“Aren’t you the same? I haven’t… seen…” Before Aya Tone could finish her sentence, she swallowed the rest of her words. She suddenly remembered how Li Jia had almost abducted Big White the first time they met. Perhaps the signs had been there all along, and she simply hadn’t noticed.
‘Never mind,’ Aya Tone decided, giving up on trying to make sense of it. ‘When soldiers come, generals will block; when water comes, earth will cover.’ After all, this was a society governed by laws now. Forcibly abducting women… or men… was illegal.
“Master, you’re not getting any younger. Why don’t you consider it?” Big White asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice. Wasn’t procreation supposed to be an animal’s instinct? Her master was already in her twenties, single for so many years. Didn’t she ever feel that urge? Those two women were certainly top-tier beauties, the ideal candidates to become the future little master’s mother.
“Me? Consider what?”
“Marriage.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Marriage is a monumental affair between two people, and it’s incredibly troublesome.” A shadow of sorrow, impossible to conceal, flickered in Aya Tone’s eyes as she seemed to recall something unpleasant.
“Could it be that you like men?”
“Get lost!” Aya Tone smacked Big White on the head. ‘If you can’t say anything sensible, then don’t speak at all! No one’s calling you mute!’ ‘Damn, that head is hard; my hand hurts.’ She retracted her hand, feigning composure.
Taking a deep breath, she explained earnestly, “Don’t you know, many girls nowadays have had their minds ‘invaded’? They talk about divorce at the drop of a hat. And what if I get married? What about Aya Jiu?
“I can’t possibly expect my wife to be infertile, can I? That would be disrespectful to her.”
Big White shook her head, trying hard to grasp the meaning behind her master’s words. In her understanding, there was no knowledge regarding this topic. But, the little master… she really seemed to like those two ladies.
“Ugh, let’s not talk about this anymore.” Why had the conversation even turned to marriage? It wasn’t as if she couldn’t live without a wife. ‘It’s a joke, really. My photo album is filled with pictures of hundreds of wives.’
“It was so obvious today. Aya Jiu really won’t notice, will she?”
“She won’t,” Big White stated with such certainty that one couldn’t help but want to question it.
However… some people always preferred to hear what they wanted to hear, unwilling to unveil the truth. “That’s good then.” Aya Tone thought, ‘Big White understands Aya Jiu even better than I do. If she says no, then it’s no!’
Big White’s eyes flickered imperceptibly before returning to normal. ‘The little master isn’t foolish; it’s only the master who is.’
****
Meanwhile, in Fire Finch’s apartment, the furniture, subjected to continuous high temperatures, melted into puddles of liquid, seeping into the floorboards and imbuing the surface with a strangely chaotic beauty. This was, in fact, the result of Fire Finch’s deliberate control. Otherwise, if the Undying Flame’s temperature were allowed to spread unhindered, the entire apartment building would have dissolved into magma, vanishing from the Yan’an City district.
“Your ability has changed!?” Fire Finch’s voice was filled with astonishment. Li Jia’s fair skin was now covered in a layer of silver scales, deflecting the Undying Flame. Even the flames within her body had been entirely expelled. Fire Finch reluctantly withdrew her Undying Flame. The scales resembled dragon scales, but beyond that, Li Jia showed no other draconic features. It was difficult to be certain. The only undeniable fact was that her ability had undoubtedly transformed. She was no longer the spatial mage she once was.
“…”
Li Jia remained silent, her body limp and sprawling on the slightly warm floor. The original floor mat had long since turned to ash in the flames. Her hair clung wildly to her pale cheeks, and beads of sweat glistened on the areas not covered by scales, staining her fair skin crimson. Her body had been healed by the Undying Flame, leaving no scars. However, the meridians damaged during the clash of the two energies left her unable to recover for a while. Her brows were twisted into a knot, and each breath seemed to carry a pang of agony. It was purely the phantom pain lingering in her mind.
Fire Finch raised an eyebrow. ‘So, you won’t answer me, huh?’ A mischievous grin playing on her lips, she reached out and brazenly touched Li Jia’s prominent curve. If even the children of Nancun could bully the elderly and infirm, then taking advantage of someone’s vulnerable state didn’t seem so shameful after all. ‘Hiss, so smooth, so soft.’ After a playful, ‘blind man’s massage,’ she finally withdrew her hand, utterly unconcerned by Li Jia’s murderous gaze.
“Stop glaring. While I haven’t completely tidied up your mess, you’re at least back to your original state.” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to fully refine and tame the magic within Li Jia, but rather that the magic contained an energy no weaker than the Undying Flame itself, intimately connected to the scales on Li Jia’s skin. It felt incredibly familiar.
Li Jia: “…” ‘It’s not your pain, so you speak without feeling.’ After a long rest, her mind finally began to calm. The phantom pains came in waves, but gradually, she grew accustomed to them.
“It evolved,” Li Jia finally said. “President Ao said it was because that fruit absorbed his aura, leading to the mutation.”
“You can talk now?” Fire Finch’s gaze shifted from the tablet in her hand, clearly indicating she hadn’t heard Li Jia’s previous words.
Li Jia: “…” She felt an urge to beat Fire Finch senseless.
She let out a soft sigh, then repeated her words from before.
“I’m not deaf; I heard you. There’s no need to repeat yourself,” Fire Finch said, digging a finger into her ear.
Fire Finch’s antics made Li Jia’s teeth itch. “You’re not deaf; you’re blind! Now go get me some clothes!” She was still sitting on the floor, bare-chested. ‘I’m so angry, I’m shaking and cold!’
After a moment, Fire Finch emerged from the untouched bedroom, holding a set of Li Jia’s clothes. Li Jia often stayed over, so naturally, she had clothes at Fire Finch’s place.
Once dressed, Li Jia approached Fire Finch, her brows furrowed. “What are you calculating?”
“Calculating how much money you, Miss, owe me,” Fire Finch replied without looking up.
“Compensation? You want me to pay tens of millions? Are you insane?” Li Jia’s scalp prickled as she stared at the seven-figure sum on the calculator. Though she had money, she wasn’t a fool. It was obvious something fishy was going on.
“I know you’re confused, but it’s alright, I’ll explain,” Fire Finch said, adopting the air of a shrewd businesswoman. She pointed to where the counter used to be. “Remember the vase that was displayed there?”
“From the Shang and Zhou dynasties.” Then she pointed to a spot nearby. “Made of submerged ancient wood.” She continued, “For a sisterly price, I won’t charge much for the treatment fee—just a casual million or so will do. Plus all the losses… How about a ‘small goal’?”
Listening to her, Li Jia was so infuriated her back molars nearly ground to dust. She had never encountered such a brazenly shameless person. That vase, she remembered clearly, was something she had casually bought at a ceramics shop while shopping with Fire Finch. Even after the discount, it was only a hundred or so yuan. ‘Shang and Zhou? More like last week!’ At that moment, the pain in her body was completely swept away by her anger.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her desire to punch Fire Finch. “Fine, but this apartment belongs to me. How about that?” ‘You’re taking advantage of the situation, aren’t you? Then it’s perfectly reasonable for me to seize the opportunity to buy the apartment.’