Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

After a bath that washed away the scent of blood and his fatigue, Jiang Mu, in high spirits, came out under the eaves.

Bai Xiang was still sitting peacefully on the bamboo lounge chair, her eyes lowered as she leafed through a book.

The woman’s profile was as serene as a painting.

The slanted rays of the setting sun cast a pale golden halo on her long lashes, and even the few strands of dark hair by her ear seemed to glow with a gentle luster.

Jiang Mu dragged over a bamboo chair and sat down next to her, tilting his head with a smile.

"You look like you’re in a good mood, radiant as a spring day. Did something wonderful happen? Come on, tell me. Did you get some kind of treasure? Let me see."

Bai Xiang looked up and returned a gentle, faint smile before lowering her head to continue reading.

But inwardly, she scoffed:

’He was giving me the cold shoulder this morning, refusing to talk. And now he comes sidling up to me without any shame.’

"Tsk, fine, don’t tell me then."

Jiang Mu brazenly held out his hand.

"Come on, give me your hand. Let this master read your palm and see when your Life Chart says you’ll finally get married."

Bai Xiang ignored him and turned a page of her book.

"Gimme that!"

Jiang Mu directly grabbed her left hand.

Bai Xiang furrowed her elegant brows and struggled symbolically for a moment, but ultimately didn’t pull her hand back.

’My boundaries are still intact, anyway. It’s just holding hands, no big deal.’

Jiang Mu held her delicate hand, examining it closely.

He had to admit, this woman’s hands were truly beautiful.

The bones and flesh were perfectly proportioned.

Her skin was as white and clear as jade, and felt as warm and smooth as suet to the touch.

Her nails were neatly trimmed and rounded, glowing with a healthy, pale pink hue.

Holding it in his palm was like holding an orchid branch carved from Warm Jade, making one unable to resist the urge to caress it a few more times.

"Hmm... your palm lines..."

Jiang Mu pointed here and there, acting like an expert.

"You see this line? This is the heart line. Look how it twists and turns, it’s even broken in a few places, and it forks at the end... Tsk tsk, this means your path of love will be extremely rocky."

Bai Xiang found it amusing.

Though she knew he was talking nonsense, she put down her book and listened with great interest to his fabrications.

Jiang Mu sighed dramatically, his face full of pity.

"Ah, you. This is a classic case of being unlucky. You’ve missed your one true love, and now you’re destined to be a wet nurse for the rest of your life.

Even if you regret it later and want to marry, you’ll only be able to follow behind some other woman and get the leftovers. You might even have to watch them be all lovey-dovey. Sigh, how tragic. So, so tragic."

Bai Xiang’s eyes curved into crescents, a smirk playing on her lips.

’Keep spinning your tales.’

’Keep going.’

’Never mind whether I, this princess, will ever have a man in my life.’

’Even if I did, it would be impossible for me, this princess, to share him with other women.’

’That kind of thing won’t happen in the next life, not even in ten lifetimes.’

’Whoever dares make me, this princess, settle for leftovers, I, this princess, will smash the whole pot.’

Jiang Mu rambled on with a bunch of other nonsense, then his voice suddenly quieted and he sighed.

"Forget it, I’ll stop teasing. I really didn’t feel like talking to you earlier... But in this house, besides you, there’s no one else to talk to. After spending these past few months together, I’ve gotten used to rambling on with you."

Bai Xiang’s gaze softened as her eyes fell on the slight weariness in his profile.

After all this time together, she had more or less figured out this man’s temperament.

Whenever he had this kind of expression, it was most likely because he’d run into trouble outside.

After a moment’s hesitation, she turned her hand and gently squeezed his palm back.

With her other hand, she signed:

[Shall I go for a walk with you?]

"Too lazy to go out."

Jiang Mu leaned back and said languidly, "Let’s just chat for a while like this."

Bai Xiang nodded lightly.

The setting sun was like molten gold, and the evening clouds merged into one.

Under the covered walkway, the light and shadows slanted, stretching their two figures long and causing them to overlap slightly.

Jiang Mu gazed at the clouds, dyed red by the sunset, and spoke slowly.

"Actually, being an official isn’t good at all. The imperial court is like a spiderweb. The higher you climb, the more threads get tangled around you.

The higher you climb, the tighter you’re bound. In the end, it’s hard to even turn around."

He let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"I know I’m not suited to be an official, but I want to be one anyway. Others must be cursing me as a fool behind my back, saying I’ll be used as a pawn sooner or later... I don’t care. As long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters.

Besides, I’m quite the hypocrite. I don’t have much of a moral compass, and I wouldn’t call myself a good person... but none of that matters.

In this life, being happy yourself is more important than anything else."

Bai Xiang listened quietly.

Her eyes, clear as water, reflected the deepening twilight and the weariness the man laid bare.

She was a little surprised by his insight and honesty.

Most people in the world are hypocritical, using it as a mask.

But he dared to lay his own "wickedness" and "vulgarity" out in the open.

After rambling on for a long time, Jiang Mu’s voice grew softer, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep, leaning against the back of the chair.

Bai Xiang gently pulled her hand back.

She got up, went back into the room to get a thin blanket, and carefully draped it over him.

She stood by the chair,

gazing at the sleeping man’s profile, her expression a little dazed.

After a long while.

Her lips moved, forming the words without a sound:

"Actually, you’re a good person."

Mmm, Eldest Young Master Jiang was just awarded a "nice guy" card.

...

By evening, Bai Xiang had prepared a rather sumptuous dinner.

Jiang Mu and Yuan Ahqing ate until their bellies were round.

"Xiang’Er, I’m going to give you a raise."

Thoroughly satisfied, Jiang Mu slouched like a couch potato, picking his teeth and squinting as he spoke, having completely forgotten his bold declaration about docking the woman’s wages.

"From now on, you’re my exclusive Little Chef. You’re not allowed to cook for anyone else, only for me."

Bai Xiang, who was clearing the dishes, wrinkled her delicate nose and silently grumbled: ’So domineering.’

’Then again,’ she thought, ’the first time I’ve ever cooked for someone in my life was indeed for this guy.’

Yuan Ahqing, stuffed to the brim, wanted to get back to the "grind" of her Body Forging, but as soon as she assumed a horse stance in the courtyard, her stomach churned violently, and she nearly threw up on the spot.

In the end, she was ruthlessly suppressed by Bai Xiang.

Who grabbed her by the back of her collar like a chick and tossed her back into her room to digest and sleep.

And Jiang Mu, also exhausted, went to bed early.

——

The night was deep.

Steam filled the room.

Bai Xiang was bathing.

She leaned her head back against the rim of the tub, her ink-black hair spreading over the water’s surface like a waterfall.

Beneath the water, her ample curves were faintly visible, rising and falling gently with her breath.

Like a white lotus floating on the water, quivering, quivering.

Suddenly, a sharp eagle’s cry came from outside the window.

Bai Xiang’s beautiful eyes narrowed. She raised a dripping, jade-like arm and waved it gently at the window.

The window flew open.

In almost the same instant, a black shadow, swift as lightning and carrying a chill from the night wind, shot into the room and landed on the desk.

It was a wooden falcon.

Its mechanism was exquisite, its wings clearly defined.

Bai Xiang untied the small copper tube fastened to the falcon’s leg, unscrewed it, and took out a rolled-up slip of paper.

She unrolled it and looked.

There were only two lines of writing on the paper.

After reading it, deep disappointment welled up in Bai Xiang’s eyes.

"The Double Fish Jade Pendant isn’t there... So it was another false clue after all."

’Damn that Jiang Demon!’

’Where in the world did he hide that divine object?’

She slapped the water in frustration.

SPLASH!

Droplets of water slid down her jade-like face, rolled over her long neck, and disappeared below her collarbones, leaving a trail of suggestive dampness that shimmered in the candlelight.

Bai Xiang was agitated.

If she couldn’t find this object, she wouldn’t be able to open the secret realm of Jing Country.

Let alone restore her country.

After a moment of silence, she took up a brush and paper, tore off a small piece, hastily wrote a few words, and stuffed it back into the copper tube.

The wooden eagle flapped its wings, shot out the window, and vanished into the deep night.

The window closed again.

Bai Xiang leaned against the side of the tub, muttering to herself:

"Fortunately, there’s still one lead that hasn’t gone cold. I just need to keep investigating. There’s always hope."

She then recalled the divination that a certain master fortune-teller had performed for her.

That fortune-teller had sworn that in this world, only she was fated to be with the Double Fish Jade Pendant.

He even instructed her to come here and wait for her opportunity.

At the time, she had asked:

"In this vast sea of people, how am I supposed to find it?"

The fortune-teller said, "Follow your feelings. When fate arrives, you will naturally sense it."

’Follow my feelings?’

’Feelings my ass!’

’That big liar!’

’I, this princess, have been waiting in this dump for so long, and I haven’t seen so much as a hair of the Double Fish Jade Pendant.’

’Can someone please tell me, where on earth is the Double Fish?’