Once he thought to that point, Yun Che felt his heart sink heavily. He said in a soft voice, “Qingyue, I’m sorry, if not for me…”
“It isn’t your fault,” Qingyue said with a faint shake of her head. “It was my choice.”
“But, why didn’t you just tell me about all of these things. At that time, you only needed to use a sound transmission to tell me, and perhaps… perhaps…”
Perhaps there was something but Yun Che did not continue speaking.
“Perhaps, you would have accepted it?” Xia Qingyue asked.
“At least, I would know that you were not really going to marry the Moon God Emperor,” Yun Che said as he leaned his head back and shut his eyes, agitation raging around in his heart.
“You would know but would the rest of the world know?” Xia Qingyue said nearly the exact same words her mother did in a melancholic voice, “From then on, the entire world would know me as the god empress of the Moon God Realm. Even if it was only a hollow title, even if the Star God Emperor did not reveal to all who were present that you and I were husband and wife, even if this matter would never be revealed, would you… truly be able to accept it?”
“…” Yun Che was unable to reply.
Xia Qingyue lightly shook her head, “You are an extremely prideful individual, I knew this from the very first day I married you. Today, in front of foster father, you violently beat up two of his sons. Wasn’t the purpose of that to let me see the anger and resentment in your heart?”
“Qingyue… I…”
“You don’t need to feel guilty and you have even less need to feel like you owe me anything. If you were not around, then the title of ‘God Empress’ would merely be an empty one that would allow foster fother and I to realize the desires of our hearts. But since you are still around, then I am still your wife…”
On one side were her foster father and mother, on the other side was the Yun Che who had appeared out of nowhere…
Originally, the plan would have gone off without a hitch, but just like how Yue Wugou suddenly regained her memories all those years ago, the heavens had once again played a joke that was both kind and malicious at the same time. Because the Yun Che that she thought was lost to her forever had once again appeared in front of her.
She had chosen Yun Che… She had not even thought it over, because at that time, her mind had been thrown into complete and utter chaos, and she had basically been unable to consider anything at all.
Even now, she still did not know why she had chosen Yun Che.
The entire Eastern Divine Region had gathered there, so it was no longer possible to stop or regret this wedding ceremony. After she had asked the Moon God Emperor for the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace, she had desired to run away by herself, fleeing the title of “God Empress”, and once the Moon God Emperor’s wrath had waned, she would have come back to explain and atone for her sins.
But when the Star God Emperor had revealed the marriage contract to all who were present and Yun Che had admitted to it as well, she was left with no other choice but to bring Yun Che along with her. Otherwise, the Moon God Emperor would definitely have killed Yun Che when he went berserk with rage—no matter who he was.
Yun Che was severely shaken by this… He had just silently asked himself this question. If Xia Qingyue was not truly going to marry anyone and it was a sham marriage that was true in title and name only, could he actually force himself to accept it? But, on the other side, there was her foster father’s dignity and most important hopes and the final wishes of her very own mother…
Yet she had chosen him… She abandoned the foster father whom she owed a great debt of gratitude, abandoned her own mother and abandoned the Moon God Realm as well.
So now, the heart’s blood that stained her moon robes was even more glaring and heart-piercing than before.
They were husband and wife, and they had been since they were sixteen years of age…
But now that he thought about it, just what exactly had he done for her over all these years?
He had gotten one lover after the other and he had even married Cang Yue after that, and married the Little Demon Empress next… And when had he ever asked her, his proper wife, about these kind of things and when had he ever even spared a single thought for her feelings?
He had always thought that Xia Qingyue was focused only on pursuing the profound way and that she had always been keeping a deliberate distance from him, ignoring the relationship they had as husband and wife.
But it was only today that he realized that the person who had truly been ignoring this relationship… had been him.
He suddenly found it hard to breathe but Yun Che strode forward and lightly hugged Xia Qingyue from behind.
Xia Qingyue’s body gave a slight shudder… but she did not try to struggle free from his embrace.
Her body still felt ice cold as the torment born from abandoning her foster father and her own mother ravaged her heart, leaving her in an abyss of pain. But, after feeling the reality of Yun Che by her side, her heart began to slowly calm down. She closed her eyes and spoke as if she was talking inside a dream, “These past few years, I have always felt like I was dreaming an illusory dream, that is until… I saw you again…”
Her sect had met with disaster and in the next instant, she found herself in an completely strange and foreign world.
She was all alone by herself and every person, every thing, every brush of air, and every grain of sand was foreign to her… She did not know anyone, there was no one to help her or accompany her… Everything that she had in the Profound Sky Continent seemed to have become mere memories, a place that she would never be able to return to.
Those soft and seemingly insignificant words spoke of a boundless loneliness and sorrow. Even though she had been able to find her mother in this place, and accompany her, she still only had loneliness as her companion.
It was only when Yun Che had appeared that she felt as if she had awoken from the “dream”. In fact, it was to the extent where she actually felt like she was still “alive”.
“Qingyue, after this… you’ll have me for company.” Yun Che quietly hugged her even tighter. “As for what happened this time, I will go back together with you and beg for forgiveness from the Moon God Emperor and your mother.”
“No,” Xia Qingyue shook her head, “I already said that it is not your fault. I alone will return to beg for their forgiveness.”
“Since you still recognize me as your husband, then if someone must atone for something, then it’s only natural that we atone for our sins as husband and wife,” Yun Che said with a faint smile.
Xia Qingyue still shook her head, “Foster father may still forgive me. In fact, he may decide not to take his anger out on you, but… it will not be possible for him to ever forgive you. Your appearance, on the contrary, will only incite his rage.”
Xia Qingyue’s words stunned Yun Che and following that, he lapsed into a heavy silence.
Xia Qingyue was Yue Wugou’s daughter, was his foster daughter. So even though she had committed a colossal mistake, it would still be possible for the Moon God Emperor to forgive her. But what was he, Yun Che, to the Moon God Emperor?
As the “main perpetrator” for everything that had happened, not searching the entire Eastern Divine Region in hot pursuit of him was already the limit. So on what basis would he be forgiven by the Moon God Emperor?
Even though Yun Che had not done a single thing…
“Two days is sufficient time for my foster father’s rage to cool,” Xia Qingyue’s voice was soft and gentle as she sighed in her heart, a sigh that Yun Che would be unable to hear, “So forty-eight hours from now, I will return you to the Eternal Heaven Realm. After that, I will return to the Moon God Realm to beg for Foster Father’s forgiveness… You don’t need to worry about me, foster father has always treated me as if I was his very own, he will not censure me too excessively.”
“You should focus on cultivating in peace within the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm… That is indeed an extremely rare opportunity.”
Even though she had not paid any attention to the Profound God Convention, she also knew about the fact that the thousand heaven chosen children would be entering the Eternal Heaven Pearl.
Just as Yun Che was about to reply, the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was suddenly rocked by something, and even the bright lights within flickered for a second.
Yun Che’s eyebrows sank as he swiftly let go of Xia Qingyue, “What’s going on?”
Just as he said those words, he looked out of the gigantic curtain of light in front of them into the starry expanse of the universe and saw a person whose entire body was radiating golden light rushing towards them.
The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace’s speed was extremely fast, but this golden-colored figure was actually able to slowly close the distance between them.
And shockingly enough, the impact that rocked the ship just now was actually his profound energy attack!
“That is the ‘Golden Moon God’ Yue Wuji,” Xia Qingyue said as she gazed through the curtain of light, her jade features not showing any sign of alarm. “Among the Twelve Moon Gods, with the exception of foster father, he is the fastest among them.”
“However, he will not be able to catch us.”
As she whispered those words, Xia Qingyue’s snowy hand flipped and following a flash of moonlight, the already extremely fast Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace actually steadily raised its speed by another notch.
Immediately, the distance was no longer closing between them and in the next instant, they actually began to gradually grow further and further apart.
After he sensed this, the golden figure seemed to have grown enraged an a golden-colored star that could cover the earth and block out the sun suddenly exploded forth and loomed over the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace.
The Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace was still one of the best profound warships in the entire God Realm, so even when it faced power on the level of a Moon God, it was still able to display outstanding defensive capabilities. Under that golden profound light, the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace shook and trembled, and it was even knocked slightly off-course. But in just a few short breaths, it once again regained its balance and its speed was hardly affected at all.
On the contrary, due to the aftershock, the golden figure was once again left even further in the dust.
“I hope he won’t chase us for too long.”
Just as Xia Qingyue had finished muttering those words to herself, she saw the golden figure suddenly come to a halt… In only an instant, the figure completely vanished from their vision.
Xia Qingyue was slightly stunned by that and her chest rose and fell rapidly. She muttered in a rather dazed voice, “Foster father’s rage has already abated?”
A profound light flashed in her hand once again and the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace began to slow down gradually. Flying at extreme speed would greatly increase the consumption of its fuel, and the only possible reason for the Golden Moon God to stop his pursuit was due to the Moon God Emperor’s orders. This meant that the “danger” had perhaps resolved itself in advance, and so there was also no longer a need to fly at such an extreme speed and they could ensure that they had enough resources to fly for another forty eight hours.
The air of tense nervousness only lingered for about ten breaths more before dissipating completely, the two of them gazed at each other but they simply stood there gazing at each other in silence.
Yun Che was the first “old friend” that Xia Qingyue had met in the God Realm, and was Xia Qingyue also not the first “old friend” Yun Che had met in the God Realm?
They were a couple that had been married for twelve years, yet they had met seldomly and left each other’s side often, and each meeting would be followed closely by departure. Every time they had met, it was over in an instant. But every time they parted, it would be for months if not years, and there was even one time that they had thought death would separate them forever.
If not for that wedding celebration and the marriage contract, perhaps there would be no way to prove that they were husband and wife.
It was marvelous and strange that their lives always seemed to intersect and blend together. In Heavenly Sword Villa, it ended up being a battle between husband and wife. She had chosen to stay in Frozen Cloud Asgard, yet Yun Che had somehow become the first male disciple in Frozen Cloud Asgard’s history. She had been sent to the God Realm and yet even though they had been “parted by death”, they somehow managed to meet again in this vast universe.
It was as if there had been an invisible thread that bound them together, and it was a thread that linked them in countless ways.
“How did you survive in the Primordial Profound Ark all those years ago?” Xia Qingyue opened her mouth first, “And just why did you come to the God Realm?”
“At that time, I had also thought that I was definitely going to die…”
What happened on the Primordial Profound Ark was already a bit of a distant memory in Yun Che’s mind, but it still remained extremely bright and fresh when he recalled it. He started recounting his tale to Xia Qingyue from that point onwards. He told Xia Qingyue about the existence of Jasmine, he also told her about how the Primordial Profound Ark had brought him to the Illusory Demon World and how that led to him finding his real parents and meeting the Little Demon Empress… He then spoke about how he returned to the Profound Sky Continent and saved Frozen Cloud Asgard from calamity…
After he spoke about reaching Frozen Cloud Asgard, he spoke about Xia Yuanba’s growth, the tribulation of Xuanyuan Wentian, and the various changes that had happened in the Profound Sky Continent… until the part where he followed Mu Bingyun to the God Realm and was accepted into the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect.
It was the first time that he had opened his heart to Xia Qingyue to such an extent. Perhaps it was because her “choice” had impacted and moved him so much.
“Who would have thought that the Frozen Cloud Ancestor was still in this world. To think that Frozen Cloud Asgard actually had such a mysterious relationship with the Snow Song Realm,” Xia Qingyue said with a sigh filled with emotion.
In the first year she had arrived in the God Realm, Xia Qingyue had found out from the Moon God Emperor himself that the Frozen End Divine Art she had displayed was clearly the Snow Song Realm’s Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon.
But she was naturally unable to imagine just how marvelous and wonderful this mysterious relationship truly was.
“If we have the opportunity to do so in the future, I will bring you to meet Palace Master Bingyun.” Upon thinking of Mu Bingyun, Yun Che’s heart warmed unconsciously, “At first, I had thought that Palace Master Bingyun was an extremely cold-hearted and indifferent person. But it was only later that I discovered that she was not the least bit heartless. On the contrary, she was the most pure, warm, and gentle person I had met in my entire life. This time, I have definitely made her worry for me yet again.”
Before they knew it, the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace had already flown out of the Eastern Divine Region and had flown into a vast and boundless universe they had yet to discover.
