"How merciless. Killing the mongrel who gave you information." Gilgamesh shook his head before turning away.
"You're no different from me. If anything, I would say you're worse than I am now." Jingliu replied disdainfully.
"What a compliment!" Gilgamesh laughed. "Very well, I shall allow such praise to reach my ears. Fuahahaha!"
Jingliu's words were clearly meant as a complaint, yet Gilgamesh deliberately took them as praise simply to annoy the "rabid dog" serving him.
Truly, the temperament of this Gilgamesh and that of his past self were as different as heaven and earth.
"Where are we going now?" Jingliu asked.
Since she was going to follow this arrogant golden king, she might as well know their destination.
"Heh. I have no idea."
Gilgamesh shrugged.
"Let fate decide. Let mankind walk freely."
"That isn't the answer I was hoping to hear."
"It's the answer I chose to give."
Jingliu could only click her tongue in annoyance.
Before long, the two arrived at the Exalting Sanctum.
The streets remained bustling with activity. Merchants called out to passersby, people moved through the streets, and children ran freely without a care in the world.
Gilgamesh's gaze lingered on the children.
A faint smile appeared upon his face.
"Indeed. Quite a sight."
He watched as the children laughed and chased one another.
"Children running freely, an atmosphere filled with laughter... It reminds me of Uruk."
"Uruk?"
"My prosperous kingdom, one that no nation dared rival."
Gilgamesh folded his arms proudly.
"Though I hate to admit it, the technology of this place surpasses even what my kingdom possessed in my era."
"An interesting kingdom, then." Jingliu replied bluntly.
"Naturally. My kingdom was anything but ordinary."
Gilgamesh laughed proudly.
"Fuahaha!"
"Make way! Make way!"
A childish voice suddenly came from ahead.
A young Vidyadhara child with purplish-blue hair hurried through the crowd, carefully carrying a container of medicine.
Jingliu's ruby eyes immediately fell upon the child.
For an instant, the present seemed to blur.
A fragment of the past surfaced within her mind.
Before she could stop herself, a name slipped quietly from her lips.
"...Baiheng."
Gilgamesh's ears immediately perked up.
He glanced back and noticed Jingliu staring intently at the child.
"Ho?"
His eyes narrowed with interest.
"Someone you knew?"
"...Something like that."
Jingliu's answer was dismissive, clearly attempting to end the conversation.
"Such a dismissive answer will lead you nowhere."
Gilgamesh's gaze remained fixed upon her.
"My eyes can see what you refuse to speak of. Though they remain sealed most of the time, they can still perceive the longing within you."
"Stop prying into this matter."
Jingliu's ruby gaze narrowed, though the light within her eyes had gradually dimmed.
"You're an outsider. You gain nothing from knowing this."
"Is that so?"
A faint smirk appeared across Gilgamesh's face.
"But that is not the case."
He stepped closer, his expression carrying that familiar arrogance.
"Whether I gain anything from learning what I wish to know from you is irrelevant."
His crimson eyes remained upon her.
"You are my property, yet I have deemed you worthy enough to stand at my side."
He paused.
"Among all these mongrels who walk and live upon this world, you alone have managed to earn my interest."
His smirk widened.
"Naturally, I wish to know every secret you possess."
"..." Jingliu stared blankly at him.
In her mind, she was genuinely tempted to kill this golden bastard. Yet eventually, she could only sigh helplessly.
Whether she could kill him or not was irrelevant. The fate she had once known, along with the path she had intended to follow, had already been thrown astray.
What else could she do but navigate this unprecedented path alongside this arrogant king?
"Just a memory from the past reminded me of that child."
Her gaze lingered on the Vidyadhara child, a complicated expression passing through her ruby eyes.
"I see, I see." Gilgamesh nodded casually. "Such a deep history truly makes one eager to know more."
He continued walking forward.
"Come. Dwelling upon the past will only hinder us while the mess slowly consumes this place. Set it aside for now."
He glanced back at her with an amused smile.
"Once this is over, I shall allow you to walk freely for two days and two nights before placing the leash upon you once more."
Gilgamesh laughed.
"You do realize the Luofu will not simply let me go once this is over?" Jingliu asked. "I am a traitor, a betrayer, and a murderer."
"Of course."
Gilgamesh's answer came without hesitation.
"But they could never question my decision. If I say I am taking you with me, then there is nothing they can do about it."
For once, Jingliu said nothing.
A faint, almost amused snort escaped her lips before she walked alongside the golden king.
"Let's see if you can back those words up."
Rather than dwelling upon the past, the Wise King continued guiding the woman toward a path she had never known.
A king's duty was to lead his subjects.
And Jingliu had become one of those subjects in Gilgamesh's eyes, alongside Tingyun.
If they could not see the future before them, then he would carve another path for them himself.
One greater than the future that had originally awaited them.
A faint smile appeared upon his lips as an old memory resurfaced within his mind.
A journey of a man and his clay companion.
A journey that defied fate and challenged the gods.
A journey that ended with the death of his greatest friend.
And afterward, the man's desperate pursuit of immortality—only for the prize he sought to be stolen by a wandering serpent.
Gilgamesh's smile remained.
"What are you smiling at?" Jingliu asked.
"Nothing to concern yourself with."
His expression softened ever so slightly.
"Merely thinking about something interesting that this world has to offer."
His voice remained calm.
Yet beneath those words was an unusual tenderness, one that Jingliu could faintly perceive.