In a daze, Xue Ji once again saw that pure white space. The blurred figure was still there, just as before, with their back to her, writing something.
Xue Ji didn’t know why she was here—she couldn’t even remember who she was. Her past was a complete blank.
Her mind was shrouded in thick fog. Xue Ji knew she had forgotten many things—many important things.
“Xiao Ji, wake up quickly.”
A voice so familiar it tugged at her heartstrings—but she couldn’t respond. That urge had barely risen before it dissipated with her breath.
[Why don’t you answer her?]
The blurred figure turned on the chair to look back, initiating a conversation with Xue Ji.
Xue Ji looked confused. “Should I respond?”
[It’s not about whether you should or shouldn’t. It’s about whether you want to.]
“But I can’t remember who she is.”
[Even if you lose your memories, your soul remains. As long as you are still you, you should trust your feelings.]
“Feelings?”
Xue Ji was drawn in by those words, and the call from moments ago echoed once more in her mind.
“Xiao Ji, wake up quickly!”
[Think carefully. Who are you?]
“Who am I…”
The blurry memories pulled her consciousness under, and she struggled like a drowning person.
One blurred figure after another took turns grasping her hand, trying to pull her above the surface.
A middle-aged couple hurriedly dragged her upward—there was a familiar warmth about them.
But this sea of memories was too chaotic. Their figures had already begun to fade, and Xue Ji started sinking into the water again.
She flailed her limbs uselessly, but felt a leaden heaviness and helplessness.
Several people were trapped in a whirlpool. Two flickering shadows, on the verge of dissipating, decisively grabbed Xue Ji and pushed her upward.
In that very instant, Xue Ji saw their faces clearly—the two people so familiar, the two who had raised her with love.
“Dad! Mom!” Xue Ji remembered her past—her past as their child.
She wanted to go back, but her body was pushed upward by the current.
The burden on her lessened, and Xue Ji could only struggle upward with great effort.
A massive figure suddenly blocked her line of sight—a deep-sea behemoth of unknown appearance opened its gigantic maw toward her.
“No, don’t!”
Xue Ji was utterly weak now. Having lost her memories, she was just a somewhat timid young girl.
“Xiao Ji, don’t be afraid.” A gentle voice sounded by her ear.
A gorgeous girl in splendid attire turned into a blazing streak of red.
She embraced Xue Ji and charged upward with her.
As the distance closed, Xue Ji learned the movements of the girl in splendid attire.
She tried to control the water around her to propel herself.
The two of them—one white, one red—entwined and flowed like a pair of fish.
They were nearing the surface. Xue Ji reached out impatiently.
But dark memories surged in like parasites clinging to bone.
She remembered the harm she had once done to that girl—letting such an ethereal maiden be tainted with her own essence, toying with her form.
Xue Ji’s heart skipped a beat. An invisible force suddenly surged from the sea of memories and dragged her into the abyss.
“Ling… Xiaoxiao…”
Xue Ji could only helplessly repeat the name of the girl in splendid attire as her body sank into the darkness.
“Don’t be afraid. You’re not as worthless as you think.”
A blonde pastor girl radiated a gentle glow, comforting Xue Ji, who had curled into a ball in the darkness.
“In your heart, there is a majestic lion. You have the courage to explore the unknown.”
Xue Ji’s memories gradually began to recover. She remembered her experiences subjugating the Demon King.
“I remember now. I am the Sage…”
The darkness was no longer dense. This deep sea was no longer wild.
More people walked toward her. A girl with wolf ears pounced toward her.
“A-Ji, come back quickly! I miss you!”
Struck by the girl, the world around them changed once more.
They arrived at a grassland beneath a starry sky.
Xue Ji was still dazed, and the fluffy sensation in her arms made her lose herself a little.
“Hey hey hey, you big-tailed wolf, that’s about enough.”
A black-haired girl who looked about seventy or eighty percent like Xue Ji rushed over and plucked the wolf girl out of Xue Ji’s embrace.
Then she slipped in herself, rubbing her little face against Xue Ji’s chest.
“Hehe, I’m the sister that Big Sis likes best, right~”
The girl blinked her eyes, revealing a sly smile—altogether a mischievous little thing.
Xue Ji didn’t know how to respond. A girl with water-blue long hair squeezed her way in.
“I want a hug too.” Though the girl’s expression was somewhat cold, her competitive look was completely at odds with the black-haired girl.
For some reason, Xue Ji reached up to touch the black-haired girl’s cheek—but the other suddenly stepped back.
“Big Sis, don’t do that.”
“What’s wrong?”
Xue Ji didn’t understand. The girl who had just been nuzzling into her arms—why had she suddenly become so distant?
“I don’t want you to remember.”
“But I have to remember. I need to go back! I need to see you!”
Xue Ji reached out, grabbed the girl’s wrist, and pulled her into an embrace.
But Xue Ji caught nothing at all—only herself, an empty girl with nothing in her arms.
“Big Sis, it’s better if you forget me.”
The black-haired girl was enveloped by a pitch-black door, and the door slowly began to close.
“I will never forget you, Lilith!”
Xue Ji punched the door that was about to shut, forcing it open a crack.
“Wait for me, Lilith. I will definitely come find you!”
Xue Ji struggled awake. The people around her were looking at her with worried faces.
Metallic-colored ceilings and precise instrument displays came into view.
She had been brought aboard the Canglong.
“Teacher, are you alright?” Shen Moling couldn’t hide her joy.
“I’m fine. How long was I asleep?”
“One month…”
“One month?!”
Xue Ji tried to get up quickly, but the emptiness in her body pulled her back down.
“Teacher, don’t get agitated. You’re very weak right now.”
“What’s the situation outside?”
Xue Ji lay helplessly on the sickbed, her mind a mess now that her consciousness had just recovered.
“After you jumped down, all kinds of enemies suddenly appeared.”
“Senior Ling Xiaoxiao is currently leading the others to deal with these matters.”
[The story is back on track. Rise again as the Sage and play your part!]
The blurred figure appeared in her mind once more, leaving a final word of counsel.
“I will. I definitely will,” Xue Ji murmured.
Shen Moling didn’t know who she was talking to, but she didn’t interrupt.
“Um, you should rest well for now. The situation outside has been stabilized—”
“There’s no need for that. I have to go find Lilith…”
“How are you going to find her looking like this?”
Ling Xiaoxiao stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips, a high ponytail tied up, her expression serious.
“What you need to do right now is rest. You’re as weak as a zombie—who are you going to save?!”
Shen Moling quickly left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
After she left, silence fell over the room.
After a long while, Xue Ji finally couldn’t hold back her tears. The sorrow from the depths of her heart crushed her entirely.
Ling Xiaoxiao quietly stayed by her side, letting her lean against her and cry her heart out.
