Cai is not someone who likes to dwell on the past, as the years she has experienced are too long for too many things to be worth remembering. Among the many memories of the past, only three are worth savoring. The first is the experience of meeting Wang Xiaole from her past life; the second is the memories with family members like Hawky; and the third is the deep friendship she formed with the female pope in those years.
"I distinctly remember, as part of the exchange, I promised her initially that I would be a supporting force for the Church of the Supreme God for a long time." This promise is the main reason Cai cannot leave the "Church of the Supreme God"!
Regarding the events of the past, Wang Xiaole only intends to understand the general idea for now and not delve further. However, there are still things he wants to know, such as, "Cai, do you still intend to keep the promise you made back then?"
Facing Wang Xiaole's serious expression, Cai candidly revealed her thoughts, "I don't want to break the promise made to my departed friend, but I also don't want to leave Lord Xiaole!"
Life is a continuous series of choices. For Cai now, it is a matter of weighing on the same scale the two people who are important to her. Which is more important, friends or the loved one?
In Cai's heart, the dilemma gradually leans towards an answer as the scales tilt. Cai hesitated, standing still, her hands gradually clasping tightly together; it was the first time Wang Xiaole had seen her in this state before him.
Now, Cai, unlike the usual always calm Holy Maiden, looks like an ordinary girl who hesitates. When the balance in her heart tilted to the utmost, Cai's eyes narrowed, and then, in the next moment after closing them tightly, she opened her mouth, "If I have to choose between a friend and you, I would be willing to give up..."
Thud! Cai opened her eyes and found that someone was holding her hand when she had closed her eyes before. When Cai opened her eyes, she saw that the person holding her hand was indeed him. Wang Xiaole seldom used such a strong attitude when facing the opposite sex, the last person he treated this way was Charley.
"Cai, if you choose to live for me, that is your decision, and I cannot interfere. But if you only intend to live for me, then even if it may seem meddlesome, I must stop you!"
"To live for him" and "to live only for him"; Wang Xiaole is well aware that these phrases represent entirely different meanings. The former represents an attitude Cai has towards life; the latter implies that Cai starts to give up everything for him.
If Cai doesn't care about anyone else and only orbits around him every day, everything is centered around him... How is that any different from a puppet on strings?
Wang Xiaole does not want Cai to one day become such a "puppet," where only he remains in her life.
"Cai, you are a much kinder person than I am. I don't want you to strangle yourself for others, especially not for me!"
"But..."
"There's nothing much to hide. If you truly regard me as someone you are looking for, then please don't pretend not to hear my sincere request."
"But, I am afraid, afraid to leave your side."
In the past, Cai had left that person's side;
When Cai returned, that person could only sadly smile back, covered in blood from head to toe.
Shortly after that, in less than half a day to be exact, that person left Cai;
When Cai met that person again, it was just a short time ago, seven hundred long years had passed, enough to make the waiting agonizingly heart-wrenching.
Because of the torturous time that made one forget about, because of a brief separation leading to what was almost a permanent departure;
Influenced by these factors and painful memories, Cai felt so averse to "parting," and even felt fearful of mere "temporary separation."
"I... in the past, could not stay by your side, that's why I want... I want to make it up as much as I can now!"
As Cai reached this point, tears fell from her eyes in large drops.
"Or do you really think: I don't deserve to be by your side, that someone like me is not essential to you?"
By the time Wang Xiaole noticed and by the time she herself realized, a few teardrops had grown as big as soybeans;
Her choked-up voice turned into soft sobbing.
Just as Cai's eyes became blurred with mist, a force from the front pulled her into an embrace, holding her tightly.
"Listen to me."
Those words rang out as the embrace enveloped her.
Cai couldn't help but focus once again, listening carefully with pricked ears;
Simply because that person had spoken, she reflexively wanted to hear more.
"Cai, I am not trying to drive you away; even though at first, you did indeed break into the room of the inn by illegal means, but that's in the past."
To say something that would ache her conscience:
In the past, Wang Xiaole did wish for Cai to return to her home earlier;
But from perhaps that night of drinking coffee, a familiar feeling began to well up in Wang Xiaole's heart.
That feeling was quite special, causing Wang Xiaole to unconsciously miss Cai when looking at her, and also making him want to playfully tap her forehead.
Regardless of the result this feeling would bring, the trigger for this familiarity was the day Cai began her continuous care and companionship!
Wang Xiaole couldn't be without Cai, it started from that night;
And he truly sensed the shift in his mentality, just recently, from the moment Cai shed tears before him.
"You are necessary to me, to speak frankly: Cai's importance to me is no less than that of Xia and the disciples; for me, who has come to this world, you may have become an indispensable person!"
"So, you are not trying to send me away?"
"Absolutely not, I want Cai to be herself, to stay by my side willingly, and also to fulfill the promise made between friends following my heart's desires."
Cai had a misunderstanding, something she didn't get to hear out fully before, but now Wang Xiaole was explaining it clearly:
"I never intended to have Cai leave alone, but rather to find an opportunity to request leave from the disciples, and then go to the Imperial Kingdom together with you."
Tears of color gradually stopped flowing, and even the voice began to return:
"Are you going to come with me?"
"Is that not possible?"
"It seems not."
The last sentence was not spoken by Cai, who had been eavesdropping by the window all along, neither was it related to Lucia.
The voice with a clear refusal came from the fourth dimension, the source of the sound was in the sky!
Wang Xiaole looked towards the sky, Cai quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and just as her gaze met the former's that had just shot upwards, they coincided in a moment.
The person flying in the sky with wind magic had a charming smile on his lips, and his vermilion lips lifted were as radiant as peach blossoms, dressed in a purple robe.
Cai happened to know the visitor, or rather, if it wasn't for Cai, that person would never have come to this remote place.
"Purple-clothed Archbishop! I haven't heard that you were coming to Dibiles. You really do like to meddle."
In this world, there were not many people who could truly make Cai hate them;
Even the Archbishop in red, whose reputation and conduct were despicable to the extreme, had never provoked such strong antipathy from Cai.
Wang Xiaole's response, making a young girl who genuinely detested someone, was not as good as expected.
He took a few steps forward, and after arriving at a wide open space, he raised his head and shouted at the other person:
"My friend, is this your first time in Dibiles? As the legitimate Prince Consort of this country, I haven't heard that guests like you would visit..."
Boom!
A beam of light elements struck down from the sky, piercing directly through the heavens, enveloping Wang Xiaole in a violent explosion;
What was once a beautiful courtyard was suddenly engulfed in a fiery blaze, with more than half of it covered in flames.
"Sweetheart, is this the person you fancy? What a short-lived fellow!"
The purple-clothed Archbishop flicked his face with his colored nails, looking down at the inferno below with eyes as if staring at a pile of burning garbage.
By now, he had descended to a height of three or four meters from the ground, able to clearly see Cai's contorted face.
"You scoundrel!"
In an instant, Cai shot up, and by the time the purple-clothed Archbishop raised an eyelid, she had leaped in front of him, her cross-shaped sword slashing down.
Swish!
This move was somewhat thrilling, but the purple-clothed Archbishop still managed to evade it. Dodging to a point half a meter away from Cai, he suddenly realized:
"Sweetheart, I didn't expect you to care so much about that 'bug', otherwise you wouldn't have missed even that last strike."
The Holy Maiden, whose strength surpassed the "Four Archbishops", couldn't even hit a Grand Archbishop from such a close distance;
This could only mean:
Because of Wang Xiaole, Cai's mind was completely disarrayed, resulting in the lack of precision in her previous strike compared to before.
"Sweetheart, grieve for the 'bug', for the dead cannot be resurrected. You should come to terms with it!"
"Yes, that makes sense."
This statement was also not uttered by Cai, nor did it come from the purple-clothed Archbishop.
Soon after, the Archbishop's ears twitched slightly, only just noticing the sudden change in the courtyard.
Crackling noises!
The rapidly spreading ice covered the flames on the courtyard, directly freezing the raging fire that had just begun to ravage.
Immediately, the large block of ice cracked open, and the blazing fire trapped within shattered into several large pieces in the blink of an eye, turning into scattered ice chips upon hitting the ground.
Swish!
From the layer of ice that swept towards the sky and froze a small portion of the sky, a slender figure stepped forward.
Instinctively, the Purple Robed Bishop raised his arms in defense, assuming a blocking posture;
However:
Before he could fully get into position, the slender figure accelerated towards him, and as her body soared past, her leg came down heavily in a kick.
Crack!
A gray footprint immediately appeared on the Bishop's face, sending him off balance from the force of the kick;
Before the target could straighten up, the second leg swiftly followed, drawing a straight line from top to bottom, landing squarely on the Bishop's significantly arched back.
In the next moment, the Purple Robed Bishop fell rapidly, embedding heavily into the ground, kicking up a wave of smoke and dust.
"Once a bug dies, it can't be resurrected. That's absolutely true. I have to be careful not to beat you to death so soon. Otherwise, who else can I go and kill?"
Standing once again in the radiant sunlight, not only had she received no harm, not a single trace of damage could be seen on her attire, not even a single crack.
