Chapter 278: Choosing Him Over Duty
Chapter 278: Choosing Him Over Duty
Xiang Ling made her way through the empty hallway and arrived in front of a familiar door. Taking in a deep breath, she lightly knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" The person inside the room asked.
"Ah Cheng, it’s me, Xiang Ling."
Barely a moment later, the door of the room was pulled open and Xiang Ling found herself looking at Xin Cheng. "What are you doing here?" He asked while keeping his face unreadable.
"I need to talk to you about something important." She replied and watched as the man turned around and went inside the room, leaving the door open for her. Without wasting any time, she hurried behind him and entered the room. She not only closed the door behind her but even placed the most powerful protection spell she could cast at that moment.
Xin Cheng was standing near the closed window with his gaze fixed on her. With each passing second of deep silence, Xiang Ling kept feeling more anxious about what she was going to say. She took her time to study the man who hadn’t spoken another word to her.
"This is related to our talk about the reason for your and Ah Ming’s presence in the Mortal Realm." She finally disclosed her reason behind looking for him as soon as they all returned to their courtyard after dinner.
"You have made you choice." Xin Cheng stated as he watched her closely. He neither looked surprised nor worried, just calm as always.
Xiang Ling gave a little shake of her head in response before speaking, "Not a choice, but I have indeed made my decision." She corrected him and continued, "I took my time to think about this matter, and tried to see it from a neutral angle. I can understand your choice and also your efforts in fixings the problem. As the Demon Emperor, you are thinking about your Realm and people, doing what you believe will keep them safe and will prevent a big war..."
Even before she said it, the big ’but’ was already evident to Xin Cheng who was listening in silence.
"... but... I’m a Supreme Immortal. I can’t pretend that this case isn’t related to the safety of only your realm and people, but all five realms. I can’t turn a blind eye and pretend that everything is normal, especially when the consequences are so high. A war between Realms will bring catastrophe in the lives of millions of innocent people."
Finally, she noticed a shift in Xin Cheng’s reaction - a slow and barely noticeable shift in his jaw as if he was struggling to keep his emotions under control. She could tell that he wasn’t the least bit impressed with what he heard.
"Are you regretting it now? Telling me about Shadow Lord’s escape?" She asked before revealing her final decision to him.
Xin Cheng didn’t speak immediately, but after a moment, he finally answered with a slight nod, "Of course, I regret it."
Xiang Ling smiled softly in response to his answer, happy that he chose to speak the truth. "I can finally see why you have been trying so desperately to stay away from me." Her words surprised Xin Cheng who was staring at her in confusion.
"Not only I can be a distraction at such a serious moment, but I’m also from the Upper Realms, bound by my duty and the high rules. I’m indeed not the right woman for you." She felt as if she was carving a deep hole in her heart with each word that left her mouth, but she needed to hear those words more than Xin Cheng needed to hear them. "I can also see why it’s a taboo for demons and immortals to be together. We are just born to always stand opposite each other."
Tears threatened to spill through the confinement of her eyes and Xiang Ling had to take in a deep breath to suppress her emotions. It was actually her heart that was crying at that moment while she came to realize just how big of a mistake she had made by falling for a demon, and not just any demon, but the king of the entire race.
"Xiang Ling-"
"I have made my decision." She spoke before Xin Cheng could have spoken another word. She didn’t want to hear whatever he was going to say, because she was worried that it would make her heart falter. "I’m giving you a year, Xin Cheng. An entire year to locate the Shadow Lord and once again seal him into the Abyssal Lands. Do whatever you want to find him and lock him up, but you have only one year from now. If you failed to find him within this time period of one year, I will inform the Heavenly Realm about his escape."
"Why?" He asked after a few moments of silence. His question left Xiang Ling confused as she wasn’t sure what he was asking about. "Why even give me one year? Why not report it now?"
"You know exactly why." Xiang Ling whispered as she stared at the man. Her throat felt heavy just like her eyes as she spoke the next words. "I’m giving you as much time as I can. For now, I’m choosing you over my duty, with hope that you will be able to make things right before situation changes for the worst."
The two of them became silent after that, and while the physical distance between them was merely that of a few steps, they became way farther from each other that night.
"I will take my leave now. Good night." Xiang Ling didn’t wait there any longer and left the room, heading in the direction of her bed-chamber. She was walking through the empty hallway when her gaze landed on Zhe Yuan who was standing under the Peach blossom tree and gazing at the night sky which was filled with darkness in the absence of the moon and the stars.