Sunbathing
Han Jiang could hardly believe Cang Jingmo's death. She fell to her knees, grabbed Cang Jingmo's wrist, and checked his pulse.
"You can't die! What will happen to Sister Wen if you die..." Han Jiang broke down in tears, pushing Cang Jingmo's body hard, hoping that he could move or say a word.
"Wake up... How could the male lead die so hastily? Wake up..."
Han Jiang spoke recklessly, but no matter how she pushed Cang Jingmo, he didn't react at all.
“Xiaoman… Amo has no more demonic energy in his body…” Cang Jingqi squatted down next to Han Jiang.
“Cang Jingqi…” Han Jiang turned her head, tears falling in large drops, soaking a large area of her clothes. She had no time to care about the tears on her face, her whole body was weak, and her fingers sank into the soil.
Cang Jingqi supported the swaying Han Jiang, as if she were her lifeline.
Cang Jingmo was her only hope, her hope to save Wen Xu and return home, but now that hope is shattered.
Han Jiang looked up at Cang Jingqi: "I beg you, save him... I beg you, he can't die..."
Cang Jingqi was also seriously injured, but he struggled to stay upright. Amo is dead, so he's lost another family member?
He clings to the cold descent, but isn't he also relying on it to maintain his sanity?
They held on to each other, trying their best not to fall down.
Han Jiang's cries faded into the distance, and Cang Jingqi's vision went black.
"Cang Jingqi!" Han Jiang held Cang Jingqi, who had collapsed into his arms; now she was all alone.
She threw the stone in a fit of anger. The male protagonist was dead. What use was it to preserve Wenxu's body in a crystal coffin?
"System! Come out!" Han Jiang roared.
The screen is still broken, and the system hasn't been repaired yet.
What a lousy system! Everything about it is broken!
[Conquest progress... Demon Lord... Favorability level is... Please keep up the good work, host...] The system stammered out a sentence, without a single useful piece of information.
"What's the point of pursuing a character if the male lead is dead?"
[Conquest progress... Demon Lord... Favorability level is... Please keep up the good work, host...] The system's mechanical voice repeated.
If all the characters you're trying to win over are dead, what's the point of talking about affection levels? Or is it that Cang Jingmo actually didn't die?
But Cang Jingqi said that Cang Jingmo's demonic energy had dissipated, so he must be dead!
The system hasn't ended the strategy mission yet, so there must be some aspect that Hanjiang hasn't considered. We can't give up so early!
Hanjiang picked up the stone and just then saw people from the Vermilion Bird Pavilion approaching from the sky.
She cried out for help, briefly explained the situation, and asked the people of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion to take the two brothers back to the Demon Realm. She then borrowed a flying talisman to return to Anzhou to find Gui Xu.
Han Jiang couldn't understand why the system kept referring to the Demon Lord as the Demon Lord when the current Demon Lord wasn't Cang Jingmo at all. Although she knew that the future Demon Lord was the male lead, Cang Jingqi, the system neither mentioned the male lead nor Cang Jingmo's name, but instead kept calling him the Demon Lord. Han Jiang couldn't help but wonder if it was a loophole.
If the system really has vulnerabilities, then Han Jiang can exploit them.
The system's task is to conquer the Demon Lord. Han Jiang just needs to establish a new person as the Demon Lord, and then conquer him, right?
Or, to put it another way, Han Jiang could find a way to make the person who already likes her become the Demon Lord, at which point the progress of her conquest would automatically be 100%.
I don't know if it's feasible.
"System, who is my target for romance?"
[The Demon Lord...]
A short response system is fine.
Who is the Demon Lord?
[...]
What does this mean? Has the answer been swallowed, or is it being left to fill in the blanks on its own?
"Is it Cang Jingmo?"
[...]
The system still responded with a static message.
"Dude, you can't play like this!" Han Jiang complained. "If you're going to do this, then I'm done. I'm changing my target. Cang Jingmo is dead, so who else can be the Demon Lord? Cang Jingqi?"
The previous Demon Lord still had two children, Cang Jingqi and Cang Jingye.
Cang Jingqi didn't participate much in the management of demon affairs, and according to the original trajectory, the next Demon Lord would inevitably be Cang Jingmo. Now that Cang Jingmo is dead, the next one should be Cang Jingye.
After all, Cang Jingye was responsible for managing some of the affairs of the Demon Clan.
Trying to win over Cang Jingye? Wouldn't that turn it into a yuri (lesbian) story? No, that's definitely not it.
That's possible! There's only one criterion for a successful romance: 100% affection level. But who says affection level necessarily means love? Affection level just indicates how much that person likes you.
Can't friendships also have a level of affection? Can't family relationships also have a level of affection?
Becoming friends with Cang Jingye is also a viable option! Who says a best friend's affection level can't be 100%?
Han Jiang thought about it more and more and it made more sense. Did the Demon Lord ever say that he was a man?
The current plot is completely different from the original story. Cang Jingmo is dead, but the rebels may not necessarily lose. It's known that Cang Jingye is involved in the rebellion, so if the rebels win, Cang Jingye will be the next Demon Lord!
Han Jiang was almost laughing at herself as she thought about it. Her mind was racing with random, chaotic thoughts, but wouldn't the plot really fall apart if things continued this way? And then the whole world would collapse?
Han Jiang guessed that Gui Xu would be waiting for her, but she didn't expect Han Tian to be here as well.
"Master..." Han Jiang was unsure whether to explain to Han Tian first or fulfill his promise to Gui Xu first.
Gui Xu said innocently, "Look, isn't your disciple perfectly fine? I told you Cang Jingqi is with him, nothing will happen—hey, kid, where's Cang Jingqi?"
"He's injured and still recuperating in Xuanzhou. Lord Gui, I've brought back what you wanted." Han Jiang handed over the stone and the lamp.
The light seemed to only turn on in dark places, and went out after we came out from underground.
Gui Xu's face lit up with surprise: "You saw that old woman?"
"She's dead. Where's the crystal coffin I asked for?"
"Your master took me to the Four Continents Sect as soon as you left. He had already put that little girl into a crystal coffin, which is currently in my building. Cang Jingqi's people have already delivered the money. Now, give me the things, and Han Tian will take you to see that little girl."
Hanjiang and Hantian exchanged glances and handed over the two items as Guixu had instructed.
Gui Xu knew that a woman was lying in that place, which meant that she was probably also aware of the Spirit Gathering Altar and the transformation between humans and demons.
Perhaps Han Jiang wouldn't have wanted to care about such things in the past, but now she must obtain all the information she can and truly participate in this world.
The crystal coffin was placed in a special room on the third floor of the Maple Fire Reflecting Frost Pavilion. Wen Xu lay quietly inside, his body showing no major changes.
"I had Elder Wen Wan treat her wounds. Xiaoman, can you tell your master what you want to do? Perhaps your master can help," Han Tian said.
Han Jiang felt a little guilty. She wasn't the original owner of this body, and Han Tian wasn't being kind to her; he was being kind to the original owner.
"No need. I can handle it myself. As for the crystal coffin, I thank you, Master."
The crystal coffin was no small matter, and Han Tian must have had to use a lot of persuasion to convince the other elders.
"Xiaoman, come back to the Four Provinces Sect with me."
“Disciple has other matters to attend to. Besides, at this critical juncture, it would be inconvenient for me to return to the Four Continents Sect, as it would cause trouble for Master.”
Han Tian said angrily, "You're the one who's causing me trouble by not telling me anything, forcing your master to guess on his own! The crystal coffin can't be kept here; Gui Xu won't treat it well. It can only be taken back to the Four Continents Sect. If you don't come back with your master, your master won't help you move the crystal coffin."
"Alright then." Han Tian's words made sense; Wen Xu couldn't be left here. After the trip to Xuanzhou, Han Jiang realized that Gui Xu was no simple character, and she would definitely be involved later.
On the way back, the two remained silent.
"Whatever you want to do, I'll do it for you. You can go back to your villa, read your stories, and live a happy life, okay?" Han Tian couldn't help but ask.
"But there are some things I have to do myself," Han Jiang said, her voice choked with emotion.
She didn't want to get involved in any messy things; she just wanted to stay in the villa and live a peaceful life.
But she couldn't.
Fate has placed her in this position, and she must step out and face the challenges herself instead of running away.
But can she really solve it? She doesn't know, and things might get worse.
Or she could accept her fate and stay in this world. With Han Tian around, she should be able to live a life free from worries about food and clothing.
What about Mom and Dad? I really miss home during the Cold Winter Solstice.
On the summit of Cold Mountain, the maple trees await the arrival of winter.
"Senior sister, you're back!" Han Qi ran to Han Jiang and hugged her tightly.
Hanjiang felt an unprecedented sense of peace; after so many busy days, she was finally back.
Hanqi caught Hanjiang's tired body like a family member.
"Take your senior sister back to rest. We can talk about the rest tomorrow."
That night, Hanjiang went to bed quite early.
She took a hot shower and didn't stay up late reading novels again; she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the bed. She was too tired, both physically and mentally exhausted.
Hanjiang stayed indoors for two days and two nights.
It was as if she wasn't sleeping in a bed, but rather sinking into a sea, without any struggle, without even the strength to cry.
There was no suffocation, no oppression, only vastness.
The future is a blank slate; the only certainty is that whatever she does next will determine how the story unfolds.
The more control you have, the more conflicted you become. You have to be careful with every step, and every choice is difficult to make.
She felt like she was back in her college dorm one night, just like before, with a mountain of things to do but nothing but sleep. She knew each problem was waiting for her to solve, but she just couldn't bring herself to do anything about it.
Confusion and emptiness filled every corner of her heart; she isolated herself from the world, refusing to participate in activities or care about others. What, then, is life? Why should she participate in life at all?
Wouldn't it be better to just give up and lie low?
But that won't work; there are still so many things waiting for her to do.
The more she thought about it, the less she could move her body. Hanjiang hated this version of herself the most—procrastinating until there was no time left to delay, and still not taking any action.
She still didn't go out. After sleeping for two days, Hanqi delivered her meals to her door.
Sometimes she doesn't even want to eat, she just wants to sleep.
She couldn't remember how many days she had been back. It seemed that time wouldn't flow if she didn't go out, and she wouldn't have to face the harsh reality of Cang Jingmo's death.
That feeling seemed to have returned. During those painful days, she also shut herself in her room, refusing to see anyone.
“You can’t stay indoors forever; you have to go out and get some sun,” she remembered her mother saying.
I miss my mom as winter approaches.
She thought she had broken free, but in reality she was just deceiving herself by living a normal life by slacking off and instilling a bunch of道理 (moral principles) in herself.
At this moment, she was brought back to her original form.
Her powerful will to survive in the face of death briefly roused her, but after exhausting her energy, she fell into an even deeper trough, caught in an emotional vortex.
She simply lacks the ability to solve everything; her words of comfort for others cannot comfort herself.
Even though it was already bright outside, she had already woken up long ago.
"Han Xiaoman?"
Cang Jingqi was knocking on her door.
He pretended not to hear the cold rain.
Cang Jingqi only knocked once, and then there was no sound.
Han Jiang couldn't tell whether she felt disappointed or relieved. She was afraid of trouble coming her way, yet she also hoped that Cang Jingqi would come to find her.
"I don't want to be so conflicted in my next life," Han Jiang thought.
"The sun is out today. It's a rare treat to see the sun in winter. It's the beginning of winter, so come out and soak up some sunshine," Cang Jingqi said.
Looking out the window, it seemed the sun was shining.
Han Xiaoman, go out and get some sun, just for Mom's sake.
Go outside and get some sun, Cang Jingqi is waiting for you there.
But getting ready takes a lot of time, and by the time she's done, Cang Jingqi will have already left, and the sun will be obscured by clouds.
As the cold front descended, I dawdled as I got out of bed, got dressed, and combed my hair.
It's too late, he's already gone.
As the cold descends, the movements become slower and slower, sometimes even stopping altogether, and only resuming after a long while.
She pushed open the door without any hope, but she was wrong.
Cang Jingqi hadn't left, and the sunlight was just right; things weren't so bad.
"Cang Jingqi... what brings you here?"
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