As Lynelle conversed with Evernight, Fu Xuan and March had already successfully cleared away all the distorted elements within this space—they'd practically cleaned house.
After all, in March's current memory space, almost everyone she met would say something like, 'You must look toward the future, don't dwell on the past anymore.' The atmosphere had grown downright eerie.
"Once all the distorted elements were cleared, this appeared in your memory space…"
Fu Xuan glanced at the strange device that had suddenly materialized, then turned to the trio nearby.
"Do you have any idea what this is?"
"If I remember correctly, isn't this the automated service terminal at the front desk of the Express' guest rooms?"
March scratched her head. "Is the Xianzhou planning to start a car wash business?"
"Is it possible the Xianzhou already has one…?" Fu Xuan pondered for a moment.
"I understand now. This is likely a memory from before you arrived at the Xianzhou this time… We are traveling backward along the timeline of your memories, and the endpoint will be the starting point of your current recollections."
"After that, the Matrix of Prescience should begin calculating your past."
"Wow, so we even get a life-flashback segment?"
"Don't say such ominous things. I've only served as acting general for a short while—I've no intention of meeting an early demise just yet."
With that, Fu Xuan stepped forward proactively.
"Generally, the scenes recorded in these memory spaces are past experiences deeply etched into your being—moments you remember vividly. Come on, let's see what kind of distortion awaits us this time."
As Fu Xuan touched the service terminal, the surrounding scene instantly transformed.
The bustling Exalting Sanctum vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by the quiet, late-night atmosphere of the Express' guest corridors. The air grew still and hushed.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Fu Xuan and March, the March from the memory gently opened her door, peeked toward the rooms of Stelle and Himeko next door, and tiptoed off in a specific direction.
"Ah, darn it, why does it have to be this part…"
March's expression abruptly shifted to one of embarrassment.
If she recalled correctly, this was the night she first learned about the existence of her other personality—when she sought comfort from Lynelle in the dead of night.
But she had just told Fu Xuan that it was unlikely there was another access point on her end…
"What's wrong, March?" Fu Xuan quickly noticed March's odd expression and seemed to understand, a look of realization dawning on her face.
"I see… memories you'd rather I not see, right?"
"W-well, it's just…"
"It's fine. I'm much older than you, and my life experiences are more complex than you might imagine. Given the lifespan of a Xianzhou native, there's hardly anything I haven't encountered."
Fu Xuan waved a hand dismissively.
"You've already become quite adept at handling distorted memories earlier, so why don't you assess this segment yourself? I'll head ahead to the next memory node and wait for you."
"However, if there's any danger, don't let shame hold you back—just call for me, and I'll come to your aid."
"Mhm…" March looked at the faint, knowing smile on Fu Xuan's face and felt her embarrassment grow.
"I have a feeling you've misunderstood something, Master Diviner. Lynelle and I aren't in that kind of relationship…"
"Is that so? But you two seem quite close. And if I recall correctly, someone was worriedly asking me several times earlier whether Lynelle would be alright."
Fu Xuan shrugged, then opened a pink-hued portal with a wave of her hand, her figure vanishing from sight. "Try not to linger too long, alright?"
"Hey, Master Diviner, you… oh, never mind."
March sighed. She couldn't shake the feeling that her reputation in Fu Xuan's eyes had taken a strange turn. But since things had come to this, explanations seemed futile.
March hurriedly followed her memory-self into Lynelle's room.
Although this was her memory, and in theory she could have "skipped the scene," March felt it was necessary to review the details about "the other self" at a time like this.
After all… what if her memory issues really were that girl's doing?
"Gulp… thank goodness Fu Xuan didn't follow March into this memory…"
On the other side, as soon as she saw the familiar guest room, Lynelle covered her face with her hands.
Compared to the oblivious March, Lynelle's impression of this place was etched far more deeply—it was where she and Evernight had their first direct conversation.
Back then, thinking Evernight wouldn't dare do anything too outrageous using March's body, Lynelle had decisively and mercilessly teased her.
What she hadn't expected was that she'd already raised March's affection to such a high level that after teasing Evernight, the flustered Evernight had effortlessly turned the tables, pinning her down without a hint of guilt.
The night that followed had been… rather "strenuous"—after all, Evernight had more than just her fingers; she also had quite a few agile Memosprite Jellyfish to "lend a hand."
At the thought, Lynelle couldn't help stealing a glance at Evernight beside her, curious whether the girl would respond with embarrassment or shyness to these scarlet-hued memories.
But as her gaze shifted, Lynelle was surprised to find that the only thing she could read on Evernight's face was…
Cold sweat beading down?!
"Are… are you alright?"
Hearing Lynelle's voice, Evernight maintained her elegant smile but turned her head with an audible creak, radiating a nervousness anyone could see.
"Sorry, Lynelle… I seem to have… forgotten to block out this memory."
Now there were two people sweating bullets.
"Y-you mean…" Lynelle watched as the memory-March from that night was nearing the end of her conversation and gasped.
"This memory… can we use a free preview to check out the paid portion of the later segment?"
"Shouldn't this be your memory?"
Evernight silently averted her eyes.
"But I am also 'March 7th'… Besides, I was using her body at the time…"
"C-can we interrupt it?"
"I'm trying my best…"
Meanwhile, on the other side, March let out a long sigh of relief as she saw her memory-self and Lynelle wrapping up their conversation.
Thank goodness, this memory didn't show any signs of distortion… Is it because Lynelle's mental strength is too formidable for this distortion phenomenon to affect her?
Just as March was about to leave this memory, she paused—the memory-self showed no intention of departing.
"Why is the memory still going? Could it be… distortion?"
March hurried back, approaching Lynelle's bedside while readying her bow.
Based on her earlier experiences, she just needed to shoot them down one by one with her arrows whenever these two started urging her not to dwell on the past.
But then, something bizarre happened.
"Hiss— Wait, wh-what's going on here?"
March gasped sharply, astonished to see her memory-self not getting up to leave, but instead rolling over and straddling Lynelle in an intimately close position?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.