More than 20 years ago, Su Qian became pregnant.
At that time, Cecilia had disguised himself as a young, enthusiastic junior to stay by Su Qian’s side. Su Qian did not like the pervasive need for control and possessiveness of Cecilia, whom he considered a good friend, nor did he like the way Cecilia looked at him. However, he was very fond of this young disciple.
The young man had a clean, bright smile, a pure and generous personality, and was lively and passionate. Su Qian could not refuse such a clingy disciple; his presence brought Su Qian joy. Only on very rare occasions would Su Qian notice the gaze Cecilia fixed upon him. That look carried an indescribable feeling, like a corpse floating beneath the surface of the water. Once seen, one would inevitably come into contact with the pitch-black insects clinging to it. For a few moments, strange thoughts would appear in Su Qian’s mind because he seemed to see a ghost of Cecilia in this young junior.
That made him very uneasy.
But their relationship remained excellent. Finally, one day, Su Qian discovered he was pregnant with his disciple’s child. Knowing his own constitution and bloodline, the man did not hesitate much before making a decision.
He would keep the child.
This action surprised Cecilia. He had originally thought Su Qian would be the one screaming not to have the baby. Instead, Su Qian accepted it quite decisively because, through this, he proved one thing: he had truly, definitively fallen in love with Cecilia.
So, what was there to hesitate about?
“After a while, we will leave this place,” Su Qian said, avoiding his powerful, domineering, and uncompromising friend. “Then, we will go to the Southern Territory.”
Su Qian smiled. His personality was very straightforward, and he was loyal to his own likes and dislikes. Hearing Su Qian’s words, his disciple hesitated for only a moment before quickly revealing a fitting, agreeable smile: “You want to keep this child?”
Su Qian nodded and said, “Why wouldn’t I?”
The red-haired man was handsome and heroic, with dark eyebrows and bright eyes. Cecilia couldn’t help but stare at him when he looked this way. Su Qian gave an order: “After this child is born, you should also be able to ascend to Legend rank. I will prepare the power of Legend for you.”
His voice was filled with plans for the future. Cecilia’s current body was also taller than his; he lowered his head, a deep light flickering in his pupils as his fingers stroked Su Qian’s belly. At this moment, Cecilia felt an unusual fluctuation; a soul from another world was descending in a certain way and was about to be born from Su Qian’s womb.
Cecilia was destined to have no descendants, so the “offspring” he now possessed was a “person without fate” who had come from beyond the realm.
Red light emanated from Cecilia’s fingertips. He could easily crush this visitor from another world, but Su Qian was leaning in his arms, his teacher looking at him with shining eyes. Cecilia felt the unadorned, selfless love coming from Su Qian.
He loves me.
Cecilia thought: Even if I came to his side in a different identity, even if I shed my previous appearance and became someone else, he still loves me.
The red light at Cecilia’s fingertips dissipated. A piece of ethereal white light covered Su Qian’s belly. In that instant, he masked the “fate marks” brought by the “fate-less one,” concealed the fluctuations emanating from the soul, and isolated it from the many eyes spying on it.
Without Su Qian’s knowledge, at the moment Cecilia’s fingertips brushed him, the soul from beyond the realm was stabilized. While it survived, its intelligence and memories were also suppressed by Cecilia.
He loves me.
Since he wants a child, then you can only be my child.
Cecilia withdrew his hand and hugged his teacher. His long golden hair rubbed against the hollow of his neck, clinging to him like a puppy, and he said, “Okay, I will raise the child that Teacher gives birth to.”
“I love Teacher the most,” he said.
Before this otherworldly soul descended and its tracks were submerged by Cecilia, several deities had already noticed its existence. A “fate-less one” who did not belong to this world, an extraterrestrial visitor rejected by the consciousness of this world, was a being truly unbound by fate, someone who could escape the master of destiny.
Such a soul was prime sustenance.
Whether cold, viscous, or chaotic and disorderly, thoughts and gazes fell upon that soul. However, before any of these could act, the one who first caught that trace was the Propagation Mother Tree, which had taken root in the deepest part of the Ever-Dark Continent.
The massive Propagation Mother Tree had lush foliage, its branches and trunks showing viscous, mottled colors, as if the emotions and desires of countless people were pulsing upon them. Beneath the Mother Tree, Night Elves were copulating regardless of day or night. The branches of the Propagation Mother Tree rested above them; the newborn elves were still embryos, yet were transformed into Night Elves by the Mother Tree before they were even born.
From these Night Elves, the power of lust flowed onto the branches of the Propagation Mother Tree, allowing the Mother Tree to protect them while also absorbing this power. Since the Night Elves were banished by the other elves to the Ever-Dark Continent, the Propagation Mother Tree had taken root there, and the Elven race had split. The remaining elves left with a branch of the Tree of Life, and no one knew where those beautiful elves had gone. The Night Elves, however, chose to follow the Mother Tree and established a new kingdom there.
The Propagation Mother Tree sensed a fluctuation coming from one of its small branches. Its consciousness slowly awoke, only to perceive an otherworldly soul descending into this realm. The Propagation Mother Tree was overjoyed and said: “A person from beyond the realm? A fate-less soul? I will eat it!”
“I want to eat him, kill him!” After being silent for thousands of years, the will of the Propagation Mother Tree began to activate. It said happily and joyfully: “Don’t fight me for it, I want to be the first to eat him and escape my own destiny!”
“Mother…” The Night Elf below raised his face, unaware of what the Mother Tree had encountered. He said intermittently: “Do you have any orders?”
However, the Propagation Mother Tree did not care about the words of its offspring. Filled with a sense of filth, its invisible tentacles, coagulated with the world’s lust and the power of propagation, had just reached out to grab that soul when it grabbed nothing. Someone had protected that soul. Having lost its target, the Propagation Mother Tree let out a mournful roar. The series of sobs forced the Night Elves to stop their movements and gather around the Mother Tree.
“My children, I cannot leave you, nor can I abandon you. Why can’t you understand my difficulties?” said the Propagation Mother Tree. “If I do not transform you into Night Elves, I will die by your hands.”
It roared painfully, then said again: “The soul of the fate-less one, I need it. My children, go find that soul for me. I want to eat him, eat him!”
The Night Elves looked at each other. Finally, two Night Elves donned robes and picked up weapons. Their figures turned into shadows and dissipated at the borders of the Night Elf kingdom. Following the Mother Tree’s orders, the Night Elves gathered together and began searching the Ever-Dark Continent for the tracks of the fate-less one.
Only the will of the Propagation Mother Tree remained, lingering for a long time in reluctance and resentment. Finally, it let out a roar of hatred: “God of Fate, I will not let you go! Why, why is it that on the Scroll of Fate, the first deity to die is me!”
Inside the City Lord’s mansion, the fat moth looked at Su Feng steadily after hearing his words, then flew slowly and coyly toward the human.
Then, with a buzz, it crashed into Su Feng’s arms.
“Ouch, why are you so heavy!” Su Feng was startled. How had the big moth gained weight again after only a few days apart? But he then laughed, hugging the chubby moth and stroking its soft, greasy down. Those little claws pushed against his fingers in a gesture of feigned resistance, but without much strength. It was just a token push, allowing Su Feng to successfully lean against the moth’s wings and stroke its thin, papery wings with his fingertips.
An excited smile blossomed on Su Feng’s face, as if he were glowing. He was so overjoyed he was completely out of his mind, completely forgetting why the moth that should have been in his room appeared in his study. He only focused on hugging the moth with shining eyes, just like holding a little cat, occasionally letting out happy laughs.
Does he like me in this form that much?
Unbidden, this thought slowly appeared in Murphy’s mind. The moth’s large eyes reflected Su Feng’s face. Su Feng didn’t care about his abnormality at all; after several previous interactions, he basically treated the big moth in its irrational state as a fluffy pet.
After stroking the moth for a while and kneading it in his arms, Su Feng felt the pressure accumulated in the laboratory fully released. He truly loved this cute little creature, even more than other fluffy animals.
Perhaps it was because he often slept while hugging a large moth when he lived in the modern world? But it was strange. Although he had lived in this world for 20 years, his memories of the modern era seemed to have been awakened only recently. Or was it that he was subconsciously unwilling to face reality?
Compared to life on the Dawn Continent, a society with order and equality for all felt almost as distant as a beautiful dream. Even if there were often unhappy things in that life, compared to the days on the Dawn Continent where he had to face natural disasters, demon gods, and dark mages at any time, that life could be considered as wonderful as a heavenly palace.
If there was a chance, Su Feng really wanted to return to that world, but he couldn’t pin his hopes on it. Su Feng was forcing himself to adapt to his current environment.
The sound of the moth fluttering its wings came from his arms. Murphy was lying on his chest, staring at him motionless with a pair of purple eyes. That gaze seemed to be taking root in his body. Su Feng thought he was cute and couldn’t help but rub him again, saying, “If only I could study potions like this, stay in the alchemy laboratory to do R&D, and after making the perfect potion, go out to rake in the money… cough, earn money, and then occasionally hug you and rub you, that would be great.”
Su Feng stroked the antennae on the top of its head with his fingertips, watching the two little combs sway back and forth. Hearing his words, Murphy just lay silently on his chest, scratching his head with his claws from time to time. Other than that, the only sound in the air was the buzzing of fluttering wings.
Su Feng looked at this scene, a smile forming on his face involuntarily, then slowly fading. He said, “But that’s impossible, right?”
After all, how could the protagonist stay by his side forever? How they would get along afterward was also a headache for Su Feng.
The large moth on his chest transmitted a cool and comfortable sensation. As if sensing something, Murphy lay on him, spread his wings, and the entire moth burrowed into Su Feng’s warm embrace.
So warm.
He felt the intense, slightly burning warmth coming from the human, as if he were pressing against a small, warm furnace. He could feel that temperature baking his skin little by little, making him want only more.
If only I could possess this temperature forever, Murphy thought. In this quiet atmosphere, he savored and felt this warmth. Recalling the feeling of firmly capturing the blood pact light orb not long ago and doing whatever he wanted with it, the speed at which Murphy flapped his wings increased slightly, as if longing for something.
At this moment, Su Feng also took the opportunity to absorb some intimacy points from the big moth. However, the intimacy points obtainable in this form were only one-third of those in human form. Su Feng had no choice but to sleep with the big moth for the night. The next day, when he woke up, Su Feng found himself being held in Murphy’s arms. The man expressionlessly broke free from the cold embrace, feeling as if every bone in his body had been squeezed. Murphy, however, stood up just as calmly. Both of them were accustomed to this scenario by now; one went to get dressed, while the other, after washing up, spontaneously went to the back kitchen to bring Su Feng his breakfast and tea.
The grilled, tender, and delicious meat steaks emitted an alluring fragrance. Warriors had large appetites, which were also admirable. If Su Feng returned to the modern world, perhaps he could open a new channel for food broadcasting; for such an extra-large steak, the man could eat two at once.
Su Feng sliced off a piece of steak, his dark lips occasionally revealing two rows of white teeth, chewing the bright red meat vigorously. When Su Feng used his knife and fork, Murphy stared at him motionless from the side, pouring fruit juice promptly when Su Feng needed it. Su Feng drank the juice in one gulp and stretched his body. The noble young master had fluffy and soft black hair, abundant vitality, and his skin was white with a hint of red, clean and translucent, revealing a touch of heroism. A vigorous vitality came rushing toward him. When such a face turned to Murphy with a smile, he almost saw a ray of sunshine fall directly on Su Feng, gilding a strand of his hair with golden light.
“Good job, personal valet,” Su Feng said. “You’ve seemed very obedient lately.”
Before Murphy could speak, Su Feng added, “It wouldn’t be because you’ve done something bad in private and are now sucking up to me, would it?”
Murphy: “You seem to have some prejudice against me.”
Su Feng said, “I have such prejudice against everyone who tries to inherit the Soul-Stealing Secret Canon. If you want to reverse the prejudice, you’d better prove it with actions.”
Murphy said, “Why don’t you teach me? How would you rate my current actions in your heart?”
Su Feng said, “Originally, I should give you a low score, but you saved me. I can’t keep treating you with tinted glasses.”
“Oh.” Murphy blinked. He leaned closer, and the pleasant scent of his body fell upon Su Feng. The man said, “Then what is my score in your heart now?”
The light in front of Su Feng was blocked by the shadow brought by Murphy. He stepped back and did not answer directly, but asked, “Speaking of which, there is one thing I haven’t asked you.”
Su Feng said, “Why did you save me?”
Murphy looked at him steadily. He still had that gentle appearance, and his smiling look was like an all-around butler. His brows and eyes were beautiful enough to make others give their attention unconsciously. Murphy said, “About that question…”
Su Feng said, “Is it because of the blood pact?”
Murphy paused for a moment: “Yes, there is also the blood pact.”
Su Feng raised his eyebrows suspiciously. He looked at Murphy: “Because of the blood pact?”
Murphy came back to his senses: “Because of the blood pact.”
“I don’t believe it. Tell me your real reason.”
“There is no other reason. You are my master and contract master. If I don’t save you, I won’t have a good time either.”
“But you would have really died at that time.”
“I didn’t think that much,” Murphy sighed lowly. “Young Master, can’t it be that I couldn’t bear for you to die, so I saved you regardless of everything?”
“That doesn’t sound like something you would do,” Su Feng muttered. Murphy couldn’t help it; he really wanted to pinch this young master’s face and interrogate him: Didn’t you just say you wanted to reverse your prejudice against me?
But come to think of it, this young master… really understands him.
The door suddenly opened, and the warm atmosphere in the room stalled. The butler’s figure appeared at the door. He said to Su Feng, “Young Master, the invitations for the banquet have been sent out. All guests will arrive tonight. Please prepare in advance.”
His gaze swept over Murphy, as if it were just a simple glance, then he closed the door without hesitation and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Su Feng called him back. “Where is Father? I have something to ask him.”
“The City Lord has left temporarily,” the butler said. “Sorry, Young Master, I don’t know where the Master went either.”
Su Feng’s brows clouded with irritability. In fact, he wanted to ask about Su Qian, but according to the butler, he didn’t even know where Su Qian had gone, or what Cecilia was going to do to him, and he couldn’t stop it.
His fist tightened. At this time, Murphy said unintentionally: “I heard that the effect of the Oath Crystal can last for more than 20 years.”
More than 20 years.
Su Feng’s hand slowly relaxed. The group leader seemed very afraid of Cecilia, but within these 20-plus years, they had both been safe and sound. As long as the pledge still existed, then perhaps the group leader would be fine.
But in that case, he had to find a way to get more Oath Crystals for the group leader. But if, as the butler and the group leader said, the other party was destined not to obtain new Oath Crystals, then what would happen?
And what exactly was the group leader’s oath? Su Feng was a little distracted. He didn’t know the secrets behind it, but he knew that the relationship between Cecilia and the group leader was not that simple.
Su Feng looked down and pondered, but did not notice Murphy’s gaze fixed on him. The man’s purple eyes flickered, and demonic light surged within them. In the sea of consciousness, the blood pact, which had just survived and was resting for a little while, was resting in its small bed, but ripples flowed out from the void. It was that behemoth that had almost swallowed it before, appearing in front of it again, turning out dozens of eyes to look at it.
“Lord Su Feng,” Murphy suddenly asked, “Are you going to attend that party?”
Su Feng’s train of thought was interrupted. He turned around and saw those smiling brows and eyes. For some reason, this beautiful face actually made people feel a hint of anomaly.
If one looked carefully, Su Feng would find that the smile on Murphy’s face was clearly so gentle, but it was like a sticker, with almost no smile in his eyes.
Su Feng said, “What, you want to go too?”
Murphy nodded very lightly: “I have to stay by your side.”
Su Feng sneered. He thought, the protagonist is indeed the protagonist. In the original work, Murphy also used Vina’s light to attend a banquet, staged a good play of a valet slapping faces, and then used the Soul-Stealing Secret Canon at the banquet to gain several useful servants.
Such dramas and occasions were almost the stages where the protagonist shone. Su Feng snorted in his heart. The big moth wants to go out and flirt with others? Keep dreaming.