The Familiar Taste

The pale teal at the horizon gradually deepened, turning into the faintest shade of dawn's white.

The moonlight faded, and the morning light had not yet truly arrived. The world was suspended in an ambiguous grayish-blue.

The last wisp of candle smoke in the bedchamber had dissipated, leaving only the dim, pre-dawn light from outside the window.

Before recognizing Gu Xiaoli, Luo Zhao had thought of many, many possibilities.

For instance, that Gu Xiaoli was someone her imperial father had trained for her.

After all, her imperial father was unfathomable; placing someone by the Crown Princess's side was perfectly normal.

Or that Gu Xiaoli was Lyu Fang's person.

After all, Lyu Fang managed everything in the palace and had eyes everywhere. Planting a person or two would be effortless for him.

Or that Gu Xiaoli was Gu Chengyin's person.

After all, with that venomous oath in place, even if she wasn't before, she would be from now on.

Luo Zhao even considered that Gu Xiaoli might belong to some cultivation sect, or be a spy for a hostile faction.

But the one thing she never expected was this.

Gu Xiaoli was not human.

She was a cat.

After guessing this truth, countless details Luo Zhao had previously ignored suddenly strung together, one by one, like beads on a thread.

Why Gu Xiaoli always loved to curl up and sleep on the soft couch.

Why her footsteps were nearly inaudible when she walked.

Why her eyes emitted a faint glow in the dark.

Why she always wore a calm, world-weary expression when looking at people.

Why she always carried a faint, familiar scent.

That was the scent of her imperial mother's embrace.

Luo Zhao's memory was suddenly pulled back to a long, long time ago.

Back then, she was still very young.

So young that she could only be held in her mother's arms.

And by her mother's side, there was always a civet cat.

The tips of that cat's tail and ears were pale gold, and its eyes were amber, glowing like honey in the sunlight.

It didn't like to meow, nor did it like to move. It always curled up lazily on her mother's lap, squinting its eyes to bask in the sun.

Later.

Her mother passed away.

And the cat disappeared too.

She cried for a long time.

Then, she slowly forgot.

Until this moment.

Luo Zhao looked at Gu Xiaoli standing before her.

Looking at those large eyes, that eternally world-weary face, that lazy posture, and that expression that seemed to care about nothing at all.

She suddenly realized.

This face, and that cat, were exactly the same.

Not in physical appearance.

But in demeanor.

It was that sense of alienation, as if this world had nothing to do with her.

It was that stubbornness of only caring about the people she chose to care about.

It was the arrogance of a cat, seeping out from her very bones.

Luo Zhao's pupils slowly contracted.

She remembered something.

The human race's path to immortality had been severed.

This was a secret known to the entire cultivation world.

But the demon race was different; their path to immortality remained completely unobstructed.

And for demons to take human form.

They needed to reach at least the Golden Core stage.

And to completely hide all demonic traits and take on a flawless human form like Gu Xiaoli.

One would need to be at least at the Peak Golden Core stage.

A half-step Nascent Soul.

What did this mean?

It meant that Gu Xiaoli's cultivation base was even higher than Lin Qingyan's.

It meant that Gu Xiaoli's strength was enough to crush anyone in the Great Luo Dynasty.

It meant that this world-weary little girl, who either read books in the Myriad Manifestations Tower or curled up sleeping in the bedchamber.

Who let herself be bossed around and looked completely harmless...

Was actually the greatest hidden boss in this imperial palace.

Stormy waves surged in Luo Zhao's heart.

But she didn't show it on her face.

And she suddenly understood many things.

She understood why Gu Xiaoli could evade Gu Chengyin's probing.

She understood why Gu Xiaoli could alter the underlying logic of the hypnosis.

Half-step Nascent Soul.

With spiritual power capable of shaking heaven and earth.

In the entire Great Luo Dynasty, no one was her match.

Luo Zhao closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened them again, the stormy waves in her eyes had calmed.

She knew the truth, but she felt no joy whatsoever.

Because there was too much she wanted to ask.

But she couldn't ask.

Because Shangguan Yunying was still there.

From beginning to end, she had just stood quietly, watching Luo Zhao and Gu Xiaoli face off.

Her eyes held concern, worry, and curiosity, but mostly, they held a blatant favoritism toward Gu Chengyin.

Luo Zhao knew.

Shangguan Yunying liked Gu Chengyin too much.

Liked him so much that this secret could not be told to her.

Not because of a lack of trust.

But because of too much trust.

So much trust that Luo Zhao dared not take the risk.

She needed a reason to send Shangguan Yunying away.

But for a moment, she couldn't find any suitable excuse.

What reason could make Shangguan Yunying leave without arousing her suspicion?

Luo Zhao's brows furrowed slightly.

Finally, she looked at Gu Xiaoli, her gaze carrying a plea for help.

Gu Xiaoli blinked.

A flash of understanding crossed those large eyes.

In the next breath.

Luo Zhao didn't even see clearly what happened.

She only saw Shangguan Yunying's body suddenly sway before pitching forward.

Luo Zhao's breath caught.

And Gu Xiaoli, at some unknown moment, had already appeared beside Shangguan Yunying.

She caught her steadily, the movement as gentle as catching a falling leaf.

Then, she carefully placed Shangguan Yunying on the bed.

She pulled the brocade quilt over her and tucked her in gently.

Then she straightened up and turned to Luo Zhao.

Your Highness, have you remembered Xiaoli?

Luo Zhao looked at Gu Xiaoli in front of her, who had knocked Shangguan Yunying unconscious in the blink of an eye.

Looking at her acting as if nothing had happened.

She stayed silent for a breath, then nodded faintly.

Yes.

I never expected...

That you were actually a cat.

After saying these words, Luo Zhao herself felt it was somewhat absurd.

But upon hearing this, a hint of a smile suddenly appeared on Gu Xiaoli's world-weary face.

Was this the joy of being recognized?

Luo Zhao looked at Gu Xiaoli's smile, and her heart gave a slight, sour twinge.

Her face turned cold as she questioned with some unwillingness:

With such a high cultivation base, why couldn't you protect my imperial mother?

The smile on Gu Xiaoli's face vanished.

A look Luo Zhao had never seen before flashed in those large eyes.

It was a sense of powerlessness, a very, very deep powerlessness.

Xiaoli...

Could not defeat Them...

Luo Zhao's brows furrowed slightly.

She heard the thick sense of powerlessness in Gu Xiaoli's tone.

It was the powerlessness of having tried, having fought desperately, yet still being unable to change the outcome.

Luo Zhao didn't know who the Them Gu Xiaoli spoke of were.

But if even a half-step Nascent Soul cat demon admitted she couldn't defeat them.

Then it was likely truly impossible to defeat them.

At the very least, Gu Xiaoli had indeed tried her best.

Luo Zhao didn't press the matter further.

She suddenly remembered her childhood.

Her imperial mother holding the civet cat, gently stroking its back.

The civet cat squinting its eyes, letting out contented purrs.

The civet cat back then was happy.

The current Gu Xiaoli was no longer a cat.

And she was no longer happy either.

Luo Zhao lowered her eyelashes, suppressing the sourness in her heart even deeper.

Then she asked another question.

So, your feelings toward Gu Chengyin?

Upon hearing the name Gu Chengyin, intense colors burst forth in Gu Xiaoli's eyes.

The colors were so bright, so bright that it made Luo Zhao a little dazed.

Your Highness!

Gu Xiaoli's voice suddenly became quite cheerful.

It wasn't her usual lazy, world-weary tone.

It was a joy coming from the bottom of her heart.

Don't you think my brother is very much like Her Majesty?

Luo Zhao froze.

Even the scent on his body is exactly the same!

Xiaoli hasn't...

A very faint layer of moisture suddenly covered Gu Xiaoli's eyes.

...smelled such a wonderful scent in a long, long time!

Luo Zhao looked at Gu Xiaoli's almost childish joy in this moment.

She suddenly understood why Gu Xiaoli was so close to Gu Chengyin.

After losing its master, this little civet cat had wandered for who knows how long.

Finally, it found that familiar scent once again.