Volume 2, Chapter 93 – Taboo

Bai Zhuqing hadn’t slept well, and she kept yawning and nodding off as she walked down the road with Bai Xiang.

But she had at least slept, and that was definitely better than not sleeping at all. Forcing herself to perk up, she shuffled closer and probed, “Auntie, where are we going now?”

“To get clothes,” Bai Xiang replied.

Get what?

Bai Zhuqing blanked, not understanding.

“Gear,” Bai Xiang added by way of explanation. “There should be one of those tech battlesuits.”

Don’t be fooled by how she always put on the act of a traditionalist in public—that was just politics.

Tech battlesuits were simply the best clothes for cultivators to fight in… Ever since Bai Xiang had worn the Blackwatersnake Max and experienced what it was like to flit through a hail of bullets, she had taken that as iron law.

After all, this was a modern civilization with hot weapons. In an era like this, when you stepped onto a battlefield, nothing beat a battlesuit with bulletproofing and anti-radiation functions.

Even if she herself didn’t need it, putting one on Bai Zhuqing would still be good.

“A battlesuit, huh…” Bai Zhuqing’s first reaction was to remember Bai Xiang coming home last time in a torn battlesuit, that graceful figure tightly wrapped up.

But her mood quickly sank, because it was obvious—battlesuits were invented for war. When someone was desperately trying to get a battlesuit, to put one on, what they were about to go do went without saying.

Bai Zhuqing didn’t want Bai Xiang getting dragged into danger all the time, especially when this wasn’t just any danger… After all, she already knew that the Prince of Nanling’s Manor might be plotting rebellion.

“Are you scared?” Bai Xiang asked her casually.

“Scared, not really…” Bai Zhuqing lowered her head and bit down as she admitted her selfishness. “Can’t we just hide?”

“This whole thing is so huge—there’s no way Yujing will just do nothing, right?”

“I mean, if that, um, that person isn’t stupid, he’s definitely on his guard against the Prince of Nanling. There must be forces gathering around them, ready to put down the rebellion. Maybe if we just hide for a few days, it’ll all be over soon?”

She could think that far?

Bai Xiang was a little surprised. For adults that kind of analysis was simple, but for someone who wasn’t of age yet—their worldview was still half-formed—this was rare.

It showed that when she’d claimed she’d “grown up and matured” the other day, it hadn’t just been talk. She really had stepped out of a child’s mindset and was trying hard to look at problems from an adult’s perspective.

Feeling gratified by her little sister’s effort, Bai Xiang went along with it and said, “We can’t hide.”

Bai Zhuqing froze. “Why not?”

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“Because the top priority target for the Prince of Nanling’s Manor in Chilong Circuit is me.”

Huh?

Huh???

Bai Zhuqing’s mouth fell open. She had absolutely not expected that answer.

But she quickly reacted. “Is… is it because of your talent, Auntie?”

It wasn’t hard to guess, not with Bai Nianchan as precedent.

And Bai Xiang’s talent really was too… Even if she was one hundred percent a worshipper of “Sister Xiang,” even if she one hundred percent believed anything Bai Xiang did was only natural, Bai Zhuqing still had to admit—Bai Xiang’s talent was terrifying.

The outside world might still be unsure, still not certain whether the Qingya Sword Sage, Zhou Jing’an, had really died by Bai Xiang’s hand.

But Bai Zhuqing had heard it straight from the person involved!

Not just Zhou Jing’an—there’d been a helper. Two Core realm True Persons in total!

And they had both been taken down by Sister Xiang… Was she really only seventeen?

At that thought, the delayed thunder finally exploded inside Bai Zhuqing’s skull, blowing her mind fuzzy and leaving everything feeling unreal.

Before now, no matter how outstanding Bai Xiang was, she’d been able to chalk it up to “Bai Nianchan’s latent wisdom at work.”

But under these circumstances, she couldn’t keep lying to herself.

There was no way this was Bai Nianchan’s latent wisdom helping out.

Forget latent wisdom—even if Bai Nianchan had literally reincarnated, bringing all her memories with her to start over, she still couldn’t have accomplished this much at seventeen!

But if it wasn’t that…

Her steps unconsciously slowed as she watched Bai Xiang, sword on her back, walking farther ahead.

Why had Auntie… started changing after she Entered the Dao?

As if feeling the restless qi presence behind her, Bai Xiang stopped as well, half turning to meet her eyes.

How to put it.

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With her personality, this was something she was going to lay out sooner or later.

She disdained lying to others about things like this.

Originally she’d planned to wait until she was stronger, until she truly had the freedom to do as she pleased, before telling her. But right now the timing was too perfect… Hopefully she could handle it.

“I am Bai Xiang,” she said to her little sister, enunciating every word. “And also not Bai Xiang.”

Her name had always been Bai Xiang; that had always been her name. There was nothing about it she didn’t dare claim.

But this Bai Xiang was not that Bai Xiang. After borrowing the body to be reborn, the two sets of consciousness and memories… might even have fused on the level of the soul, and it was this Bai Xiang who’d taken the lead afterward. That was also a fact.

She didn’t want to get into questions like “who am I really” or “the Ship of Theseus.”

As far as she was concerned, she was still alive, still had her own will, still had sound limbs, and could chase her ideals like any normal person—that was enough.

What else was there to ask for?

But that wasn’t the answer Bai Zhuqing wanted.

Her face went pale for a second, then she lowered her head and stared at the tips of her shoes.

Can’t take the hit?

Bai Xiang’s gaze dipped slightly.

For some reason, an odd feeling rose in her chest.

A little uncomfortable.

A little tight.

Like she’d lost something beautiful.

But I refuse to use “the convenience of this identity” to get anything.

She stressed it to herself.

Whether it was lust or love, if she inherited it by exploiting this identity, then at its core it would be a lie.

What wasn’t hers by right, she had never wanted anyway.

The two sisters stood there in this strange atmosphere, frozen on the street in hooded stab-proof suits that hid their faces. Many passersby couldn’t help turning their heads to stare, and some even pointed fingers at them.

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“Let’s go,” Bai Xiang said softly, walking over to her. She didn’t like this environment. “There’s a safe house over there… Once we get there, you stay put and wait for the situation to calm down before you go back to Grandpa…”

Whoosh~!

She didn’t finish the sentence before she felt her little sister throwing herself into her arms.

“I’ve made up my mind!”

Bai Zhuqing lifted her head, her big front teeth biting her lower lip, eyes brimming. “I like you. I like you.”

What…?

Bai Xiang’s pupils contracted slightly. For the first time since her rebirth, she showed a stunned expression.

“I… I thought it through seriously. I really don’t think… what I felt for ‘Sister’ before was love. It didn’t even count as liking her!”

“It was just a kind of attachment! It was sick! It wasn’t normal!”

“But… ever since you changed after Entering the Dao, the nature of that feeling changed too!”

“For you… I’m curious about you… I want to know more about you…”

“And you kept some of ‘Sister’s’ habits… you still remember those things… That means ‘Sister’ wasn’t eaten by you… You just became one person… someone I can really pin my hopes on… someone I can really like!”

Wooow!

Clap-clap-clap!

The bystanders all broke into knowing grins. Egged on by a few troublemakers, the crowd formed a loose circle around the “sisters,” whistling and applauding.

Truly worthy of the northern district—anyone who dared wander the streets in broad daylight instead of working was a rebellious youth. They could even accept something this out-there.

Bai Xiang’s face was stiff as she held Bai Zhuqing and pushed through the crowd. “Let’s get out of here first.”

…

Half an hour later, after passing a series of password checks, they found the safe house in a luxury hotel. As soon as they stepped inside, Bai Xiang swung the door shut hard.

“Auntie?”

Bai Zhuqing looked at her with big, anxious eyes.

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Auntie wasn’t mad, was she?

But that really was how I felt… All I did was show Auntie my true thoughts without holding anything back!

She hadn’t even noticed that, deep down, she no longer called Bai Xiang “Sister Xiang.”

Instead, she’d switched to “Auntie,” a nickname that had only appeared after Bai Xiang’s change. Even Bai Zhuqing herself couldn’t untangle what that meant.

Bai Xiang wasn’t actually Bai Nianchan reborn. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t “Auntie” anymore.

But Bai Zhuqing just liked calling her that.

She didn’t know why, either.

“…” Bai Xiang turned her head and glared at her, dangerous light flickering in her eyes.

“Auntie…?”

Bai Zhuqing shrank her neck.

Auntie’s expression was a little scary. Was she about to punish her?

“You said you like me…”

Bai Xiang dropped her gaze to the carpet, sounding almost like she was talking to herself.

“Then let me verify that.”

“Auntie? Mmph—”

Eyes going wide, Bai Zhuqing stared reflexively at the pretty face suddenly right in front of her.

Her thoughts roared.

Her brain shook.

After checking and re-checking, she was certain—the thing she’d longed for in her dreams had really happened.

Not in a dream.

But here and now.