Simone stared at Jill Young in utter disbelief, blurting out, "You like women? Wait, seriously?"
Jill Young nodded with certainty. "Absolutely."
Simone and Joan exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes. Then, in perfect sync, they both stared hard at Jill. As the resident expert, Simone decided to probe further, her words stumbling a bit: "W-what kind of like? Would you... would you ever consider marrying a woman?"
Jill was about to nod, but after thinking it over, she hesitated. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I've been on blind dates before, and objectively, some of the guys were pretty decent. But I just don't feel anything for men—I'm happy to be friends or bros, but the idea of marrying one? Gives me goosebumps. On the flip side, it's not like I want to chase girls like some guy hitting on women either. So, for now, I guess... nope."
Simone mulled over Jill's words, then seemed to have an epiphany. She sighed, chuckled, and shook her head. "You're so reliable and strong in some ways, but in others, you're still a kid. But that's not a bad thing—if a woman doesn't fall in love, everything belongs to her; but once she does, nothing does. Honestly, I'm a bit jealous. Anyway, Joan, she's said her piece. What about you? Ever liked a guy?"
"Me..." Whether it was the alcohol or something else, Joan's face was flushed. This old homebody was really shy about such a personal topic, clearly way out of her comfort zone. But after downing a drink, she decided to just go for it: "I don't even know if it counts. I was just super devoted to my master. I have no memory of my real parents, so my master was the most important man in my life."
A student-teacher crush—definitely spicy gossip for this era. But Jill just looked unsurprised, totally expected: "Honestly, that answer doesn't shock me at all. That God of Squandering sure has luck with the ladies, no wonder he's Number Two's sworn brother."
Simone nodded solemnly. "Yep, I saw that coming too. Should've gone to Spirit Eagle Palace's betting pool back then—could've made a killing."
"Betting? People actually gambled on that?!" Faced with these two jokers, Joan was both exasperated and amused.
Amid the laughter and teasing, Simone smoothly dodged any talk about her own feelings. She didn't share her secrets, only said she came from a family of scholars and officials—a true lady of the house. She only left home at twenty to start her martial arts journey. So, she's a master of all the arts, but her fighting skills are just average among the gifted.
But how did she go from being a proper young lady to Lady Simone, and why did she suddenly leave home to suffer through hardship? She didn't say. Instead, she rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the lake. For a moment, she looked so lonely, so lost. The full moon reflected in her eyes, but who knows what faces it revealed in her heart.
Every unique person is like a book—each with their own winding story.
Suddenly Simone turned to Jill, looking hopeful. "Do you think I can go back?"
"I have no idea. I can't even figure out how you got here, let alone how to send you back. But seriously, do you even want to go back?" Jill's question stumped Simone, and Joan chimed in, "Is there anything back home you can't let go of? Anyone you still care about?"
Yeah, do you really want to go back? Back to that cutthroat martial world? Back to that battlefield full of twists and turns? Back to a place where you can't trust anyone, where betrayal is always lurking? Back under that huge, looming shadow?
Simone hugged her knees, lost in thought. After a while, she shook her head and broke into a smile. "Nah, I don't think there's anything holding me back. It's pretty nice here. At least—" She stood up, took a deep breath—the scent of osmanthus was intoxicating—and her mood brightened. "At least I love the way it feels to be alive here."
"There you go! Just accept your fate and be a lowly servant like the rest of us." Jill's offbeat encouragement got the party lively again. "Come on, tonight's for singing and drinking—youth is best spent with good company! The secret to enjoying life is saving the world with music and dance!"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Joan immediately started clapping. "Are you going to sing? I love hearing you sing!"
"Lucky you, then! Simone, you play accompaniment. Joan, you dance. The Celestial Arts Ensemble's three stars, let's go—"
[When the mountain peaks have no edges]
[When the river no longer flows]
[When time stands still, day and night become one]
[When all things in heaven and earth turn to nothing]
[I still can't bear to part with you]
[Can't bear to part with you]
[Your tenderness]
[Is the greatest thing I've waited for in this life]
Sword strums, glasses clink, and the three of them laugh and sing, soaking up all the joy life has to offer. No one knows what the future holds, but that's exactly why you have to seize these fleeting beautiful moments. Youth isn't just about a young body—it's a carefree heart, a free soul, eyes full of spirit and energy. People age, songs end, friends part, but before the last note fades, you have to live your youth to the fullest, or it's wasted.
Let's travel the mortal world together and live life to the fullest.
Gallop on horseback, sharing all the splendors of life.
Raise your glass and sing—celebrate all the joy in life.
Live boldly and fiercely,
Seize your youth,
And all its moments.
It was well past midnight, and after leaving a mess of empty plates and bottles, the three finally headed home. Before they left, they mischievously returned all the bottles and dishes. Good borrowers always pay back—makes borrowing again easy! Honestly, these three are such polite kids~
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^ Please click 'Next Page' to continue reading!
No matter what kind of showdown Jia Sidao and Fang Zheng had under the full Mid-Autumn moon, or how the clash of two powers turned out, the trio soon got back to their usual rhythm. On Mid-Autumn night, Joan went back to her own business, sitting in her little retreat. Her cheeks were still flushed from the wine as she glanced out at the night sky, a faint smile curling on her lips.
But she quickly pulled herself together, focusing completely on her martial arts research.
Moments later, her brow furrowed as she took out a jade bottle, uncorked it, and started dripping blood into it. Just then, a flash of purple-red light appeared and an angry voice rang out: "I knew you were up to something!"
It was Simone. She barged into the room, her face ice-cold, voice tightly controlled as she snapped at Joan, "What are you doing?!"
Caught red-handed, Joan didn't panic. She just kept doing her thing and calmly asked, "When did you figure it out?"
"I knew something was off from the start. If it was just an injury, a few days of rest would do—you wouldn't have needed to order me to keep quiet. The more you try to hide, the more suspicious it gets!"
Simone pressed closer. "You haven't slept a wink, day or night. That's not how a proper retreat works!"
Simone took two more steps. "Your energy keeps fluctuating, and you forced yourself to act normal when you saw Jill Young. That's not how a real master behaves!"
Simone kept advancing until she was right in front of Joan. "Today I was watching you closely, but even so, under normal circumstances you would've noticed me. Is that really the skill of a Peerless Grandmaster? Jill Young couldn't sense it—she's busy with court politics and hasn't broken through yet, so you can fool her. But I've lived with you day in and day out—how could I not notice?"
"Well said. You're clever, suspicious, and know how to protect yourself. I thought you'd never ask me about this, but here you are, and that actually makes me happy. That fool really did trust you." Joan smiled at Simone, then, as if remembering something, marked a symbol in her scroll.
"You're still writing!" Simone snapped, grabbing the scroll. One look and her face changed: "Wait, is this the Wedding Dress Divine Skill? You're secretly researching a way to transfer it? What are you trying to do?" She glanced at Joan's bleeding hand over the jade bottle, her expression suddenly grave. "What... what's really going on with you?"
Joan met Simone's gaze, then sighed and made space for her to sit. "Since you're here, I won't hide it anymore. Did you know we ran into some serious trouble on that mysterious island?"
"I know," Simone nodded. "After I realized something was up, I grilled He Qiliao and Duan Xingyong. You guys ran into the priests from the Eternal Life Heavenly Sect and another group of shady toughs. I heard you fought them all, pretended to be poisoned, and lured them into a trap before striking back. So..."
"Yeah, I wasn't pretending—I really was poisoned. I just forced myself to act tough and bluff my way through. Turns out I fooled even my own people, no wonder those guys ran for their lives." Joan grinned, clearly proud of her performance.
"No wonder your hand was wrapped in white cloth. But it's fine, we'll just detox you. If that doesn't work, we'll catch the culprit and make them cough up the antidote. You know Jill Young's interrogation skills—nobody can hold out for long!" Simone tried to sound calm, but her darting eyes betrayed her nerves. She's smart enough to know Joan must've already tried all these methods.
Sure enough, Joan just smiled and shook her head. "No use."
"How can it be useless? We'll figure something out, together! Wait, what about the Ten Thousand Venoms Hand? That technique can handle any poison. You're a Peerless Grandmaster, a true master—you just need to focus on mastering Ten Thousand Venoms Hand..."
Joan shook her head again and quietly delivered the harshest verdict: "No use."
Simone's face went pale, and she muttered, dazed, "How... how could this happen... We were just making dough figurines, just sneaking drinks, and now... how could this happen!"