Chapter 259: Just Lacking a Tree Hollow

Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Just Lacking a Tree Hollow

’The human mind is so hard to figure out. Plants are much simpler. Even our own kind, and those exceedingly rare High-Level Spirit Plants that have gained sentience, are ten thousand times less complicated than humans.’ Cao Cao complained inwardly while watching its master’s silent form.

Fear—

’So, this is fear?’

Gu Nuan Nuan set Cao Cao down, sat dazedly on the bed, and sank into thought.

She really didn’t want to admit, not even a tiny bit, that she was afraid. Yet, she couldn’t deny it...

"There are still a few years, anyway. I’ll deal with it when the time comes." After a long silence, Gu Nuan Nuan lay down, pulled the blanket completely over her head, and mumbled.

’No need to rush, no need to rush,’ she told herself. ’It’s still several years before the time I got together with Luo Hongyi in my past life. I don’t have to make a decision right now. I can just wait and decide what to do then, right?’

Seeing its master burying her head in the sand like an ostrich, Cao Cao couldn’t help but pout. A look of helplessness and worry crossed its chubby little face. "Master, running away is useless. Since you have to face it eventually, why not just make up your mind and tackle the problem head-on to resolve it once and for all? That’s much better than hesitating and letting yourself suffer a slow, painful death by a thousand cuts."

A cultivator’s state of mind is paramount. Only those with an open heart, who bravely face all challenges without fear or dread, can ultimately reach the pinnacle.

Having gained more inherited knowledge from its recent upgrade, Cao Cao knew more now and could sense the danger in its master’s current mindset. If it just let her be and didn’t offer some guidance, it feared that even if she were lucky enough to enter the true Cultivation World in her next life, her extraordinary aptitude would be for naught. She would inevitably get stuck at a bottleneck due to her mentality. Without some great fortuitous encounter, she might never advance another inch.

"But... I just can’t accept it! What am I supposed to do?" Gu Nuan Nuan ripped the blanket off her head and sat up, glaring at Cao Cao as it floated before her. Now that she had someone she could safely confide in and vent to, she could finally confront the conflict and struggle within her heart.

Her gaze grew distant as she thought of that bastard who had vanished for over half a year. She knew perfectly well that he wasn’t the type to give up easily. The fact that he’d been quiet for so long meant—based on experience, she didn’t even have to think about it—that he must be on some secret mission or undergoing classified training in a region at the limits of human survival...

She took a deep breath, feeling that sleep was impossible tonight. She threw off the covers, got out of bed, and silently led Cao Cao up to the small rooftop garden. Sitting on the swing, she created a shield around them. Facing Cao Cao, she finally let out the words she had been holding back for so long. "Honestly, even if you didn’t say anything, I’ve always known. No matter how decisively I rejected that bastard, it was all just a brave front. I’ve known for a long time that this is all a futile struggle. So what if I can’t accept it? For Haoyang, and for Shengnan... in the end, I still have to yield..."

Gu Nuan Nuan pulled her slender, fair feet up onto the swing, wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her head on her knees. The look on her face was lost and helpless. Anyone who saw her at that moment would have felt a pang of heartache, and Cao Cao was no exception. It clenched its tiny fists, instantly feeling a sense of shared righteous anger.

Although it didn’t dare verbally attack the "bastard" its master was talking about, it loathed him to the core. ’Hmph! Anyone who dares to make Master unhappy... if I get the chance, I’ll make sure he’s not happy either!’

Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t notice Cao Cao clenching its fists; of course, even if she had, she wouldn’t have said a single good word on Luo Hongyi’s behalf. She just kept talking, absorbed in her own thoughts. Right now, she didn’t need opinions, advice, comfort, or persuasion. She had been bottling it all up for too long; she just needed a sounding board.

"If only that bastard hadn’t been reborn too. Then, in this life, I could have found a way to avoid him. I could have lied to myself, told myself our paths in life had changed and we just weren’t fated to be together. My guilt toward the children wouldn’t be so heavy. But that bastard just *had* to be reborn too. He came right to my door, even shamelessly using our children as leverage. Tell me, how can I possibly bring myself to be ruthless when he’s like this? But I just can’t accept it! The thought of being with him again in this life... no matter how I look at it, I just can’t stomach it!"

’Poor Master...’

Recalling its master’s unhappiness in her past life, Cao Cao’s eyes instantly welled with tears. ’I’m a little bastard too,’ it thought. It couldn’t advise its master to stay away from that fiery pit; instead, it had to persuade her to resolve herself and jump right in. It was just... so heartbreaking. Even though it was truly for its master’s own good, it couldn’t get over the feeling. If its species weren’t blessed with an innate talent that protected them from the affliction of a Heart Demon, Cao Cao felt this alone would be enough to spawn one.

SOB SOB—

After a couple of sobs, it collected two drops of Plant Essence in its pocket. Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, Cao Cao wiped its eyes with its sleeve and looked at Gu Nuan Nuan, its gaze now sparkling. "Master, things are different now! Even if you have to jump back into that fiery pit for the two little masters and to eliminate your own Heart Demon, who says *you* have to be the one to suffer this time? This time, let’s make *them* suffer for a change! Wouldn’t that be a form of revenge for you, Master?"

"Those people... I definitely won’t let any of them off the hook. Fine... Since... he insists on having me, I won’t let those people take any advantage of me from the start this time. But, ugh... if only it were that simple."

Gu Nuan Nuan buried her face in her knees. Her resentment wasn’t as simple as Cao Cao made it out to be, aimed only at Luo Hongyi’s parents, siblings, and nephews...

Dealing with them wouldn’t be a problem. This time, even if Luo Hongyi’s stance wavered in the end, even if he relapsed and took pity on them again, she wasn’t afraid. She was no longer the "soft persimmon" she had been in her past life. She wouldn’t be so foolish as to devote herself wholeheartedly to Luo Hongyi’s interests again, treating his family as her own dearest relatives. She wouldn’t be so selfless as to give them whatever they wanted, enduring their greed no matter how unwilling she felt, never letting it show. This time, it would be fine as long as they didn’t reveal their avarice. But if they did... Hmph. If someone’s greed was so insatiable that they served themselves up on a platter for her to slap down, why should she be courteous?

What Gu Nuan Nuan truly feared was herself. She wasn’t sure if, in this life, everything would be different. If the reasons propping up her hatred for that bastard vanished, would she one day find herself sinking back in, and ultimately... forgive him?

Alas, that was the true source of her greatest resistance and resentment... But she couldn’t bring herself to voice such feelings, not even to Cao Cao.