The veil had been removed, revealing a delicate nose and full, petal-like red lips. The woman was draped in a golden, sheer gown that clung to her body, outlining her slender, captivating figure. Her bare jade feet and snow-white ankles were adorned with a tattoo of a green snake, adding an enchanting allure.
She carried a luxurious fragrance, like that of a precious flower, beautiful yet dangerous.
They had met once before, at the Ji She Festival” in Wufan City. She was the Snake Shaman Clan’s Holy Maiden, who arrived in a luxurious carriage, holding a snake staff.
Gu Baiying stared at her and said coldly, “You are not a Snake Shaman.”
She reached up, tucking her long hair behind her ear, and smiled charmingly. “Of course, I’m not.”
“Then what are you?” The boy raised an eyebrow, his tone mocking. “A snake demon?”
At these words, the woman’s smile froze momentarily. She seemed angered by his words and immediately retorted, “Nonsense! A lowly snake demon could never match my status!” She looked at Gu Baiying, lifting her chin. “I am a Mirage Woman.”
Gu Baiying’s eyes flickered.
The Mirage Woman, a great demon described in ancient texts, often appeared in oceans and deserts, skilled in illusions. Gu Baiying had once told Zanxing about powerful demons that could create illusions of entire cities, indistinguishable from reality. These demons were Mirage Women. They often appeared in deserts, conjuring mirages of oases or bustling markets to deceive dying travelers. The travelers, seeing hope, would exhaust all their strength trying to reach the mirage, but it remained intangible. They would die in the desert, lost in a false hope, leaving no trace behind.
“Was Wufan City your illusion?” Gu Baiying asked.
The Mirage Woman laughed. “You underestimate me. In fact, from the moment you stepped into the Wudanlin Desert, you were under my spell. However,” she looked Gu Baiying up and down, her gaze curious, “I didn’t expect you to be a cultivator. At the Ji She Festival, you didn’t make a wish to the Sacred Serpent Lamp, forcing me to come in person.” She pouted, complaining coquettishly.
Gu Baiying’s expression remained unchanged as he asked, “Since you are not the master of Wufan City, why are you staying here?” Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he looked up sharply. “Did you kill the Snake Shaman?”
“Ah, you shouldn’t say things like that.” The Mirage Woman waved her hand innocently and blinked. “You must have seen the murals in the hall. The Snake Shaman died at the hands of the humans she protected. What does that have to do with me?”
Gu Baiying stared at her coldly.
The woman laughed, her voice sweet. “Alright, I did play a small trick, a really small one. She was the one who provoked me first.”
“Back then, before the Snake Shaman arrived in Wufan City, I lived here. As a demon, I needed to use illusions to deceive passersby and take their lives to enhance my power. It’s like how you humans slaughter chickens, ducks, and cattle for food. I’m just trying to survive. What’s wrong with that?” She spoke with disdain. “But that wretched woman had to be so petty.”
It turned out that after the Snake Shaman settled in the area and received offerings from the people of Wufan City, she also helped them drive away nearby demons and wild beasts, including the Mirage Woman.
Although the Mirage Woman was a powerful demon, she could only use illusions to confuse people, while the Snake Shaman’s clan existed outside the three realms and could see through her illusions with a glance. Moreover, the Snake Shaman’s spiritual power surpassed that of the Mirage Woman, and she easily expelled her from the edge of the Wudanlin Desert.
“I was just trying to survive without bothering her. Why did she have to go to such lengths? Acting all high and mighty, as if she controlled everything.” She played with a lock of her wavy hair, wrapping it around her finger. “She ruined my livelihood. How could I let that go?”
The Mirage Woman suddenly smiled happily. “But heaven smiled upon me. Later, I heard that she became a Holy Maiden in Wufan City and often made deals with people. It was hilarious.”
Gu Baiying stared at her. “What’s so funny?”
She noticed Gu Baiying’s slightly cold gaze and chuckled softly. “You don’t need to look at me like that. If those people didn’t have evil thoughts themselves, the Snake Shaman wouldn’t have lost her life no matter what. Blame them for being so easily deceived. Blame that woman for setting such a ‘fair trade’ rule.”
“When people’s desires are satisfied, they can indeed uphold ‘fairness’. But when their desires are unmet, ‘fairness’ becomes a joke.”
“Even so, the people of Wufan City couldn’t have killed the Snake Shaman,” Gu Baiying pointed out.
The Snake Shaman, being capable of driving away demons and wild beasts, couldn’t have had shallow cultivation. Such a person dying at the hands of defenseless civilians seemed impossible.
“Normally, that would be true. However, after every ‘trade’, the Snake Shaman would become very weak. The people I chose took turns trading with her. After a few rounds, she was utterly exhausted. At that point, if someone made a move,” she spread her hands, “killing a Snake Shaman wasn’t that difficult.”
She said it so casually, even though the story sounded absurd.
“I always found it strange. I’ve heard that the Snake Shaman Clan can communicate between the heavens and the underworld. As long as they possess her snake staff, they can see all the secrets of the world. She made so many trades with people, didn’t she ever foresee her own end? Didn’t she know that the final trade would cost her life?”
As the Mirage Woman spoke, her expression became curious, as if this had been a longstanding puzzle for her.
There was a moment of silence in the chamber. After a while, Gu Baiying’s gaze fell on the snake staff in her hand. “Did you steal her spiritual weapon?”
“How can you say ‘steal’?” The Mirage Woman glanced at him reproachfully. “Mere mortals can’t wield spiritual weapons. Even if they took it, it was useless to them. It was better to give it to me. But I didn’t treat them unfairly. I created an illusion for each of them where they could have everything they desired.”
Gu Baiying asked, “Are the people of Wufan City all dead?”
“Rather than saying they’re dead, it’s more accurate to say they’ve lived forever in my illusion.” The Mirage Woman smiled lightly. “As long as they wish, they can have everything they could never touch in reality.”
“I see.” Gu Baiying looked up. “This is all your illusion. That dilapidated city gate is the true appearance of Wufan City.”
“The truth is never beautiful,” the Mirage Woman smiled slightly. “That’s why so many people would rather hide in an illusory dream. Like that little girl.”
“Xu Douniang?”
“That little girl is quite pitiful,” the Mirage Woman sighed, showing a look of regret. “Her gambler father couldn’t pay off his debts and sold his daughter to traffickers, leaving her to wander far from home.” She paused. “Xu Douniang probably didn’t want others to know all this, so she imagined a loving father in her mind and concocted a tragic story. After telling it for so long, even she believed it.”
“But fortunately, she came to Wufan City, and I discovered her secret. Knowing that this poor child’s only wish was to reunite with her father, I decided to help her.” The Mirage Woman laughed. “Look, now she has a loving father, and they are happy together. Isn’t that perfect?”
Gu Baiying coldly said, “That’s nothing but your lie.”
The kinship and completeness that can only be obtained in an illusion seem even more pathetic.
“Lies are meant to comfort, just as you did just now. Although you saw through my illusion, didn’t you indulge in it for a moment?”
Upon hearing this, the boy’s face turned cold and stern. The silver spear thrust forward like a dragon.
But the spear hit nothing.
The woman’s seductive voice whispered in his ear, “I told you, this is my illusion. In my illusion, I am the one who controls everything, not you.”
She teasingly twirled a strand of Gu Baiying’s long hair around her finger, her beautiful face seeming to captivate one’s soul. “Why struggle in vain?”
Gu Baiying pointed his spear at her. “Where are the others?”
She was forced to step back a few paces, looking at her palm reluctantly, and snorted, “Where else could they be? Naturally, they’re all in my illusion.”
Gu Baiying’s grip on the spear tightened.
“Everyone has weaknesses. Fear and desire, greed and ambition. As long as you grasp these, weave an illusion for them, and they’ll be forever entranced.”
The blue snake totem on the Mirage Woman’s ankle glowed, like a captivating allure, her voice soft, “That boy with the broken knife, all he wants is to become stronger to protect his sister. That woman with the sword only thinks about how to shoulder the responsibilities of her sect. The burly man is greedy, and the little boy is cowardly. And that ugly girl,” she sneered, “her mental strength is so weak she couldn’t even see through my initial illusion, completely worthless.”
“Tell me,” she taunted, looking at Gu Baiying, “what can a few people like that change?”
Just as she finished speaking, the flames in the dark corridor flickered. From the entrance of the chamber, a woman’s calm voice echoed.
“Who are you calling worthless?”