“Long Chen, didn’t you want to refine pills? Why have you brought us fishing? If the alliance head learns of this, she’s going to scold you,” teased Meng Qi.
Long Chen had brought Meng Qi, Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, Dong Mingyu, and Yue Xiaoqian with him to a lake with nice scenery. He then took out his fishing gear and used some fruit as bait.
Meng Qi and the others found it both startling and funny, not knowing what he was thinking. They all sat on a boulder, with Long Chen resting his head on Meng Qi’s leg. At this moment, his eyes were half closed as he leisurely accepted the peeled grape that Meng Qi gave him, not forgetting to kiss her hand, which caused her to rap his head.
“You always act like a rogue.”
“Always acting upright is too tiring. I need to relax every now and then. It’s been a long time since I’ve soaked in the… come out to play.” Long Chen changed his sentence midway. There was no longer any sunlight to soak in. Now, darkness shrouded the heavens.
Even the fish in the water were rather listless, and the wild beasts in the mountains hid in their caves most of the time. Fortunately, fishing wasn’t necessarily about the fish. Just the activity relaxed a person.
At this moment, Long Chen felt weary both mentally and physically. He had rarely felt such a feeling ever since coming into the cultivation world. That was a feeling of helplessness.
There were too many things waiting for him to handle. It felt like he had countless burdens to carry and was collapsing under that weight.
“Long Chen, it’s been hard on you.” Meng Qi gently stroked Long Chen’s cheek. She and the others were all worried for him. Long Chen had the weight of the five Sovereigns’ trust on him, including the future of the uncountable lives on the continent. They couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to have such pressure on them.
“Hehe, it’s alright. As long as you’re by my side, I feel like my heart is steady. I don’t have faith in any gods. You are all my faith. You give me limitless power. Don’t worry, this is just a little breather. I, Long Chen, will stand at the peak of this world. Once this tribulation is over, how about we have a proper marriage ceremony? I’ll definitely hold the grandest wedding for you. The entire world will give us their blessings,” said Long Chen.
Despite all of them having given their hearts to him eternally, they still blushed when he brought up this topic.
“As the biggest, why don’t you answer for all of you.” Long Chen smiled and held Meng Qi’s hand.
All of them called Meng Qi big sister. On the Martial Heaven Continent, this kind of seniority was considered very important. Since Meng Qi was the one who had an arranged marriage agreement with Long Chen from the start, all of them called her big sister.
In the secular world, the expression three wives, four concubines usually referred to one principle wife, two ordinary wives, and four concubines. The principal wife was also called the first wife, the primary wife, and the head wife, while the ordinary wives were sometimes called side wives. As for the concubines, there was even less that needed to be said. Their position was very low.
Although the cultivation world didn’t have as many formalities, there was still some importance on this kind of seniority. Based on Meng Qi’s kindness and honesty, all of them were willing to respect her as the first.
Calling her the biggest naturally had some teasing note to it, causing Meng Qi to redden. If she opened her mouth and accepted, that would be recognizing that she was the principal wife. How could such a thing be recklessly decided?
“Don’t mess around,” rebuked Meng Qi.
“I’m being serious,” said Long Chen.
Meng Qi righteously said, “Then let me ask you, what about Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue? Furthermore, a wedding requires the blessing of the father and mother. You… you haven’t even found… our father and mother. How can we have a wedding?”
Meng Qi felt that it wasn’t suitable to call them his father and mother, but when she said our father and mother, she also felt awkward since they hadn’t gone through that formality yet, causing her to redden further.
Hearing that, Long Chen fell silent. Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue were in the Netherworld. Furthermore, the two of them… had become his women. A wedding couldn’t possibly be lacking them.
Moreover, Meng Qi was right about his parents. If he didn’t know about them, then that would have been one thing. But if they were still alive, it would be completely unfilial of him to hold a wedding without them present.
Long Chen helplessly said, “I just…”
“I know, you want to give us that status. But we really don’t care. As long as we’re with you, that alone is better than anything else,” said Meng Qi. Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, Yue Xiaoqian, and Dong Mingyu also nodded.
Long Chen was extremely moved. Every single one of them was like a heavenly fairy, while he was… who he was. He didn’t know how he had gained their love, so he didn’t know what to say.
“Big brother Long Chen, you can tell us anything. Even if we can’t help you, at least we can share the burden if you want. Maybe we can do some small things.” Dong Mingyu held Long Chen’s hand.
Before this, other than Meng Qi, none of them knew that Long Chen had had his Spirit Blood, Spirit Root, and Spirit Bone taken as a child. Nor did they know about his past which was even worse than being bullied in the Phoenix Cry Empire.
Long Chen kept many of his problems inside of him, suffering on his own while he smiled on the outside. That made them all feel aggrieved. They had been tricked by his outside appearance, not knowing just how weary his heart was.
“That’s right. We’re all your… wives. What can’t you tell us?” said Chu Yao.
Long Chen nodded. “There’s not that much. My thoughts are just a bit chaotic right now, as there are many things to do. With you by my side, I feel free to be myself.”
“You know how to talk. First you praise us, and then you don’t actually tell us anything,” said Tang Wan-er, dissatisfied with this response.
“Alright. There are a number of things I have to do. First, I have to refine pills. Not just the Heaven Merging Pills, but other very important pills as well, which will take a large amount of time. Second, I need to think of a way to find the Eastern Wasteland Bell. But the fragment of it that I have is unable to sense it. If it doesn’t return in time for the next battle, we will be at an immense disadvantage. Third, the five Sovereigns have transmitted all their techniques to me. As I used them to corroborate my own techniques, I noticed that perhaps I’ve cultivated my Nine Star Hegemon Body Art incorrectly. I might need to change my cultivation path again.”
