The Black Lotus Stole the White Moonlight (GL) - Chapter 8
Bai An’an’s words seemed reasonable, but upon closer inspection, they were wrong in every way.
Mu Tianyin had never encountered such a person who twisted logic, and for a moment, she was speechless.
She stared at her intently for a moment, her eyelashes slightly raised, her tea-colored eyes gleaming, “Then how did you enter my dreams?”
Bai An’an’s eyes flickered, and she turned her head away so that Mu Tianyin couldn’t see.
After a moment, she turned back, a hint of confusion on her face, and murmured, “I… I don’t know.”
She blinked, seemingly revealing important information unintentionally, “Mother said I’m different, so I must never tell anyone.”
She paused, then continued, “An’an didn’t intentionally hide it from you, senior sister, but Mother said that if I mentioned my abilities, people would dislike me.”
She raised her snow-white little face, looking at her with confusion and unease, “Senior sister, will you dislike me?”
The Dream Eater, one of the ancient divine beasts, loved to devour dreams.
However, as time went on, the demon race declined, completely overshadowed by the irreconcilable hatred between humans and demons.
When human cultivators mentioned demons, it was mostly not fear, but disdain and contempt.
Most demons hid in secluded places, and those who wandered into the human world were often captured and refined by human cultivators, or kept as spirit pets.
Bai An’an’s ability to enter and create dreams clearly indicated that she belonged to the Dream Eater clan.
Mu Tianyin looked at her with a deep gaze, various guesses running through her mind.
She had a human body, but inherited the abilities of a demon race, clearly a hybrid.
And hybrids were even more lowly than demons, neither accepted by the demon race nor tolerated by humans.
But all of this was just her one-sided story.
Bai An’an seemed to perceive Mu Tianyin’s concerns, climbed off the bed, and stood in front of her.
She looked up at her, appearing sincere and trusting, and whispered, “If you don’t believe me, senior sister, you can use the heart-testing stone!”
“My mother said most men are unfaithful, so An’an also dislikes men.”
“But you, senior sister, are a woman, and you saved An’an without asking for anything in return. I’m happy that you doubt me.” As she spoke, she suddenly took a step closer, her fluffy bangs touching Mu Tianyin’s smooth chin, tickling slightly.
Mu Tianyin stared at her blankly, her eyelashes trembling slightly, not saying anything, only the sudden flush on her ears indicating the unease in her heart.
Bai An’an didn’t expect Mu Tianyin to be so shy, secretly amused.
She not only didn’t step back, but took another step forward, closing in, completely unafraid of Mu Tianyin’s cold aura, and said charmingly, “Luckily, senior sister has such a wonderful heart-testing stone, otherwise An’an wouldn’t know how to prove her sincerity!”
As she spoke, she wrapped her wrist around Mu Tianyin’s arm, shaking it playfully, “Senior sister, senior sister! Take it out quickly! We’ll know with one test!”
Mu Tianyin glanced at her face, looked down at her arm being held, and frowned.
Bai An’an seemed oblivious to Mu Tianyin’s cold face, still urging her without any tact.
Mu Tianyin raised her palm, breaking free from her entanglement, and opened her fair hand.
Soon, a translucent heart-testing stone appeared in her hand.
Bai An’an tentatively reached out, took the heart-testing stone from her palm, and examined it curiously.
The heart-testing stone was about half the size of her fist, but it was translucent and sparkling, shaped like a pebble.
She picked up the heart-testing stone and looked at Mu Tianyin through it.
She could only see a hazy white mist through the stone.
Mu Tianyin waited for her to finish examining it, then parted her thin lips and said, “Hold the heart-testing stone and answer my questions now.”
Bai An’an held the heart-testing stone with a casual expression, then looked up with her sparkling almond eyes, appearing innocent, “Alright, senior sister, ask away! I’ll tell you everything I know!”
Mu Tianyin’s eyelashes fluttered as she looked at her.
Bai An’an remembered that Mu Tianyin’s true form had a pair of translucent tea-colored eyes, like gemstones, making her want to collect them.
Her current cultivator form had dark eyes, but just now, she seemed to see her true eye color.
She compared them in her mind, thinking that both colors had their own charm, but the original color was more beautiful.
The more tense the moment, the more composed she was, without a trace of nervousness.
She smiled again and looked at her, “Senior sister, why aren’t you asking?”
“If you don’t ask, then I’ll say it myself!”
As long as she held the heart-testing stone, it didn’t matter whether she was asked or spoke voluntarily.
So Mu Tianyin just looked at her without saying a word.
Bai An’an knew that she had acquiesced, so she cleared her throat and began to fabricate—no, to recount her uneventful and tragic past.
“Where I used to live, there were many beautiful sisters, and they all liked to dress up, wear perfume, and colorful clothes—” Bai An’an said slowly, putting on a reminiscing expression, “Some sisters were very nice to me, while others were very mean. But I don’t hate them.”
“They were all pitiful people.” Bai An’an lowered her eyes and whispered, “I know most of the sisters didn’t want to serve customers. But the madam said… as women, if we didn’t have other skills, we could only repay the debt with our bodies.”
She lowered her head, her little hands twisting together anxiously, biting her lip, “We didn’t have any skills, so we had to serve customers.”
Hearing this, Mu Tianyin’s gaze immediately fell on Bai An’an’s head.
Although she was still young, she was already a beauty in the making.
With her looks, had she already—
Thinking of this, Mu Tianyin’s heart felt a slight, dull prick.
“But I’m much luckier than the sisters!” Bai An’an, seemingly unaware of Mu Tianyin’s complex thoughts, smiled brightly, “After all, I stayed there with my mother, and we kept each other company, so we weren’t lonely.”
“The sisters were all pitiful, sold off by their families. Some who died were just dragged to the mass grave, thrown away with a broken straw mat, and no one even collected their bodies.”
“But luckily, when my mother died, I collected her body.” As Bai An’an spoke, her eyes gradually reddened.
She seemed unable to hold back, suddenly opening her arms and hugging Mu Tianyin’s waist, resting her little head in her embrace.
Mu Tianyin’s whole body stiffened, but she didn’t push Bai An’an away.
After a long time, Bai An’an raised her head, showing Mu Tianyin her tears without any pretense, her round eyes filled with tears, but stubbornly refusing to let them fall, “My mother said before she died that she didn’t want me to be looked down on like her for the rest of my life. So she asked someone to bring me here.”
She rubbed her eyes, her voice choked with sobs, “My mother said, learn skills and then find my father.”
“I don’t understand, my mother said men are untrustworthy, so why did she tell me to find my father?”
She raised her little head, her face full of confusion, “Senior sister, did my father deliberately abandon me and my mother because he didn’t come to find us?”
Mu Tianyin’s stiff body gradually relaxed, and her arm, which was hanging by her side, slowly rose and gently rested on Bai An’an’s head.
Bai An’an blinked, looking up at Mu Tianyin’s eyes. Seeing that Mu Tianyin just placed her hand on her head and didn’t move, she secretly became nervous.
She knew that even righteous people had a set of demon techniques for peeking into memories.
Could Mu Tianyin also know them?
She paused, then tiptoed and deliberately rubbed her head against Mu Tianyin’s palm.
The fluffy head rubbing against her palm was very ticklish.
Mu Tianyin’s eyelashes trembled, but she didn’t take her hand back from Bai An’an’s head.
She tentatively rubbed her head and said slowly, “No, he didn’t.”
No, he didn’t what? Bai An’an had almost forgotten what she had said earlier, and her eyes widened slightly.
After a moment, she realized that Mu Tianyin was answering her question, and she quickly lowered her head, hiding the strange expression on her face.
Oh my god, was Mu Tianyin comforting her?
Such a cold and aloof righteous master, who cultivated the Path of Emotionlessness, was actually comforting someone?
Bai An’an blinked, digesting this shocking news.
But Mu Tianyin was not as cold as she seemed, which was beneficial to her.
She glanced at her from the corner of her eye, then raised her face, looking at her pitifully, “Senior sister, are you serious? My father really didn’t abandon me and my mother?”
Her face suddenly bloomed with a smile like a white lotus, pure and untainted despite being in the mud.
“That’s great! If my father didn’t abandon An’an and my mother, then An’an can find him after learning her skills!”
Having said that, she remembered something and suddenly lowered her head, looking gloomy, “But I don’t know who my father is or what he looks like. The world is so big, where should An’an look?”
“You don’t remember who your father is?” Mu Tianyin asked casually.
Bai An’an narrowed her eyes slightly, then put on a troubled expression, “When I was little, An’an seemed to have vaguely seen my father’s appearance. An’an’s abilities must have been taught by my father.”
She nodded to herself in her heart.
Good, good, now the origin of her dream-entering ability was even more airtight!
She didn’t expect Mu Tianyin’s next sentence to freeze her in place, “In that case, I can enter your memories and find your father.”
She looked at her calmly, “But I wonder, are you willing?”
Bai An’an: “…”
What a classic case of ‘be careful what you wish for’! She had shot herself in the foot!
She never expected Mu Tianyin to be so vigilant.
She had even tested the heart-testing stone, and was now shamelessly planning to look at her memories!
What could she do?
Should she righteously refuse?
Would the adoring and ‘innocent’ Bai An’an refuse?
Of course she would agree!
Bai An’an was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled brightly, “Of course, no problem!”