Shangguan Bing Xue observed the way Bai Zemin looked at Lilith and also noticed the way she looked back at him.
Even an idiot could easily tell that the two of them felt more than friendship for each other. Even more so considering how soft Bai Zemin's voice was when he was talking about Lilith; his voice was as soft as that of a father talking to a newborn baby and he was afraid of scaring it so he was taking the highest level of care and tenderness possible.
This was the first time Shangguan Bing Xue had seen the always serious or indifferent Bai Zemin acting this way, and the fact that all that gentleness was contained within him surprised her more than the fact that all that sweetness was being directed at a woman.
For every second that passed and she discovered new things about him, the more Shangguan Bing Xue became convinced that Bai Zemin would be an awesomely great partner to decide to join with to spend the rest of the life with.
However, she soon dismissed those thoughts. There was no time for that.
Even if Shangguan Bing Xue selfishly decided to ignore the fact that her best friend was in love with him, Shangguan Bing Xue herself was not even sure of her own heart. In fact, were it not for the fact that Lilith had appeared in front of her today and had been continuously pestering her with comments that made her realize that Bai Zemin was not just another ordinary man to her, Shangguan Bing Xue would possibly still not have realized this fact.
If Lilith knew that Shangguan Bing Xue had "woken up" thanks to her constant teasing she would probably feel happy since from the beginning this was what she aspired to achieve.
Like Shangguan Bing Xue, Lilith was a very proud woman. Therefore, if she eventually captured the heart of Bai Zemin, she wanted to do it without hiding from anyone or anything such that in the distant future no woman would be able to tell her that she had played cunningly.
A clear fight for all to see. One in which, in the event of deciding that she had finally fallen in love, Lilith did not plan to lose.
Lilith had suffered too much and lost too many things throughout her relatively short but at the same time long life to be willing to give up on this feeling that made every day look different for her. She was not willing to let go of that wonderful sensation of feeling alive again regardless of what others might think or say.
After taking a deep breath to calm his heart, Bai Zemin looked at Shangguan Bing Xue again and despite noticing the complicated look in her eyes he decided to continue with his explanation from before.
"The reason why I said back then that I have a long-term contract with a woman is because Lilith needs my help to achieve her goal. As you may well be thinking now, a goal that even a Sixth Order existence cannot complete on its own definitely shouldn't be something simple. Therefore, at least for the years to come, it is safe to say that she and I will be together."
Bai Zemin said nothing about the eternal future. He did not comment that he expected to spend his whole life together with Lilith either as friends or whatever. Such things had to come naturally and if destiny willed it to be so then it would be so.... And if not, then that meant that the bonds between Bai Zemin and Lilith were never meant to be strong in the first place and the relationship between the two was nothing more than a relationship based solely on benefits where feelings were weaker than they seemed.
Then, Bai Zemin smiled slightly towards Shangguan Bing Xue and said playfully, "The same applies to you. It may take tens of years, centuries, millennia, even eons.... But in the end, we aim to rule the universe for the sake of our loved ones, right? At least until that goal is achieved, both you and I are bound by the promises we made to each other in the mutant forest that night. Therefore, you are my second long-term contract."
"... I see... So that's why it's a long-term contract." Shangguan Bing Xue muttered under her breath as she looked down at the ground, lost in her own thoughts.
Too many things had happened, all together. Shangguan Bing Xue needed time to process all the information she had just received as it was too important to think very carefully about what she would do next. However, regardless of who Lilith was or whatever her intentions were, Shangguan Bing Xue felt that what she had to do in the short term had not changed at all.
She raised her head and looked Bai Zemin in the eyes, "Bai Zemin, I-"
Shangguan Bing Xue seemed to have summoned up the courage to say something, but when her blue eyes met those dark eyes that seemed to draw her soul like black holes, all that courage disappeared and her spirit deflated like a balloon that had all the air sucked out of it.
"Em? Tell me." He asked, confused by the sudden impulse that soon came to nothing.
"... It's nothing." Shangguan Bing Xue said as she shook her head. She took the spatial storage ring and extended her hand forward saying in a slightly faded voice, "Here, your ring. The space inside should be enough to store what's left."
".. I see. Thank you." He said, nodding slightly without pursuing the matter too much as he was really tired and needed rest badly. Even being on his feet was painful for him currently.
As Bai Zemin looked around and walked towards where the lifeless bodies of the remaining mutant beasts were piled up, Lilith looked at Shangguan Bing Xue deeply and said in a voice that only both of them could hear:
"I hope you won't regret this later."
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at her coldly and replied, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Lilith shook her head and as she walked towards Bai Zemin she said without looking back, "I told you before and I'll say it again.... You can fool others, you can even fool yourself. But you can't fool me.... Just remember my words; when you realize your foolishness, it will probably be too late for you... and when you feel like crying, you will only have yourself to blame for it."
Shangguan Bing Xue watched silently as Lilith joined Bai Zemin. The two were chatting freely and carefree. The gaze of Bai Zemin was still silky smooth when he looked at Lilith and the smiles on Lilith's face were no different from that of the happiest woman in the world even though they were just chatting idle chitchat with each other.
It would be a lie to say that she did not feel anger deep in her heart. However, unlike the anger she felt before, this anger she felt now could not be released as it was wrapped tightly by a great layer of anxiety, impotence, and above all of not knowing what to do.
Bai Zemin and Lilith had many things to talk about. After spending so many days away from each other, when they met again there was no awkwardness at all; only calm and comfort. Just like coming home after a long period of working abroad.
For the moment, neither he nor she mentioned serious matters as they tactically decided to first make up for some lost time to break down that thin stone wall that had inevitably appeared between the two of them.
The one who had to make the most effort was undoubtedly Lilith. She clearly noticed that even though Bai Zemin did not seem to have changed much, he somehow tried to keep some distance from her when it came to matters of the heart; something that just before she left for Kram World did not happen anymore.
The effect of the skill Stone Heart might have weakened tremendously after so many cracks appearing in the rune engraved into Bai Zemin's soul, but this did not mean that the effect was no longer strong; even less so considering that Lilith fell under the duplicate effect due to her being a woman.
Bai Zemin still remembered how bad he felt when Lilith disappeared just like that. Therefore, he had inadvertently created some distance between the two of them. It was just a thin barrier that Lilith was confident in breaking quickly, but which she hoped would not appear again as it made her heart sting so much.
"Sorry for disappearing without even giving you time to say goodbye or explaining too much." She said softly and didn't dare to look Bai Zemin in the eyes as she whispered, "It's just that at that moment I didn't know what to say.... Even though I'm old enough to be a mother to your parents, these kinds of emotions that slowly reawaken in me again after a long time suddenly don't let my train of thoughts be clear."
This was the first time Lilith and Bai Zemin openly touched on the sentimental topic. In the past, they both avoided this kind of conversation for different reasons; while she believed that it was only something temporary that would disappear after a certain period of time, Bai Zemin saw these kinds of feelings as useless that in the long run would become an even greater burden than the one he carried on his back. However, after being away from each other for so many days in a row, somehow the two of them matured a lot.
Although the words of Lilith implied that she had been in love in the past, Bai Zemin was not angry at all and on the contrary he understood her perfectly. Lilith was a woman who despite her appearance had lived at least two or three times as long as Bai Zemin had lived now and it would be completely irrational to be angry at the fact that she had experienced love when Bai Zemin might not even have been born yet let alone met her.
Besides, based on what Lilith had told him so far, it was clear that this love spell from her past had been fleeting; something that shimmered for a brief moment before fading away leaving behind only some memories but no proof of its existence.
Bai Zemin sighed and as he embraced the little pink dolphin with his left arm he reached out his right hand and gently caressed Lilith's hair. He felt the softness of the strand of midnight black hair in his hand and said in a low voice, "It's okay. Let's see where this takes us, one step at a time. Without rushing anything."
He looked into her eyes and smiled, "At the end of all this, what awaits us is an eternity. Isn't it? We have all the time in the world to do things right and not regret it later. I just hope that next time you'll think a little more about how I'll feel if you just tell me you're leaving and walk away without saying much more."
"... I'm sorry." Lilith nodded still looking down.
She looked like an obedient little wife who was being reprimanded by her husband after committing a significant mistake and she looked really cute. The current Lilith was a colossal contrast compared to the mighty Bloody Succubus who terrified the members of the Demonic Army every time they remembered her ruby red eyes glowing with indifference and coldness.
Bai Zemin nodded in satisfaction and as if remembering something and to change the topic now that everything had become clear, he held his right hand in front of Lilith and while pointing his chin towards his index finger said with an arrogant smile:
"Hey, Lilith. Look at this ring, don't you think it's cool?"
Lilith looked at the ring on Bai Zemin's finger and blinked in confusion. However, remembering the words of Shangguan Bing Xue said before, something clicked in her mind.
"That's..." A glint of surprise flashed in her eyes as her little mouth moved lightly uttering words of disbelief.
Bai Zemin closed his eyes and nodded in satisfaction as he held his hand in the air. However, the next words uttered by Lilith caused him to almost fall to the ground on his butt.
"Congratulations, I didn't know you were engaged!"
Bai Zemin's eyes widened and the corner of his mouth twitched a couple of times as he growled, "Alright, I admit that was a good one."
"Hehehehe... I learned from you~ Didn't you say similar words to me when I showed you my storage ring at the beginning of Earth's evolution? I was waiting to return your joke." Lilith giggled like an imp while mentally scrubbing her hands.
For a moment, the two were lost in their own world. Meanwhile, a short distance away and watching the interaction between the two, another woman was struggling against herself and feelings that may or may not grow with the passage of time.
* * * * * * * Really thank you very much to all those who send gifts to the novel and support with valuable Golden Tickets. I hope we can all keep it up <3

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