Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 114
by Little PandaMy Wife (26)
“Want to marry you.”
When the soul and spirit left the body, Xu Jiao, in theory, should not have had any reaction.
After all, within her body was a human’s vital soul, and strictly speaking, the soul and spirit are not on the same dimension as the myriad things of this world. The aura seen and felt is also different from that of living people, so it should be a muddled ball of light.
However, Xu Jiao, after only an initial moment of bewilderment, quickly regained her consciousness.
She even remembered to bring along the two talismans she had hastily learned during the day.
With a flicker of her thoughts, the two yellow papers that were originally placed near her dormitory bed flew out silently through the nearby window, as if blown by the wind.
Qian Ai was a light sleeper. She vaguely heard the sound of book pages turning, opened her eyes in the night, and looked around. This was a shadow and aftereffect left by the previous “Pen Fairy” incident. Although she could now barely manage to sleep without the lights on, when she heard those strange noises, no matter how deeply asleep she was, her body seemed to retain the impression and immediately woke up startled.
However, she saw nothing.
This was only natural. It was Xu Jiao’s soul that had been pulled out, so the body lying there was naturally motionless. Perhaps later, the body would gradually grow coldβ¦
As for Zheng Zhiyu, she was originally a fierce ghost, and had hardly ever shown her form in front of them. Qian Ai was completely ignorant about such matters of ghosts and spirits, so how could she possibly see her appearance? Therefore, this coming and going could only be felt as a cool breeze passing through the room.
Zheng Zhiyu chased after Xu Jiao, swiftly flying towards the distance.
Midway through, Xu Jiao’s soul had already secretly hidden the two talismans in her trouser pocket. She was a living soul, so these charms couldn’t harm her. When they reached their destination, she suddenly realized it was the rooftop of the highest building in the school, where Zheng Zhiyu had taken her to watch stars last time.
Tonight, the stars were sparse.
The moon seemed to have vanished as well.
The clouds in the sky carried a sense of gloom and desolation.
Nearby, only the searchlights from the high-rise construction site not far from the city center occasionally flashed by. In this sudden moment of brightness, Xu Jiao clearly saw the person who had dragged her soul here.
It was indeed the master who had deceived Xu’s parents during their last trip home.
The string of beads around his neck emitted an even more shrill and ominous red glow than before. It was unclear what new great evil thing was suppressed inside. Xu Jiao only felt a very uncomfortable sensation coming towards her, and she instinctively wanted to avoid this thing.
But she didn’t move.
Unable to discern the current situation, with her meager tricks, facing this fake monk with unfathomably deep thoughts, taking the initiative would not gain her any advantage.
It was better to first see what this fellow was up to, then decide when to pull out the life-saving protective talisman.
She knew Zheng Zhiyu was on her way.
Recalling the outcome after these two fought last time, thinking of Zheng Zhiyu’s red clothes that had already dimmed somewhat, and then looking at this monk who had aged a little but whose malevolence had intensified, Xu Jiao really couldn’t gauge who would win or lose if the monk and Zheng Zhiyu were to fight now.
She was still deep in thought, but her face maintained a cold expression. The bald man, seeing her appearance, let out an “Oh?”
He muttered to himself: “Normally, when a living soul leaves the body, it’s either bewildered or foolish. How is it that you, of all people, have such clear eyes? No wonder you’re the person the Ghost King has taken an interest in. Even your soul is so unusual. If this matter is settled, using you to refine the Nine Cycles Soul-Returning Pill that I’ve always wanted to make would be a good ingredient indeed.”
Xu Jiao: “⦔
For a moment, thousands of curse words flashed through her mind.
But she quickly picked out the key point from his words based on the situation: that others in this state all pretend to be foolish, bewildered, and act as if they know nothing. If she were to show any abnormality, perhaps this person would kill her on the spot.
Just as this thought aroseβ
The next moment.
A hideous, green-faced, fanged ghost face suddenly appeared, staring at her face to face, the distance between their faces merely a hair’s breadth.
Xu Jiao tried hard to resist the urge to blink. Fortunately, she wasn’t particularly afraid of these things to begin with. At most, she was startled by the sudden appearance of this thing, but luckily she controlled herself in time. Now she just appeared to be calmly staring at the ghost face.
The bald man was somewhat surprised again. His hand movements changed slightly, switching hand seals. The green-faced, fanged ghost face then turned into mist and disappeared, drilling back into the string of beads on his neck. A faint green light could be seen flashing across the beads.
Immediately after, a face so mangled it was almost unrecognizable from a car accident appeared in front of Xu Jiao. The dripping blood seemed as if it might fall onto her body. The person’s nose bridge had collapsed, their eyeballs were about to fall out but not quite, and there were few intact patches of skin and flesh on the faceβ¦
Xu Jiao never imagined she would experience different versions of a 3D surround horror movie all at once from this damned bald man. Face to face with this car accident face at close range, she didn’t blink, but felt a breath caught in her chest, stuck there, unable to go up or down, making her somewhat uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the soul state was different from being human; physiological reactions could be suppressed.
Even if she held her breath until she fainted now, her complexion wouldn’t change in the slightest.
After several ghost faces had passedβ
The monk before her seemed to realize that Xu Jiao was just a seemingly calm vase, no different from other dull-witted living souls. Oh, she was even worse than them. At least other souls had the instinctive reaction to avoid stronger opponents, but Xu Jiao just stood there stupidly. If the monk hadn’t wanted to keep her for later disposal, Xu Jiao’s head would have almost been swallowed by that car accident ghost’s open mouth earlier.
He revealed a cold smile and sighed: “I thought you were different, but it seems I was just being overly suspiciousβ¦ Never mind, after I deal with that lingering spirit around you, it won’t be too late to use you to lure out the Ghost King.”
With that, he slightly moved his sleeve, pushing Xu Jiao behind him, with two small ghosts watching her to prevent her from escaping.
Xu Jiao lowered her eyes, secretly thinking to herself:
What luring?
Are you blind? The Ghost King herself has been swaying in front of you so many times, you fool, and you still haven’t recognized her. Perhaps this is retribution for all the evil deeds he’s done.
At this moment, Zheng Zhiyu arrived just in time.
The red clothes appeared at the top of the roof terrace. The two faced each other from a distance. Xu Jiao didn’t realize that she had unconsciously relaxed, and the breath she had been holding while facing the monk earlier was no longer so stifling.
But she hadn’t relaxed completely, after all, as long as this fake master wasn’t dealt with, neither of them would have a peaceful day.
Zheng Zhiyu spoke first: “Last time I let you go, thinking that crippling a third of your power would be enough. Now it seems that wasn’t enough of a lessonβ¦ A cultivator who does nothing but harm heaven and earth, aren’t you afraid of heavenly lightning striking you down, scattering your soul?”
Upon hearing this, the bald man in front of Xu Jiao first smiled, almost in a posture of throwing his head back in laughter, as if Zheng Zhiyu had said something funny. His voice carried disdain and mockery:
“Cultivation itself goes against heaven’s will. What we do is merely to seek longevity and transcendence. Going against one’s own path is defiance, going against all things is also defiance. Letting these wastes exist doesn’t necessarily lead to any results in cultivation. Why not fulfill my way instead? It wouldn’t be a wasted trip to this mortal world for them.”
These words were extraordinarily arrogant.
As if he were heaven and earth itself, able to easily define the meaning of existence for other living beings.
Xu Jiao shook her head inwardly, vowing that if she completed the task in this world and had the chance, she would definitely go out and rewrite this book, arranging the most miserable ending for this stinking baldy.
Hearing those extremely repulsive words, the malevolence on Zheng Zhiyu’s body spilled out like water overflowing from a cup, rushing out. At the same time, the color of her red clothes became increasingly vibrant, as if about to drip blood.
The bald man, seeing this ability of hers again, was not as frightened as last time.
After all, this time he had come prepared.
Seeing the vivid red on Zheng Zhiyu’s body that seemed about to drip, his expression remained unchanged, as if he had already anticipated the outcome. He showed a somewhat pitying look towards Zheng Zhiyu, though the mockery in it was hard to dismiss:
“Fierce ghosts are mostly overwhelmed with resentment after death, usually unable to maintain clarity. Only when provoked by matters related to their inner grudges do they flare up againβ¦ You are the only fierce ghost I’ve seen who can freely mobilize this resentment.”
“Judging from your speech, you seem to have some understanding of the great way, and even after death, you haven’t forgotten to uphold justice. I imagine you were a fellow cultivator with a sect and master in life. Although I don’t know how you fell to this state, I don’t have time to investigate these matters now.”
“Those who follow me shall prosper, those who oppose meβ¦ shall perish.”
“Since I’ve already borne the burden of sin, one more with you won’t make a difference. If you must blame something, blame your own blindness for taking an interest in someone you shouldn’t have.”
As he finished speakingβ
He directly tore off the pagoda bead from the string of beads he had worn around his neck for so long. In an instant, the red glow covering the entire string of beads dimmed slightly. Seeing this, Zheng Zhiyu’s expression darkened, and her yin energy intensified threefold.
She knew that what this monk was about to release was no ordinary thing.
This could be seen just from the overwhelming red glow and killing aura.
The bald man crushed the pagoda directly. At the same time, the remaining fierce ghost beads on his neck seemed to sense the terror of this aura, and collectively let out wailing cries. Xu Jiao was jolted by this commotion and instinctively became a bit dazed, but it was just for this brief moment that the monk took her and jumped off the rooftop.
Because the released ghost’s killing aura was too heavy, ordinary people could not stay nearby for long.
The fake monk himself didn’t mind, but he was worried that Xu Jiao’s soul would be directly scattered, which would not be beneficial to his subsequent arrangement to lure out the Ghost King.
The whooshing sound of wind rushed past her ears.
The lights from nearby buildings flickered, and in the process of rapidly falling, they reflected in Xu Jiao’s eyes, as if the stars in the sky were spinning around her. All her eyes could see was a dazzling array of lights.
The monk seemed to have confirmed that she had no consciousness of her own, so the evil ghosts that were watching her earlier had been withdrawn. He was using something like a hook to catch her collar, falling down quite leisurely. Halfway through, the prayer beads floated up from his neck, flying beneath the feet of the man and the soul, lifting them up.
Being in a spiritual state, Xu Jiao could easily see this floating situationβ
It was all the fierce ghost souls on the string of beads supporting the two of them.
With the magical tool out of his hands, and in such a dangerous place midair, Xu Jiao didn’t know if souls could die from falling, but at least this monk was in a physical body. If he fell, he might not die, but he would certainly be crippled.
If not now, when?
Xu Jiao had made up her mind. Taking advantage of the monk’s inattention, she quietly slipped one hand into her pocket, taking out the two talismans she had secretly hidden earlier. These two paper talismans might not be enough to deal with the string of beads, but they were more than sufficient to handle a bald mortal.
One immobilization talisman.
One wind talisman.
Just right to deal with this monk.
Because he had no guard against this living soul, the bald man was originally concentrating on observing the commotion on the rooftop, seeing that red light almost breaking through the sky, about to dye half the sky in a strange color. He was calculating the time, preparing to go back up to set up his formationβ
As a result.
Just in a moment of inattention.
A gust of wind came from behind. He tried to dodge based on his martial arts instincts, but Xu Jiao’s first move was only a feint. The talisman’s true target was in the direction the monk was dodging towards. That person perhaps never expected her to have such skills, only assuming that the ghosts sent to chase her last time were dealt with by Zheng Zhiyu, without much consideration for this Ghost King’s love interest.
Because in his eyes, Xu Jiao was nearly an insect.
Who would seriously guard against an ant?
Thus, he was directly hit by the immobilization talisman. In the next instant, the wind talisman burned in mid-air. The monk’s eyes first showed astonishment, then changed to mockery. It was just a wind talisman after all.
In this day and age, how many people could directly summon wind with just a talisman?
If it could make him feel a bit cool, that would already be considered impressive for Xu Jiao.
That’s what he thought.
Xu Jiao was also somewhat uneasy.
Especially when she saw the string of prayer beads beneath her feet, following this bald man’s will, the ghosts inside emerging one by one and taking form. She vaguely guessed that her fate might not be too pleasant.
Moreover, the talisman that had just burned up in mid-air now showed no signs of activity.
The entire world was quiet.
As if nothing had happened.
In this brief moment, Xu Jiao’s mind was racing, wondering if she had drawn some part of the talisman wrong. Was the female protagonist of γBuilding No. 18γ really going to die in such a miserable way?
This would truly be the most casually dying female protagonist in history.
The bald fat man, immobilized by her talisman, revealed a ferocious malice in his eyes. By now, the fierce ghosts in the string of beads had slowly begun to appear, with half their bodies already emerged. It looked as if they were about to swallow Xu Jiao, each taking a biteβ
Just then!
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind surged up from below, violently whirling towards their direction!
How strong was this wind?
Xu Jiao could clearly feel the wind blades mixed within the gust coming straight at her. Even she, a living soul that shouldn’t have been affected, could sense the danger in that wind.
It was as if those wind blades could tear apart her soul.
The mocking smile in the monk’s eyes froze.
The last scene Xu Jiao could see was the unwillingness revealed in his eyes. Then, he and that string of prayer beads were engulfed by the wind cluster. Originally, Xu Jiao was about to be swept in too, but at the critical moment, a flash of red crossed her field of vision. When she came to her senses, she found herself held in Zheng Zhiyu’s arms, pulled to the side, narrowly avoiding that gust of wind.
She turned her head to look and saw that half of Zheng Zhiyu’s face was covered in blood-red, even her usually pitch-black eyes were emitting a red glow, as if her fierce nature had been provoked.
Xu Jiao was about to ask if she was alright, but from the corner of her eye, she noticed that the large patch of red on the rooftop hadn’t dissipated. The magnificence of that red was enough to make one’s heart tremble just by looking at it.
Zheng Zhiyu noticed her gaze, raised her hand to pat Xu Jiao’s head, her face paler than usual, almost transparent. Following Xu Jiao’s gaze to the rooftop, she explained in a low voice:
“He released something extraordinary.”
“A fierce ghost nourished by dozens of lives, and newly born at that, its blood and killing aura are at their strongestβ¦ Even I can barely match it.”
Hearing her words, Xu Jiao instinctively grabbed her wrist, as if anxious.
Zheng Zhiyu held back half a sentence.
That was, she discovered she had lost one of her souls.
When struck by such a heavy killing aura, the remaining two souls and seven spirits are extremely easily destabilized. At that time, her cultivation would dissipate in an instant⦠Sometimes, the confrontation between ghosts is this simple; the strong overwhelmingly crushing the weak.
And newly born fierce ghosts, at the moment of their birth, have neither reason nor consciousness. If they appear in rural villages, they would basically wipe out an entire village upon manifesting, causing a river of blood.
After the blood aura and malevolence dissipate, they would wander in the world. The slightly stronger ones could grow powerful by devouring lower-level ghosts, and then gradually regain their consciousness. But when encountering things they hated most before death, they would still be provoked into malevolence.
Zheng Zhiyu didn’t know where this old monk got such ability, to actually subdue this fierce ghost right when it was nourished by blood aura and its malevolence hadn’t dispersed. It seemed that the ghost-faced prayer beads were no ordinary magical tool.
At least, there shouldn’t be anyone in the current world who could easily cultivate such a thing.
“Thenβ¦ what should we do?” Apart from the few talismans she had hastily learned, Xu Jiao’s understanding of these things relied entirely on sudden flashes of insight that inexplicably appeared in her mind after encountering them. Now that even Zheng Zhiyu said she had no way, it was even harder for Xu Jiao to think of a solution.
But they couldn’t just leave it undealt with.
It was now clearly evident that this fake monk was somewhat insane. For him to set up such an extremely karma-damaging formation at the world-renowned S University, he certainly wouldn’t care about human lives. Releasing such a fierce ghost, he also wouldn’t care if it wasn’t recaptured and how many innocent lives it would claim afterward.
However, neither Xu Jiao nor Zheng Zhiyu would allow this situation to develop unchecked.
Zheng Zhiyu’s original intention was to take Xu Jiao to a safe place, or simply send her soul back. After all, she was already struggling to deal with the thing on the rooftop alone, let alone while protecting Xu Jiao. She couldn’t guarantee Xu Jiao’s complete safety.
But Xu Jiao raised her hand to cover the area over her heart, frowning.
Zheng Zhiyu quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Xu Jiao found it difficult to judge what kind of feeling this was. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly spoke, “My body is in the dormitory, it should be fine. Right now, I suddenly feelβ¦ like there’s something wanting to come out.”
What?
Zheng Zhiyu heard a hint of horror in this.
Xu Jiao was currently in a soul state, not in her physical body. In a soul, what could possibly be inside?
But before she could ask, both of them simultaneously felt a chill on their bodies.
On top of the high building, a black-haired figure, almost dyed red with blood, stood motionless at the edge, looking down. Even though her features couldn’t be clearly seen, her locked gaze felt almost tangible as it fixed upon the two of them.
Exceptionally sharp.
Although Xu Jiao was in soul form, she also felt a chill run down her back. Together with Zheng Zhiyu, she looked up to see that red figure spread its arms, as if intending to fall straight down from there.
At the same time.
An extremely intense smell of blood wafted over from not far away. Along with this bloody scent, the stars in the sky became indistinct. For a moment, it felt as if the entire world had turned red.
As if foretelling that this was destined to be a crimson night.
Xu Jiao heard Zheng Zhiyu’s voice murmuring softly: “β¦The formation has opened.”
How much impact can a meticulously arranged gathering yin formation, which has absorbed numerous qi of blood and resentment, have on the situation?
Half an hour is enough to explain everything.
Xu Jiao watched as Zheng Zhiyu was surrounded by hundreds of ghosts, while she herself was approached by that newly born, terrifying female ghost in red. At the edge of the rooftop sat a blood-covered monk, his usually shiny bald head half-stained red, and it was unclear how he had managed to climb up there while barely clinging to life.
The newly born vengeful ghost slowly approached. On Zheng Zhiyu’s side, the red garment had its skirt hem torn off, with the remaining color looking extremely pale. If earlier it was described as vibrantly dripping, now she looked as if she had faded, with the garment’s red at most becoming a tomato color.
She was about to fail.
Xu Jiao realized this point like never before.
But now all of her brain cells were focused on thinking about one thingβ
How to immediately transform into a ghost king?
How could this be achieved?
The monk seemed to have already seen through their exhausted tricks, coldly smiling at Zheng Zhiyu from over there: “Just a being with an incomplete soul, though I don’t know how you cultivated into a fierce ghost, butβ¦ this is the end.”
“Of course, if you’re willing to submit to me, I can reluctantly let you live a few more days in this world.”
Zheng Zhiyu glanced in Xu Jiao’s direction. Xu Jiao blinked at her once without showing any emotion. Zheng Zhiyu immediately changed her tune: “Why didn’t you mention accepting surrender earlier? We’ve been fighting for so long, turns out it was all a misunderstandingβ¦ My apologies, Master.”
That monk gave a cold laugh.
Of course, he wasn’t so easily bought off. Hearing Zheng Zhiyu’s change of tone, he immediately said: “For the loser to surrender sincerely, you must show some sincerity. Here, I have a qiankun bag with some good things inside. You put this living soul into it, I want to use her to draw out the Ghost King.”
Xu Jiao was still blinking.
But Zheng Zhiyu refused.
What good things could this baldy have?
The methods to draw out the Ghost King, one could easily guess what they were, all involving inflicting great pain and torment on someone connected to the Ghost King. She couldn’t bear it.
The bald donkey seemed to see through her insincere intention to defect, and couldn’t be bothered to watch their struggle. Somehow, he managed to grab Xu Jiao from a distance and threw her into that qiankun bag.
Zheng Zhiyu’s eyes widened: “No!!”
At the same time, the somewhat tattered blood-colored garment on her body became vibrantly red again. Even the black in her eyes could no longer be maintained. The last scene Xu Jiao could see was the red at the corners of her eyes slowly overpowering the black.
She seemed to have lost her sanity because of this.
Even that monk sighed in astonishment: “You can actually still⦔
Xu Jiao couldn’t hear clearly what was said after that.
The burning sensation in her chest grew increasingly intense, as if it wanted to break free and fly away to some other place. She didn’t even have time to experience what was actually inside this qiankun bag, as all her attention was first captured by this terrifying feeling.
In her mind, many fragments flashed by like a lantern slide show.
Sometimes Xu Jiao was from Zheng Zhiyu’s perspective, sometimes she was that person walking with a tucked tail, not quite accustomed to her own identity. She saw this fox-tailed individual spend a carefree time with Zheng Zhiyu in the mountains.
Until one day.
Zheng Zhiyu told her: “I’ve read through all the ancient texts, but I don’t know how to separate this fox spirit from you. I can promise you, if one day you pass away, I will send you to the underworld, crossing the Bridge of Helplessnessβ¦ How does that sound?”
The young woman, who could now control herself from showing her tail, nodded.
Zheng Zhiyu, dressed in Taoist robes, breathed a sigh of relief and said to her: “That’s good. But you can’t stay with me in this Taoist temple for a lifetime. Your destiny lies at the foot of the mountain. Today, you should go down the mountain. In the future, if you encounter any thorny issues, you can come back to find me.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Jiao saw herself tightly gripping the table, nervously asking: “Iβ¦ I don’t want to go down the mountain.”
The cool-mannered woman raised an eyebrow, her jet-black eyes full of gentleness and patience: “Oh?”
Xu Jiao’s voice grew a bit louder: “I don’t want to go down the mountain. I don’t mind the dullness up here. I just want to stay with you foreverβ¦ Is thatβ¦ not okay?”
Zheng Zhiyu replied gently: “It’s not okay.”
Xu Jiao, distracted, thought to herself, if it’s not okay, then it’s not okay. Don’t ask me for help in the future.
But now she was completely immersed in these memories that she didn’t know belonged to whom, and couldn’t voice her own thoughts. She could only watch step by step as this character continued to play out.
The memories quickly turned a new page.
The young woman, having returned to the mortal world, soon forgot about the interlude on the mountain. As if she had truly become a person of the mundane world, she lived, worked, obeyed her parents’ wishes, and married a scholar she didn’t particularly love. However, on their wedding night, when her clothes were being removed, she became too nervous and panicked, accidentally revealing her brown tail.
The scholar was so frightened that he fainted right there in the bridal chamber.
The next day, Xu Jiao was surrounded by the family’s servants wielding clubs. No matter how she tried to explain, no one would believe her words. They only said to her, “Monster, get out of here.”
Xu Jiao felt that the young woman from this perspective was extremely heartbroken. Tears streamed down her face. Though she was still wearing her wedding dress, she didn’t look at all like a bride on her wedding day, but rather was in a sorry state.
Just as those clubs were about to fall on her, a gust of wind came from somewhere, blowing all the leaves in the courtyard into the air.
The teary-eyed young woman looked up and saw the long-missed figure in black and white Taoist robes.
She was carried out of that courtyard. Because her nominal husband had earlier broken one of her legs, she couldn’t escape, and now even standing was a problem. She clung to Zheng Zhiyu’s neck, crying quietly, but heard the other person say softly:
“I’m sorry.”
“I came late. I should have arrived earlier. This tribulation of loveβ¦ is truly perilous.”
Xu Jiao looked up at her, seeing that fair, beautifully curved chin. Having been by her side since childhood, she was not unfamiliar with such tribulations. After a good while, she said:
“Iβ¦ don’t love him. Is that also a tribulation?”
The person carrying her paused, then answered: “I don’t know.”
Xu Jiao spoke again: “I don’t want to marry again. They all think I’m a monster, an oddity. No one will like me.”
Zheng Zhiyu looked down at her for a moment. The light in the forest filtered through the leaves, falling in dappled patterns on her face and clothes. The golden light somehow made those star-like eyes even more beautiful.
She said: “You’re not a monster. Mortals are ignorant, unwilling to see people with their hearts.”
The young woman in the large red robe was very quiet, uncertain if she had understood.
Zheng Zhiyu, as if sensing her sadness, added another sentence: “I don’t think you’re a monster.”
The young woman seemed slightly encouraged by her words, so she managed to muster some spirit and asked: “Then, will you like me?”
Zheng Zhiyu: “⦔
She hesitated.
The young woman deflated again, shrinking back into her embrace, muttering, “I know, all those things you said were just to comfort me.”
“β¦I will.” A difficult word emerged from above her head.
Someone seized the opportunity to press on: “Since mortals are ignorant, I won’t lower myself to their level. I want to live with you on the mountain. Now that I’ve experienced my tribulation and seen the mortal world, I still like your Taoist temple the most.”
“That might beβ”
“You still dislike me.”
“It’s not like that. It’s just that I also spend much time experiencing the mortal world, and don’t live on the mountain every day. With no one at the temple, the eaves of several rooms collapsed in the heavy rain some days ago. I’m afraid it’s not very suitable for living.”
“I don’t care. I just want to follow you. You saved me, so you have to take responsibility for me.”
“β¦Let me think about it.”
The scenes flipped by one after another.
The young woman followed the Taoist priestess, using the sky as their blanket and the earth as their bed. She even intuitively used her large fox tail as a warm, fluffy blanket, sleeping sweetly in the wilderness. She wanted to share the softness of her tail with Zheng Zhiyu, wrapping it around the other’s arm, clinging to her and asking:
“Do you like it? Do you like my tail?”
Zheng Zhiyu: “⦔
In this scene, Xu Jiao almost saw all of Zheng Zhiyu’s secretly passionate expressions.
She clearly liked the other’s fluffy tail but wouldn’t say it; she obviously enjoyed the other’s cooking skills, yet was stingy with even a word of praise; fearing that others might notice something amiss about the young woman, she never went to crowded places; she would find ways to care for the other’s health in hot and cold weather, and would secretly add firewood to the bonfire at nightβ¦
All her thoughts were hidden in unintentional places.
She thought she wasn’t being obvious, but the other had long since noticed everything.
So one day, as Xu Jiao accompanied her on a journey to subdue demons and eliminate evil, she heard herself casually asking: “In your Taoist sect, is marriage allowed?”
Zheng Zhiyu answered without blinking: “Of course. Why do you ask about this?”
Xu Jiao heard herself make an “Mm” sound, then blurted out a shocking statement: “Because I want to marry you.”
Zheng Zhiyu: “!”
She seemed to be greatly shocked, dazed for a long while, before stammering: “Youβ¦ what did you just say?”
Xu Jiao looked at her expression, finding it amusing. By now, she had figured out the behavioral patterns of the person she was inhabiting. So she moved her lips, and both souls – the one in the memory and the one outside it – spoke in unison:
“I said, I want to marry you, to be your wife.”
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