Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2165: Expectations vs Reality

Not wanting to be around a drunken Wu, Chang'e waved her entourage out of the room before stating, "I heard about Senior's encounter with my daughter. Please, allow me to apologize on her behalf. Though her essence is even older than mine, she is still a naive and innocent girl...I hope her actions did not cause too great an offense..."

Punctuating her statement, Chang'e performed a rather peculiar curtsy that involved pulling up the sides of her lotus-like gown whilst simultaneously lowering her head. What made this different from a normal curtsy was the fact she hiked her gown up just enough that it displayed her thighs without showing off the contents hidden within. The top of her gown also shifted to reveal just a hint of her pale-white, ethereally luminescent cleavage.

Without shifting his gaze away from Chang'e's pale yellow, moon-like, Vahn raised his brows ever so slightly as he answered, "Don't worry about it. I didn't take what Xiao Yue said to heart. She also apologized and even gave me one of her Ginko Seeds. There is nothing for you to apologize for..."

Seeing Vahn's clear, focused, and undeviating gaze, a breathtakingly beautiful smile spread across the face of Chang'e. Most people would get flustered or stare possessively if she revealed even a hint of her body. The only other person who had stared at her with such a stoic expression on his face was the Jade Emperor, so, while it was difficult to view Vahn in similar regard, Chang'e felt he must be exceptional not to be swayed by her beauty.

"That is the main reason I wished to meet with Senior. My daughter spoke rather highly of you, but, as her mother, I can't help worrying about her safety. The Sacred Ginko Seeds are among the most precious treasures in the Heavenly Domain. They are coveted by all, but, due to the nature of their blessing, it is impossible to force the owner to bestow them unwillingly. Now that my daughter has given away her first and most important seed...I would like to learn more about the person she has bequeathed it to. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about the contents of your request..."

As she spoke, Chang'e meandered slowly and gracefully towards Vahn. The luminance of her moon-like eyes became noticeably brighter while her pupils, evocative of the night sky, glistened with the distant light of countless stars. By the time she was finished with her explanation, her exposed feet had carried her to just outside of Vahn's range...

Having already laid the three balls of fluff on the hammock, Vahn rose to his feet, his height letting him stand more than a head taller than the 159cm Moon Goddess. This sent a trepidatious tremor through Chang'e aura. In spite of this, her expression appeared smoldering and eager as her mouth parted just enough to appear inviting...

Extending his hand, Vahn motioned as if to caress Chang'e's face. This was what the latter believed, but, the moment she closed her eyes in anticipation, a sharp yet temporary pain radiated from the center of her forehead as Vahn said, "Don't play with fire unless you're prepared to receive a burn. If I was actually a bad person, this little trinket wouldn't have helped in the slightest."

Dangling the thumb-sized jade fetish Chang'e had been grasping in her left, Vahn earned a terrified and befuddled look from the Goddess even as he handed it back to her. The fetish was a life-saving treasure known as the Ten-Thousand Li Transfer Jade. It allowed the user to instantaneously teleport a distance of 5000km. This wasn't a particularly great distance when there were individuals capable of moving faster than the speed of light, but, so long as she never left the Jade Palace, it was more than enough.

Taking advantage of Chang'e's momentary stupor, Vahn pulled out two peculiar pieces of furniture known as globe chairs. Unlike the normal variety, however, these radiated a glow reminiscent of the full moon. Chang'e immediately took notice of this, her moon-like eyes widening quite a bit as Vahn handed her a thick, pale-yellow blanket that radiated a very similar glow.

"These should help you calm down. The chair serves as a charging station of sorts for those with Yin Affinities. The blanket possesses a similar function but its foremost selling point is the fact it's super soft. Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I head outside and prepare tea and snacks for the girls? I'll be back in a few minutes."

Without waiting for Chang'e's response, Vahn raised his hand in a casual gesture of farewell before making his way outside. This left the silver-haired Goddess staring at his retreating figure, confusion and disbelief marring her expression as she wondered how Vahn had managed to both see through her and resist the temptation of her beauty...

Chang'e didn't consider herself a vain woman. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was among the most beautiful women in the Divine Realm. This was how the people of the Little Garden viewed her, and, thanks to the machinations of a Poet that had become infatuated with her several hundred years prior, her body exuded a natural grace and charm that made her irresistible to most men.

"How peculiar..."

As she had personally witnessed Fenrir and Mikoto at Vahn's side, Chang'e doubted he was the type that sowed seeds among his fellows. Since her charm was supposed to affect everyone who viewed her with libidinous or even affectionate intentions, this implied that Vahn was either immune to her charms or simply wasn't attracted to her. Either way, he was an exceptional person as even Buddhist monks needed to recite mantras to rid themselves of libidinous thoughts in her presence...

Recalling her previous encounter with the Buddhist Faction, a shudder ran through Chang'e's body as she attempted to shake away the memory from her mind. Sanzang had attempted to convince her to shave her head so that she could feel more attuned with the energies of Heaven and Earth while simultaneously quelling the desires many directed her way. When Chang'e refused, the mad monk attempted to petition the Jade Emperor directly, but, fortunately, he politely refused before sending Sanzang back to the West...

"Was the chair not to your liking...?"

Startling back to awareness, a rosy hue colored Chang'e's cheeks as she noticed Vahn staring at her from the entrance to the room. He kept a supply of tea and snacks in his Inventory, so, while he was briefly delayed due to Xiao Yue's questioning, it had only taken him a short while to return.

Seeing how startled the Moon Goddess was, Vahn didn't need to be a genius to figure out she had been standing in the same place since his departure. A wry yet amused smile immediately found its way to his face, and, as a result, he could feel the effects of Chang'e's charm washing over him like a cool and relaxing shower after an intense workout.

Fortunately, not that he actually needed it, Vahn's charm was far superior to Chang'e's. He was, after all, an A-Rank God of Sex. It was one of his highest-ranking Divinities, so, even if he didn't possess a natural immunity to mind-altering abilities, Chang'e's comparably weaker charm wouldn't have had any effect on him. Rather, because she was a 'pure maiden', her charm possessed a nostalgic quality that reminded people of their first love...

Resisting the urge to allow Chang'e to experience a far more potent charm, Vahn made his way over to the chair he had prepared for himself before teleporting the 'sleeping' Fenrir and Mikoto over to him and asking, "So? What, specifically, did you want to know about me? I don't mind keeping you company until Erlang Shen, Wu, or whoever else arrives."

Hearing Vahn mention Wu, Chang'e's senses immediately returned. As a result, she elected not to ask why he hadn't picked up the Jade Rabbit as well. Instead, she procured the snowy white rabbit for herself before getting comfortable in the remarkably cozy chair. It was a lot more pleasant than she had anticipated, but, staying focused, Chang'e managed to ask, "Where did you come from...?" before losing herself in the conversation that followed...

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After thrashing more than seventy percent of the Gods attending the banquet, Wu was beginning to feel a little bored. The only people present who could realistically compete with her were Erlang Shen, Guan Yin, Yan Wang, Huangdi, Nuwa, and the Jade Emperor himself. She was on good terms with most of these, so, after her battle with Erlang Shen, Wu had thrashed a few upstarts before the rest simply kowtowed and called her Grandfather.

When she first initiated the Gift Game, Wu had been looking forward to facing off against Vor, but, the moment the ashen-haired woman reached the front of the line, she immediately kowtowed ten times before referring to her as Grandfather with a completely straight expression on her face. This irked Wu to no end, but, as part of her agreement with the Buddhist Faction, she had no choice but to follow the rules listed within the Geass Roll.

In the end, Wu's frustration reached the point where she told the remaining Gods to piss off before snatching up Nezha and promptly departing the banquet hall. This was met with a mixture of relief and frustration by the Gods present within, but, not caring about them in the slightest, Wu hopped, skipped, and jumped across a few jade-tiled roofs before setting the dizzy-eyed tomboy down and asking, "Do you know where that man and his little pets are staying?"

Rubbing the back of her head and neck to alleviate some of the pain caused by her whiplash, Nezha answered, "If he's a guest of the Jade Fart, he should be staying in the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion. If he isn't there, we can always ask Yunuu and Jintong. They should know where all of the guests are staying."

"Ah, I almost forgot about those brats. Good job, Nezha...!"

Though she smiled in response to Wu's praise, Nezha's expression quickly soured when she found herself promptly flung over the mischievous monkey's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. This was a little better than being carried by the collar of her jacket, but, by the time they finally reached the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion, Nezha felt like she was on the verge of regurgitating the contents of her stomach. Had the food at this year's banquet not been the best she had ever eaten, she might have...

Seeing Nezha breathing heavily on her hands and knees, a teasing smile developed across Wu's face as she crouched down to pat the boyish youth on the back, saying, "You've been slacking off in your training. Tomorrow morning, I'll go and give your old man a piece of my mind. After that, you can come live with me on Mount Huaguo. It's been a few decades since we last trained together..."

Shuddering in response to Wu's words, Nezha had to cover her mouth with her left hand in a last-ditch attempt to hold her lunch. She respected Wu's strength and regarded her as her Big Sis, but, every time they trained together, it was like bungee jumping between Heaven and Hell. There were times when it was both relaxing and fun, but, more often than not, 'training' with Wu actually meant serving as her punching bag for months on end...

After failing to get Nezha to throw up even after three and a half minutes, Wu clicked her tongue in frustration before retracting her hand from the paling youth's back and asking, "This is the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion? It looks exactly the same as every other pavilion."

Without dropping her guard, Nezha repositioned herself so that she was sitting on her butt before answering, "The Immortals whine like little babies whenever they think someone is receiving better treatment than them so the Jade Fart made all the pavilions look the same. The only real difference between them is the furnishings on the inside..."

Though she nodded her head in understanding, Wu's brain was abuzz due to a sudden and intense urge to paint each of the pavilions a different color. That would have to wait until later. For now, she had a promise to keep, so, after dragging Nezha to her feet, the similarly sized duo entered into the pavilion without bothering to knock or announce their presence...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: '*approving Itachi noises*','Chang'e is lucky that Vahn is a good boi xD...','Wu might be a bully...')