CH 91

"... … Next up is to break this Maze of Illusions."



Luan Qing Xiao let go and stood up, while Nie Zhen'er stared at her blankly. "Mistress, what Maze of Illusions?"



"You and I are currently in the Maze of Illusions within the Snowy Gale Secret Realm. If we can't break free from the illusions within ten days, we could be trapped here for another ten years. We can only wait for the next time the Snowy Gale Secret Realm opens before we can leave."



Nie Zhen'er got up from the bed and walked to Luan Qing Xiao's side as she said in confusion. "Mistress, what are you talking about? Isn't today the day when you and I became a Dao couple?"



Luan Qing Xiao furrowed her brows slightly, "Zhen’er?"



She was certain she didn’t recognize the wrong person, but Nie Zhen'er was quite convinced of the situation at this moment, thinking that they were really getting married. Could it be that her memory was tampered with by the Maze of Illusions?



Nie Zhen'er's original rosy cheeks quickly faded away. Her lips trembled, "Mistress, you, do you not want to marry me?"



Luan Qing Xiao asked, "Zhen’er, you said we’re getting married today, then do you know why we are marrying?"



The Maze of Illusions will infinitely amplify people's desires and hopes. If Nie Zhen'er's memory is tampered with, it means that she has actually imagined getting married with her.



Nie Zhen'er pursed her lips and glanced up at Luan Qing Xiao with tears in her eyes. It took a long time before she turned her head and said, “Wasn’t Mistress the one who proposed the marriage? Mistress said that she likes me, loves me, and even gave up being an immortal in order to marry me. You said you want to be a cultivator couple in the human world with me! Mistress…… Are you regretting it now?"



At the end of Nie Zhen'er's speech, the tears finally overflowed from her eye, across her cheeks and fell on the ground.



"... …"



It felt like she was a scumbag, the kind who regretted marriage the moment she got married.



Luan Qing Xiao sighed distressingly. She stretched out her thumb to gently wipe the tears from Nie Zhen'er's face. "Zhen'er, if I decide to marry you, I will definitely not regret it."



Because Luan Qing Xiao has yet to figure out the breaking point of the Maze of Illusions, so she can only play along with Nie Zhen'er first.



Nie Zhen'er still appeared to be extremely downcast, still choking in tears.



"Alright, I was just teasing you. It's all Mistress’s fault, okay? How dare she make Zhen’er sad, can Zhen’er forgive Mistress?"



Nie Zhen’er’s clear apricot eyes looked at Luan Qing Xiao, and the broken pieces of lights in her eyes gathered again little by little. “That’s wonderful, I thought Mistress really didn’t want to marry me. Mistress, please don’t tease me anymore. I was really scared a second ago."



Luan Qing Xiao pulled her into her arms, "I won’t ever again."



"Zhen'er, let's drink our cross-cupped wine." Once Luan Qing Xiao released her arms, she saw a pot of wine and two small wine glasses on the square table and said to Nie Zhen'er.



Nie Zhen'er sat down with her at the table. Her cheeks were stained with a rosy red again as she stared at Luan Qing Xiao affectionately.



Luan Qing Xiao held the long-necked wine pot to pour the two of them wine,  yet what came out of the pot was milk tea.



"... …." As expected, it was an illusion created by Nie Zhen'er. The two had just drank milk tea from a wine flask together not too long ago.



Luan Qing Xiao placed one cup of milk tea into Nie Zhen'er's hand and held the other cup. She extended out her hand to weave through Nie Zhen'er's arms. Then, they affectionately locked eyes with each other before sipping the milk tea together.



"Dong Dong Dong! Mistress, a bunch of people outside are waiting for you to toast!" Based on the voice, it was Gan Yun.



Luan Qing Xiao smiled at Nie Zhen'er: "You lie down and rest first, I’ll be back as soon as I finish toasting everyone."



Luan Qing Xiao whispered into Nie Zhen'er's ear, "Wait for me to come back and complete the bridal ceremony."



"Mistress~" Instantly, Nie Zhen'er's face was filled with red clouds. She turned around embarrassedly and went to sit down on the bed.



Luan Qing Xiao pushed open the door and saw Chao Gan Yun standing outside the door.



She closed the door carefully and said to Chao Gan Yun, "Lead the way."



Chao Gan Yun didn't dare to walk in front of Luan Qing Xiao. Inside, she strolled side by side with her, "Mistress, do you want Little Junior Sister to accompany Junior Sister Zhen'er?"



Luan Qing Xiao replied, "No need." Who knows what identity Hui Meng Tong plays here?



Even the "Chao Gan Yun" in front of her, she could only see that she wasn’t an actual human. However, she couldn't exactly tell what it was.



Chao Gan Yun led Luan Qing Xiao to the main hall of the Shang Qing Palace. The main hall was very lively. Seeing her, Jing Meng Jun chortled and dragged over  the four elders to toast her. "Today is your great day, Junior Sister, you’ve got to drink."



"Yeah, yeah, you have to drink this cup of mine too."



Luan Qing Xiao couldn’t refuse. So she took the wine glass from them and directly drank each of them.



Jing Meng Jun smiled, "Nice! Junior Sister is a refreshing person!"



Next, more people gathered around Luan Qing Xiao to toast her. Luan Qing Xiao didn’t reject all those who came.



These so-called "wine", like her and Nie Zhen'er's "Cross-Cupped Wine", were all milk tea. No matter how much she drinks, she won't get drunk.



There were too many people in the main hall.  By the time Luan Qing Xiao finished toasting the "wine", almost an hour had passed. The sky had turned dark outside, and the candles were lit in the main hall.



Luan Qing Xiao announced, "It's getting late,  I can't let the bride stay alone in her empty boudoir, so I’ll have to leave first."



Amidst the laughter of everyone, Luan Qing Xiao prepared to leave.



It's just that her brows were furrowed, obviously she wasn’t pleased.



Luan Qing Xiao had wasted an hour here without realizing so.



"Boom!" The scarlet door of the main hall was suddenly kicked open.



Ying Yuan Yu walked in with a long sword, staring at Luan Qing Xiao, "Where is Zhen'er?"



Luan Qing Xiao coldly countered, "It's none of your business where Zhen'er is."



Ying Yuan Yu pointed his long sword at Luan Qing Xiao, "I am the person Zhen'er loves. Luan Qing Xiao, you actually forced Zhen'er to marry you. Today, I must snatch Zhen'er away!"



Luan Qing Xiao frowned: something was wrong.



If this is Nie Zhen'er's illusion, the current plot seems rather unreasonable.



Because Nie Zhen'er didn't know that Ying Yuan Yu "likes” or rather "needs" her.



Luan Qing Xiao narrowed her eyes and tentatively probed. "Zhen'er likes you? What a joke! How could Zhen'er like a man who thinks of her as a furnace! Ying Yuan Yu, are you here today to save the person you like... … or to save a furnace?"



Ying Yuan Yu was shocked.



Luan Qing Xiao saw Ying Yuan Yu's expression and knew she wasn’t wrong. Nie Zhen'er and her along with Ying Yuan Yu entered the Snowy Gale Secret Realm together. It was impossible that only she and Nie Zhen'er stray into the Maze of Illusions. From the current situation, the illusion this time may not only come from Nie Zhen'er's memory and desire/hope, but probably also mixed with Ying Yuan Yu's.



Ying Yuan Yu retorted angrily. "Luan Qing Xiao, you’re talking nonsense! I like Zhen'er, how could I treat her as a furnace!"



"You’re ruffled, I must have hit it right on?" Luan Qing Xiao continued to irritate him calmly.



"You shut up!"



Luan Qing Xiao looked back at the cultivators who were still drinking behind her. Next, she stepped back a little, luring Ying Yuan Yu to move forward.



Ying Yuan Yu moved forward to a certain position and then suddenly stopped. No matter how much Luan Qing Xiao provoked him, he wouldn’t take a step forward.



"Why aren’t you coming in?" Luan Qing Xiao asked with a smile.



Ying Yuan Yu's hand holding the long sword trembled,  "You come out, let's fight to the death match. The person who wins will marry Zhen'er!"



"Zhen'er was originally mine to begin with, why should I fight you?" Luan Qing Xiao was unmoved.



Nie Zhen’er and Ying Yuan Yu’s illusions have merged in some places. They are both the protagonists in their illusions. They have their own worldview and things they recognize as “facts”, but they can’t go to the regions where their illusions don’t overlap, such as the crowd toasting behind Luan Qing Xiao.



The "liveliness" that Nie Zhen'er wanted, Ying Yuan Yu, an "outsider" can not approach each other, let alone interact.



"Ying Yuan Yu, why don't you dare to come over? Or… … is it because you can't come here at all!" Luan Qing Xiao stared at him aloofly. "You know that this is an illusion and Nie Zhen'er has nothing to do with you. Having only met Zhen'er one time and didn't even say a word to Zhen'er, where did you get the courage to say that Zhen'er likes you? He, shameful boasting."



Ying Yuan Yu’s trembled all over in anger. "No, you’re lying! What illusion, what nothing to do with me! Zhen'er and I are mutually in love, we are in love with each other..."



His voice became lower and lower.



While Luan Qing Xiao was reluctant to break Nie Zhen'er's beautiful fantasy, she wouldn’t be as polite to Yuan Yu.



When Ying Yuan Yu was still Bai Li Yuan Yu, he had entered the Snowy Gale Secret Realm a whole lot more times than her. It was impossible for him to not have encountered the Maze of Illusions before.



The reason why Ying Yuan Yu was "trapped" this time has nothing to do with his state of mind.



Seeing Nie Zhen'er outside the realm, even if only one glance was enough to shake Bai Li Yuan Yu's heart.



Luan Qing Xiao directly burst Ying Yuan Yu's fantasy. As long as it brought Ying Yuan Yu’s attention, the illusion in front of him would naturally disappear.



Sure enough, after a while, Ying Yuan Yu's face changed drastically. The handsome white clothes on his body returned to the blue clothes he wore when he came in.



He took a step forward and hurriedly walked to Luan Qing Xiao, explaining, "Junior Sister Qing Xiao, what happened just now was definitely not what you thought it was. I only saw Nie Zhen'er for the first time today. How could I like her? It must have been the Maze of Illusions just now, it had nothing to do with me."



Luan Qing Xiao gave him a cold look. "The Maze of Illusions only amplifies people's desires/hope, it can’t create an illusion out of nowhere. I didn’t expect Senior Brother Bai Li to be quite the player. On one hand, he said to me that he would become my Dao companion, while on the other hand, he’s secretly lusting after my disciple."



Ying Yuan Yu gritted his teeth. Suddenly, he proclaimed in an awe-inspiring righteousness. "Sister Qing Xiao, I know you won’t believe me this time no matter how I explain it. However I still want to say that after I told you my true identity, I treated you as my own person. Think about it, if I didn’t trust you, why would I tell you about me possessing this body? What happened this time was really a misunderstanding. It is difficult to guarantee that the Maze of Illusions won’t make a mistake. Don’t you really not trust me that much and believe I cared about a furnace more than you?"



Ying Yuan Yu's tone was sincere and affectionate to the point where Luan Qing Xiao wanted to award him an Oscar for being the Best Male Actor.



"Right now, I just want to leave the Maze of Illusions. We can talk about it later after we escape." Luan Qing Xiao pursed her lips and uttered lightly.



Ying Yuan Yu's eyes lit up since he thought Luan Qing Xiao was convinced by what he said. Internally, he was very smug.



Woman ah, so easily deceived.



Especially women who love him. Even if they have a high cultivation level, they still tend to be more sentimental.



"Okay, whatever Junior Sister Xiao wants." Ying Yuan Yu said earnestly.



Luan Qing Xiao ignored him.



While Ying Yuan Yu's illusion was broken, it had no effect on Nie Zhen'er's illusion.



Luan Qing Xiao responded to Yuan Yu, "Senior Brother Bai Li wait here for me, I'll go find Zhen'er."



Ying Yuan Yu promised, "I won’t go anywhere."



Luan Qing Xiao resisted the greasy feeling in her heart and started to walk outside.



At this moment, Nie Zhen'er's figure walked in from outside.



Wearing an exquisite red wedding gown, Nie Zhen’er looked at Luan Qing Xiao and then looked at Ying Yuan Yu. Standing at the gate, her expression was heartbroken. "Is this man the reason why Mistress hasn’t returned?"



"No." Luan Qing Xiao immediately denied her statement, "Zhen’er, listen to me..."



"Mistress," Nie Zhen'er shook her head and interrupted Luan Qing Xiao, crying, "Mistress, don't like him, alright? You wanted to marry me, you said you wanted to marry me."



The gaze Ying Yuan Yu’ had towards Nie Zhen'er flashed in shock. She-she actually thought of Luan Qing Xiao that way!



Ying Yuan Yu has a complicated expression. How could she like Luan Qing Xiao, that cold woman? She clearly deserves a better person. If she likes him, he will definitely be able to care for and spoil her every day. That is something Luan Qing Xiao surely won’t be able to do.



The lively scene behind Luan Qing Xiao gradually calmed down with Nie Zhen'er's sorrowful words. At this moment, everyone was watching them.



Luan Qing Xiao remained still and waved to Nie Zhen'er. "Zhen'er, come to Mistress."



The place where she stood now is the intersection between Ying Yuan Yu’s and Nie Zhen'er's illusions. It was also the only flaw in Nie Zhen'er's illusion.



As long as Nie Zhen'er came over, the illusion could be cracked immediately.



"Zhen’er, come here."