felt as if a large hand had gripped and squeezed his heart.

It aches, hurts, and there's an inexplicable burning sensation.

She beat up the inner demon in her mind, thinking that the boy would wake up a bit, but when she came out, she found that he was not awake at all, but clearly terminally ill.

"The traitor."

Su Chang'an took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound less trembling.

The figure in the corner didn't move an inch.

Chen Xuan kept his head down, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the broken sword in his hand, as if some peerless martial arts technique was engraved on it.

He picked up the wine jug beside him and took a big gulp.

The spicy liquor dripped down his chin, wetting his collar, but he was completely unaware.

In his view, this was just another of the countless auditory hallucinations he had experienced over the past few years.

If you ignore it and don't look up, the sound will dissipate on its own after a while, just like countless times before.

Su Chang'an's eyebrows twitched twice.

Ok.

They've really improved.

How dare you ignore your own father standing right in front of you?

"I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"

Su Chang'an walked up to Chen Xuan in a few steps, his fierce side rising, and kicked Chen Xuan's shin.

no response.

Chen Xuan was like a soulless stone statue, still immersed in his own world, his hands moving without even pausing.

That indifference wasn't feigned; it was a deathly stillness that emanated from the very core of their being.

Su Chang'an became incredibly famous.

With her fiery temper, she had never suffered such injustice in her life.

"Fine, you'll pretend you didn't hear me, huh?"

Su Chang'an sneered, then suddenly bent down and grabbed Chen Xuan's wrist as he was wiping his sword.

"Stop right there!"

This grab was done with real force.

The warmth instantly traveled through my palm.

That's the body temperature of a living person.

It pulsates with life, and feels incredibly real, like a pulse.

Chen Xuan, who had been as still as a stagnant pool, suddenly stiffened.

Clang!

The coarse cloth in his hand fell to the ground.

He slowly, little by little, raised his head.

Those bloodshot eyes, which were originally unfocused, were now fixed on the hand that Su Chang'an was holding.

The pupils contracted violently.

Is it not a hallucination?

It has a temperature?

Chen Xuan's breathing became rapid instantly, and the veins on his neck bulged out one by one.

He showed no surprise or excitement; instead, a chilling wariness and icy aura welled up in his eyes.

"Snapped!"

Chen Xuan suddenly flung his hand away with astonishing force, directly shaking off Su Chang'an's hand.

He recoiled like a startled wild animal, his back slamming heavily against the wooden planks of the cabin.

The broken sword was immediately held horizontally in front of his chest.

The tip of the sword was pointed at Su Chang'an's throat.

"sharp."

Chen Xuan stared at Su Chang'an and sneered mockingly.

"This method was indeed brilliant."

"You can even simulate body temperature? It seems I didn't completely kill you in my sea of ​​consciousness; instead, you devoured more of my obsessions and evolved?"

Su Chang'an almost lost his balance when he was thrown.

She looked at the broken sword pointing at her nose, then at Chen Xuan's cold expression that said "I've seen through everything," and was so angry she almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Was this rebellious son kicked in the head by a donkey?

"Evolution my ass!"

Su Chang'an put his hands on his hips, and his elegant and noble demeanor as a quasi-emperor vanished instantly, replaced by the manner of a shrewish woman cursing in the street.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

"I am Su Chang'an! I'm your father!"

"What kind of bullshit inner demon could have the feel of me? What kind of illusion could have the voice of me?"

Su Chang'an took a step forward and pointed to his face.

"Come here, touch it! It's warm! Alive!"

Chen Xuan looked at her, his mockery deepening.

He shook his head, his eyes looking as if he were watching a poor clown performance.

"Stop acting."

"Inner demons originate from within. Since you are my inner demon, you naturally know what I crave most."

"I long for her to be alive, for her to have body temperature, for her to scold me a couple more times."

Chen Xuan's knuckles were white as he gripped the sword, and his voice carried a desperate rationality.

"So that's why you ended up like this."

"I must say, you acted very well this time. You even imitated her cursing tone perfectly. If it were three years ago, I might have really believed it, and I might have really dropped my sword and hugged you and cried."

"pity……"

Chen Xuan closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, all that remained in his eyes was a chilling killing intent.

"I'm not that fool anymore."

Su Chang'an felt his blood pressure rising rapidly.

This kid's logic is like an iron barrel; it's impervious to reason and persuasion.

He has locked himself in the belief that "everything that appears is fake," and he refuses to come out of it no matter what.

"OK."

Su Chang'an laughed in exasperation and nodded.

"You think I'm fake? You think I'm a manifestation of your inner demons?"

"Then tell me, how could your inner demon know that when you were five years old, you wet the bed and, afraid I would find out, secretly hid the sheets under the bed, which then got moldy and I beat you up?"

Chen Xuan's expression froze for a moment.

Seeing this, Su Chang'an immediately pressed his advantage, his words flowing as swiftly as a machine gun.

"When you were eight years old, you stole the wine I buried under the tree."

"He got drunk and wouldn't go back to his room to sleep. He insisted on going to the back mountain, hugging the rabbit and calling out 'Fairy Sister' all night long. I couldn't stop him!"

"Still twelve years old!"

"You wanted to make me a wooden hairpin as a birthday gift, but you were so clumsy you cut your hand. You cried and called for your father, snot bubbles were coming out of your nose, and in the end I had to carry you to get the medicine!"

Su Chang'an finished speaking in one breath, his chest heaving violently.

She glared at Chen Xuan, her eyes defiant.

"How is it?"

"Nobody knows about this mess except the two of us!"

"Your inner demons can be so detailed? They even know about something as shameful as you hugging a pig and calling it 'sister'?"

A deathly silence fell over the cabin.

Only the flame of the oil lamp flickered, making a "crackling" sound.

Chen Xuan was stunned.

He looked at the woman in front of him, who was aggressive and recounting her dark history as if it were her most treasured possession.

That face, that expression, that look of disappointment in his eyes.

too familiar.

It was so familiar that even his already lifeless heart couldn't help but twitch twice.

Seeing his stunned expression, Su Chang'an breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It seems to be working.

Although this rebellious son is crazy, he's not completely stupid. If such a private, dark history is revealed, even the most hard-hearted person would waver, right?

however.

Just as Su Chang'an was about to step forward and give him a hug, and then scold him a couple of times.

Chen Xuan suddenly laughed.

The smile was very light and faint.

Yet it carried a despairing sadness and... certainty.

"Is this your trump card?"

Chen Xuan looked at Su Chang'an, his eyes showing neither the shame and anger of being exposed, nor the joy of reunion, but rather a hint of pity.

"What you're saying is indeed known only to the two of us."

"But you forgot one thing."

Chen Xuan slowly stood up, the broken sword in his hand hanging at his side, but his aura became increasingly dangerous.

"You are my inner demon."

"You were born from my consciousness and are born from my memories."

"My memories are your memories. What I know, you naturally know as well."

Chen Xuan took a step forward, staring intently into Su Chang'an's eyes.

"If you didn't know I wet the bed at five, didn't know I hugged pigs at eight, didn't know I cut my hand at twelve..."

"Then how dare you call yourself 'my' inner demon?"

boom!

Su Chang'an felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his mind.

She stared, mouth agape, at her seemingly rational but rebellious son, completely dumbfounded.

What the hell kind of logic is this?

Because you know, I know.

Because I am your inner demon, I must know.

If I don't know, then I'm not your inner demon.

This is practically a perfect logical closed loop!

Within this closed loop, no matter what Su Chang'an says, no matter how conclusive the evidence she presents, in Chen Xuan's view, it is merely proof that "the inner demon has read her memories."

The more authentic she appeared and the more details she knew, the higher the level of this "inner demon" and the more perfect her disguise appeared in Chen Xuan's eyes.

"you……"

Su Chang'an pointed at Chen Xuan, his fingers trembling.

She had seen unreasonable people and sophistry in her life, but she had never seen a lunatic who locked himself in logic like this!

"Have you lost your mind? Huh?"

"How could you come up with such a ridiculous argument? Do you think you're so smart?"

Su Chang'an was so angry he wanted to hit someone.

But Chen Xuan clearly had no intention of giving her that chance.

"You don't need to act anymore."

Chen Xuan's voice turned cold, and a terrifying pressure belonging to the Great Saint Realm slowly rose in the narrow cabin.

You shouldn't have done that, you absolutely shouldn't have.

"They shouldn't use these most cherished and painful memories of mine to attack me."

"That belongs to both her and me."

"You're an imposter, wearing her face and saying her words, you just make me feel..."

Chen Xuan raised his hand, and the broken sword hummed, with black sword energy flickering at its tip.

"Nausea."

The moment the words fell.

Chen Xuan made a move.

Without any hesitation, without holding back.

That sword, carrying the resolute determination to sever everything, aimed straight for Su Chang'an's brow.

He really wanted to kill her.

Or rather, he wanted to kill the monster that had "tainted" Su Chang'an's memories.

Holy crap!

Su Chang'an's pupils suddenly contracted.

This unfilial son is serious!

This isn't a logical closed loop; it's a logical dead end!

In this kid's mind, Su Chang'an was already dead, completely dead, and he had personally witnessed his soul being scattered.

Therefore, any living "Su Chang'an" who appears in front of him must be a fake.

No matter how similar they look, they're still fake.

This is the foundation of all his logic.

As long as this foundation stands, even if Su Chang'an were to utter a thousand words, in his eyes he would still be a demon who has become a spirit.

"Zheng—!"

The broken sword tore through the air with a piercing shriek.

Although Su Chang'an is now at the Quasi-Emperor level, this is, after all, in the cabin, and she is facing her own son, so she doesn't dare to fight back at all.

If she were to hurt this unfilial son, she would be the one who would feel the pain.

"You son of a bitch!"

Su Chang'an cursed and ducked awkwardly, barely dodging the sword.

A few strands of hair were severed by the sword energy and fell down in a fluttering manner.

"Chen Xuan! Calm down, you bastard!"

Su Chang'an dodged while shouting.

"calm?"

Chen Xuan's sword missed its mark, but he countered with a sweeping strike, his swordplay fierce and ruthless, each move deadly.

"I am very calm."

"Killing you will bring me peace."

"If I kill you, I won't hear these voices anymore."

Chen Xuan's eyes were frighteningly red, like a lone wolf driven to the brink of despair.

He swung his sword while muttering to himself.

"She's mine."

"Her memories are mine too."

"No one is allowed to touch it."

"No one is allowed to impersonate her and deceive me!"

boom!

A sword aura struck the pillar in the cabin, sending wood chips flying.

The entire warship shook violently.

Su Chang'an was cornered with nowhere to retreat.

Watching the young man approach step by step, sword in hand and radiating murderous intent, Su Chang'an felt both angry and heartbroken.

That silly boy.