Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 4059 - A Girl's Heart

"Shallow?" Tianming was speechless. How could anyone have endured being ravaged by her transformed state?

Just as Tianming was about to leave, Zi Zhen pulled on him with her head held low and nervously said, "Wait, don't leave yet."

"It's been more than two years. Are we staying for more?" he asked.

"They'll definitely know that I... I...." She looked down even more. It was hard to imagine someone with such a strong personality as hers acting like this.

"You're saying you don't know how to face them?" Tianming gave it some thought and felt like it was a bit of a pain. Qingyu was fine, but Moran....

"I know!" She tightly grasped his hand. "Quickly, her too...."

"What? Weren't you unhappy about her?"

"So what? Does that mean you can cast her away?" Zi Zhen said, pouting.

"Of course not."

"Then why not just do it?" She bit her lip and looked outside. "Fine. She's been with you long enough and has been silently watching by your side the entire time. She needs reassurance from you far more than I do. You can't leave her hanging like this when she likes you so much. Don't make her watch you and constantly wait for you to give the green light. Can't you be more proactive?"

"Is that so?" Tianming felt rather awkward. "It isn’t like I'm evaluating her until I give her a passing mark or something! I’d been waiting until I became a cosmic god! More importantly, I want to earn the approval from both of you first before—"

"Approval? Do you think anyone will just tell you 'I’m ready, go ahead!'?" She glared at him with contempt. "Normally, you aren’t this stupid. Why are you like a dumb block of wood when it comes to these affairs? Are you a poser? Do you want everything done for you?"

Tianming was speechless.

"Either way, if you don't give it to her, too, I won't be able to bring myself to see her."

"Right now?"

"Yeah! Don't keep her waiting any longer. How long has she been waiting? It started all the way back when the Sun was still Orderia. When you were having the time of your life in Myriadpath Valley, wasn't she the one who was constantly by your side? Why’d that auntie of yours get a turn first? Doesn’t Moran measure up?" Zi Zhen said, still disgruntled.

"To think that the day you’d speak up for Moran would come," Tianming said, surprised.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I've come to understand her after being miffed at her for so long. Mark my words. Don't wait for any 'magical opportunity' to come. You know we want it. You know you want it. Don't make us follow you to hell and back while waiting for your nod of approval."

"Well, if you put it that way, I...." Tianming felt that there was an order to things, but Zi Zhen did make sense. It was rather awkward for them to constantly have to wait. They had been with him for so long, so it wasn't like they could simply break it off, leave, and forget him. Everything was in place; what was there to wait for?

"Go ahead." Zi Zhen gave his waist a pinch.

"Alright...." Tianming stroked her head and smiled. "Thank you for helping me overcome my hesitation."

She nodded and didn't say anything else. As Tianming left, she stayed behind, staring at him from a distance.

***

On the way there, Ji Ji's pink spiritform sat on Tianming's shoulder with a smirk. "Let me explain a girl's heart to you."

"I'm listening," he said.

"Soon, you’ll seek out Ling'er. Zi Zhen knows that she alone wouldn't be able to steal your attention away from her at all. So she needs allies, which is why she has to form an alliance with Little Fish. Otherwise, she can't even compete with Ling'er," Ji Ji said.

Tianming was speechless.

"Before you became a cosmic god, she kept dropping hints because she knew that time was running out. If you meet Ling'er without affirming your commitment to Zi Zhen, she’d be in trouble and have to awkwardly leave. Even though she got hurt this time around, she made it out with the jackpot. She knows that, given your personality, there's no way you'd end something once you start it," Ji Ji continued.

"I see!" Tianming feigned gaining a sudden insight.

"Now let me break down your thoughts!" Ji Ji chuckled.

"No need for that!"

"Getting desperate, are we? You know full well what they're thinking, but you're unable to make a move because of your conflicting feelings. Luckily for you, the perfect chance has come where you can remain passive and still get what you want!" Ji Ji didn't hold back in the slightest.

"How convenient for you for it to be framed as something everyone wants. At the end of the day, it's still mostly what you want. This was your plan to begin with," Xian Xian said.

"Did it occur to you two that the fact that I'm willing to even talk to you about it is because I've already figured out how to deal with it?" Tianming asked.

"Of course you have! You've figured out how to get them all, you little shit!" Xian Xian spat.

"What other choice did he have? He sowed the seeds of love himself," Ji Ji said.

"That's true. Those two girls truly love him to bits. Every little thing they do is done with getting close to him in mind! How sinful!" Xian Xian had spent enough time with Zi Zhen and Moran to grow fond of them, so it was troubling for it, too.

"Don't worry, I have more than enough love to give. Even if one part of it goes to others, Ling'er will still have plenty to take from me," Tianming said.

"One part? Make that five, you piece of shit," Ji Ji said.

Xian Xian sighed, "The side chicks made their move right before the main girl showed up. What great timing!"

"If it were me, I'd do it, too," Ji Ji said.

"Don't tell me that you're lusting after Little Li?!" Xian Xian suspiciously side-eyed Ji Ji.

"Eww!" Ji Ji vomited.

***

Tianming knocked on the door of the room where Moran was cultivating.

"Who is it?" came a soft, shaky voice. She sounded somewhat anxious and sensitive.

"It's me," Tianming said.

"What do you need?" Moran softly asked.

"Open." The door opened on Tianming's command. It was his ark, so he could enter anyone's room as he pleased.

Moran suddenly rose in a panic, her long hair falling to her waist. Her ink-green eyes had a tint of red.

"Ji Ji used Vaporize, so I have to go back to the Sun to recharge it," Tianming said, not bringing the matter of Zi Zhen up at all.

"So?" she asked.

"Come back with me," Tianming said.

Moran pondered for a moment in silence before nodding. "Okay."

"Let's go." Tianming left the ark with Moran following behind, all fifty of her.

She suddenly said, "I... I want to take a slight detour. Can I—"

Tianming didn't answer and pulled her hand, leading her toward the dark mirror that led to the Lower Star Ruins.