Chapter 803 — The Old Friend Is Gone
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
After all, if she had upheld the Yiyao cult's identity while sustaining the Yijin Mingshi sect for seven hundred years, she could hardly have relied on meekness and courtesy.
"I understand your misgivings," Gao Yang said with a breath of relief; there was no trace of resentment in his heart. "And so, as things stand now, it seems this 'Outland Wanderer' has passed your 'inspection.'"
"'Inspection' is an arrogant word. I can only say that your conduct now at least proves you bear no ill will toward mortals—that has set my mind considerably at ease. And the present situation leaves me no choice but to choose to trust."
Gao Yang did not haggle further over such turns of phrase. He only smiled faintly, turned his head, and through the broad floor-to-ceiling window gazed out at the city's nightscape, already brilliant with lights.
Selina fell quiet as well, and likewise turned to look at this "Arcane Capital," a thing without peer in the present age.
"Looking at this city, what do you feel?" Gao Yang said suddenly.
"I was once uneasy about your descent—especially when, in a short time, you raised a great army, set the whole Southern Reach ablaze with war, tore down the nobles' rule on every side, and churned the old order into utter upheaval. I even suspected your purpose was to bring war to this land and end civilization through chaos," Selina said softly, a faint self-mockery in her tone. "The city of Xuanque is perhaps the best mockery of my childish view...
"What you ended was only the old order. A new order has already risen from the ruins—it is just that eyes grown old cannot grasp it for a while.
"As for my view of the city of Xuanque itself..."
Here Selina paused abruptly, as though gathering her thoughts and arranging her words. Only after several seconds did she speak slowly. "If we had known that such a city could be built in reality, why would we have gone searching for some perfect nation in dreams..."
"That remark, I'm afraid, would not sit well with the old nobles I broke," Gao Yang could not resist joking. "In their minds there is probably no city more chaotic, more decadent, more stifling and unbearable than this Xuanque City."
Selina thought about it, then nodded in considerable agreement. "Fair enough."
Gao Yang turned his head slightly to glance at her and remarked offhandedly, "Since so much has been made clear, you need not be so tense and guarded with me. If you were willing, you could even treat me as Gao Yang Cecil himself—after all, I have inherited his memories, and on this journey, as part of the bargain, I am glad to bear everything that was his."
Selina regarded Gao Yang with deep, dark eyes for a moment before speaking slowly. "I am not Beiyila. I do not have her breadth of heart.
"In my eyes, you are simply an outsider occupying a friend's shell. However much you inherit from this body, you are still an 'Outland Wanderer.'
"But this was Gao Yang Cecil's own choice; it is no one's fault. So I will still do my utmost to treat you as a reliable ally, and in the future as a reliable sovereign. Naturally, before outsiders, I will also treat you as Gao Yang Cecil and reveal nothing that should not be revealed.
"Only, for anything beyond that—please forgive me, I cannot."
"Is that so... then that is well enough," Gao Yang listened carefully to her words, and amid his pondering a trace of a smile suddenly surfaced. "After playing 'Gao Yang Cecil' for so long, having you occasionally remind me of my true self... may not be a bad thing."
Selina cast him a somewhat surprised look and said softly, "You are far more... 'human' than I imagined."
Gao Yang laughed, neither confirming nor denying. After a few seconds of silence, he drew the conversation back on track:
"When do you plan to move against Sandbox One? When do you intend to make formal contact with me and announce to more members of the order that you are cooperating with the Outland Wanderer?"