Xiao A Li hadn’t slept this peacefully and comfortably in a long time.
In her dream, she had returned to the familiar Li Jing Immortal Palace, and Qing Ci Di Zun was still there.
The Emperor Lord preferred tranquility, so the Immortal Palace usually only had the two of them.
Normally, the Emperor Lord would sit there reading books. He no longer needed to cultivate, nor did he have any affairs to attend to.
Xiao A Li, however, needed to diligently practice her cultivation, but unfortunately, she was prone to laziness.
Whenever the Emperor Lord wore a stern expression intending to lecture her, she would cling to his wide sleeves, acting spoiled and unreasonable.
Strangely enough, the omnipotent ancient Emperor Lord would only become flustered when faced with Xiao A Li’s coquettish behavior.
Eventually, he let her be. Since she was in his own palace, he would simply protect her a little more.
The dream shifted.
The Demon Lord broke through the seal, causing the heavens and earth to change color.
The War between Immortals and Demons was on the verge of breaking out.
The Demon Lord had originally been sealed by three ancient Emperor Lords together, but the other two had already perished one after another.
Now, only Qing Ci Di Zun remained to guard this realm.
Having been sealed for over ten thousand years, the Demon Lord’s first act upon emerging was to seek revenge against the Emperor Lord.
As the only Emperor Lord in the Immortal Realm, Rong Yu had no choice but to step forward and confront the Demon Lord.
Before leaving the palace, he repeatedly instructed Xiao A Li to stay obediently within the barrier and absolutely not sneak out.
He reinforced the Immortal Palace’s barrier layer by layer, even infusing it with three parts of his immortal soul.
However, the Demon Lord’s actions were beyond what the righteous Immortal Clan could predict.
In her dream, she once again encountered the scene from back then. In the dream, she still unhesitatingly took the fatal blow from the Demon Lord for him…
…
Xie Qing Ci parked the car downstairs and didn’t wake the sleeping girl.
The girl seemed to be having a pleasant dream, her exquisitely beautiful face adorned with a serene smile.
He wondered what happy thing she was dreaming about, and whether he appeared in her dream.
Unconsciously, the man gazed obsessively at the sleeping girl for a long time.
Suddenly, something seemed to appear in her dream that frightened her.
The girl’s brows furrowed tightly, and her breathing became rapid.
Xie Qing Ci grew somewhat worried, hesitating whether to wake her, yet afraid that startling her abruptly would frighten her.
Yu Qing suddenly jolted awake from her dream and turned to look at the man beside her.
The man was scalded by her intense gaze, his throat moving slightly.
The girl’s deer-like eyes were misty with unshed tears, her gaze tender and filled with infinite dependence, staring unblinkingly at him.
Xie Qing Ci clearly heard his own heart pounding like a drum, growing increasingly violent, almost to the point of explosion.
Afraid that the mad desire in his eyes would frighten her, he closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming surge of love.
“Click—”
“Click—”
Two consecutive sounds of safety buckles unlocking, reminiscent of cages containing wild beasts being opened.
Leaning over, he lifted the girl and placed her on his lap, pressing her into his embrace while gently patting her back with his palm.
“My dear, why are you crying? Did you have a nightmare?”
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
…
The girl, having just woken from her dream, didn’t react immediately.
The man didn’t mind, continuing to murmur soft comforts to her one phrase after another.
The young Buddhist disciple who had cultivated for many years finally completely abandoned all his spiritual accomplishments, yielding to his own obsession.
Yu Qing had just experienced eternal separation from Qing Ci Di Zun in her dream.
Now that she had awakened from the dream, being held in Xie Qing Ci’s embrace, breathing in his familiar scent and feeling his body warmth, she finally felt somewhat settled in her heart.
After being gently coaxed by the man for a long time, the tears she had been holding back completely overflowed.
“Wahhh—”
Yu Qing buried her small face in his chest, her slender pale fingers clutching his clothes tightly. Starting with soft sniffles, she gradually began to cry aloud.
Xie Qing Ci felt somewhat helpless.
Why was this little treasure crying even harder the more he comforted her?
But what he felt more was heartache.
He had thought she was just feeling a bit wronged after having a nightmare and acting spoiled with him.
But now it seemed there must have been something that truly saddened her, making her cry like a little tearful child.
He had never interacted with any woman other than his mother and had no experience in such matters.
All his actions and words toward the young girl today came straight from his heart.
Even when Xie Qing Ci wasn’t speaking, his hands never stopped moving, continuously gently stroking her back to help soothe her emotions.
The Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist swayed with his movements, emitting soft sounds.
If Yu Qing hadn’t been so emotionally distraught at that moment, she would have certainly noticed that the man’s hands were trembling slightly too.
The young Buddhist disciple who had abandoned his devotion to gods and Buddhas had found his new faith.
What could be more exhilarating than a believer finally possessing his one and only faith?
After crying unrestrainedly for a while, Yu Qing gradually regained her composure.
She lifted her small head from the man’s chest, her red rabbit-like eyes looking at him.
Xie Qing Ci had originally felt his heart melting from the young girl’s complete dependence on him.
But when he met her gaze, an icy coldness instantly spread throughout his entire body.
She was looking at him, yet not at him.
To be precise, she was looking through him at another person.
Who was it?!
Who could deserve such affectionate, lingering looks from her?
So were all the dependence she showed him, her silent permission allowing him to gradually get closer, even intimate—were they all meant for someone else?
An unprecedented violent emotion suddenly surged in Xie Qing Ci’s heart.
Intense jealousy nearly consumed all his rationality.
He wanted to destroy that person, the one who occupied her gaze.
He wanted to imprison her by his side, making her heart and eyes filled only with him.
Since he had fallen into this vast mundane world, he would definitely drag the culprit down with him.
Yu Qing watched as the man right before her eyes underwent rapid changes in expression—how did his initially tender gaze suddenly become sharp and fierce?
(°°)
“A Ci?”
The young girl had just woken from sleep and cried for a long time, her voice hoarse, adding to her pitiful demeanor.
This address completely brought Xie Qing Ci back to his senses.
“What’s wrong?”
The man adjusted his emotions as quickly as possible, though his low, husky voice betrayed his feelings.
[Little Milk Candy, what’s wrong with Emperor Lord?]
[A Li, Lord thought you were looking through him at another person just now, so he’s probably jealous.]
?
Wasn’t that other person she was looking at also him?
How could this person even be jealous of himself?
What else could Xiao A Li do?
She had to comfort her own Lord herself!
Sighing silently in her heart, she lifted her slender pale arms to wrap around the man’s neck.
When Xie Qing Ci had carried her over earlier, he had brought along the suit jacket from his shoulders as well. Now, due to her movement, the jacket slipped down to her waist, barely resting on the man’s knees, teetering on the edge of falling.
But at this moment, neither of them had the mind to care about the slipping garment.
Yu Qing was mentally calculating how to coax this man into a better mood.
Meanwhile, Xie Qing Ci’s emotions grew even more complicated because of the girl’s sudden initiative…
He wanted to ask her whether the person she wanted to hold was him, Xie Qing Ci.
Yet he feared hearing a negative answer.
Realizing his own thoughts, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of self-mockery.
Twenty-eight years of cautious solitude and disciplined adherence to propriety—he had failed to uphold any of it in front of this young woman.
Look at him, fingers twirling Buddhist prayer beads, yet his heart teemed with worldly desires.