The Dragon Mother transformed into Wen Nianshen's appearance and said gingerly, "Will this do for Miss Shen? Then what do I need to do?"
"You can first think of a reason, so that when you go to the station, you won't be at a loss for words when questioned about why you killed someone and framed Wen Nianshen for it." A-Xin said coolly and indifferently, "That won't be too hard for you, will it?"
"Not hard, not hard..." The Dragon Mother's heart was bitter. How could she have known she'd be discovered by this one? Had she known earlier that this one was here, and that Wen Nianshen was someone under the other's protection, she absolutely would never have dared harbor any little schemes.
It really was strange, too. In all the heavens, she'd never heard that Kong Ling knew this person. Had she known the two were connected, no matter what, she'd never have dared set her sights on Kong Ling's divine power and bloodline. If there was anyone to blame, it was still that little demoness who'd seduced her son—without her, there wouldn't have been all this trouble. Once the tribulation ended, she would definitely beat that little demoness back to her original form, flay her skin, and destroy her soul.
"It's two in the morning now. You'll go turn yourself in at the station at daybreak. You can find your way to the station, can't you?"
The Dragon Mother nodded hastily, indicating she could find it. She didn't dare play tricks—she'd secretly sensed it just now: this entire world was shrouded by the other's power, and no one could help her. To go back, she first had to turn herself in, admit she was a murderer, and even accept being executed by firing squad. If word of such a thing reached those people in the heavens, who knew how they'd mock her.
But she could no longer afford to care. The other party wasn't joking; if she didn't do as told, the other would surely destroy the world's will, make the small world replay, and her son's trial would fail then and there—his cultivation gravely damaged, beyond her ability to protect. Considering that the agreed-upon trial worlds were nearly at an end, she couldn't very well take a huge loss here.
"Rest assured, Miss Shen, I will certainly go." The Dragon Mother was unwilling at heart, but had no choice but to comply.
Over the course of several hours, the Dragon Mother thought up a few reasons that sounded fairly convincing. The moment day broke, she went to the station to turn herself in. Even with A-Xin not following beside her, she played no little tricks, obediently wearing Wen Nianshen's face as she went to the station.
Of course, along the way, she was seen by quite a few people. Some, out of curiosity, even took photos.
The reason these people didn't go up and stop her was, first, that she looked hard to deal with; second, that Wen Nianshen was currently in the detention center, so this person couldn't be Wen Nianshen; and third, that it was early morning, everyone had work to get to and was busy—who had nothing better to do than chase after someone who merely looked like Wen Nianshen? At most, they pulled out their phones and snapped a picture.
Pan Er had received A-Xin's call at three that morning, telling him to bring people to stake out the station entrance in the morning—ideally to bring a few reporters—saying it was guaranteed to yield something. At first Pan Er didn't believe it; Wen Nianshen was still at the station, so what could possibly come of it? But trusting A-Xin's character, he had no choice but to wait patiently. When he saw the Dragon Mother walk into the station wearing Wen Nianshen's appearance, he nearly shouted out the three syllables "Wen Nianshen."
Luckily he came to his senses quickly and hurriedly covered his mouth. That woman really was identical to Wen Nianshen. But he was certain that woman was not Wen Nianshen—from the look in her eyes, he actually felt she was very much like the woman in that video the other day, the one who'd stabbed Yuan Ye to death. Pan Er's eyes went wide. So... so did that mean his Nianshen was saved? Director Ruan really was incredible. This person had come to turn herself in? Apart from turning herself in, he couldn't think of anything else—coming so brazenly wearing that face, there truly was no other explanation.
"Pan-ge, Nianshen-jie is saved."
Crouching beside Pan Er was a small, thin figure wearing an exceptionally ugly makeup job, unrecognized by anyone—it was, in fact, Su Wei.
Pan Er shot her a warning look, afraid Su Wei would blow her cover, and said in a low voice, "Take photos first, don't make a fuss. This person is most likely the real killer."
Su Wei nodded and pressed her hat down even lower. The truth was, she thought her current appearance was so ugly it looked like a ghost—who could possibly recognize her?
The reporters Pan Er had brought paid no attention to Su Wei at all. The instant the Dragon Mother appeared, by professional instinct, before their brains had even caught up, the cameras in their hands clicked off a burst of ten shots. After taking them, they had no time to be astonished—they swiftly sent the photos back, hoping to be the first to break this shocking piece of news.
Wen Nianshen was in the detention center; there was absolutely no way she could be let out. So what was the deal with this woman who'd suddenly appeared? And identical to Wen Nianshen, no less.
When this set of photos was made public, the masses of netizens were shocked.
"Isn't Wen Nianshen still in the detention center? She's a murderer—there's no way she'd be let out. And even if she escaped, there's no way she'd walk toward the station so openly, right?"
"Why do I feel like this whole thing is getting more and more fun? Obviously, these photos are either Photoshopped or real. If they're shopped, it's surely to divert attention. If they're real, do you know what that means?"
"Whatever it means, all I know is that Wen Nianshen's drama is especially tasty—never lets me down, always full of surprises."
"I don't think Wen Nianshen seems like the type to kill. She's a bit fierce in arguments, and especially arrogant, throwing her stinking money and good looks around like they'll never run out."
...
When this set of photos was verified as not Photoshopped, the masses of netizens stopped harping on Wen Nianshen being a murderer. Instead, they became extremely curious about this person who looked exactly like Wen Nianshen.
Before they could even make sense of it, news broke that Wen Nianshen had been acquitted and released.
Pan Er accordingly put out a statement, indicating that the killer of Yuan Ye was in fact someone else, a person identical in appearance to Wen Nianshen, which was what had led to Wen Nianshen's wrongful arrest. Now, that person, conscience-stricken, had turned herself in at the station—so Wen Nianshen was innocent.
Finally, the police released a statement saying the culprit had been apprehended and would be arraigned soon. In short: Wen Nianshen hadn't killed anyone, the killer had confessed, the evidence was conclusive—go do whatever you ought to be doing and stop dwelling on Wen Nianshen.
The masses of netizens were extremely curious about this person identical to Wen Nianshen. Still, they didn't dare go dig for information from the police.
The Yuan family had originally refused to let the Wen family off, bent on driving Wen Nianshen to her death, and had even joined hands with the Jing family to target the Wen family. After the killer was caught and it was confirmed that this person really had murdered Yuan Ye, they had no choice but to withdraw everything aimed at the Wen family.
The day Wen Nianshen was released, A-Xin went to pick her up.
She walked out of the detention center, saw A-Xin waiting outside, and strode quickly up to her, arms outstretched. "Director Ruan, won't you give me a hug, comfort me a little?" Before A-Xin could move, she went up and hugged A-Xin tightly, her smile brilliant, and said by A-Xin's ear, "I knew it—you'd surely have a way to get me out. Director Ruan, your abilities are truly something, far more impressive than I imagined."
"Director Ruan, I'm a little curious—who's that person in there, and how does she look exactly like me?" Wen Nianshen let go of A-Xin and asked.
A-Xin answered, "The killer."
Wen Nianshen rolled her eyes at A-Xin. "I know she's the killer. I'm just curious—why did she kill Yuan Ye to frame me? And don't tell me she really turned herself in of her own will. I saw the resentment at the bottom of her eyes—she most likely came because someone threatened her." The meaning on Wen Nianshen's face was clear: the person who'd threatened the killer into confessing was surely her wife. Only her wife had such ability.
"Director Ruan, is it inconvenient to say?" Wen Nianshen had long known her wife was no simple person. The truth was, deep down she still felt a certain panic. She could only reincarnate into world after world, yet couldn't precisely locate A-Xin. Every time, she had to wait for the other to come find her.
What if one day A-Xin stopped coming to find her? Then she'd be completely in the dark, unable to find her even if she wanted to. So she wanted to know where A-Xin came from, and who she was.
"Let's talk in the car."
After the two got in the car, A-Xin spoke. "She's the Dragon Mother." These were things she had no intention of hiding from Wen Nianshen, since she'd asked. It was no big deal—even if Wen Nianshen knew far more, she could still protect her.
"The Dragon Mother?" Wen Nianshen said in surprise. "The Dragon Mother of the dragon clan?" Seeing A-Xin nod, she was stunned. "So her current appearance is a transformation?"
"A transformation."
Wen Nianshen tilted her head and asked again, "Does she have a grudge against me?"
"She has no grudge against you, but your death benefits the Dragon Prince. Each time you die wronged, despairing, in grief and unwillingness, you lose divine power. The divine power you lose all gets absorbed by the Dragon Prince in the end." A-Xin spoke truthfully, concealing nothing. She was a little curious too—who Wen Nianshen originally was, and what relationship she had with her. She felt this answer was already very near.
Wen Nianshen froze. Divine power? She remembered that after she awakened her memories, her memory and strength would greatly increase. Could it be precisely because she had divine power shielding her body that it was so?
Apart from these worlds where A-Xin appeared, she'd actually been through many, many worlds before—some she could no longer remember clearly. But she could be sure that in these worlds without A-Xin, her ends had been wretched. There was always some reason or other for her to lose her original standing, and ultimately she either suffered a crushing defeat and died, or her family was ruined and her people scattered. What's more, her memories of these worlds were rather hazy, and each world was more wretched than the last—until A-Xin appeared, and only then did her endings take a turn for the better.
Wen Nianshen fell silent for a while, then asked, "Director Ruan, then who am I?"
"I don't know," A-Xin answered.
"Alright." Wen Nianshen pursed her lips. "I always feel that you ought to have known. You must have forgotten me—just like now, you always end up forgetting me. But it's fine. We'll remember."
Wen Nianshen also had a kind of intuition that before long, she would surely recall everything. She could already remember every world she'd been through by the age of sixteen. If later she could recall these things from birth, then after a few more worlds, wouldn't she be able to recall who she was in the most distant past?
Because Wen Nianshen had been wronged, and with the current buzz on top of that, the film that had originally been pulled was re-released. On the day of its release, it sold out. The masses of netizens still spat on Wen Nianshen's acting every day, but the number of people watching the film really did keep growing.
The sudden accident had, as it turned out, made Wen Nianshen blow up spectacularly. Even with countless people cursing her, there were still quite a few who became fans because of that final scene.
The Dragon Mother was ultimately sentenced to death, all the way to the firing squad. The Dragon Mother truly was utterly humiliated. She'd wanted to break free and casually transform a fake to take her place. But that terrifying Miss Shen actually appeared at the site of her execution. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure—head hooded, shot dead with a single bullet. It truly was suffocatingly galling for her.
After the Dragon Mother submitted to the law, A-Xin withdrew her power.
She'd just returned home when a man and a woman in glittering golden garments appeared in her living room. One was the Dragon Mother; the other was the Dragon King.
The Dragon King put on a smile and hurriedly said, "Miss Shen, this time it was the Dragon Mother's fault, troubling you. I guarantee such a thing will never happen again. Now that the matter is settled, I wonder if Miss Shen is satisfied?"
The Dragon Mother tugged at the Dragon King, but the Dragon King was unmoved. He hadn't come today to back up this shrew. Hearing that Miss Shen was here, and that the Dragon Mother had provoked her, had nearly scared his dragon scales right off.
This shrew really was nothing but trouble. The scheme back then had been her fault to begin with, and now she'd even come down personally to meddle. Walk by the river often enough and you're bound to get your shoes wet—see, caught red-handed by this one. Forced to submit to the law, shot dead by a few mortals—now everyone in the heavens knew, and his old face was about to be completely lost on her account.
"It was the Dragon Mother being foolish. I hope Miss Shen won't hold this matter against her any further." Seeing A-Xin say nothing, the Dragon King spoke again.
This time, A-Xin spoke. "You may go."
"Thank you, Miss Shen." The Dragon King hesitated, then said, "Miss Shen, please show mercy to my son."
A-Xin lifted her eyes and said coldly, "If he doesn't come provoke me, I won't do anything to him. Provoke me, and he'll have brought it on himself."
"Yes, yes, yes. With those words from Miss Shen, I'm reassured."
In the end, the Dragon King didn't dare say anything more and dragged the reluctant, unwilling Dragon Mother away. From afar, A-Xin could still hear the Dragon Mother grumbling—was the matter really to be left at that? Wasn't it too unfair? Why was it that she could help Wen Nianshen, could meddle in the affairs of the small world, while they couldn't, and so on.
Finally the Dragon King roared impatiently, "You want to meddle? Then go meddle! Can you even beat her? Her fist is bigger—so what if she meddles? If you hadn't provoked her, would you have been shot dead by a few mortals? How humiliating! All day long all you know is jealousy and pettiness, and now you've gone and provoked her, scheming against this one and that one—in all these tens of thousands of years, how many of your schemes have ever succeeded?"
"Fair? This king tells you now: in all the heavens and myriad worlds there's no such thing as fairness. Whoever's strong is in the right. If you dare meddle in this matter again, then it'll be you who got your son killed."
"If you truly want what's good for our son, then cultivate properly. Once you're powerful, what's there to fear about protecting him? Stop scheming against people all day. This time you've lost the dragon clan's face completely!"
"Pah! You old stink-bug!! I haven't even settled accounts with you yet—don't forget, this is your son too. All day you're out there flirting with all kinds of little demonesses, breeding little half-breeds. If you'd cultivated hard, would our son have had to suffer like this?"
"You shrew—sending our son down to undergo the trial, whose idea was that in the first place? Wasn't it yours?!"
"I... I... I just didn't want our son tangled up with some shady little demoness, did I? The original marriage arrangement was so good—if not for that little demoness, would things be like this today? You... you old stink-bug, unreasonable! Heartless! Now that you've got your little demonesses, you've forgotten us, mother and son. Why don't you go get struck dead by lightning—just get yourself fried and be done with it once and for all."
"Shut up... stop arguing. You think she can't see? Right now she's probably watching us argue and commenting on it! Once we get back, I'll die of embarrassment!" The Dragon King's face was red, extremely flustered. "This lord is a mighty five-clawed golden dragon, and I haven't committed any great wrong, so I won't suffer heaven's punishment. Thick-skinned and tough-fleshed—lightning can't fry me to death. Stop dreaming."
"Old stink-bug!"