"Well…" Zhang Wang rolled his shoulders as memories of his previous life floated around his thoughts.
While Ariunbayar spoke about her previous life as though it were just yesterday, Zhang Wang remembered like it was some sort of distant dream, so far and irrelevant to him now. "Let's see…" His voice dawdled, "if I can even remember anything…"
Zhang Wang couldn't remember much about his previous life. Especially in regards to regrets.
Maybe he regretted how he and his ex broke up, but he wasn't particularly sorry after all the wild accusations she later threw his way. Maybe he regretted that time he drank himself under the table in Sanlitun and woke up in some foreigner's hotel room.
The bathtub, to be more precise.
He had no idea how he even got there.
But more than regrets, they were just funny snapshots from a world that had little relevance to him now. Even if he wanted to regret the car accident he got into that costed his life, he couldn't. Zhang Wang had long forgotten the details of that day.
But at least Ariunbayar had a good laugh, "How did you end up in their bathtub!? What happened to the friend that you went there with?"
Zhang Wang smiled, happy that the Princess was finally able to loosen up a little. "Well you see about that, originally I was super pissed thinking that my friend had ditched me. I called him and started yelling at him in the phone. But it turns out he was pissed and thought I was the one who ditched him.
"I remember telling him, 'I thought you told me to go with the foreigners!'
"And then he answered with, 'I did!' Apparently he had ended up at someone else's hotel room. Basically it was all a huge mess."
"It sounds really exciting," Ariunbayar's eyes dazzled with wonder, "I've only been to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai with my parents. So I guess I didn't really do much aside from see the usual tourist sights.'
Their chatter continued and Zhang Wang was starting to wonder what was taking the demon king so long.
The more he thought about it, the more antsy he felt. But luckily, his eyes were sharp and when he looked around then, he saw a familiar shadow behind the curve of the cliff edge. It seemed that the demon king was purposely waiting for something.
The sun was going down.
Zhang Wang wondered if his power had run out. He turned to Ariunbayar and said, "it's night now. Why don't you get some sleep?"
Ariunbayar smiled but slowly raised to her feet, startling the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms a little. "Se Mayang?"
"I'm not stupid." She responded cryptically. "I can tell when I'm not welcomed."
Zhang Wang frowned, "I never said that."
She shrugged and supposed that he didn't. But that didn't mean she was in the mind to play the third wheel to two lovebirds. Even if Ariunbayar initially had her doubts about the two men, she felt like those suspicions had been cleared. It was obvious that the two were in love and that it was best to give them more space than not.
"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," She proclaimed as she placed two fingers between her teeth and whistled. The [ Summon Mount ] skill had yet to fail her and before long a powerful steed was galloping toward her from beyond the horizon. An excited caw sounded overhead and when she stretched out her arm, Sansan descended with her outstretched claws and found a perch on Ariunbayar.
Zhang Wang rose from his spot as well, "Where are you even going to go?"
For a moment the only thing that he received in response was silence. Ariunbayar was lost in thought. "I guess I'll return…" She sighed.
Life without her debugger and the helpful guidance that her system laid out to her was one that was so far removed from the existence that she had grown used to.
Uncertainty was abound her heart.
But after speaking with the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms about all the things that colored her previous life before this one, Ariunbayar was alive with determination. She didn't want to give up on her dreams just from this minor little setback. And if she were to go along with the hints from the sidequests that she never had the chance to embark on, then Ariunbayar was certain that there were other debuggers out there in the world. It was only a matter of finding them.
It was going to be difficult but not impossible.
Ariunbayar hopped on the horse. The creature whined and stomped under her weight. "I'll return to my tribe for now," she said, with more resolution.
"It's late though," Zhang Wang pointed out. The darkness was always an attraction for monsters and beasts at least ten levels above the ones that appeared during the day. It was true in the video games that he played in his previous life, and also stood true based on his own personal experiences of traveling the world after dusk. "You can always set out in the morning."
But Ariunbayar was unfazed and rolled her eyes, "Who do you take me for? Some sort of newborn fawn? I'll be fine. My tribe would have started their migration toward the west already so if I just wait around I'll never catch up."
Though it was not ideal, Zhang Wang supposed that the Princess of the Steppes had a point. Her tribe was nomadic and would be migrating between key points across the grasslands as the seasons changed. Winter's frost was just around the corner and they were probably busy traversing the lands.
"Stay safe." Zhang Wang sighed, secretly hoping that the air-headed girl was going to survive without her prized debugger.
Alas, there was no way of knowing for certain.
There never was, not in this cruel and despairing world. Zhang Wang waved awkwardly as he watched Ariunbayar's steed retreat into the horizon.
Darkness was upon the sky with constellations glittering.
The grass swayed with the wind with a biting cold that cut through Zhang Wang's clothes. He crossed his arms and shivered, wondering if it had been a mistake, not to chase after the foolish Princess.
But his thoughts were interrupted when a long piece of cloth draped over his shoulders.
Zhang Wang snapped back to reality and looked to see Yu Yanlin at his side, fitting the large red robes over Zhang Wang's figure to protect him from the cold. It took all of his self-control to stop himself from leaning backward to melt into the demon king's warmth and demand for his embrace.
It wasn't like he deserved it in the first place.
Yu Yanlin, unaware of Zhang Wang's internal turmoil only smiled before pulling away. "I'll go make the hearth," he said, like a good husband that took care of all the important things.
Zhang Wang sighed and sank back to the ground as he pulled the robes close around his body. Wasn't he being pampered…?