When the White Moonlight Holds the Script - Chapter 45

The term “dao companion” was unfamiliar to Luan Wu.

And distant.

Two individuals, bound by so-called ‘love,’ forming a relatively unified whole.

It sounded utterly absurd and laughable merely rhetoric crafted by those with ulterior motives to deceive others for their own gain.

Affection arose from desire; vows of eternal love and romantic gestures flourished, only for abandonment once usefulness faded.

And what of those deceived? What did they love about that person?

The feigned, meticulous care, or the false mask they wore?

Thus, all notions of romantic love were nothing but illusions.

Many years ago, her little disciple had subtly probed her views on the matter, and as always, she offered her caution.

Do not touch it, do not be curious.

She genuinely wished for her little disciple to be well, unaffected by the distractions of so-called love, lest she be deceived after all, her parents had been just that.

It began with deceit and ended in disgrace, leaving behind a little misfit in an awkward situation, secretly taken in and raised by her master.

Come to think of it, she still hadn’t figured out why, during that period, her little disciple had been so fervently interested in finding a dao companion, only to suddenly lose interest later.

It came quickly and faded just as fast.

In the end, she could only attribute it to the fickleness typical of girls that age.

But since her disciple had ‘reformed,’ she suppressed her doubts and refrained from bringing it up again.

Years passed, and she thought she would never hear that term again.

Until now.

To uncover the secrets of the Hehuan Sect and rescue the missing disciples of her sect, she had to pretend to be dao companions with her little disciple.

“Master, what’s wrong? Is it because you emerged from seclusion early, and…”

Her little disciple’s light-colored eyes gazed at her with concern, sweet as honey.

Luan Wu felt deeply comforted, ignoring the faint, peculiar ripple stirred by the idea of pretending to be dao companions.

The high platform.

The host was a Hehuan Sect disciple wearing rabbit-ear masks. She stepped to the center, tilting her head playfully as she explained the rules to the crowd.

“Dear contestants, the long-awaited competition is about to begin! I’m Yueyue, your host for this event.”

“Next up is the first challenge, called ‘Sheep Entering the Tiger’s Den.’ It’s a test of trust.”

“As we all know, trust is paramount between dao companions. Without mutual trust, they cannot be considered a true pair. Now, please form teams of two dao companions each, one will play the ‘sheep,’ and the other.”

So much nonsense.

As Zhu Zhihan listened to the rules, she sized up the other competitors.

Only by winning first place could they gain access to the sacred grounds. She and Luan Wu had to defeat these people.

Aside from her and Luan Wu, the other seven teams consisted of one man and one woman.

Three teams wore masks, while the remaining four did not, all appearing deeply affectionate.

Only one team caught her attention.

They had joined last. Her gaze settled on a woman who felt strangely familiar. Noticing Zhu Zhihan’s scrutiny, the woman blinked at her, as if expressing goodwill.

She seemed like an ordinary girl.

If it were the person she suspected, they shouldn’t be here at this time.

Yueyue finally finished explaining the rules from above: “Then, let the first challenge begin! Each team has half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to decide who will play the role of the ‘sheep’~”

Zhu Zhihan glanced at Luan Wu.

Half a cup of tea later, Zhu Zhihan stood with seven other contestants on a tall wooden platform that had been set up in advance.

Among these seven contestants were both men and women.

Below the platform, several massive tigers with crimson eyes paced back and forth, eyeing the people on the platform with ill intent, their gazes filled with a cruel hunting desire.

“Their mouths they’re so big and smell awful,” Zhu Zhihan overheard someone nearby trembling as they whispered.

“If we accidentally aren’t caught, will we just.”

Yueyue stood to the side, smiling cheerfully. “That’s right, you’ll fall right into the tigers’ mouths. Otherwise, why would it be called ‘a sheep entering a tiger’s den’? And to make it more challenging for your partners, we’ll even add a few obstacles.”

The person’s face immediately turned pale, but they still clung to a sliver of hope. “The Joyous Union Sect wouldn’t actually let us fall in and die, right?”

Yueyue continued smiling, offering an ambiguous reply: “How can you expect to win the grand prize without a little sacrifice?”

Zhu Zhihan listened nearby as everyone was being intimidated.

In her view, the Joyous Union Sect certainly wouldn’t let anyone actually die there was nothing to gain from it.

At most, they’d let someone fall into a tiger’s mouth just to disgust them that was the so-called ‘sacrifice.’

But clearly, not everyone was as rational.

One girl interpreted Yueyue’s words to mean that if they weren’t caught, they would die, and her face instantly turned ashen. “No, you can’t do this!”

Just then, someone appeared beside Zhu Zhihan. She turned her head and saw the girl in the water-blue dress who had seemed familiar to her.

“Are you scared?” the blue-clad girl initiated the conversation.

Her voice was slightly hoarse, unlike the one Zhu Zhihan was so eager to avoid.

Zhu Zhihan wondered if she was overthinking things and politely replied, “Not at all.”

“Do you trust your partner?” The blue-clad girl paused, then said softly, “How enviable.”

Her lowered eyelashes fluttered, and she seemed to exude a sense of loneliness that made one want to comfort her and brush away her sorrow.

But Zhu Zhihan was completely out of sync.

She thought, This person is so strange. Why is she suddenly bringing this up?

Wait, could it beshe’s trying to unsettle me and eliminate a competitor?

Instantly on guard, Zhu Zhihan put on a polite, standard smile and advised, “You seem to have some worries, miss?”

The blue-clad girl: “I…”

Zhu Zhihan: “It’s not too late to withdraw now.”

The blue-clad girl: “…”

As if to confirm her words, one of the men in the crowd shouted, “I’m not participating! I’m quitting!”

He dodged and evaded the gazes of the others and his partner, spewing foul language: “Damn it, who’d risk their life for some stupid competition.”

Yueyue: “Alright!”

Not long after, the man and his partner were escorted away by Joyous Union Sect disciples, and it seemed a heated argument broke out between them.

Zhu Zhihan had a feeling that man would soon be without a partner.

“I wonder who came up with this challenge,” Zhu Zhihan murmured.

It’s a bit, unscrupulous.

The girl in blue gave a light cough, watching the two figures retreating into the distance. Her eyes held no emotion as she coolly remarked, “Isn’t it for the best? If they can’t even place trust in each other, forcing themselves to stay together would never last. This is actually helping them.”

Zhu Zhihan looked at her in surprise. “But just now, you said you and your partner.”

It was clear the girl in blue didn’t trust her partner. Yet if that was how she felt, shouldn’t she have ended the relationship sooner?

Hearing Zhu Zhihan’s words, the girl in blue froze for a moment. She quickly clasped her hands together, blinked playfully, and whispered, “My partner and I don’t get along well, but I really want the competition prize. Please don’t tell anyone, okay~”

Zhu Zhihan hesitated briefly before nodding.

This person didn’t seem very bright.

But something still felt off.

Yueyue approached with a container of lots. “Come, everyone draw one.”

Their conversation ended there.

The girl on the far left drew a slip with the number one written on it. Yueyue praised, “Congratulations! You’re the first contestant to participate. How wonderful!”

The girl: ???

Thanks, but I’m not exactly thrilled.

Zhu Zhihan’s draw was neither good nor bad, she was sixth in line.

“Alright! If no one wants to withdraw, the competition officially begins now!” Yueyue announced.

Everyone was blindfolded and waited to be led to the edge of the wooden platform one by one.

Where others couldn’t see, the girl in blue turned around, took out a pure white handkerchief, and calmly wiped the fine sweat from her forehead.

This girl was none other than Hua Wuying, the Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect, disguised as an ordinary cultivator.

The lower half of Hua Wuying’s face showed no expression, her red lips pressed together. Those familiar with her would recognize this as a sign of her displeasure.

She thought to herself: For some reason, standing next to that person made her let her guard down, and she had accidentally revealed her true thoughts.

Luckily, she managed to cover it up.

Hua Wuying’s gaze turned cold.

It seemed she needed to be even more cautious from now on.

Blindfolded, Zhu Zhihan could hear distant screams, suggesting the challenges were quite thrilling.

In complete darkness, there was nothing she could do.

Amid the noise, she suddenly recalled Hua Wuying’s earlier question.

‘Do you trust your partner?’

It was a simple question for a child but difficult for an adult to answer.

Adult relationships were complicated by many factors, unlike the purity of a child’s trust. And having witnessed more darkness in the world made it harder to place complete faith in someone.

The Joyful Union Sect’s challenge was even more intriguing.

Having one’s partner rescue them from the tiger’s mouth meant the participant had to trust not only their partner’s character but also their abilities.

“Please extend your hand and follow me,” a voice from a Joyful Union Sect disciple sounded in her ear.

Zhu Zhihan knew it was her turn.

She was guided to a spot.

In the distance, Yueyue’s cheerful voice rang out, “Okay, stop right there! When I say jump, lean backward. Understood?”

Zhu Zhihan nodded slightly.

The moment she jumped, her mind went blank.

She didn’t feel afraid either.

The wind whistled past her ears, and her body was enveloped by the sensation of weightlessness. Unable to use her spiritual power, she could do nothing but let herself fall.

It didn’t take long perhaps only a moment.

She felt herself caught in a familiar embrace.

She thought, yes, that’s exactly it. Trusting Luanwu was something that required no deliberation.

Because this kind of scenario had already happened many times.

When she took risks, when she fell into danger, Luanwu would raise a blade to shield her, pull her aside, hold her close.

Zhu Zhihan was someone who had experienced betrayal. Right after her rebirth, she once believed she would never be able to trust another person again, facing this new world with thorns raised.

But now she knew she still possessed the ability to trust someone.

Over a dozen years, like water dripping through stone, perhaps from long ago, from the moment she first drew a sense of security from Luanwu, she had already taken that first step.

As her feet touched the ground, Zhu Zhihan felt the cloth covering her eyes gently removed.

The person beside her asked, “What are you thinking?”

It had been a long time since she had been exposed to light, and her eyes stung when she opened them, but Zhu Zhihan didn’t blink, instead gazing intently at the person before her.

Thank you for pulling me out of the mire.

“I was thinking does this mean we’ve cleared the level?” she said with a smile.

Zhu Zhihan knew she was sinking even deeper.

Sometimes things were just this unreasonable. If she deliberately ignored it, it was fine, but once she understood, that feeling grew uncontrollably stronger.

She longed to establish a more intimate relationship, a desire more urgent than ever before. It took every ounce of her self-restraint not to embrace Luanwu again that would have been too deliberate.

Just enjoy this hard-won closeness, indulge a little longer, Zhu Zhihan told herself.

In that moment, something had completely derailed.

And she had no idea what awaited her in the end.

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