Jiang Xu saw the undisguised smile in Ming Yuan’s eyes and felt even more embarrassed and shy.
“Ahem.” Jiang Xu gave a low cough to mask the awkwardness in her heart.
She wasn’t money-obsessed; she just really hated the feeling of handing over her spirit stones.
She took the token from the manager of the demon exchange, turned around, and ran off, as if running away so Ming Yuan wouldn’t be able to keep up.
The demon manager stood there in a daze, completely failing to understand why the young woman had suddenly started blushing mid-conversation. He scratched his head in confusion.
Modern demons really blush so easily! the manager thought to himself.
She even blushed just buying a courtyard, and what was there to be embarrassed about? It was just imitating humans wanting to live in courtyards.
Watching Jiang Xu run into the distance, Ming Yuan was in no rush to catch up. She leisurely controlled her soul body, floating bit by bit in the direction Jiang Xu had fled.
The female protagonist of this small world is quite entertaining, Ming Yuan thought, a faint smile lingering in her eyes.
After running a certain distance, Jiang Xu belatedly realized that Ming Yuan was not following beside her, and she began to feel a little relieved.
She stood in place for a moment, then craned her neck to look back behind her. Still not seeing Ming Yuan’s shadow, she slowly started to panic.
Ever since she encountered Ming Yuan in the mass grave, Ming Yuan had always stayed by her side.
When things were quiet, Ming Yuan would reside silently in her heart; when things happened, she would float out to help her, such as searching for herbs or refining pills.
Now that Ming Yuan was not by her side, did that mean Ming Yuan couldn’t leave her?
If that were the case, what would happen if she left Ming Yuan behind? Would Ming Yuan dissipate?
Even though Ming Yuan seemed omnipotent, she appeared to be nothing more than a residual soul, without even a physical body.
Ming Yuan had told her back then that if she couldn’t live inside Jiang Xu’s heart, she wouldn’t be able to exist in this world.
So, did that mean what she thought it meant? Would Ming Yuan really dissipate?
Thinking this, Jiang Xu turned rather pale. She cursed herself softly in her mind, thinking she was utterly foolish for actually leaving Ming Yuan behind.
How could I treat her like that? What should I do if something happens to her? I don’t know her background or her past; the only thing I know is her name.
Jiang Xu hurriedly turned around and ran back the way she came, running straight into a warm, gentle embrace.
Looking up, she saw a woman with delicate facial features, a calm expression, smiling eyes that weren’t fully put away, and curved eyebrows.
“What’s wrong? Why are you in such a panic? What happened? Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Ming Yuan had finally managed to control herself and float over slowly. Seeing Jiang Xu’s pale face, she felt perplexed. Hadn’t she only been away from her side for a moment?
What happened? Could Gong Hantian have attacked? Had Jiang Xu seen Gong Hantian and rushed back in a panic to find her?
Ming Yuan asked in confusion, subconsciously offering comfort right after. Even if Gong Hantian came, with her here, Jiang Xu would be fine.
Seeing Jiang Xu’s pale complexion, Ming Yuan let out a cold snort in her heart. At worst, she would just help Jiang Xu kill Gong Hantian. She just wondered what price she would have to pay for doing that.
Jiang Xu was still panicking inside. Hearing Ming Yuan say this made her eyes sting, and something began to sprout vigorously in her heart.
“Ming Yuan…” Jiang Xu called out softly, her emotions complicated.
It had only been three months, yet Ming Yuan’s influence on her had already grown this strong? It was true that Ming Yuan had saved her.
But when had she ever depended on someone like this before? Such reliance had never existed, not even with Gong Hantian.
At the very beginning, Gong Hantian had been very good to her, completely submissive and extremely tender. At the time, however, she only felt that unprovoked favors must hide either treachery or theft.
Later on, the reason she grew to love Gong Hantian was because he appeared by her side too many times and helped her too much, so much that she felt she could never repay him.
Yet Ming Yuan… she was different. Ming Yuan appeared and saved her life, pulling her out of an abyss of despair.
That kind of despair was completely different from the despair she felt when Jiang Yan pushed her into the beast horde.
Ming Yuan herself was someone truly worthy of trust; just by looking into her eyes, Jiang Xu wanted to believe in her.
If that were the case, though, if one day Ming Yuan wasn’t by her side, would she stop seeking revenge, stop cultivating, and stop living?
Jiang Xu felt her heart was in chaos. Looking at Ming Yuan’s puzzled gaze, she still voiced out the guess she had in her mind.
After listening, Ming Yuan understood, and a few layers of complexity surfaced in her heart as well.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Xu to care about her this much. At first, she had only thought Jiang Xu’s shy and embarrassed look was quite amusing, which was why she manifested to tease her.
Yet Jiang Xu had thought this much just because she was a little late in following her?
She had said that if Ming Yuan didn’t live in her heart, she couldn’t exist in this world, because she had come specifically for Jiang Xu.
If she didn’t live in Jiang Xu’s heart, Jiang Xu wouldn’t be able to live. If Jiang Xu died, coming to this small world would have no meaning, so naturally, she wouldn’t stay any longer.
However, it seemed Jiang Xu had misunderstood and thought of something else, even anxiously turning around to look for her.
Thinking this, Ming Yuan felt her heart soften for a moment. It had been a very long time since anyone had cared for her like this.
Jiang Xu was the very first person in her current memory.
A smile rose in her eyes, and gentleness was written across her face.
Ming Yuan looked at the woman in red before her who was as passionate as the blazing sun. Her smile was light, and she was as warm as jade.
Jiang Xu didn’t understand why she was being looked at like that, and her returning gaze carried puzzlement.
“Don’t panic, I’ll be fine. As long as you haven’t finished your revenge, I will always be here,” Ming Yuan said softly.
“Besides, since you think I’m omnipotent, how could you think I can’t exist independently of you? Before I met you, I lived the same way.”
Jiang Xu looked at the ethereal soul body of the woman before her. She wanted to ask what that earlier sentence meant, but after hesitating for a long time, she still didn’t say it out of her mouth.
She lowered her head, somehow feeling a bit lost and restless in her heart.
“Oh.” Jiang Xu gave a low “oh” to signal she had heard, and then remembering something, she turned to Ming Yuan.
“Why is it that when you float in the air like this, other people can’t see you? That manager just now didn’t see you either.”
“Because I am Ming Yuan. In this world, you are the only one who can see my existence and hear my words.”
“As for others, unless I take the initiative to manifest, they are simply not qualified to know I exist.”
Ming Yuan spoke thus, her tone as calm as water, devoid of the slightest emotion, as if she were merely stating a certain fact.
Yet Jiang Xu caught the innate arrogance and coldness hidden in her bones, a tone that reminded her of lines from storybooks: You mere mortals are not worthy!
In her mind, Jiang Xu imagined a picture: if Ming Yuan had a tail, it would definitely be wagging back and forth, wagging all the way up into the sky.
Thinking of this, a smile bloomed on Jiang Xu’s lips. Fearing that Ming Yuan would notice, she forcefully suppressed it with great difficulty.
The inexplicable restlessness in her heart moments ago completely vanished without a trace, replaced by an unconscious sense of joy and elation.
Her face flushed slightly as she cast a gentle glance at Ming Yuan. “Stop talking nonsense!”
This time it was Ming Yuan’s turn to be bewildered. Did she say something wrong? Wasn’t she seriously answering the question?
Huh? Are the female protagonists of small worlds all this strange?
— Divider line: I am Ming Yuan’s little tail —
Jiang Xu held the token she received from the demon manager and walked according to the address he gave her.
This place was on the edge of the small town, situated in the most remote of remote areas, barren to the point where not a single blade of grass grew. In the eyes of the demons, it was the worst of the worst lands, so naturally, they were unwilling to come here easily.
Thus, calling it quiet was no exaggeration. No wonder the manager looked at her with such a strange expression; he probably couldn’t understand why she would want to buy this courtyard.
Demons here simply couldn’t cultivate. However, Jiang Xu didn’t care; she was a half-demon, and moreover, she wasn’t looking to cultivate right now, but rather to nurse her body back to health first.
Opening the courtyard door, what met her eyes was an empty yard. It was truly empty because, as far as the eye could see, there was absolutely nothing except for a set of extremely crude stone tables and chairs placed right in the middle.
Walking past the courtyard, she saw three rooms. A slightly larger one should be the main room, located in the center. Two smaller and shorter rooms flanked the main room, surrounding it in a cluster formation.
Without even looking, Jiang Xu knew that inside the rooms, apart from stone beds, there was nothing at all.
This must have been a building constructed by demons mimicking humans, though due to issues with technology and tools, they had only imitated the surface appearance.
The manager had previously mentioned that this courtyard was very difficult to sell. On one hand, it was because of the remote location and unfavorable conditions for cultivation, and on the other hand, it had to do with demon habits.
Although the Demon Lord intended to learn tools, architecture, and other things from humans to civilize the demons and establish rule, habits carved into the bones of demons were hard to change.
Furthermore, this was a small border town of the demons; many demons were still accustomed to living in caves, which gave them a sense of security, rather than living in courtyards resembling human architecture.
Jiang Xu took out tables and other daily necessities from the storage ring she obtained after counter-killing someone who attempted to rob her, placed them properly, waved her hand to brush away the dust, and simply tidied up the courtyard.
After that, she paid it no more mind. She had no intention of staying here for long; she only needed to nurse her health back to health first, so there was no need to make it too lavish or clean, as long as she could barely scrape by.
She chose to settle in this city simply because it was relatively close to the Yunyun Mountain Range, one of the seven great demon mountain ranges, which would be convenient for her to search for herbs.
After briefly tidying up, Jiang Xu sat cross-legged on the stone bed, slowly breathing in and out according to the mental cultivation method Ming Yuan had taught her.
As she regulated her breathing, she could feel turbid Qi slowly discharging from her body, accompanied by faint aches and pains across her flesh.
Jiang Xu didn’t find it hard; instead, she felt even more excited. The tiny changes in her body told her one thing: she was growing stronger!
Only visible changes could allow her to keep persisting, persisting until the day she possessed the strength to slice open the throats of her enemies.
Nightfall.
Jiang Xu awoke from her cultivation, heavily exhaling a breath of turbid Qi, and ended her session. Coldness flickered in the depths of her eyes.
It was dark; it was time for her to go kill, or rather, go kill demons!
Ming Yuan floated beside her. She didn’t particularly like staying inside Jiang Xu’s heart because doing so prevented her from seeing Jiang Xu, and it also felt a bit strange.
At this moment, seeing the coldness flashing in Jiang Xu’s eyes, Ming Yuan guessed what she was planning to do, and appreciation bloomed in her gaze.
She found that she was really growing more and more fond of Jiang Xu.
Bearing a blood-deep hatred, she could still remain calm and self-possessed, plotting step by step without losing her mind, able to wait out the long years and endure boundless solitude.
She wasn’t cold and cruel enough to destroy the world or throw caution to the wind, yet she was no longer soft-hearted either. Such a vindictive Jiang Xu was someone she truly liked!