Sang Ruo’s gaze lingered on Rong Ji for a moment.
The other woman had worn a mask out again today. The mask-maker had employed clever craftsmanship. Upon the snow-white base, two fine lines were sketched at the corners of the eyes with a vermilion brush. It added a touch of the seductive to an otherwise solemn piece, making her appear inexplicably dangerous.
“It was too stifling to stay inside, so I came out to look around, though it is not very interesting out here either.” Sang Ruo looked away. “I am going back.”
“Very well.”
Rong Ji nodded slightly and reached out her hand, seemingly wanting to take hold of hers.
As the High Priestess, the supreme ruler of the Divine Court, even her fingers were wrapped tightly in thin fabric. It was wrapped seam to seam, setting her apart from the mundane world.
Sang Ruo dodged the gesture slightly, but her fingertips still accidentally brushed against her. The cool fabric grazed her, making her skin tingle.
Her hand meeting empty air, Rong Ji suddenly looked up at her.
Sang Ruo said indifferently, “With our relationship being so ambiguous, doing things like this isn’t right, is it?”
The temple fair was bustling, with people nearly shoulder to shoulder; yet a space had spontaneously cleared around the High Priestess. It was a sign of respect, but it felt hollow.
After a few breaths, Rong Ji’s voice sounded slightly hoarse. “I,” she began, but stopped.
Sang Ruo turned her head slightly. “I know. Have fun out here. I won’t be joining you.” She tilted her chin toward Xuan Huaiyu. “Look, your old flame is over there waiting for you.”
Rong Ji turned to look, her eyes meeting Xuan Huaiyu’s.
Xuan Huaiyu, who had always adored Rong Ji, flinched slightly. Just as she had never seen a version of Rong Ji so gentle, she had likewise never seen her cold and terrifying side.
Usually, the woman treated everything with a distant indifference. Nothing seemed worth being happy about, nor worth being angry over.
But things were different now.
Despite the liveliness of the temple fair, Xuan Huaiyu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
It lasted only a moment, however, before the other woman quickly looked away.
Frowning, Rong Ji turned back to find Sang Ruo, but Sang Ruo was already gone.
The Return
Sang Ruo went straight back to her room. When leaving the fair, she had not forgotten to snag a stick of candied haws to eat. Naturally, the task of paying was left to Zhu Shiyi. Spending Rong Ji’s money made her quite happy.
Looking at the candied haws, Sang Ruo felt a complex swirl of emotions. “I remember ten years ago, I bought her a stick of these exact same candied haws.”
The System replied, “I remember too. Back then, you even fleeced the money from the Divine Court.”
After they had killed Helian Yun’s contracted beast, the Divine Court had rewarded them as brave warriors.
Who would have thought that ten years later, Sang Ruo would be spending the Divine Court Master’s spirit stones as a matter of course?
The System asked Sang Ruo, “Host, are you angry with the mission target? But I feel like the issue with Xuan Huaiyu isn’t her fault.”
Sang Ruo bit down on the last candied fruit, making the sugar coating crunch loudly. “I am angry, but not because of Xuan Huaiyu.”
As she spoke, the door was pushed open.
It was actually Rong Ji. Not much time had passed; she had arrived right on Sang Ruo’s heels.
Sang Ruo was not surprised and swallowed the fruit composedly. The vendor had drizzled too much sugar, and her mouth felt cloyingly sweet.
Rong Ji said, “She will not appear before you again.”
She was not wearing her mask now and was not smiling. Her beautiful, long brows were furrowed, and she carried the chill of the late night on her. She appeared solitary, cold, and possessed a sudden, looming aggressiveness.
This was the true High Priestess beneath the gentle mask.
Sang Ruo leaned back against the table and chairs, swinging the bamboo skewer in her hand. “Why shouldn’t she appear? I quite like her, and I want to go play with her often.”
The chill around Rong Ji grew heavier. After a moment, she pursed her lips slightly, which was a gesture of concession. “I was in the wrong today.”
Sang Ruo said, “You did nothing wrong.”
Rong Ji remained silent.
Sang Ruo raised her hand, her fingertips lightly stroking the Magic-Suppressing Ring on her wrist. Her pale fingertips against the black ring were striking, capturing Rong Ji’s gaze. Noticing the stare, Sang Ruo gave a low laugh. Her finger traced a circle around the ring in a way that looked teasingly itchy.
Rong Ji forced herself to look away. “Aside from that, I can give you anything.”
“Anything?”
Sang Ruo tossed the bamboo skewer aside. “Fine then. What was that person’s name today? Xuan Huaiyu? I am bored to death. I want her to come and keep me company.”
Her tone was utterly matter-of-fact.
Rong Ji snapped her head around.
Sang Ruo continued, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to her. I just want someone to talk to. What is with that look? Are you afraid people will gossip? True, after all, our relationship is so ambiguous.”
Rong Ji said nothing.
Rong Ji suddenly took two steps forward and leaned down, closing the distance between them instantly.
Sang Ruo seemed to catch the faint scent of camellia from her. It was like it was stained with cold dew, carrying the unique chill and predatory feel of the night.
In that instant, Sang Ruo felt that she was truly angry.
Rong Ji looked down at her.
They were so close their breaths seemed to intertwine. Sang Ruo could not help but remember that night. Fragmented memories flashed by, making her feel instinctively uneasy. She wanted to turn her head away, but she could not stand Rong Ji acting this way, so she ultimately raised her brows in defiance.
“Done pretending?”
Rong Ji was silent. In that silence, pressure and intimacy grew side by side.
Sang Ruo felt Rong Ji raise her hand. The other woman’s thumb touched the corner of her mouth, gently wiping away a lingering trace of sugar.
When the pad of the thumb rubbed against her lip, Sang Ruo felt her body might be trembling. The lips are a very private area. This gesture crossed the line.
It was as if an accumulated calm had been abruptly shattered.
Sang Ruo suddenly gripped Rong Ji’s wrist, staring fixedly into her eyes.
Rong Ji was looking back at her. In that moment, Sang Ruo felt the thick layer of ice in Rong Ji’s eyes melt away. But it was only for a second. Rong Ji knit her brows, closed her eyes, and gently pulled her hand back.
Sang Ruo did not try to force her to stay.
She looked down slightly at her own fingertips, where the warmth of another person still lingered.
She thought somewhat indifferently, “I haven’t even figured out what I want to do yet, and here I am worrying about this person first.”
The relationship between them was like thin ice. Had Rong Ji ever considered that this state of affairs could not last? If it were broken, what would happen next?
By this time, Rong Ji had composed her emotions and turned to leave. Just before stepping out completely, she tilted her head slightly. “You may go find her. If Xuan Huaiyu wishes to see you, I will not stop you.”
Sang Ruo was left alone in the room. She felt as if her lips were on fire, and her heart was on fire too. She could not tell if it was more restlessness or more irritation.
She closed her eyes tightly.
The System, however, was being noisy and would not let her find peace. “Host!”
The System seemed to have discovered a great secret and pressed, “Host, I think you have a situation!”
Sang Ruo lazily lifted an eyelid. “What?”
The System said, “Host, are you toward the mission target? Data indicates that feelings arising from forced love are a type of distorted emotion. You must examine your own heart!”
“You are overthinking it.”
The System did not think it was overthinking at all. Sang Ruo, annoyed by its chattering, said, “There is nothing. I just want to make her angry.”
“Oh,” the System replied.
The surroundings finally fell quiet.
After a moment, Sang Ruo regained her composure and suddenly asked, “If you had a chance to take a gamble: if you win, you get the thing you want most; if you lose, you lose everything; and if you don’t bet, you can keep things as they are. Which would you choose?”
The System found the question strangely sudden, but after thinking it over, it said, “It doesn’t matter what I choose, right? I think you would gamble, Host.”
“Why?”
“Because you, Host, are a natural-born gambler.” The System’s tone was certain.
Sang Ruo wanted to laugh. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Though the System did not know what the Great Demon wanted to bet on, curiosity prompted it to ask, “So, are you going to bet?”
“I don’t quite dare to. Because the stakes are too heavy.”
“There is actually something you don’t dare to bet on?” It looked at the Great Demon’s morality points. In its eyes, Sang Ruo was someone who could and would use heaven and earth as a wager.
If there was something she cared about that much, it thought.
It suddenly thought of something and went abruptly silent.
Sang Ruo stood up and walked toward the bed. “I am going to rest.”
The Meeting
The next day, Sang Ruo did indeed go to find Xuan Huaiyu.
Xuan Huaiyu was at the guesthouse specifically meant for distinguished guests. Hearing the announcement, she let them in.
Xuan Huaiyu looked a bit haggard today. Sang Ruo asked her, “Didn’t sleep well last night?”
Xuan Huaiyu’s face was full of bitterness. Yesterday, the High Priestess had warned her not to trouble this person again. That feeling of being cold from head to toe was something she never wanted to experience again in her life, and her heart full of adoration had simultaneously shattered into pieces.
That was why she had not slept well.
Xuan Huaiyu looked at her curiously. “You actually came to find me today? She actually allowed you to come find me?” After saying that, Xuan Huaiyu realized something and took two wary steps back. “What are you here for? It couldn’t be to seek revenge on me, could it?”
Sang Ruo replied, “Of course not.”
Xuan Huaiyu breathed a small sigh of relief and guessed again. “Then, is it some little flirtatious game between the two of you?”
Sang Ruo said, “Give me a break.”
Actually, Sang Ruo had not come here just to annoy Rong Ji, or rather, not entirely. Yesterday at the temple fair, she had sensed a bit of an evil, dark aura on this girl, like a mark.
Recalling the recent rumors about Extraterrestrial Demons, she decided to come and have a look. How interesting.
However, there was no need to tell the girl in front of her any of that.
When a Great Heavenly Demon wants to build a good relationship with someone, it is truly quite simple, especially when that person lacks depth and experience.
Very soon, the two exchanged names and agreed to go out wandering together another day.
A few days passed peacefully. Sang Ruo’s daily routine consisted of having three meals with Rong Ji and going out with Xuan Huaiyu when she had nothing to do. It was quite leisurely.
Sometimes, when they were in high spirits, she would simply find a restaurant outside to eat at, telling Zhu Shiyi to go back and report it.
Rong Ji did indeed manage to keep her hands off her, but occasionally, near a peddler, in an adjacent private room, or at a neighboring table in a teahouse, Sang Ruo would spot a familiar, disguised figure.
Sang Ruo laughed at her in her heart and downed a gulp of wine.
As for Xuan Huaiyu, once she gave up her designs on Rong Ji, she focused entirely on enjoying herself. The customs of Fuqu City were different from the general cultivation world, so she had a great time. Xuan Huaiyu went out with Sang Ruo partly because she had taken a liking to the chatterbox attendant by her side, Zhu Shier.
He was just too good as a tour guide.
After spending time together, her opinion of Sang Ruo changed greatly. Though there was some initial friction, she eventually truly regarded Sang Ruo as a sister in her heart.
On this day, they were drinking in the main hall of a restaurant. Xuan Huaiyu did not have a high tolerance and her face was flushed red. She slapped the table and said to Sang Ruo, “Sister! If you ask me, why should you hang yourself on a single crooked tree? When looking for a Dao companion, you should find someone of equal status! With your knowledge…”
Sang Ruo took the opportunity while pouring wine to quietly glance up. She saw someone at the neighboring table whose gaze was as sharp as a knife.
Xuan Huaiyu suddenly straightened her back. “What is going on? Why does my back feel a bit chilly?”