Chapter 249 : Planting a Seed
Under Jiang Mo's wholehearted self-promotion... well, actually, under Jiang Mo's confident assertion that the ghost ship was related to merpeople, Yun Qingyue finally abandoned her plan to continue hunting Nine Abyss Sect members along the coast.
Though she certainly bore a grudge against the Nine Abyss Sect, it wasn't urgent. News about the demonic race clearly held more attraction for her.
Yun Qingyue had been different since childhood—a fact many people knew. Everything she raised died, except for Jianbing. From childhood to adulthood, she had never successfully kept anything alive. Some thought it was coincidence, others believed her energy naturally conflicted with spirit beasts, and some considered it a matter of constitution. But no one had ever provided a definitive explanation, and as she grew older, people gradually stopped mentioning it.
This matter that had perplexed her for over thirty years finally found its answer at Mingzong Mountain. Because she wasn't human, because she carried demonic blood, because her mother had sealed her bloodline early on, that sealed bloodline had absorbed the vitality of those spirit beasts.
Yun Qingyue was deeply curious: what exactly was the demonic race?
However, times had changed. The demonic race had vanished from the cultivation world tens of thousands of years ago. Despite her extensive reading, she could only find fragments in ancient jade slips. She had even asked the Crimson Blood Sect Leader about the demonic race, but that person was merely a half-demon of mixed blood. Even before she was born, her demonic father had already passed away, so the Crimson Blood Sect Leader knew little about true demonic beings.
People are naturally curious about their origins, and Yun Qingyue was no exception. So when she suddenly heard news about merpeople and realized they were also a branch of the demonic race, she couldn't help but develop some interest.
Jiang Mo claimed the ghost ship would definitely come to Xianyuan Town. Yun Qingyue wasn't sure if this was true, but it didn't prevent her from waiting there for a while.
༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺
After a night of lightning and thunder, the next day dawned bright and clear.
Jiang Mo's rented courtyard wasn't large, but originally housing a family, it certainly had more than one room. Last night, she had given the main house to Yun Qingyue for temporary residence, while she herself slept in the untidy side room.
Stepping out in the morning and seeing the tightly closed door of the main house across the courtyard, Jiang Mo smiled until her eyes narrowed into crescents, completely satisfied.
System, witnessing this, mocked her in her consciousness: "Host, how can you still smile? You used to sleep nestled in Senior Sister's arms, but now you can't even get close, let alone stay in the same room. Your status has regressed quite significantly."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo wasn't bothered at all. With a wave of her sleeve, she cleared the rainwater from the courtyard and stepped out casually: "What do you know? Right now, Senior Sister and I are practically strangers who just met. Given her cool temperament, it's already quite good that she's willing to stay. As for other privileges, when we become familiar in the future, what's meant to be mine will still be mine. We have plenty of time ahead!"
System still couldn't understand her thinking. It hadn't found an opportunity to ask last night, and now finally asked: "I don't understand this 'plenty of time' business, but Host, why didn't you reveal yourself to Senior Sister? If you had explained your identity, she wouldn't be so guarded."
Honestly, when it discovered Senior Sister's whereabouts last night and notified the host to find her, System had even prepared to witness a tearful reunion with the two embracing—well, given Senior Sister's personality, she probably wouldn't do that, but the host certainly would! In those eighty years of separation, System had seen just how much the host missed Senior Sister.
But while reunion did occur, not only did Senior Sister fail to recognize the transformed Jianbing, but the host also chose not to reveal her identity! Despite System's frantic urging, the two continued to interact as strangers.
System didn't understand, really didn't understand, feeling that the host was creating unnecessary complications.
With time on her hands now, Jiang Mo didn't mind explaining, and promptly shared all her considerations and plans. Unfortunately, System, being ultimately an artificial intelligence product, couldn't fully comprehend human emotional complexities despite learning alongside the host for eighty years.
Fortunately, it didn't insist on understanding matters beyond its grasp.
After pondering the host's words repeatedly, though still not fully comprehending, System identified several issues and pointed out: "Host, you're keeping secrets from Senior Sister for your own plans, but this is essentially deception. Senior Sister is currently in the dark because of you, but she'll eventually find out. How will you explain then?"
Generally speaking, the longer the concealment, the more misunderstandings accumulated, making it harder for the other party to accept... Based on the countless romance novels System had reviewed, even if its host successfully won Senior Sister's heart while concealing her identity, wouldn't she eventually face a desperate chase to win her back?!
System was deeply concerned, and Jiang Mo had naturally considered this, so she replied quite calmly: "It's fine. I don't plan to conceal it too tightly. I'll reveal a few clues today, a few tomorrow, and Senior Sister will soon figure it out."
But System was even more confused: "Then what's the point of hiding your identity from Senior Sister now?"
Jiang Mo glanced back at the main house, seeing the door still firmly closed and detecting no movement inside, guessing that Senior Sister wouldn't emerge for a while. So she pushed open the courtyard gate and walked out, heading toward the street while saying: "Of course there's a purpose. I just need to plant a seed in Senior Sister's heart before she discovers my identity."
System vaguely understood but wasn't optimistic: "Host, aren't you being too idealistic? Does Senior Sister seem like someone who falls in love easily? Back at Xuanqing Sect, things were fine when you stayed by her side, but look at her now—how guarded she is! Last night, to keep her from leaving, you nearly had to resort to trickery. How will you plant a seed in her heart in such a short time?"
After leaving the courtyard, Jiang Mo walked at a brisk pace, soon reaching the town's street. Though Xianyuan Town was far from any city, it was well-equipped despite its small size, with all varieties of shops and even some quite delicious local specialties.
The once small, gluttonous tiger had grown up but still maintained her appetite for good food. Having lived in this town for over a month, she had naturally explored all the local delicacies. She headed straight to buy several pastries, packaged them, and carried them back: "System, haven't you heard the saying? Curiosity is the beginning of attraction. With me being so mysterious and unusual, doesn't Senior Sister have even a bit of curiosity?"
System had indeed heard such a saying, but coming from the host, it somehow felt strange.
Host and System chatted as they walked. Xianyuan Town being small, they encountered Yu Sheng and his group midway. They had clearly followed her advice last night and returned to their originally rented courtyard, though today they appeared to be missing a few people.
Yu Sheng and his companions politely greeted Jiang Mo, not inquiring about what had happened to the Nine Abyss Sect disciples who had occupied their courtyard, assuming Jiang Mo had driven them away. Responding to her casual inquiry, Yu Sheng answered: "After learning about the ghost ship from Senior's guidance yesterday, we thought our sect elders would be waiting for news, so early this morning we sent two junior disciples back to report."
Jiang Mo nodded, her gaze sweeping over the people before her: "What about you? Are you staying here to await the ghost ship as well?"
Though the ghost ship appeared and disappeared mysteriously, cultivators possessed various abilities, including some proficient in divination. Someone powerful had calculated results pointing to twelve possible locations where the ghost ship might appear next, and after this news spread, countless cultivators rushed to these places.
Xianyuan Town was just one of the twelve locations, and being remote, it had attracted fewer cultivators than the others. Despite this, a considerable number had arrived over the past month, enough for the town residents to notice something unusual. However, since the cultivators weren't causing trouble, the residents pretended not to notice, maintaining their initial tranquility.
Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng seemed hesitant: "Well..."
He was clearly tempted, as cultivators sought longevity, essentially defying heaven's will. Even the most prudent cultivator couldn't remain unmoved when opportunity presented itself. At the same time, he was well aware that his cultivation level was insufficient—forget boarding the ghost ship, he wouldn't even rank among the cultivators currently gathered in Xianyuan Town.
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Mo patted his shoulder and walked past him—she had some liking for this person because he possessed considerable self-awareness. He recognized his insufficient cultivation and didn't presume to ask her for companionship based on their brief acquaintance through a few stories.
Yu Sheng and his group didn't follow. When Jiang Mo returned to the small courtyard with the freshly bought pastries, they were still warm. Just as she pushed open the courtyard gate, she saw the door of the main house open, and Yun Qingyue step out.
The brilliant morning sun fell upon her face, gilding her beautiful features with light. Jiang Mo momentarily froze in her tracks.
Yun Qingyue had initially been looking up at the sky. When Jiang Mo stopped, she seemed to sense something and turned her gaze. As their eyes met, Jiang Mo immediately brightened with a smile, raising the pastries in her hand: "I just bought these pastries. They're a local specialty of Xianyuan Town and taste quite good. Would you like to try some together?"
Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could abstain from food. Those who had reached the cultivation level of these two had largely abandoned desires of the palate. The person who had once secretly caught and roasted White Dragon Fish now clearly had no interest in such things.
Yun Qingyue shook her head, declining: "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
Jiang Mo didn't insist. She walked to the tree stump seat in the courtyard and sat down, opening the package of pastries. They were made from fresh locust blossoms with added secret seasonings, tasting much better than eating the blossoms directly.
Taking a bite of pastry, Jiang Mo's eyes brightened, her handsome face filled with satisfaction...