Chapter 427: Who on Earth Are You?

Through Ye Zhiyao’s repeated failures, large and small, the two of them grew up.

At sixteen, Lu Sangjiu had reached the age for marriage.

Though she was unwilling, her family had arranged a marriage for her.

Ye Zhiyao coaxed her, "You’ve never even met him. It would be a huge loss to just marry him like that."

"Why don’t I help you arrange to meet him by the lake tomorrow?"

"At least if you meet in private, you’ll know what you’re getting into. Don’t you agree?"

As they grew older, Lu Sangjiu had gradually realized that her values were vastly different from Ye Zhiyao’s, and that they weren’t really suited to be friends.

That was why she had rarely sought out Ye Zhiyao on her own for the past couple of years. If the other woman hadn’t been her cousin, they probably would have slowly drifted apart.

But at this moment, the marriage arranged by her family was making her rather agitated.

With no one to confide in, Ye Zhiyao appeared, and her words were tempting enough to make her hesitate.

"Meeting in private is improper. If Mother and the others find out, I’m afraid..."

"What’s there to be afraid of? You’re already engaged. You’ll be married sooner or later."

Ye Zhiyao pressed, trying to persuade her, "Little Jiu, I’ve never known you to be someone who blindly follows rigid rules. Think about it. Is sticking to some pointless rule more important, or is a lifetime of happiness?"

Having been around Lu Sangjiu for so long, Ye Zhiyao understood her. She knew that no matter the circumstances of a person’s birth, Lu Sangjiu was, in her bones, someone who loved freedom and hated being restrained.

And so, her last words struck a chord deep in Lu Sangjiu’s heart. She no longer hesitated. "...You’re right. I can’t just compromise like this!"

"I’ll meet him. If we find each other agreeable, then the marriage can go ahead. But if we don’t, I refuse to throw my entire life away."

With that, she looked at Ye Zhiyao. "Cousin, I’ll have to trouble you with this, then!"

Ye Zhiyao smiled. "It’s no trouble at all. Don’t worry. We’re sisters, after all. I’ll definitely help you."

The next day, accompanied by Ye Zhiyao, Lu Sangjiu arrived at the designated lakeside and met the man.

’This man... how to put it?’ Lu Sangjiu had braced herself for him to be unimpressive, but she never imagined his looks alone would be so hard to stomach.

After exchanging a few words, she found him to be even worse: his speech was flippant, he was completely uncultured, and he was a profound disappointment.

’This was not the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.’

Once she was certain of this, Lu Sangjiu didn’t hesitate or mince words. She spoke her mind plainly, right to his face.

"I’m sorry, but we are not compatible. When I return, I will explain to my parents that this engagement is canceled. I wish you the best in finding a suitable partner in the future, Sir."

She felt her words were perfectly clear and not out of line.

But the man flew into a rage upon hearing her and began to curse.

"You’re the one who arranged this private meeting, acting so indecently, and now you have the gall to look down on me?"

"The engagement is already set! Do you think you can just call it off whenever you feel like it? Let me tell you, I will never agree to this!"

Lu Sangjiu frowned, suppressing her anger at his insults. "I don’t like you, and you’re clearly not satisfied with me either. Why force the matter?"

The man sneered. "And what if I insist on forcing you?"

"It’s true, I’m not impressed with you, but what does that have to do with whether or not I marry you? I can just take you home as a decoration. A man can have many wives, after all. It’s not like I can’t marry someone else!"

His speech thoroughly infuriated Lu Sangjiu. Realizing there was no point in arguing further, she turned away, her face cold. "There’s nothing more to say. Goodbye!"

But he reached out and grabbed her. "Did I say you could leave?"

"Let go of me!"

Lu Sangjiu’s expression turned frigid, and she couldn’t stop herself from struggling against his grip.

Ye Zhiyao rushed forward to intervene, and the three of them became a tangled mess.

Lu Sangjiu knew she was naturally quite strong, so she was careful not to use too much force.

But somehow, the man suddenly fell into the water!

The man panicked, thrashing in the water. He clearly couldn’t swim.

Lu Sangjiu was startled and immediately moved to jump in and save him, but Ye Zhiyao grabbed her and held her back.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Lu Sangjiu frowned. "Cousin, what are you doing? Let me go! He’s going to die!"

Ye Zhiyao looked at her, her face a mask of concern. "I know you learned to swim as a child, but how long ago was that? If you jump in, you might not save him and just end up drowning yourself!"

Lu Sangjiu said calmly, "That won’t happen. We’re not far from the shore, and I’m a good enough swimmer! Besides, there’s no one else around. If we don’t save him, he will die!"

"Then let him die!"

Ye Zhiyao said excitedly, "Have you forgotten what he just said? This engagement won’t be as easy to call off as you think."

"Are you really going to marry a lowlife like him?"

"Listen to me! No one else knows we were here, and no one saw us. If we just leave now, he’ll drown, and you won’t have to marry him!"

"Judging by the things he just said, he’s not a good person anyway. Why would you save him and bring more trouble on yourself?"

Ye Zhiyao spoke in a rush, her words feigning complete concern for Lu Sangjiu’s sake.

Lu Sangjiu was stunned by her words, and her struggles began to weaken.

This was the first time Ye Zhiyao’s efforts had shown any effect. She suppressed the joy in her heart and said soothingly, "It’s okay. We didn’t push him in on purpose. He was just careless. No one can blame us if we don’t save him, right?"

Seeing Lu Sangjiu’s dazed expression, Ye Zhiyao was overcome with wild joy. ’It looks like it’s really going to work this time!’

However, in the next instant, just as Ye Zhiyao began to relax, Lu Sangjiu suddenly shoved her aside and dove into the water!

"Lu Sangjiu!"

Ye Zhiyao cried out in alarm, but it was too late.

In an instant, her face turned livid, the indignation in her heart almost boiling over.

Her hands clenched, nails digging into her palms, and her expression twisted in fury.

"Why... Why did you have to save him?!"

Ye Zhiyao didn’t understand. She even felt a flicker of confusion.

’People in this world should live for themselves,’ she thought. ’As long as I can live well, what does sacrificing others matter?’

’If other people had the power, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill me either!’

’But why did someone like Lu Sangjiu have to exist in this world? No matter how hard I try, it seems I can’t shake her convictions one bit!’

It wasn’t that Lu Sangjiu was incapable of killing. It was that she carried a scale in her heart—a moral compass that would never allow her to slaughter the innocent for personal gain.

Every time Lu Sangjiu stood by her principles against her, it was like a giant slap across Ye Zhiyao’s face, forcing her to see the difference between them—forcing her to see her own ugliness.

Ye Zhiyao slumped to the ground by the shore, utterly crestfallen. A moment later, Lu Sangjiu dragged the unconscious man back onto dry land.

She looked at Lu Sangjiu and, losing all control, shrieked, "You’re clearly a Demon Cultivator! Evil and cruelty are supposed to be your nature! Why are you like this?"

"Lu Sangjiu... who are you, really? Why... why must you do this to me?!"