Chapter 503 - 502: What About My Marriage Contract?

Chapter 503: Chapter 502: What About My Marriage Contract?

Chapter 502: What About My Marriage Contract?

"Pfft— hahaha~~ What would a mere Luo Wusheng know about the Demon Sect Holy Saint? Hahaha~~"

In a deserted corner of the Royal City, a girl wearing a white tiger mask sat on the steps in the middle of a narrow path, clutching her stomach as she let out a laugh like a barbell clanging.

Luo Wusheng, who had just finished setting up a barrier to muffle sound and block spiritual awareness detection, glared at her from beneath his mask, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. He turned to her. "Hey, that’s enough. Save some dignity... Aren’t you practicing the Great Forgetfulness of Emotion?"

"...Ahem, you’re right. I’ve undergone specialized cultivation. No matter how funny something is, I shouldn’t... —Pfft— hohoho~~"

Luo Wusheng silently turned away and began pretending to be an invisible piece of air.

Miss Yanyao’s eyes narrowed to slits behind her mask, her entire being radiating pure delight.

She lightly touched her right wrist with her left hand, as if by accident.

Heh, someone gets quite bold when their emotions run high... He held back from holding my hand all the way here, but then he forcefully pulled me into his grip when we fled the crowd, not even giving me a chance to refuse...

Well, it’s rather cute.

Come to think of it, I haven’t laughed this heartily in ages. How many years has it been?

Seeing the young man before her trying to pretend she didn’t exist to ease the tension, Miss Yanyao felt a surge of amusement. Her sides and face ached from laughing, so she stifled her laughter and leaned in with a mischievous smile.

She whispered in Luo Wusheng’s ear, "So why didn’t you argue with them earlier? By running away, aren’t you admitting that the ’Demon Sect Holy Saint’ they see is the true one?"

"I’m not bored enough to argue with a bunch of stan," Luo Wusheng retorted, rolling his eyes at the girl beside him.

He couldn’t possibly reveal his identity over something so trivial. Besides, he might even lose the argument to those "Demon Sect Holy Saint Fanatics"... that would be even more embarrassing than this.

Moreover, the rabid fans truly worship that over-mythologized Demon Sect Holy Saint. Luo Wusheng believed that even if he were to replace the phantom on the stage and personally reenact the genuine scene from the Netherkin chaos, they would still cling to the image they had constructed in their minds.

So, he let it go, just to avoid hearing "Congratulations, Mr. Luo, on winning second place in the Demon Sect Holy Saint Impersonation Contest."

With that thought, Luo Wusheng glanced at the girl beside him, who was practically vibrating with amusement, before looking up at the night sky and sighing softly. "After all... isn’t making a fool of myself exactly what you brought me out here to do tonight?"

Miss Yanyao’s smile froze beneath her mask.

"W-what are you talking about? I– I– I did no such thing..."

"Alright, I get it. You’re just trying to get back at me for embarrassing you in the past."

Luo Wusheng squatted on the ground, drawing circles with his finger.

He was no longer the naive boy who had first encountered the socially awkward girl.

Back when Little Yuli had first been embarrassed, Luo Wusheng had been easily fooled by her pretense of moving on. But things were different now.

Even the true protagonist had couldn’t resist a follow-up act of revenge... though it had spiraled a bit out of control. Still, the attitude was clear. After learning all this, Luo Wusheng understood one thing:

Socially awkward people are drawn to each other... No, that’s not quite right. Socially awkward people will definitely try to find someone to share their embarrassment with.

Especially those who know about her past experiences.

Luo Wusheng hadn’t really thought about it much earlier tonight, but now, seeing Miss Dao-Dao laughing so gleefully, how could he not understand?

"Hmm..."

Miss Yanyao seemed to realize that further pretense was futile. After a moment’s hesitation, she crouched beside Luo Wusheng, hugged her knees, and buried her face in them.

A silence fell between them before she suddenly asked, "Do you think the image of me in your mind has been shattered? I’m always so cool and composed, but here I am acting like a child."

"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Luo Wusheng countered, still gazing at the night sky.

"Tell me the truth first."

"The truth is... I’d already guessed you were like this. Just thinking about how Night Crow was treated like a kite before made it obvious. Even though all your Alter Ego seem so serious, you’re still just a beautiful older sister only a few years older than me. It’s perfectly normal to have a bit of... moe inside."

Miss Yanyao blinked.

She didn’t know what "moe" meant, but he called her a beautiful older sister!

’So he already understands me this well?’

Unconsciously, she narrowed her eyes again. Tilting her head, she asked, "What about the lie?"

"The lie... I haven’t finished making it up yet."

As Luo Wusheng spoke, he tilted his head, meeting her wide-eyed gaze with a smirk.

Dao-Dao immediately realized he was teasing her. A vein popped on her forehead as she reached out and twisted a handful of flesh from his waist.

"Ah, it hurts! I’m dying—" he drawled in a flat, emotionless voice, the sound utterly unconvincing.

His current body was even tougher than before. His Golden Body had reached late Nascent Soul realm, and combined with the effects of his rebirth, even if the girl before her were to use that technique that combines the strength of all of her three alter egos, she would need to use 80% of her strength to even scratch him.

The fact that she could twist his waist so easily was entirely due to his deliberate relaxation.

Miss Yanyao also realized this. Her heart burned with indignation, yet she refused to back down.

She tightened her grip pointlessly and accused him in a tone of righteous indignation, "Hmph, you claimed this was your first time at the Royal City Night Market tonight... So when the Mortal Alter Ego first entered your dream, you already knew everything, didn’t you?"

Luo Wusheng felt a headache coming on.

As expected, he couldn’t avoid this question.

"Actually, it was only that night that I realized Kirin was your Mortal Alter Ego. I’d had my suspicions, but when I learned Fan-Fan was the one entering my dreams, I was certain."

"It’s just as I thought," Miss Yanyao said, tilting her chin. "I won’t press you on how you first discovered my Trinity of Pristine States. The matter’s already settled. But why did you say in the dream that my Mortal Alter Ego was the Imperial Alter Ego’s sister?"

"I couldn’t just admit I already knew your greatest secret, could I? That would only have created distance between us. Fan-Fan entering my dreams that night was precisely her trying to confirm whether I posed a threat."

Luo Wusheng said, "Fan-Fan already suspected me at the time, so it was impossible to completely distance myself. I had no choice but to say that. Otherwise, I might have even aroused your suspicion just by mentioning the Netherkin chaos. After all, you wouldn’t have believed me just because I said I wouldn’t mention it. You would have remained suspicious."

Miss Yanyao’s grip on his waist loosened slightly.

She had actually guessed this reason.

But what she cared about most now wasn’t that...

"Then... what did you mean by giving the Jade to the Mortal Alter Ego in the dream, saying you wanted to marry the ’sister of the Immortal Nation’s Empress,’ and then coaxing that pathetic fool of a Mortal Alter Ego into turning the dream into a wedding scene?"

"Since you already knew the truth back then, those words..."

The girl’s voice trailed off, her hand completely losing its strength, and a faint heat began to spread through her body.

At that moment, her hand on his waist was gently taken into his.

"Those words... were naturally meant for my fiancée."

Luo Wusheng slowly rose, pulling the young woman beside him to her feet. However, Miss Dao-Dao’s legs were weak, and she couldn’t stand properly, stumbling straight into his arms.

"Pah! Who– who is your fiancée..." Miss Yanyao protested, but she didn’t break free from the young man’s embrace. Instead, her hand, which had been held by him earlier, now gripped his in return, tightening her hold.

Luo Wusheng was no longer the clueless blockhead he once was. How could he not see the feelings the girl in his arms was practically broadcasting?

He smiled. "Right, who is my fiancée again...? I forgot. Why don’t we take a look at the marriage contract together?"

With that, he reached into the void.

But the next moment, his hand froze.

The smile beneath his mask froze.

’Damn it! Where’s my marriage contract? Where’s that huge, massive marriage contract?’

His reaction didn’t escape the girl in his arms. Miss Dao-Dao seemed to remember something, and her earlier anxiety vanished, replaced by the urge to laugh.

"If you’re looking for the marriage contract we obtained outside Sword Rain City in the Sword Province, don’t bother. It’s in the hands of the Imperial Alter Ego now."

Luo Wusheng: "?"

"Come to think of it, I’ve been meaning to tell you this... On the day of the Netherkin chaos, the moment you truly began to revive, that contract and the sheath of the Human Emperor Sword were both delivered to me... At the time, I thought you were trying to hint at something. But the instant I touched the contract, I inexplicably sensed the physical body you were reviving in the Imperial Pool."

"So it seems this wasn’t your doing?"

Miss Yanyao seemed to have instantly regained her composure, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she pulled away from Luo Wusheng’s embrace.

Yet she made no move to release his hand.

Luo Wusheng was still trying to process this.

’There was such a thing?’

’Wait a minute, that marriage contract was something my Master inexplicably had sent over... So, this is another scheme of his? To ensure the Empress could properly retrieve my physical body?’

Luo Wusheng twitched the corner of his mouth.

He couldn’t be bothered to figure out his so-called Master’s motives anymore. All he knew was that he’d been thoroughly screwed over this time.

Judging by Dao-Dao’s expression, she had clearly entered her "Great Forgetfulness of Emotion" mode once again.

The atmosphere was definitely not conducive to continuing the previous conversation; otherwise, it would just be awkward flirting.

He swallowed his carefully prepared lines and shook his head. "It wasn’t actually my doing. It must be a spell embedded within the contract itself... I have no idea how to handle something of that caliber."

"I see~" Miss Yanyao drew out her vowel, then chuckled softly. "Then never mind. After resting for so long, shall we take another stroll through the streets? Or perhaps we could visit the Ascending Immortality Lake? The city night curfew has been lifted recently."

She completely avoided mentioning the contract’s ownership or any related issues.

Luo Wusheng felt a pang of helplessness at having taken a wrong step, but he didn’t dwell on it.

"Let’s go to Ascending Immortality Lake."

That way, he wouldn’t have to deal with any more heart-wrenching comments from his brainless fans. Besides, it should be less crowded there, and there was that large grove of trees...

A grove of trees would be perfect.

As he was thinking, the girl beside him had already walked ahead.

Luo Wusheng watched Miss Yanyao, who was holding his hand and leading him toward the city gate like an ordinary mortal girl, and felt a moment of daze.

Feeling the warmth of the girl’s delicate hand in his, he suddenly thought that this wasn’t so bad after all.

Well, let’s just consider it a continuation of our date.

Little did he know, a faint blush still lingered clearly on Miss Dao-Dao’s face beneath her mask.

’That was close... I almost lost control.’

’If I really fell for him, and I synchronized my memories with Di-Di and Fan-Fan, I... Huh? That doesn’t seem so bad, does it? Those two embarrassing fools have screwed me over so many times, it’s not that big a deal if I screwed them over once, right?’

’No, no, I can’t think like that. I’m the aloof and proud Dao-Dao, not like those vulgar and flirty Di-Di and Fan-Fan.’

Yet...

As she held someone’s hand, a peculiar emotion flickered in Miss Yanyao’s eyes.

If time rewound to the day of the Netherkin chaos, could she still suppress her feelings like she had just now, when he appeared at her most vulnerable moment and resolved everything?

She probably couldn’t.

Even now... well, at least she was the one out tonight, giving Di-Di and Fan-Fan no opportunity to make a mistake.

If a mistake were to happen, let her be the one who bears the consequences!

Miss Yanyao dismissed the thought of synchronizing memories in advance again, resolving to ignore any urging from her Imperial and Mortal Alter Ego before returning tonight.

Unconsciously, she tightened her grip on the hand of the Demon Sect Holy Saint.

. . .

Ascending Immortality Lake.

The area was crowded with people, both residents of the Royal City and those who had traveled from other regions in the past few days, all gathered along the lakeshore.

The difference was that while some Royal City residents might still have come simply to worship the phoenix tree that represented the Demon Sect’s Holy Saint, those from outside were purely there for another thing entirely.

The cultivators of the Royal City reaped immense rewards from the Netherkin chaos, and the world watched with envy as these heavenly gifts fell into their hands.

The covetousness wasn’t limited to low-level cultivators; many Nascent Soul cultivators from across the land flocked to the Royal City. While they might have dismissed minor opportunities, the mere thought of the rumored secret that allowed the Demon Sect’s Holy Saint, who had only reached the peak of Golden Core cultivation, to unleash power surpassing that of Divine Transformation realm cultivators set their hearts ablaze.

To be honest, even Divine Transformation realm cultivators were intrigued by this secret.

However, unlike the Nascent Soul cultivators, many Divine Transformation realm cultivators who weren’t in seclusion had witnessed the battle during the Netherkin chaos with their divine awareness.

What they discovered in their astonishment was that not a single one of them could have matched the Demon Sect’s Holy Saint in that battle.

Moreover, the Dao Rhythm Luo Wusheng demonstrated at the end had also benefited them, creating a karmic link. Even those among the Divine Transformation realm experts who had secretly opposed the Immortal Nation were unwilling to get involved in this mess.

However, some of their younger brethren lacked such understanding.

At the Ascending Immortality Lake, dozens of figures hovered in the air, confronting the forces surrounding the lake.

"Heh, it’s just a tree. If we cut it down, would the Demon Sect’s Holy Saint truly remain dead? We’ve been sitting here for days without making any progress in our cultivation. Doesn’t that prove the opportunity lies within it?"

"If that’s the case, how can we rest content without trying?"

A brocade-robed man, leading the group of dozens, spoke with a faint smile as he released his aura.

Peak of the Nascent Soul realm!

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Cultivation Realm:

1, Qi Refining

2, Foundation Establishment

3, Golden Core

4, Nascent Soul

5, Divine Transformation (Formerly Known as Tribulation Crossing)

6, Tribulation Transcendence

7, Land Immortal

Note: Link to the character Illustration:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD

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