Mo Ruxue’s single sentence could only be said to have defused Xu Sheng’s earlier “grilling.”
It was far from enough to leave Xu Sheng standing there frozen in place.
Yet that was exactly what Xu Sheng was doing—frozen in place, only reacting several seconds later.
This was the power of beauty.
Xu Sheng cleared his throat, realizing how foolish he must have looked just now. Even someone like him felt a flush of embarrassment.
“Oh? Then will Sect Leader Mo see this through to the end today?”
When Xu Sheng said this, he had already regained his usual calm demeanor.
But Mo Ruxue didn’t seem willing to let Xu Sheng off so easily.
She let out a soft laugh.
Mo Ruxue had smiled before too, and her smiles had never been particularly wide.
But now, her serene smile seemed to carry a certain infectious quality, much lighter and freer than before.
Xu Sheng suppressed the itch in his heart, keeping his expression composed.
Hearing those words, Mo Ruxue’s cheeks flushed.
Zhu Yuexi, who could be considered a mature woman by any standard, now carried a hint of girlish charm before Xu Sheng.
“That depends… on what you’re going to say.”
It depended on what Xu Sheng would say.
In many situations, dealing with a relationship really was like playing some kind of galgame.
From the very beginning, two completely different endings were possible.
And throughout the interaction, different dialogue would trigger those two entirely different outcomes.
It all depended on what Xu Sheng would say.
Xu Sheng tilted his head.
“In a moment like this, maybe I should say something flattering, something with a set formula… it would probably work. But I’d rather not do that.”
Xu Sheng tilted his head, a hint of seriousness in his expression.
“You want to persuade me to turn back? You want to persuade me to abandon the Demon Cult, and tell me that once I’m with you, you’ll forget about everything from the past?”
Hearing how serious Xu Sheng was, Mo Ruxue’s expression grew tense as well.
She furrowed her brow slightly and thought for a long time.
Xu Sheng waited quietly by her side, not rushing her.
“In the past, I would naturally have said that. You’re right—the old Mo Ruxue was too much of a perfectionist, so she took everything around her for granted as perfect. But upon careful reflection, one would realize that the entanglement here is too great. I need to ask you a few questions before making any decisions.”
“Go ahead.” Xu Sheng nodded.
Rather than saying Mo Ruxue had broken through a realm, it was more accurate to say she had grown and matured.
Mo Ruxue weighed her words carefully.
“Setting aside indirect matters, have you ever directly taken a life without cause?”
“No.” Xu Sheng answered without hesitation.
“Have you ever harmed the innocent?”
“No to that as well.” At this point, Xu Sheng paused slightly before adding, “Saying no might make you not believe me.”
“I believe you.” Mo Ruxue cut him off.
Xu Sheng really had no reason to lie to her.
And after all these days of getting along, she felt her judgment of people wouldn’t steer her wrong.
Xu Sheng was taken aback, clearly not expecting Mo Ruxue to be so decisive.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“My master was the previous Valley Master of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons. In the beginning, he planned to use soul possession on me, so even when teaching me, he held nothing back. In the end, I killed him instead. The Demon Cult respects strength above all else—I killed him, so naturally I became the Valley Master of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons. Then I became an absentee boss.”
Xu Sheng said this very casually.
His purpose was to patch a few holes. Mo Ruxue believing him was one thing; him not explaining was another matter entirely.
But Mo Ruxue, upon hearing all this, didn’t show the doubt Xu Sheng had expected.
Xu Sheng thought there would be questions.
After all, the story was easy to tell, but many of the details were implausible without further explanation.
Yet at this moment, Mo Ruxue’s eyes carried a trace of… pity?
It wasn’t sympathy, but rather an emotion of “if only you had met me sooner.”
Xu Sheng wasn’t so moved that he’d shed tears, but he once again understood why Mo Ruxue was praised by the world.
Xu Sheng took a deep breath.
“So have you asked everything you needed to ask? I’ll tell you anything.”
Mo Ruxue hesitated for a moment.
“One last question. Can you cooperate with me? As the leader of the Righteous Path and the leader of the Demon Cult, working together to lay plans for a better world.”
Mo Ruxue didn’t dare to speak too boldly.
Xu Sheng chuckled softly:
“And if I said I didn’t want to—that I just wanted to be a carefree valley master, holding power but not interfering with it, living an idle life in this Peach Blossom Spring—would Sect Leader Mo see it through to the end, or…?”
Those words were a bit sharp.
They were practically a test.
A test of whether Mo Ruxue’s earlier attitude was merely because of his body.
Testing implied distrust, and the one being distrusted would surely feel anger.
And Mo Ruxue?
There was no readable emotion on Mo Ruxue’s face. She simply stood up silently.
Mo Ruxue was taller. Even barefoot, at arm’s length from Xu Sheng, she could barely meet his gaze.
She took another step forward.
‘She’s not going to slap me, is she?’
Xu Sheng muttered inwardly.
Mo Ruxue was a perfectionist, and perfectionists often feared being doubted the most.
Not to mention that Mo Ruxue had just shown him a look of pity.
Mo Ruxue was now only twenty centimeters away from him.
At this distance, for the two of them to lock eyes, Mo Ruxue had to look up slightly.
There was no anger in Mo Ruxue’s expression—only a rosy flush on her cheeks.
There was a saying: when someone stares into your eyes, they’re either about to hit you or kiss you.
And at this distance, it would be difficult for her to throw a punch at him.
Xu Sheng stood still and waited.
Mo Ruxue bit her lip, a hint of shyness in her eyes.
Xu Sheng continued to wait.
That was always how he was with Mo Ruxue. When dealing with someone like her, one had to let the other party take complete initiative for true conquest of the heart.
This time was no different. He would wait for Mo Ruxue to make the first move for a kiss.
Xu Sheng stared into her eyes. Her hair was slightly damp, and a faint fragrance drifted into his nose.
Mo Ruxue remained unmoving for a long time. Just as Xu Sheng was about to say something—
Mo Ruxue reached out.
She tugged at Xu Sheng’s sleeve.
“Before… I was always the one making the first move. I kissed you first, I came to your room first, I wore those things first…”
Mo Ruxue’s eyes were misty, carrying the shyness of wanting to look at Xu Sheng but feeling too embarrassed.
Xu Sheng swallowed.
Mo Ruxue continued:
“So this time, this time… you kiss me, okay?”
‘Damn it…’
Xu Sheng cursed inwardly.
Did Mo Ruxue break through a realm or attend some secret training?
How was she this good at this now?
Even Li Qingqing would be helpless against the current Mo Ruxue, wouldn’t she?
Xu Sheng took a deep breath.
He was Xu Sheng, after all. How could he lower his standards?
He looked at Mo Ruxue again, catching her gaze.
He leaned in and kissed her.
Mo Ruxue rose slightly on her tiptoes.
……