Chapter 75: Prophecy Points East, So She Must Go West!

The Nine-Colored Compass had, in fact, originally pointed towards the Wuji Sect’s rear mountain. That was the correct direction according to its last ‘imprint’. But because He Yimo had used his own deer hair (well, her deer hair, technically) to ‘reset’ it and then mess with Jiang Jinyue, the sensor was now primed. When Chen Jianxin sprinkled the actual Deer antler powder onto it… naturally, it would lock onto the real Nine-Colored Deer’s current location: snugly inside He Yimo. Oops.

He Yimo knew this, of course. It’s exactly why he’d made that little speech about owing him a favor when he handed over the powder bottle to Jiang Jinyue. He trusted—well, expected—that she, the Mistress of Manipulation herself, would clean up this little mess for him. If Wangxue’s presence inside him was revealed now, the Snow Village mystery would technically be solved, yes… but it would bring a ton of unwanted attention onto He Yimo. More importantly, Chen Jianxin would lose all reason to investigate the Wuji Sect’s rear mountain. And that definitely didn’t align with Jiang Jinyue’s established modus operandi from the original story.

And wouldn’t you know it? He Yimo’s gamble on Jiang Jinyue’s reaction paid off! They might be rival villains constantly getting in each other’s way, but deep down, they both had their own schemes revolving around Chen Jianxin. Even if He Yimo did nothing, Jiang Jinyue would have to intervene sooner or later.

“Ahem! Were… Were your eyes playing tricks on you just now?” Jiang Jinyue announced, blinking innocently as the swirling patterns in her eyes subsided, her voice laced with just the right amount of feigned confusion. “There’s no way the needle could be pointing at He Yimoooo~! That’s silly!”

Under the lingering effects of her subtle mass illusion, the disciples looked back at the compass, then followed the needle’s direction towards He Yimo again. Just as they did, Jiang Jinyue shot He Yimo a quick, sharp glance. Move, idiot!

He Yimo, getting the cue, casually took one step to the side. Ah. Now everyone could clearly see the needle wasn’t pointing at him, but merely in the direction he happened to be standing.

“Ooooh! Hah! My bad! False alarm!”

“Whew! I was wondering for a sec! Like, how could the compass point at Young Master He? Is he secretly the Deer God transformed or somethin’? Haha!”

“Pfft, idiot! Even if it was pointing at him, obviously it’d mean the Deer God was his contracted beast! Duh!”

“Okay, yours is also pretty wild, but… slightly less wild than mine, I guess…”

The disciples chuckled awkwardly amongst themselves, quickly dismissing the ‘weird moment’ as a simple misunderstanding. Nobody really dwelled on it.

Except Chen Jianxin. Standing in the middle of the group, fiddling with the compass, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. His memory felt… fuzzy. He swore he’d seen the needle lock onto He Yimo, tracking him perfectly no matter how he moved… `Did… Did I imagine that? Am I seeing things again?` He pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead, the memory becoming hazier the more he tried to grasp it. Ugh… My head… These splitting headaches had been plaguing him for days, along with weirdly familiar yet completely alien dreams at night…

“Junior Brother Chen~? Are you feeling alright~?” A soft voice inquired gently. Jiang Jinyue had stepped closer, her expression radiating concern.

Chen Jianxin looked up, his vision swimming slightly from the pain. For a terrifying split second, the pink-haired girl before him warped, twisting into the image of a seductive, nine-tailed fox demon clad in fiery red. Gah!

“A-Ah! FOX! FOX—!!!” he yelped, stumbling back in terror. But before the cry fully left his lips, another wave of crimson light pulsed from Jiang Jinyue’s eyes, washing over him.

Jiang Jinyue maintained her worried facade, but internally, she was cranking up the illusion dosage. She stepped forward, gently placing a hand on Chen Jianxin’s shoulder. “Ooh, poor Junior Brother Chen~♡” she cooed soothingly. “You must still be traumatized from fighting those nasty cultists last night~! Maybe you should just rest for a bit, hmm~?”

“S-Sorry…” Chen Jianxin mumbled, the potent mental ‘sedative’ kicking in, smoothing over his panic and confusion. “Y-Yeah… Been under… a lot of stress lately… I guess…” His anger subsided, replaced by exhaustion. He leaned against the nearby wall, closing his eyes wearily.

Jiang Jinyue watched him, letting out a quiet, internal sigh of relief mixed with annoyance. Gods, this is getting complicated. First Mu Yanran’s unauthorized village-wipeout plan, then He Yimo constantly throwing wrenches in the works with his unpredictable bullshit, and even Mo Yuyan showing up when she absolutely shouldn’t have… If it weren’t for all these damned variables messing up her original script, Jiang Jinyue wouldn’t have needed to keep resorting to these increasingly heavy-handed illusion patches on Chen Jianxin! It was getting harder and harder to maintain!

The world felt like it was supposed to follow a straight line. The Prophecy was the ‘intended’ destination. But every deviation, every variable like He Yimo, threatened to send the line careening off towards a completely different endpoint. Jiang Jinyue’s job was to constantly nudge it back, away from the Prophecy’s outcome. Chen Jianxin, with his Innate Sword Saint Physique, naturally had higher resistance to illusions than normal people. At this point, he wasn’t the only one feeling mentally scrambled; Jiang Jinyue herself was feeling the strain! Covering one lie required a thousand more; patching one illusion-induced memory hole just created others. The more holes Chen Jianxin’s mind developed, the more unstable he became, and the harder it was to apply new illusions effectively. Ugh! SO MUCH WORK!

`Thinking about it…` Jiang Jinyue mused idly, glancing away from the now-slumped Chen Jianxin towards He Yimo, who was busy ‘distracting’ Yun Jin near the tunnel entrance. `…Out of all the victims I’ve used illusions on over the years… He Yimo’s resilience really is the best. My illusions take hold smoothly, and even now, there’s not a hint of rejection or instability…! He really is special… Different…`

“…There’s no little deer here at ALL! He Yimooooo, you’re teasing me again!” Yun Jin finally huffed, puffing out her cheeks as she peered into the empty, dark tunnel.

He Yimo glanced over his shoulder, seeing Jiang Jinyue’s illusion work was done. He dropped the arm he’d casually slung around Yun Jin’s shoulders and shrugged innocently. “No, really! I swear I saw one just now! Cutest lil’ thing! It just… vanished super fast! Maybe it’ll pop up again in a couple days~ Who knows?”

“Hmph!” Yun Jin sniffed, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up defiantly. “Do you think I’m THREE years OLD, He Yimooo~?! Stop trying to trick meeee~!” Spending more time together had clearly lowered Yun Jin’s initial shy defenses. She was even using his name directly sometimes and joking around! This level of affection was way beyond anything He Yimo had experienced with her character in the game. `See?!` he thought triumphantly. `NPCs in this world do have real feelings! The lack of affection meters in the original game was just lazy dev work! They didn’t wanna bother making it a proper dating sim!` Heh.

“Alright everyone!” Jiang Jinyue called out brightly, regaining control of the situation. She held up the Nine-Colored Compass, its needle now pointing steadily in a new direction (thanks to her subtle illusionary nudge). “Since the compass has given us a clear clue, no time to waste! Let’s head out in this direction and see what we find! Yay~!” Her smile was pure sunshine, her demeanor radiating infectious enthusiasm.

Seeing a solid lead, the other Wuji Sect disciples readily agreed, their spirits lifting. Chen Jianxin, having recuperated slightly, also rejoined the group, his focus seemingly back on the mission. They all followed Jiang Jinyue back up the tunnel towards the main shrine entrance.

However, as they emerged back into the snowy open air, Chen Jianxin, ever observant despite his recent mental fog, frowned again. “Wait a sec… Senior Sister Jiang, lemme see that compass again.” His tone was serious.

Jiang Jinyue, playing the part of the helpful subordinate, handed it over without protest.

Chen Jianxin studied it intently for a moment. “This… This direction… Isn’t this the way we came from?”

“Huh? What do you mean, Brother Chen?” someone asked.

“If I remember correctly…” Chen Jianxin’s eyes narrowed, gears turning in his head. “Southeast of Northfall Snow Mountain… is where the Wuji Sect is! Where our Spirit Boat landed! And the needle… it’s pointing exactly southeast!” The realization hit him, past memories resurfacing. He suddenly recalled Senior Brother Gu telling him about some ‘incident’ at the rear mountain just a week ago…!

“Could it be…?” Jiang Jinyue leaned in, tapping a finger thoughtfully against her lips, her eyes wide with faux curiosity. “Could the Nine-Colored Divine Deer actually be… back at our own sect?!” Perfect nudge.

Chen Jianxin looked grim. “Hard to say for sure… This compass only locates things within a certain range and arc… Maybe the longitude lines up with Wuji Sect, but the latitude puts it somewhere else entirely…”

“Well, then!” Jiang Jinyue chirped happily. “We should head back and investigate immediately! I know there’s a relay station nearby! We can catch a connecting Spirit Boat back to Wuji Sect lickety-split! C’mon!”

He Yimo watched the exchange silently. Every line, every nuance from Jiang Jinyue and Chen Jianxin… it was playing out exactly like the original story scene. The only difference? Yun Jin, the original ‘local expert’ on Snow Village and the Deer, was standing silently beside him, while Jiang Jinyue had taken over the role of ‘helpful guide’, nudging the plot forward. It really did feel like some kind of predetermined destiny unfolding… Creepy.

As He Yimo mulled over the plot mechanics, Jiang Jinyue turned back towards him and Yun Jin, the setting sun silhouetting her figure. She waved cheerfully. “Young Master He~♡ Senior Sister Yun Jin~! Are you coming back with us to look for the Nine-Colored Deer~?”

Her words hung in the air. All the Wuji Sect disciples, including Chen Jianxin, turned to look at them expectantly. Most faces held hopeful curiosity… except Chen Jianxin’s. His cold gaze was filled solely with suspicion and deep-seated distrust.

“I… I want to go—” Yun Jin started instinctively, eager to pursue any lead that might help find the Deer God who’d saved her family.

But before she could finish, He Yimo cut her off flatly. “No need. We plan on staying here in Northfall Snow Village for a couple more days.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

“Eh?! B-But… Whyyyyy… QAQ” Yun Jin blinked, turning to him in surprise and disappointment.

He Yimo didn’t soften. He gave Jiang Jinyue a look laden with unspoken understanding, then turned his profile to Yun Jin, his expression radiating an unyielding authority she couldn’t possibly refuse. We. Are. Staying.

Yun Jin wilted slightly, unable to meet his intense gaze. O-Okay…

Jiang Jinyue stared at He Yimo’s face for a long moment. No words were exchanged, but in those few seconds of silent eye contact, a mutual understanding passed between them. She’d already tried pushing him back at the shrine entrance and gotten nowhere. While she still didn’t understand why He Yimo was deliberately avoiding this perfect opportunity to be the hero and expose Gu Wanglan… his refusal was absolute. Forcing him with illusions now? Pointless. He’d demonstrated enough willpower to make it too costly, too unpredictable. Better to cut her losses and focus on manipulating the easier target: Chen Jianxin.

Studying He Yimo was a hobby. Making sure Chen Jianxin didn’t die before fulfilling her counter-prophecy goals? That was her job. Jiang Jinyue knew how to prioritize.

“Alright then, ” Jiang Jinyue smiled faintly, performing a graceful Western-style curtsy, holding the edges of her skirt. “Perhaps our paths will cross again soon, Young Master He.” She didn’t press further. With a final nod, she turned and led the rest of the Wuji Sect disciples down the mountain path.

As he left, Chen Jianxin shot one last suspicious glare back at He Yimo. He was utterly convinced He Yimo was a spy. He’d also seen the longing in Yun Jin’s eyes to go with them… but his heart had hardened towards her. He wouldn’t interfere in her fate anymore. `Hmph.`

`Go on then,` Chen Jianxin thought bitterly, turning away without looking back. `Keep defending that bastard surnamed He. Stay here alone with him on this desolate mountain.`

`Just wait ’til night falls… when you’re trapped out here, just the two of you… when he finally drops the act and shows his true colors… Then you’ll finally understand why I suspected him all along! Then you’ll regret it!`