Chapter 845: Why Can't I Have Designs on You

Chapter 845: Why Can’t I Set My Sights on You?

Whether he was willing to trust her, Ye Jiuyou gave no answer, but the cold sneer that had been on her face finally vanished.

Zhao Changhe locked his heart and soul, yet his body was still invaded by the dark, deathly aura, causing him great discomfort. At this moment, his face was pale and his lips blue as he endured.

Ye Jiuyou reached out and drew him to her side, quietly studying his pained expression for a long while. In the end, she said nothing, simply placing her hand on him to sense the deathly aura that had slightly changed due to its entanglement with his flesh and blood.

Zhao Changhe had not been boasting. He had once seriously studied deathly aura and the transformation between life and death, and with the aid of the Book of Heaven’s Page of Life, he truly knew how to play this game. But knowing was one thing; he had never actually used it. Back then, his main purpose in studying it was to understand Ye Jiyou’s methods, so he wouldn’t die at first sight.

From the Blood Demon’s Indestructible Body, to the dual cultivation with Huangfu Qing’s Vermilion Bird intent of life and death, to his recent assistance in shaping Piaomiao’s body, his mastery of life force had become quite profound. He could even qualify to split off the “control” aspect alone. Now, as Ye Jiuyou’s deathly aura entered his body, Zhao Changhe’s body instinctively resisted and reversed it, creating a very typical conflict and rotation between life force and deathly aura, resembling the feeling of a Taiji diagram.

At the same time, the aura Ye Jiuyou infused also carried a typical shadow force. Though she no longer wielded it now, the skill remained, and she used it subconsciously.

Then she discovered that this shadow blended into Zhao Changhe’s body, seemingly about to be absorbed as his own, without any conflict.

There was no other reason—it was because of his intent of the night sky.

The night sky was originally without light; light came from the stars, a later addition. If the stars were all obscured, it would be a pitch-black curtain of night, the primordial shadow. Compared to the transformation of life and death, Zhao Changhe actually used this aspect more often—previously, when he ambushed with the River of Stars sword, he employed this intent. The River of Stars’ ambush was silent and soundless, no less effective than Annihilation.

A wisp of darkness entering the night meant nothing at all, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

This intent of gloom was not entirely the same as Ye Jiuyou’s; it belonged to Ye Wuming. Both were night, but one was dead and desolate, the other harbored life, as if something was gradually growing within the darkness.

Ye Jiuyou’s face darkened as she sensed this, and Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred as well.

From this perspective, Ye Jiuyou truly seemed to predate Ye Wuming, a more primordial form. When chaos gained light, the night gained stars, and death gained life—that was the second stage.

They were not opposites; it was a process of evolution and transformation.

Ye Jiuyou was more likely the elder sister, not the evil thoughts stripped from Ye Wuming as previously thought. Indeed, that was not the case.

Ye Jiuyou withdrew her hand, staring at a mass of black energy in her palm, lost in thought.

Though she had not directly regained control of the gloom, she had to admit it provided great inspiration. If she followed this path, when she eventually wielded it again, it would no longer be its original form.

Throughout the process of her research, she continuously infused gloom force and deathly aura. Zhao Changhe was drenched in sweat, extremely uncomfortable, yet he remained silent the entire time. When she finally withdrew her power, Zhao Changhe’s face was as pale as a corpse.

Ye Jiuyou slowly absorbed the black energy back into her body, then looked up at Zhao Changhe for a while before suddenly saying, “Actually, your pale appearance is better than usual.”

Zhao Changhe smiled with some difficulty: “Your aesthetic… should I call it necrophilia?”

Ye Jiuyou: “…”

Zhao Changhe blinked: “Or perhaps you want me to be as pale as you, so we look more compatible?”

Earlier, Zhao Changhe had not flirted with her, and even if he occasionally did, it was malicious. This seemed to be the first time he had genuinely taken the initiative to tease her. Ye Jiuyou glanced at him again: “You volunteered to be the experiment. Now you’re resorting to childish verbal retaliation because you can’t stand losing face?”

Zhao Changhe said, “I wonder who’s being childish. Your research didn’t require continuous infusion; you were deliberately tormenting me, enjoying the sight of my pale face and blue lips, weren’t you?”

Ye Jiuyou said flatly, “For a fool who willingly places life and death in someone else’s hands, I’m merely warning you of the consequences. If I don’t kill you or control you, can’t I torment you?”

Zhao Changhe said, “I’ve repaid what I owed you, and my mind is at ease. That’s enough. If you torment me further, you’ll owe me. What’s so strange about my verbal retaliation? Aren’t you afraid I’ll hold a grudge and retaliate later?”

Ye Jiuyou smiled faintly: “I’m weaker now than before. If you gathered your women to deal with me, I might actually be wary. But instead, you did nothing and even came to me willingly to make me stronger. Once I succeed, even Ye Wuming won’t scare me. How can you retaliate?”

Zhao Changhe didn’t answer but asked instead, “Can I ask, since you know I’m helping you, why do you still deliberately torment me?”

Ye Jiuyou said flatly, “I have always been evil. Killing and mutilating corpses are nothing to me. Is tormenting someone strange?”

Zhao Changhe said, “Isn’t it deliberately to anger me, to keep our relationship at a distance?”

Such a narcissistic remark, yet Ye Jiuyou did not mock him. Instead, she fell silent.

Tormenting him was indeed deliberate… but not to keep their relationship at a distance. Rather, Ye Jiuyou was troubled by a question: why are you helping me?

They were still theoretically enemies, with opposing ideals. In reality, in the Guanzhong region, she had been causing trouble for your Han dynasty. This was not a relationship that warranted such reckless help.

So she deliberately tormented him, testing what he was thinking, but she saw nothing. Instead, it made him narcissistic…

After a long silence, Ye Jiuyou finally said, “Actually, you didn’t need to do this. What does disturbing corpses, being rejected by the world, or incurring divine wrath have to do with you? If we’re talking about it, I’m still your enemy, only briefly cooperating because of Ye Wuming. In this cooperation, the more enemies I make, the more I become an object of universal condemnation—wouldn’t that be more advantageous for you when you turn against me later? What are you trying to stop, and why sacrifice yourself?”

“The reason is so simple, why won’t you believe it?”

“Could it really be because you care about me?”

“Why not?”

Ye Jiuyou’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at him in a daze.

“I’ve said it before. My opposition to you stems from what you were born to represent. Since you’ve consciously tried to break free from that definition, where is the premise for our opposition?”

Ye Jiuyou said dryly, “But I won’t give up annihilation and shadow. I’m still trying to control them…”

“What’s wrong with using them as means? Hey, don’t you know that my foundation is also demonic arts? I practice blood evil. When did I become, in your eyes, such a rigid knight who fusses over such things? If I truly cared, shouldn’t I slit my own throat first?”

Ye Jiuyou: “…”

It seemed that no one remembered when Zhao Changhe’s foundation was a typical demonic art. Oh, right, the Four Symbols Sect was originally a demonic sect too… His current actions were too righteous and noble, making people forget. After being certified by Piaomiao, they forgot even more…

“What are means? No matter how ugly, they must be used when necessary. I oppose your use of Four Symbols Corpse Puppets not because I think the dead should rest in peace—that’s mere sentimentality. If the situation truly required it, I might be the first to do it myself. But the situation doesn’t require it. The Four Symbols are our own specialty. If you’re willing to trust us, there’s no need to do things that invite criticism and make enemies everywhere.”

Ye Jiuyou finally couldn’t help blurting out, “What are you after?”

“If I want a more high-sounding reason, it’s that you could have wreaked havoc in the capital but gave it up. You could have plotted against Qing’er and the others but didn’t. You said it was for cooperation and not wanting to fall out with me. Qing’er thinks it might be a pretense… Whether pretense or not, you made sacrifices for cooperation, so naturally, I should make mine. Neither of us owes the other.”

“That’s the high-sounding reason? So there’s another, less high-sounding one?”

“The less high-sounding reason is that I’m after you. Do you believe it?”

Ye Jiuyou’s half-open eyes finally went wide.

Zhao Changhe said bluntly, “You know I even want Ye Wuming. I set my sights on Piaomiao not long after meeting her. I’ve always been full of desires. Why should you be an exception? I didn’t think about it before because we were enemies in every sense, and I couldn’t get interested. Now that the premise of enmity is gone, why can’t I set my sights on you?”

Throughout the ages, Ye Jiuyou had never imagined anyone would say such words to her. On the surface, she appeared expressionless and cold, but in truth, her mind was blank, momentarily losing the ability to think.

If there were beings in ancient times who had thoughts about Ye Wuming, then absolutely no one had ever had thoughts about Ye Jiuyou. That former deathly stillness and desolation could never arouse anyone’s desire.

In the endless, long years, this was absolutely the only one—someone declaring to her that he wanted to set his sights on her.

Zhao Changhe spoke as if it were only natural: “I’ve seen you bathe, kissed your hand, touched your… and there’s that seemingly unenforceable marriage contract… but it’s still a marriage contract. Such karma, even if you were an ordinary woman, a man would regard you differently. And you are so stunningly beautiful. I’m a normal man, not suffering from any unspeakable ailment. Every time I see you, I feel something different. There’s no point in deceiving myself.”

Ye Jiuyou stared at him without a word, still lost in thought.

In truth, she had always regarded Zhao Changhe differently as well, wasn’t it because of these past events? What woman could completely ignore such things…

Withdrawing the Azure Dragon, she said it was to avoid breaking the cooperation, but wasn’t the deeper reason that it was him, and she instinctively didn’t want to sour the relationship? If it were any other cooperation partner, would Ye Jiuyou have cared about such things?

Why did the two of them keep arguing over the trivial word “affair”? Wasn’t it because both had something on their minds? If there was nothing, why would they care? But back then, he felt he owed her; now he felt he had repaid the debt and was emboldened, wasn’t he? Or had he seen some other cause that made him stop hiding his feelings?

By the way… what did he just say?

Stunningly beautiful?

Was it because she looked like Ye Wuming?

“Do you know when I was most moved?” Zhao Changhe suddenly asked.

Ye Jiuyou forced her voice to sound indifferent and mocking: “A beast can go into heat at any time; who can know all?”

Zhao Changhe didn’t mind and simply said, “It was when I saw you alone in the dead, silent gloom, looking at your mirror.”

Ye Jiuyou’s heart stirred.

Zhao Changhe continued, “At that moment, looking into the mirror, you said to move the Azure Dragon from the capital to Kunlun… I don’t know what you were feeling then, only that I had an urge to hold you.”

So it had nothing to do with Ye Wuming…

Ye Jiuyou was silent for a moment, then said flatly, “But I think that after the King of Zhao obtained Piaomiao, he became arrogant… truly believing that such rude frivolity must be tolerated by me and won’t lead to a breakdown in cooperation?”

Zhao Changhe smiled, not arguing, just saying, "I've said my piece. Believe it or not. As long as you don't intend to cancel the cooperation because of my rudeness, then we remain partners."

Zhao Changhe was no longer the green youth fresh out in the world. When he had spoken to a woman to this extent and she hadn't yet flown into a rage and told him to get lost, it was already half the battle... Why was he being so direct this time? The antecedent was similar...

She didn't want him to trace back to her bathing, so she even avoided taking a bath. But if it were a normal demon god's thinking, wouldn't she decisively cancel the cooperation, at least not give him another chance to trace? Deliberately not bathing was tantamount to acknowledging that he could continue to pry into her privacy—the tangled knots in her heart were already quite evident...

Of course, he couldn't push too hard, or she might truly become enraged. Before Ye Jiuyou could flare up, Zhao Changhe quickly shifted to a serious topic: "I have another cooperation to propose to you. What do you think?"

Ye Jiuyou suppressed her emotions and said flatly, "What cooperation?"

Zhao Changhe said, "You control Guanlong to prevent us from establishing a unified order. It's both a manifestation of your chaotic intent and a way to suppress the energy veins of Piaomiao and me, isn't it?"

"Correct. I'm so wicked—come and hit me?"

"..." Zhao Changhe sighed. "If I can help you deduce chaos and primordial chaos beyond the original design, will you let Guanlong surrender to the Great Han? Can we make this deal?"

Ye Jiuyou's heart stirred. "How would you deduce it?"

"Do you know why Ye Wuming summoned people from another world?"

"Because they are not under the mold of Heaven's Way."

"Not only that. It's because we know that this single world has too narrow a vision and too low a horizon." Zhao Changhe laughed. "The myriad heavens, the tangled times and spaces, so many lives—to fuss over so-called chaos in just one continent is ridiculous... Like pissing on the ground and thinking you've polluted the whole world."

Ye Jiuyou said flatly, "Do you think I don't know this truth? Without accumulating steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; even the smallest place has its value. When I shake mountains and rivers, have I ever given up moving stars and changing constellations? Otherwise, what do you think I study the Four Symbols for? Do you really think I'm just clumsily imitating Ye Wuming?"

Zhao Changhe smiled. "I know you have this concept, but it's still too small. No matter how long you stir or how much chaos you cause, even if you truly split the earth and shatter the sky, destroying the world would only repeat the result of the last era, never breaking free from the design."

Ye Jiuyou was silent.

Zhao Changhe said, "Well then, having you directly comprehend chaos is certainly not something that can be achieved overnight. I myself am far from that realm. But if I can provide what you want, something that truly moves you, will you first satisfy a small request of mine?"

Ye Jiuyou's pale face unconsciously flushed slightly.

In this context where it was clearly "I have designs on you," what request could he have? A kiss or a touch?

She steadied herself and said flatly, "This is a matter of the Dao path... If you truly can do it, naturally you can propose terms."

Zhao Changhe laughed. "Then it's settled... Come with me to Chang'an to browse the market then."

Ye Jiuyou was dumbfounded.

What was this?