Chapter 46 - Chapter 46: The Unexpected Truth

The rest of the evening… did not go smoothly.

Rumors of Yun Che's return spread through Floating Cloud City like wildfire. Within hours, waves of townspeople—curious, fearful, excited—gathered outside the Xiao Clan's ruined gate. Even worse, a swarm of Xiao Che "wannabes" showed up, each shouting loudly that they were his disciples, followers, or sworn brothers. Some even demanded entry, insisting they had come to pledge allegiance to the "Emperor of Floating Cloud City."

Xiao Lie had no choice but to order the area sealed off. Or rather—sealed in spirit, since Yun Che had obliterated the actual gate. A makeshift barricade went up, guarded by the strongest loyalists the clan had. With the Emperor's return, every disciple suddenly became obedient, hardworking, and overwhelmingly respectful. Not because they admired him… but because they feared him.

No one wanted to provoke the man who once sliced open a mountain.

Even the nearby sects and influential families watched from afar. No one dared step inside the manor.

Xiao Lie quietly brought Yun Che and Retsu to a secluded courtyard where the lantern light was soft enough for calm conversation. There, Yun Che began his carefully constructed lie. He spoke of a mystical training ground called Soul Village—a remote and secretive place hidden from the world. He claimed that during the years he appeared to be weak, he was secretly slipping out of the clan to train, terrified that showing progress too early would only invite more bullying.

He explained his disappearance as a necessary part of completing his cultivation. Xiao Lie listened with a furrowed brow—confused but trusting.

What unsettled Yun Che wasn't his grandfather.

It was Xiao Lingxi.

She stayed unusually silent. Her big, expressive eyes didn't blink, didn't soften, didn't wander. They stayed on him. Watching his every move. Studying the way he spoke, the way he stood, even the way he breathed. Whenever he noticed her gaze and tried to shift the conversation—asking about her recent days, teasing her, trying to distract her—she simply continued watching.

Her silence was louder than anything she could have said.

Xiao Lie continued asking questions nonstop:

How strong was he now?

What techniques did Soul Village teach?

Was Retsu from the same place?

Was he planning to stay longer?

Yun Che answered everything smoothly. He'd prepared for this—he couldn't reveal the system or the truth behind his reincarnation. But every lie he told his grandfather felt like adding another stone to his chest.

Retsu felt this heaviness too. She gently held his sleeve under the table, a small gesture of reassurance that no one else noticed.

Xiao Lie grew increasingly proud as he listened. His grandson—the boy who had been mocked, beaten, humiliated—had returned as a figure powerful enough to terrify an entire elite battalion from the main sect. Yun Che wasn't simply strong. He was a force that could alter a country's fate.

Xiao Lingxi, however, didn't share her father's visible relief.

Her eyes saw everything.

The way Yun Che moved more gracefully.

The way his confidence felt like an entirely different person.

The way he spoke without the timid, stuttering tone she remembered.

The way he brushed things aside with almost supernatural calm.

This wasn't just "growth."

This was change.

Silent, deep, irreversible change.

And she didn't know if she should feel relieved…

Or heartbroken.

Or terrified of the truth she sensed but didn't dare voice.

Yun Che was home.

But he wasn't the same Little Che she remembered.

He wasn't sure if she would accept the new him…

And she wasn't sure if she could.

There was one thing Yun Che had completely forgotten amidst the chaos of his return.

While he, Xiao Lie, and Xiao Lingxi were still speaking, three figures approached the courtyard—slow, hesitant, and trembling. Yun Che didn't even need to turn around to sense who the first man was. The elderly figure shuffling forward was unmistakable: the Third Elder. And behind him—a middle-aged couple Yun Che didn't recognize—but their crushed, fearful expressions made their identity painfully obvious.

They were Xiao Chengzhi's parents.

Just the thought of the arrogant brat reminded Yun Che that he had, indeed, left the kid strapped to a tree outside like a decorative sacrifice.

The moment the trio reached them, the Third Elder didn't even wait to speak. His frail body dropped to the ground with a loud thud as he bowed so low his forehead hit the stone floor.

"Honorable… clan leader," he said, voice cracking.

"I pray you… forgive my grandson for his foolish actions. I will accept any punishment in his stead."

His son and daughter-in-law immediately mirrored him, falling to their knees and pressing their heads into the ground.

"Please, honorable clan leader… forgive our foolish son," the couple pleaded, shaking like leaves in a storm.

Xiao Lie's expression turned icy.

"Forgive?" he repeated, voice echoing like cold steel.

He stepped forward with a glare that made even seasoned cultivators bow their heads.

"He betrayed the clan for riches and glory," he said sharply. "He tried to harm my daughter. Tell me—does a man like that deserve anything less than death?"

The parents flinched in terror. The mother broke down into full sobs, her forehead repeatedly striking the floor. "Please… clan leader… we never knew he would… he would do something like this…"

Yun Che observed them quietly.

In the past, this Third Elder had been one of the loudest voices pressuring Xiao Lie—one of the many who ignored, mocked, and mistreated the former disabled Yun Che.

But now?

He was trembling on the floor like a cornered animal.

And the irony was almost suffocating.

Yun Che sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as the situation turned pathetic. "So," he said, "let me get this straight. Had that little brat succeeded… he would've gladly taken down the Xiao Clan to climb his way into the main sect, right?"

The Third Elder's shoulders locked, guilt exposed.

"And now that he failed—now that he dragged danger right into this courtyard—you're begging me to spare him?"

The elder's mouth opened silently, as if the words stuck in his throat.

Yun Che folded his arms. "Tell me… does that seem reasonable?"

Silence.

No one dared breathe.

Finally, Yun Che raised a brow. "Speaking of him… is he still tied to that tree?"

A ripple of embarrassment ran through the gathered disciples. They had indeed tried to free Xiao Chengzhi—clawing, cutting, and even using martial arts to break the strange glowing white bindings.

None of it worked.

The Third Elder swallowed hard. "Y-yes… n-none of us could untie the restraints you placed on him…"

Of course they couldn't.

The kido he used was reinforced with Heretic energy—its strength easily rivalled high-level binding spells of the Shinigami world. A mere group of True and Spirit Profound Realm brats had no hope of undoing it.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chengzhi's mother completely broke down. She crawled closer, tears pouring down her face, her hands clutching Yun Che's boots as if he were the only lifeline in the world.

"Please!" she cried, voice hoarse. "Please forgive him! He is my only son! I beg you—spare him—give him one more chance!"

Yun Che's jaw tightened.

Even in this world, in an era where cultivators slaughtered without blinking…

even here…

parents still threw themselves in front of their children's sins.

Still begged for mercy that wasn't deserved.

Still tried to shield them from consequences.

Even when that child had betrayed his own clan.

Even when he tried to harm Little Aunt.

Even when he almost brought disaster to everyone in this city.

A cold heaviness settled in Yun Che's chest.

He wasn't angry.

He was disappointed.

Deeply.

Quietly.

He exhaled. "This world never changes," he murmured.

The courtyard fell silent.

Everyone waited for his judgement—terrified of what the Emperor of Floating Cloud City would say next.

============

Xiao Lie led the way through the courtyard, his steps slow and heavy. Yun Che followed beside him, Retsu and Xiao Lingxi trailing close behind. None of them spoke as they headed toward the tree where Xiao Chengzhi was still bound.

The moment they arrived, the stench hit first.

Piss. Fear. Humiliation.

Xiao Chengzhi hung limply in the glowing white bindings, trembling uncontrollably. His eyes darted to Yun Che the moment he arrived—and the blood drained from his face entirely.

Now he believed every warning his family had ever given him.

Now he knew he was standing in front of the real Xiao Che.

Yun Che snapped his fingers. The Kido bindings vanished in an instant, and Xiao Chengzhi collapsed to the ground like dead weight. His parents rushed toward him, but even as they reached out, the boy scrambled away—terrified of even their touch.

Pathetic.

Yun Che looked down at him like one would observe a dying insect. "You know," he said calmly, "you should've listened when your grandfather told you not to provoke me."

Xiao Chengzhi whimpered, his mouth barely forming words. "P… please… please…"

"Please?" Yun Che repeated with a tilt of his head.

He raised a finger.

Lightning crackled.

"Too late."

A streak of white lightning Kido fired from his hand—slamming directly into Xiao Chengzhi's dantian.

KRZZZT—!!

"ARGHHHHHH!!!"

Xiao Chengzhi shrieked as his abdomen burned, the scent of charred flesh filling the courtyard. His eyes bulged. His cultivation—his life's pride—his one escape from mediocrity—was gone.

Permanently.

His mother lunged toward him in tears, but he shoved her away, screaming mindlessly in pain. That was when Yun Che stepped forward…

…and casually pressed his foot onto the boy's skull.

The scream shut off instantly.

"Crippled," Yun Che said, voice flat.

"Entirely."

Everyone understood what that meant.

The Xiao Clan went cold.

A cripple in this world was as good as dead.

Xiao Lie swallowed—then straightened his back, assuming the mantle of clan leader once more. "Xiao Chengzhi," he said loudly, voice echoing across the courtyard, "for betraying the Xiao Clan, betraying your clan leader, and threatening my daughter… you are hereby banished. Forever. You are no longer part of this clan."

The parents stiffened.

The grandfather trembled.

"Your family will not be executed," Xiao Lie continued. "But your bloodline must choose. Stay with the clan… or leave with him."

The decision was immediate.

"We… we stay," the parents whispered.

The Third Elder bowed his head in shame. "We remain."

A harsh decision.

A humiliating one.

But they understood reality better than the boy they raised.

Once everything ended, the clan would whisper about them. They would be judged, avoided, blamed. But it was better than following Xiao Chengzhi into exile—where bandits, beasts, or even the main sect would likely kill him on sight.

Yun Che doubted the kid would survive long as a non-cultivator.

Unless he got lucky.

Or unless fate had plans for him.

Either way—not Yun Che's problem.

Yun Che brushed the dust off his hands and turned away. "That's enough. Let him crawl out of the city on his own two legs. If he lives, he lives. If he dies…" Yun Che shrugged. "He dies."

Xiao Lie exhaled with relief.

Xiao Lingxi stepped closer to Yun Che, gripping his sleeve.

Retsu smiled softly at his restraint.

Yun Che looked back at the gathered clansmen—those who once bullied the old Yun Che, those who whispered, those who avoided him.

He didn't feel the hatred the original Yun Che had.

He didn't carry those memories.

He didn't feel that pain.

So he wouldn't kill them for sins committed against a boy he never was.

Besides, with his current power, if anyone here dared to offend him again…

he could decide their fate in seconds.

This world was simple.

Brutal.

Honest.

Strength ruled.

And—for the first time since arriving—Yun Che found that he actually liked it.

Dinner turned out surprisingly peaceful.

Yun Che, Retsu, Xiao Lie, and Xiao Lingxi shared a private meal in one of the quieter courtyards. It was one of the few places inside the Xiao Clan where people didn't stare or shrink away in fear. After everything that happened today, most clan members kept a very healthy distance. Nobody dared to get within ten steps of Yun Che unless they were delivering food.

And they were delivering a lot of food.

At first, the servants brought out the usual dishes—enough for a family of four.

Then they watched Yun Che and Retsu eat like they hadn't seen food in a year.

Curried meats? Gone.

Steamed buns? Vanished.

Vegetable platters? Erased from existence.

By the tenth round, the servants were sweating harder than the cooks.

Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi watched in stunned silence as Retsu delicately—almost innocently—picked up a bowl of rice and emptied it in three bites, then reached with a smile for another bowl of braised meat as if she hadn't just eaten enough for a platoon.

"Retsu… that's your seventh plate," Xiao Lingxi whispered.

Retsu blinked, eyes widening slightly behind her sweet smile. "Ara? Is it? I wasn't counting…"

She gracefully lifted another dumpling. "But it's delicious."

Yun Che snorted. "Don't let her fool you, Little Aunt. This fox has a black hole for a stomach."

"I-I do not!" Retsu puffed her cheeks in indignation before realizing what she'd done and slowly relaxed again. "Well… maybe a small one."

Xiao Lingxi giggled. She had warmed up to Retsu remarkably fast. There was something about the braided healer—her gentle aura, her sweet tone, the way she subtly clung to Yun Che—that made her easy to talk to. Even more surprising, Retsu treated Xiao Lingxi like a true sister, not as a rival or someone beneath her.

At one point, Xiao Lingxi leaned in and whispered nervously:

"Retsu… are all girls from where you come from this beautiful?"

Retsu tilted her head, genuinely thinking. "Hmm… perhaps? I suppose I am rather average where I come from."

Yun Che nearly choked on his drink.

Xiao Lie politely looked away.

Xiao Lingxi stared at Retsu as if she had just declared the sky green.

"Average…?" Lingxi muttered. "If you are average, then what am I… grass on the roadside…?"

Yun Che reached over and pinched her cheek lightly. "You're a flower, Little Aunt. Stop comparing yourself to monsters."

Retsu nodded seriously. "Hai. You are very pretty, sister Lingxi. I like you very much."

Xiao Lingxi blushed like a boiling kettle.

Meanwhile, the servants shuttled in and out like an army of ants, trying to keep up with the growing stack of empty plates. Some finally dropped to their knees behind the kitchen door.

"W-we're out! They ate everything!"

"Everything?! But we just restocked!"

"Where do these two put it all?! In their sleeves?!"

"Just cook more! If we run out, the Emperor will kill us!"

"Shut up and chop the vegetables!!"

The clatter from the kitchen only made Yun Che grin. Thanks to the system's duplication mode, he had provided the cooks with everything they needed. It cost him some SP, sure—but after draining their kitchen stocks earlier, supplying fresh ingredients he gained from the forest felt like the least he could do. He might carry the title of Emperor, but he certainly wasn't a tyrant.

"Feels like home," he muttered.

Eventually, with the courtyard lanterns glowing softly and the sky sinking into twilight, the four finally relaxed. Xiao Lie refilled his tea cup as he watched the trio interact—his grandson calm and casual, Retsu sweet and composed beside him, and Xiao Lingxi bright-eyed and smiling for the first time in days.

For the first time since Yun Che vanished a year ago…

…it felt like a family dinner.

==========================

That night…

Yun Che sat alone in the courtyard garden, bathed in silver moonlight. Fireflies drifted quietly through the grass as he leaned back on the cool stone bench, eyes fixed on the stars. Retsu was inside, using the bath in his room—meaning she'd take her time. Long enough for what he knew was coming.

A soft presence approached from behind, gentle yet familiar. Yun Che didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Little Che? What are you doing out here?" Xiao Lingxi asked softly.

He smiled without looking away from the sky. "Just stargazing. Becoming a bit of a habit for me."

She giggled, stepping closer until her shoulder was almost brushing his. "We always shared the same hobbies. Ah—where's Retsu?"

"Bathing." Yun Che stretched his arms behind his head, relaxed. "You know how girls are. She'll be in there for a while. The stars are keeping me company."

Xiao Lingxi's breath hitched. "Ah… right. They're beautiful tonight."

He glanced at her and grinned. "Not as beautiful as you. Stargazing always reminds me of you, Little Aunt."

Her cheeks flushed immediately. "Y–you're still saying that kind of thing…"

But she smiled at the memory. "We did used to stargaze… all the time…"

The smile faded.

Slowly… painfully… her expression collapsed. Her lips trembled, and her eyes glossed over as if she were remembering something sharp enough to cut her.

She fell quiet.

Too quiet.

The Little Aunt he'd read about in the novel—lively, talkative, emotional—had become a silent statue beside him.

Yun Che straightened. "Little Aunt?"

Nothing.

Her hand pressed against her chest. Her voice wavered.

"Little Che… can I ask you something serious?"

So it finally came.

He had seen the way she stared at him all evening, heard her silence when he spun his fabricated tale, felt the tension radiating from her.

"…Go ahead," he said gently.

She inhaled shakily, stared straight into his eyes, and whispered:

"If I ask this… will you tell me the truth?"

Yun Che blinked. "What do you mean?"

Then she asked it.

The question she'd been carrying for a year.

"Who are you?"

The wind stilled. Even the fireflies seemed to freeze in the air.

Yun Che's smile faltered for a fraction of a second—but he caught himself and let it twist into a confused grin.

"Eh? Little Aunt, what kind of question is that? I'm your Little Che. Yun Che. Who else would I—"

"No."

Her voice cracked—but her gaze didn't waver.

"No… you're not."

Her heartbeat thundered loud enough for him to hear with his senses.

"Little Che… you're not the same person anymore."

She stepped closer, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"You look like him… you talk like him… but you don't feel like him. The way you move, the way you look at me, the way you smile… everything is different. You're like… like someone else wearing his face."

Her trembling hand rose and brushed his cheek—fearful, searching.

"My Little Che… never had eyes like yours."

Yun Che's heart sank.

She had noticed.

She had noticed everything.

"Please…" Her voice broke completely. "Please don't lie to me. I can handle anything. But don't let me believe in the wrong person."

She swallowed, tears falling freely now.

"Who… are you?"

"…"

Yun Che froze this time. He searched for an answer—any answer—but she was already past the point of easy reassurance.

"Who are you?" Xiao Lingxi whispered again, voice trembling. "Are you truly my Little Che… or has someone else taken his face? Is my Little Che… not my Little Che anymore?"

"Little Aunt, trust me," Yun Che replied softly. "I am your Little Che."

But she didn't budge. Not even a breath.

Her eyes lowered, defeated. She sighed—deep, hollow, resigned. She realized he wasn't going to admit anything unless she forced him to confront something he couldn't laugh off.

"…Come with me," she said quietly, wiping her eyes. "Just follow me for a moment."

"Little Aunt, where are we—"

She didn't answer.

She just walked.

Slow, deliberate steps across the quiet courtyard, her shadow stretching thin under the moonlight. The silence felt heavy—too heavy. Yun Che glanced around, sensing no hostility, but something in his chest tightened as if the night itself were warning him.

Even so, he followed.

He had to maintain the façade.

Unbeknownst to either of them, someone watched from afar, a shadow cloaked in the dark, silently tailing their movements.

After several minutes, they arrived at a familiar place—a place he only recognized because he'd read about it in the novel. The flower bed. The wide tree. The quiet clearing.

This was the spot where the original Yun Che used to bring Xiao Lingxi to play… to hide… to talk… to hold her.

Where he'd sat with her countless times.

Where he'd released Xia Qingyue the day she left to join Frozen Cloud Asgard.

A place soaked with memories that didn't belong to him.

Yet Xiao Lingxi walked with the certainty of someone retracing old feelings.

"This place…" Yun Che forced a smile. "I brought you here before. Why did you want to come here now?"

But even as he spoke, he felt it. Something wrong. A strange gravity. A knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

Xiao Lingxi didn't respond. She kept walking—slower now—until she stopped behind the tree. The exact spot where she and her Little Che used to sit together as children and whisper about the stars.

But she didn't sit.

She just… stood there, trembling.

Then her knees gave out.

She collapsed in front of the tree, tears slipping past her shaking hands as she covered her face.

"Little Aunt?!" Yun Che rushed to her side.

Then he saw it.

A stone slab at the base of the tree.

Crude. Weathered. Hand-carved.

Hidden behind flowers and vines that she must have planted to disguise it.

Not a real grave…

but a memorial.

A tombstone.

His breath caught.

He stepped closer and saw the inscription.

One name.

'Little Che'

His heart dropped.

Before he could react, a soft chime echoed in his head.

The system notification flickered in front of his eyes.

========================

[Congratulations on achieving 'My Grave?' Seen your own grave erected over your supposed death.]

XP: 50000

SP: 10000

[A small picture shows Chibi Yun Che's avatar standing beside his tombstone with a bewildered expression.]

=======================

"It wasn't funny."

=======================

[It is, actually.]

========================

Yun Che's fingers tightened unconsciously on Xiao Lingxi's shoulders. The System's earlier remark was already irritating, but this—this grave—this silent accusation carved into stone—was something he could not have imagined.

"Little Aunt… what on earth is this? I didn't die. If this is some kind of revenge prank for leaving without waking you up, then… then it's not funny."

His voice cracked at the end.

Xiao Lingxi didn't respond. Her tears kept falling, silently dripping onto her knees. Only after a long stretch of agonizing quiet did she finally lift her head.

When she spoke, her words cut straight through him.

"You are not my Little Che. You never were. Your colours aren't even the same."

The world seemed to freeze.

Yun Che felt the shock hit him hard, like a blow straight to the chest. His mind reeled, instincts screaming.

She knows. How?

But he forced himself to maintain a calm, almost clueless mask.

"…What are you talking about, Little Aunt?"

Xiao Lingxi wiped her cheeks with trembling hands, her breaths unsteady. She wasn't accusing out of anger—no, this was grief. Grief mixed with a truth she didn't want.

"I never told anyone about this," she whispered. "Not you… not Father… not a single person in the clan."

Her fingers dug into the grass.

"It's a secret I have kept since I was little."

Then she looked at him—straight into his soul.

"I can see colours."

Yun Che froze.

"It's… not a blessing. More like a curse," she continued. "I can see colours around people—the light of their soul… their intentions, their temperament. Whether they're kind… cruel… dying…"

Her voice cracked.

"Or when they're gone."

Yun Che swallowed hard.

Shit.

"Little Che's colour," she whispered, "was always light white with a soft bluish glow. Gentle. Warm. Innocent. I've seen it since we were children. It never changed. Even when you were bullied… or when you cried… or when you tried to smile for me… your colour stayed the same."

Her tears streamed again as she smiled bitterly.

"That colour is burned into my memory. I would never mistake it."

He tried to speak, but she cut him off.

"Why am I telling you this?" She met his eyes with a heartbreaking mixture of pain and resolve. "Because the day he died… I saw it."

Yun Che stiffened.

And she continued before he could react.

"On your wedding day—after you ate lunch—his colour flickered… then vanished."

She placed a hand over her heart.

"Gone. Completely gone. Like a candle being snuffed out."

She shook her head as if she could still feel the moment.

"I thought I was hallucinating. I denied it—I denied myself. Father carried Little Che to his room… and I ran for a doctor. I kept repeating to myself that he wasn't dead. That he couldn't be. That my eyes were lying."

Her breath hitched.

"But when I sensed life from his room and ran back…"

She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering that moment.

"…there was a different colour waiting for me."

Silence enveloped them.

Xiao Lingxi raised her head, staring at him as if staring into the eyes of a stranger.

"Ocean white mixed with blood red… deep blue… and black," she said quietly.

"Powerful. Overwhelming. Terrifying."

She shook her head.

"That… was never my Little Che's colour."

"I wanted so badly to be wrong. To believe my sight was broken. I told myself again and again that you were him. I avoided looking at your colour because I knew… I knew if I checked again, I'd lose him all over again."

Her shoulders trembled violently.

"But then… I saw your eyes today."

She took a shaky breath.

"And your aura… your presence… your behaviour… your mannerisms… they're not him. Not the him that grew up at my side."

She touched the tombstone gently.

"That's why I made this. A year ago… when I realized he was gone… when your colour returned, but not his."

Her voice cracked.

"I buried my Little Che here."

Yun Che stood frozen, his heart pounding.

Xiao Lingxi's voice wavered as she continued, her fingers tightly gripping the grass beneath her.

"After Xiao Kuangyun left… after Qingyue flew away that night… I was alone. I sat right here, at this very tree, clutching the necklace you gave me. It still carried traces of your old power—the one that protected me and Qingyue."

She inhaled shakily.

"But when I tried to match Little Che's energy to you... it didn't fit. Little Che's energy was warm. Soft. Gentle. Like a quiet breeze."

Her eyes lifted, shining with tears.

"Yours is heavy… ancient… terrifying… and… lonely."

Yun Che's chest tightened.

Xiao Lingxi hugged herself, trembling. "And so, that night… I broke. I cried until I couldn't breathe. Because I knew it. I knew my Little Che was gone, even if someone wearing his face was still walking around."

Her voice cracked again.

"If not for this cursed ability… maybe I would have believed the lie. Maybe I would've lived happily, telling myself my Little Che survived. But no… I saw your colour. I felt your energy. I knew you weren't him."

She wiped her face roughly, as if angry at her own tears.

"I kept acting normal. For Father's sake. For the clan's sake. But every night… I came here… and cried until my throat hurt."

She touched the tombstone again, her fingers tracing the name carved into it.

"I mourned him. I buried him. I accepted that the boy who grew up with me… the one who held my hand… who promised to protect me… was gone forever."

She turned fully toward him, kneeling, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"And then you came back."

Her voice softened, full of longing and quiet devastation.

"You protected me. You protected Father. You came back stronger than anyone in this city… and for a moment, I forgot. I let myself pretend you were still my Little Che."

Her hands clenched into fists.

"But now… I want the truth."

She lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes—eyes that were no longer her Little Che's.

"Please…"

Her voice trembled.

"Tell me who you are… truly."

"….."

Yun Che's head tilted down slightly, shadows crossing his eyes. His mind raced. Should he lie? Could he lie? The girl in front of him wasn't enraged—she was mourning, begging for honesty from the man wearing her beloved's skin.

He opened his mouth—

But froze.

"Sister Retsu, please stop hiding. I can see your colours from here."

Xiao Lingxi's voice was steady—too steady.

The moment the words left her lips, Yun Che felt the air freeze.

Retsu, who had been perfectly concealed within the shadows of a nearby tree, stiffened. Her stealth wasn't just good—it was supernatural. Even a Spirit Sense expert shouldn't have detected her.

Yet Xiao Lingxi had spoken with absolute certainty.

Slowly, guilt written across her face, Retsu descended from the tree branch and landed softly beside them.

"I… I apologize, Sister Lingxi. And to you as well, Young Master," she said, bowing slightly. "I didn't mean to listen in. I only wanted to ensure he was safe. I—"

"You don't need to explain," Xiao Lingxi cut in quietly.

She lifted her eyes, and her gaze passed right through Retsu as if she were looking into her very soul.

"Sister Retsu… your colours are white mixed with black. Perfectly intertwined. Yin and Yang, two souls harmonized as one. But around them… there's a ring of crimson red and dark orange."

She didn't blink.

"That colour… that intensity… I don't even know if my heart could handle knowing what—or who—you truly are."

Retsu's breath caught in her throat.

Her fingers trembled.

Because Xiao Lingxi wasn't just seeing her.

She was seeing Yachiru.

"Ara… interesting…" Yachiru purred inside Retsu's mind. "This woman can see me as clear as day, Retsu-chan."

But Retsu wasn't listening. She was too stunned—too shaken by the fact that her new sister-in-law could peer straight into her dual soul structure.

Before panic could take over, Yun Che gently placed his hands on her shoulders, guiding her closer.

"Easy," he murmured, his tone calm and deliberate. "Retsu, breathe. I knew you were following me… but not this. Even I didn't expect her to see so deeply."

Retsu inhaled softly, trying to compose herself. She nodded—but her eyes remained wide.

Then she turned toward him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Young Master… what is going on?"

Yun Che didn't answer immediately.

Instead, behind the calm mask on his face…

…his mind called out in desperation.

System, is there any way out of this?

=============================

[Ding…. Based on the novel information, she is the 1000th reincarnation of the Ancestral God of this world. The version of her in this world had the technique activated when she was born, and it came from her dormant powers.]

[It would be wise to tell her the truth, as the System cannot mask your lies. She might be unable to detect the System, as it lies dormant within your soul, but she can see you for who you are.]

=============================

Reading her expression—and the ghostly stillness in her eyes—Yun Che realized there was no more room for lies.

Xiao Lingxi had cornered him with nothing but honesty and tears.

Her ability wasn't just strong—it was absolute.

She had seen through him, through Retsu, through Yachiru, even through the faintest trace of his soul's nature.

The only thing she couldn't see… was the System.

He swallowed that bitter realization and accepted the truth:

She deserved answers.

But what he didn't expect—

"…if knowing the truth is too much," Xiao Lingxi whispered, trembling, "then please… make it painless."

She closed her eyes.

And braced for death.

Both Yun Che and Retsu froze, horrified.

Retsu's eyes widened, full of silent pleading, her hands instinctively reaching toward him.

Even Yachiru went quiet inside her soul.

Yun Che stood, walked to Xiao Lingxi on steady feet, and knelt before her.

Retsu lowered herself beside him, her expression soft.

With a solemn breath, Yun Che placed a hand gently on Lingxi's shaking shoulders.

"Forgive me, Little Aunt," he said softly, "but I refuse. I won't kill you. I never intended to. You deserve the truth—not death. I do know you… just not the way you think."

Xiao Lingxi's breath hitched.Her eyes snapped open, red and wet.

"You… you won't…?"

"No."

And with that single word, something fragile inside her broke—and something stronger took its place.

But the fear was still there.

"What do you mean you know me?" she asked shakily.

"You shared your secret," Yun Che said, nodding to Retsu.

Retsu immediately understood; she lifted her hand and released a Kido barrier that expanded into a dome of shimmering spiritual light, wrapping the three of them in perfect isolation. Not a whisper could escape.

Xiao Lingxi watched the glowing barrier with a deepening dread.

"So… you're going to kill me inside this, aren't you?" she whispered.

"Not even close."

He sighed.

"So. You want the truth? I'll give it to you."

He looked her directly in the eyes.

"Yes, I'm your Little Che…

Just not the one you knew."

Xiao Lingxi's entire body flinched.

"I... I don't understand."

"You will," he assured her softly.

A pause.

Then Yun Che spoke the words that would change her world forever.

"Do you believe that there are infinite universes out there? A world where there are many versions of me… you… even Retsu?"

Xiao Lingxi blinked, confused. "Parallel… universes…?"

He nodded.

"Let me explain it simply. There are countless worlds stacked on top of each other—similar, different, twisted, mirrored. In one world, the Little Che you knew is still alive and well after the wedding. In another? You died after eating the poisoned lunch instead."

Her breath stopped.

"In some worlds, Gramps died instead. In others… Qingyue did."

He let that sink in.

"You see what I mean, Little Aunt? Infinite variations. Infinite possibilities."

Her hands trembled violently.

"You're saying… you're from another world?" she whispered.

He slowly nodded.

Xiao Lingxi listened. She tried—truly tried—to make sense of his words.

Parallel worlds. Infinite versions of him, of her, of everyone.

In any other circumstance, she would have laughed at the absurdity.

But she wasn't looking at his face.

She was looking at his colours—and they did not lie.

The colours of his soul didn't twist, didn't darken, didn't flicker.

There was no deceit in his voice.

Her heart wavered.

Could this truly be the truth?

Was the man before her a Little Che from a different world—another time, another life?

She clenched her chest, trembling.

Yuuki continued, his tone solemn as he explained patiently:

"Some worlds move forward… some backward… some exist in impossible futures. Some are filled with magic, some with machines. There are worlds where you're not a cultivator at all—but a chef attending a school hundreds of years from now. In others, you don't even go by the name Xiao Lingxi."

His eyes softened.

"So yes… I am him. But not the one from this world. I came from somewhere else entirely. In my original world, my name isn't Yun Che."

Xiao Lingxi swallowed.

"Then… who are you?"

Yuuki inhaled, lowering all of his walls.

No more aliases.

No more partial truths.

"In this world, I carry the body and name Yun Che. But the soul inside…" His voice grew quiet. "My true name… is Yukihira Yuuki."

"Yuuki…" she whispered.

He nodded.

"Yukihira is my family name. Yuuki is my given name. I'm an alternate version of your Little Che—another branch of his existence from a different universe."

"Then… what happened to my Little Che?" she asked, her voice barely more than breath.

Yuuki's expression darkened slightly, but his resolve didn't waver.

"In my world, I died due to my own mistake."

He clenched a fist.

"And when my soul drifted… I ended up here. Inside this version of Yun Che's body."

He paused.

He steadied himself.

"And the Xiao Che of this world… passed away a year ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

He did not tell her that he was the one who extinguished the original soul. He swallowed the truth like poison—for her sake. She didn't need that wound on top of everything else.

Silence drifted between them like cold wind.

Then…

"Little Che is gone," she murmured, bangs shadowing her eyes.

"And you… you live in his place."

Both Yuuki and Retsu braced themselves.

They expected her to snap.

To scream.

To claw at him.

To accuse him of stealing her nephew.

But Xiao Lingxi did something neither of them expected.

She smiled.

It was faint. Fragile. Trembling.

But it was a smile.

She wiped her tears with delicate fingers and steadied herself.

Retsu gasped softly.

Yuuki blinked in disbelief.

"You're… taking this well?" Yuuki said slowly. "I prepared myself for anger. Hatred. I thought you'd blame me for replacing him."

Xiao Lingxi looked at him—her eyes sad, but peaceful.

"I accepted his death a year ago," she admitted softly. "After Qingyue left that night… I understood. Somehow, deep in my chest… I knew he was gone."

She touched the tombstone with trembling fingers.

"I grieved him, Little Che… even while your body kept moving."

A shaky breath escaped her.

"I hid my tears from Father. But every night, I cried until I could no longer tell if it was grief or denial."

Looking up, she met Yuuki's stunned gaze head-on.

"When I saw you today… I forgot. Just for a moment, I forgot you weren't him. My heart reacted out of habit."

She smiled again—sad, but sincere.

"And now… hearing your story… reading your colours… I know you're telling the truth. And I know this much:"

Her voice softened to a whisper.

"He must have given his life… so that you could live."

Yuuki froze.

Retsu's breath caught.

Xiao Lingxi continued before they could speak:

"If Little Che's soul chose to give way… then he must have seen something in you. Something worth entrusting his body—and his loved ones—to."

She stepped forward and touched Yuuki's cheek with trembling affection.

"Yuuki… or Yun Che… whatever name you go by… you don't have to pretend in front of me anymore. And you don't have to carry this alone."

Her tears fell freely again, but this time without despair.

"Because even if you're not the Little Che I knew… you are still someone who protected us… cared for us… and returned to us."

She gently pressed her forehead to his.

"And for that… I'm grateful."

"I owe him for granting me this chance at life," Yuuki said softly, placing a gentle hand on Retsu's shoulder. He meant every word. Without the original Yun Che's sacrifice, neither he nor Retsu would be here now.

Xiao Lingxi wiped her eyes and looked at the woman beside him—elegant, poised, breathtaking even behind her veil. "And… Sister Retsu? What about her? She… she knows about all of this, doesn't she?"

Retsu lowered her gaze modestly. Yuuki squeezed her shoulder once, encouraging her, before answering.

"She isn't from this world," he admitted. "And she wasn't meant to exist here either. Retsu could only appear because… because I ended up in this body. Otherwise she would've remained in a place no one should remain."

"Summoned?" Xiao Lingxi's eyes widened. "You… summoned her?"

Retsu bowed her head slightly. "Young Master saved me. Without his call, I would still be trapped in a nightmarish realm. A place akin to Hell. Suspended by my arms… endlessly. No escape. No end."

"H-Hell?" Xiao Lingxi gasped. "You were—"

Yuuki raised a hand gently. "Some truths are better left untold. Just know this much—Little Che's death opened the way for my arrival… and Retsu's salvation."

She fell silent, processing it all. The tombstone, the colours, the changes—everything finally made sense.

"And…" Yuuki continued quietly, "Xiao Yang and Xiao Yulong were responsible. They took this world's Yun Che away. I ended them for it. Their deaths were justice for his life."

Retsu bowed deeply. "We owe him everything. My life, Young Master's chance at survival, our very existence in this world—it all came from the heavens."

Yuuki exhaled. "So… aside from sensing my soul, what else gave me away?"

Xiao Lingxi looked up sadly, though with a strange fondness. "Many things. You call Father 'gramps,' not 'grandfather.' You don't flirt the way Little Che did. You forgot moments that should've been precious to him. You told stories he never lived. Your feelings toward Qingyue shifted abruptly—love one day, resentment the next."

Yuuki blinked. "I… didn't expect you to notice so much."

"You really thought you could fool me?" she asked softly. "Even if I ignored your soul's colours… you weren't him. Not the Little Che I grew up with."

Her voice wavered as she lowered her head.

"I guess… I can't call you Little Che anymore."

Yuuki's heart tightened.

He tried to smile, but it came out strained.

"You can," he whispered. "If you want to. But I know it'll hurt too much. So I'll stop calling you Little Aunt as well. I'm sorry… for becoming a stranger to you."

Her lips trembled. The weight of loss washed over her face again.

"Little Che is truly gone…" she whispered.

Yuuki lowered his head.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, sincerely—Yun Che's name fading from her world with each passing moment.

Then—before either of them could blink—Xiao Lingxi moved.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, tightly, desperately, pressing her cheek against his chest. Her voice cracked, filled with pain and acceptance.

"His blood still flows… and his heart still beats. His will lives through you. You protect Father and me just as he would have. Even if your soul isn't Little Che's… seeing you alive, seeing you stand before me… feels like he's still here."

She tightened her grip.

"You're still my Little Che. Or my Little Yuuki. Regardless of who you are."

Yuuki froze, stunned.

Then warmth bloomed in his chest.

Slowly… he embraced her back.

"Thank you… Little Aunt."

She sniffed lightly, a tiny smile forming. "Hehe… I'm still your elder, you know."

Yuuki huffed a soft laugh into her hair. "For the record… I'm actually older than you."

She leaned away just enough to meet his eyes—tears still in her lashes, but smiling.

"Too bad. I called dibs first. I'm your elder. Deal with it."

Retsu exhaled a breath she'd been holding, smiling softly at the reunion. The tension melted away, replaced by something warm. Something real.

Xiao Lingxi closed her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder.

"The man before me may not have Little Che's soul," she whispered, "but he is still him… enough for me. And that is enough."

Retsu, ever perceptive, gently steered the heavy atmosphere toward lighter waters.

"Young Master, earlier… you mentioned Sister Lingxi has a counterpart in another world. What was her name?"

Yuuki's lips softened into a nostalgic smile. "Her name there is something like Tadokoro Megumi. I guess that makes you… Megu-chan. It's close in meaning to your name."

Xiao Lingxi blinked, startled.

"M-Megu… chan?"

Her head tilted adorably—curious, confused, and strangely flustered.

Retsu brought her hands together, delighted.

"Megu-chan… it does sound lovely, Young Master."

Yuuki chuckled. "The name 'Megu' means 'love' or 'blessing.' Your name carries a similar meaning. So calling you Megu-chan feels like saying your name in my world's language. And the '-chan' part is just… a cute honorific."

"C-cute?" Xiao Lingxi's cheeks tinted pink.

Yuuki nodded, teasing. "Very cute."

Xiao Lingxi puffed her cheeks slightly—embarrassed, but not displeased. "I suppose… I could get used to being called that. But only privately. If Father heard it, he might think something strange."

Her expression shifted as she asked, "Should we… tell him? About everything?"

Yuuki paused—then shook his head with a solemn gentleness.

"No. Gramps already lost his son, his wife, and the real me. If believing I'm still his grandson brings him peace… then let him have that peace. Letting him carry this truth wouldn't help him—it would only hurt."

Xiao Lingxi lowered her gaze, nodding.

"Yes… I understand. Father doesn't need more burdens. I've already carried my grief for a year. I can accept the truth. He doesn't need to."

She exhaled deeply, a small smile forming.

"Thank you… for telling me your true name. Or rather, your name from another world."

"It's the least I can do," Yuuki said softly, ruffling her hair. "With a gift like yours, you deserve the truth."

Xiao Lingxi touched her chest lightly, conflicted.

"My ability… I still don't know if it's a blessing or a curse. If I could, I'd throw it away. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't feel Little Che's death… and you wouldn't have to hide."

Yuuki shook his head gently.

"Sometimes, living with a bitter truth is better than living inside the sweetest lie."

His words held weight—warm yet firm.

A truth she could accept.

Xiao Lingxi took a long, trembling breath… then straightened her back.

"Then I won't dwell on the past anymore," she said, her voice steady. "Little Che is gone… but you're here. You're alive. And I'll get to know you properly. As Yuuki… and as the person who protects this family now."

She wiped her face, smiling more brightly than before.

"And your world… I never imagined something like it existed."

Retsu nodded beside her, equally intrigued.

"I feel the same, Sister Lingxi. I never knew anything about Young Master's previous life either."

Yuuki breathed out slowly, meeting the eyes of the two women who now shared his secret—one by blood, one by bond.

"Well then," he said with a warm grin, "it seems I owe both of you a story."

Yuuki gestured for both girls to sit with him on the soft flower bed beneath the old tree—their old meeting place reborn with new meaning. Fireflies drifted softly around them, the night sky open and quiet. The perfect stage for a truth long buried.

He inhaled slowly.

"…My former world was different," he began. "A place where humans don't cultivate at all. Instead, we advanced through something called technology."

"Technology?" both Xiao Lingxi and Retsu echoed, equally puzzled.

Yuuki nodded. "Think of it as… creations. Tools, machines, systems—all designed to make life easier. In my world, humans can't control profound energy or cultivate, but we invented ways to do things beyond imagination."

Xiao Lingxi leaned forward, captivated. "Beyond imagination? How far… has this technology progressed?"

Yuuki smiled faintly.

"To the point we could cross oceans in hours, speak to someone across the world instantly, store entire libraries in a small device, harness lightning to power cities… even fly through the skies without wings."

Both women widened their eyes—utterly shaken.

"Humans could fly? Without profound energy?" Xiao Lingxi whispered.

"With machines," Yuuki chuckled. "Not with profound energy or martial skills."

Retsu tilted her head, thoughtful. "Young Master's world… is strange. No cultivation, no spiritual energy, yet humans flourish?"

"Exactly," Yuuki replied. "Humans there thrive through knowledge, not strength. They built enormous cities, towering structures, networks connecting the entire world. Their greatest power was innovation… not martial might."

Xiao Lingxi pressed her hand to her chest, trying to imagine it.

"A world where people grow without cultivation… it sounds impossible."

"It sounded impossible to me too," Yuuki admitted. "Especially after waking in this world—where everything runs on strength instead of systems." He chuckled softly. "I'm grateful, honestly. Being reborn here gave me a second chance—to experience things my old world didn't have."

"Like cultivation?" Retsu asked.

"Like freedom," Yuuki corrected with a gentle smile. "And like meeting both of you."

Retsu's eyes softened, shimmering slightly beneath the moonlight. Xia Lingxi looked away, flustered—but smiling with genuine warmth.

He continued explaining—describing automobiles, electricity, skyscrapers, computers, and even restaurants that served dishes from a hundred nations. The girls listened in wonder, their expressions shifting between awe and disbelief.

To them, his world sounded like fantasy.

To him, theirs felt like a storybook come to life.

Yet sharing all of this… felt right.

Yuuki stole a glance at Xiao Lingxi.

Telling her the truth—his truth—was something he had long wanted to do, even if he didn't realize it. She was the first person of this world (aside from Jasmine) he could truly confide in.

She noticed his gaze and smiled gently.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For trusting me enough to share all of this. Even if your world feels unreal to me… I'm happy to know this part of you."

Retsu nodded in agreement. "Yes. Your past is your story, Young Master. And we are honored to hear it."

Yuuki exhaled slowly, feeling a weight lift from his heart.

He wasn't just Yun Che anymore.

He wasn't just Yuuki either.

For the first time… he was both.

And he wasn't alone.

===========================

[Ding…. Secret's Out? Achievement achieved – Share your ultimate secret with someone you trust.]

XP:50000

SP:10000

[A Chibi version of Yuuki looked delighted alongside a Chibi version of Xiao Lingxi and a Chibi version of Retsu.]

===========================

Xiao Lingxi's eyes flickered, as if something suddenly resurfaced in her memory.

"Xia Qingyue would be shocked if she knew the man she married isn't the man she thinks he is," she murmured.

The words left her lips gently—

—but they detonated inside Retsu like a thunderclap.

"Married?"

Her voice trembled.

"Young master… you're married?!"

Yuuki froze.

This was absolutely not how he intended for this revelation to come out. Xiao Lingxi blinked innocently, fully unaware she had just set off an emotional catastrophe.

"Well…" Yuuki rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose the cat's out of the bag."

Retsu stared at him—eyes wide, pupils shaking, her breath catching in her throat. "How… how could I not know this…?"

Lingxi continued explaining, oblivious to the brewing storm.

"Yes, he married Qingyue when Little Che was poisoned. So it wasn't Little Che who married her—it was you."

Retsu's composure fractured.

Her delicate fingers trembled against her kimono.

Her usually calm, gentle aura rippled with hurt confusion.

A wife.

In this world, he already had a wife.

Yuuki quickly pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair soothingly. "Retsu… I'm sorry. Truly. I wanted to tell you—just not like this. I never found the right moment. It was a promised marriage arranged by her father and Yun Che's foster father. A political promise, not a romantic one."

Retsu swallowed hard, gripping his sleeve.

Her voice wavered.

"Young master… are you unwilling to be married to her?"

Yuuki released a long, heavy sigh.

Xiao Lingxi, sensing the tension, sat quietly beside them, waiting for his answer.

He lay down on the flower bed, one arm behind his head as he stared up at the endless night sky. The grass cradled him, but the weight of memory pressed on his chest.

"Does it even hold meaning anymore…?" he whispered.

The girls leaned closer.

"Imagine this," he continued. "You're reborn into someone else's dying body. You barely understand the world around you. Then suddenly you're forced into a marriage arranged years ago. A bride who didn't choose you. A groom whose identity wasn't even mine."

He exhaled slowly.

"And on top of that, everything spiraled into disaster. I made a scene. I ruined her reputation, my reputation. I hurt her, even if I didn't intend to. I gave her cultivation help as a wedding gift and handed her the marriage certificate. She could erase the marriage with a single tear."

Lingxi leaned forward, anxious.

"…Did she destroy it?"

Yuuki shrugged lightly, though the motion felt heavy.

"I don't know. I left before she made a choice."

Retsu held her breath.

Yuuki's voice softened—blemished with regret, self-reflection, and a calm sadness.

"She didn't love me. She couldn't. She didn't even know me. I resented her for who she would become in this world's story, and I acted out of impulse. Stress. Confusion. A misplaced anger that wasn't even hers to bear."

His eyes drifted across the stars.

"I didn't handle any of it well. Maybe I really was a jerk."

The night wind brushed through the leaves.

Xiao Lingxi touched his hand gently.

"Little Yuuki… you were just trying to survive."

Retsu, still shaken, slowly rested her head on his shoulder."…Then what about now?" she whispered."What does she mean to you now?"

And the night held its breath—waiting for Yuuki's answer.

"I… don't know. I really don't have the answer to that."

Yuuki let the words fall, quiet and honest. He rose slowly, brushed the grass from his clothes, and reached out to gently ruffle Retsu's hair again. How could he look her in the eyes after all this? How could he confess his feelings for her… knowing full well he already had a wife living somewhere in an icy palace? No matter how he phrased it, the truth made him sound like a scumbag—married to one woman, courting another.

"I'm sorry, Retsu. It's not that I didn't want to tell you…"

He didn't get to finish.

Retsu leaned up and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. Her lips lingered just long enough for warmth to bloom there. When she pulled back, she wore a smile—gentle, serene, reassuring.

"It's alright, Young Master," she said, voice sweet as falling snow. "I am, and will always be, the woman who dedicates herself to you. I love you from the deepest part of my heart. I always have, and I always will. If you are married… then we will discuss it with your wife together. It is common for a strong man to have more than one wife."

Yuuki froze.

"…You're really okay with this?"

He had dreaded this moment, feared she would feel betrayed. But this—this soft, patient acceptance—this was Retsu's angelic side. The side that made him fall even harder.

She nodded.

"Hai~~~. It was my dream to have a home filled with sisters, a family united by love. So yes… I wish to meet Xia Qingyue one day."

Her tone dimmed just a little.

"But it unsettles me that the promise was forced on you both."

Yuuki exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders. He stroked her head again, and she melted instantly beneath his touch.

"I'm not willing to cheat on anyone, or sneak around," he said firmly. "Even though… technically… it already looks like that."

He inwardly grimaced. If things ever went south between Retsu and Qingyue, he could already imagine disaster—Retsu charging with a kitchen knife yelling, 'He's mine!' while poor Qingyue fled across the snow. He really needed to start planning ahead.

"But…" Retsu's voice softened, her gaze dipping. "It bothers me that I will never be your first wife. I wanted to be the first woman you married…"

Yuuki chuckled gently, lifting her chin so she would look at him.

"Are you sure about that? Nothing happened that night."

He smirked.

"You might still have a chance."

Retsu's eyes widened.

"Wait—so you didn't consummate the marriage that night?" Xiao Lingxi interrupted with a wicked grin. "Someone's little Yang is still untouched."

Yuuki's face flushed crimson.

"Of course not! I—I wanted my first time to be with someone I truly love."

Both girls paused.

Then Xiao Lingxi burst out laughing.

"Ahaha! So Little Che—no, Little Yuuki—is a complete, pure virgin!"

Yuuki groaned and covered his face with both hands as Retsu giggled softly, her smile blooming with warmth.

Hearing his admission, the previously gloomy Retsu lit up like a phoenix reborn.

Her eyes sparkled.

Her cheeks glowed.

And her aura—her very murderous aura—quietly surged.

"It means… I can still be your proper first wife."

Her lips curled into a smile far too serene for the sinister intent behind it.

"Poof… Young Master, you're quite the romantic. Then I'll make sure no other woman takes that from me.

Not even her…"

A sudden wave of cold pressure rolled off her.

Yuuki and Xiao Lingxi stiffened simultaneously.

They didn't need to ask who "her" was.

Yuuki quickly slipped an arm around Retsu's shoulder to calm her, and instantly her killing intent vanished—replaced with a happy, radiant blush.

Now Lingxi was jealous.

"Look at you two," she puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms.

"Acting like I'm invisible."

"Oops… sorry about that, Little Aunt."

Yuuki leaned over and gently patted her head.

Xiao Lingxi froze.

His touch was magic.

No wonder Retsu loved it so much.

"I haven't forgotten that you proposed to me that night…" she muttered, her face burning red.

Yuuki's hand paused.

Ah. That night. The impulsive, emotionally charged proposal he made while masquerading as the original Yun Che.

"Uh… I—I meant it sincerely at the time," he admitted, wincing slightly.

Retsu chimed in with a mischievous smile, sliding an arm around Xiao Lingxi's waist.

"Then that means we'll become sisters in the future, Megu–~~chan~."

She pulled Xiao Lingxi into a warm bear hug.

The poor girl yelped in surprise—then slowly smiled.

The thought of marrying Yuuki—marrying him as who he truly was, not the shadow of her Little Che—felt strangely comforting.

"We will… if he proposes to me again," she said boldly.

"And as himself this time, not as the Little Che I grew up with.

You can't do that yet, can you?"

Yuuki sighed, helpless.

"You know you'd sense it instantly if I lied."

"Sometimes," Xiao Lingxi smirked, "my ability is useful."

"Give me time," Yuuki said softly."One day… I'll propose to you as myself. As Yuuki."

That was enough for her.

She leaned forward and hugged him again, resting her head against his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat beneath.

"You know… even though you're no longer Little Che, your warmth still feels like his," she whispered.

"Maybe I've started liking you—not the boy you replaced. You protected me and Father without knowing anything about us. Maybe it started as a duty, but… thank you. To you… and to Qingyue."

"Anytime," Yuuki smiled gently.

"And even if I call you Megu-chan in private, you'll always be my Little Aunt."

He tilted his head.

"Speaking of Qingyue… I thought she left the city that night."

Xiao Lingxi shook her head.

"She was supposed to leave, but… she stayed for a few more days," she explained.

"Coincidentally, she remained until the day Xiao Kuangyun showed up. She stayed to protect me and Father.

We… even became friends."

"Xia Qingyue has friends? I never expected that ice-cold popsicle had a heart."

Xiao Lingxi puffed her cheeks, trying not to smile. "She does. And she surprised me too."

Yuuki exhaled heavily.

"That girl… she probably stayed to protect you and Gramps in my place. After I warned her that Xiao Kuangyun was after both of you, she must've taken it seriously. That's why I gave you and Gramps those necklaces. Still… despite what I did to her, I didn't expect her to stay."

Xiao Lingxi winced.

"You were quite harsh on her."

Yuuki dragged a hand down his face.

"I don't know, Little Aunt. Maybe I broke under the weight of everything. I died, Lingxi.

One moment I was alive, the next—I was gone. And then… that endless void. It felt like I was floating in nothing for years, decades, maybe centuries. No sense of time. No sound. Nothing but my own thoughts."

He paused—Retsu gently reached for his sleeve.

"Then suddenly," he continued, "I'm shoved into a body and told to get married. To a stranger. Because of a promise someone else made. No freedom. No choice. Just a contract."

The girls didn't speak.

"I don't know if my breakdown was stress… fear… or trauma. Killing Xiao Yang, Xiao Yulong, Xiao Kuangyun, even Xiao Yunhai… maybe that was my way of releasing everything I'd been holding in since the void."

Xiao Lingxi hugged her knees a little tighter.

"It was frightening," she admitted. "I didn't even recognize you that day…"

Yuuki gave her a regretful look.

"But still… I never thought you and Qingyue would actually become friends."

Retsu quietly observed the two. This Xia Qingyue—cold, distant, duty-bound—chose to stay behind and protect her new husband's family. That alone made her… interesting.

"What drove her to do such a thing, young master?" Retsu asked.

Yuuki shrugged helplessly.

"That icy popsicle is unpredictable. Maybe because of the 'wedding gift' I gave her? It wasn't much."

"Popsicle…?" Retsu tilted her head.

Xiao Lingxi's curiosity sparked immediately.

"And what's this 'wedding gift'? You didn't prepare anything before the wedding—you left it all to the clan."

Yuuki straightened slightly.

"Well… since you know the truth about me, think of it as a token of my identity."

He reached for Xiao Lingxi's palm.

Retsu watched as a faint glow passed from his hand into Lingxi's body—soft, warm, brilliant.

Xiao Lingxi gasped sharply, a shiver running up her spine as an unseen weight evaporated from her meridians.

"L–Little Che… what is this?"

Yuuki gave her a gentle, knowing smirk—one that made her heart flip.

"Heavenly God Spiritual Veins."

Silence.

Then—

"WHAT?!?"

Xiao Lingxi slapped both hands over her mouth, eyes blown wide.

Retsu nearly toppled backwards.

"Young master… you bestowed a divine physique on her?!?"

Yuuki shrugged, as if he hadn't just casually rewritten someone's destiny.

"Enhanced version, actually. I gave Qingyue similar version, It's an upgrade."

"H-how can you speak like it's normal!?" Xiao Lingxi sputtered.

"This… this is legendary! Impossible! Heavenly God Spiritual Veins are—"

Yuuki tapped her forehead gently.

"You're welcome. You're not powerless, Megu-chan. You're not weak. You never were. I made sure of it."

Xiao Lingxi was stunned to her core.

"Heavenly… God… Spiritual Veins… Those are the legendary divine veins! Not even the greatest sects in Blue Wind possess a single one!"

Yuuki just smiled.

"Well, you're in luck. Now you have them—just like Qingyue and me."

"Hai~~ I have them as well, Megu-chan," Retsu chimed in happily. "Mine is a modified version, but it also came from the young master."

Xiao Lingxi's jaw trembled.

"How… how did you even do that? You just touched my palm, and everything in my body—every impurity—just… vanished! How is this possible!?"

Yuuki winked.

"I have my ways. Let's call it a technique from my world. And… think of it as an early wedding gift."

Her cheeks went red instantly.

"Muuu… now I really have no choice but to marry you…"

"Mouuu… you two keep flirting like I'm invisible."

Now Retsu was pouting. Yuuki burst into laughter while Xiao Lingxi tried—and failed—to suppress a giggle.

Then Xiao Lingxi's tone softened.

"Despite everything, Yuuki… I think Qingyue cares about you more than you let yourself believe. She accepted the wedding for a reason. And she stayed after the wedding—because of me. She didn't have to. If she didn't care, she would have left me at Xiao Kuangyun's mercy."

Retsu raised a brow.

"She protected you before she even knew the truth?"

Xiao Lingxi nodded.

"Yes. She could have left, but she didn't. Even if you chased her away… I don't think she is the cold-hearted girl you think she is."

Yuuki sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"She didn't marry me. She married the man she thought I was. Sometimes… it feels like I'm just a replacement wearing someone else's name."

Xiao Lingxi flicked his forehead sharply.

"Ow—hey!"

"You're thinking with your old-world mindset again," she scolded, arms crossed. "This world doesn't work like that. If you haven't even tried, how can you assume what she feels?"

Retsu giggled, covering her mouth.

"Ufufu~ Young master received a stern lecture from Megu-chan."

But then her expression grew serious—just for a moment.

"But I'm not sure about Xia Qingyue. I haven't met her yet, so I can't say whether I like her… But I do like Megu-chan."

Xiao Lingxi beamed at her new sister-to-be, squeezing her hand.

Yuuki gently wrapped an arm around Retsu's shoulders.

"You'll meet that popsicle soon enough."

He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"But I'm not going to barge in and say, 'Hey, Qingyue, here's your husband and his fiancée!' That's just suicidal."

"That depends on the woman," Xiao Lingxi teased.

Yuuki laughed wryly.

"Either way, I'm not introducing any woman to you two unless I have your approval first. A harmonious family only works when the women truly accept each other. If either of you doesn't like someone… then I won't pursue her. Simple as that."

Retsu's eyes softened with deep affection.

"Ufufu… Young master truly knows how to reassure a woman."

Xiao Lingxi leaned against him gently.

"And you're already doing better than most men in this world."

For the first time that night, everything felt calm—warm—like family.

Retsu's smile softened as she listened, her heart swelling with warmth. Her young master always placed her feelings first—even when the situation was complicated. Even though he was technically married, he wasn't the kind of man who chased women for sport. He genuinely wanted a peaceful, loving family. She could sense his determination to mend things with this "Xia Qingyue," whose first meeting with him had been far from ideal.

One day, she would meet this woman. One day, she would judge for herself whether Xia Qingyue deserved a place at his side. If that icy beauty was worthy of being his first wife, Retsu would accept it. But if not—then she wasn't suitable for her young master at all.

Yuuki reached out and gave Retsu a gentle pinch on the cheek. She squeaked, flushing, then turned toward Xiao Lingxi as she received another warm hug from him.

"Thanks, Little Aunt," he murmured. "You've cared for me more than you realize… even though I'm not the Little Che you raised."

Xiao Lingxi pinched his cheek in return, smiling through the lingering sadness. "You might not be Little Che anymore, but you're still Little Che to me. Alive and well—that's enough."

"I am curious, though," she continued, shifting her gaze to Retsu. "Why Retsu? Why did you choose her as your fiancée?"

Retsu froze.

So did Yuuki.

Retsu's heart thumped painfully against her chest. She didn't want to admit it aloud, but she had feared this question for months. Did he love her for who she was—or merely for her beauty and loyalty? Would he still have chosen her if she weren't strong? If she weren't graceful? If she weren't his servant?

She had lived countless years as an emotionless killing machine. She wanted—needed—to be loved as a person.

Yuuki glanced at her, then slowly rested his palm atop her head.

"Retsu is… the most unique woman I've ever known," he said softly. "In my previous world, she was a quirky soul, yet unbelievably focused when it mattered. She was the greatest healer—someone with eight thousand techniques and a blade feared as death itself. She has the gentleness of an angel… and the ferocity of a demon."

Retsu's face instantly went bright red. She lightly smacked his shoulder in embarrassment. "Y–Young master… mouuu…!"

But Yuuki wasn't teasing. His voice was calm. Honest.

"I didn't fall in love with her beauty or her strength," he continued. "I fell in love because she protects the people she loves. Because she would lay down her life without hesitation. Because she trusts me with her heart… and her flaws. Because she chose me."

Retsu's breath hitched. Her eyes shimmered—not with fear, but with overwhelming emotion.

"I want to be someone she can entrust her life to," he said. "Just as she entrusted her life to me. She's someone I want to protect and treasure, forever. And I know she would do the same."

Retsu completely malfunctioned.

Her entire face flushed a deep crimson as butterflies exploded in her stomach. She tried to bury her face in her sleeves, but that only made her look more adorable.

"M–Moooouuuu… young master… please… that's too embarrassing…"

Yuuki smirked. "And she's adorable. So adorable you forget she used to be a terrifying swordswoman."

"YOUNG MASTER!! MOUUUU!!" Retsu's cheeks steamed.

Xiao Lingxi burst into laughter. "He's right, Retsu. You really are adorable."

"M–Megu-chan too! Mouuuu!" Retsu squeaked as she hid behind Yuuki like a flustered rabbit.

Their laughter echoed softly under the night sky.

Finally, Xiao Lingxi reached over and patted Yuuki's head with a bright smile. "Ufuu… you've chosen a wonderful woman for your fiancée."

Retsu peeked out from behind Yuuki, still red but smiling beautifully—soft, gentle, and happy.

Retsu nodded as she listened, comforted by her young master's sincerity. Deep down, she truly appreciated how Yuuki considered her feelings before accepting another woman into their lives. It was strange learning he was technically married, yet she knew he wasn't the type to chase women carelessly. What he wanted was a family—a real one—for himself, for her, and for anyone he chose to love. And Retsu, who once lived as an emotionless blade of death, wanted that more than anything.

One day, she would meet this Xia Qingyue. She would speak to her face-to-face as Yuuki's woman. If Qingyue had the qualities to stand beside him as his first wife, Retsu would accept her. If she didn't… then she simply wasn't worthy.

Yuuki gently pinched Retsu's cheeks, coaxing a shy smile from her before turning to Xiao Lingxi and pulling her into an affectionate hug.

"Thank you, Little Aunt. Even though you didn't raise me, you still worry about me."

Her cheeks pinkened slightly as she pinched his cheek in return.

"You may not be Little Che anymore… but you're still Little Che to me. Alive, warm, and right here."

Then her curiosity resurfaced.

"Yuuki, why did you choose Retsu as your fiancée?"

Retsu blinked, startled. She wanted to know this too. Did he love her for reasons beyond beauty—or did something else draw him in? She didn't want to be adored only for her appearance or her blade.

Yuuki stroked her hair gently as he answered.

"Because Retsu is unlike anyone else," he began, eyes softening. "In my previous world, she was one of a kind. A gentle healer with the calmness of an angel… and a swordswoman with the fury of a demon. She had eight thousand techniques, wielded the sword of death, and carried a heart capable of saving or destroying anyone depending on her resolve."

Retsu immediately turned red and lightly smacked his arm, mortified.

"Young master… mouuu… that's embarrassing…"

He chuckled. "I didn't choose her because she's strong or beautiful. I chose her because she protects the people she loves with everything she has. Because she entrusted her life to me—and I want to entrust mine to her. Her secrets, her flaws, her past… I want to carry all of it. She's someone I want to treasure for the rest of my life."

Retsu's face flushed a deep crimson, her heart swelling with warmth she hadn't experienced in centuries. Hearing him speak that way—so earnest, so vulnerable—made her feel cherished beyond words.

"Yu-Young master… please… mouuu…"

She shrank into herself, flustered beyond saving.

Xiao Lingxi grinned.

"He's right, Retsu. You are adorable."

"M-Megu-chan!!!" Retsu squeaked, sinking further into her shyness.

Their laughter filled the quiet flower garden. Xiao Lingxi pat Yuuki's head with a giggle.

"You've chosen an amazing woman as your fiancée."

Retsu beamed and pulled Xiao Lingxi into a tight hug.

"Then we'll be sisters in the future, Megu-chan!"

"I—w-wait—s-sisters…?"

Xiao Lingxi's face heated up.

Yuuki smiled gently. He wasn't ready to see Lingxi as a wife yet—he had only just met the real her—but he would give her time. He owed her that much.

Soon after, the three of them knelt before the real Yun Che's makeshift grave. Together, they offered a quiet prayer—thanking him for the life he had unknowingly given up so Yuuki and Retsu could live.

This time, Xiao Lingxi finally felt something she hadn't in a year.

Closure.

The Little Che she lost could finally rest in her heart.

Once finished, Yuuki turned to her.

"Little Aunt… would you like to come with Retsu and me? To the higher realms? To the cultivation world beyond Floating Cloud City? You'd be safe with us. I'd like you by my side."

Xiao Lingxi paused. Her gaze softened.

"Yuuki… you know I can't." She shook her head gently. "I can never leave Father alone. And I love the children here—they've grown on me. I can't abandon them. Besides, I've never been passionate about the martial path. I only cultivated to protect Little Che. Now that he's gone… and you're so much stronger than any of us… I'm just an ordinary girl."

Retsu squeezed her hands tenderly.

"But Megu-chan, we can protect you."

Yuuki nodded."She's right. I can help you cultivate faster than anyone. I could—"

Xiao Lingxi shook her head and gently pressed a finger against his lips, her eyes soft as she smiled at Retsu.

"Retsu, Yuuki… this place is my home. And now, it's yours too. I want both of you to come back here—to me. Besides…" she turned to Yuuki with a teasing glimmer, "you already promised to marry me. So let this be the place I'll always be waiting for you, for Retsu… and even for Xia Qingyue."

She withdrew her hand and lifted her gaze toward the stars above the flower bed.

"This city is where I was born. Father is growing old… and even if he won't admit it, he's been waiting all this time—hoping his real grandson would one day come home."

Her voice softened with quiet, heartbreaking nostalgia.

"I want to stay with him until his last days. When that time comes…" she turned back to him, eyes firm yet warm, "I promise I'll follow you both."

Yuuki fell silent.

He knew he couldn't force her. Her reasons were too pure, too deeply rooted in love and loyalty to dismiss. She wanted to remain by Xiao Lie's side until the end, just as the real Yun Che once vowed he would.

So he accepted it.

If she wouldn't leave with them, then he'd make sure nothing in this world—or another—could ever harm her or their grandfather. He'd fortify this clan, cloak it in Kido barriers, and turn it into a sanctuary where no sect, beast, or hidden threat could reach them.

It was the least he could do.

He wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close.

"Thank you, Little Aunt… for accepting me," he whispered. "Even though I'm not the Little Che you once knew."

Xiao Lingxi closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his chest.

"I cried enough for the Little Che who died a year ago," she murmured. "But you… you're still here. Alive. Warm. You protect us, laugh with us, care for us. So even if your soul isn't his anymore… you're still my Little Che."

Retsu joined the embrace, her presence gentle but unshakably warm. "We'll protect you too, Megu-chan."

Xiao Lingxi smiled at both of them. A smile full of acceptance—not of who Yuuki used to be, but who he had become.

Even if she wasn't leaving with them, that didn't mean she had to remain weak. And Yuuki fully intended to give her a cultivation foundation so strong that no one in Floating Cloud City—or the entire empire—could ever touch her.

The choice was hers.

But her future safety?

That was his responsibility.

And so, even as she stayed behind…

He would make sure she stood above everyone who once made her or the original Yun Che suffer.

===================

Yun Che brushed a few strands of Retsu's hair away from her face, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. It still felt unreal. A woman like her—calm, deadly, beautiful beyond reason—now lay asleep in his arms, as if she had always belonged there. Even in the moonlit stillness, she seemed almost ethereal.

Unohana Retsu… sleeping next to me. Who would've thought?

He let out a slow exhale, but something tugged quietly at the back of his mind. A subtle oddity, a feeling he couldn't shake.

"…It's strange," he muttered under his breath, careful not to disturb her. "Even with Retsu beside me like this… neither of us felt that spark. That heat."

A normal man—especially one reborn into the body of a cultivator—should have felt the instinctive pull.

A normal woman—especially one who loved him—should have felt some nervousness, some temptation, even a flicker of shyness.

Yet both of them had simply… relaxed.

No flustered breaths.

No pounding hearts.

Just warmth. Comfort. Peace.

It isn't that we don't love each other. Far from it. So why…?

His brows narrowed slightly. It wasn't natural. Not for him, and definitely not for Retsu. Even if she suppressed emotions well, even if she had lived a life of discipline and bloodshed, she should have felt something more than this serene stillness.

Something was dampening them.

Not suppressing desire—suffocating it.

"It's like… something is forcing the both of us to stay calm," he whispered.

Not numb.

Not uninterested.

Just… muted.

As if an unseen hand pressed gently on their emotions, telling them to stay soft, stay quiet, stay unprovoked.

Is it lingering trauma from my previous life? Something from hers? Or… something else entirely?

His fingers absentmindedly combed through her hair, and Retsu subconsciously cuddled closer, her soft sigh warming the fabric of his clothing. Even asleep, she sought him out.

She wants me close… but something is keeping both of us from wanting more.

He glanced up at the ceiling, eyes sharp even in the dark.

"System," he murmured silently in his mind, "I swear, if this is your doing—"

No response came.

Only the quiet breathing of the woman curled against him.

He sighed and gently tightened his arm around her, letting the moment settle. Whatever the cause, whatever force dulled their impulses—it wasn't malevolent. If anything, it felt protective. As if the world—or perhaps fate—was telling them:

Not yet. Let your hearts settle first.

Retsu nuzzled against him in her sleep, her hands lightly gripping his clothes. Even without desire, there was affection in every movement, trust in every breath.

A small smile tugged at his lips.

"…Well," he whispered, brushing a thumb across her cheek, "whatever the reason, I'll figure it out. But for now… just sleeping beside her is more than enough."

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.

==================

[Ding… The System prevented you from feeling your carnal lust by force calm your emotions.]

==================

"…Huh?" He blinked, staring at the ceiling in silent disbelief—careful not to wake the peacefully sleeping woman in his arms. Before he could question it, another message chimed.

==================

[No sex before marriage.]

==================

"Why?!" he screamed inwardly.

The response came immediately.

==================

[Ding… If you do so, you didn't respect her as a woman and just wanted her for your lust comfort.]

==================

"I don't—! I respect her. I treasure her. It's not—some couples grow closer through—"

==================

[Ding… Are you saying she is not compatible? Are you that 'someone' who uses it to advance a relationship?]

===================

"No, that's not what I—!"The System had him pinned in a corner with no escape.

===================

[Ding… Then, let nature runs its course. The System will not let you use your old-world thinking in this world. If you do love her, shower her with it or marry her. It doesn't have to be 'that.' She loves you for who you are. Do not betray that trust.]

===================

Yun Che froze.

The System's words were harsh—blunt, even—but they struck deeply.

He lowered his gaze to Retsu.

The serene smile she wore in her sleep almost hurt to look at. This woman… this impossibly gentle, fiercely loyal beauty—someone he had admired long before he ever set foot in this world—had placed her heart, her future, and even her second life entirely into his hands.

And he had dared to entertain the thought that this moment might lead to something physical.

He exhaled shakily.

"…No. You're right," he answered, voice soft in the sanctuary of his mind.

"I didn't cross worlds and cheat death just to reduce her to… that. I won't let the values of my old world poison what we have."

The System remained silent—its approval felt rather than spoken.

Gently, Yun Che brushed a loose strand of hair away from Retsu's face. She murmured in her sleep and pressed closer, trusting him completely.

That trust—

that innocence—

that devotion—

It wasn't something he'd gamble for a few moments of desire.

"Retsu… Yachiru…" he whispered softly, tightening his embrace ever so slightly.

"I love you both far too much to risk hurting either of you. When that day comes, it'll be when you're my wife. Not a moment sooner."

His heart settled.

The night sky outside seemed a little calmer.

The weight in his chest felt lighter.

And for the first time since entering this world, he fell asleep not as a displaced soul or an imposter—

—but as a man silently promising his future to the woman held in his arms.

======================

[Ding… If you truly love her, show it through devotion, not impulse. You are a System Host, not a caveman.]

======================

He fell silent.

The System was annoyingly persuasive today.

He glanced at Retsu—sleeping peacefully in his arms, smiling faintly, trusting him completely.

The guilt hit harder than the System ever could.

He realized it wasn't lust he wanted.

He wanted closeness—her warmth, her safety, her happiness.

He never wanted to cheapen her.

"Sigh… You're right. I wasn't planning on doing anything anyway. I just…" he admitted softly. "I just wanted to hold her."

======================

[Ding… Good. Because the System has implemented a suppression function for both you and Unohana Retsu.

You two may embrace, sleep together, cuddle, and enjoy peaceful intimacy.

But lust will remain locked until marriage.]

======================

Ah.

So that explained the suspiciously wholesome mood tonight.

"So that's why neither of us felt… anything."

Though, unexpectedly, he felt relieved.

Hugging her like this was… enough.

======================

[Ding… Upon marriage, emotional suppression will be lifted.

Your 'urges' and hers will unlock together.

Please prepare accordingly.]

======================

"…Prepare? For what? She and I already eat like bottomless pits. How much stamina do you think we'll need—"

======================

[Ding… It is a safety measure. Also, be grateful.

Otherwise, the System would have had to punish you for abusing that 'weapon' of yours.]

======================

"…punish?"

======================

[Ding… By disabling it permanently.

Or making pleasure equal to pain.

Or chopping it off.]

======================

"NOPE—NOPE NOPE—OKAY, NO SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE. AGREED."

He mentally hugged his crotch.

======================

[This rule applies to your future fiancées as well.

Lust ≠ Love.

Grow up.]

======================

"…Okay, okay. I get it."

======================

[Ding… Calmness Feature Enabled.

Suppresses lust, stabilizes emotions, sharpens focus, improves reflexes, enhances mental processing.

Future expansions incoming.]

======================

Yun Che blinked.

"A calmness skill… that boosts combat awareness? That sounds like something out of a high-tier cultivation manual. Does it have a name?"

======================

[Ding… Not yet. You are using the Beta Version.]

======================

"Beta, huh? Good enough for now."

He sighed softly, pulling Retsu slightly closer.

Her breathing was peaceful.

Her warmth pressed against him.

Her trust wrapped around him like a blanket.

Suppressing lust was a small price to pay for moments like this.

He drifted toward sleep—

And then the System chimed again.

=========================

[Ding… Achievement Unlocked: "NO HORNY."]

HP +50,000

XP +10,000

A chibi version of himself appeared, being bonked on the head with a "No Horny" baseball bat.

======================

Yun Che screamed internally.