Chapter 88

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Chapter 88: Snowy Mountain Top

Aji had now been trapped in the north for several days. She was stressed out of her mind. She thought her four tails were not sufficient in getting away from the watch guards, but all difficult problems had creative solutions.

At noon, Ji Ning buried his head at the table and chomped down his lunch. He was still a growing body, so he ate well and slept well.

Aji, however, had very little interest in food. She disliked being watched from the bottom of her heart. She pushed all the dishes to Ji Ning then walked to the windowsill. Looking at the distant snowy mountains, a plan suddenly popped into her head.

She jumped up and pulled Ji Ning, who was still eating, over to the window.

"Over there, over there!" She pointed to the mountains. "There's no city gate over there, right?"

Ji Ning swallowed the food in his mouth and glanced at the direction of her finger. "Further north of the Northlands are deserted snowfields and mountains. No one goes there, so there shouldn't be a city gate, right?"

Aji clapped her hands and instantly said, "Go go go."

"Where?"

Aji saw his bewildered face and did not bother to explain. "Mountain climbing, for some exercise."

Ji Ning looked at the snow-capped mountains. "Right now? I'm still eating..."

"You can keep eating after we come back." She dragged him out and headed north. No bags and no luggages, as if they really were just going to have some fun.

Of course, two guards immediately followed them. Aji did not mind it and kept walking all the way to the northern border. The two guards then looked at each other and walked up to her.

"You two should not go further."

"What's wrong this time?" Aji asked.

"Up ahead..." One of the guards looked at the vast snowfields and tried to find a reason.

Aji took this opportunity and pressed on, "Is it exiting a city gate up ahead? Is it no longer the Northlands territory? We just want to come out for a walk after lunch, maybe climb a mountain and enjoy some snow, is it not okay? Are you still being reasonable here?"

The two guards were at a loss for words as Aji continued to drag Ji Ning forward. Ji Ning whispered into her ear, "The Northlands is really too strict."

Aji peeked back and saw the guards still following them like shadows. But the look on their faces delighted her.

They really did climb up a mountain. Ji Ning wiped away some sweat from his face and looked back. The city was now in full view and Aji still tirelessly climbed upward. The two guards also silently followed.

"Aji, how far do you want to go?" Ji Ning raised his voice and asked her. "I think we're about to reach the top of this mountain."

"Go to the top and rest a bit, then head down," Aji replied without looking back.

While the guards breathed a little sigh of relief, a stream of black gas suddenly floated up behind them. Startled, they turned around to look, but it knocked the back of their heads and they started to fall over the cliff. The black gas then solidified into human form and grabbed them, setting them down onto the snow.

Aji wagged her tails and Ji Ning looked at her in shock. "Five... five tails?"

From three tails to five, Aji could no longer maintain her male body. She had transformed into a young lady with a face that had the strongest resemblance to her original self. She stayed in that form only briefly before changing back to three tails again.

"How many tails do you really have…?" Ji Ning could not help but ask.

"Does it matter?" Aji walked over to grab a hold of his arm. "Let's go. We will fly around the mountains from here then head south..." Before she finished talking, the hand she had reached out was abruptly slapped away by another hand.

A black shadow flashed in front of her with hair the color of snow. The jiaoren was now standing between her and Ji Ning.

Ji Ning's legs went weak and sat down, almost rolling down the slope.

"Your face a moment ago..." The jiaoren grabbed her chin and pulled her closer to him. "Show me again."

Aji's mouth twitched and she blurted out, "How are you everywhere?!" She viciously broke free from his hand. "Did you open up a third eye to stalk me?"

The jiaoren did not answer, but Ji Ning saw the two guards lying on the ground. They were still unconscious, but they held broken snowballs in their hands. They had managed to crack a snowball to inform Changyi when she ambushed them.

Changyi grabbed her face again and squeezed so hard that it distorted her. "Show me!"

Aji's anger and frustration had been building up over the days. Changyi's rudeness ignited the fire inside her.

Swoosh! Five black tails appeared behind Aji. "Fine!" She channeled her palm with demonic power and struck at his chest with full force. "Happy now?!"

Changyi spaced out the moment this familiar face appeared before his eyes and was not prepared at all for her attack.

The force from her palm blew away all the snow around them, but he did not move in the slightest. Her hand landed on his chest but his hand remained on her face.

His expression was of a complexity that she did not understand. Aji froze.

What story did they have between each other?

Aji had been very curious about her past before, but never as much as now. She looked into his eyes and desperately wanted to know what kind of experience would make someone look like this.

Finally, Changyi released his hand. Aji's question circled several times on the tip of her tongue, but what she eventually said out loud was, "Ji Ning, let's go back."

They could not run away anymore since the jiaoren had come.

"Stand still." Changyi turned around and looked at Aji who was about to leave. "Why hide it?"

He was asking about why she had not used five tails against his deadly attack the other day. Aji said casually, "I didn't hide it, I just thought four was enough." Aji headed down the mountain with Ji Ning while her mouth rambled on. "It's good to come out for a walk and enjoy the view. Better than suffocating inside all day long. Temperament gets all weird and starts to enjoy locking himself up... And locking other people up too… Don't know what kind of an odd fetish this is."

Ji Ning sweated profusely at her words.

He nervously looked back at Changyi, and saw no emotions on his face. Instead, the jiaoren calmly said, "Okay, let's take a walk."

They stopped in their tracks.

Aji thought she heard wrong and turned her head to look at Ji Ning. Ji Ning also thought he heard wrong and looked at Aji. They silently inquired with each other then turned to look at Changyi.

Changyi looked back at them. "We will go together."

Ji Ning pulled his hand out from Aji's grip. "I can go back by myself, I promise I won't make trouble. Or, how about I help you carry these two men back, I still have some strength left..."

"Ok," Changyi agreed. "Don't do anything funny."

Ji Ning was terrified, "Nothing funny, no funny..."

He summoned his spiritual power, carried the guards onto his shoulders, and wobbled down the mountain.

Changyi and Aji were now left alone, looking at each other.

"You're kidding, right?" Aji asked him. "What am I walking with you for?"

"You go first." He did not give her a chance to reject him.

The fact was he overpowered her. Aji let out a sigh, bit her teeth, and buried her head to walk in the front, like a prisoner being sent into exile. Changyi followed her without saying anything. When she walked fast, he would walk fast, and when she walked slow, he would also slow down. But the look on his face was interesting.

It seemed as if he just wanted to watch her and her back, to reminisce in some past memories, and to hold on to something faint and intangible...

Like a returning friend...

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