Be Gentle, Immortal Master

244  Reasonable Offer

I couldn't have imagined a more twisted juxtaposition than those venomous words spoken with such a sweet, innocent voice. Fury sizzled in my throat. "You kidnapped children from this village?" I bit out through gritted teeth.

The girl tsked. "Be more appreciative with your tone. You should thank me that I only took one boy away for a day before letting him escape to spread the news for me. All I got out of him was some tears instead of blood." She crossed her arms and grinned. "But now that I have your attention, things won't be so simple from here on."

My worries eased a little at the knowledge. If she was telling the truth, then at least no one had been hurt so far. "What do you want?" I asked. "What are you planning to do with Twin Stars?"

"What I plan to do with MY swords is none of your concern," she snapped. "What you should be concerned with instead is the sight of corpses lined up at the village square, if you choose not to hand my belongings back to me. You get quite a clear view of it from the back of your cabin, don't you?"

So she had already figured out where Bai Ye and I lived … Surprisingly, I wasn't shocked. Whoever this girl was seemed to be much more experienced and talented at scheming and stealthily laying traps than I could ever be—or ever wanted to be. Using innocent people's lives as leverage was the lowest, dirtiest move I could bring myself to think of, and just the notion of sharing a face with someone so cruel and sinister made me feel disgusted.

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"If this is your plan to force my hand because you can't defeat me—" my grip landed on my swords, "—you are delusional. My only goal so far has been to keep Twin Stars safe from you, but if you insist on proving to me how far gone your sanity is, then I'll have no qualms slaying you with the very swords you wanted."

The girl stilled for a moment. Then she let out a cold laugh. "Don't be so full of yourself. If I remember correctly, you were the one that almost had a taste of the edge of my blades back at the cave. If not because of that man ruining my plan, you should've been dead already."

My hands tightened on the hilts. "I have no interest nor time for trash talks." A very honest statement. "Since you are so sure about your superiority, why don't you show it to me?"

Unsheathing my swords, I summoned my spiritual power and leaped towards her perch. But she didn't take the bait. "Prodding me won't work," she sneered and fetched that talisman from her sleeve once more. "You have three days to make up your mind. I made a reasonable enough offer, and I suggest that you consider it carefully before deciding to sacrifice every one of your neighbor's lives."

I was a few steps too slow. With a flutter of her dress and a maniac laugh, she invoked the spell and disappeared right in front of my eyes just like last time. Only the lone moon was left hanging over the roof, shrouding the village in a thin film of haze.

~ ~

I must still be wearing an irritated expression when I stepped back into the cabin. Bai Ye looked up from behind his books, his eyes meeting mine with a slight surprise. "I thought you went to pick berries," he said. "What kind of berries offended you so?"

Letting out a disappointed grunt, I plopped onto the bench next to him. "You were right. The girl found us. I saw her at East Village, and she threatened to kill everyone if I don't hand her Twin Stars in three days."

He stiffened a little at the news. "Did you cross blades with her?"

"I wish. She used that spell again and got away before I had a chance. She's too good with those instant-shift tricks."

He let out a small sigh, seemingly from relief. "She is a spirit without a physical body. Spells like these are naturally easier for her." He gathered me into his arms, running his thumb over my forehead to smooth out my frown. "I'll visit the village with you tomorrow and see what we can do to help, but no need to worry too much about her threat. She wouldn't have resorted to it if she's capable of taking what she wants directly. I bet she won't dare make a real move anytime soon, and certainly not within those three days."

My frayed nerves calmed at his soothing voice and gesture. Taking a deep breath, I nodded. "She doesn't seem to want a fight. Maybe it takes time for her power to fully recover from the seal. When I drew my swords earlier, she retreated almost instantly as if she was afraid of it."

He didn't respond immediately. Then his arms tightened a bit more around my waist. "Be more careful next time you see her, Qing-er. Twin Stars might threaten her … but it might cause you danger as well. She's not just any typical foe, and we don't know all the tricks she has up her sleeves yet."

I blinked. The gravity in his tone seemed to be implying something. "Do you know how she's related to Twin Stars now? Or to me?" I asked, glancing over the large pile of scrolls and tomes spread over the desk. "Have you found what you were looking for in these books?"

His gaze dropped from my eyes. After what seemed like a moment of struggle, he nodded. "Has Teng Yuan ever told you the reason why I held those grudges against him and the Gatekeeper all these years?" he asked.

I shook my head. The grudges between the three of them from two hundred and fifty years ago? What could that have to do with a spirit sealed in a cave long before their time?