Wait for Me

Diya stared blankly at Sonia, suddenly realizing that while they both loved Yaxiu, they loved him in entirely different ways. Diya wanted to keep Yaxiu pampered as her Gospel Prince, whereas Sonia... she probably hadn't even thought about what she wanted to do next. After all, she had only just achieved her previous life goal and hadn't yet had time to make a new plan for life. She was precisely that kind of endlessly unsatisfied, shallow creature. The moment she reached a goal, she would quickly grow bored and seek out a new direction, continually scaling new peaks in a tireless cycle. She could stay settled for a brief spell, but before long, she would grow restless. Contentment was the polar opposite of her nature. Yet none of that mattered, because no matter what direction she walked in, she knew she would never be alone. Friends might fall behind, family might not be able to accompany her, but Yaxiu would always understand her, stay by her side, and even lend her a hand. "But I don't want Yaxiu running all over the place with you!" Diya cried out. "Both of you are settling down in the Yisu Imperial Palace!" "Be good. We'll come visit you once in a while," Sonia smiled. "Though, have you forgotten about his Hell secret poison? When the time comes, let alone the Gospel Realm, we might not even be in the mortal realm anymore." They had naturally taken note of the intelligence regarding the Hell secret poison. While they didn't know the exact details and the Gospel God wouldn't divulge them, they had managed to glean through roundabout inquiries that this secret poison was tied to the demigod ascension ritual. The crisis facing Yaxiu and his companions clearly required undergoing the ascension trial. "'We'?" Diya suddenly grew tense. "Don't tell me you're thinking of getting involved? Two people will make it four times harder!" Though it couldn't explain the Hell secret poison, when Diya had asked whether others could help with the ascension trial, the Gospel God had answered truthfully—they could, but the helper also had to trigger their own ascension ritual, and the difficulty would rise exponentially. For two people, the difficulty became two squared, or fourfold; for three people, three cubed, or twenty-seven-fold; for four people, two hundred and fifty-six-fold... Suffice it to say, if you wanted to drag each other down to the grave, attempting to ascend to demigod together was certainly an option. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Sonia replied noncommittally. "Besides, if Yaxiu steps into the divine realm, do you really think I would stay behind in reality?" She cast a teasing glance at the Witch. "Rather, what does Your Majesty the Empress plan to do then? Wait in the palace for our visits?" Diya was rendered speechless. If Yaxiu stepped into the divine realm, she naturally wanted to follow, but what about the Gospel Realm? What about the Gospel God? The entire Gospel civilization was built upon the Gospel system; if there were no one to wield the Gospel God, social order would collapse in an instant, like the onset of the apocalypse! Passing on the Gospel God would require waiting for the next Grand Weaving Ceremony—a gap of a full fifty years. By the time Diya could step into the divine realm, the Sword Princess's granddaughter might already be calling the Witch "Grandma"! Yet abandoning all the living beings of Gospel to chase after him was something the Witch simply couldn't do! Diya was suddenly numb—she had originally intended to persuade the Sword Princess not to throw away her own life for the sake of happiness, but now the tables were turned: she herself was unable to cast aside her responsibilities, and was very likely to miss out on happiness because of it! Seeing the Witch on the verge of tears from panic, Sonia comforted her, "Yaxiu probably has a way to counter the Hell secret poison, which is why he insists on staying in the Nation of Stars. So we won't be stepping into the divine realm that quickly. Besides, he still owes me dates, a wedding, a honeymoon, and so many things we have to do together. We should be lingering in reality for quite a long time." At present, theoretically, the only ones capable of stepping into the divine realm alongside Yaxiu were the two legends, the Sword Princess and the Witch. If Diya couldn't go, the future would obviously enter a prolonged era of Sword Princess supremacy. With the Sword Princess's methods, no matter how fickle and loose-hearted Yaxiu was, she might well discipline him into pristine virtue and purity! A long-term monopoly was bad enough, but what if she climbed aboard and then slammed the door shut? Even if Diya could step into the divine realm early, she wouldn't be able to squeeze inside! Aggrieved to no end, Diya couldn't resist poking at her sore spot: "You were so mad at Yaxiu the day before yesterday that you cried in secret, yet you're still eager to be with him?" "Huh?" Felix immediately turned her head around. "You didn't hear a thing." Sonia kicked the back of her seat, then turned toward the Witch. "I didn't cry. That night, I just strained my eyes too much, and the lens was so fatigued that it secreted tissue fluid—" "But don't you feel wronged at all?" Diya raised her eyebrows. "There were three who fought with us, plus your shadow, and the one who french-kissed Yaxiu, plus the Silver Lantern and that maid... That's already nine whole women entangled with him! Never mind you—just listing them out makes me a little angry at him myself!" Felix was stunned as well, looking as if she couldn't believe her own ears, and promptly pulled open the door to step out. "I'm going to check on Yaxiu and the others in the trunk." "Witch," Sonia rested her chin on her hand, smiling faintly. "Do I look like someone who swallows a grievance without getting even?" "I'm willing to save him of my own accord, but what he owes me, I will reclaim a hundredfold, a thousandfold." Sonia yawned, stretched languidly with charming indolence, and smiled. "I want him to spend a lifetime paying me back." "What a coincidence," the Witch said faintly. "He promised he would never leave me." By then, Felix returned to the driver's seat looking refreshed, squeezing out a bit of hand cream to rub over her knuckles. Hearing the conversation between the Sword Princess and the Witch, she couldn't help saying, "Sword Seat, Witch Seat, couldn't you consider not picking up boyfriends from the trash can—" Sonia chopped her lightly on the head with the edge of her hand. "Did you forget he's your Observer Seat, too?" Felix rubbed the back of her head, saying begrudgingly, "My apologies. I shouldn't question the Observer Seat's actions. His heart and conduct are clear as a polished mirror; everything he does is entirely righteous—" Diya jumped up and smacked her head, fuming, "You actually dare to approve of Yaxiu entangling himself with so many women?" *I can't scold him, and I can't praise him. What on earth do you two want from me?!* Felix's mouth twitched. She took a deep breath and said calmly, "I believe leaving the Observer Seat and the others in the trunk is truly too disrespectful. I formally request to drive them myself, and I promise to take good care of their... physical bodies along the way." *I can't beat you two, but surely I can beat up an unconscious scumbag, can't I?!* *Knock, knock.* Daidalos tapped on the car window and asked, "How is the discussion going? Sword Seat, you don't actually have to accompany the convoy. Even if you remain in Jialesi, we can notify you to come assist at any time." "No need," Sonia said. "This starry sky has no place for Yaxiu, and I have no place for this starry sky." She extended her hand toward the stars in the sky. "Let's depart. Yaxiu is waiting for me." ... Nation of Stars. "Master, wake up." Feeling a breath blown into his ear, Yaxiu—who had only been feigning sleep—erupted in goosebumps. He watched as Weixi stepped out of the vehicle with a mischievous smirk to grab the luggage. Yaxiu didn't feel the slightest pang of guilt over having Weixi carry the luggage. Stepping down, he stretched lazily and glanced at the station behind them, bustling with huge crowds. It was none other than the southernmost high-speed rail station in Jiashi. They were about to leave Jiashi and travel across the Nation of Stars. Beyond the fact that Yaxiu had previously appeared among the demons (wearing a mask), carrying a certain risk of exposure that made staying in Jiashi unsafe, the more important reason was that Weixi needed to set up miracle rites in various regions. Weixi could indeed manifest Yaxiu's Soul Heaven, but constrained by the mysterious chains, the moment Yaxiu's Soul Heaven peeked through, it would likely be suppressed by them. Therefore, to allow the Soul Heaven to pierce through the Astral Canopy in a single instant, Weixi needed to lay down miracle rites all across the Nation of Stars. Yaxiu and the others had hardly rested at all, setting out immediately once the plan was formed. Aside from the fact that saving the world brooked no delay, Yaxiu also harbored a bit of personal selfishness. He was in a hurry. If he could break through the Astral Canopy a little sooner, he could return to reality a little earlier, and then the Sword Princess and the Witch wouldn't need to get involved in the Four Pillar Cult's operations. Had he known earlier that his Soul Heaven could be used like this, he definitely would have urged the Sword Princess and the Witch in the Dream Heaven to stop—though they most likely wouldn't have listened anyway. "Sword Princess, Witch," Yaxiu reached his hand out toward the stars and murmured softly, "Wait for me."