Chapter 100 Moonlight Reveals the Light of Day

"Grandma Yang!?"

Bai Yuheng and the others rushed forward, but when they checked his breath, they found that he was already dead and his body was cold.

"What happened to Xiaoying?"

Cen Ying sighed: "Mao Mao woke up just now when he was talking about Gou Dan being tortured to death. He was too emotional and there was nothing he could do."

“Just now…” Cui Mingcan paused.

"I used the last Soul-Returning Pill to keep her here temporarily, but it was just a last gasp before she died."

"..."

After a long silence, the group could only let out a sigh.

No matter how much hatred or resentment there was, in the presence of the deceased, all those entanglements and grudges vanished like smoke.

Grandma Yang's funeral was held hastily, but with the strong support of the two wealthy men, Cui Mingcan and Li Tiankuo, everything was provided, and it was even considered a grand affair. There hadn't been such a luxurious funeral in Luoshui Village for decades.

Among them, Li Tiankuo, who could not be considered a master, personally saw Gou Dan and Granny Yang off at their deathbeds.

"Is Xiao Kuo still in the mourning hall?"

Cen Ying nodded, looking at the person kneeling in the mourning hall with a complicated expression, and silently burned paper money: "Yes, I haven't rested all night."

"You go and rest, I'll take over."

"Um."

Bai Yuheng walked in and knelt down beside Li Tiankuo.

The smell of the paper money was very pungent, but Li Tiankuo seemed to have no senses. He couldn't perceive the people beside him, couldn't smell the pungent odor, and could endure the smoke that stung his eyes.

Bai Yuheng was pondering how to persuade him to rest.

"Little Egg called me Master back then."

He suddenly spoke, startling Bai Yuheng. She glanced at him and saw that his face was pale and tired, and his pale lips were dry and chapped.

"Um?"

"But I refused at that time because I didn't want to get into trouble."

When Li Tiankuo met her gaze, he quickly lowered his head, dropped a piece of paper money, and with a whoosh, flames erupted, almost burning him.

"But when I saw him, it was as if I saw myself as a child."

He patted the ashes that had fallen onto his sleeve, as if confiding in her, or perhaps talking to himself.

"Everyone thinks that being a prince or king is glamorous and powerful, but that's for others. I'm just a concubine used to compete for favor, an object of my brothers' ridicule and venting. Even my own father, the emperor, treats me coldly and has never shown me the kindness that other princes and princesses do..."

"The palace is cold and desolate. I was born of a lowly slave, and everyone could spit on me... So when I learned that I could leave the palace, leave that cannibalistic hellhole, I was so happy that I couldn't sleep for nights on end, afraid that things would fall through... Thank goodness..."

Li Tiankuo's lips curled slightly as he looked intently at her: "Coming to the Tianyan Sect was the best decision I ever made in my life, and so were meeting you and all of you..."

"I really want to be with you and all of you for the rest of my life," Li Tiankuo thought to himself.

Perhaps noticing her stiffness and evasiveness, Li Tiankuo chuckled and didn't say anything more strange.

"Although Gou Dan is like me when I was a child, he is much better off than me. At least he has a grandmother who can give him the love and care he wants."

Bai Yuheng looked at him helplessly, hesitant to speak, unsure how to comfort him.

Li Tiankuo turned his head and smiled at her, a very faint smile. The two were quite close, and Bai Yuheng could even see the desolation in his eyes and the dimples at the corners of his lips.

"The coldness and indifference of the people in the palace taught me how to protect myself. I am unwilling to have any unnecessary relationships with outsiders."

"So when Xiao Dan called me Master and wanted to become my disciple, I refused. At that time, I just wanted to help him protect himself because I saw him being bullied."

"I only taught him one self-defense move, to use in unavoidable emergencies..."

As he spoke, his thin, youthful back slumped, and his voice became hoarse and trembling.

"you say……"

"If I had taken him as my apprentice back then and taught him a few more self-defense techniques, would he still be standing alive and well in front of me today, calling me master?"

The boy's head was bowed deeply, as if the branches were bent by guilt and regret.

Bai Yuheng hesitated, raising and lowering her hand, before finally placing it on his shoulder at a distance and patting it reassuringly.

"This is not your fault. You didn't expect things to turn out this way. Don't take the blame for other people's mistakes. You did nothing wrong."

Li Tiankuo covered his face with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging with suppressed anger.

Bai Yuheng wanted to say something to comfort him, but suddenly felt an undeniable, sinister gaze. She turned around abruptly to look for him, but apart from a few scattered villagers, there was no one suspicious staring at her.

Bai Yuheng frowned, her mind in turmoil, and tossed in a piece of paper money.

Li Tiankuo, his eyes red, looked at her apologetically: "I'm so sorry to have made you laugh at me..."

"I shouldn't have said those things..."

Bai Yuheng smiled and shook her head: "It's okay, we're all friends..."

"Friends?" Li Tiankuo savored the word, his deep eyes fixed on her, a strong urge to ask her, "Just friends?"

But when he met her unchanging gaze, his anger suddenly dissipated, and he felt a lump in his throat.

"Yes, friends are those who give you a shoulder to lean on when you're most heartbroken and sad, listen to your cries, and never make fun of you for it."

Li Tiankuo smiled and said, "Thank you."

"You're so good! You should smile more. Smiling makes you healthy and beautiful!" Bai Yuheng comforted her sincerely.

A blush rose to Li Tiankuo's pale face, and he blinked rapidly, "Mmm..."

As if feeling that this was too cold and awkward, he clumsily joked with her, "Then, I wonder if this friend could lean on my shoulder for a moment..."

"!"

here we go again!

That cold, sticky gaze lingered on her.

Bai Yuheng suddenly stood up and turned her head, unexpectedly meeting Pei Yuan's gaze.

Li Tiankuo naturally noticed as well. He stood up, but perhaps because he had been kneeling for a long time, he staggered a few steps, and Bai Yuheng subconsciously reached out to help him, grabbing his hand.

"..."

"Thanks……"

"..."

Bai Yuheng experienced what it felt like to be in both ice and fire!

Pei Yuan's cold gaze fell on their hands, which had accidentally clasped together, and in the palms was the man's large, rough, and burning hand.

Bai Yuheng felt a chill run down her spine. She abruptly withdrew her hand, blinked sheepishly, and when she realized what had happened, she felt like she had done something wrong. She subconsciously looked at Pei Yuan's reaction.

Unfortunately, this time we could only see his retreating figure as he walked away quickly.

“Uncle Pei…” Li Tiankuo hesitated.

Bai Yuheng pursed her lips and waved her hand: "It's alright, continue keeping vigil."

"……Um."

Night fell quickly, the snow outside had stopped and was gradually melting, and the season had returned to normal.

Li Tiankuo has gone to rest, while Cui Mingcan and Pei Yuan have come to take over the vigil.

"Tonight is the last day," Cui Mingcan said to her, twisting his shoulders and ankles.

"Okay, let's rest for another day tomorrow, and head north the day after tomorrow."

Bai Yuheng didn't look at Pei Yuan, but she knew that he was staring at her intently, with a focused and weighty gaze.

"..."

Bai Yuheng paused for a moment, then said, "I'm going to rest now. You don't need to push yourselves too hard. Rest when you need to."

"I know, go and rest!" Cui Mingcan didn't notice the awkwardness between the two of them. He waved his hand, telling her to go back and rest early, and then knelt down abruptly.

"Um."

Bai Yuheng acknowledged the message and walked out immediately, without any intention of speaking or exchanging words with Pei Yuan.

The latter clenched his fist in his sleeve, watching her leave intently, even gambling in his heart whether she would turn back to look at him.

Unfortunately, his expectations were not met.

She walked away very quickly and gracefully, as if some ferocious beast was chasing after her.

"..."

Pei Yuan gave a silent, sarcastic laugh.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, its light pouring down.

Bai Yuheng was thirsty at night, so she got up and poured herself a cup of cold tea. For some reason, the expression on Pei Yuan's face when he left kept her tossing and turning until late at night. After letting out a long sigh, she carefully walked out the door, bypassing the sleeping Cen Ying.

The moonlight was bright. Bai Yuheng leaned against the door frame, gazing aimlessly upwards, her mind wandering.

What is she thinking?

Ever since those things happened in Jiangzhou, she has been deliberately avoiding and ignoring related matters.

Even someone as powerful as Hengluan had never experienced love, let alone Pei Yuan, her former disciple and now master. Regardless of their identities, he had developed different feelings for her. She found it hard to believe that such things could happen to her.

But she also knew that running away wouldn't solve anything. Pei Yuan's behavior today had already taken her by surprise. His possessiveness was beyond her imagination, and she needed to come up with a foolproof solution immediately.

Bai Yuheng's thoughts wandered, and for some reason, what she was thinking always ended up on her face.

Perhaps it was something on my mind, but under the hazy moonlight, there seemed to be a familiar shadow standing there.

Bai Yuheng felt a sudden pang in her heart, whether from fright or something else.

"Why did you come here?" Bai Yuheng patted her chest awkwardly, took a few steps forward, and asked in a low voice.

"I'll be going back in a bit."

Pei Yuan's body was half hidden in the darkness, so his expression was not clear, but Bai Yuheng could feel his burning, unwavering gaze on her.

"What's wrong?"

Pei Yuan simply looked at her.

Bai Yuheng felt uncomfortable under his gaze, so she took a few steps forward, inexplicably wanting to see his expression clearly.

"!"

She was only two or three steps away from him when he suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Bai Yuheng was taken aback when the heavy man leaned in and pulled her into his arms in a restrained yet inappropriate way.

Bai Yuheng seemed to hear his suppressed breathing and low mood, and blinked very slowly.

Can I see myself?

"……Um?"

His low, husky voice whispered in her ear, conveying a complex emotion that Bai Yuheng couldn't immediately comprehend.

"Before you... can you look at me a little more?"

He had almost no courage left; the two words lingered on his lips, but finally became indistinct.

"you……"

She spoke with some difficulty.

"..."

“I’m sorry,” Pei Yuan stepped back a few paces, half of his face hidden in the shadows, looking disheveled and dejected, “Just consider me crazy tonight, possessed by a demon.”

He turned around after saying that.

"..."

"good."

Bai Yuheng, as if possessed, grabbed his hand.

Pei Yuan was extremely shocked. He turned around to look at her blankly, as if he were hallucinating.

"W-say it again?" he asked nervously, his eyes bright. "Can you say it again?" Bai Yuheng pursed her lips, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Yes, I said yes."

"ah!"

As soon as Bai Yuheng finished speaking, Pei Yuan excitedly pulled her into a tight embrace.

Pressing against his strong, warm chest, Bai Yuheng felt a sense of relief.

There are some things that they both know in their hearts, but Bai Yuheng can only pretend not to know. However, when facing Pei Yuan, he can always make her unconditionally let down her guard.

If Bai Yuheng was more shocked and embarrassed than afraid in the illusion, she was at a loss for what to do when she encountered such a thing for the first time, and she was shocked and ashamed to see her disciple's dark desires towards her. She was also annoyed by him...

So at this moment, I feel a flutter of excitement for him as a person.

Bai Yuheng has never been one to back down. Once she has figured things out and made up her mind, she will take the initiative.

She had been avoiding Pei Yuan for some time because she hadn't figured things out yet. Perhaps it was because she had obtained a wisp of primordial spirit in Jiangzhou that she now seemed to have all five senses when facing Pei Yuan. She could clearly perceive his heart pounding like a deer, his excitement, and his joy.

"Ahem," Bai Yuheng pushed him away after he had been hugging her for a long time, and said, "Don't be too happy yet. I only said I would think about it, not that I agreed..."

Pei Yuan seemed to have been hit on the head, feeling dizzy. His icy eyes shone so brightly that Bai Yuheng was too embarrassed to look closely. With a smile, she nodded repeatedly, "Okay!"

Being able to accept him is a huge step forward! This is something he never imagined! His feelings for her can finally see the light of day!

The anger and frustration from today's spying have vanished, replaced by a burning excitement in her heart. She wanted to run around the whole village several times and shout to the whole world that she had finally taken a step towards him!

"..." This was the first time Bai Yuheng had seen him look so silly, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

For some reason, when he saw her smile, he smiled too.

Bai Yuheng chuckled and muttered, "Silly girl!"

Pei Yuan smiled brightly: "Mm!"

"Pfft—"

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"The moonlight is so beautiful tonight," Pei Yuan thought to himself. "It's the most beautiful moonlight I've ever seen."

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Author's Note: Please add "After Being Mistakenly Bound to the Strategy System, the Demon Lord Stole Himself" and "A Female Demon Arrives at the Dali Temple" to your favorites [shy]