Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 59

When traveling abroad, Luo Binglun usually found it difficult to sleep, especially now, being in a state of semi-flight.

She had been resting with her eyes closed, staying alert to her surroundings. Naturally, she was aware when Liu Fenyun and Lian Yi vanished into thin air.

However, she knew Liu Fenyun possessed a spatial magical treasure, so she didn’t take it to heart, until the aroma of grilled fish drifted into her nose, causing her to snap her eyes open.

Liu Fenyun and Lian Yi had already returned to reality with the grilled fish. The fragrance quickly diffused through the mountain cave. Even with Luo Binglun’s excellent self-control, having gone days without meat or cooked dishes, she couldn’t help but swallow hard at the scent.

“Where did this grilled fish come from?” Luo Binglun asked. She remembered there were no ponds or streams nearby.

“It’s a secret,” Liu Fenyun replied. It wasn’t convenient to reveal the existence of her Medicine Garden space, so she kept it mysterious while handing a pair of chopsticks to her. “The fish is big, let’s eat together!”

Luo Binglun took the chopsticks, still hesitating whether to eat this fish of unknown origin. But seeing Lian Yi pick up a piece of meat from the fish’s belly and pop it into her mouth without a second thought, eating both carefully and quickly, she wavered.

“Mmm! I didn’t expect grilled black carp to be this fresh!” Lian Yi had never tasted such delicious fish. She wagged her tail happily in succession. “Ah-Yun, stop being a witch doctor. Being my imperial chef would be much better!”

Liu Fenyun laughed. “That won’t do. If I really abandoned medicine for cooking, Master would definitely scold me.”

Luo Binglun remembered that Lian Yi was a very picky eater. Seeing Liu Fenyun also start eating, she finally felt at ease. Lifting her sleeves, she reached her chopsticks toward the fish.

After the three finished the fish, Luo Binglun felt her exhaustion vanish completely. Her meridians were filled with a significant amount of pure spiritual energy; she was astonished by the effects of the grilled fish.

After a moment of thought, she said, “This place is only two hundred miles from Phoenix Rest City. If we travel through the night, we can enter the city by noon tomorrow.”

Coincidentally, the sandstorm had blown elsewhere tonight, so traveling wouldn’t be dangerous.

Liu Fenyun understood her meaning, but the system map showed that Qi Ran and those “red named” hostile characters were not far away. She wondered if they were waiting to ambush them now that the weather had cleared.

Thus, she shook her head. “Yiyi’s body can’t take it. It’s better to wait until dawn to set out.”

Lian Yi cooperated by collapsing into Liu Fenyun’s arms and closing her eyes, her cat tail drooping limply.

Luo Binglun could easily see through their little act. She nodded and said nothing more, returning to her original spot to meditate and refine the spiritual energy from the fish.

Seeing her start meditating, the “faking” Lian Yi tugged at Liu Fenyun and whispered, “Is Qi Ran and the others still there?”

“Yes, they’ve gathered together. They might even be camping out,” Liu Fenyun said, letting Lian Yi rest her head on her lap. “Don’t be afraid. Although we can’t beat them in a head-on fight, hiding is no problem.”

When saying this, they didn’t use their mental telepathy; they spoke aloud on purpose for Luo Binglun to hear.

Lian Yi looked up at her. By the faint light of the fire, she carefully examined her features.

As expected, Ah-Yun looks better in women’s clothing, her eyes are gentler.

She couldn’t help but reach out to wrap her arms around Liu Fenyun’s neck, sitting up against her shoulder to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Liu Fenyun was stunned for a moment, not knowing what prompted this, but she quickly reacted by pulling her close and kissing her back.

Since they had just eaten fish, both tactfully avoided each other’s lips.

A moment later, Lian Yi touched the small red mark on her face. Leaning against Liu Fenyun’s shoulder, she lowered her voice and said, “No, I’m still scared.”

Liu Fenyun habitually stroked the cat tail and whispered back, “What is Yiyi afraid of?”

“Afraid of being captured.” Lian Yi was truly frightened. She had always feared Qi Ran’s aura, and now that Qi Ran had truly defected to the enemy, she wanted nothing more than to avoid her.

“To tell you the truth, Master’s exact location isn’t Phoenix Rest City. It’s just that the place is closest to it, so we need to go there to rest before approaching Master,” Liu Fenyun said. “If Qi Ran hasn’t given up on killing me, we will encounter her sooner or later on the way to find Master.”

The “cat” in her arms went silent for a while. “You mean… you want me to prepare myself mentally as soon as possible?”

“That’s all we can do.” Liu Fenyun stroked the cat ears. “Otherwise, you stay in Phoenix Rest City, and the High Priest and I will go?”

Lian Yi immediately shook her head. “No! Wherever you go, I go! Besides, aren’t you afraid that if I stay behind, I’ll be captured and used as a hostage?”

Now that they had left the Zhuhuang Kingdom and usually disguised their appearances, their status no longer held any deterrent power.

“Alright, alright, we’ll go together,” Liu Fenyun coaxed her with a smile.

While Luo Binglun was meditating and refining energy, she spared some attention to listen to their conversation. Only when their voices gradually faded into the sound of steady breathing did she finish her work and open her eyes. She stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and looked into the distance.

Under the pitch-black night sky, a faint light flickered.

Luo Binglun thought to herself that the area must be the assassins’ resting place.

If she had strength like Qingyue’s, perhaps she could wipe out those assassins in one go, rather than being reduced to this state of hiding.

After watching in silence for a while, she reinforced the barrier and sat back down inside the cave. She opened a pendant left by her mother, staring at a golden core inside.

She had been attacked by a demon when she was young. This golden core was an Inner Core her mother had harvested after killing that demon. After refining it, her mother turned it into a protective talisman to ensure no evil or wild demons could get close to her.

In the blink of an eye, over twenty years had passed. She could still feel the terrifying aura emanating from the Inner Core, though the hostility and killing intent had long been purified by her mother. What remained was a very pure demonic energy.

The demon attack she suffered in her youth had always been a shadow in her heart. Her mother had been severely injured then and was forced to pass the position of High Priest to her prematurely. Her mother eventually passed away in the Heaven Peering Residence without seeing her reach adulthood.

Because of this, she hated the demon race to the core. Yet now, the two people who had saved her were both demons. Even the person she had always regarded as her “light” was of the demon race.

After staring blankly at the Inner Core for a while longer, Luo Binglun was about to put it away when a hand suddenly rested on her wrist.

Luo Binglun looked up in shock. A pair of deep blue beast like pupils were inches away.

“This is a good item. Why does Priest Luo still carry it around?” Lian Yi looked curiously at the object in her hand, sniffing it. Her small pink tongue licked her lips. “Can you give this to me to eat? If I eat it, we won’t have to hide from Qi Ran anymore.”

This was her mother’s keepsake. Naturally, Luo Binglun was unwilling to give it up. She yanked her hand back, closed the container, and said coldly, “No.”

Lian Yi blinked her eyelashes and said pitifully, “Truly no? It’s not safe for you to keep it. If Qi Ran catches you, she will definitely search you and find this Inner Core.”

She paused. “The scent of this core, you humans have to open the container to smell it. But me? I only need to be near you to smell a fragrance more enticing than grilled fish. We are on the same side now; you’d better not let some other demon get the benefit.”

Luo Binglun had bickered with her for four years, she knew her little schemes well. She gave a heavy huff. “Could you even refine it?”

“Demons can inherently increase their cultivation by consuming Inner Cores.” Lian Yi propped herself up with her hands, her cat ears and tail twitching. “Priest Luo need not worry about that.”

“But you are currently a demon inhabiting a human body, not a true member of the demon race,” Luo Binglun still refused to budge. “It is not easy for humans to refine a demon core, they might even suffer a backlash. Lan Yi’s body definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”

Lian Yi let out an “oh” and asked with slight anticipation, “So Priest Luo plans to use it herself?”

If nothing else, she really wanted to see what Luo Binglun would look like if she turned into a demon.

Luo Binglun indeed had that thought for a moment, but she dismissed it as soon as it arose. Now that Lian Yi mentioned it, the idea resurfaced. However, remembering that she still had to work in the Zhuhuang Kingdom in the future, she simply snapped, “Stop talking nonsense! This Inner Core… is for Qingyue.”

In her desperation, taking advantage of Yu Qingyue’s absence, she made up an excuse.

As expected, Lian Yi withdrew her gaze, a look of regret appearing on her face, which was soon replaced by her usual bright smile.

“So it’s a token of love,” she teased. “Then Priest Luo must preserve it well.”

In the past, whenever Luo Binglun saw her smile like that, she knew trouble was coming. But today, she felt Lian Yi’s smile was very sincere, without a hint of craftiness, as if she truly misunderstood the Inner Core to be a token of love.

“Don’t talk nonsense, this is not a token of love…” The usually cold High Priest blushed. “It is merely… a gift between friends.”

Lian Yi didn’t tease her immediately. She turned to make sure Liu Fenyun wouldn’t wake up anytime soon before sitting down next to Luo Binglun. Using the Seventh Princess’s voice, she whispered, “Has Master still not forgiven Physician Yu?”

The word “Master” sent a shiver through Luo Binglun, but she didn’t correct her. Instead, she fell into silence.

She wasn’t sure if she had truly forgiven Yu Qingyue. After Qingyue revealed her identity as a demon, she had treated her very well, as if trying to make up for all past regrets. Even when Luo Binglun gave her the cold shoulder for a while, Qingyue didn’t take it to heart.

Over the past years, Luo Binglun had been one-sidedly reminiscing about the beautiful past. While reminiscing, she felt regret, why would she fall for such a heartless person?

But when that “heartless” person suddenly returned, offering her softness and even abandoning her identity as a human just to seek her return, Luo Binglun found herself at a loss.

Just as she once risked defying the teachings of the Fire God to declare her feelings to Qingyue, Qingyue had also unhesitatingly abandoned everything she possessed in the human realm.

Lian Yi did not disturb her deep contemplation. Within the body of the Seventh Princess, a faint trace of will still lingered, no longer wishing to see Luo Binglun view humans and the demon race as opposing forces.

As for the residual thoughts of the Seventh Princess, Lian Yi had guessed most of them. The Seventh Princess did not actually repel the demon race, but she had a master who loathed them. Having inherited the Princess’s memories, Lian Yi knew she didn’t agree with her master’s views; however, the Zhuhuang Kingdom placed great weight on the master disciple relationship and strictly observed social hierarchy, so she did not argue with Luo Binglun.

If possible, the Seventh Princess still hoped that Luo Binglun could live in harmony with the demon race.

“…When I reunite with Qingyue, I will tell her myself.” After a long silence, Luo Binglun let out a long sigh and shifted the topic seemingly casually. “I heard Miss Liu is researching a way to separate you from the Seventh Highness?”

“Mhm, that’s right, though she hasn’t figured out a lead yet.” Lian Yi took up the conversation, resting her chin on her hand. “To be honest, I never thought I could sit down and talk with you so peacefully. You’ve always been shouting about hunting and killing me.”

Luo Binglun gave a faint smile and habitually rubbed Lian Yi’s cat ears.

Her prejudice against the demon race was indeed deep-seated, dating back to the incident in her childhood, it wasn’t something that could be changed overnight. This stroke, however, gave Lian Yi a massive fright, she scrambled away with a thump and stared back warily.

“Is this a human form you cultivated yourself?” Luo Binglun asked, unable to sleep and deciding to pass the time with conversation.

Under her scrutinizing gaze, Lian Yi said awkwardly, “What? You think it’s weird too?”

Luo Binglun shook her head. “Not weird. If not for the ears and tail, your white hair and facial features actually look somewhat similar to the first Saintess.”

Lian Yi felt it was bad luck to be compared to someone who had been dead for centuries, and she immediately became a bit unhappy. “If that Saintess knew her descendant was comparing her to a cat demon, she’d probably be so angry she’d come back to life.”

Luo Binglun only smiled, her mood tonight didn’t seem too bad.

Lian Yi felt creeped out by her smile and, grumbling “I’m sleepy,” transformed back into a large white cat. She lunged to Liu Fenyun’s side and curled up on her lap.

Liu Fenyun was sleeping soundly when a sudden weight on her knees woke her up. She asked dizzily, “What’s wrong? Are there enemies?”

A paw pad patted her face, accompanied by Lian Yi’s soft voice: “Nothing has come, just rest in peace.”