In order to cover for Zhen Jin, Zi Di convened the higher ups for an emergency meeting.
The body double returned.
Due to Zi Di’s coverup, the body double was deceived and still believed he hadn’t been exposed.
However, that same night, the body double was frequently awakened by nightmares. He realized——although nothing had changed, he could no longer return to the past.
The body double became depressed, but still pretended to be tranquil.
This tranquil appearance made Zi Di sympathize more, she sensed the weight and anguish in the body double’s heart.
Fei She found the body double and informed him Zi Di’s birthday was imminent.
When the body double began to prepare for Zi Di’s birthday party, Zi Di sensed it immediately.
Although Zi Di felt happy, she was burdened by worries. Due to the pressure on her and the body double, she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
Zi Di did her best to oppose the birthday party with a firm attitude.
“Maybe, I shouldn’t keep the truth hidden.”
“I should tell him everything.”
“No matter how he regards me, he ought to know the truth!”
This opinion often appeared in Zi Di’s mind, but every time it happened, she never had the courage to truly carry it out.
Her mouth couldn’t say anything.
“Maybe, I need a ripe opportunity.”
Zi Di’s birthday was that night, and against the girl’s expectations, the body double came to Zi Di’s residence alone.
He brought a bowl of fire-poison bee honey.
“Thank you.” Zi Di was moved.
“Although I don’t have a rainbow cake right now, this honey has a very sweet taste.” The body double said.
Nevertheless, Zi Di’s complexion changed: “My Lord, you ate the honey? It’s poisonous!”
“Ah? I, I didn’t taste any poison.”
“Your Lordship probably hasn’t tasted many things. This honey contains the fire-poison’s essence, if the dosage was magnified, even someone at the gold level would be injured.” Zi Di quickly said, soon after self-blame appeared on her face, “Blame me! I didn’t inform your Lordship of my latest research gains. I remember, the ravine does not have any beehives nearby. My Lord, going on an expedition alone, even with the soot potion, is excessively dangerous.”
“I was willing to risk it for you!” The body double blurted out.
Looking at the knight before her, Zi Di’s pulse sped up and a beautiful feeling of cherishment became abundant in her heart.
She deeply gazed into the body double’s eyes and softly said: “Thank you.”
The body double shook his head and looked at the bowl of honey, somewhat discouraged.
Zi Di then turned her eyes and suddenly said: “Thank you for the cake.”
“Cake?”
“Yes, this big cake is made from harmless honey, did you not see it?” Zi Di released Zhen Jin’s hand, then with both hands, she traced the form of a cake in the air.
The body double couldn’t help but laugh, he followed along with Zi Di: “Eh, of course I see it. The cake is very big, its many layers resemble a rainbow cake somewhat.”
“No, it only has one layer.” Zi Di shook her head, “It does not resemble a rainbow cake at all. It……is sweeter than a rainbow cake!”
The two began to dip their fingers into the cake and feed each other.
“Really sweet!”
“Tasty.”
The body double breathed roughly, and Zi Di’s face also blushed red, the two then approached one another until there was a hand length between them.
The cliff cave’s ambience became charming and gentle.
Zi Di’s heart shouted: “Now, now is the time!”
“Speak, tell him everything.”
“You shouldn’t conceal the truth from him.”
Love produced courage and impulses, but as she opened her mouth, the body double said: “Zi Di, I have something……”
Zi Di blankly stared, soon after she understood what the body double wanted to say next.
“Thank goodness! He wants to tell me about his beastification secret!!”
For a split second, the happiness of being trusted by your beloved, instantly swept into Zi Di’s heart like the tide.
She understood the body double telling her this secret was very risky and showed how much he trusted her.
At that moment, she realized this was the opportunity she had persistently waited for.
When the body double finished, she would follow and tell him the truth!
“This is the moment when we trust each other fully.”
All of Zi Di’s misgivings were thrown to the back of her mind.
However, just as the body double opened his mouth, he was interrupted.
A noisy disturbance suddenly happened outside the cave.
“He’s gone mad!”
“The idiot has gone mad!!”
“Run, he will kill us.”
The body double’s and Zi Di’s complexion abruptly changed, and they immediately rushed out of the cave.
The body double quickly contained the situation, preventing any more damage.
But Zi Di worried about the future: “I am not a doctor, in fact the boat craftsman actually said, he always tried to treat the giant’s illness, however every doctor was unable to help. The boat craftsman even spent a large sum of money to hire a chaplain to treat the giant with a divine spell.”
“We must consider this hidden threat. If, when the ship is mostly built, the giant suddenly went mad again, he would cause inconceivable damage.”
The body double remained silent after listening to these words.
Nearing their residences, the two parted ways.
“Oh, that’s right, my Lord, beforehand……what did you want to talk to me about?” Zi Di asked with expectations.
But the body double said: “Nothing.”
Seeing him leave, Zi Di suddenly realized her enormous mistake.
“He saw himself in the blockhead.”
“I just warned him about the blockhead, and when he heard it, how could he not guard against his beastification?”
“Goodness gracious Zi Di, you are too clumsy, how could you make this mistake?!”
As unparalleled vexation filled her thoughts, Zi Di immediately took a step and wanted to overtake the body double.
She wanted to run over, brazenly hug him, and courageously inform and console him: “Don’t misunderstand me, I wasn’t talking about you!”
However, her footsteps grew slower and heavier.
Her swelling courage and impulses had already dissipated.
All kinds of apprehensions once again extended themselves through her mind.
Obviously the two weren’t far from each other, however Zi Di felt there were countless mountains and chasms between her and the body double.
“Sorry……sorry……” She could only apologize in her heart.
“Now is not a good opportunity, there will be more, there must be a better chance.”
Zi Di shrank back.
She continued to wait for an opportunity.
However, she waited for an earthquake.
As the earthquakes grew more frequent, the people were forced to move the ship out of the ravine to continue building it.
The damp rainy weather was a giant hindrance to the shipbuilding. Zi Di potions then displayed their immense impact, causing the girl to work hard every day.
As the situation grew viler, not only were there earthquakes, there were volcano eruptions as well as invading magic beast corps.
As the people built the ship, they had to drive back countless magic beasts from the ravine.
Zhen Jin found Zi Di again.
“The situation is far from reassuring!”
“Maybe I should expose my identity and make them protect me more.”
Fear and worry were all over his face.
Zi Di appeased him: “My Lord, that is too risky. Currently, everyone approves of the body double, if they knew the body double wasn’t the real one, the will of the people would split and become hard to control. Morale would slide and the front might collapse.”
“Furthermore, the body double is very threatening. If he knew he was deceived, how would he treat you and me? Would he murder us to vent his anger?”
Zhen Jin’s dread increased.
Zi Di changed the topic: “Actually, our situation is still fine, the new ship is almost finished.”
“We hold the ravine and have crossbows. In recent days, I often heard others praise your Lordship in secret. When a ballista is under your Lordship’s control, silver level magic beasts suffer serious losses.”
“Naturally. After all, I have the Bai Zhen Clan bloodline……” Zhen Jin was gradually alleviated, “My opinions were too impetuous, and your analysis is very reasonable. I will continue enduring. We are an inseparable pair, aren’t we?”
“Indeed, your Lordship!” Zi Di smiled.
But as a matter of fact, Zi Di had always been looking for an opportunity to tell the body double the truth.
However, it was not merely because she was busy, during the day the body double was stationed at the shipbuilding site to guard against the giant’s madness, unless he had to go to the front to provide emergency aid.
Bai Ya fell ill.
But many people were ill and injured. Almost all of them relied on Zi Di for treatment, and there was enormous pressure on her.
Zi Di couldn’t prescribe the right medicine, thus she gave Bai Ya something to alleviate his symptoms, however she couldn’t cure him.
Not long after, Bai Ya neared death and became deathly pale as he lay unconscious.
Zi Di rushed over to provide critical care and found faded characters on his letters, causing her heart to shake.
“Bai Ya used that ink!”
She instantly understood Bai Ya’s symptoms, he was an indirect casualty of Zi Di’s plot against the captain.
Bai Ya’s letters were like a needle that suddenly thrusted into Zi Di’s heart. She felt guilty for Bai Ya and dreaded what fate would bring about next.
Fortunately, the body double, Cang Xu, and the others didn’t know about this secret.
“My Lord, please stop.” Leaving, Zi Di called to the body double.
They were the only two in the passageway.
“My Lord, let me hold onto those letters for safekeeping. After all, you often charge on the frontlines.” Said Zi Di.
“Please keep them safe.” The body double nodded and gave the letters to Zi Di without the slightest suspicion.
Holding Bai Ya’s letters, Zi Di understood if she did this, there would be traces left behind.
“Rather than waiting until he discovers this in the future, I might as well be honest now!”
Thinking of this, Zi Di opened her mouth: “My Lord I……”
But the body double interrupted: “No need to console me. Although indeed, my mood has been gloomy since my comrade collapsed. I do not have the ability to save him, and many times, my abilities really are limited.”
The body double sank into self-doubt, Bai Ya’s situation had struck him to some degree.
Seeing the body double’s demeanor, Zi Di felt more guilty as the culprit.
“My Lord!” She frivolously called as she stepped forward to hug the body double.
“Lord Zhen Jin, you are absolutely qualified, no, you are an outstanding leader. You are a knight, my……knight, please don’t doubt yourself.”
Her delicate body and positive encouragement eased the body double’s expression slightly.
The youngster lifted his hand and caressed Zi Di’s shoulder.
Feeling the body double’s chest, Zi Di sensed both of their heartbeats gradually becoming identical.
At that moment, all of her misgivings seemed like a melted spring river that slowly flushed away the ice cubes to expose a vibrant river.
Zi Di clenched her teeth, in that split second, she finally had enough courage.
But just as she was about to tell the truth, the body double’s expression changed, his ultrasound had detected an emergency on the front.
“I must go!” The body double softly pushed Zi Di away.
That interruption destroyed most of Zi Di’s courage.
She was discouraged, while she detested her weakness, she could only let go and gaze with her amethyst eyes as the body double vanished behind a corner.
This was her best chance, and also her final chance.
But she thought she would have another one.
She was too naive, and always subconsciously thought that life would be more beautiful in the future.
When the ship was finished, during the celebration, the body double silently left and kept the giant company.
Then an unprecedented earthquake collapsed the ravine. Then the magic beast corps invaded, during the bitter struggle, Zi Di was forced to trigger the beautification potion to save the others.
After the battle, everyone assembled to dissect their beastified comrades.
Zi Di purposely primed them: “Don’t you feel these beastified people and those remodeled magic beasts are similar?”
“I have no evidence, only guesses. The island master has constructed a gigantic magic spell on this island or made other arrangements. These arrangements forcibly teleport us, form the magic prohibition environment, and even control the weather. Apart from this, it can also secretly influence and change all lifeforms on the island, I fear this is the cause of our comrades’ beastification.”
She succeeded, and no one doubted her.
But her heart had no happiness in it.
Especially when she saw the body double praying on deck, upon seeing his heavy face, she found it hard to cover her worry.
Guilt and regret attacked.
“Others have beastified, and you can also beastify. You must be worried, you are anxious that during a beastification, you will become berserk, lose your rationality, and harm the others.”
“For a long time now, your heart has always been filled with doubt.”
“I can answer your doubts. But, but……”
After the beastification affair, another layer of misunderstandings appeared between Zi Di and the body double.
“Sorry, sorry, I caused you to be like this……”
“All of this is because of my mistakes.”
Zi Di wanted to bless the body double, however her timidness and guilty conscience made it hard for her to take the first step.
She knew her acting was very good, for now at least, the body double hadn’t found any flaws.
But she didn’t dare to venture out.
She loved him, however the greater her love, the more she harmed him.
The ship was damaged, and another earthquake happened. Everything was dangerous, and it seemed waiting for help was the only option.
Gazing at the fractured earth that suddenly formed an expansive river, Zi Di bit her teeth and declared that she knew an additional choice.
“Maybe, I still have one way.” She was very hesitant, because she didn’t know the outcome.
“We can go to the most central area, perhaps our hope of survival is there!”
“Do you remember the contents of our analysis?”
“As long as we seize control of the control hub, we have hope.”
Everyone was moved by the idea, but they were still hesitating.
At that crucial moment, the body double coordinated with her once again: “Just now, Emperor Sheng Ming illuminated me!”
The body double pointed to the river and issued his decision.
The group set off again.
At first, they traveled by ship until they were forced ashore.
As obstructions grew heavier and halted them. Zi Di sensed unexpected assistance.
It was actually Jia Sha!
They were still alive.
Zi Di reminded Hei Juan that he couldn’t divulge his identity rashly.
Hei Juan agreed on the surface, however due to being worried about his life, he secretly told Jia Sha everything he knew.
With the help of Jia Sha, Zi Di and the others entered the alchemy factory, crashed their way through the production workshop and lava battlefield, and entered the control hub.
When the tower spirit asked for help, she was pleasantly surprised, with almost no hesitation, she bravely stepped forward and battled Jia Sha.
However, in the end, she still failed on the final effort.
Notes
And thus, the Zi Di flashbacks end. A story of a girl meeting the knight of her dreams, yet not quite so. The most genuine and chivalrous man she ever met was also the greatest monster in existence. He is 866, a man born from the ambition of the greatest life alchemist to walk the world, yet he is still a knight. Although his name, age, and everything else remain lost to time and memory, his ideals are still something to be looked up to. It is time...to return to the present and the end.