"...My apologies. I mistook you for someone else."
Realizing that she had mistaken a complete stranger for Baiheng—and had even gone so far as to act that way—Jingliu, who had lived for so many years, rarely felt a trace of embarrassment.
After all her long life, after all she had weathered, to lose her composure so thoroughly in front of a stranger—
If word of this got out, even Jing Yuan would probably laugh himself sick.
"It's all right," Cecilia replied softly.
Then she lowered her gaze to the finger that was still damp with saliva, and, as if nothing were amiss, casually wiped it on Jingliu's robe.
Catching that movement from the corner of her eye, the look of awkwardness on Jingliu's face deepened.
"What is it?" Cecilia looked up, all innocence.
Jingliu opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Forget it. She had been the one to lose control first. The other woman had only... used her clothes to wipe her hand, that was all.
Though the gesture was a little too naturally done, compared to what she herself had just done, it hardly counted for much.
"Where is this place?" Jingliu asked, trying to change the subject as she glanced around the room.
"An inn."
"You were having a mara episode just now, so I brought you back here."
As she spoke, Cecilia rose to her feet and walked to the window, pushing it open so Jingliu could see for herself that they were still on the Luofu.
Jingliu fell silent for a moment.
She looked down at her hands. The violent impulses had subsided, replaced by a calm she had not felt in a very, very long time.
This feeling...
It had been ages since she last experienced anything like it.
"...Where is my blindfold?"
She lifted a hand to her face. The strip of cloth that always covered her eyes was nowhere to be found.
Cecilia pointed toward the bedside table. "I took it off. Wearing that while you sleep can't be comfortable, can it?"
Following her gesture, Jingliu saw the black blindfold lying quietly atop the table.
"What exactly are you?"
Cecilia smiled faintly. "I told you already. My name is Cecilia. I'm a doctor."
"Ordinary doctors cannot suppress mara," Jingliu said in a low voice.
That much was true. By her own senses, her mind felt astonishingly clear right now—as if she had returned to the vigor of her youth.
"I never said I was an ordinary doctor," Cecilia replied matter-of-factly.
That left Jingliu speechless for a moment.
She stared at the white-haired woman before her, trying to read something from her.
But Cecilia's temperament was too gentle—so gentle that it was hard to feel wary in her presence.
"...Why did you help me?"
That was the second question Jingliu asked, and the more important one.
Cecilia tilted her head, seeming to genuinely consider it.
"Hmm... why indeed?"
She thought for a moment, then gave an answer Jingliu had not expected at all.
"Maybe because I rather like children."
Jingliu: "..."
Was this woman teasing her?
At Jingliu's age, there were not many in the galaxy who could call her a child.
Then Jingliu unconsciously lifted a hand and touched her lips.
There still seemed to be a faint lingering sweetness there.
She wanted... another taste.
"What did you feed me just now?" Jingliu asked.
"Blood," Cecilia answered openly.
Jingliu's hand paused.
What sort of creature's blood could possibly taste sweet?
"My blood," Cecilia added, as though she had heard the thought in Jingliu's mind.
"But don't worry. It's nothing strange. My blood has healing properties. It can help suppress your mara for the time being."
Jingliu fell silent.
Suppress mara...
Methods like that were not unheard of—just as with that general from the Xianzhou of old—but someone like the woman before her, who could do it merely with her own blood...
That was something Jingliu had never heard of.
"So what price do you want in return?" Jingliu lifted her head again.
"I don't believe anyone would help a stranger for no reason, especially not one suffering from mara who could lose control at any time."
Especially when the person in question was clearly powerful.
Yes—someone of Jingliu's caliber could tell very plainly that the woman before her was no ordinary healer. She was powerful as well.
Looking at the highly guarded woman before her, Cecilia gave a soft sigh.
"All right. If you insist on calling it a price, then for the time being, you'll be under my supervision."
"What does that mean?" Jingliu clearly did not understand.
Did this woman mean to take her in, just by relying on this favor?
If that was the case, then Jingliu would have to disappoint her.
But Cecilia's next reaction was unexpected.
She turned and leaned against the window, letting the sunlight from outside spill over her.
The sight was so soft, so warm, that Jingliu was momentarily dazed.
For an instant, it was as though she were seeing some old friend from long ago—standing in sunlight on a lazy afternoon, turning back to smile at her.
And in that instant, Jingliu actually felt that joining this woman's camp might not have been entirely impossible.
"I mean exactly what I said," Cecilia went on.
"I'm very interested in the symptoms of mara. And judging by the state you're in, you don't want to die that early either, do you?"
"I can suppress your mara for free. But during treatment, you have to listen to me."
Jingliu listened in silence, those crimson eyes fixed on Cecilia as if trying to judge the truth of her words.
"That's all?" she asked.
"That's all." Cecilia nodded.
It was, in truth, an absurdly generous deal. Free treatment for what could only be called an incurable affliction, with the only price being that she behave herself and obey for a time.
Ordinary people would never reject such a bargain—at least not unless the one offering it looked obviously sinister.
Unfortunately, simple as the condition was, Jingliu still could not accept it.
To her, mara did indeed bring no small amount of trouble at times, but she was not someone who clung to life.
She only wanted to fulfill her purpose before she died—to carry out the plan to kill the Abundance.
And the reason she had returned to the Luofu now, bearing the weight of old crimes, was because she already had a plan of her own, and allies besides.
To have her obey the arrangements of a total stranger from this point onward?
Impossible.
So Jingliu gave her answer.
"I'm sorry. I cannot agree to that. But I will remember this kindness. If an opportunity presents itself in the future, I will repay it."
Unfortunately, Cecilia was not someone who played by ordinary rules.
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't asking."
"You will listen to me."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
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