Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 322 - Affection (1)

The cold wind on the mountain made the already quiet night feel even more desolate.

In the darkness, someone repeatedly asked the person beside them with impatience.

“Gu Baiying, tell me honestly, if I really took on seven male concubines, would you really cut off all ties with me for the rest of your life?”

“Really.”

Zanxing looked at his expression, “Really?”

He replied with irritation, “Really!”

“Oh!” Zanxing nodded, “Then you must not care about me that much. I thought you’d hold on for a few more years.”

The surroundings were quiet. After a while, the young man’s voice sounded, carrying a hint of hesitance: “Life is long. What if you change your mind later? I… I could reluctantly wait.”

Zanxing was taken aback, her gaze towards him filled with mixed emotions. She murmured, “I didn’t expect Taiyan would send a romantic like you.” She then spoke to herself, “Since when did I become so good at raising fish?”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Under the fire-colored wings of the flower tree, Zanxing sat down with Gu Baiying. It was understandable that the young man was feeling frustrated. His prideful and arrogant nature had led him to be repeatedly silenced in Heishi City, which seemed somewhat unfair to him.

Zanxing took a hairpin from her head and handed it to Gu Baiying.

The evening star pin had been broken once. She later had Xiao Shuang try to repair it as best as possible, but it still bore cracks. Without the embellishment of soul fragments, the Tianhun wood looked less stunning than when it was new. Nevertheless, Zanxing always wore it. The people of Heish iCity often secretly told Bu Jiang that Zanxing had poor taste, that a grand princess of the Demon Realm always wore a broken hairpin.

But Zanxing still felt that this was the best gift she had received since arriving here.

She held the evening star pin and looked at Gu Baiying. Finally, she couldn’t help but ask the question she had been wanting to ask, “Gu Baiying, why did you give me this?”

She already knew about the Guishou Flower and naturally understood that the moment she told Gu Baiying that she saw flowers rather than bones, he had already known her identity as a member of the demon race. But afterward, he hadn’t tested or forced her. Instead, he had secretly embedded a fragment of his soul into the pin and casually presented it as a birthday gift.

“What else could it be?” Gu Baiying looked towards the fireworks at the foot of the mountain and said lightly, “You didn’t reveal your identity at the time, and the major sects treat the demon race as a grave threat. I was about to enter seclusion and couldn’t protect you.” He paused and added, “So, I thought, if I put a fragment of my life force into it, I might be able to protect you a little if there’s danger.”

Zanxing was slightly stunned. It turned out that from the moment Gu Baiying knew her identity, he was already thinking about how to protect her?

“Then why didn’t you ask me?”

“You hadn’t spoken, so it must have been something you couldn’t reveal easily.” Gu Baiying said indifferently, “What could I ask?”

“What if I never told you?”

“What else could I do?” He replied casually, “Just wait, wait until the day you decide to speak.”

His robe was slightly tinged red by the blooming flowers, his side profile was clean and refreshing, and his eyes were bright, like stars in the night.

Noticing Zanxing’s gaze, he turned his head and asked with some confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Zanxing smiled, “I was just thinking about what I should give you in return for such a precious birthday gift.”

Gu Baiying glanced at her and snorted, “Forget it. If you can take good care of yourself, I’d be very happy.”

“Well, according to the book How to Conquer a Handsome Young Man that Men Dong gave me, I should say something like ‘Why don’t I offer myself in return’. But since I’m the next Demon King, it might be a bit demeaning to say that.” Zanxing smiled brightly, “Gu Baiying, I’ll give you something else.”

A brilliant green glow suddenly appeared in her palm, much larger than the earlier fire-colored flower tree’s light. Zanxing tossed the green light into the air, and instantly, the pitch-black night sky was illuminated.

The wind made the entire starry sky tilt.

The Milky Way stretched from the distant horizon, with countless twinkling stars dazzling brightly. These sparkling gems crowded the vast expanse, hanging precariously from the dome of the sky.

The entire city was bathed in starlight.

In Heishi City, the demon race looked up at the sudden appearance of the starry river in the sky. The once cold and desolate Qixi Festival now had a delicate bridge of magpies and a hint of romance.

“It’s a bit difficult for me to conjure such a starry sky, so I can only maintain it for half an hour,” Zanxing sat on the ground, looking at Gu Baiying beside her. “I thought you might not lack gold, silver, or jewels. The evening star often appears on Chu Hong Terrace, but Heishi City doesn’t have clear nights. This piece of evening star is unique because it can’t be seen anywhere else.” She blinked, “Do you like it?”

Gu Baiying was slightly stunned, turning his head to look at the woman beside him. She gazed at him with clear, sincere eyes.

“…It’s alright.” He turned his head awkwardly, his ears subtly reddening.

Zanxing sighed and took out a small jar from her Qiankun Bag: “Would you like a drink?”

She pulled out the cork, and a sweet, fragrant aroma quickly wafted out. The scent reached Gu Baiying’s nose, and he was momentarily taken aback, hesitating, “This is…”

“Does the aroma seem familiar?” Zanxing smiled, “After requesting Wine Demon for a long time, he finally brewed a wine with a similar taste. The materials are different, and the taste is but a rough imitation.” She looked at Gu Baiying, “This is the Floating Dream Wine you chose for me on my birthday.”

The young man was momentarily stunned and did not speak.

Zanxing smiled, “You were rather reserved in expressing it.”

Back then, in the Ten Thousand Killing Formation, as the cultivators pressed forward step by step, under the intense flames of the divine fire pillars, he had wrapped a crimson ribbon around her wrist and whispered, “The Floating Dream Wine from Xuan Lingzi is the one I selected after three days of choosing, but you still didn’t understand.”

Zanxing had never understood.

Later, when she arrived in Heishi City, she always thought about Gu Baiying’s whispered words, unable to comprehend what she was supposed to understand.

Until Xiao Shuang, hearing her words, suddenly smiled, “Does Her Highness still not understand? Your Martial Uncle was confessing his feelings to you.”

“Confessing feelings?”

“Yes, the Floating Dream represents heartfelt intentions and worries about an unknown lover. Naturally, it’s a confession of feelings.”

Zanxing stared at the person beside her and repeated the words, “Heartfelt intentions, worries about an unknown lover.”

He was arrogant and reckless in all matters, dismissing everyone. Yet, when it came to matters of the heart, he was always exceptionally cautious. Perhaps he thought she had someone else in her heart, or perhaps he believed she wasn’t like him, but he still carefully offered a sincere heart. He didn’t want to make it explicit, but he also wasn’t willing to give up, so he embedded his feelings into the hairpin and concealed his emotions in the wine’s name.

“But Gu Baiying,” Zanxing sighed, “Have you ever thought that with such obscure expressions, I might never understand?”

“So what?” He raised his eyelids slightly, his tone light and airy, “If you don’t understand, I’ll just find another way. In the end, you’ll understand.”

Zanxing smiled again. As she smiled, she took a sip from the wine jar in front of her.

The jar was not large. She had Wine Demon brew this wine much later. However, unlike the demon race’s Floating Dream Wine, the human and demon varieties had different brewing materials, resulting in some differences in taste. She originally thought she would never drink Floating Dream wine like she did back then, but now that Gu Baiying was by her side, even this bitter and strong liquor had become sweet.

Gu Baiying turned his head to look at her. After watching for a while, he reached out to take the wine jar from Zanxing’s hand, saying, “Drink less. You’ve just come out of the Demon Energy Pool, strong liquor is harmful.”

Zanxing raised her hand to evade his attempt, “This wine was brewed by Wine Demon, different from the one brewed by Martial Uncle. The recipe has been changed, it’s not strong at all. It definitely won’t get me drunk and make me forcibly kiss you like before.”

Her words suddenly stopped.

The cold wind stirred her hair, dissipating some of the earlier warmth.

The young man’s eyes were deep, staring at her with a faint smile.

After a long pause, he said lightly, “So, you weren’t drunk back then.”

Zanxing choked and coughed.

She sincerely said, “If I said that I only just remembered this, would you believe me?”

Gu Baiying sneered, “No.”

“…”

“I wasn’t sure how to face you at the time, so I avoided the topic. It wasn’t that I intentionally took advantage of you and then shirked responsibility,” Zanxing emphasized. “Don’t overthink it!”

On that day by Changchun Pool, although she was drunk, she was not completely unaware of her actions. It was just that the night breeze was too gentle and his gaze was intoxicating. That’s why she, emboldened by the wine, took the opportunity to kiss Gu Baiying.

The next day, she was particularly disgusted with her own behavior.

After all, her identity was confusing, her relationship with Gu Baiying was unclear, and the future was uncertain. Adding more complications to this messy situation would only create more trouble. So when Gu Baiying asked her about it, Zanxing pretended not to know.

Originally, she had planned to keep this secret for a lifetime, pretending to be ignorant, but unexpectedly, tonight, in a moment of triumph, she let it slip.

Gu Baiying stared at her, seeming somewhat displeased, still holding a grudge about the past.

Zanxing leaned in a little closer, “But, were you troubled by it at that time?”

“No.”

“Answering so quickly suggests otherwise,” she leaned in a bit more, “Have you been tossing and turning, feeling like I cruelly abandoned you, and feeling both unwilling to give up and unwilling to question me directly, tormenting yourself day and night?”

“No!” He’s veins bulged on his forehead.

“Then why didn’t you push me away at the time?” Zanxing pondered, “You could have pushed me away.”

The distance between them was very close now.

The night breeze was cool. Gu Baiying looked down at her, his gaze as clear as the stream on Chu Hong Terrace, rippling with affection. The night breeze carried a faint scent of grass from him, and the countless stars fell, obscuring his expression but conveying the warmth and affection of his gaze.

His Adam’s apple moved slightly as he fixed his eyes on hers.

Zanxing’s heart skipped a beat.

He said seriously, “Because I like you.”

Zanxing was stunned. The next moment, she felt a cool touch on her lips.

The young man’s kiss lightly touched her lips, like a dragonfly landing on water, a fleeting dream. His voice was like tiny waves, silently scattered among the stars, drifting far and near.

“Because I like you.”