Jocelyn was currently being held in Silas Stowe’s arms.

The silk ribbon covering her eyes fell away, and she opened them.

The cave was small. Not far off, water was dripping into a little puddle in a corner. Above her, a small opening let in a sliver of light. Though the cave was dim, she could tell it was daytime.

A strange mix of medicinal herbs and the stench of rot filled the air.

’I didn’t notice it before!’

Now, a wave of nausea rolled in her stomach.

’How could Silas live in a place like this?’

"Silas, how can you live in a place like this?" As she spoke, she grabbed Silas Stowe’s hand and her gaze shifted to his face. The next moment, her eyes flew wide, her pupils constricting in shock. "A GHOST! AHHH... Who are you?"

A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the cave.

Her voice was filled with such terror and disbelief that it trembled uncontrollably.

The face right in front of her was pitted and bumpy, like the gnarled bark of a dead tree. It was covered in a network of blue, web-like veins, and bulging blood vessels snaked across it and down his neck. No... it wasn’t just his face. His entire body was like that.

He was bare-chested, and black spider-like legs grew from his torso and abdomen, wrapped around his body. They looked as if they had fused with his flesh, creating a hideous sight.

’So ugly! So disgusting!’

’What is this? I’m being held by a man who looks like *this*.’

Jocelyn Grant subconsciously tried to channel her Cultivation to shove him away, only to find it sealed. She couldn’t muster even a shred of her power and was completely helpless.

"Don’t touch me... Get away," she yelled.

She reached out and shoved him hard.

She scrambled off the stone bed, tumbling to the floor, and immediately threw up.

"So disgusting... BLEGH~"

Clutching her clothes, she stared at the person before her in terror.

"Wh-wh-who are you? Where’s my Silas?" she stammered, her whole body trembling as she spoke. "What kind of thing are you? What have you done with my Silas?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

At her reaction, the look of anticipation on Silas Stowe’s face slowly turned cold and grim.

’What was I even expecting? She’s just a shallow woman. Wasn’t she just calling me Silas, calling me her good little brother, telling me she liked me? But now, the moment she sees my face, she looks at me with such disgust and revulsion that she actually threw up? Did her affection vanish that quickly? So love really does just disappear, doesn’t it?’

’Joce’s affection is so cheap, then!’

Right now, Jocelyn Grant was staring at the strange, hideous man before her, her face a mask of fury.

"What did you do to Silas?"

"Where is Silas?"

"Silas," she called out.

Her eyes scanned the cave. She simply couldn’t believe the person in front of her was Silas Stowe. How could such a horrifying creature be Silas?

"HAHAHAHAHA."

Hearing this, Silas Stowe pressed a hand to his forehead and began to laugh. "My dear Joce, what are you talking about? I *am* your Silas. Look at me. Take a good, close look. Just a moment ago, you were calling me your good little brother. You said you would never leave me. Have you forgotten already?"

That voice.

’It’s Silas.’

"No... impossible. This is impossible."

’How could he be Silas?’

Jocelyn Grant staggered back a step.

Silas Stowe was handsome.

The man before her was hideous, his face like old tree bark.

’This is clearly an Evil Cultivator.’

’This isn’t my Silas.’

’He’s not.’

"No... You’re not Silas! Where did you hide him? Give him back to me!"

Perhaps, in that moment, it wasn’t that she didn’t recognize Silas Stowe, but that she simply refused to.

Seeing the disbelief on her face, Silas Stowe grew angry. "Look at me." He yanked Jocelyn Grant’s hand, pulling her close. "Joce, look at me carefully. I am Silas. We were holding each other just last night, have you forgotten? I kissed your face, your neck..."

’No, no.’

’He kissed me.’

Staring at the face before her and hearing his words, Jocelyn Grant’s eyes bulged as goosebumps erupted all over her skin. "Stop talking! Shut up! Just shut up!"

The thought that she had spent the last two days sleeping next to a Silas Stowe with a face like this was more than she could bear.

For some reason, a long-buried memory came back to kill her. It was just like that time in the Secret Realm, when she had woken up to find a hideous, monstrously overweight man lying beside her.

Before she could dwell on it, the man’s hideous face was pressing close to hers.

Those familiar eyes were staring at her, a smile in them.

Jocelyn Grant was terrified.

"Get away... Don’t touch me."

"You’re not Silas! You’re an Evil Cultivator! You must have possessed Silas’s body! Get away, don’t touch me!"

Hearing her continue to delude herself, Silas Stowe threw his head back and laughed even louder. "Hahaha... Joce, you change your tune so fast. One moment you’re holding me, telling me you like me and will never leave me, and the next you’ve turned on me so heartlessly. Is it that you don’t believe it’s me, or that you refuse to accept it?"

His laughter died, and his face suddenly turned cold.

Silas Stowe grabbed her by the throat and yanked her toward him. "Joce seems to really hate me now. It’s truly heartbreaking. Just because I’m not handsome anymore, you don’t like me? How could you be so shallow? I can’t believe I ever thought you were pure and kind-hearted. But never mind. Once you like someone, you should like them forever. So, it’s okay if you don’t like me. *I* like you, and that’s enough. No matter what Joce becomes, I’ll still like you."

Jocelyn Grant couldn’t breathe under his powerful grip.

"Let... let go."

"Silas Stowe."

Hearing her call his full name, Silas Stowe released his grip.

"You finally called me by my name."

He said gently, "I’m sorry, Joce. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s just that Joce hurt me so much. You promised you would never leave me."

She remembered the words she had said before.

Her expression stiffened.

"You really are Silas."

Silas Stowe leaned closer to her.

"It’s me, Joce."

Seeing that hideous face approach, she felt another surge of nausea.

Jocelyn Grant didn’t even dare to look.

’How did Silas turn into this?’

"How did you become like this?"

Hearing her question, Silas Stowe’s smile vanished.

He looked up at Jocelyn Grant and said, "That’s a good question. How did I become like this? Isn’t it because of Joce? After I met Joce, I lost my arms and legs, my Cultivation regressed, and my Primordial Spirit was damaged. I wanted to live, so I consumed a Demon Beast Inner Core and refined myself into this."

Hearing his words, Jocelyn Grant’s face flushed with anger.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You know perfectly well that all of that was just an accident! How can you think of me that way? Silas, are you blaming me? I knew it. You’re blaming me."

’Did I want him to lose his arms and legs? What does that have to do with me? Besides, haven’t his limbs grown back now?’

At this thought, she said aloud, "It was a complete accident! Silas, why are you being so unreasonable?"

’He’s gone insane.’