The re-standing "Little Tang Sui" let out a soft hum, a smile devoid of warmth curving her lips. Her pupils, covered in a layer of green light, casually swept over the fallen Old Jack and Village Doctor Li. Under Tang San's astonished gaze, "Little Tang Sui's" hand, which was propped on the bed, exerted a slight force, and her entire body detached from gravity, floating up some distance from the ground.
It was as if she had been born with the ability to fly, her movements in controlling her ascent incredibly familiar.
So familiar that Tang San couldn't find any trace of her past self in that long-unseen silhouette.
She hadn't awakened her martial spirit, nor had her soul power been activated, yet she could now fly through the air...
Tang San knew that many people in this world encountered fortunate encounters. Special individuals like himself, who cultivated both martial arts and soul power, definitely existed, but they hid themselves well, never exposing their secondary cultivation methods.
Therefore, he never underestimated anyone.
Tang San's thoughts halted as a strong sense of crisis washed over him.
"Little Tang Sui," floating in mid-air, her green-glowing eyes fixed directly on Tang San, whom she shouldn't have been able to see, a playful laugh mixed with mockery entered his ears.
The next second, Tang San's face drastically changed.
He watched helplessly as "Little Tang Sui" slowly floated to the door. Just as she was about to push it open, she suddenly frowned. The habitual curve of her lips flattened as her pupils contracted sharply. She dropped abruptly from mid-air, landing on solid ground, only to collapse to her knees due to her high fever and weakness.
Then, Tang San saw "Little Tang Sui's" face turn pale and then flush, the deep green in her eyes seeming to fade. She appeared to be struggling against something, her eye color flickering between green and blue.
This change continued for several seconds. When the light in her eyes once again shifted from blue to a pale green, "Little Tang Sui's" small face contorted as if sand had gotten into her eyes, causing everything in her vision to blur into double images.
"If you continue to stay here, you can only wait for death."
He heard her say in a hoarse voice, coaxing him.
"Hand over your body to me first. I'll take you to a safer place to recover. You don't have to worry about anything. Just sleep, and when you wake up, it will all be over."
"Stop resisting. I'm doing this for your own good."
Tang San's expression, however, turned solemn.
The only conscious being in the room was "Little Tang Sui." Old Jack and Village Doctor Li had not yet regained consciousness from their inexplicable comas.
This sole conscious entity was, in fact, one of two.
It was well-known that patients with soul displacement syndrome rarely experienced peaceful coexistence between their distinct personalities. After all, there was only one body. If, at this moment, one of them harbored thoughts of taking over the body, then Sui Sui...
Suddenly, a scoffing laugh reached his ears. Tang San's gaze turned icy as he looked at the fox mask retreating into the shadows. Its vertical pupils, flashing with a faint green light, gazed back. Even with the mask covering its face, Tang San could imagine the malicious smile undoubtedly stretching across the lips beneath it.
"If I could have possessed the body, I would have done so long ago."
Tang San's eyes instantly grew colder. "Perhaps you harbored that thought back then. But you didn't succeed. Because Sui Sui's consciousness was stronger and directly suppressed you, who had briefly taken control of the body."
"Little Tang Sui," still slumped on the ground and unable to float, her eyes flashed with a hint of unwillingness. She spoke something in a stern voice.
Despite standing very close, Tang San heard nothing.
The only one capable of doing this was the fox mask, whose intentions were as yet unknown.
"What did you do? What did you say?!"
The fox mask glanced at its failed attempt, its deep green eyes swirling with profound malice, yet its voice remained filled with intoxicating gentleness. "I was merely speaking the truth."
She didn't want Tang San to know that she also possessed a peculiar "past life." So, she wouldn't let Tang San hear it.
As for what Tang San himself imagined, that was his own affair.
After all, the play had to continue.
Next, Tang San saw "Little Tang Sui" float up once more, the green light in her eyes solidifying considerably.
He knew that another personality had taken control of the body.
The re-floating "Little Tang Sui" wasted no more time, leaving the dilapidated wooden hut without a backward glance, heading towards a region unknown to him.
Little Tang San, finally returning with his savings, was filled with excitement, which instantly froze when he saw the fallen Old Jack and Village Doctor Li in the house.
Awakened by Little Tang San pinching their philtrums, their expressions shifted from confusion to anxiety. They mobilized others to search for him.
Tang San, as an observer, watched his younger self meticulously search the neighboring villages and surrounding areas, even returning to Holy Soul Village. He searched until he was exhausted, his feet throbbing as if they weren't his own, yet he still couldn't find his sister.
Couldn't find her...
Nowhere to be found...
From the blazing sun to the setting sun, Tang Hao, returning home under the afterglow, heard the villagers, their faces dripping with sweat, inform him of his youngest daughter's disappearance during her serious illness.
Upon hearing this news, Tang Hao's eyes turned chilling for a moment. His rough, defeated face showed no trace of sadness. He merely waved his hand and said, "If she can't be found, then so be it."
Tang San's heart suddenly turned cold. Looking at his father's dispirited, disheveled appearance, and then remembering the father who had accompanied him and his sister through day after day in the valley, the suppressed black-red mist resurfaced in his eyes.
No...
"Crack, crack,"
Tang San's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched into fists. His knuckles emitted a chilling crack due to the immense pressure.
This was not real. It was an illusion. Just an illusion.
His father was still evading the Spirit Hall. He wouldn't reveal himself to outsiders, but he would surely look for Sui Sui in private.
He kept reminding himself not to pay attention.
But an illusion was an illusion, yet the logic and thoughts were real.
From Sui Sui's disappearance in the illusion to his father's return, nearly four hours had passed.
In four hours, who knew what changes could have occurred.
Even if his father searched in private, it would be too late...
Various thoughts uncontrollably flooded his mind, linking one after another, causing Tang San to clench his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into his palms, trickles of crimson blood flowing down along his fingers to the ground.
The small black tentacles lurking in the dark stirred, sensing the fragrant scent of blood.
The fox mask, smiling as it reveled in the joy derived from another's suffering, watched this scene.
It could only be said that the fox mask's character analysis of those around Tang Sui was spot on.
As one of the initial masks that had accompanied Tang Sui since her birth, the fox mask manipulated a reality intertwined with falsehoods, presenting Tang San with a distinctly different life path.
—This was the fox mask's test for Tang San, an overt display of malice, and a brilliant stratagem.