Xu Weiqiu's Advice

The hand resting on her shoulder dropped. "Oh? Really? What a coincidence."

"Don't deny that you were the one who sent that bee."

"So what if I was? I only wanted to know what sort of woman you were, to make that despicable bandit unable to forget you."

Xu Zhiqiu fell silent. She remembered that she sometimes picked at her feet when thinking things over, and she had done it several times that night. Surely that Mōmō Bee hadn't relayed her behavior into Naraku's field of vision?

Naraku walked up to Xu Zhiqiu, took her hand, and pressed it against his chest through his clothes. "Do you know? Whenever I hear anything about you, this heart won't stop pounding. The desire to have you only grows stronger."

"But isn't this heart yours now?" As Xu Zhiqiu spoke, she studied the face of the man before her and sighed. "Maybe it's because I have a pretty face, and I was the one who cared for him, that he developed that desire for something he couldn't have."

She paused briefly, then continued, "If someone else had saved him back then, I think the outcome would have been the same. He would have fallen in love with that person and, because he couldn't have them, remained unable to forget them."

Naraku said nothing, but his gaze visibly changed.

Xu Zhiqiu pulled her hand back and rubbed the spot his grip had reddened. "That's what Onigumo thought, but what about you, Naraku? Since you say you aren't him, this heart is yours, and the body you have now is yours. You need to have thoughts of your own. Don't blame everything on that heart's desires."

"After all these years, can you still not control it? Or have you yourself already become one with that heart?" Xu Zhiqiu watched him cautiously as she asked.

Naraku pressed his lips together without answering, his pale face looking even more fragile.

Xu Zhiqiu took his hands, their bones sharply defined. Even when she felt him stiffen, she kept her grip firm. "Onigumo and you are two different people. He isn't you, and you aren't him. I told you long ago that I don't like that sleazy bandit, so don't get the wrong idea about anything happening between us. And you need to be your own person, too."

After spending so much breath on that speech, Xu Zhiqiu said, "All right, I want to look around the courtyards nearby. Do you want to come with me?"

"Mm." Naraku lowered his eyes and murmured his agreement.

Only then did Xu Zhiqiu give him a relaxed smile. Holding his hand tightly, she led him toward another corridor.

Once she turned away, her expression changed, and she let out a breath. That had scared her to death. To make Naraku recognize that he was different from Onigumo, she had taken the initiative. He had better not disappoint her.

Otherwise, Naraku would keep thinking she was the cause of every change in his mood. Without the Jade in her possession, she only had one life now. If Naraku stabbed her to death with a tentacle in a fit of anger, she would truly breathe her last.

She was still young. She wanted to live a few more years.

Over the next few days, Xu Zhiqiu stayed in her room. Whenever she had nothing to do, she idled away the time putting on makeup and applying eyeshadow, striving to do an even better job than Naraku.

Naraku knew she liked brightly colored clothes, so he bought her a great many outfits.

Before long, everyone in the city knew that the young lord, who had been bedridden for years, had fallen for a woman. She came from a humble family, but the young lord loved her, and the lord could not stand against his beloved son's wishes, so he could only agree to the marriage.

When the frail yet distinguished young lord brought his fiancée to a family banquet, they saw what she looked like.

Although her family standing was rather low, she was exceptionally beautiful and possessed a natural elegance. She suited the young lord, so the match was not out of the question.

Xu Zhiqiu didn't much like showing her face before so many people, but she didn't mind putting on an act for a man who panted several times after taking just a few steps. Once she finished going through the motions, she could become a wealthy young woman.

Xu Zhiqiu gained little from the gifts. Gift-giving in this little island nation differed from that in her own country; they were merely little trinkets.

After the family banquet ended.

Xu Zhiqiu helped Naraku back to his room. Once the servants left, she immediately let go and shook out her numb hands. Looking at the man still pretending to be weak, she said, "You damn well need to know when to stop acting. You were putting your entire weight on me."

Naraku smiled gently. "Qiu, weren't you the one who didn't refuse to let me get close?"

"All right, all right. I don't want to waste any more words on you. These clothes are far too heavy, too. I'm going back to change first." As she spoke, Xu Zhiqiu turned, slid open the door, and headed toward her room.

Naraku sat on the floor, thinking over a few things, when the woman who had been leaving doubled back. He looked up at her.

"Remember to give me money and the deed to a large house among your family's properties. I'll come collect them in a bit." With that, Xu Zhiqiu slid the door shut and returned to her own room.

After taking off her heavy clothes, Xu Zhiqiu flopped straight onto the bed. She was exhausted and didn't want to move.

Dealing with people was more tiring than killing demons.

If she had a choice, she would rather kill demons than interact with all manner of people.

Lying on the bedding spread over the floor, Xu Zhiqiu soon fell asleep.

After bathing, Naraku leaned against the wall, propping his chin on his hand as he thought about Xu Zhiqiu. Although that woman said she would play along with him, she actually wanted to keep herself uninvolved.

Was she that unwilling to have anything to do with me?