As they moved through the forest, cutting through large patches of dense thick grass and dodging at lightning speed the trees that appeared in front of them, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue kept silent. Both of them apparently had many things to think about regarding what had just happened.
Lilith watched everything from the side without pointing out or commenting on it at all. In fact, there was a faint, seemingly amused smile on her face as she watched the interaction between the two people which indicated that she was having a good time that could only get a little better if she had popcorn on her.
After approximately a minute, Bai Zemin finally broke the silence and said what he thought was correct at the time.
"I'm sorry for asking a strange question completely out of the blue."
Who in their right mind would ask a strange question like the one he asked just before while they were in an area plagued with danger where the scythe of the god of death could fall at any moment? Probably no one...
Shangguan Bing Xue fell silent as she listened to his words of apology. This made Bai Zemin think that she was upset, so he simply decided to stop chatting and focus more on his main goal by coming to this place.
However, his assumption proved to be completely wrong soon after when she said in a natural and calm voice, "It's okay. Don't worry."
Bai Zemin looked back for a moment before nodding his head without speaking and then looked forward again. His footsteps never stopped.
More than forty minutes flew by.
Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue searched for First Order beasts in a perimeter of over 300 square kilometers around the base but failed to find anything.
During all this time, the two were in seemingly tactical silence and the only sound they could hear apart from the occasional roar of some beasts or the cold night wind was the sound of their feet gently tapping the ground every time they pushed forward.
Bai Zemin was calm on the outside as well as on the inside. He already knew that even hours could pass without meeting a First Order beast; he himself had experienced it before after all.
However, apparently Shangguan Bing Xue had not forgotten the previous topic because after almost an hour, she brought it up again.
"Why did you ask that question earlier?" She asked with a slight frown. Her gaze was fixed on Bai Zemin's back, brimming with confusion and wariness.
Bai Zemin did not look back and answered without thinking too much, "I know a person who is very beautiful, somewhat more beautiful than you, but she is basically your counterpart. Her hair is deep black, she wears black clothes, and in contrast to you she is quite playful and mischievous. Right before I just had a flash of that person's image and couldn't help but compare her to you for a second, which led to me unconsciously asking that question."
Shangguan Bing Xue inadvertently raised an eyebrow and a glint of surprise flashed in her bright blue eyes when she heard Bai Zemin's words.
Although she was not a fan of physical appearance and mainly focused more on a person's heart and purity, she was aware of how beautiful she was. Even when she was not overly concerned about her physical appearance and only paid attention to what was necessary, her beauty was still dazzling to the point where men old enough to be her grandfather often looked at her with red eyes like those of a beast.
Shangguan Bing Xue was clear that her beauty was undoubtedly at the top, and probably few women in the whole world could compare to her.
Due to her family background, even if she did not want to, she was often forced to attend important events in the past, so she naturally met with many incredibly beautiful women. Although she stopped attending such events several years ago, Shangguan Bing Xue had basically met with thousands or tens of thousands of women beautiful enough to make men's hearts flutter; but none of them managed to get close to her.
Precisely for that reason, she was surprised to hear that Bai Zemin knew a woman who was more beautiful than her. She was not hurt by any means, however, due to her own experience over the years, she could not help but feel doubt in her heart.
Of course, Shangguan Bing Xue did not know that in reality, Bai Zemin was already giving her too much credit by saying "somewhat more beautiful than you" since although Shangguan Bing Xue was undoubtedly beautiful, she still lacked quite a bit in comparison to Lilith, who even with all her monstrous charm suppressed was still more beautiful.
She unconsciously blurted out, "Well, I hate the color black."
Bai Zemin was dumbfounded and unconsciously looked at his current outfit.
Black armor, black cloak, deep dark brown boots, black gloves, black shoulder pads... The corner of his mouth twitched a couple of times as he said lightly, "Yeah, that's understandable... Considering your personality, I think white and blue suits you better."
Although Bai Zemin's words seemed to be praising her, for some strange reason Shangguan Bing Xue felt that he was mocking her.
"What do you mean by my personality?" She asked without noticing the slightly grumpy tone that she was using for the first time in many years."Let me tell you that even though I don't like the color black, dark clothes don't suit me bad at all."
Bai Zemin really was at a loss for words regarding the current Shangguan Bing Xue.
Where had gone that ever rational woman whom he had met in the past? Where was that reliable woman with whom even someone like him could relax around? The current her was not much different from any other young adult girl who had left adolescence not long ago.
"Don't you know how the title everyone gave you at the base?" he finally asked as stopped his steps to turn around and look at her face to face.
Shangguan Bing Xue also stopped almost at the same time and her eyes met his. As for his question, she did not answer anything.
How could she not know the title "Ice Princess" that normal citizens, militia, and even soul evolvers had secretly given her? Shangguan Bing Xue was perfectly aware of her personality after all.
Seeing that she did not reply, Bai Zemin shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Well, it's not like this is a bad thing... I know behind my back there are some people who call me a dictator, a mass killer, selfish, cruel, and many other things more. I think the title Ice Princess fits you well not only based on your personality, even your favorite colors and your skill live up to such a nickname."
As in any government regardless of the country, there were people dissatisfied with the decisions and the government ruled by Bai Zemin. After all, each mind was a world apart with infinite thoughts and ideals; it was simply impossible for everyone to be happy.
Moreover, Bai Zemin was also aware that he was far from being the perfect leader; he was just another human, a young man in his early twenties.
However, he was doing the best he could based on the current world situation. Also, he was not forcing anyone to stay in the place he and his subordinates secured; everyone was free to leave peacefully. But as long as they were under his standard, they would have to obey by hook or by crook.
It was as simple as that. As long as those who were in some way or another important to him understood that everything he did was with good intentions, that was more than enough... But even if no one understood, he would probably continue to act this way; after all, this was the kind of being that the existence called Bai Zemin was.
"I guess so." Shangguan Bing Xue sighed and rested her delicate back protected by her leather armor on the surface of the trunk of a large tree. She looked at him and asked, "That girl you speak of, could she be your girlfriend?"
Maybe it was the fault of the dark night, maybe it was the dangerous place they were in that forced them to trust each other more, or maybe it was that Shangguan Bing Xue's guard was especially low after being protected by Bai Zemin for a full day without him taking the slightest chance to do anything improper; but the mood had lightened and the atmosphere between the two had become a lot more intimate.
"She? My girlfriend?" Bai Zemin's eyes went wide at the truly unexpected question.
He unconsciously glanced over to where Lilith was previously, but was once again surprised to see that at some point, she had disappeared. As to whether she was around or had gone somewhere, Bai Zemin was betting more on the second option since he could not detect her fragrance in the vicinity.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at him and asked in confusion, "She isn't?"
Bai Zemin didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said a little tongue-tied, "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Just a thought." She shrugged her shoulders with a demure expression.
Bai Zemin sighed and shook his head as he said softly, "She's not my girlfriend. She's more like... A great friend whom I can trust with all my heart. A person to whom I owe a lot, and I hope I can ever reimburse her for it."
A flash of great surprise and disbelief shone in Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes.
She was well aware of the kind of person Bai Zemin was; a young man who although smiling in reality always kept a respectful distance from everyone, proud and arrogant as to be unwilling to owe anyone anything, but above all, someone who even in his sleep kept a firm grip on his weapons for fear of being stabbed in the back by those who were supposed to be his allies.
She did not know who such a person might be. As for Lili, she did not even pass through Shangguan Bing Xue's thoughts as although Lili and Bai Zemin seemed to be very close, she did not believe that the two of them had reached such a level of trust.
Without knowing why, the curiosity in her heart only grew bigger and she unconsciously asked another question, "She is a person you have known for a long time?"
Bai Zemin leaned his back on the surface of the tree in front of the one Shangguan Bing Xue was using as a backrest and chuckled as he said, "Not at all, not at all... In fact, she and I met not long before you and I knew each other... Well, perhaps it would be more correct to say it was before you knew me."
While Shangguan Bing Xue would probably assume that he and the mystery girl met a few months earlier, Bai Zemin had no way of telling her that in reality he and Lilith only met a few hours before he and Shangguan Bing Xue met near the gym; if he did that then he would have to clarify a lot of things which he didn't want the others to know. Therefore, the little misunderstanding could only stay for now.
If Shangguan Bing Xue stayed fighting alongside him, leveling up quickly, becoming stronger, and neither of them died early, it would only be a matter of time before she and Lilith met. When that happened, naturally many things would become clear on their own.
"Before I met you?" Shangguan Bing Xue tilted her head and looked at him blankly.
She hadn't realized how comfortably she was talking to Bai Zemin; a young man whom she had met a little over a month ago. No... Perhaps she was aware. However, she felt comfortable enough to have a casual, heart-to-heart conversation with him without so many barriers.
How long had it been since the last time such a thing had happened? Probably so long that it might be difficult for Shangguan Bing Xue herself to remember.
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Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3