“Before, it was always you watching over me. Now, it’s my turn to watch over you.” Zhao Li smiled radiantly.
Her delicate, pearl-like face was reflected in Yelan’s gentle, spring-water eyes.
Just gazing at each other like this filled Yelan’s heart with warmth and sweetness. It was as if a refreshing breeze had swept through her soul, stirring ripples of affection, making her love endlessly.
Yelan had never asked for much.
And Zhao Li took those words as a vow.
Until the end of my life, Yelan, in this lifetime, I will always stay by your side, watching over you just as you once silently watched over me.
The atmosphere was serene, wordless in their shared gaze.
Suddenly, Zhao Li stretched out her arms. Seeing Yelan’s confusion, she pouted and said, “Lan Lan, come hug me. If you do it well, I’ll reward you with a big kiss!”
Yelan, who had initially been hesitant, didn’t hesitate anymore and pulled her into an embrace.
As if trying to merge into her very bones.
Yelan’s fingertips, her arms, her entire body trembled slightly.
This hug was something she had longed for far too long.
Zhao Li hugged her back, gently stroking her spine.
This was her way of telling Yelan through action—You can touch me, hold me, kiss me. I won’t reject you anymore.
Sniffing Yelan’s sweet fragrance, Zhao Li smiled. “So? Am I soft? Comfortable to hold?”
“Mhm.”
“Do you think I’ve gotten a little chubby? Not as nice to look at as before?”
“No. You’re not chubby. You’ll always be the cutest, the most beautiful in the Wuji Realm.”
“Nonsense, the most beautiful is clearly you. Besides, my dad fattened me up by twenty pounds! Good grief.”
“You’re not chubby. You’re still growing.”
“Lan Lan, don’t you think right now, you’re like an old cow eating tender grass?”
“Uh…”
Zhao Li nestled against her chest, smiling. Teasing her like this, Lan Lan hadn’t even realized she was now able to talk so freely and at length with her.
In the past, because of her aversion, Yelan had hardly dared to speak to her. Like earlier outside the barrier, stammering to ask if she was just passing by.
Ah, my past self was truly sinful.
After holding her a while longer and chatting idly, Zhao Li finally said, “Lan Lan held me so nicely. Now it’s time for your big kiss reward.”
Yelan’s eyes brightened, her heart fluttering at those words.
Her arms loosened just enough for Zhao Li to lean back slightly and cup Yelan’s face.
Lips met, and the soft warmth of Zhao Li’s touch intoxicated Yelan. Unable to resist, she cradled Zhao Li’s head, deepening the kiss, gentle as a spring breeze.
They kissed again and again, lingering until, reluctantly, they finally parted.
Savoring the lingering sensation on her lips, Zhao Li licked her lower lip and grinned at Yelan, whose ears were faintly red. “Lan Lan really is sweet.”
“…” Yelan shyly averted her gaze.
The tender, intoxicating feeling of their noses brushing, breaths mingling, still pulsed in Yelan’s heart.
…Not enough. I want more. But I don’t dare ask for too much, much less take the initiative.
“Lan Lan, we Qingqiu fox spirits take only one partner in our lifetime. Our hearts and bodies belong solely to that one person.”
Hearing the solemnity in Zhao Li’s voice, Yelan quickly turned her gaze back to her face.
Zhao Li continued, “Although we foxes place great importance on appearances, once we set our hearts on someone, we recognize only that person.”
That must be why she had been so fixated on Qing Tong in her past life.
Zhao Li shook her head, forcing Qing Tong’s image out of her mind, and went on, “Now that I’ve taken liberties with you, it means I’ve given myself to you. I’ll never form a bond with another, nor will I allow anyone else to touch me like this. Our fox clan is fiercely loyal in matters of love. Just look at my father—as the clan leader, burdened with the responsibility of our people, it wouldn’t be excessive for him to have multiple wives or concubines. Yet he loved only my mother. Even after her passing, he remained devoted to her alone, never remarrying.”
“Lan Lan, I’m already yours. I don’t dislike you at all now—you saved me, and I’m happy. Maybe you’ll think me frivolous, but I truly like you now. I finally understand the sentiment in those stories where the rescued pledges themselves to their savior. So, this is what it feels like to fall for the one who saved your life.”
Earlier, Yelan had asked her, Do you love me? Zhao Li’s answer had been that she didn’t know.
And she truly hadn’t known.
But now she realized that the more she looked at Yelan, the more she liked her.
She couldn’t tell Yelan that the Zhao Li she knew and interacted with was both the same person and not the same person.
Nor could she express the depth of her feelings for Yelan now.
But she still wanted to tell Yelan, I do like you.
And she wanted Yelan to know that in this lifetime, she would never abandon her.
Though she couldn’t reveal the pact with the Alien Star God and had resorted to such a silly excuse—was it wrong to fall for the one who saved her? No, it wasn’t.
Yelan held her tighter, whispering tenderly, “…Just hearing you say that is more than enough.”
“Not enough, not enough! I still want to give you babies.”
Zhao Li had thought about it. To return the cultivation power of Yelan that resided within her soul, she would have to wait until she ascended to the rank of Spirit Emperor. Only then would she have the ability to expel that force.
But ascending to Spirit Emperor was an incredibly difficult feat. What if she never managed it in her lifetime?
There was another way to transfer that cultivation into her child’s body. To return the Asura’s power to Yelan’s descendants.
A baby born with the cultivation of a Spirit Emperor would surely deter other races from coveting the Asura Clan.
In the Boundless Realm, beings awakened their spiritual intelligence early. Yelan’s child would awaken their spiritual roots within two or three years and be capable of protecting her by five or six.
In the Boundless Realm, same-sex couples could also marry and have children—though not in the conventional way of a man and woman consummating their union and the woman carrying the child for ten months. Instead, they relied on the power of the Matrimony Tree.
At the very heart of the Boundless Realm stood a towering giant known as the Matrimony Tree. This tree could nurture fetal fruits. All that was needed was for both partners to infuse their spiritual energy and blood into the fruit, which would then serve as a surrogate womb, nurturing the fetus for ten months before birth.
The child born this way was no different from one carried naturally. In fact, they were often even healthier.
But the cost of such a birth was far greater than that of a child conceived through normal means.
The spiritual energy and blood of both parents alone were not enough to shape the fetus. For the child to be born successfully, at least one parent had to continuously supply their cultivation energy as nourishment for ten months, ensuring the fetal fruit thrived.
During these ten months, the “mother vessel” serving as nourishment would be extremely fragile. Since all her cultivation would be channeled into nourishing the fetus, her own power would naturally plummet.
Although she could eventually regain her original strength through diligent cultivation later, during these ten months, the “mother vessel” would be in a very weakened state.
Moreover, not even the slightest fluctuation in spiritual energy could be allowed, lest it disrupt the formation of the infant within the fetal pod.
In other words, to ensure the safe birth of the child, the “mother vessel” would have to enter seclusion with the fetal pod for ten months, completely isolated from the outside world.
This was far more arduous than the typical ten-month pregnancy for ordinary women.
But Zhao Li was willing to endure this hardship for Yelan.
“Having little cubs…”
Yelan froze for a moment before replying, “Let’s leave the matter of offspring for later.”
She feared Zhao Li might one day regret choosing her.
Though she didn’t know how Zhao Li had suddenly “awakened” to her feelings, this sudden affection was likely just the adrenaline-fueled infatuation of the “bridge effect” after being saved.
If Zhao Li were to sober up later and regret it, Yelan didn’t want their potential child to become a shackle binding her.
Besides, Zhao Li was still young.
As long as Zhao Li didn’t dislike her now, Yelan was already content.
Zhao Li nodded very seriously. “Mhm, mhm, we should take it step by step. First, we need to settle our marriage. Uh… I don’t think concubines need a wedding banquet, right?” She tilted her head and asked.
Aside from bearing children for their lord, concubines didn’t seem to serve much purpose.
Of course, those exceptionally favored by their lord were exceptions. But no matter how favored, concubines generally held low status among the races of the Endless Realm, similar to the customs of the Mortal Realm—barely a step above maids, with only a nominal title. In the presence of the principal wife, they were practically no different from servants.
There certainly wouldn’t be grand processions or palanquins—at most, a simple notice to the clan: Our venerable ancestor has taken a new, delicate concubine, just to let the clan know such a person now existed in the ancestor’s chambers.
Perhaps amused by Zhao Li’s head tilt or her words, Yelan chuckled. “I don’t take concubines.”
Zhao Li blinked. Huh? Am I not even concubine material???
“So, you want me as your bedchamber maid? Do you have that kind of strong physical needs? …Alright, fine. We fox spirits of Qingqiu are experts in matters of love anyway. I’ll go ask those fox aunties for advice and practice my hand skills! I heard two fox girls in our clan pleasure each other with their hands—apparently, it feels pretty good too…”
Yelan stared, dumbfounded, before a frosty glint flashed in her eyes. “Who taught you such nonsense?” she demanded coldly.
Who in the world had dared fill Li’er’s head with these ideas? If she found out, she’d burn them to ashes with her Crimson Lotus Hellfire!
“Ah, it was in these books called Little Yellow Scrolls. They’re by our Qingqiu’s master artist, Fox Spirit Lingling. Her works sell really well! She’s super famous in the Endless Realm. …You look so scary—are you planning to burn her and her books? No, no! Her illustrated scrolls make up a third of our Qingqiu Fox Clan’s income. If you burn her, we’ll starve!”
Yelan reined in her anger, rubbing her temples with a deep sigh. Li’er’s clansmen… That did make things inconvenient.
“You’re so young, and she let you see this?” Yelan tried to soften his tone as much as possible.
Zhao Li scratched her head sheepishly and said, “Because I could never get the hang of fox charm techniques, Aunt Lingling told me to study her paintings more to get a feel for it. Besides, fifteen is already grown up!”
She had only thought about breaking through to level 10 after celebrating her coming-of-age ceremony.
Yelan: “…” (Maybe we should have fox meat hot pot for dinner?)
“Let’s set aside the matter of that fox demon for now.”
Once he grew closer to Li’er, he would definitely have to make a trip to the Qingqiu Clan and find this woman named Lingling—to properly teach her what constituted appropriate moral education!
“I don’t take concubines, nor will I keep any maids for that purpose. I want only you.” Yelan gazed at her intently. “If you’re willing to be with me, willing to marry into my family, you will be the Queen of the Asura Clan—my one and only partner.”