Chapter 88: Cannot

Si Nuosang nodded. Though there was a faint softness to his features, he looked bright and warm.

“Then would you fall for me?” Ye Xuan asked cautiously.

“Ye Xuan, are you trying to make a fool of me? Careful, or I’ll hit you. Was I only joking about you and Ruan Qingnong? Do you really need to get back at me for that?”

Thinking he was only joking, Si Nuosang answered without a second thought.

“All right, all right, you caught me. No fun at all.”

“That’s more like it. I treat you as my very best friend. You should know I don’t have many friends in this life, and you’re one of them.”

“Oh? Then should I feel honored?”

“Of course. You absolutely should.” When Si Nuosang was with Ye Xuan, he could say almost anything at random. Ye Xuan never minded; he was always so tolerant. Having a friend like that truly made her happy. Friends like him were rare.

“All right, I’ll be properly honored.”

Ye Xuan smiled. The days he spent with Si Nuosang were always so pleasant. He knew she could never have such feelings for him.

The task his master had given him, he might truly be unable to complete.

But if the day ever came when he had to choose, he would choose.

He glanced at Si Nuosang beside him, then smiled and shook his head.

He would think about it when that day came.

Ye Xuan walked beside her, and the two of them soon reached a small lake nearby. In the midst of the desert, the lake stood there stubbornly, a beautiful sight. It resembled the Crescent Lake from the old history books, though that lake had long since vanished.

In that society, progress meant destruction.

People believed themselves to be gods, when in truth they were only destroyers.

“This place is beautiful. It looks like the eye of the desert.” When she reached the lakeshore, she wished she had a camera so she could take a few pictures of herself.

But when she had crossed over here, she had no idea where her phone had fallen.

“How did you know? This place really is called the Sand Eye. People do call it the Desert Eye.”

Ye Xuan said,

“Really? Then that’s because I’m smart.”

Si Nuosang never missed a chance to praise herself. She looked anything but modest.

“Fine, you’re smart. Come on, let’s go take a look over there.”

Near the lake not far away stood a large tree. There were many trees around, but this one was especially huge, as though it were more than a decade older than the rest.

Beneath it, someone had placed a stone table and chairs for visitors to rest and enjoy themselves.

So the two of them went over. By then the sun had grown stronger, and they sat in the shade of the tree.

“This is really nice. You only brought me here now? That’s hardly very considerate.”

She looked at him as she spoke.

“I’d only heard of the Sand Eye. I didn’t know its exact location. Think about it—we only came to Cool City for the first time together. I wouldn’t know any more than you do. Maybe even less.”

“That’s impossible. You must know more than I do.”

She was an outsider, of course, so she could never say that aloud.

“You make it sound as if you’re not even from this world.”

“Haha, what are you thinking? I’ve always stayed at home. I’ve had no contact with the outside world at all, so naturally I know nothing about it. I didn’t even know where Cool City was—I had to ask people the whole way here.”

Si Nuosang hurried to explain. He had actually guessed correctly, though only as a joke, and that was rather frightening.

After sitting for a while, they left the Sand Eye and walked along the small paths around the city. Ye Xuan kept looking at Si Nuosang, while she kept her eyes on the road, taking in the scenery nearby. Everything seemed so different.

Ye Xuan wanted to understand Si Nuosang a little more, so he said,

“Si Nuosang, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you.”

He looked at her. He should at least try to see whether he could ask.

“Go on.”

Si Nuosang looked back at him. He wasn’t going to ask whether she was someone from this world, was he?

“Promise you won’t be angry.”

Ye Xuan looked at her and said,

“I promise I won’t be angry.”

Si Nuosang held out her hand in pledge.

“Who taught you those skills of yours? I’ve never seen such strange fighting techniques. And that blade of yours.”

He looked at her and asked.

Si Nuosang was truly stumped. Right now, she almost wished he would ask whether she was from this world instead. That would be easier to answer.

“This... how should I say this?”

She really did not know how to answer. If she told the truth, he would never believe it. He would probably think she was insane.

Ye Xuan watched the troubled look on her face. It seemed that answering this question put her in a very difficult position.

“If you don’t want to answer, it doesn’t matter.”

“That’s not it. It’s just that even if I answered, you still wouldn’t believe me. I don’t want to lie to you.”

She was very happy to have made a friend like him. In her previous world, ever since she was little, only her sister had stayed by her side. Thinking of that, she remembered Si Xueyi. She did not know how her sister was now. With her disappearance, she must be heartbroken, searching for her day and night.

At that thought, she felt deeply guilty toward her sister. Her sister had always been so kind to her, so kind that she had taken it for granted. Even after coming here for so long, all she could think about was Wen Shu’an and starting over.

She was truly a coldhearted person, to treat her only sister so.

That was her only blood relative. No matter how the world abandoned her, her sister had always been at her side. Thinking of that, her eyes grew red.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Xuan asked, thinking it was because of his question. He hurried over and said, “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, Nuosang. Don’t be upset. I won’t ask you again!”

“No, it’s not because of you. It’s because of me. If not for what you just said, I might never have realized what I had forgotten.”

“What did you forget?”

“My sister. The sister who loved me more than anyone else in the world.”

“Didn’t the two of you live together?”

“We did, once. But later, for some reason, we couldn’t anymore. Maybe we’ll never be able to again for the rest of our lives.”

Si Nuosang herself did not understand why she had suddenly become like this. Perhaps there were moments when some feeling would rise up within her, the pull of blood and kinship. Ye Xuan drew her into his arms, hoping to comfort her, hoping she would feel a little better.

Yet this scene was seen by Xuanyuan Juesi. Si Nuosang was crying, and Ye Xuan was holding her.

Xuanyuan Juesi clenched his fists. He was afraid he would lose control and go over to kill Ye Xuan himself. How dare he lay a hand on his woman. And Si Nuosang had asked him to trust her—was this what trust looked like?

He was so disappointed he had no words.

Si Nuosang, Si Nuosang, you have truly let me down.

His heart was full of disappointment. He turned away, intending to ignore the two of them, but after turning his head, he found he could not move a single step.