**Chapter 1318: Fate**
Yun Che's chest heaved, and he furrowed his brows, asking, "First, tell me: who exactly are you? Why are you treating me like this… and for what purpose?"
He realized that he could see through Shen Xi less and less clearly.
Before her, he was almost completely transparent. His secrets, his thoughts, and even things he hadn't noticed about himself—she could always pierce through them with a single word. Yet she had voluntarily revealed her true face to him, only to make him feel that the mist shrouding her was growing ever thicker.
"Master, you… are those words of yours really true?" He Ling's face changed color. She felt as if she had heard the most unbelievable words of her entire life.
Shen Xi was always so distant yet gentle. She spoke slowly, "You know my name 'Shen Xi,' and you've heard the name 'Dragon Queen,' but you seem unaware that in the eyes of the world, 'Dragon Queen Shen Xi' is a complete title."
"…" Yun Che's expression and gaze both changed drastically. "You… are… the Dragon Queen!?"
From He Ling, he had learned that the Dragon Emperor would visit the Reincarnation Forbidden Land every month or two, and that he was deeply devoted to Shen Xi—this seemed to be common knowledge. The thought that "Shen Xi is the Dragon Queen" had flashed through his mind for an instant, but he had immediately dismissed it the next moment.
Now, hearing Shen Xi's own words, he was shocked and still found it utterly impossible to believe. He suddenly raised his head: "No! Impossible! You clearly… still have your maidenhead intact. How could you be the Dragon Queen?"
The Dragon Queen and the Divine Maiden were the two most peerless women in the legends of the God Realm. With Shen Xi's ethereal countenance and immortal grace, if she were the Dragon Queen, she would certainly live up to that name, without the slightest exaggeration.
If yesterday hadn't happened, he would have believed it.
But after that recent day and night… how could he believe that Shen Xi was the Dragon Queen!
Who in the God Realm didn't know that the Dragon Queen was the consort of the Dragon God Clan, the wife of the Dragon Emperor, the number one figure in the Chaos!
Seeing the obvious distortion in Yun Che's expression, He Ling said timidly, "Master, she… she… she really is the Dragon Queen."
Yun Che: "…"
"You don't need to be surprised, and you don't need to feel you've done something wrong." Shen Xi said softly, "'Dragon Queen' is indeed the title by which the world knows me, but it is merely a title, not a representation of me being the consort of the Dragon race, let alone the Dragon Emperor's wife."
"The 'Dragon Queen' that the world imagines has never existed."
"…" Yun Che was stunned for a full few seconds. Remembering He Ling's words that Shen Xi was bound here for some reason and couldn't leave, he vaguely guessed something, but thinking about what they had done, his scalp still tingled: "What exactly is your relationship with the Dragon Emperor? If… it's not… then why are you called the 'Dragon Queen'?"
Shen Xi did not hide it. She said indifferently, "By giving me the title 'Dragon Queen,' I could remain here safely for so many years. This was his repayment to me, and also my wish. As for the Dragon Emperor, in my eyes, he has always been… a junior."
"Jun… ior?" This answer stunned both Yun Che and He Ling.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand years ago, when I first met him, he was even younger than you, probably around twenty years old." Shen Xi began to recount slowly. "At that time, he was harmed by his own kin, abandoned in a desolate place, his entire body crippled, his eyes blind, his tongue tied, and he lay waiting to die in despair."
"I took pity on him, saved him, and used the Light Profound Force to restore his eyes, tongue, and both his normal veins and profound veins."
She glanced at Yun Che and said, "The dragon is the lord of all living beings, and the Dragon God Clan has always been the most powerful and sacred clan in the God Realm. In the eyes of the world, they are proud and have a strong sense of dignity, never stooping to base or evil deeds. But what they don't know is that the struggles within the Dragon Clan may be even darker than those among you humans—you just don't get to see them."
Shen Xi's words indeed heavily overturned Yun Che's understanding of the Dragon Clan. He never expected that the current Dragon Emperor, who wielded supreme power and was unmatched by anyone, had such a tragic past—being crippled throughout his body, blinded, and silenced, a thought that sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.
"After experiencing despair, his personality changed drastically. The one who originally had no ambition grew an intense ambition from resentment, and he no longer showed mercy to his own kin… Step by step, he eventually became the Dragon Emperor."
"In other words, without you, there would be no Dragon Emperor as he is today." Yun Che murmured as if to himself.
Shen Xi shook her head slightly. "From the moment I saved him, I noticed the unusual look in his eyes when he looked at me. I had seen that kind of look too many times in my life. I thought everything would fade with time. But after hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of years, he remained just as he was at the beginning. On the day he became the Dragon Emperor, he told me that he had done everything to become the sovereign of the Dragon race, all to be worthy of me… Even though he clearly knew there was absolutely no possibility between us, he never let go."
She gave a soft sigh. "I saved him back then, but it seems I also harmed him."
She had always been indifferent to the Dragon Emperor's feelings for her, never caring about them for over three hundred thousand years. But now that Yun Che had appeared, she couldn't help but start to care about this matter.
"…" Yun Che was silent for a long, long time.
Although Shen Xi's account was very brief, it was enough for Yun Che to roughly understand something.
With Shen Xi's grace, her admirers back then must have been no fewer than the Divine Maidens of today. By taking the title of Dragon Queen and designating this place as forbidden land, no one in the world could disturb her peace. This was the Dragon Emperor's repayment to Shen Xi… but wasn't it also a reflection of the Dragon Emperor's selfish desire and longing?
Although the Dragon Emperor's experience was ten thousand times heavier than his, Yun Che could understand the Dragon Emperor's persistence toward Shen Xi—rescued by her at the most desperate and helpless moment of his life, coupled with her dreamlike elegance. The image he saw when his vision returned must have been deeply imprinted on his soul, impossible to forget for all eternity.
He was the Dragon Emperor, but also a mortal.
Because of Shen Xi, for over three hundred thousand years, he had truly never touched any woman… At least, the legends said that he had only ever had the "Dragon Queen" in his life. Such dedication and persistence were rare in the world.
And Shen Xi, facing the Dragon Emperor's infatuation for over three hundred thousand years, even though he had become the Dragon Emperor, the supreme and unrivaled number one of the Chaos, she had truly never responded…
Her intact maidenhead was proof of everything.
Yun Che's mind was in turmoil; he couldn't calm down at all.
Shen Xi was the "Dragon Queen" among the "Dragon Queen and Divine Maiden"! Although "Dragon Queen" was just an empty title that allowed her to live in peace for so many years, only she and the Dragon Emperor likely knew this. But in the eyes of the world, she was the consort of the Dragon race… And he, half-conscious and half-lost, had actually taken the "Dragon Queen"!
The Dragon Emperor's strength and status were immense, and he was deeply infatuated with Shen Xi, yet he dared not hope for her for hundreds of thousands of years, let alone defile her in the slightest. Perhaps in his eyes, Shen Xi was a flawless dream… If he knew that this "dream" had been defiled by a junior who was insignificant before him… his reaction would be unimaginable.
At the same time, he found it even harder to understand why Shen Xi, who remained indifferent even to someone like the Dragon Emperor, would treat him like this. Her words, her gaze, her actions—no matter who looked at it, they would find it unbelievable and incomprehensible… Could it be that from the moment he entered the Reincarnation Forbidden Land until now, he had been dreaming, and none of it was real?
Seeing Yun Che's changing expression, Shen Xi said, half-smiling, "Are you afraid?"
Yun Che: "…"
"If you are afraid of facing the Dragon Emperor, then…" Shen Xi's gaze shifted away from Yun Che, looking coldly into the distance, "You can treat yesterday as if it never happened. I can guarantee that no one else will ever know about it. And I will never say these words to you again."
Yun Che took several deep breaths, gradually calming his chest: "You are the Dragon Queen, but not the Dragon Queen the world imagines. That means I have never done anything to wrong the Dragon Emperor!"
Shen Xi said softly, "I, Shen Xi, belong to no one, only to myself. What I did to you and what you did to me concerns only you and me. Of course, you have not wronged him."
"Then why should I be afraid? Why wouldn't I dare?" Yun Che's tone was somewhat stiff, but his words were resolute enough.
"…" Shen Xi's gaze turned, and she nodded slightly. "At least you haven't disappointed me."
"But you must tell me the reason… why you treat me like this." He stared straight at her, either because he couldn't look away or because he wanted to find something in her starry, night-like eyes.
Shen Xi shook her head. "I cannot tell you. I have my own selfish motives, but please believe that I will never harm you."
"Why can't you tell me?" Yun Che pressed.
"Because you are too insignificant right now." Shen Xi said bluntly. "The higher the level, the broader the vision. The stronger your strength, the more choices you have. With your current power and level, if I told you everything, it might indeed satisfy your curiosity, but it would also harm you."
She avoided his direct gaze, her eyes growing slightly hazy. "I originally thought that my path ahead was empty. In these years, all I could do was break free from the restraints here, then search the vast world for a destination that might never exist… until you appeared."
Yun Che: "Me?"
He Ling: "…Ah?"
"If you cannot resolve the doubts in your heart, then you only need to remember one sentence." Shen Xi said softly, "Our fates are intertwined."
She hadn't expected that this man, brought here by Xia Qingyue across the Eastern and Western Divine Regions and whom she had initially been unwilling to take in—kept only because of He Ling's tearful pleas—would actually be the person she had thought she would never find.
And he had appeared before her before she had even broken free from her restraints.
A light, faint sentence, but it only deepened Yun Che's confusion. He was completely bewildered: "Beyond the identities of Shen Xi and the Dragon Queen, who… exactly are you?"
He had only been here for two months. If not for being brought here by Xia Qingyue after being struck with the Seeking Death Seal, he wouldn't even know of Shen Xi's existence. "Our fates are intertwined"—he couldn't understand these words no matter how he thought.
"If one day you can surpass the height where the Dragon Emperor stands, then you will naturally understand everything. You can do it, and you must do it. Only then will you no longer fear anyone's covetousness, no longer have to hold back in everything you do, and can truly face the Dragon Emperor without fear or shame."
"Bearing the Creation Divine Power and…" Shen Xi's words paused slightly before she continued, "This is an inescapable fate for you."
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