Lying to me or lying to yourself?

"Why did you make him leave?" Jie Fu Lian asked as he side-glanced at Hua Tianshu, "Is there something that he mustn't hear?"

Hua Tianshu didn't confirm it but he didn't refute it either. With a sigh, he simply continued walking side-by-side with Jie Fu Lian.

After a long pause, he asked, "Jie Ming, do you remember that time when I saved you?"

"Eh?" Jie Fu Lian looked to be a little surprised by the sudden question and only reacted properly after a minute, "Wasn't it the other way around? Hua Tianshu, I was the one that saved you. It was the second time I had met you, how can I forget?"

"The second time?" Hua Tianshu muttered and let out a short laugh as he asked, "You were counting?"

"Of course, I was!" Jie Fu Lian enthusiastically responded, "You were such a hard person to meet! In my entire eighteen years of living, I had only met you thrice! Not only do I remember the number but I also remember all the meetings in detail. If you tell me to narrate it, I can even word-to-word spell every conversation we had."

Hua Tianshu's eyes slightly widened as he heard this and in the very next moment, the corners of his eyes formed creases as he smiled, "I'm afraid, I have met you more than just three times. You are either bad at counting or bad at remembering."

Jie Fu Lian immediately frowned as he heard this and crossed his arms in front of him as he stopped walking, "You're the one with the bad memory. We've only met each other thrice and our relationship wasn't exactly good. We were enemies. After my death, did you conveniently forget all that?"

"I never considered you my enemy and I had always treated you very well so how can you say our relationship wasn't good?" Hua Tianshu smiled as he asked and for a second there, Jie Fu Lian wondered if the man was being honest or just teasing him to get a reaction.

"Your definition of treating someone well must be very messed up," Jie Fu Lian argued, "Whenever we talked, you always insulted me and made me want to murder you."

"..."

"If I hadn't died like that, I would have probably killed you by the fourth time we met," Jie Fu Lian added with a sigh, without putting too much thought into it.

Hua Tianshu suddenly stopped walking and stood in front of Jie Fu Lian as he looked at the man.

"What is it?" Jie Fu Lian unconsciously took a step back, feeling a little intimidated by the man who said nothing and simply stared at him, blocking his way.

"You didn't kill me."

"Huh?"

"You met me again as the demon king. I surrendered to you of my own free will. You had the power to both torture me and kill me but you didn't. Since I was the only one who knew your real identity, you also had a reason to kill me but you still didn't."

Jie Fu Lian became a little speechless, too taken back by Hua Tianshu's words.

"Jie Ming, if I was your enemy, you must have a very soft heart. 'Cause you couldn't even kill an enemy you claim to hate so much."

Jie Fu Lian gritted his teeth as he defended, "I am Jie Fu Lian. The wicked half-demon who once stood on top of this martial world. I tricked hundreds and deceived thousands. Be it back in my original body or in my current one, I have both the power and the will to kill an enemy I hate. If I want to, who can stop me?"

Hua Tianshu smiled, almost looking as if he had expected to hear this response, "Then you must not hate me."

"..." Jie Fu Lian suddenly felt as if he had been tricked.

Hua Tianshu took a step closer as he continued, "Jie Ming, why are you so dishonest with yourself? You keep saying you hate me but since the very beginning, the way you look at me isn't how one would look at the person they hate. Tell me, when did we first meet?"

"Eh?" Jie Fu Lian gulped and took a step back as he answered, "Wasn't it at the annual sword competition held at HuiXue Sect?"

Hua Tianshu smiled as he nodded, "Let's say that was our first time meeting each other, but even if it was the first time, why did you go out of your way to challenge me? Especially in a state where you knew you couldn't beat me?"

Jie Fu Lian's face turned a little red as he heard this and he wasn't sure if it was because of embarrassment or anger.

"What do you mean I can't beat you?! I challenged you because I wanted to! If you had accepted that challenge, you would've known that I truly can beat you!"

Hua Tianshu let out a short laugh as he heard this and shook his head, "So you did it because you wanted to? Then why me? Why not anyone else? Jie Ming, why did you choose me?"

"Hua Tianshu, you were the rising star of the HuiXue sect. Everywhere I went, I heard tales about you. I was also curious to see just how powerful you were so of course I took the opportunity to challenge you. At that time, I felt that you were the only one worthy of having a dual with me." Creases formed on Jie Fu Lian's forehead as he explained and although he was answering honestly, he still felt as if he was being dishonest.

Hua Tianshu looked at the man in disbelief and had a mocking smile on his face as he heard this, "Jie Ming, are you lying to me or lying to yourself?"

"..."

With a sigh, Hua Tianshu shook his head as he added, "Forget it. Even spelling it out for you would not make you understand."

For some reason, Jie Fu Lian felt both clueless and offended as he heard this.

"So where are we going next?" Jie Fu Lian asked as he looked at Hua Tianshu.

"The Jin sect."

"Eh?"

"They were the ones in charge of the Yan Sect case. They were also the ones who had investigated Bai LiuXian's murder case. It's best to go and talk to them directly."

Jie Fu Lian frowned as he heard this and asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea? It's clear that the Jin Sect didn't investigate things properly. They simply wanted to get rid of the Yan Sect. If we go and ask them, they might even try to mislead our investigation."

"I'm afraid, our investigation has already been misled," Hua Tianshu firmly spoke.

Jie Fu Lian's eyes widened in shock, "What do you mean?"

"We suspected Bai BaoShi to be a demon but what if she wasn't?"

"Huh?"

"Bai Yaling and Bai Guanyu were said to be lovers, but even when Bai Yaling died, Bai Guanyu didn't shed a single tear. Instead, he got married to Bai BaoShi the very next day. Bai BaoShi was someone who was never introduced to the public and before their marriage, the two seemed to have no connections with each other. The most suspicious one, in this case, isn't Bai BaoShi but Bai Guanyu himself."

"Are you saying Bai Guanyu is a demon? But that can't be. If he was a demon, Bai YiJun would have also been a demon."

"The real Bai Guanyu might not have been a demon but the one pretending to be Bai Guanyu was probably a demon."

Jie Fu Lian repeated Hua Tianshu's words in his head and slowly realized what the man was trying to say.

"Are you saying that... Bai Guanyu also died?!"

Hua Tianshu nodded his head.

"Then why are we going to the Jin Sect? We should go and check Bai Guanyu!" Jie Fu Lian suddenly stopped walking as he exclaimed.

Hua Tianshu shook his head, "The current Bai Guanyu might not be a demon."

"Huh?"

"If he were a demon, he wouldn't have collapsed."

Jie Fu Lian frowned as he heard this but nodded his head as he agreed, "That's true."

"The demon probably possessed Bai Guanyu's body for a certain period of time and when the use of the body was done, he left the body and fled. Since there was no longer a soul inside the body, Bai Guanyu's body collapsed. Even if we go and pay him a visit, we won't get any information."

Jie Fu Lian gritted his teeth and felt a little helpless as he heard this.

"Bai Yaling died of natural causes, isn't that right?"

Jie Fu Lian nodded his head.

"But what if that wasn't true? What if she was killed because she had realized that her husband had suddenly changed?"

Jie Fu Lian's eyes suddenly widened and he frowned, feeling extremely unhappy.

"Wouldn't that be too cruel...?" Jie Fu Lian asked in a volume that was barely above a whisper.

"It would be cruel but everything would start to make sense."