Having decided to stay, Yu Ji did not go back on her word. With a flick of her slender, jade-like arm, Roy finally released her this time.
Yu Ji rubbed her fair wrist, where a red mark now marred her flawless skin—proof of how tightly Roy had held her, how afraid he was that she might run away.
She sat back on the bed, hugging her knees, her snow-white feet pressed together, her chin resting on them. Her wine-red eyes fixed on Roy, and the two continued their silent staring contest.
However, it wasn't long before she began to feel a slight tingling sensation. Roy's gaze was far too invasive—whether due to his overwhelming spiritual power or some other reason, his stare felt almost tangible, as if wherever his eyes lingered, his touch followed.
Yu Ji quietly reached for a nearby thin blanket and carefully draped it over her feet. Her delicate toes curled slightly, betraying either tension or shyness—Roy's gaze had lingered there earlier.
Noticing Yu Ji's attempt to subtly (yet obviously) cover herself, Roy chuckled softly. He pulled over a bed and sat across from her.
During the Qin Dynasty, chairs did not exist. In pre-Qin times, people knelt on mats, and it wasn't until the early Qin that 'beds'—more like modern-day sofas—were introduced for relaxation. Placing an ornate screen behind such a bed instantly gave it an air of luxury.
Of course, only the wealthy could afford such furnishings; commoners had no access to them.
"What exactly do you want?!"
Seeing Roy sit so close, Yu Ji felt another surge of irritation. When she first met him, she had thought him imposing and authoritative, his words carrying the weight of law—those thousands of soldiers obeyed his every command, marking him as a true hero.
But now, he was acting like a shameless rogue. No matter how cold and distant she made herself, he still insisted on pressing forward, undeterred by her rejection.
Roy didn't think there was anything wrong with his approach. After all, even Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was nicknamed the 'Widow Terminator' precisely because of his shameless persistence. As the saying goes, even the most virtuous woman fears a persistent suitor. If one truly liked a girl but only dared to watch from afar without attempting to pursue her, he would never win her heart.
Yu Ji was practically a celestial being completely detached from human society, one who would never willingly integrate into it. With such a woman, one had to take the initiative; otherwise, there would be no chance of intersecting with her life.
"I'd like to ask you about the history of the past."
Roy was quite curious about the ancient history of this land of China, and right before him was a living history book. Chatting with Yu Ji would not only satisfy his curiosity about the past but also give them something to talk about, killing two birds with one stone.
Yu Ji bit her lip and remained silent, having sworn not to pay any attention to this inexplicable man before her.
But soon, she couldn't take it anymore. Roy kept staring at her, unmoving unless she spoke, as if they were competing to see who had more endurance. What made it worse was his gaze, which kept scanning her up and down, making Yu Ji feel as if ants were crawling all over her skin.
"What do you want to ask? If I know, I'll tell you."
Unable to bear it any longer, Yu Ji let out a sigh and spoke helplessly.
"Let's start with you. For example, how were you born? Where did you come from...?"
"You..."
Roy's audacity made Yu Ji so angry she almost laughed. She considered simply running away, but Roy's words echoed in her mind. Yu Ji knew that in her current state, living deep in the mountains was no longer suitable—otherwise, she would face endless troubles.
"I don't know how I was born. When I first became aware, I was already on a tree in the 'Valley of the Sun.'"
After some thought, Yu Ji realized that if she didn't say anything, this man might indeed just sit there indefinitely. Reluctantly, she opened her noble lips.
"Valley of the Sun? That's where the sun rises. The 'Classic of Mountains and Seas' records that atop the Valley of the Sun stands the Fusang Tree. Were you nurtured by the Fusang Tree?"
Roy recalled the myths of China—the Fusang Tree was an incredibly significant spiritual site in its mythology. It was where Xihe drove her chariot for her son, the Golden Crow, to raise the sun. Legend had it that the Fusang Tree was also the gateway connecting the divine realm, the human world, and the underworld. The great archer Yi even stood upon it to shoot down the suns.
"That's what humans call that tree."
Yu Ji nodded lightly.
"Where is this tree now?"
Roy suddenly became very interested in the Fusang Tree.
"That man called the First Emperor took it from Kunlun."
Roy's eyebrows shot up at this. He hadn't expected Yu Ji, who seemed like a complete shut-in, to know such details so clearly.
Earlier, when Roy had knocked Yu Ji unconscious, he had used magic to thoroughly examine her body, studying its composition in detail. While he wouldn't claim to understand her body better than she did herself, he certainly wasn't far off.
And it was precisely this study of her body that had revealed Yu Ji's true nature to him.
She was a natural-born spirit—not the kind of elves from Western fantasy novels, but a spiritual entity born of nature, nurtured by it. For some unknown reason, this spirit underwent materialization, thus gaining a physical body.
From Yu Ji's words, Roy speculated that she must have been influenced by the divine power of the Fusang Tree to achieve materialization.
It's important to know that materialization is incredibly difficult—the more powerful the spirit, the harder it is to materialize. For example, Aiwass needed an elaborate plan orchestrated by Aleister to successfully obtain a body.
Yu Ji was originally an extension of nature, a tendril of the planet. After materialization, she also received the planet's blessings, making her mana virtually limitless, with the entire natural world as her support.
Earlier, Roy had called Yu Ji a True Ancestor, but that wasn't entirely accurate. True Ancestors were beings created jointly by Gaia and the Crimson Moon. While Yu Ji shared similarities with True Ancestors in terms of abilities—such as an equally formidable immortal body and the ability to draw upon the planet's mana—they were ultimately distinct.
True Ancestors, as active creations of Gaia, were subject to Gaia's constraints. Yu Ji, however, was different. She was a spirit born of heaven and earth, and Gaia's hold over her was minimal. Compared to the True Ancestor race, Yu Ji enjoyed far greater freedom.
But Roy still had some doubts, the biggest of which was—
"Why do you have a blood-sucking impulse?"
Blood-sucking impulses should be unique to True Ancestors. Why would a spirit like Yu Ji have one?
"How should I know why I have a blood-sucking impulse? The Immortals have it too," Yu Ji replied impatiently.
"The Immortals also have blood-sucking impulses?"
Roy's eyes lit up, feeling as though he had uncovered the essence of this world's Immortals.
"Are those Immortals similar to you?"
"More or less."
"Are they also natural-born spirits?"
"A small portion are, but most cultivated their way from human form."
"Then how do the Immortals suppress their blood-sucking impulses?"
"Alchemy! They invented alchemy, even managing to completely eliminate the blood-sucking impulse."
"..."
Through their back-and-forth, Roy gained a thorough understanding of China's Immortal Dao studies.
The ancient ancestors of China were truly prodigies. They must have discovered special beings like Yu Ji—though not necessarily her specifically, but other materialized spirits.
Then, using these materialized spirits as a blueprint, they began their cultivation. First, they elevated their spirits, discarding their physical bodies, and then underwent materialization, transforming themselves from humans into extensions of nature and tendrils of the planet.
It seemed the blood-sucking impulse wasn't exclusive to True Ancestors but was a shared flaw among such lifeforms.
The Immortals, who had turned themselves into the planet's tendrils, recognized these issues. Left unchecked, the blood-sucking impulse would inevitably lead to madness and destruction—perhaps what the Immortal Dao referred to as the "Five Signs of Decay" or "Heavenly Tribulations."
To overcome these problems, the Immortals took a different path, inventing alchemy to eliminate their physical flaws and achieve perfection.
No wonder there are legends of immortals moving mountains and filling seas. These immortals are like incarnated spirits and True Ancestors—they are essentially extensions of Gaia, capable of freely manipulating the vast source of magical energy. With infinite magic at their disposal, moving mountains and filling seas isn't difficult at all.
As for those immortals who have cultivated to the highest level, Roy even suspected they had broken free from Gaia's constraints, becoming tendrils of other planets—or even the solar system itself. Naturally, their power would be exponentially greater.
Thinking about it this way, the great war at the end of the Shang Dynasty, when King Wu overthrew King Zhou, might have truly shattered heaven and earth.
'But these immortals have already retreated to the planet's inner sea or the world's outer layers. Even if this world were destroyed and human order completely collapsed, it would no longer concern them.'
Roy shook his head. This meant those so-called immortals had already ascended in broad daylight, becoming part of the world's background, almost impossible to reappear.