"Haaah~"
As the final bite of dessert slid down her throat, the brief moment of "happiness" finally ebbed away.
Bibi Dong looked at the three empty plates before her—clean and spotless, not a single drop left—and a faint reluctance surfaced within her. A small, almost childish regret tugged at her heart.
She should have ordered herself.
And she should have ordered more.
This thought had barely formed when her gaze instinctively drifted toward the lazy figure behind the counter. Just seeing him sitting there made her heart settle again, inexplicably.
It was fine.
The restaurant wasn't going anywhere.
She could come again.
She would come again—just to experience that feeling of "happiness" one more time.
Her thoughts softened, and as she lifted her eyes, they landed on Hu Liena's gentle, concerned smile. Warmth quietly spread through her chest—warmth she had long forgotten, warmth untouched by schemes or ambition.
If Nana hadn't chosen this meal for her…
If Nana hadn't thought on her behalf…
She would have continued clinging to her ridiculous pride—and how could she have tasted that fleeting happiness that nearly dissolved her entire soul?
The perpetual frost on Bibi Dong's face quietly melted. Her taut lips relaxed into a faint, gentle curve.
"Time to pay."
Her voice was soft, stripped of every trace of the Supreme Pontiff's majesty. Only tranquility remained.
Hu Liena stepped forward gracefully. Her bow was elegant, but her voice carried a sacred calmness far beyond her status as a disciple.
"Your Holiness Supreme Pontiff."
"For your patronage, the Dust-Cleansing, Heart-Calming Meal totals twenty-eight thousand gold coins."
"This establishment only accepts cash."
Twenty-eight… thousand?
The number pierced into Bibi Dong's newly warmed heart like an icy needle. A flash of cold sharpness shot through her scarlet eyes—an instinctive response from the ruler of Spirit Hall.
A meal dared to cost so much?
But the moment the thought rose, it was softened—melted—by the warmth still lingering deep in her soul.
She recalled her tear-streaked, fragile state from moments ago.
Twenty-eight thousand gold coins…
Was that a lot?
For her, who commanded the depths of Spirit Hall's treasury, it was nothing more than a trivial number.
But what had she gained?
A heart frozen by hatred for decades feeling warmth again.
A sliver of happiness she had chased her entire life yet had personally destroyed.
How could that be measured with gold?
It couldn't.
A faint, bitter smile curved her lips.
Too expensive?
No.
Too cheap.
Cheap enough to feel insulting—insulting to the tears she had shed, tears she barely recognized as her own.
All traces of unwillingness faded away, replaced by a calm, almost relieved acceptance.
Her slender fingers brushed the storage spirit tool on her wrist.
Clatter—
A stream of gold coins poured onto the table with perfect precision, forming a neat stack—exactly twenty-eight thousand.
Each coin shimmered with golden brilliance, arranged with impeccable order, controlled down to the last millimeter.
She said nothing more.
Her scarlet eyes simply fixed on Lin Feng, subtle pride flickering within them—declaring silently:
I have paid.
My dignity is not entirely gone.
But—
Lin Feng didn't even glance at her.
Still lounging lazily, detached and indifferent, as though nothing in the room had anything to do with him.
Bibi Dong's breath stalled.
Her scarlet eyes trembled with unwillingness… and a faint, unnoticed humiliation.
She had paid.
She had lowered her head.
And he did not even bother to look at her?
Just then—
Hu Liena stepped forward reverently and spoke:
"Senior, the bill has been settled."
As her devout voice fell, the pile of gold coins vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed.
At the same moment, the long-awaited chime sounded in Lin Feng's mind.
[Ding!]
[Points credited: 2800.]
[High-quality target 'Bibi Dong' has completed her first consumption, triggering a rare evaluation.]
[Evaluation: The soul origin is contaminated by an alien Divine Intent. Emotional state unstable. Despite high potential, there is a risk of 'withering.']
[Suggestion: Purification recommended. High return guaranteed.]
Lin Feng's closed eyelids lifted slightly.
For the first time, his indifferent gaze truly landed on Bibi Dong.
But his eyes held no pity, no scrutiny, not even the faintest ripple of emotion.
It was the gaze of a gardener looking at a rare but withering flower—carrying a touch of regret… and calculation.
A super rare leek.
A valuable customer.
If she went insane, who would spend money in the future?
Pruning was necessary.
Lin Feng made his decision.
He raised his eyelids just a little, his calm gaze seemingly piercing through space, reaching into the deepest corner of Bibi Dong's soul—a place swallowed by purple-black resentment.
His thin lips moved slightly, his voice light and detached:
"You… are not like you."
"What?"
Bibi Dong's beautiful body trembled violently. Her scarlet eyes widened, filled with confusion.
But before she could respond—
Lin Feng moved.
He didn't stand up.
He didn't release spirit power.
He simply lifted his index finger and flicked gently in her direction.
No fluctuation.
No aura.
Not even a breeze.
Yet Bibi Dong's Sea of Soul erupted like a collapsing heaven!
"Ah—!!!"
A scream tore from her throat—but the voice was not hers.
Under everyone's horrified gaze—
A wisp of dense purple-black mist was forcefully ripped from Bibi Dong's crown, dragged into the air by an invisible force!
It twisted wildly, forming a blurred, ferocious female face that silently howled with divine hatred!
The curse of a god.
The fury of a Divinity.
But Lin Feng merely looked at it with detached indifference.
Pop—
Like a soap bubble pricked by a needle—
The Rakshasa God's Divine Intent was annihilated.
Not purified.
Erased.
"Pfft—!"
A mouthful of blood burst from Bibi Dong's lips—not red, but a shocking purple-black.
The blood wriggled like a living creature, corroding the spotless floor as it fell.
This wasn't injury.
It was filth being expelled.
Yet Bibi Dong didn't sway. She didn't show pain.
She simply stood there—blank, silent.
The scarlet hue in her eyes began to fade, slowly, visibly.
As if a priceless jade stained for decades was being cleaned with overwhelming force.
Finally—
The red vanished completely.
Leaving behind pure, glass-like eyes filled with bewilderment and soft fragility.
She slowly raised her hand, touching her cheek as if seeing herself anew.
Silence.
The entire world fell into absolute stillness.
The venomous thoughts that had screamed inside her soul day and night—gone.
The shackles that suffocated her—gone.
She felt… light.
So light she might drift away with the breeze.
In this dazed state, she lifted her head.
Her newly clear eyes passed over all other figures and finally stopped—softly, silently—on the man relaxing in the rocking chair.
No hatred.
No defiance.
No desire for conquest.
Only the gaze of someone who had walked in darkness for decades…
and had finally seen light.
_____________________
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