The White Moonlight Disdained by the Male Protagonist of Redemption - Chapter 6.2

Outside, Ning Yao wasn’t idle either. She was deep in thought, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

Arms crossed, she looked into the distance, where a shabby little tavern glowed with a dim light. The silk banners out front fluttered messily in the wind.

Maybe… she should open one of the “emergency pouches” her eldest sister had left her?

No. Better not. If she opened a pouch every time she ran into trouble, three hundred wouldn’t be enough. She had to rely on herself—figure things out and push through.

Her eldest sister once said: girls must learn to show vulnerability. No man can resist that.

Show vulnerability… Ning Yao frowned. She was so strong—what vulnerabilities did she even have?

After some serious reflection, she managed to dig up one—though she wasn’t sure it counted. But she’d never really shown that part of herself before, and it felt harder than soaking her true form in wine. So she decided to use a little… outside help.

Her eldest sister had also said: “A woman, if  three parts drunk—act it until he cries.”

Ning Yao narrowed her eyes, staring at the distant tavern. Finally, she handed over two copper coins and bought the cheapest wine they had, heading back to find Feng Jingzhuo.

Feng Jingzhuo had almost finished tidying up and was just about to go outside to look for Ning Yao when she walked in, holding a jug of wine.

Ah yes, this must be what she meant by “spending money wisely”—choosing to stay in a ruined temple, but still buying a wine.

He felt sorry for her, but couldn’t bring himself to get angry. Instead, he gently said, “Yao Yao, it’s late. Drinking isn’t good for your health. If you like it, I’ll hold onto it. You can have it tomorrow.”

Ning Yao had already started acting. Her voice was full of sorrow. “I’m in a bad mood. I want to drink now.”

Then she asked, “What’s your tolerance?”

Feng Jingzhuo sighed. “It’s okay.”

“Then we each get one jug.” Ning Yao shoved a jug into his hand.

He looked down. The jug was small, and the smell was slightly bitter—not a good wine.

“Yao Yao, don’t drink too much,” he advised.

She nodded, pulled the cork and tossed it casually, then raised the jug. “Cheers.”

Feng Jingzhuo clinked jugs with her and took a sip, already planning to sneakily pour some of hers out later when she wasn’t looking.

Ning Yao also took a sip. The strong liquor burned her throat, and she coughed a few times.

Feng Jingzhuo instinctively reached out to pat her back—but his hand froze midair, then slowly fell. “Yao Yao… is this your first time drinking?”

Ning Yao said, “Of course not. I drink all the time.”

Feng Jingzhuo said nothing.

If not for the fact she’d done so much for him—if not for the fact he liked her—he honestly wanted to flick her forehead a few times.

Ning Yao took another sip. Maybe it was the sadness she’d been stewing over, but she was really starting to feel tipsy. So many emotions churned in her chest: the impossible path to ascension, the scheming dragon clan of Cangyuan, the burden of Luoxiang Mountain… and her eldest sister wasn’t even here.

She was actually getting drunk.

“I miss my father,” she mumbled.

Her voice was low and muddled. Feng Jingzhuo felt his heart clench. “Yao Yao, what did you say?”

Ning Yao set down her jug. Feng Jingzhuo’s handsome face was already starting to double in her blurry vision.

She’d only meant to act drunk, but now real emotions were rising to the surface. “Jingzhuo, I miss my father.”

Feng Jingzhuo’s gaze softened. He took out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped the wine from her lips.

Ning Yao looked up with eyes sparkling. “Jingzhuo, did you know? In the Bodhi clan, everything is equal. Women can bear children for the ones they love… and so can men. My father loved my mother so much—even though she was from another race, he still wanted to bear children for her.”

Feng Jingzhuo shielded her from the night wind, quietly listening.

“My father gave birth to my eldest sister. Not long after, he was pregnant with me. In our clan, a Bodhi child takes three years and seven months to mature in the womb. But before I was even due, my mother said… she was leaving.”

Ning Yao rested her chin on her hands, looking up. The ruined temple had a gaping hole in the ceiling—through it, she could see stars scattered across the night sky.

“My mother… she was a goddess from the heavens. And she said she was leaving.”

The divine realm was divided by the Heavenly River. Once she crossed it, her father would never see her again.

Feng Jingzhuo asked gently, “Why did she leave?”

Ning Yao let out a short laugh. “Because she was bored.”

She came on a whim, and left just as casually—without even looking back.

Feng Jingzhuo looked at her smile, and it made his heart twist. “Maybe she had her reasons… Maybe it wasn’t so simple.”

“Sometimes I think so too,” Ning Yao said. “Maybe it’s just that farewells are always cruel, so I like to pretend she had a reason. But no—my mother was just tired of my father. She didn’t want him anymore.”

Even though he was pregnant with me, even though he knelt before her and begged—willing to let her go if only she would wait for the baby to be born, promising to let her kill him afterward so he could ascend to godhood and bring the children to join her in the heavens—she still refused.

Her mother said she couldn’t wait—not even for a moment. If she were to be killed, it had to be now.

But her father couldn’t bear to part with the child in his womb.

The wine was truly poor in quality—just a few sips, and Ning Yao already felt tipsy. In her ears, she seemed to hear her Grandmaster’s gentle voice again, back when he cradled her and her older sister after her father’s death, patiently teaching over and over:

“Even if you were born with the heartless divine meridian and feel no emotions by nature, you must still be a kind and upright person.”

Ning Yao held Feng Jingzhuo’s hand, her tone was affectionate and soft:

“Zhuo’er, everything Grandmaster said—I’ve done it. I’ll take care of you all. I know what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

Feng Jingzhuo smiled:

“Yao Yao, do you know what I really want?”

Ning Yao lifted her chin. Though slightly drunk, her eyes still sparkled with a proud little smirk:

“You want to become stronger so no one can bully you anymore, right?”

Feng Jingzhuo thought for a moment, then curved his lips and admitted,

“That’s right.”

Ning Yao gave him a “see, I knew it” kind of look. She moved closer, sat beside him, and leaned on him like a pillow, getting comfortable. Looking up through a hole in the dilapidated temple roof, she could see the stars flowing quietly in the night sky.

“When I was little, I always thought, ‘I’ll go to the Divine Realm, find my mother, and ask her for my father’s sake…”

She paused, then laughed:

“But I don’t want to ask anymore. Now I just want to bring everyone to the Divine Realm. Each of us will have a grand palace, three stories tall with a courtyard, and the floors will be paved with bricks of pure red gold. That would be so beautiful.”

Feng Jingzhuo looked down at her, his heart softening.

She kept muttering,

“So beautiful…”

Feng Jingzhuo agreed,

“It is. But you’re not allowed to drink again.”

As Ning Yao drifted off, still dreaming about her luxurious future palace, her long lashes fluttered slightly—she was probably already wandering through those halls in her sleep.

Feng Jingzhuo chuckled silently. Worried she might catch a cold, he draped his outer robe gently around her.

Not wanting to disturb her dream, he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, so soft it melted into the wind:

“Yao Yao, you’re so gifted. You will ascend and become a god one day.”

“When that time comes, I’ll block the heavenly tribulation for you.”