A King’s Doubt and a Spy’s Defiance

“I…”

Bai Qiao was momentarily speechless, or perhaps, her mind utterly failed to register what had just transpired. Only moments ago, he had been a man whose demeanor was as gentle as flowing water, one she couldn’t even push away. Yet now, his gaze bristled with savagery and wariness, and the tip of the longsword pressed against her throat sent an ineffable chill permeating her very being, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably.

“Heh~”

Bai Chen let out a soft laugh, devoid of the gentle warmth from moments before, replaced instead by sheer mockery.

“I must say… for a spy, you started rather well. But you lack the composure to remain unflustered even as Mount Tai crumbles before you. You still require training… however…”

Bai Chen sneered,

“It seems you won’t have that opportunity.”

Though the preceding words had left her utterly bewildered, even a fool could discern the clear intent behind his final statement—a murderous resolve. Bai Qiao instinctively flinched backward. Observing her subtle retreat, Bai Chen’s mocking smile widened. He strode forward, completely disregarding Bai Qiao’s cowering attempts to pull away, and seized her chin in a tight grip, forcing her gaze to meet his.

“Oh? Afraid now? Weren’t you quite arrogant just a moment ago?”

Her chin throbbed agonizingly, feeling as though her jaw might shatter, yet she still managed to retort,

“I… I have no idea what you’re talking about! I just arrived here; I know nothing. What do you want me to say? To be inexplicably branded a spy? Then tell me, where’s your proof!”

Bai Chen’s brow furrowed, and he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Indeed, he had no actual evidence. Nevertheless, a surge of irritation coursed through him, and the grip on her chin tightened considerably.

“This King requires no evidence! What this King declares *is* evidence!”

Amidst her haze, she thought she heard a faint, crisp sound, like bone cracking in her jaw. Still, she forced herself to rally.

“Hmph! Despotic! Everyone has been deceived by your facade—”

“Slap!”

Before her words could fully escape, Bai Qiao was struck down to the ground. She clutched half of her swollen, reddened face, her clothes already disheveled. Half-kneeling, her eyes, blazing with indignant fury, fixated on Bai Chen’s face, which was flushed crimson with rage. As his face suddenly loomed large before her, her own eyes shimmered with unbridled anger.

“No one has ever dared to call this King despotic!”

‘Bai Qiao gazed at the man before her. ‘Was I… truly this tyrannical? Was I ever this arrogant before? Thinking back… it seems I truly was. I allowed no one to question me, no one to defy me… Is *this* my true self? A sudden surge of self-loathing washed over her.’

“Hahahaha!”

Bai Qiao stared in shock at Bai Chen, who was now emitting a strange, unsettling laugh. ‘With his temperament… who knows what terrible thoughts he might be harboring.’ She suddenly recalled what she had once done to a subordinate who dared oppose her, and her heart involuntarily clenched. Her fingers gripped her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and the delicate veins beneath the skin of her pale hand were visibly prominent.

Even in such a disadvantaged position, Bai Qiao’s former character was not so easily subdued. She instantly adopted a defiant, fearless demeanor.

“What are you going to do now?!”

Bai Chen was momentarily stunned. Where did this seemingly delicate woman find the courage to confront him so boldly? He wondered which maiden possessed such a fiery spirit, one that was, in some ways… quite like his own.

Startled by his own thoughts, Bai Chen immediately released his grip on Bai Qiao’s chin. He turned away nonchalantly, clasping his hands behind his back.

“You’ll stay here. You are not to go anywhere. Someone will see to your needs…”

Half-kneeling on the ground, Bai Qiao couldn’t help but gape in astonishment. ‘That’s it? It’s that simple? With my personality, I wouldn’t have let it go like this…’

Without another word, Bai Chen quietly departed. He gazed at the moonlight in the courtyard and let out a deep sigh. ‘At a time like this, I should have simply killed her. Why couldn’t I bring myself to do it? Truly, I’ve fallen.’

****

The morning dawned, still bright with sunshine. Bai Qiao slowly rose. Since her arrival, she hadn’t needed to wake early, yet an unsettling discomfort lingered in her heart. She suddenly yearned to return home, to see if her parents were well, and to… apologize to those she had once mistreated.

“Awake?”

A familiar voice, cold and detached, drifted from behind her, sending a chill down Bai Qiao’s spine. She stiffly turned, her eyes falling upon Bai Chen, who lay naked from the waist up behind her. He was propped up on one arm, his gaze fixed on her with a hint of amusement.

Disregarding how he could have possibly entered, she instinctively clutched her nightclothes tighter and screamed aloud,

“Ahhh! You pervert! Get out!”

Bai Chen caught Bai Qiao’s thrashing ankle with one hand. Her skin was fair and delicate, and as he held it, he felt a conflicting urge to both cherish and ravage. He couldn’t resist rubbing her ankle up and down a few times. Bai Qiao instantly broke out in goosebumps. ‘To be… to be treated this way by this man… a man just like herself!’ A flush of mortified crimson spread across her cheeks, only intensifying Bai Chen’s desire. Just as he leaned in to touch Bai Qiao’s wrist, he recoiled as if struck by lightning.

His brow furrowed tightly. ‘It makes no sense. The internal energy still flowed backward. Even if she were a spy, once exposed, she wouldn’t dare continue to absorb his cultivation, would she?’

‘Unless… she has no idea she’s absorbing his power. In that case, he truly misunderstood Bai Qiao.’ A wave of guilt washed over him, yet an inexplicable sense of pride stubbornly persisted. Bai Chen… would never bow his head and admit fault. With a muffled grunt, he rose and vanished through the doorway.

Bai Qiao watched, bewildered, as Bai Chen abruptly appeared and then just as abruptly vanished. Though she was utterly perplexed, she breathed a sigh of relief that he was gone. While she harbored no particular dislike for Bai Chen—after all, he was essentially herself—the thought of ‘herself’ touching her… she’d rather die.

Bai Chen remained in his study, seething, refusing to see anyone. It was only much later that he summoned a diviner from the manor. Watching the diviner timidly offer his respects, Bai Chen found himself inexplicably thinking of that defiant gaze. Quickly realizing the nature of his thoughts, he forcefully suppressed them. Once he regained his composure, he spoke,

“Esteemed elder, have you heard of any cultivation methods involving the absorption of internal energy or the reversal of cultivation?”

“…”

Even the sagacious diviner didn’t understand why the King would pose such a question. However, as a subject, there was no need to ponder it deeply; he simply replied obediently,

“Your Majesty, everyone’s internal energy is unique. Forcibly absorbing another’s will only lead to a conflict with one’s own innate internal energy, ultimately resulting in a violent death from blood eruption…”

“So… internal energy cannot be absorbed?”

“Precisely. Only one’s self can control one’s own internal energy…”

Bai Chen pinched the bridge of his nose, then waved his hand, dismissing the diviner. He sank into deep contemplation. ‘Only oneself? One person?’ Recalling the striking similarities between himself and Bai Qiao, the usually composed Bai Chen suddenly felt his mind reeling. ‘One person, indeed? Is that truly possible? And a girl, at that?!’