After a short interlude consisting of only bickering between Chou and Li Meirong, the pitcher plant spirit grabbed the pixie from Zhu Zhi's claws and hurled her right into Senior Wei's face. Luckily, the senior managed to catch Lucidity right before she was almost splattered across his nose.

Chou spread his hands wide and said to Li Meirong, "There we go; is Master happy now?"

Shaking her head in wordless disbelief, Li Meirong shoved Chou and Zhu Zhi back into her dimension before they could cause any more problems.

'I'll deal with him later…' she thought tiredly. There were much more pressing matters to attend to at this moment.

Senior Wei rose to his knees, cradling his pixie in his cupped hands as if she were the most precious little being in the entire world. His eyes were reddened with tears as he offered his apologies to his familiar.

"I should have never risked your life in such a way…" he muttered to her woefully. "I never would have dreamt that a brainless red animal such as that would come and attack you."

"Master Wei…" Lucidity called his name softly as she wrapped her tiny arms around his pinky, wincing slightly in pain as she manoeuvred herself to embrace his littlest finger.

Senior Wei choked back a sob; he was in anguish at seeing his familiar suffer so. Truly, it was a most heartbreaking scene.

"Master Wei," Lucidity repeated, her voice feeble, "Allow me to speak to the lady."

Senior Wei was very clearly hesitant. After having his familiar tortured so ruthlessly by that red creature, the last thing he wanted to do at this moment was let Lucidity anywhere near Li Meirong or any of her entourage.

The pixie smiled meekly up at him and hugged his finger tighter in an attempt at reassurance despite the pain the movement caused her.

"My life was spared by her kindness, Master, and if there is one thing pixies hate, it is to owe a debt. Allow me the honour to repay her the same grace she has given to me."

~~~~~~~~~~~

At the distance which she stood from Senior Wei, Li Meirong could just barely make out the senior cultivator's conversation with his pixie familiar. She did not have the patience to stick around and observe their tearful reunion, however, and turned to head towards the exit with Snowball by her side. The little fox spirit was being unusually quiet as he trotted along at her side.

"Junior Sister!" Li Meirong heard Senior Wei's voice calling out to her as he chased after her, but after all she had been put through at the hands of his familiar, she had no intention of listening to him. "Junior Sister, please!" She ignored him and strode forward, in a hurry to leave and avoid being in his presence.

For some reason she felt compelled to meet with Zhu Qingyue as soon as possible, if only to set her own mind at ease by dispelling the horrendous images that had been concocted by the illusion. She wished to be reassured that it was nothing more than a figment of her own unduly influenced imagination.

Senior Wei followed close behind Li Meirong until they had both reached the exit of the stage. As he came closer and closer, she could increasingly discern the pixie's feeble voice calling out to her from the palm of his hand.

"Lady Meirong, I have information concerning your safety," Lucidity said seriously. "Please allow me to repay you for sparing my life."

Li Meirong kept walking, pretending not to hear.

"It is about what you saw when I placed you under my illusion spell."

This time the pixie's words stopped Li Meirong dead in her tracks. The spell she had been put under did bother her greatly; it bothered her so greatly that she couldn't stop thinking about it. She turned towards the pixie with a mask of feigned calmness, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

"What is it you wish to tell me?" she asked.

Lucidity glanced at Snowball and then glanced sideways, looking away. "We need to speak of it in privacy."

"Out of the question," Snowball growled immediately.

Li Meirong had hoped she would not need to argue with two of her spirit companions in a single day, but it appeared her hope was in vain and had just been ruthlessly crushed.

She smiled at hearing Snowball's words, having expected exactly the response he gave, and with a careful touch she caressed the top of his head. Her fingers acted as a gentle brush while slowly cascading down and massaging the back of his neck.

"Do you think it right that I should be arguing with my bonded spirits about every single decision I make?" she asked Snowball. Her tone, unlike her touch, was far from gentle. She sounded calm, yes, but there was a warning in her tone.

Snowball opened his mouth to retort, but then narrowed his eyes as if he thought better of it. He mumbled something incomprehensible about punishing wives who disrespect their husbands and then trailed off in discontent, his tail swishing left and right in agitation. In the end, he conceded.

"Do not take too long, or I will come back, and I will drag you away if I have to," he announced without so much as a single glance back at Li Meirong, and then jumped down from the edge of the platform.

'How does this grumpy little fox manage to sound so domineering even when following orders?' Li Meirong balled her hand into fists as she thought to herself in frustration. She had to concede that she had a serious hierarchy issue she needed to settle sooner rather than later.

Senior Wei passed Lucidity into Li Meirong's hands and backed away to a corner, allowing them the privacy the pixie had requested.

Alone at last with the little spirit, Li Meirong cupped Lucidity in her palms and gazed at her quizzically.

"I'm still waiting for an explanation," she prompted. Lucidity's blonde curls covered her face and concealed her features. Small as she was, that little bit of cover was enough to make it almost impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Several breaths passed in silence before the pixie spoke again.

"My power is sought by many," she murmured, "and not only because it can ensorcell mortals and lure them to their deaths. It is also sought after because I do not solely invent the illusions I create."

"Do you project a person's worst nightmares with your illusions?" This was what Li Meirong had first assumed the pixie's power did.

"Not exactly." Lucidity slowly shook her head, blond curls bobbing. Her insect-like wings swayed and fluttered behind her back.

"Then what do you mean?" Li Meirong asked. Her skin paled considerably. She didn't know why, but she was dreading the pixie's answer. 'It was an illusion, that's all. It can't be real…'

As if she had suddenly made up her mind to speak openly and clearly, the pixie neatly tucked her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath as she stared up at Li Meirong in trepidation.

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Preview of chapter 369

"You must understand," Lucidity whispered, "that I have been a witness to many awful illusions and am not fully responsible for what might occur when one is placed under my spell. However, I can tell that what you saw, what you went through, was most gruesome." She hesitated again, rubbing her arms nervously. "Which is why I must confess the truth to you, since you have been so generous towards me. My illusions are a mix of possible future events. You could even consider it a premonition of sorts; one you should take heed of."

"No," Li Meirong whispered, goosebumps crawling over her skin. "No, you're lying," she protested vehemently. She refused to believe the pixie's words.

At Li Meirong's response, the pixie's worried eyes turned cold and hard, and she shook her fist at Li Meirong in a manner that suggested she had just been offended most grievously.

"Foolish girl!" Lucidity chastised. "Pixies cannot tell lies!"