“Xiao Ru!” Fei Er placed her hands towards her mouth, covering the astonishment she had seeing Zeru once more in the flesh.
“Jin… Master… How did you manage to?” Zeru was still in disbelief that he was able to see her personally. “Wait…System did you have a hand in this?!” There was a slight tone of distrust in his voice but at the same time, gratitude from his heart.
“User wished to pay respect to Bellator Zeru’s wife. Upon triggering the initial chain of events which made her visible, System merely suggested a certain course of action for User to take. User takes full responsibility for ‘reviving’ Fei Er.” The System slyly explained while Jin intuitively moved himself away from the scene, giving the two some private space for their reunion.
“So, System. When have you become such a matchmaker?” Jin asked as he returned to the hills. As he looked back, he realised that there was some form of mirage illusion happening, which covered the entire scene of the Sakura tree blooming in the middle of winter. And to top off this miracle, a fresh batch of snow seemed to be falling at the same time as well, giving the couple the almost perfect reunion.
“System is an amalgamation of various entities. The matchmaker was one of the jobs the previous Panda Clan members had acquired. Thus, it should not be a surprise that System behaves this way every once in a while.”
“Wait. So does that mean that those love dovey couples blooming in my dungeon runs, was partially your job as well?!” Jin asked as he vaguely remembered the pairings of his Pandawans changed drastically around Halloween. Especially Se Lang, the Wolf Cultivator and the two young girls. Jia Ying, The Stag Cultivator and Shi Hui, Shadowy Swan Cultivator.
“Indeed. Making them fall in love with each other in the face of danger guarantees them having an experience not to be forgotten. It dramatically increased the chance of the said customers returning to User’s store. System felt that there was no substantial negative impact to the User, and instead brought about increased benefits.” System confessed about its behaviour.
“Gosh. So does that mean you are also to blame that Yang Ling is looking as if she wants to have a shot with me?” Jin sat at a bench while admiring the Daigo Zakura from afar.
“You realised it now, idiot?” Pei, who had returned to her bracelet, could not help but comment on the current situation. “If not for me, the System would have you create a Harem between Lynn, Qiu Yue and Yang Ling. You should be thankful that I am holding off those starved thoughts of theirs AND yours to manifest.”
“To note, System had attempted to reduce such effects ever since the adventurer test incident and can only hope for User to become more proactive in creating babies for the future of the Panda Clan. System still prioritises the survival of the original bloodline of the Panda Clan.” The System rebutted.
“I am speechless. Simply speechless.” Jin said and guessed that was the trade off for having a System way too concern of protecting the surviving line.
“That is why I am here, making sure that System does not get into your head too much as well! Yet I haven’t even gotten a single thank you from you!” Pei scoffed, and Jin decided to use the same tactic for getting out of trouble.
He asked the System to give her a fox plushie as a reward.
“What?! A Fox Plushie?! Why would I want a FOX plushie to remind me about that guy?! Can’t you give me a Crane plushie instead?! That IS my original cultivation!” Pei grumbled, and Jin was taken aback by that new info. He apologised for not knowing that and asked to tell him more about herself.
“Meh, since we are waiting for time to pass, might as well give you some background information about our past as well. Thanks to that Devilman you did receive more or less eight other Bellators, so it can’t hurt for you to know about us. If you want to find out more details, you should ask them themselves though.” Pei agreed and gave Jin the summary of Kraft, Rex and the other foxes as well as Panda Lord Zhou Lin.
Naturally, she spoke ill of Panda Lord Zhou Lin and repeatedly told Jin not to ever follow his footsteps. “Obtaining full access to the System might not be as grand as you think. There is a price to pay too. Which is why sometimes you might feel that the System is restricting you more than you expected. You just have to learn how to work around it as much as possible.”
“Once the System deemed that you are capable, then it will reveal more of its powers to you…and that is assuming you get that mechanical brain of yours. Hahaha!” Pei said and continued with her other stories. She did not share anything too personal but enough for Jin to get familiar with their origins and their overall capabilities.
“Sounds to me like this Panda Clan is always destroying themselves despite the fact they have an omniscient relic at their disposal.” Jin sighed as he looked at the time.
“Yeah, nothing last forever but the Panda Clan certainly seemed to have picked the short straw for a long while. That is why it’s for the best that you have received the System without growing up and being influenced by the past. However, we are still in the infancy stages of you owning the System so no matter how you see it, Jin. You have a long way to go. We will be supporting you, but at the same time, we will be watching you too.” Pei remarked, and Jin quickly asked the System to create a crane Plushie for her instead.
“What is so great about all these plushies anyways?” Pei took hold of the crane plushie which magically appeared in her bracelet.
The moment she hugged it…
“Pei. You are too quiet. Hello? Hellllo? HELLLLLOOOOOOOO?” Jin called out, but the System stated that Pei had entered into a deep sleep after all her work in the Goblin World while holding the crane plushie. The System User smirked a little and looked at the time.
“Say…you think I can capture Fei Er? Since you know, …She is kind of like a monster in a sense. That way Zeru won’t have to worry about this place being demolished or anything, and have a companion with him.”
“While possible, it would not break her off from the curse of the City of
Flowers.” The System replied.
“Serious?! The curse carries over with the capture?” Jin asked, and the System explained that it was the norm to purify and recreate the monster again, but Fei Er was different.
“She was able to live and survive as the Spirit of the Land in that Sakura tree because of that curse. Without the curse binding her to the tree, Fei Er would have already passed on.” The System stated.
“Then erm how about we still take her in and find a way to break that curse?” Jin asked as he walked back to the exact same place where the mirage illusion barrier seemed to be weakening. When he entered, he noticed that both were sitting under the tree which was nearly bare from the look of its branches, with just a few sakura flowers still on it.
The rest of the petals were on the ground mixed with the incoming snow. It surrounded them like a fairy circle, blessing their time together even though they knew that their time together was nearly up.
“Thank you Boss Jin…for giving me a chance to reunite with Xiao Ru.” Fei Er graciously bowed her head down to thank the person who made all this possible.
“Master…my vow to you will always be unwavering for you to have reunited me with Fei Er once again.” Zeru stuttered with tears rolling down his face. Even though he could not touch Fei Er, spending time with his ethereal wife was nothing short of a divine gift.
“Hahaha, just call it an early Christmas gift for you.” Jin smiled as he walked towards them with something in mind. “I know it may sound blasphemous to both of you but…” The dungeon supplier took one deep breath before deciding that it was best not to mince his words.
“Zeru. What if I cut this tree down and bring it under Shu’s care until we can figure out a way to break the curse?”
