As Tang San regained consciousness, the moon hung high in the sky.
The warm, orange-red campfire crackled with the occasional pop of burning logs. The Shrek Eight Devils, including Tang San who was lying down, sat in a circle around the fire, each with a sea fish impaled on a sharpened branch.
The fish skin, rendered crispy by the heat, emitted an enticing aroma after being sprinkled with seasoning powder.
The Eight Devils were sharing their experiences within the domain, their faces still a little haggard, but the light in their eyes shone brighter, undimmed by fear or nightmares.
Tang San woke up just as everyone was enthusiastically recounting their tales.
"Huh? Xiao San's awake!" Xiao Wu, sitting to Tang San's left, noticed something and turned her head, meeting Tang San's slowly opening eyelids.
Xiao Wu placed her grilled fish skewer back onto the sand, reached out to help Tang San sit up, and with him leaning on her arm and sitting up with her help, she gently asked, "Xiao San, how are you feeling?"
Tang Sui also leaned closer. "Brother, you're awake."
Earlier, when she had pulled Tang San out of the domain, she had already bestowed her second spirit ability upon him. Apart from his mental power not having fully recovered, his spirit power was definitely fine now.
Hearing Tang Sui's voice again, Tang San's right eyelid twitched heavily. He paused for a moment, then turned his head to meet Tang Sui's eyes, which were also filled with concern.
They were the familiar dark blue, devoid of any strange, cold killing intent, which relieved him.
Tang Sui, not understanding, asked, "Brother, is the domain's influence that great on you?" You still don't seem recovered.
"Xiao San, it can't be that bad. You have the highest mental power among us," Dai Mubai said, with "us" referring only to the seven devils who entered the domain.
Tang San, addressing Dai Mubai casually, first looked down at his own arms, touched his waist, and then his chest. Assured that there were no wounds, he gave a wry smile and said, "To be honest, I fell into Sui Sui's domain this time. If this were a real fight and not a trial, I'm afraid I'd be dead."
That guy... or rather, Fox Mask, was truly malicious.
He had thought her words were half true and half false, but it turned out both were false.
Everyone: "???"
Ning Rongrong furrowed her brow. "Third Brother, what kind of illusion did you experience?"
Before Tang San woke up, they had taken turns recounting the illusions they encountered.
Her illusion was handled by Old Face.
Old Face presented her with a scenario where, without the support of Tang Sui and others, and without prior notice to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of a sneak attack by the Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would suffer over two thousand casualties overnight. Both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo would be severely injured in this tragic battle, with Sword Douluo losing his right arm, and the sect's base would be reduced to ruins.
Ning Rongrong felt it the most deeply.
Even though it was just an illusion, when she experienced it firsthand, the despair and brutality of that night felt incredibly real.
She knew that if Sui Sui and the others hadn't given them advance warning and rushed to their aid, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might indeed have faced a catastrophic disaster as depicted in the illusion.
The illusion ended with a sect disciple sacrificing their life to shield her escape, but her spirit was still strongly stimulated. Unable to bear it, she fainted and was then pulled out of the domain by Tang Sui.
While she was unconscious, the nightmare of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's destruction kept replaying before her eyes. Her reaction upon waking, instinctively checking if she was injured, was no different from Tang San's. Sudana Novel Network.
If her illusion was so tragic, she hadn't expected Tang San's to be any better, and for him to even fall victim to it made Ning Rongrong even more curious about the content of Tang San's illusion.
Tang San, looking at the equally curious Tang Sui, paused for a moment before honestly recounting the illusion's content.
Tang Sui's expression shifted from surprise to thoughtfulness, and finally to one of gloom.
In the pitch-black mental space, five masks floated in the void. Without exception, their eyes were not glowing; they were lifeless, as if devoid of life, merely decorative.
Receiving no response from the masks, a shadow crossed Tang Sui's eyes.
On the other side, the onlookers who had been listening in silence, all turned their gazes towards Tang Sui.
Under their stares, Tang Sui tried to force a smile but found she couldn't, as if she had forgotten how.
A warm touch suddenly came from her hand.
Tang Sui froze and turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing, who was sitting beside her.
Zhu Zhuqing's usually cool expression was now filled with worry.
"In front of us, if you don't want to smile, then don't."
Tang Sui's twitching lips stilled, her pupils trembling slightly.
"I..."
"I also didn't expect... that they would actually..."
Tang Sui couldn't find suitable words to finish her sentence.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Tang Sui gently. "Everyone has things they don't want to remember or face. Just like my illusion was returning to the darkest, most helpless days in the Star Luo Empire, when I could only endure. Back then, even escaping was difficult."
"Even so, I never blamed you."
"Zhuqing is right, Sui Sui. I never thought of blaming you either," Tang San's voice came from behind Tang Sui.
She turned her head and met Tang San's forgiving gaze.
"Yes, Sui Sui, none of us ever thought of blaming you. After all, you're helping us overcome our inner fears and surpass ourselves, not maliciously manipulating us or trying to harm us," Ning Rongrong added with a smile.
Dai Mubai nodded, pulled out a crispy, sizzling skewer of fish, and handed it to Tang Sui. "Don't underestimate us, Sui Sui. We've had plenty of experiences over the years. We can get through these setbacks with some time! Here, have a skewer of grilled fish, this one's ready!"
Tang Sui looked at their trusting and warm eyes, slowly closed her eyes, and exhaled softly.
"Thank you..."
She opened her eyes again, took the grilled fish from Dai Mubai, and her gaze was clear. "Regarding Fox Mask and the others, I will have a good talk with them tonight."
Tang San felt a sense of relief seeing his sister's adjusted mindset. Then, remembering something, he added, "Right Sui Sui, about what I just said, the 'Sui Sui' who replaced you and fought me in the illusion..."
"Brother, are you sure that the 'me' in there looked the same as the soul state of me you glimpsed during the Soul Master competition with your Purple Demon Eyes?" Tang Sui interrupted Tang San, asking seriously.
Tang San nodded, his gaze calm. "I'm sure. Apart from the feeling she gave me, she was almost identical to you in other aspects."
Tang Sui's eyes trembled, her long lashes drooping, the shadows they cast obscuring the emotions brewing in her eyes.
"Is that so..."
"...it's the same..."
—Additional Notes—
A brief explanation of the riddles in the last two chapters:
Originally, all the characters were puppets created by Fox Mask. However, a certain mask secretly took over and fought Tang San.
Fox Mask's planned script then became the script of that certain mask.
Bat Wing, now considered part of the masked group, came out to watch the show.
Therefore, only Fox Mask's script was "injured" (humorous).
The most important foreshadowing lies in the relationship between this "certain mask" and Sui Sui.
[Special statement: The supplementary content will not be charged. Trolls, please leave!]