Chương 254: Starfrost's Comfort, Mirror Lord's Scheme

Xing Shuang gazed tenderly at the girl before her, who was trying hard to remain composed despite her inner pain. Her deep purple eyes were filled with heartache and affection that seemed to overflow.

She knew the girl in her arms all too well.

In her past life, she would never hurt anyone, let alone do so. Even when buying a live fish at the market, she would be so frightened by the sight of the vendor cutting it that she would close her eyes tightly and tremble behind him.

And this seemingly foolish girl, who would feel uncomfortable even at the sight of blood, just now, in order to protect her companions, forcibly suppressed her inner fear and reluctance, and did that kind of thing— Even though she had long been accustomed to all kinds of storms, she was genuinely surprised and shocked when she learned about this.

Xing Shuang could deeply sense that Yin Xue was extremely saddened at this moment. The guilt and pain of hurting "humanity" were like invisible thorns tightly binding her heart, causing her to suffer in silence.

Even so, she still didn't want to know these things, and didn't want to cause any extra trouble for herself as a "senior"—what a complete fool.

Whether as a senior or as a lover.

No matter what happens, comforting her, being understanding, and encouraging her—these should all be my responsibilities.

Thinking of this, Xing Shuang's gaze softened even more.

She gently pulled Yin Xue into her arms with one hand, letting her lean against her body securely, while with the other hand she continued to stroke the other's smooth, emerald-green hair with even more careful movements.

At the same time, she brought her lips close to Yin Xue's ear and whispered, "Yin Xue, you've done a great job. If it weren't for your brave actions, Xiao Li would have been in great danger."

Hearing his senior's heartfelt praise, Yin Xue's face did not show the smug expression he usually did; instead, his expression became even more gloomy.

She seemed to snap out of her initial reverie of being caressed by Xingshuang, her body stiffening slightly as she instinctively tried to break free from his embrace.

It was Xing Shuang who sensed her intention and tightened her embrace beforehand, preventing her from succeeding.

Seeing that she had failed, Yin Xue didn't struggle any further. She simply lowered her head slightly and said in a muffled voice, "But, just thinking about what I did still makes me feel terrible—being pierced through their bodies and limbs by my vines, they—must have been in so much pain, right?"

"well----" Xingshuang sighed softly to herself.

Why didn't this kind yet awkward girl realize it?

Under those circumstances, she had done the best within her capabilities, neither harming Ruri nor truly killing those humans who still had a chance to be saved.

Even when she was in the Shadowless Realm, she wasn't confident she could handle the complex situation, where she had to consider multiple factors, better than her.

In his current form, before he can gain a deeper understanding of the "laws" and unleash the complete form of the "Star Strings," he can only temporarily bind them using a method similar to the Star Strings self-created technique.

Xing Shuang suddenly stopped stroking Yin Xue's head, and instead cupped the other's pretty face, which was filled with disappointment, in her hands, forcing her to look at her.

Then, she gazed intently into Yin Xue's emerald green eyes, which were slightly dimmed by confusion and self-blame, and said, word by word, "I know you must be very sad right now, but the reason you are in so much pain is not because you are weak, not because you can't accept hurting others, on the contrary, it is precisely because—you are too kind."

"In my opinion, your previous choice was remarkable, and—the way you handled it was the best you could have done."

"In that critical situation, when Xiaoli and Xingxian were still hesitating, you were the first to step forward and make the most difficult, but also the most correct, decision."

"You are not hurting," but protecting.

"Without your decisive action, Xiaoli, our important companion, would have been injured; and many more innocent ordinary people might have been harmed by those monsters that have lost their minds."

"If you make even the slightest mistake in using your abilities, a human who has transformed into a beast will die completely as a result."

"In that case, I won't even have the chance to try to heal them, so—you really don't need to worry about those things anymore, okay?"

"----Um."

Yin Xue's complexion improved slightly, but her tone remained sullen. Even with Xing Shuang forcibly cupping her face, she kept her eyes down, unwilling to look at the other person.

"Still not working? —" Xing Shuang took a deep breath and decided to try a different approach.

"If—if we really have to hold someone accountable for this," her tone suddenly turned serious, "then it's my fault."

"It is because I did not make adequate preparations in advance that you were forced to face the enemy in haste; it is because I failed to protect you, my juniors, that you had to face such a cruel choice."

"If I were powerful enough to solve all problems instantly, you wouldn't be so upset now, would you?"

"No—that's not how it is!"

Upon hearing that Xing Shuang had taken all the blame upon herself, Yin Xue finally reacted with unprecedented intensity.

She abruptly raised her head, looking at the other person with some urgency, and loudly retorted, "Senior, what are you saying?! How could this be your fault?! It has absolutely nothing to do with you! It's me—it's myself—"

"If it has nothing to do with me—" Xing Shuang suddenly interrupted Yin Xue with a more intense tone than the other, "then what does this have to do with you? Aren't we comrades?"

"Huh? This—this is clearly different—" Xing Shuang's sudden firm attitude surprised Yin Xue, who could only stammer.

Xing Shuang hugged Yin Xue tightly again, her voice suddenly becoming incredibly gentle: "What I mean is, we are a whole, inseparable partners. We all worry about our companions, and we all encounter different difficulties because of our own shortcomings."

"If you feel guilty for being forced to make that choice back then, then shouldn't I also feel guilty for not being able to protect you all sooner?"

"But----" Yin Xue was tightly embraced by Xing Shuang's petite and soft body, and was so immersed in the reassuring gentleness and care that she gradually gave up thinking.

But her remaining rationality told her that the other person's logic—didn't seem quite right? Something seemed off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it— However, before she could even sort out her thoughts, Xing Shuang directly used her final "trump card".

"It's okay if you feel sad, but don't keep those negative emotions bottled up inside. Try to release them."

"I'm right here, and I'll always comfort you, so—Yinxue, please be a little more honest—rely on me a little more, okay?"

"Waaaaahh...

"Senior Xing Shuang————" Xing Shuang's last words, filled with boundless tenderness and tolerance, were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely shattering the fragile defenses that Yin Xue had built with bravado and pretense.

Her shoulders, which had been unconsciously tense, suddenly trembled and then collapsed instantly. Her eyes reddened rapidly and became covered with a layer of glistening mist.

Immediately, she turned around and hugged Xing Shuang tightly, burying her face deeply in her soft embrace with an extremely dependent posture, and began to sob intermittently.

"It's okay, it's all in the past—I'm right here." Xing Shuang gently stroked Yin Xue's trembling back, responding to her again and again in the gentlest voice.

Under her constant and gentle comfort, Yin Xue finally gave up all her repression and pretense, and cried loudly in Xing Shuang's arms like a child who had suffered a great injustice.

Xingxian and Liuli exchanged a glance and smiled happily. Their eyes were filled with undisguised relief and—a hint of barely perceptible envy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in that luxurious room that had once again become a mess.

Jingjue slammed the last exquisitely crafted antique vase in his hand against the wall with a loud, ear-piercing crash, sending shards flying everywhere.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!"

This time, just as he expected, that damned Jiying didn't interfere, but he was defeated by the magical girl once again!

And it was that woman—that woman who should have died long ago!

One star of frost!

Why her? Why is she here? Wasn't she already—

"No, I can't be wrong!" Jingjue gasped for breath, his eyes bloodshot, his expression crazed.

"Star Strings" was a unique ability belonging to that woman; no one else could imitate it! And in the end, she herself—admitted it!"

She's back?!

The thought of his mirror image being completely destroyed by the magic beam at the last moment, and the unpleasant feeling of being bound by the "Star String" again after so long, as if his soul was about to be frozen, made Mirror Lord tremble uncontrollably.

He had almost forgotten the feeling of being on the verge of death—even the incredibly powerful Ji Ying hadn't made him feel that way before!

Thanks to that woman and that damned Lonely Shadow, I have suffered a huge loss once again!

The two strongest mirror clones, the four newly created crescent moon mirror images, and the pets I've been carefully raising—all gone!

And also— Jingjue shifted his gaze to the erosion-level erosion species in the corner of the room—which had shrunk back to the size of an ordinary house cat and was curled up motionless on the carpet.

Although the terrifying hole in its body had disappeared, the Eclipse Species was clearly not in a good state, and the aura of ethereal energy emanating from its body was becoming weaker and weaker.

"—And I can't forget the losses that damned inspector caused me."

Even if this useless thing eventually recovers successfully, its talent and potential will never return to their previous level, let alone be promoted to the lord level.

"Damn it!!" Jingjue erupted again, smashing the mahogany coffee table in front of him to pieces with a single punch, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

Although today's losses are not as great as losing the meticulously arranged mirror maze and the strongest mirror clone yesterday, they are still painful for him.

"But—that's not quite right either." Jingjue slowly withdrew his hand, suppressing his displeasure as he carefully recalled the scene of the previous battle.

If it really is Xingshuang, why did she appear so weak? Although I was at a disadvantage in the previous battles, it was definitely not a crushing defeat.

And—why has she never shown herself before? If she had stayed in this city all along, she should have discovered my plans and secret arrangements long ago.

More importantly, the news of this woman's death was personally conveyed to me by that person. That person had no reason to lie to me, did he?

Thinking of the other party's unusually petite body and that delicate yet completely different youthful face from his memory, Jingjue gradually came to a guess: Xing Shuang had escaped from that person's hands through some unknown means, but in doing so, she lost a considerable amount of her power!

The inhuman eyes beneath the Mirror Duke's mask narrowed slightly. He slowly raised his hand, and a black mirror floating beside him suddenly lit up.

Immediately afterwards, a "Xingshuang" with the exact same figure, appearance, and clothing as the original gradually emerged from it, and then, under Jingjue's control, slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were the same deep purple as her, but they lacked any of the spirit she possessed. Coupled with her blank expression, she looked like a lifeless, exquisite doll.

Jingjue propped his head up with one hand, leaning lazily against the velvet sofa. Looking at "Xingshuang" in front of him, he had a slight thought, and the other person walked to his side and bowed slightly, adopting the appearance of a submissive servant.

"Last time we got her blood, this time it 'reflected' her image —"

"Hehe—all the conditions for creating a mirror image have been met, so at least my initial goal has been achieved."

"but----" Jingjue waved slightly, commanding Xingshuang Jingxiang to slowly walk up to him.

He reached out and gently pinched the other's soft, smooth cheek, gazing at them with a touch of intoxication, then said with a hint of regret, "If only the real you could be this submissive to me—" Without one's own soul, one cannot use that unique and exclusive spell. Such a mirror image is at best equivalent to a Stardust-level being with a relatively large amount of magic power.

"Moreover, that useless Corruptor was also seriously injured. Even if I created that woman's mirror image, I couldn't implement the next step of the plan as I had intended."

"Damn it."

Thinking about this, Jingjue became somewhat irritated again.

Just then, he seemed to sense something, took out a small communication mirror from his pocket, and asked impatiently into the mirror, "What is it? Don't you know I'm in a bad mood?!"

On the other side of the mirror is a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat and gold-rimmed glasses, while the background appears to be a high-tech, silver-white laboratory.

Hearing Jingjue's tone, the middle-aged man said somewhat fearfully, "Yes—yes, Lord Jingjue, the experiment we've been trying—after using the new materials you provided last time—has made new progress!"

"What did you say?"

Jingjue's tone suddenly became incredibly excited and enthusiastic.