Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pei Yi was clearly thrilled to see me seeking him out of my own accord. He opened his mouth to speak, but I signaled for him to remain silent. I led him outside and raised my hand to cast a protective barrier.

Then, with a flick of my sleeve, I conjured a water mirror and handed it to the bewildered Pei Yi, telling him to take a good look at himself.

With just one glance, Pei Yi’s pupils constricted sharply.

He saw it too-he looked terribly haggard. Once the pride of the heavens, he had already stepped into the Nascent Soul realm and was supposed to advance toward the Divine Transformation Stage alongside me before long.

But now, his cultivation had stagnated. Looking at his reflection again, his lips were pale, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes.

This was clearly the work of a demonic creature.

I warned him that the Mermaid named Qianqian was not as simple as she seemed and told him to deal with her as soon as possible.

However, the usually decisive Pei Yi fell silent.

After a long while, he furrowed his brows and told me that Qianqian was, after all, his savior.

He said, “She grew up alone in a Secret Realm, so it’s inevitable that she’s a bit simple-minded. She just doesn’t know how to restrain her influence on humans. I will teach her.”

With that, Pei Yi broke the barrier and turned to leave.

I watched his retreating figure. A faint, wispy trail of black energy was rising from the area of his heart.

It was a precursor to the birth of an inner demon.

I frowned slightly, but in the end, I wanted to give him one more chance.

Pei Yi’s claim that he would teach the Mermaid himself was no lie. To that end, he even pushed his duties of training the Junior Brothers onto me, leaving me to take over.

He then took the Mermaid to the mortal world.

Before leaving, he said that only by letting Qianqian interact with more mortals and understanding how fragile and fleeting human life is could she learn to cherish them.

I looked at the Mermaid’s eyes-they were full of chaotic innocence, clearly feral and uncivilized. Yet, when she looked at Pei Yi, her eyes held the most primitive desire for possession.

Could Pei Yi truly not have noticed at all?

I couldn’t help but frown, a bad premonition rising in my heart.

I asked Pei Yi, “Do you have to take her with you?”

They had only been together for a short time, yet the young man who once had eyes only for me had already become a stranger.

A journey with only Pei Yi and Qianqian held far too many variables.

But Pei Yi insisted.

“Since I was the one who brought her out, I should take responsibility for her until the end.” Seeing my expression still filled with disapproval, he suddenly laughed.

He said, “Is Feng’er jealous? Don’t worry, my feelings for Qianqian are merely a desire to repay her for saving my life. My heart has always belonged only to you.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the expression of the Mermaid standing behind him became distorted and hideous, no different from a wild animal.

But it lasted only an instant. She quickly reverted to her previous innocent and harmless appearance.

Seeing Pei Yi’s stubbornness, no one else in the Sect tried to persuade him further.

However, upon their departure, the Sect Leader was cautious enough to place a Samsara Pearl on the Mermaid. Should the pearl indeed see blood, it would immediately send out a signal to alert everyone. This way, they wouldn’t have to worry about the ferocious beast causing a great disaster in the mortal world.