Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 191 - The Promise With You (2)

Zanxing replied, “‘Fifty True and Spooky Tales of All States'”.

Everyone: “…”

Men Dong angrily said, “Stop telling ghost stories here!”

Zanxing shrugged, “With the atmosphere so fitting, I thought you might want to hear it.”

Men Dong was about to say more, but was interrupted by Gu Baiying. He took the treasure map and went to the cave entrance to look into the distance. The snowstorm was too heavy, and there were no stars visible tonight, making it impossible to determine the direction. He said, “Rest well tonight. I’ll keep watch and we’ll set out first thing in the morning.”

“How about we take turns with you, Martial Uncle?” Mu Cengxiao suggested. “That way, we can conserve our energy.”

Gu Baiying considered it briefly, “That works.”

And so it was decided.

Zanxing had not trained from a young age and was not as physically strong as Meng Ying or as resilient as Mu Cengxiao and Tian Fangfang. So she comfortably found a spot not too far from the fire to rest. Perhaps because descending the cliff had been exhausting, she fell asleep with Mimi in her arms almost immediately.

Zanxing dreamed a dream.

In the dream, she was carrying Mimi to Yuequn Palace. It was Meng Ying’s birthday, and Tian Fangfang and the others were all there. Zanxing was having a lively meal with them. As she got drunk and drowsy, she took a nap. Suddenly, she heard a scream by her ear. When she opened her eyes, the room was filled with blood, and everyone was lying in a pool of blood. The flower-patterned staff in her hand was still warm with fresh blood. A loud voice came from afar, growing louder: “Demon, it’s a demon! Kill that demon!”

She turned around in panic and found herself surrounded by other disciples. The leader was none other than Gu Baiying, who was pointing Xiu Gu at Zanxing’s neck with a look of deep hatred. His gaze was as cold as that of a stranger as he pronounced each word clearly: “Demon race.”

Demon race!

Zanxing was jolted awake from the nightmare.

Her chest still felt the lingering panic, and it took her several deep breaths to realize that it had all been just a dream.

A boy’s voice came from nearby: “Did you have a nightmare?”

Zanxing looked up.

The fire crackled with a crackling sound, and the others had already fallen asleep against the stone walls. Mimi had curled up into a ball at her feet, while Gu Baiying sat calmly by the fire.

His voice was equally cold, but with a hint of impatient concern, very different from the deep hatred in the dream.

It was just a dream.

Thank goodness it was just a dream.

She moved closer to the fire, trying to use its warmth to dispel the cold and fear left by the nightmare. Gu Baiying glanced at her and asked, “Are you cold?”

Zanxing didn’t reply.

The dream was certainly not a good omen.

Perhaps it was a case of what one thinks during the day, one dreams at night. She had just finished reading “The Demon Queen’s Confession: On the Wedding Night, I Discovered My Husband’s Illegitimate Child,” and she had already had countless nightmares like this one.

In that book full of misspellings and questionable authenticity, the scandal was recorded from the perspective of the Demon Queen. It claimed that on the day of her wedding to the Demon King, Gui Diaotang, the Demon Queen discovered that he already had an illegitimate child. This child’s mother was a human, making the child half-demon.

The Demon King Gui Diaotang, who was a supremacist of bloodlines, viewed this illegitimate child as a shame upon himself and ruthlessly decided to get rid of it—

The story ended there. Or rather, the plot related to the illegitimate child ended there, and the rest of the book is filled with tens of thousands of words about the Demon King and the Demon Queen’s romance that began with marriage.

Zanxing didn’t know if what was written in the book was true or not, but if it were true, it was very likely that she was that unfortunate illegitimate child.

Otherwise, how could one explain why the “Miss Yang” living in Yuecheng had a whole box of forbidden books from the demon world, and how could one explain why that formidable demon in the Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram knelt and bowed to her?

Unless, she herself had deep connections with the demon world.

As for how the supposedly dead illegitimate child managed to escape, it was merely due to the protagonist’s halo. Because she had taken the Xiao Yuan Pearl, seized Mu Cengxiao’s opportunity, and rewritten the Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao saw that she could no longer be a mere insignificant cannon fodder. Instead, it found another way to punish her. In a way, Zanxing was still a protagonist, but had become a villain.

Zanxing stared blankly at the firelight. The next moment, a cloak was thrown over her head, enveloping her completely.

“What kind of dream did you have to look so pale?” Gu Baiying asked nonchalantly as he added more firewood to the fire.

The coral-red cloak was lined with a band of fluffy white fur, looking both beautiful and warm. Zanxing asked, “Martial Uncle, why do you still carry a cloak with you?”

“I don’t know. Men Dong packed it.”

“Oh.” Zanxing tightened the cloak around herself, thought for a moment, and then sat down next to Gu Baiying.

The boy stiffened slightly, staring coldly at the flames and said, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Zanxing placed her hand on the fire to warm it. The warmth slowly spread from her palm to the rest of her body, making her feel a bit warmer. She suddenly asked, “Martial Uncle, what kind of person do you think I am?”

Gu Baiying looked at her suspiciously, “What do you mean?”

“In other words,” Zanxing pointed to her face, “do you think I’m special?”

The fire quietly burned, casting a warm red glow. Her face was close, overlapping with the one from a summer night by the lotus pond.

He abruptly turned his head, looking somewhat awkward, and said quickly, “You’re so vain, what’s so special about you?”

“Yes, I suppose I look quite ordinary.” Zanxing sighed, “If a person like me were to be found out to have a tragic past, a terrible background, and unavoidable hardships, what do you think would be the outcome? For example,” she spread her hand above the flame as if trying to grasp something, half teasing and half serious, “if one day our identities were to oppose each other, but I had not wronged you, would you take action against me?”

The flames reflected in her eyes, making the always smiling gaze appear somewhat lost.

She was asking very seriously.

In the cave, only Mimi’s snoring echoed, blurred by the drifting wind and snow.

After a while, a voice spoke up.

“Stop dreaming,” Gu Baiying grunted, “I think you should read fewer random books from the library. A person like you couldn’t possibly have a tragic background. Besides, you’re from the Taiyan Sect and my disciple. Even if you stand on the opposite side of the world, it won’t change the fact.”

“Your stance is my stance,” he said.

His eyes were a beautiful light tea color, always bright. By the fire at night, they shone like amber gemstones, brilliant and precious.

A person usually so proud and aloof could, on a certain night, have such a gentle gaze.

Zanxing felt like her heart was gently tapped, letting a sliver of light seep through the crack.

The next moment, Gu Baiying quickly turned away and added, “It’s also the stance of the Taiyan Sect.”

Zanxing: “….”

Alright, at this moment, it really wasn’t the time for romantic sentiments. Besides, Gu Baiying was a person whose face and heart both clearly said ‘no romance’.

There was a thin layer of white snow on the ground. Zanxing picked up a dry twig and wrote a few words in the snow.

Gu Baiying glanced over and saw the characters 杨簪星 (Yang Zanxing) written in a crooked, dog-scratched manner. He couldn’t help but sneer, “How ugly.”

Zanxing remained unfazed and continued writing. This time, she wrote 顾白婴 (Gu Baiying).

Gu Baiying was taken aback.

The names Yang Zanxing and Gu Baiying stood side by side. Ugly as they were, they somehow looked surprisingly harmonious.

Zanxing drew a circle around both names.

Gu Baiying’s fingers curled slightly as he asked, somewhat awkwardly, “What’s the meaning of this?”

“You said that our stances are aligned, right?” Zanxing dropped the twig and looked at her work with satisfaction. “These two names are here now. No one is allowed to erase them. It’s proof, in case one day you try to deny it. There’ll be a record in white snow and black characters.”

“Childish.” Gu Baiying remarked dismissively, “The wind will blow, and the snow will cover the writing. Where’s the proof then?”

“That’s why,” Zanxing looked him in the eyes, seriously patting his shoulder, “A promise must be kept not only in the snow but also in the heart. Martial Uncle, you must remember my words.”

The spot where her fingers had touched grew warm. Even warmer was her gaze, filled with eager expectation, as if this promise was the most important thing in her life.

Gu Baiying, feeling uneasy, said, “…Understood.”

Satisfied, Zanxing withdrew her hand, yawned, and tightened the cloak around herself. “I’m a bit sleepy. You continue keeping watch, I’ll sleep a little longer.”

She leaned against the stone wall, closed her eyes, and soon fell into a steady sleep.

The fire continued to burn. The young man stared at the names in the snow, lost in thought.

A gust of north wind burst into the cave, swirling snowflakes that scattered a small part of the writing. He suddenly woke up, instinctively reaching out to protect the snow-covered names. Then, realizing what he was doing, he froze.

The snow continued to fall, and everyone in the cave had their own sweet dreams.

He looked down at the snow for a moment before finally reaching out, carefully performing a wind-repelling spell over the names. Then he lowered his head, smiling helplessly.

*

Zanxing was woken by the commotion.

The loud, clamorous noise was impossible to ignore. She groggily opened her eyes and heard Tian Fangfang’s excited voice: “That must be the Sacred Tree! It’s so bright. It really is the Sacred Tree! I can’t believe we searched high and low and found it so easily!”

“The Sacred Tree?” Zanxing quickly sat up and saw Tian Fangfang and the others gathered at the cave entrance, looking down at something.

“Junior Sister, you’re awake!” Tian Fangfang turned around, saw Zanxing, and called out, “Come quickly and see! We’ve found the Sacred Tree!”

—

T/n: Gu Baiying, the romantic. (I love him so much T_T)