Cream Cake

The wind picked up. Without sorcerers to maintain it, and without the favor of a divine lord, the Dark Senluo that had collapsed on its own suffered from exceptionally harsh celestial phenomena. Sandstorms and tornadoes seemed gentle by comparison; what was truly terrifying were the ion storms that walked the earth like the Grim Reaper and the spatial ripples—even legendary sorcerers were nothing more than mortals struggling to survive here. Only Yaxiu and his companions could live here at ease, after all; the ripples generated when the Sword Princess, the Witch, and the others fought with full strength were far more terrifying than the weather. Even so, when out in the wild, even the Sword Princess and the Witch needed to sustain their Sanctuary barriers to hold back the inclement conditions. Yet amidst the roaring gale blowing at seventy meters per second, a streak of silver stood proudly within it, like an indomitable silver rose. Suddenly, the raging storm around subsided to a gentle breeze. Weise turned her head and saw Yaxiu approaching with two small plates of cake. The sorcerer's Sanctuary barrier had expanded out to a radius of a hundred meters, sheltering the god from the wind and rain. "You haven't had dessert yet." Yaxiu blinked. "A god wouldn't be afraid of getting fat, would she?" Weise shot him a sidelong glance and asked meaningfully, "Has the Sword Princess had hers?" "...She has." "That's good, then. I wouldn't want you to get scolded," Weise said with a smile. "But I still have work to do for a bit. I can't stop." "I'll wait for you." With a flick of Yaxiu's finger, a nearby boulder was sliced flat. He set the cake down beside him, then activated his miracle bracelet and began watching Stars Dynasty 434—a rare drama where Daedalose was neither the absolute lead nor a positive character. In it, she played the last empress of the Azure Stars Dynasty. Though she was the final ruler, the dynasty at the time had not yet reached the point of national collapse or popular revolt, nor was the last empress foolish. On the contrary, she was a scheming politician whose "intellect was sufficient to reject counsel, and eloquence sufficient to gloss over faults." Talented figures were not lacking inside or outside the court, either. Yet precisely because sovereign and ministers were all clever people, they tacitly colluded to harm the public good for private gain, assuming that one tile taken here or one brick stolen there wouldn't matter. In the end, the first dynasty, having spanned over four hundred years, came crashing down, ushering the land of Stars into a chaotic era full of vigor and fierce competition. It was one of the few shows that required multiple viewings to truly understand. With each rewatch, Yaxiu chewed over deeper layers of meaning, never tiring of it, always finding something new. He glanced at Silver Lantern. She was holding the Silver Canon, tuning a silver-blue Empty Gate. The Silver Canon allowed Weise to recreate every sorcery spirit miracle she had ever seen, which naturally included the Empty Gate sorcery spirit. That was why, when Diya mentioned that Dark Senluo heavily interfered with the Empty Gate, Weise had promised to resolve the problem as quickly as possible—she truly was capable of adjusting the Empty Gate's various parameters at the level of underlying laws and mechanics. While Silver Lantern studied sorceries over there, Yaxiu sat watching his show, the gale roaring a hundred meters away as time quietly slipped past between them. Just as Yaxiu finished another episode, he suddenly felt silver light cascade over him. In the next second, the silver light coalesced into the lovely god straddling his lap. Her supple, soft body pressed tightly against his chest, and cold lips swallowed every sound in Yaxiu's throat. If the Witch was wild imagination, Silver Lantern was extraordinary action. Caught off guard, Yaxiu was always invaded by her, putting up zero resistance, letting her take whatever she pleased... That was exactly how he had been bewilderedly conquered by Silver Lantern in the first place. When their lips finally parted, warm and cool breaths mingled together. Only then did Yaxiu notice that Silver Lantern had put her glasses back on and changed into a different outfit. Transparent sheer gauze draped over her like moonlight, and the god's breathtaking, law-carved curves made it impossible to look away. Looking at her, Yaxiu was suddenly reminded of his past favorite matcha cheese foam tea—Silver Lantern looked just like that layer of cream foam on top. "All done?" "Not yet. I've only finished the first part." Weise draped her arms around his neck, tilting her head slightly. "But I can take a short break. It's not like anyone is watching anyway." She emphasized the words "anyone is watching," her gaze brimming with sultry charm as she looked intently at Yaxiu. Yaxiu's heart gave a violent thump, but he had more important things to discuss with Silver Lantern. Forcing down his amorous thoughts to let reason prevail, he picked up the cream cake beside him. "Let's eat the cake first." Weise looked at him in mild surprise, as if witnessing a trash can suddenly tidy itself up. She took the cake, but with just the first bite, it slipped from her fingers and fell. As if endowed with armor-piercing properties, the cake struck the sheer gauze, which promptly vanished, causing the cake to land directly onto snow-white, supple softness before sliding down her curves, smearing cream all over them. "Ah, what a waste..." Weise didn't seem particularly bothered about being dirtied by the cream; instead, she focused on the wasted food. Nonchalantly picking up what remained of the cake to keep eating, she asked muzzily, "Yaxiu, do you like cream?" ... By the time Weise finished the cake and Yaxiu finished the cream, Weise was using Yaxiu as a backrest, leaning against him to rest. Yaxiu's face was faintly flushed, cream still lingering at the corner of his mouth, while his hands naturally began playing the god in his embrace like an instrument—gently gathering, slowly twisting, turning the pegs and plucking the strings, making the rhythm of the god's breathing grow ever more intoxicating. "You can talk about your business now," Weise said, her voice lazy and alluring. "Right now, even if you asked for the stars, I'd pluck them for you." "Why do you make it sound like I'm someone living off women?" "Isn't that the goal you've always been striving toward?" Weise said with a laugh. "The reason you love nurturing the Sword Princess and the others so much—isn't it just hoping that one day you can rely on them to your heart's content?" "A secondary reason, only a secondary reason!" Yaxiu playfully flicked her. "The main reason is still wanting to see you all shine brighter... Thinking about it carefully, I feel a bit strange myself. Clearly I can grow stronger too, yet watching you all make progress makes me even happier." "I've known you were that kind of person from the very beginning." Weise raised a hand to stroke Yaxiu's cheek. "You are an empty vessel. You have no fierce desires of your own, yet you yearn for people who do. You feel happy because they are happy, sad because they are sad, and you become radiant because of their brilliance... Yearning is the wheel of bonds; it leaves shared tracks across your lives." Yaxiu blinked. "I feel like a conversation like this happened once before." "Indeed," Weise smiled. "Back then, I intended to attack you by calling you an empty vessel, but you just calmly admitted you were exactly like that, completely throwing me off... And after that, I gradually fell for you." "The people I admire include you too, Silver Lantern." Yaxiu leaned in, nuzzling against her palm. "I'm sorry." "Why apologize?" "Because the only person I can't help is you," Yaxiu said softly. "The resources I brought back from Hell can help the Sword Princess, the Witch, and Weixi grow rapidly, but you're the only one who receives nothing." "I've received a lot," Weise said, blinking. "For example, didn't we just have cream cake?" "Silver Lantern..." Weise said gently, "Yaxiu, being able to resurrect was already a tremendous stroke of fortune. How could I possibly be dissatisfied? I anticipated this situation long ago. You don't have to—" "'Anticipating it' and 'accepting it peacefully' are separated by a high wall called 'feelings,'" Yaxiu said. "Seeing all of them receive gifts from me while you get nothing—if you told me your heart was completely untroubled, I might as well believe Lalafells could become sorcerers." "You've always been petty and narrow-minded, Silver Lantern." Yaxiu poked right over her heart. "So narrow-minded that just because I fought you once—and lost, no less—I have to spend the rest of my life paying the price for offending you, never to be separated from you again." Weise whispered, "Then could I really be jealous? It's not like you come to us to deal with every emotion either, right? A little mood like this is something I can handle myself. I was once the World-Ending Silver Lantern, after all." "Of course, I believe you can handle it," Yaxiu said. "But you can also come to me once in a while to... act spoiled. Remind me that you have grievances, that you can get angry, that you aren't just a god, but my Silver Lantern." Weise thought about it, then blinked at Yaxiu. "I'm not very good at acting spoiled... Yaxiu, would it work if I say I'm willing to be your slave for life too?" Black lines covered Yaxiu's face. "No peeking at what I do with others!" "That won't do. I'm genuinely interested in seeing how my man conquers other women." Weise giggled into his ear. "Next time, let's train Weixi together, okay?" "No." Yaxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Don't be fooled by how Weixi acts; her skin is actually thinner than anyone's..." "Precisely because of that, I have to ruthlessly trample on her dignity. Otherwise, how could she ever become completely devoted?" Weise laughed. "The others are the same... I will help you build a perfect harem." "But I don't want that." Yaxiu looked into Weise's eyes. "I only hope I can always love all of you, and that you will all always love me." Weise gave a light laugh. "A pure-love harem. Your standards really are high." "Silver Lantern, I don't care about other things, but when it comes to feelings, I want to handle them myself," Yaxiu said seriously. "Including yours." "Alright, alright. I'll come to you once in a while to deal with my bad moods... Eating cream cake is a good way to do it, especially since you, Yaxiu, are someone who never lets anything go to waste." Yaxiu realized more and more profoundly that his sudden kiss with Dead Frenzy really hadn't been a random bout of madness. He had already been corrupted from a principled trash can into a not-so-pure trash can. He turned his head and looked toward the true north at that silver pillar of light, which remained distinctly dazzling even amidst the dark storm. "'A single silver lantern shining through the long night,'" Yaxiu murmured. "It's beautiful." "After looking at it long enough, it's just that," Weise said calmly. "Nothing surprising about it." "The next stop is the Silent Spiral." "Mm." "And then we'll head to the Gospel realm through the Empty Gate," Yaxiu said. "The Silent Spiral is the final stop of our journey in Senluo." Weise chuckled. "You should have left long ago. This place isn't fit for human living." "Then..." Yaxiu held her tighter. "Will you come with us?"