Zi Jie sat upright and proper. Lightning flashed through the doors and windows, illuminating his once-arrogant face again and again.
"When you first saw today, did you think I was ridiculous...?"
His heart felt terribly conflicted. He wanted to hear the white dragon speak the truth and say the word "ridiculous," yet he also hoped she would say something that spared his dignity. Only at the very end did he realize how much reputation and posterity's judgment of him mattered.
Bai Yujun floated in the mist with her hands behind her back, expressionless.
"Perhaps I did think it was ridiculous. In truth, I could not be bothered to judge you. I have seen the Past and Future of far too many living beings and all things, and I grew weary of it long ago. You should be content rather than resentful."
Thunder deafened the ears, yet Bai Yujun's voice remained ethereal and clear. Zi Jie heard every word.
He had not expected such an answer.
But how could he be content? His grand ambition and mighty enterprise had yet to succeed. Vast territories awaited his armies' conquest. Just as he stood before limitless possibilities, everything had abruptly ended, cut off at a stroke. Death was imminent. Once dead, there would be nothing left. How could he be content?
As if she knew what he was thinking, Bai Yujun said coldly.
"Have you ever known hunger?"
"..."
Zi Jie had not merely never experienced it; he had never even considered those two words.
"Have you ever known the ache in your waist and legs, or how much it hurts when the blisters on your hands burst?"
"..."
He could not even understand what those words meant. Why would one's waist or legs ache? How painful could a tiny blister on one's