"Time was not merely the concept of a single long river called 'past, present, and future.' Once people formed that fixed conceptual mold, their achievements stopped there."
Yao Guang and Qin Yi strolled through the peach grove. They were clearly still the same two people, yet once their bearing changed—cold and aloof—it was as though Kunlun snow had been spread across the path beneath the peach blossoms, chilling the very air around them.
The appearance of a young girl brimming with adoration for her master had utterly become that of another person... The only similarity was the commanding aura shared by the Heavenly Emperor and the Human Emperor, and in Yao Guang's current state, it stood out all the more.
In any case, that feeling... always made Qin Yi think of goddesses such as the Nine Heavens Divine Maiden, of sovereign majesty high above all, and of a saying he had seen many years ago: the more cold and detached from the world she was, the more one wanted to see her fall into the mortal realm; the more light as drifting clouds and gentle as a breeze she was, the more one wanted to see her twist and turn in pleading for pleasure; the more lofty and exalted she was... Forget it.
That was the vile streak buried deep in human nature.
When he had once spoken harshly to Minghe, it had been because of this... And Bangbang's twisted delight in seeing those "Fairies" with hairpins askew and temples disordered also stemmed from this—or, more precisely, from Yao Guang.
His thoughts had wandered so far that he had nearly failed to listen to what Yao Guang was saying.
Yao Guang glanced at him. "What are you thinking about?"
Qin Yi came back to himself. Fortunately, having cultivated to this