Chapter 54: Jasmine's Tears

After the clouds had cleared and the darkness had passed, the body of the once-phantom-like figure—Molly—was no longer shimmering with illusion. She slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the bloodstain on Yun Che’s lips and the grievous wounds crisscrossing her left arm. All the coldness and apathy that had once lived in her eyes melted away like ice dissolving in spring, replaced by a profound complexity and confusion.

Yun Che could not tell how long he had lain in that state. When he finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes, his gaze immediately fell upon Molly’s open eyes.

“Molly! You’re awake!” he exclaimed, his voice hoarse with relief. Yet when he tried to rise, his body felt as though it weighed a million pounds. The torrent of blood had left him so frail that he struggled several times but could not even stand.

“Why did you save me?” Molly’s voice still carried weakness. She glanced at the scars on his arm and quickly looked away: “I’m dead. Isn’t that better for you? At least you won’t have to deal with the things I asked of you anymore. You won’t have to worry about me killing you after I reclaim my body!”

“Because… Molly saved me with her life…”

“I did it to save myself!” Molly said, her voice a little stronger now.

Yun Che paused, bewildered by the suddenness of her reaction. “Well… it’s because you’re my master. How could a disciple just stand by and watch his master die?”

“Master?” Molly let out a sorrowful laugh. “To gain a new life, I had to help you quickly amass great mystical power, make you my master. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help you… I just couldn’t stand the thought of helping you for nothing. You really think I helped you out of kindness?”

“I know all that,” Molly said, yet no trace of disappointment crossed her face. Instead, a slight smile tugged at Yun Che’s lips. He shifted closer to her, meeting her gaze with a gentle voice: “But none of that matters. The reason I’ve fought so hard to save Molly is because she’s an exceptionally… exceptionally beautiful girl. A girl as lovely as an angel.”

Molly blinked, stunned.

“Even though Molly tries to appear cold and even frightening, there’s one thing she can’t hide: her beauty. A girl like that, by your side—no one would want her to stay away forever. I certainly wouldn’t. That reason alone is enough, isn’t it?”

“What kind of… reason is that?” Molly’s lips, tinged with color from her blood loss, trembled slightly. “I’ve killed… so many people. On the day of my twelfth birthday, in a single day, I slaughtered over a hundred and thirty thousand souls. My entire body was soaked in blood, my name became known as ‘Blood-Mary’…”

“!!!” Yun Che’s heart leaped. Over a hundred and thirty thousand lives in one day!

Seeing the deep shock on Yun Che’s face, Molly shut her eyes and murmured sorrowfully: “I’m not worthy to be called beautiful. I’m Mary… the Blood-Mary, a monster who has slain countless innocents.”

Yun Che stared at her for a long moment, but his expression wasn’t one of shock or fear. Instead, it was complex—something so intricate that no one could fathom its depth. After a long pause, he nodded slowly: “Mary, I can’t imagine what it felt like to kill that many people at twelve. But I believe it must have been agony—unspeakable pain, a torment you’d never want to remember, followed by endless nightmares and guilt. You’d grow to hate and loathe yourself, even label yourself a demon, a heartless creature, to numb your soul.”

Molly’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But I believe Mary has always been a kind girl. Becoming the monster she most despised was to protect someone she loved—perhaps a close friend, perhaps family. Such a person, even if they spilled oceans of blood, couldn’t truly be a demon.”

“Besides, a beautiful, lovely girl—even if she committed the gravest sins—deserves forgiveness. If you believe your body is stained with countless filthy sins, then let me share that burden with you. After all, you’re my master. As a disciple, I must bear such things alongside my master.”

Molly fell utterly silent, as if her soul had been stripped away. Her eyes grew hazy, her vision blurring as she struggled to comprehend why, after confessing her monstrous deeds, Yun Che’s face showed no fear or rejection. Instead, he spoke to her with such tenderness.

It shouldn’t be this way. I’ve killed so many, I’m a terrible demon. Everyone should fear me. No one could possibly love me. Why would he fight so hard to save me? Why would he show me such gentle eyes? After Mother and Brother were gone, surely no one could ever treat me like this again.

Her eyes grew more and more hazy. Through the fog of her thoughts, Yun Che’s face began to resemble her brother’s smile. In that instant, tears streamed down her cheeks, her face breaking into sobs she had sworn never to shed again. The icy heart she had frozen with hatred and guilt cracked open, just a little.

“…Mary, you cry too? Oh, this is so girl-like, isn’t it?” Yun Che smiled, his hand gently wiping her tears. But Molly didn’t pull away. Instead, she sobbed more fiercely, her voice choked: “I… I’m your master… You… you’ve kissed me so many times to save me, and now you let me cry in front of you… You can’t… treat your master like this… Huuu… Huuu… Huuu…”

“Ah, the master scolds me,” Yun Che said with a grin. “When you’re well, I’ll make you pay for it properly. If you want to kiss me back, I won’t object at all.”

He was right. Molly’s nature wasn’t the cold, distant one she usually displayed. Because he knew her as intimately as she knew herself—sharing the same aura, the same eyes, understanding her heart, knowing where her softest, most vulnerable spots lay.

After crying, Molly’s emotions gradually steadied. Though her body and spirit remained weak, the immediate danger had passed. She wiped her tears with her small hand, then forced herself into her usual icy composure, avoiding his gaze and speaking in her hardest tone: “The danger is gone now, but for three months, I can’t use any mystical power. Even if you bleed your entire body, you couldn’t save me then.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful, I promise no such thing will happen again.” Yun Che said, his voice heavy with guilt.

“The red bead you have—swallow it. That thing… it might be the demon seed I mentioned earlier!”

“Ah?!” Yun Che was surprised, grabbing the strange red bead he’d received in exchange for Molly’s near-death. “You mean… this is… is…”

“I’m just guessing. The Flame Dragon has stayed here for a reason. When you first got it, I sensed an unusual fire element within it—something I’d never seen before. You said you felt something calling to you, yet it didn’t burn you. So maybe it’s one of the five demon seeds mentioned in the memories.” Molly said, her voice uncertain.

“And…” Molly bit her lip, unseen by Yun Che: “In the future, no one else should touch my face without my permission.”

She finished her words, then dissolved into a red glow, returning to the Heavenly Poison Jewel. Yun Che stood there, speechless.

Molly’s moods shifted so rapidly—icy one moment, sobbing the next, then hard-faced again. The speed at which girls changed their faces was no exaggeration.

Yun Che’s own body was severely weakened by the blood loss, making even walking difficult. There was no need to mention the Flame Dragon; even a common mystical beast would be no match for them here.

“If killing a hundred and thirty thousand people in a day makes you unforgivable, a demon, the Blood-Mary… then what of me? Poisoning seven hundred and seventy thousand in a day, turning the whole city into a hell of venom, corpses strewn everywhere—am I not the true demon?” Yun Che whispered to himself: “If anyone is a demon… it’s me. That’s why I’ve never dared to defile the angel beside me… until the day I lose her forever…”

Yun Che closed his eyes, staring blankly for a long time, then opened them. He extended his hand, releasing a strange red light from his palm. Remembering Molly’s words, he hesitated briefly, then, with a sudden resolve, swallowed the bead whole.

The red bead slid down his throat without resistance. Instead of pain, he felt an odd sense of familiarity and comfort. There was no poison, no harm—only a strange, welcome warmth. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be bad.

The red bead vanished down his throat.

In that instant, his mystical veins surged with energy. Before he could even check his pulse, his body erupted in a crimson glow. The red light coalesced into a blazing inferno, engulfing his entire form in fiery red flames. Yet, despite the terrifying blaze, he felt no scorching heat. His clothes remained intact, untouched by the fire. It seemed as though the flames were merely illusory light.

“What… is this?”