Chapter 128: A Smile Like a Flower, Speaking of Rampancy

Xiaobai sat atop the Lingyun Pavilion, drinking wine all by himself.

They say wine intoxicates the heart, yet he simply could not get drunk; the burning liquor entered his belly, leaving only a wave of heat, and then no further sensation.

How many years had it been? He longed to be drunk just once.

……

"However..." Ajin continued, "it is not as if there is no way."

Long Qi raised his head upon hearing this, his face full of hope.

"What way?!"

Xiaobai, hearing this, also looked toward Ajin at once, as if he had seen hope.

But Ajin was knitting his brows, and only after a long while did he speak.

"There are two methods. The first is for you..." He said, looking at Xiaobai, "to kill Miss Lingxiang with your own hands. That way, when you enter the Yellow Springs, your soul will not be dragged away by the Abang Rakshasas."

The crowd was stunned upon hearing this, and Long Qi and Xiaobai said in unison:

"What kind of talk is that!"

The two looked at each other, and then Long Qi said fiercely to Xiaobai: "If you dare to harm her, I will surely make you suffer eternal damnation."

Xiaobai paid him no mind and turned his head to look at Ajin.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly kill Lingxiang? What is the second method?"

"As for the second..."

Ajin pondered for a long time, seemingly hesitant. Seeing this, Xiaobai urged him, "Speak plainly, don't be so wishy-washy, what is the point of acting like this!"

Seeing Xiaobai like this, a flash appeared in Ajin's eyes: "The second is for you to break the Contract Curse yourself. But if you break it yourself, what will become of you—I think I need not say more."

Xiaobai's fox eyes widened upon hearing this; the spirit-binding words chanted by Lingxiang still echoed in his ears.

……

"You are now a spirit, bound by contract, serving by my side, always protecting my person; should you violate this, the Heavenly Thunder Technique shall strike!"

……

Seeing the stunned expression on Xiaobai's face, the others did not understand what it was that Ajin had described.

"What does the Divine Envoy mean?" Xin Yi asked.

"I mentioned earlier that he is a Grudge Demon; if he dies, his soul will scatter and he will be reduced to dust," Ajin said as he stepped down the stairs, "and if he breaks the Contract Curse himself, he must endure the Heavenly Thunder striking his head. If he survives, so be it, but if he cannot..." He did not finish his sentence and walked away on his own, leaving only a trail of bell chimes.

……

A chime sounded, and the wine cup Xiaobai had brought to his lips paused.

"I didn't know that you, the Divine Envoy everyone speaks of, could come and go through Yuanqing as if it were an empty place. Do they not even try to manage you?"

Another chime sounded, and a gust of wind blew past, lifting a lock of hair from Xiaobai's forehead. Then, Ajin sat down beside him, picked up the wine flagon, and began to drink.

"This is strong liquor; it's not something a cat can drink."

"A cat naturally cannot drink it," Ajin gulped down a mouthful, set the flagon down, and said, "but a friend can."

Xiaobai smiled and drank the clear wine in his cup to the last drop.

"Why? How come you don't have to accompany your little master?"

"He is quite safe in Yuanqing and does not need me to watch over him at all times. But you, pouring and drinking all by yourself, how does that relieve your worries?" Ajin said, looking at Xiaobai. Those golden eyes were hard to ignore, even in the dead of night.

Xiaobai picked up the flagon, filled his cup to the brim, then raised it to the moon and sighed.

"Like the morning dew, the days gone by are full of bitterness." Saying this, he drained the clear wine in his cup once more.

"I once wandered the world full of resentment, always thinking that since the heavens had given me a chance to live again, I would surely live as I pleased. Whether it was revenge or causing trouble, I would at least be free and unfettered. But after meeting her, I discovered that since I am living in this world, I really shouldn't hold onto the past."

"She once told me," Xiaobai said, fiddling with the wine cup in his hand, "that past events are all like this, the past is all like smoke, just like boiling tea overflowing the cup—there is nothing that cannot be let go. But now, I find I cannot let go."

He gave a bitter laugh: "Having been a demon for so long, I am still not as open-minded as a young girl. I truly regret not listening to you back then; if I had, I suppose I would never have met her."

Ajin heard this, picked up his cup, and took another gulp.

"What is destined to be yours will come in time."

Yes, what is destined to be yours will come in time, and what is not, one should not force. But his life was only this once, with no afterlife to follow.

The two looked at the crescent moon in the sky, drinking cup after cup without another word. It was then that Xiaobai suddenly sensed Lingxiang's Summoning Spirit Spell; he hesitated, not knowing whether to go or not.

Seeing this, Ajin advised: "Miss Lingxiang likely has her own calculations. If she bound herself to you, she must know everything and must have her own plans. If you take it so to heart, you might just violate your original intent."

Xiaobai frowned upon hearing this, then turned and vanished. Ajin also transformed into his cat form and, accompanied by a chime, jumped off the roof, leaving only a flagon and a cup behind.

……

Lingxiang was extremely puzzled; what was wrong with Xiaobai? She had already recited the Summoning Spirit Spell four times, yet he had not appeared.

Just as she pinched her hand seals, intending to recite it once more, she heard his voice from above the rafters.

"Stop reciting, stop reciting. If you keep going with these incantations, it'll be just like the words of Master Xuanzang—it's giving me a headache." Saying this, he leaped down.

Lingxiang smiled and teased: "I was wondering why I couldn't summon you for half a day; so you went off to drink that swill. I was counting on you to help me, but look at this—I didn't summon a helper, I summoned a drunkard."

Xiaobai laughed loudly upon hearing this: "Don't tease me like that. Even if you poured vats of Jade Dew from the heavens down my throat, I wouldn't get drunk." He then sat before Lingxiang's window, "Speak, why did you summon me?"

Lingxiang stared at Xiaobai without moving, as if probing him: "What is wrong with you?"

Xiaobai looked into Lingxiang's eyes upon hearing this; even in the dark of night, those eyes were clear and distinct, incredibly limpid. He was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly looked aside.

"I just ran into an old friend I hadn't seen in years and had a few cups together, that's all."

Seeing him like this, Lingxiang smiled and grabbed the tail he had inadvertently revealed—the tail was fluffy and soft, and she truly liked it very much.

"You must have learned something to be like this, but there is really no need. Binding myself to you was not a whim. I treat you as a friend, which is why I tell you this."

"As for me, I have a Residual Spirit Root; in terms of cultivation, I will never attain the Dao. But if I am bound to you, perhaps I can carve out a path in the demonic way. You shouldn't let your imagination run wild."

Xiaobai did not know what had come over him, that he had actually revealed his fox tail. Feeling a tingling sensation at the tip of his tail, he wanted to pull away, but Lingxiang held it tightly.

Seeing that he could not pull away, he lowered his head and asked in a low voice: "Do you know what will happen if you bind yourself to me? That is..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Lingxiang.

"Avici Hell, is it?" Lingxiang smiled brilliantly. "Even if it is hell, so what? I could run rampant in the human world, so even in hell, those little ghosts surely wouldn't be able to do anything to me."

"You are of the demon kind, so what of it? I know what kind of person you are, and that is enough. Why care how others see you?"

Gazing into Lingxiang's crystalline eyes, Xiaobai did not know what to say for a moment, yet his heart surged. Seeing him like this, Lingxiang knew he had taken her words to heart. She released him with some reluctance, and Xiaobai hurriedly stood up, hiding his tail.

"You... you... you summoned me here, what do you want to do?"

Lingxiang gave a sly smile, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

"I want you to help me steal something..."