It was a definite epitome of romantic liaisons as two people speak heart to heart in a quiet chamber at twilight.
Glass lightings are dim with an orange glow brimming with the allure of forbidden secrecy.
The breaths of those in close distance intermingle along with the scent and heat from one another.
Bright irises collide as fingers caress against heated skin that trembles from the cold touch.
Just as the young woman expects the young man to lean forward in preparation for a passionate kiss…
Those thin lips with the temperature of ninety eight degrees released words that froze the young lady stiff.
[I accept you, mother…]
[accept you, mother…]
[you, mother…]
[mother…]
[mother…]
"... …"
Chu Nuan sat under the covers of the bed as both hands covered her face while fingers dug in deep between strands of hair.
A dark and gloomy aura pervades the chamber with a thickness that makes people hard to breath.
The young woman could barely recall anything that happened last night after experiencing Xie Luochen's heartfelt confession.
Chu Nuan didn't even know when Xie Luochen left nor how she moved to her bed. But the moment the young lady snapped out of her daze, it was already the next morning.
Early morning light shines through the windows to seep onto the wooden floorboards in reminder of its great presence.
"... …"
With a deep intake of breath, the young woman removed her hands to stare at the ceiling with intensity instead. Eyes narrow as if trying to burn a hole through the roof in search for a fitting conclusion to no avail.
Releasing yet another helpless sigh, the young woman asked in a defeated voice. "Blackie, what is the meaning of life?"
Blackie, who was in the middle of licking its fur coat, paused for a second before answering in a serious tone of voice. "Your Honor, I am a dog now and the only meaning in life for a dog is to eat and play."
"Oh? A dog huh? A dog is nice." Chu Nuan murmurs with an absentminded stare, "maybe things would be different if I'm a dog instead."
Seeing such a depressed young woman, the small creature stood up from the ground with a shake of its body to console.
"Truthfully, Your Honor, the situation might not be as bad as you might assume. Since this is a misunderstanding all you need to do is ask Bai Ling to explain the situation."
Chu Nuan: "...You're right."
Contrary to what the black dog had expected, the suggestion made merely stimulated the young lady even more.
Chu Nuan: "This is all Bai Ling's fault."
Blackie: "Ah?"
"If it wasn't because of him shouting at the top of his lungs yesterday, I wouldn't be stuck with that stupid misunderstanding! Mother?! Ha! I'll be sure to tear his flowery robes into shreds the next time I see that sauntering peacock!"
Blackie: "...Your Honor, please-"
"Your Honor?" Chu Nuan began to chuckle in a low tone that grew in gradual volume. "No! Call. Me. Mother!"
Jumping out of the bed with a simple maneuver of the hands and leg, the young woman strides towards the tea table.
Reaching for a cup, she continued, "didn't you hear? He called me mother! Hehehe! I can accept him treating me like a stranger. But as a parent? Mom?!" The digits around the fragile teacup tightened with pulsing veins.
"Crack!" The porcelain cup shattered, inducing its content to trail down from the young woman's arm.
Just as the young lady was about to continue cursing Bai Ling, a sudden knock from outside halted her actions.
"Envoy Chu? This is Fu Xi. There is something we would like to discuss with you. If possible, would you follow me to the main hall?"
"... …"
Chu Nuan stood silent for a moment at the center of the chamber before reverting back to normality. Flicking away the traces of water off her arm, the young woman flitted a leisure glance towards the corner of the room.
"Follow," she ordered while sauntering towards the door.
_____
Three vague figures could be detected in the approaching hall as Chu Nuan followed two steps behind Fu Xi.
The young woman could sense instant gazes of curiosity on her as she stepped into the interior of the hall.
Nonetheless, the young lady ignored those prying glances as obsidian pupils locked onto a particular figure. Bright irises narrow with a sharp flash of radiance as Chu Nuan raised her chin with a profound curve of the lips.
"... …"
Straightening his back in subconscious action due to Chu Nuan's fervent sight.
Xie Luochen evaded that burning gaze while turning to pour himself a cup of water. Keeping his vision lowered whilst taking a sip to relieve the dryness of his throat.
The youth had secretly hoped the young woman would not notice his presence and choose to sit somewhere further away.
This small expectation however, could not prevent the youth from sensing the approach of the young woman who took a seat right beside him.
Xie Luochen: "... …"
Chu Nuan skimmed a casual glance across the young man's face before deciding to sit right next to the youth. Pretending not to notice those twitching lips of his, the young woman leaned backwards with an indolent yawn.
Arms stretched to release tension while lithe digits plucked the cup in Xie Luochen's hands away with effortless motion.
Tracing the rim of the small cup once with the tip of her index finger, the young lady then took a sip before placing the item back down.
Pushing the porcelain back towards the youth with one finger while obsidian irises stare at the frozen young man with unusually bright eyes.
Chu Nuan flashed Xie Luochen an alluring smile before turning away to look at the others in the hall.
The young woman has figured everything out during her short walk here.
Xie Luochen is like a block of ice.
He is also a rabbit.
He is currently a frozen rabbit.
In order for there to be an opportunity for her to dine on this piece of frozen rabbit meat. She must defrost it with utmost persistence and warmth.
After that, she'll marinate him in a myriad of spices, creating ambiguous situations and dialogues. Seeping her presence in him with each passing minute of the day until… heh… hehehe…
Ahem!
Either way, when she's through with the first three steps she won't even need to place the rabbit on the plate. The rabbit will jump onto her (palm) plate itself.
What's there to worry after all that?
The young woman thought to herself with an evil smirk.
"Cough. Cough."
Fu Xi cleared his throat while acting as though he could not see that extremely perverse expression on Chu Nuan's face.
Instead, the eldest disciple of the sect motioned to introduce the other two strangers in the room.
"Envoy Chu, there wasn't an opportunity yesterday to meet since it was quite late last night. But here are the other two disciples of our sect."
The man on the right took an immediate step forward to introduce himself the moment Fu Xi finished speaking.
Interest and excitement intermingled under the man's suppressed facial contours that tried to act with nonchalance.
"Pleasure to meet you, Envoy Chu!"
"I am the second eldest disciple of the Dark Moon Sect, Man Tingshu!"
"Thank you for taking care of our youngest! If it wasn't for you, the case last night wouldn't have ended on such a peaceful note!" The man named Man Tingshu, despite his stoic contours, managed to smile gratefully at Chu Nuan.
The young woman returned an equally polite smile while nodding her head in acceptance to the man's words.
Humble despite subconsciously exuding confidence and a sense of authority that only comes from constant contact with leadership roles.
The young lady could tell that this disciple is a rather meticulous and honest type of person from the way of his gaze and the appearance of his ironed suit.
Obsidian irises were about to move away when it halted for a split second on the left pocket of the man's pants. That glance was casual and light to the point that the party on the opposite side did not detect anything unusual.
Bearing a wide but somewhat embarrassed smile, Man Tingshu introduced the youth beside him while bearing a hidden hint of worry.
"This is our third member of the sect, Rong Cheng."
Large round eyes on a face full of innocence and curiosity that's framed by strands of curled brown hair. With a small stature that only reached to the shoulder of his senior brother. This seemingly harmless youth appears to have an overly outgoing personality.
"It's an honor to meet you, Envoy Chu. Is it true that you're at least a few hundred years old?"
The ambience in the chamber grew chilling in an instant those words rang out in the open. Shocking the other three disciples into speechlessness until Man Tingshu covered his palm over the young man's mouth to stop all further foolishness.
Face paling to an almost bloodless color, the man released an awkward chuckle while searching for a plausible excuse.
"Hahaha… this kid has always had a problem with his brain since young. Please don't take his words too seriously."
Man Tingshu's grip grew more tight under the constant struggle of Rong Cheng for fear that this carefree kid would say anything more.
"Oh?" Chu Nuan squinted her eyes at this scene while releasing a low chuckle that's chilling to the bone. "Release the kid, I want to hear more of his questions."
Man Tingshu: "This…"
The man could not object more under the penetrating stare of the young woman. The second eldest of the sect can only hope that this dear little junior brother of his would shut his mouth to prevent further trouble.
"So?" Chu Nuan flashed the youth a bright smile while asking in a soft voice, "who told you that I'm a few hundred years old?"
Different from what the others had assumed, Chu Nuan is not upset at Rong Cheng's somewhat rude questioning. She could tell from the way his pupils flashes that the kid is just trying to gauge her reactions.
However, he probably wouldn't be trying this if he knew what consequences these actions would bring.
That's not too important, what the young woman is more concerned about is the fact that someone is gossiping behind her back!
"I overheard our master talking to someone about you once!"
Chu Nuan: "Really?"
Mesmerized by Chu Nuan's gentle smile, Rong Cheng continued to dig a deeper grave for his beloved master.
Rong Cheng: "Yeah! Master was saying something about having menopause in their late hundreds I think? But I definitely heard your name in the conversation, for sure!"
Chu Nuan: "Oh? ...Hahahaha… Thanks, I'll remember what you said."
The young lady gave the young man a soothing smile and nod of the head before reaching for her phone. Lithe fingers pressed a few keys before sending the message towards its receiver with a serious expression.
Waiting a few seconds for the reply, the young woman then nodded in satisfaction before leaning back on her chair with a relaxed sigh.
_____
A luxurious restaurant in Hell.
"My apologies dear customer, your card did not go through. Would you like to try again?"
"Ah!?"
Bai Ling revealed a bewildered expression on his face as he swiped the card in hand once more to receive the same results.
"That can't be?! This is a card that my lord specifically gave me to use on this trip! How can it be denied? Is there some sort of mistake??"
The restaurant employee maintained the same smile on its face while replying in a formal tone. "Dear customer, there are no problems with our machine. Would you like to use another form of payment?"
"Hold on."
Taking his phone out in an attempt to ask Chu Nuan about the current situation. Bai Ling's sight grew more bewildered when a red notification flashed on the screen.
[Message failed to send.]
Pressing on the dial button, the mechanical voice on the other end merely said.
[The caller you are trying to reach is unavailable right now, please try again later.]
"This…"
Unable to wrap his mind around this strange situation, Bai Ling stares absentminded at the smiling employee.
Two pairs of eyes gaze at one another until a third voice enters the scene.
"I'll pay."
Bai Ling turned towards that voice at once. Eyes redden from embarrassment as the man bit on the bottom of his lips in shame.
But the other party merely gave a relaxed chuckle at the sight while comforting in a soft tone. "It's okay, you paid enough."
Bai Ling: "But…"
Just as the man was about to speak, an index finger pressed abrupt upon his quivering lips.
"Shh… that's enough."
Bai Ling gazes up at the figure standing inches from him as a faint blush crawls on his pale skin. Lowering his head with a shy twist of his hips, the man replied in a faint almost inaudible voice.
"Okay…"