When the White Moonlight Holds the Script - Chapter 7

After saying that, Zhu Zhihan paid no more attention to Dan Qi.

Dan Qi seemed to want to speak several times but ultimately chose to remain silent.

In such a situation, perhaps because danger could strike at any moment, or maybe because she was too close to someone she despised, Zhu Zhihan felt vaguely restless.

It had only been two days since her rebirth, and five days since her master from her previous life had cut open her dantian.

Too fast.

There were many things she hadn’t had time to figure out or let go of.

Regarding her past life, she had originally intended to stay far away not to think, not to look, to act as if none of it had ever existed, like a snail retreating into its shell.

Perhaps, given enough time for love and hatred to fade, she could face it all calmly whether to seek revenge or let it go.

But reality refused to let her have her way.

The cold night wind rustled past, and the leaves overhead rubbed together with a soft, whispering sound.

Du Peiran shivered, thinking how chilly the nights in the Sumeru Realm were.

Xiao Chuling coughed, breaking the awkward and stagnant atmosphere. “So, what do we do now? Just wait here?”

Zhu Zhihan snapped back to reality. “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Chuling hesitated for a moment. “I just feel, a bit uneasy.”Back in the mortal realm, she had been an escort, traveling the martial world, and had twice relied on her intuition to escape life-threatening situations.” Now, she felt that same sense of anxiety, very similar to those past experiences.

At that moment, Dan Qi spoke up, her voice soft. “Let’s wait here. There’s no better option. The high-level cultivators stationed in the Sumeru Realm, aside from me, have likely all been slaughtered. We can only wait for those outside to notice something’s wrong and come to our aid.”

“But there’s no need to worry too much. At the latest, they’ll realize by the shift change tomorrow morning. Right? This…”

Zhu Zhihan lifted her eyelids. “Zhu Zhihan.”

Dan Qi smoothly adapted. “Young Friend Zhu.”

Zhu Zhihan: “…”

She had never heard that form of address from Dan Qi before and found it unbearably awkward.

After a moment, she said calmly, “Elder Dan Qi is right. If anything happens by then isn’t the elder here? It’ll be fine.”

It was the first time Dan Qi had received a response that wasn’t sharp, and she was almost overwhelmed with gratitude.

Xiao Chuling frowned in confusion but eventually nodded, accepting the explanation. She glanced strangely at Zhu Zhihan, feeling as though there was some hidden meaning in her words.

Must be her imagination.

Zhu Zhihan glanced at the system interface.

[Countdown 1: 13:34.]

If she wasn’t mistaken, she understood what this countdown meant.

Encouraged by Zhu Zhihan’s softened attitude, Dan Qi grew restless again.

She carefully looked at Zhu Zhihan’s profile. “Your complexion looks so pale. I have some medicinal ointment here for external use to stop bleeding. Do you need me to help you?”

Zhu Zhihan closed her eyes.

Her breathing seemed to falter for a moment before she quickly reopened them. Her light-colored eyes were dyed the color of ink by the night. “No need for the medicine.”

Before Dan Qi’s eyes could dim completely, she continued, her voice slightly hoarse, “I have a wound on my wrist. I wrapped it with one hand, and it’s not done well. Can you help me fix it?”

Dan Qi’s eyes lit up. “Yes, of course. I’ll help you.”

She cradled Zhu Zhihan’s slender, pale wrist as if it were a fragile treasure held by a young girl.

The carelessly tied cloth strip was carefully unwound, releasing a pungent scent of blood.

Dan Qi’s beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows were tightly furrowed, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Du Peiran and Xiao Chuling silently moved aside, unable to comprehend why Boss Zhu had allowed the elder to examine her hand again. Ah, it was all so confusing and complicated.

This time, it was Zhu Zhihan observing Dan Qi.

Zhu Zhihan lowered her gaze as moonlight spilled down, casting dappled tree shadows across her jade-white cheeks, making her expression appear obscure and unreadable.

It had been the same in her previous life.

Back then, her relationship with her master was still very good. Whenever she injured her hands while alchemy crafting or engaging in other activities, she would run to Dan Qi.

“Master, master, I can’t manage with just one hand.”

No matter what Dan Qi was doing at the time, she would immediately set aside her tasks. “What happened to my precious disciple? Let your master take a look.”

In front of her junior disciples, she was the reliable senior sister, but before her master, she would always remain a child.

A child who could act spoiled and seek affection.

How had things changed?

Her eyelashes trembled slightly.

Dan Qi retrieved a roll of gauze from her sleeve and carefully wrapped it around Zhu Zhihan’s wrist, layer after layer, as if afraid of causing her pain just like before.

But Dan Qi didn’t know that such minor pain no longer fazed her in the slightest.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhihan smiled with a sense of release. Dan Qi, with her head bowed, didn’t see it.

After tying a neat knot in the gauze, Dan Qi released her hand and asked cautiously, “Is it alright? Is it too tight?”

Zhu Zhihan shook her head. “It’s just right.”

The silence between them was broken by Du Peiran’s startled exclamation.

Du Peiran pointed in a direction. “Th-that, that…”

Xiao Chuling had noticed it earlier and covered his mouth. “Quiet.”

Dense hordes of demons were pouring in from the direction of the moon gate. No, not just from there. To their left and right, demons were closing in from all sides.

There were too many, far too many.

Du Peiran instinctively glanced at Zhu Zhihan’s expression and, seeing her remain composed, inexplicably felt a wave of relief.

But the next moment, he heard Zhu Zhihan say, “There’s no other way. Du Peiran, Xiao Chuling, you two run.”

Du Peiran nearly choked on his breath.

Xiao Chuling: “Huh??”

Zhu Zhihan stated matter-of-factly, “I just checked. The path to the right and behind is the gate of life. If you head in that direction, you’ll be safe.”

Xiao Chuling stared at her, realizing she was serious, and said incredulously, “Is this what you meant by adapting to the situation and finding another way!? I don’t agree!”

Zhu Zhihan looked at her. “Someone has to stay behind to hold them off, and besides your opinions haven’t mattered since an hour ago. Have you forgotten the heavenly oath we swore earlier?”

Xiao Chuling gritted her teeth, the muscles in her cheeks tensing. “You, fine.”

Du Peiran couldn’t understand how things had escalated so suddenly. Just moments ago, everything was fine. How had it come to this life-and-death separation?

Zhu Zhihan urged, “Hurry and go. If you delay any longer, the gate of life will disappear too. Don’t let mine and Elder Dan Qi’s sacrifices be in vain.”

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Zhu Zhihan’s demeanor softened slightly, almost resembling a smile. She whispered, “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe, and so will I. After all…”

She didn’t finish her sentence.

Xiao Chuling gave her a deep look. “From now on, our lives are yours.”

Biting her lower lip, she grabbed Du Peiran and ran.

Zhu Zhihan was slightly taken aback. “Ah!”

She hadn’t intended to pull a scam.

[Countdown: 00:23:34.]

After the two left, Zhu Zhihan turned around and looked at Elder Dan Qi.

The surrounding demon tide was about to engulf them. Facing so many monsters for the first time, even the most resolute person couldn’t help but feel the fear of being swallowed whole.

Elder Dan Qi said softly, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you with my life and get you out of here.”

Zhu Zhihan looked at her and sighed. “Elder Dan Qi, is it fun to deceive people?”

Elder Dan Qi seemed puzzled.

Zhu Zhihan’s expression turned cold. “You’re the one who lured these demons here, aren’t you?”

Elder Dan Qi paused, then smiled gently. “What? Demons are our enemies. How could I possibly.”

Zhu Zhihan shook her head.

She suddenly said, “I’ve been thinking about it all along.”

She had been wondering why Elder Dan Qi was so fixated on her.

Deep down, she hadn’t wanted to dwell on it, because subconsciously, she was afraid of the answer. But Elder Dan Qi insisted on getting close to her, forcing her to confront it.

“I’ve been wondering, why me?”

She spoke to Elder Dan Qi, yet not entirely to her.

“I’m just an ordinary girl mediocre talent, dull wits, never had anything good. A little kindness is enough to fool me completely. What is there about someone like me worth obsessing over?”

“Now, or in the past.”

Elder Dan Qi’s eyes widened slightly.

Zhu Zhihan’s words seemed disjointed, but she understood.

Zhu Zhihan said, “I’ve finally figured it out.”

Dan Qi’s composure finally shattered. “No!”

She realized what Zhu Zhihan was about to say.

It was almost laughable. When she first conceived the idea, she had felt no guilt. But now, like a hypocritical monster stripped of its human disguise, she instinctively feared the answer.

Zhu Zhihan paused. “It’s not a difficult answer to guess, is it?”

As the woman looked at her with a flustered expression, she slowly smiled. “It’s because I have the Profound Yin Body. That’s the only thing that sets me apart from others.”

“Hmm… What do you want the Profound Yin Body for? Out of curiosity? Or for some deeper scheme?” Zhu Zhihan nodded. “Whatever the reason, you’re determined to have it.”

Her gaze swept over the demons surging toward them. “The rest isn’t hard to guess either. Since you went to such lengths to feign injury, mere words wouldn’t be enough. If you only have one night, what method can change deeply ingrained prejudices and rapidly deepen the bond between two people?”

“Only risking your life to protect them.”

“So you used some special method to lure these demons here, and then…”

Dan Qi interrupted her, her eyes reddening at the corners. “Stop!”

Zhu Zhihan halted, calm and composed. “Oh?”

Dan Qi’s voice grew urgent. “It’s not like that. I did think that way at first, but I’ve changed my mind. I didn’t do all this for that reason. I wanted…”

She whispered, “I wanted to protect you.”

Zhu Zhihan tilted her head thoughtfully. “That’s a touching sentiment, and it seems logically plausible.”

Dan Qi’s eyes lit up with hope. “Then…”

Zhu Zhihan shook her head. “But I can’t and dare not trust you anymore.”

“I cannot understand you. Your love and hatred feel like castles in the air to me. Today, you love me for certain reasons, and tomorrow, you might hate me for the very same reasons.”

“It’s like treating a pet you cherish it when you love it, but discard it carelessly when you no longer do.”

“But I am not a pet. I am human.”

Demons had already drawn near, discovering their presence. A long scythe nearly brushed against Zhu Zhihan’s sleeve, and Dan Qi’s expression turned sorrowful.

A violent surge of spiritual power erupted between them, slicing the surrounding demons into fragments one by one.

“You’re venting your anger now.”

Dan Qi remained silent, the spiritual blades growing even more ferocious.

As rows of demons fell, the foul, tainted aura of the demons permeated the air.

She gazed at Zhu Zhihan, her eyes nearly helpless.

Like a child whose only treasure had been destroyed, unsure of what to do or how to retrieve it.

Zhu Zhihan let out a faint, mocking laugh.

Soon, her expression returned to indifference. “Don’t put on such an act, it’s too fake and cheap.”

“Even after all I’ve said, even now, you’re still scheming, still unwilling to give up on taking me back, aren’t you?”

“So why pretend like this?”

Zhu Zhihan stared at the woman before her.

She had once regarded this person as an elder and a mother, relying on and revering her with all her heart. But now, she had completely stripped away those tender emotions.

All that remained in her heart was a cold, ferocious hatred.

She whispered, “You have no idea how much I hate you.”

“I wish you were dead.”

“Bang.”

The last demon fell, the ground littered with foul blood and fragments, trampled into mud.

Dan Qi’s expression twisted. “No, I won’t allow it.”

“Don’t look at me like that. Don’t say such things.”

“I am so, so…”

She murmured, “I wanted to cherish you, Zhihan.”

Zhu Zhihan watched her coldly.

Had she not known this woman so deeply, she might have almost believed that Dan Qi could suffer so deeply from a single glance of hers.

But this was Dan Qi.

Zhu Zhihan quietly observed the shifting expressions of pain, struggle, and fear on Dan Qi’s face, until they finally settled into obsession and madness. “You cannot leave. I won’t allow it!”

Dan Qi muttered, “Your master will take you back, protect you well, and never let anyone harm you again.”

“There must be a way. I’ve heard of a gu sorcery in the Southern Border that can alter one’s mind. I will learn it for you, alright?”

Hearing this, Zhu Zhihan thought: This is more like it.

This was Dan Qi.

This was the real Dan Qi.

She said, “Do as you wish. I’m done playing with you.”

Time was up.

[Countdown: 0:00:00.]

[Congratulations on completing the mission!]

As the system’s mechanical voice faded in her ears, Zhu Zhihan felt the ground beneath her tremble violently.

The sky, dark as a curtain, cracked from a central point, spreading fissures everywhere.

“Clang!”

A blade’s resonance, as if from ancient times, echoed through the air.

The entire sky seemed to shatter.

Zhu Zhihan caught a glimpse of a blinding red.

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