"...So what did you think I'd do with this information? My martial brother exploited his childhood sweetheart. Okay, terrible thing to do indeed. So?"
Han Xuhan said with a sigh, not sure what else to reply with.
Lady Caizhi's expression turned grim.
"He robbed her of a Celestial blessing! How biased must your judgment be to side with him by making light of this crime?"
Han Xuhan laughed woodenly. "I'm not making light of his crime, Lady. I'm trying to say that this is his personal business, in which I have no reason to implicate myself. And my martial brother has also tried to take responsibility for the offense by trying to enter into a marital tie with sister Qing Ya. It's not like she's some country-toppling beauty from a rich background. Without her special Physique, she's as ordinary as every other typical cultivator, be it her talent, potential, or appearance. Brother Ran can easily choose a better Dao Companion in all of these aspects, yet he still went for her. He wishes to marry her even now. I do not know whether this stems from his guilt or genuine affection, but you can't just spin it around as something incriminating!"
Lady Caizhi snorted in disappointment, leaning back on her seat once more. Her eyes stared outside through the window, the faraway look in her gaze causing Xuhan to grow more cautious.
"I suppose I must reveal the last piece of information to convince you," Lady Caizhi spoke slowly.
Xuhan raised a hand to make her pause.
"To convince me to do what, exactly? This is very strange. Why are you telling me all this? None of these facts and incidents are in any way related to me. What's your goal here? Clear that up for me, please. Otherwise, I don't see any reason to keep digging into my martial brother's personal life."
"The goal of telling you about it is to test your martial brother," Lady Caizhi replied, surprising him.
"Simply said, we wish for you to go strike a deal with him, a deal that is both a test and a possible salvation for Qing Ya."
Han Xuhan leaned forward, mouth contorting into an inquisitive smile. "Do elaborate, please."
"Ask Mu Ran if he's willing to return Qing Ya's Celestial blessing, the Twin Devil Physique. If he agrees, it'll prove that he truly has genuine affection for her. Otherwise, it would prove that he's really just another selfish villain who deserves-"
"Being selfish doesn't earn him a death sentence. Nor do I think my martial brother's exploitation of Miss Qing Ya deserves a punishment that severe," Han Xuhan said, interrupting her midway.
Seeing her eyes burning with anger, he hurriedly added, "But your suggestion is reasonable, Lady Caizhi. Since he has committed the crime, he must shoulder the responsibility of compensation. I agree to confront him about this transgression of his and offer him your deal. We'll see how that goes."
Han Xuhan would have never dared to speak to a powerful senior in such an overbearing manner had he not been standing on his home turf. This was the power his sect had provided him with, the power to stand tall against one of the most powerful factions of the planet fearlessly!
The two occupants of the cabin held each other's gazes without backing down for a long moment. In the end, Lady Caizhi was the one to break the silence.
"I have not yet given you the entire picture to consider, youngling. It was for your own good, because, as you've claimed multiple times, it would be pointless to involve you in a conflict outside your scope of interest, beyond your capabilities. Since you're so obstinate about siding with him, I suppose I should let you see the full truth merely to warn you. It will make you more involved than you want to, but it might just be a protection barrier you can rely on in the future."
Lady Caizhi's words gave birth to a sense of dread inside Xuhan's heart. But he could only steel himself as one of her tentacles reached out towards him once more, this time far more gently, knowing that he wouldn't instinctively resist.
As it opened up above his head and clamped down around the top half of his skull, Xuhan's mind sank once more into the flood of a foreign data stream.
'She' stood over a small bed upon which lay a familiar young boy, eyes closed, deep asleep.
Her hands reached around his temples to stroke his skin lightly, and Xuhan sensed the movement of qi around her fingers, slipping through her meridians with incredible fluidity.
The sleeping Mu Ran groaned in a muffled tone, appearing disturbed. But his breath soon turned back to normal. Changing his position slightly to turn over, his sleep continued.
A few seconds passed in silence. 'She' slowly backed away noiselessly, slipping out through the open door, which she locked on her way out.
Had he not been experiencing this from her own perspective, Han Xuhan would have never realized that she had left something inside as she was closing the door. But even then, he could not tell what it was, only that it was alive, and 'she' had formed a mental connection to it in the same way Lady Caizhi had formed a temporary mental link with him.
Less than a second later, Han Xuhan found himself standing outside under a dark, moonless sky.
With a glance at the surroundings, 'She' closed her eyes. Seconds later, Han Xuhan felt his perception of the surroundings suddenly change. Gone were the minute sounds everywhere, gone was the cold, gentle wind. Even the mental links to 'her' limbs seemed lost.
What he had gained in exchange was a new type of dataset flowing inside his brain.
The new dataset slowly formed into a strange picture. He was now in a humid place, the surroundings unfamiliar. The ground beneath was quite rough, as if it was constructed with unpolished stones. In every direction he looked, this floor seemed to stretch for miles and miles. At the horizon, where his sight could barely make out rough silhouettes, gargantuan shadows stood tall and still.
Han Xuhan found something oddly familiar in those huge shadows. For a second, his thoughts came to a pause, trying to guess the reason behind this sense of familiarity.
Wait...was that a chair?
Shock flooded his heart. But before he could analyze the situation further, he felt his wings beginning to vibrate...wait, what? Wings?
WINGS?!
Multiple pairs of wings on his back shivered up and down at least twenty times per second. His light body began to rise up smoothly, leaving the uneven floor far below.
As he rose higher and higher, Han Xuhan realized where he was despite his current shadowy, blurred vision.
He had just left this room a few moments ago, inside the body of his previous carrier. The current body, the current memory sequence he was experiencing was of the living being 'she' had left inside the room discreetly just before closing the door.
Instantly, a chain of logic formed in his mind to establish the explanation behind this. His other carrier, the woman in all the prior memory trips, who he assumed was the master Lady Caizhi spoke so highly of, had left behind some type of an insect to act as her drone. She had now possessed it to secretly observe Mu Ran without alarming anyone.
This made him wonder about another issue. If she truly was as capable as Lady Caizhi made her out to be, why were her actions and techniques so ordinary?
She had to have unfathomable cultivation to be called 'master' by someone as powerful as Lady Caizhi. The incidents in the memory sequences took place merely ten years ago. Why would she feel so weak?
Maybe she was recuperating right now, like Lady Caizhi had stated a while ago.
Meanwhile, the drone which this woman was possessing right now (whose memory Xuhan was experiencing) buzzed its way forward, flying towards a certain direction.
Through the drone's senses which were transmitted to its possessor and in turn which was transmitted to Xuhan, he realized that the drone had sensed something incredibly stimulating, something familiar, something that made it fly as fast as it could.
Using the blurry silhouettes it was passing by, Han Xuhan briefly managed to determine its target. The drone was headed to the center of the room where Mu Ran's bed was.
As it reached closer, Han Xuhan felt the drone's sight clear up, forming a better image of the bed and its occupant...s.
That's right.
In the drone's eyes, two pitch-black silhouettes lay on the bed, each transposing, superimposing, and overlapping the other in bewildering ways constantly.
"...So what did you think I'd do with this information? My martial brother exploited his childhood sweetheart. Okay, terrible thing to do indeed. So?"
Han Xuhan said with a sigh, not sure what else to reply with.
Lady Caizhi's expression turned grim.
"He robbed her of a Celestial blessing! How biased must your judgment be to side with him by making light of this crime?"
Han Xuhan laughed woodenly. "I'm not making light of his crime, Lady. I'm trying to say that this is his personal business, in which I have no reason to implicate myself. And my martial brother has also tried to take responsibility for the offense by trying to enter into a marital tie with sister Qing Ya. It's not like she's some country-toppling beauty from a rich background. Without her special Physique, she's as ordinary as every other typical cultivator, be it her talent, potential, or appearance. Brother Ran can easily choose a better Dao Companion in all of these aspects, yet he still went for her. He wishes to marry her even now. I do not know whether this stems from his guilt or genuine affection, but you can't just spin it around as something incriminating!"
Lady Caizhi snorted in disappointment, leaning back on her seat once more. Her eyes stared outside through the window, the faraway look in her gaze causing Xuhan to grow more cautious.
"I suppose I must reveal the last piece of information to convince you," Lady Caizhi spoke slowly.
Xuhan raised a hand to make her pause.
"To convince me to do what, exactly? This is very strange. Why are you telling me all this? None of these facts and incidents are in any way related to me. What's your goal here? Clear that up for me, please. Otherwise, I don't see any reason to keep digging into my martial brother's personal life."
"The goal of telling you about it is to test your martial brother," Lady Caizhi replied, surprising him.
"Simply said, we wish for you to go strike a deal with him, a deal that is both a test and a possible salvation for Qing Ya."
Han Xuhan leaned forward, mouth contorting into an inquisitive smile. "Do elaborate, please."
"Ask Mu Ran if he's willing to return Qing Ya's Celestial blessing, the Twin Devil Physique. If he agrees, it'll prove that he truly has genuine affection for her. Otherwise, it would prove that he's really just another selfish villain who deserves-"
"Being selfish doesn't earn him a death sentence. Nor do I think my martial brother's exploitation of Miss Qing Ya deserves a punishment that severe," Han Xuhan said, interrupting her midway.
Seeing her eyes burning with anger, he hurriedly added, "But your suggestion is reasonable, Lady Caizhi. Since he has committed the crime, he must shoulder the responsibility of compensation. I agree to confront him about this transgression of his and offer him your deal. We'll see how that goes."
Han Xuhan would have never dared to speak to a powerful senior in such an overbearing manner had he not been standing on his home turf. This was the power his sect had provided him with, the power to stand tall against one of the most powerful factions of the planet fearlessly!
The two occupants of the cabin held each other's gazes without backing down for a long moment. In the end, Lady Caizhi was the one to break the silence.
"I have not yet given you the entire picture to consider, youngling. It was for your own good, because, as you've claimed multiple times, it would be pointless to involve you in a conflict outside your scope of interest, beyond your capabilities. Since you're so obstinate about siding with him, I suppose I should let you see the full truth merely to warn you. It will make you more involved than you want to, but it might just be a protection barrier you can rely on in the future."
Lady Caizhi's words gave birth to a sense of dread inside Xuhan's heart. But he could only steel himself as one of her tentacles reached out towards him once more, this time far more gently, knowing that he wouldn't instinctively resist.
As it opened up above his head and clamped down around the top half of his skull, Xuhan's mind sank once more into the flood of a foreign data stream.
'She' stood over a small bed upon which lay a familiar young boy, eyes closed, deep asleep.
Her hands reached around his temples to stroke his skin lightly, and Xuhan sensed the movement of qi around her fingers, slipping through her meridians with incredible fluidity.
The sleeping Mu Ran groaned in a muffled tone, appearing disturbed. But his breath soon turned back to normal. Changing his position slightly to turn over, his sleep continued.
A few seconds passed in silence. 'She' slowly backed away noiselessly, slipping out through the open door, which she locked on her way out.
Had he not been experiencing this from her own perspective, Han Xuhan would have never realized that she had left something inside as she was closing the door. But even then, he could not tell what it was, only that it was alive, and 'she' had formed a mental connection to it in the same way Lady Caizhi had formed a temporary mental link with him.
Less than a second later, Han Xuhan found himself standing outside under a dark, moonless sky.
With a glance at the surroundings, 'She' closed her eyes. Seconds later, Han Xuhan felt his perception of the surroundings suddenly change. Gone were the minute sounds everywhere, gone was the cold, gentle wind. Even the mental links to 'her' limbs seemed lost.
What he had gained in exchange was a new type of dataset flowing inside his brain.
The new dataset slowly formed into a strange picture. He was now in a humid place, the surroundings unfamiliar. The ground beneath was quite rough, as if it was constructed with unpolished stones. In every direction he looked, this floor seemed to stretch for miles and miles. At the horizon, where his sight could barely make out rough silhouettes, gargantuan shadows stood tall and still.
Han Xuhan found something oddly familiar in those huge shadows. For a second, his thoughts came to a pause, trying to guess the reason behind this sense of familiarity.
Wait...was that a chair?
Shock flooded his heart. But before he could analyze the situation further, he felt his wings beginning to vibrate...wait, what? Wings?
WINGS?!
Multiple pairs of wings on his back shivered up and down at least twenty times per second. His light body began to rise up smoothly, leaving the uneven floor far below.
As he rose higher and higher, Han Xuhan realized where he was despite his current shadowy, blurred vision.
He had just left this room a few moments ago, inside the body of his previous carrier. The current body, the current memory sequence he was experiencing was of the living being 'she' had left inside the room discreetly just before closing the door.
Instantly, a chain of logic formed in his mind to establish the explanation behind this. His other carrier, the woman in all the prior memory trips, who he assumed was the master Lady Caizhi spoke so highly of, had left behind some type of an insect to act as her drone. She had now possessed it to secretly observe Mu Ran without alarming anyone.
This made him wonder about another issue. If she truly was as capable as Lady Caizhi made her out to be, why were her actions and techniques so ordinary?
She had to have unfathomable cultivation to be called 'master' by someone as powerful as Lady Caizhi. The incidents in the memory sequences took place merely ten years ago. Why would she feel so weak?
Maybe she was recuperating right now, like Lady Caizhi had stated a while ago.
Meanwhile, the drone which this woman was possessing right now (whose memory Xuhan was experiencing) buzzed its way forward, flying towards a certain direction.
Through the drone's senses which were transmitted to its possessor and in turn which was transmitted to Xuhan, he realized that the drone had sensed something incredibly stimulating, something familiar, something that made it fly as fast as it could.
Using the blurry silhouettes it was passing by, Han Xuhan briefly managed to determine its target. The drone was headed to the center of the room where Mu Ran's bed was.
As it reached closer, Han Xuhan felt the drone's sight clear up, forming a better image of the bed and its occupant...s.
That's right.
In the drone's eyes, two pitch-black silhouettes lay on the bed, each transposing, superimposing, and overlapping the other in bewildering ways constantly.
