She was one in a thousand fortunate ones, and yet one in ten thousand sufferers.
At this moment, Gu Shen felt he had suddenly regained his freedom... After enduring excruciating pain, he was no longer imprisoned within the girl’s tiny frame. Instead, he slowly stood up, his ethereal consciousness turning into a blaze of Chi Huo.
As an outsider, he entered this genuinely surreal Dream.
Chi Huo swirled around, solidifying into form.
Gu Shen silently watched the girl huddled in the corner of the bathroom and then glanced at the unconscious man.
Chi Huo led him... to watch this Dream, which held the purest Spirit remnants from Qu Shui’s Extraordinary Essence.
Once out-of-control, Transcendents had no reason left, their actions entirely guided by the Essence.
And in this Essence, Gu Shen felt nothing but suffering, nothing but torment.
That’s why her ways were so perverse, so mad.
Her father had killed her mother and was about to kill her as well... In such despair, even without the Extraordinary Awakening, Qu Shui would still break down mentally.
Chi Huo appeared before Gu Shen once more.
It danced slowly, emitting a clear wave of mental fluctuations.
Gu Shen looked towards the huddled girl, in this Dream, the "Extraordinary Essence" he needed to extract must be here.
Must he kill her again to seize the Essence?
After a long silence, he stepped forward.
The girl trembled violently, huddling at the edge, embracing her arms.
She dared not look at anyone, every pore on her body trembled... Countless Black Shadows enveloped her, threatening to encase her in a massive cocoon.
The entire world darkened.
All light vanished, all darkness swept through.
Until a clean, huge bath towel was draped over her.
Qu Shui’s body stiffened instantly.
She struggled to lift her head, seeing only a blurred outline of a figure, shrouded in black chaotic codes, with a tiny but warm flame hovering above his brow.
"Put this on... it will be better."
The voice of that figure fell into the ears of the trembling girl, like a flicker of flame suddenly appearing, illuminating the dark world, preventing the countless sweeping shadows from forming a cocoon with a tiny flame.
Looking at the trembling girl, Gu Shen sighed softly and said to Chi Huo, "If I have to kill her again to take the Essence... I can’t do it.
Killing Qu Shui, for she has become an out-of-control.
The river bank tonight, it’s either you die, or I live.
But this pitiful girl in the Dream is but a sufferer wandering in a fantasy of nothingness.
Show no mercy to the enemy... but for such a person, Gu Shen couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Even in a dream, he couldn’t deceive himself to act against his principles.
Chi Huo seemed to understand Gu Shen’s words, flickering and slowly pulsing.
After Gu Shen made his choice... the surroundings of the Dream began to crumble, the colors fading once again, and the Extraordinary Essence clinging to Qu Shui began to dissipate on its own due to her death.
Gu Shen said calmly, "There will be other chances to extract the Essence."
He turned back for one last look... preparing to leave the Dream for good.
Suddenly, a voice called out to him.
In the collapsing Dream, the tearful voice of the young girl, along with the shattering of the mirror, slowly bloomed, "Thank you..."
The Extraordinary Essence, symbolic of madness, rage, and venting, suddenly calmed down.
"The flame on your brow... it looks so lovely... I fell in love with it at first sight..."
The girl smiled faintly, extending her hand.
In her pale palm lay a small Black Cocoon.