Fang Cheng and Oni Yunjie were like two fish, chasing and playing in the vast Sky Lake.
They occasionally brushed against each other intimately, but Oni Yunjie didn't mind, and Fang Cheng wasn't one to get coy about it.
After swimming back and forth to their hearts' content, Fang Cheng finally surfaced.
He was now in the middle of the lake, with the distant shore reduced to a thin black line.
The bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the entire lake like a gigantic silver mirror.
It was hard to enjoy scenery like this anywhere else. Fang Cheng let himself float on the water, drifting with the breeze as he quietly listened to its gentle lapping.
Soon, Oni Yunjie surfaced too. She floated beside him, shoulder to shoulder, admiring the bright moon in the sky.
After a long while, Fang Cheng finally spoke. "I went out for a walk recently, and I heard a lot of monsters in Ibuki City calling you cold-blooded behind your back."
He was referring to Oni Yunjie's recent purge. It had left the Iron-Cast Palace in a state of unrest, and dealt a serious blow to her reputation.
Oni Yunjie had an excellent reputation in the Iron-Cast Palace and throughout Ibuki City. The people and officials alike adored her.
Now, with her sudden resort to the sword, many monsters couldn't accept it.
Rumors had already started calling her a cold-blooded tyrant, putting her in the same league as Shuten-doji.
Oni Yunjie didn't try to defend herself. A shadow of sadness passed through her eyes. "Do you think I was wrong, too?"
Recently, even Yuguang Kaori and Tsukikage Hoshi had urged her not to go too far.
"Wrong? No. What you did was right."
Fang Cheng replied, "Eliminating every destabilizing factor before the competition