Li Meirong's mouth dropped open slightly as realization struck. 'So that's the piece I was missing from his tale! He was assigned to deliver me to Mo Cheng.'

The light filtering through the window reflected in her clear, dark eyes. Hands shaking again, Li Meirong placed her cup down. She didn't trust her nerves to stay steady enough to keep from spilling her tea.

​​

She didn't want to have another encounter with Mo Cheng, especially not so soon, but it seemed like she would have no choice in the matter. Even if she avoided him to the best of her ability, he still managed to sneak back into her life. He'd managed it now, even under the restriction of house arrest.

Furthermore, all this talk about another world and a game being played hit a little too close to home for Li Meirong's comfort. What if - and this was a big 'if' - Mo Cheng's soul had also transmigrated, and he was also a person from her world?

Or, worse yet, what if this wasn't a different world as she had initially presumed, but was instead what Mo Cheng apparently kept babbling on about: a novel or a game with a set script and storyline?

Could it make any sense? Could she have been sucked into some fictional story?

Li Meirong's heart grew heavy at the thought of such a possibility. She stood again, rubbing her arms, and then began to pace back and forth across the room.

It took her a few moments to realise that she wasn't nearly as bothered by Mo Jing's badly formulated method to trick her into meeting with Mo Cheng as she was by the consequences of what knowledge might be gained from a conversation with him.

No matter how reluctant she was to do so, it seemed inevitable that she would need to meet with Mo Cheng, even if only to find out if he truly was as crazy as his brother's words made him seem.

Or, as unlikely as it was, find out if he shared her origins; it would link them much more closely than just being accepted into the same sect.

So lost was she in her musings that she didn't notice Mo Jing call her name repeatedly. She took no note of him at all until he stood and used his own body to physically bar her way.

She stopped just in time to avoid crashing into him, only an inch or so away from him.

"I know the way I went about asking you to come with me to see him was not honorable nor straightforward…" Mo Jing spoke seriously, a grim cast to his deep-set eyes.

On the table, unnoticed by either disciple, Snowball rolled his eyes at the attempted explanation.

"But I will make a vow to you now. I will ensure no harm comes to you. The way my brother pleaded for me to help him meet with you has put me in quite a difficult position. Nevertheless, he made it seem as if it is his greatest wish in the world, and that is something I cannot refuse."

Li Meirong stared at Mo Jing, assessing; this time, she really looked at him. He was obviously distraught, and she knew it was genuine, for he was an incredibly bad liar.

The awkward way he stood, and the way his legs had jittered while they were sitting, were easily betraying his nerves. He seemed worried about her response, or the possible scolding he might get from her.

She hoped her feelings did not show on her face as she considered Mo Jing. She had practically watched him and his brother, and even Shu Qianqian, grow from childhood to adulthood over the years she had been in this world.

As a result, she felt she was a lot more lenient with their faults than she was with others.

Even though she was physically around their age, her soul was that of a grown up and had been the entire time she'd known them. She had always drawn a sort of barrier between them, much as a caretaker would around the children they supervised. When they acted poorly or rashly, she couldn't help but consider their behavior to be little more than a child's error.

It had only been when she realized that Shu Qianqian was ruthless enough to try and kill her that her perspective on the matter had drastically changed.

Or so she had thought. Now, however, seeing Mo Jing look so very miserable and agitated, her heart swelled with tender pity towards him. She raised her hand and patted his shoulder in a gesture she hoped would be comforting but not considered too forward.

"Even though I would have preferred you to be more upfront about this, I now know that confronting your brother is something I must do. I will meet with him, but you must keep in mind that if he truly is crazy, I won't be able to magically cure him. All I can do is listen," she said in a gentler tone of voice.

Then she gestured towards the door with one pale hand and added, "Go ahead of me and inform Mo Cheng that I'll be arriving shortly. I need a few moments to arrange my thoughts."

Mo Jing's lower lip trembled before he pressed his lips together; his eyes shined a little brighter than normal as he tried to suppress his relief. He silently bowed his head, and then turned to leave in a rush.

With Mo Jing now gone, the silence of the cabin felt louder to Li Meirong than the hustle and bustle of the tournament had done. She felt drained, but her day was still not over.

Still on the table, Snowball's large ears perked up as he observed Li Meirong curiously for the second time that day. Every time he thought he had managed to figure her out, she would go ahead and do something that completely defied his expectations.

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Preview to the next chapter:

"Are you really going, Master?" he asked after the silence had dragged on for several long minutes. Li Meirong slouched onto her bed, exhaling loudly as she did so; she no longer had to keep up pretenses, and she was glad for the moment to relax.

"I have to," she replied.

"Why must you go?"

"It's a little too complicated to explain easily…" she trailed off, seeming unsure of how to continue. "I have to find out if Mo Cheng is related to my past like I think he might be."

Her tone was strange, and the fox spirit's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

'What, exactly, does she mean by that?' he wondered, wary.