"This tea tree is about to take humanoid form!" Lily Bai exclaimed. "No wonder the tea leaves are so packed with spiritual energy."
"Yeah, it's tried to transform a few times before, but always failed—just barely missed it each time," Damian Black replied.
Lily circled the tree, saying, "There's a harmful influence at the Xun sector—let me fix that."
She glanced around, found a stone slab, dragged it over to the Xun sector and set it upright. Then she bit her finger and drew a sigil on it.
"Done!" Lily said. "As long as no one moves that slab, next time it tries to transform, it'll definitely succeed."
Damian Black's lips curved in a faint smile. He didn't say anything, just took her hand and pressed his palm over the cut.
A red light flickered, and her wound began to heal rapidly...
Just like always.
Every time she got hurt, he'd use this spell to heal her.
Lily looked up at him.
A breeze ruffled his hair; under the blue sky and drifting clouds, he looked impossibly composed and beautiful.
He'd been looking down at her hand, but when he sensed her gaze, he looked up at her.
Lily panicked, quickly pulled her hand away, and retreated to the side.
After a while, with no one speaking, she started to feel awkward. To break the silence, she pointed into the distance and asked, "Is that city beneath the Demon Emperor's Palace the legendary Wildlands City?"
Damian Black: "Yes."
"Do they sell things there?"
"It's just like a human city."
"Then, can I go browse around sometime?"
"Sure."
After a pause, Lily asked again, "Do you come here often?"
"Yeah."
"It's not too high or too low, not too near or too far. From here, you can see the entire region encircled by the Tribulation Storm Array—clear and real, not hazy and dreamlike like when you see it from midair."
Lily laughed and turned to him, "Doesn't sitting here make you feel like you're inspecting your own territory?"
Damian sat down on a stone beneath the tree and said quietly, "I often sit here thinking—if the Tribulation Storm Array is ever broken, where could I possibly hide them all? The world is huge, but is there anywhere they'd truly be safe?"
He shouldn't be that old—he still looks like a teenager.
But his beautiful eyes held none of Nine Li's innocence—they seemed to hold the stars and the sea, full of ancient sorrow and change.
Lily's smile slowly faded. She felt suddenly frivolous.
"Lily Bai," Damian called softly.
"Hm?"
"Does your family treat you well?"
"I'm the eldest daughter, so of course my parents treat me very well," Lily answered.
"Does your master treat you well?"
"Sometimes Master treats me even better than Nine Li!"
"That's good," he said.
"...What about your family?" Lily asked.
Damian didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Don't marry Henry Xiao."
Lily's heart skipped a beat; her eyes lit up instantly.
"If you marry him, you'll die a terrible death," Damian said, looking at her. "He can't protect you."
Is that the only reason he doesn't want me to marry him?
The light in Lily's eyes faded. She retorted, "If I marry him, I'll be part of the Drake Abyss imperial clan—who would dare harm me then? My family would be protected too!"
"The Celestial Empress is only using you to break the array. She'll never let her beloved youngest son really marry you. Once you succeed, you'll be discarded as a pawn," Damian said.
Lily: "Then who do you think I should marry?"
Damian glanced at her but didn't reply.
"Hm? All-knowing Demon Emperor." Lily crouched in front of him, staring intently. "You know me inside out—give me some advice?"