Chapter 16: Do You Want to Restore Your Spiritual Roots?

After all, a stranger she had only known for a few days suddenly treated her so well—pulling her out of the mire, giving her clothes, healing her meridians—she had every right to suspect that person might be after her kidneys.

Besides, this world was inherently cruel.

The original owner’s previous behavior, the misunderstandings on the flying boat, and the contract she had forced Su Qingyan to sign…

Being seen as a perverted villainess or something like that seemed…

Perfectly reasonable.

On top of all that, the game’s “Common Enemy of the Heaven’s Chosen” fate that clung to the character Bai Yue ensured that any Heaven’s Chosen Maiden’s initial impression of her would start in the negatives.

That was probably just the natural hostility protagonists felt toward villains.

With these thoughts running through her mind, Bai Yue calmly met Xiao Yueluo’s eyes—eyes filled with wariness, fear, and even a hint of desperate resolve.

After a long moment, Bai Yue let out a soft chuckle.

The laugh was barely audible, but to Xiao Yueluo, it was like a thunderclap.

“You’re not entirely stupid.”

Bai Yue tilted her head slightly, meeting Xiao Yueluo’s gaze without evasion, and nodded frankly.

“You’re right.

I do have something I want from you.”

Xiao Yueluo’s breath caught.

Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into tight fists.

Here it comes.

A cauldron?

A blood sacrifice?

Or some other vile technique?

All the horrifying, sinister methods she had heard of in the cultivation world flashed through Xiao Yueluo’s mind in an instant.

Her body began to tremble uncontrollably—an instinctive fear of the unknown torment to come.

“Just not right now.

And besides, this isn’t something that can be rushed.”

Bai Yue paused, her gaze sweeping over Xiao Yueluo’s frail, overly thin frame.

“After all, with your body in its current broken state, it wouldn’t be so easy to bear the weight of my ‘designs.'”

Then she strode forward, closing the distance step by step.

Her pace was slow, but carried a suffocating pressure.

Overwhelmed by that imposing aura, Xiao Yueluo instinctively backed away, step by step, until her back slammed against a thick redwood pillar.

Nowhere left to retreat.

“Wh-What are you doing…” Xiao Yueluo’s voice trembled.

Bai Yue didn’t answer.

She reached out one hand, bracing it against the pillar beside Xiao Yueluo’s ear, trapping the girl completely within her shadow.

Then she leaned in, closing the distance until they were mere inches apart.

Bai Yue’s faint, cool fragrance, mixed with a hint of danger, seeped into Xiao Yueluo’s senses in wisps.

Her warm breath brushed against the girl’s sensitive ear.

“Listen carefully, little one.

Your life right now is worth nothing to me.

Only when you’ve nursed this broken body back to health—only when you’ve reached the pinnacle—”

Bai Yue paused, her fingertip tracing slowly along Xiao Yueluo’s jawline, finally coming to rest at her throat, the point where her fate lay.

She tapped it lightly.

“—will you be qualified to be the object of my ‘designs.'”

Her words hung in the air, and the shop fell into dead silence again.

Xiao Yueluo shivered uncontrollably, her face pale as paper.

She stared blankly at Bai Yue, so close before her, her palms slick with cold sweat.

Beside her, Su Qingyan also clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, her knuckles white.

She hardly dared to breathe, afraid of disturbing this woman who seemed to control everything like a deity.

The entire shop was silent, save for Xiao Yueluo’s slightly rapid breathing.

After a long moment, the suffocating pressure receded like an ebbing tide.

Bai Yue straightened up, casually brushing off nonexistent dust.

Her malicious grin vanished instantly, replaced by her usual carefree, lazy demeanor.

“Alright, intimidation session over.”

Bai Yue turned and gestured toward the inner room.

“Go try on the clothes.

If they fit, we’ll take them.”

Ignoring their complex expressions, she pointed to the sets of green-feather cloud-flowing robes laid out nearby.

Xiao Yueluo was still frozen in place.

Bai Yue’s words carried too much weight, too much impact; her mind was now a tangled mess.

“Still not going?”

Bai Yue raised her voice slightly.

“…Yes.”

Su Qingyan snapped out of it first.

She tugged at Xiao Yueluo’s sleeve and whispered, “Yueluo, let’s go change.”

Numbly, Xiao Yueluo allowed herself to be pulled along by Su Qingyan, clutching the green-feather cloud-flowing robe.

Su Qingyan took the moon-white long dress, and the two of them walked unsteadily into the changing room.

Watching their figures disappear behind the curtain, Bai Yue yawned lazily and walked over to sit on a nearby chair.

Scaring little girls sure was exhausting.

But the effect should be good.

That girl Xiao Yueluo, despite experiencing such dramatic highs and lows, becoming sensitive and suspicious, still had that pride and unyielding spirit burning inside her.

After some thought, she would understand the meaning behind those words just now.

That was the resilience of a Heaven’s Chosen Maiden.

The spark had been lit, the will to survive had been kindled.

But taming this little hedgehog, full of thorns, would require a considerable effort.

No rush.

Take it slow.

While Bai Yue was lost in thought, the beaded curtain of the changing room let out a crisp rustle.

Bai Yue looked up, a glint of appreciation in her eyes.

A slender, fair hand pushed aside the curtain.

A figure in green stepped out first.

Xiao Yueluo had changed into the green-feather cloud-flowing robe.

The dress was impeccably tailored, the fine fabric flowing like water along her slender—yet still notably graceful—figure.

The green hue gave her once-pale skin a translucent, crystalline quality.

But those eyes, which should have been full of spirit, still held a lingering trace of timidity and wariness.

Then Su Qingyan stepped out as well.

If Xiao Yueluo was a green lotus weathered by storms, then Su Qingyan was an ice lotus standing proudly atop a snowy peak.

The moon-white long dress fit her as if custom-made.

Without excessive ornamentation, the simple, pure white elevated her already cool, ethereal beauty to its zenith.

She stood there quietly, as if isolated from the noisy world around her, breathtakingly beautiful.

The two walked up to Bai Yue and stood before her in silence.

Bai Yue’s gaze swept over them, and she nodded in satisfaction.

Though different from the system-provided outfits, they had their own unique charm.

“Nice.”

Bai Yue gave an unreserved compliment.

Xiao Yueluo bit her lower lip, wanting to say something but not knowing where to start.

“Alright, don’t look so glum.”

Bai Yue turned and strode toward the shop entrance.

“The real show is just beginning.”

“Where… are we going next?”

Su Qingyan asked softly.

Bai Yue paused, not turning back, and waved her hand casually.

“Next stop—Du Xian Sect.”

The corner of Bai Yue’s mouth lifted, a glint of calculated planning in her eyes.

“For your spiritual root restoration plan, we march.”

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