The hall was brightly lit, while outside, the night rain fell persistently.
When Zanxing woke up, the sky was already completely dark.
The sky in Heishi City darkened early. Xiao Shuang walked in from outside and said with a smile, “Your Highness has awakened.”
“The restrictions are lifted?” Zanxing was taken aback. After having a meal, she must have been too tired. After all, she hadn’t slept well these days and had inadvertently dozed off. She had slept deeply, and upon waking, she found it was already this late.
“Her Majesty went out to find Master Mingjing to talk. You can now return to the Chaos Hall,” Xiao Shuang said, picking up an outer garment and draping it over Zanxing. “The weather is damp and cold. Your Highness, be careful not to catch a cold.”
Zanxing tightened her clothes, hurriedly stood up, and said, “It’s fine. When Mother returns, please tell her I left first.”
Tian Fangfang and the others had gone to the Chaos Hall in the morning. By this time, she wondered if they had already left.
It had rained all day in Heishi City, with the wind blowing down from the mountains, raging through the city, causing the blue lanterns at the cave entrance to sway wildly. The rain also carried the cold, damp essence of the night, gradually seeping onto people’s sleeves and robe edges.
At the entrance of the Chaos Hall, Lantern Ghost stood by the door, holding a lantern and pacing. From afar, upon seeing Zanxing’s figure, he approached with the lantern, holding an umbrella to shield her from the rain.
Zanxing took off her damp outer garment and handed it to him, asking, “What about them?”
“Fairy Meng and the others have already left.”
Zanxing paused, turning to look at him.
Lantern Ghost smiled again, “Young Master Gu is still here.”
Zanxing remained silent as the man in red stood attentively by the door. “Water Lord and the others have already left. I’ll stay here by the door.”
“No need,” Zanxing interrupted him. “You can go as well.”
Lantern Ghost was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “Yes, Your Highness.”
With everyone gone, the hall was left empty.
The Chaos Hall was always spacious and open. Even though many decorations had been added, when night fell and the lights dimmed, it felt rather desolate. Lantern Ghost, finding the hall lonely, had placed many lights around, but with the windows open, the wind from outside had extinguished half of them, making the place even more cold and desolate.
There was no moon and no starry sky. The sound of rain pattered outside. On the stone platform by the window, a person and a cat sat together.
The flickering lights cast long shadows on the ground, and those shadows looked pitiably lonely.
The young man, with his back to Zanxing, spoke as if to himself or to the large cat beside him. “Don’t be deluded. I’m different from them. Yang Zanxing, listen carefully, I will never, I will never…” He seemed to struggle with the words, unable to continue.
Zanxing waited in silence for a while, but when she didn’t hear him finish, she couldn’t help but ask, “Never what?”
The sound of rain seemed to momentarily pause.
The large white cat turned its head and seemed to just notice Zanxing’s arrival. It leapt towards her happily, and Zanxing caught it in her arms, holding it close.
Gu Baiying stood up from the stone platform and turned around.
He stood a few steps away from Zanxing, but it felt like a great distance between them.
Though they had just met on Yue Mountain and had fought side by side not long ago, at this moment, with the dim light and the steady rain, the young man stood opposite her. His eyes were as clear as stars, but there was a trace of deliberately hidden awkwardness in his gaze.
Mimi leapt from Zanxing’s arms and scampered to the side, curiously observing the two people in the hall.
After a long silence, Zanxing spoke. She looked at Gu Baiying and smiled gently, “Martial Uncle, do you remember me?”
The term “Martial Uncle” caused the young man to pause slightly, and the previous subtle awkwardness seemed to dissolve. The hazy awkwardness in his eyes gradually cleared, and they became bright again.
Gu Baiying asked, “How are you now?”
“What?”
“The Xiao Yuan Pearl was split in two and one entered your body. In the Five-Wheel Pagoda, you were injured by Gui Yansheng and fell into a coma.” He frowned. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Zanxing said. “I soaked in the Demon Energy Pool all night, nourishing and tempering my body. I’m almost fully recovered.” She stretched out her arms to show him how lively she was. “But Martial Uncle, I heard from Men Dong that you helped me leave the Ten Thousand Killing Formation and later faced difficulties from the Chihua Sect. You endured the thunder punishment on Wulei Platform for days. How is your cultivation?”
“It’s nothing,” Gu Baiying answered dismissively. “The Sect Leader treated my injuries and I’m almost fully recovered. It was just thunder punishment. It won’t kill anyone.” He glanced at Zanxing again, cleared his throat, and hesitated before speaking. “I didn’t forget you on purpose.”
Zanxing smiled. “I know.”
Men Dong had already told her, but even if Men Dong hadn’t, Zanxing would have been upset but not to the point of holding a grudge. She generally avoided tormenting herself, and after coming out of the Abyss of Extreme Ice, she reflected more.
“Yang Zanxing, how did you become a member of the Demon Clan?” Gu Baiying asked. “If you are a member of the Demon Clan, why did you go to Gufeng Mountain?”
Zanxing did not immediately respond. After a moment, she asked, “Do you trust me, Martial Uncle?”
“Of course,” the young man answered without hesitation. “Otherwise, why would I have saved you?”
His unequivocal, matter-of-fact attitude surprised Zanxing. A smile touched her eyes, and her tone became lighter. “Actually, I wanted to tell you about this the night of my birthday, on Chuhong Terrace. But you were about to enter seclusion, and I worried it might affect you, so I thought I’d wait until you came out. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way.”
Thinking about the Ten Thousand Killing Formation made them both silent.
Zanxing looked at him and asked, “What did you want to tell me back then?”
Gu Baiying was taken aback. “What?”
“You said you had something to say to me when you came out of seclusion,” Zanxing pressed.
He fell silent.
The rain seemed to be getting heavier, the sound of droplets falling on the stone platform outside.
Zanxing stepped forward, taking out the hairpin from her sleeve. The beautiful hairpin had been broken into two pieces and carefully repaired, but it still showed a slight crack. Without the star-like soul adornments, it looked plain and pitiful.
She stared intently at Gu Baiying’s eyes, her voice gentle yet persistent. “Cultivators don’t easily separate their soul fragments. Yet you lied and said it was an ordinary ornament bought from the Huajin Pavilion. Gu Baiying, why did you give me this hairpin?”
The lights in the hall cast long shadows on the ground, and in the distance, the Heishi Mountain’s flora was damp and the night thick.
Ding—
Suddenly, a clear, melodious bell rang through the hall.