Chapter 669: Under the Starry Sky

“Even the renowned Hong Yu resorts to sneaking around?”

A cool, clear voice, laced with a hint of seduction, came from the Darkness behind him.

Space rippled, and Mao Mei’Er, clad in a red fur robe, slowly emerged from the Darkness. An enigmatic smile played on her lips as she approached with graceful, lotus-like steps.

Hong Yu froze. His first reaction was: ‘I’ve been exposed!’

But his mind was exceptionally sharp and resilient. The look of shock and suspicion in his eyes was fleeting, and he quickly regained his composure. Turning to face Mao Mei’er, he put on a bewildered expression and said, “Ah, it is Your Majesty. Beichen had a little too much to drink and was looking for a place to relieve himself. I do apologize if I’ve disturbed Your Majesty!”

After a pause, Hong Yu asked with a bewildered expression, “Your Majesty, did you just call me Hong Yu? Who’s Hong Yu?”

Mao Mei’Er didn’t reply, simply sizing up Hong Yu in silence.

The corners of her lips curled upward. A beauty mark graced her tender, pink lips, and her faint smile was so alluring one might feel the urge to rush forward and take a bite.

Mao Mei’Er studied Hong Yu intently for what felt like over ten minutes. Then, she suddenly broke into a bright smile, turned, and headed out of the main hall. Her voice, so enchanting it could make one’s bones melt, floated back, “Well? Do you have the courage to go for a walk with me?”

“…”

Hong Yu felt a surge of conflict.

This Mao Mei’Er was simply too bewitching; it was impossible to fathom her thoughts.

‘Just a moment ago she was calling me Hong Yu, making me think I was exposed and that she was about to attack.’

‘But in the blink of an eye, it’s as if she’s completely forgotten and is instead inviting me for a walk?’

‘Damn it. I’ve braved dragon’s dens and tiger’s lairs, so why would I be afraid of a single woman? If she pushes me too far, I’ll just take her down right here on the spot!’ Thinking viciously to himself, Lord Hong squared his shoulders and strode confidently after Mao Mei’Er.

Hong Yu had no idea where Mao Mei’Er was leading him.

She remained silent the entire way.

Hong Yu started to speak several times, but always stopped himself and simply continued to follow her.

They encountered no guards from the Spirit Cat Race along the path. Only at the entrance to the tribe did a few guards stand watch, their gazes glowing like Luminous Pearls in the dark as they vigilantly scanned the area.

But as Hong Yu and Mao Mei’Er walked right past them, the guards seemed completely oblivious.

Hong Yu was secretly astonished, realizing Mao Mei’Er must have used some kind of trick.

The two walked for a full half-hour, eventually reaching a mountain peak outside the Spirit Cat Tribe.

The mountain peak was very high.

It was over six thousand meters high. If not for their immense strength, which allowed them to ascend as if walking on flat ground, it was hard to say how long it would take an ordinary person to climb such a peak.

At the summit, a flat rock jutted out over the edge. Mao Mei’Er walked onto it, her fluid form sinking gracefully to a seated position.

She slipped off a pair of white boots, revealing feet as fair and translucent as warm jade, which she dangled over the edge, swinging them gently in the air.

Like two slivers of bright moonlight, they were playful and lovely, stirring an impulse to hold them in one’s arms.

Gazing at her silhouette, made even more mysterious by the moonlight, Hong Yu felt his mouth go dry. ‘An enchantress,’ he cursed inwardly.

“Come sit with me for a while.”

Mao Mei’Er’s voice was gentle. In profile, her face showed a hint of exhaustion and vulnerability, lacking the majesty and wisdom of the queen she was during the day.

Hong Yu’s heart couldn’t help but pound in his chest.

Mao Mei’Er possessed the dignified air of a queen, so this sudden display of a more delicate, womanly demeanor was almost too much to bear.

Her delicately furrowed brow revealed a pitiable loveliness that made one want to pull her into their arms and protect her.

“What’s wrong? You dare declare war on the Eight Great Battle Clans and the Four Great Divine Cities, and you’ve even slain the Snake King and the Chrysanthemum King, yet you don’t dare to sit beside me?” Mao Mei’Er said with a soft laugh.

Under the moonlight, her smile revealed teeth as white as marble, and the beauty mark at the corner of her lips bobbed gently.

Hong Yu’s brow furrowed even more deeply.

Hearing Mao Mei’Er’s words, it was obvious she already knew his true identity and wasn’t just fishing for a confession.

Deciding to just go all in, he walked to Mao Mei’Er’s side, sat down casually, and remained silent.

The two of them sat there side-by-side.

After a long silence.

Hong Yu couldn’t resist being the first to speak, breaking the silence. “Your Majesty, how did you see through my disguise?”

“We’re not in the Spirit Cat Tribe, and I’m not a queen here. You can just call me Mei’Er.”

Mao Mei’Er said calmly.

Hong Yu paused, stunned. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Miss Mei’Er, would you mind answering my question?”

“Hehe, you really want to know?”

Mao Mei’Er tilted her head.

Her long, golden hair cascaded down her back like a wave of gold. A pair of golden, cat-like ears twitched delicately, making one’s heart flutter.

Hong Yu’s heart fluttered like a frightened deer. A faint blush crept up his face as he quickly looked away and said with a wry smile, “Miss Mei’Er, you still haven’t answered my question!”

“Hee hee hee!”

Mao Mei’Er laughed freely, a picture of captivating beauty. Her golden hair shimmered in the starlight, almost dizzying to behold. A cunning glint sparkled in her eyes as she said, “It’s quite simple, really… I wasn’t certain of your identity at all. It was all… a guess!”

“A guess?”

Hong Yu’s eyes widened.

Mao Mei’Er’s smile widened. “Of course, it wasn’t a complete shot in the dark. The moment I saw you, I realized you were wearing a mask. A young man, hiding his identity, with unknown origins, yet possessing immense strength and a strong animosity towards the North and South Divine City, suddenly appears out of nowhere… Naturally, I couldn’t let someone with such a mysterious background get close to Miaomiao!”

“So, I kept wondering who you could be, but I couldn’t come up with anything. That is, until this evening. While you were drinking in the main hall, I received a report from my subordinates—experts I had dispatched to the Central Region. They informed me that the Snake King and Chrysanthemum King were dead, the Centaur Race had been wiped out, and that Hong Yu, the target of the Eight Great Battle Clans and the Four Great Divine Cities, had vanished without a trace…”

Mao Mei’Er gently tucked a golden stray hair by her temple. “When I connected all of that to the many suspicious points about you, it was only natural to deduce that you were Hong Yu. I just didn’t think I’d actually be right!”

Hong Yu let out a bitter laugh.

‘I can’t believe I basically admitted my identity myself!’

He then looked at Mao Mei’Er in bewilderment. “Since Your Majesty knew who I was, why didn’t you capture or kill me? Why bring me here instead?”

“Hee hee hee, don’t you think this dark and windy night is the perfect setting for a little murder and treasure-plundering?” Mao Mei’Er’s amber eyes flashed with a teasing light.

Hong Yu shook his head. “With your power, you could have dealt with me anywhere, silently. Why go to all this trouble?”

“Fine, you’re not so dumb after all.”

Mao Mei’Er tilted her head and shrugged, her perfect feet swinging gently. Her voice grew a bit low. “Truth be told, when I figured out you were Hong Yu, I did think about making a move on you. I wanted to take your Venerable Golden Bone and refine it in secret. But… I’ve changed my mind.”

“Oh?”

Hong Yu froze.

He felt like he understood Mao Mei’Er less and less.

This woman had the face of an Angel, the body of a Demon, and a nearly Demon Fiend-level intellect that made her completely unfathomable.

Mao Mei’Er suddenly turned her head to look at Hong Yu seriously. “Hong Yu, let me ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

Mao Mei’Er said, “What are your thoughts… on my Spirit Cat Race?”

“The Spirit Cat Race?”

Hong Yu hesitated, mentally weighing his answer.

But Mao Mei’Er cut in, “I want the truth. Your own, honest thoughts.”

“…”

Hong Yu rubbed his nose with a wry smile.

‘I was just about to parrot the information I learned from the Nanshan Collection, but it looks like a half-hearted answer won’t do.’

After some thought, he said quietly, “Pitiable.”

“Pitiable?”

Mao Mei’Er’s body trembled, but she feigned indifference and asked calmly, “Why do you think we’re pitiable? The Spirit Cat Race is one of the Eight Great Battle Clans. We’re also the only power that gets along peacefully with the Four Great Divine Cities and the other Seven Great War Clans, you know!”

Hong Yu let out a quiet sigh.

In that moment, he suddenly felt a pang of pity for Mao Mei’Er.

Hong Yu said in a low voice, “The Spirit Cat Race does indeed play all sides well, but this is a result bought at a great price: every generation, your Saintess must marry someone she does not love. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the fates of your Saintesses after they are married off… are not very good, are they?”

Mao Mei’Er’s body trembled, but she did not speak.

Hong Yu sighed and continued, “As a tribe made up entirely of women, the Spirit Cat Race’s overall combat strength isn’t actually that great, probably on par with the top factions of the Central Area. To maintain your position among the Eight Great Battle Clans, you pour everything into raising a top-tier Saintess each generation, only for her to be unable to serve as your tribe’s pillar. Instead, she must be married off, reduced to being another’s dual cultivation cauldron…”

“Is a race like that not pitiable?”

“For the survival and continuation of your race, you cannot even choose whom you love. You can only resign yourselves to fate, sacrificing everything for your people, even if it means becoming another’s slave.”

“And especially you. You seem shrewd and domineering, but you’re still a woman—just a woman.”

“Yet you have to shoulder the burden of the entire Spirit Cat Race, carrying an unimaginable weight of pressure. For people like that… is it not pitiable?”

Hong Yu spoke calmly.

He suddenly saw that tears were now streaming down Mao Mei’Er’s face.

She looked at Hong Yu earnestly, her beautiful face streaked with tears. It wasn’t that she wasn’t strong; it was that every one of Hong Yu’s words had struck a nerve, hitting the most painful and fragile place in her heart.

After a long while.

Mao Mei’Er suddenly threw her arms around Hong Yu, hugging him tightly. Very tightly.

Feeling the faint warmth and gentle fragrance emanating from her, Hong Yu was at a complete loss, not knowing where to put his hands.

He instinctively wanted to push Mao Mei’Er away, but feeling her delicate body trembling in his arms, he sighed quietly. ‘This strong woman is tired… her heart is tired. I should just let her vent.’

Mao Mei’Er held Hong Yu for a full three hours before suddenly lifting her head to look at him. “If, one day, you become powerful enough to help my Spirit Cat Race escape this fate of servitude, would you be willing to act?”

Hong Yu’s Heart Spirit trembled.

Mao Mei’Er’s gaze filled him with a profound sense of unease, but even more than that, his heart ached for her.

It was the heartache a man feels when faced with the plea of a vulnerable woman.

With a bitter laugh, Hong Yu nodded. “If I ever have that kind of power, I would naturally help. After all, I have no quarrel with the Spirit Cat Race. It’s just that… my current strength… and I have so many enemies…” Hong Yu laughed bitterly again.

A flicker of conflict crossed Mao Mei’Er’s eyes, but then she suddenly said to Hong Yu, “I will help you!”

“Help me?”

Hong Yu froze.

Then, his eyes widened in disbelief.

That night, on the mountain peak, beneath the starry sky…

Was destined to be a sleepless one.

PS: These recent plot points have been a bit depressing to write, which has affected the update schedule, please forgive me! Also, I modified the main text, which resulted in the word count being too low to save the changes, so I have to keep adding text until it’s long enough. This part is free, so please don’t worry!