Chapter 109: Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?

The moment he heard her voice, the mask of loneliness on Chen’s face shattered, replaced by a burning, theatrical intensity.

He took a delicate step forward, his gaze gliding right past Li Sushang. Without a hint of concealment, he locked onto the cold, straight back of the woman walking ahead.

“I’ve found it.”

“Just now, at my most pathetic and desperate moment, when I thought I was about to be scattered into stardust across the vast sea of stars…” He lifted his chin, as if reminiscing about some sacred, life-altering event. In reality, he was just scrambling to string together the most dramatic words he could think of.

“In the past, I drifted through the world of commerce, my life governed by the clicks of my abacus. I believed only in profit and loss, never in something as frivolous as fate.”

“I always thought that ‘love at first sight,’ the kind you read about in stories, was merely the fanciful imagination of scholars—an illusion as ethereal as a flower in a mirror or the moon’s reflection in water…”

His voice suddenly softened, dripping with a self-indulgent, saccharine emotion. “Until… that azure figure, like the first ray of dawn piercing the eternal night, broke through the chaos of dust and explosions to catch me. To hold me so firmly.”

“In that singular instant, time itself seemed to stand still. And in the silence, I heard it… the distinct sound of the gears of fate beginning to turn.”

“I never understood what love at first sight truly meant before. But now… I do.”

He took a deep, shuddering breath, as if mustering a lifetime’s worth of courage. Tilting his head, he aimed a coquettish question at Dan Heng’s unyielding back.

“Young lady with the spear, up there,” he called out, his voice a honeyed murmur.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

As the words left his lips, Chen—convinced he was the picture of charm despite the soot smudged across his face—looked toward Dan Heng’s back and gave his left eye a hard, deliberate squeeze. He threw a powerful… and utterly clumsy wink in her direction.

Li Sushang choked on her own spit. A strangled gasp escaped her, and she broke into a violent fit of coughs, her face turning a shade of crimson that nearly matched her hair.

She stared at the deeply affectionate, almost worshipful expression on Miss Tingyun’s face.

Then, she looked at Dan Heng’s back, which had undeniably gone rigid for a split second. Her entire worldview felt as if it were being violently shaken.

“T-Two women… T-This… how can this be… Sister Tingyun, this isn’t proper! There’s no future in it!”

Dan Heng, still walking ahead, did not turn around. But the hand gripping her Cloud-Piercer spear tightened, knuckles turning white. That strange, nagging sense of familiarity she’d felt since meeting this Foxian woman was back. And right behind it, a much stronger, much more primal urge… the urge to punch someone, was becoming nearly impossible to suppress.

Just then, faced with Li Sushang’s horrified declaration of a doomed romance, Chen didn’t lose heart in the slightest.

Instead, he puffed out his chest, his face adopting the sagely expression of a worldly “elder” who had seen it all. He struck a pose, as if preparing to deliver a grand sermon.

“Benefactor, you are mistaken! You’re so young, how can your thinking be so narrow?”

He held up a single, slender finger and wagged it with solemn gravity. “First of all, love transcends gender. It transcends race. It even transcends time itself!”

“This is the supreme logic of the universe, the very essence of all emotion!”

“Secondly,” he continued, his tone shifting as his gaze drifted affectionately toward Dan Heng once more, “this young lady and I are a match ordained by divination itself! We are the two ends of the same red thread of fate!”

“This is a match made in heaven. How can mundane etiquette and mortal laws dare to declare it improper?”

“And finally,” he concluded his argument, his voice now tinged with a bit of “heartfelt” distress, “Benefactor, you are still young; the road ahead of you is long.”

“Remember this: do not let the outdated customs of the world bind your courage or cloud your vision when pursuing true love!”

This sudden, passionate onslaught of pseudo-philosophy left the inexperienced Li Sushang completely dazed. The young woman stood there, her mouth slightly agape, utterly unable to find the words to refute a theory that sounded… vaguely plausible on the surface, but was actually riddled with holes and delivered with the force of a tidal wave.

She shot a desperate, pleading look toward Luocha, hoping the elegant doctor-sister could say something to restore a shred of sanity to the situation.

Sensing Li Sushang’s silent cry for help, Luocha’s gaze swept between the sincere-looking Chen and Dan Heng’s stiff back. She glanced back and forth once, a flicker of amusement in her eyes.

The corners of her lips couldn’t help but curl into a gentle, knowing smile.

“The plucking of fate’s strings is often unexpected.”

“What the divination shows might not be without foundation, after all.”

Then, her tone shifted as she looked at Dan Heng’s back with that same serene smile. “Miss Dan Heng possesses extraordinary skills and a remarkable temperament; she is indeed a rare hero in this world.”

“And Miss Tingyun is sincere and wholehearted, which is also a rare and precious quality.”

“This encounter, surviving a brush with death together, is in itself a great stroke of destiny.”

“As for etiquette and rules…” Luocha’s voice was like a calm stream. “The world is like flowing water, and the human heart like drifting clouds. Why be so obsessed with fixed forms? With the long lifespans of the Xianzhou, one sees the seas turn to mulberry fields. Where there is a will, there is always a way. True sincerity can crack even metal and stone.”

She turned her gaze back to Li Sushang. “My dear Miss Li, don’t you agree?”

Finally, she looked at Chen, a glimmer of open encouragement in her eyes, and said softly, “Miss Tingyun’s courage is commendable.”

“Since you have made up your mind, why not give it a try?”

“However…” Her gaze drifted back to Dan Heng. “You still need to ask for the other party’s feelings on the matter.”

This wasn’t just adding fuel to the fire—it was pouring a whole canister of oil on it. She was clearly enjoying the chaos!

Li Sushang was completely dumbfounded. She had expected Sister Luocha to coolly shut it down like Dan Heng, or at the very least provide a rational, calming analysis. She never, ever expected… encouragement. Support, even! What was wrong with this world?

Chen hadn’t expected this Miss Luocha to be such an agent of chaos either, and he was thrilled. He immediately seized the opportunity, a smile even more brilliant (and soot-streaked) than before blooming on his face as he nodded repeatedly at Luocha.

“Benefactor Sister, you are absolutely right! Every word is a gem that speaks directly to my heart!”

Then, he immediately spun back to face Dan Heng’s back, his voice becoming even more cloying. It now carried a hint of smugness, as if to say, ‘See? Everyone thinks it makes sense.’

“Young lady~ did you hear that? Even this learned and beautiful sister said this is a fate-ordained connection!”

“I know it might be hard for you to accept right now, but feelings can be nurtured!”

“Give me a chance, and give yourself a chance, okay? We can start as friends!”

“For example… for example, you could tell me your name?”

“What do you like to eat?”

“What are your hobbies?”

“I’m a great cook!”

“I’m also very good at keeping accounts! I can even run errands and gather information for you!”

As he spoke, he tried to lean closer, only to be reflexively blocked by Li Sushang’s outstretched arm, which she thrust out like a barrier.

Dan Heng finally stopped.

She didn’t turn around, but the oppressive atmosphere gathering around her was almost tangible. The air grew cold. The hand gripping the Cloud-Piercer spear was so tight the weapon seemed to hum with tension.

Then, she turned.

Her cold, piercing gaze locked directly onto Chen’s soot-covered face, which was still plastered with an expression of hopeful anticipation.

“I have zero interest in your love at first sight, your divined fate, or your match made in heaven.”

Each word was enunciated with absolute, chilling clarity.

“Saving you was a matter of duty. Nothing more.”

“Now. Immediately. Cease your pointless words and actions. Otherwise,” her wrist moved, a barely perceptible motion, and the tip of the Cloud-Piercer spear flashed with a sliver of cold light, “I don’t mind using another method to make you quiet.”

Startled by the sheer force of her aura, Chen instinctively shrank back.

He pursed his lips, his expression shifting into a theatrical pout of grievance and stubbornness.

“Young lady, you’re so mean… but you look so cool when you’re mean…”

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]