Ju Zi's cheeks flushed again, but this time it wasn't from embarrassment, but from a near-desperate longing and shyness.
Summoning all her courage, her voice, barely audible, carrying a softness and pleading that even she herself found unfamiliar, broke the heavy atmosphere of the alliance within the bedchamber:
"I... can I lean on you for a moment?" she added quickly, as if afraid of being rejected or misunderstood, "Just for a moment, really just for a moment..."
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her magnificent dress, her fingertips turning white from the force. Her eyes were filled with trepidation and a desperate vulnerability, as if this was the only piece of driftwood she could grasp.
The air froze again.
Toji's gaze refocused on Ju Zi's face.
He looked into her eyes, at the weariness and loneliness that couldn't be hidden beneath her feigned strength, at her slightly trembling lips and reddened eyes.
This woman, who strategized on the battlefield and was adept at maneuvering in the court, has now shed all her armor, revealing the wounded little girl inside who longs for support.
This request was so untimely, so fragile, so... devoid of any interest or calculation.
It was so pure it was almost laughable.
She didn't say Toji, but silently took two steps forward and walked to the large palace chair covered with luxurious velvet cushions.
Then, he sat down, turned his head slightly, and looked at the Ju Zi.
"Can."
Ju Zi's eyes lit up instantly, the light almost outshining the moonlight outside the window.
Overwhelmed with joy and relief, she felt a lump in her throat. She almost held her breath as she carefully moved to Toji's side.
The movements were so light, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Then, slowly and tentatively, she leaned her body gently against Toji's broad and hard shoulders.
When her cheek, through the thin fabric, truly touched that cold yet firm shoulder that contained inhuman strength, an indescribable mix of sorrow and warmth suddenly welled up in her eyes.
She immediately closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently, as if trying to suppress her surging emotions.
My nerves, which had been taut for far too long, finally got a moment of relaxation.
Ju Zi could clearly feel the other person's steady heartbeat seeping through the fabric; beneath that cold, hard exterior, pulsated with powerful Life.
She didn't speak, but simply leaned against it quietly, surrendering her entire weight to this brief, stolen moment of support.
Inside the bedchamber, only the sound of their almost intertwined breathing remained, along with the occasional distant sounds of palace patrols coming from outside the window.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment; all the conspiracies, killings, ambitions, and responsibilities... were shut out from this small, tranquil space.
Only her, and the silent, seemingly unchanging mountain beside her.
A moment later, Ju Zi seemed to go a step further, burying her face greedily in that cold, hard shoulder, breathing deeply.
Toji didn't have the usual man's perfume or sweat smell, only a very faint, chilling scent like a forest after a winter snowfall, mixed with a faint, lingering smell of rust and gunpowder that had long since seeped into his bones.
The scent wasn't pleasant, yet it carried a strange, comforting sense of reality.
It seemed to penetrate the layers of her magnificent palace attire, reaching deep into the weary depths of her soul.
The dizziness brought on by the sudden relaxation of a taut string, mixed with the grievances and bitterness of finally finding a sliver of support after years of loneliness and repression, crashed over her like a flood breaking through a dam.
The dam of reason collapsed completely at this moment.
The next moment, almost instinctively, Ju Zi tightened her arms and hugged Toji's strong waist tightly.
Her face was pressed tightly against his chest, as if she wanted to melt herself into this moment of security.
Toji's body stiffened instantly.
Like being thrown into boiling oil and then into ice water, that rock-solid stability suddenly froze. There was no movement, no pushing away, no response; it was just like a steel sculpture that had suddenly cooled down, letting the Ju Zi hold it tightly.
A few seconds later, Ju Zi suddenly let go of her hand, staggered back as if burned, her cheeks flushed red, and her eyes were filled with panic as she dared not look at Toji's face again.
To conceal her immense embarrassment, she forced herself to raise her head, her gaze scrutinizing and tinged with barely perceptible hurt, landing on Toji's still expressionless face, trying to find something familiar in that cold, hard expression to ease the suffocating chill from before.
"Why do I feel..." Ju Zi's voice trembled slightly, a hint of disappointment she herself didn't realize, "You seem to have changed a bit since we last met?"
She tried to make her tone sound like a casual greeting, but couldn't hide the deep probing in her voice.
"They've become more indifferent."
A brief silence fell over the bedchamber. Only the slightly rapid breathing of the Ju Zi echoed in the air.
Toji's gaze calmly fell on her face. In his deep, cold eyes, there was no anger at being offended, nor any fluctuation of emotion at being exposed.
It was as if the Ju Zi was commenting on a fact that had nothing to do with him. He remained silent for a moment, seemingly considering whether to answer, or rather, whether it was worth answering.
Finally, he spoke, his voice as calm as if he were simply stating that the weather was nice, but the content was earth-shattering:
"I already possess the qualifications to become a god." He paused, seemingly giving Ju Zi time to process this earth-shattering information, "Now, I think about how to become a god every single moment."
This is not about showing off, but rather about explaining a state of being—a state of absolute focus where one is stripped of worldly emotions and fully immersed in a higher-dimensional goal.
In his eyes, there was nothing to hide; whether Ju Zi believed it or not, or understood it, was irrelevant.
As for betrayal?
He didn't care at all.
As he said, there are very few beings on this continent who can threaten him anymore, and his cultivation has long since stagnated at the peak of the mortal realm, because there is not enough pressure to force him to go any further.
Since there was no external danger that could make him feel a sense of life or death, he would create danger himself.
For example, patiently wait for Huo Yuhao, who is favored by fate, to fully grow up, and then, at his most glorious moment, crush and shatter him in the most cruel way.
He will step over the bones of that chosen one and the shattered protagonist's halo to complete the final ascension to godhood.
"To become... to become a god?"
Ju Zi was completely stunned. Her beautiful eyes widened, her red lips parted slightly, and her face was full of disbelief.
This topic was too distant and too abstract for her.
She wasn't even a top-tier Soul Master; her talent was mediocre, and her lifelong pursuit was nothing more than controlling tangible power, struggling to survive in the mundane game of life.
Becoming a god?
That's something that only exists in legends.
The overwhelming amount of information left her mind blank, unsure how to respond.