Chapter Thirty-Two: The Truth

Lu Yan's staunch defense left Zisang both touched and guilty, forcing her to lower her head in silence. A fleeting smile crossed Yu Fu's eyes.

"Trust? How can you expect me to trust a demon who killed over a hundred people in one night?"

Zisang's head snapped up, her face filled with terror, her eyes sharp. "What do you mean?"

Lu Yan looked at Yu Fu in confusion. She continued, clearly enjoying herself, "Curious, aren't you? Don't you want to know why you lost your memory? Why you..."

Before she could finish, Zisang's hand clamped tightly around her throat, a blade gleaming coldly at her eyes.

"Say one more word, and see what happens," Zisang threatened, her voice low and menacing.

Instead of fear, Yu Fu laughed loudly. "You're scared, haha! So, you do know fear."

Zisang's anger intensified, the cold blade now stained with blood, dripping onto Yu Fu's face. But the blood wasn't Yu Fu's. Lu Yan had caught the blade with his bare hand, sucking in a sharp breath.

"Let her finish. I want to know the reason," he said.

Standing behind, Nan Xianyi's eyes fixed on Zisang, the light in them dimming.

Zisang did not lower her dagger, but Lu Yan could feel she wasn't exerting any force. Seizing the moment, he pressed on, "Tell me everything."

It turned out, Lu Yan had once been a fox living by Maple Leaf Lake. He came from an ordinary family but lived carefree and happy in a village of over a hundred fox demons. Their peaceful life was shattered by a woman in purple.

One day, while the village children were playing on the grass, an arrow suddenly fell from the sky, striking one of the children. The child spat blood and transformed into a red fox. The other children, having grown up in this peaceful, isolated environment, were terrified. They ran back home, crying loudly.

Villagers, hearing the commotion, came to investigate, only to see the purple-clad woman standing in the distance, firing three more arrows, causing chaos. When the Demon Emperor arrived, the place was a field of corpses, and the woman lay unconscious among them.

Amid the carnage, a man leaned on a wooden staff, a dagger gleaming in his hand. Just as he was about to strike the unconscious woman, the Demon Emperor knocked him out.

Afterward...

"The Demon Emperor erased the man's memory, deceiving him and becoming his savior. Am I right?" Lu Yan turned to Zisang, as if interrogating a criminal.

For the first time, she saw such an expression in his eyes—disgust, hatred, all written clearly on his face.

The dagger in her hand fell to the ground, unable to be supported any longer.

Tears welled up in Zisang's eyes as she looked at him, words forming on her lips but failing to be spoken.

"I've always considered you my family. Why did you lie to me?"

"No... it's not like that... let me explain. I was poisoned. My demon soul lost control, and I..."

"So, you killed my kin, my family?"

She tried desperately to explain, wanting Lu Yan to know she was poisoned, causing her demon soul to lose control and kill his family by mistake. But when he spoke those words, she realized that no matter how she explained, it wouldn't change the fact that she had killed.

"I'm sorry..."

At that moment, she understood the helplessness Wuchen felt when he had said those words to her.

"I don't want to see you again. Leave."

"...Lu Yan..."

"Go!"

Yu Fu, watching the drama unfold, wasn't satisfied, continuing to fan the flames. "Well? Do you see her for what she really is now? She's the murderer of your clan. Are you just going to let her go?"

Lu Yan turned and looked at her, his brows furrowing. He picked up a bamboo leaf and threw it backward without looking.

With a "whoosh," it left a bloody mark on Zisang's arm.

"We owe each other nothing from now on. From today, we are strangers."

"What?"

Yu Fu stared at Lu Yan in disbelief, as if everything she had just witnessed was a hallucination. Just like that? She had a vendetta against him, and he let it go?

"You're crazy..."

"Enough." Lu Yan cut her off, his eyes unwavering. "It's over. Can we leave now?"

Leave? What was he thinking? The show had just begun. Leave now? What was he planning?

Her thoughts raced, but before she could react, he was already dragging her away...

After Lu Yan left, Zisang stood still, unmoving. Despite Nan Xianyi's attempts to persuade her, she was unyielding. Seeing the sky darken, predicting a heavy rain, Nan Xianyi left to find an umbrella.

When he returned, Zisang hadn't moved an inch. She seemed determined to turn herself into a tree as punishment. But she didn't understand that if she didn't act, what was the point?

The rain grew heavier, showing no sign of stopping. If this continued, Zisang would eventually collapse. The cut on her arm, though minor, was where she had been previously injured. Nan Xianyi bandaged her wound, but the rain soaked through, mixing blood and water.

"Why did you come back?"

Lost in thought, Nan Xianyi heard her soft voice. He held the umbrella over her, letting himself get drenched.

Zisang pushed the umbrella back, her hand icy cold when he touched it. She kept her head down, not even looking up.

"I asked, why did you come back? I'm a demon! Don't you know?"

"Everyone fears me, avoids me. Shouldn't you do the same?"

Her tone was calm, devoid of emotion. His heart felt as if it was being squeezed, each beat painfully clear. He took a deep breath and handed the umbrella back.

"Nonsense. Take the umbrella, or else..."

"Smack!"

The oiled paper umbrella fell to the ground, raindrops hitting it mercilessly. A pale, jade-like hand bore the imprint of five fingers.