Bai Ming was the sort of person who couldn't stand cryptic talk.
So she reached out, snagging Elio by the scruff of his destined little neck.
She hoisted the black cat up into the air:
"Still speaking in riddles at a time like this, are we?"
But Elio had no intention of spilling the beans. Instead, he crossed his paws over his chest, his tail curling around 'Jingliu's' wrist as he stated:
"Even if you put it like that, I have my principles. If I tell you, I'll have to rewrite the script last-minute, and there just isn't time."
As if writing a script didn't take any effort at all!
She wouldn't even join the Stellaron Hunters, yet she wanted a peek at the script? What if she read it, clapped her hands and decided she wanted no part of it?
He'd be stuck painstakingly revising the whole thing—what kind of deal was that!
"Besides, given Jingliu's current state, it would be very difficult to make her memorize a new script."
So the woman and the cat sat there, staring each other down. The stalemate dragged on for a good while, but it was clear Elio wasn't going to budge.
'Jingliu' had no choice but to give up. She gave the cat's head a firm, rough scritch, then released the scruff of his neck:
"Fine. I'll trust you this once."
"Meow~"
Elio, now on the ground, gave himself an elegant shake, even letting out a soft mew.
Then he shoved that seashell-like object into 'Jingliu's' hand.
"This is for you."
"What's that supposed to mean? That I'll be the one to resolve Jingliu's Mara this time?"
"Meow~"
This time, Elio fell silent again.
He stretched lazily right where he stood, then trotted off without a backward glance.
Jingliu was still leaning against her chest, not yet recovered.
Meanwhile, 'Jingliu' studied the conch, brimming with Harmony power, then looked back at Jingliu.
She began the Harmony.
Even though she'd inherited roughly half of Ruan Mei's talents, whether that would be enough to cure the Mara-struck state was anyone's guess.
After all, when it came to intellect... halving it didn't just mean a fifty percent drop in actual capability—the gap was far wider.
And Jingliu's particular brand of Mara was different from the others.
Her mind had grown frenzied, aggressive, yet her body showed no outward changes at all.
If she had drawn Lingsha's or any Vidyadhara character card, she could have simply taken her own marrow to effect a cure.
A character card reset after all once its energy was replenished.
But now, she herself was also Jingliu—so that option was off the table.
She'd have to assess the situation first, then make a plan.
As she attempted to use Harmony to understand the circumstances, 'Jingliu' was also pondering Elio's motives.
What was he trying to achieve?
In the original storyline, every one of his actions, however baffling they seemed, served a clear, strong purpose.
This time, calling her over so directly…
Meant something was probably about to happen.
But as for what exactly that might be, there was truly no guessing.
Best to focus on the present.
While Jingliu was still unconscious, she needed to quickly diagnose the problem.
First, that Symphony from the Family. It seemed to be a special type, relying on Harmony to soothe Jingliu's murderous emotions.
Probably not the kind the Family used regularly. Because the more 'Jingliu' examined it, the more something felt off.
While this Movement was calming the bloodlust, it was also continuously reinforcing an emotional anchor.
And as luck would have it, that anchor was Bai Ming.
A single Harmonious construct couldn't perfectly resolve the Mara-struck condition.
Unless Jingliu joined the Family, allowed herself to be assimilated, then it might be suppressed.
But considering there were also types of Mara where consciousness turns void and triggers the affliction…
In short, to make this construct effective long-term, the Family had added a little twist.
The Movement, while soothing, would also guide Jingliu to anchor herself to a specific impression.
However, Jingliu had used Bai Ming as her pretext to leave, and had been consciously or subconsciously avoiding the memories of what happened back then.
This resulted in Jingliu, having avoided those memories, having her deepest impressions completely overwritten by scenes of 'Bai Ming' subduing Shuhu.
And these impressions, reinforced repeatedly through use of the Movement, grew ever more entrenched in Jingliu's mind.
Until they warped into the distorted state she was in now.
The good news: Jingliu's Mara was indeed suppressed. On ordinary days, aside from being a bit aloof, she was no different from anyone else, and could even fight normally.
The bad news: if the subject of Bai Ming came up, it would instantly ignite Jingliu's madness.
If it was just false information, venting her feelings and then using the Movement afterward would be quite fitting.
But now, Bai Ming had truly appeared.
The moment Jingliu encountered anything related to Bai Ming, she would explode. Yet the person she was searching for was Bai Ming—she couldn't just keep avoiding the topic, letting her search endlessly.
If, in the early stages, a follower of Harmony had been the one applying the Movement, then perhaps adjustments could have been made in time.
But unfortunately, in the beginning Jingliu used it herself, and later, Elio was the one helping out.
Neither understood Harmony.
Neither could make corrections.
So it festered into its current state.
"…"
After comprehending the situation, 'Jingliu' fell into a long silence.
The person she was looking for had been found, yet the seeker herself couldn't meet her object of search normally.
It was all a bit too cruel.
She lifted a hand, stroking Jingliu's head.
She began trying to use Harmony to strip away the overly intense impressions related to herself.
At the same time, she started analyzing Jingliu's condition.
She didn't know if her current abilities were enough to resolve the issue plaguing Jingliu.
But even if she couldn't manage it alone, she could still rely on Ruan Mei and Big Herta.
Besides, if she could temporarily remove those obsessive impressions of herself, then when Jingliu woke and saw her again, she wouldn't be so frenzied.
However, dismantling impressions built up over centuries proved far more difficult than 'Jingliu' had anticipated.
Of course, it might also be that her own skill was insufficient.
And whenever she tried to erase the impressions of herself, Jingliu's consciousness put up fierce resistance.
She hadn't managed to remove much at all when Jingliu's eyes snapped open. She stared fixedly at 'Jingliu,' her deranged eyes holding a sliver of entreaty:
"Stop it—!!"
Boom—!!
Frost erupted outwards with Jingliu at its center.
Sword in hand, she lunged at 'Jingliu' with thunderous force.
"I can feel it, I can feel it! Bai Ming, it's you!! But why are you trying to erase my feelings for you?! Are you going to abandon me again?!"
Jingliu screamed, launching herself into the air.
A tempest of sword energy swept toward 'Jingliu.'
The Harmony wasn't finished.
Or rather, Jingliu was unwilling to let it end, even though she knew the other was trying to scour away her impressions of Bai Ming.
Yet she made no move to break free from the Harmony.
She only resisted, endlessly, refusing relentlessly.
'Jingliu' darted upward, evading Jingliu's frenzied assault.
She also wanted to move the battlefield higher up, lest their fight end up tearing the planet apart.
And Jingliu, predictably, followed.
Sword-light bloomed wildly, like a storm.
'Jingliu's' blade was more restrained, steadily and solidly parrying every strike.
All the while, she kept part of her focus on modulating Jingliu.
Their battle raged for quite some time. And gradually, the battlefield shifted from the high altitudes to beyond the atmosphere.
Boom—!!
A soundless detonation, accompanied by a flash of sword-light refined to its absolute limit!
A strike somewhat reminiscent of Acheron's blade.
Power condensed to an extreme, overlaying a second strike atop the first in an instant, multiplying its force through pure, brutal violence.
'Jingliu' flickered aside, evading.
But at that moment, a streak of blue light and a red orb of energy, tangled together, came streaking from the depths of space.
They closed the distance almost instantly, reacting to the sudden sword-light.
However, a Stellaron emerged from the void, almost perfectly timed to collide with the blue streak.
The Stellaron's power disrupted its trajectory for a crucial instant.
And then—
The ferocious sword-light struck the blue target dead center!
The figure within twitched violently, his legs seizing up, and he plummeted headlong toward a nearby satellite.
Meanwhile, the red orb drifted placidly into 'Jingliu's' field of Harmony.
Amid the dazzling radiance, a gentle voice sounded by her ear:
"Mother?! Be careful, that person is a cosmic fiend—Dr. Primitive!"
--+--