Zero couldn't give himself what he wanted?
That part was true.
What Jingliu wanted was for Zero to care more about himself.
And for now, he really couldn't do that.
Could a few words, a few relationships, really make Zero abandon convictions he'd held onto all this time?
That would be far too arrogant.
Jingliu held Zero's hand and slowly slid upward, fingers closing around his wrist.
She softened her tone and added, "You'd say you don't want anything. That you don't need me to give you anything at all."
There were things Zero himself could do, yet he couldn't tolerate others doing the same.
Likewise, whenever Zero said something like this, all Jingliu needed to do was turn the question back on him.
Just as she expected, Zero fell silent.
For some reason, Zandar suddenly came to mind.
She remembered the sentence the scholar had left behind before departing.
Jingliu abruptly lifted her head.
Zero looked puzzled. He tilted his head slightly and watched her quietly.
Jingliu looked back at him, momentarily stunned.
Her lover's expression was no different from usual, still gentle and steadfast as ever.
As though no matter what happened, it had always been within Zero's expectations.
Jingliu stared at that face, her gaze uncontrollably falling to the mole at the corner of his eye.
A thought flared through her mind like wildfire, burning away every shred of reason until even her cheeks turned scorching hot.
Thanks to the experience Jingliu had accumulated on the battlefield, even with her mind in complete chaos, she could still spare enough focus to assess the situation.
Before she could suppress the thought, her mind had already reached a conclusion first.
It would work.
Jingliu often dealt with colleagues from the Ten-Lords Commission. Sometimes she led Cloud Knights escorting dangerous criminals, sometimes she participated in internal interrogations.
Her coworkers had once jokingly called her an unofficial member of the Ten-Lords Commission. They had even given her a pair of handcuffs meant only for internal personnel.
And those handcuffs were at home.
Jingliu lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions within them.
Zero would never guard himself against her, much less raise a hand against her.
If they crossed the line before marriage…
Zero would marry her. He would take responsibility for her.
But…
Zero would be unhappy.
His mood was already low to begin with.
Trying to keep him this way… how was that any different from holding a blade to her own throat?
Jingliu lightly stroked the wrist she held.
When she spoke again, there was the faint trace of a smile in her voice.
"Other than that, is there anything else you want to say?"
She raised a brow. Before Zero could answer, she repeated the words he'd once said to her in Scalegorge Waterscape.
"Looks like there isn't."
Jingliu casually tugged him along by the wrist and continued walking deeper inside.
After only a few steps, she heard Zero say, "…I don't know what to say."
At those words, fury surged through Jingliu.
She walked ahead without slowing.
Too much had happened today.
First, Jingliu had found a way to meet with the Marshal. Then she learned Zero's true identity, along with the forged gift transfer agreement he had painstakingly prepared.
After returning to the Luofu, she went with her superior to Scalegorge Waterscape. After a long conversation with Zero, she made another trip to the Ten-Lords Commission. Only after finally returning home did she begin choosing clothes for Zero.
After filling the shopping cart and placing the order, Jingliu started making the ring she would need for the proposal.
At the time, she had thought that they'd met far too late.
All she could do was sift through her memories and recall fragments of knowledge she had memorized from history books.
Most people's joys and sorrows, merits and sins, when written into history, amounted to only a few sparse lines, lightly summarizing their existence.
And Jingliu could only rely on those few lines, trying to piece together the past of Zero she had never experienced.
It was an unbridgeable gulf.
But it didn't matter.
From here on, she would walk the rest of the road beside him.
Before Jingliu could even finish the first rough shape of the ring, the Marshal came looking for her, asking about Zero's whereabouts.
Her breathing stalled, and she instantly remembered that bloodstained blade before meeting up with the Marshal and the others.
Using a certain jade abacus device, Jingliu and the others overheard part of the conversation between Zero and two other people.
While suppressing the rage in her heart, she reminded everyone else to remove their earpieces.
This matter… absolutely could not be allowed to reach Zero's ears.
The entire way back, Jingliu had been trying to keep her emotions under control. She didn't want to take her anger out on Zero.
She withdrew her thoughts and, with her back to him, took a deep breath.
Didn't she know Zero well enough by now?
If Jingliu ever brought up breaking up, Zero would never try to stop her.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Jingliu became even angrier.
She quietly took several deep breaths.
To steady her emotions, Jingliu instead began reflecting on her own mistakes.
Setting the facts aside, was she really blameless?
Take that knife, for example.
Aside from that barbecue meal, when had Zero ever cooked before?
If only she had realized the issue sooner…
The two of them reached the sitting room.
Jingliu stopped walking and pressed Zero down onto the sofa without explanation.
She repeated almost instinctively, "You said you don't know what to say?"
Jingliu lowered her head. The moment she saw the slight surprise on his face, the anger she'd been suppressing instantly dissipated.
She let out a soft laugh and cupped Zero's face with both hands.
"It's fine. I'll teach you."
Jingliu bent down and kissed him.
She pried apart his lips and teeth, drawing him into a long kiss. Only after both their breathing had fallen out of rhythm did she pull away and ask with a smile, "Did you learn it?"
Zero's breathing was slightly uneven as he replied softly, "I…"
"Am close to immortal."
"And maybe… someday, I'll still die like a short-life species."
When the topic turned to life and death, Jingliu's expression didn't change in the slightest.
She quickly came up with a response.
Throw the question back to Zero.
Jingliu asked, "What are you worried about? Worried that one day, you'll grow old like a short-life species? That I'll leave you?"
"What if it were me instead? If I were a short-life species, would you leave me?"
Zero fell silent once again.
Seeing him at a loss for words, Jingliu continued lightly, "You wouldn't."
"You're not that kind of person."
"You've never judged anyone for their appearance, gender, or age."
Jingliu frowned faintly. She reached out and kneaded Zero's cheeks with measured force.
"Now it's my turn."
"I'm very angry."
"You hid your true identity from me."
"You didn't say anything, and I didn't ask…" Were you planning to break up with me?
Jingliu suddenly stopped herself.
Zero really would break up with her.
She changed her wording and asked instead, "What exactly were you trying to do?"
"You forged a gift transfer agreement using my signature. You can at least admit that much, can't you?"
Zero smiled helplessly and let her pinch his face.
"Alright, I admit it."
"So how does Lady Sword Champion plan to punish me?"
Jingliu lowered her gaze, glancing at the ring finger of his left hand before replying, "I'll spare you this once."
There was a deeper meaning hidden in her tone.
"But remember this. You owe me one."
After saying that, she released his face.
Without giving Zero any time to think, Jingliu moved with lightning speed. She grabbed his left hand, took his middle finger into her mouth, and bit down lightly on the knuckle, leaving behind a ring-shaped bite mark.
A rare look of confusion appeared on Zero's face.
He looked at the bite mark on his finger, then at the culprit responsible for it. After a long while, he still didn't say a single word.
Jingliu instinctively looked away.
This ring… was far too perfunctory.
But it didn't matter. Later, she would give Zero something better.
Jingliu could practically hear her own heartbeat.
She forced herself to meet Zero's eyes and softly said, "I saw the words you left for me."
"You compared me to the moon."
"But whether it's a crescent moon or a full moon, it's still borrowing the sun's light."
"What if there were no sun?"
Jingliu paused, deliberately using honorifics as she smiled and asked, "Would you be willing to keep letting a mortal protect you?"
Zero said nothing. He simply looked at Jingliu.
Then he let out a deep sigh and raised his arms to embrace her.
Jingliu rarely spoke openly about what she truly felt. She genuinely couldn't think of any romantic words.
After struggling for a while, unable to come up with any sweet talk, she suddenly remembered the moon lamp Zero had given her.
She blinked slowly and hugged the person in her arms tightly.
'The sun of the Xianzhou is in my arms.'
'From now on, he no longer needs to drive away the darkness for the people. He no longer needs to live alone high above the world.'
'I'll leave a light on for him.'