The moonlight had turned purple. That was Tiffany's first sensation upon opening her eyes.
"Seven days ago... ah, it should be morning," Chen Rui's voice rang out. "Actually, I moved the final time forward by half a day, just in case."
Judging from Tiffany's silent expression, this explanation was utterly superfluous to her.
"Tiffany, your next stop will be the Blood Fiend Empire." Chen Rui did not beat around the bush, speaking bluntly. "Are you ready?"
Tiffany remained silent. Though her eyes no longer held their previous numbness, they were still indifferent. Just as Chen Rui thought the conversation was about to fall flat, she finally asked, "If it hadn't been for that person's request, would you still have saved me?"
Chen Rui considered it, then answered, "I'm not some indiscriminately good person. These hands of mine can be said to be stained with blood. Mercy toward an enemy is cruelty toward oneself. If we had been competitors, fighting over the Silver Casket in that mysterious Land of Floating Specters... I probably wouldn't have shown you mercy. But if it had been Light Holy Mountain... in that situation, I wouldn't have stood idly by. Even without someone's request, there would have been no need for any purpose or repayment, nor some grand-sounding righteous cause. I simply would have wanted to do it. Just like how you helped those people in that world. I once heard something: people cross a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters only to walk back to their own hearts. I'm glad your experiences did not lead you away from your heart, but brought you closer to it instead."
Though Chen Rui had not deliberately spied on Tiffany's actions, as the controller of the Star God Temple, all it took was a thought for him to learn