Chapter 7: Stolen Memories

In a sense, Yuan Di was Wang Sandong’s savior.

However, Wang Sandong did not trust her.

A demonic cultivator was a demonic cultivator; they did not become trustworthy simply because they were legendary masters.

Thus, Wang Sandong secretly reminded himself: ‘Facing Yuan Di, I must not be too honest.’

For instance, he had never mentioned that he needed to take a Heart-Nurturing Pill to successfully practice Soul Snatching.

Wang Sandong discovered that Yuan Di might not actually know how to use Soul Snatching.

Her understanding of the technique seemed to be stuck at a theoretical level, and all her insights were mere speculations.

As he left Fengyue Tower and sat lazily in his carriage, he recalled Yuan Di’s slightly flushed cheeks and the hazy, drunken look in her eyes.

Wang Sandong dazed off for a moment, feeling a deep “interest” in her physical form.

“Huitian is my own creation. Theoretically, upon reaching the Great Vehicle stage, one should be able to reverse Yin and Yang. However, despite my years of bitter cultivation, I have never been able to reach that stage…”

Yuan Di had said those words earlier.

These words were actually worth looking into.

Reaching the Great Vehicle stage allowed one to reverse Yin and Yang, yet she could not reach that stage…

The *Annals of the Five Emperors* recorded that Yuan Di was a man.

The *Biography of Yuan Di*, however, stated with absolute certainty that Yuan Di was a woman who enjoyed dressing as a man.

So, was Yuan Di a man or a woman?

Or was she neither?

“Master,” Wang Tong called out from behind the carriage curtain.

“The moon is so large tonight.”

Wang Sandong lifted the window curtain and looked at the sky.

A bright moon hung overhead, illuminating the streets as if it were day.

Suddenly struck by a whim, Wang Sandong smiled and said, “Wang Tong, shall I tell you a story about a werewolf transforming on the night of a full moon?”

“Sure!”

Wang Sandong was about to start his story when he suddenly saw a figure approaching from the darkness.

Peering closer, he realized it was Miss Zheng.

She was carrying a small bundle and running toward them alone.

“It is Miss Zheng,” Wang Tong noticed her as well.

“Mm,” Wang Sandong replied.

Before they knew it, Miss Zheng had reached them.

She looked as though she were being pursued, casting a hurried glance behind her before jumping directly onto the carriage’s footboard and ducking inside.

She sat down, pulled back the curtain to peer outside, and finally let out a long sigh of relief once she was certain no one was following her.

Wang Sandong opened the curtain to let the moonlight spill in.

Seeing her state and the bundle in her arms, he could not help but tease her.

“Looking at this setup, you aren’t planning to elope with a lover, are you?”

Miss Zheng’s face flushed slightly at his words.

She huffed and said, “Stop your nonsense.”

With that, she placed the bundle in her arms onto Wang Sandong’s lap.

“This is the betrothal gift your family sent. All the gold and silver jewelry is here. Go ahead and count it.”

Wang Sandong felt the heavy weight of the bundle on his legs.

He gave a wry smile and did not bother counting the contents, simply asking casually, “Did you sneak out from home?”

Miss Zheng had no intention of chatting with him. Instead of answering, she said, “There are still some medicinal herbs and such. I do not have them on me now, but I will return them to you later.”

Fearing he would not agree, she added, “Do not worry, I am not someone who defaults on debts.”

Wang Sandong did not care about such worldly possessions.

Seeing her anxious expression, he put away his playful thoughts and replied seriously, “Fine. I will write a letter of annulment once I return and send it to your manor tomorrow.”

“That would be best.”

Miss Zheng cupped her fists.

“Thank you.”

Seeing this, Wang Sandong imitated her gesture and said, “You are welcome. I won’t see you out.”

Miss Zheng nodded and turned to leave the carriage.

She had just lifted her weight off the seat when she dropped back down.

She turned her head, her gaze falling on Wang Sandong’s fingers, her brow furrowing deeply.

“What is it?”

Wang Sandong was puzzled.

Miss Zheng did not answer but suddenly struck out, grabbing his left wrist.

Her eyes turned sharp as she looked at the black stains beneath his fingernails.

Startled, Wang Sandong instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but he could not move.

Though Miss Zheng was a refined young lady, she was a spiritual cultivator.

Her grip was incredibly strong, and it sent a sharp pain through his wrist.

“What are you doing?”

Wang Sandong shouted.

His eyes drifted to his fingers, and he suddenly froze.

Under the moonlight, the blackness in the crevices of his nails was clearly visible.

Demonic Qi!

What was going on?

How could the Demonic Qi be leaking out?

“Are you a demonic cultivator?”

Miss Zheng questioned in a low voice, her eyes fixed on him.

Wang Sandong’s throat went dry as he felt his wrist being squeezed hard enough to snap.

The powerful killing intent radiating from her made it difficult to breathe, and his face turned a sickly shade of red.

He had heard that Miss Zheng possessed a Rank 3 cultivation, making her far stronger than him.

If she intended to kill him, he likely had no power to resist.

Although Soul Snatching was bizarre, he had never truly used it before.

What if it was unreliable?

“I… I…”

Driven by the will to survive, Wang Sandong tried to remain calm.

He gasped for air and said pleadingly, “I will write the annulment letter. You… you…”

Before he could finish, he felt a burning sensation on his wrist.

“Ah!”

He let out a muffled cry of pain.

Instinctively, the Demonic Qi in his body gathered at his wrist, and he suddenly shoved his hand toward her with force.

Seeing his hand pushing toward her chest, Miss Zheng was filled with shame and fury.

She retreated hastily, swinging her arm to deflect his “groping hand.”

“You beast!”

She cursed, quickly pulling a bracelet off her left hand and clutching it in her right.

In an instant, the bracelet began to glow with a faint white light.

Clearly, this bracelet was a dharma treasure meant for slaying demons.

“Wait!”

Wang Sandong shouted.

“Miss Zheng, we have no grievances. There is no need for this!”

Miss Zheng’s expression was cold as she spoke with righteous indignation, “Eliminating demons and defending the Way is a matter of justice! How can you call it a personal grievance?”

She prepared to strike again.

“I just want to live!”

Wang Sandong quickly blurted out his grievances to beg for mercy.

“I have no Spiritual Root. Only by practicing Demonic Arts can I survive! Rest assured, even though I have become a demonic cultivator, I have never harmed anyone.”

As he spoke, the Demonic Qi within him began to circulate quietly, preparing him for a desperate struggle.

What demonic cultivator didn’t harm people?

Naturally, Miss Zheng did not believe a word of it.

“Just to live?”

Miss Zheng looked at him with a frown, her eyes filled with both pity and disgust.

“Can you stray into the wrong path just to live? You are a son of the Wang family, yet you fear death so much. It is truly contemptible!”

Wang Sandong felt like laughing at the absurdity.

He gave a bitter smile and said, “So, I deserve to die then, is that it?”

Miss Zheng no longer wanted to lecture him.

Everyone had the right to execute a demonic cultivator!

There was no need for words; he wasn’t worth the effort.

As she tightened her grip on her dharma bracelet and prepared to act, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“It isn’t impossible for me to let you go. As long as you honestly confess who taught you these Demonic Arts!”

Words like that could only fool an idiot.

Having lived in this world for 16 years, Wang Sandong was well aware of how people viewed demonic cultivators.

He had no doubt that the moment he “honestly confessed,” his life would end.

Yuan Di had said that a Rank 1 Soul Snatching could kill a Rank 3 spiritual cultivator.

But his body was too weak; he likely couldn’t pull it off.

Miss Zheng happened to be at Rank 3…

The odds were not in his favor.

But…

From the looks of things, submitting would not bring safety.

Aside from taking a gamble, there was no other way.

Miss Zheng suddenly gave a cold snort of warning.

“Do not try any tricks! You only have a Rank 1 cultivation, while I am at Rank 3. Do not overrate yourself!”

With her earlier grip, she had already probed the extent of his strength.

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare,” Wang Sandong replied repeatedly, while his mind raced to figure out how to maximize his chances.

Suddenly, the curtain was pushed aside.

Wang Tong let out a low roar.

“Master! Run!”

He spread his arms in an attempt to grab Miss Zheng, but before he could even touch her, he was blown backward by the force radiating from her body.

A 12-year-old boy trying to restrain a Rank 3 spiritual cultivator was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

“Wicked servant!”

Miss Zheng glanced sideways at the flying Wang Tong, but then she suddenly sensed danger.

She turned back to Wang Sandong only to see a bizarre black shadow that looked exactly like him lunging toward her.

Now was the chance!

A sneak attack!

Wang Sandong struck at the perfect moment.

He knew that while this timing was not ideal, he might not get a better one.

The shadow that resembled him was manifested from Demonic Qi.

Like a ghost that could not be touched, it lunged directly for Miss Zheng’s chest.

The black spectral hand passed through her chest and seemed to grab hold of something.

Miss Zheng’s almond-shaped eyes widened in shock.

She instinctively waved her hand to repel the shadow, but she could not touch it at all.

Although she was a Rank 3 cultivator, she lacked combat experience.

This strange shadow was too shocking, and since she could not touch it, she was momentary stunned.

However, the dharma bracelet in her hand emitted a piercing white light as it entered the shadow.

Dharma treasures were the bane of demonic cultivators.

The shadow suddenly jolted, nearly dissipating.

In that instant, Miss Zheng snapped back to her senses.

She hastily channeled her internal power, making the treasure in her hand glow even brighter and more blindingly.

The shadow’s tremors grew more violent as if it were being torn apart by a great force.

It looked as though it would collapse at any second.

Suddenly, something strange happened.

Miss Zheng’s hand, which was clutching the bracelet, went limp and dropped away from the shadow.

The shadow stabilized instantly.

At the same time, a strange, wisp-like substance became visible to the naked eye, traveling from her body along the shadow’s arm and spreading across its entire form.

The shadow then retreated, merging back into Wang Sandong as he sat in the carriage with a dull expression.

Simultaneously, Miss Zheng’s body went soft and collapsed.

Her beautiful eyes were wide and bulging; she had died without even being able to close them.

Her mouth was slightly agape as if she had something left to say.

Wang Sandong’s pupils contracted, and then he suddenly shuddered.

He gave a start and clapped his hands over his head.

His head felt as though it were splitting open.

Images and information flooded his mind like a tide, nearly bursting his skull.

This was…

In a daze, Wang Sandong felt as though he were standing in a beautiful garden.

Before him, a man stood with his hands behind his back, his tone solemn.

“Our Zheng Clan is one of the Nine Surnamed Kings, second only to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. The *Noble Spirit Mantra* is extraordinary. you must practice it diligently…”

The scene shifted, and he was sitting in a familiar yet strange study.

A gentle-looking woman sat opposite him, speaking with a smile.

“Spiritual power nurtures the body, and books nurture the soul. You are a daughter of a prestigious family; you must cultivate and study… Come, read with Mother: ‘The world possesses both noble and evil Qi, which wax and wane in cycles. The reason humans exist between heaven and earth is to uphold the noble path…'”

The scene shifted again.

The man from before now had a beard and looked exactly like Uncle Zheng.

He looked furious as he glared at her, hissing, “You foolish girl! If you do not want to see your grandfather die and the Zheng family fall to ruin, you must marry that sickly brat from the Wang family!”

After the scolding, he added gently, “Silly girl, that sickly brat has a weak constitution. Just marry him. Once he dies, you will still be a virgin…”

The scene shifted a fourth time.

Wang Sandong saw a carriage and saw himself through the window.

He looked pale and delicate, almost like a woman.

‘He’

Had a smile on his face as he looked at her and said, “I hope you find a husband who suits your heart, Miss Zheng.”

The imagery was incredibly bizarre.

The scene shifted a fifth time.

In front of her was a black shadow that looked exactly like ‘himself.’

The shadow’s arm was buried in her chest cavity, and it felt as if something was being violently torn away…

Wang Sandong gave a sudden jolt and snapped awake.

Looking at Miss Zheng’s corpse in the carriage with shock, he panted tremulously.

The situation just now was…

He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.

Wang Sandong reached a conclusion: he seemed to have gained Miss Zheng’s memories.

In a daze, he even had the illusion that he *was* Miss Zheng.

Of course, it was just an illusion.

It was likely a false perception caused by the chaotic influx of memories.

Wang Sandong let out a breath and suddenly remembered Wang Tong.

‘That kid didn’t die, did he?’

He tried to get out of the carriage but found his entire body weak; he could barely even stand.

He crawled to the carriage entrance, lifted the curtain, and shouted, “Wang Tong…”

Before he could finish, he saw Wang Tong lying on the ground by the side of the road with blood at the corner of his mouth and a look of terror on his face. Beside him, Yuan Di was crouching down, a hand wreathed in Demonic Qi gripping the boy’s neck.

“Wait!”

Wang Sandong leaned against the carriage frame, panting heavily.

“Don’t… don’t kill him!”

“Soft-hearted fool!”

Yuan Di’s eyes were filled with mockery.

“He already knows you are a demonic cultivator. Are you sure you want to let him live?”

Noticing the lingering shock on Wang Sandong’s face, she curled her lip and offered a bit of “kind” comfort.

“Killing someone… you’ll be a bit uncomfortable the first time. You’ll get used to it after you kill a few more.”

She stood up and made a “please” gesture toward the heavily injured Wang Tong, then looked at Wang Sandong.

“Want to practice?”