Chapter 62: Offer And Acceptance
The sound of giggling resounded on the main road of the Huxian Province as a dainty pink palanquin with purple highlights moved along rather quickly, the Core Formation level palanquin bearers moving in the same rhythmic manner as they always had.
Within the palanquin, Li Ling was seated casually on a couch on one side, while Bai Ruyi was languidly laying in her usual spot opposite him, her hand covering her mouth as she expressed mirth at what Li Ling had been saying prior.
Meanwhile Wen Caiyi, who had moved to another seat on the side that was in between the two parties, pursed her lips, not finding their chat amusing.
This was the second day after making the Heavenly Dao Oath and a lot of interesting things had happened since then. The first was that Bai Ruyi immediately introduced herself to Li Ling properly and explained their true purpose behind making the vow, which made Li Ling seem amused outwardly, but sigh with regret inside.
Even though the vow would have been made anyway, he could still have found a lot of wiggle room if he knew that they were in need of him.
Wen Caiyi had been opposed to letting Li Ling know the truth, because she felt it would be giving him too much initiative. As an elder standing at a lofty position where she could command thousands of people, Wen Caiyi intimately knew that making someone do something for you had different levels of convenience depending on how much initiative, freedom and agency they had.
Asking a poor peasant who could not secure daily bread to farm tirelessly for a full meal would yield far different results from asking a merchant’s son to do the same task.
However, Bai Ruyi simply smiled. Her perspective was different, because she understood that negative and harmful information shared proactively would also yield far less damage than autonomous discovery.
It was one thing if your partner came to kneel before you in apology, revealing that they had betrayed you and honestly sought your forgiveness for the betrayal compared to if you happened to find out from a friend and saw the act yourself without being prompted.
In the case of the former, proactively confessing had a higher chance of forgiveness depending on the level of sincerity in the apology and the severity of the crime. In the case of the latter, it was simply near impossible to be truthfully forgiven unless the victim had issues that interfered with their thinking.
By sharing this with Li Ling rather than waiting for him to find out, because Bai Ruyi was sure he would, she would be able to display a level of sincerity that could make their ’alliance’ more solid.
Whether one was a scheming, heartless person or a trusting and righteous person, one would always prefer to have an ally who was at least open and aboveboard rather than a secretive and untrustworthy one, no matter how capable they were.
The second thing that occurred was that the group spent the entirety of yesterday roaming the Huxian Province, as Wen Caiyi argued that they should still be sure that there wouldn’t be any new event or fact that would prove Li Ling to not be the one they were looking for.
This actually occurred before Li Ling had been told of the truth by Bai Ruyi, and it was done between the two women silently and privately, so Li Ling did not know about this. However, after seemingly roaming aimlessly the entire day, the group had not encountered a single person or event that seemed close to what they were looking for, at least not more than Li Ling.
To this, Li Ling had to click his tongue with amazement, because the main load bearer for this task was the spirit sense of the Nascent Soul elder, which started at a thousand kilometers and varied based on their cultivation technique, practiced daoist arts and especially the quality of their Nascent Soul.
This was also how they tracked Li Ling earlier despite being so far, that it seemed he could not escape.
"So what would have happened if I hadn’t entered that hidden cavern underground?" Li Ling asked with folded arms, knowing the answer already from his premonitions but wanting to hear it for himself.
Bai Ruyi shrugged. "Not sure, maybe we would have given up the chase or captured you, it would have depended on my mood."
However, Wen Caiyi’s eyes flickered as she lowered her head, concealing her thoughts. Right now, they were on the same boat as Li Ling, so she couldn’t antagonize him despite her dislike, and it would not be wise to reveal any hostility either.
However, this Nascent Soul elder had no idea that Li Ling already knew, he just wanted to verify the specifics. Was it Bai Ruyi who ordered to have him killed when the time elapsed or was it Wen Caiyi’s solo act? Looking at their genuine reactions, Li Ling drew up an answer as he smiled at Wen Caiyi, who frowned in response.
Her danger warning triggered again and was even stronger, but she could only purse her lips and pretend not to feel it. Whatever this brat would become in the future, that was for future her to deal with. Right now, she had to play along until he could fulfill the destiny promised in the prophecy so that their sect could rise.
Bai Ruyi leaned forward with visible interest. "Hey, can you show me your transformation art? I had a sort of bet with Old Cai that it isn’t just some cheap transformation method and was actually something special."
Li Ling raised his eyebrows and smiled. "No problem. However, you have to show me your breasts first."
Wen Caiyi’s eyebrows shot up as her body tensed, poised to strike at Li Ling for the disrespect but holding herself back due to the bigger picture and the fact that she simply could not afford to increase her animosity further with the current intensity of the predicted danger warnings.
But Joyful Matron above, she really had to use everything she had to hold herself back.
Meanwhile, Bai Ruyi was surprised, then amused. She understood that this was likely Li Ling being rebellious due to his dissatisfaction for being suppressed and manhandled earlier, then forced into a contract that was completely against him.
Bai Ruyi tsked inwardly and lamented that she had become too lax. As the Saintess of the Boundless Joy Sect that boasted the ability to ’handle’ men, she had forgotten something as basic as how to navigate around a man’s ego as a woman.
It was a good thing that this Li Ling was still young and hotheaded, so he revealed this problem early. If this deeper resentment had been buried within and festered, then when he later became strong, he might have a change of heart worse than just abandoning her... he might actually turn against her.
Thinking like this, Bai Ruyi revealed a dazzlingly seductive smile and immediately shook her shoulders, letting the collar of her blue hanfu slide down her arms and rest in the crook of her elbow. This caused the previously half-displayed lumps of round flesh to become exposed to the world, or at least, to the three within the palanquin.
Wen Caiyi was speechless at the unpredictable nature of the Saintess while Li Ling was somewhat stunned.
But why did the two of them react like this? As the Saintess of the Boundless Joy Sect, a demonic sect focused on sucking yang, shouldn’t Bai Ruyi doing this be normal? How else did she cultivate, if not by sucking yang on the daily, so she should be the mother of all nymphomaniacs, right?
Obviously, looking at the actions and nature of Wen Caiyi, it should be clear that the answer was no. At the lower level, the Joyful Union Sutra required the draining of yang essence to enhance yin and increase power, which granted beauty, femininity and seduction, but at the higher levels, it actually required genuine femininity in the sense of a matronly disposition, purity of yin and preservation of value.
Just like with vampires, the lesser ones were manic, blood-crazed, barely considered intelligent and hideous when they showed their real selves, while the upper echelon vampires were almost indistinguishable from humans, walking around in the day, able to extract blood without biting and only needing a bit of it for sustenance.
Whether it was Bai Ruyi or Wen Caiyi, both were virgins, completely pure. It was not because they disdained men or lacked the urges, but like a man who practiced a pure yang method, they had to abstain in order to gain the most value of the technique and attain the strongest combat power.
They only knew the theory and had witnessed the practicals many times, but had never engaged nor actively attempted to. This was also why Wen Caiyi, despite her misgivings, did not say anything about Bai Ruyi ’marrying’ Li Ling, because it was a sham marriage in name with none of the matrimonial obligations necessary from the wife, but all from the husband.
In Wen Caiyi’s eyes, Li Ling would be lucky to even touch the Saintess’ skin during the tenure of their relationship, but it was only the second day and she was baring her chest in the open? Then what about when they went to the Six Paths Demon Sect, would she actually sacrifice her natal yin in a moment of passion?
No, this couldn’t go on, she had to do something. The Saintess was predicted to be the greatest in their history, with her talent already soaring to the heavens.
If she ended up losing her natal yin, while she wouldn’t be truly crippled, she would only retain 10% of her current cultivation efficiency and talent.
But given what they expected from her, the Saintess might as well be crippled at that point.
Wen Caiyi’s eyes flashed with a deep struggle as her thoughts whirred, even as Li Ling was wearing an expression of pleasant surprise, his head tilted with admiration as he stared directly at the two mounds without shame.
Eventually, Wen Caiyi’s eyes firmed and became deeply indifferent as she coughed loudly to attract attention. She then, to the shock of the other two within the palanquin, moved to prostrate herself before Li Ling with her head against the ground.
"Young Lord, please do not fancy the body of the Saintess, she must remain pure for her destiny to be true. If you ever feel lust or desire towards her, you can use my body instead. I can assure you that I am clean and untouched, perfect for any intention you have."
Wen Caiyi spoke in a deep tone full of intent, and Li Ling could tell that if he agreed, he could even do as he pleased right on the spot.
Meanwhile, Bai Ruyi, who should have seemed touched by this noble sacrifice, glanced at the back of Wen Caiyi with a neutral expression, but a flash of intense coldness and cruelty appeared in her crimson eyes for a split second.
Wen Caiyi missed this as she did not have her spirit sense focused on the Saintess, but rather outside the palanquin to watch for threats while her sight was blocked by the floor of the palanquin.
But Li Ling saw it.
He saw it because the entire time, he had been paying attention to Bai Ruyi, thinking of ways to handle her. His decision to become adaptable and change accordingly to situations from now on did not mean he wanted to be purely reactive and passive in everything he did.
The key to being adaptable was being pragmatic, acquiring all the important information patiently then making the best objective choice or action with that knowledge.
And now, he seemed to have seen something very interesting.
At this moment, Bai Ruyi returned to normal as it had only been a flash, and her gaze turned to Li Ling to see how he would react, only to see the young man staring right at her with a strange smile on his face.
Bai Ruyi’s heart skipped a beat as Li Ling slowly reached out his hand and pressed it at the back of Wen Caiyi’s head.
"I accept your offer."