Chapter 650 - 257: Jiang Ran

In the dimly lit room, An An furrowed her brows and bit her lower lip until it turned white. She questioned the twisted shadow before her with confusion,

"Why did you do this?"

"Which thing are you referring to? Killing those two Demon Extermination Bureau people, or scratching Fan Wubing?"

"Of course, the second thing!"

"So, you agree with the first thing. An An, have you forgotten who has been by your side all this time, helping you handle all the things you couldn’t muster the courage to face?" The shadow kept pressing closer to An An, "Think about it, without me, would you have made it to today? Would you have reunited with Jiang Sha, met Fan Wubing? Or perhaps, you would’ve died that winter when you were thirteen."

Xiaoye’s voice, like it was coated in frost, made An An shiver uncontrollably.

"I know you’ve been good to me, but... but you can’t hurt him." An An squatted on the ground, sounding deeply troubled.

"I just can’t stand it. I can’t stand you two being so close. An An, you grew up in cruelty, your body, your soul, every inch of you is soaked in darkness. You think you’ve found a true friend, but what really supports your friendship?" Xiaoye held An An’s face and said, "You haven’t experienced life and death trials together, only due to Jiang Sha that you got linked. The good feeling he brings you is merely a piece of honey. Eventually, the honey will dissolve, and all you’ll be left with is dryness and thirst."

An An stayed silent.

After a long while, she asked, "Can’t you get along peacefully?"

"An An, haven’t you noticed? Since he appeared, you’ve changed as a person. You don’t come to talk to me on your own anymore; only when you encounter problems you can’t solve yourself do you seek me out. You no longer think about causing destruction, about punishing this sinful world. You don’t seem like a Demon Lord anymore!"

Xiaoye said with extreme anger, "When Fan Wubing was out, you thought daily about when he’d return, how you should apologize to him. When you went to Chuirizhou together, your eyes were filled with him, painting for him, making sculptures of him. Even when Divine Phoenix Celestial Venerable gave you a Protective Talisman, you wanted one for him. You never thought of me. We’ve been together for over a hundred years! You see Jiang Sha as your object of admiration, but haven’t noticed Fan Wubing slowly replacing Jiang Sha in your heart! Yet, you’ve only known him for two years."

An An, with her head lowered, said, "I don’t talk to you much because I consider you my family. We’ve lived together every day, I’m already used to having you by my side. I know you won’t leave me, but he’s different, I don’t understand him, I don’t know how to interact with him, so I need to try to understand him, to step out of my room..."

"An An..." Xiaoye said, her tone softening slightly.

An An interrupted her, taking a deep breath, "Since you really don’t like him, can’t get along with him, then I’ll listen to you and no longer disturb him."

After speaking, she buried her head between her knees, falling into complete silence.

She held this position, unmoving, until it was evening.

She felt no discomfort, because for many years, when alone, she would do this.

To her, it was just another ordinary day in over a hundred years.

As night fell,

Fan Wubing’s calls came in from outside, "An An, want to go out for a walk? Shengyi Square seems to be having a lantern festival, it looks quite lively."

An An lifted her head from her knees, slightly turned, moonlight poured through the window grilles onto her gray face.

For a brief moment, a gleam of attack flashed in her eyes, then disappeared in an instant,

"No, you go by yourself. I need to go into seclusion for a while."

"Seclusion? Why all of a sudden?" Fan Wubing asked in surprise.

"Maybe I had some revelations previously in Chuirizhou."

Outside, Fan Wubing paused in silence for a moment, "Are you sure nothing’s wrong? Did something happen last night?"

"Don’t worry, I’m fine."

"Then how long will your seclusion be?"

"Not very long, probably just a dozen days, then I’ll be out and can hang out with you soon."

"Alright then."

Listening to the footsteps fading away, An An buried her head back into her knees.

...

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

It was early winter, and the air in Changning City had become much drier. The sky turned gray, like covered with a thin veil.

Fan Wubing stood in front of An An’s courtyard, feeling a quietness that was almost deathly still, and sighed,

"Liar, you said it would be a dozen days. It’s been half a year, and there’s no sign of coming out of seclusion."

In this half-year, his life suddenly became much more monotonous.

An An was in seclusion, and Jiang Sha also became indifferent to him. He still took care of Jiang Sha when Liu Qingqing was out. The care routine was the same as before, nothing had changed. The only difference was that Jiang Sha turned into a soft puppet, hardly interacting or communicating with him anymore.

Those jet-black eyes of hers, once as mesmerizing as vortexes, had now turned into a frozen deep lake, without any ripples.

At first, he wondered if Jiang Sha wasn’t feeling well, changing her personality, but she was very enthusiastic towards the frequently visiting Ye Wuyue. Enthusiastic as in the beginning with them.

So, Jiang Sha hadn’t changed, just her attitude towards him had.