In her later experiences, although Zhao Li was no longer by her side, she felt his presence everywhere around her. That figure was completely etched into her heart.
Fortunately, time rewarded the persistent. She had someone she cared about, and he did too.
Twenty years ago, she hadn't agreed to that statement. Twenty years later, when she offered a nation as a betrothal gift, he still said the same thing, but this time, she cast aside the inferiority, dependence, and urgency that had never truly been issues, and she accepted.
Han Xiangyu hugged Ye Yunsheng, gently patting her back, her heart full of tenderness.
"Good child, you've suffered."
She couldn't imagine what a twelve or thirteen-year-old child must have gone through to reach this point.
Ye Yunsheng's body stiffened from Han Xiangyu's sudden embrace, then slowly relaxed.
Her eyes were a little red, not because of the past difficulties, but because she seemed to feel the love of a parent figure once again.
After a long while, she felt Han Xiangyu's body tremble slightly and comforted her.
"Auntie, I'm fine. Those are all in the past. Now, everything is getting better."
Ye Yunsheng felt she was lucky. It wasn't too late for anything; everything was still possible.
Hearing this, Han Xiangyu's movements slowed. She was supposed to be comforting Ye Yunsheng, but instead, she was comforted by her. For a moment, she felt a little embarrassed, but at the same time, her heart filled with even more tenderness.
"Girl, it will get better. From now on, this will be your home."
Han Xiangyu's words made Ye Yunsheng lower her head slightly, saying nothing.
The sunset painted a blush on the distant mountains. The evening breeze blew, the Ancient Tree swayed, rustling. Beneath the tree, the two held hands, chatting about everyday life, with occasional laughter...
Zhao Li watched for a long time, not disturbing them, his eyes full of a smile. After a long while, he clenched his fist, his gaze filled with determination.
...
Night fell. A silver Moon hung high in the sky, casting down a few rays of pure white light, mixed with scattered starlight, onto the roof of the small building.
Where only Zhao Li had once looked up at the Moon alone, another figure now stood.
The night breeze blew gently, carrying a faint floral scent, passing by Zhao Li and the other person, lifting their scattered hair.
Ye Yunsheng hugged her knees, resting her head on them, and whispered.
"Zhao Li, thank you."
"Hmm?"
Zhao Li lay on his back beside her, turning his head to look at Ye Yunsheng. Hearing her words, his eyes showed confusion.
Ye Yunsheng still had her head buried, seemingly talking to herself.
"I never thought I could become one of the strongest people on the Continent, and I never believed that the naive ideas in my heart could actually become reality."
Zhao Li understood, his heart stirred. A mischievous smile appeared on his face, and he asked.
"Then how will you thank me? Hmm, by giving yourself to me? No, I can't reward myself with something that's already mine."
He pretended to ponder, as if genuinely troubled.
Ye Yunsheng felt her face grow warm. She didn't take Zhao Li's bait and continued talking to herself.
"If it weren't for you, let alone becoming a strong person and achieving my ideals, perhaps I would have already turned into a pile of white bones."
Zhao Li sat up, walked around to squat in front of Ye Yunsheng, looked into her eyes, and smiled.
"Hmm, in that case, I've profited. If it weren't for back then, how could I have gained your concern? It's truly hard to imagine how much of a monster someone would have to be to catch your eye now."
He made an exaggerated expression. Whether in the past or the present, he didn't want Ye Yunsheng to feel too much gratitude.
"Stop being silly."
Ye Yunsheng rolled her eyes at Zhao Li. She had long understood her own heart and didn't care about the things Zhao Li was worried about. It was just that thinking back on it now filled her heart with emotion.
"Oh!"
Zhao Li immediately shut up and sat beside Ye Yunsheng, quietly looking at the Moon.
For a moment, the rooftop became quiet again.
After a long while, Ye Yunsheng asked with some anticipation.
"Zhao Li, can you tell me about the stories you wrote?"
It took Zhao Li a moment to understand what Ye Yunsheng was referring to.
"There are a lot of them. I can't finish telling them in a short time."
"It's okay, you can talk slowly, and I'll listen slowly. We have plenty of time."
Under the night sky, on the roof of the small building, the young man looked at the Moon, and the young woman looked at the young man...
The next morning, the dawn light was faint, and the rising sun was just appearing.
Zhao Li felt the head resting on his shoulder and tilted his head to look at Ye Yunsheng's face, his heart full of joy.
Even though he had sat there all night, he still didn't want to move at all.
As if startled by the morning light, Ye Yunsheng's eyelids fluttered slightly and slowly opened. She saw Zhao Li looking at her.
She forced herself to suppress the shyness in her heart and didn't immediately move away from Zhao Li's shoulder. She even blinked at Zhao Li.
"Do I look good?"
Zhao Li nodded without a second thought:
"You do."
Ye Yunsheng chuckled, and Zhao Li was stunned.
In the morning light, Ye Yunsheng was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Let's go. How long are you going to sit here?"
"As long as you're here, I can sit forever."
"Ugh, your mouth... were you practicing sweet-talking little girls?"
"..."
Zhao Li fell silent.
"Hmm?"
Zhao Li suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his expression, Ye Yunsheng asked, a little worried.
"Nothing, a method I left on a little guy was triggered. I need to go see."
"Let's go together."
Zhao Li didn't say anything further. He took Ye Yunsheng's hand, and the two instantly vanished.
The Sunflame Empire is separated from Great Qian by only a gorge.
Calling it a gorge is misleading; it's actually a bottomless abyss.
Such a deep mountain gorge naturally attracted many experts to investigate.
There were once Dou Emperor experts who harbored fantasies, thinking there might be some Ruins or treasures in the gorge. They spent several hours exploring, but found nothing but mist and returned empty-handed.
A day ago, something unexpected happened in the abyss. The perennial mist in the mountain gorge rapidly dissipated. This change drew considerable attention.
Now, the mist in the mountain gorge was gone. Looking as far as the eye could see, one could only see blue sky, white clouds, and palaces, as if it were another world entirely.
At the bottom of the mountain gorge, Zhao Li appeared with Ye Yunsheng. He looked at the unconscious Zhao Yannian, took out a pill, and fed it to him.
The pill melted upon entering his mouth, its powerful Medicinal Power spreading out, transforming into a vast Life Force that repaired Zhao Yannian's injuries, both big and small.
Perhaps the pain was easing, as Zhao Yannian's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
Only then did Zhao Li examine his surroundings. Besides a river whose destination was unknown, the rest was all mountains.
He released his Soul Power but couldn't detect the end of this place. Withdrew his power, his brows furrowed slightly. This place wasn't right.
"Yunsheng, something's off about this place. Let's go, we need to leave."
Ye Yunsheng didn't respond, only staring into The Void.
Zhao Li followed her gaze. With Soul Power far exceeding Heaven Realm Perfection, he detected the abnormality. This was indeed another world.
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