He smiled, that same infuriating, effortless smile, as if her world hadn't just been cracked open before him.
"How… did you know?" she finally asked, her voice cracking, vulnerable.
She had never imagined asking that question out loud, never thought someone could force her into such a position.
Julian's eyes lit up, as if he had been waiting for that very line. He chuckled softly, and then, with a shrug and the most casual tone in the world, he answered:
"I didn't."
Her heart stopped.
"I just asked randomly."
He tilted his head, watching her every twitch, every flinch.
"But judging by your reaction... It seems you do have a daughter."
The room spun, and her whole world dropped. She had played right into his hands. He didn't even need to threaten, spy, or fight. All it took was one sentence.
A bluff. And her own panic had betrayed her.
She lowered her gaze, anger rising not just at him… but at herself. She hadn't just been outpowered; she had been outplayed.
But this was too much.
The moment Julian confirmed what she already knew deep down—that she had just given away her most protected secret—something inside Heavenly Moon shattered.
The carefully constructed walls of pride, dignity, crumbled.
And then, desperation overcame her.
"Not her!" She cried out, her voice suddenly raw, urgent...human.
"Anyone but her!"
The words echoed through the pavilion like a kid screaming.
Julian raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
He didn't need to.
She was already unraveling herself.
"I'll give you someone else," she continued, "anyone. Say a name—any name."
She leaned forward, eyes burning—not with fury, but fear.
"Grand Elder? I will deliver her to your bed myself if that's what you want."
Julian remained quiet, the slight curve of his lips deepening with interest.
Heavenly Moon's thoughts spiraled.
She was offering everything—anything—to protect one person.
"What about Luoshi?" she blurted. "You have met her. She brought you to the sect. She's talented, pure… Her bloodline rivals even mine. She's beautiful, clever—I'll make it happen. You won't even have to ask her."
She searched his face for a flicker of agreement, for even the smallest sign that this would be enough.
But Julian… said nothing.
Just watched. And somehow that silence felt even heavier than any rejection.
Because she realized—
This wasn't about desire.
It was about control.
He didn't want to use her daughter.
He wanted to see how far she would fall to protect her.
And she had already fallen. —
Hard.
Her hands trembled as she reached out, clinging to whatever names and ideas surfaced in her spiraling mind.
"I can offer you more!"
"The alchemy elder—she may be old, but her techniques… her body has been rebirthed. She knows more about dual cultivation than anyone alive. You wouldn't need to teach her a thing."
Heavenly Moon swallowed hard.
"What about two at once?" she gasped, barely recognizing her own voice. "I'll send you two sisters—real blood sisters—from the Yun Clan. They are known for their lean physique. Twins. If you want… I'll have them serve you together."
Her breath caught again, but she kept going.
"Or… if it's something interesting you seek… I know a woman cursed to stay in child form while her soul ages. She's over two hundred years old. Her body has never known a man—she'll worship you. Serve you. You'll break something no one else has even dared touch."
"How noble of you," Julian finally whispered, breaking the stalemate.
"Truly."
He folded his hands in his lap and leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing just enough to pierce through her.
"They really do say," he continued, "that a mother's love is the greatest force in the world."
"But the girls you offered… those names you tossed at me so easily—Yu Qing, Lan Yue, Luoshi—they might have mothers too."
His words hit like stones.
"They might be daughters. Some might even be mothers themselves. And yet, you were ready to throw them into my hands, into my bed, like tools. Sacrifices."
He paused for a moment before continuing:
"What gives you the right… to destroy their world just to protect yours?"
Heavenly Moon's lips parted, but no sound came out. For a brief second, she saw herself through his eyes.
Not as the untouchable Saint.
Not as the sovereign of a great sect.
But as a mother, clawing wildly at anything to save her child—no matter the cost to anyone else.
It was unbearable.
And that's when the rage took over.
Her aura surged without warning. Golden lightning crackled and snapped in the air, flaring like judgment being passed down to the mortal world.
"Shut up!" She screamed, the words torn raw from her throat.
"You're the one who destroyed their world!" she hissed. "Not me!"
"And besides, they can go fuck themselves. Let them die. I don't care—I only want my daughter to be safe!"
She stood, panting slightly, eyes wide with everything she had never said aloud.
And Julian?
He simply watched.
"Right, right." he finally spoke. "We're not so different, are we?"
Heavenly Moon's eyes flared with renewed rage. Her qi surged for a heartbeat, though even that felt hollow now.
"No, we aren't!" She snapped. "Don't you dare compare me to your twisted—"
But she stopped mid-sentence as Julian stood.
He stretched his limbs, as if he had just finished a long nap. Then, without looking at her, he turned and began walking toward the low bed that lay in the far corner of the pavilion, the one she often used for meditation during her long nights alone.
"Oh, but we are," he said quietly as he moved, his back to her.
"You just don't want to admit it."
He stopped beside the bed, resting a hand lightly on the soft mattress.
"You have the leisure of destroying other people's lives..." he said, "... just to protect your daughter."
He turned his head slightly, enough for her to see the faint curl of his lips.
"And I'm the same."
"I can ruin your life… for my amusement. For no reason at all."