Chapter 293. The Truth the Mask Protected

In an instant, Shu Mingye moved. His arm wrapped tightly around Linyue, pulling her against him. His whole stance shouted one thing clearly, "touch her and perish."

Linyue blinked, quietly impressed by the sheer speed of it. “Always so dramatic,” she whispered.

“I like to be prepared,” he replied, eyes still locked on the darkness behind them. “Also, you're terrible bait. You don’t even scream properly.”

Linyue’s lips curved into a small smile. “Sorry for not being a professional damsel.”

A figure stepped out from the darkness. A man dressed in white robes embroidered with cranes and drifting clouds. His face was hidden behind a plain white mask.

Shu Mingye’s eyes narrowed dangerously. His grip around her waist tightened. “Alright. How do we know this is the right one and not the other terrifying lunatic who almost killed us?”

Linyue studied the masked figure. There was no suffocating dread here, no instinct to flee like with that other one. Instead, something within her recognized him, as surely as she recognized her own reflection. Her voice was quiet but steady. “He is the one. My master.”

Shu Mingye didn’t budge. His arm stayed firmly around her, his gaze sharp and distrustful. For all he knew, the man could summon a paper talisman army, trap them in a maze, or whisk her away on a flying cloud. After all, he was skilled in arrays.

The masked man didn’t say anything. He just stood quietly in front of them. But the white dog was faster. Fluffy wagged its tail like it hadn’t seen its best friend in a hundred years, trotted over, and plopped down at the man’s feet like a well-behaved furball. It looked up at him with bright eyes and obvious loyalty.

Linyue pointed at the scene. “See? It has to be him.”

Shu Mingye narrowed his eyes at the dog. “That dog once led you into a swamp. I’m not putting my life decisions in its paws.” He tightened his hold on Linyue and added, “I trust you. But the dog’s still suspicious.”

Fluffy sneezed loudly in response.

Shu Mingye looked down. “Great. Now it’s offended.”

The masked man crouched down and gently patted Fluffy’s head.

Fluffy’s tongue lolled out the side of its mouth as it leaned into the pats, tail wagging like a spinning fan.

Shu Mingye watched the scene and raised an eyebrow. “What exactly are we witnessing here?”

Linyue replied with a straight face, “A once-in-a-century reunion between a fluffy dog and its long-lost owner.”

Shu Mingye nodded. “Touching. Should’ve brought snacks. We’ve got front row seats.”

Linyue chuckled softly. “You’ve started making jokes now. What a miracle. Didn’t you say you never joke?”

Shu Mingye smirked and leaned a little closer. “I learned from the best. You should learn from me too.”

Linyue narrowed her eyes. “What could I possibly learn from you? How to be shameless?”

He leaned down, lips close to her ear. His voice dropped low and teasing. “You could learn more about what we can do on the bed.”

Linyue turned and glared at him. “What are you talking about in the middle of wasteland?” Her voice was sharp, but her ears were burning. “In front of a creepy tree. And most importantly… my master is right there.”

Shu Mingye only shrugged. “You enjoy it too. Also, we’ve never tried anything in a wasteland before.”

Linyue didn’t say anything this time. She just gave him The Glare. The full one. Eyes narrowed, lips tight, the silent death-stare kind of glare.

Shu Mingye grinned with zero shame and a heart full of mischief. “Now you’re seducing me with that cute little glare?”

Before Linyue could unleash a counterattack, a soft sound slipped through the quiet night.

A chuckle.

Linyue blinked. Slowly, she turned toward the masked man. Did she just hear that right? Her master—calm, quiet, mysterious, always serious—had chuckled?

She stared. “...Master?”

The masked man stood up slowly, his voice soft. “Yun Qi…”

“I met her,” Linyue said quickly.

Shu Mingye muttered. “So, he really is your master.”

Linyue gave him a look. “Obviously.”

Her master, Qi Heng, didn’t speak again, so Linyue filled the silence. “She said she loves you. She never forgot you. And… she said sorry.”

Qi Heng stood still. “I see.”

Then nothing. Quiet. Painfully quiet.

Linyue tilted her head and asked, “Master, don’t you have anything to say back?”

Still silence.

Linyue squinted at him. “That mask... can’t you take it off?”

Qi Heng finally spoke again, “You already know what’s underneath.”

Linyue’s heart skipped a beat at his answer. “You already know.” She had hoped that she was wrong. That her guess was wild, paranoid, shaped by fear. But hearing him say it so calmly… her hand trembled. She instinctively reached out to Shu Mingye.

He took her hand gently, wrapping his fingers around hers, and pulled her quietly to his side. She leaned into him, her body cold despite the warmth of his touch.

Linyue looked at her master again, her voice soft, almost afraid to ask, “Is there a way to stop this? To help the souls trapped inside that array?”

Qi Heng nodded. “Yes.”

Her eyes lit up with hope. “How?”

“Transcendence.”

The hope froze in her chest. “Transcendence…” she repeated. It felt so far away. A word like mist. Just out of reach, even when you chased it.

Beside her, Shu Mingye frowned. “Wait… if transcendence can fix this, then why can’t you do it? Aren’t you already one?”

Linyue shot him a sharp look.

“What?” he asked. “I’m not wrong. He looks fine. No signs of demon horns or soul erosion.”

Linyue looked back at her master. Her voice was quiet. “You know the truth. The trapped souls… they became tainted. Slowly, over time. And…”

Shu Mingye followed her gaze. His teasing dropped into silence. Because the man standing in front of them. Her master, the strongest cultivator in the realm, was still wearing a mask. He hadn't taken it off. He couldn’t take it off. And suddenly, the silence around them felt heavier than before. Then something cold settled in his chest, deeper than instinct, heavier than fear.

He remembered the scrolls. The ones that described level ten demons as terrifying beings who could shapeshift into humans. But what if… what if it was never shapeshifting? If those tainted were originally humans, cultivators just like them. If the demon’s level reflected its cultivation stage before the corruption… then Level Ten meant only one thing: a cultivator at the peak of mastery.

He looked again at Qi Heng. The stillness in his posture, the white mask, the quiet sadness in his voice. Not untouched by the array… but resisting it. Holding on. The one who fought hardest not to lose himself. For hundreds of years. That was why he stayed outside the wall. That was why he wore that mask. That was why he left Linyue every Weeping Moon. That explained it all.

The level ten demon… was Qi Heng himself.

Shu Mingye’s gaze slid to Linyue. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, lips pressed tightly as if any sound might shatter her. She looked down, shoulders trembling.

He cupped her face gently. “Pie…”

She didn’t look up. So he pulled her into his arms, pressing her close against his chest.

Qi Heng’s voice broke the silence. Soft and regretful. “I’m sorry.”

Linyue slowly turned her head, her voice barely a whisper. “Why?”

Qi Heng said slowly, his voice soft. “Three years ago. The lightning…”

Shu Mingye’s eyes widened. “That was you? Not Qi Meng?”

Qi Heng nodded once. “It was me.”

Shu Mingye’s voice was tight. “Why? Why did you do that?”

Silence followed. Thick and heavy. Even Fluffy stood still, not a single twitch of tail or whisker.

Qi Heng slowly raised a hand to his face. The mask—white, plain, the one he always wore—shifted under his fingers. And then, he took it off.