“Indeed,” Xia Zhichun nodded. “His Majesty said he too once faced a choice, gaining much but also losing much. Although he doesn’t regret it, there’s still some lingering regret. So he wants me to give the princess a choice and see how you will choose this time.”
I stared blankly at him, feeling complex emotions. I couldn’t understand why Yan Huo would instruct Xia Zhichun to convey this to me.
“The black gold token and An Jin’s whereabouts,” he continued. “You can only choose one. Princess, please consider carefully.”
Truly worthy of Yan Huo.
I knew I should choose the black gold token. An Jin would try to find me after learning I was in Western Liang. But the opportunity to obtain the black gold token might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Yet, I hardly considered it before blurting out my choice.
“I choose An Jin.”
At that moment, I realized I was still the same old Xiao Yao – not rational enough, but always knowing what I truly wanted.
Xia Zhichun wasn’t surprised, just smiled. “Just as I expected.”
He stood up, smoothing the wrinkles on his sleeve.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll excuse myself for a moment. No one will come here, so you can be at ease.”
Huh? I watched him leave, confused. Wasn’t he supposed to tell me An Jin’s whereabouts? Why did he just leave?
“A Yao,”
An Jin’s voice sounded behind me, accompanied by a long-suppressed sigh of relief.
I took two steps back, watching him warily. “Who are you? What is the intention of impersonating An Jin?”
“Impersonation?” He looked somewhat shocked. “A Yao, can you not recognize my voice?”
“If it were An Jin, he should have answered ‘People with too much curiosity often die the fastest’,” I glared at him. “I’ve heard some people can imitate voices perfectly. Stop pretending. Were you sent by Yan or Xia Zhichun to test me?”
His expression stiffened, and his originally dark face looked so black that his features were barely distinguishable. “Good. My little demon, you’ve finally learned to be cautious, to probe, to suspect, and to scheme. You won’t need me anymore, right? Since you don’t believe me, why didn’t you choose the Wujin token just now?”
I opened my eyes wide. “You… you are really…”
