Bai Fanlu’s face darkened.

Seeing that Bai Fanlu was genuinely angry, Xiao Liu lowered his head like a chastened child and twisted his fingers.

Neither of them spoke again. Bai Fanlu closed his eyes and sat in meditation. Zizi the monkey snored softly, while Xiao Liu, afraid of disturbing Bai Fanlu, gently moved with Zizi to another tree.

Before long, the boy fell asleep as well, and the surroundings became unusually quiet.

As the night deepened, the moon was partially obscured by a thin cloud.

The early spring sounds of insects were still faint, and after sitting for a long time, Bai Fanlu felt some discomfort and shifted his body. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

It was just a joke, so why did he feel so unsettled and anxious?

Startled, Bai Fanlu suddenly opened his eyes.

This shouldn’t be happening… Could it be…?

He quietly gathered his energy into his dantian and immediately detected a subtle and abnormal disturbance, like a thread slowly seeping into his lower abdomen.

Damn it! Just as Bai Fanlu thought to look over at the nearby tree, his whole body suddenly became immobile.

The surrounding scenery blurred, and thick fog rose, quickly obscuring everything.

But in a moment, the thick fog began to dissipate, and Bai Fanlu found himself in a room, able to move again.

He stood up and glanced back at where he had just been sitting—a gray plaid bedsheet, still bearing the imprint of where he had been.

Bai Fanlu felt a bit disoriented. As he took a step, he didn’t notice that he was wearing slippers and stumbled forward.

The room was small, and he quickly grabbed the back of a chair, his gaze landing on the desk in front of him.

A light knock on the door startled Bai Fanlu, causing cold sweat to break out.

A man’s voice followed from outside the door, “Xiaolu, you’re back? Why is the door closed?”

Hearing this voice, Bai Fanlu instinctively took a step back, then quickly walked to the door and turned off the ceiling light with a click.

“Xiaolu? Are you in there?”

The only light left in the room was a dim desk lamp, casting a faint reflection on the desk.

Bai Fanlu held his breath, hearing his own chaotic heartbeat. His hand gripped the chair so tightly that the edges dug into his flesh.

It didn’t hurt. He told himself, this is just a dream.

“Xiaolu, I know you’re in there…”

The knocking paused for a moment, and then the door lock began to turn.

Bai Fanlu trembled violently, but fortunately, the metal knob only turned halfway before it stopped, as it was locked from the inside.

The man started knocking on the door again, while simultaneously trying to turn the lock, the poor lock making creaking sounds, as if it might break apart at any moment.

“Xiaolu! Open the door!”

Bai Fanlu stared at the shaking door lock, the metal gleaming coldly in the dim light. He unconsciously backed away until he reached the window.

“Xiaolu…” The man’s voice outside was both near and far. He said, “Don’t think hiding in there means I can’t get to you… Be good and open the door, and I’ll make it easier for you.”

Gritting his teeth, Bai Fanlu turned and pushed open the window.

Without any hesitation, he swung his right leg over the window ledge, half of his body hanging outside, ready to jump.

At that moment, a cold breeze blew past, and Bai Fanlu’s blank mind cleared for a brief moment.

Strange… It should be midsummer, so where did this cold wind come from? And this cold wind…

“The environment shapes the mind, there is no truth in falsehoods.”

It was like a sudden realization, washing away the heat that had clouded Bai Fanlu’s mind.

He suddenly realized that his earlier daze was likely caused by some sort of illusion.

Although he was now fully awake, the scene before him hadn’t disappeared. Outside the window was a pitch-black void, and the door, which had been noisy earlier, was now eerily silent.

These two seemingly accessible exits were both clearly dangerous.

No truth in falsehood… no truth…

Bai Fanlu surveyed the room, his gaze carefully sweeping over every object until he noticed an open workbook on the desk, with a pen lying next to it, its cap off.

He had to admit, this illusion was very convincing—even the detail of not putting the cap back on the pen, a bad habit of Bai Fanlu’s for over a decade, was recreated.

But unfortunately for the creator of this illusion, they were not Bai Fanlu himself.

Smiling slightly, Bai Fanlu picked up the pen and placed it on the left side of the workbook.

Back then, he was left-handed.

Then, Bai Fanlu watched as the pen became translucent, followed by the workbook, the desk, the floor, and the entire room, all dissolving into mist.

Bai Fanlu looked down at himself. His pajamas had changed back into the white clothes he had been wearing earlier.

The illusion was broken!

Just as Bai Fanlu felt a bit of excitement and was about to celebrate, the mist didn’t disperse. Instead, it reshaped itself, like molding clay, into a new scene.

A bustling market, the slanting rays of the setting sun, people passing by… Bai Fanlu now had experience and immediately recognized this as another illusion.

But this time, he wasn’t sure what was fake. This scene didn’t belong to his own memories, unlike the last one.

So he felt no emotional turmoil and was fully alert upon entering. However, this also meant that finding the flaw would be more difficult.

Bai Fanlu walked a few steps with the crowd, when suddenly a familiar voice called out behind him, “Senior Brother!”

Bai Fanlu turned to see Yun Zhan.

But this Yun Zhan was slightly different from the one Bai Fanlu remembered. Dressed in a white disciple’s robe, his hair fully tied back, looking fresh and tidy, with a bright and cheerful demeanor, and a smile full of warmth—this must have been Yun Zhan in the early days of his training.

It was clear that this illusion was drawn from the original owner’s memories.

Bai Fanlu remained silent, and Yun Zhan raised something in his hand to show him—bright red hawthorn candy, covered in a thin layer of yellow rock sugar, making it look even more vibrant and tempting.

“Look what I bought?” Yun Zhan said with a smile, “Candied hawthorn, Senior Brother, try some?”

He brought the candied hawthorn close to Bai Fanlu’s mouth, as if intending to feed him personally.

Instinctively, Bai Fanlu avoided it, but before he could speak, Yun Zhan lifted his other hand. Bai Fanlu only felt a shadow by his temple as Yun Zhan plucked a small leaf from his hair.

Bai Fanlu frowned.

But Yun Zhan gazed at him deeply, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Senior Brother, with your divine beauty, you don’t need flowers and leaves to enhance it—you can captivate hearts all on your own.”

This… this sweet talk…

Bai Fanlu blushed, but inwardly he couldn’t help mocking Yun Zhan. What a scoundrel, smooth-talking his way into anyone’s heart. No wonder the original owner had fallen so deeply in love, losing his life over it.

“Ahem! Junior Brother, you jest.”

Bai Fanlu, while mentally condemning Yun Zhan, had to maintain a facade of brotherly respect, all the while secretly pondering where the flaw in this illusion might be.

Without any memories of this event, the only thing he could rely on was the original plot.

Bai Fanlu racked his brain but couldn’t recall any mention of the original owner and Yun Zhan going down the mountain to eat candied hawthorn.

But there was something else…

Bai Fanlu suddenly remembered, no wonder he had told Yun Zhan to eat less back then, and Yun Zhan had agreed without any suspicion of the fasting rules—it turned out he was just pretending to be virtuous while secretly indulging in food!

“What are you thinking about, Senior Brother?”

Yun Zhan asked innocently, licking the candied hawthorn with his tongue.

Watching Yun Zhan’s tongue swirl around the bright red fruit, Bai Fanlu couldn’t help but shiver, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

“Senior Brother?” Yun Zhan’s hand reached out again.

Bai Fanlu quickly blocked it, but Yun Zhan grabbed his hand instead. Lowering his head, he lightly bit Bai Fanlu’s trembling fingertip.

A subtle electric current traveled down Bai Fanlu’s arm, and he almost jumped up as if he’d been shocked.

“Senior Brother, it’s getting late. Let’s head back.”

Bai Fanlu, feeling completely overwhelmed, had no strength to resist as Yun Zhan led him through the crowd of emotionless extras.

This is… that scene from the story!

One of the two major intimate scenes in the original story, second only to the spiritual spring bath—an infamous, highly explicit moment.

Why is this happening now?

No, no, no, Bai Fanlu forced himself to stay calm. This is just an illusion… only an illusion…

But in the original story, it was an illusion too.

The original story was fiction, created by a heart demon, but the characters were real, and the sensation of being struck by lightning was real too!

System, come out! I promise I won’t kill you!

The system remained silent.

It wasn’t its fault—if anyone

 was to blame, it was the person outside creating the illusion.

A thousand curses ran through Bai Fanlu’s mind as he forced himself to think of a solution. Although he loathed recalling it, he knew he had to dig through the novel to find a way to save his dignity.

The original owner had been trapped in his own heart demon, spending a day living a blissful life with the younger Yun Zhan. They had spent the day wandering the market, then returned to their residence to drink wine and discuss philosophy. As the night wore on, one thing led to another…

Bai Fanlu shook his head furiously. No, go back further.

Just before that, they had eaten and drunk together—the meal had been at a mortal restaurant. What was it…

Yun Zhan had even listed the dish names in front of the original owner.

A green vegetable soup with two floating flowers, called “Mandarin Ducks Do Not Envy Immortals.”

Two roasted pigeons placed side by side, called “May We Be Birds Flying Together.”

Two red braised carp tied with a red string, called “Undying Love Without Doubt.”

Bai Fanlu was impressed that he could still remember it all. He had been baffled by the heart demon’s nonsense at the time, finding it ridiculous and lowering the original owner’s IQ.

If it weren’t for wanting to see the infamous scenes, he would have skipped the chapter.

Enduring it, Bai Fanlu struggled to recall the dialogue from that time.

“Azhan, why are today’s dishes all…”

“All in pairs.”

Indeed, “Azhan” was what the original owner called Yun Zhan, but Bai Fanlu couldn’t bring himself to say it—it was too nauseating.

Then, Yun Zhan started getting handsy, his hand falling to the original owner’s waist. When the belt dropped, so did the jade pendant, and Yun Zhan gazed at it with deep affection, saying, “You still carry this jade pendant, Senior Brother? It’s identical to mine…”

“Senior Brother, you’ve always given way to me since I was young, but I hope in the future, we can be of one mind, and I will never let you suffer any loss.”

“Azhan…”

The memory ended abruptly.

Bai Fanlu suddenly stopped walking. The person leading him looked back, “What’s wrong, Senior Brother?”

Bai Fanlu didn’t answer, his gaze fixed on the candied hawthorn in Yun Zhan’s right hand.

No wonder that thing had seemed so off to him earlier. He thought it was just because the red was too vibrant, but now he realized the real reason!

If he had guessed correctly, then the creator of this illusion was indeed… well, words couldn’t describe it.

But first, he had to get out of here. Bai Fanlu cleared his throat, “Your candied hawthorn…”

“Do you want to eat it now, Senior Brother?”

Yun Zhan lifted the candied hawthorn, and Bai Fanlu took it but didn’t bring it to his mouth.

Staring at it for two seconds, Bai Fanlu thought it was rather pointless but still smiled and said, “This stick only has five hawthorns on it.”

“How can that be a pair?” Bai Fanlu shook his head, finding fault, “It’s bad luck, better to… get rid of it.”

He threw the candied hawthorn to the ground and stomped on it hard. It was a bit sticky, but it felt satisfying.

The red substance underfoot slowly melted, turning into a vivid, blood-like liquid, emitting a foul, bloody stench.

“Yun Zhan” looked at him in shock, then quickly twisted into a distorted shadow, along with everything else around him, once again dissolving into nothingness.

Bai Fanlu felt the air move, and he knew he was back.

The night wind blew gently, and the scent in the air had subtly changed. The soft snoring of the little monkey drifted over, slow and long.

“So you broke my illusion so quickly. How boring—I didn’t even get to do anything yet.”

The grass rustled in the wind, and slowly, a tall, thin figure emerged from the darkness.