Gu Jin suddenly felt heat creep up her face. She had acted without thinking, assuming the worst. And now, she had hit Long Yifan for no reason.
"I—" She opened her mouth, but no words ca out.
Her face turned slightly red as she looked at his cheek, which still had a faint mark from her slap.
Long Yifan smiled, watching her awkward reaction.
"Next ti, at least let finish speaking before you hit ."
Gu Jin looked away. She wasn’t soone who apologized easily, but she also wasn’t soone who ignored her mistakes.
"...Fine. That was my fault." Her voice was quiet.
Long Yifan’s smile widened. "Glad you realized."
Gu Jin huffed and turned back to him. "Still, I’m not convinced."
Long Yifan nodded.
"I won’t force you. Think about it. With as your partner, you’ll reach the Transcendental Stage faster. We’ll both grow stronger.
And most importantly, I’m the only one who knows how to guide your unique body type."
Gu Jin hated to admit it, but he had a point. Still, sothing about him made her wary. She didn’t like how easily he got under her skin.
"I’ll think about it," she finally said.
Long Yifan smirked. "Good. That’s all I ask."
"Wait...how did you know sothing even the Gu Family didn’t know?" Gu Jin asked.
Long Yifan stared at Gu Jin with burning intensity in his eyes.
His eyes were enough to tell everything Gu Jin needed to know, but she declined to accept it.
"Don’t look at like that. I need an answer, either say it or leave." Gu Jin calmly said.
Long Yifan lowered his gaze.
There were many things he didn’t tell Gu Jin...for once he wanted to be honest with her and said,
"Do you know that in the past three years, I searched every corner of the world to find out what type of body you possess? After all, others can’t see it, but I can.
Your aura emits rainbow color plus a golden, black, and white light too. It was unique, but unique in the mage world ans...dangerous. So I searched the world and found the answer from soone."
"Can you give his na?" Gu Jin asked. There were many things that Long Yifan didn’t tell her.
Why did the pain disappear when he hugged her?
What if she didn’t awaken all the elents?
Why does she suffer so much pain in self-awakening?
Is there any special thod to cultivate self-awakening?
There were many such questions in Gu Jin’s heart. For so reason, she kept on feeling as if Long Yifan knew the answer to these questions but was intentionally not telling her.
Long Yifan paused for a brief mont before shaking her head,
"No. He is already dead, he possessed a Multi-Elental Body too."
Thinking back he never related Gu Jin to the Gu Family primarily because there were more than 100 people in the world who possessed such bodies and each of them had a common trait: All of them were orphans.
For a brief mont, Long Yifan even considered whether all of them were related but the investigation revealed he was overthinking.
Gu Jin didn’t feel defeated.
If soone in the world knows about the body type, then there is a possibility that so other people will know it too. She just needs to find them.
However...
Did Long Yifan truly search for her body type in the past 3 years? But why? Didn’t he love Gu Aihan at that ti? So why was he trying to find her body type?
Did he truly love her...all along?
Gu Jin bit her lips, before suppressing her emotions.
So what if he loved her? He still made her suffer.
Long Yifan smiled bitterly when he saw the complex emotions in Gu Jin’s eyes turning into determination.
His love has a heart made of stone. It was going to be difficult to lt it.
Sure enough, the next second, Gu Jin’s voice sounded,
"Now leave."
Long Yifan stood up and slowly walked up to her.
Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed,
"Don’t even think about doing anything funny."
Long Yifan smirked,
"Oh? And why do you think I am going to do sothing funny? Maybe I intend to do sothing serious."
Gu Jin took a step back, her eyes full of suspicion.
"Serious?" she repeated, crossing her arms. "Like what?"
Long Yifan stopped right in front of her, looking down into her sharp eyes. His smirk softened just a little.
"Serious like proving to you that I an what I say," he replied.
Gu Jin scoffed. "Oh? And how do you plan to do that?"
Long Yifan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jade pendant. It shimred under the dim light of the room, glowing faintly with an unknown power.
"This," he said, placing it in her hand, "is proof of my sincerity."
Gu Jin frowned, staring at the pendant. "What is this?"
"A rare energy-stabilizing jade," Long Yifan explained.
"It will help ease the pain when you self-awaken new elents. It won’t stop it completely, but it will make it more bearable."
"I don’t need it." Gu Jin said and passed the jade back to Long Yifan.
She doesn’t like to owe anyone anything.
Long Yifan sensing her thoughts, chuckled,
"I am just trying to repay my debt. You saved in the forgotten elental world, and I never had the chance to repay the favor."
"You did it by protecting when I was unconscious." Gu Jin coldly replied.
The mories of how Long Yifan had sided with Gu Aihan at that ti, seed to have been etched in her mind.
Whenever that incident was ntioned, she would feel as if soone had stabbed a knife in her heart.
Long Yifan placed the jade pendant back in her hand and explained,
"This is compensation for not taking your side back then. I am sorry for being ungrateful at that ti. Jin’er if there is anything that I regret the most, then it was taking Gu Aihan’s side back then. I am sorry. I am sorry for overlooking your efforts and I am sorry for not caring when you were the only one who had rembered out of all the people."
Gu Jin’s gaze turned cold with each passing second and finally, she uttered,
"Get out."
Just two words were enough to show how deeply she was hurt.
Long Yifan remained silent for a mont, his gaze locked onto Gu Jin’s cold, unwavering eyes. He had expected resistance—he had expected her anger—but witnessing it firsthand, feeling the sharp edge of her rejection, still stung more than he anticipated.
"Gu Jin—"
"I said, get out." Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argunt.
Long Yifan exhaled slowly. He didn’t move imdiately, instead, he studied her face, morizing every detail.
The way her lips pressed into a thin line, the way her eyes held an icy barrier, shielding whatever emotions lay beneath.
She was a fortress, impenetrable, unyielding. And he had built that wall himself.
Finally, he took a step back, his smirk replaced with sothing softer, sothing almost lancholic.
"Alright, I’ll leave," he conceded, his tone neither bitter nor mocking.
"But Gu Jin, you can push away as much as you want. It won’t change the truth."
She didn’t respond, only tightening her grip on the jade pendant he had given her. He noticed but said nothing.
As he reached the door, he paused, glancing over his shoulder. "You don’t have to forgive . I know I don’t deserve it. But soday, when you’re ready, I hope you’ll at least understand."
With that, he walked out, closing the door behind him. The room fell into silence, save for the faint sound of Gu Jin’s steady breathing.
She looked down at the pendant in her hand, its faint glow reflecting in her eyes.
Her fingers curled around it instinctively, as if absorbing the warmth it carried.
A bitter chuckle escaped her lips.
"Understanding, huh?" she murmured.
Did he think it was that easy? That just because he apologized, all the pain would magically disappear?
Her grip on the pendant loosened slightly, the glow pulsating gently against her palm. She could feel the stabilizing energy within it. Despite everything, she knew it was valuable. She knew he wouldn’t have given it to her if he didn’t truly care.
But caring wasn’t enough.
With a quiet sigh, she set the pendant aside and walked towards the window, staring out at the moonlit sky.
The world outside was vast, filled with unknown dangers and challenges. She had no ti for distractions.
Long Yifan wanted to be her partner. He wanted to make up for his mistakes. But Gu Jin had already decided—
She would reach the Transcendental Stage on her own.
Just then Luo ng entered the room,
"Master, are you alright? Do you want to..."
"Leave alone." Gu Jin calmly said, her eyes never leaving the moon.
"But master..."
"Just leave alone." Gu Jin repeated, her words were laced with fatigue.
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