“You’re someone who was reborn from the future, aren’t you, She Ji?”
Yun Xiu’s opening words dropped like a bombshell, stunning even the Myriad Snake Queen. But she was still the ruler of her clan, after all, and she quickly regained her composure.
“Does that mean you were reborn too, Yun Xiu? No wonder you used some techniques from the Evergreen Holy Land when you fought me yesterday.”
“That was a deliberate hint for you.”
The Myriad Snake Queen was somewhat displeased.
“So?”
“Even though you were his wife in your previous life, he likes me now. I won’t hand him over to you easily.”
“Heh, Yun, are you really that proud of stealing your own disciple’s fiancée?”
Yun Xiu bit her lip, thinking that she absolutely couldn’t back down now. Otherwise, with She Ji’s aggressive nature, she’d be utterly defeated.
“I—I’ve already decided to marry him together with Wenqing.”
The Myriad Snake Queen was stunned. This was the second time she’d been caught off guard. It was utterly unexpected to hear such words from Yun Xiu’s mouth.
“What kind of joke is this?”
“You know as well as I do that Wenqing was deeply in love with Yan Zhen in her previous life.”
In her previous life, Wenqing had tried more than once to persuade Yun Xiu to let go of her hang-ups and marry Yan Zhen. She’d even half-jokingly said, “If you’re really that worried about your disciple having no one to come home to, why don’t we master and disciple marry him together~?” Though it was said in jest, Yun Xiu knew that Huangfu Wenqing had truly harbored such thoughts.
“Keep dreaming. Cloud Heaven Palace would never agree to their sect master and young sect master marrying the same man.”
“As long as Yan Zhen is exceptional enough, it’ll be fine.”
The Myriad Snake Queen fell silent, because Yun Xiu’s words carried some truth.
If Yan Zhen’s achievements had stopped at Mystic King or Mystic Lord, Cloud Heaven Palace naturally wouldn’t agree. But in his previous life, he had stepped into the Mystic Ancestor Realm before the age of twenty and ascended to the Emperor Realm at thirty-three.
Even after Yan Zhen announced that he already had a wife and daughter, the Heavenly God Clan of the Eighth Continent still married off their most outstanding God Maiden, Zi Xunyi, to the Jialan Holy Son Yan Zhen at the time, forging a marriage alliance with the Jialan Holy Land.
If even the Heavenly God Clan had done so, what was an ordinary top-tier sect like Cloud Heaven Palace compared to that?
Still, the Myriad Snake Queen sneered coldly.
“If it were really that smooth, things wouldn’t have ended up the way they did in your previous life.”
“I’ve already stopped Wenqing from calling off the engagement, and I’ve revised the marriage contract.”
“But the disappearance of Yan Zhen’s father was still caused by someone from your Cloud Heaven Palace.”
Yun Xiu’s expression turned solemn.
“I’ve already sent people to investigate this matter. I’ll give him a satisfactory answer before he uncovers the truth himself.”
“It seems you’ve made thorough preparations…”
“I won’t repeat the mistakes of my previous life.”
“But don’t think you’ve won for sure, Yun Xiu.” The Myriad Snake Queen’s blood-red slit pupils flashed with sharp light. “Even if you have his affection and favoritism as your backing, this queen has her own methods!”
“What are you planning?” Yun Xiu frowned. “If you force it, you’ll only provoke Yan Zhen’s resistance.”
“To tell you the truth, this queen isn’t the only one who was reborn.”
“What? Who else was reborn with you?”
“You don’t seem all that surprised.”
That was because Yun Xiu had been reborn alongside Jiu Youyue. But there was no need to reveal that intelligence to her opponent just yet—Jiu Youyue would be arriving soon anyway.
“Since you and I could be reborn, why couldn’t others?”
“That’s true enough, but you absolutely won’t guess who was reborn alongside this queen.”
“Could it be Lady Zi?”
“Zi Xunyi might very well have been reborn too, but this queen hasn’t met her yet, so I can’t confirm it.”
“Then who else?”
Yun Xiu pondered. She Ji had a proud and solitary personality, and she didn’t have many close friends. Aside from Zi Xunyi, there was that Dragon Maiden who slung her arm around Yan Zhen’s shoulders like they were best buddies.
“Is it the Dragon Maiden?”
The Myriad Snake Queen said leisurely,
“Long Ying and Zi Xunyi are both at the Holy Land Academy right now. She probably hasn’t hatched from her egg yet.”
Not Zi Xunyi, and not the Dragon Maiden either. Who else could it be? Yun Xiu couldn’t figure it out, so she stopped talking.
Seeing this, the Myriad Snake Queen didn’t keep stringing her along. She snorted coldly.
“It’s Yan’er.”
Yan’er? Yun Xiu thought for a moment before realizing, and this time it was her turn to be stunned.
“You—you mean your daughter, Yan Yan?”
“That’s right.” The Myriad Snake Queen spoke with some pride. “Yan’er’s soul was reborn into this queen’s body. She’s been clamoring to see her father emperor right now.”
“Yan Yan… How is that possible? She hasn’t even been born yet!”
“If something as outrageous as rebirth can happen, then nothing is impossible.” The Myriad Snake Queen continued, “Yan’er’s existence alone proves that this queen cannot lose.”
Yun Xiu said stubbornly,
“I don’t believe it! Let her come out and face me.”
“This queen will make you accept it wholeheartedly.” The Myriad Snake Queen sneered. “Yan’er, come out. Say hello to your Aunt Yun.”
Silence.
The Myriad Snake Queen raised an eyebrow.
“Yan’er?”
No response.
The Myriad Snake Queen sensed something was wrong. She immediately closed her eyes and sent her divine sense diving into her sea of consciousness.
Her sea of consciousness was completely empty. There was no sign of her daughter anywhere.
She snapped her eyes open, the blood color draining rapidly from her face, panic filling her gaze.
“Yan’er, she’s gone! How could this happen?”
Ever since her rebirth, her daughter had been with her, easing the loneliness in her heart and her longing for Yan Zhen. But deep down, she had always worried that her daughter—who didn’t exist yet in this timeline—might suddenly vanish one day.
All traces of the Myriad Snake Queen’s dignified aura vanished. She hurriedly stood up, desperately searching for her daughter’s aura.
“Yan’er! Where are you? Yan’er!”
“She Ji…”
It was the first time Yun Xiu had ever seen the Myriad Snake Queen so distraught. The She Ji before her now wasn’t some clan ruler at all—she was just a mother who had accidentally lost her child and was filled with regret and anxiety.
Suddenly, a response came from outside the window.
“Aww, Mother Concubine, I’m right here~~~”
Both women froze. That voice was far too familiar—it was unmistakably Yan Zhen’s!
As soon as the words fell, Yan Zhen’s figure appeared outside the window. He gripped the upper window frame with both hands, dangling in midair and swinging back and forth. With a kick of his legs, he hopped inside, landing steadily. He even spun gracefully once, acting all effeminate and dainty, which left the two women feeling a mix of disgust and bewilderment.
Under their peculiar gazes, “Yan Zhen” looked at the Myriad Snake Queen and spoke in an adorably cute voice.
“I was playing with Father Emperor, Mother Concubine. Is there something you need?”
Huh? The two women were both dumbfounded for a moment. The Myriad Snake Queen recovered first. She pointed at “Yan Zhen” in astonishment.
“Yan’er, how—how did you end up inside your father emperor’s body?”
“Yan Zhen” placed her hands on her hips, looking all tsundere.
“I came to see Father Emperor to begin with! You two made him leave, so I had no choice but to go find him myself. Father Emperor is the best to me—he immediately agreed to take me out to play~”
—Unlike Mother Concubine, who just makes empty promises to fool little kids without ever following through! As expected, only Father Emperor is good in this world. Kids with a father emperor are like precious treasures~
Of course, “Yan Zhen”—or rather, Yan Yan—could only grumble that little complaint in her heart. She definitely didn’t dare say it out loud.
