The master and his two disciples walked behind a row of ornamental trees that had been planted, and it was only then that the master stopped, turned around, and looked at Tang Sui, who was burying her head in Tang San's chest and relying entirely on his strength to move forward.
"Sui Sui, that last blow... why did you do it?"
Tang San lowered his head, felt the body leaning against him tremble, and moved away slightly. He said with difficulty, "I... I didn't intend to kill him..."
She didn't know if her brother and teacher would believe her, but... she had truly held back her killing intent at the last moment and hadn't intended to kill him.
Hearing this, Tang San's gaze deepened, and his thoughtful eyes met the master's in mid-air.
Then, the latter looked at Tang Sui's trembling shoulders and sighed softly.
"I'm not blaming you."
Warmth was transmitted to her scalp through her hair.
The slight tremor in Tang Sui's shoulders stopped as the master reached out and gently stroked her head.
When the weight on her head disappeared, Tang Sui dazedly looked up, her eyes meeting the master's gentle gaze. She heard him say,
"The reason I let you participate in the battle today was so you would understand—killing is a process you will inevitably go through. If you are hunted by other powerful soul masters in the future and cannot deliver a killing blow to extinguish the danger, then you will be the ones to lose your lives."
"I asked because I don't want you to transform into a truly cold-blooded and cruel direction while learning this lesson. Even if you have taken a life, it is those who are not innocent, the treacherous and ruthless villains, whom you will have killed."
The master looked directly at Tang Sui and spoke earnestly.
Tang Sui nodded dully. The fear in her heart gradually calmed under the master's accommodating gaze and Tang San's gentle attention, though a hint of unease still flickered in her eyes. "You really don't mind that I acted like that at the end?"
She asked cautiously.
The master nodded. "Although I don't know why you delivered the finishing blow, I believe there must be a reason for it. After all, when you faced that soul master who had already given up resisting, you held back."
As he spoke, the master's gaze deepened.
He did not believe that the last blow was truly Tang Sui's own doing.
Although Sui Sui had no memory of the other personality appearing, it did not mean that the other personality residing within Sui Sui's body was unaware of Sui Sui's affairs.
Otherwise, why would the other personality always appear at just the right moment?
Sometimes it was when Sui Sui was stuck in her advancement and lacked important spirit rings, and sometimes it was when Sui Sui was in danger, but it never appeared without reason.
He could only assume that the other personality might be protecting Sui Sui indirectly due to their shared body, rather than harming her, but he could not guarantee that the other personality, or rather the other two personalities, truly only wanted to protect Sui Sui and had no other intentions.
Xiao San had told him that if a person had multiple personalities, then the other personalities might not be benevolent. Sharing a body with another person certainly implied a desire for sole possession.
This was something he had to guard against.
Although he had discussed with Xiao San whether to let Sui Sui know the truth about the other personality's existence, he feared that their actions might alter the existing balance, leading to an even worse situation.
Sigh.
The master sighed inwardly again, looked at his other disciple, whose eyes were clear and complexion normal, showing no signs of distress, and secretly nodded. He then said, "Let's go, we'll head back to the hotel first."
Tang Sui paused. "Teacher, what about Sister Xiao Wu and the others?"
"They have other teachers guiding them, they will be fine."
"But I want to go back and find them. Xiao Wu and Rong Rong must be feeling very distressed right now." Tang Sui knew the heaviness of carrying a life on her conscience for the first time and was even more worried about them.
The master was silent for a moment, then relented. "Alright, you go ahead. Xiao San, let's head back to the hotel first."
Saying this, the master looked at Tang San. Tang San nodded in understanding, knowing that the master wanted to discuss Tang Sui's matters with him alone.
Watching Tang Sui's hurried departure, Tang San turned his head and followed his teacher, who had already started walking. After they had put some distance between them, Tang San broke the silence in a low voice.
"Teacher, I suspect that Sui Sui's martial soul, those two masks, are probably the other two hidden personalities."
The master's pupils contracted violently. He turned to look at Tang San, whose expression was full of certainty. He scanned the empty street cautiously to ensure no one was around, then replied in a low voice, "Are you serious?"
Tang San recalled Tang Sui's interactions with the masks before, his expression solemn. "Teacher, actually, when you called Tang Sui and me to Shrek Academy privately before, you were incapacitated by the ape mask's mental lock and have no memory of it. But I saw that Tang Sui actually spoke to her martial soul at that time."
"What?!" Astonishment appeared on the master's face.
"At that time, Sui Sui called out, 'Ape Mask, quickly release the mental lock.'" Tang San's clear and handsome face was covered with a layer of gloom. "I was only suspicious then, but after the other mask clearly acted on its own without Sui Sui's control just now, I confirmed this suspicion."
"Those two masks are probably the other two personalities! Both in terms of timing and experience, they match the appearance of the other two personalities."
The master's gaze also shifted several times, showing astonishment, worry, and doubt.
But if Sui Sui could communicate with the two masks, then why did she have no memory of the other personalities appearing? She didn't even know about the existence of the other two personalities?
As soon as this doubt surfaced in his mind, he suddenly realized.
Unless, Sui Sui didn't know that those two masks were the other personalities at all!