"Try it on?"
Si Jiangchen saw a glimmer of joy in my eyes.
After all, I'm just a girl. I'm bound to be tempted by beautiful clothes.
With the help of the maid, I put on the ankle - length, extremely thin velvet evening dress. The scars on my body were completely covered.
"Wow! Miss! You look so beautiful!"
When I walked out from behind the screen, A Wen clapped her hands and jumped up. "I've never seen Miss wear such clothes before. Miss should wear them every day from now on!!"
I could see the flames flickering in Si Jiangchen's eyes.
"… Um, do I look good?"
My face flushed a bit. It seemed to be the first time I'd ever asked someone's opinion.
"Pfft."
Si Jiangchen smiled and reached out to stroke my waist. "My taste can never be wrong."
"You!!!"
I didn't expect him to be not only arrogant but also narcissistic!
"Xiao He, have something to eat first, and then go to the welcome banquet."
Grandma Bai finally appeared at the door, holding a rosewood tray with a small bowl of rock - sugar tremella porridge and two or three almond cakes on it.
"Why?"
Isn't a welcome banquet just a feast? Why do I need to eat something to fill my stomach first?
"Be obedient." Si Jiangchen finally removed his hand from my waist.
"Have something to eat. I'll come and pick you up later."
Saying that, he ruffled the bun the maid had helped me put up, messing up the beautiful coiffure. Only then was he satisfied and left.
"How excessive!!"
Helplessly, I let my already uneven hair down and casually tied it into a ponytail.
"Eat."
Grandma Bai put the porridge and cakes on the round table in the room. "The welcome banquet is for socializing, not for eating. You might get hungry and feel flustered later."
"Thank you, Grandma Bai."
I hadn't seen Grandma Bai on the way. Si Jiangchen said she was a local immortal and didn't need to take the train. Moreover, she'd been looking for medicine to counteract the zombie toxin in the mountains along the way.
I really didn't know what words of gratitude to say other than thank you.
Apart from A Wen, Grandma Bai was the kindest to me in the world. She never asked for anything in return.
"Don't eat the food others offer you at the banquet."
Grandma Bai said to me, "And don't give your own food to others. Your body is different from others. Do you understand?"
Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out on my back.
Like Si Jiangchen, I could turn everyone at the banquet into zombies!
When fleeing with the refugees, since I was a woman, A Wen and I always guarded against others. Every day, whether eating or sleeping, we always stayed far behind the group. We'd never eaten in a room like this before...
"Should I remind Si Jiangchen?"
I stood up anxiously.
"Master knows everything. You don't need to worry about him."
Grandma Bai seemed to have a better and better impression of Si Jiangchen. While I was eating, she asked, "Have you been sleeping well recently? Do you have dreams?"
"Yes, just like before."
I nodded and told her everything about the dreams of Zhu Youjian and his daughter, even the details of his daughter becoming more and more crazy.
The wrinkles on Grandma Bai's face twitched, and then she suddenly curved her lips into a smile.
"Master is really good to Xiao He."
She shook her head with a smile. "It seems I misjudged him before."
"Grandma Bai, don't be so mysterious. Tell me what's going on."
I couldn't even drink my porridge. I reached out and grabbed Grandma Bai's arm. "Is it Si Jiangchen's doing that Zhu Youjian can appear in my dreams?"
"Probably... He might have made some deal with Zhu Youjian."
Grandma Bai patted my hand. "The Si family's orthodoxy is powerful. They should really have a way to let the wandering souls enter the cycle of reincarnation."
"Then, did he use the 'Supreme Soul - Returning Spell' on me?"
I widened my eyes. Du Peilin once said that with the 'Soul - Returning Spell', one of the two people using it, me and Si Jiangchen, would become a god, and the other would become a ghost!
... I don't want to become a ghost! But I don't want Si Jiangchen to become a ghost either!
Grandma Bai nodded. She understood what I was thinking.
"Master should have found a way to suppress the corpse toxin in his body. You don't need to worry."
Grandma Bai patted my hand. She was in a daze for a while and then said, "He should be using his own Taoist heart to suppress the demonic nature of the corpse toxin. Only in this way can he act like a normal person... Xiao He, you don't need to worry about him. Just hold onto your true self. No matter what calls you from the abyss, don't go. Remember that your home is in the human world!"
...
I fell silent again.
"I originally thought Master had an ulterior motive, coveting Xiao He's non - decaying bones..."
Grandma Bai shook her head. "It seems I was wrong!"
"What did you get wrong, Grandma Bai?"
I didn't know how I felt. Biting my lower lip, I asked subconsciously.
"Master truly values your engagement and wants to be with you for a long time."
Grandma Bai smiled. "In that case, my and Lord Mu Yuan's worries are unnecessary. After your wedding, this old woman will go to another place to open a medical clinic!"
"Grandma Bai, don't leave..."
I felt a pang of panic in my heart and simply hugged Grandma Bai's arm and cried.
"Silly Xiao He, your life will be perfect! Why are you crying?"
Grandma Bai lovingly stroked my hair and then said to the silly A Wen beside me, "From now on, A Wen will be Miss's family. When she gets married, you'll be the bride's family!"
"I know! I won't let anyone bully Miss!"
A Wen raised her fist. "Not even Master!"
"Okay, okay."
Grandma Bai said, "Go and find two women from this family to help Xiao He dress up again. A mistress of the family should look the part!"
When Si Jiangchen came to pick me up, the two maids had already made me look neat and tidy.
To avoid attracting attention during the escape, I'd cut my hair unevenly with a knife myself. After growing for almost a month, it was barely long enough to tie into a ponytail.
The maid had originally made a bun for me at the back of my head. Now that the bun was undone, thinking I didn't like such a conservative hairstyle, she used a curling iron to curl the ends of my hair into small, upturned wings. Then, with a string of pearl hairbands on my head, standing in front of the dressing mirror at the door, I hardly recognized myself.
Even in Du Yang Town, I'd never dressed so stylishly.
Country bumpkin!
I pouted and whispered to myself in the mirror, but the girl in the mirror involuntarily curved her lips into a sweet smile.
Although I might not marry Si Jiangchen, I appreciated his kindness to me. The feeling of being cared about was really wonderful!
However, this good mood vanished completely the moment I stepped into the Jinling Hotel!!