Chapter 208: A Pill Buys Her Story
Damian grinned. "What if I give you this?"
The moment Cassandra saw it, her eyes widened in surprise.
Resting between Damian’s fingers was a small pill sealed inside a clear jade case.
The pill was pale silver, with tiny sword-shaped patterns moving across its surface like living marks. Even through the jade case, a pure sword aura leaked out faintly.
Cassandra’s breathing paused.
Damian noticed her reaction and lifted the jade case slightly. "Top-Rank Noble Grade [Sword Heart Pill]."
Cassandra’s cold expression cracked at once.
As a sword cultivator, she knew exactly what that pill meant.
The [Sword Heart Pill] was not an ordinary cultivation pill.
It could give someone Noble Grade sword cultivator talent, strengthen their existing sword talent, sharpen their sword heart, and even help them understand sword intent more clearly.
For any sword cultivator in the Golden Core Realm, or even the Nascent Soul Realm, this kind of pill was a rare treasure.
Cassandra’s fingers tightened around her sword hilt. "You have something like that?"
Damian sighed with a painful expression. "Only one of these. I paid a huge price to get it, you know. This thing is expensive as hell."
That was both true and fake.
The pill really was expensive, but Damian had managed to get more than one.
Of course, there was no need to tell her that.
Cassandra stared at the pill.
Her eyes sparkled for a brief moment before she forcefully controlled herself.
A second later, she gritted her teeth. "Fine. I’ll tell you my story."
Damian’s smile widened.
Cassandra quickly added, "But there’s nothing special. Most of it is already public."
Damian waved the jade case lightly. "I don’t care about those public rumors."
Cassandra looked at him.
For once, Damian’s tone became calmer. "I want your own story."
Cassandra froze slightly and looked at Damian for several breaths.
This shameless bastard still looked annoying, and his smile was still suspicious.
Yet in the end, she could only sigh. "Fine."
Damian’s eyes brightened. "Good."
Cassandra glanced at the [Sword Heart Pill] again, then looked away before her self-control collapsed. "I’ll tell you. But don’t interrupt."
Damian immediately nodded. "Of course. I am very good at listening."
Cassandra stared at him.
Damian coughed. "Fine. I’ll try."
Only then did Cassandra turn her gaze toward the distant sword mist. "My story starts with the Valeria Clan."
Her voice was calm, elegant, and almost too steady, as if she were talking about someone else.
"I was born as one of the sword geniuses of the Valeria Family. My talent was good, my sword heart was clean, and many people praised me when I was young."
Damian listened quietly, the [Sword Heart Pill] still resting between his fingers.
Cassandra’s eyes became colder. "According to the rumors, I was not satisfied with being a genius. I wanted more power, so I secretly practiced demonic cultivation, murdered innocent people, stole a forbidden sword art, and betrayed my family."
Damian raised his brow. "That’s a pretty heavy story."
Cassandra looked at him. "Do you believe it?"
Damian’s answer came without hesitation. "No."
For the first time, Cassandra paused.
Damian tapped the jade case lightly. "If you really practiced demonic cultivation and murdered a lot of innocent people, your aura wouldn’t feel this clean. Your sword intent is cold, but it isn’t rotten."
Cassandra stared at him silently.
Damian continued calmly, "Also, those three idiots earlier were too confident when saying it. People who repeat a lie too smoothly usually heard it from someone else and never bothered checking the truth."
Cassandra’s eyes moved slightly.
Damian smiled faintly. "So my guess? You were just too talented and too hard to control. People loved you, but some people also feared you. They thought you would become trouble later, so they threw filth on your name first."
For several breaths, Cassandra said nothing.
The sword mist moved around them.
Finally, she sighed softly. "You are unexpectedly sharp for someone so shameless."
Damian placed one hand on his chest. "Thank you. I accept the compliment."
Cassandra said calmly, "It was not a compliment."
Damian smiled. "I’ll accept it anyway."
Cassandra’s mouth twitched faintly, but her gaze soon returned to the mist.
"You’re right." Her voice became quieter. "I was just a genius. Many people liked me. Some followed me, some admired me, and some believed I could become one of the strongest swords of the Valeria Family."
Her expression remained composed, but the coldness beneath it deepened.
"In this world, that kind of thing is not always good. You know that, right?"
Damian nodded. "Of course. Like I said, a bright blade makes cowards nervous."
Cassandra’s fingers lightly touched her sword hilt. "Exactly. They were afraid I would block their path, expose their weakness, or become strong enough that they could no longer order me around."
Her eyes sharpened. "So they targeted me."
Damian’s smile faded slightly.
Cassandra continued, her hand slowly clenching. "They blamed me for everything I said before. Once the story spread, even people who once smiled at me suddenly looked at me like I was poison."
She looked at Damian with controlled calm. "They wanted to kill me."
Her voice remained elegant, but every word carried a frozen edge. "Unfortunately for them, I escaped and survived."
Cassandra turned away. "That’s it. Quite simple, isn’t it?"
Damian looked at her for a moment, then laughed softly. "Simple, huh?"
He tossed the [Sword Heart Pill] toward her.
Cassandra caught it by instinct.
Damian smiled. "Then let’s make the next part more interesting, shall we?"
Cassandra barely heard him. Her eyes stayed fixed on the jade case in her hand. "This pill... is the real deal."
She looked back at Damian. "Are you truly giving it to me?"
Damian grinned. "Of course. Like I said, I like beautiful women. Unless you don’t want it?"
Cassandra frowned.
Of course she wanted it. As a fugitive, she needed resources more than ever.
Damian laughed softly. "Don’t make that face. I’m joking. Take it."
Then he grinned. "And also, like I said before... don’t you want to make your story more interesting?"