NOVEL NEXT Ch. 27
Change
After winding through the streets following the signs and streetlights, Aili finally stopped in an area and compared it with the simple map.
She said, "We're here. It should be around here!"
Looking at the mansion in front of her, Aili walked up, swiped the keycard, and with a 'click', the door slowly opened.
From the outside, the house looked quite nice, but there was very little inside.
The living room housed only one table and four chairs, nothing else.
Some cobwebs clung to the corners, and a thick layer of dust coated the window panes.
It looked as though no one had lived here for a long time.
"There are two floors in the house, each with its own bathroom, but the kitchen is only downstairs. There are two rooms per floor. Although the sanitary conditions are rather poor, at least the basics, like the kitchen and bathroom, are fine. As for daily necessities, we'll just have to wait for daybreak and head to the market to buy some."
Aili slowly analyzed the state of the house.
"It's almost seven o'clock. Let me do the cleaning here. Master, please go and buy some essentials. Miss Zhixi, what about you? Will you stay to help clean up, or go out to help carry things?"
"I'll be a porter. The dust here is already suffocating me,"
Zhixi replied.
"If I go out, will it be alright?"
Yinhua said anxiously.
"You must get used to your current identity. You're no longer Yinhua, not a princess, just an ordinary girl named Luna."
Usually so protective of her master, Aili now spoke in an uncharacteristically stern tone.
"Is... is that so? Understood. I'll do my best,"
Yinhua said in a small voice.
Aili could only sigh helplessly after hearing her, muttering, "If you hadn't made that bet with the Emperor, we wouldn't be dealing with all this trouble now."
"I'm sorry..."
Yinhua lowered her head.
"No, perhaps this is for the best. It freed you from the shackles of the royal family."
"But, about Mother..."
"Please let it go. You're no longer a princess, and she's no longer your mother. You absolutely cannot meet her. Should you reveal your true identity, the consequences would be unimaginable. Please, of all things, promise me this."
Aili suddenly raised her voice.
Aili understood Yinhua's character too well. If Yinhua were to see her mother, she would never be able to control herself.
"... I understand."
After a long silence, Yinhua finally replied to Aili, on the verge of tears.
With those words, Yinhua turned and left. Zhixi glanced at Aili, then at Yinhua, and left the parting words, "You humans and your emotions are really complicated..."
Then she followed Yinhua out.
On the way, Zhixi hovered slightly above the ground and spoke to Yinhua, "Maybe you'll be upset, but may I ask you something?"
"What is it you want to ask, miss Zhixi?"
"Just call me Zhixi. Has your personality always been like this?"
"Y-Yes."
Yinhua seemed unable to shake off her mood.
"Far too timid. I admire your courage for risking your soul to participate in the Spirit Selection, but courage alone is not enough. To put it bluntly, your actions are nothing but reckless boldness."
"Just because you cannot see your mother, you sink into this kind of gloom—are you still a child who hasn't been weaned?"
"Back in the palace, you were bullied by your sisters, and you never thought to resist, only enduring in silence."
"Why were you expelled from the palace? It's because of this nature of yours. Your brothers and sisters were all far more outstanding than you, and since you thought you could not compare with them, you even gave up competing for the throne."
"But, Yinhua is dead now. You are Luna. If you continue like this, Luna will just become another Yinhua. I can guarantee, the moment you see your mother, your true identity will absolutely be exposed."
"Maybe you don't understand what I'm saying, but let me tell you: this body is by no means ordinary. If you continue living with such a weak disposition, I might as well kill you here and now, lest you sully this body any further."
"Look ahead... Right now, what you need is to change. When that time comes, you will exceed everyone."
Zhixi's tone was not intense, but tinged with a touch of sorrow.
"Zhixi..."
Zhixi froze for a moment, reached up to touch her eyes, and realized her tears were falling uncontrollably.
"Why are you crying?"
Yinhua placed her hand gently on Zhixi's cheek, wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes.
It was as if they had returned to tens of thousands of years ago, standing on scorched earth after a great fire, where a silver-haired girl, just like now, gently touched Zhixi's cheek and asked the same question.
"Why are you crying?"
Looking at Zhixi, Yinhua said, "As expected, the owner of this body must be closely connected to you, right? Were you very good friends?"
"Aili once told me the same thing, and I understand, too. But how should I change? I don't even have the most basic magic. What can I use to contend?"
"These things won't be a problem in the future; the important thing now is that you find a way to change yourself."
"What way?"
Yinhua stopped and slowly turned her head.
Zhixi opened her mouth, and at that moment, from deep within Yinhua's heart came a voice identical to Zhixi's:
"Endless forbearance is but a sign of cowardice."
"Endless forbearance is but a sign of cowardice."
"You don't need strategies to strike first, but you do need the ability to strike back."
"You don't need strategies to strike first, but you do need the ability to strike back."
"The fundamental requirement to overcome yourself is to possess a will as sharp as a blade, one that could even harm yourself."
"The fundamental requirement to overcome yourself is to possess a will as sharp as a blade, one that could even harm yourself."
"In the face of absolute will, nothing can make you bend."
"In the face of absolute will, nothing can make you bend."
Two voices, the same words but in different tones, echoed in Yinhua's heart.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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