Chapter 81 - 71: Nothing to Say, We Are Both Pretending

Chapter 81: Chapter 71: Nothing to Say, We Are Both Pretending

Maybe it was just his imagination.

Today, Wangshu Palace seemed much brighter than usual.

That woman from the Demon Sect, Gu Xiangzhu, seemed to have gotten even more beautiful after dropping her "Kind Mother" mask.

Perhaps it was because... he’d never seen the expressions she could make without the mask?

At least, he’d never seen her smile so naturally before.

"You’re here!"

Zhao Ci replied with a deadpan expression.

Gu Xiangzhu glanced at the cloth bag in his hand and chuckled softly. "Are the mushrooms fresh today?"

"They’re fresh!"

Zhao Ci’s gaze shifted, as if he didn’t dare to meet her eyes. He quickly turned toward the door. "I’ll go cook them for you."

The corners of Gu Xiangzhu’s lips curved up slightly. "How nice. I thought you were just all talk."

Zhao Ci’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly. He stopped and said, feigning sternness, "I just don’t want the mushrooms to go bad. Besides, I owe you for helping me condense my First-Grade Flesh Soul. Once I’ve repaid that debt, I won’t be coming back."

Gu Xiangzhu smiled and retorted, "And when, exactly, will that debt be repaid?"

"I... I..."

Zhao Ci gritted his teeth. "I don’t know either. It’ll be repaid when it’s repaid."

Without giving Gu Xiangzhu a chance to respond, he headed straight for the kitchen.

Gu Xiangzhu watched his somewhat flustered retreat, a meaningful smile flickering in her eyes.

She had to admit it.

’This young man is very smart and quite composed. Otherwise, he never would have managed to expose me. He was even able to play me and Zhao Huan against each other and keep the Pill Formula for himself in the end.’

’But in the end, he’s still just a young man.’

’All his actions are swayed by his emotions.’

’This is the perfect time to bring him to my side!’

’Actually, Lady Yue was right yesterday. It would be best to turn someone like him into my subordinate.’

She had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, but she’d finally figured it out. There were really only three paths Zhao Ci could take in the future.

The first path: he could cultivate diligently and stay in Lingge, only to be "harvested" by Zhao Huan. He would surely lose his kidney qi and his Kidney Water Divine Pattern. If the secret of his Celestial Demon Body was exposed, even his Flesh Body Divine Pattern might be plundered.

If that happened, he would spend the rest of his life as a cripple. Out of respect for Xiang Tiange, Zhao Huan would likely still dote on him.

But she wondered if Zhao Ci would still find that affection valuable after learning the truth.

The second path was just as Lady Yue had suggested: refine Zhao Ci into a puppet. If she helped him reforge his Celestial Demon Tendons and Celestial Demon Bone, she could undoubtedly forge a super-strong physical body on par with the Demon Monarch and Xiang Tiange of old.

With such a physical body as her puppet, her own achievements might not be inferior to the Demon Monarch’s. Unifying the Demon Sect would be within her grasp.

Combined with the financial network she had built over the years, she could even accomplish things the Demon Monarch himself never could.

However, despite being the Demon Sect Saintess and possessing unparalleled talent for demonic arts, she was actually repulsed by the kind of Poisonous Gu that forcibly controlled a person’s mind.

’It’s so barbaric.’

’Not elegant at all.’

’Winning over the heart—that is the true art.’

Especially with Zhao Ci... aside from his audacious actions that made her want to kill him, on the whole, she rather admired the young man.

Besides, those audacious actions were a necessary evil, all part of his attempt to test whether she was his birth mother.

Of course, she was certain he wasn’t entirely without lecherous intent, but it was enough to dispel any notions of maliciousness on his part.

’And... if he really became a puppet, it would probably be hard to find anyone else in this world who would proactively try to guess what she wanted to eat.’

’As for him claiming it was part of his test...’

’Pure nonsense!’

And so, Gu Xiangzhu ultimately chose the third path: to make Zhao Ci one of her own people—unwaveringly loyal, with no thought of betrayal.

This was the most difficult option.

But it was the one that best suited her desires.

It was also the most suitable approach for the current situation.

She could tell from his current behavior that, deep down, he was subconsciously quite dependent on her. This dependence was very likely related to her identity as his "fake mother concubine."

She didn’t consider exploiting his emotions to be a noble act, especially since those emotions stemmed from the person she was impersonating.

But it was the only way she could quickly pry Zhao Ci from Zhao Huan’s grasp.

If he became her confidant, she would treat him well.

She just needed to make him mentally unable to escape his dependence on her.

A person like him.

It would be a pity for him to become a cripple.

It would be an even greater pity for him to become a puppet.

In the end, he was just cursed with a bitter fate, having been born into such a life.

Her only doubt was whether she might get herself entangled in the process.

After all, the human heart is the most unpredictable thing.

If a young man brimming with amorous feelings suddenly appeared by her side, it would seriously affect the efficiency of her ambitions.

But on second thought, it seemed unlikely.

’Zhao Ci is just a young man. He couldn’t possibly push me to that point.’

Just as she was lost in her tangled thoughts,

Zhao Ci had already returned with a tray, and he set the meal on the table.

As usual, there was a plate of stir-fried mushrooms, three small vegetarian dishes, and a bowl of white rice.

"Am I the only one eating?"

Gu Xiangzhu asked, a little puzzled.

"I’ve already eaten..."

Zhao Ci blurted out, but quickly corrected himself. "I’m just repaying a debt. Our relationship isn’t at the point where we can share a meal."

Gu Xiangzhu stared into his eyes for a long moment before sighing softly. "It’s alright. It’s been so many years, after all. I’m used to eating alone."

Her tone seemed to perfectly conceal a trace of melancholy and disappointment.

Zhao Ci opened his mouth, but then closed it, hesitating.

Gu Xiangzhu began to eat, chewing slowly and deliberately. She smiled and asked, "You had lunch with your father, the Emperor, didn’t you?"

"Yes!"

Zhao Ci grunted in response, but he still showed no intention of sitting down.