Chapter 308-309 On How to Conquer System Fairies and Make Them Your Wives 308-309 |
As Master spoke, time seemed to slow down, the world around them freezing.
Jiazi, his halberd raised, was frozen mid-strike.
“Did you know?” Master’s voice was light and playful, “the Dao of Time is even more powerful than you think. I can’t see the future, but I can… sense it. For example…” she paused, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Chen Yin knew what she was going to say.
“You knew… about the Eternal Light Sword?”
Master grinned. “I’m not the same reckless girl I was a thousand years ago. I’ve learned to be more cautious, to always have a backup plan. Do you know why I haven’t reverted back to my original form? It’s for this moment.” She turned to him, her gaze meeting his.
Chen Yin frowned.
“Don’t frown,” she said, reaching out and smoothing the wrinkles on his forehead with her small hand. “It’s not as bad as you think. I’m not going to abandon you again. Not after we’ve finally reunited.”
She turned and walked away, a layer of frost spreading beneath her feet, slowly creeping across the Void.
Chen Yin was silent for a moment. “But you said… time is fair. There’s always a price to pay.”
“…Yes,” she said softly, her eyes lowering slightly, “time is fair. I want to stop time in this space. And the price…”
…Is my own time.
“…It will stop too.”
Seeing his worried expression, she quickly said, “It’s not that bad. I can restart it anytime I want. As for when… that depends on you. When you’ve repaired the Eternal Light Sword and are strong enough to defeat Jiazi, you can come back for me. Think of it as… me buying you some time.”
It was a tempting offer.
The entire dimensional passage would be frozen in time until Chen Yin was ready.
He could take as long as he needed, decades, even centuries.
“When you’re ready,” she said, forcing a smile, “come and get me. This is your punishment.”
As she walked away, the frost spread, covering everything in a layer of ice, the Void turning into a frozen wasteland. Delicate ice flowers bloomed in her wake.
And as she walked, her body began to change.
She grew taller, her loose-fitting robes tightening around her, revealing her slender arms and legs. Her hair grew longer, cascading down her back, then trailing on the ground behind her.
Within a few steps, she had transformed from a child into a beautiful young woman, her eyes sparkling with a gentle warmth.
She stopped, her back to him, her figure the same as the one he remembered, the one he had held in his arms a thousand years ago, the one he had loved and lost.
“So?”
“How do I look?” she asked, turning to him, a playful smile on her lips.
Chen Yin was speechless, his heart aching with a bittersweet longing.
He walked towards her, his gaze fixed on her face. He gently ruffled her hair.
“Beautiful.”
“More beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“You haven’t changed,” she pouted playfully, her eyes still sparkling with amusement. “Still using the same old lines to flatter girls.”
“But…”
“I still like hearing them.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, her touch sending shivers down his spine.
He inhaled her scent, the same familiar fragrance he remembered from a thousand years ago.
“…Don’t blame yourself. I saw this coming. You can’t change the past. And don’t push yourself too hard,” she whispered, her head resting on his shoulder, her voice soft and gentle, like a wife comforting her husband before a long journey. “You can take your time. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Time has stopped for me. I won’t feel it. All I have to do is close my eyes, and the next time I open them, you’ll be there, to take me home. Or perhaps…” a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, “perhaps you’ll forget about me. Grow tired of waiting. Fall in love with someone else. Either way, it’s simple. Either you come back for me, or you don’t.”
“Don’t say that,” Chen Yin said quietly, his voice laced with a hint of warning.
She giggled and nuzzled his cheek playfully. “I’m just teasing you. I know you won’t abandon me. I waited for you for a thousand years. Now it’s your turn. Fair enough?”
Chen Yin looked at her, his heart filled with emotions he had never felt before.
“…Six months,” he said, his voice firm and resolute, as if making a vow, “I’ll repair the Eternal Light Sword and come back for you.”
“Six months?! That’s too soon!” she protested, waving her hands dramatically. “There’s no rush! Take your time—”
“I can’t wait,” Chen Yin shook her head.
“Not even a second longer.”
Yu Ling’s playful banter died in her throat, and she smiled faintly.
“You brat.”
“Then hurry up and come back for me.” She grinned, revealing her cute little fangs.
The frost had spread, covering everything in a layer of ice.
They stood there, embraced, in the frozen wasteland, the soft sounds of ice flowers shattering beneath their feet.
“…Before you go,” she said, her voice suddenly shy, “as a girl… I have one small request.”
Chen Yin listened patiently.
“I want to fall asleep in your arms,” she whispered, her cheeks flushing slightly, “and wake up to your kiss. Can you do that for me?”
Chen Yin nodded.
Yu Ling stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, her body soft and warm against his.
He held her close, one arm around her waist, feeling her delicate curves, her transformation from a child to a young woman, her body now so soft and alluring.
His other hand gently caressed her face, her skin as smooth and delicate as a flower petal.
He traced the outline of her face, his fingers brushing against her eyebrows, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her lips.
Her face flushed crimson, the color spreading from her ears to her collarbone.
His fingers lingered on her lips,
Then gently traced their outline.
“Mmm…” she moaned softly, her lips parting slightly, her eyes fluttering closed.
“Don’t you want to… taste them?” she whispered, tilting her head slightly.
Chen Yin closed his eyes and leaned down, his lips pressing against hers.
Her lips were soft and sweet, like a delicate pastry, her tongue intertwining with his.
He could feel her trembling in his arms, her soft moans echoing in his ears, her arms tightening around him, as if she never wanted to let go.
He kissed her deeply, passionately,
Until the cold of the frost seeped into his skin, his lips numb, his body trembling.
But he didn’t let go.
Until the world fell silent, frozen in time, a tomb of ice and snow.
The ice flowers shattered, their fragments scattering like glittering dust.
He looked down at her face, her eyes closed, a peaceful smile on her lips,
Frozen in time, a beautiful and heartbreaking image.
He held her close, his arms around her, his voice a soft whisper.
“…Wait for me.”
“I’ll come back for you.”
A day passed.
For the mortals of the Lower Realm, it was just another ordinary day. The sun rose, and they went about their lives as usual.
Most cultivators were also unaware of the cosmic battle that had taken place in the Void. They continued their daily routines of cultivation, sparring, and refining pills and weapons.
The world seemed to be turning as it always had.
—
Mount Yu.
Nan Xiaoxiang sat at a table in the hut at the foot of the mountain, a medical text open before her, but her gaze kept drifting towards the other room, her mind elsewhere.
Luo Luo sat by the window, listlessly playing with her tail, her ears drooping.
Outside, Qingying sat on the roof, silently counting the branches of a nearby tree.
After a while, the door opened, and Shen Shuanglian and Xiang’er entered.
They greeted each other, but the atmosphere was heavy and somber. No one spoke.
“He… hasn’t come out yet?” Shen Shuanglian asked softly.
Nan Xiaoxiang nodded, glancing at the closed door. “He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything. He just sits there, staring blankly into space. Like a… lifeless doll. I’ve never seen Young Master Chen like this.” She sighed.
“He’s… not invincible,” Shen Shuanglian said quietly. “What happened to Master Yu Ling… it must have been a terrible blow to him.”
…Stopping time.
Sealing herself away in a frozen Void.
It was a sacrifice beyond their comprehension.
And for Chen Yin, who already felt guilty for what had happened to Master in his previous life, it must have been devastating.
“Sister Shen…” Luo Luo whispered, tugging at Shen Shuanglian’s sleeve, her eyes red-rimmed, “we have to help him. Seeing him like this… it hurts…”
Shen Shuanglian’s gaze became distant and unfocused.
She didn’t know how to help him.
If she had known how to comfort him, how to support him, perhaps he wouldn’t have died in her previous life.
It was similar to what had happened back then.
She had sensed his unhappiness from his writing, but she hadn’t known how to approach him, how to help him. She had only watched from afar,
Until it was too late.
She bit her lip, searching for a solution, when she heard a sharp intake of breath.
Xiang’er, like a green whirlwind, rushed towards Chen Yin’s room.
And then, to everyone’s surprise,
She kicked the door open.
“You smelly Senior Brother! Get out here!”
The door crashed to the ground.
Even Nan Xiaoxiang and Luo Luo jumped at the sudden noise.
Qingying, peeking through the window, couldn’t help but mutter, “Whoa… Junior Sister Xiang’er is fierce…”
The fallen door revealed Chen Yin sitting at the table, his eyes downcast, his body motionless, like a statue.
The table was empty, his gaze fixed on nothing.
His eyes flickered slightly as the door crashed open.
“…Xiang’er?” he said, his voice hoarse.
Seeing him like this, Xiang’er’s eyes filled with tears.
But she walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face.
“You idiot! What are you doing sitting here?! Have you forgotten about Master?!”
Chen Yin stared at her, then chuckled wryly.
“What are you doing…?”
“What are you doing?!” Xiang’er’s voice trembled, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Master is trapped in that frozen Void, waiting for you! And you’re just sitting here, moping?!”
Her blunt words made Nan Xiaoxiang wince, afraid of pushing him over the edge.
But Chen Yin just sighed and gently stroked Xiang’er’s hair. “…Have you taken care of everything?”
Xiang’er bit her lip and nodded slowly. “Master Wan, despite his injuries, has gone to inform the sects of the fallen cultivators. And Immortal Luo is handling the rest.”
“I see,” Chen Yin nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
…The battle in the dimensional passage had been as brutal as Master had predicted.
Half of the participating Grand Clarity Realm cultivators had died. The rest were injured.
Wan Yunhai had been severely injured, his Dao Foundation destroyed. Even with the vast resources of the Ten Thousand Fragrance Pavilion, he might never recover.
Luo Qiaoqiao’s parents had also been injured protecting her.
The Grand Witch Bi Luo had been severely injured and had fallen unconscious. Luo Luo had saved her, and she was now recovering in Master’s bathhouse on Mount Yu.
“The other sects were easy to deal with,” Shen Shuanglian added, “but the Kunpeng Sect…”
She trailed off, her voice filled with sadness.
Chen Yin’s eyes dimmed.
…Ye Huang was dead.
He had sacrificed himself to protect Qing Mei Niang, taking a fatal blow meant for her.
Even with his mortal wound, he had killed ten bronze-armored soldiers before succumbing to his injuries.
Everyone who had been there remembered his final moments, his hair disheveled, his sword raised, his laughter echoing through the Void.
“I, Ye Huang, have finally glimpsed the true meaning of the Sword Dao. If it weren’t for Brother Chen, I would have died with my wife. To see the Dao before I die… I have no regrets. Come! Join me on my journey to the afterlife!”
His body, riddled with wounds, had fallen, his sword still clutched tightly in his hand, the heads of ten soldiers at his feet.
And with him, the three Grand Clarity Realm cultivators from the Kunpeng Sect had also perished.
It had been a heroic and tragic end.
“The Kunpeng Sect is in ruins. Almost all their elders and disciples are dead. And… we don’t know how to tell Ye Ling’er…” Shen Shuanglian’s voice was filled with sadness.
“I’ll tell her,” Nan Xiaoxiang said, her voice gentle but firm. “She trusts me. I’ll take her back to the clinic with me. I’ll take care of her.”
Chen Yin bowed to her gratefully. “Thank you, Miss Nan. I know she’ll be safe with you.”
“You’re too kind, Young Master Chen. I see Ling’er as my own sister. She just recovered from her illness and reunited with her father… I can’t leave her alone now.”
If anyone else had said those words, Chen Yin would have been skeptical.
But coming from Nan Xiaoxiang, they were strangely reassuring.
She had always been kind and compassionate, her actions always matching her words.
“As for the Kunpeng Sect… do what you think is best. Protect them from their enemies, if you can. I trust your judgment,” Chen Yin said to Shen Shuanglian, his voice low and serious.
Shen Shuanglian nodded obediently.
“And as for Master—”
Chen Yin stopped mid-sentence, a heavy silence falling over the room.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from outside.
Someone kicked the door open and stormed in, their eyes blazing with fury as they grabbed Chen Yin by the collar.
“Where is she?! Where’s my Little Ling’er?!”
The others stared at her, stunned, Luo Luo gasping,
“Mother!”
…It was Qing Mei Niang.
She had also been injured during the battle in the dimensional passage and had disappeared without a word.
Now, she was back, her anger palpable.
“I’m talking to you! Don’t play dumb!” she yelled, her usual seductive demeanor gone, replaced by a fierce protectiveness. “Where is she?! Did you lose her?! Chen Yin, you bastard!”
The others watched in stunned silence, Luo Luo trying to intervene, only to be silenced by a sharp glare.
“You promised to protect her! Is this how you protect her?! You’re supposed to be invincible! Why did you leave her alone?!”
Chen Yin didn’t get angry.
He just looked at her, his eyes filled with a silent sorrow.
After a long moment, he sighed softly.
“…I’m sorry.”
Qing Mei Niang’s body trembled, her eyes filled with a mixture of rage and tears, her voice a heartbroken whisper.
“Bring her back… bring my Little Ling’er back…”
Even Luo Luo had never seen her mother so vulnerable.
She wasn’t the seductive and powerful ruler of the demon realm.
She was just a heartbroken woman who had lost something precious.
“Mother…” Luo Luo whispered, her heart aching for both her mother and Chen Yin.
Chen Yin gently removed her hand from his collar and said softly, “Don’t cry.”
“It’s your fault! You’re the one who took her away!” she sobbed, her eyes blazing with accusation.
“I know. You can blame me all you want. I won’t argue.”
Qing Mei Niang’s anger subsided slightly, and she looked at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of suspicion and hope. “What do you mean?”
“I need you to come with me,” Chen Yin said, his voice low and serious.
“To the secret realm you mentioned. The one left by your ancestor.”