Was His Highness… confessing?
Hong Ning stood by the pond, lost in thought for a long time before lowering her head with a smile. A similar face—yet ultimately, not the same person.
She turned to head back to her room, only to find someone standing behind her.
She didn’t say anything, simply stopping in her tracks.
The vast night sky shrouded everything in darkness. She couldn’t make out those gentle, luminous eyes, nor could she tell what kind of expression they held at this moment—because he wasn’t looking at her.
In fact, she wasn’t even sure where he was looking at all.
A long silence followed.
Hong Ning was the first to break it. “Has Zhong Tian King come to admire the moon, or to enjoy the spectacle of my misfortune?”
At last, his gaze settled on her.
“I can lift your seal.”
Hong Ning said, “There’s a condition.”
He nodded. “Do not go after Lu Jiu.”
Hong Ning laughed. “My life is already in Zhong Tian King’s hands—what does a mere spiritual seal matter? If Your Highness wants it, just take it. Why lower yourself to negotiating with me? Is this meant to be pity?”
Jin Xiu’s brows furrowed slightly, his voice carrying a rare note of severity. “Lu Jiu is the son of the Northern Realm King, protected by the Northern Celestial Court. The peach demon’s inner core may be useful, but even the slightest mistake could be catastrophic. You should know the danger of Samadhi True Fire—how can you continue acting recklessly?”
Hong Ning smiled. “So Zhong Tian King is worried about me?”
Jin Xiu was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”
His direct admission caught Hong Ning off guard. “It was you who felt guilty in the first place. It was you who brought me here. It was you who sealed my powers. And now, it is you who says you’re worried about me. Should I be grateful?”
She locked eyes with him.
“A mighty Zhong Tian King—aren’t you supposed to foresee fate itself? If you hadn’t deliberately sent me to Bai Ling, he never would have found me. None of this would have happened…” She narrowed her gaze. “You knew all of this—yet you stood by and let it happen, even fueling the flames. And all you say is that it was fate, that it was predestined. Tell me, how exactly am I supposed to thank you?”
Jin Xiu said, “I didn’t know at the time.”
Hearing this, Hong Ning found it laughable. “Zhong Tian King, aren’t you all-knowing? Always speaking of destiny—yet you can’t even see the fate of a mere mortal?”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t see it.
It was that anything related to her was beyond his sight.
Everything that had unfolded had taken him completely by surprise.
Now, no matter what he said, she wouldn’t believe him.
Jin Xiu no longer argued. He took a step forward. “Be good.”
His voice was filled with concern and helplessness, tinged with an almost imperceptible tenderness—so much so that, for a fleeting moment, Hong Ning nearly wavered.
She instantly took a step back. “I’ve already made myself clear. What more do you want?”
At this point, she simply voiced the suspicion that had been lingering in her mind.
“You’re doing all this out of guilt, aren’t you? You never actually liked that little demon—you just deceived her into cultivating immortality, didn’t you?”
She thought that was the reason?
Jin Xiu halted, his expression unreadable.
But he did not answer.
Hong Ning assumed she had guessed correctly. “I’m just an ordinary mortal now, not some little demon. So you don’t have to act this way at all. Besides, I’ve already forgotten everything from my past life—including you. If you hadn’t appeared, I would have continued living as I always have, without any connection to you whatsoever.”
She paused, then added, “Since I’ve forgotten, where would hatred even come from? If you feel guilty, I can forgive you right now.”
Silence.
Before him was no longer that radiant, youthful face, yet the calm and distant expression was almost identical—just like that moment when, for his sake, she had knelt before him, calling him ‘Divine Lord’ instead. That moment when unwavering devotion turned into complete estrangement.
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