The Showdown

‘I clearly had the chance to confess my feelings… so why couldn’t I say it?’

‘Was I avoiding it? Or was I simply not ready to face Linglong directly?’

Bai Lan rubbed her temples and sighed.

“And Linglong’s expression and tone just now… why did they feel so strange?”

“Forget it. I shouldn’t think too much about it. I’ll just go back to cultivating.”

“It was only an accident. Linglong probably won’t take it seriously.”

Bai Lan tried to comfort herself.

However, she was completely wrong.

Her dream had created a completely different Xue Linglong—one whose perception of Bai Lan had fundamentally changed.

Through that dream, Xue Linglong now felt as though she fully understood Bai Lan’s previous life.

What was merely a vague dream for Bai Lan had become an entire lifetime of memories for Xue Linglong.

The version of Xue Linglong that existed within the dream had now merged with the real Xue Linglong.

People sometimes spoke of dream lovers.

But for Bai Lan, her dream lover had stepped directly into reality.

Bai Lan still had two days to prepare before entering the Void Heaven Realm.

However, Xue Linglong did something completely unexpected that day.

She went to find her master.

“Master, I want to go to the Void Heaven Realm now.”

Her request was extremely sudden.

“Hm? Didn’t you say you wanted to wait a little longer?” Qiu Hanyun asked in surprise.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Xue Linglong replied calmly.

“Please make the arrangements for me, Master.”

Naturally, Qiu Hanyun had always hoped that Xue Linglong would go to the Void Heaven Realm.

Therefore, she did not refuse.

Instead, she immediately went to find Luo Yan.

Luo Yan was somewhat surprised when she heard this request.

After all, Bai Yiren had only come to her yesterday asking to send Bai Lan to the Void Heaven Realm, and now Qiu Hanyun was making the same request.

When Qiu Hanyun later learned that Bai Lan would also be going, she felt that it was actually a good thing.

At least the two of them would have someone familiar accompanying them.

She returned and informed Xue Linglong.

However, Xue Linglong had no intention of entering the Void Heaven Realm at the same time as Bai Lan.

She planned to enter separately.

Even so, she did not refuse the arrangement.

Thus, the second day passed quietly.

On the third day, Bai Lan was cultivating inside her room.

Suddenly, a knocking sound came from outside the door, interrupting her.

“Junior Sister, are you inside?”

“Junior Sister Linglong has come to see you.”

It was Luo Yuyan’s voice.

Bai Lan froze.

An inexplicable sense of unease appeared in her heart.

She was not sure how to face Xue Linglong right now.

Especially since she had never expected that Xue Linglong would come looking for her at the Immortal’s Abode.

But avoiding her was impossible.

So Bai Lan stood up and opened the door.

With Luo Yuyan present, she managed to maintain a relatively calm expression.

However, the moment she saw Xue Linglong standing behind Luo Yuyan—with that playful smile on her face—Bai Lan felt her chest tighten.

“I say, Junior Sister, what’s wrong with you?” Luo Yuyan complained.

“You were clearly inside your room, yet you made your guest wait so long.”

“Uh… I was cultivating just now, so I didn’t react immediately,” Bai Lan explained awkwardly.

“Alright then,” Luo Yuyan said.

“Junior Sister Linglong said she has something to discuss with you. You two talk.”

“I still have some matters to deal with.”

After speaking, Luo Yuyan left, giving them privacy.

“Second Senior Sister, where are you going? Do you want me to accompany you?” Bai Lan quickly asked.

Seeing Xue Linglong’s smile made her strangely nervous, and she wanted to leave immediately.

Normally, Luo Yuyan would not refuse Bai Lan.

But today she truly had other matters to attend to.

“I… have something personal to handle, so there’s no need for you to accompany me.”

“You should keep your junior sister company.”

After saying this, Luo Yuyan walked down the stairs and left.

Once she confirmed that Luo Yuyan had gone far enough away, Xue Linglong suddenly stepped forward.

Without waiting for Bai Lan’s reaction, she gently pushed her back into the room.

Then she closed the door behind them.

Bai Lan immediately felt a sense of danger.

For some reason, she could sense an invisible pressure coming from Xue Linglong.

“Linglong… what’s wrong?”

“Did something happen?”

“I’m going to the Void Heaven Realm tomorrow, so I planned to spend today adjusting my condition.”

Bai Lan could not understand why she felt so uneasy.

Ever since that dream yesterday, she had developed an inexplicable fear of Xue Linglong.

Perhaps it was simply because she had a guilty conscience.

“Adjust your condition?” Xue Linglong repeated softly.

“Sister, what’s wrong with you?”

“Ever since yesterday, you’ve been acting very strangely.”

“Why do I feel like you’re afraid of me?”

“Do you have a guilty conscience?”

“Is that why you’re scared of me?”

She spoke while smiling playfully.

“No, no, that’s not it,” Bai Lan quickly denied.

“Linglong… actually, you seem a little strange since yesterday too.”

“Did you… peek into my dream while I was sleeping?”

Bai Lan asked cautiously.

“Dream?” Xue Linglong tilted her head slightly.

“Now that you mention it… I think I had a dream yesterday too.”

“In the dream, I went to a strange world.”

“I met a strange man.”

“And I even married him.”

She smiled mysteriously.

“Sister, tell me… who was that man?”

Bai Lan’s expression instantly stiffened.

At that moment she was almost certain that Xue Linglong had used her ability to enter her dream.

“You little rascal…”

“You really did peek into my dream.”

“But that was just a dream. It shouldn’t be taken seriously,” Bai Lan said after taking a deep breath.

Since the dream had already been exposed, pretending nothing happened was meaningless.

She simply had not expected Xue Linglong to come and confront her about it today.

“No, Sister,” Xue Linglong replied.

“Why are you so serious?”

“I didn’t come here to blame you.”

“Yesterday’s situation was actually my fault. I shouldn’t have peeked into your dream.”

“I came here to apologize.”

While speaking, she slowly approached Bai Lan.

Meanwhile, Bai Lan instinctively stepped backward.

She felt somewhat cowardly, but the truth was that she lacked confidence in dealing with the situation.

“Ah… it’s fine. It was just a dream,” Bai Lan said.

But the closer Xue Linglong came, the more uneasy she felt.

“But Sister, there’s something you might not know,” Xue Linglong said calmly.

“I really entered your dream yesterday.”

“The woman in your dream was me.”

“And everything you did to me in that dream… I felt it.”

“Sister… you wouldn’t deny it, would you?”

Xue Linglong revealed everything without hesitation.

Bai Lan was completely stunned.

She had never imagined that Xue Linglong possessed such a terrifying ability.

Although she did not remember every detail of the dream, she still had a general idea of what had happened.

And if Xue Linglong truly experienced everything…

Then it was no wonder her personality had changed so much.

“I… I don’t remember the details clearly,” Bai Lan said weakly.

“Hmph.”

“You don’t need to remember,” Xue Linglong replied.

“It’s enough that I remember.”

“I was an innocent girl who understood nothing.”

“But your dream…”

“Sister, it stripped away my innocence.”

As she spoke, she looked at Bai Lan with a slightly resentful gaze.

At that moment, Xue Linglong radiated a mature feminine aura that was completely different from her previous innocent demeanor.

Bai Lan felt completely overwhelmed.

She could not keep up with Xue Linglong’s sudden transformation.

“Sister, why are you acting so timid now?”

“Where is the courage you had in the dream?”

“I actually liked the version of you in the dream.”

“Don’t tell me that after becoming a woman, even your way of thinking changed?”

“But if your mindset really changed… then why would you have such a dream?”

Her words struck directly at Bai Lan’s already fragile pride.

“Who’s timid?” Bai Lan snapped.

“Yes! I like you!”

“But I didn’t want to take advantage of an innocent girl!”

The truth slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.