Chapter 2056: "Cradle"
Sii roar!!
A sharp beast cry, and from the pitch-black broken gorge ahead, a small Abyss Beast burst out, carrying the destructive aura of the Divine Sovereign realm.
"Ah!" The young girl let out a startled cry, her graceful figure nimbly dodging behind the man. "An Abyss Beast! Lord Yun, protect me!"
Yun Che raised his hand, a blue light flashing in his palm. The Abyss Beast in his sight hadn't even drawn close before it froze into an ice sculpture midair.
The blue light in his hand swirled into a vortex, and a gentle breeze swept the falling ice sculpture far away, scattering it into a sky full of icy dust.
Hua Caili timidly poked her head out from behind Yun Che, then her eyes sparkled with strange light, her face full of admiration: "As expected of Lord Yun, so amazing."
Yun Che half amused, half helpless: "Haven't you had enough fun yet?"
Just a mere Divine Sovereign-level Abyss Beast... that's too much...
"Hehe," Hua Caili's eyes curved into crescents, laughing like an innocent young girl: "I just like being protected by you."
She wrapped her arms around Yun Che's arm, not without worry: "Are you really okay with your injuries? That day you were clearly hurt much worse than I was."
Yun Che smiled: "I possess the power of Light Profound Force, so my self-healing ability far surpasses ordinary people. In at most another half month, I'll be almost fully recovered."
He had to suppress his recovery speed; otherwise, why would he need half a month?
Especially if Li Suo were to act... he would already be fully healed by now.
The young girl looked up at him, that same undisguised radiance of worship in her eyes: "Lord Yun is the only person in this world with Light Profound Force, so of course he receives the best protection."
"But I'm recovering so slowly." Her voice dropped a few notes, with a deliberately frail tone: "I've almost no strength left to walk."
As she spoke, her lips pursed quietly, and she suddenly pounced onto Yun Che's back, her jade-like legs directly wrapping around his waist: "So, you still have to carry me."
Yun Che smiled slightly, reached his arm back to her waist, and with a little force, amidst the young girl's startled cry, he pulled her around to his front, changing from carrying her on his back to holding her in his arms: "Is this good enough?"
Their noses touched, their breaths intertwined without any gap. The young girl's cheeks were faintly pink, her jade-like arms tightly hugging Yun Che's neck, her head familiarly resting in the hollow of his neck.
The girl's breath was like orchid, her soft breasts clearly stirring his heart.
Adjusting his breathing a little, Yun Che held her like this, unhurriedly walking into the mist-filled gorge ahead.
"You just mentioned the last divine kingdom you went to. I've always been curious, why is the Xiaodie Divine Kingdom called the Xiaodie Divine Kingdom? I feel like this name is not only meaningless, but also completely lacks the grandeur of a divine kingdom." Yun Che asked casually.
"Father God said that the two words 'Xiaodie' were a name personally bestowed by Yuan Huang. Other divine kingdoms have changed their names, but the Xiaodie Divine Kingdom has never changed its name. As for the reason, Father God said he doesn't know either. I even secretly asked Uncle Yuan Huang, but he wouldn't answer me either, and pretended not to hear."
"..." Yun Che frowned slightly, then didn't press further, continuing: "Then why wouldn't your Father God take you to the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom?"
"Father God said that the Wuming Divine Venerable of the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom is a very scary person who doesn't follow any reason, and especially hates men. Men from outside the divine kingdom may not enter, and men inside the divine kingdom may not leave, and they are all the lowest slaves."
"Uh... that is indeed a bit scary."
After a while again...
"Sister Hua, do you know of any person... or family, sect, with the surname 'Xia'?"
"Xia... Eh? Is there such a surname?"
"I once owed a very great debt of gratitude, and she had the surname Xia... Perhaps I misremembered or misheard."
"Hmm..."
"..."
"Sister Hua?"
The breath gently brushing against his neck was exceptionally soft, warm, and even. He lowered his eyes and realized that Hua Caili had fallen asleep in his arms.
He didn't go any further. He walked to a fairly high rock wall, sat down slowly holding the peacefully sleeping young girl, and glanced upward secretly.
That day, after entrusting Hua Caili to him, Hua Qingying seemed to have completely disappeared, never appearing again.
Of course, Hua Qingying couldn't possibly have left. Although several days had passed, not only had her mind not gradually calmed down, it had become even more complicated.
She watched Hua Caili's heartfelt affection for Yun Che; watched her repeatedly display a girlish charm she had never shown before; watched how there were no longer traces of the sword in her eyes, only the figure of Yun Che; watched how she completely abandoned the demeanor of a divine maiden, wishing she could hang on him every hour of the day...
And now, in this vast sea of mist, she had actually just fallen asleep lying on Yun Che.
One could imagine that her dependence and trust in Yun Che had no impurities or reservations whatsoever.
She was the most talented divine maiden in the history of the Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom, possessed a beauty that surpassed all ages, and was the recipient of all the love and effort of the Heart-Painting Divine Venerable and Hua Qingying... yet it seemed that in one fell swoop, it had all been given to this man.
The complexity of her emotions was beyond words, impossible to resolve.
She increasingly didn't know how to face Hua Fuchen.
...
"Mmm..."
With a light murmur, the young girl lifted her head dazedly, her eyes shrouded in the mist of awakening.
"Awake so soon?" Yun Che's voice came to her ear, carrying a warmth that touched her eardrum: "Only slept two hours."
Hua Caili blinked, making Yun Che's face, so close at hand, clearer in her drowsy pupils. Suddenly, her cheek leaned forward, her jade-like teeth lightly bit Yun Che's lips, then she collapsed back onto Yun Che's shoulder, lazily closing her eyes.
"Lord Yun, I want to hear you say that sentence again." She rubbed her cheek contentedly against Yun Che's shoulder, using a soft voice to make the request she had made over thirty times in just five days.
"Alright." Yun Che obediently agreed as he had every time before, dotingly saying: "I like Sister Hua the most, and I won't willfully run away anymore."
"Hehe..." She smiled contentedly. She believed in promises, at least she completely believed in Yun Che's promise.
As long as he didn't leave, didn't give up on her, then there was nothing left to fear.
"Sigh." Yun Che sighed, half-truthfully: "It seems I must train twice as hard. Otherwise, the day I meet your Father God, I'm afraid a single sneeze from him would blow me to death."
"Pfft..." The young girl laughed softly, defending her Father God: "My Father God isn't that scary. Although he is a Divine Venerable, he is actually a very gentle person. I have never seen him angry."
That's because he's gentle with you... Yun Che muttered inwardly.
"Besides your Father God, there's also that Divine Son you were betrothed to." Yun Che's voice grew heavier: "If he finds out, he will certainly hate me to the bone. By then..."
"Don't worry." Hua Caili's little hand quietly slipped into Yun Che's clothes, her finger gently tracing circles on his chest: "Big Head Brother is a very, very good person, not as scary as you say."
"Uh...?" Yun Che doubted his hearing several times: "Big... Head?"
He probed: "I was talking about the Senluo Divine Son Dian Jiuzhi, who was betrothed to you. This Big Head Brother you mentioned..."
"Yes, Big Head Brother is the Senluo Divine Son." Hua Caili answered naturally.
Yun Che: (ŏ_ŏ)...
"What a... distinctive nickname." Yun Che's mouth twitched uncontrollably several times.
Hua Caili secretly sensed Yun Che's surprise, a faint smile at the corner of her lips. Then she explained: "Because before, his head was really, really big. Even his name was called 'Big Head Dian'. But later, I found out that 'Big Head Dian' wasn't actually his real name; his original name had been forgotten by everyone."
"Hmm? How big?" Yun Che was genuinely curious.
Hua Caili sat up, her two slender fingers making a distance close to her shoulder width. She thought for a moment, then spread them a bit wider: "About this big."
"This...!?" Yun Che was shocked, then immediately said: "But, I distinctly remember that the rumored Senluo Divine Son has a gentle temperament and a very handsome appearance... Could it be that the rumors were embellished?"
Hua Caili shook her head: "No, Big Head Brother now is indeed just as you've heard."
She explained in detail: "His head was extremely large before, not due to deformity or strange disease, but because... within his brain, he was born with a Great Desolate Divine Meridian."
"..." Yun Che's brow moved sharply.
Hua Caili noticed his reaction, not surprised at all: "Lord Yun indeed knows of the Great Desolate Divine Meridian."
Yun Che shook his head: "This is my first time hearing of the Great Desolate Divine Meridian, but I have heard of the 'Great Desolate Divine Body' before."
When he uttered the words "Great Desolate Divine Body", he saw Hua Caili's lips part wide.
Even Hua Qingying, high above in the sky, fixed her gaze.
Yun Che raised an eyebrow slightly: "Hmm? I heard this name mentioned occasionally by my master. Could it be... that it really exists?"
Impossible, right? The words "Great Desolate Divine Body" came from the mouth of the Primordial Divine, referring to Xia Yuanba before Xia Qingyue's "birth". Its level was...
"Hmm." Hua Caili nodded, her voice lowering with instinctive reverence: "I heard from Father God that Uncle Yuan Huang's body is the Great Desolate Divine Body."
"Oh..." Yun Che nodded, his heart in tumult.
Hua Caili continued: "The Great Desolate Divine Body originates from ancient times, uniquely belonging to Yuan Huang, a supreme divine body that can never reappear, called by Father God the emperor's body that surpasses all."
"Although the Great Desolate Divine Meridian cannot be compared to the Great Desolate Divine Body, it shares the same origin as the Great Desolate Divine Body. It is a miracle created by something called Primordial Chaos Qi, something that was originally almost impossible to appear."
"The strange condition of Big Head Brother's head back then was precisely because of the existence of the Great Desolate Divine Meridian. Since it had never appeared in the world and was completely hidden, even Jueluo Divine Venerable couldn't detect its existence."
"Later, his Great Desolate Divine Meridian suddenly awakened, causing him to be reborn completely, directly awakening a nine-tenths Divine Rank, shaking the then Senluo Divine Kingdom. Later, Jueluo Divine Venerable took him to visit Uncle Yuan Huang, and only then did they learn it was the Great Desolate Divine Meridian."
Yun Che listened carefully, then said thoughtfully: "After the Great Desolate Divine Meridian awakened, his appearance gradually returned to normal?"
"En!" Hua Caili nodded: "Now, he is the foremost among all Divine Sons in both cultivation and appearance. In terms of looks alone, he is only a bit inferior to you... No, many bits inferior."
Yun Che frowned slightly: "Then why do you still call him 'Big Head Brother'?"
Hua Caili said: "When I first met him in the Jueluo Divine Kingdom, I thought 'Big Head Dian' was his name, so I addressed him as Big Head Brother. When I saw him later, he had completely changed, and had become the Divine Son of the Senluo Divine Kingdom, so I addressed him as Senluo Divine Son."
"But he said he preferred me calling him 'Big Head Brother', so I've kept calling him that."
Yun Che reached out, cupped the young girl's cheeks and gently rubbed them, then said with a serious expression: "From now on, don't call him that anymore."
"Eh? Why?" Hua Caili puffed her fragrant cheeks in confusion.
Yun Che said: "Such an appearance is usually met not with pity, but with mockery and bullying. Therefore, the word 'Big Head' must be a painful and shameful part of his past that he doesn't want to recall or mention."
"But between you two, it was a special memory mark... and a unique closeness." His hand rubbed her cheek again: "Understand?"
Hua Caili blinked, then suddenly her beautiful eyes curved into a smile: "I see... Are you... jealous?"
"Eh?" Yun Che looked stunned: "Who taught you those two words?"
"Granny Lingxian," answered the girl. Seeing that he didn't deny it, she laughed even more happily: "Granny Lingxian said that only when you really like someone will you be jealous for them. Lord Yun doesn't like it, so I won't ever call him... that name again."
She leaned her head forward, pressing her cheek against Yun Che's intimately: "From now on, I'll only call you 'Brother', okay?"
"Of course... Hmm?" Yun Che said with a smile: "Although in terms of age... if you don't mind, I certainly don't either."
But Hua Caili was completely serious: "You have never asked my age. Indeed, if you had asked before, I couldn't have given you a true answer."
She looked at Yun Che, confessing without reservation: "My age is actually much younger than yours. I should have been calling you 'Brother' from the start... It was you who insisted on calling me 'Sister'."
"???"
Hua Caili's beautiful eyes were clear, without any impurity, making Yun Che even more puzzled.
The name "Caili Divine Maiden" had existed in the Abyss for at least several thousand years.
How could it be...
Hua Caili naturally understood the confusion in Yun Che's eyes: "My birth time is ten thousand and seventeen years, six months ago."
"But my actual age is nineteen years and eight months."
"..." Hua Caili's explanation only made Yun Che even more puzzled.
Hua Caili opened her lips, speaking without any concealment the secret of the Pure Land that Hua Qingying had been too slow to stop:
"Aside from these nineteen years and eight months, all the other time, I was sleeping in the Pure Land's [Cradle]."
"Cradle?" This was a term Yun Che had never heard, not in the rumors of the Abyss, nor in the memories of Mo Beichen or Meng Jianxi.
"There, it is an especially miraculous... [Absolute Stillness Space]."