Now Standing Before You Is!

Jinhsi.

Wanted to see him?

Ling An didn't know much about Jinhsi.

The only thing he knew for certain was that she was Jinzhou's magistrate, the person who oversaw the city's affairs.

And its sole decision-maker.

Someone like that wanted to see him?

Ling An began reviewing whether he had done anything bad during his time in Jinzhou.

After thinking it over for ages, he could only recall occasionally roaming around in cat form to mooch food, drinks, and a few intimate touches.

He didn't seem to have committed any heinous crimes.

Besides, he had saved Chixia and Yangyang. Surely that counted as a good deed.

Ling An silently weighed it all up, scoring himself.

Even in his previous life, he had never met such a high-ranking official face-to-face.

Across from him, Sanhua thought he had reservations.

She stepped toward Ling An.

She crouched in front of him, her eyes full of wariness, yet spoke in a low voice:

"The magistrate said that if you refused to come, I should invite you this way."

Ling An froze.

What way?

As she spoke, Sanhua opened her arms and scooped him up.

Under the moonlight, an almost imperceptible ripple passed over her cold, iron-hard expression.

This time, Ling An was the one left at a loss.

His shameless face reddened.

It's over.

My lifelong reputation is ruined.

How am I supposed to fight this? They've seen right through me!

A wave of shame rose in Ling An's heart.

To escape that shame, he decided to...

Bury his head even deeper.

Sanhua let out a soft sound, her body trembling despite herself.

That trembling came not from embarrassment or anything of the sort, but from killing intent.

Yet, ever the professional, she suppressed it.

In her eyes, what she held was not an adorable kitty, but a terrifying Rumbling Tide-Class Tacet Discord.

Countless times, she had wished she had never possessed the ability to see frequencies.

And now, that feeling was stronger than ever.

At last, Sanhua's relieved voice sounded beside Ling An's ear. "We're here."

Ling An wriggled his head out to look around.

They were on the rooftop of a tall building, open on all sides, with a gentle breeze blowing through.

Sanhua set him on the ground and hurriedly excused herself.

Her footsteps were swift.

Outside of battle, she had probably never run so fast.

Ling An proudly raised his head. His dazzling résumé had gained another entry-

The man who scared Sanhua off without lifting a finger.

Just as he surveyed his surroundings, a gentle voice came from ahead:

"You're here."

Ling An focused his gaze.

Beneath the pure white moonlight, Jinhsi slowly turned, revealing a faint smile.

Her brows and hair were both white, making even the moonlight seem pale by comparison.

Simply standing there in the night, she resembled a lily of the valley rising from a black vase.

Apart from the world, untouched by it.

Ling An stared, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

He couldn't help thinking-

Now standing before you is:

The chosen girl who ascended to the position of Jinzhou's magistrate at thirteen;

The Resonator of the mighty Sentinel-Jué;

The leader who single-handedly held Jinzhou, Huanglong's gateway;

The powerful figure who would soon lead Jinzhou out of the shadow of the Huanglong-Crownless War;

The one destined to stand alone against the Sentinel Jué-

Jinhsi, Magistrate Jin!

Standing before him, Jinhsi leaned forward slightly and waved, asking gently, "How has your stay in Jinzhou been?"

That single sentence revealed her complete grasp of the situation.

Ling An nodded woodenly and opened his mouth:

"The first time I visited the Louvre, I didn't feel anything particularly special..."

Jinhsi's brows drew together slightly in confusion.

Still, she politely asked, "Why was that?"

Ling An answered without hesitation, "Because I had already met my Mona Lisa."

Jinhsi couldn't help chuckling. Though she didn't understand the reference, with her intelligence, she could more or less guess what Ling An meant.

"I'll take that as a compliment." She smiled faintly, without a trace of shyness.

Ling An smiled slightly, knowing there was no need to hide anymore.

He transformed.

His true Crownless form emerged.

Jinhsi watched silently, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

She had long known that Ling An possessed the strength of a Rumbling Tide-Class Tacet Discord.

She simply hadn't expected him to be Crownless.

"It was when I first entered the city, wasn't it?" Ling An said with certainty.

Even the Norfall Barrens had Tacet Discord Detection Towers scattered everywhere.

Let alone somewhere as important as Jinzhou.

Jinhsi nodded slightly. "Because of Rover, I chose to trust you then. She was by your side."

Ling An spread his hands. "Looks like I haven't betrayed that trust?"

"Indeed," Jinhsi agreed. "Just as I suspected, you're different from other Tacet Discords."

Ling An chuckled softly. "Taking gambles like that can easily go wrong."

At his words, Jinhsi first covered her mouth with a smile, then silently turned her gaze toward the bright moon overhead.

An almost imperceptible melancholy inevitably crept into her voice:

"As Huanglong's gateway, Jinzhou is coveted by countless people. And with the Huanglong-Crownless War behind us, I don't lack the courage to gamble, so long as the outcome moves in the direction I desire."

"Aren't you afraid I'm only pretending? That I'm actually a terrifying Tacet Discord..."

As Ling An spoke, his gaze met Jinhsi's tranquil eyes.

He stopped, and the two gazed at each other silently in the night breeze.

After a long while, Ling An conceded defeat.

He lowered his head in dejection. "Fine, I admit it. You're a good judge of character."

Jinhsi couldn't help letting out a laugh as she tucked a breeze-tousled strand of hair behind her ear:

"It seems my gamble paid off."

Ling An spoke bluntly. "You wouldn't have called me here without a reason. Go on. You surely didn't bring me here just for a heart-to-heart."

"That's right." Jinhsi's expression slowly grew serious.

Ling An straightened up to listen.

She slowly said, "Because lately, I've been thinking of keeping a cat."

Oh, keeping a cat. I thought it was something serious...

Wait!

Ling An raised his head, dumbfounded.

No, you...

Magistrate Jin???

"Pfft." Jinhsi covered her mouth and chuckled. "I'm teasing."

Ling An coughed awkwardly a few times.

Good grief, what a sense of humor you have.

She had nearly left him choking on his own breath.

Still, Jinhsi's teasing did ease much of the wariness in Ling An's heart.

He hadn't expected this woman, as steady as a mountain, to have such a side to her.

Perhaps, if she didn't bear responsibility for all of Jinzhou's survival, she might have been an ordinary, lively girl.

Jinhsi gave a light cough and got back on track. "The Fractsidus have their eyes on Jinzhou. I assume you know that."

Ling An nodded without hiding it.

"I want to work with you to fend off the crisis that is about to descend on Jinzhou."

Ling An fell silent at her words.

He said quietly, "As the saying goes, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. If Jinzhou's sky falls, Rover will still be there to hold it up..."

"Rover is special, but so are you." Jinhsi spoke slowly, her tone firm:

"Rover is this world's constant, while you are its sole variable."

Ling An looked at her.

Jinhsi was clever. She had sensed that Ling An was out of the ordinary.

At the same time, she had great ambitions.

Or rather, wanting to protect Jinzhou and its people in such chaotic times was itself a kind of ambition.

"If you agree, you'll be free to come and go within Jinzhou, and you won't need to worry about your identity. I'll arrange a suitable one for you." Jinhsi continued laying out her bargaining chips.

Ling An didn't answer.

He was weighing the gains and losses.

In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Zhang Wuji's mother had once said that the prettier a woman was, the more dangerous she was.

He was no longer a child who would abandon his position for a little sweetener.

As he silently weighed the gains and losses.

In a daze, he realized Jinhsi had somehow appeared before him.

Under Ling An's startled gaze, she rose onto her toes and gently stroked his head.

She spoke softly. "Or must I talk to you like this, you little lecherous kitty?"