Wu Long looked at her a little more attentively than he did before and then noticed an earring. He saw that earring before, or more specifically, he saw the same kind of earring. His eyes flickered with profound light patterns, and he finally understood why he felt weird before. He did not feel aversion to women who were not top beauties, but he was a man honest to his desires and vices, and most of the time he felt attraction when he saw a peerless beauty. So the fact that he detected attraction to her, despite her plain looks and not knowing her well enough to feel attracted by anything else, puzzled him.
When he used Chaos Origin Eyes, he now saw a true beauty. Her facial features were very similar to the girl he saw just before but it was like she put on a film that masked its attractiveness, making it more plain. Her figure was also a lot more sensual than what it looked like before. It seems the high level of disguise shielded her from his powerful perception, but could not evade it entirely, since he was a lot more powerful than when he completely could not see through Ye Ling’s disguise, as he still felt attracted to this woman instinctively.
“Where did you get that earring?”
He asked with a smile, as he lamented that he almost killed such a beauty. Her disguise was done with the same exact earring Ye Ling used for her disguise before, and he was intrigued now.
Her eyes widened and her hand instinctively went up to cover her ear.
“H-how did you know?”
“Hmm, I am not saying I am surprised you masked it since being such a beauty would undoubtedly be very hard in this country where lust cultivation is spreading its poisonous roots deeper and deeper…”
Wu Long said and her eyes widened even more, as it was now apparent that her disguise was like thin paper to a sword before his eyes. But then an intense fear and panic appeared in them.
“Don’t worry, I am not someone to force a woman who does not like me to do anything of the sort”
He said, taking a step back and raising his hands in an open manner signifying no harm when he saw that expression in her gaze. There was sincerity in his voice and expression. It was easy to imagine what might happen to her if her disguise was uncovered in such a situation with a less principled man than Wu Long.
She cautiously looked at him. His action of showing goodwill by retreating was not able to alleviate her worries, but she could not run or defeat him anyway.
“Hmm, I am interested in talking to you a little more if you do not mind, but I really do not want the rest of this conversation to feel like interrogation since that part ended when you answered all of my questions before. So why don’t we change places to somewhere less dreadful?”
He said with a cheerful smile as if the reason this place was dreadful was not related to him. The crows that were circling above started to descend for their feast as the threatening feeling from Wu Long that kept them away disappeared.
She still did not talk, but the look in her eyes was that of surrendering her fate.
He wryly smiled since he really was not threatening her and inviting her to talk instead, but he couldn’t really do much about her not believing him after the first impression he gave her.
Wu Long turned and went forward in the direction he traveled before he was stopped, but at a walking pace, signifying that he was waiting for her to join him.
She hesitated in place, but still feared him turning hostile if she did not listen, so she eventually followed him.
As she joined him, the traveling speed increased, but only to a degree she could comfortably handle. She was surprised to find that he traveled at exactly her absolute optimal speed. They headed to the nearby village, which travelers on this road often used as a night stop. 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝒗𝒆𝒍．𝒄𝙤𝙢
As they arrived, they entered a small roadside restaurant and she was visibly a little more comfortable since there were people around. They could not do anything to stop him if he wanted to do something to her, but the mere presence of other people around and not seeing the bodies of her seniors was a lot better for her confidence that she will eventually survive through this.
He ordered tea and food for both of them since it was apparent that she was still too nervous to be able to choose food or drink when her mind was occupied by worrying about what he might do to her.
As the tea arrived, he gestured for her to take a sip, as he did so himself. And as she did, the warm feeling it gave was enough to alleviate a little more of her nervousness.
“I am Wu Long, what’s your name?”
He said as he knew that familiarization would help make her even more comfortable talking. Personalizing himself by a name was making him look more human in her eyes that only saw a slaughtering monster, and asking for her name was giving a subtle hint to her subconsciousness that he would not just kill her.
“…Shen Min”
“Shen Min, a beautiful name”
He said with a smile and then went for the topic he was interested in.
“So, would you mind telling me where did you get that earring?”
“… it was given to me by the Princess”
She finally said.
“You are acquainted with her?”
“No, she was passing through the town, when I… when the Supreme Master Pavilion people tried to take me away… so she helped me by giving me this disguise earring and her soldiers helped me sneak out of town”
“Hmm, so that’s why you decided to repay her by joining the secret guard?”
She nodded slightly to his assumption, lowering her head. It seems she has long since realized that it was naive thinking. Impulsive and not well-thought-through.
“I would not return if I were you”
He said as she looked up at him with surprise.
“You are the only one alive, and that is very suspicious”
He lightly explained to the question in her eyes as a hint of recognition and distress appeared on her face.
“You are also not suited for this type of work, and you would not be able to work for the one you want to repay anyway”
He added, and her shoulders dropped a little. She already knew that, but hearing it said out loud was still shocking. She was also embarrassed as she knew that she looked like a stupid and naive little girl that decided to repay the kindness without actually having the means to and possibly do more trouble for her benefactor than any help.
“But I do admire the heart to repay the kindness. It is rare for people to remember gratitude and actually tries to do something substantial in return”
Wu Long lightly smiled as he said these words sincerely. She may not have the means or strength and may have been naive in the way she decided to do so, but the fact that she tried to repay the kindness she received was worthy of praise.
Shen Min felt confused by his sudden care, it was almost like he was a different person from the cold and emotionless one she met at first.
“Why… why are you telling me this?”
She finally asked. She was not sure why, but ever since they left the forest road he was seemingly making every effort to make her comfortable and reassure her that he will not harm her, despite having no reason to do so. Now, she already told him everything he wanted to know, but he still gave her advice and was even comforting her.
“Hmm, I like beautiful women”
He pondered a little, and said with a smile, dumbfounding her.
“Y-You… don’t tell me… a-are you… are you trying to woo me?!?!”
She said in absolute astonishment.
“I can’t?”
He said with an innocent look, turning the smile he showed earlier into an innocent one too.
“But… but what if I was not a beautiful woman?”
“Then our meeting would have ended there in the forest, as I would just walk away after”
“I…Isn’t that a little…”
“Shallow? Not at all. Let me ask you this. If you eat this food, and it is delicious. Then you eat food at another place which is worse. Which place would you go next time between these two?”
He asked, pointing to the food on the table.
“This one… but food and people…”
“Of course, I am not saying that food and people are the same. I am just saying that honesty in recognizing your desires will make your life make a lot more sense. My vice is beautiful women, and I embrace it since that is my nature. Besides, it is not like I don’t care about personality or what a woman is like as a person as long as she is beautiful. I am saying that I like beautiful women, not that I like all beautiful women”
“…”
She tried to digest his reasoning, which did sound convincing, but there was something tugging at her telling her that it is not right.