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墨書 Inktalez
The atmosphere had fallen into a stalemate, and for a moment, none of us spoke; we simply sat in silence.
Perhaps Mingyue could no longer tolerate such an atmosphere. She stood up and said, "When Mu Xuanche comes with the Ghost Seal to exchange for you, you can leave. I... I'll take my leave now."
At that moment, I stubbornly chose to ignore her and walked back to the bedside.
She frowned slightly, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing and just walked away.
Indeed, we were no longer on the same side; we were at a loss for words with each other.
I was reluctant to believe it. My good sister, the one I would give my life for, how could she treat me like this?
Was it that I had placed too much importance on myself? After all, I was just a friend who could easily be discarded.
I was deeply disappointed—disappointed in myself and disappointed in Shangguan Mingyue.
Honestly, I felt that Bai Qiling deserved better. Shangguan Mingyue could abandon her sect, her friends, and even her already married husband for some man within the Cult of Spirits. Her heartlessness and betrayal were hardly commendable choices for Bai Qiling.
Even though such a major incident had occurred, life had to go on. Time flowed like water, and every moment I found myself thinking about Mu Xuanche. Finally, he had arrived.
When Mu Xuanche came, he was on the same boat as last time, but both his and Bai Qiling's faces had changed—likely due to Bai Qiling's disguise techniques.
I was led into a living room where an unfamiliar man sat at the head of the table. He was surrounded by many subordinates, so I guessed that this man must be the leader of the Cult of Spirits.
Seeing me arrive, the leader gestured for me to take a seat.
I didn’t respond; I simply sat down on my own accord. I truly had no good feelings toward him; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been so rude as to neglect basic diplomatic etiquette.
However, the leader didn’t seem angry about my rudeness. He merely smiled lightly, as if he were joking with a petulant child. I felt my composure slipping away without knowing how to regain it, leaving me feeling quite frustrated inside.
Then I heard the leader say, "Miss, your husband will be arriving soon. Have you thought about what you want to say to him?"
I felt a surge of anger at her words and retorted bluntly, "What I think of him is none of your business. You should worry about yourself instead. It's precisely because you meddle in others' affairs that you always lose to us."
As soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted them. Why did I let myself get provoked into a confrontation?
Embarrassed, I turned my head away.
Fortunately, the Cult Leader didn’t say much more, and we quietly waited for Mu Xuanche and the others to arrive.
Suddenly, I remembered Mingyue. I thought the Spirit Cult Leader must know that Shangguan Mingyue came from the Xuan Sect. So why would he allow her to stay in the Cult of Spirits?
Was he not afraid that people from the Xuan Sect would come looking for him? Or perhaps… Shangguan Mingyue was actually an undercover agent from the Cult of Spirits.
I immediately dismissed that thought. If Shangguan Mingyue were an undercover agent from the Cult of Spirits, it wouldn’t make sense. As far as I knew, her parents had passed away long ago, so she had gone up the mountain when she was still young, which didn’t align with the current timeline.
Unable to contain my curiosity any longer, I asked the Spirit Cult Leader, "Do you know someone in your cult named Shangguan Mingyue?"
The Spirit Cult Leader shot me a glance and replied, "Woman, it's best not to ask about things that don't concern you; otherwise, you might bring trouble upon yourself."
His words irritated me.
What did he mean by it not being my place to ask?
I retorted fiercely, "What do you mean by that? Shangguan Mingyue is my best friend. I don’t understand why she would willingly stay here. What kind of handsome men do you have in your cult that could enchant her? As her friend, am I not allowed to care? Bring trouble upon myself? I'd like to see who could bring trouble to me."
The Spirit Cult Leader looked at me with a subtle expression and said, "Sometimes, one shouldn't be so self-righteous. You may consider someone a friend, but does she see you as one?"
I felt offended and shot back, "What do you mean by that? If you're going to say something, say it clearly instead of leaving half-truths that only confuse people."
The Spirit Cult Leader chuckled a few times and said, "If someone has hurt you and you still consider them a friend, they will only hurt you more. Don’t think they have their reasons; if they did have reasons for their actions, why wouldn’t they harm others? It’s simply because you don’t hold enough weight in their heart. Young lady, you are too naive."
I suddenly felt a pang of sadness at his words. Is it really like that?
I continued to ask, my tone losing some of its force, "Are you very familiar with her? What is your relationship?"
He turned his head away, closing his eyes in contemplation, ignoring me completely.
Seeing that he wouldn’t answer, doubts began to rise in my heart. What’s going on? Is it really that hard to answer a simple question about familiarity?
After a few minutes, Mu Xuanche and Bai Qiling finally arrived at the scene. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement as I straightened up, temporarily putting aside my thoughts about Shangguan Mingyue to express my happiness and welcome for Mu Xuanche and Bai Qiling's arrival.
Once Mu Xuanche and Bai Qiling saw me standing there well, a hint of joy flickered in their eyes, and they quickened their pace toward the seats arranged for them by the Spirit Cult Leader.
Looking at the two unfamiliar faces in front of me, I realized that Bai Qiling had disguised them both.
The disguised Mu Xuanche and Bai Qiling didn’t show any signs of being strangers to me; they clearly didn’t want to reveal their true identities. At this moment, all I needed to do was patiently wait for the rescue negotiation, so I chose not to speak at all.
The leader noticed the two who had come to rescue me and said, "Welcome, both of you from afar. The Intruder is a guest; please take a seat."
Then he looked at Mu Xuanche and Bai Qiling's faces, his lips twisting slightly.
"Are you really not considering showing your true selves to me? After all, we have been rivals for quite some time. Is it that you don’t even want me to see your true faces?"
After saying this, he put on an exaggerated expression of disappointment that looked quite bizarre.
I watched everything unfold without voicing my opinions, but inside I felt a whirlwind of thoughts. This leader truly has some skill. Bai Qiling's disguise technique had yet to be seen through by anyone until now, yet he managed to see through it shortly after they entered.
Bai Qiling spoke up; he had a different aura depending on who he was addressing, especially when others were unaware of his background.
"I think whether or not we show our true selves seems less important now. We are not here for small talk; we just want to negotiate with you to get Gu Yanxi back. What are your conditions?"
The leader of the Cult of Spirits lightly tugged at the corner of his mouth and then spoke loudly, "Of course, this is possible. However, I wonder what kind of chips you two friends have that would be enough to exchange for her entire being."
Mu Xuanche knew that during negotiations, they could not afford to lose momentum or reveal their ultimate bargaining chips. Therefore, they only presented common exchanges that everyone was familiar with.
The leader of the Cult of Spirits suddenly smiled in a peculiar way and said directly, "I privately believe that you value Gu Yanxi quite a lot. But look at your current actions; you’re being so petty like a woman, adding chips bit by bit. Where's the manly spirit in that?"
Mu Xuanche coldly stared at the Spirit Sect Leader without speaking. Thus, Bai Qiling had no choice but to respond. However, his previous words had been quite blocking, so he reluctantly added, "We indeed place great importance on Gu Yanxi. If we can successfully make an exchange, I would be very welcoming of it. But I didn’t expect that what you want is also those things. What exactly do you want? Can you just say it directly? Without your input, no one can really guess."
Bai Qiling certainly knew what he wanted; he just casually said a few words to ease the Spirit Sect Leader's irritation over their earlier rudeness.
The Spirit Sect Leader smiled, with an expression that seemed to see through them, but Bai Qiling didn’t care at all.
"Since you don’t know, then I won’t beat around the bush. I don’t want anything else but the Ghost Seal. Will you give it to me?"
(End of Chapter)
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