​​Didi: [Congratulations on completing the hidden event 'The Reflection of the Moon Is Not Real', rewarding you with 'Celestial Elixir of No Falsehoods' and 5 Reader's Brain Fragments.]

Celestial Elixir of No Falsehoods?

Due to the system's announcement, Bai Fanlu felt dizzy but still heard the words.

Didi: ['Celestial Elixir of No Falsehoods', using this will cause all deceptions to be erased, and the true nature shall be revealed.]

The explanation drove Bai Fanlu's head to spin even more. He wanted to open his eyes in a stupor, but his eyelids were abnormally heavy, and the back of his head was hurting. For a while, he forgot what he had done.

It was just that when his hand reached to touch the back of his head subconsciously, he did not feel his hair but another person's hand instead.

The back of that hand felt dry, but the skin was warm to the touch. The flesh was real upon a slight squeeze, and it felt really good as Bai Fanlu stroked it again.

"...Immortal gege?"

"En?"

Bai Fanlu snapped open his eyes, and his vision flickered under the dazzling sunlight. After a few vigorous blinks, a face full of concern came into focus.

Bai Fanlu was stunned. He tried to pinch the back of his hand and saw that the two handsome eyebrows on that face before him winced. That worried expression was replaced by one with pain and grievance.

"Ouch! Be gentle. It hurts."

This is not a dream after all.

Bai Fanlu was finally sober and surveyed his surroundings, only to realise that he was being held within the arms of Xiao Liu on a long stone bench.

Bai Fanlu wanted to stretch both his arms. It sounded like an uncomplicated thing to do, but it was not so for him in reality.

Mainly because he found that he had nowhere to move his hands because Xiao Liu was holding the back of his head with one hand and kneading it, the other hand held onto his waist, securing him on his lap. Bai Fanlu wanted to sit up on his own, but he had to either grab onto Xiao Liu's arm or thigh to do so.

Better to hold the arm, Bai Fanlu thought as he grabbed Xiao Liu's arm and was about to spring up like a carp.

"Wait! Don't move!" Xiao Liu exclaimed.

Before Bai Fanlu understood the situation, he felt his forehead hit the youth's chin with a bang. Then, his body was pulled back down involuntarily by gravity.

He was still tugging onto Xiao Liu's arm, and he naturally dragged down the other party. The youth's entire body pressed against his.

Bai Fanlu had expected a loud 'bang' coming from knocking against the bench. However, the imaginary sound did not come. Xiao Liu's hand was stubbornly clasping onto the back of his head, giving him the most reliable protection.

Yet, the last type of 'bang' he expected from this came. It was the floor bangKabedon, but the floor version. This is where someone slams their hand against a wall to pin someone in a 'romantic' way. 'Tree Kabedon' below, but for our boys, this is on the floor instead....

Bai Fanlu stared at the face that was close to his. Their noses were touching, and their lips were one-tenth of a centimetre apart, or perhaps…not even.

Before Bai Fanlu could respond, the young man above stared at him blankly, and a blush quickly climbed up his cheeks.

But strangely, although the youth averted his gaze, just slightly, he did not seem to have the intention to move away at all.

This time it was Bai Fanlu's turn to blush. However, he was not in a position to make casual movements. He feared that the distance between them might be directly reduced to none if he did.

"Xiao Liu.." He didn't dare to make more significant movements with his lips, so he could only sigh in a small voice, "Could-could you get up first?"

Xiao Liu's face turned redder, and it took a long time, like a snail's crawl, to utter out a few words.

Bai Fanlu finally deciphered what he wanted to express by combining all his auditory and visual senses.

What Xiao Liu meant to say was, "My legs are numb, and I can't move."

"…"

He did not know how long the kid sat there without moving until his legs went numb. Whatever it was, that boy was doing this to take care of himself, so Bai Fanlu waited patiently for the other party to be at ease.

His line of sight floated around, but there was simply nowhere to settle, so Bai Fanui eventually looked down at his nose.

But he didn't realise his subtle movements were seen as him closing his eyes from the angle of the other party. That state was tantamount to giving up resistance and inviting the youth to advance.

As a result, the other party who was pitifully looking at him from above suddenly had his gaze dimmed, and his line of sight fell on Bai Fanlu's slightly opened lips. Xiao Liu's Adam's apple bobbed, and the hand supporting the back of his head tensed up for a moment.

Bai Fanlu felt the strength of that hand, widened his eyes and wondered, "Are your hands numb as well?"

My whole body is numb, the other party lamented inwardly.

The wolf-like gaze had seamlessly switched to innocent puppy eyes, blamelessly begging Bai Fanlu, "Immortal gege, let me lean on you for a while, okay?"

"…Alright."

Almost before Bai Fanlu finished answering, the young man loosened the hand pressed on the ground that desperately supported himself earlier. As he did, he collapsed limply on Bai Fanlu, like a pile of soft mud.

In the end, he still did not dare to advance further, and his lips brushed past Bai Fanlu's cheek at an angle where they were not in contact. Even then, he did not dare to lean too close to Bai Fanlu's ear.

He's heavy!

Bai Fanlu's face was still red-hot, and he couldn't help grumbling in his heart.

But once he encountered the youth's pair of twinkling puppy eyes, which seemed to be shooting sparks at him, Bai Fanlu was rendered entirely helpless.

The good dog seemed to be saying, "Immortal gege, a-am I very heavy? Am I crushing you? Shall I get up?... Forget it. You'll get used to it."

Bai Fanlu could only silently endure this unbearable weight.

But being stacked right there was also a problem. It was far too awkward, so much so that Bai Fanlu wanted to shove him aside.

He also noticed that Xiao Liu seemed to be very tired and could finally relax when allowed to slump on his body.

Relax...Bai Fanlu's heart skipped a beat and then suddenly recalled that there was still important and unfinished business. For instance, why was Xiao Liu here?

Bai Fanlu remembered he was attacked from behind before he fainted, and He Sang even threatened to sever his legs.

But now, looking around, he seemed to be still within the Governor's mansion. The sky was bright, but the surroundings were bare. The cages and the walking corpses were now gone. Even He Sang was nowhere to be seen.

If it weren't for his headache, Bai Fanlu would have believed that he was being subjected to some illusionary spell again.

So, are they safe now?

"Xiao Liu, how did you come in?"

"Me? I came in through the gates." Xiao Liu chirpily whispered in Bai Fanlu's ear.

Bai Fanlu shrank his neck and coughed uncomfortably, "There was a barrier erected. How could you have gotten in?"

As soon as he moved a little farther, the youth inched closer to him and continued to talk right into his ear. There was no way to tell if he did it intentionally or not.

"Barrier?" I didn't see that. I was just worried about you and couldn't wait until nightfall to sneak it. I, too, found it strange that no one was guarding the gate."

Could it be the Ninety-Nine Corpse Formation that affected the barrier?

Bai Fanlu wasn't sure, but he subconsciously chose to believe what Xiao Liu said. "Then what was I doing when you arrived?"

"I'm still feeling angry at the mention of this!"

Xiao Liu was filled with righteous indignation at once, and the hand placed on Bai Fanlu's waist also tightened along with the ebbs and flows of his emotions. Bai Fanlu didn't realise it, but he was utterly drawn by Xiao Liu's animated storytelling and his intriguing demeanour.

"I just came in and saw a ray of red light coming from this direction. It was so scary, but I followed it straight and happened to witness someone hit you on the head with a rod."

"Rod?"

"Yes, it was a thick and long rod! I wanted to approach and grab it, but I was too late. I saw you collapse, and I…I panicked at once…"

Xiao Liu's voice trembled, and his eyes reddened, so Bai Fanlu quickly reached out and patted him on his back as if to comfort a big golden retriever who was frightened to protect its master. The difference was that this golden retriever did not stick out his tongue and lick Bai Fanlu's face.

Although at this proximity, licking his cheek was clearly not a problem.

Xiao Liu hugged Bai Fanlu tighter, burying his head in his neck as if he was terrified by the memory. Bai Fanlu feared that he would break into a wail and hurriedly asked, "Then, what happened next?"

Xiao Liu's muffled voice came from his neck area, saying, "Then, then, I killed someone again."

"...What? You killed someone?"

It's over. Did Xiao Liu kill one of the corpses?

Bai Fanlu contemplated again and thought something did not add up. If Xiao Liu had killed a corpse, they wouldn't be in this situation.

"Yeah, it is weird now that you mention it. She did not bleed and turned into a puppet immediately. There, she's still here. I don't dare to touch it."

Bai Fanlu followed Xiao Liu's finger and saw that there was a puppet on the ground not far from them.

"..." Bai Fanlu fell silent.

Bai Fanlu couldn't find that puppet even after a long time. And that youth managed to strike the formation's core as soon as he arrived. How lucky indeed!

It was no wonder why they were still alive and hugging right here. Bai Fanlu thought that this resolution seemed rather absurd.

Xiao Liu's sheer luck could be comparable to the actual male protagonist's in any novel! For example, someone like Yun Zhan.

But with the corpse formation destroyed, where did He Sang go?

"What else did you see after that? Have you seen a very beautiful man? He should have been there when I fainted."

"A very beautiful man?" Xiao Liu shook his head and answered straightforwardly, "I didn't pay attention. I came in just for you."

"..."

He was so smooth with his response that Bai Fanlu was speechless. The heat that finally dissipated from his face rose again quietly.

"Oh yes!" Xiao Liu suddenly added, "There were a lot of beasts in the garden. All of them had red eyes. I was shocked when I saw them, but they somehow vanished. And those people as well! They were all gone in the blink of an eye."

It was clear to Bai Fanlu now. This proved that the corpse formation was indeed broken, "What about Zhizhi?"

"Zhizhi is on my back. It seems to be asleep."

After listening to Xiao Liu's explanation, Bai Fanlu glanced at the puppet on the ground once more. He still had his doubts. Even if the corpse formation was broken and he had fainted, it was impossible for He Sang to give up such an excellent opportunity to attack him.

Unless…He Sang was afraid of someone?

Bai Fanlu couldn't help turning his attention to Xiao Liu.

He was a vigorous, strong and clever young man, no questions about that. Unfortunately, he was also an ordinary person and did not pose a threat.

This was rather strange then.

"Xiao Liu, are you feeling better now?Let's get up."

"Oh, okay!"

Xiao Liu was terribly sweet with his words and was also exceedingly obedient. He got up by himself, then gave Bai Fanlu his hand to pull him up. The youth also did not forget to rub the back of Bai Fanlu's head, asking, "Does your head still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

Bai Fanlu smiled apologetically at Xiao Liu. He, the young master of the demon clan, a foremost disciple of an immortal sect, seemed too useless. Not only did he fall for conspiracies against him several times, but he also had to be rescued by this concerned youth. It was just too embarrassing.

He also had no idea what was going on with his body. He could have accomplished endless things, and the original owner in the novel was also described as quite powerful. Was it possible that this was the consequence of breaking down his character setting?

It seems that he had to be a little more cautious in taking action in the future.

Bai Fanlu contemplated to himself, and instead of walking out of the yard immediately, he went to the location where He Sang last appeared, to check. Xiao Liu followed him closely as if he was afraid that something would happen to the man.

Suddenly, Bai Fanlu noticed something strange. On one side of the white jade pillar of the garden, the leaves of several canna plants were drooping down and had turned slightly black. It appeared different from the tall and green ones elsewhere.

In fact, if one didn't know anything, one would not detect anything unusual. However, Bai Fanlu perceived a familiar aura lingering behind. It was a demonic aura.

It was powerful, turbid, and completely different from the aura on the Flower Thief or Wei Lin.

He Sang was not a demon, so he could not have left this behind. At this, a name quickly popped up in Bai Fanlu's mind.

Bai Junming. He was here! Could it be that he brought He Sang away?

Bai Fanlu thought of this possibility. If Bai Junming suddenly appeared and quietly took He Sang away, it would be possible that Xiao Liu didn't notice him.

He just couldn't figure out why that person did this. Was it really to save himself?

Perhaps he thought that he was still a valuable chess piece?

This may be the only explanation that made sense at the moment.

But even if it seemed logical, Bai Fanlu still vaguely sensed that something was wrong but could not pinpoint the source of his doubt. In the end, he stopped pondering over it and shelved it for another time.

After the duo left, the Yingzhou City Governor's Residence was reduced entirely to an empty mansion.

Within the building, erected in the middle of a lake, the little white rabbit that seemed forgotten jumped out from behind the gauze curtain. It happily hopped around the empty floor with rolls of dark purple cloth draping overhead and leisurely passed through.

Just as it lifted its front paws to scratch its tiny chin, a pair of hands reached out and picked it up.

The walls of water vapour which once surrounded the pavilion with ornate carvings had disappeared, leaving behind only the wind blowing the weeping willows, as the flowers fell to the ground in silence...